Sony: Key PS3 launch titles hit in 2007
Friday 19-May-2006 3:37 PM Exclusive: Sony's David Reeves admits key PS3 launch titles like Heavenly Sword will now appear in 2007
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO David Reeves has revealed several key PS3 launch titles including Heavenly Sword, Formula One and Motostorm, will miss the November 17 launch day on PS3 and now appear in 2007.
However, Reeves also revealed that the company plans to cast a wide net during the initial PS3 launch window, saying that "for the first time we are not going to go just for hardcore gamers".
Speaking exclusively to CVG at E3, Reeves explained that Sony is "going to have a portfolio of social gaming" for the launch window, Singstar and EyeToy an integral part of this battleplan. It's not clear whether Singstar on PS3 will be out on launch day, but it'll hit "certainly before Christmas", said Reeves, with "an EyeToy one [game] after Christmas". He added: "EyeToy is not playable at the moment, but it will come before March 2007."
Advertisement😛recisely which PS3 titles will actually be available on launch day remains a mystery however, although Reeves told us that Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man "will certainly be a launch title". Worryingly, he said that Heavenly Sword, one of the PS3 titles at E3 that actually impressed people, won't hit until "after Christmas", as will the new Formula One game plus off-road racer Motorstorm.
Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kazuo Hirai has assured gamers that Sony expects as many as 15 games to launch with the PS3. So, er, going by the social gaming aspect, that's Resistance: Fall of Man and 14 versions of head-to-head Carol Vorderman's Sudoku then.
Anyway. Despite Sony's pledge to reach a broad audience with PS3 during its launch window, Reeves admitted that appealing direct to the hardcore games playing fraternity will quickly become vital for the company in the next-gen console war.
"Without being too arrogant about it, I don't think we worry too much about building up the hype in the first six months, but where the rubber hits the road is going to be when all those hardcore gamers have bought PS3", said Reeves. "They have also bought Xbox 360 and they have probably bought Nintendo Wii as well."
However, Reeves maintained that shifting PS3s in the early days won't be a problem, such is the strength of the PlayStation brand: "We have built up a certain brand equity over time since the launch of PlayStation in 1995 and PS2 in 2000 that the first five million are going to buy it, whatever it is, even it didn't have games."
We'll be running our full interview with David Reeves next week. Keep 'em peeled for the full PS3 monty.
