Interesting read - Sony Employee's comments in full

Soldato
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Was just browsing around when I found this. Was quite an interesting read I thought.

Here is the post in full:

I’ve spent some time the past year developing for the PS3. Actually it was a cinematic demo to be shown at e3 in 2005 at a closed door viewing. I was one of the few artists selected to work on it for the demo. My job was primarily asset creation. I was creating assets to populate the path where our camera would be flying during the demo. The company I work for is also working on a launch title that I am quite familiar with. In short, I’ve spent some time around the PS3 and or the teams developing for it.

I’ve really had to sit here and think for a long time about what my first comment about the PS3 would be. Will I say, its GREAT or will I give it two thumbs down. Well my immediate impression of the PS3 is…where is it? Seriously, where is it? They have a case, a controller and a dev kit. But the system still doesn’t even exist. So what is there to say? We received one of 5 PS3 dev kits in the United States some time ago. Several companies in the US as well as companies over seas were given the daunting task of creating a demo in less than 9 weeks on a first generation dev kit. Now I’ll be honest with you. What most companies do is fake the entire demo. I mean they come up with some great visuals and neat tricks and scripted events. In the end however, its not a real time demo and its not running ON the actual box. We were the only company to my knowledge that showed something that ran it live on the box. Even then it was a scripted event. You could not pause the camera and fly around the scene. So if you saw the demo once, you saw it again the exact same way the second time. Also this was on a brutally early dev box. You could always tell where the PS3 dev box was because it’s the room that had the f-bomb coming out of it half the day.

Lots of time has passed since that demo and the dev box has gone from a totally jimmy rigged computer and box of parts about the size of a small child, to a much more realistic size. Although its still the size of a normal pc. I have been pretty excited about the whole cell processing thing. I am not a very technical person but my understanding of it was pretty clear. (Multiple processors to handle individual events in parallel). Sounds pretty good to me! To hear people talk, you’d thing that a processor revolution was about to happen. So I’ve been pretty excited to say the least. Now in my opinion it doesn’t matter how good the PS3 is. If the XBOX 360 is better, then it doesn’t really matter how the cell processors work or how good they say it is. Realistically one of them will be better over all. Now I’ve spoken with people who are on the technical side of the PS3. I’ve also talked with people on the technical side of the XBOX 360. The consistent comment I am hearing from people on my end is, “The XBOX 360 is better”. They are saying that it is capable of just doing more. (shrugs) Now take that for what its worth. If you watch all the videos on the PS3 they will say how much more powerful it is than the XBOX and vice versa. Im just telling you what I am hearing. They proceeded to go into a lot of technical info that I don’t understand. So I just nod.

The game that we are creating for a launch title is a “just get it out” title in my opinion. It doesn’t look next generation. I don’t see how anyone could debate otherwise. It looks good. But it looks good for a game that has come out in the last couple years or so. I mean we are talking about a box that will be with us for the next 5+ years! In 5 years will the games we are making today look good? The only way for that to be possible is if the new games coming out for the PS3 are drastically improved. So good that they can stand the test of time until the next system comes out. We’ve all seen Gears of War for the xbox 360. If that even looks half as good when it comes out then I’ll be floored! The game we are making isn’t even in the same league as Gears of War. In fact there are many current games out that look just as good and are using the exact same specs. So, on our end we are either not pushing the bar or were just trying to “get a title out”. To be fair, this is a business. Sometimes you have to treat it as a business and not make the best title you can. The best title you can make usually costs 20-40million dollars/3 start overs and 4 years of your life. You just cant do that every time out. Its impossible. Our game just keeps getting moved back….and back…..and back…..and back. Again, where is the box? Where is the final system? When is it coming out? No one knows and in the mean time people in the industry are starting to get just a little salty. I mean I was at e3 2005 and PS3 was almost no where to be seen.

In closing, I started of VERY excited about the PS3. I was very confident that it was going to just destroy the XBOX 360 just on the name SONY alone. The more time that goes by the more I am becoming doubtful. Everything I’ve developed or seen developed has yet to be “next gen”. The poly counts are not really any higher, im not seeing sub surface scattering, im not seeing much HDR lighting. (or they are faking it and not really doing it), I’m not seeing next gen fluid dynamics or object dynamics. I suspect that you’ll be able to have more dynamic objects in a scene than before. But im not seeing games doing this yet. We dont have a controller, there is no network code and there is no box. Its still the size of a normal PC. Oh well, at least they have normal maps. Although I’m over the normal maps fad ok everyone!

I’m confident that the PS3 will have a few “crazy” games that show it off to its potential. But I would expect the full capabilities of the box to not show up until the system has been released PUBLICALLY for over a year. This is the extra time the developers will need with a FINAL system to truly make next gen games.
 
Associate
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Good read.
The thing is though the best games usualy come out at least a year after the launch. Most people who have been buying games since the NES will know that so im not too sure why everyones so worried about it.
Next gens really gonna kick off a year from now when developers get the hang of the new kit (ps3 360 revo). If it dosent then I will start to worry
 
Soldato
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I don't think people are too bothered about the true 'next-gen' games coming out a year from release. It's more the comments about the XB360 being capable of 'just doing more'.
 
Man of Honour
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Been posted before, an interesting read really, and if actulally legitimate, confirms my theory of PS3 being a very similar performer +/- % to the 360.

But I want games, not just pretty games, games I can actually enjoy.

PG3 is the only one I've enjoyed so far to make it worth the money.
 
Soldato
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Lets see what happens, theres always those that dont like a certain console. Maybe he's just gotten annoyed with Sony delaying their game.

Will be fun to see the whole PS3's Bluray, fastest console ever pan out. I hope they flop :) dunno why, I guess I like to see the big guy fall.
 
Caporegime
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Sony need what they haven't produced in 10 years... a solid console launch within 12 months. Like I said before, Sony are only harming themselves now by not showing it. With the PS2 they were fine, there was no confusion over what it will be etc.. 12 months after the Dreamcast. Microsoft have delivered a much more rounded console than any we've seen before it (especially in comparison to the Dreamcast).

Sony are killing themselves by confusing it's target audience.
 
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NokkonWud said:
Sony need what they haven't produced in 10 years... a solid console launch within 12 months. Like I said before, Sony are only harming themselves now by not showing it. With the PS2 they were fine, there was no confusion over what it will be etc.. 12 months after the Dreamcast. Microsoft have delivered a much more rounded console than any we've seen before it (especially in comparison to the Dreamcast).

Sony are killing themselves by confusing it's target audience.

You know what, I used to be one of those people who liked every kind of console...didn't care who made it etc, they all had their pro's and con's etc. But since I've had my 360 and have had people ask "why I bothered when PS3 is on it's way" and I'm now really turning anti Sony.

They can take all the time in the world to release the PS3 and when they do I hope it flops.

Which is unlikely as you'll still get all the blinkered fanboys rush off and buy it. Give me a Revolution over the PS3 any day.

Anyway, aside from that, a good read and nice to see the 360 can "just do more"...nice :D
 
Soldato
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The problem will be that by the time the PS3 is released, the developers will be getting more out of the 360. If the PS3 release games are rushed out and not as good as the 360 release titles then they will be unable to compete with next years 360 games.
 
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