Takahashi: Sony begging PS3 devs to stay on-board
by Christopher Grant 
{ Oct 19th 2007 at 7:30PM }
In his writeup of yesterday's NPD numbers, reporter for The San Jose Mercury News (and man of a thousand sources) Dean Takahashi wrote, "One piece of news that came out this week was that Sony pleaded with third-party developers not to abandon its struggling platform. That change in attitude is a marked difference compared to the arrogance of past years."Though Sony hasn't always fessed up to that perceived arrogance, we've all noticed a marked change in tone coming out of Sony following Jack Tretton's E3 keynote speech. With only one PS3 game (barely) cracking the NPD's top 10 software chart last month, convincing developers to build games for a complicated console that some even call "a waste of everyone's time" is no easy task. If Takahashi's info is accurate, it sounds like Sony's looking to preempt any developer exodus, hoping this season's delays aren't next year's cancellations.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
The1 @ Oct 19th 2007 7:38PM
Hence the reason for no BP on the 40G, it will force gamers to buy new games.
Grey Fox @ Oct 19th 2007 7:43PM
They assume that will make people stop playing their PS2's but that's doubtful considering that platform actually has games people want...
ukickmydog (NDF - Earth) @ Oct 19th 2007 8:17PM
High dev costs + small user base = problems for third parties, it sucks, but they gotta stick around for sony to make sales
Karen @ Oct 19th 2007 8:26PM
Ya, to bad I'll just delay buying the PS3 and continue finishing up my back log instead. I would have bought some Blu-Ray movies and a few PS3 games.
ssuk @ Oct 20th 2007 12:37PM
I like Sony's development style. It's a low entry grade, you have to have one published game and some money under your belt, which is similar to MS' style. However Nintendo requires you to have a LOT of cash and 3 published titles before they let you anywhere near their consoles, and then they have horribly excessive load time rules... It's just a shame the console is flopping. =/
velocitystrike @ Oct 21st 2007 12:27PM
Which console are you referring to at the end there, ssuk?
harrison_schaerr @ Oct 21st 2007 11:42PM
what the ps3 lacks most is a target demographic...
want the most games? 360
want the best reviewed games? 360
want the best graphics? 360 or pc
want the best online play? 360 or pc
can't afford an hdtv? wii
the ps3 has nothing going for it atm other than the fact that japan has completely boycotted the xbox 360.
it has blu ray, but unlike the dvd drive in the ps3, you can't see the difference unless you can afford a really really nice tv, so it essentially means nothing to the casual market that sony dominated last generation...
super expensive high end gaming? pc
mid range? 360
low end? wii
where does the ps3 fit into this picture if it costs more than the 360 and doesn't have better graphics?
Dreamcicle @ Oct 19th 2007 7:39PM
Hah!
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Serves them right.
Raikage (NDF - PK THUNDER RING) @ Oct 19th 2007 8:19PM
I agree but the thing I don't get is...
Why are there no games, take the PSP, I didn't think it could beat a Nintendo handheld in a million years, but not having games was the last thing from my mind, I figured they'd get great support like the PS1/PS2. I thought it would be more like price, battery life, UMD, proprietary memory sticks, etc. but not games!*
Now they are doing it again! I just don't get it...
*The PSP has good games now... I want one (stares angerly at Joystiq...)
ruibing @ Oct 19th 2007 10:01PM
Serves them right for what?
Sure they may not have made the best design choice for the PS3, but they delivered a high performance, reliable, and feature packed system. You need to give credit when it is due.
Dreamcicle @ Oct 19th 2007 10:56PM
ruibing, credit where credit is due my ass. They did nothing but shovel bullshit for the past 2 years and now its really biting them in the ass.
High performance? There's no real discernable difference from the 360.
As for features, don't care about them. No need for blue ray, wifi (definitely not wanted for gaming), card readers or any of that junk, especially when it adds cost.
I buy consoles for one thing: games. Even then it's only for games that I feel would be better (or not out yet/not coming) than on my computer.
sheppy2.0 @ Oct 20th 2007 12:52AM
ZOMG! Dude, you are absolutely right. Sony completely deserves this. I mean, they came out really egotistical, acted as if they were the best ever, and now they are suffering because of it. Wait a minute, what about Reggie? Want to talk about a pompous windbag? Where is the point where Nintendo gets what they deserve? Oh wait, I keep forgetting. Nintendo > Sony. So, how's that Mario Party 8?
Point is, Sony acted arrogant, Kuturugi got the PS3 seriously over budget, Sony has been struggling to bring it back, and you honestly get nice and humble remarks from many people in Sony except for a noticable few. I mean, need I remind you Perrin Kaplan actually said gamers were bored before Wii, they just didn't know it yet? Perrin kaplan. This was the person who didn't know the batteries in the Wiimotes weren't rechargable...
But you're right. Sony is the only one who has ever acted arrogant. Man, you'd honestly think they were breaking laws while they were in first place, oh wait, that was Nintendo....
Welcome back to the top, Big N. Can't wait to see what you do this time.
wii last gen @ Oct 20th 2007 3:16AM
how have they fallen? sales are on par with where 360 was at the same point after their launch. oh and they were the only next gen system out at the time if you remember right. there are great games coming soon, my favorite GT5 aint too far off. yeah the wii is winning but how can you count out the ps3 already? the wii cant do the things that ps3 can, not even close. all they have is a gimmicky controller that i hate anyway. the only 2 series of games i would want to play is zelda and metroid. mario and every other game can blow me, way to many kid games. if it werent for parents trying to save money when buying a system for their kids, and old casual gamers the wii wouldent be winning the way it has been. ps3 is just about to turn the corner and catch up with nintendo, mark my words.
lawlersauce @ Oct 21st 2007 12:51PM
@ Raikage
Uhhh, I thought we got rid of this "PSP has no games" deal. If you would look, it has more games rated (by IGN) rated 9.0 and up than the DS has...
samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Oct 19th 2007 7:40PM
138 comments.
Poisoned Al @ Oct 19th 2007 7:56PM
139!
Raikage (NDF - PK THUNDER RING) @ Oct 19th 2007 8:12PM
OVAR 9000!!!
Neebs @ Oct 19th 2007 8:15PM
190.
Poisoned Al @ Oct 19th 2007 8:27PM
CURSES!
CaptainAmericaX @ Oct 19th 2007 8:28PM
I predict at least 200 to be honest...
This is the stuff of epic fanboy wars...
Word of the street(IDF-Digital Ruler). @ Oct 20th 2007 1:33AM
Ha! 153 you phail.
blooh (TIDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 20th 2007 1:40AM
and counting...
T3H WICKERMAN (FDF) @ Oct 20th 2007 4:34PM
Hi there! 200!
CaptainAmericaX @ Oct 20th 2007 9:50PM
YYYYEEEESSSSS I WAS RIGHT!!!!
Viridium @ Oct 19th 2007 7:41PM
Their arrogance is one of the reasons Sony is on my boycott list. They join the ranks of Nissan, Toys'R'Us, Bell, and Morigeau-Lépine as companies who no longer get money from me due to piss poor treatment of their customers.
LaughingTarget @ Oct 19th 2007 7:43PM
Count two of those that I never heard of before...
Poisoned Al @ Oct 19th 2007 7:59PM
Meh, the only thing I boycott is anything owned by Rupert Murdoch because I really HATE that guy. As everything he owns is a load of bile filled bullshit, I find it quite easy to avoid his shit.
Rajab @ Oct 26th 2007 4:34AM
and you have these comments and you buy M$ crap, come on get real
Psaakyrn @ Oct 19th 2007 9:08PM
Perhaps you're young, but this isn't exclusive to Sony.
Microsoft: Look at our OS! (seriously, yor alternative is Mac, you want that instead? HaHa, Fat Chance) So we're not going to properly debug it and release it to the unsuspecting public! (later...) Ok, the public is suspecting now... Lets make it so tough to crack and assume all public are noobs. No admin rights for you! (unless you know how to hack, in which you're a bad, bad boy)
Nintendo: Granted, they're not anti-customer, but they used to be anti-developer, which is almost equally bad (some would argue they're still anti-developer now, just slightly more mellowed)
Long Bow @ Oct 19th 2007 10:17PM
@Psaakyrn
I kind of agree with you, but Sony's fault was their arrogance in such quick succession. The way Sony public relations handled the PS3 launch with pricing, rumble, sixaxis, and the root kit fiasco with cd's just gave the general public a bad taste. Those are just examples off the top of my head.
I stopped buying Sony after I stopped working for them. They used to make pretty good hardware, but they've always been known for mediocre software (e.g. Developing for PS2 and PS3).
James @ Oct 19th 2007 10:36PM
I didn't know to be anti-developer you have to release cheap dev kits and the easiest (aka quickest and cheapest) console to develop for.
More fool me.
Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Oct 20th 2007 7:43AM
@Psaakyrn:
"Microsoft: Look at our OS!"
Uhm. That's actually good one.
Compare marketing and development of Xbox with those of Wind0ze. Heaven and hell.
As Linux/Windows software developer I can say that difference is that high.
But it happens with MSFT all the time. It's called "Embrace and Extend". First they play very nice - they are embracing things. They follow standards, they talk to customers, they talk to partners. All to grow market share. When market share reaches dominant position they start with second phase - extend. They start extending standards in proprietary ways leaving rest of industry in cold sweat - because now suddenly only solution of M$ works and rest looks broken.
Right now M$ is on "embracing" - they are nice. And Sony is on "extending" phase - they are arrogant.
UltimateQ @ Oct 19th 2007 7:44PM
What a cute puppy dog.
i_hate_mtv @ Oct 19th 2007 7:47PM
Despite how much they've pissed me off over the past 2 years, I actually feel bad for them now.
What's with the dog picture?
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 19th 2007 7:57PM
"Fucking dog shit all over my shoes and ate my fucking newspaper why I oughtta... hey don't look at me with those cute puppy dog eyes."
The dog is Sony. The shoes and newspapers are gamers. The guy who's about to put the dog to sleep is developers around the world.
Santo @ Oct 19th 2007 8:13PM
And the shit is Sony's PR department.
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 19th 2007 9:34PM
I set 'em up, Santo knocks 'em down.
Next up: the world.
Awesome Stuff @ Oct 21st 2007 2:30PM
Its Sony begging and looking pitiful doing so. ...the dogs just cute though :)
Anonim @ Oct 19th 2007 7:48PM
And people laughed at Steve Ballmer
"Developers, developers, developers, developers..."
Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Oct 20th 2007 7:51AM
That's actually was different thing. Balmer & Friends they lost most or their system(!) developers to Google(!). System Developer - one like me ;) - are the guys who work on level of OS kernel and system libraries. It's like software developer (what is synonym to application developer) for end-user applications. System developers create interface - application developers are using them.
Gaming-wise M$ bought many developers and lost many of them. But the developers didn't strayed too far and many now develop for PC and Xbox as indies. That happened even before they started producing Xbox.
Spartacus @ Oct 19th 2007 7:48PM
Well, with the highest price tag, lowest install base and lowest attach rate of the the 3 systems, what developer other than those owned by Sony would really WANT to stay on board?
Matt B @ Oct 19th 2007 9:27PM
It is the first year and Sony is on pace to meet or exceed the 360's first year in sales. Except the 360 had no competition in its first year and was cheaper than what the PS3 debuted at, and with stiff competition.
I think the PS3 will be just fine. I also think this "Sony pleading" story is BS. Where is the source for that comment??? IF "Dean" doesn't site a source for that comment, it should have no merit.
See I can do the same.
"Interesting news showed up today that the XBOX 720 will launch fall of 08 with no BC for 360 games."
There, that was easy. I didn't even need a source for such a comment.
Alex @ Oct 19th 2007 10:05PM
"It is the first year and Sony is on pace to meet or exceed the 360's first year in sales."
I think you are missing the point actually. Take hardware sales completely out of the equation. Hardware sales are not having an impact on publishers so much right now. There could be 20 million PS3s out in the public, but if games aren't selling and turning a profit, that 20 million number means nothing. Look at the PS3 software sales. They are not good by any means. A publisher is putting a game on the PS3 right now only hoping to maybe turn a profit even if the game is great...
That is the point.
Matt B @ Oct 19th 2007 11:22PM
By your logic, the wii is in the same boat.
My only pint was, this race is not over by a long shot. Anyone would be a fool to think so otherwise.
Does anyone really think that Sony would just pull an MS and Nintendo and start from scratch again in such a short period of time???????
I'm just interested to see where we are this time next year.
blooh (TIDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 19th 2007 11:59PM
yeah but the wii is sold at a profit. but supposedly 2/3 of wii owners haven't used theirs recently. low attach rate
Tahiri @ Oct 20th 2007 1:07AM
Um, PS3 has a higher attach rate than the Wii.
Spartacus @ Oct 21st 2007 2:34AM
Last time I checked, the Wii had a higher attach rate than the PS3 as pointed out ironically by sheppy, who is generally pro-Sony. It surprised me too.
If I remember correctly, the numbers were:
At launch of the Wii/PS3:
Xbox 360 = 5.3
Wii = 3
PS3 = 1.5
Now:
Xbox 360 = 7
Wii = 4
PS3 = 3
(approximate numbers off the top of my head)
fonz @ Oct 19th 2007 7:49PM
The PS3 is a wonderful piece of hardware. The problem is that it's the first system to have so many processors and game developers aren't used to having to write everything using parallel processing. Most PC games don't even make use of the multi-core architecture that computers are coming with now.
Another hit is that the Wii is standard def, and based on that, PS3 is competing more directly with XBox360, which has been out a long time now. Developers have already learned to use the XBox360 rather well. However with the PS3 it is going to take a long time for developers to make really efficient use of the Cell processor.
Give it another 3 years and we will see a completely different story.
LaughingTarget @ Oct 19th 2007 7:54PM
You're assuming the PS3 will be the first consumer electronic device in history to make a comeback after getting hammered by the competition. I think they'll be this generation's N64.
Grog @ Oct 19th 2007 7:59PM
In 3 years we will be 4 years out from the Wii's launch and 5.5 years out from the 360's release.
Please tell me why the PS3 will not only manage to hang on to developer's with a tiny install base, but will be well positioned to compete against the successors to the Wii and 360.