BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Sony's Phil Harrison has recommended the Nintendo Wii as the second system consumers should purchase after PlayStation 3, suggesting that the next-geneneration console war will be a direct fight between Sony and Microsoft.

 

Sony's Phil Harrison suggests that the next-geneneration console war will be a direct fight between Sony and Microsoft.(file photo)

     Harrison's words are part of the efforts that executives from the Japanese company are making from the outset to justify the hefty EURO 500-600 price tag for their new console, which supports the costly Blu-Ray disc format as opposed to Microsoft's HD DVD compatible Xbox 360.

    Microsoft recently made comments over the pricing structure of the PlayStation 3.

    Peter Moore said, "I'm trying to rationalise USD 500 and USD 600. I'm trying to rationalise whether Blu-Ray, a format that hasn't hit the market yet, can justify that pricing" and suggesting that consumers could buy an Xbox 360 and Wii for less than the cost of a PS3.

    "I know what Peter was getting at with his price point issue but he's not comparing apples to oranges," Harrison retorted. "It's clearly a case that PlayStation 3's price is justified by PlayStation 3's value. That's what consumers base their purchasing decisions on - value."

    "What we have in addition to a great game system is a Blu-Ray player, a network platform, a new controller, and HDD in every system combined in an unbelievably compelling package. And frankly I'm amazed that we can do it so cheaply," Harrison added.

    Exactly how the console war is going to turn out is an open question at the moment, but Sony will certainly have to work hard to re-establish its dominance of the console market with the next-generation of machines. Enditem

    (Agencies)