So what do you feel like are other challenges that Sony’s going to have to deal with in growing Playstation out? Hell, Kaz Hirai has said it–as well as other people further down the food chain–that PSP is not where they want it to be. It seems like a platform that has, I don’t know, like the clock might be winding down there. They’re also going to have to win people over with Move and with 3D gaming. How would you want them as somebody who partners with them to address those challenges?
Those are some important areas in Sony’s business. I think another area you didn’t mention is just the online space and the Playstation Network. They’re seeing great adoption because it’s a free experience, there’s a greater tie-in ratio to Playstation owners and people actively spending on the Playstation network than Microsoft and Xbox Live, obviously due to the cost structure they have. But I think just increasing the Playstation Network as a platform and providing even better services, I think is an important area for Sony to go in.
As far as the Move goes, I think we’re sort of on the cusp here of finding out how it does in the marketplace, but as far as like a game developer, and getting to play with it as a piece of hardware, it’s really cool. To be perfectly honest, when Nintendo announced their strategy to release the Wii, whenever that was, four years ago, I was skeptical. I was looking at that going, “Oh my gosh. This is a flop.”
As soon as I got my hands on it and I started playing the games that they were creating, it really impressed me as far as motion-controlled experiences. I was a convert instantly. I was like, “Wow, this is really cool and different!” I don’t think it will ever supplant DualShock-style experiences. Right now, Move is a way to create new experiences in addition to the traditional style of video games that are experienced with DualShock controllers. I don’t think that motion control is going to totally replace the control stick and button input.
How do you think that Sony can help advance their motion-gaming initiative?
I think what Sony’s got to do is continue to work with developers who are really embracing the idea of motion gaming , and just create some really compelling and innovative experiences from the ground up to take advantage of the hardware, because it’s an amazing piece of hardware.
And speaking of hardware, you guys were one of the few companies who created a game from scratch from the ground up for the PSP, and Daxter was a great game, but it feels like the platform is in trouble. What’s your ideal vision for a Sony Playstation hand-held device?
Well, it’s a tricky situation to analyze because as far as the hardware’s concerned, it’s done really, really well. I will probably throw out the wrong number but it’s like 40 or 50 million worldwide. The hardware itself was done phenomenally well. I don’t think it’s fair to say that as far as the hardware, it’s not true. I think the software has struggled. And there is a lot of theories behind that. A lot of them point towards piracy and just how easy it is to download games for it. But I think it’s a really cool piece of hardware and great for watching movies on it. It was my son’s sort of dinnertime babysitter when we’d go to restaurants for awhile.
But I think they’ve got to really lock down the hardware with tighter security. The Playstation 3 was a good example of how long it’s gone without being hacked, although I guess, now maybe is not a great time to talk about that. Up until now, that would have been a real solid statement.
It’s funny because I see lots of people anecdotally–not within the business or journalism side–who’ve all hacked their PSPs. There’s people on the subway playing NES games on it. And on one hand, it would put Sony in a tricky situation to embrace that aspect of the hardware, but on the other hand, you wonder how long you can keep sustaining an install base that buys the machine to use it in unintended ways. Do you know what I’m saying?
Yeah. Absolutely. I hate to deny homebrewers and the people that really want to get in there and do their stuff.
Yeah. Because clearly they’re passionate about it.
Yeah. It’s not that different than the way I got into games. If you’re a tinkerer, that’s the mentality that breeds the best game developers. People who really just like to get in under the hood and see how things work. The best way to learn something is to do it. So it’s tough to crack down on people who are doing it for a more legitimate purpose. But I just think the vast majority of people are doing it to pirate software.