http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/2 ... y-psps-john-koller/ 7月26日
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得到站友Hanol的支持，帮助翻译了全文，特此感谢他为我们带来的精彩翻译。
注：本文已经尽量去除主观思想，和一些过激词汇。非常公正的翻译，不完全翻译版。
索尼――包括PSP，目前在游戏业中无论是在自身的形象还是表现方面都经历了大量的抨击。虽然有些游戏看上去是战争题材游戏, 大部分题材设计的对象主要都局限于那些痴迷游戏的男生。我和索尼PSP的北美销售经理－JOHN KOLLER坐下来一起针对PSP昔日所取得的成功以及我们对于SONY首次进军掌机游戏业的料想进行了讨论。
Q：请您谈下最近有关PSP版本固件的更新情况
A：最新的版本（将在周四推出的2.8版本）包含RSS，这样游戏进度就可以保存到记忆棒上了并且还可以下载“世界足球巡回赛” 。当然我们也获得了系统安全补丁。
Q：如果有的话，固件升级的预期时间是在什么时候？
A：这个没有必要固定时间，但是大体说来在每6-8周。
Q：那么在SONY看来，PSP的成功有没有达到之前的预期效果呢 ？
A：PSP当然还有，并且也必然有改进的空间。我认为，在去年给它加的许多功能就带来了目标消费者的增加，这些人喜欢玩超难度的游戏。所以我们为这种玩家设计了更长更复杂的游戏，这种游戏现在也越来越被普通玩家所接受、所乐道。并且，还可下载内容、可连入因特网、可增加TIVO以及其他设计的增加。在许多人看来仅仅是加入到即将发售的游戏机中去，但事实上一些作用和功能比他们想的要多得多。
Q：但仅在游戏界方面发展不仅仅索尼的计划，是么？
A：对，它总是具有多种功能的。表面上看，索尼还仅仅是发售游戏机，但是我们没有必要继续走这样的路线。游戏才是这条路子上的核心。然而，除了游戏之外，也仍旧有其他的一些利益所在。
Q：我们从PS3上所能期待（PSP）什么功能？
A：我们将更迟些宣布，但是我们已经公开声明它将成为PS3的一个遥控装置。
Q：请谈一下具体内容。
A：我们在E3上通过使用F1赛车的方式来展示怎样把PSP用作后视镜，但是还有比这更多的好处，并且这只是PSP将来走向的一个典型例子。
Q：除了在PS3 协会上提及内容的之外，PS1的游戏不久也可能下载了。有什么我们值得期待的内容么？
A：这点目前还没有做出决定，但你可以把PS1上的游戏下载到PSP上玩是一定的。
Q：将PS1的游戏转换到PSP上时要如何操作呢？
A：大部分的游戏都是可以实现的。但如果有类似双重震动类游戏，那么把它直接写入原程序可能有点困难，但是对于大部分的游戏内容来说，实际上每一个PS1上的游戏都可以玩。
Q：对于每下载一个游戏要花费多少钱，您有没有一个粗略的估计？
A：没有，我们还在进一步的研讨之中。这有待于美日双方作出全面的讨论。
Q：有没有把白色PSP投放美国的计划？
A：现在不是时候。欧洲已经在本土发售了一些白色的PSP，我们现在不打算在美国发放。
Q：咱们来谈一下对PSP的一些负面舆论，例如读取时间。您对于大量的游戏读取时间和必须将存档写入索尼的产品（记忆棒）里，持有什么观点？
A：这就是我们所看到的。这不仅仅是PSP的问题，也是贯穿于整公司以及产业内部的问题。有些游戏就是要花很长时间去读取，但我们在检测过程中的问题以及将来所看到的都会得到改善。
Q：SONY（PSP）会不会永远都支持UMD并且保留它的UMD影片格式呢？
A：我们绝对会继续采用UMD格式，幕后还有一系列的工作室并和其格式一致，坦白的说，这种格式会伴随PSP贯穿于整个系统的一生。我认为增长空间将存在于可下载区域，系统在可下载区域有效运行，仅仅依赖于它会怎样运作及怎样向工作室加以考证。该技术已经存在，我们只需要向工作室证明他们所制造的内容是需要受到保护的。
Q有传言说，PSP2的驱动有可能将采用硬件来引导，并且不再使用UMD。您认为这种情况是否会发生？
A：目前还没有。但我们有这个发展计划而不是考虑怎样增强机体的控制性。我们已经谈到了PSP在它如今现有的基础上如何继续发展和设计上的要素的改进以及它还欠缺的部分。有关下一代PSP会有什么样的设置，我们还没有具体考虑。但我们一直致力于改进现有的版本。
Q: 有最新消息说GTA游戏的价格将涨到50美金。你们认为有没有给它设立一个价位，或者你们就是单纯地利用市场中人们乐意购买游戏这一点？
A：由第三方参与者，那些发行商们来决定价钱方面的事宜。我们对这一点没有发言权。第一方SONY只总体上定位在39.99美元。但是，总体来说，我们希望价位稳定在SONY所预期的范围内。然而，其他的公司当然允许按他们所希望的价位来收费。这和UMD与影片工作室的问题是一样的，工作室会按自己所需要的来定价。
Q：来谈谈DS LITE最近的不俗的零售业绩对PSP的销售有什么影响。
A：对于销售时没有影响的。在DS LITE没上市之前包括现在，我们都有稳定的销售。客观来看，很明显，他们在一阶段确实获得了很大的成功。任天堂的忠实玩家回到了市场，销售的初步是用旧的DS来换DS LITE。如果查看销售业绩就会发现他们在6月份做得非常不错。但是，如果你看我们自从上市以来的销售数字，我们PSP在北美地区的销售数量可是超过NDS－90万台。NDS只是领先我们销售而已，但最终总体上谁卖的更多更好就完全不是这么一回事了。
Q：在如何占据掌机市场上，SONY和任天堂的策略有什么不同？
A：他们和我们的竞争存在于游戏领域，他们做出了突然转向，有点专为小玩家而设计游戏的感觉。就我看来，这对他们的消费者是一件不错的事。任天堂针对的是年龄相对小的玩家，而我们的受众要大一些，目标人群是18到24岁。我们的游戏有较长的情节，内涵也更深；而他们游戏相对较简短，也更易于被孩子接受。这是他们的商业策划，并且也在一阶段用这种方式获得了成功，我不觉得他们会改变这样的路线。对我们而言，在发展过程中如果想通过进军青少年人群来扩大市场，也一定会针对这一人群而设计游戏。
Q：索尼从PSP得到了什么启发？
A：我们了解到很多东西。首先我们怎么使产品能有市场。你不要把一切都交给大众，因为随后对他们来说你可能一无是处，所以我们尝试着使游戏成为我们工作的核心并且加入了一些多功能的成分，使我们与DS或Vidio iPods区别开来。从产品的角度看，这是常识。我们看看消费需求然后把多功能单元放到产品中。此产品不是用作摆设的，也不存在生老病死，我们要不断使它升级。UMD就是在我们适应一切之后所开发出来的。其中的关键所在是如何在下载区操作。我们想要达到的最大目标就是使整体内容充满了诸如音乐，电影，游戏之类的东西，我们的目标是要是客户能够容易地将内容应用于记忆卡中，这并不是说我们不想继续应用UMD，摆在我们面前的是前后不断的市场推动。
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Sony -- the PSP included -- has taken some flak lately with their image and presence in the gaming industry. Some of it seems to be warranted, but the majority can basically be narrowed down to outright fanboyism. I sat down with John Koller, senior product manager for Sony's PSP, to discuss just how successful the PSP really has been and what we can expect in the future for Sony's first real venture into the handheld gaming business.
Tell me about the latest firmware update coming to the PSP?
What this latest version [2.80 out this Thursday] is going to include is video RSS so you can save video channels to your Memory Stick and also there is going to be an available download of World Tour Soccer. And, of course, we've got the usual security patches included.
What's the scheduled time frame for firmware updates, if there is one?
It's not necessarily set in stone, but it's generally every six to eight weeks.
Talk about the success of the PSP in Sony's eyes. Has it reached Sony's expectations?
It absolutely has and there's certainly room to grow. I think that a lot of the functionalities added over the past year have added to that kind of target consumer who would be interested at launch -- the hardcore gamer. We started out with longer games for that kind of gamer and are just now getting into more pick up and play titles for the casual gamer. I think the success of the downloadable content, Internet access, the addition of TiVo and other things have added quite a bit to what many people considered to just be a gaming machine at launch, but it's really a lot more than that.
But that wasn't Sony's plan, though, to just be a gaming device.
No, it always was multifunctional. There was the appearance right at launch that it was going to be pigeonholed into just a gaming machine. We didn't necessarily want to go down that route. Gaming will always be at the heart of this. But, this has other benefits then just being a gaming system.
What can we expect with PS3 functionality?
We're going to announce more later, but what we've stated publicly is that it's going to be a remote control for the PS3.
Talk about that.
Well, we showed at E3 in F1 how the PSP was used as a rear view mirror, but there will be a lot more than that and that's kind of a good example of what it could be.
Besides the PS3 association, PS1 games will soon be available to download. What can we expect?
At a point this fall, which hasn't been determined yet, you'll be able to download PS1 games to play on your PSP.
How will the controls work when converting a PS1 game to be played on the PSP?
For the most part, most games will be playable. If there's a dual analog game, then it's going to be a little more difficult to have that mapped over correctly. But for the most part, virtually every PS1 game should be playable.
Do you have a price set for how much each game will cost to download?
No, we're still working that out. That's a dual U.S./Japan deal that still being discussed.
Are there any plans to bring the white PSP to the U.S.?
Not right now. Europe is bringing it to some territories, but we're not going to launch it here in the U.S. for now.
Let's talk about some of the criticism the PSP has taken, for instance load times. What is your policy on approving games that can have excessive load times and has that been addressed inside Sony?
It's something that we're looking at. This isn't just a PSP issue, it's cross platform within our company and really across the industry. Some games just take longer to load, but it is something we look at in the testing process and continue to look at and it will be improved.
Will Sony continue to support and back a UMD movie format?
We are absolutely still behind UMD. There are still a number of studios that are behind it and sticking with the format. And, to be honest, it's a format that will stay with the PSP throughout the life of the system. I think the growth area is going to be in the downloadable area. The future is bright for the downloadable area, it just depends on the DRM and how it gets worked out and how that's proven to the studios to work. Technology for it exists and we just have to prove to studios that the content they create is protected.
There have been rumors about a possible PSP 2 that will have a hard drive and no UMD use at all. Is there anything you can say about that possibility?
Nothing yet, but there are plans in place of how we're going to grow the console. We've talked about how the PSP at its very base is going to be how you see it today in terms of form factor design and whatnot. As far as what is included in any next-gen PSP we haven't even gotten into yet. We're looking more at enhancing the current version.
It was just announced that GTA: Vice City Stories will be $50. Is there a price you guys like to keep titles at or are you simply taking advantage of the market who will buy the game regardless?
Third-party publishers make their own decisions as far as price. We don't have a say in that. First-party Sony titles generally stay around $39.99. But, generally speaking we like to keep them in a certain range from a Sony perspective. But, other companies are certainly allowed to price where they will. It's the same issue with the UMD and movie studios pricing it at what they want.
Talk about the impact on PSP sales that you've seen with the recent retail success of the DS Lite.
There has been no impact on sales. We have had steady sales since before the DS Lite and to today. Looking at it objectively they've had a very successful launch, obviously, and I think they're seeing a lot of Nintendo loyalists jump back in the market and there's a lot of retail initiatives to trade in your old DS for a DS Lite. If you look at the numbers, they did very well in June. But, if you look at our numbers since launch until now, we have outsold the DS by approximately 900,000 units in North America. Statistically speaking they had a holiday head start on the PSP, so in terms who have sold more overall has been a back and forth.
What is the difference between Nintendo's and Sony's vision of where to take the handheld market?
They live in the gaming part of our competition and they have made a sharp turn to sort of the shorter Brain Age-type of games, which I think has been really successful for their consumer. I think they cater to more of the younger consumer whereas we cater to more of the older one, 18-24 target. We've had the longer, deeper software titles whereas they have gone shorter and more kid friendly. That's their business decision and they've made a successful career out of going that way and I don't expect them to change that. I think for us we can look to expand if we want to go younger and we'll certainly make titles for them as we go along.
What has Sony learned from the PSP?
We've learned lot of things. The first thing was how we market the product. You don't want to be all things to everyone because then you're nothing to no one. So, we've really tried to make gaming the heart of what we do and added many multifunctional elements to differentiate ourselves from the DS or the Video iPods. On the product side, it's constant learning. We look at consumer demand then place that in the product. This is not a product that sits on shelves and lives or dies, we can constantly update it. The UMD situation is an area we have been adapting to all along. How we operate in the download area is key. That's ultimately where we want to be as far as overall content like music, movies and games. We want to be in a place where a target consumer can easily access content to put on their Memory Stick. That's not to say we wouldn't want to continually utilize UMD, because we do. There's a tandem marketing push there.
As far as software sales, a recent report came out that showed the DS had more million or more selling titles than the PSP. Is that a concern?
Obviously software is where we make our living, but I don't see it as being a huge issue. I think there's a growing strength in that kind of middle range that we've seen. Nintendo has some loyalists that buy their branded titles, like Mario, no matter what, so that is what you're seeing.
So, overall, would you say the PSP has been a success?
Yes, we've been thrilled with the success of it. It has actually sold better in its first year then any of our other consoles in PlayStation history. It has brought in more retail dollars and we've been very very happy with that.
What do customers ask for the most for what they want in the PSP?
The top three things are connecting the PSP to the PS3, a digital camera, and instant messaging, which you can do when you access the Internet.
What about the image of the PSP just being a place for awful ports?
I think at launch we were painted unfairly for having a lot of titles that were thought to be just ports from the PS2. Most of them weren't, but some third-party titles were. We have a very firm no port policy because we want these game to stand on their own.
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发表于 2006-7-27 12:19:04
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