Randy Pitchford

Randy Pitchford, the president of Gearbox Software, told us “The PS2 launched with 250k units in the US - so it's all relative. I think that Sony will do the best it can to meet demand. It will be interesting to see how 400k units compares to demand during the US launch window. In any case, the PS3 is appearing after the 360 and after the Wii in Europe. This will make it a ‘catch up’ race for Sony if comparisons are relevant. I think as long as Sony's business is solid for itself, it will be comfortable with the results. It's never been a case where "winner" takes all. In the last round, for example, Nintendo has fewer installed units than both Microsoft and Sony worldwide, but they had a great business when examined independently.”

Pitchford added, “We need hardware to play software. We need software to care about hardware. The whole chicken and egg problem is slowed for the millions of loyal Sony game players and game makers who are anxiously awaiting the launch of the new system. Meanwhile, for 360 fans and Nintendo fans, it's probably great news. For my own part, I generally am happy about anything that allows more people, including me, to enjoy better video games, including the games we're making at Gearbox for all of the next-generation platforms.”

FiringSquad also contacted Dean Takahashi, staff writer at the San Jose Mercury News and author of the books”Opening The Xbox” and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked”, for his opinion. He told us, “The problem that Sony has now created is one of credibility. Can they execute to their plans? Will they always disappoint?” When asked if this will help Microsoft and Nintendo, he told us, “It presents a great opportunity for Nintendo, for sure. Nintendo's console won't be as difficult to manufacture, and it should be able to flood the market with consoles if everything goes well. For Sony, this puts it in exactly the same bad position that Microsoft was in the last time around. It is late, it has an expensive box, and consumers may not care about the difference in quality that results from the more expensive hardware.”

Dean continues, “Microsoft also stands to gain by turning the tables on Sony in a key region. It can gain a larger share of Europe, which is a critical market for anyone who wants to have a bigger share of the games business. Sony is essentially treating Europe as a second-class citizen. That won't sit well with European consumers, who also are likely to be unhappy with Sony's pricing. They may decide not to delay their purchases.”

He added, “It could cause the industry to shift more development resources to both the Xbox 360 and the Wii. In that case, Sony's lost sales are shifted to other players. But the industry has to be prepared for delayed consumer spending, which will hurt everyone. That would repeat the pattern set last year when Microsoft had shortages. That delay hurt companies such as Electronic Arts, which counted on both strong Xbox 360 game sales and current generation game sales which never materialized. Already some analysts are predicting that overall unit sales of consoles will be smaller in this generation because of the higher pricing. That is an unwelcome trend for an industry still bent on world domination.”