The Future of PlayStation Revealed!

In an overlooked interview originally posted last month on the Irish channel of the official PlayStation website, SCEE president and COO David Reeves speaks openly about the company's key plans for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. The article has now been removed. This is not a joke, and dammit, it's no 'late' April Fool either.

PlayStation 3

Sony is to release two different versions of its next generation games console. PlayStation 3, according to Reeves, will come as a home server PSX-style device, alongside a gaming-only version at a significantly cheaper price point - clearly exposing Sony's strategy to be the company that wants both markets - the games-only customers and the massive 'converged' media delivery audience - all to itself.

PlayStation 3 will share more than a little DNA with Sony's PSX

"There might be a normal PS3 for gamers, who just want to play the movies and have better games" explained Reeves, citing the market of those who want to pay "200 Euros for a new generation games machine".

He then stated that PS3 will be "intrinsically linked with PSX" and that there would be a "home server" version, offering "all-singing, all-dancing features with maybe a hard disk drive", retailing for "whatever it might be, 600 or 700 Euros." The high-end product would effectively be the successor to PSX. It would be the media delivery box of justice that Sony is determined to get under your TV in the near future.

Reeves also spoke frankly about electronic content distribution as the company's "ultimate goal", a strategy that will today be shaking retailers of ALL electronic entertainment products around the world to their very core.

To facilitate it, Reeves said "it's going to have to be 2MB or 3MB, something like that. Ken [Kutaragi - PlayStation overlord] is even talking about 30MB! And when it gets to that, then it is broadband distribution, and people then can just download whatever game they want." This isn't exactly surprising - but it's the first time Sony has spoken about it so bluntly.

PlayStation Portable

Moving on, and Reeves also spoke about the anticipated PSP format, revealing that "games will probably come out with no regional coding" although films are still likely to be region locked. "I think [Hollywood] will come up with quite a few surprises, so that you'd want to buy a movie on UMD as well as having it on DVD. Maybe."

PlayStation Portable: You want it, and so do we.

He added: "It's not, as people have said, a new Game Boy. There are so many other features that you can add onto it, whether it's GPS or GPRS even."

Speaking on the hot subject of the development side of things, he said: "Emulators are out, and I think dev kits will probably go out in March or April - the full dev kits, with analysers and things like that.

A vital spec increase was also revealed: "It will have 30MB of RAM, now, which it didn't have before."

Speaking of the concept model: "I think it was made of fibreglass or something like that. I honestly don't know if it'll look like that or not." Interesting, since other sources have said that it was merely a "drawing" made by Ken Kutaragi.

Contrary to comments made at last week's GDC, Reeves placed PSP's power in between that of PS1 and PS2, suggesting that developers "who get an early start - probably someone like Square - will take it beyond PS2."

PStwo

Finally, Reeves also touched on a scaled down PS2, the PSone style unit that has been expected for some time, especially since 'PStwo' was trademarked by Sony. But it was the first time Sony has spoken about its existence, not to mention so matter-of-factly.

He said that Sony's E3 showing may well offer new hardware in addition to PSX and PSP. "Something we haven't talked about, is that we made a change from PlayStation to PSone, so we may, in the course of time, make some cosmetic changes to PlayStation 2 and come out with something that's a little bit sexier, but probably no changes to specs or anything like that."

Come Again?

This sensational leak will either land Mr. Reeves' rear at the end of Kutaragi's foot for speaking so brazenly about top-secret plans for entertainment industry domination - or see a few staff from the official PlayStation website thrown onto the street... or, everyone will forget about it and pretend it never happened.

Sony's UK PR department has been unavailable to address the matter all day, but we'll be sure to let you know how they explain this one first thing next week.

While Microsoft executives last week spoke about the Xbox 2 and XNA strategy being software driven, giving consumers "choice", and even taking a pop at Sony in the process, Sony's strategy will clearly be hardware driven.

But mark our words: ultimately, both companies are fighting for the same thing - the place under your TV; the battle to provide you with a media delivery box that does everything. This is no secret, both companies have admitted it.

And that's what makes the imminent showdown so jolly exciting.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com