Guest: Sheila Bryson - Sony
Host: Rio Pesino - PodTech

Rio Pesino - PodTech
This is Rio Pesino for PodTech.net. I am here at the Sony Metreon for the Sony PS3 launch party. I am here with Sheila Bryson, Sony Representative. Welcome to the Podcast Sheila.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Hi Rio, thanks very much for being here and for wanting to talk with me today.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Sheila big, big day I mean this is got to be one of the biggest days in gaming history. I mean you got the Playstation 3 coming out in a couple of hours.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Right, right. Midnight, tonight.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
We got the Nintendo we're also coming out later on and we already have the 360 out. Now, go ahead and just tell us a bit about the launch, and what it's all about?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
So, you know it's definitely a big day for gamers everywhere, here at the Playstation store in San Francisco. We also have a big event going on in New York at the Sony Style Store. We're looking at it, definitely we think games are -- the number one focus of the folks here, in line that are waiting to buy the PS3, but there are a lot of other elements in terms of digital entertainment that we think people are going to be excited about as well.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Including the Blu-ray technology.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Including, obviously Blu-ray technology, the cell processor, which plays the huge hand in a lot of the video and features that we have on the PS3. So, there's a lot of technologies involved -- that come together in the PS3 to operate this great system.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
That looks like a lot of gamers outside are looking forward to this system.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
A lot of gamers, yeah.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
How many people out there, do you guys know?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, I think they were looking at about 750 people inline.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
It's a lot of people.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
It's a lot of people, but they're all going to go home happy today.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
So, there's enough systems out there for everybody inline.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
We're really excited. We're going to have a lot of happy people headed home tonight after midnight.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
How many systems are available, can you release that number?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
As I said, everyone in -- that's inline right now here at the Playstation store will be fulfilled, but we don't have the exact number in terms of what's going to be available nationwide right now.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Okay. There was a report that came out that -- I mean you guys came out with number saying its 400,000 available in the US at launch. A recent report came out I think, it was yesterday saying that, that number has reportedly dwindled down to 200-250,000.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah. Unfortunately Rio I don't have that exact number, but definitely we'll keep in touch; but we're still expecting to have lots of people happy over the holiday season though. Stores are going to be replenished on a daily, weekly basis.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
How about the Japan launch, how did that go?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
The Japan launch went really well. We had lots of folks lined up similarly like here today at the Playstation store. I think it's been received very well. So, we're happy to seeing the success there and to be sort of drafting on that here in the States.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Right, right. Okay. Sheila let's stop with the numbers here and let's get to the system.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
I know really -- you know that sort of what today is about, we're here to celebrate the launch and to give the consumers what they've been waiting for. So, I'd want to transition that into showing the system and answering any questions that you have in mind.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Sure. Right. We're in front of one of the Playstation 3 systems, right now we're going and chilling its going to fired up in a...

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah sure.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
So, what's going on here? Right now we're at the title screen right?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, the title screen. So, this is what we're calling the Cross Media Bar, and you'll see in a lot of our materials that the acronym for Cross Media Bar is XMB. Anybody who's used the PSP in the past will find that this user interface is really...

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Basically the same thing right.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, it's the same format you scroll through using your SIXAXIS Controller, which Rio as you know, is the new controller that's launching today along side the PS3.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Now, let's talk about that real quick before we continue on the SIXAXIS Controller, how important are the features, is that going to be with the PS3? Is that going to be implemented into all the games?

Rio Pesino - PodTech
It will be. It's a really important feature, its something that our game developers have given us really great feedback on in terms of being able to add different functionality with characters and game play, with NBA 07, it definitely plays a role with resistance and also with third party titles, Call of Duty, for example, when you tilt the controller you're actually doing a Rifle Butt. So, there's a lot of opportunity for developers, to really incorporate the functionality of the SIXAXIS Controller into their planning in terms of developing their titles.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Okay.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
So, I am just going to show you some of the, what we call, beyond gaming features of the PS3. So, I am going to take you to, our network section, and here's where we have our Internet browser which is, proprietary technology into Playstation and within -- unfortunately we're not connected, but within the Internet browser you can have up to six windows tiled at the same time, which a lot of users are excited to take advantage of that put things like fantasy football games.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
What are my personal favorites?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Want to hear what are Rio's personal favorites.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
A PlayStation Store.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
The PlayStation Store.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
That's right, this is something that not much hasn't been said about. So, this would be good to go over.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah. So, we're really exited about launching the Playstation store. There is going to be a lot of free content available on day one in terms of trailers for movies, (Inaudible) movies, trailers for our first party's titles. And content is going to be added on a daily basis. We also have a number of downloadable games that are available at launch. One of my personal favorites is called, "Blast Factor" and Blast Factor is its very arcade like, it's really like you're fighting germs and you're in a petridish and you get to use the Sixaxis Controllers, Motion Sensing, to tilt the petridish. So, that's one of the downloadable games that will be available at launch.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
But as if now how many games total?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
I believe we have five games total.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Five games.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah. Five or six, but I mean these are -- very low manpower require to develop these games. So, they're going to be offered very, very frequently. So, there's going to be new content, a lot of new content all the time. Whenever someone, who visits the Playstation Store. Some other things about the Playstation store, that your listeners might find of interest in terms of rental controls. You can -- parents will be able to enter their kid's age and when they're on the Playstation Store, we will only show content that is inline with their ESRB Rating. So, that's kind of a cool thing and parents are excited about that. Although, I don't know if I see a lot of parents inline out there. (Inaudible)?

Rio Pesino - PodTech
No, no not many. There are few though, that are braving it out for their kids.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
I know, did really see that footage for Merrill Lynch?

Rio Pesino - PodTech
No, no.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
There is a guy, who's been there since I think it's at a Best-Buy since 7 PM on Monday. And he is there for his kid - to get him a PS 3.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
That's a good dad right there

Sheila Bryson - Sony
I know, right? So, that's the network side; I am going to show you the videos now. So, videos here, as you can see all of the video content that you've stored on your hard drive, - the thumbnails, this was a real...

Rio Pesino - PodTech
That's pretty cool.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
This was a real wow for me when I first saw it. The thumbnails are actually a video footage. So, it's a real testament to the power of the cell processor. I have never seen any kind of display like this. I don't know if it's ever existed before, but it's -- I am going to go ahead and play the trailer for click here. When you press the triangle button, you'll see that your prompt brought up again that it's very similar to what you'd have on the PS2.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Right. This is very almost identical to the PS2.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, exactly. So, anybody who's played a PSP before this is going to feel very familiar. It's not going to be a scary experience.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
So, this video is running in 10 ADP ISO (ph).

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yes. And that is actually we've loaded that on from a Blu-ray disc. So, the photo, this is another area that I am excited about and we all are obviously, but its very easy to manage your content here you can connect your camera via USB cable directly to the PS3. And then this is one of the features that I'd love to show people, because I think that it's surprising that something that's artistic and creative and almost whimsical is on the PS3, which I know most people think of as primarily a gaming machine. So, you can see here that the dates that the photos were taken, scrolled by and then there is Virtual Tabletop, where the photos are dropped down onto but...

Rio Pesino - PodTech
It's like you're really looking at some art photos here; you got the negatives out there too.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, but then you can actually use your Sixaxis Controller to rewind back, if you want to take a closer look at the photos.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Wow.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, so it's a pretty neat application, people are responding really well to this.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Yes. It's something that's very different, very, very different.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, and it's definitely is a lot better way to show your friends your pictures from vacations that huddled around your PC and your home office. So, we think people are going to be excited about that. And then music is pretty straightforward again, you just use your SIXAXIS Controller to scroll through here using the triangle button, you'll see this similar -- again to PSP control scheme here.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
What are the files are capable being played on the PS3?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
We have four, so we have MP3 and we've AAC yeah, not going to be able to name all those acronyms, because its of off of my head, but most audio formats we do support. You can also -- most MP3 Players, you can actually attach via USB cable and stream the music from your MP3 player.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Okay.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, that's it for the beyond gaming features.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Now, let's go ahead and go and take a look at what everybody wants to see - and that's the games.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
So, I think we have NBA 07 ready here, and this is one of our titles that's available at launch, it's a 10 ADP (ph) so...

Rio Pesino - PodTech
How many titles are available at launch besides NBA 07?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
We have I believe over 20; so we have quite a few third-party titles.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Okay.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Our first-party titles that are available are Resistance: Fall of Man, NBA 07 and Genji. Yeah, so I am sure a lot of your listeners have been reading about a lot of the titles that are coming out; some of my third-party favorites are, Fight Night is a really exciting one and the realism in that game is just (Voice Overlap).

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Right, I have Fight Night for Xbox 360. It will be good to see that on the PS3.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yes, I mean really, it's hard to believe that you are not watching real fights but...

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Pretty slick menu system here.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, it's a really nice menu system; and one thing I've to say about NBA 07, I am a big Hip-Hop fan, and the soundtrack of NBA 07 is amazing. So, if there is any Hip-Hop fans out there, you'll definitely enjoy it.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
So, now this game is running on 10 ADP also?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
It is, yeah. This is, as I said, yeah its one of our Ten (ph) launch titles (voice overlap).

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Now, are all titles going to be launched in 10 ADP?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
They are not; I think the resistance for example, there were a lot of discussions behind the scenes about whether it should run on 10 ADP and I think the decision at the end of the day was to go -- wasn't to go with 10 ADP. But I think in the future we'll see a lot of -- most of our titles will take advantage of that.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Right. Well, they got sweat.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
They got sweat; they are sweaty already. Game's just started and they already... Oh, here, dunked. I can get Alex because this is his title that he manages, just to really show you the Sixaxis because -- yeah I know -- sorry about that.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
It's okay. Let's talk about the Wii first. So, let's talk about the Nintendo, Wii; that's coming out as well. What are your thoughts on the Wii?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Well, I think that the Wii is a great system for someone who is an entry-level gamer. I think, there is definitely a different audience that's going to be interested in purchasing the Wii as opposed to the audience that's interested in purchasing the PS3. We kind of look at the PS3 as being for really hardcore gamers to start, and then once people really discover the additional functionalities of PS3, they are going to become interested and likely purchase one. But at the launch, I think the last serious gamer is going to be more interested in the Wii. So...

Rio Pesino - PodTech
How about the Xbox 360, I mean that has to be direct competition with (Voice Overlap).

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Yeah, definitely direct competition, and I think that some of the feedback we've received is that our launch game -- our launch titles are working as good if not better than their current games. I think one of the advantages we have from the 'Get-Go' is our network which offers free content off the 'Get-Go'. I know they have a gold package for subscribers and there is some content that's exclusive there. We are going to have -- it's going to be -- if its free content, it's free content for everyone. So I think that's an advantage and a lot of consumers are going to appreciate that.

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Microsoft recently announced that they are offering a video download service; HD video, HD movies, TV shows. Is that something that PlayStation's online stores (ph) is going to do as well?

Sheila Bryson - Sony
You know I think -- I definitely think that's something that you'll see from us in the future; we obviously have an advantage being part of the Sony family in terms of content. And I think that there are conversations going on with a number of different content providers. So I don't think that -- obviously they've launched a year ahead of us and are able to put some stuff out there, but I don't think that it will be long until you hear a similar content for us. We are already going to have -- soon after lunch we are going to have downloadable movies, HD movies; we are going to have all kinds of downloadable content available so...

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Okay, Sheila (voice overlap) thanks for showing me the demo, it was great taking a look at NBA 07 I know that's how you game, (Voice Overlap) good team you play that, good to see you...

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Hey, I did slim down (ph) --

Rio Pesino - PodTech
Oh, yeah, that's pretty good; most people can't do that who just pick up the control for the first time. Well, once again Sheila thanks a lot for showing me the demo of the PlayStation3. Appreciate the time and thanks to all from the Podcast.

Sheila Bryson - Sony
Thank you, thanks for coming by.

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