Sure, the PS3 isn't exactly off to a running start — or much of a trot for that matter! There are things like Home to look forward to this year PS3-wise. But when's that going to be out? In a recent Game Informer interview, Sony exec Phil Harrison (above) reminds us, "We have said that, if the beta trial is successful, that the service will go live in October." We've heard the console power chest thumping from both Microsoft and Sony, but it really comes down to the games. Mag Game Informer asks Harrison if there's anything that can be done to combat losing exclusives. Harrison's reply:

I'm looking at the platform as an entire portfolio. And yes, I'm always concerned to make sure that consumers can buy the best games and get the best game experiences to validate their system purchase. [But] as long as the games they get are great, [consumers] don't care if they are third-party or first-party...What I do believe is that the investments we have made in Worldwide Studios globablly - U.S., Europe, and Japan - will yield the best quality software and the highest quality experiences that are clearly going to be exclusive to the platform...We have a larger platform-dedicated development resource than our competitors combined. So all of that goes towards the fact that the best games with the best technology are coming exclusively to [Sony] platforms.

Kind of a roundabout answer, but fair enough. Publishers want to make as much money as possible, and that often means going multi-platform. Console makers, of course, want as many exclusives as possible to help drive sales. First party titles are certainly going to be married to hardware. It's those third party games of late that haven't been "faithful." But going back to the G.I. question: can there be anything done to combat losing third-party exclusives? If so, what? Brian Ashcraft

Harrison Interview [Gamers-Creed via QJ.Net]

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