Kutaragi Screws Up PS3 Exclusives

Playstation chief Ken Kutaragi has been so preoccupied with the hardware end of the PS3, it seems that he forgot that without games the console is nothing more than an expensive paperweight.

Newsweek is reporting that Kutaragi basically ignored third party publishers like Take-Two/Rockstar, and Ubisoft (GTA and Assassin’s Creed respectively) who were offering their franchises as PS3 exclusives. Naturally Microsoft’s aggressive XBox team headed by Peter Moore took advantage of Kutaragi’s slowness and swooped in for the kill. Apparently, they called these publishers on an almost daily basis saying “What would it take for you to publish games on the 360?” An anonymous source from one of these publishers went so far as to say that ” I do have to give Microsoft a lot of credit for going after titles and doing whatever they can to generate third-party support. They’ve been magnificent in this generation.”

Sony’s response? The following statement is from SCEA VP Jack Tretton:

“We’re the only company in this industry that’s got development resources and talent that have established Number one hits on all three continents,” he says, which is true, since the bulk of Microsoft’s studios are in North America and Europe, while Nintendo’s are concentrated in Japan.” We really feel like we’re well positioned to contribute platform-defining games from a first-party standpoint, and we’re not dependent on third-party community to the degree that a Microsoft would be. That being said, you would be crazy to say that you would never entertain or not welcome exclusives. It’s just a question of how deep into your pockets do you have to reach to secure that? Desperation breeds deep pockets. Confidence breeds the opposite. When it makes sense, you do the deal. When it doesn’t, you pass.“

Has Sony become overconfident to the point that they are putting the success of the PS3 at risk without even knowing it? When you’re on top its easy to fall asleep while the competition sneaks up and bites you in the ass. With two other quality consoles out there, I wouldn’t be surprised if this were to happen.

Newsweek / Kotaku