VG247 did a good interview... nothint really new but some highlights.
VG247: PS4′s tech is impressive, and we’ve seen Microsoft announce the increase of Xbox One’s clock speed. What’s your view on this? How future-proofed is the PS4 for one?
Gara: Probably the biggest barometer I would pick out for where the tech is, is the feedback from publishers – both in-house and out-of-house – because they tell us it’s a dream to develop for. They tell us the way it’s configured, the architecture, it means they’re not hitting that glass ceiling hardly at all. Where as, if you look at the experiences coming out there on PlayStation 3 later this year – I can pick out Beyond or Gran Turismo 6 – they’re really pushing the envelope of what PS3 can do.
It is possible to create that level of experience on PS4 far more easily, so I guess the shackles are off for them. How far can they push it and when do they hit their glass ceiling? I’m not really the best person to ask, but they certainly feel hugely liberated and inspired right now.
That’s good to hear, as we heard a Nvidia exec yesterday stating that their PC tech – now – is more powerful than what PS4 or Xbox One can offer gamers. But, do you feel this new wave of PC tech will detract from next-gen consoles as the capabilities increase rapidly?
It doesn’t look like a concern at the moment. You always have to keep your eyes open to see where potential threats might come from. The only thing we know for sure is that the initial demand, and the initial weeks and months of PlayStation 4 is almost guaranteed to be exceptionally strong. That’s based on pre-order numbers that we’re delighted with. They’re the best we’ve ever seen, so that gives us huge confidence.
Let’s not forget that PlayStation 4 is a dedicated, specialist device that has become architecturally involved with the PC environment, but it’s configured in a way to deliver a rich experience above all others. It’s designed to deliver gameplay at the best possible level, which wasn’t compromised in terms of the decisions we’ve made.
In some ways Sony and Valve share similar traits in your desire to roll out the brand over multiple devices that work together, like PS Vita cross-play, remote play and mobile. Some people still say Vita lacks a killer app, but it’s not exactly content-poor.
Some people have been critical of PS Vita, and if it wasn’t for the fact that lots of gamers really, really enjoy it, and the feedback has been very good on the device, maybe we’ve been a little less confident. But of course there have been concerns that we’ve progressed from. Chief concerns were the cost of the system and the cost of games. The cost of the machine; it’s now selling in the UK at £50-70 less than it was a year ago, and it’s growing year-on-year. We’re really pleased. It’s been hard work, but we’ve got there.
Secondly, the price of games; you know,first-party games are now coming out at a lower price than they were a year ago. But not only that, we’ve got the Mega Packs, which is up to ten of games and a memory card included in the price of the console for free. And then of course PlayStation Plus offers an instant game collection across three platforms now, well, as off November 29 when you will get games for PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
The potential killer app might well be the remote play with PlayStation 4. For example, Watch Dogs is playable on PS Vita over wi-fi and that is very, very exciting. To say we should write-off PS Vita … absolutely not. We’re hitting the numbers we want to hit today. We’re pleased, it’s very ambitious going into the big season.
