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Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 18
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PlayStation-branded gaming phone would be coming by Christmas
The Sony Ericsson gaming boss, Peter Ahnegard, said that a PlayStation-branded gaming phone would be coming by Christmas. He also added that it might not be this Christmas, which probably pissed whoever he was talking to off to no end.
Sony Ericsson, who've already branded their W-line of phones the Walkman line, the K-line of phones the Cyber-shot line, and some random Japanese line the Bravia line, can easily brand another line (G, maybe, since P is taken) the PlayStation line. It doesn't even need games other than the mobile ones that already exist for their cellphones, which run just fine on SE's higher-end hardware. [Gizmodo]
Interview to Peter Ahnegard in Pocketgamer.co.uk:
"...So when is the PlayStation phone coming?
I've been waiting for that one! To explain our position I need to look at the brands we've developed so far, in particular the Cyber-shot and Walkman phones. When we looked at all the assets we could muster for music and imaging the services, downloads and overall proposition, we felt that we could create something that really lived up to the values of the brand and fill all the required boxes. We're not launching a brand of handset simply because we can, but because we can lead up to the expectations of the consumer.
Up until today we haven't felt we could launch a PlayStation phone because it wouldn't be recognised as a true continuation of that brand of products.
Up until today? So does that mean we can look forward to a PlayStation branded handset soon, say before Christmas?
It's obviously something that we're looking at but right now I can't really comment. Before Christmas, certainly... but exactly which Christmas I can't confirm!
Okay then we'll leave it at that for now, but what about your vision for the future of mobile gaming?
What I really want to see – and I guess this is as much my own personal vision – is that mobile gaming is able to leverage the success of what happens in the PC/console markets. By this I don't think that we'll have a miniature version of Battlefield or World of Warcraft, but rather to integrate with these communities and offer something different.
The truth is that if you're at home and have access to other hardware, the mobile is a secondary gaming device. Maybe this is different if you're on a bus or even in some emerging markets where console penetration isn't very high but for the west, at least, it's true.
With this in mind, I believe we should take small steps and offer small mobile gaming services that tie into existing communities. The WoW trading house is an oft-cited example where this element of the game is distinct from the actual action. Lkewise, I see a similar level of admin that could be fulfilled over mobile whilst you're travelling home – imagine training characters or organising your armies in preparation for launching into battle when you step into your house. There's also the prospect of showcasing, taking characters, elements and achievements from your games and showing them off with friends at the bar.
Ultimately I see mobile communities as connecting with these existing worlds rather than competing with them.
That's an interesting perspective. So do you think mobile can be a primary gaming device?
Of course, mobile casual games will exist and always be requested by consumers and they will continue to offer great gaming entertainment in their own right. After all, at the end of the day it's not fantastic graphics or realistic physics that are essential to gameplay, as Tetris has proved, it's the fundamental rules of the game and how much fun it is to play with them.
Okay, but what we're saying is that the mobile handset has the potential to be a unique gaming device in its own right. In the same way the Wii has a funky controller and DS has a touchscreen, the mobile has a whole range of interesting functions that could be called upon, such as speech input, cameras.
That's certainly true, but we have to face the fact that every time a new gamer sits down with a mobile phone he has expectations born predominantly from PC and console games. Those expectations for both consumers and developers cannot be wiped away. In some respects the developers and publishers have to play safe and try to play to these expectations, which obviously doesn't help with innovation.
That said, I do think we have to start with a clean sheet. Look at the functions and limitations of the format, a particular screen size, camera and ask what type of games would be fun to run on this platform? As part of that we need to support the developers and innovation to provide support and opportunities to preload innovative titles onto devices to show what can be done. For instance, we have a new handset with an accelerometer. Essentially, this was so the handset could be used as pedometer, but there's an embedded game that makes use of it in a really cool way. Of course, this is just one handset and so there won't be tons of games on decks doing this.
Whilst we're talking of innovation, what do you think will make an impact and be exciting in the next 12 months?
During 2008, hopefully we will see something happen to connected games and this is definitely something I'm really really excited about. And I don't just mean high-score or sharing goals with friends, but opening up the possibility for whole new types of games.
Of course, there are barriers here that need to be solved, there's a lack of standards and nobody's really driving it just yet, but we're certainly excited about the potential and happy to support this if someone takes the initiative.
The same is true for location-based games. GPS is becoming more common than it has been previously and this again opens the potential to really create totally unique mobile gaming experiences. Imagine, for instance, a quest that was integrated with your established console game, which asked you to go out into the world and collect something from a particular place to bring back to your game.
And from the hardware side? What can consumers expect to see from Sony Ericsson in the next 12-24 months?
Well, as I said at the start, hardware is advancing incredibly fast. In two years I'd expect to see something like a Pentium 2 1GHz processor and memory of 60Gb in your handset. We will also see more 3D hardware acceleration with dual-purpose chipsets that enhance gaming and streaming video. Obviously this is likely to open the door to bigger games, either preloaded or side-loaded games. In South Korea, we're already preloading games of around 30Mb.
When it comes to connection, 3G will be the absolute basic, HSDPA is next and this opens the door to advanced connected games. Beyond that, I'm sure there'll be lots of interesting new features and gadgets coming to phones and you can be sure that whenever we see a new feature, we'll always be asking what sort of game can we make for this?..."
Last edited by Aberracus : 08-28-2007 at 11:32 PM.
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