Hirai Talks PlayStation News

Despite Sony reducing the manufacturing costs of the PS3 by 70%, the launch of the PS3 Slim will sell at a loss according to an interview in The Times with Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman and CEO Kaz Hirai.

When asked about the costs, Hirai replied:

"If you're just talking about the hardware alone, the quick answer is yes. That makes good headlines, but I don't actually know that that's the true nature of the business that we're all in, whether it's PlayStation, Xbox or the Wii. I think the better indicator is to look at the business as a whole platform, to ask: are you profitable in terms of the hardware, software and peripherals. And the answer to that question is yes on a gross profit level since the last fiscal year.

The PS3 Slim also sports a new logo inline with the changes introduced with PSone and the PS2 Slim.  When the PS3 originally launched much was made of the Spider-Man font, reportedly a personal preference of the Father of PlayStation, Ken Kuturagi.

When asked about the change, Hirai appears to suggest the new font is both more practical from a marketing perspective, but also appears to imply that the change is symbolic of the move away from Kuturagi's original vision behind the PS3.

"We wanted to make sure that we set a new direction for the PS3. The PS logo with the capital P and small S has always been our logo, has always been synonymous with video games and I wanted to reset the thinking.

Also internally I wanted to send the message internally that we are resetting the thinking, going back to our roots. What better way to do it than by resetting the logo? That puts the entire organisation on its toes."

In an apparent attack on Nintendo's strategy, Hirai ascertains that his company will never move away from the traditional, core gamer market.

"Once you increase the installed base you cannot say, OK we're not going to do any more games for the hardcore gamer. You lose them, you lose the whole foundation. A great example is games like God of War. Those games we will continue to do."

Finally, Hirai revealed that Sony are keen to release their motion controller by Spring 2010; perhaps getting a headstart over Microsoft and Project Natal in the process.

"We are slating it for spring of next year. One of the things is that we just don't want to put out the controller. We need a great software that supports the controller at launch. It's something that we've been working on for the longest time."