Mark Cerny Talks PS4, Knack and Seeing the Console for the First Time

In an interview with the PlayStation Blog the PS4's lead system architect, Mark Cerny, has explained why he didn't appear on stage at Sony's pre-E3 media briefing and what it felt like to see the console for the first time.

Discussing his absence at E3 Cerny said "I was on stage talking about the system architecture in New York in February, but this time the focus was on the games. I was in the nosebleed seats with the rest of the audience! It was a lot of fun. To be honest, it was the first time I saw the console. They wanted to show it to me but I wanted to see it at the same time as the rest of the world. I had intentionally not seen it until the big reveal."

He added that he had some idea of the size of the device beforehand however commenting "I could tell you how big it was because I know what the power consumption is – but my responsibility was the inside of the system. We have a great design center to create the look for it."

Cerny was determined to understand the software side of the PlayStation 4 as well as the hardware angle and so he's leading development on launch title Knack. 

"As system architect I knew there would be quality core games for launch for the core gamer. I just wanted to make sure there was something for the rest of the family to enjoy as well."

Knack is being developed by Sony Japan Studios and Cerny notes "It's a very talented studio. For example, the lead background artist from Shadow of the Colossus is on Knack, he designed the very soft look of our world. There are also quite a few members of the team that made Ape Escape – that was my game director and producer's first project. In fact that were both artists on the game – it's a very talented artistic team.

"I worked on Killzone 3 as well," Cerny added, "but I wouldn't say that had an influence on this title! That's just our past history."

Knack was revealed at the PS4's announcement event in February and was demoed at the time because Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida wanted to show the console was about more than shooters.