Sony Interview (Please Translate)

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Arwin said:
(I use my PSP a lot these days for browsing, it's just really convenient.

Convenient compared to what?

I never had a DVD player in my life, but I've been watching DVDs since ... the PS2 came out. Sure, I could well be the only one, but it's an example, anyway.

..ok..

The PC doesn't have to be replaced. But it can change. A PS3 is a PC, after all. It just has a different processor and OS. But if web-applications become all the rage, or we get something similar that works cross platform (and really, we are still ever more moving towards this, make no mistake - standardisation and portability is becoming ever more important), then who knows where we will end up.

Say that the PS3 does get Linux by default. Say that people buy it for games alone, or maybe a few of them for BluRay, and even fewer because it can run Linux - if the PS3 is as successful as its predecessor, we would soon have 100.000.000 machines with Linux pre-installed in every home. Not only can it use the living room HDtv, but it can also use a great number of cheap flatscreen and even CRT monitors.

Finally, there's the multi-core convergence. The change from single-core to multi-core is a revolution. A processor like Cell can make more of it, because it was designed from scratch. Future x86 processors will have to reinvent themselves, and performance increase will come from other areas, and solutions will have to be found to make current software run well on them. Once that happens, the software will become more convenient for Cell like computers also.

Combine this with more and more services becoming available over the web, and things are really moving towards a possible change.

Even if that won't challenge the current WinPC one bit, it's as close a step to a change in the PC market as we ever got to one.

(Apart from all that, Sony gets a fiscal discount on PCs in Europe, which it would not get on a gaming machine).

Why would someone want to buy a $600 PS3 for every room to function as a crippled PC when one can buy a fully upgradable PC for less than $300? Heck I can buy a $400 laptop these days.
 
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sonyps35 said:
There's a long historty of failed attempted browsing on the TV..from webtv to the Dreamcast.

There's two main issues if you ask me, lack of a keyboard (and if not that, lack of a desk to place said keyboard) and low screen res.

The stronger reasons are lack of content and lack of sufficiant bandwidth (on the user/ISP side) for any kind of distribution which would make sense, as well as the price tags.
 
NANOTEC said:
Convenient compared to what?
Convenient to not having a portable browser so you have to go to a PC to access the internet. Conveniently switching on quickly instead of having to wait for a PC to boot up before going online to look something up. Convenient compared to smaller screen browsers that need more scrolling to view pages.

Plus why has a convenience got to be convenient relative to something else? It could just be convenient in it's own right. It's an easy way for WiFi browsing suited to its purpose.
 
rabidrabbit said:
Convenient compared to most other portable devices not counting laptops, perhaps?

More convenient than a PDA? More convenient than a DS with stylus? Is a proper browser even availble for PSP let alone a proper interface? Sorry but PSP doesn't seem to be a convenient web browser no matter how much one wants to believe it to be.

Shifty Geezer said:
Convenient to not having a portable browser so you have to go to a PC to access the internet. Conveniently switching on quickly instead of having to wait for a PC to boot up before going online to look something up. Convenient compared to smaller screen browsers that need more scrolling to view pages.

Plus why has a convenience got to be convenient relative to something else? It could just be convenient in it's own right. It's an easy way for WiFi browsing suited to its purpose.

Well some people thought browsing the web using their Dreamcast was convenient too so yeah PSP could be considered convenient.:LOL:
 
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Tap In said:
someone said:
The PS3 is a computer. We don't need the PC
ruh roh..


and so it begins. ;)

Not sure if Sony is going to be able to market this to people as a "computer" though.

that's a pretty big stretch.
Blu Ray player?, gaming machine?, PC?

All 3? not sure if people are ready for that.
One thing people don't seem to realize ... game production. Content creation, programming and stuff. Those things are usually done on PCs, and I guess Sony must sometimes feel a little impure about that.

"We don't need the PC" can only become true if the PS3 itself can support stuff like Maya and Terragen, so that you can work with the machine to produce something for the machine.
I think the PS3 has the potential to actually achieve that.
 
Will people ever notice the difference between PC and a "computer ENTERTAINMENT system"?
 
Nesh said:
Will people ever notice the difference between PC and a "computer ENTERTAINMENT system"?

Of course they will.

Which is why they will never buy Sony's claims that the "You no longer need a PC".
 
RancidLunchmeat said:
Of course they will.

Which is why they will never buy Sony's claims that the "You no longer need a PC".
Are you sure thats not a misinterpretation or a mistranslation?
 
mckmas8808 said:
For the 8th time Phil didn't say that!

I'm sure they'd like those unable to purchase for themselves that have to influence others for their purchasing power to be a bit confused/dilusional at the store counter:

"Mom it's a computer too! I can go online and do my homework research with it!"
 
TheChefO said:
I'm sure they'd like those unable to purchase for themselves that have to influence others for their purchasing power to be a bit confused/dilusional at the store counter:

"Mom it's a computer too! I can go online and do my homework research with it!"
That's beyond the point that the poster adressed.
The point was that P.Harrisson was saying that the PC had no importance in the success (or not) of their online startegy.

Now, will SCE try to sell, extensively, the Computer functions of the PS3, maybe. Depends of the nature of these functions, really.
Will they be there at launch, will they be important enough to warrant a significant % of the advertisment campaign, etc...
So far all we heard about these functions has been way too vague for any predictions.

But if they do have a working Linux Distro, running executables, with the Web browsing feature, a version of Open Office and a Mail client. Only then they might push these features. If all they have at launch is the XMedia bar and it's apps, I think they'll just stress the multimedia functions of the unit.

And seeing the European PS3 site that was linked here few days ago:
http://eu.playstation.com/ps3/
I think that the computer functions of the unit are still a mystery to SCE themselves for now... In other words, I wouldn't count on it to be ready at launch (If ever, some might say, actually).
 
NANOTEC said:
More convenient than a PDA? More convenient than a DS with stylus? Is a proper browser even availble for PSP let alone a proper interface? Sorry but PSP doesn't seem to be a convenient web browser no matter how much one wants to believe it to be.

Since Firmware 2.0 (a decent while ago) the PSP has a very decent browser, and the 480x272 screen is one of the best screens to browse on, especially since it is in a wide-screen ratio and it still is one of the best screens on the market. And web-pages look absolutely great.

Since then, the PSP's browser has been upgraded and optimised, and it has only gotten better. Recently it added Flash support, which isn't great yet, but like everything else, you can switch everything on or off (animations, graphics, etc.) You even have 3 tabs.

Typing isn't optimal, but it's ok, and certainly sufficient for logging in and googling, and of course you can have it remember passwords and frequently used fields. Bookmarks help a lot too. It has lots of clever scrolling stuff, like you can jump links and inputs in all directions with the d-pad and have the screen auto-scroll, you can hold the square to scroll the page with the analog stick in all directions, the shoulder buttons give forward and back, and so on.

It doesn't stop there either. The PSP supports RSS 2.0 with all the audio and such features. There are programs for PC allowing you to stream your mp3 collection to an RSS channel on the PSP for example.

Well some people thought browsing the web using their Dreamcast was convenient too so yeah PSP could be considered convenient.:LOL:

The Dreamcast was designed for TV and in an age where internet wasn't all broadbandy and all over the place. A PSP slips into your pocket a great deal easier than a laptop. Convenience is a matter of context. There are actually a great deal of things a PSP may be more convenient for than you think.

In the Homebrew scene, the well reputed links2 browser that you can get either standalone or as a plugin to the excellent PSPRadio shoutcast client is also nothing to sneeze at. It is lightning fast, and has a very convenient keyboard input system (Danzeff). While this isn't a common product, it does an excellent job of how different browser implementations can work really well on the PSP.

Which, after all, is also a device that can play AVC videos a lot faster than many old PCs, supports all sorts of Audio codecs, works with location free players, and can play some nifty games.

If the PS3 takes a queue from this, or if the PSP is a prelude to the PS3 (as was the PSX to a lesser extent), then things are looking pretty good.

I'm refraining from saying what I think about trashtalking a feature on a device you haven't tested (quick! someone give me good rep! :LOL: )
 
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Vysez said:
That's beyond the point that the poster adressed.
The point was that P.Harrisson was saying that the PC had no importance in the success (or not) of their online startegy.

Now, will SCE try to sell, extensively, the Computer functions of the PS3, maybe. Depends of the nature of these functions, really.
Will they be there at launch, will they be important enough to warrant a significant % of the advertisment campaign, etc...
So far all we heard about these functions has been way too vague for any predictions.

But if they do have a working Linux Distro, running executables, with the Web browsing feature, a version of Open Office and a Mail client. Only then they might push these features. If all they have at launch is the XMedia bar and it's apps, I think they'll just stress the multimedia functions of the unit.

And seeing the European PS3 site that was linked here few days ago:
http://eu.playstation.com/ps3/
I think that the computer functions of the unit are still a mystery to SCE themselves for now... In other words, I wouldn't count on it to be ready at launch (If ever, some might say, actually).

Some have argued whether it's smart for Sony to push the computer angle as it may dilute their message. Personally I think it helps them justify the price point and in fact it seems to be exactly the angle they've been doing in interviews "it is a computer afterall". When one compares the cost of a general computer to the cost of a ps3 it no longer looks as though it is priced out of the market. in fact as others have done by adding up individual discrete components (acert) it comes out looking like a great bargain.

On the negative does it dilute the message? Perhaps a bit, but people already connect playstation with games. In fact, before ps2 launched much of the same pc functionality was promised/marketed at that time which lead many people to believe the machine had far greater capabilities than a traditional games console. Some parent's may have been sold on this concept at the time and are certainly used to the concept of playstation = lots of computing power (see "playstaion2 banned as potential military threat")

Bundling these hints up over the years with anything resembling a home pc's functionality may be enough to fool quite a bit to bite on these features, perhaps even moreso than bluray movies.

How close they get in the end to that promise is anyones guess but I for one would like to see it as it would force a direct response from MS on that front.
 
mckmas8808 said:
For the 8th time Phil didn't say that!

Sure he did.

We believe that the PS3 will allow the people to play our games, show our films, browse the Web and perform other PC functions. The PS3 is a computer. We don't need the PC
.

And to claim that this is a misinterpretation or mistranslation is rather curious in light of all the other times Sony Execs have specifically referred to the PS3 as a computer, rather than a console.

Of course Sony is trying to justify the price of the PS3 by attempting to convince people that the PS3 will replace their computer.

That's very clearly what they are trying to do, they've said so repeatedly.
 
RancidLunchmeat said:
Sure he did.
Not at all. Phil said PS3 will have PC like functions. He didn't say it would do all PC funcitons, nor that it would replace the PC. He only said that in the PlayStation networking between PS devices, the PC was needed.
SO: Speaking directly about online, MS...connects Windows PCs, Xbox 360 and mobile phones. Something about how perhaps how will Sony do this when they don't have as large a hold on the PC market as Microsoft has.
Means MS is leveraging the PC through live and integrating it with XB360. What info can Phil provide about online plans when in comparison, Sony hasn't got the same strength base as the Windows PC?
To whit Harrison replies...
Harrison: ...The PS3 is a computer. We don't need the PC
In answering the question, Harrison is clearing saying Sony doesn't need the PC space to enhance their online networking. The functions provided over Live! that will be used on PC, network games, downloadable content, will be provided straight to PS3. In know way was he asked how PS3 competes with non-entertainment applications, nor was he asked 'MS have Word to promote their PC space and thus encourage Live! adoption, what about PS3 and office applications?'

Yes, the PS3 has functions traditionally limited to the PC only, as other entertainment devices (consoles) have traditionally been limited to gaming only. They don't need the PC to augment their console range as MS are using it to augment their XB range. But he has not said they are replacing the PC or offering an alternative to a PC. The actual question, which you didn't quote and provides the context for the answer, was asking explicitly about online plans relative to XB360 networking with PCs and mobile phones, and the answer can only be read in that context - we don't need the PC is talking only about using a PC in the networking domain.

Edit : I concur that Sony want to portray the PS3 as a computer and hopefully find uses of it in that area, as was KK's dream, but this particular quote from Phil Harrison is not playing that card.
 
Shifty Geezer said:
Not at all. Phil said PS3 will have PC like functions. He didn't say it would do all PC funcitons, nor that it would replace the PC. He only said that in the PlayStation networking between PS devices, the PC was needed.
Means MS is leveraging the PC through live and integrating it with XB360. What info can Phil provide about online plans when in comparison, Sony hasn't got the same strength base as the Windows PC?
To whit Harrison replies...
In answering the question, Harrison is clearing saying Sony doesn't need the PC space to enhance their online networking. The functions provided over Live! that will be used on PC, network games, downloadable content, will be provided straight to PS3. In know way was he asked how PS3 competes with non-entertainment applications, nor was he asked 'MS have Word to promote their PC space and thus encourage Live! adoption, what about PS3 and office applications?'

Yes, the PS3 has functions traditionally limited to the PC only, as other entertainment devices (consoles) have traditionally been limited to gaming only. They don't need the PC to augment their console range as MS are using it to augment their XB range. But he has not said they are replacing the PC or offering an alternative to a PC. The actual question, which you didn't quote and provides the context for the answer, was asking explicitly about online plans relative to XB360 networking with PCs and mobile phones, and the answer can only be read in that context - we don't need the PC is talking only about using a PC in the networking domain.

Edit : I concur that Sony want to portray the PS3 as a computer and hopefully find uses of it in that area, as was KK's dream, but this particular quote from Phil Harrison is not playing that card.


ehh ... I don't know shifty. If he didn't want to portray that message in this interview why wouldn't he just say "the ps3 is capable of those functions without the pc"? He clearly wants to make that connection in peoples heads that ps3 = computer from what I can see. If I were in his shoes I'd do the same to help justify the price.
 
TheChefO said:
ehh ... I don't know shifty. If he didn't want to portray that message in this interview why wouldn't he just say "the ps3 is capable of those functions without the pc"?
He did, but in PR speak trumping the benefits of his platform. His answer 'we don't need the PC' was there clear as day the question posed about comparing PS3 to Live! on PC; it was just preceded with traditional 'we're great and do loads of stuff' preamble ;) It's like that recent MS (Moore?) talk about the motion control in DS3, saying it wasn't needed, and thentalking about all their wonderful online features. Online features have squat to do with motion control, and staying on topic he should have stopped at saying they tried motion control and it wasn't too hot. But PR means taking every scrap of airtime to promote your platform's strengths, and if saying long-winded and sometimes out-of-place things in response to a question gets you that, you'll do it. If you know what you PR job is about.
 
Shifty Geezer said:
He did, but in PR speak trumping the benefits of his platform. His answer 'we don't need the PC' was there clear as day the question posed about comparing PS3 to Live! on PC; it was just preceded with traditional 'we're great and do loads of stuff' preamble ;) It's like that recent MS (Moore?) talk about the motion control in DS3, saying it wasn't needed, and thentalking about all their wonderful online features. Online features have squat to do with motion control, and staying on topic he should have stopped at saying they tried motion control and it wasn't too hot. But PR means taking every scrap of airtime to promote your platform's strengths, and if saying long-winded and sometimes out-of-place things in response to a question gets you that, you'll do it. If you know what you PR job is about.


Shifty I think you just proved my point though - You're saying in pr speak you want to downplay a perceived weakness and then trumpet your advantages. Well, he didn't dismiss the question and turn around immediately to say "bluray is great" or "cell is the best" or even "playstation connect will rule them all". He chose to say and make the connection that "playstation3 is a computer". Like you said WRT pr speak, everything they say is said with the intent of getting their message across, not the interviewers message.

Honestly this specific topic is a bit of a nitpick but really, honestly, I think he's promoting ps3=computer.
 
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RancidLunchmeat said:
Sure he did.

.

And to claim that this is a misinterpretation or mistranslation is rather curious in light of all the other times Sony Execs have specifically referred to the PS3 as a computer, rather than a console.

Of course Sony is trying to justify the price of the PS3 by attempting to convince people that the PS3 will replace their computer.

That's very clearly what they are trying to do, they've said so repeatedly.

For the billionth time.

1)Anything computer isnt necessarilly a PC.

2)Sony ment PS3 will "replace" the computer when it comes to certain functions. That is...entertainment like: watching movies, playing games, going online, handling your personal photos and videos.
 
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