Microsoft execs slam Sony Blu-Ray strategy

[marcode]

Johnny Minkley 17:27 30/05/2006

Europe boss Chris Lewis and UK head Neil Thompson accuse Sony of “forcing” consumers to upgrade to unproven tech

The war of words between bitter rivals Microsoft and Sony has intensified, with top Xbox Europe execs launching an astonishing attack on the Japanese firm's decision to include its next-generation DVD technology in PlayStation 3 as standard.

Speaking to Eurogamer TV in part one of an exclusive E3 interview broadcast today, Xbox UK boss Neil Thompson and Europe boss Chris Lewis both accused Sony of “forcing” its Blu-Ray DVD technology onto consumers.

“Sony are now making people pay an extra few hundred pounds for a Blu-Ray DVD drive which we don't know is going to be the standard in the next-generation DVD formats,” Thompson insisted.

“This is the company that brought out Betamax – we don't quite know where they're going to go with this,” he added, in a pointed reference to Sony's defeat in the format war against VHS.

Microsoft believes Blu-Ray's inclusion in PS3 plays right into the US firm's hands, since it is offering Xbox 360 users the option to upgrade to next-generation movie tech later this year with the release of a standalone HD-DVD drive.

“If gamers over time choose to go to HD-DVD we're going to give them the choice to do that, but we're not going to force them to buy that day one,” Thompson remarked.

“I find it concerning for consumers that they're being forced into a purchase... I don't think they need to make that decision for another two, three years maybe. Sony now have a very interesting business model I think they're going to find challenging.”

Thompson's frank views were backed by Europe boss Chris Lewis, who added: “[PS3's] is an interesting price point that in my view forces the consumer down a choice path in a way that I'm surprised to see.”

Lewis also added that the price positioning of PS3 removed any immediate pressure on Microsoft to cut the price of 360 before year-end, commenting: “We're confident that we are at the right price at the right time and will remain so, and nothing I've heard in the last two days does anything other than frankly reinforce that view.”

http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=17353

video of exec interview here: http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.ph...ist_id=490&s=l

[{{909}}]

petty console politics at its best, whats next, sony boss sleeping with his secretery?

[Mario87]

Seems M$ are beginning to get a bit worried, i mean why else would they be slating Sony?!

TBH, I dnt think they give a sh*t about the customer, just the fact that if folk go and buy the PS3, they will be more inclined to use Blu-Ray, as opposed to buying the HD-DVD unit for their 360, and using that! (going under the assumption that the person in question has both a PS3, and a 360)

[Midnight_Toker]

so what's more mercenary? making the consumer pay for your product and then PAY AGAIN in a year's time, or just charging them at initial buy time?? Nice try M$!

[Mario87]

exactly! A premium 360 costs £280, with the HD-DVD add on (approx £100), it will be £380, now the PS3 retailing at £425 dnt sound so bad if you think of it like that!

Eventually, a media format will win, and we will all be made to buy a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player, so at the end of the day, we're gonna be forking out about the same...

Only good thing with the 360 is; if Blu-Ray does win, then you won't need to spend the extra £100, and vice versa with the PS3 (ie, if HD-DVD wins, youv got a Blu-Ray player, but it will only play games, and standard DVD's!)...time will tell, eh?!

[{{909}}]

i dont believe sonys thoughts for adding the blueray player have very much to do with giving the customers the best value, i do however understand the business sense of it. If the PS3 is a success, which its pretty much guarenteed, then so is blueray and its a double earner for sony, at the same time, MS are gonna end up looking stupid with their external useless box if that happens too.

[pmat]

Sony are notorious for releasing formats that usually fall flat on their faces.....Betamax, AATRAC, Memory Stick, UMD, Minidisc just to name a few. My money will be on HD-DVD trumping bluray and then what use will your bluray player (on the ps3) be, apart from playing games......and do you really need 30GB discs for games?

[gunner]

This is quite interesting as the HD DVD format must of been about 6 months ahead at one point, I think the aimed to have the DVD players in desktops ant the end of last year. Now it looks like the Blu Ray will be out first. And that could go a long way to winning the format war.

[pmat]

you could well be right....Sony are well overdue a win in the 'Format War'

[{{909}}]

people are endlessly repeating the same facts now.

noone can really tell if BR will be a success, quoting some failed technologies doesnt mean anything new by them will fail (memory stick!?)

people love to quote minidisc as a failure, but it ran for about 5 years and defeated the digital tape format that was its direct competitor. You can still buy the discs today too.

The average punter isnt going to look at BR and and, "oh its by sony therefore im not buying it" the average punter doesnt know sony introduced betamax, infact alot of them wont even remember what betamax is. the name sony has now become tied to playstation, which is the most popular console of all time and i think thats more important that a failed video tape format over 20 years ago.

The biggest mistake sony made in recent years was their reluctance to use mp3 but apple have that area stitched up for now anyway.

[marcode]

its not so much about blue ray.

its more about the way sony LOVE to keep a tight, regulated, restricted hand on everything...

if you use one of their storage mediums, your likely to get fucked in the ass somehow....

and theyll do it again.

[Over Carl]

Marcode may be true (i don't know if its for each of sony's "new" mediums), but with most of Sony's defeats, their technology has been superior, but never actually took off.

[marcode]

purely cos they are such cunts about it..

if they just let ppl use it without squeazing money out of it they would win.

they are doing it again with the no pre-owned games in shops shit.trying to regulate peoples purchasing.

[scumner]

Hi all,

CD was a Sony/Philips joint venture. I don't think that went too badly!

Si

[carvegio]

I don't think they are worried. They are just trying to plant the seeds of doubt into consumers as with a lot of people if you give them enough rope they will hang themselves... same thing here I think