Sony’s Kazuo Hirai Speaks At AsiaD About Mobile Gaming and Apple
Recently, Sony’s Executive Deputy President, Kazuo Hirai, made an appearance at AsiaD for a question-and-answer session regarding the current status of one of the gaming industry’s biggest companies. He discussed the upcoming Sony Vita, 3D television, and Sony PlayStation Suite, the company’s mobile gaming software system.
Hirai also answered some questions about the looming threat of smart phone gaming and Apple’s encroaching on the living room market.
It seems that Sony considers Apple a formidable opponent, but welcomes the challenge. When asked about whether he was worried that Apple TV and other TV players would “[C]ome in and steal thunder with their ecosystem and software sauciness,” Hirai casually responded:
”Everyone is embarking on their own strategy so that they own their own space in the living room. It’s a very competitive market. I have to worry about the content that *we* can bring. How easy is the UI? How great is the experience? Content deals are content deals, but by and large, you’ll do the same deals with the same kinds of providers.”
When asked about the surge in popularity with mobile gaming in general, and smart phone gaming specifically, Hirai had this to say:
“Whether we’re talking about iPods, iPads or Android smartphones, they’ve had an impact on traditional videogames. No question about it. Some of it’s positive — a lot of people who may buy one of those devices, they decide to get into gaming because they end up with one of these devices. The gaming industry as a whole gains customers this way.”
Sony is not turning its back on mobile gaming. The company has created a software framework specifically to address the mobile gaming. It is called PlayStation Suite. PS Suite will bring original PlayStation games to mobile platforms and will run on Android smart phones as well as other PlayStation-certified devices. Hirai said that this move is “[T]o ensure that we’re part of that growth segment.”
[via: Engadget"s LiveBlog of the Interview and AllThingsD]