Interview: Sony's Jack Tretton On Mobile, Movies, And The Future Of PlayStation

Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, during the company's June 4, 2012 press conference. (Image: AFP/Getty)

Forget the triumvirate of television, console and control pad: One of the takeaways of this year?s E3 video game trade show was that mobile devices are invading the living room and disrupting traditional video game setups. Increasingly, tablets and mobile phones are working with consoles and helping consumers take their games on the go.

On June 4, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton ?the man responsible for the company?s PlayStation brand in North America? stood on stage at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and reinforced the point with a series of announcements, including ?cross-controller? play, where selected games can be controlled with Sony?s PlayStation Vita portable instead of a regular gamepad. He also announced that Vita gamers to will be able to square off against PlayStation 3 console players in the new fighting game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, and continued to push ?cloud saves,? which allow users to start a game on the Vita and pick up where they left off on the PS3.

I spoke to Tretton the morning after Sony?s E3 press conference, and we discussed the convergence of mobile and console,?whether games or TV will drive more console sales, and much more. The following excerpts from that conversation are edited for length and clarity.

David Ewalt: Why is it important to integrate the portable and console gaming experiences?

Jack Tretton: There used to be two separate worlds. There were portable gamers, and there were console gamers. But then the world started to merge where some console gamers would come over to portable. And clearly plenty of portable gamers would go on the console. Now, the two working hand in hand? that?s a new thing. And for me it?s great, because I spend a lot more time in portable spaces than I do in front of a console.

What I find lacking in a smartphone or tablet experience is it?s great for 5 or 10 minutes, but if I spend 30 minutes playing a game on a smart phone I get mad at myself. I?m like, ?you wasted time.? You know, it doesn?t feel like I accomplished something. But when I?m using a Vita, putting in a good hour is just about right, and that?s typically about as much time as I have to devote to it.

I like the whole idea that I can put one hour in on the portable, then come back home and continue on the console. It was always frustrating to me that in a game like Tiger Woods or MLB, I had to have two separate experiences. I was so accomplished on the portable version, but not nearly as accomplished on the console, because I had spent so much more time in the portable space. But now they are one and the same.

As the portable device and the console become interlinked,? are you telling people if they?re going to buy into the Sony games ecosystem, they need to have a PS3 and a Vita?

The thing that we always try to avoid doing is sending everybody down a linear path and saying ?You have to do this.? And that applies to every aspect of our gaming. Motion gaming, you want dedicated motion gaming? We?ll give you that. You wanna play Killzone? Somebody may never want to touch the Move controller, somebody else may want to try the Sharp Shooter attachment, somebody may only play with the Sharp Shooter. We don?t want to force people down a path.

I think that?s also true of the portable gaming experience. It depends on what games you?re into, or it depends on how you play and where you spend your time.

It begs the question, ?Wow, isn?t that a big investment for a consumer to buy multiple platforms and multiple games?? Well, if you?re a gamer, a large percentage of those people do just that. And if you can justify owning two consoles, I think it?s very conceivable to justify owning a portable device and a console. But if you?re not a gamer, I think it?s difficult for people to relate to that. And that?s where free games and $0.99 games on a smartphone seem good enough.

But if you say that to a gamer and you read any of those blogs? I mean if you wanna make a million enemies, write an article that says that smartphones and tablets are the future of gaming. And you will get flamed by so many hardcore gamers that you?ll need a security guard out in front of your house.

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