Usher's performance at Microsoft's E3 conference 'helped Sony', jokes Tretton

Drafting in Usher to perform during Microsoft's E3 press conference "helped Sony", SCEA chief Jack Tretton has jested.

[MariaHelFutura]

It definitly didn't do anything posistive for Microsoft. As good at they are at marketing, their E3 presentations have been nothing short of embrassing the last few E3s. The KKK rally was the worst...

[Dante112]

I'm not feeling MS's new direction as far as consoles go (casual main focus). I really wanted to see some new hardcore IPs at it's E3 conference.

[Abash]

I was surprised that Usher's performance was even more embarrassing and awkward than Duffy's performance with Microsoft's failed Singstar rip-off "Lips".

[Gaming101]

Jack Tretton - always the used car salesman of CEO's. His rational is that Usher is more of a "Sony artist". How exactly he figures I have no idea... noone thinks of Usher and then thinks Sony - we're not buying it Jack.

[da_2pacalypse]

I'm just wondering why M$ thinks that wasting money on hiring Usher for a performance will at all help their conference :P

[ABizzel1]

@Gaming101

Well seeing how Usher's record label is Jive, and how Jive is owned by Sony Music Group, I would say Usher is more of a Sony artist.

[ShinMaster]

Usher is under a label owned by Sony.
Jack Tretton said that helped them (hint: $$$). That was the joke.

[AKS]

@Gaming101

It was a joke that obviously went way over your head.

Anyway, Tretton's jovial, nervous, and self-effacing style makes him almost impossible to dislike in my view. He also produces some entertaining quotable material, like the infamous "surf and turf" comment from years ago. Even when they were struggling in the early years of the PS3 and he was doing a lot of damage control, I still thought he was amusing and enjoyable to listen to. He has always struck me as a guy who is difficult to dislike.

[Blacktric]

"KKK rally"

LMFAO. Very well put.

@below

I think she meant that silly Kinect reveal conference. The one which had Cirque De Soleil or whatever and where they made everyone to wear those silly white KKK robe like things. Come to think of it, doesn't Kinect have hard time recognizing dark skinned people? OMG!

[Nimblest-Assassin]

What KKK rally... not sure if we are taking Klu Klux, or something less serious

[NukaCola]

Niblest

It's the white poncho event when they finally demoed and showed Kinect at E3. Everyone had to where white ponchos because the camera apparently at the time could not recognize dark skin tones.

[nukeitall]

I thought the Cirque De Soleil was pretty cool. I got a chance to see it live in Vegas a while back, and it is quite breathtaking when you are there in person. There is a reason why the acts are famous.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

usher-ed in a new era of gaming.... one of my favorite E3 2012 memes

1) I feel like a purple pikmin
2) WONDERBOOK!
3) Puppet master
4) Body is ready
5) Ushering
6)Imagine playing your game while sitting in the fridge

There where lots of lols and facepalms at E3

[Moby-Royale]

Where?

There where!

Smh

;)

[TekoIie]

If you don't like south park something's wrong with you.... Or you have very sensitive or girly feelings:3

[Slapshot82]

I'm sick of the E3 memes!

For those who haven't figured it out yet. Sony literally owns Usher, because he is signed under a Sony owned label (Jive). So, anyone that wen't out and purchased an Usher album because of his E3 performance during Microsoft's conference, well, that money will go straight to Sony, not Microsoft.

[Thatguy-310]

They are basically stating how usher is a Sony branded artist. Don't assume Sony is saying that it was embarrassing having in the conference

[kanetheking]

Gaming101, usher is signed to a label under sony's music division which makes him a sony artist.

[GusBricker]

How many Kinects have they sold?

I'd like me some of that embarrassment...of riches.

[TekoIie]

"It definitly didn't do anything posistive for Microsoft"

So what did it do to hinder their conference? Please someone explain what's so bad about this?

4mins of Usher/Dance Central > 15 mins of Wonderbook -_-

[MariaHelFutura]

Nope, they were both bad. Cheer up little guy....

[Blaze929]

speaking on Usher specifically, and that performance - am I the only one who thought it was terrible? From his voice to the dancing.

Coming from an Usher fan, I think he just needs to hang it up now. Ain't been the same since Confessions

[NeXXXuS]

Everyone knows that the KKK is the Kool Kidz Klub.
XD

[360ICE]

Didn't anyone catch the joke that that dance game would "usher" in a new era of dance games? No one laughed at the presser. Poor host

[DivineAssault]

Microsoft fools ppl with shows & services to keep ppls attention off the fact they have no games.. Guns & aliens seem to satisfy many but they dont have anything to keep me as a customer.. Im only buying 2 consoles nx gen & it wont be one of theirs

[ChunkyLover53]

To be fair Microsoft has brought a lot of quality exclusives to the table this generation. They have also had the bulk of the better third party support as well.

I honestly think Sony fanboys, not the true Sony fans, but rather the ugly, hate filled fanboys, all like the idea of having a lot of exclusives just so they can brag about it, they like the idea that their console has the most, but they don't go out and buy them. At the end of the day Sony and Microsoft have pretty much the same amount of AAA exclusives, Uncharted, God Of War, Killzone and Gran Turismo and Microsoft has Gears, Halo, Fable and Forza, now obviously both companies have more that those, but those are the big sellers.

As for guns and aliens, Resistance, Killzone and a few other Sony properties all feature both.

Also, I'll say that had a Microsoft executive made a smart ass comment about Wonderbook, that article would have been filled with all sorts of hate from the people here, just remember what goes around comes around.

[IIC0mPLeXII]

I think you are missing titles like Ratchet and Clank, God of War, Little Big Planet, Jak and Daxter, Socom, Journey, Disgaea, and Heavy Rain. So which one of the aforementioned titles has any similarity to a Microsoft exclusive? Don't bring up Alan Wake it was dumbed down for 360.

[dubt72]

I'm not missing any of those, lol...

[ChunkyLover53]

@IIC0mPLeXII

I wasn't comparing titles for similarity, I was naming off the big sellers for each console maker. I also did mention God Of War, as for the others, we haven't even had a Jak game this generation and I wasn't a fan of Heavy Rain, as I've stated before, I think that is a very niche title and I've heard that some people love it, and some hated it.

I was basically mentioning how even though Sony has a lot of exclusives, the only ones that really push sales are the top ones, just like Microsoft's top guns. I'm not commenting on quality or anything like that, but I firmly believe a lot of Sony fanboys like the idea of exclusives, just so they can thump their chest and say "Our console has the most exclusives". Its obvious from lower sales, that the majority of people on PS3 like the same types of games as are on the Xbox 360, shooters and aliens ect...

[DivineAssault]

sony has games with aliens and guns but its only a small portion of them.. I buy game consoles for GAMES & they simply dont satisfy that need.. I prefer eastern developed games over western as well so thats why i like sony.. Microsoft may have other games that arent as widely known but they are heavily overshadowed by the gears n halo series.. Not interested in the slightest.. I enjoy sonys offerings A LOT more so im not buying the NXBOX or whatever it is.. Niether is japan

[ShaunCameron]

@ DivineAssault

<I prefer eastern developed games over western as well so thats why i like sony..>

That's funny because this generation the PS3 hardly has much of those. I prefer Eastern-developed games too, but there is hardly anything Eastern about the PS3 or its library MGS4 aside.

[BitbyDeath]

'Microsoft has brought a lot of quality exclusives to the table this generation'

'Microsoft has Gears, Halo, Fable and Forza'

Only one of those were brought this gen, I wouldn't call that a lot.

[ChunkyLover53]

@BitbyDeath

Microsoft has brought a ton of games this generation, ignorant people only list off Forza, Fable, Gears and Halo.

Crackdown 1 and 2
Viva Pinata 1 and 2
Kameo
Ninja Blade
Lost Odyssey
Blue Dragon
Ninety Nine Nights 1 and 2
The Last Remnant
Infinite Undiscovery
Alan Wake

And those are just some of the ones off the top of my head, of course there are a ton of decent to good XBLA and Kinect new IP's this generation as well.

The reason I didn't start listing them before is the same reason I didn't list the lesser Sony IP's, they didn't really sell.

My whole original point was that the exclusives that Sony has are irrelevant because most people aren't buying any of them but the big AAA games.

Honestly, the only PS3 games I buy that are exclusive are Uncharted, God Of War, Killzone and Gran Turismo. Nothing else has appealed to me that much, though I think I might have a few others laying around somewhere. So all the people that dog Microsoft for releasing the solid IP's that actually sell need to rethink that a bit, its nice that Sony wastes money on games, but it hurts them in the long run, because people aren't buying those titles.

This year is a great example of solid PS3 games that went unsold, Twisted Metal, Starhawk and Sorcery all sold really poorly, last year was much the same for anything not called Uncharted 3.

I'm not going to sit there and let people be ignorant on facts, both companies utilize their hit franchises and both have a ton of IP's that didn't exactly set the world on fire.

[Shane Kim]

ChunkyLover53

Do you own Sony shares or what? Who gives a f*** if their games aren't selling? You're putting the amount of Sony games as a bad thing. Believe it or not but some people like different things.

[StreetsofRage]

What's wrong with everybody on here? Microsoft has no games? Please tell me what games the ps3 has this year? Last time I turned on my ps3 was last year. Games I bought this year...

Lollipop Chainsaw
Tom Clancy's Future Soldier
The Witcher's 2
Max Payne 3
Sniper Elite v2
Prototype 2
Ninja Gaiden 3

All these games I bought on my 360. Where are all these fantastic Sony exclusives you are talking about? You talking about last year, right? Please tell me if something is coming out this year because I sure don't know.

I love my exclusives on my ps3 but saying Microsoft has no games is plain stupid when the ps3 has nothing in 2012.

[pwnmaster3000]

Well right now twisted metal, mlb, starhawk, sorcery, yakuza, and journey are out.
idk if you like them but some people in the world probably think.there fantastic.

I dont go with review or sales.
ex. I thought dead island was a fantastic game and put lots of hours into it, even though the reviews were bad.

[cyclonus007]

With the exception of Witcher 2, all of those games are also on PS3. Combine that with the many PS3 exclusives and that is why people say MS has no games.

[dubt72]

Having no games and having very few aaa exclusives are very different. Who cares who makes the games if you enjoy them and don't feel like you're missing out in any way?

[ShAkKa]

Wow I wish I could play those fantastic games on PS3, oh wait...

[Imalwaysright]

Those arent MS games. None of them is. Halo 4 and Forza Horizon are the only MS games this year wich is pathetic.

[jessupj]

"I love my exclusives on my ps3 but saying Microsoft has no games is plain stupid when the ps3 has nothing in 2012."

Oh the irony. You say it's "plain stupid" to say microsoft has no games, then you continue to say "ps3 has nothing in 2012"

The 360 has 2 big hitters coming out this year, the ps3 has a lot more then that but I'm not going to bother wasting my time making a list.

See why it was so ironic that you called people stupid for saying MS has no games?

Like I said before, you obviously don't like great games so just give your ps3 to someone that will actually appreciate it.

[chobit_A5HL3Y]

fail. witcher 2 is the only game on your fail list that isn't on ps3 as well lolz and mebe you'd know of more ps3 games if you took off your ms panties~ TRY HARDER!!! :D

[RememberThe357]

Hahaha Usher's a Sony artist?! Who would have known! Oh man thats good.

[godofboobees]

Dance central is a fun game but when its focused on at an event this big its hard not to say their conference was a fail.

[gamingisnotacrime]

he knows he is talking bs, but is just a funny

[Moncole]

He seemed like a douche bag when I watched E3.

"E3 is like the Super Bowl"

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

He was right about that. It IS like the super bowl. He even talked about how people will judge who "won" E3. He was very straight-forward with us. He was very personal. That's what people want. They don't want to talk about numbers and other BS like that. He did a great job. :)

[FrigidDARKNESS]

Hahaha Trettons a hater.

[GraveLord]

Hater? He's telling the truth.

If I was Sony, I wouldn't have let my artists promote the competitions products. Just a thought...

[IHateYouFanboys]

oh you mean that guy from sony is criticizing microsoft, their competition?

well he MUST be telling the truth then......

[pwnmaster3000]

Idk if its true, but he wasnt really criticizing.
If usher is a Sony artist then that joke make sense.
He didnt say anything bad

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

lol of course IHateYouPS3Fanboys(aka ILoveYou360Fanboys) would say this.

[solidjun5]

"lol of course IHateYouPS3Fanboys(aka ILoveYou360Fanboys) would say this."

His name screams irony like a banshee. It's actually quite funny.

[Jazz4108]

Jack T is an Ass kisser.

[Les-Grossman]

I would have rather seen The Avengers cast eat Shawarma on stage then Usher dance

[StreetsofRage]

I can pretty much guarantee most haters on here can't dance or never been to a dance/club. Just Dance is great fun with the opposite sex. My g/f and I definitely enjoyed Usher's presentation.

Don't hate on this game because you stayed home on that Saturday night because nobody asked you to the dance.

[pwnmaster3000]

Whos making fun of it in this article.
Why bring it up if it isnt happening?

Oh and I bet alot of the haters here been to a club or dance before.
Club dancing and this game is very different

[InTheLab]

The s*** that goes on in Dance Central is not what happens at dance clubs. You're usually dancing with someone and not dancing at someone. Dance Central is more for people who can't actually dance and don't go to clubs, much like the Dance Dance Revolution sweaty headband kids at the arcade...

Tell the truth dude...you've never been to a club of any type, have you?

[theodopolopolus]

EVERYBODY, LOOK AT MR BIG MAN OVER HERE, HE'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!

[Veneno]

Hahahahaha i actually remember an old friend of mine tried so hard to getmeinto dance dance revolution but i was terrible at it so i quit. She kept teasing me saying im another dude scared of dancing. But at that time i was at the discoteck and latin clubs every weekend lol. Video game dancing is not Real dancing.

[honkyjesus]

Your mother must be very proud of you.

[wages of sin]

You're laughing because he's a Sony artist but if that's the case shouldn't he be representing their popular motion...oh that's right.

OT: All of you missed what Edonus said: "You must not know anything about marketing at all.

You are probably thinking, Usher that sing and dancing guy dancing in a room full of gaming journalist early in the morning to a damn kinect game...or something like that.

The reality is Usher, a well known singer and highly admired dancer doing an exclusive performance of his new single to promote a Dancing game that is considered one of the best in the genre and this live performance is broadcasted over the television (not just a room full of journalist that dont play kinect games anyway).

Think of the interviews that the celebrity is going to get, re runs on tv snippets over the internet, and Usher fans. That is lots of market penetration. MS hasnt lost their marketing skills you are just not the target so you think they missed."

[cstyle]

You are correct my friend. Sony could learn a thing or two about marketing from MS. More people know Usher than that unknown actor who plays Kevin Butler.

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

It's not a matter of who people know better. Everyone knows who Charlie Sheen is, but paying him seven figures to be in a commercial isn't going to sell a product.

[Morgue]

Ushering in a new era of gaming with Kinect.

" why hold the controller when you can use your body "

/s

[trippyaaron]

my prayers go out to the poor souls that attended microsoft's conference and had to endure this awful music

[YodaCracker]

Jack Tretton would not like you insulting a Sony artist like that!

[banjadude]

It was a decent performance, at least in my opinion.

[Euthanasia78]

I watched Usher, and I have no problem with him. I just have to say that He was absolutely HORRIBLE at E3. I couldn't even look at the screen. I was literally embarassed for him. What a horrific performance. I guess if all the mindless 14yo's love ya, then who cares right?

[ironmonkey]

he danced quicker than kinect. think it was lag.

[Nac]

Tretton walks away with perhaps the thing I find most memorable this E3. In his closing comments he instructed the crowd to "Fight for the experiences that made them a gamer." In a time of motion controlled features and other gimmicks, this is what I really needed to hear. Believe it or not, it is true for all of us, regardless of console.

[Buff1044]

Yes, Usher performing helped Sony....I'm sure that's what everyone watching from home immediately thought...seriously, how old are the people who comment on this website?

[Prince_Dim-Lu]

The SDF recruits at 10 years old... Their leaders are 15. That's why this site is the way it is.

[Biggest]

"I'm sure that's what everyone watching from home immediately thought.."

Does it matter what they thought? They saw Usher. If they like Usher they probably said "I like Usher! I need to buy some of his music because that is what I do with musicians that I like!" Sony gets money when people like Usher. Which means. . . Wait. How old are you? I don't want to have to explain how the whole Usher-works-for-Sony thing plays out from the beginning.

[Hicken]

Usher is a Sony artist.

People see Usher perform for Microsoft.

People buy Usher's album.

Sony gets paid.

Usher's performing helped Sony.

It's really not that hard to understand.

[tominator316]

Fez, alan wake American nightmare, Halo4, fable journey, trials evolution, Crimson dragon, mark of the ninja, Steel battalion, minecraft, dead light, Forza, sina mora, Akai katana, Charlie murder, Fable heroes, blood forge, Wreckateer, Hybrid, spelunky, Battleblock theatre, Diabolical pitch, Dust, Witcher 2, Star wars! Owlboy, Capsized, Kung fu superstar, Harry potter kinect, dragon ball z kinect, Dance central 3, Marvel avengers,

There may be more but I really can't b bothered to find out lol, both consoles have great games but to say Xbox doesn't come on!

I don't wanna hear its on pc aswell, is it on ps3? No exactly.

I apologise if I'm Incorrect and maybe my spelling also.

[IIC0mPLeXII]

Kinect still sucks dude.

[IIC0mPLeXII]

If we are going to bring up every single title xbla or not that is not on Playstation, then ill be forced to bring up quality. Bloodforge was terrible as well many of those xbla titles. Crackdown 2 was completely devoid of anything that made the first appealing as well. I guess I should start using the fact that PS3 also has a solid line up of two consoles back in its generation, including FF7. What stand out title is in Xbox originals.....fable.....halo.

[tominator316]

Y are those xbla titles terriable? I enjoyed blood forge, crackdown not the best of the best but I enjoyed that 2, people have different taste in games I enjoy the odd budget title lol as cheesy as lollipop chainsaw looks il love that 2! I could say twisted metal and yakuza dead souls sucked but people enjoy them also! There's a fan base for every game good or bad! The original Xbox had a short life but in its time it pumped out sum quality games bought the best online service to the table, hard drive and being able to store music on it and play it while u game something that the ps3 still cannot do properly! only with certain games! With the play station having 2 previous consoles a great fanbase awesome games which it has, where's my getaway hd remake? How comes the 360 has stood toe to toe? Even wivout Japan which makes up for quite a lot of ps3s sales! Year head start and great pricing and quality games u hav to give both consoles credit each has it's own perks.
Also final fantasy is on Xbox now, smack down, gta, tekken a lot of games that helped the play station brand in previous generations! I was sick of gamecubes and xboxs wrestling games lol.

Everyone calls halo but that game bought fps to consoles yea were on Halo 4 now but wat do u expect wen it's only not just xbox exclusive but it's 1 of the biggest franchises on consoles people want halo I knw i sure do lol

[rataranian]

lol! ...thats all I have to say.

[trickman888]

>E3
>Usher

ROFLMAO

[Raka]

usher was even more fail than wonderbook
another fail conference from m$

[Koloss]

Over it. E3 has been sucking ass lately.

[Theyellowflash30]

So did the wonderbook crap demonstration help microsoft

[godzilla72]

Cant this crunk jumper go away already!

[biRdy]

I'm not saying Usher is a bad artist or anything, people don't go to E3 for a concert, they go for the games! I play Xbox 360 more out of all my consoles, but really what is Microsoft (and Ubisoft) thinking? Did they forget what E3 is for?

[biRdy]

I'm not saying Usher is bad artist or anything, people don't go to E3 for a concert, they go for the games! I play Xbox 360 more out of all my consoles, but really what is Microsoft (and Ubisoft) thinking? Did they forget what E3 is for?

[wildcat]

Wonderbook.

[Soldierone]

It didn't help MS game either. It was and I quote "the exact performance fro Ushers live show!" He comes out, and not a single dance move is the same and you really see how simplistic the dance game was.....

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Hey Jack,

Although I don't love Usher, I am here to remind you that "pride goes before the fall." Those who know what's really happening behind the iron curtain of Sony, completely understand that you should heed my advice.

With that said, the MS presentation at E3 was awful. But still better than last year.