Phil Harrison rumoured to be leaving MS *spawn

[Shifty Geezer]

And how does the exclusive PS4 Destiny deal fit into your picture?

Bungie is a business and Sony offered them some funding.

You don't just throw your past fan base under the bus for a few millions

The fanbase for Destiny was 0. No-one was thrown under a bus. If MS had offered more for the exclusive content, I'm sure they would have gotten it. They decided to invest elsewhere, such as Sunset Overdrive and Tomb Raider exclusivity (which really was throwing fans under a bus, and yet it still happened for business reasons - so yes, it's something you may need to do).

I consider the 2 games deal (Halo4+ODST) with MS as their price to get free and keep the company name+technology.

That might well be true. That doesn't change their reasoning though. MS and Halo was a very safe place. The only reason to leave was creative freedom from MS's premium title, which is exactly what we've been told by people from Bungie.

 

[Nisaaru]

The fanbase for Destiny was 0. No-one was thrown under a bus. If MS had offered more for the exclusive content, I'm sure they would have gotten it. They decided to invest elsewhere, such as Sunset Overdrive and Tomb Raider exclusivity (which really was throwing fans under a bus, and yet it still happened for business reasons - so yes, it's something you may need to do).

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/08...iny-is-the-most-pre-ordered-new-ip-in-history

Millions of pre-orders world wide for Destiny, record numbers by the way, based on past acolytes tells a different story than a fanbase of 0.

I don't know how closely you've followed the Destiny situation but the exclusive content which was denied to the XB1 Destiny customers while paying the same price for the game and DLCs was significant in an already content starved game. This wasn't just "usual business".

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Millions of pre-orders world wide for Destiny, record numbers by the way, based on past acolytes tells a different story than a fanbase of 0.

If they were Halo fans, why were there millions of PS preorders too? And Destiny came about 7 years after Bungie left MS. It's not like Bungie ditched their Halo fanbase in an instant.

But it doesn't matter either way. Let's say you're right and Bungie slapped their existing fans across the face by making a business deal with Sony. What does that prove? They still left MS because they wanted creative freedom, exactly as has been described. They did business and landed a deal to help finance their studio. We've no idea who approached who, or even if the deal was struck between Bungie or Activision. Could be Activision made the deal and told Bungie they had to make some content exclusive.

The problem I have with your theory is it's not based on anything tangible and flies in the face of solid, believable evidence to the contrary. It's a belief trying to interpret the data to fit it. We have Bungie telling us what they wanted, and behaviour that's standard for this industry, all of which doesn't need a conspiracy theory to make it work as a logical explanation.

 

[rekator]

If they were Halo fans, why were there millions of PS preorders too?

'Cause Halo fans follow Bungie on PS4?

 

[BRiT]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/08...iny-is-the-most-pre-ordered-new-ip-in-history

Millions of pre-orders world wide for Destiny, record numbers by the way, based on past acolytes tells a different story than a fanbase of 0.

I don't know how closely you've followed the Destiny situation but the exclusive content which was denied to the XB1 Destiny customers while paying the same price for the game and DLCs was significant in an already content starved game. This wasn't just "usual business".

Your supposition also doesn't explain why many of the long time original developers at Bungie have left during the development of Destiny, well after they were split from Microsoft. That sure makes it sure seem like life with Activision is far worse than life with Microsoft. Going by your same logic, then this clearly isn't just "usual business". There must be some deep seated hate with Activision.

 

[Entropy]

Penny-arcade in 2006: http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/05/01
Not saying they had any inside connections, but the situation was rather obvious even before the break.

 

[Rockster]

This would seem to confirm http://news.xbox.com/2015/03/xbox-kudo-xbox-announcement. Kudo has taken over all European studios.

 

[Cyan]

Public announcements. He's appeared here and there yet not associated with anything significant. That's in stark contrast to his time at Sony where it was clear how he had greenlit some significant products as well as his enthusiasm in talking about the platform and ideas. He was a great figurehead for Sony. What did Atari accomplish during Harrison's tenure there? How did Gaikai progress in the two years he was there? He entered these positions wanting a Brave New World. He left these jobs without any notable (at least publicly broadcast) progress from when he joined.

His work at MS -
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...icrosofts-lift-london-as-its-merged-with-soho
How much has come out of Lift? Who here has even heard of Lift?!

The cull of Don Mattrick's era is basically complete. He seemed to be displeased with his lack of promotions within the company. From the PlayStation days he seemed to be a real tool. He was charismatic and I quite liked him though, but MS is better without him.

He might leave for greener pastures. Next step: he can infiltrate and sabotage Nintendo now.

 

[Cyan]

.

So, yeah. It's hard to put any stock into anything saying that Bungie were unhappy with Microsoft or the money they were making. It was purely about creative freedom and independence.

Regards,
SB

This reminds me off a SOE employee which seemed to be very happy about their brand new independency when Sony sold them. One of the former employees said in a forum that their work in a X-Men MMORPG was quite frustrating because Sony wanted to play safe and use known features that worked in other games, while some of their most innovative features or engine implementations were entirely discarded and dismissed, leading to frustration.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

This reminds me off a SOE employee which seemed to be very happy about their brand new independency when Sony sold them. One of the former employees said in a forum that their work in a X-Men MMORPG was quite frustrating because Sony wanted to play safe and use known features that worked in other games, while some of their most innovative features or engine implementations were entirely discarded and dismissed, leading to frustration.

Sounds interesting, do you have a link?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

From the PlayStation days he seemed to be a real tool.

What gave you that impression?

 

[MrFox]

I used to have the same impression, Phil Harrison said a lot of crazy stuff during the PS3 days, but a lot of the quotes found on the internet are either made up or out of context. I couldn't find anything he said that was at the Kutaragi, or Mattrick, or Tsunoda level of hype craziness. (well, except that time when he hyped LAIR so much he made me buy it).

I mean, who verifies quotes? If it's on a funny meme image, it must be true.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

You should view anything and everything a PR official says about a console or its games as suspect until/unless proven true. A spokesman is there to put the best light on the focus of their attention.

As I said above, I'm only going on what others said about him, specifically developers.

edit:

except that time when he hyped LAIR so much he made me buy it.

Sorry

 

[shredenvain]

In a Eurogamer article I read yesterday it has a quote from MS that states "Phil Harrison, CVP Xbox EMEA, continues to report directly to Phil Spencer.”

 

[Cyan]

What gave you that impression?

The newspaper library is your friend. He was obviously a tool at Sony because of his remarks back in 2006. Just a couple of examples... 3D Graphics existed on PC and Amiga and stuff years before -early 90s, 1990 or so- the PS1 was released, plus PS3 controller had a clear inspiration from the Wii.

Back in 2006.... Sony,s head of European operations, Phil Harrison said: “In a way I understand why people say [we stole Nintendo's idea], but it is a little stupid, if you forgive the remark."

When we brought the PlayStation to the market in 1994, we introduced real time 3-D graphics for the first time. When Nintendo launched its N64 in 1996 it also had 3D graphics, did we say, ‘Nintendo stole our idea!,? Obviously not. Such innovations become possible because of a combination of technology, cost and manufacture capacities.

We’ve been working on [motion-sensing technology] for a long time and Nintendo has certainly likewise already been working on something similar. The difference between our strategy and that of our competition is that our controller is still similar to the Dual Shock, the industry standard controller. I estimate that nearly 400 million Dual Shock controllers have been sold worldwide.”

http://www.gamernode.com/sony-denies-copying-wiis-motion-sensing-controller/

http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=302123

http://www.chatbocks.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1009&sid=75da59e71b7cc9d26a7ffd869342b2bd

http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=92166

http://roosterteeth.com/members/journal/entry.php?id=1028900

This is also an interesting one, from 2006 too. "The PS3 is good enough to replace PCs" (I remember how unhappy you were time ago when they removed Linux from the PS3, while we are at it)

http://techreport.com/news/10089/ps3-is-good-enough-to-replace-pcs-sony-claims

GameSpot has the scoop on an interview with Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President Phil Harrison, who tells German magazine Der Spiegel that the PlayStation 3's features make it a suitable replacement for a desktop PC. GameSpot sums up the interview as follows: In particular, he said the Linux-based operating system on the console's hard drive will have enough processing power and nongaming functionalities to render traditional PCs--most of which use a form of Microsoft's Windows OS--moot in the home.

"We believe that the PS3 will be the place where our users play games, watch films, browse the Web, and use other [home] computer functions," said Harrison. "The PlayStation 3 is a computer. We do not need the PC."

New console releases are frequently accompanied by numerous claims about the demise of PC gaming, but it's interesting to see Sony looking to challenge the PC on its home turf. Of course, one would be hard pressed to see users writing papers or wandering too far beyond common multimedia tasks on a console. Sony seems to have pretty high hopes for the PS3, though. Thanks to DailyTech for the tip.

Sounds interesting, do you have a link?

I read him in a different forum where I basically just read, and he said that after the demise of SOE, I can quite remember his nic, I think, but it might take me a while to find the discussion thread.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

The newspaper library is your friend. He was obviously a tool at Sony because of his remarks back in 2006. Just a couple of examples... 3D Graphics existed on PC and Amiga and stuff years before -early 90s, 1990 or so- the PS1 was released, plus PS3 controller had a clear inspiration from the Wii.

I'm forever astonished that more folks haven't developed a filter to screen out the PR churn and separate it from how somebody performs at their actual job. Bill Gates, Ken Kutaragi, Steve Jobs are are all guilty by being a "tool" by your definition because they are the mouthpiece for PR.

There are some particularly egregious examples in gaming - Ken in Sony, Albert Pennelo talking about Xbox One before it was released and Phil Spencer trying to re-spin the Tomb Raider exclusive - and it's amazing how people give some people a pass or even defend their preferred console's PR efforts. Phil Spencer's interview with Eurogamer over Tomb Raider was atrocious but folks should separate PR fucks up like from his day job running Xbox.

Phil Harrison was a very recognisable face of PlayStation for years, he attended many events and had to read his PR lines like a good executive when talking to the press. But it's his actual job as head of Sony's World Wide Studios that I'm referring too.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Indeed. Fristly, PR is nonsense. Secondly, there's context...

When we brought the PlayStation to the market in 1994, we introduced real time 3-D graphics for the first time [in the console space].

Obviously, because 3D graphics existed long before then. I'm sure Phil played Elite like the rest of us! Some of the things said are stupid, some are wrong, but during PS3's era he was a great front man at shows, pretty open and approachable. While, importantly, at his tenure at Sony in his real job to promote games, he did a lot of good. He supported SingStar, EyeToy and Buzz, breaking the mould for console gaming away from controller-based experiences.

@Cyan Read this. Great summary of what the guy did and why some people are unfairly stuck upon some PR comments.

Harrison is a divisive figure. His replacement as Worldwide Studios boss at Sony, Shuhei Yoshida, has maintained a lower profile but is almost universally liked - he's seen by journalists, gamers and industry types alike as honest, enthusiastic and open. Harrison, though, still gets a mixed response, even though he's been out of the console business for the past four years. Those who have worked with him speak highly of him as an intelligent, professional and extremely dedicated executive - and Microsoft obviously concurs with that judgment. For some gamers, though, Harrison has come to be a symbol of how arrogant and out of touch Sony was at the start of this generation.

 

[tuna]

Harrison had a pretty difficult job "clarifying" kutaragis statements....

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Harrison had a pretty difficult job "clarifying" kutaragis statements....

Many of Ken's statements were batshit crazy but there's no denying his engineering chops. However he was increasingly moving in a direction where his architectures were not just complicated but developer hostile.

 

[one]

Ah the history...