PS3 vs. Xbox Online Battle Heating Up

Like a vindictive juggernaut, Redmond Washington corporation Microsoft has launched verbal attacks at Sony‘s online strategy as they attempt to solidify its market position ahead of the arrival of PlayStation 3.

Just before E3 2006,  Sony provided an exhaustive demonstration of its next-generation OS online functionality. But Microsoft, now in its second generation of its successful Live service, dismisses the PS3 as attempting to play “catch up” in the online arena, including features already available on the Xbox.

“I’m flattered that they’ve followed our clear direction,” MS representative  Chris Lewis says. “Plagiarism is a good thing – that in itself isn’t such a problem, it’s what the market wants. But we’ve known that’s what the market wanted all along…it’s good to see them catching up in that regard,” he notes, adding “I think the service is still hazy in my view in terms of how it’s really going to work for the consumer – how the pricing is going to work still to me seems very unclear.”

At a press conference, Microsoft mogul Bill Gates announced the next step for their online service, the Cross Platform Live Anywhere initiative. Online presence is its biggest asset in the round of corporate battles, according to Microsoft.

“Sony talks about the online component – the analogy used was the air conditioning unit in a car. From our point of view, right from version one, online gaming was built right into the heart of the first Xbox. For us it was the engine; it wasn’t some peripheral component people may or may not want to use. It was right at the heart of the proposition then and now,” Lewis says. “I think we can be very confident that our service continues to develop. It’s a fully connected, seamless environment – we’re in a fantastic position there already.”

Via GamesIndustry.biz

Like a vindictive juggernaut, Redmond Washington corporation Microsoft has launched verbal attacks at Sony‘s online strategy as they attempt to solidify its market position ahead of the arrival of PlayStation 3.

Just before E3 2006,  Sony provided an exhaustive demonstration of its next-generation OS online functionality. But Microsoft, now in its second generation of its successful Live service, dismisses the PS3 as attempting to play “catch up” in the online arena, including features already available on the Xbox.

“I’m flattered that they’ve followed our clear direction,” MS representative  Chris Lewis says. “Plagiarism is a good thing – that in itself isn’t such a problem, it’s what the market wants. But we’ve known that’s what the market wanted all along…it’s good to see them catching up in that regard,” he notes, adding “I think the service is still hazy in my view in terms of how it’s really going to work for the consumer – how the pricing is going to work still to me seems very unclear.”

At a press conference, Microsoft mogul Bill Gates announced the next step for their online service, the Cross Platform Live Anywhere initiative. Online presence is its biggest asset in the round of corporate battles, according to Microsoft.

“Sony talks about the online component – the analogy used was the air conditioning unit in a car. From our point of view, right from version one, online gaming was built right into the heart of the first Xbox. For us it was the engine; it wasn’t some peripheral component people may or may not want to use. It was right at the heart of the proposition then and now,” Lewis says. “I think we can be very confident that our service continues to develop. It’s a fully connected, seamless environment – we’re in a fantastic position there already.”

Via GamesIndustry.biz