Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) on the future of gaming

• Author: Jonah Asher
• Position: WIPO Japan Office

What factors have enabled the growth of video games?

Saori Ikeda: Smartphones have had a major impact on the popularity of games, creating a whole new community of gamers. Many people start out with smartphone games and then migrate to gaming consoles for a richer immersive experience. Video game streaming is also gaining traction, especially in the US, and has a lot of potential. SIE recently launched PlayStation™Now, a streaming game service that leverages cloud-based technology, where players can access a library of PlayStation®3 (PS3™) games from the cloud either through a subscription or on a per-game rental basis. This service gives users the possibility to play games from various interconnected devices, including selected TVs, without having to own a dedicated gaming console; as such it is opening the PlayStation® world to many more consumers.

What factors are driving change in the video game industry?

Ryosuke Senoguchi: The time and energy companies like SIE invest in making and developing new technologies, such as streaming game services and virtual reality (VR), to give different groups of users new gaming experiences, are important change drivers. This, of course, has been made possible by the rapid evolution of computer technology – faster computer processing units and graphics processing units, better infrastructure and, in the case of VR, higher-definition screens and enhanced camera and head-tracking technologies.

Prior to the original PlayStation®, most video games were released in cartridge format but PlayStation® used optical discs, one of our most important IP assets.

It was really the evolution of the media that allowed for the evolution of the software content. We started with CD-ROMs and then DVDs set a new standard. It took us a while to integrate these technologies into the hardware, but disc media allowed us to be one of the first companies to use polygons and 3D environments in our games. That, I think, was one of the keys to PlayStation®’s success.

Saori Ikeda: Technology is ever-evolving, and continues to transform games and the industry itself. The new features and services that are coming on stream are also driving change. For example, social integration and interaction are central to PlayStation®4 (PS4™). The PS4™ system’s game controller features a “SHARE” button that allows users to share their victories at the press of a button. Gamers are no longer simply playing games, they are connecting with others...