14 DAY TRIAL // The PlayStation 3 might be lagging behind its main rival, the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, when it comes to the monthly figures put out by the NPD Group, but at least one executive from Sony is convinced that the hardware platform still has a lot of room to grow.
Jack Tretton, who is the leader of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, has told Fast Company that, “We’re really just hitting our stride, that we’re able to get technology in the box or take advantage of the technology that was there, and really show some fruits of those labours.”
He added, “Things like Move, things like 3D, things like the great games that are currently available. So I really feel like we’re just hitting our stride, and that massive investment we made rolling that rock up the hill with the big financial investment of PlayStation 3, and that technological innovation, is something we’re going to reap dividends on for many, many years.”
Tretton says that “growth mode” is still engaged at his company and that the next fiscal year will be better than the current one.
The executive did not say how much of the growth for the PlayStation 3 was linked to its new three dimensional capabilities or to the Move and how much was linked to exclusive titles like the recent Killzone 3 from Guerrilla Games or Gran Turismo 5 from Polyphony Digital.
After the protections of the PS3 were hacked and the console was exposed to piracy in early 2011, Sony has responded by releasing firmware 3.60 and rumors appeared that the company was actively working on creating a new hardware version of the platform which will include a whole new set of security measures.
In the coming months, Sony's focus will shift towards the handheld market as it prepares to launch the PlayStation Portable 2, also known as the NGP.
Lately company executives have implied that the recent Japanese earthquake might lead to delays for the launch in some territories.