The Seattle Times: Brier Dudley's Blog

E3: Sony exec on PS4 pricing, fighting Xbox and more

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:45:17 PDT

LOS ANGELES -- After its slow start with the PlayStation 3, Sony is coming out swinging with the PlayStation 4.

The company believes it can lure Xbox 360 owners -- and their friends, John Koller, vice president of platforms marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, told me at E3.

Here are edited excerpts of our conversation:

Did Sony plan in advance to strike out at Microsoft on Monday night, during its press conference?

We had that strategy all along so nothing really changed.

How about the price – did Sony respond to Microsoft announcing the Xbox One would cost $500?

We were very interested in what they did, but we’ve had the price in place for a long time. A lot of people asked me, "Did you make a change between the end of their press conference and the beginning of ours/" No, we didn’t make any change. We were locked in for quite a long time.

Are you losing money on the console to start?

We won’t get into that.

If you add the camera into the box, the price difference narrows.

We looked at that as an opportunity to give gamers choice. We didn’t force it into any SKU.

Nintendo sees a perceived price cut for Wii U. Do you think people will gravitate toward the lowest-price console?

I think it’s going to be a choice between three very different ways of looking at the world. The Wii aside, the 360 and PS3 were fairly similar in our approach to games. But right now we’re seeing a real divergence. We’ve been very overt about the fact that we stand for game and gamers. We want to be very focused on that. It doesn’t mean we want to abdicate anything in the digital entertainment area, but we want to be very focused on the gaming side.

Xbox ... is very much into digital entertainment with games as a bit of a chaser. The press conference, they tried to come back with, "We’ll we’ve got a lot of great games and whatnot."

I think the Wii U, or Nintendo, is trying to capture an area of the market that has not been theirs before -- the core consumer. But it’s not as technologically capable as the other two. So now you’re getting a real choice, if you’re a consumer coming in.

What we believe firmly is the gamer coming in is going to choose the PlayStation 4.

So you think you’ll win gamers away from the Xbox?

We think our proposition allows for that type of switching. When you look at our focus on games, there’s a real opportunity to reach out to Xbox 360 fans and say, "Llook at the opportunity in front of you on PlayStation 4. The best place to play is there. Bring your clan with you."

E3: Nintendo's Moffitt on Wii U, console prices and more

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:31:05 PDT

LOS ANGELES -- Nintendo isn't daunted by the coming challenge from Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.

Nor is it planning to cut the price of its Wii U, which has had a slow start since its debut last November, when it launched the next generation of the game console business, according to Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales and marketing.

The higher prices of the other consoles actually gave the Wii U a "perceived" price cut, Moffitt said during an interview at E3.

Here are edited excerpts of our conversation.

How did Nintendo’s E3 approach work out, having a press conference on the show floor instead a big theater presentation?

There was some confusion at first for people who thought we were pulling back from E3. That’s really not the case. If anything, we have more events this year than we’ve had in the past. We tried to tailor the message more for the audience this year.

The big game companies are talking up developers this year. Is it because you’re trying to nourish them and keep them on your platforms, so they don’t put their energy more into tablets and phones?

Our focus this year is clearly on the games. We have a massive lineup of new and exciting experiences for gamers. Five of the top 10 gaming franchises are Nintendo exclusives. All five are making an appearance on our platforms this year. That will drive the installed base, and when the installed base gets large, it attracts the indie developers. I would say that’s more our approach and strategy and why we feel highlighting these five franchises is great for us.

Those five are?

Mario Kart, Wii Fit, Zelda, Mario 3D platforming games and Pokemon. Activision likes to talk about how much they’ve accumulated in sales on “Skylanders” and it’s impressive -- $1 billion in sales after two launches after two years. On Pokemon, we sell $1.6 billion every year. Sometimes the numbers just get lost and people forget the comparisons. It’s worth reminding people from time to time.

Do you expect the new Wii Fit U coming in December to broaden the appeal of the Wii U, the way the originally Wii Fit did for the Wii?

That’s the intention – the expectation and the intention.

How about a price cut? I was expecting Nintendo to lower the price of the Wii U and perhaps bring the premium bundle down to $300.

It’s not an illogical question. We still feel -- and even more so now that others are starting to announce their prices -- that Wii U is a great value. It remains a great value. It’s an even better value now that we’ve seen what some of the other prices are out there.

There’s going to be a steady stream of great Wii U content through the holidays, and we think through that people are really going to embrace Wii U. I’d say we had a perceptual price cut. Really, we did.

You mean by Sony and Microsoft pricing their new consoles higher than Wii U? (The PS4 starts at $400, the Xbox One at $500 and the Wii U at $300.)

We had a perceived price cut -- now Wii U looks like an even better value. That’s the way I’d look at it.

How do you explain the Wii U’s slow start?

We did not have a great cadence of great software right out of the gate. Initial launch window was great but … we didn’t have a sequence of software to sustain sales during the first part of this year. That’s all changing. We’ve got a steady lineup of great games coming.

Did you release the Wii U too soon? You had to release a pretty big firmware update.

I wouldn’t say we released it too soon. All the million fans that are already out there enjoying Wii U would have had to wait that much longer to get new experiences from Nintendo. Like with any electronics product, firmware updates as you go -- that’s not unique to us. We’re glad we brought it out when we did.

At launch there was a lot of emphasis on hard-core, action games. This year, the emphasis is on more traditional, family-friendly Nintendo titles.

Recognize that among our loyalists are families but also older, hard-core gamers that just have a preference for our franchises. I don’t know if I’d ever call a Zelda fan a casual gamer. That’s a pretty serious gamer; they play 20 hours a week.

Are you going to let Sony and Microsoft run with the big, full-bore action games and you focus on more creative franchises?

I’d say absolutely not. We want to appeal -- and Wii U does appeal -- to gamers of all types. We will have core gamer content. I would characterize it as we try to pitch a big tent, and we invite all gamers, and we try to have content for everybody.

I wonder how you’ll do without “Battlefield 4” and “Call of Duty: Ghosts” on the Wii U this fall?

We’ve got some great partnerships with third-party developers. Will we have every single third-party title on the Wii U? Probably not, but we will have great content for gamers of all types, including hard-core game fans that want to play darker games that are a little bit more aggressive in nature and mature content.

What do you think about the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 pricing? Will it hurt Microsoft?

Personally, I would never underestimate our competition. They’re smart people, just like we are, and they make the best decision for their games and for their business. Our focus is on driving our installed base as high as we can get and bringing great, new innovative experiences.

Will the Wii U outsell the Xbox One and PS4 this holiday?

I’m not going to make predictions like that. I feel extremely confident in our software lineup on both Wii U, as well as 3DS.

Are we at the bottom of a business cycle or are people shifting their game dollars away, to online, apps and things like that?

I firmly believe we’re at the bottom of a cycle, just going through a transitional period. A year, two years from now, the game industry will be back to growth -- back to strong growth. If we look back in history, every console generation has sold more than the generation prior. When we look just at 3DS, we are well ahead of the pace of DS at this point in its lifecycle.

E3 demo: "Fantasia: Music Evolved" with little silhouetto of a man

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:01:08 PDT

LOS ANGELES _ Here's a bit of the "Fantasia: Music Evolved" demo that Disney and Harmonix are presenting at E3, including a "Bohemian Rhapsody" sequence that made me think this is next-generation Laserium. The game is coming to Xbox One in 2014, and the demo also shows how well its new Kinect sensor works in low light.

E3 video: Ziplining in PS4's "Killzone: Shadow Fall"

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:46:08 PDT

LOS ANGELES _ Here's a video of the zip line feature in Sony's "Killzone: Shadow Fall" for the PlayStation 4.

(I'm not this good at the game - Arjan Bak, environment art director at Sony studio Guerrilla Games in Amsterdam, is providing the demo here.)

E3 first-takes, videos: Ryse, Fantasia, Killzone, Mad Max and Kitty Mario

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:03:30 PDT

LOS ANGELES _ If you play video games, forget about getting much done this holiday season and beyond.

Companies here at E3 are showing intoxicating, alluring new titles that will make it nearly impossible for a generation of players to pull themselves away from their consoles and big-screen TVs.

It’s a modern version of the land of the Lotus Eaters. Here’s some of the magic nectar that I’ve sampled over the last few days:

Ryse: Son of Rome – This flagship game for Microsoft’s Xbox One launch was built by Crytek, the German studio known for realistic, sci-fi shooters that test the skills of players and the limits of game hardware. “Ryse” delivers on the awesome graphics and thrilling play but there’s a notable learning curve. You play as a gladiator leading a Roman army through a realistic landscape, switching between individual battles and leading a legion. Shields are key – to defend from arrows, spears and slashes from opponents, and to punch back and stun an enemy before delivering a blow. I may have offended a Crytek developer by saying the shield moves reminded me of swordfighting on Nintendo’s Wii. Press a button at the right time and you’re rewarded with an extra-gory move that impales, slashes or flips the enemy. Stare too long at the breathtaking scenery and Roman warships and you’ll be pummeled into the Dark Ages.

Killzone: Shadow Fall: Sony’s ultra-realistic shooting franchise shows off the PlayStation 4 graphics, rendering pine needles, leaves blowing in the wind and mist rising over the streams that you leap across in pursuit of heavily armed bad guys. The signature addition to PS4 launch exclusive are drones called Owls that you control using the touchpad on the PS4 controller. These drones can stun or distract enemies as you approach but their most fun use is to string ziplines around the landscape – point to a tree or outcropping, press a trigger and the drones place a line that you zip across. I had so much fun zipping around the forest canopy and ogling the foliage, I kept forgetting to use the gun.

Fantasia: Music Evolved: There weren’t a lot of Kinect motion games but Disney and Harmonix have a standout in “Fantasia,” which is coming to the Xbox One in 2014. Inspired by the 1940 movie, the game lets players conduct, modify and create music with arm gestures, like an interactive version of Laserium. As in the “Dance Central” games created by Harmonix, you advance by following on-screen prompts, which took me a few tries to start following accurately. An underwater level lets you create an orchestra by assembling a group of fish, each of which plays a different instrument.

Super Mario 3D World: If you’re a fan of Super Mario and cats you’ll have a hard time resisting this version that adds a kitty mode, even if the game still feels like last year’s Super Mario Bros U for the Wii U. All four characters in the game – Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad - can don the cat suit, giving them different powers and an extra level of cuteness. They leap and claw up walls and rotating turf obstacles and pounce on the flag at the end of a course. Nintendo also added clear pipes to the game, so you can see characters move through the plumbing, and improved the multiplayer capability, so additional players can jump in and join a game in progress. It’s out in December.

Mad Max: For those who love “Mad Max” movies, this game may be enough reason to buy a console. Warner Bros. is building a vast, dusty world in which you roar around in customized hot rods, scavenging for food and material and battling creepy thugs using fists, knives and of course Max’s sawed-off shotgun. More than 50 “authentic” vehicles from the movie are available though players are expected to modify them with different wheels, engines and accessories. Many will opt for the car used in the E3 demo: A gutted ‘71 Mustang with a supercharger rising through the hood. The game’s coming to Xbox 360 and One, PCs and PlayStation 3 and 4 next year.

E3 photos: Battlefield 4, Fight Sticks, Disney ride and more

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:16:05 PDT

LOS ANGELES _ Here are a few images from E3 today, including this view of the "commander mode" in EA's "Battlefield 4."

You can use an iOS or Android tablet lead a game - or use an Oz-like wall of monitors:

Fight Sticks aplenty at "Killer Instinct" station in Microsoft's booth:

Wardrobe malfunction:

Getting pictures of Sony's PlayStation 4:

Unable to move in Microsoft's booth:

Facing off in the hallway:

Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto explains, via translator Bill Trinen, how the company tried to develop new features for its big franchises:

Disney brought a nice ride to the show:

E3: Microsoft's rough day in L.A.

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:53:40 PDT

LOS ANGELES -- Despite the best efforts of Microsoft's army of marketers and publicists preparing for the E3 game show, Monday was a little rocky for the company.

First there were audio glitches during the Xbox One demo that were so bad Electronic Arts nearly walked off the stage while presenting "Battlefield 4," one of the biggest games in the event.

Then Sony dramatically undercut the price of the Xbox One and mocked Microsoft's new restrictions on used-game sales, drawing a cheer from game fans that continued to reverberate Tuesday. Here's one of the slides being shown during its press event by Jack Tretton, head of its U.S. games business:

Then some media outlets pounced on the reaction among some Twitter users who were offended by the banter during one of Microsoft's game demos Monday. By the midday today there was a national story brewing about Microsoft's presentation, fueled by the click-baiting phrase "Microsoft rape joke."

During a demonstration of the new fighting game "Killer Instinct," a male producer with Microsoft studio Rare competed with a woman on the stage, who started out by complaining about the unfair odds, having to play a producer.

The game features over-the-top fighting violence -- players madly punch buttons to punch, kick and attack opponents. Microsoft began the demo by announcing that a classic game controller called a "Fight Stick" will be released with the game.

At one point during the demo, as the producer virtually pulverized his opponent, she said, "I can't even block correctly and you're too fast."

The producer responded with a comment that some in the audience found offensive and implying sexual violence:

"Just let it happen -- it will be over soon," he said.

A CBS online story today included four tweets from people who were put off by the comment, including three who called it a "rape joke."

The story went further, adding excerpts of the on-stage banter referencing the Fight Stick.

I didn't hear the comment and didn't notice or hear any particular audience reaction. Reviewing the video, the line seems to be in poor taste, given sensitivity to the game industry's misogynistic tendencies. But characterizing it as a "Microsoft rape joke" is inflammatory.

The topic of objectifying women is on the mind of journalists at E3, especially since a raunchy event at the spring Game Developers Conference in San Francisco drew attention. Perhaps the Microsoft flap will prompt thoughtful discussion, if it moves beyond click bait.

Meanwhile, it has become the most-read story at CBSnews.com today, with more than 58,000 page views, and other online outlets posted their own stories on the "Microsoft rape joke."

Microsoft today issued a statement, attributed to Vice President Phil Spencer, apologizing for the "inappropriate" comment:

"Yesterday, during the Xbox E3 briefing, one of our employees made an off-the-cuff and inappropriate comment while demo-ing 'Killer Instinct' with another employee. This comment was offensive and we apologize. At Microsoft, being open and respectful with others is central to our code of conduct and our values. Bullying and harassment of any kind is not condoned and is taken very seriously. We remain committed to make gaming fun for everyone, and in that effort, we must lead by example."

Decide for yourself -- here's the demo in a video posted by GameSpot, which is owned by CBS:

E3: Nintendo says it's on like Donkey Kong

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 22:01:50 PDT

LOS ANGELES -- Instead of blowing up aliens or zombies at the E3 game show, Nintendo is blowing up the traditional conference format.

Instead of staging a big press event in a theater like the other major game companies, Nintendo is holding minishowcases of its software this Wednesday and Saturday in Best Buy stores around the country.

Upcoming games were announced in a video the company posted online this morning. The swarm of journalists at E3 are being invited into the company's booth to try them out later this morning.

It makes sense since the company has no major hardware to announce and risked being overshadowed by the console announcements from Microsoft and Sony. Nintendo's Wii U has had a slow start since its arrival last fall and now the company faces new competition from the more advanced Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

But it's all about the software, and Nintendo has plenty of great games coming this year, according to Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Redmond-based Nintendo of America.

"There’s one fundamental truth in the video game industry: Software sells hardware. That was true with Wii and Nintendo DS; it’s starting to happen with Nintendo 3DS and will be on display this summer and holiday season with Wii U," Fils-Aime said in a release this morning. "When gamers are making their purchasing decisions this year, they’re going to find that the games and experiences they want are either unique or entirely exclusive to a Nintendo platform."

That may depend on the gamer, but Nintendo will find plenty of buyers for the new versions of its beloved franchises that were announced this morning.

Especially the new "Mario" Wii U game with kitty mode, in which characters don cat suits, climb walls and swat away mice with their paws.

New Wii U titles include "Pikmin 3" coming on Aug. 4; "Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze" coming in November; "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD," coming in October; and "Wii Fit U," which was supposed to arrive in spring, but is now coming in December. The "Wii Fit" includes a new fitness sensor that can be worn like a pedometer, then sync'd with players' fitness charts in the game.

Coming in 2014 are "Mario Kart 8" and "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U," which has the cat mode. The big advance in "Mario Kart 8" is a gravity-free mode in the racing game. The course loops around and sideways, prompting the karts to switch to jet-power.

Nintendo also is talking up "Pokemon X" and "Pokemon Y," which are coming to the 3DS on Oct. 12, and "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" that's coming next year.

Here are a few screenshots:

E3: Sony reveals PlayStation 4, $399 price, no used-game restrictions

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:16:03 PDT

LOS ANGELES _ Four months after teasing gamers with a glimpse of the PlayStation 4 controllers and games, Sony today unveiled the new console that's a cornerstone of the company's consumer electronics business.

The PS4 will go head to head against Microsoft's Xbox One this holiday season as both use a roster of dazzling, realistic games to convince gamers that it's worthwhile upgrading to the new hardware.

Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said the company hopes to reach the more than 1 billion people around the world who are playing video games and the 220 million gamers in the U.S.

Tretton drew some of the biggest cheers of the night by announcing that Sony won't add any of the sort of restrictions that Microsoft is adding to the Xbox One. He didn't name Microsoft, but it was clear what he was talking about when he emphasized that PS4 game discs may be loaned and resold.

Tretton also said Sony won't require players to connect their consoles to the Internet, as Microsoft is doing with its new Xbox.

"It won't stop working if you haven't authenticated within 24 hours," he said.

Then he brought Bungie - the Bellevue studio that created "Halo" and split from Microsoft in 2007 - on stage to provide the first live demonstration of "Destiny," the online sci-fi game it's releasing in 2014. Writer Joe Staten and co-founder Jason Jones played together as "warlock" and "hunter" characters exploring a dark industrial facility, blasting aliens with a revolver, rifle and grenades.

Before revealing the PS4, Tretton pitched Sony's Vita handheld system that was launched a year ago. Tretton said there are 125 dedicated Vita titles, and 650 if you count other mobile games playable on the device.

The PlayStation 3's also going to get new games this fall, Tretton said, including third-party titles such as "Batman: Arkham Origins" and "Grand Theft Auto V."

Andrew House, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, came on stage to present the PS4.

"It is a design that it sleek and visually impactful wherever it is placed," he said.

From the front the device looks similar to the Xbox One, but it's thinner with a distinctive angled case.

After briefly showing the device on screen, Sony said the console will launch with new versions of Sony's movie and music services, including a movie and rental service with more than 150,000 titles.

That's in addition to services like Netflix - House said PS3 streams more Netflix than any device - and Verizon Redbox, which is coming to the current PlayStation shortly.

Then Shu Yoshida, president of Sony's worldwide studios, came on stage to talk more about the PS4.

Over 30 PS4 titles in development and 20 will launch in the console's first year on the market, he said.

Among the new franchises for the console is a steampunk horror game called "The Order: 1886." The demo featured bearded characters who arrive in a carriage racing through foggy London, armed with futuristic rifles they use to repel a werewolf-type creature.

The demo of "inFamous: Second Son" - the Seattle-centered action game from Bellevue's Sucker Punch Productions - revealed that it's superhero character does battle in and around the Seattle Center, shooting smoky fireballs at enemies on the roof and in the courtyard of the Pacific Science Center. Yoshida said "Second Son" will ship in the first quarter of 2014.

Sony said it's also working to develop the best lineup of independent games, in part by allowing game developers to self-publish on its platform. It highlighted a handful of these titles coming to PlayStation including"Octo Dad," "Secret Ponchos," "OddWorld New and Tasty" and "Ray's the Dead." Several will be provided for free to people subscribing to Sony's premium PlayStation Plus service.

Then the presentation zoomed back to the realm of big budgets, showing a new trailer for "Final Fantasy Versus XIII," a new edition in the hit franchise from Square Enix, and animated fantasy title "Kingdom Hearts III" from Disney and Square Enix.

Ubisoft demonstrated "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag," bringing the historical action adventure game into the realm of pirates in the 1700s. The game had stunning art (aarrght?) but the demo had several hiccups and eventually froze completely.

E3: Microsoft reveals Xbox One lineup, $499 price

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:30:52 PDT

LOS ANGELES -- After teasing gamers with early peeks at its Xbox One console, Microsoft today used its pulpit at the E3 conference to show off what the potent machine can really do -- play games.

The company said the new console will go on sale in November for $499.

In a high-voltage, concert-like press event at the Galen Center basketball arena, Microsoft revealed lineup of games that will be available at the launch of the Xbox One, which will have 13 exclusive titles to start.

The show began with the huge video screen displaying two soldiers on horseback. Soon they were moving onto Jeeps, leaping around structures in a dusty, developing country and taking out bad guys to save an imprisoned comrade.

Looking almost like a movie, the game is "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain," an "open world" version of Konami's hit shooter.

"As we've been promising, it's all about the games," Xbox President Don Mattrick said in his opening statements, promising 13 exclusive games for the new console.

But first the company offered up a few goodies for its current Xbox 360, including new games and the promise of two free games per month for users who subscribe to its premium Xbox Live Gold service.

The Xbox 360 is also getting an overhaul. Microsoft today will begin selling a smaller version of the console (pictured) with a smoothed out case and gray and black color scheme that echoes the design of the Xbox One. List prices remain $200 to $300, depending on the bundle.

Then the company showed a series of vivid exclusives for the Xbox One that will encourage people to upgrade to the new console.

Crytek's "Ryse: Son of Rome" is a gladiator combat game with armor that gleams in the sun and rendering realistic enough to show the sweat on the nose of a soldier. Players command a squad of soldiers, ordering them to lift shields in unison, for instance, when arrows rain down on their advance.

Microsoft's "Forza 5" racing game is more realistic than ever but the big advance is a new system of modeling virtual competitors, drawing on real people's driving skills to create "driveatars" -- instead of "avatars." Still, the biggest gasps came when the stage opened up and a McLaren MP1 rose into the green light.

A new game-creation game called "Project Spark" lets people use a tablet running Microsoft's Smartglass app to create games with voice and touch controls. In the demo, it took only a minute or two to create and customize a landscape, add characters and animate objects.

Most bases are covered with the Xbox One launch lineup. For those who like to shoot zombies, there's the cinematic, open-world zombie game "Dead Rising 3." Young children whose parents won't let them play "Dead Rising" may end up with the lighthearted, cartoon action game "Max the Curse of Brotherhood."

Several glitches marred the demo, though. EA amost halted its demo of "Battlefield 4" (screenshot below) when audio failed initially. Audio also failed to play during Microsoft Vice President Marc Whitten's presentation of "Crimson Dragon."

To rev things up and highlight "Forza 5," the company had a pair of "standard" McLaren supercars circle the arena and race past the throng of thousands of journalists, analysts and retailers who lined up for Microsoft's big event that opens the annual game conference.

Microsoft carefully staged the Xbox One launch to highlight the ultra-vivid new games that will make or break the console and Microsoft's standing in the next generation of the console game business.

The company unveiled the hardware in a smaller event in Redmond last month, showing its more conservative case, new controllers and details of its eight-core processors and virtualized operating system. Then last week, Microsoft disclosed that it's requiring the consoles to connect daily to the Internet and enabling game publishers to add new restrictions on the transfer and sale of used games.

The main rival of the Xbox One will be revealed tonight, when Sony finally unveils its PlayStation 4 console, which is set to go on sale alongside the Xbox One this holiday season. Nintendo's Wii U began selling its "next generation" console last fall and will highlight new games on Tuesday.