Sony Bickers With Microsoft Over HD

When does the HD Era begin? The seemingly simple question now seems to depend on who you ask.

Microsoft has been pushing its new Xbox 360 as the herald of the high-definition era, but it seems Sony thinks otherwise. Sony's Phil Harrison has gone after Microsoft, saying that the Xbox 360 lacks core technology needed to be truly HD.

"The true definition of HD is the three elements of the HD value chain - the display, the content and the hardware to play back that content and PlayStation and Sony is the only organisation that has all three bits of the value chain together," Harrison told GamesIndustry.biz.

Harrison also said that Microsoft was being misleading, because the Xbox 360 doesn't have a high-definition DVD drive nor does it offer the kind of high-resolution images that Sony's console does:

"As you well know the Xbox 360 doesn't play high definition movies and doesn't have true HD functionality - PlayStation 3 is the only format that has 1080-progressive, which is the true definition of HD, so it's really premature to be talking about the HD era."

It's easy to take Harrison's aggressive remarks as bait to lure Microsoft into a fight over raw specs - a fight most feel goes only slightly in Sony's favour. And that's not even mentioning that most console owners, especially in Europe, don't even own HD-ready TVs, let alone sets that can play back in 1080p.

Sony has yet to nail down final hardware for the PlayStation 3 and it has not gone into detail about its online plans either. The new console is expected in Japan next spring, so a major showing for the PlayStation 3 is likely not far off.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games