Game Trailer Roundtable with industry figures *

[Acert93]

Game Trailer Roundtable with industry figures

GameTrailer's Roundtable with industry figures discussing the industry and the PS3 and Wii launches. Panel includes

Jason Rubin; co-founder Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot, Jax and Daxter, etc)
Michael Patcher; Industry Analysis from Wedbush Morgan Securities
Grant Collier; Founder Infinity Ward (Call of Duty franchise)

http://www.gametrailers.com/bonusround.php?ep=1&pt=1
http://www.gametrailers.com/bonusround.php?ep=1&pt=2

Part 3 will air later this week. Pretty frank, sometimes heated discussion about how they see the industry. Sounds a lot like the arguements on B3D None-the-less, a very interesting and worthwhile watch (did I just say that about a GT show...egads! ewww)

 

[patsu]

I saw this on another site and was wondering how come no one posts it here.
I like Rubin's frankness and I hope Sony treats its partners' feedback seriously.

As for online gaming, I guess I am a laggard in this regard. I believe there are still much room for improvements (XBox Live is only 1 particular though excellent implementation).

Also, how come no Wii rep in the Roundtable ? I just saw some sort of focus group test for Wii on their official site. Looks promising.

 

[Bad_Boy]

Was this filmed before or after gamers day? They mentioned marketplace advantages but didnt mention the playstation store and e-distribution games.

 

[22psi]

Thanks Acert

 

[RobertR1]

Thanks Acert.

The obvious transition to "online" everything and on-demand/digital downloads is really the key for a secondary monetary stream. A realization that Sony has not come to grasp with. We'll see how quickly they can adapt because really, they'll have to.

I really think "Live" will come out looking out a lot better after we have something to compare it to......

 

[Bad_Boy]

The obvious transition to "online" everything and on-demand/digital downloads is really the key for a secondary monetary stream. A realization that Sony has not come to grasp with. We'll see how quickly they can adapt because really, they'll have to.

Have you heard/read about the Playstation Store? IMO I think it's a big sign of Sony showing 'realization' of on-demand/digital downloads. Of course we will have to wait and see how the fruits of their labor work out in weeks/months ahead, but you make it sound like they have nothing planned.

 

[nintenho]

The second part is much better. They're more critical. Good point about how software is much more important then hardware now and that sony has to learn to change.

Edit: Software services (like LIVE) are much more important now.

 

[Ooh-videogames]

The biggest fear, for me with Sony, is them becoming to arrogant. The unwillingness to adapt and change to certain things in the market. Iwata, with the Wii, is just now able to present his direction for Nintendo. At this point right now, as a gamer I don't care anymore about who is at the top. I do care about how well a game sells.

Sony really put themselves in a hole, the PS3 has to have a price reduction sooner rather than later. I know a lot of gamers in the inner city, who really want a PS3. At 500-600 bucks, games being $60 it makes getting one, very hard. I expect some will be getting one by way of "five finger discount", if you know what I mean.

 

[Rangers]

The second part is much better. They're more critical. Good point about how software is much more important then hardware now and that sony has to learn to change.

Yeah, people have been saying that for as long as video games have been around, it's never been less true than today (ask Sony, losing 200-400 on a $600 console so they can pack more hardware in it, which is an all time high and it's not close).
________
How to roll a joint

 

[London Geezer]

The second part is much better. They're more critical. Good point about how software is much more important then hardware now and that sony has to learn to change.

Sony knows even too well that it's all about the software. How do you think they dominated so much in the last 11 years? They had by far the biggest and some will argue best software library out of all its competitors. They dominated so much because of the game, especially because they had the weakest hardware out of them all! And Sony knows that.

Let's not mistake Sony's latest obsession with top hardware with a lack of interest in software. They two don't cancel each other out.

 

[Paul_G]

Sony knows even too well that it's all about the software. How do you think they dominated so much in the last 11 years? They had by far the biggest and some will argue best software library out of all its competitors. They dominated so much because of the game, especially because they had the weakest hardware out of them all! And Sony knows that.

Let's not mistake Sony's latest obsession with top hardware with a lack of interest in software. They two don't cancel each other out.

Actually it was Jason Rubin who said that and he did qualify it as NOT about the software library. He acknowledged that Sony had a very good library, especially 1st party, but when he says software, he means things like Live on the 360. He thinks consoles are going to be more and more about software rather than hardware, i.e. hardware is getting to the point where it's not such an issue for graphics, and now it becomes about the software the console has.

Sony have historically been a hardware company, and they've dominated in a hardware industry. If whay Rubin says is true, and software differentiates the machines, then MS, whose bread and butter is software, may stand to gain from that.

 

[one]

but when he says software, he means things like Live on the 360.

The better word would be "software platform" or "service". PS2 was chaotic in terms of platform definition. It's important how you can control it while maintaining certain openness. Too much control makes the whole pie small.

 

[London Geezer]

I do agree that Sony are a bit slow to adapt, but i don't think they're much slower to adapt than most other companies, and historically that includes MS, Apple, Nintendo and pretty much everyone else in this and other businesses.

People don't like change, and they only go though with it when they are pretty much forced to do it.

 

[Graham]

The second part is much better. They're more critical. Good point about how software is much more important then hardware now and that sony has to learn to change.

You can probably put that under a 'services' blanket. Ie not something the box itself physically does. Something far and away much bigger than just the software.
It's interesting, and I'd also recommend listening to major's most recent netcast. The two complement each other quite nicely. Major interviews one of the senior live guys, gives you some idea of the sort of work required to not only setup a system like live, but far more importantly maintain it. He talks about things like the first implementation (xbox) was multi-million lines of code on the server end, how they have a 24 hour a day staffed 'war room' with multiple copies of every game every produced, etc. There are a lot of subtleties in live that would cause havoc if they became inconsistent or unreliable. Apparently it goes down as far as tracking how many shots you have fired with X weapon in, say, COD2 (for match making, etc).

I think microsoft as a company have done amazing things becoming a 'community' company. Xbox is the community console (as I see it). There are insane numbers of microsoft blogs also. Yet you look at sony and they really are the 'faceless corporation', ignoring kaz of course . I'm not saying they need to change, what microsoft are doing is working for them, but they must do something to give themselves an identity. I feel this generation is going to be all about unique selling points; xbox is the community, nintendo is the interaction and sony is the... er... hmm.

 

[Arwin]

Was this filmed before or after gamers day? They mentioned marketplace advantages but didnt mention the playstation store and e-distribution games.

Yeah, that's a very good question. I feel it has to be after, and they saved it to release close to the PS3's lauch. Which is a real shame, because I think Sony is delivering in that respect. Really a lot of their points seem outdated ... I'd have expected a higher level of discussion, but it's still interesting no doubt.

 

[[maven]]

Yeah, that's a very good question. I feel it has to be after, and they saved it to release close to the PS3's lauch. Which is a real shame, because I think Sony is delivering in that respect. Really a lot of their points seem outdated ... I'd have expected a higher level of discussion, but it's still interesting no doubt.

We certainly know more about Sony's marketplace (and web-browser) now, but they certainly haven't impressed all across the board, for example the separate friends list for PS3 itself and another separate one for Resistance: Fall of Man does not make me particularly optimistic for the online component of the games themselves.

 

[Titanio]

The biggest fear, for me with Sony, is them becoming to arrogant. The unwillingness to adapt and change to certain things in the market.

Funny that. I think we've seen them come under fire quite a lot for what some might view as changing or adapting to their environment (where others seeing 'copying').

 

[Gholbine]

Hardware comes before software. You can't build great next-gen games without great next-gen hardware. Any suggestion that Sony should have focussed less on hardware and more on software is silly, IMO. They will be building their software services throughout the generation. The online service you get at launch will not be what you have in 5 years time. Hardware on the other hand, is set in stone on day one.

Sony have delivered the hardware, and now it's up to them to deliver the software. Granted I think they should have started building their online service earlier, but in a year's time I think it will be a much more integrated and fully-featured service.

 

[Bad_Boy]

We certainly know more about Sony's marketplace (and web-browser) now, but they certainly haven't impressed all across the board, for example the separate friends list for PS3 itself and another separate one for Resistance: Fall of Man does not make me particularly optimistic for the online component of the games themselves.

The thing with that is, I think there is a misinterpretation somewhere. Resistance is supposedly unified with the playstation network, so you use your same account for the game right? If thats the case and you use the same name throughout, then why can't you add the same names from your XMB buddy list to the resistance specific buddy list? The only difference seems to be that it's a manual thing that must be done by the user, and not automatic. If that is the case, then I don't think it's that big of a deal imo. Of course it would be nice if someone from Insomniac could clear up the small details, but I think thats the case in this situation. Atleast, I hope.

Anyways, it really seems like this was filmed before gamers day where Sony's strategy on e-distribution really come into light, and maybe edited afterwards and finally getting uploaded now.

 

[Rockster]

Funny that. I think we've seen them come under fire quite a lot for what some might view as changing or adapting to their environment (where others seeing 'copying').

Perhaps another way to look at this. If you are the first to change and adapt, then you are seen as innovative and paving the way. It's only when you are slow and resistant to change, that you end up 'copying'.