SCEA CEO Jack Tretton has been talking about PS3 development challenges following the price drops, saying the format has “sacrificed short-term challenges for long-term wins”.
Speaking with Newsweek’s Level Up blog, Tretton was asked about the problems developers reportedly face in dealing with PlayStation 3’s large, complex architecture.
“The other thing you need to do, with anybody who follows this industry, is remember that people have selective memories,” he said.
“We’ve heard that our machines are hard to develop for, because the technology is fairly forward thinking. We’ve heard that on the original PlayStation, the PlayStation 2 and the PlayStation 3.
“So we’ve certainly dealt with this before, we’ve heard the same criticisms of the PlayStation 1 and the PlayStation 2, but at the end of the day, the developers got up to speed, the consoles enjoyed an extremely successful long ten-year roadmap.”
“There are other machines that may have been easier to develop for early on, but certainly didn’t have the staying power, based on what happened historically. Certainly that’s our hope and expectation with PlayStation 3. If it’s put in a perspective of ten years, the first eight to ten months is taken relative to getting out the gate quickly and potentially fizzling out in less than ten years. That’s certainly never been our intention. We sacrificed short-term challenges for long-term wins.”
just give us some good things now and then you can take as long as you want, eg home and some decent PSN store games like Super puzzle fighter.
Comment by BENNE77 — Oct 18, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
Hope this is true.
I havent got a problem with Sony at the moment, but i’m starting to get a little bit worried. I wanna see a game that makes that £425 seem worth while..
Sure MGS4 and GTAIV will do that..but anything before that? Haze? COD4?
Hopefully.
Comment by Reza — Oct 18, 2007 @ 5:35 pm
I can’t understand why they let N’Gai Croal write anything even in relation to Sony, because his negative bias towards Sony is blatant and annoying. He takes every chance he can get to write long-winded criticisms of Sony and the PlayStation 3. It’s really quite unfair, from my perspective (someone that’s neutral in this ridiculous console war). I think he sounds more like a writer from Kotaku, Joystiq, or Destructoid, not someone from Newsweek.
Comment by Mexican Radio — Oct 18, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
so thats their excuse,LOL…..weren’t the PS1 and PS2 instant successes though?…and i think when PS1 came it was easier for developers,especially using CDs instead of cartridges…sorry but i think most of Jacks comments above are pretty much utter bollocks
and i like it how they he comes out and says its short term sacrifices for long term wins…could of let the public know that little decision when you started
Comment by metallicorphan — Oct 18, 2007 @ 5:44 pm
They said the Dreamcast was hard to develop for, and the Saturn….how come those didn’t stay very long?
Comment by tears of ash — Oct 18, 2007 @ 5:45 pm
…but sadly back in the day with the PS1 and PS2, the developers didn’t jump ship to other platforms. They are however doing it with the PS3 and so is a clear difference between the criticisms the PS3 is getting to the previous generations which should not be glazed over by simply saying “hey, it happened before so no worries!”.
Comment by Benny — Oct 18, 2007 @ 5:48 pm
I think Tretton needs his head examined.
He is saying that they purposely made the launch year rubbish?
He is the one who has a selective memory ie. when Sony said backwards compatability is essential, rumble is last gen etc.
It is typical of sony that they were told that their machines were difficult to develop for and then they ignored that and kept it the same.
We are forever telling them how ripped off we feel and how our content etc is rubbish and they do nothing.
He costantly bleats on about this 10 year cycle but his console is in danger of being dead in the water in 18 months if they don’t get some games and content out pronto.
This man in my opinion is a fool, who most definately consults spin doctors to try and turn around the negatives his own customers are trying to warn him about.
Why doesn’t he elaborate on what “sacrificed short-term challenges for long-term wins” means? Go into detail, tell the man on the street what your ridiculous jargon means.
Comment by Ton Capone — Oct 18, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
PS2 Backwards Compatibility had better return to future PS3 models in Europe down the line.
Replacements of defective b.c. PS3s should only be done with equal or better PS3 models WITH backwards compatibility.
Comment by Joel — Oct 18, 2007 @ 6:49 pm
the playstation was the harbinger of the CD-Rom
The playstation 2 brought to the home the DVD player
The playstation 3 brought blu-ray bar one difference - each time when they brought something new - they brought something special
ps1 - low cost games and the ability for amazing fmv cinematics (compared to N64)
ps2 - backwards compatibility and the first way most got into DVD’s - along with the promise of metal gears and final fantasies.
ps3 - came out over a year and a half later than its closest rival, expensive price, little hype.
I will be the last to defend the launch of the console - it was a shambles BUT
I do believe the ps3 has something to offer that the others can’t deliver - longevity.
Comment by JohnSketch — Oct 18, 2007 @ 6:58 pm
I think there are a lot of games due to launch soon that will justify the £425:
Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, Haze, GT5: Prologue, Pro Evo 2008… erm, there are more lol! Really, there are but I can’t rack my brains for them!
I believe the Saturn was even harder than the PS1 to develop for. I thought Sega chucked in a second CPU last-minute after seeing the power of PS1, which meant it was much harder to devlop for. Not sure about the Dreamcast - that had to deal with the PS2 after the success of the PS1.
I don’t think Sony would have released the PS3 while saying ‘OK, it’s gonna suck for a year but don’t worry it’ll all be good’ - they would’ve sold less. They’re a business - primary interest: make money.
Comment by Obli — Oct 18, 2007 @ 10:15 pm
Sony have built it, and the games will come, but it will take time to for the developers to get the most out of this new and truely next gen platform.
Sony just has to keep as many of the developers pumping out games. More games = More choice = a bigger variety of customers = wider customer base = more money for Sony = every one wins.
More small indie type developers should be encouraged to write games for the PSN to entice the casual gamer, while the bigger shops can cut multi-million pound games.
Comment by Savage — Oct 18, 2007 @ 10:49 pm
@10 i agree with you last statement that sony is”only about maing money”
but why gice us theat every week crap,with no purchases available which are available in all the other regions
I,and alot with me, want to by Vegas poker online
Where is Singstar Online, which was due to be released in August,al
We want to buy,but there is nothing to buy.
Comment by Darkie — Oct 19, 2007 @ 10:58 am
There must be reasons. Sony aren’t holding back to annoy us. Perhaps Sony should employee someone just to keep us Euro store owners updated!
Comment by Obli — Oct 19, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
This guy’s not making much sense if you ask me.
Megadrive was under-powered compared to the Snes, but the arrival of triple-A Sonic titles helped secure it’s position on the shelves for a long time.
Dreamcast was high-powered but didn’t carry enough triple-A content and it was blown out the water by the competition.
Wii with its unusual control system is the least powerful in terms of hardware performance of the three current offerings, not selling as much as the 360, but way more than PS3, and it can churn out Mario titles safe in the knowledge there’s a broad fan-base waiting to snap them up, regardless of how good or bad they are.
It goes to show that clock speed and the processor you’ve got etc. doesn’t guarantee success.
Finally, it doesn’t matter if Sony’s takes a 10-year view because games developers certainly won’t. If they know they can develop a game and cover their costs on 360 in half the time and expense it would take for PS3, it’s a no-brainer which one they’ll program for.
Comment by Gonuts — Oct 19, 2007 @ 12:19 pm
@ BENNE77, metallicorphan, Ton Capone, Joel, JohnSketch, Gonuts.
You guys are hitting all the nails on the head that I wanted to mention - especially the one from Joel, about replacing dead PS3s like for like.
In fact, you’re all sooo right about all your logic/arguments/disagreements, I will not bother saying another single word (until someone annoys me further down, that is)!
:-)
Comment by Zed Zee — Oct 19, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
Sometimes I wonder if Tretton is being paid under the counter to tank the PS3. So many bad decisions in so short a time almost feels like espionage.
Comment by somebody — Oct 19, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
I think the main problem regarding the take up of PS3 by the consumer is a general lack of promotion on behalf of Sony. Their launch adverts were confusing and didn’t showcase the PS3 as a must have.
Since launch i have seen two adverts for PS3 games and countless Wii and Xbox adverts.
PS3 games are awesome there should be adverts highlighting the games the week before they launched.
i bought the PS3 at launch as I knew its potential and I am personally very happy with my purchase and am well aware that the first year of a console’s release is always very poor - PS1 PS2 XBOX and 360 all have had poor first years with no must have games (PS3 has already had Heavenly Sword and Resistance which wipe the floor with anything the older competition have released).
Looking forward to Ratchet and Clank; Assassins Creed; Uncharted; Haze and of course PES - 3 of these are PS3 exclusive must have games that if advertised correctly will ensure the PS3 ends it’s first year (calendar) ahead of the competition.
Comment by Pauly454 — Oct 19, 2007 @ 4:14 pm
I already own all 4 decent PS3 games, and yet I’ve got a ton of PS2 & PS1 games that are far more fun to play. Who cares about HD when you’ve got gameplay?
If anything happens to my PS3 and there isn’t a backwards compatible machine to replace it with, then I’ll simply get my PS2 out of its box and trade the PS3 games in against an Xbox 360.
Here’s hoping 2008 brings another 4 decent games for the PS3.
Comment by m0thr4 — Oct 19, 2007 @ 5:03 pm
The NPD data for Sept suggests it’s over in the US, publishers are going to have to make more Wii games too
They simply cannot pass or get to the head of steam Nintendo have, even MS only managed to shade out Wii by a few thousand in the month of Halo3, they were both above 500k units PS was 116k or something
Nintendo have the crown Jack, not that that means PS & 360 aren’t a different level of console, but no one can take Ninty from the position they are in, and if there’s a 10yr cycle Nintendo are simply going to cash in twice during PS’s cycle
Congrats to the victor are in order - Iwata San is the big dog who doesn’t need to bark all day like his counterparts
Comment by Basil Brush — Oct 19, 2007 @ 5:18 pm
Translation of this quote:
The ps3 aint getting better any time soon.
Comment by evildoer — Oct 19, 2007 @ 5:48 pm
I’m sure PS3 will shine in time, its just a shame that they have basically given up with the launch in favour of the long term. Surely when a new product comes along you want it to set the world on fire. Instead of that confusing launch campaign they hsould have took a leaf off the Wii. Show the PS3 in the hope giving people enjoyment - not blowing up suitcases full of money with grenades. Its a metaphor that slaps people in the face…
Comment by Terry — Oct 20, 2007 @ 3:51 pm
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