'Last console generation'? We'll see about that

– Sony Computer Entertainment America president (and die-hard console advocate) Jack Tretton. A PlayStation executive arguing against the "consoles are doomed" sentiment isn't a surprising scenario, but Tretton explains why he thinks predictions of the near-term death of dedicated game consoles like the PlayStation 4 are unfounded. "I've managed to ride the 'last console' wave for the last, what is that … 27 years or so?" he said in an AllThingsD story published today, the eve of PS4's launch. "There’s a reason the console came about: [People like] sitting in front of a big-screen TV on a couch with [their] friends." Prognosticators have speculated that PlayStation 4's generation may be the last generation of consoles, due to massive changes in the past few years such as the rise of mobile platforms, the nascent Android microconsole market and steps by Valve Software toward Linux PC-based living room entertainment. Tretton said he wants PlayStation to be wherever video games are headed, including mobile platforms – initiatives like PlayStation mobile reflect that (even though he called mobile games "good-enough gaming"). But right now, Sony is chasing "core" gamers, and in order to do that, Sony is focusing on dual-stick controllers, TVs and $400 consoles. In any case, Tretton sees a bright future for games: "I don’t think I’ll be in the industry 27 years from now, but I think the next 27 years bode much better for the gaming industry than the last 27 did." More at AllThingsD.