Sony, Microsoft Point to Drawn Out Battle

Both companies are wedded to their consoles.

The Xbox didn't stick around too long in the previous generation but that doesn't mean things are going to be the same with the Xbox 360.

In an interview with Shacknews, Microsoft's Shane Kim said that Microsoft was in it for the "long haul" this time around.

"We're banking on the Xbox 360 going the long haul, having a long life cycle, but you have to be ready to respond as well," Kim said.

Kim's comments were echoed by Jack Tretton, the top man at Sony's PlayStation division in North America. Tretton told the LA Times that Sony isn't bothered by the relatively weak showing of the PlayStation 3 thus far and said he was looking for the PlayStation 3 to stick around until the latter half of the next decade.

"We didn't get into PS3 for the first six months of 2007 - we're into this for the next 10 years and beyond," Tretton said. "A million units one way or another at this point isn't going to worry us."

Price is a key issue. The $480 (£240) top-model Xbox 360 and the $600 PlayStation 3 cost more than hardware has traditionally cost in previous generations. And it's only once prices reach mainstream-friendly prices that sales really start to climb.

"If you go back historically, 80 per cent of most consoles' volumes are done at $199 or less," Kim told Shacknews. "We're sure not at $199 or less, right? The faster you get to that price point, typically that's when you can hit the switch on the mass market. The sooner you get there, it could be that the shorter that life cycle will be."

In the past, Sony executives have conceded that it's likely they would enjoy as large a slice of the pie in this generation. For Microsoft, coming closer to Sony isn't enough.

"Our objective is to be the clear winner," Kim said. "Would it be acceptable otherwise? I don't think it would be acceptable. This is why Microsoft is in this business, to win this generation."

To do that, though, Microsoft will have to step it up. Since last November, the Wii has been outselling both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo