Playstation 3 is 'an opportunity to expand real-time computing to the network.'

EE Times: What were the challenges launching the Playstation in a large organization such as Sony, rather than at a startup?
Ken Kutaragi: It was difficult to explain a future that had not taken shape. Had we [at Sony] not shared a certain technological literacy about the trends, I might have come off sounding like I was from another planet.

Being persuasive is critical if you want to launch a project in a large organization. There are a lot of procedures—writing up a business model, preparing a profit-and-loss statement—that can dampen a project's initial sense of innovativeness. A startup might not need to spend such a long time on the prep work.

But it's difficult for a startup to build a large-scale infrastructure in a short time. Working in a large organization, I had technological confidence and a methodology. I could also recruit key people to my team.

I had worked at Sony labs for 20 years, so I knew the leading engineers and could appoint those I wanted. And Mr. [Shigeo] Maruyama of Sony Music Entertainment could appoint the pick of the SME staff to SCE [Sony Computer Entertainment]. SME's know-how in software production, sales, distribution and marketing were poured into SCE. That made us strong. Technology alone is not enough.

EET: What was your goal with the PS1?
Ken Kutaragi: Some said our products were game machines, but we were convinced we were developing computers. We set our own computer road map, and our engineers piled up technical innovations along it. Before we launched the Playstation, demand for real-time computer graphics was limited to areas such as simulation systems for the military. SCE focused on real-time computer graphics for an entertainment mass market.

EET: Have you fulfilled your goal with the arrival of the Cell processor in the up­coming Playstation 3?
Ken Kutaragi: Not at all; the story continues. The PS1 authentically computed geometry and light sources, but the output resolution was pseudo-NTSC/PAL. With the PS2, we built a system that could output real-time computer graphics on any TV?in the world. The Emotion Engine developed for the PS2 generated a world by real-time computing. But the performance fell short of what we wanted.

We sought to make a big jump with the Playstation 3. Now that the Internet has spread and always-on connections and wireless are becoming common, we have an opportunity to expand real-time computing on the network. [Before the PS3,] real-time entertainment was enjoyed in the house. I wanted to develop the Cell processor to realize real-time computing over the network.

EET: What is your ultimate target, then?
Ken Kutaragi: One is to further the Playstation as the most popular entertainment platform. The other is to further fundamental computer technology. Today's personal computers are not capable of working in real-time. I believe many technology innovations lie in this gap. We want to be the first to bring them about.

Real-time computing is the keyword.

—This interview was conducted in Japanese and translated by Yoshiko Hara, Tokyo bureau chief for EE Times.