MS: PS3 online plans "plagiarism," Blu-ray "forced"

by Ken Weeks { Jun 5th 2006 at 1:00AM }

Quotable Chris Lewis of Xbox Europe calls Sony's vague online efforts "plagiarism" and throws in a a car business analogy for good measure. Excerpt:

"I'm flattered that they've followed our clear direction," Lewis told UK site Eurogamer. "Plagiarism is a good thing - that in itself isn't such a problem, it's what the market wants. But we've known that's what the market wanted all along."

Meanwhile, UK boss Neil Thompson pours salt on an old wound:

"This is the company that brought out Betamax – we don't quite know where they're going to go with this," he added, in a pointed reference to Sony's defeat in the format war against VHS...

Both execs slam Sony's strategy of "forcing" Beta-ray...I mean Blu-ray on consumers. I have to say I love these guys and their slightly more Churchillian approach. More fanboy fodder here in video form.

Tags: blu-ray, chris lewis, ChrisLewis, europe, neil thompson, NeilThompson, online, PS3, xbox live, XboxLive

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

West07 @ Jun 5th 2006 3:02AM

Ohh its on now

Sinistar @ Jun 5th 2006 8:26AM

I'm glad to see that the Beta-Ray jokes are persisting longer than the Wii jokes.

The only reason Microsoft is down on Blu-Ray is because its content lockdown mechanisms effectively torpedoing Windows Media Center by not allowing content to be stored on a media server.

If it weren't for that, they'd probably be behind Blu-Ray all the way.

And the whole "forced" argument? Even if PS3 was DVD based, it's not like I can play those games on any other platform, so having a "forced" disc format isn't really that big of a deal. If being "forced" to use a storage medium that will allow developers to go nuts on content is a bad thing, so be it. I guess I'll just play my 360 for the tight games that feature less detailed textures, less audio, fewer cutscenes (that's not necessarily a bad thing), and multiple discs for larger games.

If Microsoft is so confident that they'll have a solid and unshakeable lead by the time the PS3 lands (they've said this from several directions), maybe they should just concentrate on that and stop all this PS3 bashing. Lord knows the Sony execs are doing well enough digging their own hole with their constant stream of asinine statements. I don't think Sony needs any help in that area.

Joe @ Jun 5th 2006 9:48AM

this doesnt have anything directly to do with Sony BS "Hub" system. but should drive the nail into the coffin that is the PS3.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32171

This is strait from a PS3 Developers mouth.

this confirms what i have been saying all along thre PS3 is inferior to the 360 from a hardware stand point, if you rabid fanboys need to me explain what all this read/write jazz means i can, but maybe the rabid fanboys will come to grips with reality now.

when you combine this and the fact that the Xbox 360 is very simple to program for, and uses the same Direct X 10 shaders as PC games currently being developed i can pretty much assure you that the 360 not the Ps3 will be the standard to which games are made for an ported out, which is good for us 360 users, and extremely bad for those Ps3 developers.

Why you ask becasue the Ps3 willl pretty much require a entire CPU code rewrite for every game, in this case that re-write will require a crazy amount of debugging and delay Ps3 ports to the point where Madden 2007 comes out in 08 for the PS3. This being said, games made for the Ps3 first will most likely never see the shores of the Xbox 360.

The PS3 is going to be a comverence device that no one wants, it might sell out. But its $600+ price tag not going to sell 10 million consoles. Not even close, more like 3 million.
And when its competion A. Has a 6 million console head start, a superior product and a huge online juggernaut unifing the platform. and B is other compeditior offers it's product a full $400 less and has corner the non-gamer market.

Sony looks like the poor like boy left out in the cold. Now if MS can only buy out SCEA game libary and get me a nice PS1/PS2 emulator on Xbox Arcade i think that would be it!

cap-n-crunch @ Jun 5th 2006 10:42AM

@1 what do you mean by stop the ps3 bashing? Shoud MS or sony, or N ignore that their are other choices for the gamer's dollar? GAME companys pay P.R people for a reason, its not like he's the lead art director taking time away from the next HALO game.

If I was reading an interview and the interviewer asked about the competetors hardware specs, the last response I would want to read is (puts fingers in ears and yells) LALALALALALALA ICANTHEREYOU!!!.

OMAC @ Jun 5th 2006 11:09AM

Sony has given us such spectacular failures as ATRAC3, UMD Movies and BetaMax. They thought they would win the MP3 war with Memory Stick after killing MiniDisc. Sony doesn't know how to win a format war to save their life. But because the PS3 has Blu Ray, and Sony is marketing this as not just a game device, they will sell a gazillion to people that just want Blu Ray. They can take a few years of multi-hundred million dollar losses if Blu Ray wins.

Paul @ Jun 5th 2006 12:18PM

the funny thing is that often sony has the superior format (beta-max was far superior to VHS) but the expense keeps people away...

Nossy @ Jun 5th 2006 2:52PM

Errr...If you mean the superior format as in more copy protection encryptions, then yeah.

Nik @ Jun 5th 2006 2:59PM

So Sony is "forcing" Blu-Ray on consumers? Fair enough guys, but is Microsoft not "forcing" Windows Vista on consumers by making games like Halo 2 Vista only?

Now I'm no fan of Sony and I'm absolutely in favor of Microsoft kicking them all over the schoolyard, but the hypocrisy is quite amusing to me.

dutchb0y @ Jun 5th 2006 4:01PM

Some people have happily pointed out before that MS would have put HD-DVD into the 360 if it had been more like DVD... the only and obvious format upgrade to the existing format. THat would have been a *lock* for sure... also, I agree with the comment here that MS likely doesn't want to side with Blu-Ray becuase of it's ExtraCrispy™ DRM flavour in regards to MediaCentre, not to mention, giving Royalties to Sony for every 360 sold would be a small annoyance. ;)

MS is no angel.. this is spin, and that's that. I just think they were smart to stick with DVD this round.. especially given the market penetration and consumer confusion over HD to begin with.. it will likely hit it's stride when the XBOX 720 comes out. :)

I think some people are missing the point about "forcing" in this context. Most games likely won't appreciably benefit from a next-gen format like HD-DVD and BD. There are lots of articles to support this. Sure, some games will doubtless be able to store more of x and y files, but it's more about the inital cost of the system and what Sony hopes you are at least partly buying the PS3 for: MOVIES.

So, if you are buying a PS3, mainly for games, maybe for movies.. and Blu-Ray loses the format war, well, you paid extra for a drive that you basically can't use for what it was intended! At least it will play your DVDs and hopefully upconvert them.

I have a 360, love it. Would love to love the PS3, bet it's likely a match more or less with the 360 on a performance in gaming level, but I won't be buying a PS3 (or the 360 HD-DVD add-on) unless the format war gets settled.

p.s. As for the 1 or 2 games I expect will ever use more than 1 DVD (and if I happen to be interested in playing them), I expect I won't mind much so long as the discs are split up smartly and there is a minimum of swapping.

Gin @ Jun 5th 2006 5:02PM

2. If being "forced" to use a storage medium that will allow developers to go nuts on content is a bad thing, so be it. I guess I'll just play my 360 for the tight games that feature less detailed textures, less audio, fewer cutscenes (that's not necessarily a bad thing), and multiple discs for larger games.

You do have a point there. If the 360 did come with an HD-DVD drive as standard, it would have been heaven for developers (and gamers) to go nuts on their games, but the 360 would have been $499. And hey, being the 360 fanboy i am, i would have still bought it for that price but I think M$ did a smart yet risky move that could have went either way. I hope developers dont hesitate because the 360 is DVD based; I hope they go crazy as well, even if they need two are three discs for it all, because I sure wouldn't mind. (remember Senmue? lol). Hmm, the 360 HD-DVD, it would be great if it would also play 360 games on it, but developers wont risk that, as they can never know if all 360 owners will purchase a HD-DVD add on for their 360 just for the sake of having a video game nicely compacted into one disk..... unless.... unless when the 360 HD-DVD Drive comes out.. Xbox 360 games will start coming out in not one but two versions: Original DVD Version with Many Disks and HD-DVD version on a Single Disk. That would be the dagger for Sony because think about it, a console generation, this generation when the Wii and PS3 are all in place, will last about 4-5 years, and 360 games after every year will become more powerful and better as developers begin to master the 360's full potential. Having 360 games come out in two versions; DVD and HD-DVD will keep the XBox 360 on top for many years to come.

matt @ Jun 5th 2006 5:16PM

To #3, Joe. Funny you mention Madden on PS3. I actually ran into a guy who is working on Madden. He told me flat out to get a 360 because it has a lot more power. He told me that the PS3 is a nightmare and they can only use a couple of things from the 360 version. They beasically have to rewrite the whole game. He sounded pissed at Sony for completely undelivering on an over priced system. I think it is freaking hilarious. They will still sell PS3s but they shouldn't win the battle. Maybe they can beat MS in Power Round 3.

Kamus @ Jun 5th 2006 6:31PM

"this doesnt have anything directly to do with Sony BS "Hub" system. but should drive the nail into the coffin that is the PS3."

Yeah, cause we all know people don't buy consoles to play good games on it, that's why the xbox 1 outsold the PS2 evrywhere, because the xbox 1 had sooo much higher quality games right?

Time to grasp reality, if Sony keeps getting awsome exlusive titles like it has in the past, sony is FAR from dead.
Want play FF XIII? MGS4? DMC? any triple game that japanese developers come up with?
tough sh1t, you can't do that on the xbox 360.

Untill MS adresses the problem of GOOD japanese developers making their best games for the 360, they would do well to just shut the hell up.
those games are the reason the PS2 got to be so succesful in the first place, and those developers have games in the works for the PS3.
can you please remind me how this is horrible news for Sony?
Get those developers bringing out their best titles for the xbox 360 instead of the PS3, and then MS will have something to brag about.

Oh yeah, and for all those people that will reply saying "oh, who cares about japanese games! I don't like them!"
well, that's awsome, but a lot of people do, and regardless of what you people may think those games are liked by a LOT of people, and for a good reason too.

Also, it's not like Sony has ever had any problem with foregin developers... or do you people see a shortage of american games being made for the PS2?
If anything, it's always been the oposite.

So bluray me this, or bluray me that, there is nothing "wrong" with having more than 9 gigs as a storage medium. (not that it's that much of an advantage either, i'll be surprised if most games break 9 gigs)
how can having a console that just happens to be able to play blu-ray media be a negative here?
People can keep on bashing sony all they want, but true gamers will pick one up for one reason only:
the games, they've always had the best games, and if E3 is any indication this trend is going to continue for the PS3.
I was Hoping to see some of the really good japanese games pledge support for the xbox 360, but this didn't happen, so can people please explain to me who of the two companies has the biggest problems so far?

PS3 problem- (according to MS) is blu-ray. not a bigg issue if you ask me.. oh yeah, and price.. ok, this is as real issue, but with people paying 1,500 dlls for an xbox 360 last year do you people HONESTLY belive the PS3 won't sell out at launch even at 700 dlls? wake up. smell the cofee.
sony realizes they can't keep up with demand, so instead of having resellers rip the benefits by themselves sony is getting in on the action, once they can keep up with demand, they WILL bring the price down for the PS3. so enough about this allready.

xbox 360 problem - The games, no japanese developers means a complete lack of some of the best games that have ever been made, whine all you want about the good games that are comming out for the 360, MOST of them are also comming to the PS3. so again, who's got the biggest problem here?

lazy @ Jun 5th 2006 6:39PM

He says forced, not because the format is limited to the console, but because the consumer is "forced" to buy a blu-ray player if he/she wants a ps3.

This is the primary reason the ps3 costs as much as it does, and statistics show that the room isnt necessary for games this gen.

dutchb0y @ Jun 6th 2006 12:53AM

"xbox 360 problem - The games, no japanese developers means a complete lack of some of the best games that have ever been made, whine all you want about the good games that are comming out for the 360, MOST of them are also comming to the PS3. so again, who's got the biggest problem here?"

Agreed. But the interesting thing is just that.. the same games are coming out on both systems, and it is looking like developers aren't signing on as much to exclusive titles to a single system this time around. GTA IV is a good example of this. Sony will have it's exclusives, and MS will have theirs.

For certain though, MS will be a lot healthier if they can get more Japanese developers on board. Hopefully games like Lost Planet will spur more interest, as well as Blue Dragon and the other 2 coming Japanese RPGs for the 360.

"oh yeah, and price.. ok, this is as real issue, but with people paying 1,500 dlls for an xbox 360 last year do you people HONESTLY belive the PS3 won't sell out at launch even at 700 dlls? wake up. smell the cofee [sic]."

I don't think ANYONE here is going to argue that the PS3 will sell out. C'mon! With only a million units at launch (hopefully!) and HUGE anticipation from the hardcore PS fans they will SURELY sell out. Time will tell if the average person will find it a deal and buy it when it is plentiful.

Platinum_Skeet @ Jun 6th 2006 1:25AM

You know the sad thing is everybody forgets Microsoft & Nintendo both saw no reason for more space on games. Sony's the only one out on a limb with Blu-Ray. So when you really really think about it developers can compress the information.

With games like GTA4 and Just Cause coming out for the X360. DVD's still have the space for massive games. I don't really think they'll get any larger than Just Cause (which is 390 Square Miles!). The only game that comes close to Just Cause is Oblivian and it's only 16 Square Miles.

If you really believe developers need space when games like that are coming out and developers aren't complaining about the space. I think you really need to sit back and think. Sony's putting Blu-Ray on the PS3 to try to win a format war. It has little to do with gameplay especially since the Blu-Ray Drive is rumored to be 1X and has slower upload than DVD's...

Scott Krueger @ Jun 6th 2006 10:32AM

Forcing Blu-Ray...
The only people who it needs to be forced on are idiots and Microsoft Employees and Psycho Fanboys. Blu-Ray is better in just about every way.
Get over it.
HD-DVD is the next BetaMax.
In 5 Years Sony can make fun of Microsofts HD-DVD add on to the 360.

boots @ Jun 6th 2006 9:34PM

He forgot that Sony (in conjunction with Philips sometimes) brought CD (you know, the one that started the optical revolution), High Definition TV (you know, the one every Xbox 360 game uses to look good), 3.5 inch discs (the standard for PCs for a long time), among other things. They also hold some patents on DVD. So I find it strange that "Beta-Max" is the only thing this guy can think off.

Besides, plagiarism? Windows, MSN messenger, MSN web search, Xbox, Internet Explorer... should I stop now? Microsoft's success has been based on making something that already existed, improve upon it slowly to keep gaining market share (slowly because they have the money), and once they are king of the hill, they lock down the market.

What bothers me most is that the most inflammatory posts dedicated against PS3 are made by Ken Weeks. Ken, are you Anti-Sony, a blatant Xbox 360 fanboy, or is it just your job to be that way? Because when I read PS3 fanboy, I don't see blog posts that can be regarded as inflammatory from Dan Choi against Microsoft, Xbox, or whatever related to Xbox 360.