Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO, Jack Tretton, visited the University of Southern California campus last month and spoke to students about the past, present, and future of the PlayStation. I had a chance to attend this event, and it was amazing to see Mr. Tretton in a casual setting. Normally the only time we would see him is during the Sony press briefing at E3, where he speaks in front of thousands. However, this time, it was a more “me and you” type of meeting. Mr. Tretton was introduced by Richard Lemarchand, now associate dean at USC and former lead designer of Naughty Dog.

Being in the presence of SCEA’s big boss is such a crazy, unique feeling. I mean, this guy is the shot caller for everything PlayStation. He talked about how PlayStation continues to grow and extend its generations through various versions of its platform over the years, such as the first PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3. He never once hinted anything about possible next generation consoles. He goes on to discuss the PlayStation Vita and how the target demographics prefer something more “adult” and that “tablets and smartphones are just an addition, but ultimately, we want to bring true handheld console gaming to our consumers”

The one thing that I took from this experience is what he said about competition. “Don’t be afraid to take risk. Be aware of competition, but don’t be a slave to it.”

With so much competition going around in the industry these days, its so hard to stay loyal and faithful. Throughout the years, PlayStation has always been the leader in innovation, and with the dawn of next generation consoles coming upon us, I hope that the PlayStation stays strong ahead of the competition and beat out any doubters out there and prove that the PlayStation will always be number 1.