We talk to PlayStation Australia chief Michael Ephraim about PlayStation and E3

SONY Australia’s PlayStation admits his latest games aren’t his most special. In fact, it was something that was launched more than 30 years ago.

SONY Australia’s PlayStation boss admits his most special game of all time isn’t their groundbreaking Last of Us — but something launched over 30 years ago.

Michael Ephraim, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia spends his days trying get his audience hooked to Sony’s latest PlayStation 4. But he admits the one game that had him playing for hours on end was the iconic Ms Pac-Man.

“I still have very fond memories of Ms Pac-Man, I invested a lot of time and money into it as a kid. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been more passionate or addicted to a game,”

A few years on though, the Sony boss finds himself playing video games at home with his kids more than at an arcade, fitting in a few games of FIFA 14 after work.

Mr Ephraim told news.com.au as he was confident about PlayStation’s future, and after Sony’s announcements at the E3 conference, he has reason to.

Destiny was a fan favourite at E3 and many people expect it to be the highest selling game of 2014.

“Destiny is looking to be the biggest selling new franchise of all time, and with the PlayStation you get 60 minutes of extra gameplay.

“We’ve got other innovative titles coming to the platform too, like Far Cry 4 which allows you to play online with friends who don’t even have the game.”

It’s not just shooting games in which the PlayStation is looking to either. They have added extra content to Disney’s Infinity 2.0, the genre-defining No Man’s Sky and have renewed Mortal Kombat, which Mr Ephraim says will “revive the fighting genre.” These moves are all aimed at bringing completely different gamers to the PlayStation platform.

Sony’s flexing its guns towards casual gamers, too, bringing back the much loved (especially by this writer) SingStar karaoke game, releasing the next Little Big Planet game and allowing games to become more accessible through the PlayStation TV micro-console.

The PlayStation TV will let you play either PS Vita games or stream PS3 games over PlayStation Now for $149.

PlayStation Vita was virtually ignored at E3, with many fearing it was the nail in the portable console’s coffin. But Mr Ephraim denied the console is being shelved, saying “we can expect to see a little bit more at Gamescom later in the year”.

He also expects the Vita to get a boost of games thanks to the PlayStation TV which runs Vita games, as well as streaming games over PlayStation Now. So hope still lies for PS Vita fans.

Any fans hoping to subscribe to Sony’s “Netflix” of video games service PlayStation Now any time soon will be a little disappointed, with Mr Ephraim confirming that it won’t be launching in Australian in 2014, but it is definitely coming.

Sony’s hoping to see a lot more of these controllers in people’s hands.

Mr Ephraim launched Sony’s original PlayStation nearly 20 years ago in Australia, and has been involved in every console launch since. Advances have included the then revolutionary CD player, right up until the PS4 where you’re one button away from uploading your latest HD gameplay onto YouTube for the world to see.

But even before PlayStation he was living and breathing video games.

“You see, I’m a few years on now, so my first ever console was the Atari 2600, and the first video game I ever played being Pong.”

How times have changed.

Originally published as We talk to PlayStation Australia chief Michael Ephraim about PlayStation and E3