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Almost every week you see an indie game coming out digitally on PS4. Some of them are really, really interesting, beautiful games," he says. "We're fortunate that they're creating games on PS4, and some of them are choosing to launch their console versions on PlayStation first. It's fortunate. It really helps.
"I hear complaints [about the lack of AAA games]. I do realise that some people are only interested in big-budget AAA games. I don't really understand those people. I don't know if they've tried some of the indie games and decided they're not interested. Maybe they haven't even tried. That's a key question. With Resogun, which we offered for free for a long time on PS Plus, not every PS Plus member downloaded it, and that's a great, great game. That's a key question for us."
"I hear complaints [about the lack of AAA games]. I do realise that some people are only interested in big-budget AAA games. I don't really understand those people. I don't know if they've tried some of the indie games and decided they're not interested. Maybe they haven't even tried. That's a key question. With Resogun, which we offered for free for a long time on PS Plus, not every PS Plus member downloaded it, and that's a great, great game. That's a key question for us."
The interview also touches briefly upon PlayStation Now and its potential to push Sony further ahead of the competition.
"We have the vision of bringing hundreds and thousands of PlayStation games to every screen," he says, cautiously. "That's the vision, but we're taking one step at a time. There's investment in the server farm, the tech, internet latency and bandwidth. We have to start from somewhere.
"Wifi is a challenge. Typically, we recommend 5mbps for 720p quality. That's a challenge, especially in some markets. But we also view it as a matter of time, because the infrastructure just gets better and better."
"Wifi is a challenge. Typically, we recommend 5mbps for 720p quality. That's a challenge, especially in some markets. But we also view it as a matter of time, because the infrastructure just gets better and better."
The price of PlayStation Now rentals has been kicking up some dust these past few weeks. Many are begging for a set price subscription model that will let gamers play whatever they want for one monthly fee. Has that been a thought that has crossed the minds over at Sony?
"We don't know yet," he says about the possibility of a Netflix-esque model for PlayStation Now. "We have been saying that we're looking at doing a subscription model, in addition to rental. Or vice versa: rental in addition to subscription. We're calling it a beta still, and we'll call it that even after it launches in the US and Canada at the end of July. It will still be called an open beta, because we expect it to keep changing in many ways. People are jumping to conclusions.
The main issue right now for PlayStation Now isn't the use of WiFi (it works great if you have decent enough speeds to begin with) but the almost outrageous pricing structure of their rentals. As it stands, the rental prices for games offered on PlayStation Now are dictated by the publishers. There is no real set price for anything, so you're essentially left with a wide range of prices, many of which are far too expensive for the amount of time you are given with the game.
It's not like the friends i have on PC who are aware of a huge variety of smaller games, even dabbling with early access experiments or backing projects on kickstarter, they have a wider understanding of the industry, if i ask any of my console friends about the two big upcoming space sims they'll probably ask if it's anything like Mass Effect.