Sony: Now we focus on games

Monday 17th December 2007 - 17:00

Sony President in battle cry for 2008 and Sega Superstars Tennis Xbox 360 screens

It's heartening to see the likes of Sony readying themselves for a titanic battle next year as the console battle for supremacy reaches an all-new crescendo. Sony President, Kaz Hirai was in unusually bullish mood when questioned on his company's strategy for the year ahead. He firmly believes that Sony is on track to sell a whopping 11 million PS3s by the end of March - meaning now the firm can focus on delivering quality games for the somewhat under-supported console.

Prior to launch, Sony spent much of its time focussing on the multimedia features of the platform - including the much hyped Blu-Ray player. The games playing public seemed less than impressed, prompting a sluggish response at the cash registers. Now though, thanks to a price-cut and better marketing, Sony seems keen to get back to the main business of developing great games for its next-genn platform.

In a statement to the Associated Press, the President is quoted as saying: "PS3 is starting afresh as a console to play games with. Although pricing strategy is important, now we would like to put our strength in the number of software games."

So should we expect a wealth more quality titles in the months ahead? You betcha - especially if a new report from Screen Digest is to be believed. The well respected analyst group believes 2008 is going to be the year of PS3 - citing the Wii novelty factor coming to an end combined with a wealth of new PS3 exclusive games finally hitting the shelves. It's going to be an interesting year, that's for sure.

One more reason that makes 2008 an interesting year is the forthcoming release of Sega Superstars Tennis on just about every format you can think of. The game boasts over 15 playable Sega characters including Sonic the Hedgehog, AiAi from Super Monkeyball fame, Ulala of Space Channel 5 and Amigo from Samba De Amigo. In addition to their own unique attributes, each character will also come equipped with their own superstar tennis skills, putting a whole new spin on each match played. We're hoping it does for Tennis what Mario Kart did for the driving genre - expect a release in 'early 2008'.

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