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50 JANUARY 2016
GAMES
After steering the PlayStation business in Australia for 20 years, Sony
Computer Entertainment Australia and New Zealand Managing Director
Michael Ephraim has seen it spoke to him recently about the
success of the PS4 and his thoughts on the upcoming PlayStationVR.
You couldn’t have asked for a better 24
months, Michael?
It’s been fantastic. During the PlayStation 1
days, we were digital rock and roll stars, there
was no Internet, there was no Apple, there was
no Google, there was nothing. So, PlayStation
was pretty big. Over the 20 years we’ve had
technology convergence with different devices
doing different things or similar things, but
this year I think PlayStation has nailed it as far
as what the consumer wants, with what the
machine is capable of doing. Digital growth and
social growth has played to the strengths of
PlayStation.
Without the benefit of hindsight, could you
have possibly foreseen that you’d be in this
position now? Were you pretty confident
going into the launch of PS4?
PS3 was a struggle, even though in Australia,
and launching a year after Xbox 360, we ended
up pretty much on par. So we closed the gap.
We knew it was pretty good but you can’t take
anything for granted until it starts happening. I
think we’ve done a lot of things right and I think
our competitors did a few things wrong, which
helped the cause.
E3 2013?
Monumental moment in time. We knew PS4
was going to be good, but it’s hard to forecast
in this business with next gen devices and
what’s going to happen.
It was a lean period for PS4 titles leading
into Christmas. Did the planets not align in
time?
Look, that’s World Wide Studio’s job and it’s
hard to understand the range and scope of work
they have in front of them. They’ve got to be
planning for PlayStation VR. And it’s been well
documented that
there won’t be first
party support for
Vita anymore – third
parties will be. One
of the main reasons
we're not supporting
Vita anymore is to really
get our studios focused on
PlayStation 4. We’ve always had
very strong collaborations with third parties, and
last year we collaborated with the best. You can
play some third party games first, or more with
exclusive content on PS4. I think we filled the
gap of first party PS4 titles. This year is a whole
different story and we kick off with probably one
of the best games I’ve ever seen, Uncharted 4,
in March.
Talking about PSVR, are you totally
convinced that it’s not just a fad; not just
another 3D television or motion gaming?
VR as a broader category is for real.
Somebody reminded me last night that VR has
been around for over 20 years. When I was with
Sega, we had a VR prototype for boxing games.
So it’s been around a long, long time, but I think
now with PlayStation VR, with the response
we’ve had, I can say this with hand on heart,
every single person that has tried VR has had
the same, ‘Wow, that was amazing’ experience.
I don’t think it’s a fad in any way. I don’t think it
will replace console gaming, I just think it will
just be another way to play. The response of
PSVR has been nothing short of amazing, and
for me being in the industry for 20 years, this is
a quantum leap forward.
It’s certainly a challenge for your
developers...
Yeah. And that’s always the case, even with
a console platform. You’ve got to deliver the
range. Initially the platform heals to the core,
but as the life cycle goes on, price comes
down, then you get games that are more broad
based. So I think we’ll see the same with VR.
Sony are working on some really creative
titles now with a distinct indie feel to them.
Many of the games announced last year
break with traditional triple-A convention,
steering the PS4 in a different direction.
Would you agree with that?
I think we have the triple-As, either
Uncharted or our third parties, but I think the
exciting thing about PlayStation is the innovative
titles. Look at Dreams – if you go back to
LittleBigPlanet, that was pretty amazing; users
have developed like 12 million levels. Dreams
could be a pretty amazing revolution in
gaming like LittleBigPlanet was, in a
way. WiLD , I think is very
interesting; Qantic
Dreams’ new title
Detroit: Being Human
looks incredible.
So triple-As will
always be triple- As,
they will always be
in demand, and they will
always sell in bucketloads. But to
keep the industry – and the PlayStation
vibrant and appealing - I think development
has to keep pushing the boundaries of what
gaming is.
So you think there’s room for these two?
I think again, if we want to appeal to a broad
base and we want to keep people coming back,
you’ve got to keep innovating, and you’ve got
to deliver the triple-A products.
the
veteran
Sony Computer
Australia and
New Zealand
Managing Director
Michael Ephraim
Below: Sony's
PlayStation VR.