Move Starter Kit ‘Under $100’

PS3 Supply Woes To End Soon, SCEA Executive Says

March 12, 2010 by Jeff Berman|Top News

SAN FRANCISCO -- The PS3 hardware supply woes that have plagued Sony Computer Entertainment America since the $100 price cut it initiated in late summer will wind down within the next few days, John Koller, the company’s director of hardware marketing, told us at the Game Developers Conference Wednesday. SCEA, meanwhile, said at a news conference that the PlayStation Move PS3 motion controller will cost “under $100” as part of a starter kit that will also include the existing PlayStationEye camera and an unspecified game when it ships this fall.

PS3 demand “has far surpassed” what Sony projected, Koller said. “Anything that” was “laying on the shelf has been moving immediately,” he said, indicating that if one model was out of stock, consumers opted for the other if it was available. But he projected, “We're going to be in pretty good” position on supplies in time for the key release of its game God of War III on Tuesday. SCEA will “make sure there’s hardware there for new consumers” coming to the PS3, he said, predicting there will be “adequate supply at that point” on both the 120- and 250-GB PS3s, which have each been in short supply, he said. “The company expects God of War III will be “a multi-million unit seller” and “platform driver,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing and PlayStation Network at SCEA. Despite the supply shortage, PS3 sales have been strong since the price cut, surpassing sales for the same period the prior year. Sales would have likely been even stronger if there were enough available to meet demand.

The company will also field an “Ultimate” PlayStation Move bundle that adds the PS3 console, a standalone Move controller, and sub-controller that’s used in conjunction with the main controller. Prices on those items weren’t disclosed. It was the first time Sony showed the sub-controller, which performs a similar function as the Nunchuk for the Wii. It features an analog stick and directional buttons that Sony said allow users to control the game more easily when moving characters or choosing a direction. Like all other wireless PS3 controllers, it will come with a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery as well as Bluetooth technology, enabling the controller to transfer the input information wirelessly to the PS3 without a cable, Sony said.

The Move controller, which must be used in conjunction with the PlayStationEye, is “fast, precise and accurate,” touted Dille. We played two Move-compatible games -- the first-party Move Party (working title) and Brunswick Pro Bowling from Crave Entertainment -- and the control system seemed to be at least somewhat faster and more precise than the similar Wii motion controller. But Dille tipped his hat to Nintendo, saying Sony’s rival “has done a great job in bringing motion gaming to the masses."

Sony sees an “opportunity for us to target a dual audience” with Move -- mass market consumers and core gamers -- and SCEA will be “incredibly aggressive” in promoting the system at launch in much the same way it does a new platform launch, Dille said. SCEA is “working with our retail partners” on the launch, which will be “our biggest effort of the year,” he said.

The company will broaden the use of its existing “It only does everything” PS3 tagline to include motion control gaming and, later this year, 3D also, Dille said. The company plans to be very aggressive on 3D gaming, but no specifics were provided Wednesday. While it will target both ends of the market with Move, the company thinks it can attract more core gamers and higher-income customers with 3D, Koller said.

Many third-party publishers and developers agreed to support Move with games, but Take-Two Interactive was conspicuously absent from the list provided by Sony. Take-Two has “been exploring” the Sony and Microsoft motion control systems, but hasn’t announced any specific plans for support of either system to date, company spokesman Alan Lewis said Thursday. Sony’s list included Activision, Capcom, Disney Interactive Studios, Electronic Arts, Koei, Konami, Majesco, Sega, Sony Online Entertainment, Square Enix, Tecmo, THQ, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. In Sony’s fiscal year ending in March 2011, SCE Worldwide Studios alone will “release more than 20 games that are either dedicated to or supported with the PlayStation Move platform,” it said.

Existing PS3 games can become Move-compatible via “different paths,” depending on the game, Koller said. It can be done through a downloadable software patch in some cases, but new versions of titles will be done in other cases, he said. One existing game that Sony showed using Move during its news conference was the hit LittleBigPlanet, and “we haven’t decided” yet how to deliver Move compatibility on it to the consumer, he said.

It was long believed that the motion control system would be called “Arc.” But Koller told us Move was the name the company planned to use “for some time now.” Arc was merely one of “a few different code names” it used, he said. The name “Move” will help the company position the platform as a method to get consumers active and “off the couch,” he said.

Koller also told us the PS3 version of the coming game EA Sports Active 2.0 uses the Move motion control system after all (CED March 11 p4). As such, it will require the PlayStationEye, like any other Move-compatible title, he said. “We've been working with” EA on the game and it will be “a great addition to the lineup,” Koller said. The title, however, wasn’t one of the various games Sony spotlighted at its event. It wasn’t clear Thursday why EA didn’t say it will ship the game for the Xbox 360. The publisher announced support for Microsoft’s coming “Project Natal” controller-less motion control system. EA Sports “may (or may not) … announce other platforms at a later date” for Active 2.0, EA spokesman Jeff Brown said. “But there are many reasons why” development teams select certain platforms, and “it is not uncommon for a game to appear on one platform and not another,” he said. As examples, he said, EA’s Mass Effect is on the 360 and PC only, while its My Sims is only on the Wii. “It would be incorrect to assume that other platforms have been excluded for any specific reason,” he said.

The PS3 sales spike that’s been seen since its price cut also boosted the sales of peripherals, Koller said. Dualshock controllers, headsets and Blu-ray remotes have “done exceptionally well,” he said. But there have been adequate supplies, he said.

Sony has also been encouraged by PSP sales, including that of the PSP Go, Koller said. While NPD data has shown that sales of the download-only Go have accounted for only a small percentage of overall PSP sales, he said the sales have been in line with SCEA’s forecast. The company never expected it to outsell the PSP-3000, which also plays packaged games on Universal Media Disc, he said. “It’s been a good launch for us,” with high satisfaction rates reported by consumers, he said. Koller also defended the company’s decision to price the Go higher than the PSP-3000, saying $249.99 was “the right price point.” The PSP-3000 “Core Pack” costs $80 less.

Game Developers Conference Notebook…

The coming videogame Green Day: Rock Band was shown publicly to reporters for the first time at GDC Wednesday night. The game will ship globally June 8 for the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360, executives from Viacom’s Harmonix and MTV Games divisions and Reprise/Warner Bros. Records, the companies said Thursday. The title features the likenesses of Green Day members Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool. Similar to The Beatles: Rock Band, players will “progress through the story and history of Green Day, gaining access into the band’s media vault, where they can unlock more than 100 collectible images, and more than 40 minutes of rare and unreleased video from interviews, outtakes and performances,” the companies said. However, those extra features weren’t demonstrated Wednesday night, just the songs “Brain Stew,” “Jaded,” “Hitchin’ a Ride,” “American Idiot,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” being played by Harmonix developers. All of the video featured the same live setting for its virtual Green Day members, unlike the elaborate and varied backdrops in The Beatles title. All 47 tracks on the new title will be “fully exportable, providing players with the opportunity to play the songs” in Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and the recently announced Rock Band 3, the companies said. The six Green Day tracks now available in the online Rock Band Music Store as downloadable content can be played in Green Day: Rock Band “with added vocal harmonies, unique performance visuals, and exclusive archival material,” they said.

About 60 percent of Free Realms players log into the family-targeted online game’s Marketplace each day, Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley said at GDC Wednesday. The game recently passed the 9-million registered player mark. While free-to-play, SOE gets revenue from virtual items bought at the marketplace and players can opt to pay $4.99 a month for membership to get extras. It’s “really important to us that we drive” membership, Smedley said. The company is about to add PayPal as a payment method option, he said. Until now, Station Cash and credit cards have been the only options. About 80 percent of players use credit cards, Smedley said. Pointing to the potential problems of targeting kids, he said SOE at one point had to give refunds on 60 percent of transactions over $100. Since then, it’s put in limits on how much kids can spend at the site, he said. Early this week, SOE launched a version of its turn-based strategy game PoxNora on Facebook. The company “plans to follow this inaugural Facebook launch of PoxNora with additional games for the Facebook platform based on both existing franchises and new intellectual property,” SOE said. It acquired PoxNora in January 2009, and “since then the game has expanded in reach and popularity with over 2.5 million registered accounts to date,” it said. The company “customized the Facebook version of PoxNora to appeal to a wider social networking audience in a fun and engaging way,” it said.

New tools from Dolby will allow gamers to use Dolby Axon surround voice chat on more game platforms, it said here Thursday. New software developer kit ports from the company enable developers to integrate the technology to the PS3, Xbox 360 and Macintosh OS X versions of multiplayer online game titles, it said. “General availability of these ports is planned for April,” it said. The technology was already adopted in a few online games, including Nexon’s Dragon Nest, Giant Interactive’s ZT Online, Kingsoft’s Mission Against Terror and NetDevil’s Jumpgate Evolution, Dolby said.