'DS is a gimmick'

DS News | Top Sony exec goes on the offensive as PSP launch nears.

The touch screen feature on Nintendo's DS is a 'gimmick', whilst the handheld is nothing more than 'an irrelevance' when it comes to predicting the success of the PSP. That's the view of Sony's VP of studios Phil Harrison, who made the remarks in an interview with trade magazine MCV.

'The idea of a handheld rivalry with Nintendo is an irrelevance,' claimed Harrison. 'Those formats don’t appear in our planning. It’s not a fair comparison; not fair on them, I should stress. That sounds arrogant, maybe, but it’s the truth.'

From there, Harrison went on to target the touch screen feature of Nintendo's handheld, stating that, 'It’s fair to say that Nintendo stepped out of the technical race and went for a feature differentiation with the touch screen. But I fear that it won’t have a lasting impact beyond that of a gimmick - so the long-lasting appeal of the platform is at peril as a direct result of that.'

'Nintendo knows its target audience, because it has really narrowed that down,' continued Harrison. 'It’s pretty much defined by a boy or girl’s ability to admire Pokémon.' Ouch. Put the claws away, Phil.

Of course, much of this is clearly rhetoric timed to coincide with the PAL launches of Sony's PSP handheld on September 1st, though whether or not the arrival of Sony's portable console can help the company overtake the worldwide sales figures set by the DS remains to be seen.

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23 Comments

Hyperworm

4 years ago

Quote

It’s not a fair comparison; not fair on them, I should stress. That sounds arrogant, maybe, but it’s the truth.

Ahahahahahahah

*slaps Phil in face with Japanese DS sales report*
Losing so badly and can't admit it

Really cheap shot at Pokémon. Grrrrrrrrr.

[fume]

Andronicus

4 years ago

*Boos & Hisses*

Can you believe this guy?
These execs get so damn insulting about each other... I mean, I know it's normal, but it still serves to annoy some of us.
Like me!

Heck, what Hyperworm said - look at the sales charts right now - now, I know they aren't eternal, but they show that currently Sony should watch what they say, for fear of appearing to be in DENIAL!

Very soon we find out how the Australian market will react to the PSP.
You know, Sony and M$ will more than likely use this line of illogical "logic" on the Revolution when IT is revealled - that is to say, they'll call it a "gimmick".
Here's hoping neither of them are "gimmicks", but actually new cool ways of playing games.

And for the sake of putting as many smileys in here as is reasonably possible...

themak

4 years ago

I want an Apple/Bandai Pippin!!!!!!!
Call that a gimmick!!!

realitybites

4 years ago

Harrison has always been a goose.

Sony seemed to have come out swinging of late. Not sure whether all this muck racking between Sony/MS is all that great for the industry.

Nice to see Nintendo sticking to the moral high ground.

Harrison's transparency is almost laughable given the launch tomorrow of PSP in PAL territories.

Oh well we better get used to it because its not going to stop anytime soon.

thechu

4 years ago

While it's funny seeing grown men act like ill-mannered children, I don't think this kind of behaviour is good for people who like to enjoy the best of all worlds (i.e. people who own Nintendo and Sony products). All it does is encourage loyalty to one party. I really don't care how much they bandy words about, but maybe they could use thier "intelligence" (and I use that word lightly) to promote their own products in a more positive way.

Fugie!

4 years ago

--alex-- wrote

I want an Apple/Bandai Pippin!!!!!!!
Call that a gimmick!!!

hell yeah man

that console rocked... well it was kinda like a rock.. it just sank.

on track though, Phill, buddy, your're an idiot.
the end

plufim

4 years ago

Does this mean that as an owner of nintendo consoles, if I don't own pokemon games, I'm a bad person?

And honestly, he can't say sony don't wish they had pokemon - or else why have all the digimon and monster rancher games, eh?

themak

4 years ago

yes (according to Sony)
But not because you don't own Pokemon games but because you support the enemy!!!!!!1!ELEVENTYONE!!!

Also Sony are launching late as the most expensive console: by that time the XBOX360 will have dropped in price and the nin:rev will be on the way but still cheaper. Sony will suffer just like microsoft did.

Quin

4 years ago

ooo, bitchy

ObsoletE

4 years ago

when does a quirky feature go from a gimmick to not a gimmick?

honestly, (IMO) the touchscreen is/was a gimmick that paid off. well, paid off short term at least, we'll have to see if they maintain the momentum now, afterall it might fall by the wayside if developers start cutting corners and either rehash already released games or over-produce a franchise (Mario Party style).

the same can be said of the PSP. the ability to basically be a mobile PS2 is a gimmick, whether it pays off remains to be seen, and whether it maintains, gains or loses momentum also, for exactly the same reasons as what i said about the DS.

Lord InuYasha

4 years ago

Wow this is really turning out to be a real eye opener to me. Its a smaller PS2??? MY GOD!

LeonJ

4 years ago

That guy is a total moron, really, what is that? The DS software is starting to grow with some really awesome titles (having Nintendogs and Advanced Wars DS as we speak). And look towards the end of the year vs psp software.

But I guess one point he made which was true was the DS is a very different machine, and is hard to compare. But failed to mention, Nintendo have gone out of their way to state this is NOT a replacement for the gameboy.

ZNMS

4 years ago

Looks like someone is jealous, that a rival company has a handheld at half the price.

Gtpod

4 years ago

Heh, someone just asked me why I detest Sony. Cheers for the article.

Lord InuYasha

4 years ago

ZNMS wrote

Looks like someone is jealous, that a rival company has a handheld at half the price.

And half the quality. I'm mean um.... *note to self don't say anything bad about nintendo around nintendo fans*

slowly back away.

I think i hear my mum calling me, um... got to go.

Qbert

4 years ago

* Note to Lord InuYasha :Don't tell lies, it's double the quality*

Lord InuYasha

4 years ago

Pulls out lighter then burns note from Qbert.

Blunty

4 years ago

man, Sony really are quite childish. It's embarrasing.

The touch screen a "gimmick"... well my dictionary defines Gimmick as " An innovative or unusual mechanical contrivance" so yeah. it is.
And yeah, some of the early DS titles aren't taking full advantage of the DS's "gimmicks", or are just "tacking on" touch screen functionality for teh sake of it... third party publishers are a bit scared to be the first to dive in to the pool and that's understandable. But some titles have got it right, Feel teh magic xx/xy (project rub for those who didn't import it back in november like I did) is a shining example of innovative, and fun gameplay using nothing but the touchscreen and the mic.

And without that "gimmick" Nintendogs, which has become THE fastest selling new video game franchise wouldn't be possible.

Sony can only dream about such things. Because they never take risks with new technology like Nintendo do. They just steal and copy whatever other people come up with that has proven to work.

sometimes Nintendo's innovation pays off - analouge sticks, rumble, sometimes it doesn't - virtualboy... But the hard fact is, Nintendo are the ones driving gaming forward. And now, to a certain extent, MS with the lovely new live features on their X360, which I am pretty excited by.

So sony sulks on the corner and bitches and whines, and calls the other guys by mean names... Nice work Sony. Way to win repect in the industry.

Hyperworm

4 years ago

Blunty wrote

The touch screen a "gimmick"... well my dictionary defines Gimmick as " An innovative or unusual mechanical contrivance" so yeah. it is.

This is true, but... every time a comment like this is made by a company representative, someone has to go point out the definition of "gimmick" and how it can be used in a good sense.
What he means (and this is also a valid definition of gimmick) is that the touch-screen may just be "an innovative stratagem or scheme employed especially to promote a project".
i.e. he is saying the touch-screen is a piece of hardware created to be flashy and promote the DS but with no real future in enhancing the quality of the device.
Of course he's wrong

but that's the definition he means.

(Great post, though. Hope you stick around

)

Andronicus

4 years ago

I'd have to agree with Bkunty here - Nintendo does take big risks when it comes to the types of games they generate, and oftentimes it pays off big with a previously non-existant gaming experience redefining a chunk of the video game market.

I mean, sure, Sony has some very innovative games as well, but so far it's been like this...
Nintendo are trying to redefine the industry by putting innovation into the games themsleves, and possibly in the way these games are played (i.e. the Revolution), whilst Sony & M$ are trying to redefine it in terms of making video gaming just another arm of the home entertainment realm.

Persoanlly, I'd like it if a balance could be struck between the two, and if I had the spare $$$ I'd get both... BUT...

Also, thumbs up there Blunty for the avatar and name (I'm assuming it's because you're a fan of those short films) - those Bluntmation films were the first great Australian stop-motion films of that type that I had ever seen (Spite Your Face were the first I had seen though).

Blunty

4 years ago

Andronicus wrote

Also, thumbs up there Blunty for the avatar and name (I'm assuming it's because you're a fan of those short films) - those Bluntmation films were the first great Australian stop-motion films of that type that I had ever seen (Spite Your Face were the first I had seen though).

Actually no, the name an avitar aren't because I'm a fan... I AM Blunty from Bluntmation.com. Nice to meet another fan

Andronicus

4 years ago

Cool!
Well, I especially liked "Death Carries A Big Stick" - I'm into animation too, but I don't do stop-motion (although I do have a few buckets of Lego stored away somewhere) - hand-drawn cartoon animation is my thing, but I have little to show for it at this stage.
But, watch out Tropfest 2006... or maybe 2007...

Back on topic.
As I've alluded to in the past, I really like the old point 'n' click adventure games.
Especially "Sam & Max", "Maniac Mansion", "Day of the Tentacle", the "Monkey Island" games, etc.
Now, stop me if I've said this before, but this so called "gimmick" is the PERFECT platform for ports of some of these games - use the damn stylus to do the work.
It's like it was meant to be or something!

I doubt we'll see ports (but, who knows, right?), but, some new material would be cool.
Think about it... doesn't sound "gimmick"-y to me... it sounds pretty damn clever.

Well, that's what I think anyway...

Capoeira

4 years ago

Blunty wrote

Actually no, the name an avitar aren't because I'm a fan... I AM Blunty from Bluntmation.com. Nice to meet another fan

Okay, now I have to go to that site...

Edit: Nice. That's some cool stuff you've got there! And it's all you, huh? Again, nice.

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