Advertisement
Sony: "We don't buy exclusivity" News
PlayStation 3 News by Games Industry.biz
SCEA boss Jack Tretton has criticised what he described as the "different approach" of rival platform holders, stating that Sony won't "bribe" developers to make PS3 exclusives.
Speaking in the latest issue of PSM magazine Tretton said, "Microsoft is too dependent upon the third-party community, and Nintendo is too dependent upon first-party. We like to feel that we got a pretty good mix.
"We have a very different approach to exclusives than some of our competitors," he continued.
"We don't buy exclusivity. We don't fund development. We don't, for lack of a better term, bribe somebody to only do a game on our platform."
"We earn it by saying, 'You can build a better game on our platform. If you focus your development on our platform, you will ultimately be more successful. We can try to partner up with you from a technology standpoint. We can try to partner up with you from a marketing standpoint. But just economically and technologically, this is the system that makes the most sense for you.'"
Tretton said that Sony is going after a broader demographic sooner than with PS1 or PS2, stating, "I think that when you start to get into that USD 600 price you have to be mindful that there should be multiple consumers to justify the value."
As for the challenges of programming for PS3, Tretton noted that Sony is doing what it can to put the tools in developers' hands - observing that the company has just rolled out a wide range of first-party development tools to the third parties for the first time. Ultimately, though, he has faith in the development community.
"There are a lot of great developers out there, and they always figure it out," Tretton said.
GamesIndustry.biz is our exclusive lover. We don't have to pay.
Advertisement
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
Poster
|
NegativeZero
04/07/07 @ 08:10
0
Remind me again which platform has a lack of quality exclusives at the moment?
Someone should tell Sony to just shut up. I'm getting sick of having to put on my gumboots to wade through the bullshit every time I check my newsfeeds on gaming sites. |
|
Eighthours
04/07/07 @ 08:11
0
"If you focus your development on our platform, you will ultimately be more successful... But just economically and technologically, this is the system that makes the most sense for you."
With PS3 sales as they are, no wonder they're losing so many exclusives with that line of thought. |
|
squarepusher
04/07/07 @ 08:14
0
Expert time.
It's hear, hear. As in "hear him". Corporate talking a load of crap, what a shocker. Let me jump up on my high horse and act self-righteous. I, unlike a multi-billion dollar corporation that's sold a few Playstations, understand teh conzol warz!
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 04/07/07 @ 09:29
|
|
0
@moggsy
Means that if your going to buy a PS3 you need to have several people in the house who will use it to justify the price per person. In a family situation you can't justify spending that much on one person: 1 person = £400 2 people = £200 each 3 people = £133 each Could also a way of saying "we've just worked out we've priced it too high an no plans to drop the price yet" |
|
lindblum_resident
04/07/07 @ 08:32
0
Unbelievable.
Had he said that they are planning on paying every single developer they can to develop exlusives for them, people would again be all "OMGWTFSonyaretehevil". Hating Sony is the new black. |
|
0
Had he said that they are planning on paying every single developer they can to develop exlusives for them, people would again be all "OMGWTFSonyaretehevil".
Not really. Sony won the last console war by doing just that. MGS, GTA, FF, PES (for the first 3 years, during which the victory was assured), DMC etc. Nobody called them evil. But now due their own stupidity and arrogance all the developers are jumping ship and refuse to exclusively sign all their games over to a machine that nobody's got and nobody can afford to buy, so Sony feel they have to make statements like this to make people think they're losing all their major exclusive out of choice, rather than because they monumentally fucked up. It's just funny. |
|
gingerlink
04/07/07 @ 08:47
0
I'm more interested by the fact he's accusing other companies of bribing third parties....
|
|
0
I reckon many many PS2 owners will eventually upgrade to a PS3 when the time is right (when there's a price drop or a triple A game released, e.g. GTA IV) and I doubt they'll care whether the Xbox 360 has exclusives or not so long as the PS3 has games they want to play. The Xbox having Halo, Fable and PGR did little to deter sales of the PS2 and I honestly doubt that the 360 having GTA IV and Pro Evo 2008 as well will have any long-term impact on PS3 sales. The only thing preventing the PS3 from being a resounding success in the short-term is obviously the high price point but also I think the success of the PS2 is another factor - why upgrade when the previous generation is very much alive and has a plentiful supply of cheap, great games?
|
|
0
@Zomoniac
"Not really. Sony won the last console war by doing just that. MGS, GTA, FF, PES (for the first 3 years, during which the victory was assured), DMC etc. Nobody called them evil." GTA 3 wasn't exclusive. Neither was Vice City. Neither was Metal Gear Solid. "But now due their own stupidity and arrogance all the developers are jumping ship and refuse to exclusively sign all their games over..." Actually because of development costs, there are very very few exclusives out there which are third party. "...to a machine that nobody's got and nobody can afford to buy, so Sony feel they have to make statements like this to make people think they're losing all their major exclusive out of choice, rather than because they monumentally fucked up." And here it all becomes about the "oh its too expensive and noone can buy one" moaning again. You either think its worth the money or you don't. Its really not rocket science. And since the PS3 is doing exactly the same as the PS2, I think there are a fair few people at the top of Sony rubbing their hands with glee. |
|
squarepusher
04/07/07 @ 09:06
0
Some of you enjoy this more than games.
The herd behaviour is pathetic. I don't even own a PS3 and can't possibly justify purchasing one right now. However the level of sheer stupidity present whenever a Sony this or that speaks is quite incredible. What's wrong with you all? I own an Xbox 360, which is inevitably going to die. So what's worse: 1). Sony PR people and corporate vice-whateverthefucks spouting the company line. Horrible viral campaigns and faux fansites, a product you can't afford or don't consider value for money. A few memes and some whiney yank cunt singing on youtube. 2). Peter Moore telling me that, y'know, things break and stuff. And that I need the extended warranty. When that's up I need to pay. When I pay it's a 5 working week lead time to get what I've paid for working again. Then if it damages my property, I have to jump through hoops to get it replaced. Can I play Blue Dragon, Mass Effect, Eternal Sonata etc... will it last that long? Should I have to worry about that, was that part of the consideration when I bought it? Shouldn't it just work? And your faith is still in number 2? Which one is an inconvenience, costing me money, costing me time (and a fair few others)?
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 04/07/07 @ 10:09
|
|
InfiniteFury
04/07/07 @ 09:12
0
This is a different company than the one who spent $10m+ on securing temporary exclusivity for Vice City/San Andreas then?
|
|
0
@ToxicTed
Well a lot of devs do have a "you scratch my back if I scratch yours" mentality. I agree coining the phrase "bribing" is fairly hypocritical though. @squarepusher Personally I'd rather buy a console from a company that has all the idiots in marketing rather than hardware. I'm smart enough to see through a lot of bs to see what a console can and can't do, but I wouldn't be smart enough to dismantle a console to fix it myself. But thats just me :) |
|
0
And here it all becomes about the "oh its too expensive and noone can buy one" moaning again. You either think its worth the money or you don't. Its really not rocket science. And since the PS3 is doing exactly the same as the PS2, I think there are a fair few people at the top of Sony rubbing their hands with glee.
But with PS2 it started slowly and took off very suddenly. Within a few months they sliced £100 or more off the price, and got Gran Turismo 3, FFX (in Japan) and GTA3 (an exclusive to all intents and purposes) on the shelves. At this stage Xbox and Gamecube had barely made an appearance and Dreamcast was dead, so they pretty much had the scene to themselves. That 6 month period in 2000/2001 pretty much decided the next four years. Things are different now, MS are an established player in the field, Nintendo are going somewhere new and Sony are losing its western-appealing exclusives (as long as they keep FF and DQ they will sell in Japan). When PS2 came out it was them vs nobody and they had all the games. Now their main rival has a 10 million head start, a substantially cheaper machine and all the games. I'm not writing Sony off by any stretch, but unless they have something life-changing up their sleeve (which Home and LBP are not) then I can't see them dominating anything. |
|
Waffleaber
04/07/07 @ 09:20
0
Which magical world is he living in where it's more financially viable to produce a game for a single system (let alone the one which has sold the least) without any other financial incentive such as an exclusivity deal?
In an age where even small developments cost millions you want to release on as many platforms as possible, just look at the resurgence of pc games. |
|
0
@Zomoniac
"I'm not writing Sony off by any stretch, but unless they have something life-changing up their sleeve (which Home and LBP are not) then I can't see them dominating anything." Fair points. Just two smaller things: 1. How do you know they aren't lifechanging if you've played neither? As someone whose played both, they're not my thing, but I know plenty of people who will love it. All honesty though LBP will prob not do too well, since quirky games rarely do. 2. Who cares about world domination? Sony is really not doing badly, in fact MS was way behind because they released a year late before. All I want this time round is for userbases to be more distributed, so that I won't feel i "have to" buy console x just for game y. If that happens then I'll be happy. |
|
squarepusher
04/07/07 @ 09:28
0
Sorry MrsPacman. I can't be bothered to reply with something clever. Maybe if you were Miss.
If this is a catharsis for some of you then fine. But we must be the lamest consumer group (ahh fuck im in hell)/demographic/enthusiasts on the planet.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 04/07/07 @ 10:31
|
|
0
@ Darren: Spot on! I have no doubt Sony will "win the Next Gen war" thanks to PS2 owners who will never consider a 360.
I have many friends who own a PS2 and can afford a 360 but they just can't imagine going to the enemy, even though they only play multiplatform games. It's just for the principle. So eventually, when the PS2 dies, PS3 will sell extremely well. When that happens, exclusives won't matter.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 04/07/07 @ 10:37
|
|
0
Tretton said that Sony is going after a broader demographic sooner than with PS1 or PS2, stating, "I think that when you start to get into that USD 600 price you have to be mindful that there should be multiple consumers to justify the value."
What planet is this guy from? If you want to target a "broader demographic" then you should have the same price tag as the Wii has. Also some family oriented games would be a plus. |
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
