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Sony's Kaz Hirai discusses NGP strategy, longevity, expectations (video)
Why was the NGP announced so far ahead of its launch? How long does Sony expect the NGP to reign before a refresh is needed? What impact will the NGP have on Nintendo's supremacy in mobile gaming? Each of those questions has been handled by Sony Computer Entertainment's chief Kaz Hirai in a video interview you can now eyeball after the break. In case you want the textual version of his responses, Kaz says the PSP successor was unveiled early in order to allow Sony to get as many third-party developers on board as possible (which is a lot easier when you don't have to worry about them leaking your hardware to Engadget), the new mobile console's lifetime should be no less than what we've come to expect from Sony's home consoles (so at least four or five years), and Sony's weapons for attacking Nintendo's dominance will be the litany of integrated sensors and connectivity options at the NGP's disposal. Kaz is careful to note that Sony is only aiming to improve on the PSP's current install base, but we suspect Sony's unofficial ambitions are far higher than that.
Kaz Hirai non-confirms the PlayStation Phone and tablet
Kaz Hirai, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, just twirled a fine dance around the PlayStation Phone. In discussing Sony's future strategy for offering a coherent and extremely expansive consumer offering, he used the words "tablets," "smartphones" and "PlayStation" in the same sentence, whetting appetites but never taking the leap to confirm what we all pretty much know his company is working on: Strategy encompasses driving the development of a variety of new strategic products and services including tablets currently in development as well as smartphones, all the while of course integrating the knowhow and the assets that we've accumulated from our PlaySation business. Oh Kaz, just admit it.
Sony's Kaz Hirai talks up virtues of touch controls, weighs in on PlayStation phone
The PlayStation phone keeps popping up time and again, and still no one at Sony is going to flat-out admit anything -- but that hasn't stopped playful speculation. Even SCE chief Kaz Hirai is joining in the fun. "We don't want gamers to be asking, what's the difference between that [a PS phone] and a PSP... we have to come up with a message that users will understand," he told The New York Times. "It would have to be a product that keeps the PlayStation's strengths intact." So that's the issue, then, differentiating a new PSP and a variant with phone capabilities -- nothing a good marketing campaign can't fix, if you ask us. But enough about the phone, what of the PlayStation's portable brand in general? Hirai seems to fancy touch controls, actually. "Depending on the game, there are ones where you can play perfectly well with a touch panel," he said, adding that "immersive games" -- the ones he think are Sony's focus, vs. the more casual fare offered by Apple and Android -- do well with physical buttons, and that some games work well with the two. We can't help but notice he said touch panel and not touch screen, which reminds us of the touchpad we saw on the PS phone leaks, but we wouldn't want to harp too much.
Sony said to be looking for new President to lighten Sir Howard's load
Sir Howard Stringer is a busy man. Currently holding the Chairman, CEO and President titles at Sony, the man's in charge of one of the vastest empires in the history of vastness, which is probably why the company's now said to be looking for someone to succeed him at one of those posts. Bloomberg's reporting that Sony is having internal discussions about appointing a new President, with Kaz Hirai and Hiroshi Yoshioka identified as the names at the top of the pile. The pair are currently responsible for handling one half each of Sony's broad consumer electronics portfolio and it's notable that the Japanese giant seems to be looking for its next great leader from the hardware side of the business. If this speculation does bear fruit, expect the next President to deputize Stringer in the short-term and to eventually succeed him as top banana when the current ruler decides to hang up his cornflower-blue tie.
Sony's PSP Go post-mortem continues, Kaz Hirai concedes 'pricing is perhaps an issue'
We're still perplexed by the PSP Go's failure. Who doesn't want to pay more for a device that lacks the hardware to play UMD games, only compatible with downloadable versions that release days or weeks later and then cost more to boot? Sony's Andrew House stepped up in June to put a positive spin on the situation, saying the PSP Go helped them "learn more about what the consumer wanted" -- something they obviously didn't do before shipping the thing. Now Sony Computer Entertainment President Kaz Hirai is giving a similar angle in an interview with MCV, addressing concerns of both price and content availability: ...we did get a lot of feedback, both good and bad. I think we need to make sure we have as many titles available to download as possible, to make the experience as easy as possible. But also pricing is perhaps an issue. If nothing else the PSP Go has certainly generated a lot of consumer feedback, and encouragingly it seems like Sony is actually listening.
Sony execs talk PlayStation Move expectations, PS4 details
The PlayStation Move is now less than a month from hitting stores shelves, and it looks like some Sony execs are already busy starting to manage expectations. Speaking with Eurogamer this week, Sony Computer Entertainment senior vice president Ray Maguire chose to compare the Move's launch to that of the EyeToy for the PlayStation 2, saying that "exactly as with EyeToy in the PS2 days, it's a product that needs to be sampled. You need to get your hands on it. You need to understand it. You need to try it." Maguire further went on to say he's "not particularly" expecting "massive" day one sales, but that he expects sales to grow as word of mouth spreads. In other PlayStation news, Sony's Kaz Hirai seems to have effectively ruled out a download-only future for the eventual PS4 in an interview with MCV, with him saying that a "digital future is over ten years away." Hirai then went on to note that "we do business in parts of the world where network infrastructure isn't as robust as one would hope," and that "here's always going to be requirement for a business of our size and scope to have a physical medium." No word if that also applies to Sony's future handhelds as well.
Sony PS3 Motion Controller delayed until 'fall 2010' globally
Last official word we had on the launch of Sony's PS3 Motion Controller was Spring 2010. However, we just received a press release from Sony Japan with a revised availability of "Fall 2010." The calendar push affects Japan, Asia, North America, and Europe. In the statement, Kaz Hirai avoids using the "d" word saying only: "We have decided to release the Motion Controller in fall 2010 when we will be able to offer an exciting and varied line-up of software titles that will deliver the new entertainment experience to PS3 users." Still no mention of Arc though Sony does concede that "Motion Controller" is just a tentative name. Full press release after the break.
Sony's Kaz Hirai confirms 'premium level' subscription coming to PSN
Well, Sony may have once downplayed the notion of "catching up" with Xbox Live, but it looks like it is now set to take at least one big cue from its rival. As oh-so-quietly revealed during a presentation on Thursday and now confirmed by Kaz Hirai himself, Sony will be adding a "premium level" subscription service to the PlayStation Network sometime next year. According to Hirai, that subscription will get you "premium content and services," although exactly what those are remains a bit unclear, as the current level of service will apparently remain free, and continue to include features like Facebook, Netflix, and the ability to play games online. Also up in the air is any word on a price or launch date, although the timing of the announcement does seem to suggest that we might just be hearing more about this at CES. [Thanks, Erick]
Sony Online Service aims to achieve brand loyalty
In an AP interview, Sony executive VP Kaz Hirai declared the upcoming Sony Online Service, which adds PSN-like features (possibly including game, music and movie downloads) to a wide variety of Sony devices, a major selling point. "That's the kind of combination that I think is not seen anywhere else," Hirai said. "That I think is where our core competence lies, and that's a differentiator for Sony." Additionally, Hirai told Business Week that Sony hopes to get the service into other devices next year and, "Earlier in the year would be a lot more preferable." In the interview, Hirai said that the Sony Online Service would take the iTunes-like approach of registering users as soon as the device is powered on, to register their accounts immediately. Once invested in such an account, the implication is that users will be more likely to continue purchasing media on that same account and buy more Sony devices to get additional use out of it -- much like iTunes users are driven to continue buying iPods to play iTunes Store's AAC-format music. Hirai also looked to social networking elements, along with the cross-device connectivity, to push Sony's future offerings. "What are your friends watching right now? There's a screen that says all the programming that's available. It highlights all the things that your friends are watching, for example. It's a community experience." As for sharing the actual content (not just the experience), Hirai wasn't so sure. He concluded that the "debate is still going on" about how many devices will be able to share content.
PS3 Slim hardware still losing money
The Times Online had a sit-down with Sony Computer Entertainment boss, Kaz Hirai, after the big Gamescom show last week in Cologne. You remember, the event that saw the official launch of the PS3 Slim. The Q&A is an interesting read in whole, but the answer that stands out comes in response to a question about whether the lower-priced $299 PS3 Slim will be sold at a loss relative to its cost to manufacture. "Yes," was the quick answer from Kaz. That's a surprise for two reasons. First, the PS3 Slim benefits from more efficient 45-nm manufacturing processes used on its smaller, less power-hungry Cell processor. Also, just last month Sony's CFO told investors that manufacturing costs of the PS3 had dropped by "about 70%, roughly speaking" -- that comes to about $240 based on original manufacturing estimates of $800 when the PS3 launched back in 2006. Regardless, a console being sold as a loss-leader is nothing new in the gaming industry and, as Kaz points out, will almost certainly be offset by looking at the PS3 as a platform that includes the hardware, software, peripherals, and services.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Sony to finish shrinking PS3 chips to 65nm this fall?
According to Next-Gen, PlayStation boss and Kaz Hirai claims that PlayStation 3s have done the same with Cell chips since last holiday season, and that Sony intends to finish the process of shrinking its major chips to 65nm with the RSX graphics processor this fall. Die shrinkage will mean a lot less to PlayStation buyers than it did to 360 owners suffering from the red ring of death on Microsoft's less-reliable 90nm parts, but it still means Sony can save some cash on producing and cooling PS3s -- and you shave a bit off your power bill.[Via Joystiq]
Sony unveils "Life with Playstation" PS3 service
Kaz Hirai took to a Tokyo stage today to give us a peek at the Playstation's future, and he let slip a couple of interesting tidbits. First, Sony will be launching a new program called "Life with Playstation" that will give users real time news and weather, using a globe metaphor reminiscent of the Wii's News Channel. Of course, since the PS3 has considerably more horsepower under the hood, the globe is a rendered weather satellite image showing cloud patterns, and it also supports geo-tagged photos and other content. Kaz also previewed the video-download service set to launch next month at E3, which will allow you to download or stream video to the PS3 and PSP. The store looks a lot like the current PlayStation Store, and it looks like HD rentals will run around $6 while SD purchases will clock in around $13 when it launches in the States this summer. We'll learn a lot more at E3, presumably, but for now we'll just settle for a decent screen shot of that globe interface.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
PlayStation boss: making PS3 non-exclusives more 'exclusive'
The UK's "semi-official" PlayStation blog, ThreeSpeech, has posted up an interview with SCEI head honcho Kaz Hirai, covering a range of topics including those little things that make a console stand out to consumers: exclusive games. Hirai says it's no longer a question of paying publishers for exclusives, but rather whether third-parties can afford to release a game on only one platform, period. Sony's role, according to Hirai, is to work with publishers to make the PS3 releases of their games "more compelling for the consumers than any other version." Hirai says that Blu-ray Disc is the key to this, since its capacity for huge amounts of data makes it perfectly suited for movie-style bonus features and "maybe additional levels."With third-parties "going wide" with their biggest releases, Hirari believes that internal dev teams will play a pivotal role in defining the overall PlayStation experience with "envelope-pushing, genre-defining content." Bring it on, Kaz.[Via The Escapist]
Sony pushes Home open beta out until fall '08, closed beta extended
Sony's promise of a true open-world experience with Home has been a continual dot on the horizon for PlayStation 3 owners since it was first announced during former Sony-exec Phil Harrison's GDC keynote last year. This continues to be the case this evening, as Sony just sent word that it plans to extend the service's closed beta phase through the summer season, pushing the eventual open beta launch until sometime in the fall.According to Sony, the move will allow the company to invite more PS3 users into the closed beta, perhaps to iron out some of the social MMO's failings we heard so much about late last year. Says SCEI president and group CEO Kaz Hirai, the delay will let Sony "refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today," which is business speak for telling us that we'll have to wait a few more months before we can know the joy of throwing virtual televisions down equally virtual stairs.
SOE to report directly to Kaz Hirai, SCEI
Sony has announced a change in the relationship between two of its, err, Sonys, namely Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Sony Online Entertainment. If we understand the press release correctly -- the pop-up pictures were an immense help -- SOE will be reporting directly to SCEI president and group CEO, Kaz Hirai, as of April 1, 2008. The structural change is "designed to mutually benefit both companies by further accelerating the PlayStation business through SOE's strong online gaming expertise," which ultimately boils down to more "exciting entertainment offerings" to consumers.SOE will continue to develop said exciting entertainment offerings for the PlayStation 3 and PC, with company president John Smedley reporting to Hirai and making sure he says things like, "We are thrilled to become a part of the incredible team that has made PLAYSTATION 3 the premier platform for next generation online gaming." SOE is currently hard at work on The Agency, a promising spy-themed MMO shooter for PC and PS3.
Kaz Hirai: PS3 could be profitable next fiscal year
Sony bigwig Kaz Hirai is hoping that this next fiscal year, which begins in April, will mark a point where the PlayStation 3 loses its money sink status and becomes profitable. Said the president of SCE at the Consumer Electronics Show (via Reuters), "We want to get to the positive side of the equation as quickly as possible," later adding that the company is "going through the budgets right now. That (profitability) is not a definite commitment, but that is what I would like to try to shoot for."Hirai cites the dropping costs of components used to make the PS3, as well as the removal of chips related to backwards compatibility, as examples of how the console is becoming cheaper to produce (and therefore less of a detriment to the company's bottom line). Hirai noted that the declining cost is "in line with what the company had expected." Not explicitly stated but certainly important are the titles expected next fiscal year: LittleBigPlanet, Home, Final Fantasy XIII, and the still-exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4. Previously, Sony stated that it had sold 1.2 million PS3s since Black Friday -- NPD figures for December should reveal how that measures up to competitors. Microsoft recently stated its belief that the Xbox 360 is "on track to register the biggest year in video game history," while the Consumer Entertainment Association predicted industry growth to continue, albeit at a slower pace than last year.
Kaz Hirai 'not satisfied' with current version of Home
1UP got their mitts on the latest issue of Famitsu Weekly, in which they interviewed Sony's man with the plan, Kaz Hirai. Since we don't have our copy handy just now and our Japanese translator is out sick with a terrible case of invisibility, we'll just have to settle for 1UP's highlight reel, notable for some particularly refreshing bouts of candor from PlayStation's top dog. When asked about the delay of Home announced at the Tokyo Game Show, Kaz responds, "I personally am not satisfied with the current version of Home. This is a very big project for the PS3 and we want to make sure that we deliver to our hearts content." It should come as no surprise that Kaz isn't happy with where Home's at; otherwise, they wouldn't have made the hard decision to push it back past the holidays. Also covered is the 40GB model and its absence of backwards compatibility, PS3 price drops, Monster Hunter III, the sale of the Cell processor manufacturing facilities, and the company's plans for the holiday. Most interesting is Kaz's response to the last question: "Returning to Japan, I have done my best in the given limited amount of time. Not everything I envision has turned out 100% but we as a company have worked together towards our goals." How's that for candor?[Via GameDaily]
TGS07: PlayStation Store coming to PC
In addition to becoming the PlayStation 3's power button of choice, the PSP has made relations with the PC. At the Tokyo Game Show press conference, Kaz Hirai announced that the PS Store will soon be accessible via the computer. According to Hirai, you will be able to purchase and download PSP content without using the PS3 as a middle-man. The service is reportedly available now in Japan; no word on when it will be coming elsewhere. [Via Joystiq]
TGS07: DualShock 3 unveiled, PS3 learns to shake, rattle and roll
At their Tokyo Game Show press conference today, Sony finally revealed how the PS3 got its groove back. Kaz Hirai announced that the DualShock 3 -- a Sixaxis controller with rumble -- will be out this November in Japan and Spring 2008 everywhere else. Future games, such as Metal Gear Solid 4, will incorporate rumble technology, while older titles can enable rumble through software updates. No price has been given, nor was there any discussion on whether the Sixaxis would be phased out.
Hirai says: six years until PS3 games use full system potential
It seems like Kaz Hirai is making his interview rounds today, as this next bit comes from the latest issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine (OPM if you're acronymically inclined). It's been said before that the PS3 isn't going to let developers squeeze all of the power from it for a while, but Hirai finally put a fairly specific (we mean generally vague) date on this optimization of the PS3's potential. "The power that we've packed into PS3 will really manifest itself in software titles that come up four, five or six years down the line."That's a long time! But looking at the most recent PS2 releases, we can't say Hirai is really straying far from what history tells us. Games now look oodles and boodles better than when the PS2 launched, so the same should be true for the PS3. In fact, keeping the parallel with the PS2 alive, Hirai mentioned the difficulty developers are having coding for the PS3: "If you look back at the commentary we received when we launched PS2, there was a lot of talk to the effect that 'It's very difficult to program for' and 'It's easier on a Dreamcast'. It's happened before." He goes on to say that if people said it was easy to program the PS3, he'd be worried. That wouldn't be pushing the envelope for technological development, he explains. What do you guys think? Is Sony showing a bit of their trademark arrogance, or are they totally right in saying these things, because as Hirai said, it has all happened before?
