Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, Kazuo Hirai (pictured), told Official Playstation Magazine that the Xbox 360 “lacks longevity” and commented on the future of the competition between Xbox 360 and PS3:
“Last time I checked, they’ve never had a console that’s been on the market for more than four or five years and we’ve committed to a ten year life cycle, so you do the math.”
Hirai’s fighting talk – pressing the advantage or defending his corner?
Coming from the usually confident and convincing camp at Sony, Hirai’s words don’t seem out of place, but taking a look at the recent sales figures over the Christmas period, we are forced to wonder whether his comments are not just an attempt to reassure execs and Playstation owners about the success of the console.
These sales figures, which show a definite sloping of the Playstation 3’s commercial success, show the Sony machine having sold 19% less units in December 2008 as compared with the previous December. Conversely, the Xbox 360’s sales have risen by 8% in the same comparison.
What does this mean for Sony and the Playstation 3? And what was the true purpose of Hirai’s bold statements? To be sure, we will have to wait and see.
