The PlayStation 4 may have a huge lead over the Xbox One to be #1 this console generation, but Sony sees being ahead of the PlayStation 2 as “almost more important.”
Speaking with The Guardian, PlayStation President Andrew House said he thinks the race between Sony and Microsoft has “reached a point of what I would describe as really healthy competition – and I use the word ‘healthy’ very deliberately.”
Pointing to Xbox Head Phil Spencer’s honesty about their approach, and how complimentary he’s been about them in the past, House said they’re both trying to build a category – Sony with virtual reality and Microsoft with augmented reality. “At the end of the day, there is a shared goal of great experiences for gamers,” he added.
Later in the interview, House talked about being ahead of the PS2:
We remain well ahead of the PlayStation 2 at the same point in its life-cycle. That, to me, is almost more important than market share and rivalry with Microsoft. The question is whether you’re growing the category overall, and whether it is vibrant.
When the PS4 and Xbox One launched in 2013, many people were saying that consoles were dead due to the rise of mobile gaming. Now that both consoles are successful, House says:
What I see in the developer and publisher community is a sense of returned confidence. That translates into something great for the gamer, because if developers are feeling confident that there’s a fan-base that wants their content, then they will tend to take more creative risks. They will feel more comfortable about launching brand-new IP, which I think is the life-blood of the industry.
While the 2015 lineup on PS4 was a little lacking, House notes that it’s usually in the second or third year of a lifecycle where you see developers “really getting into their stride around a new platform.”
Touching on PlayStation Now, House admitted “it took a little bit longer than we’d anticipated” to become successful in the United States. Since E3 though, “It has really started to gain traction.” He says this tipping point has been reached thanks to there being over 200 games available right now.
Overall, Sony sees PlayStation Now as a “long-term play.”
[Source: The Guardian]
