Sony: PS4 Launch Is Just the Beginning for the Console

Don’t go thinking that on the back of unprecedented first day sales Sony is going to slip into its old arrogant persona, as SCEA marketing executive Jon Koller has told GamesBeat that the PlayStation 4 is just the beginning for the next generation console. Speaking as part of the system’s launch event in New York City, the suit revealed that while the hardware may be final, this is just the start for the actual platform.

“We talk a lot about it being the finish line of development, but really it’s the beginning,” he beamed. “Now the platform starts, and we start to engage with our gamers in a way that we never have before, with games that have never been seen. It’s an exciting moment.”

Koller continued that he wanted to turn the PS4 launch into a cultural event – and he played a pivotal role in organising last week’s Spike TV broadcast in order to make that happen. “I respect what EA’s done with Madden and what some of the other groups have done on these shows,” he said. “We wanted to make it what it is, a cultural touchstone. This doesn’t happen very often. We wanted to celebrate that.”

However, for the executive and his crew, it was always about the gamers. “We’re doing things a little differently this time,” he grinned, suggesting that the celebrity parties that accompanied the PlayStation 3’s launch have been well and truly shelved. “It’s much more about the gamers.”

While it wasn’t packed with quite as many announcements as GameTrailers TV host – and renowned hype master – Geoff Keighley had teased, there was a lovely atmosphere during Sony’s launch livestream, with gaming culture very much taking centre stage. After all, where else would you get to see one of the top people at a major corporation mimic an Antonio Banderas GIF on a giant plasma screen?