Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Kaz Hirai skips the damage control, and concedes thatSony underwhelmed gamers with the PlayStation 3 in its first year.

Image"I think it's fair to say that the first year of PlayStation 3 was somewhat a difficult one," said Hirai at Sony's PlayStation Day in London. "There were some teething problems, success from our competitors, and our customers were a little underwhelmed by the range of titles that were available.

"This is something that we're very much aware of, and something we were always confident we could overcome."

Microsoft was able to capitalize on PS3's year-one shortcomings, at least in North America and the UK, where Xbox 360 titles like Halo 3, BioShock, Mass Effect and others tore up sales charts and made PS3's otherwise decent lineup look relatively paltry.

Hirai said that Christmas 2007 was strong for PS3, and "2008 has gotten off to a fantastic start."

He added, "What fills me with even greater pleasure is the knowledge that the year so far has only seen the launch of two of our key titles, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and Grand Theft Auto IV, with the rest still to come."

PS3 will be seeing other important exclusive titles this year, including Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet, not to mention the release of the online gaming community PlayStation Home--all very important factors for the gaming giant.

Moving forward, Hirai reiterated Sony's plan to make PS3 a console with a decade-long lifespan.

"I've always talked about PS3 being a long-term play for us, and that's still the case," said Hirai. "We are very confident PS3 will have at least a 10-year lifespan, and that the power under its casing and the potential for improvement in all areas is simply astonishing."

He said that PS3's growth will rely on strengthening relationships with third parties. "Through an increase in dialogue, there's been a greater sharing of knowledge and of developer assets, which has resulted in the rise and number of developers adopting PS3 as their lead platform. We're seeing real steps in quality, sophistication and fun..."

He also claimed that PS3 is making core gamers happy, as well as attracting a "whole new consumer base."

Hirai noted criticisms by some companies who said Sony's message for the PS3 is confusing: is it for games, movies, media? "PS3 is a platform for digital interactive home entertainment, and we know that the nature of PS3 is multi-faceted," said Hirai. "But last year we positioned it first and foremost as a system for games, games and more games, so that it would be clear to users what they can expect from their PlayStation 3.

"Ultimately, it's the games that are defining PlayStation, and games that continue to excite all PlayStation and gaming fans alike. And I think this message resonated well with gamers and has really been taken onboard."