Yes, you read it right. Kaz Hirai, Sony Computer Entertainment's President and CEO spoke candidly regarding the present and future of the PS3 in this months issue of Famitsu magazine. 1UP dishes on the interview, and I have to say, it is a refreshing change from the spin machine we've become accustomed to from Sony over the past ten years.
The interview spans topics ranging from the delay of Sony's online service, Home, to the decision to drop backwards compatibility from future PS3's and the selling off of cell chip production.
I found the most notable statement came when Hirai was asked why the 40GB PS3 was not announced at the recent Tokyo Game Show just days before it was released to stores. "What was most important at TGS was to appeal to everyone our software lineup. A library of games is what consumers look for on a game console, and it is our mission as a console maker to fulfill that. Therefore, we put the focus on software that our third parties have been working on, as opposed to the new PS3 models." he said.
This focus on software instead of hardware is exactly the kind of fundamental strategy change that can get the PS3 back into the race against the Xbox 360. Ever since the PS3 was first announced, all Sony has done is tout the consoles' hardware..."it has the amazing new cell processor, it will change gaming forever, it has Blu-Ray which is the greatest media ever, bluetooth, memory card slots out the wahzoo...yada, yada, yada; everything except games! That lack of software is exactly what has kept the PS3 on store shelves and out of peoples living rooms.
Apparently, they are starting to realize that great hardware means nothing without equally great software. Hardware only exists to showcase software, not the other way around.
Kudos Kaz. Give me some more reasons to get excited about my PS3 please.
Hirai also spoke candidly about the delay of Home, explaining that it was not meeting his expectations, and that was the key reason for the delay. He said, "This is a very big project for the PS3 and we want to make sure that we deliver to our hearts content." He reiterated that Home will go online in the Spring of '08.
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