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[fabricated backlash]

Damn, Yoshida-san knows how to give a good interview. I like him even more now. That was a good read. I really love his "lessons learned" bit.


It likely means that Vita will have more games and probably apps that take advantage of the hardware, while trying (hopefully) to offer something unique to the experience rather than just another console experience. Good.

Someone should pass this goal through to developers, cause so far they seem to be going to make PS3 light editions (which are welcome but don't really show this new commitment at all)

 

[gofreak]

Someone should pass this goal through to developers, cause so far they seem to be going to make PS3 light editions (which are welcome but don't really show this new commitment at all)

Of the roughly 20 games SCE has announced for Vita, I think only maybe 4 or so could have that charge leveled at them (and I'd be particularly mean to one game in doing so).

 

[POWERSPHERE]

Classy guy the way he handled the competition questions.

It was a bit shocking to see what they came up with.

lil bit cheeky!

 

[phosphor112]

Using any second analog comes at the expense of functionality of right face buttons...

In order to use the touch screen effectively, you must hold a stylus. Holding a stylus occupies your hand, which makes switching between face buttons and stylus. Analog sticks on the other hand, all you have to do is shift your thumb.

Here is an exercise for all PSP users looking forward using L2/R2 on the VITA's back touchpad:

- Cut a piece of paper the size of the back touchpad and paste it on the back of a PSP.
- Play your games without touching it (because, you know, you will accidentally push R2/L2 and doing an undesired function that will distract you from your game).
- Come back.

This is why people like you don't come up with these things.
Two words.

Gesture Recognition. You can easily "filter" out any unwanted touches. Even laptops have those type of things with their trackpads now-a-days.

What do you mean? The touchscreen stuff is well impleted, for example climbing is alot faster and more precise with the touchscreen, but totally optional.

That's the thing. Both of those demo's seem no different than the PS3 counterparts, sans the controls. In the end, those demo's showed off the flexibility of controls schemes on the Vita. Now, I haven't played the demos like you, but I can only assume that in the final release of their games, they will take more advantage of the PSV instead of just some quick "intuitive" controls.

 

[manueldelalas]

In order to use the touch screen effectively, you must hold a stylus. Holding a stylus occupies your hand, which makes switching between face buttons and stylus. Analog sticks on the other hand, all you have to do is shift your thumb.

No, you must not hold a stylus to use the touch screen effectively.

Gesture Recognition. You can easily "filter" out any unwanted touches. Even laptops have those type of things with their trackpads now-a-days.

And it works marvelous [/sarcasm]

 

[1-D_FTW]

Of the roughly 20 games SCE has announced for Vita, I think only maybe 4 or so could have that charge leveled at them (and I'd be particularly mean to one game in doing so).

Exactly. I don't belong to the cult of Uncharted and although the game is exactly what I don't want in a handheld, the line-up (post 2011) is incredibly appealing.

Something like Little Big Planet, which in theory is a console spin-off, is the absolute perfect handheld game. It plays to all of the handheld's hardware strengths, can be played in bite sizes, and has unlimited content. It's something I could keep planted in the cartridge slot for months and not get bored with.

 

[fabricated backlash]

Of the roughly 20 games SCE has announced for Vita, I think only maybe 4 or so could have that charge leveled at them (and I'd be particularly mean to one game in doing so).

Do those other roughly 16 games even aggregate a fraction of the hype and screen time that Uncharted alone is monopolizing though?

I think it's going to be a challenge that Sony has yet to prove it is serious about implementing the lessons they've learned from the PSP.

Just like Nintendo going on about all the lessons they've learned with Wii online and DS and friendcodes... so far there is little evidence that they've acted according to those lessons.

And in all fairness, the PSPs problem has never been that there weren't enough games that are custom made for portable play, but the way it was perceived in public as being a PS2 lite.
And so far the PSV is also marketed as a PS3 lite.

Consumer expectations often tend to carry over, and that's why Sony will have to make a real push to show to consumers that this time they're serious in offering a substantially different product that complements the PS3 instead of mimmicking it.

 

[phosphor112]

No, you must not hold a stylus to use the touch screen effectively.

Enjoy reaching all the way across the screen with your thumb to jab it with your nail.

And it works marvelous [/sarcasm]

Ever since I got my G73 laptop, I've played most of my MP fps's on it. I plug in my mouse, and even without disabling the trackpad (which my WASD hand rests on) I can play without interference with the trackpad or fire a shot by accident.

 

[Callibretto]

if I'm not mistaken, isn't psp sold pretty well as ps2 lite at the beginning? it's when the current gen started that psp start to lose it's steam and developer switching resource after that, then piracy comes in make the situation even worse

 

[manueldelalas]

Enjoy reaching all the way across the screen with your thumb to jab it with your nail.

So you agree that it is not a must; and the device is pretty small, it's very easy to reach the touchscreen with your thumb, point for me, yay!.

Ever since I got my G73 laptop, I've played most of my MP fps's on it. I plug in my mouse, and even without disabling the trackpad (which my WASD hand rests on) I can play without interference with the trackpad or fire a shot by accident.

Congratulations? now try playing and actually using the trackpad and not an external mouse.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Do those other roughly 16 games even aggregate a fraction of the hype and screen time that Uncharted alone is monopolizing though?

I honestly think you're just falling victim to the gaf echo chamber on this one.

Uncharted is a religion among the hardcore Sony lot, but that doesn't make it more than it really is. It's just another game. That a vocal minority attaches so much significance to it doesn't really mean anything. I'd basically avoid making any judgements based on this false noise.

 

[gofreak]

Do those other roughly 16 games even aggregate a fraction of the hype and screen time that Uncharted alone is monopolizing though?

Uncharted's probably the most anticipated game (at least around here, perhaps), but some of the others there are getting their share of hype.

But what's that got to do with Sony putting its money where its mouth is? They are, whatever your perception due to the relative profile of games.

Should Sony not make games based on high profile previously home-only franchises because you might think they're making nothing else?

I also don't know how we can on the one hand say these games are problematic while on the other acknowledge that people are highly anticipating them...

More fundamentally, though, I wouldn't actually level that charge at Uncharted. There doesn't seem to be much 'light' about it, and it has some nice augmentations not present in the PS3 games. It doesn't look to me to be 'PS3 light' in the way the God of War PSP games were 'PS2 light'.

 

[phosphor112]

Congratulations? now try playing and actually using the trackpad and not an external mouse.

What's your point? FPS with a trackpad is just stupid, just like an FPS with a stylus. (point for me, yay!) I was discussing the software that can filter out unwanted input, saying it works well, now, if you want to try to say a trackpad is completely useless, you're wrong. Just like a stylus has practical applications, so does a trackpad. For example, I was even capable of beating Trine on Normal easily with just WASD and the trackpad.

 

[Cwarrior]

Yoshida too classy and smart to fall for bait

I don't know why he ain't prez yet.

 

[Momo]

Yoshida too classy and smart to fall for bait

I don't know why he ain't prez yet.

I'd really love if SEGA split from Sammy hired him as president and gave hardware another go.

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

I think they're actually doing a pretty bad job at showcasing the platform. What's the difference between LBP on Vita and LBP on PS3 ? I honestly don't know, other than touch controls and a new story. What sets Uncharted apart from the console iterations other than controls ? For someone like me who hasn't been following Vita that much it's pretty difficult to answer (same with many of Nintendo's 3DS titles so far).

isn't that the point though? give you *more* of that great console experience, but altered to work better on the go? that's what a lot of these big franchises on the Vita seem to be doing, because there isn't some big need to reinvent the wheel. especially considering that's sort of the way sony is positioning the Vita in the first place. all of these innovations are icing on the cake and will help diversify the overall lineup. i think we should be happy that these core franchises are using the Vita's new control methods so much right off the bat, instead of being button only and leaving (praying for) it up to 3rd parties to make cool new games that use the control schemes at their core.

EDIT: it would be pointless to go out of their way to fix all of PSP's mistakes and finally make a portable playstation with 2 analogs etc. etc. only to have all of the games move on into the touch/motion only phase. they've got to deliver those things promised with PSP and go even further with them, and at the same time show that the touch/motion stuff works too. i think it's brilliant.

with uncharted, specifically, when they first announced/showed it they talked up the importance of being able to play the game how you want. all touch, no touch, only some, only when it gets tough, etc.

and as far as there not being a way to do touch screen actions with the buttons, we have yet to fiddle with the options menu in the game or get any concrete info from the devs as to weather or not those things are locked to being touch-only.

 

[Durante]

I still can't believe that some people spin the availability of full console-quality games, in addition to specific portable titles, as a negative.

 

[FoneBone]

I still can't believe that some people spin the availability of full console-quality games, in addition to specific portable titles, as a negative.

If the console spinoffs are what define the platform, it's potentially a big negative, yes.

 

[rollingstart]

If the console spinoffs are what define the platform, it's potentially a big negative, yes.

That applies to every portable system except, and arguably, the DS and iOS.

 

[Kyoufu]

I still can't believe that some people spin the availability of full console-quality games, in addition to specific portable titles, as a negative.

What boggles my mind is why spin-offs are deemed to be so bad in the first place...

If the game is good, then the game is good.

 

[gofreak]

I think they're actually doing a pretty bad job at showcasing the platform. What's the difference between LBP on Vita and LBP on PS3 ?

Lots. LBP is a creative tool. So what it is is a function of the tools available on the platform. Vita has a very different, more expanded set of interface tools available to creators in LBP than on PS3. Same sticks and buttons, but with touchscreen (a big deal), back touch, screen-aligned gyros etc. Maybe some location-based gubbins if we're lucky!

In create mode the touchscreen should also be a boon for obvious reasons.

The short answer is - look at what the community will end up making with it. Tenner bets it's very different kinds of things than on PS3. Probably taking heavy doses of influence from iOS apps and DS games and the like. I think I even saw a canvas curse style level for example, and also something as simple as a water-level 'app'.

It's a different direction than would be possible on PS3 or PSP. In fact, I'd almost say it COULD end up being a much better fit...conceptually LBP was meant to evoke the idea of putting a camera on a make-and-do world. You're going to be able to be a lot more tactile with that world on Vita (not just because of touch, but because you can 'move' the world with world with the screen aligned gyros etc.) - interact with it as if it really were there behind the screen.

What sets Uncharted apart from the console iterations other than controls ? For someone like me who hasn't been following Vita

If you can make an Uncharted for a handheld that's low on compromises and adds additional interactions - why not? Even if Uncharted didn't have extra controls and some of the new gameplay features that fall out of that (like the photography stuff), I'd say it's a different kind of case than God of War PSP vs God of War PS3. When a PS4 comes around, Vita's still equipped with distinct stuff that devs can lean more heavily on than they might in some of these earlier games too.

And maybe your last sentence is at issue

 

[Callibretto]

What sets Uncharted apart from the console iterations other than controls ? For someone like me who hasn't been following Vita that much it's pretty difficult to answer (same with many of Nintendo's 3DS titles so far).

well, I don't know about you, but one of the big reason why I love uncharted aside from gameplay, is the characters and story. I want more of those characters, and Uncharted vita provide me with exactly that.

 

[Defuser]

What boggles my mind is why spin-offs are deemed to be so bad in the first place...

If the game is good, then the game is good.

Could be due to not being developed by actual team of the franchise game.Uncharted GA did caught some flak being not developed by naughty dog themselves and some people calling bend a b-tier team(lol).

 

[Callibretto]

Could be due to not being developed by actual team of the franchise game.Uncharted GA did caught some flak being not developed by naughty dog themselves and some people calling bend a b-tier team(lol).

I think some people just want a different experience/gameplay though, if Uncharted vita is announced to be point and click adventure ala broken sword, do you think those people will still complain about uncharted spin off even if it's made by dev other than naughty dog?

 

[Kyoufu]

Could be due to not being developed by actual team of the franchise game.Uncharted GA did caught some flak being not developed by naughty dog themselves and some people calling bend a b-tier team(lol).

Sony Bend are a quality developer though, so if the game is good, then the game is good.

God of War PSP games were made by "b-tier" team and they turned out good too. Silly to discriminate a game just because it isn't by the original developers.

 

[Lesiroth]

The double standards regarding what constitutes a console or a handheld game are really surprising.

Sony Bend are a quality developer though, so if the game is good, then the game is good.

God of War PSP games were made by "b-tier" team and they turned out good too. Silly to discriminate a game just because it isn't by the original developers.

I wouldn't call Ready at Dawn a b-tier team.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Lots. LBP is a creative tool. So what it is is a function of the tools available on the platform. Vita has a very different, more expanded set of interface tools available to creators in LBP than on PS3. Same sticks and buttons, but with touchscreen (a big deal), back touch, screen-aligned gyros etc. Maybe some location-based gubbins if we're lucky!

In create mode the touchscreen should also be a boon for obvious reasons.

The short answer is - look at what the community will end up making with it. Tenner bets it's very different kinds of things than on PS3. Probably taking heavy doses of influence from iOS apps and DS games and the like. I think I even saw a canvas curse style level for example, and also something as simple as a water-level 'app'.

I'll take it a step further and say Vita is the platform LBP was always intended for. It was simply treading water till it arrived. The Vita version should be the definitive version.

 

[Kyoufu]

The double standards regarding what constitutes a console or a handheld game are really surprising.

I wouldn't call Ready at Dawn a b-tier team.

I just did. They're handed b-tier projects.

 

[Jokeropia]

Impeccably classy responses. That guy should handle all of Sony's PR.

At the expense of ergonomics and functionality of the right face buttons.

If we're talking about aiming, I personally consider the massively improved speed/accuracy to make it a worthwhile tradeoff.

 

[Raine]

Honestly, who gives a shit? Whatever happened to people just playing good games? Do you only watch movies that have a cool twist or new premise? Sometimes a well written and well worn story is all you need to have a good time.

The Vita's going to have that in spades and besides, shit never before seen has already been announced for the thing (Little Deviants, Sound Shapes, and Gravity Daze).

The Vita isn't even out yet and people are already complaining about innovation like it's been out for 2 years or something.

 

[Callibretto]

I just did. They're handed b-tier projects.

If god of war is a b tier project, than bend is given c tier project with syphon filter. Not saying syphon filter is a bad game, but from sony perspective, gow psp is a much more important series than syphon filter

 

[Bad_Boy]

This may be the first classy Sony employee interview I've ever seen.

You guys are quick to forget Phil Harrison. In his prime Sony days, he was the man who understood us.

 

[Duffyside]

So now I ask this question a different way: how high up is Yoshida? Who are his bosses? Can Jack Tretton fire him? What about Jim Sony?

 

[Jokeropia]

Phil Harrison was not classy by any stretch of the imagination:

"With the DS, it's fair to say that Nintendo stepped out of the technical race and went for a feature differentiation with the touch screen, but I fear that it won't have a lasting impact beyond that of a gimmick - so the long-lasting appeal of the platform is at peril as a direct result of that."

"Nintendo knows its target audience, because it has really narrowed that down; and it's pretty much defined by a boy or girl's ability to admire Pokemon."

- Phil Harrison, 2005

Much crow was eaten on those.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

You guys are quick to forget Phil Harrison. In his prime Sony days, he was the man who understood us.

Phil had a very hardcore casual push to gaming and one of the reasons why he left as Sony didn't agree at the time with his thoughts.

Phil Harrison was not classy by any stretch of the imagination:Much crow was eaten on those.

Poor Phil had to tow the company line but he could only do it for so long before it got too much for him and hence... why he left. Yoshida doesn't have the burden of trying to keep up the PS2 PR during a launch PS3 window. Yoshida can now be honest because he came afterwards.

 

[patsu]

Phil grabbed our imagination when PS3 was having lot's of negative buzz though. His Game 3.0 presentation was sweet ! He was the one who grasped the LBP concept right away, and pushed the team to deliver more.

Shuhei seems more like a down to earth, ops guy. He hasn't really come out and champion for a particular direction. But he's good at understanding developer concerns and addressing them.

What I want to know is: Who's in charge of the Vita UI and vision ? Shuhei's and Phil's role centers around studios. The Vita UI needs some more tweaks, fixes and polishing to make the entire environment shine.

Sony may need to reimagine/reinvent handheld gaming.

 

[StuBurns]

Phil Harrison was not classy by any stretch of the imagination:Much crow was eaten on those.

The second quote is a little harsh, but the DS didn't do great out the of gate, the fact the gimmick took off is great, but it was very risky. PSP was playing it very very safe in comparison. I'd say the first quote is a fair comment.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

The question I want people to ask Yoshida is why Sony only puts money into Western developers and not Eastern developers. All their top studios are Western, they keep buying Western developers and putting millions and millions into it but when is the last time they bought an Eastern developer? I would think their dev money would be evenly dispensed.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

At least, they acknowledge what went wrong with the PSP. There are a decent amount of innovative titles already like Gravity Daze, Sound Shapes, Dragon's Crown, Alien Spidy, Escape Plan and Ruin. There will always be ports, even the DS had them and you can't do anything about that. Third-parties will wait for the install base to reach a sizeable proportion before taking risks and that's normal. So it's upto Sony to showcase the platform and considering the launch line-up so far, they're doing a pretty good job.

Technically Dragon's Crown and Ruin are PS3 ports as they're both leading there. And actually Gravity Daze was a PS3 project that got cannibalized and moved over to Vita, it's been in development for a while now from what I understand.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

The question I want people to ask Yoshida is why Sony only puts money into Western developers and not Eastern developers. All their top studios are Western, they keep buying Western developers and putting millions and millions into it but when is the last time they bought an Eastern developer? I would think their dev money would be evenly dispensed.

I want also the reporters to ask him about what´s going on with SCEJ. The output from SCEA and SCEE dwarf SCEJ´s output. I want to hear if he had a new strategy for SCEJ. But after what happened with Capcom, i think SCEJ is still the same.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I want also the reporters to ask him about what´s going on with SCEJ. The output from SCEA and SCEE dwarf SCEJ´s output. I want to hear if he had a new strategy for SCEJ. But after what happened with Capcom, i think SCEJ is still the same.

All the checks are cut from SCEI so you would think they would have first dibs over Western developers.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Yoshida is a class act. Love his interviews.

 

[gofreak]

What I want to know is: Who's in charge of the Vita UI and vision ? Shuhei's and Phil's role centers around studios. The Vita UI needs some more tweaks, fixes and polishing to make the entire environment shine.

From the PS Meeting, "Software Development Department Business Division No. 2" - which is indeed not Yoshida's ship.

Although is Yoshida on the SCE board now? If he is he at least gets to have some input on more general matters beyond WWS.

 

[StuBurns]

When they do buy/build studios in Japan, they pretty much do nothing. That studio they made with Namco has been going for years, and Ridge Racer Vita is their first title, and it apparently has significant performance issues.

Unacceptable way to spend money.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

The question I want people to ask Yoshida is why Sony only puts money into Western developers and not Eastern developers. All their top studios are Western, they keep buying Western developers and putting millions and millions into it but when is the last time they bought an Eastern developer? I would think their dev money would be evenly dispensed.

The formation of SCEWWS decentralized R&D priority from Japan, and SCEJ's been suffering ever since. Most of their longtime developer partners have also moved on to start making games for the competition too in the past half decade (Media.Vision, Shift, Nana-on-Sha, Level 5, Matrix Software, etc). It's really weird how weak the Japan Studio's become since I always felt they were such a force on PS1 and PS2.

In a weird way, Nintendo has almost the opposite problem. They've been growing their internal studios rapidly in Japan and have been establishing tons of longterm relationships with external JP developers, but their western development (both internal and contracted) has greatly atrophied since the N64 and GC days.

 

[SolidSnakex]

When they do buy/build studios in Japan, they pretty much do nothing. That studio they made with Namco has been going to years, and Ridge Racer Vita is their first title, and it apparently has significant performance issues.

Unacceptable way to spend money.

Cellius was never intended to be a game developer only

Game development companies generally do one thing -- develop games. All development and research done is to further that goal. Tools and engine companies, of course, create products that help that process along -- but few companies are set up simply to investigate ways in which to use technology innovatively for the sake of seeing what can be done.

That's why Cellius is unusual. Formed in March 2007 by Sony Computer Entertainment and Namco Bandai Games, "It's not a standard sort of game development company; the theme is more generally 'entertainment,' and more emphasis is placed on research than most outfits," its vice president Hideo Teramoto told Gamasutra.

"Cellius got its start with the Cell processor architecture; the concept was to be an outfit that researched ways to use this technology to create neat things. So it's not exactly pure research; it's more about finding ways to expand the things that can be done with the PlayStation family."

"We definitely don't" have plans to become a full-time game developer, he says. "This Ridge project is in itself a sort of experiment to see what sort of Ridge game Cellius can come up with; it's a very different development atmosphere from when I was working on Ridge Racer in 2006. So if we do continue making games, I think we'll still remain different from normal game companies."

Beyond a new Ridge Racer, it seems that a research-focused developer such as Cellius could help even the technology gap that Japanese companies have suffered during this generation. "That's definitely true, yes," says Teramoto.

Is that one of the company's goals, then? "We're working in a lot of different directions. I mentioned that we're trying to catch up technology-wise and that's one of our goals, but really it boils down to just working on things that we think are interesting, things that we think players will want to pick up and interact with."

The company's projects have been varied: "One thing we did was voice synthesis technology that allowed the characters from the Evangelion animation to say whatever you wanted. Also, for last year's CEDEC -- the main technical game show in Japan -- we had a demo where we connected several PS3s together to produce a really large, more-hi-res-than-HDTV 3D landscape. There were also some community service projects that let people interact while watching each other onscreen. There are other projects in progress right now, as well, which we can't quite talk about yet."

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35384/Cellius_Namco__Sonys_Secret_Weapon.php

 

[Sipowicz]

the only person in sce with class, sense and foresight

 

[Pachterballs]

The formation of SCEWWS decentralized R&D priority from Japan, and SCEJ's been suffering ever since. Most of their longtime developer partners have also moved on to start making games for the competition too in the past half decade (Media.Vision, Shift, Nana-on-Sha, Level 5, Matrix Software, etc). It's really weird how weak the Japan Studio's become since I always felt they were such a force on PS1 and PS2.

In a weird way, Nintendo has almost the opposite problem. They've been growing their internal studios rapidly in Japan and have been establishing tons of longterm relationships with external JP developers, but their western development (both internal and contracted) has greatly atrophied since the N64 and GC days.

I wouldn't really say nintendos Japanese studios situation is growing rapidly; not even sure how you came to tha conclusion. Still going to get sequels, ports, remakes, the "nintendo drought"... Etc. I actually think nintendo is moving backwards... Late wii lifecycle has not been kind to fans

 

[Figboy79]

What I really like about Yoshida is that he doesn't fall for the obvious bait questions interviewers throw at him.

All this gen, it's been "Let's guffaw at Sony putting their foot in their mouths in interviews! HAW HAW!"

It's amusing to see interviewers throw out bait, get deflected, then try again a question later. lol.

Yoshida is good at fielding the loaded questions.

 

[Datschge]

The second quote is a little harsh

No, it's not harsh. It's the kind of populist misleading "Nintendo's kiddy" statement where the usual audience nods in agreement and proceeds to post "Nintendo's doomed, going 3rd party" garbage everywhere. A troll bait in other words, only that too many people actually think it's true.