During my time down in Los Angeles I, along with fellow staffer Trevor H, had a chance to sit down with the Matt Levitan from Sony Canada to chat about Sony's showing at the new and improved E3. Our discussion took place in behind Sony's large gaming booth where attendees were satisfying their need for anything PlayStation by playing such games as Uncharted 2, God of War III, Ratchet and Clank, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, as well as the new PSP Go hardware with Gran Turismo Mobile and the new Metal Gear Solid to name a few. To make the interview unstandable, I will use the names of those who were speaking. So read on to hear a few thoughts on what Matt had to say about the PS3, PlayStation Go, the PlayStation Network, and anything else we could think of.

* Editors Note – Pics are from personal camera as well as press material from Sony.

KIRBY Y: I made a bet with a fellow editor at GameBoyz. Their belief was that the PS3 was going to announce a price drop during the press conference; however I was not of the same belief. My thoughts that were the rumored (before Press Conference) games would be a major selling point. I also believed that, from my research on the internet, Sony is close, but not yet at the point, of making the hardware cheaper and they are not quite yet at the break even point. Will this lack of announcement hurt the momentum that the PS3 seems to have lately?

MATT: Our goal is to continually focus on the value aspect of the PS3 including such things as the available, and upcoming, software, built in HDD, Wireless, Blu-ray, and free online. We believe that the value of the product is there at $399. The hardware is not cheap to make at this point and the retail price is reflecting the cost that it takes to make such a product which does make is difficult to announce a price drop at this point. There may come a time in the future, such as 6 months or even a year, where we decide to announce a price drop, but at this point with the software out on the shelves, and those that we announced at here [at E3], as well as what is in the box, we believe that the PS3 is good value for the price.

KIRBY Y: I have noticed a greater emphasis on the PlayStation Network and how they seem to be offering more games and such. Do you see a greater impact for the PlayStation Network and how it can support the PS3?

MATT: Absolutely. You see the $20 Million dollar titles that have to go on a Blu-ray due to the amount of content and work that is included, such as God of War III. Then you can see games like Trash Panic or Gravity Crush that have relatively small development teams and much smaller budgets (e.g. $150,000). These types of games cannot survive on store shelves and placement on such, let alone the smaller price (9 - 15 dollars). These games are a compliment to existing bigger titles and have a great place to go on the PlayStation Network. People are downloading content, be it Rock Band Tracks or downloadable content (full games). There will always be a need for physical content, such as Blu-rays, but there is a need for the PS Network and the two can coexist quite harmoniously.

KIRBY Y: Last year's tour of your E3 demo room provided me with a glimpse of how aggressive Sony was at acquiring original IP's for the PlayStation Network in terms of the types of games that were there. Has this continued or has Sony amped this up even more?

MATT: There are a lot of good shows where publishers can find great Indie talent, that is how they found Jonathan Mack who created Everyday Shooter, and we have a team of people who head out to search and find talent like this. Game like Flow, Flower or Echochrome are all creative and different from titles offered on Blu-ray and offer up great value given you can play some of these titles for hours for such a small price. We will keep searching out titles like this for the PS network.

KIRBY Y: What about the PSP Go? I know that from the press conference that the two separate PSP SKUS (3000 and Go) are meant to compliment one another, but won't consumers still get confused. The Go is meant for the tech savvy guy or girl while the PSP 3000 allows for UMD use, but with the ability to download the digital format. Do you really think that consumers will be able to differentiate the two separate types in terms of use, and have you made sure that your target advertising is aimed at who it needs to be?

MATT: I don't believe that this will confuse people as the two SKU's are going to go in separate directions. Look at the summer marketing that will happen during the summer months for the PSP 3000. We are launching a lilac version of the unit; we will be launching and advertising the Hannah Montana Game, Rockband, etc. We want to take the PSP 3000, who we have traditionally aimed at the hardcore 18-24 year old market and get it into the hands of the younger crowd. We really have not had software that is particularly aimed at that crowd. The PSP Go on the other hand should be welcomed by the early adopters of the regular PSP as they are aware of its capabilities and they appreciate how to download music from the internet and how to download files from one device to another. They are pretty educated on that stuff and already appreciate what the PSP hardware is capable of. The price is also another factor too. The PSP Go is 80 dollars more expensive, but they know why they are paying the 80 dollars more such as the 16 GB memory, built in microphone, the bluetooth capabilities, and of course the stylish redesign. They know that they are getting their monies worth.

KIRBY Y: During the press conference Jack Tretton noted how their still exists a wide array of PS3 exclusive games on the PlayStation Console. How important are exclusive games in this day and age for the PS3?

MATT: Games of this nature are still important, but I think our philosophy of acquiring such has changed over the past four years or so. In the PSone and PS2 days it used to be going out with a bag full of money and offering it up to the developer who you wished to have make exclusive games for your console. It is my belief that this does still go on a bit by other camps, as evidenced how Microsoft has acquired and then eventually released specific studios (e.g. Bungie). Sony on the other hand has gone in the other direction as we have put a lot of money and attention into our internal worldwide teams and that is how we have games like Gran Turismo and God of War as we have spent the money and resources to build up the teams and their available resources allowing us to make our own exclusive games. Today 3rd Party developers have a bottomline to make profitability, so making multiplatform games are understandable. Our only true exclusive game will come from ourselves with the exception of a game here or there like Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy XIV online.

KIRBY Y: The game Agent is an an exclusive title being developed by RockStar North, and most recently they have had a game that was well received on not only the PS3 but the Xbox 360 as well. How important is this game to Sony?

MATT: I would tell you if I knew more about it. For two or three months there was speculation that RockStar North was making a game exclusive for PS3. It was only up until the last couple of weeks or so that we were fully aware of what was happening including the game's name and logo. I would have you ask RockStar about it, but they are not at this year’s show, so unfortunately you cannot do so. I think the game is a long time away given that there is not even any footage of the game. That being said, I think that the game is a "Tip of the Hat" to Sony given how Rockstar built the GTA franchise on PS2 and that they and they recognise the momentum that the PS3 currently has.

KIRBY Y: In terms of the PS2 there is still a market for it. What audience is the PS2 really being focused at this juncture in time?

MATT: In Canada the installed base of the PS2 is around 4 million or so and this equates to about one PS2 in every 2.5 or 3 households. That is pretty impressive. Where we are at now is that the cost is $109 Canadian and there are around 100 titles coming out this year. It seems to be really geared towards the casual gamer at this time. When I personally get asked by people what console they should buy, I ask them what games they want to play. When the answer is games like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, then the PS2 is really geared to this crowd. For 109 bucks and all you want to play is these types of games like this, or even Madden or NHL, these games will still be released on the PS2. It is a console where the family can come together and play games for 100 dollars less then it nearest competitor. To say that it is still selling amazingly well to this date is pretty impressive and I think that the installed base worldwide is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 100 million. I'd be surprised if any console could match that.

TREVOR H: Do you ever envision an end date, or a time when the PS2 will run its course?

MATT: At some point there will have to be. But how far it is who knows. Will it be 2010, we can't answer that. Jack Tretton says that the only way for the PS2's life to end is when we stop supporting it. When we tell 3rd parties we are still selling so many a week they keep making games. Go into a Wal-Mart and see the shelf space of budget orientated titles out. In today's economic market there is a great value to buying these games on this console.

TREVOR H: Do you envision the same path for the PS3? It was heralded as the 10 year console from the start and it seems to be that it is right on track.

MATT: When we say thing things like this we mean it and it seems like we once again have done what we said.

KIRBY: Economic and gaming analysts have stated that due to the current economic condition this current generation of consoles will last longer then the usual life cycle. This is due to such things as the money to Research and Develop a new console, as well as the consumer’s lack of funding to be buying a new console in the usual five year cycle. What do you think about this?

MATT: I think that this works to our benefit at this point. Developers are almost starting to max out the Xbox 360, and the Wii has already shown it's cards as it is not a graphics machine but it is based on the functionality of the controller. In terms of the PS3 there is still more that can be done or said, so if we see all of these consoles for another 3, 5, or 7 years then the PS3 will gauge the best. The Blu-ray penetration in the next three years is set to continue to grow with the HDTV/DTV penetration and people are putting more money into their home entertainment.

If I could look back at the PS2, we did not have titles like God of War II or Shadow of the Colossus until year 6, 7, 8, 9. So if history repeats itself, software will continue to come out way after the usual time. We have built the PS3 to be somewhat a long term machine given the Blu-ray, the HDD, and the powerful Cell processor.

KIRBY Y: Some of Game-Boyz staffers were at an undisclosed developer and they insinuated that they were starting to use the PS3 as the lead SKU in development of some of their games. Do you see this being more prevalent at this juncture in its lifecycle?

MATT: It was easy for developers to develop for the 360 and then port over to the PS3 given that they had the tools for a longer period and they had already learned to develop games for the 360, but then they seemed to learn that they were doing the PS3 crowd a disservice given what the PS3 is, or even then was, capable of. Developers now understand what it takes to develop for the PS3 machine as they have had the tools for awhile and understand the architecture. They are "getting their feet wet" so you are starting to see a reversal of this notion of the 360 being the lead SKU. We are getting exclusive content for the PS3 (e.g. Batman: Arkum Asylum Joker). Developers are using the PS3 as their lead SKU so they are putting forth exclusive content given they are making a game with the PS3 SDK being the lead tools.

KIRBY Y: During my time time walking around the show floor I noticed that the advertising for Assassins Creed 2 has no branding on the bottom of the banners. The rumour mill around the show floor is that some believe that this title might become a PS3 exclusive title. There was no showing of the game at Microsoft's Press Conference and it was shown at the PS3 press conference. Of course Splinter Cell: Conviction is an Xbox 360 exclusive, so some believe that this might be a trade off as each console gets an Ubisoft made game exclusive to their own platform.

MATT: I have heard that rumour on the floor too. When the original Assassins Creed was first announced it was announced as a PS3 exclusive but it did not end up happening as it was released on the Xbox 360 as well. I am somewhat speculating here, but I am wondering if that if in negotiations, as we did not get the original as an exclusive, that this might be the case for Assassins Creed 2, but again this is speculation based on what these rumours may or may not be. I would love to see this happen as Assassins Creed 2 is an awesome franchise and to experience the game in Renaissance Italy is an experience we are not use to seeing and the environment and gameplay is something that we are not use to seeing.

KIRBY Y: In terms of Sony's Online Model, do you foresee anything changing in the near future. Online is free, Home is free, the PlayStation Network is free too. There is the ability to download free content and pay for any other that you may want. Will we see a change in this philosophy?

MATT: We have no plans to change it, nothing that we have been told. We ask consumers to spend $400 dollars for a PS3 and after they make that investment we want them to have everything in that box on day one and not have to spend another penny if they choose not too allowing their experience not to change given what they bought. It has always been our interest to ensure the money you spent on the Sony hardware is all you need to spend to get a great gaming experience and play with your friends online, go to Home, and download content from the PlayStation Store.

TREVOR H: God of War III, Uncharted 2, it is obvious that these titles are going to be big hits. I am wondering what you see as those games that are dark horses or diamonds in the rough? What are the games that you see as being the titles that gamers may be underestimating or not expecting to be big titles?

MATT: I was happy to hear the applause and the 'hoorah' if you will for Heavy Rain even though it was just shown for split second given we did not have a break out section for it. It is something unique and different for the console. We have a lot of first person shooters, we have platform games, and there are a lot of genres that are populated. Heavy Rain is very different as it is an M rated psychological thriller that I think will be a sleeper as the story is so strong and it will take some people by surprise in terms of the types of control as it is not just a series of QTE's and context scenarios as you actually get to control one of four characters through the game. You can walk with them and explore various types of crime scenes, learn more about the killer, and the game is built in such a way that if one of the four main characters dies the game continues. Some games claim “well, if you make a decision here the game branches off in another direction” and have very few endings. Heavy Rain can branch off in many different ways given the choices you make and the consequences that occur. I am also a big fan of Shadow of Colossus, and I think that Last Guardian should do well. Overall we have a wide selection in our library that makes everything stand out.

KIRBY Y: Last question - What do you want everyone to learn from Sony at E3 2009?

MATT: Good question. We have the best games. I would really dial it back to that. We did not make any price announcements; obviously the PSP Go is a really incredible piece of technology. We really want people to know that we make the best games I would hang my hat on Uncharted 2, MAG, GT5, and God of War III. As Jack [Tretton] put it, these games are only on PS3 and only possible on the PS3, and I think that point needs to be readdressed because whether it is the cell processor, HDD or Blu-ray these games are only possible on the PS3 due to these features. I know that my schedule is going to be full not this holiday season, not only with first party, but third party games as well. Keeping the good software coming is the key to our momentum.

KIRBY Y: Thank you for your time.