I'm sure a lot of people were surprised when Phil Harrison praised Nintendo at GDC 2008 and basically bashed Sony Japan for simply not getting it and understanding the future of gaming. Well listening to the comments that have now been made at his first speech as president of Infogrames on why he left Sony it appears that the things that once excited him about the Playstation brand may now be gone.
Here are some of the comments he made on why he left Sony: "the things that excited me the most, the things that turned me on as a gamer, and as a business person, and as a creative person were the future of our industry, the connected community experiences - all the things we're starting to see emerge that are really exciting players around the world."*. If those are the reasons he's giving for leaving what does that say about Sony? Especially coming from somewho who was in the position to know just what Sony's future plans are.
Later on he says: "And those are the things I started thinking about in terms of creating a company or getting involved with a company to really shape and direct a business towards that future."*. Does that mean he didn't think he would be able to direct the Playstation brand to a future that excited him as a gamer, as a creative person? Statements like these should be alarming to the most dedicated Sony fanboy and hopefully they'll be a wakeup call to the people at Sony Japan that still haven't gotten it.
*Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=93957
