GamesIndustry.biz interview: "Yoshida's Island"

[patsu]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/yoshida-s-island-part-one

Q: The other thing that stood out was the VidZone music streaming service - is that an acknowledgement that people use the Internet, and sites like YouTube, to watch music videos for free already - it will be refreshing for consumers to hear that your service is free as well.

Shuhei Yoshida: Yes - we're more open about approaching and bringing services in to PS3 and PSP. We can't support all the needs of the consumer and there are great companies providing services on the PC already - so we're very open to provide the opportunity to those companies to reach our user base as well.

Q: But the keyword there is "free" - did you consider monetising it at all?

Shuhei Yoshida: We like to provide as many services as possible for free - we already provide our network access for gameplay for free - and the interesting thing about the network side and the Internet business is that there's a variety of revenue sources. Not necessarily getting people to pay, but with advertising and so on.

Those are things we're looking at, and learning how we can provide a service without people having to pay - but we still get our operation running with funding from somewhere so that we can maintain the level of quality we want.

Ahem... where's Life with Playstation (due this month, 3 more days left) ?

On EyePet...

Q: There are some other interesting titles coming out of the London Studio, with the EyePet - the traditional gamers might not think that's for them, but it's a statement about the family side of things. What sort of impact are you expecting that to have?

Shuhei Yoshida: There are two things - from a technical standpoint the London Studio has always been making use of the camera, from the PlayStation 2 days, and they've been working hard on ways to better use the camera technology for PS3. We've seen small applications that make use of PlayStation Eye - but that's really small things, and we know we can do much more.

So I think technically-speaking that one of the things the team really wanted to do was work on what augmented reality really was, and in a way that people would understand - so to interact with the pet, and the pet recognises you, that's something that has a magical power.

But from the other side of the fence, we're doing a lot of games for core users. We have studios everywhere - Guerilla is doing Killzone, and Evolution is working on Motorstorm. So we really want to offer products to a broader variety of people, and we wanted to show the industry that this is how we're expanding our platform.

So London Studio is really best-placed for showing how these things can be done, because they've worked on games in that space for many years - they know how consumers are going to react, how to make it accessible and fun.

 

[Gradthrawn]

Nice article, but the title is misleading. I came here half expecting a new Wii game. No, seriously. I didn't recognize Yoshida as the name of Phil's replacement.

EDIT

On a side note, I like what I've heard/read from Yoshida so far. He's been pretty candid at times, which you don't often get. I don't know if he has the charisma of Phil, but so far it seems he has strong direction and goals. It will be interesting to see where he takes the PS3 on the software side of things.

I wonder if the cancellation of Eight Days and The Getaway, with focus shifted to EyePet, was a result of his decisions/direction, or initiatives Harrison put in place before he left. I would think it would take some time for the fruits (or pits) of Yoshida's decisions to surface, just due to the nature of a large business, with the next year bearing the results of seeds Phil planted.

 

[jandlecack]

Harrison stated that the Japanese "bosses" didn't want to take social gaming seriously enough and responded negatively to his goals or suggestions. I am not sure on what side Yoshida is but he definitely doesn't walk through this world blindfolded. What I've heard from him so far is very sensible.

I'm also inclined to believe he backs social games such as EyePet and unique/different/genuine game concepts like Eden, flOwer, TLG.

 

[patsu]

Life with Playstation

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/08/29/life-with-playstation-is-on-its-way/

We’ll start with the okay part. We’re still pushing some paperwork on Life with PlayStation — so hold tight just a bit longer. Now on to the good news, the Life with PlayStation application is looking great and to quench some of the curiosity around what it’s all about, here’s what I can share today.

We’re going to offer this as a free service that will be easily accessible directly from the XMB. Life with PlayStation will feed live content to your PS3 with updates on news and weather on a visually stunning and interactive global map. Imagine being able to wake up to your PS3 to see if you need to pack an umbrella for the day. Or just relax as you listen to your favorite tunes while reading up on top news from around the world.

We’re also very excited to share that Life with PlayStation will be combined with our Folding@home project. What does this mean? While you’re tuned into Life with PlayStation, you’ll also be helping Stanford researchers cure diseases like Alzheimer’s and various types of cancer while Folding@home is running in the background.

We know you’re eager to check it out for yourself, so we’re working hard to get it in your hands. Stay tuned.

EDIT: Paperwork.... patent filing ?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

So Life with Playstation is actually a glorified screensaver for Folding@home, and is being used to woo processor cycles from PS3 owners!

 

[Nesh]

Looks like Folding@home will be come a part of Life With Playstation to me. Good idea. Better than having too applications when you can have both in one

 

[patsu]

So Life with Playstation is actually a glorified screensaver for Folding@home, and is being used to woo processor cycles from PS3 owners!

I like how they integrate the Earth Visualizer and Folding@Home. I thought about it too (It's a natural next step). I'm glad Sony takes the time to combine and refine the XMB experience. It will reduce clutter in the long run.

From the hints, it sounds like "Life with Playstation" is a "push" media (You subscribe to one or more "tags" and the news arrive on-demand). I am guessing it's a combination of RSS and Google Search (and Google Earth ?).

If so, I hope they make the XMB Google Search contribute to the LwP format also. In fact, I'd go as far as folding everything under the "Network" icon into "Life with Playstation". I dislike how Sony brand every little technical feature on XMB (e.g., RemotePlay, Google Search, Information Board). IMHO, something like "Life with Playstation" could be an all-in-one personal media service for PS3 (like iTunes !).


Going down the "Network" icon list...

* RemotePlay : Activate it as part of LwP. I'd consider renaming it to "Life with PSP" to incorporate syncing media and news from LwP to PSP too. For kicks, they should also show -- on a barebone globe -- where I'm connecting to my PS3 from (when using RemotePlay remotely).

* Internet Browser : Activate from LwP like how Folding@Home does it now. PSN user IDs are already integrated with the net -- see B3D's Gamer ID. Clicking on embedded PSN objects in the browser (e.g., when browsing gaming forums) should activate native PSN services like say.. the friends list directly

* Internet Search : Incorporate search box and past searches in LwP itself.

* Download Management : Expand the concept. Allow LwP to download packages in the background from "Planet Earth", even using P2P protocols ! Show the P2P nodes on the globe to encourage community interaction and discourage piracy at the same time.

* Information Board : Subsume it under LwP's info mode. Get rid of IB !

* Folding@home : Already integrated

LwP should also add geographic dimension to Playstation Network (e.g., showing where all your friends and yourself are on the map).



EDIT: These are still pretty generic look at the PSN services. For real deployment, they would probably consider the audience they are after (e.g., pre-select relevant and good information sources for "Life with Playstation"). Finally, it's only a dream.
I am sure Sony has its own ideas of how it wants to package LwP.

 

[holsty101]

Yoshida's Island Part 2

 

[Gradthrawn]

Wow, the second part is just as candid, thanks for posting it holsty. I found this comment particularly interesting:

In a sense, intentionally or not, Nintendo's choice in staying with the same core technology from GameCube to Wii, and not to make games more realistic-looking but adding more interactivity - that was very smart. They know Japanese culture has only so much impact when it's just visual - anime is popular worldwide, but when it comes to movies, there are hardly any movies that are popular everywhere.

 

[Arwin]

Yes, he seems to know what needs to be done. I also liked this, which I presumed is intended as the solution to Phil's problem:

In the past there's been communications between product development and marketing in each region of origin, but now we're making conscious efforts to connect the marketing group in Europe to the development team in Japan, and in the same way the European development teams can have direct communication with the Japanese marketing teams when they start working on a new project.

That's making a huge change in the attitude of people in both the product development and marketing side as well. In the past they've been a bit cynical about titles coming from other territories, and in some cases they've missed the opportunity to go global when something really interesting was happening.

But now, because of that direct communication, there's no guessing any more - they can just ask questions as to why something's not working, or why they're not looking at something, and that influences it. It's hard to do when the game is half done and all the plans are laid out, for somebody to say they wished the game had a certain feature, but in the early process it's much easier to incorporate what the other territories really care about.

 

[patsu]

Heh. So Sony Computer Entertainment regions finally talk to each other. Now try convincing their media brethen to innovate together (The PlayTV video copy is a good start). From a consumer's standpoint, having a consistent experiences for all the media activities is critical (e.g., Blu-ray's Portable Copy should be "the same" as PlayTV to PSP copy, which should be "the same" as Playstation Video Store copy). That way, Sony can explain its services better (No "ifs and buts"). Consumers will have less trouble *understanding* and using these advanced systems.

A well-oiled collaboration platform with Sony Electronics is critical too. IMHO, that Bravia Media Link should never have existed. They benefit more as a whole (and in the long run) by sponsoring a PS3 bundle with Bravia instead. Not to mention Sony's "new" Media Services (probably) has enough work for the Playstation platform alone. On top of that, they still have to deal with the cellphone and PC businesses.

Am quite happy with Shuhei so far. But Sony should pay more attention to MS's price drop. Expressing their unconcern is again a good position, but something odd to be done to strengthen it.

 

[Arwin]

I'm fine with Sony denying that they'll respond, and claiming that they don't have to.

So long as they drop that price on the 1st of November or so. I think 299 (euro and dollar) should be a very sweet price, keeping it competitive with dedicated BluRay players, while being very competitive indeed with the other consoles. If they can do it, they could make a killing this Christmas.

 

[patsu]

I think the lower price is not the only angle. MS should have something else to entice a broader audience to buy a $199 system too. As a whole, if MS is doing its job, Xbox 360 should have a separate but complete package for new buyers.

Sony is still working through its old user base now (so they should not need to lower their price). Nonetheless, they may need to stake a unique position in the consumers' mind and communicate its values better. Even better, it should have holiday promotion to maintain goodwill and sales among its fan base.

 

[jandlecack]

The Xbox could sell for $99 and the Wii audience wouldn't give a damn.

I don't know if MS are simply too dense to realize that, they 1. don't have the appropriate software 2. don't have the appropriate interface 3. don't have the appropriate hardware reputation 4. don't have any waggle or wiggle in any games 5. still throw out niche/hardcore game after another on XBLA, the only "platform" that MIGHT attract somebody else than the core gamer.

It's as simple as that for Sony too, but at least they have singstar, EyeToy out the door and keep building upon that with EyePet, singstore/updates, even LBP.

Microsoft just is going completely past anything than the old Xbox and core-PS2-audience. They have been too busy taking from Sony to try anything else now or next generation. No point.

Also, PS3 price cut isn't happening, and I see the Xbox price cut as helpless resort because their sales have been declining steadily against a console with higher price point, less games/exclusives, less reputable online service and relatively poor promotion/marketing/bundles.

 

[patsu]

I don't think MS is going after Wii for the price cut. It is an attempt to seal its lead against the PS3. ^_^

 

[obonicus]

I don't think MS is going after Wii for the price cut. It is an attempt to seal its lead against the PS3. ^_^

I think the big problem is that there's indication that they're trying to do both things.

 

[patsu]

Nah... they know they are not ready to go head-on against Wii yet. I think this holiday season is MS trying to hold a firm #2. If they happen to be #1, then it's just additional gravy.

Even if the other 360 rumors are true, those additional features don't necessarily appeal to the masses (e.g., XM radio is more popular as a portable player or in-car feature, not a game console; DD music is again a fan service because iTunes still hold the crown). But at $199, it would make a nice beachhead for follow up later.

This is only my view on things. They don't hold any truth, so of course, you are entitled to your own views too.

 

[obonicus]

Nah... they know they are not ready to go head-on against Wii yet. I think this holiday season is MS trying to hold a firm #2. If they happen to be #1, then it's just additional gravy.

Even if the other 360 rumors are true, those additional features don't necessarily appeal to the masses (e.g., XM radio is more popular as a portable player or in-car feature, not a game console; DD music is again a fan service because iTunes still hold the crown). But at $199, it would make a nice beachhead for follow up later.

This is only my view on things. They don't hold any truth, so of course, you are entitled to your own views too.

You're being selective on your Baseless Absolutely Speculative 360 Rumors. There's also the alternate input rumor, which will be showing up by November.

As to proven information, besides the games we're actually paying attention to, for the holiday MS has another Scene It, You're in the Movies and Lips. The arcade will also be the cheapest GH:WT/RB2 machine out. And like I've said elsewhere, I firmly believe that those are the first-party titles that will be seeing the brunt of the marketing effort for the holidays. At the same time, though, MS does have a very strong 'core' lineup for the holidays.

 

[patsu]

Oh I am being selective because those are (some of) the new things in the rumors. I (and most forumites) already heard the other titles you mentioned for this fall. Like I said, both Sony and MS have enough stuff to counter each other by now.

 

[obonicus]

Oh I am being selective because those are (some of) the new things in the rumors. I (and most forumites) already heard the other titles you mentioned for this fall. Like I said, both Sony and MS have enough stuff to counter each other by now.

Except I don't think they're countering each other. I think they're going for different markets, which is the crux of the argument. I think Sony knows that it doesn't have the casual line-up to properly compete with the Wii, so it's not even trying. It's going for a 'high-brow casual' line-up. Casual games with high production values that hinge on people playing them on $399+ consoles.

MS is in a similar place, in term of casual titles, but I think that they're trying for the Wii market anyway. To me the $199 SKU is poised to directly oppose the Wii -- they were already undercutting the PS3 on price. Again, as I've said here before, that I believe that as long as the PS3 and the 360 fight for the same 'core' market, they're going to continue neck to neck in sales, and I believe both companies know the same thing. Now it remains to be seen if they'll succeed in branching out. I have serious doubts.