USA: The competition is heating up in the video game console business as Sony and Nintendo announce new products to compete with Microsoft

Record ID: 451713

  • Title: USA: The competition is heating up in the video game console business as Sony and Nintendo announce new products to compete with Microsoft
  • Date: 10th May 2006
  • Summary: (BN17) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MAY 9, 2006) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL PACHTER MANAGING DIRECTOR AT WEDBUSH MORGAN SECURITIES SAYING: "The controller isn't enough. They really have to win this Blu-ray high-definition movie war. If they win that, I'm paying $100 (USD) to get a dvd player in my house that will play in HD."
  • Embargoed: 25th May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA7H3JTPZYVCXW45YIZQ0KN8F89
  • Story Text: Sony is winning some positive reviews for its new make-or-break video games console, the PlayStation 3, which it showed off at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles on Tuesday (May 9), saying the PS3 will go on sale in November.
    "It plays Blu-ray discs both in terms of games as well as movies," says Kaz Hirai is the president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Combine that with the fact that it has true HD output and combined with the fact that PlayStation is where all of the hit game titles come to."
    Sony also showed off PS 3's motion-sensitive wireless controller that surprised many gamers.
    But some analysts are questioning the PS3's price tag, $499 (USD) for a 20 GB Playstation and $599 (USD) for a 60GB game console-making the PlayStation 3 at least $100 (USD) more costly than its main rival, XBox 360 from Microsoft.
    "The controller isn't enough," says Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Morgan Securities. "They really have to win this Blu-ray high-definition movie war. If they win that, I'm paying $100 (USD) to get a dvd player in my house that will play in HD."
    And that is what Sony is counting on...convincing gamers that the PlayStation 3 would be the most advanced gaming system to date, with enough features to justify its price.
    "Sony's adding things that make this box pretty compelling like the controller that's interactive that will make the game play a little more fun," says Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Morgan Securities. "They have a lot more first party content. So they're giving us a reason to wait, to hold off from buying the 360 and buy the PS
    "
    Microsoft got the jump in the next-generation race, unveiling the Xbox 360 a full year ahead of the new Sony console. As a result, Microsoft has already sold millions of units, leaving Sony to play catch up. Meanwhile, Nintendo said on Tuesday that its next-generation video game console, called Wii, will be available in the fourth quarter of 2006.
    At stake for all three companies is dominance in an industry which will rack up about $30 billion in revenue worldwide this year.
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