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Peter Moore Interview: PS3 vs DC, PS Home, PS3 Exclusives, ...
>> From next-gen.biz:
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I meet with Moore in a large hotel suite in San Francisco. I ask him about PlayStation 3's troubles. It seems likely to be something he'll enjoy talking about.
He shakes his head, almost mournfully. Obviously, he's thoroughly enjoying himself, but he hides it well. "I've walked a mile in those shoes," he says. "I'm digging up my tortured past here, but remember Dreamcast?" And there it is. PlayStation 3 is Dreamcast. How delicious is that?
"We thought we were doing right," he recollects. "All of a sudden it didn't pan out." We all remember Dreamcast; a wonderful performer that the world cruelly ignored. Sega's console launch, steered partly by Moore in the US, found favor with adherents, but found itself unable to compete with PS2. It was crushed by Sony, mercilessly.
The comparison between PS3 and Dreamcast is disingenuous for many reasons, but as far as Moore is concerned, both products are badly flawed.
Moore explains, "Howard Stringer said 'it's not what's possible that's important, it's what's relevant'. I think that's probably indicative of the PS3. It was possible to build a box that had Blu-ray and Cell and HDMI and everything else, but what was relevant was maybe a $399 price point and great games. I think we can all agree, and even Sony would potentially agree, that they miscalculated the global consumer's appetite for the experience the offered at the price point they offered it at."
Okay, but Sony does have other advantages, what about PlayStation Home? "Four years ago, we looked at the concept of a lounge where your avatar could wander around. We looked at an area where people could play their music, show people their videos. But it was not something that we felt worth pursuing. We made a decision that the user interface that we would put in to Xbox Live was one that got you in quickly, that allowed you to navigate where you wanted to go, and to do what you wanted to do. The concept of hanging out was something that, while we looked at it, we just didn't think was something that our users wanted to do.
So with Sony in a painful place right now, Microsoft is mopping up any third party deals it can to deny its troubled competitors those big exclusives. But there are still a few holding out; the small matters of Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid come to mind. Is Microsoft going to get those brands?
Undoubtedly, the attempt is being made. "There are conversations had everywhere and sometimes the conversations don't work out," he says. "There are commitments made, long term commitments by publishers that you have to adhere to and respect. There is no stone left unturned by our team but I also respect the fact that a particular publisher may have a particular loyalty, or might have a long time or long standing business agreement that precludes us from doing things that we would like to do."
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Full Story: next-gen.biz (3 pages)
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