SCEA executive VP Jack Tretton unloads on the 360.
As we get closer to the launch of Sony’s PlayStation 3 console, more and more details are starting to come to light. We learned today that Sony is trimming the price of the 20GB PS3 to $430 USD in Japan and that the base system will come with HDMI output. We’ve also learned that the PS3 will emulate SEGA and TurboGrafx games.
Microsoft hasn’t been too far behind with revealing fresh gear for its XBOX 360. The company launched its Live Vision camera on September 19 and it announced that the XBOX 360 would receive 1080p support later this year via a software update. Also coming is the HD DVD drive add-on which will retail for around $170 USD in Japan — a $199 price tag is estimated for the US release.
In the first part of GameDaily’s interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America’s (SCEA) Jack Tretton, the exec doesn’t spend time promoting his company’s PS3 (that’s for Part 2), but instead takes the time to take the XBOX 360 to task. Specifically, Tretton is keen on pointing out how well the PS2 has done worldwide compared to its predecessor while the XBOX 360 isn’t fairing so well in the numbers game compared to the original XBOX:
What I’ve read widely and what I’ve heard from MS is, ‘Yeah, we got beat last generation but that’s because we were late to market and came out a year after PS2 did and that’s why we got defeated and that’s not going to happen again.’ Yes, the PS2 was beating the Xbox 5 or 6 years ago, but now the PS2 is beating the Xbox 360… Year-to-date we’ve sold more hardware than they have and this past month we’ve sold more hardware. So we beat them in their last generation machine and we’re beating them in their current generation machine. And if I were Microsoft, the big concern I’d have is… Xbox 360 is actually doing worse than the original Xbox did.
Tretton also went on to point out that the XBOX 360 has had the next-gen market all to itself for the past year and is still selling in worse numbers than its predecessor. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how the PS3 fairs against its PS2 predecessor as far as sales go. Sony is taking pleasure in the fact that the XBOX 360 has been relatively slow out of the gate, so let’s hope that Sony can put its money where its mouth is and show some significant gains in PS3 sales.
News source: DAILYTECH
