Most PlayStation fans are probably familiar with Shahid Kamal Ahmad- he left Sony recently, but until he did, he used to be the Director of Strategic Content for PlayStation, and was instrumental in securing support for PlayStation platforms, particularly from independent game developers, and especially for the PlayStation Vita.
Kamal has left Sony, but he still does have an idea of what the company’s plans are, at least for the immediate future. And speaking to GamingBolt in an exclusive interview, he spilled the beans on exactly what some of those plans are. Spoiler alert- PlayStation fans will be happy.
“My last responsibility before I left was to sign a raft of titles for PlayStation VR,” Kamal said. “Many of those titles have yet to be announced. There are still a lot of titles for Vita, PS4 and PSVR in the pipeline. Lorenzo (from the strategic team) is a great guy. He has drive, he is organized, strategic, a total gamer and super smart. There are a lot of exciting things coming from that team, which is in excellent hands with Lorenzo.
Kamal also seems to be entirely sold on virtual reality as the next step in gaming, and PlayStation VR specifically. Undoubtedly, had he stayed on at Sony, he would have cultivated the PlayStation VR as lovingly as he did the PS Vita during his tenure.
“I’m a totally wide-eyed, raving lunatic for VR,” Kamal said. “I think the potential is enormous. I just came back from GDC. I went there for just one day to be close to the PSVR launch event and to interview Yoshida-san for my Remaster podcast. There will definitely be a novelty factor to begin with, but as people start to understand the form, you will see some truly astonishing experiences. I want to make some of them!”
VR definitely has the potential to be something big- and with three major VR hardware launches this year, now is as good a time as any for the medium to finally break into mainstream. Will video games embrace VR, making it an integral part of their design? Or will VR fade away, becoming the next Kinect or 3D? It remains to be seen, but early indications are promising.
Stay tuned for our full interview with Kamal soon.