I think Sony showed off a huge amount of technical prowess and had just amazing demos. Clearly they are in very good shape. And the system erases one of the things that was a stumbling block for us in the past in that it's really easy to develop for. It's on par with what Microsoft's got now.

I actually haven’t started developing on the new consoles yet. My impression is, for PS3 Sony is aiming for a very high level. I’m not sure if everyone can live up to that high standard that Sony is expecting. So if everyone is expected to meet that high level, I am not sure that every creator, every publisher will be able to meet these high expectations. For Xbox 360, it’s a little bit more down to earth, more realistic so people maybe can join easily to start creating on the 360. Speaking about Revolution, there are still a lot of secrets and I don’t know everything but from what I heard like you could connect your portables or you could play old games, I get the impression that the developers could create games on less budget or create titles that are not super high expensive in cost. If you allow me to express the three hardware platforms in a funny example, PS3 would be like a dinner that you only have once a year or twice a year on your anniversary etc.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Xbox 360 will still be a special dinner so you might go there two or three times a month on the weekend or something. Revolution is the kind of great dinner that you have everyday at your home. What I want to emphasize is that all three are dinners meaning that they have a salad, they have a soup and maybe have a dessert but they are a little differently, maybe other dinners have two salads or two appetizers or maybe extra coffee on top of that. The point is that they are all individualistic dinners. So if they are all dinners, like a steak dinner, the choice is up to the users and the game designers at the same time.  
 
If the game creators and the users want to have a great steak for their anniversary, they go maybe to PS3. But if they want great dinner, great steak with their family, a little bit more casual during the weekends, they might select Xbox 360. Or why not have a great steak at your house everyday, they might choose Revolution. So my impression of the battle between the consoles is, it’s not about what kind of dinner it is. It’s more about how much the dinner will be. Will it be worth the cost of being served? Or where can I have this dinner - number of restaurants, is it near my house or do I have to take a cab or train or bus? I think the battle amongst the next-gen platforms lies in that area.  

C'est en tout cas ce que révèle une interview parue vendredi dernier dans le magazine japonais Asahi Shinbun, et traduite aujourd'hui par Gamespot. Interrogés : Robert J. Bach, "chef officier" Xbox, Ken Kutaragi, président de Sony Computer Entertainment, et Satoru Iwata, grand patron de Nintendo. Question : que pensez-vous des consoles concurrentes ? On pourrait croire qu'à ce niveau de la compétition, tout se passe façon "langue de velours", avec tout de même une petite pique ci et là. En fait, pires que des politiciens en campagne, les trois dirigeants font avant tout valoir leurs machines respectives en écrasant celles des autres. Dans la boue et à grands coups de talons, pour les plus vicieux (vous le reconnaitrez aisément). Extraits.
 
Robert J. Bach (Microsoft)
"Les présentations E3 des deux autres constructeurs n'étaient pas surprenantes. Les capacités de la PS3 de Sony sont les mêmes que celles de la Xbox 360. Nintendo vise un marché de niche avec sa Revolution. Par ailleurs, il s'est vendu plus de Xbox que de Playstation 2 aux Etats-Unis, à Noël dernier. Nous allons devenir les leaders du marché avec notre machine de prochaine génération. [...] Nous n'avons pas encore fixé de prix mais la Xbox 360 est assurément moins chère à produire que la PS3."
 
Ken Kutaragi (Sony)
"Microsoft traîne derrière nous mais il ne s'agit pas d'une menace. Ils sont bons dès qu'il s'agit d'améliorer des produits existants mais nous, nous allons passer au niveau supérieur avec une technologie révolutionnaire. Nous battre pendant un court moment est comme battre accidentellement un maître de karaté, et Microsoft n'est pas encore une ceinture noire. Tout comme pour leurs systèmes d'exploitation, ils arriveront peut-être à quelque chose de bien avec la troisième génération de leur machine.
 
Avoir un prix élevé n'est pas forcément un problème. Quand nous avons sorti la première Playstation à 39.800 yens (300 euros), la Super Nintendo était aux alentours de 10.000 yens (75 euros). Et pourtant, tout le monde a choisi la Playstation. Cette fois, la PS3 va être comme une BMW équipée avec un moteur de Ferrari. La Revolution de Nintendo, elle, va être comme un nouveau modèle de voiture familiale. Certains seront peut-être tentés, mais si c'était moi, je voudrais passer à quelque chose de réellement supérieur."
 
Satoru Iwata (Nintendo)
"On se demande quelle va être l'utilité de toute la puissance affichée par les consoles des deux autres constructeurs. Créer des jeux en haute définition va nécessiter de tout revoir, des modèles 3D jusqu'aux textures, ce qui résultera en une inflation des coûts de développement. Et ça n'a aucun intérêt pour les gens qui n'ont pas de téléviseur haute définition. Les consoles de jeux ne sont pas des objets essentiels, c'est pourquoi nous voulons que la nôtre soit aussi compacte et bon marché que possible, afin qu'elle fasse bon ménage avec tous les membres de la famille. […] Nintendo est une société qui veut mettre des sourires sur les visages de tous les types de joueurs. Prendre contrôle du salon, ce n'est pas nous."

Quand nous avons sorti la première Playstation à 39.800 yens (300 euros), la Super Nintendo était aux alentours de 10.000 yens (75 euros). Et pourtant, tout le monde a choisi la Playstation.

Microsoft senior vice president and chief Xbox officer Robert J. Bach--  
 
(NOTE: Bach's comments are translated from Japanese and not directly quoted from his English statement.)  
 
Asahi Shinbun: What do you think of the competitors' machines? Will Sony continue to dominate the gaming market?
 
 
Robbie Bach: The other two companies' presentations [at E3] weren't surprising. Sony's [PS3's] capabilities are the same as ours. Nintendo is aiming for the niche market [with its Revolution]. The current-generation Xbox sold more than the PlayStation 2 in North America last Christmas. We will become the market leader with our next-generation console.  
 
Sony's [PS3] will be able to use seven controllers simultaneously and connect with two high-definition TV sets. But it's hard to share a single screen with seven people, and it's also difficult to imagine a room with two high-definition TV sets. We don't know about the selling price yet, but to say the least, our cost of manufacturing [an Xbox 360] is less than Sony's [PS3].  
 
AS: Why doesn't the Xbox 360 adopt a next-generation disc format?
 
 
RB: The next-generation disc standard hasn't been solidified yet. Sony is taking a risk. We can decide after the standard has been created.  
 
AS: What has Microsoft learned from its previous game console release?
 
 
RB: We'll basically be starting again from square one in the Japanese market. Our current Xbox console didn't have enough software for Japanese consumers. This time, we're teaming up with powerful Japanese game makers, including Square Enix, the maker of Final Fantasy. As for Microsoft's overall game division, we plan to get out of red ink by June 2007.  
 
Ken Kutaragi, Sony Computer Entertainment president--  
 
AS: What do you think of the competitors' machines? Will Sony continue to dominate the gaming market?
 
 
Ken Kutaragi: Microsoft is trailing behind us, but they are not a threat. They are good at improving [on products], but we will be advancing to the next level with revolutionary technology. Beating us for a short moment is like accidentally winning a point from a Shihan (Karate master), and Microsoft is still not a black belt. Just like with their operating systems, they might come out with something good around the third generation of their release.  
 
It isn't a bad thing to have a high price. When we released the original PlayStation at 39,800 yen ($368), Nintendo's Super Famicom was in the 10,000 yen range ($100 range). Still, everyone went for the PlayStation. This time, ours [the PS3] will be like a BMW that's equipped with a Ferrari engine. Nintendo's [Revolution] will be something like a new model of a family car. Some people might want it, but if it was me, I'd want to advance to the next level.  
 
AS: Why is Sony's next-generation console adopting a next-generation disc format?
 
 
KK: The current DVD [format] had a slow growth during its first three years of release, but it dramatically penetrated [through the market] after the release of the PS2, and its software prices had gone down. By using Blue-ray in the PS3, we hope to boost the amount of available [Blu-ray] software and sales of high-definition TV sets. With enough product [in the market], the Blu-ray will be one step closer to becoming the standard [next-generation] format.  
 
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president--  
 
AS: What do you think of the competitors' machines? Will Sony continue to dominate the gaming market?
 
 
Satoru Iwata: It's questionable what the "horsepower" of the two other companies' consoles will be used for, such as fast calculations and high-definition resolution. Creating game software in high definition will require everything from the [graphic's] models to the background to be redone, and it will bloat up development costs. And yet, it has no use for people that aren't playing with a high-definition TV set. Game consoles are not an essential product in life, so we want to make ours as compact, thin, and as inexpensive as we can so that it won't be viewed with hostility by family members.  
 
AS: What has Nintendo learned from its previous game machine release?  
 
 
SI: We launched the Nintendo DS last year, and the release of our Nintendogs, which came out this April, is being called the second launch [of the DS, since Nintendogs massively boosted sales of the handheld in Japan]. We want to push the DS's sales with the release of game software during the first year. There's a big gap between people that enjoy games that take time and playing skills, and people that don't. I'm feeling a real sense of danger about the decline in the Japanese gaming population. Patting a dog and telling it to stay [in Nintendogs] is something that anyone can enjoy. We're aiming to increase the population of game players with these new kinds of games.  
 
AS: Sony's PS3 is adopting the Blu-ray next-generation disc format. What about the Revolution?
 
 
SI: It will be more beneficial to the consumer if we took the money for [adopting the use of] a next-generation disc format and used it somewhere else where we can present more new fun. Nintendo is a company that likes to see smiles on the faces of people that love entertainment. We're not about selling new kinds of TVs or taking control of the living room.
 
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/ [...] 26725.html

Quand nous avons sorti la première Playstation à 39.800 yens (300 euros), la Super Nintendo était aux alentours de 10.000 yens (75 euros). Et pourtant, tout le monde a choisi la Playstation.