E3: PlayStation Boss Opens Show With an Apology

[Andy Chalk]

E3: PlayStation Boss Opens Show With an Apology

​

Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, took the stage at E3 to apologize for the PlayStation Network outage and promise better things for its customers in the future.

It's arguable that the ugliest thing about the long-running PlayStation Network outage that took place over April and May wasn't the attack itself but Sony's response to it. It was more than a week before the company acknowledged the extent of the data that was lost and even then it refused to say definitively whether or not any credit card information had escaped into the wild. Sony CEO Kaz Hirai issued an official apology [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109693-Sony-Offers-Sincerest-Apologies-for-PSN-Attack] at a May press conference in Japan but yesterday at E3, Tretton got a little more up-close-and-personal about it.

"This isn't the first time I've come to an E3 conference with an elephant in the room, and of course I'm referring to the PlayStation Network outage," Tretton told his audience. "This is the first opportunity for me to personally address everybody and discuss it a little bit."

After thanking its third-party publishing partners and retailers for their support over the years and through the PSN mess, Tretton turned his attention to the people he was "most interested in addressing": PlayStation customers. "You are the lifeblood of the company," he continued. "Without you, there is no PlayStation, and I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Tretton also revealed that PSN network activity is currently running at more than 90 percent of its original, pre-hack levels, a remarkable comeback by any measure. "That is something we absolutely do not take lightly," he added. "We are committed more than ever to making sure than the PlayStation Network experience is both entertaining and secure for everybody."

For more coverage of Sony's E3 2011 press conference, check out Susan Arendt's E3 liveblog [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110713-E3-Sony-Press-Conference-Liveblog]!

See all our coverage directly from the show floor. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/conferences/e3_2011]

Permalink

 

[Zac Smith]

I think this is something Sony NEEDED to do. How it will go down in the long run with sony fans, I do not know

 

[standokan]

Ah Sony, as long as it costed you more money then it did me.

 

[NicoDK]

Did anyone count how many times he said KI-nect/ed instead of CON-nect/ed? Is he is Microsofts pockets or something?

 

[linkvegeta]

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

 

[EHKOS]

Aw Sony, I forgive you!

 

[Andy Chalk]

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

 

[linkvegeta]

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Yes he said he wanted to. I would not count that as an apology. Maybe it's just because I wanted a simple I'm sorry. I guess it's just me and how I was raised.

A great apology would have been "Im sorry, here is other OS and ps2 backwards compatibility back" That would make me a fan of Play Station again. If only......

 

[Riobux]

Nice to see he's constantly improving the American service of Playstation Network. I'm not sure if there's any other countries with this Playstation Network like Australia, England and France, but I'm sure they don't matter.

 

[Micalas]

but I'm sure they don't matter.

You are correct, sir!

 

[Kaytastrophe]

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Yes he said he wanted to. I would not count that as an apology. Maybe it's just because I wanted a simple I'm sorry. I guess it's just me and how I was raised.

A great apology would have been "Im sorry, here is other OS and ps2 backwards compatibility back" That would make me a fan of Play Station again. If only......

Dude, he apologized, he may not have worded it the exact way you wanted him to. If he had said we deeply regret our actions and will remedy the situation would you still be complaining about his wording.

As for the second part, while I am on the fence about the OS feature of the playstation, sony does not owe you ps2 backwards compatibility. Those who bought the original playstation 3 for the 700-800 dollar price range received that feature and still have it available on their system. However, if you waited until it came down in price then you didn't buy a playstation with the feature; and as such sony does not owe it to you. While the OS is a fair argument I don't believe your current claim of being owed backwards compatibility works.

PS. I hope that did not come across as an attack or anything, just throwing in my 2 cents.

 

[linkvegeta]

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Yes he said he wanted to. I would not count that as an apology. Maybe it's just because I wanted a simple I'm sorry. I guess it's just me and how I was raised.

A great apology would have been "Im sorry, here is other OS and ps2 backwards compatibility back" That would make me a fan of Play Station again. If only......

Dude, he apologized, he may not have worded it the exact way you wanted him to. If he had said we deeply regret our actions and will remedy the situation would you still be complaining about his wording.

As for the second part, while I am on the fence about the OS feature of the playstation, sony does not owe you ps2 backwards compatibility. Those who bought the original playstation 3 for the 700-800 dollar price range received that feature and still have it available on their system. However, if you waited until it came down in price then you didn't buy a playstation with the feature; and as such sony does not owe it to you. While the OS is a fair argument I don't believe your current claim of being owed backwards compatibility works.

PS. I hope that did not come across as an attack or anything, just throwing in my 2 cents.

no no, I dont see it as an attack. I see your reply as your personal opinion.

Honestly my feeling on the PS2 backwards compatibility is that It should have net been taken out in the first place. I was so upset when I bought a ps3 and a bunch of ps2 games back in the day. The backwards compatibility is not an expensive thing. so I saw it as a dick move them being like " you want to pay less? well screw you We will take one of the best features out"

 

[Kaytastrophe]

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Yes he said he wanted to. I would not count that as an apology. Maybe it's just because I wanted a simple I'm sorry. I guess it's just me and how I was raised.

A great apology would have been "Im sorry, here is other OS and ps2 backwards compatibility back" That would make me a fan of Play Station again. If only......

Dude, he apologized, he may not have worded it the exact way you wanted him to. If he had said we deeply regret our actions and will remedy the situation would you still be complaining about his wording.

As for the second part, while I am on the fence about the OS feature of the playstation, sony does not owe you ps2 backwards compatibility. Those who bought the original playstation 3 for the 700-800 dollar price range received that feature and still have it available on their system. However, if you waited until it came down in price then you didn't buy a playstation with the feature; and as such sony does not owe it to you. While the OS is a fair argument I don't believe your current claim of being owed backwards compatibility works.

PS. I hope that did not come across as an attack or anything, just throwing in my 2 cents.

no no, I dont see it as an attack. I see your reply as your personal opinion.

Honestly my feeling on the PS2 backwards compatibility is that It should have net been taken out in the first place. I was so upset when I bought a ps3 and a bunch of ps2 games back in the day. The backwards compatibility is not an expensive thing. so I saw it as a dick move them being like " you want to pay less? well screw you We will take one of the best features out"

I completely agree I think they should have kept the backwards compatibility in the ps3 system. However, I think there motive was not so much a screw you as a more of a business move. When the PS3 came out and for subsequent years playstation was still pushing and supporting its ps2 (although not as strong as it used to) saying that all sony products had a 10 year lifespan. Thus part of the reason why they got rid of that feature was to bolster and continue the sales of ps2's (probably, remember this is all the assumption of some guy on the internet). Not only that but by removing backwards compatibility they also now can sell the HD versions of their games (sly cooper games, god of war, etc). So I think it was removed as a way to make more money. Do I agree with it, no I think they should have kept it. However, I do not think they owe it to us, nor can we use it as a means to justify the actions of the recent hackers.

 

[linkvegeta]

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Yes he said he wanted to. I would not count that as an apology. Maybe it's just because I wanted a simple I'm sorry. I guess it's just me and how I was raised.

A great apology would have been "Im sorry, here is other OS and ps2 backwards compatibility back" That would make me a fan of Play Station again. If only......

Dude, he apologized, he may not have worded it the exact way you wanted him to. If he had said we deeply regret our actions and will remedy the situation would you still be complaining about his wording.

As for the second part, while I am on the fence about the OS feature of the playstation, sony does not owe you ps2 backwards compatibility. Those who bought the original playstation 3 for the 700-800 dollar price range received that feature and still have it available on their system. However, if you waited until it came down in price then you didn't buy a playstation with the feature; and as such sony does not owe it to you. While the OS is a fair argument I don't believe your current claim of being owed backwards compatibility works.

PS. I hope that did not come across as an attack or anything, just throwing in my 2 cents.

no no, I dont see it as an attack. I see your reply as your personal opinion.

Honestly my feeling on the PS2 backwards compatibility is that It should have net been taken out in the first place. I was so upset when I bought a ps3 and a bunch of ps2 games back in the day. The backwards compatibility is not an expensive thing. so I saw it as a dick move them being like " you want to pay less? well screw you We will take one of the best features out"

I completely agree I think they should have kept the backwards compatibility in the ps3 system. However, I think there motive was not so much a screw you as a more of a business move. When the PS3 came out and for subsequent years playstation was still pushing and supporting its ps2 (although not as strong as it used to) saying that all sony products had a 10 year lifespan. Thus part of the reason why they got rid of that feature was to bolster and continue the sales of ps2's (probably, remember this is all the assumption of some guy on the internet). Not only that but by removing backwards compatibility they also now can sell the HD versions of their games (sly cooper games, god of war, etc). So I think it was removed as a way to make more money. Do I agree with it, no I think they should have kept it. However, I do not think they owe it to us, nor can we use it as a means to justify the actions of the recent hackers.

Well they dont have to give it back for free. I would be completely happy if they put it on PSN store for $50. They would make money still. I would just love to at least have the option.

 

[Speakercone]

I've been avoiding purchasing any Sony products for some time now (since removal of OtherOS) but this apology goes some way to making me reconsider my position. It's very rare to see a company like Sony apologise to its customers, and I appreciate the gesture. We'll just have to see if they follow gesture with action.

 

[Kaytastrophe]

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Yes he said he wanted to. I would not count that as an apology. Maybe it's just because I wanted a simple I'm sorry. I guess it's just me and how I was raised.

A great apology would have been "Im sorry, here is other OS and ps2 backwards compatibility back" That would make me a fan of Play Station again. If only......

Dude, he apologized, he may not have worded it the exact way you wanted him to. If he had said we deeply regret our actions and will remedy the situation would you still be complaining about his wording.

As for the second part, while I am on the fence about the OS feature of the playstation, sony does not owe you ps2 backwards compatibility. Those who bought the original playstation 3 for the 700-800 dollar price range received that feature and still have it available on their system. However, if you waited until it came down in price then you didn't buy a playstation with the feature; and as such sony does not owe it to you. While the OS is a fair argument I don't believe your current claim of being owed backwards compatibility works.

PS. I hope that did not come across as an attack or anything, just throwing in my 2 cents.

no no, I dont see it as an attack. I see your reply as your personal opinion.

Honestly my feeling on the PS2 backwards compatibility is that It should have net been taken out in the first place. I was so upset when I bought a ps3 and a bunch of ps2 games back in the day. The backwards compatibility is not an expensive thing. so I saw it as a dick move them being like " you want to pay less? well screw you We will take one of the best features out"

I completely agree I think they should have kept the backwards compatibility in the ps3 system. However, I think there motive was not so much a screw you as a more of a business move. When the PS3 came out and for subsequent years playstation was still pushing and supporting its ps2 (although not as strong as it used to) saying that all sony products had a 10 year lifespan. Thus part of the reason why they got rid of that feature was to bolster and continue the sales of ps2's (probably, remember this is all the assumption of some guy on the internet). Not only that but by removing backwards compatibility they also now can sell the HD versions of their games (sly cooper games, god of war, etc). So I think it was removed as a way to make more money. Do I agree with it, no I think they should have kept it. However, I do not think they owe it to us, nor can we use it as a means to justify the actions of the recent hackers.

Well they dont have to give it back for free. I would be completely happy if they put it on PSN store for $50. They would make money still. I would just love to at least have the option.

I think the problem is though that they would still lose money, and lets face it money is the driving force of every company. Also it might be a hardware difference that prevents ps3 from playing games. I have no idea about software so correct me if im wrong but that could be one reason why they arent reinstating backwards compatibility.

 

[linkvegeta]

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Yes he said he wanted to. I would not count that as an apology. Maybe it's just because I wanted a simple I'm sorry. I guess it's just me and how I was raised.

A great apology would have been "Im sorry, here is other OS and ps2 backwards compatibility back" That would make me a fan of Play Station again. If only......

Dude, he apologized, he may not have worded it the exact way you wanted him to. If he had said we deeply regret our actions and will remedy the situation would you still be complaining about his wording.

As for the second part, while I am on the fence about the OS feature of the playstation, sony does not owe you ps2 backwards compatibility. Those who bought the original playstation 3 for the 700-800 dollar price range received that feature and still have it available on their system. However, if you waited until it came down in price then you didn't buy a playstation with the feature; and as such sony does not owe it to you. While the OS is a fair argument I don't believe your current claim of being owed backwards compatibility works.

PS. I hope that did not come across as an attack or anything, just throwing in my 2 cents.

no no, I dont see it as an attack. I see your reply as your personal opinion.

Honestly my feeling on the PS2 backwards compatibility is that It should have net been taken out in the first place. I was so upset when I bought a ps3 and a bunch of ps2 games back in the day. The backwards compatibility is not an expensive thing. so I saw it as a dick move them being like " you want to pay less? well screw you We will take one of the best features out"

I completely agree I think they should have kept the backwards compatibility in the ps3 system. However, I think there motive was not so much a screw you as a more of a business move. When the PS3 came out and for subsequent years playstation was still pushing and supporting its ps2 (although not as strong as it used to) saying that all sony products had a 10 year lifespan. Thus part of the reason why they got rid of that feature was to bolster and continue the sales of ps2's (probably, remember this is all the assumption of some guy on the internet). Not only that but by removing backwards compatibility they also now can sell the HD versions of their games (sly cooper games, god of war, etc). So I think it was removed as a way to make more money. Do I agree with it, no I think they should have kept it. However, I do not think they owe it to us, nor can we use it as a means to justify the actions of the recent hackers.

Well they dont have to give it back for free. I would be completely happy if they put it on PSN store for $50. They would make money still. I would just love to at least have the option.

I think the problem is though that they would still lose money, and lets face it money is the driving force of every company. Also it might be a hardware difference that prevents ps3 from playing games. I have no idea about software so correct me if im wrong but that could be one reason why they arent reinstating backwards compatibility.

I can dream..... I dont know much about the PS3 hardware so I couldn't tell you.

 

[mjc0961]

After thanking its third-party publishing partners and retailers for their support over the years and through the PSN mess, Tretton turned his attention to the people he was "most interested in addressing": PlayStation customers. "You are the lifeblood of the company," he continued. "Without you, there is no PlayStation, and I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Try to remember that the next time you want to flame some of us because we also have a Nintendo DS. When are you going to apologize for that one, BTW?

Note that I'm not upset at Sony over the whole hacking thing. I haven't been for a while. My beef is solely with Mr. Tretton. Sony as a whole and I are cool right now.

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Yes he said he wanted to. I would not count that as an apology. Maybe it's just because I wanted a simple I'm sorry. I guess it's just me and how I was raised.

Eh, I can see where you're coming from. Saying "I want to apologize..." can also sound like he is literally saying that he wants to apologize, but hasn't done so yet. Of course, it was much more likely meant as "I am now taking this time to apologize to you all."

Basically I can see how the wording can make it sound like it's not the actual apology, so I get where you're coming from. But expecting them to give back PS2 compatibility is a bit much. They've already offered so many services and games for free that they didn't have to, and an emulator isn't something you can magically create to give to people. Some PS3s already did have emulation based PS2 compatibility and it wasn't that great. So even if they could give that to everyone with a system update, you'd just get people bitching that it's not perfect anyway.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Did anyone count how many times he said KI-nect/ed instead of CON-nect/ed? Is he is Microsofts pockets or something?

Yea. I noticed that too. It was like some weird subliminal message saying: "we're sinking, abandon ship."

umm I did not hear an apology. All I heard was thank yous and we will try to make it not happen again. I was waiting the whole time to hear a sorry.

"I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we caused you."

Yes he said he wanted to. I would not count that as an apology. Maybe it's just because I wanted a simple I'm sorry. I guess it's just me and how I was raised.

A great apology would have been "Im sorry, here is other OS and ps2 backwards compatibility back" That would make me a fan of Play Station again. If only......

I would say it counts for an apology but not much of one.
But I'm in complete agreement with your main point.
As I've been saying all along, the free games is a weak apology (I was able to afford the ps3, I can buy a couple of $10 games) and the ps+ was a bit insulting.
All would've been forgiven if they had skipped the "giveaway" and just said we're going to add back those old features and/or add in some new ones like custom soundtrack to show that the ps3 wont suffer the same fate as the psp. If they add more features, less people will be tempted to hack their ps3. They will want the official firmware with the official features. Nobody will want the official firmware if it's only updated every week to fend off hacking.

The whole thing was pretty lame but at least they didn't have Mr.Caffeine.