J’s big head
I just have to refer you to this very excellent quote from J Allard at X05, which I’ve stripped from this article on GameSpot.
“If my GDC keynote contributed to Sony having better tools on PlayStation so developers could be better on PlayStation, [so they] could focus more on games, God bless them. That’s a good thing, you know. If they’re embarrassed by their controller design as a result of having played with our wireless gamepad and they make a better toy, God bless them.”
I will admit, J’s amazing keynote at GDC really did have a profound impact on the way I look at working with developers. I mean, I had no idea that you could buy developer goodwill by giving away so many HDTV’s! 😉 And pissing off so many developers (the 2/3 who didn’t receive HDTV’s) in one stroke was absolutely genius!
MMmmm… smell the sarcasm…
Big head? C’mon, at least he said “if” 😛
If he’s got a big head, then what’s Kutaragi got? You can accuse MS of having a monopoly on many things, but outlandish claims ain’t one of ’em!
Oh man. His comment is not really worth defending, is it? 🙂
Neither J nor KK can hold a candle to craaaazy Yamauchi though. Good games good, bad games bad!
Kim, I am AMAZED at how fast the Microsoft machine has converted you! Must be some mighty fine KoolAid up there in Redmond 🙂
Seriously, I think J is a smart guy but it seems that, lately, every time he opens his mouth he loses more credibility. And the difference between J and Kutaragi? Ken earned the right to have a big head. Just like Gates. Just like Yamauchi. Just like Joy. These guys revolutionized the industries they entered. J has done NOTHING revolutionary with XBox. Period.
However, all props to him for getting Microsoft to realize how big the web was going to be 🙂
I’d say I retain a healthy degree of optimism. I agree some of the stuff he’s said has been… overly asserted. *ahem*
But, CMON! There’s a difference! Contrast:
– J’s “if my keynote…” – where the conditional mood proposes that the listener/reader choose whether or not to deem the subordinate clause [“… caused sony to”] credible. It’s a grammatical form that in itself is more humble (though I grant is was probably said tongue in cheek). [BTW, don’t make me get all grammatically pedantic on your ass!]
– Compared to Kutaragi saying “I mean did you see the Matrix? PS2 is the exact same thing. Playing games on the PS2 is like jacking into the Matrix.”
The former is tongue-in-cheek humility that is a thin mask ego. The latter is just lies or lunacy. Take your pick.
Anyhow. PC gaming’s going to kick both their asses in the long run, so there.
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