Sony executives have been known for making some rather
entertaining remarks when comparing its PlayStation 3 to Microsoft’s Xbox 360. SCEA
PR chief Dave Karraker said that Microsoft was doing Xbox 360 Core owners a disservice with
the introduction of the hard drive-mandatory Xbox Live Video Marketplace.
While hopes for the banishing of the Core unit remain
unanswered, one of the PlayStation 3’s bullet points over Microsoft’s console
was today removed from the list of Sony advantages -- the HDMI output for the
highest quality picture possible on HDTVs.
The announcement of the Xbox 360 Elite is clearly Microsoft’s
party, but that does not stop Sony from driving by with its welcome wagon,
waving PS3 flags.
“The PlayStation 3 is the only elite gaming system on the
market. Microsoft is trying to catch up to us at this point. Beyond the
benefits of HDMI and a hard drive offered on every PS3 we make, we also provide
game developers and consumers the huge capacity of Blu-ray disc, Wi-Fi, free
online gameplay, wireless motion sensing controller and the power of Cell,” said
Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing, SCEA. “Our strategy has
always been to offer all our consumers a future-proof experience when they
first purchase any PS3, rather than continually asking users to upgrade with
expensive new add-ons and entire new SKUs.”
Dille also
commented on the new HDMI feature in the Xbox 360 Elite, saying, “Microsoft's
announcement today not only legitimizes Sony's PS3 strategy, it moves us closer
to adopting universal standards in the area of high definition gaming that will
benefit game developers and ultimately the end user.”