Sony Computer Entertainment: A shift in focus

Despite the fact that people are still slamming Sony due sheer hatred and anti-fanboy tendencies, I don't really think it makes a difference at this point. Over the past six months or so, Sony has observed the market, observed the competition, observed themselves, and have taken a step or two in a direction that is sure to redeem their image as well as their losses over the next year or so.

One of these steps was, of course, the removal of Ken "Father of the PlayStation" Kutaragi. While Kutaragi may very well be the hardware equivalent of John Carmack and Shigeru Miyamoto, his over-confidence and outright arrogance wasn't exactly doing wonders for the company. The same goes for our good buddy Kaz Hirai, who was also mostly absent from Sony's E3 press conference this year, save for a couple of introductory lines he threw at the audience to set up Phil Harrison's part.

The absence of the devious duo isn't all that has changed about Sony, though. Judging from the interviews they have given all throughout E3 this year, it seems the company's focus has shifted completely to allow for a more "Nintendo-like" structure. This is evidenced even further in a GamesIndustry.biz interview with David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

Speaking to GI.biz about Sony's humbler, more relevant press conference this year, Reeves had some interesting things to say.

Was that humbler approach taken because you think Sony has appeared arrogant in the past?

I think they have. Not deliberately, but at E3 last year and maybe the year before, the presentations they did to a European and a Japanese perspective - yes. To an American perspective - no, because the difference in cultures is you have to go, 'Ra-ra, I'm the best.'

We in Europe, and especially the Japanese, don't necessarily accept that. You have to say, 'We're doing our best, but we're not the best.'

If you ask me, he hit the nail on the head. Europe and Japan are not countries where the marketing of a game is considered more important than the actual product itself, while the Americas are. Considering that the U.S. market is saturated with Xbox 360s, Sony is being most wise to realize the importance of the European and Japanese markets to their company's success.

Moving on to tackle the question of exclusivity, David had an equally interesting response to give.

As you say you've got Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo, and then Microsoft's got the likes of Halo. Then there's this murkiness around titles like GTA IV, where extra content is coming out on 360, and Microsoft is saying 360 is the only place where you can get the full GTA IV experience. Why didn't you get that content?

It's just a question of money. If Microsoft wants to pay USD 50 million just for that... Then I would say they're quite desperate. But as Jack Tretton said, we're really not in the business any more of buying exclusivity. We're more in the business of developing, from Phil Harrison's area, new IPs. We want to move on.

It's too easy to look at and say, 'We must get the GTA franchise.' By the time you've got it the world's moved on, and they'll be talking about some other game. I've got children who are 11 to 15 years old, and those kids are looking forward and not necessarily looking back.

They're the kids who are going to be buying it - the new franchises, but not necessarily the old ones that we signed up to E3 four or five years ago. They're not going to drive the market in the future; it's going to be the new ones.

Once again, an accurate and believable answer. I know this bullshit with the price drop and the 60GB model is annoying the hell out of a lot of people, but at least for the time being, Sony is back in my good books, solely due to the fact that they are more aware of their consumers' needs and their position in the market. Whether or not their humility is faked doesn't really matter ... as long as the gloating is left for long phone calls among their execs back at the office, I'm OK with it.

I'd recommend giving the entire interview a read if you've been feeling particularly spiteful towards SCE of late. Surprisingly, they even had a few good words for Nintendo. The actual, direct rivalry seems to be completely between Sony and Microsoft.