USA: Sony opens its E3 press conference with an apology to gamers over its 3 week outage after the PlayStation network was hacked

Record ID: 451651

  • Title: USA: Sony opens its E3 press conference with an apology to gamers over its 3 week outage after the PlayStation network was hacked
  • Date: 7th June 2011
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 6, 2011) (REUTERS) OPENING MONTAGE OF SONY PLAYSTATION CONSOLES AND GAMES (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACK TRETTON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT OF AMERICA, SAYING "This isn't the first time I've come to the stage at an E3 press conference with an elephant in the room. And of course I'm referring to the PlayStation network outage. This is the first opportunity for me to personally address everybody and discuss it a little bit. Which brings me to the audience that I'm most interested in addressing and those are our consumers. You are the lifeblood of the company. Without you, there is no PlayStation. And I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we've caused you." VARIOUS GAME DEMONSTRATION OF "UNCHARTED 3" (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAZUO HIRAI, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT, SAYING "And so this has really become not just a Sony issue but an issue for all companies that are engaged in some kind of online activity, which basically is all companies. I think it was a wake-up call, certainly for Sony, but perhaps I think it's a wake-up call for everybody that's engaged in online services." VARIOUS OF LOS ANGELES LAKERS PLAYER KOBE BRYANT ON STAGE PLAYING "NBA2K12" (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) (SOUNDBITE) (English) KOBE BRYANT, SAYING "All jokes aside, it's so realistic it's frightening. When I got here, I went in the back and I was playing a bit kind of looking at the game and so forth. And we're actually running the triangle offense better than we ran the triangle offense last year. That's saying a lot man!" VARIOUS OF "RESISTANCE 3" GAMEPLAY DEMO (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAZUO HIRAI, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT, SAYING "We have done a lot to make sure that wew have security that is over and above the security measures we had already in place prior to the the intrusion. But we want to make sure that we are as aggressive as possible in protecting our customer's information." VARIOUS MONTAGE OF PLAYSTATION VITA DEVICE KAZUO HIRAI ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAZUO HIRAI, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT, SAYING "We have packed so much technology into the device whether it's the front and rear touch panels, the front and rear cameras, an OLED screen, and dual analog sticks. All these really combine to make a compelling, enriching gaming experience that really can't be enjoyed on a smart phone or a tablet. So what we've done, is embarked on a strategy where we're addressing the casual market with PlayStation Suite and the Android smart phones and tablets. But at the same time we're also making sure that we're continuing to provide a great entertainment experience with cutting edge technology for the customers that are really all about the latest and greatest in portable gaming." VARIOUS OF PLAYSTATION VITA GAMEPLAY DEMO OF "BIOSHOCK INFINITE" TRAILER
  • Embargoed: 22nd June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA4OTRRVFODNEFZ2BF8DL1OIQD1
  • Story Text: Sony opened its press event at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles Monday (June 6) with an apology. The company is just pulling itself out of a public relations nightmare after its gaming PlayStation Network was hacked. Sony has just managed to restore the PlayStation Network in full in its main North American and European locations, and the network is was back up to 90 percent of what it had been before the security breach elsewhere.
    President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Jack Tretton, was sincere when he addressed what he called the elephant in the room.
    "Which brings me to the audience that I'm most interested in addressing and those are our consumers. You are the lifeblood of the company. Without you, there is no PlayStation. And I want to apologize both personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we've caused you," said Tretton.
    The mood of the media event picked up quickly, with Sony unveiling a slew of new games.
    Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant took the stage to help demo the latest basketball game. He joked with presenters that the game was so realistic it was scary.
    But the biggest announcement of the night was the new handheld game device, called PlayStation Vita. The The sleek 5-inch touchscreen device has Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity and front and rear-facing cameras. The new PlayStation Vita will go on sale for $249 (USD), or $299 for a 3G mobile version, starting in the holiday season. One bit of news that brought boos from the crowd, Sony announced they will work with AT&T as exclusive carrier for the Vita.
    Sony's plans seem to be angling for all forms of digital entertainment. Many of the demonstrations showed gamers switching seamlessly from PlayStation 3 to Vita without losing a step. Sony also plans on integrating Android capable devices into their network to attract more causal gamers.
    E3 plays host to 45,000 media and industry types and runs from June 7-9 in Los Angeles.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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