GamePro interviews Sony’s John Kohler regarding the future of the PS3 and PSP.  In the interview Kohler talks about current games and services offered on the platform and where they are headed in the future.

LittleBigPlanet

Kohler believes that LBP will be a title that will have long legs, and that is something that I hope is true. Initially, it may be confusing to some consumers because the advertising hasn’t been all that great at explaining what the game is to the general consumer. With the word of mouth, the game can find it’s way into a lot of homes. If Sony and Media Molecule are able to continue the support and stay in contact with the community the game can only expand from there. Many are speculating, and we will find out today via NPD, that LBP hasn’t been that great of a seller. October NPD showed the game moving 215,000 units in the US. Many were expecting the game to sell much more but that was quickly thrown out the window considering the horrible launch it had. Many speculated a late November launch, bumped up to early November and finalized with a Oct 30 launch date. Some retailers received their fixed copies early, some still didn’t have the fixed copies in the week of the 30th.

Netflix

Sony currently provides a Video store where users can rent and purchase SD/HD movies and TV shows. Unfortunately, Sony believes this is enough for their users as we want to own our content. Providing users with another option of viewing video content surely can’t be bad.  Kohler points out that there is a confusion regarding the service, and it is. To use Netflix on the 360 you must be signed up with a Netflix account that allows unlimited streaming. You must have available memory obviously, and you must have a gold account. Many people believe that just because you have a 360 you can stream Netflix movies but later realize the extra requirements needed to watch. For Sony it should be a bit simpler- Users only need a Netflix account. No worries about available HDD space or memory sticks, and no worries about certain account members needing to access it or feeling left out. Although, I do think Sony is missing out on providing their users with another great experience.

PS2 Download Titles

I can still hear people screaming over PS3’s with no BC and with every tear I hug my 60GB. Kohler says that they are very interested in it. That is great, but are they working on it? They are missing a golden opportunity of pimping out old popular franchises on PSN before their sequels are set to make a release on the PS3.  How many of you would LOVE to place ICO or Shadow Of The Colossus before Team ICO’s next game? How many of you would love to play God of War and God of War II before III hits the shelves? Is Sony waiting for the PS2 to dry up and die? Are they having trouble creating a full software solution to play PS2 games on the PS3?  We just don’t know.

Overall

Sony is looking to bring the PlayStation brand (read PlayStation 3) to profitability or at least to break even but these financial times is making it harder to do.  Sony is still looking to support the PS2 but it seems 3rd parties are moving on from the platform. The PSP is looking to continue on but I hope next year provides more ORIGINAL software instead of ports or rehashes of existing brands. Sony also aims to tie the PSP to the PS3 much more. I just hope that they can make it more known to the general public as for now, no one knows the amazing things the PSP and PS3 can do together.  Maybe I can do my part and help explain it in a future piece.