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Sony and Microsoft bosses defend their consoles

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DVDBack23 @ Apr 04, 2007 15:46 | 30 comments

In the latest edition of the "Eurogamer TV Show", Sony's Ray Maguire and Microsoft's Neil Thompson have been interviewed and speak out about their product's value propositions and of course criticize the competition.

One of the issues discussed was the competing online offerings. Neil Thompson, the UK Xbox boss stated, "We passionately believe that online gaming, and having an identity within the online gaming community, is what's core to what you need to offer - a service that can transcend different titles where you can communicate with your gaming friends no matter what platform you're on and what game you're playing.

"I don't see how Sony can really deliver that, and they're certainly not delivering that in a compelling way today," he continued. "I think what Sony's talking about has compelling aspects to it, but I don't think there's anything there that... We're going to be afraid of competing with, because we will certainly evolve our service as we move forward."

Xbox Live has certainly been very popular among gamers, with over 6 million subscribers signed up to date. Sony UK managing director Ray Maguire did bring up a good point by noting that there was no way to tell how many of those 6 million are paying the full annual subscription fee. He then reminded that the PlayStation 3 online service is and always will be, free.

"I look at our [service] as being an inclusive area for people to be able to communicate and play with each other," he said. "Some content will clearly be downloadable and chargeable, but it should be an environment that people can get together and explore by themselves without having someone say, 'We're going to charge you for entering this space.'"

Although it wont be a while until we see who wins the console wars this time around both Thompson and Maguire agree that consumer loyalty will be a huge factor.

"People that are thinking about a PS3 or a Wii, I would just say, look at what you're buying, and what do you want to buy? Do you want to buy a gaming machine that offers you the best high definition gaming, and online gaming, for the best possible price?" said Thompson.

"If those are the questions in your head, I really can't see why anyone would chooose anything but the Xbox 360."

To no ones surprise, Maguire took a different view: "Quite simply, if you want the best gaming experience, if you want the best output in terms of high definition, if you want the best connectivity, then you need look no further than a PlayStation 3. Simple as that."

Source:

Gamesindustry.biz

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Comment by: limelight (Apr 04, 2007 18:02)

It'd be nice if these companies would stop talking trash about the competition all the friggin' time. Could you guys imagine if one of your friends was being like that?? I surely wouldnt want to have anything to do with them.

Comment by: cashman91 (Apr 04, 2007 18:53)

Originally posted by Edgewise:
edit: nvm i thought he said choose from best price(Wii), best high def(ps3), and best online(360).

i that case buy all three lol

Comment by: Leech83 (Apr 04, 2007 19:06)

Originally posted by limelight:
It'd be nice if these companies would stop talking trash about the competition all the friggin' time. Could you guys imagine if one of your friends was being like that?? I surely wouldnt want to have anything to do with them.

it would be nice if the competition was not so crazed, but all the stunts that are pulled give each company PR, they get to stay in the consumers eye, constantly, its like the saying "thers no such thing as bad publicity"

imagine if they were all friendly with each other,
"here you go sony, take these customers of ours, thanks Microsoft, hav e some games".. haha

if this was the case consumers wouldn't care which system they had, each company would not be forced to get the upper hand on each other either, meaning less upgrades and new items for consumers with all the arguing, people want both systems to see what it has to offer...

Comment by: ThaJazz (Apr 04, 2007 20:05)

i still dont understand why people make such a big deal over the 50.00 per year for xboxlive its the very best in online gameplay.50.00per year=like .75cents per week can you afford that.

Comment by: Leech83 (Apr 04, 2007 20:38)

Originally posted by ThaJazz:
i still dont understand why people make such a big deal over the 50.00 per year for xboxlive its the very best in online gameplay.50.00per year=like .75cents per week can you afford that.

good point, i had purchased live in the UK for xbox 1 and loved it.
i think that it becomes a big deal when is free on other platforms, mainly PC, and the PS3(although i dnt know much about the on-line side).

Its possible that it may become free in the forthcoming years, if PS3 keep online gaming free, Microsoft may reduce, however they create large revenue from it so its likely it will not.

just my opinion. :)

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Apr 05, 2007 02:47)

Each of the systems have thier own niche

360 cheap high def and solid online mature solid maturing libary

PS3 solid high def cheap online weak(stunted in growth) library

WII Cheap,FUN,mad party machine,solid online,wildly growing library

PS3 and 360 will always be main rivals jabbing at each other,the WII is smaller odder and able to sneak by them while they argue.

I think with the markets around the world the WII will gain a huge amount of steam because not allot of people has that kinda money to burn on high def gaming.

Comment by: gozilla (Apr 05, 2007 04:01)

i like how both sony and microsoft pretty much ignore the product that might wipe the smiles of both there faces.

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Apr 05, 2007 04:04)

Originally posted by gozilla:
i like how both sony and microsoft pretty much ignore the product that might wipe the smiles of both there faces.

much like the DS its going to gain ground on innovation and fun while the other play the power game and compare their edcks.

Comment by: NexGen76 (Apr 05, 2007 11:34)

Quote:
Xbox Live has certainly been very popular among gamers, with over 6 million subscribers signed up to date

I wonder how many of these are XBOX customer i'm willing to bet more than half.

Right now I'll stick with my PS3 M$ been trying to top everything Sony do.Its almost like they are trying to make a better Sony product.I don't like Microsoft because they always do something in reaction to Sony.Everything thats on the 360 is a re-action to PS3 all the stuff they say was not need now is need when are they going to be there own company & stop baseing there product off Sony.

Comment by: Kasper45 (Apr 05, 2007 12:46)

Quote:
[quote]Xbox Live has certainly been very popular among gamers, with over 6 million subscribers signed up to date

Quote:

I wonder how many of these are XBOX customer i'm willing to bet more than half.

Right now I'll stick with my PS3 M$ been trying to top everything Sony do.Its almost like they are trying to make a better Sony product.I don't like Microsoft because they always do something in reaction to Sony.Everything thats on the 360 is a re-action to PS3 all the stuff they say was not need now is need when are they going to be there own company & stop baseing there product off Sony.

NexGen76, you make me laugh. Alright we all understand your a loyal Sony PS3 owner and your always going to back your investment. With that being said, MS was the first company to perfect online play. Sony Online is shaky at best, rather than connect to the host directly (LIVE) you have to connect through a server supported not by Sony. I would feel a little neglected if I were you. Yes all of us Live subscribers do in fact pay for the service, but it's the best out there. I'm sooo Happy Sony cam out with their own Online component. Why, because it will force 1 of 2 things. 1:MS will have to reduce or drop the Live charges for subscriptions, 2: Sony will eventually charge for their online because they are losing money hand over fist to MS. Sony just needs to get their install base up before they charge for online. $600 for a system + $60 for a game + $50 for online subscription. That's a lot of cake at one time. Nobody is going to develope anything unless they can make money off it, that's how the industry goes.

~Sully

Comment by: NexGen76 (Apr 05, 2007 13:08)

Quote:
NexGen76, you make me laugh. Alright we all understand your a loyal Sony PS3 owner and your always going to back your investment.

What i said was not a joke but i willing to bet half of those 6 million is XBOX owner keep in mind thats a system M$ no longer support.I careless about who run what server Sony is free M$ is not why should i have to pay for online service on top of a cable bill also.I'm happy with there online service for the PS3 so far & its only going to get better.I'm sorry if you feel that i'm bashing your little console but what i stated was the truth how many time M$ going to put there foot into there mouth.Like most people on here i don't need to put a console down to justify what i own i could buy hundred PS3 or 360 if i wanted.I'm sorry but 360 to me is not a good system all there game's are the same GOQ,Mass effect ,Lost planet & others.Thats just my opinion.

Comment by: ThaJazz (Apr 05, 2007 13:34)

you are by far the biggest fanboy sony has

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Apr 05, 2007 13:57)

NexGen76
the 360 has more games than thos,it also is gaining more where the PS3 has no games and not going to have much for nearly 2 years and half of witch will be multi platform the PS3 aint in better shape.

As for live numbers ya I would say half that or at least 30% is old Xbox subscribers the lack of BWC so people have to have both if they want to play their libary its a bit silly....and MS like sony like pading their numbers.

I do like its hardware as long as they respect BWC as a main part of the PS3 I'll get one sooner rather than later.

I hate MS for their hardware games but they have better offerings than the PS3 even wif the crappy 50$ live it has a maruteing libary and a solid online,while the PS3 practically has nothing and its online is going threw a "growing" faze.

both consoles require allot of money and have allot of issues that have not been dealt with so I say get a WII...80 games cometh this year ALONE =0-o=

Comment by: wetsparks (Apr 05, 2007 15:54)

Zippy, you know that six months into the 360s life it didnt have hardly any games either. And what games it did have were also on the PC. That is where the PS3 is at, not many games and the games are also on the PC.

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Apr 05, 2007 19:38)

wetsparks
and when the PS3 gets more games it will be more worth while till then its a bit over priced for what it offers :X

Comment by: robtwilk (Apr 06, 2007 01:02)

I have two Xbox's, two 360's, one PS3, one Wii, one Gamecube, two DS's and a PSP. I couldn't be happier having each platform because me and my kids get bored with games from one system.

The BWC issue drives me crazy on the 360 (I have over 50 games and only 10% work on my 360). The PS3 has controllers that are way too small for my hands. The 360 HD add-on has no HDMI, but the remote works great with my Logitech 1000 remote. The Sony came with Blu-ray (but very slow drive) and the bluetooth remote doesn't work with my universal remote. The Wii is fun and family friendly, but gets boring quickly. Live is great, but hurts the wallet. I could care less about PS3's online gaming - after building a community on Live, it's too late for Sony (at least a whole lot of ground to make up).

So far we are really enjoying Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm. The Wii sports games are really fun and even add a little exercise to the mix. The 360 has a number of great games and we play lots of demos - and of course are counting the days to Halo 3.

As far as the numbers go - let the companies boast and pad and count all they want. What does it mean when Wii is outselling the PS3 or 360? More people buy Kia's or Hyundai's then Mercedes - they cost less. Were these people really going to spend twice as much for a PS3? Who is making the most profit?

Play games - forget who's winning or losing the console war!

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Apr 06, 2007 01:18)

robtwilk
*gives you a net cookie*

you pawned us all 0-o

Comment by: ThaJazz (Apr 06, 2007 17:40)

i agree cheap sells.

Comment by: wetsparks (Apr 07, 2007 00:50)

Originally posted by robtwilk:
I have two Xbox's, two 360's, one PS3, one Wii, one Gamecube, two DS's and a PSP. I couldn't be happier having each platform because me and my kids get bored with games from one system.

The BWC issue drives me crazy on the 360 (I have over 50 games and only 10% work on my 360). The PS3 has controllers that are way too small for my hands. The 360 HD add-on has no HDMI, but the remote works great with my Logitech 1000 remote. The Sony came with Blu-ray (but very slow drive) and the bluetooth remote doesn't work with my universal remote. The Wii is fun and family friendly, but gets boring quickly. Live is great, but hurts the wallet. I could care less about PS3's online gaming - after building a community on Live, it's too late for Sony (at least a whole lot of ground to make up).

So far we are really enjoying Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm. The Wii sports games are really fun and even add a little exercise to the mix. The 360 has a number of great games and we play lots of demos - and of course are counting the days to Halo 3.

As far as the numbers go - let the companies boast and pad and count all they want. What does it mean when Wii is outselling the PS3 or 360? More people buy Kia's or Hyundai's then Mercedes - they cost less. Were these people really going to spend twice as much for a PS3? Who is making the most profit?

Play games - forget who's winning or losing the console war!

This dude is a genius.

Comment by: dioioib (Apr 07, 2007 20:25)

I must say these console posts are becoming quite the mud slinging event. This "fanboy" crap has got to stop and this Xbox 360 neo-capitalist support for M$'s half baked products is ridiculous. Yes we all know a system that has been out for close to two years has more games and one that launched 6 months ago does not. Its not breaking news.

After owning an Xbox and playing it for about 3 months I decided paying additional for an online experience was just ridiculous and purely unneeded. The content for Xbox live is nothing special nor is Sony's. But, why pay? What we need to start agreeing on is that both systems have there strong points and there weak points. What we should be doing is pushing for inter-system compatibility. Why can't Xbox live and Sony integrate for a more seamless experience, other than "proprietary lock in?" The entire structure of the online gaming experience is backwards to the intentions of the internet and its become all about capital for M$.

Lets get real here. I have to say the technological breakthrough in the PS3 is quite impressive. And I am left questioning what happened with the Xbox 360? Where is the innovation. Thats what these systems are all about guys, INNOVATING! Since my purchase of the Coleco Vision in 1983 to today the only reason I buy systems is because they offer something new. What new technology does the 360 really offer? And heck I am not even going to talk about the Wii and the new power-glove.

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Apr 07, 2007 20:37)

dioioib
you forget the focus of the Xbox and the need to build a decent online backbone,they could have handled it better but the over all result is the Xbox and 360 have the best multi game community/online setup for gaming,Sonys attempt at online has been rather laughable even now its still lagy and rough around the edges,I will admit MS dose not a monopoly on online service and that Live will most likely need to be free to compete with a more matured and polished Sony online in a year or so.

I really wish MS would remove the plug from tis rear and get the 360 stable and have more coherent Hdef support.

Comment by: dioioib (Apr 08, 2007 13:59)

Quote:
ZIppyDSM
I really wish MS would remove the plug from tis rear and get the 360 stable and have more coherent Hdef support.

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Apr 08, 2007 17:54)

Quote:
[quote]ZIppyDSM
I really wish MS would remove the plug from tis rear and get the 360 stable and have more coherent Hdef support.

I agree entirely with you on that one. No doubt the online experience has become very refined with the Xbox 360; its probably dude to the cross pollination from the other divisions of M$. Sony's online Virtual Reality style social networking idea looks interesting but how well did VRML ever take off? Who knows what a year holds. One thing I think we can all agree on here is that finally all the game companies have figured out that gamers are a serious market and content, features, usability, stability, and integration with other equipment are big concerns. I guess what I am saying is that there is no such thing as the perfect game system but with a little push from us the 360, PS3 and Wii we are heading in the right direction.[/quote]
=================================================================
I think PShome will do well as long as the network issues dealt with quickly and you have a choice between moving a avatar in a 3d world or a menu to surf,It would be a mistake to make it mandatory.

AS far as live goes its polish came from MS giving it some forethought and money since the WII and the PS3 offer online free MS needs to own up to the fact that paying for online is not "value added" and will negate the brunt of what live offers.

with all the crap MS is pulling with the Hardware and Hdef support MS should just go ahead and make the damn thing free now.

Comment by: ThaJazz (Apr 08, 2007 21:43)

people xboxlive cost 50.00 for one full year thats like .75cents a week can we afford that that for a good service i know i can and dont mind paying it.the service is better than that free crap sony and nintendo is pushing.so when the other two become better than live that is when live should be free

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Apr 09, 2007 00:11)

Originally posted by ThaJazz:
people xboxlive cost 50.00 for one full year thats like .75cents a week can we afford that that for a good service i know i can and dont mind paying it.the service is better than that free crap sony and nintendo is pushing.so when the other two become better than live that is when live should be free

=============================================

14 cents a day,but since they only offer it in 1 year and over priced monthly bundals its time to make it free and get on with things they would probably pad live another 30%,also MS dosent need that money so badly and they need to help their rep a bit because of the hardware issues.