Sony’s Kaz Hirai restated his commitment to back Blu-ray technology in the PS3 was not only a good decision, it was the only one Sony could have made in order to prepare for the conditions that would be needed for next generation gaming. His statements were made in an interview with Blu-ray Today, a Consumer Electronics Show exclusive publication.
Hirai defended Sony’s backing of Blu-ray by stating that next-gen PS3 games, such as Resistance: Fall of Man, could not have been developed on another DVD standard, and that it "simply wouldn’t be possible on any other system without using multiple discs".
He took issue with those who believe that the bigger storage capacity of Blu-ray disks isn’t necessary for next-gen games. "I have heard people say that a high-capacity game delivery vehicle like Blu-ray isn’t necessary in a next generation computer entertainment system. [But] you just can’t expect that 9GBs of storage capacity found on today’s DVDs are going to have enough space to hold tomorrow’s games."
As far as pushing technology to the next level, Hirai feels that Sony did exactly what it had to do in order to remain at the top of their game. He shifted gears and made comparisons between Sony’s strategy and another major console maker, without ever actually naming the company (Nintendo and its Wii): "I suppose if we had simply done a mild upgrade to the PS2 and not pushed the envelope so hard, it would have been easier on ourselves. However, if we did that every time, we wouldn’t be Sony."
In trying to "push the envelope" in advancing the PlayStation game machine to the next level, Sony has encountered numerous problems in manufacturing enough units. Hirai candidly admitted this and said, "I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the difficulties we encountered in the production of the blue laser diode for the PlayStation 3, which ultimately delayed the launch of PlayStation 3. We were asking our teams to develop millions of components for the PlayStation 3, like the Blu-ray Disc player and cell broadband engine that had previously only been produced in the thousands."
Sony has received an enormous amount of criticism for its handling of the production and launch of the PS3. However, the company continues to stay the course and believes that the PS3 will take the lead as the most popular next-gen game console.
