Microsoft Questions Sony and Nintendo's Readiness for Launch

Now that the Xbox 360 is doing well, Microsoft is letting some of that cockiness come back.

Sony and Nintendo are both putting a lot of work into preparing for their upcoming face-off on the next-gen pitch. Despite their common home country, the approach these two game giants are taking couldn't be more different. As the only player already on what is going to be a very crowded field, Microsoft is strutting confidently. But a few mind games aren't going to hurt.

Even though Nintendo and Microsoft will probably both face sell-outs of their new hardware, Microsoft's Richard Teversham questions whether either of them has what it takes to go beyond that.

"On day one [Sony] will have pre-sold most of what [PlayStation 3 stock] they've got," Teversham told MCV, adding, "But the question is, will they actually be able to launch in Europe and if they do, what are the tiny quantities going to be in Europe."

He also said he though gamers would wait for a PlayStation 3 price drop, "or even better they'll buy a 360."

Nintendo couldn't steer clear of his tongue either. Teversham called the Wii, "almost a GameCube with a DVD drive," and again fingered Nintendo's stock situation as a potential problem.

Teversham's biting remarks are the result of audaciousness and experience. Microsoft knows first-hand how hard it is to launch a next-gen system, especially using a near-simultaneous worldwide launch of the type Sony is aiming for.

Microsoft has only recently hit a point where stock shortages aren't an issue any more. And as such, it's hoping that disappointed gamers look to the Xbox 360 sitting on the shelf should it be empty of PlayStation 3s and Wiis this Christmas.

Teversham wasn't ready to give away any of Microsoft's plans for the end of the year, but he did say that the company has a few "surprises up our sleeve".

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games