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I'll say it: I like Phil Harrison. As the President of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios, he seems to really know what's going on. Phil seems to be moving the brand in a good direction, and he has done a pretty good job of being the face for Sony's games division. That being said, when it comes to interviews, he seems to only answer the questions he likes, and the rest are dodged so gracefully that you'd have to see it in "bullet time" to really get what happened.

To be fair, Phil did a pretty good job in this Tokyo Game Show Gametrailers interview. He responded to questions about the balance of PlayStation Network titles to Blu-ray disc games, talked about why Lair didn't support analog stick control, and gave Sony's take on the rise of casual gaming. 

When asked about the overall reception of Heavenly Sword, Phil had some great points about how some members of the media were quick to discredit the game due to its short length. We were totally with him until he said, "not that many people finish games." Aw, Phil, you were doing so well!

He also said that Home is "out", when it really isn't (closed betas don't count, Phil), and then began a dodge attempt that you can actually see with the naked eye -- no "bullet time" needed.

[thanks, Justin] 


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34 comments | showing # 1 to 34

B-Radicate's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:03
B-Radicate
Hmm, I've never liked anyone in Sony PR. This cements that fact. Tool.
DeusPayne's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:08
DeusPayne
How can he try to take credit for casual gaming. Sorry... PS2 was NOT casual gaming...
Nyteshade's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:10
Nyteshade
Oh us gamers and our short attention spans... WTF? Doesn't being a gamer imply we sit in front of games for long periods of time? That's a good way to defend a short game, saying gamers don't finish games anyway.

I'm also 100% sure Sony forced Factor 5 to use motion control, that's an outright lie right there. Factor 5 knows how to do flight control (Rogue Squadron anyone?) and they wouldn't FORCE players to use motion control if Sony hadn't forced them.

Like everything else Sony does wrong it's not their fault! Spin it some more Sony!
Dale North's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:11
Dale North
DeusPayne - I laughed when he took credit. I will say that the PS2 did help with strong push towards casual, especially in the UK.
jaworsky's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:11
jaworsky
I'll buy into the idea that not that many people finish games. Or at least that a lot of people don't finish. I don't have a lot of time to play, so I'd rather get a little taste (maybe 30-50%) of a lot of things than just play through a couple of games.
Teta's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:15
Teta
Sony=casual gaming?
I can think of Nintendo as a casual gaming console. With the Ds, grab the Brain Age, do a Sudoku, play later. Or grab MArio play some levels and turn the game off.
Just can´t imagine Sony as casual gaming.
Even worse, introducing a console that fans claim to have the best hardware around (and i am sure it has) don´t go with the term "casual".
600 bucks for a console isn´t "casual" money.
JamesSorensen's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:16
JamesSorensen
Halo 3 campaign was only 6 hours, but then again online adds time to it of course...

but ya, I'm pretty sure the majority of people don't finish games...
mispelt's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:21
mispelt
I'll give Sony a good bit of credit for bringing gaming farther into the mainstream, but as far as casual goes, they get nothing.
GuitarAtomik's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:27
GuitarAtomik
I don't mind Phil Harrison really, but yeah. That Home answer was complete bullshit. It's not "out" Phil if I can't fucking use it yet.
pattern's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:31
pattern
Of course I don't finish most games. Most games suck ass. I however have no problem playing a week long Bioshock or World in Conflict marathon. Sony bigshots = fail (nothing new here)
twesterm's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:40
twesterm
My favorite part was when he acted surprised that people said HS was only 6 hours long and that only the most hardcore testers who played the game everyday could beat the game in 6 hours.

That and he only cited one 5 star review to say that the mass media and gaming critics all hailed HS as great.
gamesronlygames's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:40
gamesronlygames
Phil is pretty much right. You'd have to be a Sony hater or come in it with expectations of him being a liar to come away any differently. Some games are short. Gears was short, Ive played through 6 missions in 2 hours in Halo3, no sweat-Heavenly Sword is awesome. Play it, trade it in, or rent it for a week for 8 bucks at blockbuster-Hes right its Factor 5 who blew it with the lack of analog stick, not Sony's. They dont mandate(love the bias even in the questioning) The hate and bias of company fanboys is so laym now. Shouldnt we be fans of GAMES-not Microsoft or SOny or Nintendo. If a good game comes out on any given system dont bash it just because its on the "other" system youre too broke to buy but would like or whatever. If you like games that would imply you like games regardless of what system. Most mature people realize both the 360 and PS3 rock-those who dont have a prejudicial axe they love to grind and are just plain ignorant!
mteerie's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 11:59
mteerie
"Blonde Redhead - Misery is a Butterfly" seems out of place. Where was that coming from?
gottlieb's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 12:21
gottlieb
And you like this liar why?
Lord_Satorious's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 12:36
Lord_Satorious
I don't know, the longer the game, the less likely I am to finish it. I own a lot of RPGs, and I hardly ever beat any of them. I don't even know why I bother sometimes. A game like Halo 3, I'll play a mission a day. Sure, I could go through the entire game over the course of two or three days (maybe even a single day if I started early enough), but I play games in short spurts. That, and I like to play games perfectly, acquiring all the secret items or collectibles in my first playthrough. That requires some reading up on GameFAQs.

I'm not defending Phil Harrison, but I simply own more games than I can reasonably play, so I can agree with him insofar that I don't beat many of the games I own. How that translates into the community at large, I haven't the foggiest.
jerrt's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 12:37
jerrt
he's right, i never seem to finish games. i finish grand theft auto games, and i finished flow. [not real hard] i did finish resistance, but i don't get a chance to finish much else.
DeusPayne's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 12:51
DeusPayne
I'm surprised that no one's tried to make the claim "Sony is even helping more by having less games, giving you more time to finish the games that are released."

Claiming that people don't finish games is no justification in making it ridiculously short, especially for all the delays. (This goes for all games, Halo 3, HL2: Ep1, Bioshock, but at least they're not blaming the gamers for wanting something more.
jerrt's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:17
jerrt
i also wanted to say this. looking over the playstation 1 & 2 library, i see plenty of more casual games. mr mosquito, mad maestro, cookies & cream, et cetera... are what i would consider 'casual' games and all those games are very good, fun games. they may not be for everyone, but there is a good deep variety of game types available from the playstation catalog

so those that say playstation hasn't done anything casual, or has tried to find a fill in that market sector, just really haven't look into many games outside of the more marketed games.
amalgamut00's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:21
amalgamut00
I heard so many people at work saying how it will take them forever to beat Halo 3...I beat it the day it came out, but only on normal so far.
snotrocket's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:25
snotrocket
I would agree that I finish games that I WANT to finish. Lots of games are released that just suck and I don't want to bother finishing. Although, a game like HS is pretty fun, and I did enjoy it, would I pay $60 for it? No, it's to short, I would rather spend that money on a game that is either longer or has more to it such as online game play.

I did like the question of the inteviewer about the younger audience who doesn't work and $60 is a LOT to spend on a game that can last them a total 10-15 hours.
Sharpless's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:32
Sharpless
Do they realize that they're making shit up when it suits them? Or do they really convince themselves that this is the way the world works? Either way, they're fucked up. And Phil is usually the best of the lot.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:16
Samit Sarkar
I have to agree with Phil here...I’ll just list all the games I can think of right now that I own and have yet to finish (all games are PS2 or PS3):

Resistance: Fall of Man (I’ve had it and my PS3 since December 31st — just the last level, “Tower”, is left)
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (I can’t be more than halfway or two-thirds of the way through the game; that’s why I never picked up Vice City Stories)
True Crime: New York City (something like 90-95% done)
God of War II (also about halfway or two-thirds)
Guitar Hero II (argh...fucking “Free Bird”!)
Black (I actually have yet to play this one at all, even though I bought it in the beginning of this year)
Bully (less than 5% through this one)

Also, I got Madden NFL 08 the day it came out, but so far, I’ve only played a game and a half because I’ve been playing the hell out of Warhawk. So at least for me, Phil is right. It’s not that I don’t want to finish these games — I do — I just don’t have the time (college = busy = squeezing in Warhawk whenever I can, and that’s about it). You’d think I would’ve gotten around to beating at least a few of the aforementioned games over the summer, but my PS3 was upstairs in the living room, which is adjacent to my parents’ bedroom, so I couldn’t play at night — and on top of that , I was working 9-5 for most of the summer.

Anyway, back to [i]Warhawk[i]...I mean, uh, reading for my 5-6 PM discussion section...
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:16
Samit Sarkar
Go effing figure...I screwed up the last bit of BBCode there. Grr...
snattu's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:25
snattu
Apparently you people have some problems comprehending what you hear. He underlined the point that Home is not an application, it's not a product. He missed the part that Home is a part of the service called PSN, so he dropped the ball a bit, but anyone with a brain can figure it out.

Anyone claiming that Sony had/has no part in the casual gaming boom has missed, what, 10+ years of gaming history. Like Harrison said in the interview, Singstar and Buzz pretty much made casual gaming what it is. THE casual gaming hits on DS were released much later than f.ex. Singstar. I personally know people who own a PS2 and nothing but Singstar for it. If Sony were on the ball, they'd make a Singstar & PS3 -bundle, for Europe at least, with an Eyetoy thrown in the mix.

I'd even argue that DDR and the classic rhythm games (PaRappa etc.) in general have been much more influential than any of the Nintendo's efforts on the casual gaming market. Nintendo has the volume, sure, but one can hardly call them the sole innovators on that field.

He did dodge some questions, no doubt about that, but I've always thought that he's one of the more honest people in the business. I also think that the point that people do not finish games is a valid one. Then again, I think that 6h of gameplay is a bit scarce for a game costing 50-60 euros. Then again, you can finish most (?) NES games in 30 minutes, so it's all relative.
Guruthos's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 15:03
Guruthos
weird my comment is not posting.
Nyteshade's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 15:11
Nyteshade
I must be one of the few true "hardcore" gamers than, there's very few titles I don't finish, and only if they're sub-par. I don't see the reason to spend $50-60 and not get a full experience, but to each his own.


@gamesronlygames

So it'd just coincidence that Sony's FAR UNDERUSED motion control in the Six-axis was the ONLY CONTROL SCHEME in the first major "next-gen" flying title? Occam's Razor says differently. Developers have been providing multiple control schemes as the norm for years now, so Factor 5 decided to forgo this common practice and force the motion control just because they wanted too? Even knowing it was slow to respond and hard to handle?! They've been programing analog stick flight-sims for years, I'm sure they could have handled it and I'm sure they know what good controls play like...

No matter what anyone says, I find it very hard to believe Factor 5 only put in only the motion control scheme because they thought it was the best. It's a blatant attempt by Sony to prove that the motion control in the Six-Axis is worth it, and they failed.

No Sony spin-machine can ever persuade me they didn't...
Necros's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 15:18
Necros
Phil just reminds me of Hitman far too much.
topgeargorilla's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 15:47
topgeargorilla
I've started and haven't finished:
Viewtiful joe 2
Final Fantasy X
Odin Sphere
Super Paper Mario
Persona 3
Elite Beat Agents

and more!
braulio09's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 16:58
braulio09
well, he's right..i dont actually finish very long games (mostly rpgs) but thats no excuse not to make the game longer. if people wanted more after say, 20 hours of gameplay, then he'd be right

also, i dont thing sony FORCED them to do it, nyteshade..they mightve paid them more to do it but they cant force them, factor 5 can take its own decisions.
grrza's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 16:59
grrza
lol, they're "touching alot of different entry points".
drhqnril's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 17:53
drhqnril
I agree. I dont finish games. Though thats mostly because I play tetris and that last boss is a bitch.
No seriously, if it's crap i toss it. Otherwise i've finished everygame i've ever thought worthwhile. It sickens me to hear people don't finish good games.
Thats a waste of good er.. time.
The-Excel's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 17:53
The-Excel
I don't know about you, but he hit me right on the head. It's been two years since I started Disgaea and I'm still at chapter 12.
donkeykong's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 19:35
donkeykong
I don't finish most games, but some I do. It depends a lot on the type of game and the age. A lot of the old final fantasy games (up to about six) are really fun until the final tower/dungeon when the difficulty level quadruples and it becomes frustrating instead of fun. I don't play games to frustrate myself. I probably would have beaten six actually if my file hadn't become the victim of the coliseum glitch.

Overall I'd say I beat about 30% of the games I start, and make it anywhere from about 50% to about 90% of the way through the games I don't finish.
Dexter345's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 21:30
Dexter345
Not that many people finish four hour games?
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