Gadgetory

you made some fans tonight when you announced that ps4 would be able to play used games and that players would be able to trade loan keep their disks why did you decide to make that decision as opposed to going the route that Microsoft took given that they had made that and that's the competition why was that important to Sony well it's our fourth generation of hardware and we've had a great relationship with the consumer and I think they've responded with tremendous loyalty it's obviously a model that works well for them and why change something that isn't broken as far as we're concerned was that something you gave some thought though did you go back and forth at all and in terms of considering whether or not you might go that route well I think there's always a debate in the industry about the effects of the aftermarket I remember many years ago people thought rental was a threat people would rent a video game they play it they'd finish it they never go out and buy it and I think in recent years people have perceived that use games might be a threat but I think there's also a position that says number one it adds to the value for the consumer and their price they're willing to pay for a new copy of a game number two it pumps new dollars into the ecosystem for the consumer and actually puts them in a position to spend more on games if you give them some value for a game that they're done with and we all know that consumers don't have unlimited dollars so anything that keeps them in the ecosystem we think is good for gaming did you expect that kind of reaction there I really did I think that people have spoken very very loudly when they're not happy and when they are happy so I don't know that I expected to be vocal at the press conference but I know the news would have been extremely well received but it's obvious that people have very strong emotions about it um the emphasis on entertainment that we saw tonight you're so nice oh that's to be expected but why is that important and what will it mean for the consumers experience with the ps4 well I mean I'd like to think that we brought entertainment beyond gaming into the fray right way back in 1995 with the original playstation at the time the ability to listen to your CDs on the same device that you played games was a novel concept and obviously we really a big hand and the adoption to DVD with Playstation 2 and then with blu-ray and PlayStation 3 and the ability to stream all the different partners that we've brought without having to pay an additional fee with something I think really resonated with consumers and Netflix is a perfect example of a service it's really ubiquitous it's on just about every device but to be the number one stream device is a testament to the fact that the entertainment consumer is on our platform and they not only play a lot of games they listen to a lot of music they watch a lot of movies they go to a lot of concerts buy a lot of music so they're a very very valuable consumer for Sony I think that's another key point people look at the success of a generation based on the number of pieces of hardware you sold what's important is if people are still playing them and what they're doing with them and we feel that quality is more important than quantity if we had to make a choice a specific launch date for ps4 we heard holiday season but can you tell us more specific than that and if not why not well I think the honest answer is that you don't know where your production yields are going to be until you go into production and you see the type of numbers you have you don't know what the ultimate demand is going to be and we're trying to roll this out on a worldwide basis so we want to do it right as opposed to Spink sprinkle a unit here and a unit there so we've got a lot of evaluation to do but in my mind holiday means in the holiday season but to be more specific would be speculative and quite frankly I think if you have an opportunity to get it before the end of the year whether you get it in October November December is it somewhat irrelevant because we hope it's something you're going to enjoy for the next 10 years and beyond so a couple of weeks one way the other won't make too significant a difference a lot of people are pointing out that younger players are gaming on smartphones tablets of course there's the PlayStation Vita but what are Sony's plans to keep up with that trend with that mobile gaming trip well the beauty of working for Sony is there isn't business as it relates to entertainment in the gaming choices that you just mentioned that we're not in we make tablets we make smart phones we have PlayStation mobile we have games available on the tablet so I think the entire ecosystem is growing but the misnomer that I think some people miss out on is they assume that it's people gravitating from the console to a smartphone or tablet I think it's the exact opposite the peope are coming into gaming through devices like smartphones and tablets and ultimately they migrate their way up the ecosystem but the audience for the console is stronger than it's ever been I mean we believe that there are more consumers out there that have interest in the console initially than will be able to manufacture there's a huge pool of consumers to tap into and we're excited to bring PlayStation 4 to then what will be possible that wasn't possible before thanks to ps4 I think as the technology grows the ability to make the experience more and more immersive to really evoke emotion to make people scared when they're playing it excited mad and to really get in a relationship with the characters just like they would with a movie or a TV show and I think we've reached the photorealism element that you can tell a story that has the depth that will actually leave somebody in tears you know at the end of an experience and that's something that it was very very difficult to admission it to envision many years ago and why people felt the gaming was a toy because it was something that you know they couldn't relate to now Gaming is bigger than box office and movies combined so clearly you know we're mainstream entertainment and people get that it's an art form and I think the technology and the creativity in the in the development community has allowed us to rise to that level do you have a favorite among the games that you highlighted well you know the amazing thing it's like working in any ice cream parlor right you're surrounded by it so I have a new favorite all the time and it really depends on what time but the game I'm probably most excited to play right now is the Last of Us I mean that just looks incredible but as soon as I sink my teeth into that there's a whole list of other games I want to jump into and I love the indie games I mean they're great experiences as well I mean great game play is great game play kind of interesting integration of Hollywood well having been around the industry for a long time and having devoted my career to it it's great to see this evolution in the relationship with Hollywood because it used to be when they were making a movie somebody said hey we should pick up some licensing dollars by making a video game that'll come out after the movies out and it was really the stepchild if you will of the movie relationship now it's the exact opposite that the creative juices and the creative games that are being created are turning into big-budget movies the games and the movies are being made side by side a lot of the same technologies being used and where it might have been an embarrassment for a lead Hollywood actor to be involved in a video game they seek it out now I think the same is true of the music industry people want to be on the soundtrack of a game because they know it can really propel their band so again proof points for the health of the industry that Hollywood and the music industry flocked to gaming and that's a big change from the way it was you know just 10 or maybe even 20 years ago and because of that shift do you think it's bringing more gamers into the bringing more people to gaming because they're seeing you know oh you know maybe there are Ellen Page fans maybe they you know SAR anjuna or something like yeah I think it brings people in in a number of different ways I think the key is just to demystify it I think people look at a controller and they see all those buttons and say I'd never be able to control it and that's one of the things that I think we we owe a debt of gratitude to smartphones and tablets because it's a real easy interface but once you get used to it you demystify it a little bit you know you're not so intimidated by the controller so like I said earlier you migrate up that system but I think you know the key is to bring something that catches people I people's eye and they say you know what is that I'd like to check that out and you know characters like Ellen Page and William Dafoe certainly add the relevance and the credibility that a non gamer you know certainly would it would be drawn to if they weren't a gamer already you're never too old to game never too old to game you