Phil Elliott
08:00 (BST)
22/07/2008
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Getting Home right is "important" for PS3 - and SCE
PlayStation Home is "important enough of an initiative for the [PlayStation 3] platform and for SCE" to warrant taking as much time as is needed in order to come up with a "fun service" at launch.
That's according to Sony Computer Entertainment president and group CEO Kaz Hirai, who told GamesIndustry.biz that the company was committed to "doing it for the right reasons".
When asked if he was concerned that the product might become something of an anticlimax after such a long period of hype and anticipation, Hirai was bullish: "Well I would put it the other way around," he said.
"Because we got so much buzz, had we launched it before we thought it was the right time and the right features and functionality to launch it - with the high anticipation, people would go there in droves the first time around, they would check it out and say, 'This isn't fun at all, so I'm not coming back again.'"
And Hirai is happy to take the flak for delaying the open beta of of Home: "Okay, we've been dinged, I've been personally dinged many times," he said, "But if I know we're doing it for the right reasons and that once we launch the service this Fall it's going to be something that the consumers once they go there see that it's actually going to be a fun service, that to me is a lot better than doing it the other way around.
"I've said this on many occasions, and right now we're aiming for a Fall open beta programme, but no beta should be opened before its time, and it's important enough of an initiative for the platform and for SCE, that we don't want to prematurely launch it and then be dinged for having a bad service."
The full GamesIndustry.bizinterview with Kaz Hirai is available now.
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