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Sony was “lucky to survive” the PS3 era, says ex PlayStation boss Shawn Layden - “PS3 was Sony’s Icarus moment. We flew too close to the sun,”
- Thread starter LordOfChaos
- Start date
Muddy
Member
Why can’t it be both?
Sony and Microsoft have different standards.
The PS3 was a failure by Sony standards.
The Xbox 360 was a success by Microsoft standards.
The PS3 still outsold the Xbox 360.
It’s no different to the Vita and Steamdeck. Vita is considered a failure with 15 million total sales. The Steamdeck a success with 3 million total sales.
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Spiral1407
Member
Wouldn't PS3 also be inflated considering they had the exact same hardware defect?
panda-zebra
Member
They learned lessons back then and, for their sakes, they're hopefully learning lessons in the here and now.
They've never been shy to shut down a game in production or a studio that doesn't fit, but they've let the odd lemon slip through. At least they didn't do an Ubisoft here and drag Concord out for a year or more, they just binned the whole lot in a matter of days when the writing was on the wall.
Their past top brass have repeatedly said nothing is too big for the axe, that there's a process and stuff has to meet criteria along the way or face the shit tip. The fact it even made it to release is probably thanks to being gaas in nature, that gave it a few free passes with their drive to do more in that space and the learning they're experiencing. From Concord to Helldivers II to Destiny 2 and everything in between there's lots and lots of lessons to be learned, lol...spending a fortune while tying up resources making a product that resonated with practically nobody is exactly the kind of result they could and should have predicted when they previously churned out a smaller title with a similar "vibrant cast" of banality in the equally dire designed-by-committee Destruction AllStars.
violence
Gold Member
Maybe to a much lesser extent. The failure rate was nowhere near the 360.
Sooner
Member
PS3 sold 88 million.
Wii U sold 13.5, GameCube sold 22 million. You combine those generations, double the number and it's still fewer units than PS3.
Saying PS3 generation didn't meet Sony's expectations is fair. Saying they're lucky to survive, especially after coming off of selling 155 million units, is just hyperbole.
Wii U sold 13.5, GameCube sold 22 million. You combine those generations, double the number and it's still fewer units than PS3.
Saying PS3 generation didn't meet Sony's expectations is fair. Saying they're lucky to survive, especially after coming off of selling 155 million units, is just hyperbole.
Werewolf Jones
Member
Tiago Rodrigues
Member
Actually...Sony was losing over 300 dollars by each PS3 unit sold at 500$ on retail. It almost bankrupt Sony.
They literally lost all the money they made with BOTH PS1 and PS2 generations with the release of the PS3.
How many units they sold didn't matter.
That's why they removed PS2 Emotion engine, cut 2 USB ports, all the card ports the PS3 had, and quickly removed more stuff that was included on that launch unit. It wasn't sustainable.
Impressive as fuck at the time...but it almost destroyed them and it's not hyperbole.
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ZoukGalaxy
Member
Icarus to Phoenix.
TheGodfather07
Member
PS3 completely turned its image around. By the end, it was looked at very favourably for its brilliant library of games. So not really luck, but more hard work from Sony to set things right.
Mobilemofo
Member
All he had to say was " we are sorry for our arrogance.."
That was it.
That was it.
hemo memo
You can't die before your death
Hard work, but yes, he's right; it was mostly luck.
Nickolaidas
Member
"Just get a second job."
A classic.
A classic.
Unknown Soldier
Member
He's retired, he can say whatever he wants and right now he's dishing about his old employer like no other former Sony exec ever has so why are you complaining
Papa_Wisdom
Gold Member
I really wish I’d have picked up a fat, fully back cat ps3 back in the day. That along with a ps5 and you have access to all the ps back cat. Plus I think it’s aged really well in relation to its looks
Heimdall_Xtreme
Hermen Hulst Fanclub's #1 Member
PS3, I remember it as a great console, which arrived at a period of time when I was having a worse time, and even more so with the disappointment of the Xbox 360 that I had.
it never was a bad console. But in PS5 That is bad but due to the terrible management of its previous and current CEO.
it never was a bad console. But in PS5 That is bad but due to the terrible management of its previous and current CEO.
cinnamonandgravy
Member
two HDMI-outs
communicates with your toaster
boomerang controller
spiderman font
two jobs
"Are the e3 trailers realtime?" "ohh probably maaaaybe" wink wink
weird, exciting, and dumb time
communicates with your toaster
boomerang controller
spiderman font
two jobs
"Are the e3 trailers realtime?" "ohh probably maaaaybe" wink wink
weird, exciting, and dumb time
Tiago Rodrigues
Member
I feel like this is one of those "i miss the good ol days" moments.
The beginning of the HD era was rough as fuck. Games went back to 30fps that gen (and we're still recovering from this), many didn't even have that much. Games looked brown as fuck. The huge Sony hack that made PS3 offline for an entire month. Those game updates that lasted forever. The moment my PS3 stopped working for a day because PS3 didn't recognize February 29 as an actual day
If we had games nowadays performing like they did back then it would be outrageous i can tell you that much.
That said...Sony was experimental as fuck. Many of those games flopped but they were interesting. Plus, PS Home was something else. I also remember Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2 online modes. I spent MANY hours in there. LittleBigPlanet was addictive as hell as well. I always say MGS4 and LBP were the turning points for PS3 and still stand by that.
Also...the Buzz! games! Started on the PS2 but PS3 had those as well and the remotes were now wireless which was great.
LordOfChaos
Member
I've definitely never felt as exited about gaming as during that generation again, but I'm not sure if it was the generation or that I just happened to be the right age for it and my excitement response for gaming is blunted as an adult
Badlucktroll
Member
i bought that bigass contraption day 1 lol.
Sooner
Member
Sony was losing $300 per unit sold. So, thet were going to go bankrupt because they didn't sell more?
Reminds me of the old commercial, "We lose money on every unit sold, but we make up for it with volume".
Kings Field
Member
Launch day 60gb was a memory. Bought my first flat screen same day.
Admired core, demons souls, dark.souls 1&2, nd games,
Admired core, demons souls, dark.souls 1&2, nd games,
Ceadeus
Member
That's precisely what I do miss! Sony being willing and experimental was the best Sony to me! With the PS3 and with the PSP. Many games flopped but it made a really nice and exciting portfolio of games. That special feeling was, that you never knew what would be coming next and that's the sparkle who's been lost during PS4.
I said it before but PS Home should be brought back for the PSVR2. The headset needs its own social lobby to compete with Meta Horizon and PS Home is the answer. But Sony are like
It could be your age but Sony definitely were taking more risk and more experimental with their release. Which made for a very diverse library of weird and quirky titles. Nobody miss some of the graphical filters or 30 fps but the games were diverse and exciting!
Taur007
Member
Not necessarily when you consider MS got real lazy when it came to games, they started venturing off to things like Kinect
Had they stayed the same MS that secured games like bioshock and mass effect as exclusives, I don’t think Sony catches them
Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
Now think about it, this is what the Xbox 360 lost to
. Whether you like the PS3 or not.
marquimvfs
Member
Never ever saw that. But on the opposite side, there were folks that swear that Xbox 360 won that gen...
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RAIDEN1
Member
Not only that but it currently is the ONLY console you can play the last great Ridge Racer game on, Puppeteer, Motorstorm series, Resistance, to name but a few you could only dream of those games coming to the PS5...
nial
Member
The first half of the PS3 was much better than the second one in terms of first-party software. This is my ultimate PlayStation hot take.
Huh, completely abandoning the initiative (which is what you want them to do here) wouldn't be exactly reminiscent of how Sony handled the PS3 gen, at all.
Sony's CEO Commented on Concord's Failure. Hiroki Totoki Explains What Went South and Pledges Lessons Learned
Important people from Sony, in an interview with investors, discussed the failure of Concord.www.gamepressure.com
UltimaKilo
Gold Member
It was such an incredible machine, and once developers got the hang of it, put out some remarkable software.
I do wish Sony would have continued to develop their own chip.
In my opinion, it was the last impressive hardware Sony released, but I’m hopeful for the PS6.
Nintendo abandoning directly competing with Sony and Microsoft, along with the numerous missteps by Xbox under Phil Spencer, has hurt Sony’s quality AND quantity of both software and hardware.
I do wish Sony would have continued to develop their own chip.
In my opinion, it was the last impressive hardware Sony released, but I’m hopeful for the PS6.
Nintendo abandoning directly competing with Sony and Microsoft, along with the numerous missteps by Xbox under Phil Spencer, has hurt Sony’s quality AND quantity of both software and hardware.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
He's not retired. I'm not complaining. I love it when video game employees dish out dirt about their companies.
shawn layden - Griple | LinkedIn
Experience: Griple · Education: University of Notre Dame · Location: San Francisco · 500+ connections on LinkedIn. View shawn layden’s profile on LinkedIn, a professional community of 1 billion members.
www.linkedin.com
Nintendo's Witch
Member
The last true console.
Iced Arcade
Member
Sony falling from the top with the PS3 created some of the best Sony. ever!
Not easily achieving the #1 spot and having to fight gave us a hungry PlayStation, and we gained a lot because of it.
Not easily achieving the #1 spot and having to fight gave us a hungry PlayStation, and we gained a lot because of it.
Spiral1407
Member
It was rough, but at least it was rough for a reason. One could easily appreciate the leap in visuals, gameplay and QoL from PS2-PS3 back then. Fast forward to today where we're still having framerate and IQ issues, despite games barely looking any better than last gen. Where sequels take entire generations to launch and truly new/experimental gameplay is restricted to the indie market. Where console hardware is MORE EXPENSIVE than it was 4y ago and online is pretty much requried to do anything on them.I feel like this is one of those "i miss the good ol days" moments.
The beginning of the HD era was rough as fuck. Games went back to 30fps that gen (and we're still recovering from this), many didn't even have that much. Games looked brown as fuck. The huge Sony hack that made PS3 offline for an entire month. Those game updates that lasted forever. The moment my PS3 stopped working for a day because PS3 didn't recognize February 29 as an actual day
If we had games nowadays performing like they did back then it would be outrageous i can tell you that much.
That said...Sony was experimental as fuck. Many of those games flopped but they were interesting. Plus, PS Home was something else. I also remember Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2 online modes. I spent MANY hours in there. LittleBigPlanet was addictive as hell as well. I always say MGS4 and LBP were the turning points for PS3 and still stand by that.
Also...the Buzz! games! Started on the PS2 but PS3 had those as well and the remotes were now wireless which was great.
I can't say that I don't miss those simpler times...
Synless
Member
This is correct, they course corrected and made it successful. In the end it smashed 360.
Tams
Member
That's because (and it's much clearer now with hindsight, an example, and the console industry being more mature) a console is not the place to try out new technology like that.
Not, at least, if you want to make a short-medium term profit from it.
LordOfChaos
Member
Yep, agreed. A very interesting processor, but was it the right choice for a console with a very difficult first half for third parties to even get to parity level ports with the 360 and only a handful of games that arguably used it in a way that was perhaps above what the other console could do, probably not. Even that's arguable, we just don't know what Naughty Dog given unlimited budget to produce an Uncharted that ran on 360 from the ground up would have looked like.
It's still a shame to me that some of the late stage really using it well titles were just making up for the RSX and its lack of unified shaders and overall lesser performance, doing a lot of vertex pre-culling for it and stuff like that. I wonder what the Cell plus Xenos would have produced.
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nial
Member
It's not nonsense, SCE was literally losing money for three fiscal years straight from PS3 launch.
KimDongHwan
Member
And Metal Gear Solid 4 in 2008 to set up the stage of what was possible!
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
What else is he going to talk about? Being a CCP puppet?
Lord Malachite
Member
Xbox had a chance to overtake PlayStation in the seventh generation. The reason they didn't can be chiefly tied to the RROD fiasco. Microsoft shelled out $1.1 billion, with a B, on the cost of repairing and replacing faulty Xbox 360s. If they had not cheaped out on the construction of the 360, that is money they could have used to lock down more marketing, more third party exclusives, create more first party titles, possibly even acquire some more studios and IPs. Sony was on its back with the PS3 but the RROD situation blew up for them at the worst possible time, giving Sony the ability to recover by making changes to PS3, slashing prices, and teaching third party developers how to make their games not suck. Sony never let off the gas once the PS3 Slim came out, pushing out first party content aggressively and courting third party deals to keep themselves not only relevant, but competitive.
Late in the generation, PlayStation continued producing hit after hit while Xbox largely rested on its laurels in the games department, putting all of their focus on Kinect. As 2013 came and both platforms began revealing their successors, Xbox did almost everything wrong, including it seems stealing from the PS3 launch playbook. Most of 2013 Xbox could not buy itself good press and their biggest mouthpieces were shoveling the XB1 into a position where it was going to be stillborn. Sony capitalized on Xbox's exponential mistakes immensely, recapturing their place as the leader of console gaming and Xbox never recovered from the disastrous Xbox One launch.
There was a time when Xbox could have prevailed over PlayStation, but their internal mistakes allowed Sony to pick itself up from their own face plant with the PS3 launch. The rest was history.
Late in the generation, PlayStation continued producing hit after hit while Xbox largely rested on its laurels in the games department, putting all of their focus on Kinect. As 2013 came and both platforms began revealing their successors, Xbox did almost everything wrong, including it seems stealing from the PS3 launch playbook. Most of 2013 Xbox could not buy itself good press and their biggest mouthpieces were shoveling the XB1 into a position where it was going to be stillborn. Sony capitalized on Xbox's exponential mistakes immensely, recapturing their place as the leader of console gaming and Xbox never recovered from the disastrous Xbox One launch.
There was a time when Xbox could have prevailed over PlayStation, but their internal mistakes allowed Sony to pick itself up from their own face plant with the PS3 launch. The rest was history.