Sony: it would be "undesirable" for PS4 to launch significantly later than the comp

[mankind]

But, "there's still a lot of unfinished business on PS3."

Having given Microsoft a year's head start in the current generation, PlayStation Europe boss Jim Ryan said it would be "undesirable" for PS4 to repeat that for the next-generation.
Speaking to Eurogamer TV this afternoon at a press event for PlayStation Vita in London, Ryan, who stepped up to the SCEE top job in the summer, said: "I think we would consider it undesirable to be significantly later than the competition [with the next PlayStation]."
With Wii U out next year and Microsoft expected to reveal the next Xbox in 2012 amid suggestions that a number of studios are already making games for a 2013 launch, industry chatter regarding a PlayStation 3 successor has been considerably more muted.
This, coupled with Sony's overall financial position, has led to speculation that the company is behind its rivals with its next-generation planning.
Ryan defended Sony's strategy, insisting: "There's still a lot of unfinished business on PS3."
He added: "If you look at PlayStation 2, now in excess of 150m units installed globally, a huge majority of that was done at price points of £120 or lower. [With PS3] we've only just hit £199 in the UK, so clearly there's a considerable untapped part of the market there."
Last week Edge reported that a first-party Sony studio had ceased PS3 development and moved onto PS4 development. The unnamed developer is also apparently involved in building the graphics technology for Sony's next system.
It then said Guerrilla Games was making a new Killzone game - for PlayStation 4?

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...he-competition

[The Black Wolf]

The thing about this is I dread Sony rushing the PS4 or their next console out. I want them to take their time and make the best console possible.

[Morganator]

All things considered and in all honesty, Sony has an uphill battle and it's not as simple as, "releasing within striking distance of the competition". There are a lot and I mean a lot of factors involved and this generation. Sony has done a horrific job overall as has everyone else. The total disrespect shown to the consumer base at large is one that will not be forgotten, unless, you're a diehard Sony fan who thinks Sony can do no wrong as a company. They completely ignored precedent set by the courts in favor of jail-broken devices and the people behind it against Apple and resorted to feature hostage taking and other draconian measures to get what they wanted. They completely ignored a base of people who were loyal to them in favor of profits profits profits and a closed closed closed system which was never advertised as closed. Sony and other corporations also instituting online passes and other pass-code schemes where one must either purchase a new game or buy a pass-code and always enter said pass-code to get to content already in the game as standard, is an insult to otherwise intelligent or supposedly intelligent gamers and consumers as a whole.

This generation, by far, has been the most disrespectful generation ever in the history of gaming and I - and I'm sure I'm not alone -am seriously thinking about what I will do for the next generation. One thing is for certain. If Sony thinks it, as a company, can attract everyone from the PS2 generation into this generation or all of us for the PS4 generation... they have got another thing coming. There are consumers who hold their rights as consumers sacred and there are those also hold grudges when they are mistreated and disrespected as has been the case this generation. The power of the purse is much more than what a lot of people think and mind-share is definitely a concept Sony miscalculated on coming into this generation.

[Ghost-Rhayne]

All things considered and in all honesty, Sony has an uphill battle and it's not as simple as, "releasing within striking distance of the competition". There are a lot and I mean a lot of factors involved and this generation. Sony has done a horrific job overall as has everyone else. The total disrespect shown to the consumer base at large is one that will not be forgotten, unless, you're a diehard Sony fan who thinks Sony can do no wrong as a company. They completely ignored precedent set by the courts in favor of jail-broken devices and the people behind it against Apple and resorted to feature hostage taking and other draconian measures to get what they wanted. They completely ignored a base of people who were loyal to them in favor of profits profits profits and a closed closed closed system which was never advertised as closed. Sony and other corporations also instituting online passes and other pass-code schemes where one must either purchase a new game or buy a pass-code and always enter said pass-code to get to content already in the game as standard, is an insult to otherwise intelligent or supposedly intelligent gamers and consumers as a whole.

This generation, by far, has been the most disrespectful generation ever in the history of gaming and I - and I'm sure I'm not alone -am seriously thinking about what I will do for the next generation. One thing is for certain. If Sony thinks it, as a company, can attract everyone from the PS2 generation into this generation or all of us for the PS4 generation... they have got another thing coming. There are consumers who hold their rights as consumers sacred and there are those also hold grudges when they are mistreated and disrespected as has been the case this generation. The power of the purse is much more than what a lot of people think and mind-share is definitely a concept Sony miscalculated on coming into this generation.

Sony have done everything within their power to provide the best gaming experience possible. They gave us free online play, have developed games to suit all genres and continually pump out new games, made motion controls that are core friendly, drove 3D, helping out indie devs etc etc. I don't get all jaded about changes in the game industry. It's an evolving business, so it can't really be avoided. Sony protecting its financials in the jail break saga and online passes are just part and parcel of this. If you feel so wrong done by by Sony, fine, but realize the there are many many people out there who couldn't care less about these gripes and just want to play games. If someone cannot withstand the heat, they should promptly remove themselves from the kitchen.

[Morganator]

Sony have done everything within their power to provide the best gaming experience possible. They gave us free online play, have developed games to suit all genres and continually pump out new games, made motion controls that are core friendly, drove 3D, helping out indie devs etc etc. I don't get all jaded about changes in the game industry. It's an evolving business, so it can't really be avoided. Sony protecting its financials in the jail break saga and online passes are just part and parcel of this. If you feel so wrong done by by Sony, fine, but realize the there are many many people out there who couldn't care less about these gripes and just want to play games. If someone cannot withstand the heat, they should promptly remove themselves from the kitchen.

They also reneged on a lot of the responsibilities they had as a corporation I don't care how much they supposedly gave us. It's not going to change the fact that they held features hostage for the so called reason of protecting their financials. You don't, as a corporation do that and not expect to lose some of your consumer base. Those always and promptly giving Sony the pass are ruining it for the rest of us. You should have fought tooth and nail to keep every feature no matter how much, little or not at all, you used them.

[Ghost-Rhayne]

They also reneged on a lot of the responsibilities they had as a corporation I don't care how much they supposedly gave us. It's not going to change the fact that they held features hostage for the so called reason of protecting their financials. You don't, as a corporation do that and not expect to lose some of your consumer base. Those always and promptly giving Sony the pass are ruining it for the rest of us. You should have fought tooth and nail to keep every feature no matter how much, little or not at all, you used them.

I'm sure Sony isn't losing any sleep over the jaded minority who are still pissed off about the removal of OoS. I bought my console to play games, so I wouldnt even consider wasting any energy on fighting tooth and nail for something I dont give a rats ass for. Sony have appeased me this gen and are doing better than ever, so...meh!

[ERC1980]

The thing about this is I dread Sony rushing the PS4 or their next console out. I want them to take their time and make the best console possible.

This post nails it.

[The Black Wolf]

This post nails it.

Why thank you.

I look at games that are rushed and they are glitchy and everything. We definitely don't need a rushed console, rushed games are enough.

[Dave-The-Rave]

Yeah, they need to take their time. The PS3's launch was also rushed and look how barebones it was when it first came out.

[Bligmerk]

Yeah, they need to take their time. The PS3's launch was also rushed and look how barebones it was when it first came out.

The PS3 launch was NOT rushed. In fact, at the time, all the pundits were bemoaning how late it was. The PS3 when it launched introduced 3 brand new technologies at the time; Cell, Blu-ray and HDMI, none of them fully established. In fact, the PS3 launch had to be delayed to the late fall in Japan and US because HDMI 1.3 had not been finalized. If anything, the PS3 launch was forced by the 360 coming out a year ahead. Sony back then were informally stating a 2007 PS3 launch when they were pushed into a 2006 launch.

The key thing here is these technologies are now very mature and well established. The tables are turned now. There are all the indicators that Sony is working with IBM on a modified Power7 for the PS4, BD-ROM is very inexpensive and up to 100GB, and HDMI 1.4 looks to be the primary audio/video standard for another 4 to 5 years. Sony is far more prepared for a next gen launch this time around and actually has a more direct path to next gen than MS. This rumor that MS is going to come out with the next Xbox next year has caught on like wildfire to now be some kind of widespread accepted fact, when it's only a rumor right now, and a very thin one at that.

[sainraja]

The PS3 launch was NOT rushed. In fact, at the time, all the pundits were bemoaning how late it was. The PS3 when it launched introduced 3 brand new technologies at the time; Cell, Blu-ray and HDMI, none of them fully established. In fact, the PS3 launch had to be delayed to the late fall in Japan and US because HDMI 1.3 had not been finalized. If anything, the PS3 launch was forced by the 360 coming out a year ahead. Sony back then were informally stating a 2007 PS3 launch when they were pushed into a 2006 launch.

The key thing here is these technologies are now very mature and well established. The tables are turned now. There are all the indicators that Sony is working with IBM on a modified Power7 for the PS4, BD-ROM is very inexpensive and up to 100GB, and HDMI 1.4 looks to be the primary audio/video standard for another 4 to 5 years. Sony is far more prepared for a next gen launch this time around and actually has a more direct path to next gen than MS. This rumor that MS is going to come out with the next Xbox next year has caught on like wildfire to now be some kind of widespread accepted fact, when it's only a rumor right now, and a very thin one at that.

The hardware wasn't rushed (that is why the Spring delay.) The XMB, however, was rushed. It wasn't ready when they released the PS3 in November 16th.

In-game XMB was demonstrated before the PS3 released but it wasn't part of it at the time of release.

[TGO]

Yeah, they need to take their time. The PS3's launch was also rushed and look how barebones it was when it first came out.

PS3 wasn't rushed, the games were cuz they did needed extra development because of Cell and didn't get it. same with software ie firmware.
thou rushed consoles doesn't mean less sales, the 360 was the total opposite, console was rushed, software wasn't ( don't argue, it was no if or buts )
thou some developers wasn't even ready.

[Bligmerk]

PS3 wasn't rushed, the games were cuz they did needed extra development because of Cell and didn't get it. same with software ie firmware.
thou rushed consoles doesn't mean less sales, the 360 was the total opposite, console was rushed, software wasn't ( don't argue, it was no if or buts )
thou some developers wasn't even ready.

Yeah, there was a longer learning curve but this is another area that Sony has opened up, asymmetric multiprocessing, which just took a few years longer than wanted for the devs to become more than just familiar, but proficient. Software always lags hardware, especially when it comes to graphics processors, however they are implemented. The PS3 is more than holding its own, sometimes even against the PC, and the devs will have tweaked every CPU-GPU-SPU hook and hidden corner by the time it is going out, with a bang, in a couple years.

[Lethal_NFS]

Yeah, they need to take their time. The PS3's launch was also rushed and look how barebones it was when it first came out.

The PS3 was rushed? Sony pushed the release date back a whole year. Not really a rushed console.

[Sub-stance1]

It would be wise for them not to let MS get a big jump on them again. Next time they may not have the edge in tech(BR and such) like last time. That will be more level next time.

[Sufi]

It would be wise for them not to let MS get a big jump on them again. Next time they may not have the edge in tech(BR and such) like last time. That will be more level next time.

Blu Ray hurt the PS3 more than it helped.

Especially since MS countered the problem with HDD installs.

EDIT: It will definitely be an interesting turn out because the playing field will be more leveled next time around. No space issues and generally the services will be adequate for the mainstream at least. I'm sure MS will try to up the services but what Live has at the moment is good enough, just need to make it more efficient and streamlined.

[Bligmerk]

The big difference this gen for Japanese gamers is the huge shift from at-home console to mobile.

Despite the thousands of hours obsessing over Japan sales figures, the simple fact seems to be missed. The Japan sales of full size at-home consoles does not compare with the sales numbers of last generation. Japan is like the early indicator and this trend is growing in the west. The real big news of this current generation is about how big the mobile market can be and how it is still growing.

Sony has this movement covered with the Vita but as smartphones and tablets get more powerful and more widespread, there is going to be a shift in the video gaming market, not just split between 3 full size consoles and the PC but also the mobile smartphone and tablet. Some people will point to the current smartphone and tablet market as no influence but that is now. Everything is not that influencing in the beginning. Focusing on winning the home video game console market in just numbers next gen may prove to be a losing strategy, which it looks like Sony is aware of and ready to leverage with Vita developers set to translate a large and ever-growing library of mobile games. A game that requires a specialized hand-held gaming console today will be easily ported to the smartphones and tablets two years from now.

Sony was basically pushed by MS to launch the PS3 when it wasn't really ready. Sony might have become a little complacent with the huge success of the PS2 and got taken off-guard with the early 360 launch but that trick won't work again.

[F34R]

The big difference this gen for Japanese gamers is the huge shift from at-home console to mobile.

Despite the thousands of hours obsessing over Japan sales figures, the simple fact seems to be missed. The Japan sales of full size at-home consoles does not compare with the sales numbers of last generation. Japan is like the early indicator and this trend is growing in the west. The real big news of this current generation is about how big the mobile market can be and how it is still growing.

Sony has this movement covered with the Vita but as smartphones and tablets get more powerful and more widespread, there is going to be a shift in the video gaming market, not just split between 3 full size consoles and the PC but also the mobile smartphone and tablet. Some people will point to the current smartphone and tablet market as no influence but that is now. Everything is not that influencing in the beginning. Focusing on winning the home video game console market in just numbers next gen may prove to be a losing strategy, which it looks like Sony is aware of and ready to leverage with Vita developers set to translate a large and ever-growing library of mobile games. A game that requires a specialized hand-held gaming console today will be easily ported to the smartphones and tablets two years from now.

Sony was basically pushed by MS to launch the PS3 when it wasn't really ready. Sony might have become a little complacent with the huge success of the PS2 and got taken off-guard with the early 360 launch but that trick won't work again.

Sounds pretty logical.

[Nitey]

Sony was basically pushed by MS to launch the PS3 when it wasn't really ready. Sony might have become a little complacent with the huge success of the PS2 and got taken off-guard with the early 360 launch but that trick won't work again.

I agree that they got complacent with the massive success of the ps2. However, I'm not too sure about that trick not working again. There is a shitload of rumours floating around about the next Xbox, so they could very well try and implement the same strategy they did last gen; launch early, launch well priced. This time they have the benefit of the Kinect adopters wanting to see what their device can really do (with a new powerful console)

Sony won't want to take away the spotlight from the Vita for another year ATLEAST, which means we won't see anything PS4-related until 2013. If MS takes the cover off of the 360 successor some time next year, any time next year, then Sony is going to have to really act quick if they don't want to be left behind again.

Though, for all we know their strategy could be to keep the lid on the PS4 for as long as possible, allowing the Vita shine. Then they could show it and release it very soon after, instead of having us wait forever for it.

I think I'd prefer that. But yeah like others have mentioned they can't afford to get left behind again..

May also worth noting that the PS3 has been doing consistently well for a while now and with the losses they've had to burden throughout the course of this generation they may be more inclined to ride the PS3 boat for much longer than the majority of people would want them to.

Tough decisions, intrigued to see how it all plays out

[Bligmerk]

Stringer is retiring next year and Kaz is pretty much expected as his replacement.

Right now, Kaz has to deal with the losses coming from the Sony TV division. While the microscope has been on the PS3, the TV division has lost money for 8 years straight and is accounting for most of the loss expected at the end of this fiscal year. But it isn't only Sony. Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp, Sanyo have been taking multi-billion dollar losses. They are being killed by cheaper and arguably better LCD flat panels from South Korea. There was just some news the other day about a Japan LCD flat panel conglomerate being formed to compete.

Kaz has always been enthusiastic and excited by technology advances while Stringer has been more like a banker, disconnected from the tech. So, if Stringer retires early, Kaz could shift R&D more to the PS4 as the true total a/v media system center box which Kaz has commented he strongly supports. Stringer did do a lot of streamlining and pulled Sony out of a downward spiral but Kaz seems like he will be able to fine tune better than Stringer. There is no doubt the PS3 is going to be pulling in big positive balances the next two years, which will at least justify the risk that was taken.

The PS4 has a lot less risk than the PS3 did regarding the manufacturing technologies and costs. All kinds of standard components like Ethernet and USB chips are a fraction of the price they were 6 years ago. The PS4 will be the architecture evolution of the PS3, just lots more power at a reasonable price. It would be crazy to launch the PS4 before 2014 but an E3 2013 reveal does seem possible.

[Equinoqs]

Blu Ray hurt the PS3 more than it helped.

How so? It certainly drove the price up, but it's more than balanced by the storage space and the fact that it won the format war.

[Sufi]

How so? It certainly drove the price up, but it's more than balanced by the storage space and the fact that it won the format war.

1) Storage space that could've been taken care by HDD installs. 2) Space that most games don't end up using. 3) How did winning the format war help the PS3?

[sainraja]

1) Storage space that could've been taken care by HDD installs. 2) Space that most games don't end up using. 3) How did winning the format war help the PS3?

I don't see how HDD installs is a point against blu-ray when that has been an option since last generation. We could have had installations last gen as well.

I'd rather take the combination of one disc + mandatory installs over having installation being the solution to space issues.

[LSUGEAUX]

I'd rather they take their time and get it right, then rush it.

[F34R]

I'd rather they take their time and get it right, then rush it.

If they can keep the cost down and be on a level field when they launch... then I agree. Btw, +rep for name and location! Go TIGERS!