Harrison tells everyone to “calm down”

In the aftermath of GDC 2007, Sony Worldwide Studios chief Phil Harrison called for PlayStation 3 owners in PAL regions to calm down regarding the issue of backwards compatibility and expressed his confidence that the PS3 will dominate once more.

Harrison reminded everyone that backwards compatibility has always been important to Sony and that it will always be part of their strategy. He reiterated earlier statements that even if the Emotion Engine is removed from PAL PS3’s, software emulation combined with hardware methods will enable a growing number of PS2 games to be played on their next gen console.

“it’s important to remember that the PS1 catalogue remains unchanged, and definitely, March 23, we expect over 1000 titles to be playable for PlayStation 2. Within that list is the vast majority of games you would want to play,” says the Sony stalwart.

He also expressed faith in the Blu-ray disc technology, saying that what happened when DVD’s took over is quite likely to have a similar effect in the case of the PS3. He noted that the innovations that Sony is making will help the medium grow and as it proliferates, consumers will see the true value of the PS3.

Harrison adds “I only have to remind myself of what it was like in the HMV store near my office in London when we launched the PS2. There were 16 aisles of VHS, and one aisle of DVD. Within a few weeks that had almost completely inverted, and I imagine it will be the same with Blu-ray disc.”

However, he did concede that all the major players in this console war have their goals and niches. Confronted with predictions of analysts that the market shares of the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 will be more evenly distributed this time, Harrison said “yes. I think that there have always been different market shares depending on the region, and I think we’ve always seen that in the history of PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2.”

The Sony boss was quick to put the spotlight back on his turf, however, as he concluded “certainly, in parts of the world where PlayStation is most successful, to a certain extent it defines the videogame market – and that will continue.”

Via Games Industry

In the aftermath of GDC 2007, Sony Worldwide Studios chief Phil Harrison called for PlayStation 3 owners in PAL regions to calm down regarding the issue of backwards compatibility and expressed his confidence that the PS3 will dominate once more.

Harrison reminded everyone that backwards compatibility has always been important to Sony and that it will always be part of their strategy. He reiterated earlier statements that even if the Emotion Engine is removed from PAL PS3’s, software emulation combined with hardware methods will enable a growing number of PS2 games to be played on their next gen console.

“it’s important to remember that the PS1 catalogue remains unchanged, and definitely, March 23, we expect over 1000 titles to be playable for PlayStation 2. Within that list is the vast majority of games you would want to play,” says the Sony stalwart.

He also expressed faith in the Blu-ray disc technology, saying that what happened when DVD’s took over is quite likely to have a similar effect in the case of the PS3. He noted that the innovations that Sony is making will help the medium grow and as it proliferates, consumers will see the true value of the PS3.

Harrison adds “I only have to remind myself of what it was like in the HMV store near my office in London when we launched the PS2. There were 16 aisles of VHS, and one aisle of DVD. Within a few weeks that had almost completely inverted, and I imagine it will be the same with Blu-ray disc.”

However, he did concede that all the major players in this console war have their goals and niches. Confronted with predictions of analysts that the market shares of the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 will be more evenly distributed this time, Harrison said “yes. I think that there have always been different market shares depending on the region, and I think we’ve always seen that in the history of PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2.”

The Sony boss was quick to put the spotlight back on his turf, however, as he concluded “certainly, in parts of the world where PlayStation is most successful, to a certain extent it defines the videogame market – and that will continue.”

Via Games Industry