7:39: OK, that was the last question. And with that, we're all done! Now it's time to get out to the floor to check out some rumble games!

7:38: "We want to go back to the starting point to see what it is. I think in the broad sense, it IS a game machine, and it IS a blu-ray player, and it IS a supercomputer. But on a fundamental level, it's a game machine, and we want to make sure that we lead in that respect."

7:37: Hrm. these questions are getting a bit boring.

He was asked about what is a PS3 really? Or, rather, what is its focus?

7:34: So, what's up with the delay? "I'm sorry about the delay, but since we want this to be a worldwide service -- our territories all have their own wishes for it -- it's taking a bit longer for us to develop. We want Home to be satisfactory to all types of users around the world, so we decided to delay it."

7:32: He's asked about Home now -- particularly, what's the business model for it? Kaz says they've had lots of discussions about it within the company. He says that Sony has had a very traditional business model with the PlayStation, so he's really excited about Home because it's something new. Examples? "In-game advertising, actions that reflect the real world in the virtual world. Things that businesses are doing in the real world can be transferred into the virtual world. there are a multitude of business opportunities that can be created, not just from us but from our partners as well."

7:29: Kaz was asked about what he thinks of Wii -- a competitor or friend? He says that they are good competitors. They are working to the same goal of growing the industry. "We have to all be fresh, we have to be new." "We both pushed this game industry, and this industry is now so large."

7:27: He was asked about the price -- why didn't they drop it? Kaz says they are absolutely focused on trying to reduce the price in the future, but just the same they are focused on trying to improve the game offering so that price won't be so much of a factor.

7:26: He was asked about PS3 sales, and he's saying how they have a lot of initiatives to push sales and the guy asks Kaz if he's confident in hitting his sales targets. Kaz says he's completely confident about the titles they have and that with their new momentum working with the publishers it will not be a problem.

7:23: Kaz was asked about what the future of PS software will be like, and while he said that games are going to become bigger and bigger experiences, he's also really excited about smaller titles like EchoCrome. He's also talking about how games like GT5 Prologue are taking things to the next level, where you can really see what the other drivers are doing in the world you're in.

7:20: The publisher of IT Pro is going to ask the questions to Kaz. Kaz was talking about the Dual Shock 3, he mentioned that he did get to try it himself and he really liked it. "With rumble and sixaxis it's actually more fun," he says.

7:18: OK, he's thanked everyone and has left the stage, BUT there will be a Q&A session. They need to prepare the stage and what not, though, so it'll be a few.

7:17: He's saying he talked about a lot today but that he hopes everyone will try the games at TGS. "We hope to be a lot more active member of the game industry. Fan factors are quite important, software will evolve quite rapidly, but we have to come back to the basics. While you're staying at home, you should be able to join games with the rest of the world."

7:16: "The PS3 connected to the network is going to give you the most powerful entertainment," says ol' Kazzie. "PS3 will give you the best resolution, the best quality visuals."

7:15: "Lastly, I want to talk about the huge potential of the PS3," he says. Oh, and Folding at Home. Man, Sony loves to talk about that.

7:12: Now he's talking about the PS store: 30 PS3 titles, 300 add-on items, 100 game archives, 90 demos movies. Oh, there we go - he showed the PS Store for PSP. You browse it on your PC, and then download to your PSP; it's basically the store available on PC.



7:09: Now he's talking about Home. Oh crap -- DELAYED. Who didn't see that coming? Home is going to be in spring now. Kaz says they needed more time to fully realize everything.



7:08: He showed a list of games that will have rumble, including Warhawk. Now they're onto PSN -- 2.7M users so far. Ooh, GT5 Prologue -- the disc and network -- will be out on the 13th of December.




7:07: He mentions that people can try Dual Shock 3 on Metal Gear Online at Konami's booth, too. He says that there wasn't enough time for all the developers to get rumble working in time for the show, but he was happy a bunch of them were able to. He said that current titles will have rumble soon, too.

7:06: OK, Dual Shock 3 in November in Japan -- Spring in US/Europe. Kaz says people will be able to try Dual Shock on the floor today. Devil May Cry 4, MGS4, Ratchet Future, Uncharted, EchoCrome, all have rumble on the floor!!

7:05: He's now talking about how Sony is going to "further reduce the cost" of PlayStation systems -- including PS3. He cites that as an example of how Sony has listened to its users.DUALSHOCK 3 BABY! The users asked for it ("that we ressurrect the vibration function"), so Sony delivered. Kaz says that at first they thought it would be difficult to have sixaxis and rumble in one controller, but they figured out how to do it. Riiiiight. And the lawsuit had nothing to do with that.

6:58: He's talking about how Sony is going to work better with partners. He mentions how they're going to collaborate with partners in terms of marketing -- he mentions the PSP Crisis Core pack as an example of that (though that strikes me more as Square Enix helping out Sony there).

He's also talking about how Sony wants to share tools and assets with developers better, and have a periodical meeting with an advisory board.

6:57: Oooooh.... FFXIII Versus, GT5, Afrika, MGS4 -- and some others I couldn't keep track of. Kaz is asking how we liked them.

6:54: OK, he's showing a video of new PS3 titles!!! LittleBigPlanet, FFXIII! (same stuff though), Uncharted, Ratattoulie, LocoRoco, Eye of Judgement, COD4, a bunch of stuff, Spider-Man 3, a game called Flower? Ha ha. OK, they showed a high res flower on the screen. I can hardly wait for that one! It's right up there with Afrika for me.

6:53: Now he's on to PS3. Kaz is saying that they want to go back to the basics, back to what the customers really want (a FF7 remake? lol). "PS3 is the best Blu-ray disc player, so we hope it will be come the hub of peoples' home entertainment," he says.

6:51: Oh, cool. Now he's mentioning that there are some neat possibilities like, say you''re playing a golf game -- you could have your friends watching your game from their PSPs. Also, that you could continue your games on the go if certain games support that.





6:46: OK, he's browsing his PS3 catalog on his PSP. Oh, it's the Japanese PlayStation cat guy. It's a piece of software running on the PS3 with that cat. Honestly, I don't know much more than that. This new translator lady isn't as good as the last guy! Looks like you can turn on your PS3 via your PSP now, too.

6:44: He's showing more video/messaging services for Japan -- now he's onto Remote Play...with LAIR? He's invited someone on stage to show off the remote play. He's hooking it up to video output so people can watch what he's seeing on the big screen.

6:42: Now he's showing the TV Tuner for PSP, along with the camera and GPS. HOW ABOUT SOME GAMES, KAZ?

6:41: Now he's talking about the FFVII Crisis core pack, how that's selling a fuckton of copies in Japan and pushed a bunch of PSP hardware. In the U.S., they're going to release PSP Entertainment Packs -- one comes bundled with Daxter, the other comes with Star Wars Battlefront.



6:38: Now it's on to PSP. He's talking about million selling PSP titles now. Midnight Club, GTA Liberty City Stories and Monster Hunter Portable 2. "It's a platform to be loved by the entire world. Going forward we want to focus on reducing the cost of the PSP so that we can continue to reach more people around the world," says Hirai.

6:36: He said that when he took over, the first thing he said was that Sony needs to go back to its core mission of providing the best interactive entertainment out there -- really focus on what's worked well for the company. "With the PS3, we took a very important step forward," he says.

He's now talking about the PS2 now, how it's continually still kicking ass -- He's boasting again about sales numbers -- 120 million PS2s sold worldwide.

6:34: He's showing how the PlayStation business has grown over the past 10 or so years. He says in his presentation he wants to talk about the ideas they have to further expand the PlayStation business and grow the industry as a whole.

6:33: He's thanking everyone for having him here and talking about how happy he is since he's taken over as CEO last December -- and now it's the first time he can make a presentation in front of such a large TGS crowd. SLIDESHOW TIME (wouldn't be a Sony keynote without those)!

6:32: Kaz is getting on stage.

6:31: OK, we're off! They're playing a TGS intro video right now, so I'm assuming the TGS guy will come on right after this. Right now, a lady is on stage thanking us for being here. She says she's honored to have Hirai here.

6:30: The place seems to be all filled now... I think we're about to begin.

6:23: Some guy got on stage. I think he's one of the TGS people. He's just kind of waiting there. Oh wait, lights are bright again. And he leaves. Sigh...I could totally be playing MGS4 right now.

6:21: Woah. THIS JUST IN: So apparently we just heard from Jeremy that they're probably going to announce the FF7 remake here. He says "Final Fantasy 7" (no details) is listed at the Square Enix theater.

Now, the lights just dimmed a bit. This time announcer lady is serious. Sit the fuck down people!

6:18: I wonder how you say "Are you ready to Rock?!?" in Japanese. I should ask one of my friends over here. That way I'll totally know what's up when Kaz gets on stage and yells that. I can only dream.



6:14: Alrighty, lady is on the loudspeaker saying that people should get seated and that it's starting soon! This event is funny actually, the press gets totally stuck in the back.

The Tokyo Game Show is now officially underway! First up for me is to head over to the big Sony keynote from Kaz Hirai. It should be very interesting.

What we're expecting him to talk about:

- The new PS3 rumble controller
- A PS3 price drop for Japan (any U.S.?)
- Some new title announcements

Anyway, I'm heading over to the convention center in just a few minutes. Stay tuned for more updates shortly.


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