Sony @ GDC: Phil Harrison's Keynote

[scooby_dooby]

This is contrary to what he was quoted for saying in the conference...

Although by the way he words it, it sounds as if a "Value Pack PS3" is coming...and everyone will forced to get a 'bundled' drive. That's not to say every SKU from now to the end of the system's lifecycle will have a HDD standard. I think this is why they are wording it funny and as 'required'.

I think you're gonna be one dissapointed guy when all is said and done.

Everyone was looking to Phil for clarifcation, and he just gave it: all games will support the HDD. Exactly what I said from day 1. That is completely different than all games will "require" a HDD.

 

[Titanio]

I think you're gonna be one dissapointed guy when all is said and done.

Everyone was looking to Phil for clarifcation, and he just gave it: all games will support the HDD. Exactly what I said from day 1. That is completely different than all games will "require" a HDD.

Kotaku's coverage is confusing, because they preface his comments by saying that he said all games would require it. A transcript should clear this up.

Anyway, GoW2 looks crazy

 

[Inane_Dork]

I think it just means that while free from Sony's POV, publishers can charge if they wish. So you don't pay a subscription only to later have publishers adding more charges on. It starts free, and then its up to publishers to decide for specific games how and if they'll charge. I think most games will be free to play.

Then the term "basic service" is a misnomer, because that's the only level of service Sony will offer. I'm not trying to hate on either way they go. I'm just saying the two ways are incompatible.

 

[ROG27]

At this point I'd reserve judgement as to whether it officially is going to be included. I get the feeling Sony would like it to be included, but just incase some manufacturing disaster that severely affects the price per unit happens, they are holding out on an official confirmation until later this year.

 

[Titanio]

Re. PS3 media, apparently Sony was very very strict about cameras at the event. BUT the PS3 stuff is apparently also being shown on screens at their booth, where people should be more freely able to take footage etc. So it should come, but there may be a delay..

 

[Inane_Dork]

sony have got to give a straight answer very soon......on the HDD

No, they don't. And it's in their best interest not to. It's a really inexpensive way to gather and keep attention.

 

[Tap In]

No, they don't. And it's in their best interest not to. It's a really inexpensive way to gather and keep attention.

Exactly, this is their marketing machine in action.


well played Sony

We probably won't know all the SKU details and pricing until October IMO.

 

[dukmahsik]

is there an event after E3? i think a tokyo one rite

 

[Bobbler]

is there an event after E3? i think a tokyo one rite

TGS -- where most of the final details of PS3 launch will probably end up (price, HDD/etc packages, and final launch games list). I'd expect E3 to be mostly about games and end user experience once they have a PS3 (what'll you'll be able to do with it, how it'll interact with other things, what games you'll be playing in the next year or so, etc), and TGS will be about games + the circumstances surrounding purchasing a PS3.

 

[Lysander]

No, they don't. And it's in their best interest not to. It's a really inexpensive way to gather and keep attention.

true, and its going for long time now

 

[RavenFox]

Well since these demos arent harnessing much of what the system is capable of gives me reason to believe thats why the final dev kit will hit before E3.

 

[Nesh]

Here's some quotes from Gaming0age(not the forum,the actual site) about the games shown:

"Another tech demo was shown and co-developed with Ninja Theory which had a thousand characters reacting to complex rag doll physics. The graphics were all PS2-caliber with nice post processing effects such as depth of field"

"Warhawk, while looking great, was essentially a barren section of ocean with a lot of fighter ships (they were aiming for a hundred for the final game) going around destroying larger vessels and some nice looking water (wave simulation with procedural animation) and clouds (volumetric raytracing). Overall it was a great demo but a far cry of what was shown last year and gave a nice sobering introduction to the rest of the demos which was shown towards the end. Fortunately it will be playable at E3. "

"Next up was Motorstorm and just like Warhawk was no where near the E3 target render. The car models and physics were decent although the texturing and the environment was PS2 level of quality. The real star of the demonstration was the deformable terrain which worked quite well with the physics of the cars. The demo also had HDR, post processing effects, and occlusion. "

"The next game was Resistance, the title formally known as I-8. Out of all the games this one was the farthest along but unfortunately the least interesting. It was your standard FPS affair with highly linear levels, decent A.I. and moderately interesting weapons. The lighting/texturing/modeling was all decent but nothing groundbreaking"

Whoah??PS2 level quality graphics???

Strong critics. Compared to other reports these were very unexpected.

 

[MasaC]

I'm getting more and more convinced we'll see a "PS3 Value Pack" with the HDD bundled. I think they will sell only this pack atleast the first year.

If you consider what they've said and their reluctance to flat out say "HDD is standard on PS3". Instead they say "HDD is required" and "HDD rquired for games. I think this translates to HDD will not be standard and games will function without it BUT the developers are required to make the games make use of the HDD to pass TRC.

This way they can sell the PS3 at a high price initially while the demand is high and supply is low. Later on in PS3's life cycle they can introduce the "PS3 Standard Pack" at a lower price point.

 

[Titanio]

There's some coverage of the Q+A here:

http://www.gamedaily.com/news/?id=10263

Some things clarified, like online multiplayer being free (but presumably pubs can charge where appropriate), region-lockout being at the publisher's discretion etc, no restriction on what can be downloaded on the network e.g. a pub could put a ps3 game online for digital distribution, but obviously for now a Blu-ray disc is easier.

 

[NavNucST3]

There's some coverage of the Q+A here:

http://www.gamedaily.com/news/?id=10263

Some things clarified, like online multiplayer being free (but presumably pubs can charge where appropriate), region-lockout being at the publisher's discretion etc, no restriction on what can be downloaded on the network e.g. a pub could put a ps3 game online for digital distribution, but obviously for now a Blu-ray disc is easier.

I know everyone wants PS3 pricing, but I am more interested in game pricing, do we have any indications about what PS3 game prices are going to be?

 

[Titanio]

Gamespot has a very comprehensive report up:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6146436.html

They make it sound like Warhawk was demoed live? Also make it sound really nice..

As he spoke, Jobe piloted a jet fighter through a massive in-air battle. In the back- and foreground, hundreds of enemy fighters engaged in "next-generation behavior" by dodging clouds of tracer fire and strafing massive airborne capital ships.

During his demo--which featured highly detailed graphics full of dynamic shadows, detailed explosions, and cloud effects--Jobe also revealed that Warhawk would be playable at E3.

Apparently it got "some sustained applause".

Also, interesting comments - seems they are indeed gunning for MMORPGS:

Specifically, he said this was done to encourage "makers of massively multiplayer online role-playing-game-type products" to integrate into the network. Later, he would hold up the wildly popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, which boasts over six million subscribers, as a paradigm. "If World of Warcraft were a country, it would be bigger than Ireland," said Harrison. "That's what we would like to achieve in terms of community."

And a neat description of the online interface..it sounds very nice indeed, and very functional:

Using the mention of community as another segue, Harrison presented several slides which showed the interface of the PSNP. Using the PS3 game Formula 1 as a backdrop, he showed how up to three simultaneous video chat windows could pop up during gameplay via a minimalist, translucent heads-up display (HUD). Later slides showed how a player could send messages, check e-mail, scour friends lists, and send game requests all while in-game--and all using the same translucent HUD architecture.

Game requests? Not something i expected with an open online architecture. All sounds very, very nice..

Also, on Motorstorm, a clear example of judgement vs the CG last year vs judgement based on the footage's own merits now:

The demo was a far cry from the trailer which wowed audiences at E3 2005, even showing slight frame-rate issues at times. However, the results were still impressive, as Kirkland guided a dune buggy through a plain of mud which dried in real time, eventually impeding the vehicle's progress. He explained the PS3's Cell had the ability to render sophisticated in-game dynamics, allowing wheels to drop in newly created ruts and dirt splattered onto walls to visibly dry.

I mean that level of environmental dynamic is kind of unprecedented, by the sounds of it..

On Resistance, they again made it sound like Price was actually playing it there:

Looking much like a next-gen combo of Black and Half-Life 2, the shooter saw Price fighting off wave after wave of oncoming aliens with a variety of weapons, including a needle-grenade launcher which drew impressed "whoas" from the audience. He then announced that the game would be "out this year" within weeks of the PS3's launch.

 

[one]

Great report! But will we be able to get some media of the speech?

If a hard drive came with every system and you can put game saves on it Sony would lose a lot of money that they got for the memory cards this generation.

It doesn't matter because PS3 supports SD card and CF that are out of Sony's interest already.

 

[heavenlyglory]

That gaming age review is either very exaggerated, or brutally honest.

Hopefully it's not the latter..Because everyone elses opinions/reviews arent TOO bad..

Sheez.

 

[trinibwoy]

Whoah??PS2 level quality graphics???

Has to be talking out of his ass. PS2 graphics look like total crap.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

On the HDD, I think it's funny that the first thing everybody did was call out scooby to admit that he was wrong (which he promptly did and gave Sony praise) only to have it revealed that uh... no, there won't be a HDD included. Or if there will be, it certainly wasn't made clear during this speech.

In fact, once again, Sony went out of their way to say anything BUT the HDD will be included standard on the PS3.

If you take Sony's statements so far and use the lowest threshold possible of truth (as MS did when saying "All X360's would have a HDD as standard" and then released a X360 "Core" and said "It's a not a X360!"), I think some of the guesses on here are correct..

All games are required to have some sort of functionality that will make use of the HDD. That very well could be JUST as a replacement for a memory card. - Lowest possible threshold where Sony didn't LIE.

There will only be ONE SKU - Pretty damn clear that we aren't going to have "Core" systems and "360" systems then. Lowest possible threshold where Sony didn't LIE - The HDD is not included in the one sku, it's an add-on.

Folks, I don't see the big issue here. The PS3 was thought to be more expensive than the X360 before the news "broke" about the HDD. Adding the HDD adds expense, and it's expense that Sony lacks control over.

The HDD in the PS3 will be as integral to the PS3 experience as the HDD in the X360 is. It's required for all of the wonderful online services that Sony is planned to compete with Live!

Where's the downside in Sony making the announcement TODAY that the HDD is included standard in every PS3 they ship? You really think this is Sony taking advantage of the press by continuing to dodge the question and make it a story? Wouldn't it be more advantageous (if it were actually the case) to say YES! It's in every PS3! Especially now with MS already announcing they plan to flood the market with X360 in the days ahead?

As far as their online service offerings, I agree with the others that are confused. If there's no tiered service and only a basic "free" service (but third parties can charge whatever they want.. over an unknown interface), then there's basically no service at all.

Sony is saying they'll set up the PS3 and some infrastructure to allow similar things as the X360, but it'll be free and it'll be up to the individual developers to decide whether to implement those features and/or charge for them. Certainly leaves me scratching my head.