Ifthis is true, then somebody has slipped upbig time. A planning document has appeared on Sega’s PR site that, for all intents and purposes, confirms the existence of PlayStation 2/PlayStation 3 backwards compatability. The document says, clear as day, that Sony has plans to sell PS2 games via the PSN. If Sony’s planning that, the PS3’s going to need some emulation capabilities for all units.
Here’s what the document says:
PS2 emulator for PS3 (confidential)
This isn’tallthe document reveals, either. It contains a number of Sega inner workings, such as the revelation that the publisher feels “Mass Effectis more RPG” thanAlpha Protocol, aBayonettaaction figure is being considered, and thatAliens vs. Predatorcould ship on a hybrid Blu-ray that contains the movies. There’s also talk of Sony motion controller plans andPSN Dreamcast games! Hot stuff!
I have a feeling this doc is genuine, as I tried the download link and it certainly comes from Sega’s own PR site. This means some huge things, and somebody’s probably going to get into a lot of trouble.
Still, the document is full of all sorts of interesting and/or crazy items, so scour through it after the jump. You really want to check this out.
SCEA Meeting Aug 5th NotesAug 6 2009 – DRAFT FOR COMMENTS
Objectives of MeetingDyer agreed to regular quarterly meetings with SOA
Sony PS3SCEA reiterated plans to sell 13 million PS3s this yearBig announcement back half of year they can’t talk about (potentially price cut of PS3 to reach hardware goals)SCEA commented on indexing between PS3 and 360 SKUs, should be around 2:1 to garner most favorable treatment.
Motion ControllerSpring 2010 launch (March in JP)No bundle/pricing details yet, should come Sept 1Plan on selling 4-5MM units WWSCEA agreed to provide a list of Sega IP that would work well with the motion controller, Virtua Tennis was an exampleMotion Controller support allows easy way to differentiate PS3 SKUOther differentiation opportunities include PSP/PS3 interoperability – think of features that would make users want to buy both PS3 and PSP SKUs.
Alpha ProtocolMichael Foster, product evaluator, said AP felt barely RPG. Initial level too challenging for players. “Mass Effect felt more RPG.”Review notes sent to John Merlino a few weeks prior. After meeting Gerald mentioned AP is a high priority for his team.
Planet 51Sell in of PS3 SKU – SCEA noted that other movie titles on PS3 had underperformed as well (inc. Transformers) this cycle.Dyer suggests contacting Susan at Walmart and asking what she wants in the pack to sell this SKU (movie tix etc)Other possibilities are Hybrid movie disc (BD 25 or 50 with Game and Movie on same disc).
BayonettaCollectors edition with Bayonetta Action FigureNovo recommended launching PSN demo around Xmas based off a Jan 5th Ship date with 2-3 week run out to launch.3-4 weeks is usually ideal demo timing with fresh content every week leading up to launch (trailers, insider video about PG heritage, video blogs).
Vancouver 2010HOME, Olympic destination would garner a lot of positive attention from SCEAShould be doing same with Bayonetta, Marvel etc. Easy to launch in all territories.HOME merchandizing opportunities (clothes etc).
Sonic RacingOpen to DLC to differentiate PS3 SKU – not ratchet and clank but other charactersmaybe characters from Rare or Fable universes
YakuzaCould put Japanese games directly on PSN for download in a special Japanese Import section(pricing $9.99 to $39.99 for full game).Might need to localize menus at least with subtitles.SCEA interested in helping on MKTG side if they can have period of exclusivity.
AVPAnother great HOME candidateAVP avatarsHybrid BD disc with movie
Iron Man 2Great candidate for HOME space – explore Tony Stark’s lab etc.Should have one for Marvel in general.
PSU2Could do bundle at GameStop with PSP 30-35K units on UMD, Go, or both.
Valkyria 1937Could bundle with PSP as well.
Vanquish and Aliens: CMOpportunity for PS3/PSP interoperability (see Eidos Batman, Army of Two, Assassin’s Creed for good examples).If we offer that SCEA would be really interested in having us at their booth next E3.
ThorSCEA would like a look at the code soon.
Sonic AnniversaryCould put out collectors edition with all old sonic games on one BD disc.“Best of Sonic” for around $99.SCEA would love PSN exclusive power ups/different game modes (like Castlevania’s flip it over/backwards)
PS2 emulator for PS3 (confidential)SCEA wants to sell all PS2 titles on PSN (GTA Vice City/Sonic/etc)For co Marketing money show PS3 controller on TV ads – similar to EA Madden Spots, NCAA, etc…
London OlympicsPerfect opportunity for Motion Controller integration.
DC Digital TitlesIf we provide a list of DC titles SCEA will let us know which ones they’re interested in having exclusively.If we give them a long period of exclusivity they’ll give us more marketing support.
PSP TitlesFor SKU differentiation it’s best to offer features that are slightly different from PS3 version.Titles that are coming up on PSP are Assassin’s Creed II, GTA China Wars, Resident Evil, Little Big Planet – all massive franchises.SCEA has a specific PSP deck which they can send up with their hardware director for a chat.
