mcv - PS3 concerns ignite Xbox 2 support

cja

Member
Starts with Tecmo's publicly stated concerns but then quotes sources from two other, unnamed, Japanese publishers who're thinking likewise.

“There is a lot of uncertainty amongst Japanese companies that Sony is unsure of what direction to take with PS3,” said a senior figure at a major Japanese developer and publisher. “Everyone’s business model has traditionally been built around Sony hardware, but given the lack of info, people are nervous about putting all of their eggs in one basket.”
“If we ask Sony technical questions, we don’t hear back for four-to-six weeks; Microsoft answers (Xbox 2) queries there and then.”
“The vibe between most of the major parties was: ‘Is PlayStation such a safe bet? Maybe we should take Xbox 2 more seriously’
“With Microsoft there’s a clearer indication of what’s going on – Sony is being sketchy about a lot of things. We’re now planning joint releases on PS3 and Xbox 2 for next-gen, where we have always lead on PlayStation hardware in the past.”
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i dont really like bad Sony news, but i do like good MS news. So YAY!!

Xbox had so much potential in Japan, i would have loved to see what some devs would be able to accomplish on the sustem, i only hope they give Xbox2 a fair shot.

MS need to dish out the bucks to SquareEnix to provide some killer content.
 
naz said:
I freaken hate how Nintendo is always left out :p

It's only natural considering that most don't know what the hell they're doing either. MS is the only one that has presented clear next gen plan.
 
Tecmo says sth. and people piss their pants. PS2 practically launched with utter crap, was overpriced, and it still flew of the shelves like crazy! People are forgetting about the Playstation brand and the wonders SONY marketing can do.
 
Plus MS is going all out with the 'ease of development' idea, which was Nintendo's hype for developers at the start of this gen.
 
mumu said:
Tecmo says sth. and people piss their pants. PS2 practically launched with utter crap, was overpriced, and it still flew of the shelves like crazy! People are forgetting about the Playstation brand and the wonders SONY marketing can do.
Brand is one of the most important things, but it's not an automatic win. Just this generation we saw the SEGA brand die, and the Nintendo brand continue to diminish.
 
That's true, but what kind of brand does MS have in Japan? I don't think the japanese can all of a sudden be convinced to buy a gaijin console (or devs to develop for it for that matter), but to be honest what the hell do i know :)

Also don't underestimate SONY marketing. I don't like it either but they are sneaky bastards.
 
PG2G said:
I hope Xenon does do better in Japan this time. The more competition the better ^^

As gamers, the best we can hope for is atleast 2 strong competitors. It surely saved us a shitload of money this gen and drove developers to "one-up" their competitors.

I hope MS gains a lot more marketshare with Xenon, but at the same time I want Sony and/or Nintendo to be equally successful.
 
Azih said:
Brand is one of the most important things, but it's not an automatic win. Just this generation we saw the SEGA brand die, and the Nintendo brand continue to diminish.

That's good thing to keep in mind at all times. I'm sure almost everyone thought that Nintendo was indestructible after the SNES. Sony's name isn't destructible, and right now they are taking on couple of big risks with the PSP and Cell. It's very possible for MS to finally move to the head of the pack or for Nintendo reclaim their throne (if they can get their shit together) if Sony finds themselves having made the wrong moves.
 
mumu said:
Tecmo says sth. and people piss their pants. PS2 practically launched with utter crap, was overpriced, and it still flew of the shelves like crazy! People are forgetting about the Playstation brand and the wonders SONY marketing can do.

PSP is clearly going to be the mother of all clusterfucks, but IT DOESN'T MATTER. IT WILL BE THE HOTTEST SHIT EVER BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ENOUGH OF THEM TO GO AROUND.

And the PS2 might have sucked at launch, but nobody's bitching about that now...
 
It's only natural considering that most don't know what the hell they're doing either. MS is the only one that has presented clear next gen plan.

About this whole PS3 concern, starting with the Tecmo bullshit, PS3 will be released in mid-late 2006. Ofcourse you won't hear their plans, yet.
Xbox 2 is a different story, it will be released somewhere in 2005, the first next-gen console to be released.
It was the same with the PS2, Sony had not released any info until 1999, 1 year prior to it's release. Ofcourse dev kits were send out earlier, same now with PS3.

“If we ask Sony technical questions, we don’t hear back for four-to-six weeks; Microsoft answers (Xbox 2) queries there and then.”
Ofcourse MS answers quickly, they want better relations with Japanese developers.
 
mumu said:
That's true, but what kind of brand does MS has in Japan? I don't think the japanese can all of a sudden be convinced to buy a gaijin console, but to be honest what the hell do i know :)

Also don't overestimate SONY marketing. I don't like it either but they are sneaky bastards.
I'll certainly never do that, just want to make the point that the next generation isn't an automatic win for Sony. Microsoft is pretty hungry and they're starting to leverage their software knowhow in the console business just like they took advantage of their network knowledge with creating Xbox Live. Anyway the N64 showed that ignoring developer concerns could have major repurcussions (carts) and MS are going out of their way to please.

The thing that keep the console business so interesting is that every generation is different. Last time around Sony faced the cash strapped Sega,the 'smaller simpler games are needed to save gaming!' Nintendo , and a late comer Microsoft that made quite a few mistakes as they got over the learning curve. They're still facing a 'we need to save gaming with gimmicks!' Nintendo, but Microsoft has matured, learned its weaknesses and created strengths (online, western devs) that differentiate it from the market leader and are doing their best to make Xenon development as easy as possible.

What will happen? I really don't know, but at this point I really would like to see MS do well.

:sigh: I used to be such a huge Nintendo fan. I miss those days :sniff:


Edit: I'll concede gogow's point, the PS3 is fairly far off, however I don't think Sony will be able to crush the Xenon on hype alone as they did to the Dreamcast. Microsoft made an impact on the mass media with Halo 2 which is the factor that gave the PS2 the overwhelming edge last time around.

Interesting times..
 
What exactly does anyone know what is happening next gen. No company has even got a set name for their console.

As for the console race, I believe Nintendo will be out if they carry on doing what they do now. They don't make a good console design, they don't make any new franchises that don't appeal to 3 year olds, they can't market properly, they can't do what people want like having a DVD player or using DVD format. they can't get 3rd party support and when they get big exclusives they usually get ported to other consoles or do not sell very well. They still make good first party games like Zelda and Metriod, but those won't carry them through to the next generation if they continue what they are doing now.
 
Speculating is fun :) but I agree that Nintendo can't really build off the Gamecube at all for the revolution. At least with the N64 they had the 'we make games that sell 6 million+ copies' idea to carry over for the GC. The only positive legacy they can carry forward from the GC is that 3rd party developers at least consider making 3rd party games for Nintendo as opposed to how they were with the N64. They still choose not to most times of course, but at least they consider it.
 
eh, it looks to me like these companies are just making these statement to force Sony's hand and possibly give them more information to work with so they can get going on their PS3 games.
 
This resembles the situation of PSP two months ago :D With developers saying things as:'We don't know the target,the price,how it will be marketed,this silence makes us question about the kind of support we should give'
Then Sony made one single announcement and no more concerns have raised since then :D
I think that a few developers are nervous because they have the necessity to decide now what platform they will primarily support for the first year or two of the next gen cycle and while they have a lot of details on Xenon,they do know little about Sony beacuse Sony has different plans and schedule than MS.So should they stick with the leader not knowing even its plans,or give confidence to the rival which seems to have all things at their place already?
Maybe it's time for Sony to spill the beans even if the PS3 premiere will be in a 3 months time.
 
I thought everyone was expecting PS3 in EARLY 2006 (japan). Which means its just months after Xenon, which also means there probably shouldn't be a huge difference in available information.
 
Azih said:
Speculating is fun :) but I agree that Nintendo can't really build off the Gamecube at all for the revolution. At least with the N64 they had the 'we make games that sell 6 million+ copies' idea to carry over for the GC. The only positive legacy they can carry forward from the GC is that 3rd party developers at least consider making 3rd party games for Nintendo as opposed to how they were with the N64. They still choose not to most times of course, but at least they consider it.

I think they are hoping to continue their policy of farming out titles to companies they want their side, like Namco and Sega. I think it's good policy, but we have yet to see what will come out of it except some token support for the GC right now. Small support from important developers could still be significant under the right circumstances. Still, MS does have the momentum and in the case of Sony bumbling, MS is going to be the one most likely to benefit from the fallout.
 
PSP is clearly going to be the mother of all clusterfucks, but IT DOESN'T MATTER. IT WILL BE THE HOTTEST SHIT EVER BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ENOUGH OF THEM TO GO AROUND.
What's so clusterfucked about PSP? To me, it looks like the best gaming hardware Sony has made so far.
 
gogogow said:
About this whole PS3 concern, starting with the Tecmo bullshit, PS3 will be released in mid-late 2006. Ofcourse you won't hear their plans, yet.
Xbox 2 is a different story, it will be released somewhere in 2005, the first next-gen console to be released.
It was the same with the PS2, Sony had not released any info until 1999, 1 year prior to it's release. Ofcourse dev kits were send out earlier, same now with PS3.

IAWTP.

According to most Sony hasn't finalized thier hardware plan, so of course they aren't giving exact details. Some publishers are probably worried about revenue next year and wondering if they should support Xenon more than they thought to try and even out what's expected to be the start of the console transition next year.

They financially got clobbered in 1999 and 2000.

It certainly does play into Microsoft's hand, and I believe it will guarantee them a greater level of support, but it's not going to be at the expense of Sony. Almost all publisher still consider this to be Sony's ball.
 
Yeah for Microsoft to really take advantage, Sony would have to screw up the initial unvieling of the PS2... and Sony doesn't do screw ups often, especially not in PR situations. But if Sony dials in a performance (like they do at E3 every year) than MS would get an edge that they can try to exploit.
 
max_cool said:
eh, it looks to me like these companies are just making these statement to force Sony's hand and possibly give them more information to work with so they can get going on their PS3 games.

Either that or MS is trying to get a peek at how much power they need going into next gen. Launching first when your not the market leader is a dangerous situation for them to be in.
 
I still don't think Xbox 2 will be dominant next generation, in either the U.S. or Japan. I think PlayStation 3 will continue being the big one, but I do think Sony will have its work cut out for it next time, very unlike this time around. If Sony gets too cocky, it won't be number one for long next generation.

I think the only one we can absolutely count out next generation is Nintendo. I'm beginning to wonder if they really are making a next-generation system. Maybe Revolution is just another handheld with PS2-level graphics that has video outputs to computer monitors.
 
almokla said:
thats why they don't take it seriously ? lol

seriously though, its like Nintendo is not there !! its all about XB2 and PS3 .. it makes me SICK

Well, if Revolution really does turn out to be just a WiFi box that downloads classic Nintendo games from the NES, SNES, and N64 for a small fee and allows you to play them online; it's no surprise that you don't see too many third parties jumping to get on the system.
 
As someone else has already pointed out we pretty much already went through this scenario with the PSP... Sony hadn't given some details, some developers were ecstatic, some were cautious etc.... full disclosure and now discontent has fallen to the wayside.

There's an interesting article in GI this month that talks about the concern being blown out of proportion... I'd type a few quotes but I'm too lazy.
 
I wonder if Sony will fall victim to the '3rd console' symptom. I doubt it, though.

And I hereby declare all speculation about PS3 and Revolution null, because nobody knows anything.
 
If Xbox 2 can come out.. well in advance of PS3, be developer friendly, somehow have the same computational muscle (graphics) as PS3.. have the best online support (that's a given), I think Sony will actually have an uphill climb. Well.. depending on the release price of course.

Nintendo needs a *real* megaton to wow everyone.
 
I don't understand why there should be concern over this. If anything, this shows that Sony is taking their time with the PS3, which is a good thing. They are the market leader, they don't need to rush out their next console, that would be foolish.
 
I think certain japanese companies might see their chance in Xenon launch for promotion of their new franchises. Personally I don't think all the rehashes or possible sequels like Perfect Dark or ShadowRun will be enough to attract millions of mainstream gamers to get next XBox, console will need to have some new exciting breakthrough franchises. Imagine if Sega or Konami or Namco (or whatever jp 3rd party will support Xenon) comes up with killer-app or system-seller game, like Halo and GTA were for this gen. Yea I know possibilites are low, but some might think taking a risk will be worthy.
 
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