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Sony Strikes Back
- March 28, 2007 10:06 AM PST
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The man behind the PlayStation 3 speaks, and we listen. Read how Sony is in the fight of its life with PS3.
The criticism Jack Tretton says is unfounded. "The thing that frustrates me is that there is a whole different level of gaming fans who are haters... I'm not saying the PS3 launch was perfect, but let's try to be a little objective here." Tretton is the president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. And he would rather focus on what's going right with the PS3 launch. "We're very pleased with how things are going. It's very much according to plan. The next stage is to crank up production and get millions of units to Europe and Japan."
GamePro: Can you tell us something about the PS3 that will surprise us?
Jack Tretton: I think the machine surprises me every day. I've been in the industry for a long time and I consider myself a gamer, so even though I work for the company and was aware of the features, I wanted to pop Resistance: Fall of Man in there and start playing. So that's what I did, and that's all I did for the first few weeks I had the PS3. I'm a creature of habit -- I went through the same thing with the PSP. I started playing games, and I started discovering other applications.
"I tend to talk in a narrative, as opposed to a media-trained 8-word sound bite."
The short answer is, consumers will be surprised with how much the PS3 can do outside of gaming, and how intuitive it will be. Will they download digital pictures for the first time? No. But they'll see how much easier it is on a PS3 compared to what they've done traditionally on a PC. How intuitive and how all-encompassing the machine is will surprise consumers who already own it, and those who haven't bought it yet.
GP: How well do you think that message is getting out there? That the PS3 has more going on than just gaming?
TRETTON: The honest answer is that it's a struggle for us as a company, and it's a struggle for any gaming company. You want to stay true to your roots as a gaming company. At the end of the day, the reason why this machine will be successful is because it's the ultimate gaming system. But I think we do the industry and the technology an injustice if we assume that all gamers care about is gaming and that they don't do anything else with their time. Because our roots have been in creating hardware and software and peripherals, we rely on other companies within the Sony corporation to help enunciate that vision. I think the learning experience through PSP is, "we're the ones who care about it most, and we're the ones who have to drive the message." So we're finding ourselves wearing more hats than we have before.
And I'll be the first to admit that it is not our field of expertise [to explain all of this]. I think creating the technology is something we do well, but explaining the applications of that technology is something we've gotta get better at.
GP: Switching gears here, but there's a topic I've been thinking about: media coverage of the PS3. The example I always give is this: before the launch, Sony was criticized for not meeting supply. But now that it's launched, you can find them in stores and suddenly the critics say PS3 isn't selling out. It almost seems like Sony can't win.
In short, do you think the PS3 is getting a fair shake from the media, particularly internet blogs?
"I apologize in advance if the story takes a while to get from beginning to end."
TRETTON: That's a great question. As I look out at the world in general, leadership comes with a price. People admire leaders, but there's a fair degree of envy, of wanting to see [leaders] stumble. I think you're right: there's a definite case of "you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't" in that the glass is always half-empty.
The good news is, [the criticism] isn't an accurate reflection on the success of the company, or of consumer's satisfaction with the PS3. I think if you talk to the million people who bought the PS3 in North America, you'll find overwhelming satisfaction.
We have a new phenomenon as well in recent years, something we didn't have during the PlayStation or PlayStation 2. And that is everybody is a journalist - if you have a PC, then you're a journalist. There are a lot of people weighing in with opinions who are just individual consumers, a very small and vocal group of consumers, that just want everything for free. I'd love that to be the case, but that's not how the world works.
