GamePro Exclusive: Sony's Phil Harrison Tells All on PS3, Peter Moore, Nintendo Wii
May 12, 2006 @ 2:13pm
Summary:
In an exclusive interview with GamePro editor Bro Buzz, Sony's resident PlayStation 3 expert, Phil Harrison, touches on a variety of topics: Xbox exec Peter Moore's praise for the Nintendo Wii, pricing for PS3 games and hardware, and rumors concerning the
Full Text:
GamePro editor Bro Buzz had the opportunity to sit down with Sony executive Phill Harrison. The two industry veterans spoke about a wide range of topics. Here are the key highlights from that conversation, in Harrison's words. Sony fans should take note -- there are quite a few PS3 tidbits revealed in this sprawling, three-page article.
...On Peter Moore's Praise for the Nintendo Wii
Sony's Phil Harrison debuts the PlayStation 3 controller at E3 2006
"I think Peter Moore is exactly right. I think Nintendo will be the second system consumers purchase after PlayStation 3."
"I haven't had a chance to check out the Wii myself, but Nintendo has a great history of innovation and has always done great things for gaming and long may they do so. But as it relates to our strategy they are very much in a different market."
"I know what Peter was getting at with his price point issue but he's not comparing apples to oranges. He's not even comparing the same kind of food products at all. It's clearly a case that PlayStation 3's price is justified by PlayStation 3's value. That's what consumers base their purchasing decisions on -- value."
Frankly, I'm amazed that we can [sell the PS3] so cheaply.
"What we have in addition to a great game system is a Blue Ray player, a network platform, a new controller, and HDD in every system combined in an unbelievably compelling package. And frankly I'm amazed that we can do it so cheaply."
...On the Differences Between the 20- and 60-GB PS3 Models
"The main differences are the 60 gig drive and the 20 gig drive in terms of disc storage. The 20 gig has HD component rather than HDMI. The 60 gig machine has additionally memory card slots on it, which are great for archiving photo and other content. But the 20 gig machine has USB ports so you can get all the functionality with external devices."
...On Whether the 20-GB PS3 Will Fully Support Blu-Ray
The $599 60 GB PS3 (top) looks different from the $499 20 GB PS3 (bottom)
"That seems to be a misunderstanding and I'm happy to clear that up. Both machines have Blue Ray disc as standard. Both machines play Blue Ray disc movies as standard. Both machines will play Blue Ray disc movies as HD. The only difference is that the high end machine uses a more convenient digital interconnect called HDMI which is a digital standard and the 20 gig unit uses HD component which is an analog standard. The picture quality is fantastic."
"The end user will not notice any quality difference. Perhaps if you were projecting onto a gi-normous screen you might notice some difference, but also not every HD display has HDMI. So we're providing a choice to the consumer."
"Both versions will support 1080p."