Nintendo Fanboy Internets Misunderstand Sony's Kaz Hirai

Filed in archive News on July 29, 2008

In this case, the Picard Facepalm is for various Nintendo outlets that misread something Sony honcho Kaz Hirai said to MCV.com in their exclusive interview with him. The money quote:

"If we're talking about the casual gamer, the PS2 is probably the right choice for them. We don't need the PS3 to feel like the console that will appeal to everyone at this point. We don't need to have one console try to be everything to everybody just yet."

We pride ourselves here at The House for not falling for every single fanboy sensation, and this is one of them. The above quote is missing a little ingredient called "context." In the interview, they were clearly talking about the PS3 and its pure focus on core gamers and how the PS2 fits into that situation. I don't think Kaz was making the claim that the PS2 is better than the Wii for casual gamers- I think he was saying, in terms of the systems that Sony sells, that the PS2 is a better choice. Or, rather, you could interpret it to mean that, when compared to a PS3, the PS2 is a better choice for non-core gamers.

There is a tendency on the internets to assume the worst every single time a videogame company executive doesn't slather on a bunch of phony verbal fine print praising the other guy. The truth is, the PS2 is in fact a great choice for both casual gamers and gamers with budgets. That doesn't make it better than the Wii- obviously there are numerous innovations that are only found there- but the PS2 is a powerhouse even to this day and is to be respected.

In fact, I would wager it likely that many gamers are, instead of the vaunted "Wii60" combo, are brandishing "Wii2" combos of affordable Wii and PS2 consoles. It's a choice that makes great sense for gamers not yet willing to pay out the big bucks for current-gen gaming.

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