Harrison: Blu-ray Vital For PS3, Better Integrated Than DVD On PS2

Author: by Brandon Sheffield, Staff

Talking to Gamasutra in an extract from an interview to be published in full on Monday, Sony executive Phil Harrison has been discussing the PlayStation 3's use of the Blu-ray next-gen optical disc format, revealing Sony's thinking behind its relatively audacious bundling tactics. When asked: "Do you think that Blu-ray will be as important to the PS3 as DVD was to the PS2, or is it a slightly different scenario?", Harrison was clear in his initial reply: "I think that Blu-ray Disc as a movie format is vital for PlayStation 3, but it's more necessary as a game format." He continued of the Blu-ray format: "We need that storage space. You know from talking to developers who know what the demands are for next-generation games, in terms of storage space. They are having to compromise on other systems in order to fit their games onto DVD." The president of Sony's Worldwide Studios organization then commented, in frank style: "I think what the difference between PS2 as a DVD player and PS3 as a Blu-ray Disc player -- and I'm going to get shot for saying this -- but on PS2, we didn't make the best DVD player. On PS3, it's the best Blu-ray Disc player. So that is a big difference." His conclusion: "I think as Blu-ray Disc as a format starts to gain greater momentum, more consumer electronics devices coming out at lower prices you're going to see the Best Buy effect -- growing out more space to the category in their stores. You're going to see more racks dedicated to Blu-ray Disc movies in retail stores as well." The full interview with Sony's Phil Harrison will be posted on Gamasutra on Monday, and will commence a series of interviews conducted at GDC which will see notable figures at Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and a host of leading developers talking to the site about their projects.