To answer that, we would need to read the actual interview.  But all that was reported on that site are the answers that we already know.  It could be that he was asked if they would go that same kind of route for their next handheld.  

But one thing was made clear by the report, Hirai didn't want to comment about the 3DS because he hadn't seen it at the time.

A lot of it is probably in the translation, but autostereoscopic 3D today could be considered "imprecise" in several ways:

• lenticular screens suffer from fringing and colour aberrations in some viewing conditions (depending on viewing angle and side lighting)

• parallax barrier screens have halved horizontal resolution, and basically have half the dpi of a good portable screen such as the ones in smart phones

Now, it's obvious that with this kind of talk they are just trying to soften the blow of N showing their 3d device first. But to think that Sony hasn't been conducting R&D with autostereoscopic small displays when these have been around for a couple of years is very naive.

OK I'VE KIND OF HAD IT WITH THIS DISCUSSION! Learn to read between the lines, people!

First of all, if the interview did actually happen and the information on the source is true, then Kaz Hirai did not take a direct stab at the Nintendo 3DS. I know this because of two things:

a) He says that by Sony's own research (and we assume that he's not talking about a research that also takes into account rival products' technology. If the opposite to my prior sentence were true, then it'd be impossible to determine his intentions without further detail), naked eye 3D technology on portables is imprecise. This does not equal to: He says naked eye 3D technology on portables is imprecise.

b) He claims he has not seen the Nintendo 3DS. However, bear in mind this does not support point a) as much as it's a disclaimer, because he not seeing the Nintendo 3DS does not mean Sony's research didn't or viceversa. Therefore, point b) does not mean Sony's research excepts Nintendo 3DS technology. Point b) is actually useless in the most strict objective way of analyzing the information given.

So we see that point a) alone disacredits the claim of a direct stab, and point b) serves only as a further detail that he hasn't tried the Nintendo 3DS out.

Secondly, this doesn't mean that he didn't take an ocult stab at Nintendo's recently shown hardware. My personal, opinionated way of looking at it is that he did. I show my reasons for taking such stance:

1. He talks about negative results of the precision of a technology widely known to be exploited by a rival product, shortly after the showcasing of said product. He has very little reason to do so but to make people less secure about the quality of the product.

2. The 3D technology used for games for the PS3 is certainly different than that used with the Nintendo 3DS. By showing that, according to Sony's own research, naked eye 3D technology for portables is imprecise while at the same time speaking well of their own, different use of 3D technology, means to me (and that's where people could objectively say that it doesn't neccessarily mean anything, but alas, when giving an opinion, a little subjectivity must kick in, because otherwise it'd be a fact) that he believes PS3 3D technology for games will be the better one on the market in the forseeable future, inmediately meaning that all other 3D technologies for similar purposes are worse than PS3's.

And that's THAT. You can take sides on the implied meanings, but that's subjective and therefore you won't ever convince all other reasonable people. Strictly objectively speaking, he did not bash the Nintendo 3DS.

People need to calm down; even IF he implied that the 3D in 3DS will be ''imprecise'' (he talks of 3D in handhelds just after the first is shown?), he was very careful to not sound like an ass and land a direct hit on 3DS. Most probably because Sony is actually going to benefit from the 3D adoption and maybe there's already a 3D PSP in the works (You can't blame them for copying this time; Sony's stong suit has always been cuttin-edge technology). It's one of those cases that Hirai actually thought before talking!

Translation: three years later, the PSP2 will have it

no ones actually played any games on it yet, just tech demos to show the 3d.

i think for some titles the portable 3d will work great others not so.

but one things clear psp2 will have a 3d screen, sharp already make some of the bravia screens and they also make portable 3d screens so i think its in the works, but again how many games will work on a portable 3d?

You realize you're factually wrong right?

You wrote "Nintendo", not "single company system", which singles out one group of people. So don't tell me I'm putting words in your posts, when they are right there. Now you probably didn't mean that, but don't blame me for reading it that way when that is how you wrote it. I at least admit it when I see my posts look like something else.

LOL, do you want that both Nintendo and Sony fanboys hate you?   Oh, thinking again, no fear, maybe it was too subtle.

About the OT, I'm puzzled by Hirai's statement, did he perchance mean instead that current naked eye 3D tech requires a too precise and narrow positioning of the user to be usable in anything else than portable single user applications?

well, lack of precision (if it really exists) is still better than glasses.

So keep on researching, Sony.