Speaking to Videogamer (among many others) at the London Games Festival’s Gamer 3.0 Conference yesterday, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Vice President Jamie MacDonald has insisted his employer is "incredibly well positioned" in the social gaming space.
"I wouldn’t say we fell behind," he said. "SingStar and Buzz and EyeToy are still hugely successful."
MacDonald adopted a conciliatory approach to the success of Sony’s competitors. "I personally am really pleased to see the success of Wii Sports and Wii Play and Guitar Hero and Rock Band in a sense that it’s expanding the market for everybody and it’s expanding the appeal of video games."
But he went on to assert PlayStation’s strengths as (arguably) the first brand to target the more casual, out-going breed of consumer currently embraced by Nintendo’s Wii. "I think we’re incredibly well positioned [to take advantage of social gaming] in the sense that we kind of, it would be a bit arrogant of me to say we invented, but we were an early pioneer certainly and we continue to be very successful in that space."
MacDonald claimed that Sony could recapture this social gaming space, pointing to the PS3’s media hub functionality and key upcoming releases. "I think with things like LittleBigPlanet, with PlayStation Home, with the continuing success of SingStar and Buzz! on PS3 and the things that we’ve done to the experiences that take advantage of the connectivity of the PS3, the rich media capabilities, I think personally we’re very well placed."
He concluded with further, slightly backhanded praise for Microsoft and Nintendo. "I can’t speak at all about their strategy. But they’ve been very successful with social titles which, how can I put this, owe quite a lot to what had gone before."
"But they have done it in a very special way and really well and have been very successful. And I think there’s absolutely plenty of space in the marketplace for Nintendo and ourselves and Microsoft."