GDC08: Steinburg explains Sony's stance for 2008

by Chris Powell { Feb 22nd 2008 at 7:30PM }

It seems we haven't heard much from Scott Steinburg, SCEA's VP of marketing, for awhile, but did he ever come back with some heavy-handed quotes in an interview with gamesindustry.biz. Steinburg touched on a myriad of issues throughout the interview including Home, Blu-ray's win over HD DVD and Sony's counter to Gears of War 2.

Steinburg reaffirmed Sony's attractiveness for small developers to bring their games to the PlayStation Network over Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade. "We don't charge for our online service. We make it available for everybody," he said. "So, the accessibility of somebody's content who decides to make a game that is maybe smaller, more affordable for consumers to buy ... I think if a small, start-up company wanted to have global access to their content, and have global commercial potential for their content, Sony is by far the best platform."

When asked how Sony will counter Gears of War 2's release in November, Steinburg chose to first explain this year's healthy lineup of games throughout the entire year before finally arriving at what it has in store for the end of the year. "I think one of the biggest games for us will be Resistance 2. We expect that, in November, to go toe-to-toe against Gears of War 2. It will be our third-generation PS3 product," he explained. Steinburg did a great job providing Sony's stance and position in the industry without spewing ridiculous assumptions that have been a stable of Sony execs in the past. We just now hope that Sony can follow through on all the great things he said.

Tags: gdc08, industry, steinburg

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Brucie B @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:38PM

Sorry but R2 has No Chance against Gears!

Matt B @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:41PM

Playing online for free can do wonders. Can you even do online co-op with out a gold sub.?

Spoony @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:59PM

Because Gears 1 was such an amazing game right? I put Gears and Resistance on the same level both were solid games neither better nor worse then the other overall.

But maybe some of you xbox fanboys can teach me how to become so mindlessly brand loyal, i can't seem to care about the consoles more then games.

Brucie B @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:08PM

GOW Blows Resistance Away, You must be Joking to even think that there on the same level. Talk about Fanboy!

I'm also looking foward to R2, Looks allot better then the original.

I'm Definitely looking foward to a Great 08 on both systems.

@ Matt, Sure you can You can use Xboxconnect.

Thoas @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:46PM

Gow 2 will use the same exact engine as the UT III game did. So how is GOW 2 going to better looking than RFOM 2? The unreal engine is outdated, now maybe two years ago it was all the rage, but now it's just old.

mji245 @ Feb 23rd 2008 2:07AM

hey xbox fanboy have u played R2 or gow2 ?resistance has a better online gears has only 8 players now in resistance2 they are making two stories one is off line and the other is online its co-op with 8 players with tanks and vehicles and new weapons so why in hell cant resistance2 blow gears2

CL34N3R @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:52AM

Gears and Resistance definitely are not on the same level. Resistance was the first PS3 game I bought, and it's still the worst game I've played on the system yet. Gears is still a fantastic game, even after beating it about 30 times. Anyone who says that Resistance is just as good is living in denial.

JaseH @ Feb 24th 2008 2:40AM

I have to say, the biggest reason I ached to play Gears, was for the multiplayer... the online.

Now, while that was a great experience. It does beat Resistance 1's stance on the whole online aspect.

Now, however, it is a different story. The way Resistance 2's online was described, and the way it will be excecuted, has made me forget about all things Gears.

If you're not hyped for 60 players online, then you are most certainly living in denial.

____________________________________
JaseH.

nimaj21 @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:39PM

well i look forward to the rest of 2008 it's gonna be an insane year for us PS3 owners, it has already been promising as hell, but this is the year PS3 solidifies itself as the next (current) gen leader.

Matt B @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:39PM

You don't need to counter GeoW2 Sony. Your 08 lineup is amazing enough. I'm more worried about having the money to buy all the greatness. Just keep the games on schedule.

It almost makes me wonder if Sony is waiting for MS to release its launch dates so Sony can pitch its own heavy hitters against them.

Shadowhaxor @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:15PM

LoL, talk about fanboy... Unreal Engine is dated???? Two years ago?? Maybe you're stuck in the year 2006, but the UE3 engine rapes just about every game engine currently and thats PC and Console. With 30 companies leasing the technology now, two years old?? LOL!! Fanboys!

Shadowhaxor @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:15PM

Imbro @ Feb 23rd 2008 5:25AM

Yes, the unreal engine 3 is hopefully dated. I say that because its ps3 games has some really lousy graphics. Turok? Unreal Tournament? That john woo thingie? Come on, those graphics are reaally average imho. They have a lot of licensors due to being the best in the past. However you can only live in the past for so long in the tech industry.

Deviation @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:41PM

Staple, not stable.

Chris Rah Osiris @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:45PM

I'm looking forward to 2008. I think that there will be a great deal of excitement for all PS3 owners. The year can only get better as it continues.

Kspraydad @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:00PM

If SONY want a Gears response they better get a good theme song and advertise the living f**k out of it...THAT is why Gears sold so many units.

Byron517 @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:25PM

That song was hella catchy!! LMAO

jtedesco33 @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:35PM

I'm interested to see how the RFOM and GOW 2 battle will go down. Both in my opinion look to be great games, and look to out do their previous counterparts.

Who wins the battle won't depend on which is the better game however, it will all boil down to who has more consoles out at the given time. I like many others plan to buy both, that is where my prediction of the winner relying on consoles in the wild comes from.

Killer @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:36PM

"Sony's attractiveness for small developers to bring their games to the PlayStation Network over Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade. "We don't charge for our online service. We make it available for everybody," he said."

Wait, is this just bad phrasing of the article or did he really say people that don't pay for xbox live can't download arcade games?

SKI @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:08PM

I was thinking the same thing. He might just not know how it works on Xbox Live.

Kodros @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:36PM

I'm thinking that he's talking about the developers. Maybe they have to pay some fee to put their game up on Live while PSN is free.

player1708 @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:44PM

I mean the debate between Gears and Resistence is great but more importantly can anyone tell me what Steinburg means when he says Metal Gear Solid is a summer time exclusive???? The statement im referring to is below in the article.

Some of these games you are seeing, like a Metal Gear Solid 4 which is a summertime exclusive, plus Resistance 2 – they're tipping the scales at 30, 40, 50GB. And if you tried to do that on HD-DVD, it would be like those old-school floppy [disc] games in your Apple and Commodore [mimics switching disks in and out]. I don't know about you, but I've been there, done that. I'm probably not ever going to go back. Even if you are double-layer on the DVD side, you are nowhere near that size and scale.

Christian @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:23AM

Well considering the context, he is going over the games coming out through the year it is rather obvious what he means. It means it is a exclusive game coming out during summer.

Leonhart @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:16PM

How can you say Gears was better than resistance? Gears was slow, clunky and just felt awkward to play and control. Coupled with an glitch ridden online and a terribly short and lacking campaign, and even my most diehard 360 fanboy friends said the game was mostly hype (like halo 3). Resistance was smooth and fluid. The campaign mode was huge and intuitive and worked great.

All we know about gears 2 is that it exists, how can you say its better? Insomniac has already told us things that resistance 2 will have such as 60 player online matches, 8 player online coop, and finally some good bossfights in an fps. and insomniac definitely isn't a developer that disappoints.

The Sound @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:22PM

Hmmm. I wonder how limited the devs for Gears 2 will be using the DVD 9.

I mean, you can only compress so much before before you have to start making some sacrifices.

If Insomniac/Sony can advertise a better looking game than Gears 2, then things will certainly get interesting.

Aziz @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:46PM

What about Infamous, FFXIII, or WKC?

Calvin_ISA @ Feb 23rd 2008 1:07AM

Does everybody forget about Killzone 2? That and Resistance 2 will definately be better than Gears 2!!!

John @ Feb 23rd 2008 1:11AM

If Sony can release Resistance 2 very near to the time when GOW2 releases, we will have sweet glory.

leiwei @ Feb 23rd 2008 1:30AM

Sorry guys, but you all know how everyone's been comparing Resistance to GeoW for the longest time and finding every little niche to pick at between the two right? I have a strange feeling that when everyone finally can't argue over whether R2 or GeoW2 is better, someone is going to say that because GeoW2 has destructible environments, it is a billion times better than R2. Then someone's going to say KZ2 has destructible environments too, but the GeoW fans will say that the Gears2 destruction is more dynamic.

John McPoop @ Feb 23rd 2008 10:39PM

I know I am just glad I own both consoles so I can enjoy all of the great games. But comparing Gears 1 to Resistance 1 is not fair because one is a launch game one was GOTY and not a launch game. One is also a FPS and one is a 3rd PS. I think if resistance 2 delivers on its promises it will be better. With the PS3 2008 lineup it looks bleak for 360 b/c the only good exclusives are going to be Ninja Gaiden 2 and Gears 2. Alan Wake, Fable 2 and Champions all have potential. Killzone 2, LBP, Resistance 2, GT:Prologue & GT:5 in 2008, Afrika, Yakuza 3, Haze, FF13, FF Versus 13, MGS 4, MGS 4 Online, Haze, White Knight Chronicles, Tekken 6 and Heavy Rain is a much better exclusive lineup not to mention Rockstar's next exclusive IP will be on PS3 only due to Sony letting Rockstar release GTA 4 on the 360.