• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

SCEA's Steinberg On 'Future-Proofing' A Ten-Year PS3

T

TheOddOne

Member
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19823

Sony's touted its ten-year plan for the PlayStation 3 often enough that it's clear the company's determined to bestow its current console with the same long lifecycle enjoyed by its predecessor -- but as the PlayStation 2 is an exception in console history, it's a daunting objective.

Sony Computer Entertainment of America product marketing VP Scott Steinberg is charged with making sure all three of Sony's current gaming platforms fulfill the 10-year lifecycle plan, orders that come straight down from the top.

"Our motivations and ambitions, of course, are to continue on all three platforms," Steinberg says as part of an in-depth Gamasutra interview. "The ten-year strategy is ingrained in all of us. [SCEA president and CEO] Jack [Tretton] has brought that to all levels of the organization."

A veteran of Sega during its Genesis era, Steinberg has had an expansive role with Sony since he joined last September to head up both hardware and software marketing.

PlayStation 2 may be already most of the way through its planned decade, but the lifecycle of the PS3 must be considered newly begun if it's to reach its goal -- and the hardware marketplace is unarguably much more competitive now.

In Steinberg's eyes, the PS3's "future-proofing," as well as the balance of its media and gaming capabilities, are what will give the system its legs, as the company plans a "roadmap" of firmware updates and added functionality for the machine.

Steinberg's assertion that part of the PS3's value lies in its potential to expand and evolve echoes CEO Howard Stringer's past statements on his company's newest console: "The price of the PS3 is high, but you're paying for potential," a statement that rankled some gamers who were more interested in immediate returns on their dollars.

Sony would rather update a platform than introduce a new hardware iteration, Steinberg says. "We do not have a planned obsolescence strategy," he says, pointing pointing to the PSP as another example.

"Whether it's Skype or some other peripherals, it's not just a dumb terminal that lies secluded and isn't enhanced with all the recent technologies and opportunities."

Unsurprisingly, he also sees the Blu-ray Disc format as a significant competitive advantage. "Blu-ray is bigger, and Blu-ray games are going to be the biggest games in the industry," he says.

"I think that feeds into [gamers'] choices as well. ...I think there are a lot of great 'a-ha's that consumers are going to find with music, and the movie store. ...You buy it for a gaming machine, but it delivers on a value proposition."

Sony also hopes the past will help usher in the future -- Steinberg sees Sony's ubiquitous PlayStation 2 as something of a Trojan horse.

"Every million units of PS2s we sell in 2008 is just a great opportunity for us to upgrade as they get closer to HD households," he argues. "The HD curve is spectacular, and the conversion is happening, so we see that as a natural marketing campaign."
Click to expand...
 
"I think that feeds into [gamers'] choices as well. ...I think there are a lot of great 'a-ha's that consumers are going to find with music, and the movie store. ...You buy it for a gaming machine, but it delivers on a value proposition."
Click to expand...

Wait, music? Is he talking about downloading rock band tracks or did he just let slip a PSN music store? Maybe this is the replacement of Sony Connect or whatever it was called.
 
Why is everyone so obsessed with "10 year lifespan" all of a sudden? PSX had it, PS2 is on its way on fulfilling its 10 years.
 
You know, I really feel bad for Sony. They were clearly very ambitious with the PS3, and its potential is enormous. It's just that it is 3-4 years ahead of its time, too expensive for something with no immediate return (since I don't even have an HDTV).

btw, I hope they win against Microsoft, so that I can buy a 150€ PS3 in a few years
 
Forsete said:
Why is everyone so obsessed with "10 year lifespan" all of a sudden? PSX had it, PS2 is on its way on fulfilling its 10 years.
Click to expand...
Because, quite frankly, PS3 is probably NOT on its way to fulfilling its 10-year obligation.


Sarcasm?

Good if they could execute it. But they can't. Competitors will rip them to shreds with the latest piece of new tech that they put out.
Click to expand...
Haven't we already learned that's definitely NOT true?
 
RJT said:
btw, I hope they win against Microsoft, so that I can buy a 150€ PS3 in a few years
Click to expand...

O.o

If you want a PS3 that cheap, you better hope that both companies stay in the game.

Healthy competition is what drops prices.
 
TheKingsCrown said:
Sarcasm?
Good if they could execute it. But they can't.
Click to expand...
Let's see how they fare before we judge. Whatever rebranding they will be attempting is yet to happen.
I'm guessing it's something they're planning now with a Slim and the rumored break-a-part controller, probably for next fall.
 
TheKingsCrown said:
Sarcasm?

Good if they could execute it. But they can't. Competitors will rip them to shreds with the latest piece of new tech that they put out.
Click to expand...

it worked for nintendo...
 
tha_con said:
Riiiiiiight.

Relevant to console wars (TM) you mean.

To Sony, they were very relevant, ranking in a LOT of profit.
Click to expand...

Neither had a decent supply of games for 10 years. If you are a PS2 owner the backlog is awesome but there is basically nothing coming out now.
 
loosus said:
Because, quite frankly, PS3 is probably NOT on its way to fulfilling its 10-year obligation.
Click to expand...

It is. Even more than the first two PlayStation : after nearly two years, it is still high priced, and has a mostly untapped hardware and a BluRay player. There probably will be PS3 games made well after the Xbox 360 has been forgotten.
 
JasoNsider said:
"The price of the PS3 is high, but you're paying for potential"

Oh my....I....wow, this is just so badly flawed.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is not a smart thing to be saying.

Pay a high price right now for potential

vs.

Pay a lower price later when that potential is achieved


Mind you, I don't see the price as being too high (obviously, since I own one) but it is still a crazy statement to be making.
 
Tobor said:
It worked well for Sega.
Click to expand...
Yeah, because Sony clearly is talking about adding media expansion and 32X-like add-ons to the system. Clearly.

It is. Even more than the first two PlayStation : after nearly two years, it is still high priced, and has a mostly untapped hardware and a BluRay player. There probably will be PS3 games made well after the Xbox 360 has been forgotten.
Click to expand...
Um, it's priced high because it costs a lot to manufacture, not because the market actually allows it. And for that matter, it actually got a price cut pretty damn quickly because of market pressures.

And as we have seen time and time again in the past, "untapped hardware" amounts to absolutely jackshit.

I don't think either the 360 or PS3 will enjoy a ten-year lifecycle, but if I were forced to bet on one, it wouldn't be PS3.
 
TheHeretic said:
Neither had a decent supply of games for 10 years. If you are a PS2 owner the backlog is awesome but there is basically nothing coming out now.
Click to expand...

NA and PAL GAF sent me a message for you:

Persona 4 says hi! :P
 
TheHeretic said:
Neither the PS1 or PS2 were relevant for a decade.
Click to expand...

To you and me? No, but to many others including Sony. Thankfully, there will be a PS4 waiting for us after 5-6 years of PS3ing.

Because, quite frankly, PS3 is probably NOT on its way to fulfilling its 10-year obligation.
Click to expand...

Its not?
 
bluheim said:
It is. Even more than the first two PlayStation : after nearly two years, it is still high priced, and has a mostly untapped hardware and a BluRay player. There probably will be PS3 games made well after the Xbox 360 has been forgotten.
Click to expand...

You're right because in 2012/13 the new box will be out based on multiple generation leaps in GPU processing by that time.

I would hope my PS3s see 10 year life spans, I hope. 2016 seems so, so far away, heh.
 
loosus said:
Yeah, because Sony clearly is talking about adding media expansion and 32X-like add-ons to the system. Clearly.
Click to expand...

You Sony fans are wound a little tight these days. Relax.
 
Forsete said:
To you and me? No, but to many others including Sony. Thankfully, there will be a PS4 waiting for us after 5-6 years of PS3ing.
Click to expand...

If the PS4 comes out in under 10 years how has the PS3 had a 10 year lifespan?
 
Tobor said:
You Sony fans are wound a little tight these days. Relax.
Click to expand...
Yeah, look at my posts in this thread. I sure am a Sony fan all right. I'm sorry, but your comparison to Sega was just dumb.
 
TheHeretic said:
If the PS4 comes out in under 10 years how has the PS3 had a 10 year lifespan?
Click to expand...

If people continue to buy PS3's after the PS4 is released, and Sony is making a profit on PS3's, then it's fucking relevant.

If you want to discuss console wars (TM) then do it in another thread, but you're way off the mark here bucko. New games mean jack shit, there are hundreds of countries in the world TODAY that are still buying PS1's, and the PS2 is "new" to them, and Sony is making Profit on those consoles. That's what Sony is interested in, turning a profit on the PS3 during it's LIFESPAN (the time in which Sony supports the hardware with games and accessories).

But you keep living in your fantasy land.
 
just to remind some of you - ten year plan means ten years of support for the ps3 it does not mean that well see a ps4 in 8 years!

and to be honest, i like the idea that a piece of hardware i bougth will be updated 10 years down the road
 
Forsete said:
To you and me? No, but to many others including Sony. Thankfully, there will be a PS4 waiting for us after 5-6 years of PS3ing.
Click to expand...

You have to keep in mind that the PS1 and PS2 were both market leaders - something that Sony did not achieve with their PS3. It is unlikely that the PS3 will achieve PS2 sales numbers or will be as dominant as the PS2 was.
 
A good way to ensure a console's longevity would be to foster MMOs on it. MMOs last for a helluva long time when done right. All it needs is one outstanding MMO (the equivelant of WoW) with good support and boom. You have your healthy lifecycle. Mind you, that's only to keep the players on the console, I don't know if it would actually help sales or not.
 
tha_con said:
If you want to discuss console wars (TM) then do it in another thread, but you're way off the mark here bucko. New games mean jack shit, there are hundreds of countries in the world TODAY that are still buying PS1's, and the PS2 is "new" to them, and Sony is making Profit on those consoles. That's what Sony is interested in, turning a profit on the PS3 during it's LIFESPAN (the time in which Sony supports the hardware with games and accessories).

But you keep living in your fantasy land.
Click to expand...

I'm not way off anything, your twisting sony's bullshit marketing into something remotely plausible. The reason they are spouting the 10 year lifespan is because they are trying to convince consumers that their ridiculously overpriced machine was going to be the only console they'd need for a long time.

If you think by "10 year lifespan" they meant "10 years we'll be selling PS3's, but the succesor will be out in 5" you are delusional.
 
loosus said:
Yeah, look at my posts in this thread. I sure am a Sony fan all right. I'm sorry, but your comparison to Sega was just dumb.
Click to expand...

It was meant as a joke, since Steinberg used to work for Sega during the Genesis era, which is referenced in the article. Sorry to offend.
 
another 10 years of still installing acts, updates, patches, etc. i hope we at least get some alternate PS3 slim designs to chose from at some point.
more power to any company that wants to commit to such a long life span, but i started anticipating the PS4 ever since i unboxed mah' tripple yo
 
Shiggy said:
You have to keep in mind that the PS1 and PS2 were both market leaders - something that Sony did not achieve with their PS3. It is unlikely that the PS3 will achieve PS2 sales numbers or will be as dominant as the PS2 was.
Click to expand...
And that's the reason I really, really doubt the PS3 is gonna see a 10-year life span. In fact, I think it's a bit ridiculous to think it will at this point. Sony would have to be mighty stubborn to beat that dead horse like that, unless something SPECTACULAR happens within the next two years or so.
 
bluheim said:
PS2 says HI !!!

It is still selling as much as the next-gen systems, right now.
Click to expand...

Is that really such a good thing?

Sony is having trouble converting PS2 users in to PS3 users. Growing the PS2 userbase does not necessarily present them withthe long term benefits that growing the PS1 userbase did, wayback when.
 
Sony had the right strategy for me as a gamer. This is the best Sony platform/console I've ever owned in terms of hardware. I was a bit disappointed with what they presented with the Playstation 2, even though it did have DVD playback which was a huge plus. The networking of the PS2 was terrible, there was no standard hard drive, and used an archaic proprietary memory card instead of an open standard like USB. In many ways I've felt that Microsoft has regressed from the Xbox 1 (no standard hard drive, nickle and dime for features that should be open) and Sony has progressed. Interesting role reversals for this gen.

I think Sony sent the right message by including a standard hard drive (which you can upgrade yourself), wifi, free online, and blu-ray with the system. This basically allows developers to have less handcuffs in terms of releases they want to include at retail and on the Playstation Network. It gives the entire platform a very long life. Sony probably understands now that while graphics are important to a certain degree, they're getting to the point where artistic design is the main challenge and not technical hurdles that plagued 3D games in the past on the PS2/PS1. So, I'm happy that the PS3 will have a long life...I want the PS4 to represent a large leap in power rather than a minor one. Diminishing returns is something to worry about, as are development costs and time, which means a lengthy console cycle IS ABSOLUTELY required from here on out, IMHO.

I really hope that in the distant future when Sony releases the Playstation 4 that they carry over all of the features of the Playstation 3 in terms of the XMB, Playstation Network titles, etc, so that it's all fully backwards compatible...which means, the PS4 needs to have perfect backwards compatibility with the PS3. This is an even more important feature now (with the PSN network) than ever. Obviously, the PS4 should update some of the XMB and other features to a new next-gen standard, but it should retain all of the previous features.

While some systems follow a sales curve that instantly takes off and dies down over time, PS3 should have more of a bell curve distribution. Sales were low the first few years due to software library and the very high price, but as those get resolved during the middle part of hardware lifecycle you should see very high sales.
 
TheHeretic said:
I'm not way off anything, your twisting sony's bullshit marketing into something remotely plausible. The reason they are spouting the 10 year lifespan is because they are trying to convince consumers that their ridiculously overpriced machine was going to be the only console they'd need for a long time.

If you think by "10 year lifespan" they meant "10 years we'll be selling PS3's, but the succesor will be out in 5" you are delusional.
Click to expand...

:lol :lol :lol :lol

Epic Fail.
 
loosus said:
And that's the reason I really, really doubt the PS3 is gonna see a 10-year life span. In fact, I think it's a bit ridiculous to think it will at this point. Sony would have to be mighty stubborn to beat that dead horse like that, unless something SPECTACULAR happens within the next two years or so.
Click to expand...

i have the same thoughts. if the sales continune like this, we may see a new sony console maybe in 2011 or 2012. a more beefy PS3 with wiimote like gesture imput for 299 bucks.
 
Private Hoffman said:
Sony had the right strategy for me as a gamer. This is the best Sony platform/console I've ever owned in terms of hardware. I was a bit disappointed with what they presented with the Playstation 2, even though it did have DVD playback which was a huge plus. The networking of the PS2 was terrible, there was no standard hard drive, and used an archaic proprietary memory card instead of an open standard like USB. In many ways I've felt that Microsoft has regressed from the Xbox 1 (no standard hard drive, nickle and dime for features that should be open) and Sony has progressed. Interesting role reversals for this gen.

I think Sony sent the right message by including a standard hard drive (which you can upgrade yourself), wifi, free online, and blu-ray with the system. This basically allows developers to have less handcuffs in terms of releases they want to include at retail and on the Playstation Network. It gives the entire platform a very long life. Sony probably understands now that while graphics are important to a certain degree, they're getting to the point where artistic design is the main challenge and not technical hurdles that plagued 3D games in the past on the PS2/PS1. So, I'm happy that the PS3 will have a long life...I want the PS4 to represent a large leap in power rather than a minor one. Diminishing returns is something to worry about, as are development costs and time, which means a lengthy console cycle IS ABSOLUTELY required from here on out, IMHO.

I really hope that in the distant future when Sony releases the Playstation 4 that they carry over all of the features of the Playstation 3 in terms of the XMB, Playstation Network titles, etc, so that it's all fully backwards compatible...which means, the PS4 needs to have perfect backwards compatibility with the PS3. This is an even more important feature now (with the PSN network) than ever. Obviously, the PS4 should update some of the XMB and other features to a new next-gen standard, but it should retain all of the previous features.

While some systems follow a sales curve that instantly takes off and dies down over time, PS3 should have more of a bell curve distribution. Sales were low the first few years due to software library and the very high price, but as those get resolved during the middle part of hardware lifecycle you should see very high sales.
Click to expand...

MikeB is that you?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Focus At Home Ten Year Of Contract With Chaosium For Cthulhu Games - What Happened To This?
10
189
Hudo replied
Could hybrid consoles be the future??
32
60
Laptop1991 replied
  • Locked
The future of PlayStation and Project Helix hinges on Intergalactic...
16
472
Sohurmk833 replied
The nearly 20-year-old PS3 just got another system update
News Retro Platform  2
66
1K
Krathoon replied
Nihon Falcom reports 1227% year-on-year operating profit growth thanks to strong overseas sales
Business 
18
237
Darkmakaimura replied
Top Bottom