Sony's head of worldwide studios, Phil Harrison, has admit that he has experienced frustration in dealing with Sony of Japan in regards to the idea of social gaming-- their division was too slow to accept the idea, and has now been beaten to the punch by longtime rival Nintendo and its Wii console.

In Europe, Sony had three products in place which encouraged people to play together before the Wii even hit shelves: The EyeToy, SingStar, and Buzz. But regardless of this, Japanese executives didn't believe that families and friends would enjoy playing games together in such a fashion.

In speaking with GameIndustry.biz at a private lunch during GDC, he said "It's a very interesting and frustrating thing for me to experience because I have been banging the drum about social gaming for a long time, with SingStar, EyeToy and Buzz."

"And our Japanese colleagues said that there is no such thing as social gaming in Japan – people do not play games on the same sofa together in each other's homes. It will never happen. And then out comes the Wii."

Harrison expressed admiration for Nintendo's success in marketing and sales of their Wii product, and believes that Wii Sports truly encapsulates what a real 'next generation' game is all about.

"What's interesting with Nintendo adverts – and they are the same the world over – they always show the view from the television back to the sofa, which is very clever. And what do you see? A family or friends all on a sofa," he said.