PS3 Poll Police: Who would you like to see take over Sony's PlayStation business?
by Ed Stasick 
{ May 7th 2007 at 3:30PM }
After last week's lame introductory poll question, we've got something a little bit more interesting for our new weekly feature. in light of Krazy Kenny K's impeding retirement, we'd like to know who you think should have taken over the Sony PlayStation brand? It's a big job! Who can fill Kenny's shoes the best?
Be sure to cast your vote!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Colin @ May 7th 2007 3:42PM
If Steve Jobs took over it would be $1000 instead of $600, would break 2 minutes after your warranty was up and would be 're invented' every year.
J Allard...maybe, but he is responsible for Zune.
Ed...don't like the cut of his jib ;)
Miyamato...he's as crazy as Kenny (I could make Halo...yeah, sure, on what freaking hardware would you do that on Miyamato?)
me @ May 7th 2007 4:00PM
Phil Harrison! :)
mccomber @ May 7th 2007 4:03PM
Kaz is a pretty good choice for the ps3 because of his international business background, and relationships he is able to foster with other companies. But when ps4 time comes around (next year, right?) I'm not sure... is he the right person to be head of building that thing? Ken defintitely took a hands on approach to the Playstation (a positive and a negative) that I don't think Kaz will be doing. Design by committee isn't usually the best way to get things done, and often results in a poor product. Who would be head of development on the new console at this point?
Jobs would be great because of his attention to detail and the way he pushes his team, but it would be an even more expensive machine, and wouldn't be as open as the ps3 is now. I'm still annoyed that my mac bluetooth keyboard won't work with the ps3, and that would seem to be an Apple problem, not a Sony one. And, as Colin points out, he's an "artist"; the playstation would be a work in progress with new updates and features all the time, and not ones that could be fixed with firmware. Plus, when I think Jobs, I don't think third party... talk about losing exclusives.
Allard obviously knows how to build a great machine as well as what he's done for game development on their end, but whoever at MS that decided to make the core without a hard drive is a dumbass, and I blame him. Plus he looks Lex Luther/Dr Evil; actually, I don't know if that's a pro or a con.
Miyamoto's head wouldn't fit in most of the doors at Sony HQ anymore, and if he was in charge the playstation would smile at you and giggle when you put a disc in it.
I heard Ed used to be a xboxfanboy, so that rules him out immediately. Sorry Ed.
So, I guess I'm voting Kaz, at least for now...
Alucard @ May 7th 2007 4:09PM
Hideo kojima
k0llateral @ May 7th 2007 4:41PM
Steve Jobs??
Do you want the ps3 to be MORE expensive? Considering how overpriced Macs are, I'd hate to see what he'd do with playstation, besides make it white...
Otsego_Undead @ May 7th 2007 5:07PM
Id have to go with David Jaffe
Fuck yeah.
edge of blade @ May 7th 2007 5:07PM
Frankly, just about anyone would be a better manager than an engineer. No offense to the engineers...
SKI @ May 7th 2007 5:37PM
"If Steve Jobs took over it would be $1000 instead of $600, would break 2 minutes after your warranty was up and would be 're invented' every year."
How is this different then the PS2, besides the price point?
Dustin @ May 7th 2007 5:40PM
Me! I have tons of ideas and I listen to what he people want.
SuicideNinja @ May 7th 2007 6:07PM
"How is this different then the PS2, besides the price point?"
Isn't that the truth! However, let's see if it takes MS 13 revisions of the console to fix RRoD. It took Sony that many with the PS2 (the second model of slim had a decent laser...finally...), so can MS do better?
Anyway, none of the above candidates really seem apt for the job. If I had to pick from that list, I'd say Kaz. Otherwise, I'd say throw a new person in there and see what happens.
AL7AIR @ May 7th 2007 6:12PM
@ Poll
Other: Phil Harrison
@ SKI
How often has the PS2 been reinvented? And my launch console is still doing its job.
Colin @ May 7th 2007 6:14PM
I guess the difference is that Sony, imo (and xbox too) wasn't TRYING to build a defective device...Apple on the other hand seems to be all to happy to have the product break and sell you this year's model.
yomanDS @ May 7th 2007 6:19PM
Oscar winner Michael Caine.
Hobofuzz @ May 20th 2007 5:47PM
To all the people who think having Steve Jobs running the Playstation division would cause a price increase, you need to remember these things:
1. Steve Jobs has an incredibly loyal following, and if Steve Jobs has a part in something, these people will buy it regardless.
2. Steve Jobs is one of the best salesmen in the world. He could be selling a pile of dog shit and convince you that it's gold plated and that you absolutely must have it or you will die.
3. Even without his Reality Distortion Field, Steve Jobs is a very competent CEO. He managed to turn a company that was going bankrupt, with tremendous PR disasters as well as a huge product disparity, into one of the most successful companies in the world today. Not only that, but in the 80s, he saved Pixar by purchasing it from George Lucas and turning it into the largest 3D movie studio in the world. Jobs is a genius.
Although, I'd really love to see Steve Wozniak in charge of things. That guy is such a genius he could probably make the PS3 the size of the Wii, with the price point of the Wii. He's really good at making electronics efficient as hell.
However, that's completely unrealistic. If Sony wants to get the Japanese public back on their side and finish cleanup of the PR disasters of yesteryear, they need to have a JAPANESE person take over. Back when Nintendo was working on the CD-ROM addon for the SNES with Sony, they broke contract with Sony and went with a European company (Philips). A Japanese company choosing a foreign company over a domestic one is a big mistake when it comes to public relations. This is one of the biggest reasons Nintendo lost a lot of customers to Sony in the 90s, and as much as I dislike Sony for their ignorance towards their user base, Sony is an important player in the electronics world, and they need to start making a profit again.
As for Shigeru Miyamoto, he'd make a terrible CEO. He's an extreme perfectionist, and his attention to detail is the reason Nintendo delays games for years at a time, but is also the reason their games are generally huge successes. That kind of OCD perfectionism wouldn't work well in a position where one must make quick decisions and deal with high stress situations. He's a legend in the game design world, but he's not CEO material.
Anyway, there's my rant. If anyone should ask, I chose Steve Jobs for the reasons I stated above.
Mr Khan @ May 7th 2007 8:21PM
considering Shiggy isn't all that wise when it comes to hardware (although he's a damned software genius), i wouldn't suggest him.
although i would like to support #14's Michael Caine, i want to say we should raise Gunpei Yokoi from his grave, then let him loose
Tom @ May 7th 2007 11:29PM
George Foreman
zayenz+ps3fanboy @ May 8th 2007 2:19AM
Other: Phil Harrison
Jared @ May 8th 2007 1:28PM
Hobofuzz makes one heck of an argument for Jobs. I gotta hand it to him.
With how sales are going right now, I think anyone who is a fan of Sony would be nuts to not want Miyamoto. I'm not saying you have to love him over Jobs, but the first party titles from Nintendo right now are killing on the Wii and it will only get better this summer, which will be a huge dry spell for the PS3. He could do even more with the hardware that Sony has developed, and he could probably figure out a way to be profitable while doing it. Knock it if you want, but the Wii and the PS2 are still outselling the PS3.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not here trying to just crap all over the PS3. I can't afford it and don't really care much about HD. I don't have an HDTV at home, I'm not rich and I don't live off my credit cards, so it won't happen soon, either. I'm waiting for two things: 1. A serious price drop 2. A system defining game like Sly Cooper. I'm a Sly addict in the worst way. If they made another one for the PS3, I'd probably try to work a ton of over time to save up for one. However, as it stands, I want Sony to make a serious gaming statement, and I feel they haven't done that just yet. I'm hungry for it, though. And I'll wait patiently for my chance to get my hands on it.