Harrison Cops to PS3 Mistakes and Talks About Future
In a recent interview with N’Gai Croal of Newsweek, Phil Harrison, President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, admits that there have been some problems with the way Sony has gone about the PS3 launch. “We did a very bad job between E3 2006 and the media event in October,” said Harrison, but he’s confident about the future. With such releases as Heavenly Sword, Lair and MotorStorm on the horizon, he may have a point.
Harrison’s candid interview responses are always refreshing as compared to the patent nuttiness of Ken Kutaragi, so it’s no surprise to hear that Harrison is disappointed in the way that Sony handled the PS3 between E3 and launch. However, what does come as a surprise is a statement he makes about the disconnect between the engineering department at Sony and everyone else. When N’Gai asks Harrison about the disparities between the PSP and PS3, and how each seems to have different options though they both look the same, Harrison shared some of his personal confusion:
I think that’s a very fair comment. And I share that frustration. Because there are times when I get a firmware upgrade, and I’m like, “Oh. I didn’t know we were doing that.” That’s my fault for probably being on an airplane too much, but if I’m experiencing that in a tiny little way, it’s going to be amplified even more for somebody like yourself, or a consumer.
Though a touch disconcerting, it’s always nice to know that the man behind PS3 software is also a little confused by mystery updates on the PS3. Maybe, once some more games come out and we see a slight price change, the PS3 will start becoming a serious factor. As for now, it’s a very cool Blu-ray player. Check out the full interview on Level Up.
So N’Gai ends up being good for something, finally.
Although, that bit at the end mystified me. Do we know that the PS3 is that solid yet? After the fragility of the PSX and PS2, we’re supposed to assume that the PS3 is going to be a rock, and that with the manufacturing cost soaring through the roof, they’re not going to cut corners somewhere? Or is it that the fucker’s so expensive BECAUSE they didn’t cut corners? Or maybe that they cut the wrong corners in favor of useless shit like the Blu-Ray drive?
And the bit about the complexity in the exact same answer? The PSX and PS2 were very prone to early failure, yet we’re to believe that the “exponentially more complicated” PS3 is going to be more reliable?