Microsoft's Shane Kim thanks Sony ... for screwing up
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Mar 20th 2007 at 3:30PM }
Microsoft Game Studios' corporate VP, Shane Kim, spoke to Gamasutra about the current video game wars. Surprisingly, he thanks Sony, but only to insult the company in the process: "Sony has helped us with their own missteps, and I'd be foolish not to say that it's not helping us. That's fine. I feel better about our competitive position than when we launched the platform."It's true that Sony has made a lot of mistakes over the past few months, causing some to say the brand has been "killed." However, it's clear that Sony's not out of the game quite yet. GDC has proved to be a significant turning point for the ailing PS3, and the next-gen wars are certainly far from over.
[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
[Image via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Delive @ Mar 20th 2007 3:59PM
That hurts, Loosing a game I have not played since the first one to the 360. I sure hope we don't loose Socom or God of War or Ratchet and Clank or Dark Cloud or Hot Shots or........... Wait, those all belong to Sony... No wonder I bought the console. 360 only has Halo to offer me.
SuicideNinja @ Mar 20th 2007 4:22PM
I should point out that Sony's problems are hardly PS3-based. Think DRM, bad lasers, crappy audio products (XPLOD!), exploding batteries, etc., etc. They really show low signs of improvement, just like Microsoft has with Windows Vista.
Sony has problems as a WHOLE. Most of their electronics don't justify the price tags any more. They haven't been a premium brand for almost a decade now. The good days were when they were the premium brand...you know...last century. The prices have stayed high while the quality has dropped. *sigh*
Delive, do you really believe that Halo is all that is and ever will be on the 360? They have plenty of non-PS3 exlusives themselves (Dead Rising, Gears of War, Lost Odyssey, Bioshock, Too Human).
Even I will admit that there a few interesting games coming up for the PS3. I'm mostly interested in a select few (NGS, Lair, Heavenly Sword), but FF is the major draw.
I_Hate_MS @ Mar 20th 2007 4:54PM
I love the way people criticise the big evil Sony and devote their support to the company (a monopolist to this day) with one of longest records of illegal, dishonest conduct in history - not to mention that, unlike Sony, they actually went unpunished for their deeds. Rockefeller was a saint in comparison to Gates.
Yes, buy everything MS puts out. Buy everything they sell you. Use only their closed media formats, trust their DRM (if you think Sony are bad about DRM, spend enough time with Vista and you'll know how much it hurts).
If things go on like this, pretty soon we'll all have to pay taxes for the privilege of keeping and editing our own documents.
PS: This comment is not directed to SuicideNinja, it's about people who comment here in general.
bootsielon @ Mar 20th 2007 4:55PM
Shane is pretty confident. Let's see if Japanese publishers don't get fed up with supporting Microsoft's console after not seeing much of a dime over there.
I think 360 fanboys are chanting victory too early. It's possible that Lost Planet and Dead Rising will end up on PS3, or maybe their sequels; what I believe is more likely, is that just like Enchanted Arms got ported quite fast, Culdcept Saga and Eternal Sonata will eventually end up on PS3. It makes a lot of sense, considering PS3 outsold Xbox 360 in just two days.
While Devil May Cry is awesome (I personally prefer it to Ninja Gaiden, especially considering Sigma is a port with some sprinkles), it was probably not a system seller (like Virtua Fighter didn't do much for PS3 in the land of the rising sun); hell, very few titles would be PS3 sellers, and PS3 would neeed more than PS3 killer titles , it needs a killer catalogue.
Sony will probably fill Square's and Konami's pockets with some cash for their last few titles on the Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts AND Metal Gear series. After that though, I doubt Sony will fight for 3rd party exclusives, and instead focus on themselves making the titles (and there are very pretty ones upcoming, they are just not franchises that are as famous as Halo or Mario).
Here are a few examples of Sony's first and Second party studios:
Calling All Cars
Super Rub a Dub
fl0w (Not sure about this one)
Blast Factor (Not sure about this one)
Lemmings
Afrika
Singstar
Little Big Planet
Heavenly Sword
God of War
Shadow of the Colossus
White Knight Story
Killzone
Resistance
Uncharted: Drake's adventure
Ratchet and Clank
Gran Turismo
Jak and Daxter
Sly
The Getaway
Buzz
Warhawk
Lair
L.A. Noire (Not sure about this one)
Heavy Rain (Not sure either)
I'm probably missing a few. Anyway, Sony better start all their engines to the fullest in making some first party games (especially action, RPG, adventure, puzzle, casual and innovative), and also buy even more developers (like factor 5, Insomniac, Ninja Theory, molecule, and a few others). I do have some hope after Game Developers Conference, and they have some kind of advantage, at least right now, in terms of amount of employees in the game industry, and they should acquire more (smartly, or course).
I have an Xbox 360 and PS3, but I prefer PS3 in most aspects, so I hope Sony makes efforts in increasing installed base, such as price droping too. In the worst case, PS3 will do somewhere between an Xbox 1 and an N64.
Matt B @ Mar 20th 2007 5:02PM
Don't forget Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. That will make the masses come aboard IMO.
Delive @ Mar 20th 2007 9:53PM
I had the Xbox, have the 360. Dead rising was good, but more of a product of hungry gamers looking for something good to come along after all the Exclusive sub-par games that came before it (PDZ, Kameo, Quake 4, Rumble Rose XX, N3).
Gears, good, but same theory, it is the best shooter available on the 360 (A shooters console). Until Halo comes out, that is all the 360 has as far as a quality shooter, but limited online (4 vs 4? I was enlisted and our squads were at least 8, so Squad based combat can be more). Not knocking it, but it's not Halo. Halo and Halo 2 have sold more 360's on the expectation of Halo 3.
I have not played the other 3 mentioned, I had my PS3 by then. Not to say it has the greatest line up, I've logged more Socom:CA hours lately. I have more to look forward to (IMO) on the PS3 than the 360.
aragorn @ Mar 20th 2007 7:44PM
suicide ninja: "Delive, do you really believe that Halo is all that is and ever will be on the 360?"
In gameplay, practice and value?... probably not.
In sales?.... we'll see. From what I recall, Halo 2 was a major, MAJOR system seller back in the day.
not sure why.