Sony: PS3 graphics starting to create "some distance"

  • Posted August 4th, 2008 at 05:46 EDT by
  • 20,383 views
  • 44 Comments

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Scott Steinberg, Vice President of Product Marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America, has said that the PlayStation 3 is starting to pull ahead of rival platforms from a graphical standpoint, suggesting that its competitor’s efforts will eventually start to feel “quite dated” by comparison.

"I think that we're seeing, graphically, PS3 games starting to create some distance and some of the other competitors are going to feel that they're getting long in the tooth, looking quite dated, because they haven't created that ten-year vision from a horsepower standpoint," said Steinberg.

Steinberg added that Sony's goal is to convert existing PS2 owners to the PlayStation 3, which will eventually lead to the platform coming out on top in overall consoles sales.

"We're looking to convert the PS2 owners and the tens of millions of installed base that were playing DVDs and playing games on their PS2, to now play Blu-ray movies and Blu-ray games with their PS3," he said. "I think the reality is that we will win hands-down if we convert the PS2 owners to PS3."

With the PS3 selling over 1.481 million consoles (according to NPD sales data) so far this year in the US and beating the Xbox 360 in 08 sales by over 200,000 units, Steinberg's predictions may have already started to materialise. However, it remains to be seen how the company plans to dislodge the Wii’s massive lead this generation.

Advertisement

Comments

Comment

What are your thoughts?

  1. Fijiandoce | Fijiandoce

    • 5:52am BST - August 4th, 2008

    HORSEPOWER!!! lol thats quite good news to hear. i think that is the first good news since Square turned. Sony will lead the way for the PS3(graphically) and all the others will follow........except maybe killzone :)

  2. just8

    • 6:09am BST - August 4th, 2008

     with kz2 and resistance2 in november hopefully a graphical margin will materialize!

  3. Odium_Generis_Humani

    • 6:12am BST - August 4th, 2008

    Well, they'd better (continue to) bring it with the first party stuff, because they can't expect anything thing from 3rd party devs.  I don't like SCI-FI shooters (so I'm not getting Killzone ans Resistance 2), but I saw the E3 footage of both and good lord, those game look amazing.  But I'm sure you guys already knew that.

  4. Mike_Harradence

    • 6:14am BST - August 4th, 2008

    Heavy Rain comes to mind when they talk about graphical margins

  5. gameoholic | Demented007

    • 6:17am BST - August 4th, 2008

    To be honest, a lot of people should have seen this coming, it was only a matter of time, like usual. A lot of people like to jump the gun, and expect better graphics than the competitors, from day one. Now, consumers, and developers are starting to see the differance. See what happens when you open your eye's! LOL! PSN ID- Demented007

  6. hesmanes | hesmanes

    • 6:38am BST - August 4th, 2008

    well i think we all knew this was to be, and as for the Wii, i can't see it lasting anymore than a year, everytime i go into GAME there are people taking back there games because there bored with them.

  7. Blazincloud16

    • 7:32am BST - August 4th, 2008

    Day 1 i said to everybody that the ps3 was gonna have the best graphics and look now 

  8. Falogar | Graemeshaw

    • 7:35am BST - August 4th, 2008

    everyone started on about the PS3 being a failure recently - but i dont know if anyone noticed that the first few years of the PS3 have been almost exactly the same as the first few years of the PS2 and it was hardly a failure now was it. This console war was over when HD DVD died. Soon people are going to want to watch Blu Ray instead of DVD and PS3 is still the cheapest blu ray player out there. and i agree with number 6, every friend of mine who bought a Wii has now returned it cause they got fed up with it. If Nintendo counted returns into their sales figures, it may be an entirely different story, especially since when a console is returned and re-sold they count it as two sales. We'd won the graphics battle before this war had even started, now its just a waiting game.

  9. BigC3 | BigC3

    • 7:52am BST - August 4th, 2008

    a blue ray player was on play.com for 200 quid.

  10. rexdeath | rexdeath

    • 7:56am BST - August 4th, 2008

    Yep and I can't wait till the end of the year so I can rub it in all my mates faces because they all own 360's playing GeOW1.5 and... erm that's all I can really think of actually.

  11. Alpha2

    • 8:32am BST - August 4th, 2008

    No, no, no , no, STOP IT NOW. the Wii's number are a moot point, the device was a fad purchase for most of the people who bought it and oh year because it was  HALF the price of everything else out at the time, Those are not number you try to BEAT, Take out the 36* be happy with that there's nothing wrong  with being second place in a race with the 1st place guy is only in front of you because they're wearing a Rocket Pack in a foot race.

  12. princevegeta1980

    • 9:00am BST - August 4th, 2008

    Nintendo's system is No1 because the wii is essentially for the greater market, casual gamers but the ps3 is more for hardcore gamers, gamers which like to buy plenty of games which have a real life spand. Hardcore gamers is why the industry is progressing because we want more from a system we buy and more is what sony has to other compaired to everybody else! Graphiques, sound, storage, hard disk's, regular updates etc!like every playstation it's potential is never used straight away!

  13. IONIXX | IONIXX

    • 9:55am BST - August 4th, 2008

    Go sony go! Dont let m$ beat u!!

  14. nastanley

    • 10:29am BST - August 4th, 2008

    Graphically developpers still have some work to do on the ps3.I believe only sony first party games will clearly differentiate the ps3 graphics from the rest.Well as for the wii i have never really thought of having one.

  15. Limanima | Limanima

    • 10:55am BST - August 4th, 2008

    Well, the steps to convert those users are quite easy: 1) enable PS2 BC by a firmware update ( I think that Sony is already working on this or has it already) 2) Sell the PS3 and accept a PS2 in return with a price cut

  16. Limmex

    • 12:14pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    the ps3 and xbox360 are a fair match, both have good and bad points. the graphics i hav eto say on the wii are pretty bad anyway, so i'm not suprised by this comment. but its the gameplay thst makes the game!

  17. J08hawks | J08hawks

    • 12:33pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    well DUh the ps3 graphics are the best out there

    psn id J08hawks

  18. The Mask | JSack20

    • 1:08pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    i remember thinking that i wouldn't buy any console after ps2 then i watched a dvd from a magazine with videos from e3 2005 and realised i had to have a console with the specs that the ps3 has. when my older brother first saw king bohan, he thought he was a real person and that was pre-first generation games! about e3, has anyone noticed how everyone from x-box is some crazy guy that says basically stuff like "this game! will actually run, on the x-box, 360!" like the guy that introduced gta4 "this trailer, was made, using actual footage, from gta4, running on the x-box 360!"

  19. prodygee | DennisProdygee

    • 1:23pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    Great to hear this!!

  20. I95SOUTH | I95SOUTH

    • 1:35pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    The thing is that the dev's will have to start game development on the ps3 first and then port down to the xbox. They' ve been leaving us hanging out there because the start the other way around. I told you guys making the game for xbox first an then porting it down to the ps3 is like "going from the 12th grade to the 8th grade". thats why its hard to dev for the ps3, or atleast thats what some crappy dev's say.

     

    psn id: I95SOUTH

  21. gingo | gingo

    • 1:41pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    psn id: gingo.. first party titles on the ps3 will always have better graphics than on other consoles because of the sheer power in it, its just a pity more third party games can't do the same

  22. silent_assassin6

    • 1:46pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    good news to hear

  23. solid79 | solid79

    • 2:11pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    As devs come more familiar wit the hardware the it's no surprise we will see distance graphics wise.  The Cell processor is the most powerful thing out there.

  24. Babiloo | XavierHarkonnen

    • 2:14pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    if wanted to convert ps2 owners into ps3 owners you would re-implement the backwards compatibility

  25. Stickemup

    • 3:00pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    Gears of War 2 looks better than anything on the PS3, sad to say. Except for MGS4. They are completely different styles, and at first glance GoW2 may look better because it's flashier, but MGS4 looks as good.

    Resistance doesn't look that great, and of course Killzone 2 does, but aside from that, everything else isn't that far from the 360.

     

     

  26. edward_moffet | edd

    • 3:14pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    this is true, xbox 360 has some nice graphics but its done growing in terms of how much power you can squeeze out of it i mean look at gears 2 compared to gears 1 i mean yeah the graphics are a bit better in gears 2 but not the quantum leap we're seeing with every new generation of ps3 titles, i mean ps3 games are starting to look like cg cutscenes look at motorstorm 2, and kz2 for just a couple examples,

  27. ProfSebastian

    • 3:48pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    Babiloo you nailed it! the problem is that the price of the console may increase

  28. Walo

    • 4:41pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    This may sound a little harsh for PS2 owners but the best thing Sony could do right now is to finally end the PS2 support, if they want the PS3 to start selling like it should, they will have to sever the ties to the PS2. I can say this because I know a LOT of people who say that as long as there are games coming to the PS2, they will not think about buying a PS3. And in a way they are right, why would you buy a $400 - $500 console, when the one you have still provide good games to play? Really Sony, let the PS2 Rest In Peace once and for all.

  29. Ryuuchi10 | Ryuuchi10

    • 6:05pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    This is how Square-Enix failed to see...

  30. inphi | Mindplague

    • 6:08pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    @Walo:  I see your point. But thats like saying that when people become too old, you kill them off even if they are contributing to society, to make room for the young.  You just don't do that.  Besides, the PS2 is literally countering the loss Sony is making on the PS3 sales. Its a viable option in the future, but not today.  You need to apprieciate the old before you can tackle the new, my friend.

  31. lancekain | ssj2k5

    • 8:39pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    Well I just cant wait until the PS3 hits its stride in year 6 and 7 cuz that’s when you see the truly incredible games dominate the news, Like God of War. Heck with a little polish and up in resolution, the past God of War games could pass for current gen games. Trust me guys this is why I chose to get this system, the earlier two systems have proven the Sony strategy WORKS!  

  32. XB2B1

    • 8:50pm BST - August 4th, 2008

    This didn't seem to be a problem when the original Xbox had far superior graphics than the PS2. I recall the chant... "it's all about the game play, not graphics". Well what is it Sony? I've played some pretty sucky games before with some awesome looking visuals, and I've played some real addictive games with terrible graphics, so who really cares! Both consoles are capable of some awesome looking titles. can we please get over this stupid issue! in 10 years I can guarantee I will not be playing neither a PS3 or a 360! I'll take my shiny new holographic transport console2 and let you play your dinosaur!!

  33. BlueDragoon0 | Lionheart0

    • 12:18am BST - August 5th, 2008

    All you have to do is look at Killzone II. That sums it all up.

     

    :]

  34. Walo

    • 1:16am BST - August 5th, 2008

    @# I know the PS2 has done an amazing job as a games console but lets face it the PS2 has reached its absolute limit. it was not intended to take on the Xbox 360, that's what the PS3 was made for. I see your point but sometime sony will have to move on and let the PS3 shine on its own. It cannot be forever babyfed by the PS2.

  35. GOD_OF_CHAOS_KRATOS

    • 1:37am BST - August 5th, 2008

    @walo

    well next year the ps2 will have been out for a while and many ps2 owners may be looking to trade up and if the ps3 can lower in price aswell as release GOW3 as a great sequel(a first party playstation exclusive franchise along with socom) then there is even more of a reason for ps2 owners to convert...

  36. Silvertekken | Silvertekken

    • 8:32am BST - August 5th, 2008

    Estoy de acuerdo con "Falogar" y "Gameoholic"....

    No hay nada mas que decir. PSN: Silvertekken

     

  37. bnolan56 | snowy311

    • 5:16pm BST - August 6th, 2008

    Hahaha of course only way they can battle PS3 is look at stuff like Gears of War 2 and whenever i play that game (Gears of War 1) i get dizzy from the amount of motion blur and antialiasing put into it. its sickening on the competitor's part.

  38. Free_Agent

    • 1:29am BST - August 7th, 2008

    Im with Odium on this one. Sony needs to stick with its first party lineups, because thats what will get them where they want to be. However, Killzone 2 isn't what has been expected of it unfortunately, a friend of mine who has been lucky enough to play it says it's pretty good looking, but it plays and feels like a poort mans cod4. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Either way, LBP will be a huge blockbuster for Sony, and if their first party lineup can produce quality titles, and Sony doesn't forget what made them who they are today, things will be ok.

  39. RuiyJR | Tseska_922

    • 4:53am BST - August 7th, 2008

    PS3 VS Xbox360 = every1 knows that

    PS2 VS Wii = every1 knows that

    like this ps2 is for casual gamers so no need to end. ps3 is for hardcore gamers also hardcore movie fans XD  .some are joke but some are true. so imo both going good

  40. Krankor

    • 9:28am BST - August 7th, 2008

    I love my PS3, but Sony are so bullish when it comes to these types of statements and not backing it up with anything.    Gears of War still sets the bar for graphics.  I hope Resistance 2 and Motostorm 2 take that crown, but for the time being I can't see this gap really appearing, especially with GOW2 on the horizon.   I'm trying to be level headed here as I own both consoles, admittedly I prefer the PS3 but I think statements like this are empty and hollow.    Sorry Guys, not trying to wind anyone up here.

  41. Harrykid32 | harryboy3264

    • 9:45pm BST - August 9th, 2008

    want something to back it up??? look at the photos =

  42. T-Dogg400 | T-Dogg400

    • 3:00pm BST - August 10th, 2008

    2009 will be year for PS3 as well as 08.

  43. Doomsdae | AOGDoomsday

    • 11:56am BST - August 12th, 2008

    Give Sony some all will become clear soon

  44. D3seeker

    • 5:45pm BST - August 12th, 2008

    It bewilders me how how they can get away with saying what they want to see yet not taking action or advise. The PS2 had its time to shine,and I'm not one to under appreciate, it was and still is awsome. Thats the problem. Stop production. Let it rest in peace. There are games I would die to see on the PS3 and possibilities (more gundam included) which are wasted in ports. Stop porting every game. It's obvious PS3 rules in graphics. Why this is an issue is obsurd.

Related information

  • Related game: PlayStation 3

    Release date (US):
    November 17th, 2006
    Developer:
    SCE
    Genre:
    Misc - Hardware
    Rank:
    3 of 1,462 Games
    Up 0 places (in last 7 days)

Related videos

Related images

eXTReMe Tracker