There is an expectation by many that Microsoft and perhaps Sony will launch their new console in 2013 after the Wii U comes out this November. However, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida isn’t willing to declare this the start of a new console generation just yet.
“Not necessarily. Since the launch of the PlayStation 3 six years ago, graphics have evolved, resulting in titles like adventure game Uncharted 3 and Beyond by Quantic Dream. The life of consoles is also extended by online services, which continue to make a new offer cloud and new social functions. It is therefore too early to talk about the end of this generation of consoles,” he said.
Speaking of cloud offerings, Sony recently purchased Gaikai for hundreds of millions of dollars, and Yoshida says the benefits of this purchase will be felt across Sony’s lineup of services. “The value of cloud goes beyond the game industry with cloud computing; you can imagine services like video and all types of media without any download,” said Yoshida. “But this technology is dependent on the Internet connection of users and requires large capacity servers. That is why we decided to add this type of functionality gradually.”
Yoshida also addressed the situation with the PS Vita, which Sony has admitted is below expectations. “These results are below our expectations, and explain first the players’ equipment. Consumers now have multimedia devices, such as smartphones. These devices include the ability to play and it is difficult for us to justify the purchase of an additional machine. We want to to produce added value to attract players to the PlayStation Vita.”
“The other reason is the number of content available on the console,” he added. “With the rise of mobile gaming studios have begun a transition in part, allocating more resources to this type of production. Even if the creators want to develop games on Vita, they unfortunately fewer resources to do. One solution is to encourage the support of the platform by smaller development studios.”
On Sony’s own mobile division, Yoshida said, “With our mobile division, we want to reach new populations, which are not necessarily gamers. It is the same for developers; previously, it was not necessarily easy to get access to development tools for small independent studios. Our certification procedures were too stringent. Now studios can directly download the SDKs on PC. We also realized the need for a release schedule much more fluid.”
Source: Le Monde
