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At GDC, we complained that Sony didn't care about PSP. Phil Harrison's speech was all about Sony's latest console effort, the PS3--Sony's handheld wasn't in the picture at all. Compared to Nintendo's continuous support of DS with original first-party titles, Sony appears to be neglecting PSP. Fortunately, someone at Sony's finally admitting that this is a problem. Sony UK boss Ray Maguire spoke to GI.biz about PSP, and how it will try to compete against Nintendo's incredibly popular handhelds.

"From a PSP situation we have a wider split of third-party versus first-party than our competitors do, who are very much first-party developers. We've been putting quite a lot of energy behind PS3, now we'll be able to split some of those resources and go back to the PSP to make sure we've got some compelling games coming. As a criticism, yes, perhaps part of that is true. But we have a solution in place."

Obviously, God of War is part of that so-called solution. The localization of Jeanne d'Arc is another good step. However, Sony must do more to satiate our appetite for original games. When will we see some of these new "compelling games" that Maguire speaks of?

See also:
PSP won't get redesign; new colors coming soon?
PSP will realize its potential this year
Virtual PSP debuts in PlayStation Home

What a tumultuous ride this has been: SCEA says no redesign, and then SCEE managing director Ray Maguire slipped that Sony's current PSP offering was just the "first iteration" of the platform. Speaking at the PSP in Education event, he noted that a smaller, lighter version of the console was coming. Like John Koller, he made specific note that the screen size will never get smaller: it's one of the PSP's best features.

Immediately after the event, a Sony spokesperson told Gamesindustry.biz that there are no immediate changes planned for the system: the only developments would come in the form of firmware updates. So, what's the truth, Sony? We've been hearing way too many conflicting reports about this touchy subject.

[Via Eurogamer]

No doubt spurred on by the constant noise of grumbling gamers marching past his office, The Guardian's Steve Boxer decides to shed some light on the European PS3 launch in an article entitled, "PS3 Launch Price is No Fun for UK Gamers." Speaking to Sony Computer Entertainment's UK managing director, Ray Maguire, he enquires about the region's comparatively high price (£425) and the absence of the cheaper, 20GB PS3.

Maguire points out that merely converting the PS3's US retail price to British currency results in a misleading figure, as it fails to take VAT into account. "There's a compulsion within the media to look at everything as a snapshot, and do a calculation, normally based on just the RRP in somewhere like the US and just the RRP in the UK," he says. "What you should do with the RRP from the US is add sales tax." However, adding a VAT of 17.5% to the US price still leaves you with £352. Maguire blames the £73 difference on potential exchange rate fluctuations, along with the higher cost of living and running a business in the UK.

Apparently, if anyone's to blame for the 20GB model's failure to arrive in Europe, it's those darn consumers. "They want to put their own media on it from day one. So a big preference has been shown towards the 60GB model. And when we look at the sales figures from both Japan and the US, that's reflected at retail." Of course, despite lacking the multiple media slots, the 20GB version can store media with USB transfer, but Maguire insists that Sony would rather have enough 60GB units available as opposed to fewer quantities of both SKUs. Our UK readers will undoubtedly let us know whether they agree or not.

Have you bought a UMD recently? Most likely not. The format has been declared dead by many, but it appears that Sony UK ND Ray Maguire still believes there's a future for the failing movie format. "We're pretty pleased with UMD," he told MCV. "UMD is not the problem – it's getting the right content that's the challenge. When we put shorts on UMD they sell really well, and that's related to PSP usage. It's about getting the offer right, and we will do that."

Should Sony bother with resurrecting the format? I don't think so--it'll most likely prove to be a waste of time. Even with lower prices and better content, it may simply be too late. If Sony ever opens a digital movie download service, that's when we will see the option for commerical movies on the PSP as a viable one.

[Thanks, steve!]

Sony UK boss Ray Maguire wants to turn the focus of games away from graphics and onto complicated, realistic artificial intelligence that will make not only the game, but the characters, more realistic and compelling. He spoke about not only the PS3 but all next-gen consoles when he said: "We are no longer interested in graphics per se, because graphics chips can do that for us, but the central processors of all the new games machines are about making games more compelling by adding in artificial intelligence." It is true that high-end PCs will always be one notch above any new console, so the move into AI is a fantastic move. Nobody wants their WWII squadmates running into a wall when you tell them to secure the area.

To emphasize his point, Maguire showed a clip of a woman "auditioning" for a movie role (we've seen this somewhere... hmm...) and she talked through her relationship with her husband up until she decided to murder him after discovering he was having an affair. The gamut of emotions was the central point -- Maguire says all characters should be able to display such emotional impact in next-gen games. What do you guys think? Should AI be a bigger part of gaming now that graphics have reached a comfortable peak for the time being? Or should we try to find ways to make graphics better, or seek different art styles in gaming? We've got true interaction coming our way with the Wii and the PS3 EyeToy, great graphics... AI sounds like a logical way to progress.