Gadgetory

ultimately what was interesting to me about interviewing fell that day and seeing Sony on that day was that they did not talk about the ps4 wishes I think arguably the most important product that they have it's the key to this like big ecosystem network effect where you get the ps4 and all of the promises that they've made about it or true then you will want to buy more sony products because it is the center of that experience we should get into the ps4 but to do so we've brought Justin McElroy polygons managing editor to talk to us he has probably more violent disagreements with both me and me life that's possible so Justin what do you think is Sony it's only gonna win this console race this time it's a little early to make those kinds of calls we don't even know what uh Microsoft is is working with if indeed they release any console at all there's been no news that would be great if Microsoft is like now that we're out this was fun we quit yeah man ps4 mystery box we can't compete with that listen we got zune we got Bing got a lot of profit centers we are cool we're golden it's over and we're games for us yeah but so what did you think about this this Sony event and they really did kind of build a ps4 as not only a gaming platform but like the center of this whole universe and ecosystem that Sony is really trying to build I don't know it doesn't seem like a broad-reaching strategy for me to try to make it the set I I mean have we not gotten past that point I mean are we not past that white whale of like the the interconnected set-top box that does everything and yeah I don't I don't think I think people want more for lack of a better term fiddle enos that provides you know I think people are always gonna have their own devices and they're not going to want a walled garden where there's features or they're missing out on cuz they're not using a certain Sony device so um I think it's gonna be hard for it to be too uh valuable to have that sort of integration without excluding people who are missing out but it's the market for just a pure game device there I mean aren't they gonna get crushed by the ipad in like kids like parents buying our kids at 329 dollar I've had many instead of a four-hundred-dollar ps4 I'm not sure that the metaphor is necessarily there for a an iPad versus a gaming console like I I think that um it's the same metaphorical leap is like why would you want an ipad when you already have an iphone I mean it that's the Gulf we're talking about um I don't think so i think the leap I think the metaphor is money what are you gonna spend your three hundred dollars on and I think for a lot of parents are gonna say a lot thing has games the games for that thing cost three dollars but the iphone has games and they're still selling I think that's crushing the console market too i think that i think that's a tidal wave of problems for Sony right I think that people still want to play a game with a controller in a box that is that you put disk into and I think that metaphor is not going away I can absolutely see I mean like I think the future the end game I think for video games is a phone in your pocket that connects to a controller that rests on your living room the phone pushes video to your TV or your you know your your receiver or what have you the controller communicates with the phone in your pocket like I think that's the that that's the future as far as I'm concerned I don't think we get there this generation I think we've got at least one more console generation in the way that we've come to think of it and for me as someone who puts video games above other forms of of tech just because my you know my career and my the what we saw for the ps4 event was super encouraging from that front I mean to your point about software they didn't hit the box very hard it wasn't a presentation about technical specifications the person you had doing the thrust the presentation with mark cerny who's like a video game guy I mean dude made marble madness you know crash bandicoot he's worked on basically every major Sony gaming franchise for like you know 20 years so to me the message that I got is that there they note that they're putting that first they're putting software first at least that was the message i got from Cerny being the lead architect and the sort of spokesperson they're pushing their butts oh but that sounds like the ps4 will be this like silo game experience I mean this is the other part of my argument is it Sony isn't integrating its stuff together so you know sony has a music service that like may or may not like show up on the ps4 right they are gonna they have a bunch of tablets and computers so like Mary not work with the ps4 why wouldn't they want why would they want to build a siloed experience for games when they keep saying they're gonna integrate across the entire company what's the I mean I guess I don't see what the value of that like what it what it what is the Lizzie experience that that is not there I guess is what I don't understand like the ps4 and really the xbox 360 also for Microsoft are kind of the gateway drug into these ecosystems right rah so in the same way that like the ipod touch is what gets you into apple I feel like Sony kind of like you said they have the music service they have they'll sell me videos they like they should be able to move all my stuff around and let me use all of my things on my various devices and Microsoft is being smart with SmartGlass and stuff like that there try and well right there they seem to get it I don't know if they're taking all of the steps they need to but they seem to get it but it seems to me that Justin I kind of think you're right in the sense that Sony the games were going to be what sell the ps4 but I think Sony could make the ps4 what sells its other devices the ps4 to be what sells Sony right right and I for that and so what well actually what I'm very cute more furious asked us Austin is do you think the games are there to sell the ps4 I mean I went to that event I didn't see a bunch of like awesome games I saw a lot of explosions I saw a lot of ideas about games that I've seen before and I can find myself wondering like is am I gonna buy this because the explosions are better or am I gonna buy this because it has new kinds of interesting games I want to pray so I guess if I had a problem it was the fact that like I didn't see a lot of you know experiences that I wasn't that are not currently getting on my current console so yeah I mean absolutely if they had a failing it was like I didn't see that um that moment that was like I have to own the system I mean obviously I will have but but you know what it's also going to be harder this generation I think maybe even harder than any other generation before because in the when you go from ps2 to ps3 or xbox Xbox 360 you're really making this leap in the high definition and like you it is not going to be that sort of jump like they're not going to be able to do that graphically um so it's not going to have the impact impact there um I'm really hopeful for e3 I'm hopeful that we're gonna see some really interesting like gaming experiences that you can't get anywhere else because I mean I agree with you the number of sequels was like really upsetting I mean there are these big studios that like I I would love to see what else they could do sucker punch for example yeah rather than like another infamous game okay I mean I'm sure that'll be that'll be really good but I'm you know I you kind of think of a new consoles like the place where these developers get to stretch their legs you know and not make another Killzone game boy you know was another what was funny about that event was they kept on saying things like and we're proud to announce that kill zone 25 will come to the PlayStation as our garrulous is it gonna go like is hey we're bringing it to the genesis what are you why are you so proud of yourself I forget who said it but someone said that um Killzone fans are so our Sony's a analogy for the Canadian girlfriend no no you guys you good if she was here that she's really gorgeous okay I think you saw so to show exactly enough they enough to get people talking enough of these features that are almost gonna be accepted in the next generation like obviously they that we have to have these features and they're going to look like innovators when microsoft also has these features i mean they're gonna look like oh yeah we've also got a you know a safe state or streaming or whatever and it'll look like it's gonna gets the opportunity to look like they came up with it so Justin do you think have we seen enough to be excited are you excited about what's he's up to do you think they're moving in the right direction or are we still in kind of wait-and-see mode until you three absolute at listen if I had if I had seen um the same sort of arrogance I saw on display when the ps3 launched I would you know I would be sizing up for coffin but I I think that what you saw at this event was someone who is knows they have market share to reclaim that that has someone out front like mark Cerny that communicates like hey we care about games we want your business you know we want to draw people in Sony right now looks like for the video game perspective looks like a company that that has it is is ready for a fight and like I don't know I don't know where that where that leaves Microsoft um in a fight and if I got a terrible fight yeah they will have a fight I mean sony look like a company that's saying the right things that understands the message that they needed to send to reconnect with people that hopefully has learned from the sort of like almost um you know bullheaded nature the ps3 that is sort of pushes forward and expects users to deal with the multiple weaknesses that that system had five six seven years ago and continues to have to this very day alright Justin McElroy thank you very much we really appreciate it but an exquisite pleasure having me thank you so much oh that's such a pleasure to be here the pleasure there was pleasure all around so it's enough you