PS4 announcement this year would be distracting - PS3 Just hitting it's stride

[bdoughty]

http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1218944p1.html

Today, IGN spoke at length with Sony Computer Entertainment America's CEO and President Jack Tretton about all things PlayStation. The PlayStation Vita took center stage in the discussion, but inevitably, the next generation of PlayStation consoles came up.

When asked if the rumors of there being no PlayStation 4 reveal in 2012 were true, Tretton talked about how Sony constantly iterates and is always working on what's next for the PlayStation brand.

"In terms of when you talk about [the next generation] and when you announce it, it really depends on the health of the existing platform and the other things you have going on," Tretton remarked. "And right now, we're focused on PlayStation 3, and I've got another platform (PlayStation Vita) to get out the door in seven days, so I don't want to be thinking about trying to launch new technology anytime soon. I want to focus all our energy on our console business, which is really just hitting its stride, and Vita, which really deserves a dedicated push from us."

Tretton concluded, "I, quite frankly, would be very distracted if I had to be talking about next generation hardware this year," insinuating that PlayStation 4, in line with rumors supporting it, wouldn't be seen or heard from in 2012.

Look for the full content of our interview with Jack Tretton soon here on IGN.



Borrowed from NeoGaf

July 2008: PlayStation 3 is "hitting its stride (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2008/07/the_videogame_industrys_major.html)".

February 2010: PlayStation 3 is just hitting its stride (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/playstation-brand-hitting-its-stride-says-tretton).

June 2011: PlayStation 3 is only just now hitting its stride (http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2011/06/17/playstation-chief-jack-tretton-how-to-sell-vita-navigate-clouds-and-debut-the-ps4/).

------------------


I am a PS3 owner but I also follow the NPD sales threads and it is in no way hitting its stride. Another late entry into the console market will only spell more doom for Sony.

[morsdraconis]

Sony would be stupid not to just back out of the console wars altogether. Really, the only people that EVER buy a Sony console are the ones that hate Micro$oft enough to not buy their console. Even now, after all the time that it's been out and making games, there are, literally, like 6 games worth playing on the entire console that are PS3 exclusive. That's pretty damn sad.

[I OU a Beatn]

I don't know about that. God of War, Killzone, SOCOM, Resistance, Twisted Metal, Uncharted, Gran Turismo, inFAMOUS, LittleBigPlanet, and MLB The Show are all very high quality exclusives. There's also a new Sly Cooper game coming out, and let's not forget about The Last of Us. Starhawk is releasing soon and if you judge it based on the beta, it's going to be the shooter of the year. Your statement reads to me like something someone would say about Microsoft. Microsoft is the one that has a very porous library when we're talking exclusives. They have Gears, Halo, Fable, Forza, and that's it.

Sony would be utterly stupid to bow out of making consoles. They're less than 4 million units worldwide behind the 360, and when you consider they were a full year behind the 360 and factor in how SHITTY their online service is compared to Live, it's pretty remarkable. The Playstation name sells...simple as that.

[bdoughty]

Microsoft is the one that has a very porous library when we're talking exclusives. They have Gears, Halo, Fable, Forza, and that's it.


I would have to agree with you there. That is the reason I bought a PS3, to play the exclusives. Plus you left off a few others. The Last Guardian (TBD), Heavy Rain, Yakuza series, Motorstorm, Metal Gear Solid 4, Ratchet and Clank, Hot Shots Golf (time for a sequel) and a few others.

If Sony puts themselves a year or so out again, with all the issues you already mentioned, they might dig that hole they can't get out of. We can talk hardware sales and how 360 has just been knocking it out of the park this past year, the kicker is that they have dominated the multi-platform market and while PS3 has slowly made it's way up, they are still taking big lumps. Where they failed royally is coming out a year later with a system that was immensely harder to program for, especially 3rd parties, making people pick up 360 copies of multi-platform games. Sure you have Blue-Ray but the majority of games shown side by side with the 360 are generally ties or in many cases favoring the 360.

They also told us to get a second job to afford the price of the PS3 at launch, might want to avoid that line of thinking next time.

[ram29jackson]

a guy at a video game store put it to me this way...its been surveyed..the adult with a good paying job owns a PS3..the cheetos eating,weed smoking teenager owns an xbox360.....

[steelerfan]

a guy at a video game store put it to me this way...its been surveyed..the adult with a good paying job owns a PS3..the cheetos eating,weed smoking teenager owns an xbox360.....

:D:D:D:D:D

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk

[psusnoop]

a guy at a video game store put it to me this way...its been surveyed..the adult with a good paying job owns a PS3..the cheetos eating,weed smoking teenager owns an xbox360.....

:D:D.

[SmoothPancakes]

I take offense at that statement. First, I'm 24 (will be 25 on April 15th), so I'm not a teenager. Second, while I don't mind cheetos, I haven't had them in years. And third, I don't smoke weed, or beyond a cigar once every one or two years, smoke at all. I drink whiskey, brandy, scotch and cognac.

[Deuce]

a guy at a video game store put it to me this way...its been surveyed..the adult with a good paying job owns a PS3..the cheetos eating,weed smoking teenager owns an xbox360.....

Man, I need to buy me an xbox360! Those kids have all the fun!


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[DariusLock]

I get the best of both worlds.

Haven't started Gears 3 yeat so I have not bought Live tho.

[CLW]

a guy at a video game store put it to me this way...its been surveyed..the adult with a good paying job owns a PS3..the cheetos eating,weed smoking teenager owns an xbox360.....

:+1:

:D

Look both consoles have their + and - for me I prefer Sony: (1) due to the better track record as far as not buying a POS out of the box that crashes (my launch PS1; PS2; PS3 all made it completely through the cycle with no issues); (2) Free online play (I don't care how much "better" live is I will NEVER pay just so I can play video games online) (3) the controller.

[I OU a Beatn]

(I don't care how much "better" live is I will NEVER pay just so I can play video games online)

Don't bet on that. There's been numerous reports over the past year or so that have suggested Sony has taken notice at the large amount of money Microsoft is making off of Live, which is exactly why they implemented PS Plus. I'd say it's almost a certainty Sony will eventually go to a similar model for online play that Microsoft has, meaning it's going to be a monthly fee.

I also never got the whole argument when it comes to system preference. Yes, I know there's a lot of people out there that have a very weird brand loyalty obsession to one company(which I will never, ever understand), but I'd like to think that most people realize each system has it's advantages and disadvantages over the other. Xbox Live absolutely destroys PSN, there's no doubt about it. It has cross game chat, it has achievements, it has the party system, it has cross game invites, everything is so quick and snappy, game updates never last more than 2 minutes, etc...

PS3 has game updates that literally last 45+ minutes and even more depending on your connection, no cross game chat, the interface is blah, and the in game XMB is absolutely the slowest loading thing I've ever used in my life. On the flip side, the PS3 has the exclusive games and better 3D support.

I ESPECIALLY don't understand the whole "don't have a job if you pick 360 over PS3" reference. That remains the single dumbest statement I read on a daily basis and I read it all the time. I assume it means that the PS3 costs more so only people with jobs would be able to afford it, but what the fuck? The PS3 is by far the cheaper console in the long run, so I really have a hard time wrapping my head around that one.

[CLW]

Don't bet on that. There's been numerous reports over the past year or so that have suggested Sony has taken notice at the large amount of money Microsoft is making off of Live, which is exactly why they implemented PS Plus. I'd say it's almost a certainty Sony will eventually go to a similar model for online play that Microsoft has, meaning it's going to be a monthly fee.

I also never got the whole argument when it comes to system preference. Yes, I know there's a lot of people out there that have a very weird brand loyalty obsession to one company(which I will never, ever understand), but I'd like to think that most people realize each system has it's advantages and disadvantages over the other. Xbox Live absolutely destroys PSN, there's no doubt about it. It has cross game chat, it has achievements, it has the party system, it has cross game invites, everything is so quick and snappy, game updates never last more than 2 minutes, etc...

PS3 has game updates that literally last 45+ minutes and even more depending on your connection, no cross game chat, the interface is blah, and the in game XMB is absolutely the slowest loading thing I've ever used in my life. On the flip side, the PS3 has the exclusive games and better 3D support.

I ESPECIALLY don't understand the whole "don't have a job if you pick 360 over PS3" reference. That remains the single dumbest statement I read on a daily basis and I read it all the time. I assume it means that the PS3 costs more so only people with jobs would be able to afford it, but what the fuck? The PS3 is by far the cheaper console in the long run, so I really have a hard time wrapping my head around that one.

Sony may very well require you to pay to play online at some point in the future. However, if/when that happens that will be the END of my online playing days. I'm nearly 32 now with a wife (and some day soon a family). For me playing online is nice but if I have to pay additional for it I'll just play offline or (my wife's prayers will have been answered) and I'll just hang the controllers up.

I'm sure I'm in the minority the question for Sony is will paying for online play cost them more customers like me than they can make up by charging $X /month.

[I OU a Beatn]

I don't know, but I'm guessing that's why they still offer online play for free. I know several people who went with the PS3 solely because of the free online play, and while that doesn't matter to me, I know it does for a lot of people. I always saw PS Plus as a way to test just how many people are willing to pay a monthly fee for a service whenever the content is worth the price.

Of course, then again, Vita has a party system similar to Live and it's free to use and play online, so maybe Sony really is planning on allowing free online play and focusing on PS Plus to bring in additional revenue.

[CLW]

I don't know, but I'm guessing that's why they still offer online play for free. I know several people who went with the PS3 solely because of the free online play, and while that doesn't matter to me, I know it does for a lot of people. I always saw PS Plus as a way to test just how many people are willing to pay a monthly fee for a service whenever the content is worth the price.

Of course, then again, Vita has a party system similar to Live and it's free to use and play online, so maybe Sony really is planning on allowing free online play and focusing on PS Plus to bring in additional revenue.

Perhaps Sony gives a "no frills" online system for people like me and for guys like you a more Live like PSN. I dunno seems to me that when you shell out several hundred $ for a system and $60 for a game that ought to already come with the ability to play online. I don't play CPU games often but do the companies that make those games charge people to play the game online?

[JBHuskers]

Hands down, I think the new gen of systems were just some rumors that people ran with. Right now isn't the time.

[I OU a Beatn]

I don't know, I'd almost bet the next Xbox is at least teased at E3 this year, if not fully revealed and pegged for a 2013 release. I don't think Sony is at that point, even though they probably need to be. I don't think Sony can afford to allow themselves to get beaten to the market again, but if I had to guess, 2013 reveal with 2014 release. I'm personally not even ready for the next generation...I still feel this generation has a ton to offer. The Last of Us is just one example of that.

[bdoughty]

Gotta disagree there JB, Microsoft is no dummy and will not be giving the Wii U a year lead. While E3 is coming up, it might get announced at the Game Developers Conference in March. The original Xbox was announced at the GDC.

[JBHuskers]

Gotta disagree there JB, Microsoft is no dummy and will not be giving the Wii U a year lead. While E3 is coming up, it might get announced at the Game Developers Conference in March. The original Xbox was announced at the GDC.

To me, WiiU isn't really next gen. More like it's an attempt to catch the other two.

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[SmoothPancakes]

To me, WiiU isn't really next gen. More like it's an attempt to catch the other two.

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That was my thoughts exactly. MS and Sony could both wait two more years to even announce new consoles and they would still never be threatened by the WiiU.

[bdoughty]

That was my thoughts exactly. MS and Sony could both wait two more years to even announce new consoles and they would still never be threatened by the WiiU.

That is what they both thought coming into this gen. Wacky little controller, weak graphics, niche console, limited market to Nintendo fans.

Worldwide sales figures (from Wiki)

Wii – 94.97 million as of 31 December 2011
Xbox 360 – 57.6 million as of 4 November 2011
PlayStation 3 – 56 million as of 2 November 2011

360 needed the Kinect to make a resurgence in sales and Sony also copied with the Move. That said Wii still has a untouchable lead. They will be the first to the market with a tablet style controller, rumors are MS is looking at a similar controller. I seem to recall something about history, repeating something or another.

Sure, why would anyone be threatened by a company with hardware sales almost double the 360/PS3? :dunno:

[SmoothPancakes]

That is what they both thought coming into this gen. Wacky little controller, weak graphics, niche console, limited market to Nintendo fans.

Worldwide sales figures (from Wiki)

Wii – 94.97 million as of 31 December 2011
Xbox 360 – 57.6 million as of 4 November 2011
PlayStation 3 – 56 million as of 2 November 2011

360 needed the Kinect to make a resurgence in sales and Sony also copied with the Move. That said Wii still has a untouchable lead. They will be the first to the market with a tablet style controller, rumors are MS is looking at a similar controller. I seem to recall something about history, repeating something or another.

Sure, why would anyone be threatened by a company with hardware sales almost double the 360/PS3? :dunno:

I'm talking specifically for hardcore gamers, not in general.

[bdoughty]

I'm talking specifically for hardcore gamers, not in general.

Not a big fan of breaking down gamers but if we must... Technically the most hardcore gamers have owned a Wii at some point. That is what makes them "hardcore gamers" i.e. they play the games and not the system. Close to 100 million of those Wii's sold, you would imagine a few of those are people that would be considered "hardcore." Especially considering that Nintendo has had a console out since the NES and has franchises/fanbase that have been around since the 1980's.

To me this is hardcore.

http://zeldatimeline.com/ZeldaTimeline2010b.jpg

http://www.gamefront.com/this-ankle-wins-at-video-game-tattoos/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEMD28MMtNg

Anything from this dude. if you have never heard of Ulillillia, you are not hardcore.

http://www.ulillillia.us/mainindex.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/user/ulillillia



People who do speed runs, play games with house rules just to play them some more, play games just to win fictional achievement points, keep all their old games and consoles (even the boxes), etc, etc, etc.

I just play the silly things, some people take their obsession to a whole, nother, level and that is hardcore. Wanting a sports game to play more like the real thing does not make you a hardcore gamer, it makes you anal retentive. ;)

[jaymo76]

I really don't want to see the 720 or PS4 for the next couple of years at the earliest. PS3 still hasn't developed to it's potential and so much more can be done. Plus, the big thing for me is that I am now 36 and with my kids growing up as fast as they are I just don't know if I have another console in me.

[baseballplyrmvp]

That is what they both thought coming into this gen. Wacky little controller, weak graphics, niche console, limited market to Nintendo fans.

Worldwide sales figures (from Wiki)

Wii – 94.97 million as of 31 December 2011
Xbox 360 – 57.6 million as of 4 November 2011
PlayStation 3 – 56 million as of 2 November 2011

360 needed the Kinect to make a resurgence in sales and Sony also copied with the Move. That said Wii still has a untouchable lead. They will be the first to the market with a tablet style controller, rumors are MS is looking at a similar controller. I seem to recall something about history, repeating something or another.

Sure, why would anyone be threatened by a company with hardware sales almost double the 360/PS3? :dunno:take that statement with a grain of salt as the sales numbers you listed include the holiday sales for the wii but not for the 360/ps3. i'm sure there werent 40 million 360's/ps3's sold over the holidays, but those numbers you listed are a little skewed.

[morsdraconis]

take that statement with a grain of salt as the sales numbers you listed include the holiday sales for the wii but not for the 360/ps3. i'm sure there werent 40 million 360's/ps3's sold over the holidays, but those numbers you listed are a little skewed.

No. The Wii is the most accessible console EVER. Old people that NEVER play console games bought a Wii. There are people that just have the Wii, Wii Sports, and shit like Wii Fit with the Wii Balance Board thing.

The Wii may be shit graphically and the under the hood stuff may be basically a slightly souped up Gamecube, but Nintendo knew what they were doing. The casual game market is completely controlled by Nintendo with the Wii.

[gschwendt]

No. The Wii is the most accessible console EVER. Old people that NEVER play console games bought a Wii. There are people that just have the Wii, Wii Sports, and shit like Wii Fit with the Wii Balance Board thing.

The Wii may be shit graphically and the under the hood stuff may be basically a slightly souped up Gamecube, but Nintendo knew what they were doing. The casual game market is completely controlled by Nintendo with the Wii.Correct, but do you think those people that you're describing will have any desire to go out and purchase a new console (ie WiiU)? No. My parents bought a Wii and never use it... if it weren't for my neices and nephew coming over, it would never get used. The WiiU won't have nearly the same type of sales that the Wii had... especially considering old people hate confusing controllers.

[baseballplyrmvp]

No. The Wii is the most accessible console EVER. Old people that NEVER play console games bought a Wii. There are people that just have the Wii, Wii Sports, and shit like Wii Fit with the Wii Balance Board thing.

The Wii may be shit graphically and the under the hood stuff may be basically a slightly souped up Gamecube, but Nintendo knew what they were doing. The casual game market is completely controlled by Nintendo with the Wii.i'm not referring to the wii's popularity....just the numbers presented by bdoughty. with the inclusion of the holiday season for only the wii, it slightly skews the numbers of how popular the wii is. i know its the most popular console.

[bdoughty]

i'm not referring to the wii's popularity....just the numbers presented by bdoughty. with the inclusion of the holiday season for only the wii, it slightly skews the numbers of how popular the wii is. i know its the most popular console.

Okay so add a a million or so to the PS3 and 360, I took the numbers from wiki and that is what they had listed. Oh, but while you are at it, care to guesstimate how many of those 360 sales are people replacing a Red Ring console or a new PS3/360 model. etc, etc? Say what you will but Nintendo makes the most dependable console on the market and always has.

[bdoughty]

Correct, but do you think those people that you're describing will have any desire to go out and purchase a new console (ie WiiU)? No. My parents bought a Wii and never use it... if it weren't for my neices and nephew coming over, it would never get used. The WiiU won't have nearly the same type of sales that the Wii had... especially considering old people hate confusing controllers.

I do not disagree with that but there will still be carryover from that crowd, buying into the next new thing. They tapped the heck out of the casual market but they still own some of the most hardcore fan base out there. Just not the DudeBro gamer and sports gamer who usually falls under the DudeBro mantra.

[baseballplyrmvp]

Okay so add a a million or so to the PS3 and 360, I took the numbers from wiki and that is what they had listed. Oh, but while you are at it, care to guesstimate how many of those 360 sales are people replacing a Red Ring console or a new PS3/360 model. etc, etc? Say what you will but Nintendo makes the most dependable console on the market and always has.try adding 10 million or so to both the 360 and ps3. the 360 finished around 65 million consoles, and while its not a huge difference, the numbers you posted didnt show an accurate count.

as far as replacing broken consoles? who cares? btw, the 360 actually sold more consoles last year than any other console. as more games come out for the kinect and move, the 360 and ps3 will push closer and closer to the wii.

[bdoughty]

try adding 10 million or so to both the 360 and ps3. the 360 finished around 65 million consoles, and while its not a huge difference, the numbers you posted didnt show an accurate count.

as far as replacing broken consoles? who cares? btw, the 360 actually sold more consoles last year than any other console. as more games come out for the kinect and move, the 360 and ps3 will push closer and closer to the wii.

I read the monthly NPD's at Neogaf, so I am pretty aware of who is doing what. I tried posting a few NPD threads here but there was no interest, so I stopped.

FYI Broken consoles do not add to your consumer base so the numbers are inflated. Based on the 360 having the most broken consoles, they are the most inflated. I have said, in this very thread, the 360 was blowing away the other consoles the past year.

[JeffHCross]

Sony would be stupid not to just back out of the console wars altogether. Really, the only people that EVER buy a Sony console are the ones that hate Micro$oft enough to not buy their console.Yeah ... no. I'll readily admit that I'm not a Microsoft fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I would easily buy their console if it had the best games. I would have bought an original Xbox if KotOR and KotOR II had been only on the Xbox. But the fact that I'm not a M$ fan has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a PS3 owner first.


Say what you will but Nintendo makes the most dependable console on the market and always has.It's also the least risky console (in terms of hardware) plus, based on what I've seen, the smallest number of games sold/console, and therefore probably the least used console of the three. Don't get me wrong, I think the Wii is probably the best built of this current generation, but I also think the use cases are extremely different. My $250 Dell that I bought 5 years ago to build Visual Studio code and browse the Internet has been the most reliable computer I've had in the last decade, but I'm also not trying to stress it at all.

[bdoughty]

and therefore probably the least used console of the three.

True, but when it is used, amazing things can happen.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhG7_8nCPck

[JBHuskers]

The response to WiiU was VERY lukewarm. Overall MS and Sony can't be worried.

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[bdoughty]

The response to WiiU was VERY lukewarm. Overall MS and Sony can't be worried.


I guess it depends where you are looking. Sports Gaming sites are not exactly a Nintendo stronghold. There 173 page thread at Neogaf (the 2nd one as the first exceeded the thread count) regarding Wii speculation. Not to mention all the Nintendo sites out there. The Wii hubs at gamespot and IGN, etc. My interest has grown because Nintendo has franchises I enjoy (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc) but could never hook me last gen and I tried. I would never even consider it for sports games, outside the occasion purchase of a Mario Golf or Tennis.