As the Tokyo skyline prepares for an eventual few days in the gaming calendar, Sony's Japanese offices in the posh district of Minato-ku, are the location of a pre-event party, to show off 30 of the PS3's upcoming games to a lucky group of journalists. The company is remaining tight lipped about what to expect at the event, but GameSpot UK succeeded in nabbiing an informal interview with Sony Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison, to discuss the past, present, and future of the troubled company.

Quizzed about Nintendo's stellar success in the hardware department in comparision to the PS3, Harrison remains asured of the current place of the PS3, and that "it's not really fair to compare two products that serve different markets and are at different price points." Harrison also pointed out that, in the end, it's the quality of the games, and not the quantity of the hardware sales, that will determine the "winner" in this generation, and that Sony is (apparently) ahead in this regard.

Harrison was also asked about the recently launched redesigned slim line PlayStation Portable (PSP), and why exactly Sony decided to launch a product that, on the surface at least, appears to be superficially identical to the first model.

"Constant improvement and innovation in design is what drives us, so why wouldn't we pass on to the gamer the advantages we can have in terms of making something smaller and lighter. In a handheld device, something that is smaller and lighter is a pretty highly regarded feature, and people seem to like it, so I think it's cool. Have you actually held one?"

People at E3 were apparently so suprised by the weight difference between the old and new model that some believe it was simple a display model, but it was indeed the final design, which is 19% slimmer in size, and a significant 33% lighter. The redesigned PSP also comes with a faster battery life, quicker loading times, and video-out port which allows you to watch the PSP on your own TV, which is admittedly a pretty kick-ass feature.

Comparisions with Nintendo were once again brought up, this time discussing the company's ability to capatilise on what is more and more often being referred to as the "casual gaming" market.

Sony were, admittedly, one of the first companies to capatilise on this ascept of gaming culture, with numerous "casual" products such as EyeToy and SingStar garnering interest amongst consumers when the Wii was still just a twinkle in Nintendo's eye, and Harrison is well aware of this.

"Since you are UK-based, you will know how influential games like EyeToy and SingStar and Buzz are, not just the PlayStation 2 format, but growing the market generally cross-category. So, we’re continuing to work on those for the PlayStation 2, we're bringing them all to PlayStation 3 in new, networked, innovative ways, which you saw at Games Convention [in Leipzig] with SingStar on the PlayStation 3 and Buzz! TV--which is going to be phenomenal with the ability of user-generated content for quizzes."

The interview closed with the predictable question that is on the lips of every fan and journalist; how does Sony feel about all the negative press that it has been recieving lately?

"I think you're surrounded by the answer to that question, which is a tremendous line-up of really great games. We'll let the games do the talking."

Although Sony have undeniably been receiving more than its fair shares of unfair critisism over the last few months, its a sad fact that so far, the games have barely let out an audible whisper in the ears of gamers. Here's hoping that they will be heard over the saturated crowds of this year's Tokyo Game Show.

Tags : Phill Harrison : playstation 2 : PlayStation 3 : playstation portable : Sony : tgs 2007 : tokyo game show

Comments

By: Animeboy On: 05:15 Sep 19th, 2007 Offline	Advantages? to who, Sony, or the person that buys them. This most certainly will make a killing for Sony as it supersedes the original design in the retail market It is most certainly bad that the PSP is getting slimline, usually those types need more delicate electronic components and so the price is much higher. I feel like the main body of working class gamers are really getting ripped off by those who claim to be advancing the art and way of the gamer. Isn't it well known that the quality of the original usually is superior to the sequel.

By: Mobius Zero On: 05:28 Sep 19th, 2007 Offline	I would agree on the fact it has some very interesting titles but their latest have well, sunk in the eyes of gamers. The newer mini-PSP does have some cool features but no extra analog nub but the games are real cool looking. Other than that, nothing really has changed.

By: Corrine On: 05:38 Sep 19th, 2007 Offline	If Sony wanted to they could have designed the PSP really slim and sexy the first time around, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is gonna make them a little bit of money. The price of the original PSP has dropped, and most likely they're going to make some sales with this new one. Much like the DS and DS lite, however on a smaller scale. That's just silly, even if the newer PSP design is sexy. Eh... I'm content with my original size PSP. I don't even think Sony will start making up for its losses with the PS3; MAYBE if the price of the console drops significantly and they come out with some good exclusives... but we've been saying this for ages.