Thank you for the lesson.

By the extent, and depth, of your response, I am presuming that you have, like myself, a background in software development &/or testing.

(Do you have connections with Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony? A few years ago I was offered a testing position at Microsoft in London & declined as the only advantage seemed to be that their gaming products could be purchased with a 90-95% discount. I have remained in a freelance capacity since.)

None of your text I was disagreeing with other than the fact that the discussion scope has now extended beyond what was originally raised but that’s OK, as long as we don’t get away from the point. (Perhaps if Nofi returns to clarify what he meant then we need not second-guess any further)

If one Sony organisation cannot adopt & apply their own standards for the Quality Assurance process then there is no hope for anybody else so, yes, I would expect SCEE to be able to meet the exacting definitions so that their own-developed &/or own-published titles do pass the process requirements.

I am still unclear whether you can quote any PlayStation Network ‘first party’ titles other than you have already though. It is hard to notice a trend within a sample size of three!

Whether the trend is for the better, or not, though, the “general” public (i.e. the typical consumers) still notice when titles appear in Japan &/or the US, weeks, if not months, ahead of Europe (or at differing times across Europe). They do not care who has developed, published, project managed, or tested a certain title. They care if a playable demo is available before a commercial release, not weeks afterwards, or indeed never made available to their local region. They care that quoted availability dates are not kept to in Europe, but dates do seem to be adhered to in the US.

To the public Sony are responsible. Unless communication is provided to clarify the situation then Sony will always be blamed for such occurrences.

Have you previously raised similar concerns for discussion at The-Sixth-Axis? It would be interesting to take an unguided response poll to ascertain what ‘normal’ consumers understand to be the input a Sony agency has for a PlayStation Network title to be made available.

(And I hope Three Speech are still reading gaining suitable questions to pose to their next Sony-affiliated representative to be approached for an interview)

BFN,

fp.

On the other hand 1942 is published by Capcom, Monster Madness is published by Southpeak, Facebreaker is published by EA. These are third-party developed, third-party published games/demos. That they are distributed via the PS Store is largely irrelevant.

The publishers are the ones responsible for getting the code through the SCEE QA process, and if it fails that process for some reason it is not the fault of SCEE. One example of a game that was heavily delayed in EU because it repeatedly failed SCEE QA is Super Puzzle Fighter.
A separate issue is that the SCEE QA process simply takes longer than the SCEA equivalent, probably because it is more onerous due to SCEE serving many countries, and so if a third-party publisher submits a game to both SCEE and SCEA at the same time, even if it flies through QA, it is still likely to appear on the US store earlier than the EU one. An example of this happening is the MGS4 database, which was delayed here by a week even though the versions on the US and EU stores were identical. This is something SCEE still need to fix, I hope they will.

Where SCEE has been successful though is to remove delays for games that are being published by Sony themselves. Every first party published game that has been distributed via PSN since the beginning of July has had same-day release in US and EU. Compare this to the situation earlier this year with other PSN games published by Sony and there has been a definite improvement. This is trend that some people have noticed.

“Facebreaker, 1942: Joint Strike, and Monster Madness: Grave Danger are also not made by Sony. Read what I wrote again.”

Did you read the bit were I said they were? Nope, neither did I. Sony publish the releases (to the PlayStation Network via the ‘Store), external developers are responsible for the other elements (with the exception of “Echochrome”). Queasy Games developed “Everyday Shooter”, and “Pain” is by Idol Minds.

“We’re specifically referring to first party games,…”

Well, you may have been, but I didn’t see Nofi or myself mention first party titles, previously, but OK, let’s stick to one topic [as you have obviously had more dialog[ue] with Nofi than I have]…

“… we waited months for other first party games like Echochrome, Everyday Shooter and Pain, you’ll see that things have undeniably improved!”

Yes, that is true. For example, “Snakeball” had three different release dates, initially in Japan, then the US, and then the UK.

But, apart from “Siren: New Translation” (/”:Blood Curse”), “Piyotama”, and “WipEout HD”, what else have Sony (Europe, or Japan) developed themselves solely for the PlayStation Network (Store)?

I cannot think of anything. But I have been wrong before, so perhaps you can offer your thoughts.

Thanks.

@50 [Jane]:

“…found a site remarkably lacking in whiners and trolls.”

People complain because they feel disappointed about expectations previously set.

If other sites do not wish to relay such complaints, and present a biased viewpoint, the discussions appear one-sided & unrealistic from anybody who is not completely new to technology.

I complemented Nofi’s site earlier in this thread for what it does, so if you like reading how well the PS3 console is being received, then please check in with TheSixthAxis* more often.

[* Other web sites are available]

I prefer to read extreme opinions on either end of the spectrum, & a wider cross-section of comments as well, so I participate in many forums.

Sorry to see you go.

BFN,

fp.

“SOCOM: Confrontation” Public Beta now put back until 5 September 2008…

[ http://socom.us.playstation.com/post/2008/08/Public-Beta.aspx ]
—
Short SOCOM Public Beta Delay
Posted by Seth Luisi
Hi folks,

Well, I’ve got some good and not so good news. The good news is that we are still on track to delivering a kick-ass experience come October. The bad news is that because we are working so hard to ensure the final product is fantastic, we’ve decided to push back the Public Beta date just a few days in order to bump up the experience even more. So, the new launch date for the Public Beta is now Friday, September 5th (QORE members will start the following Friday, September 12).

The other good news is that we are not cutting down the length of the Public Beta one bit. It will still run for a full month - from 9/5 to 10/5 - so you and your clanmates can still practice as long as you want and then be ready to go for the full game later in October.

Myself, my team and Slant Six are burning the midnight oil to ensure this game is the best it can possibly be for you guys. We completely understand it’s hard to wait when you haven’t had a chance to play it yet but, rest assured, the wait will be worth it. If you haven’t done it already, you can pre-order the game from GameStop® in the US to get into the Public Beta (EB Games™ for our brethren to the North). Make sure to bring along 2 extra friends once you register and get the email promo code from us; that code will let them in too. You’re not going to get another Public Beta out there that will give you and your squad-mates so much access.

Best,
Seth
—

BFN,

fp.

Oh thank you. Headed over to http://www.thesixthaxis.com and found a site remarkably lacking in whiners and trolls. Woohoo.

See ya. Wouldn’t want to be ya.

We’re specifically referring to first party games, the last five of which have had same-day release in US and EU. If you compare it to the situation earlier this year, when we waited months for other first party games like Echochrome, Everyday Shooter and Pain, you’ll see that things have undeniably improved!