Dave Perry Talks PS3

A developer talks about the good and the bad on PlayStation 3... Dave Perry, founder of Shiney Entertainment, has a few things to say about the PlayStation 3. What makes his statements so interesting? He's a developer in the industry and he argues the PS3 technology on two fronts: Developers and Customers.

Mr. Perry took some time to share his thoughts with the world about the PlayStation 3's problems, success and future from his point of view.

As a developer he says, "I think that Sony has made the best machine. It's the best piece of hardware, without question."

Yet on the other side of the coin he states "I haven't seen a single game that shows me the power of PlayStation 3. I haven't seen anything even close to what the machine's capable of doing. So that's the sad part for Sony - I feel really bad for them that somebody hasn't really stepped up to show us the hardware all singing, all dancing."

Dave has nothing to gain from a failed PS3 system, as a developer he's going to produce games for the best systems on the market right? A developer has to be jazzed about the console, the technology and the future of the product line.

"It's absolutely insane hardware, and most people don't really understand that. I've been to the technical summit, I've sat there and listened to complete disclosure of what's in that machine. Being a programmer, it made me just sit there and go, 'Oh my God, this machine's incredible.'"

Sony has put a ton of horsepower into the PlayStation 3 - it's not a surprise that developers would widen their eyes like a kid in a candy store. It's like handing a carpenter a suite of tools that would make their final product a thousand times more beautiful, right?

"We're stuck in this time loop. It happens every single time - we know the games are going to be really bad at the start, and then God of War comes out at the end, and you go, 'The PlayStation 2 hardware can do God of War? It looks incredible!'

A big problem for Sony, they're release awesome games for their last-generation system - how will this bring them new PS3 customer loyalty when the awesome products are being developed on the older system. Gamers need a reason to upgrade to the next heavy USD $600.00 product and producing games for the cheap system isn't creating a huge need.

"The point is you're not going to get to see the PlayStation 3 for probably a couple of years, and then you're going to go, 'Wow, that's incredible.'"

From a developers standpoint, a couple years of before a hot game comes out will seem like no time at all as development takes awhile on a great game. Realistically, a game that begins development today will hit the target timeframe he's talking about. But what of the customers? Do they want to wait a "couple of years" before seeing a game that really takes full advantage of the PS3 power?

"Sony is charging the price for the [machine] at the end of the cycle at the start of the cycle. You'd be willing to play the price at the end of the cycle, because it would be absolutely worth it, but at the start, you get home and you're like, 'Okay, I've got it now! I've put down $800 for the games and everything else, here we go!'. And you fire it up, and it's just not that $800 experience.

The price is what's going to kill them every time. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how great your marketing is - are people going to show up with that kind of money?"

In the end, it all comes down to money. The product has a steep price to pay for a limited selection of games. Who cares how awesome the system will be in a year or two if you've got the console today?

source: gamestooge.com