Koller tells GamePro that Sony will add "a number of very critically demanded features" to the PlayStation Network, hopefully in the form of cross-game voice chat support—long rumored in PS3 firmware updates—and not so much in the form of monthly subscription fees.

Sony's motion controller that may be and probably is known as the PlayStation Gem will be dependent upon "family games, as well as shooters and sports games" for its success. Koller also contends that the PlayStation stab at motion controls may achieve the "Holy Grail of gaming," which he qualifies as "placing you as a consumer into the game physically."

Koller doesn't touch on the company's third pillar, 3D gaming, all that much. But he has so much more to say on other topics, ranging from PS2 backward compatibility to God of War III to the PSPgo.

Sony Talks 2010: "Project Natal and Wii are going to have trouble" [GamePro]

"You won't be able to rip your games and play them on the [PSPgo] system, the firmware precludes that," Koller told PlayStation Insider. "There's no external battery, so there's a number of protections put into place on the system."

The drawback? When that battery starts to go, you can't swap it yourself. Back it goes to Sony for replacement, at a fee if it's out of warranty.

Why You Can't Remove the Battery from the PSPgo [PlayStation Insider]

The PSPgo is a slimmed down version of Sony's Playstation Portable. The device, set to hit stores on Oct. 1 for $249 in either black or white, slides apart to display its controls and features 16GB of internal memory. But most importantly, it lacks any sort of drive to load or play games on. The original PSP uses small UMD discs to load games. The PSPgo will get all of its content digitally, via downloads.

This download-only approach to a gaming device will be the first time a major gaming hardware company has jumped entirely into the realm of digital downloads and could have serious implications for many facets of the industry including the reselling of used games, game publishers' reliance on retailer shelf space and piracy.

John Koller, director of hardware marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment of America, said Sony's decision to launch the PSPgo was driven by consumers' increased interest in digital content, like music, TV shows, movies and even games.

"It became very apparent over the past 18 months that the portable gaming consumer wanted larger, richer, deeper content available digitally" Koller said. "The PSPgo is the first and only handheld device to offer these larger, richer digital gaming experiences, and from our discussions with consumers, publishers and retailers, this was absolutely the right move to make at the exactly correct time.

"The launch serves as a lesson to the industry of the strength of digital distribution. PSPgo will address this market and help drive this trend forward."

Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with Game Changer Research, says the move is huge for both Sony and the industry, making publishers less dependent on retailer shelf space and helping to cut down on the growing secondary market of used game sales, something publishers don't earn any money from.

"Using a digital download only business model brings Sony in direct competition with Apple, and the Playstation Network is already in competition with Microsoft's Xbox LIVE marketplace," Pidgeon said. "The PSPgo's download only design will help SCE transition its customers and its media delivery to online distribution. This will make Sony appear more cutting edge and will pave the way for future devices that are supplied by digital distribution."

While the PSPgo and its download approach to gaming may be the future, that doesn't mean the device doesn't have some significant hurdles to overcome.

Koller says the biggest challenge will be ensuring that there is enough content by the time the system launches to make it an attractive system for gamers.

"The old saying that content is king is even more true with the PSPgo launch, and we'll be meeting that challenge through the digital launch of virtually every title launching on UMD from now on, as well as converting over 300 catalog UMD titles to digital for the PSPgo launch," Koller said. " It is important to note though that we will not be walking away from the UMD business – in fact, we view the UMD as critical to the platform's long-term success as there are still many consumers who prefer physical goods."

Sony is also looking into a program to allow existing PSP owners to convert some of the UMD games they already own to digital versions playable on the PSPgo, though Koller declined to say how many games will be convertible.

Pidgeon thinks the biggest challenge will be convincing retailers to sell the device in their stores because traditionally retailers make much more money from the sale of software than they do the sale of the hardware that plays it.

"Retailers stand to lose big if consumers buy handhelds and consoles but not software for those devices, and the secondary resale market goes away," he said. "So it is going to be difficult to keep retailers as partners for hardware distribution if you cut them out on software."

One middle ground, Pidgeon points out, is selling voucher codes for digital games in stores.

Koller says that Sony has already been in talks with retailers and that their reaction to the PSPgo has been "overwhelmingly positive."

"With the dawn of the digital gaming age, particularly with the launch of the first full game digital platform in the PSPgo, retailers are becoming very creative in how they work to become a part of digital networks and sales," he said. "And we've become creative in how we have crafted a new business model to meet how and what retailers sell."

And Pidgeon thinks this is just the first step for Sony and its new PSPgo. He believes that the PSPgo will do quite well at retail, triggering a price drop to $200 as the company ramps up production. And while Sony says they will continue to sell the original PSP, Pidgeon thinks the PSPgo will slowly replace it and that there is even a successor to the PSPgo on the horizon, one that will include a touch screen and an integrated phone.

"The PSPgo will be a good way to bridge to a next generation download only device," he said.

And could this lead to download only consoles?

Pidgeon thinks that home bandwidth limitations mean the next generation of consoles will still be disc-based, but that online deliver will become much more important down the line.

When asked if there was a download-only PS3 in our future, Koller remained tight lipped.

"Our consumer research shows that many people still continue to prefer purchasing games on tangible disc-based media, and we'll continue to serve this segment of the market, while also providing digital content to the growing segment demanding this format," he said. "We have nothing further to announce/discuss at this time."

Well Played is a weekly opinion column about the big news of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Something that could put the Playstation 2 directly in the Nintendo Wii's big blue ocean, says John Koller, SCEA's director of hardware marketing.

"I think you can look at the PS2 as the competitor to the Wii," he said. "If you look at the technology and types of games launching for the Playstation 2, it lines up much closer to the Wii than the Wii does to next generation consoles And the Playstation 2 has a significant advantage in terms of broader consumer appeal."

Koller went on to congratulate Nintendo on what he called a "tremendous success story", but added that he thinks that there is an opportunity for the Playstation 2 to "steal some share base with this price and game line up."

While the Playstation 2 already has a more than 1,900 game library, both third-party party developers and Sony Computer Entertainment itself plan to continue to make games for the console, Koller said.

"Seventy to 80 titles will be launching this year and about the same next year," he said. "We are going to support it extensively."

But that doesn't mean that triple-A Playstation 3 titles, like God of War III, would be getting the PS2 treatment. Instead Sony will be focusing on social gaming and sports titles for the console with games like Sing Star, Buzz and MLB.

Koller added that there are "strong game franchises" coming to the Playstation 2 in the latter half of the year which will excite core gamers.

Because the Playstation 2 is the fourth console in a crowded market, Koller said that SCEA has been talking to national retailers to ensure that the console gets shelf space.

"This price drop helps in keeping or expanding shelf space," he said. "There is always pressure for shelf space."

And Sony doesn't think that this price drop will dig into potential Playstation 3 sales.

"We don't at all," he said. "These are different consumers. The Playstation 3 appeals much more to early tech adopters than the PS2 and the PSP attaches to mobile consumers."

Though, it's interesting to note that almost 80 percent of Playstation 3 owners own or owned a PS2, according to Koller.

"Do we think that someone who purchases a PS2 on April 1 is going to buy a Playstation 3 on April 2?" he said. "Probably not, but they eventually will."

In an interview with Gamasutra, Sony's John Koller has said:

The PSP, from a handheld perspective, it's more of a 13-17 year old [demographic], multi-ethnic, a bit lower-income as well. The PS3 is still in its early adopter phase, tech-oriented consumer... they're interested in the multi-functionality of the system.

Alternate headline: Sony says PSP for "Ghetto Kids".

In-Depth: Sony's Koller Talks 50 Million PS2 Sales In North America [Gamasutra]

He says that numerous development sources have it all totally wrong! According to Koller, all Sony are doing is "pushing developers away from its "Universal Media Discs" and towards digital distribution of games via the PSP store". That's all!

In other words, Mr. Koller would like us all to believe that a number of developers who develop for the PSP could not differentiate between this "push" and developing for an all-new handheld.

Not the strongest "no plans" denial we've seen, then, but it gets points for its creative "explanation"!

Exclusive: Sony PSP2 Rumors Bogus, No New Handheld Gaming Gadget Coming (SNE) [Silicon Alley Insider]

How interested? "Absolutely interested" according to John Koller, director of hardware marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America. He tells GamePro that the company is "still sorting through" the possibility of offering PlayStation 2 games via the PlayStation Store, as it currently does for PSone releases.

Obviously, there are some "technical hurdles" involved, like the ability to emulate PS2 software without the legacy hardware included in early PS3 models. "Nothing's imminent on that," Koller says "but it's something we are interested in as well."

As for matching the Xbox 360's NXE feature set, specifically streaming Netflix movies, Koller and company sound less interested.

"We've concentrated most of our efforts on our download service, both rentals and downloads of movies and TV shows," he says. "Our efforts will continue to be there, because our customers want to own the content."

Shame then, because it certainly sounded like Netflix was interested in bringing its content to the PlayStation 3 at one point.

"There are certainly some positives for the Xbox 360," he explains. "But there's also some confusion. It goes further into the argument of "owning the content."

I don't know. I think many of us have given up on the notion of "owning" anything these days when it comes to digital distribution. I certainly don't feel like I need to own that copy of Hot Tamale I recently streamed.

Sony talks PlayStation 3, PSP success in 2009 [Gamepro]

LittleBigPlanet’ is so expansionary. I think the developer’s really concentrating on right now making sure that the launched product is everything it could be and can be. We’re watching the UGC [user generated content] and seeing how that’s playing out. But for the future, I think certainly, we’d look at a wide variety of opportunities. Whether that’s the PSP or not, I can’t really say. We certainly look at ‘LittleBigPlanet’ franchise as a going forward franchise for us, and that speaks to the PlayStation brand overall.

Can't really say? Pretty sure you just did.

Sony Discusses PSP Possibilities For ‘LittleBigPlanet,’ ‘Guitar Hero,’ And ‘Rock Band’ [MTV]

I can see the DSi being successful. The DS lite was obviously very successful. Will DSi do well with [the DS's] demographic? It probably will. Will it be a product that expands their user base [beyond] under 12? I'm not sure.

Uh...how can you expand a market that’s already full?

Sony Fondles New DS with One Hand, Bitchslaps with the Other [Gizmodo]

I think going into next year we’re going to see significant growth. We’re counseling retail to be ready for it. We have a number of very strong franchise games on the docket that will be launching next year. We haven’t gone public with those, and many third-parties have not yet either because they’re concentrating on holiday, but we have a number of very strong titles coming.

There's even been a demographic change for the PSP: Sony research says that over the next 12 months, young mothers will have the "highest propensity" to buy the handheld for their young children. Not exactly the urban hipsters it was originally targeted at.

Sony: PSP Support Will Improve [EDGE]

Fortunately, the director of hardware marketing now says that's not actually true, that the PSP 3000 will have an equivalent battery life of four to six hours when gaming, less when watching UMDs. Koller writes on the official PlayStation.blog that "our engineers in Japan worked to reduce the power consumption of the overall system including its components" ending our long national nightmare of slightly reduced up-time due to battery charge. Thank you, God!

New PSP’s Battery Life Equivalent to Current PSP [PlayStation.blog]

That's going to change, Koller says, as "we’re going to see a lot of very large franchise games come from third-parties" starting at the end of this year and into 2009. Consumers are"going to be a bit of a surprise, they’re going to be like ‘Wow, that’s coming to PSP?’” according to John.

The PSP is certainly in a good position in Japan, regularly outselling all other hardware platforms for the better part of this year. We'll have to see if the wows translate to sales over the next 18 months.

Sony Plans PSP Comeback In America, Recovering From System’s Low Point [MTV Multiplayer]

PSP is "gateway drug" to consoles, says SCEA [Gamesindustry.biz]

We've talked about the PSP being a 10 year product, but a 10 year product in the continued... how can I put this... in the continued lifecycle, so we obviously had the 1000, we have the 2000, so the PSP as it was first launched in March 2005 isn't going to the be the PSP that it ends up as in 10 years, but it will still be a very strong portable gaming device that is centered in gaming and has a lot of multi-functional features.

We look at it just like our console business being a 10 year cycle, but we do see iterations as we go along to really adjust to the market. What we've done is the 2000 series adjusted to the market in terms of making it more portable. What we're seeing now, at least in the near- to mid-term, is going to be firmware updates that add features and other functions that the consumer's asked for.

Available now, at the more budget-minded price are MTV staples Beavis & Butt-head: The Mike Judge Collection (Vol. 2 and 3), Jackass (Vol. 2 and 3), Wildboyz (Vol. 1 and 2), Viva La Bam (Vol. 2, 3, and 4) and Aeon Flux: The Complete Animated Collection (2-disc set). Leave your brain and your big bills at the door!

MTV Hits PSP This Week [PlayStation.blog]

Mike McWhertor sat down with John Koller, senior marketing manager for the Playstation Portable, at CES and extracted a lot of interesting information out of him. This GameTrailer video gives Koller a chance to pitch why he thinks 2008 is going to be the year of the PSP. Hmm, why does that sound familiar.

I do think the handheld is having quite a resurgence, though I hope that Sony continues to concentrate more on the games and less on the peripherals for the device.

In addition to those short-session downloadable games, plans for more legacy PSP titles are planned. Koller said the company will be re-releasing older PlayStation Portable titles as downloads, ones that "retailers aren't interested in carrying at this stage, games that we hear a lot of demand from PSP owners—titles like Wipeout, Twisted Metal—gamers who say 'I want to play this' but can't find it at retail anymore."

Speaking of retail, Koller confirmed that SCEA will be publishing more UMD movies and at a reduced price point. "We definitely understand that releasing a '70s era romantic comedy at $29.99 didn't appeal to most of the demographic," he said, telling us that retailers were "bullish" on carrying the UMD movie format at a more sensible price point.

He said that the company wasn't particularly concerned about the recently confirmed option to copy Blu-ray movie content to a PSP biting into the UMD video market, saying that "Any way we can help get that multimedia content onto the PSP, we're going to take it."

We'll have more from our Q&A with John Koller throughout the week.

That means echochrome, the black and white puzzle game revealed at E3, will be delivered on UMD for the PSP, despite being planned for a PlayStation Network release for both the PLAYSTATION 3 and the PSP.

Other changes? Koller reveals that the slimmed down PSP was close to sporting a second analog nub, but the home office nixed those plans. In fact, it seems they put plenty of hardware revisions on the back burner.

And while some 95% of PSP owners are male, it would seem that based on the lifestyle photo at the top of this post, support for attractive tomboys who are into checking their RSS feeds has been added to the PSP slim. Good news for single dudes looking to chat up girls about syndication.

Sony Exec Talks New PSP's Upgrades, GPS Attachment, NYC Appeal And More [MTV News]

So what about that rumored PSP redesign? And the PlayStation Store for the PSP? Koller didn't comment in his discussion with UK game site Pocket Gamer, but it appears that those two additions to the platform won't have a significant impact (yet). We'll see how Sony fares with both of these potential changes, but with UMD movie sales actually up, I expect we'll be dealing with the proprietary format for many years to come.

We'll never walk away from UMD, says Sony's John Koller [Pocket Gamer]

Including Sony's recent price drop of the PSP Core Pack, a number of new initiatives, including the "Dude, Get Your Own" campaign, will attempt to reach young teens. That means more UMD movies aimed at kids as well as videogame content that focuses more on the younger market. That doesn't mean we won't get titles like God of War or SOCOM, of course, but don't be surprised if software like Konami's Brooktown High find a wider audience.

More details from Koller at Kohler's blog, including an interesting hint at how God of War PSP will play. Michael McWhertor

For PSP, a New Focus On Teen Market [Game|Life]