Tag: kaz hirai

Worst Gaming Marketing Moments

Moore

Yikes. PSN is still down, you say? Well it looks like Sony’s Kaz Hirai is apologizing for that as I write this post.

You’ll hear more on my thoughts about the whole PSN hack-n-crash on this week’s podcast, but for now, I will go as far as to say that this is a nightmare for Sony in terms of PR. The sad thing about it, from their point of view, is that this seems to come right on the heels of some recent efforts to get back in gamer’s good graces over the last year or so.

Anywho, with all of this bad PR and marketing business, I thought this list of the Top 10 Embarrassingly Bad Moments in Video Game Marketing was certainly relevant these days. It was posted about a month ago, but I think it’s found a bit of new life in wake of the PSN fiasco. It’s got some goodies on there, especially the time when Peter Moore tattooed release dates on his arm, as well as some of the old Atari Jaguar ads. Good memories, there.

So what do you guys think? What are some other terrible bits of video game marketing and PR? I’d say that “Riiiiidge Racer!” and the 360 RRoD probably round out the top of the list, but that’s just me. Go!

Source – Calm Down Tom

Sony Committed to 10 Year Console Cycle

Playstation 4Something that we’ve discussed on GamerSushi quite a bit for the last year or so is the collective desire to keep the “next generation” talk as far away from this generation as possible. As much as I love the thought of upgraded games, I like the idea of enjoying the current generation even more, especially because I feel like this generation is only recently hitting its stride. Every year around E3, I dread that one of the big three is going to be the first to drop a new console on us, and I watch the press conferences with fear and trembling.

However, it seems that Sony won’t be doing that to us any time soon. In a recent interview, Sony Computer Entertainment big wig Kaz Hirai again stated Sony’s intentions to see that the PS3 has a long and healthy life. Here are some quotes for your enjoyment:

“As regards home consoles, the PS3 was put into business in 2006, and it has a 10 year life cycle… This means that we aren’t even at the halfway point. There are certainly many more desirable first and third party titles coming out. As we announce and implement new initiatives on an annual basis, I still believe in the importance of improving the software and feature set of the PS3. I think the value of the PS3 will continue to rise. Because of this, a near-future PS4 or next-generation home console is not something that we are even debating now. That is to say, we are still concentrating fully upon the PS3.”

Even though the dude could be lying through his Ridge-Racer-loving-teeth, this brings me some comfort. The idea of just enjoying our consoles until 2015 or so is a pleasant one, at least for me.

So what do you guys think? Are you happy that we’re far away from a PS4, XBox (Insert Number) and Nintendo (Virtual Reality Machine)?

Source – Eurogamer

The Digital Future?

PSN LogoA new development over the last few years for the gaming industry has been the advent of digital distribution on a large scale basis, beyond just downloadable bonuses. Through platforms such as Steam, XBox Live and PSN, games are being delivered to us entirely differently than they were even just a short decade ago. So what is the next decade going to bring?

Back in 2006, former Sony exec Phil Harrison was quoted as saying that he would be surprised if the PS4, the next iteration of the Sony black box, would have a physical disc drive at all. That comment caused some interesting conversations in its wake, but current Sony exec Kaz Hirai has recently weighed in on the matter as well. In an interview with MCV, Hirai had this to say:

“We do business in parts of the world where network infrastructure isn’t as robust as one would hope… There’s always going to be requirement for a business of our size and scope to have a physical medium. To think everything will be downloaded in two years, three years or even ten years from now is taking it a little bit to the extreme.”

I know that there are differing opinions on this issue out there. On the one hand, the idea of an all digital future at some nebulous point down the technology timeline is an exciting prospect, with instant access to all forms of entertainment. On the other hand, there is a part of me that likes physical copies of everything I own. To prove that I, you know, do in fact own it. There’s also the risk of things like the recent debacle with the PSP Go, where adopters of hardware without physical disc drives run the possibility of getting screwed.

So what do you guys think? Are you looking forward to an all digital future? Or do you prefer to keep a physical copy of what you own? I think this question is already answered in many ways for PC users who download via Steam, but go ahead and jump in anyway. Would you do this for all of your entertainment, based on your experience with Steam? Go!

Source- MCV