Interviewer: I want to get your perspective as far as Playstation's PC strategy. Is that something you were originally part of? If not, do you think this will tarnish the Playstation brand, or help it grow?
Informant: Shortly before I decided to move on to my next thing, the idea of bringing Playstation content to the PC platform was something I had been thinking about. A number of people had been thinking about it. It goes back to the thing we were just talking about which is: how do we get more people into our Playstation world if we only talk to people who are already in the Playstation world? If all i'm talking to are people who are into Playstation, to get them to be more Playstation-y, I may be able to get more 'spend' out of them. I may be able to get them to buy more games, to sign up for downloadable content, more services, but still I'm talking to the same group. They're fans, we've brought them in over time, but it's the same group. I don't think you'll ever see Playstation do day-and-date with PC, though never say never. But the strategy that I was developing when I was there was: we need to go out to where these new customers are, these new fans could be. We need to go to where they are because they're decided not to come to my house, I have to go to their house. And what's the best way to go to their house? Why not take one of our top selling games, which has already blown out the marketplace, it's already been out for 18 months or 24 months, there's no retail activity anymore for that title, I'm not trading off one sale for another… and bring that to the PC platform and let them have an idea. Let me show you what you're missing. And hopefully with that, for people not currently inside the universe of Playstation get to experience what we're experiencing. And we'll get them to see what's great about Playstation experience. It was the easiest one to get to because the engineering challenge isn't so great, people have the right equipment at home. I can bring it to a PC, but I can't bring it to a microwave oven. It is a way of outreach. Trying to get to people who the platform doesn't currently speak to.
Interviewer: In terms of the PC strategy, when this was coming about was the thought process that giving some of the biggest Playstation games to PC would get them to buy a PS5 now? Do you think these people playing Days Gone, Uncharted 4, Horizon, do you think these people will buy a PS5 to play Last of Us 2 or Forbidden West or Ragnarok?
Informant: Some will, yeah. And they might not have otherwise. There's no losing in this transaction. It's allowing people to have a glimpse of the Playstation platform. And not just a trailer. Get on your rig, play Days Gone. And maybe you'll think there's more than just the PC Master Race.
