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Microsoft bigwig has a right go at Sony News

Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 News by Robert Purchese

9 May, 2008

Microsoft bigwig Aaron Greenberg has attacked Sony for what he sees as a failure to deliver on promises.

Among his targets were Killzone 2, PlayStation Home, PSN functionality, 1080p support, Blu-ray, Sixaxis and rumble.

"We have been fighting Sony's promises from the day we entered the market. Three years ago at E3 they showed what PS3 games would supposedly look like with the Killzone 2 video, that we are now learning will ship four years later. That means that we will have shipped Gears of War and Gears of War 2 before they can even get Killzone out the door," Greenberg told Destructoid.

"Think back to GDC 2007 when Sony promised to leap ahead in online with the Sony Home unveil. Here we are two years later and multiple delays for a product that has appears to have little to no buzz. Where are the achievements? The friends list integration across all games? Where is the long-promised video store?

"Where are all the other products using and networking with their Cell chip? How come Blu-ray did not result in better games? What happened with Sixaxis and rumble? Where is the complete 1080p game library we were promised? If Blu-ray, as they said, would be such a catalyst to PS3 console sales, then why have PS3 sales over the past couple months not seen any lift since the format victory?" he added.

The reality for Greenberg is that the Xbox 360 "is leading this generation" because it has sold more consoles, has more games and exclusives as well as "the leading online service and community". Unsurprisingly he's confident Xbox 360 will extend "its lead" over PS3 this year.

Greenberg says Microsoft has a 5 million unit lead over Sony around the world. That's double the PS3 in the US, and one million more in Europe, which, er, is not what Sony Europe boss David Reeves said earlier this week.

"The days of Sony snowing the consumers and the press are over, I think the pressure is now really on them more than ever to deliver on all of these promises," concluded Greenberg.

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Comments: 1-50 of 183 Next →

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TriggerHippie
09/05/08 @ 15:46
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Rhubarb Rhubarb Rhubarb
Gaol
09/05/08 @ 15:46
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Can I be the first PS3 owner to say:

well said.
Widge
09/05/08 @ 15:47
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I reckon I'm winning in Europe and everyone else is FAIL
prolific8
09/05/08 @ 15:48
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Owned.
urban
09/05/08 @ 15:48
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hand bags at dawn
DUFFKING
09/05/08 @ 15:49
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Who fucking cares who wins.
AHiFi
09/05/08 @ 15:50
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As much as I hate these statements...he's right. Dunno about the Europe figures though...
Peew971
09/05/08 @ 15:52
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He sounds pissed :)
Eighthours
09/05/08 @ 15:52
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To be fair, most of the specific criticism there is pretty justified. He's only reiterating what most of us have been saying for a while about Sony's performance so far versus their promises.

Psychotext
09/05/08 @ 15:53
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I wonder why EG didn't say that Greenberg used Chart Track / GFK numbers to back up his claims about Europe?
IneptPercy
09/05/08 @ 15:54
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its a good point, the 360 isn't battling with the PS3, its battling with the promise of the PS3.

Many have been converted but there is still many more who blindly think the PS3 owns the 360 on every front when the reality is there isn't much of a difference, yet the 360 has the better games catalogue so that by rights would make it the better games console as its all about the games.
lambtron
09/05/08 @ 15:54
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Whereas usually these things are bordering on lies and libel ... in this case everything he said about Sony, is, well, true...
wired009
09/05/08 @ 15:55
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touche. at this time the only reason i'd buy a PS3 is to use it as a blu-ray movie player. state-side it costs 500 versus 400 for a dedicated player. both are still expensive which is why i have not bought either... even though i want a hi def player. is it too late to resurrect HD-DVD? to be fair, 360 build quality leaves a lot to be desired. my friend's 2 year old xbox console finally saw the red ring this month.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 15:58
smelly
09/05/08 @ 15:55
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Yeah.. But they promise that their hardware actually works and isnt going to go pop and take 6 weeks to get a replacement..
Prodigy_BE
09/05/08 @ 15:55
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http://vgchartz.com/hwlaunch.php

Spot the point where blu-ray took off.
smelly
09/05/08 @ 15:56
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>Who fucking cares who wins.

Sony, nintendo and microsoft (and their respective shareholders)
des
09/05/08 @ 15:58
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Sony boss Reeves thinks that UK isn't part of the Europe(what's Europe?).

We all know what console is Wiining
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 16:00
TriggerHippie
09/05/08 @ 15:58
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Microsoft have been promising to send me a functioning 360 since April 2007. Still waiting.
GamerG
09/05/08 @ 15:59
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So who's lieing about who's winning in Europe Sony or MS?

To be it looks like MS are using sold to consumer figures and Sony are using Shipped to retail,
Psychotext
09/05/08 @ 15:59
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@des: Actually... that's probably right. If asked I'm sure he'll be able to say "we meant mainland Europe".
bcolter
09/05/08 @ 16:02
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Tough week for sony... no surprise ms is on the offensive.

I think Greenberg and Reeves should settle it in the ring with Uwe as referee
SeesThroughAll
09/05/08 @ 16:08
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If Blu-ray, as they said, would be such a catalyst to PS3 console sales, then why have PS3 sales over the past couple months not seen any lift since the format victory?

Obvious bullshit.

Where are the achievements?

This one is true.

The friends list integration across all games?

It IS integrated, all online games can access the friends list and set private matches.

Where is the long-promised video store?

"Long" promised? Is a couple of months ago that long?
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 16:11
japstersam
09/05/08 @ 16:09
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my 360 broke...so i sent it off and it was back to me within a week, with a free extra month on my xbox live membership and its never had any problems in the year and a half since. and everytime i phoned up (even though it could take a while to get through), they were really helpful and told me exactly where my xbox was.
so i know a lot of people moan about MS, but that was my experience with them :)
Spanky
09/05/08 @ 16:11
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He sounds like a really angry ps3 owner!
Psychotext
09/05/08 @ 16:12
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@SeesThroughAll: Depends on what date you're basing it on. If you look at when Toshiba killed HD-DVD (Feb) then the PS3 hasn't had any meaningful increase in weekly sales since in either Japan or the US.

Here's the US NPD figures as an example:
Jan: 67k / week
Feb: 70k / week
Mar: 51k / week

Sadly we can't tell what's going on in Europe as usual. (Screw you chart track / gfk)
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 16:13
JohnnyWashnGo
09/05/08 @ 16:12
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Sony truely are a victim of their own success.

The PSOne blew people away at a time when Nintendo had a fairly pathetic console and Sega were struggling to be relevant in the games hardware market.

The PSTwo, though being a sod to program for, just had the right software to ensure that everyone who played games had to have one. In some cases people even bought more than one PSTwo and rigth now, they are still selling relatively well.

The PSThree is a disaster. They hyped it, they talked crap about what it was capable of and sadly, many people believed the hype and are being disappointed on a daily basis. The exclusives are nothing to write home about and games that are available on mutiple platforms are not demonstrating the power of the console in any way.

Personally, I like the overpriced piece of junk. I know, perhaps in a self delusional way, that the console will have a long life and, fingers crossed, will start to shine later in its life. But right now, at this moment in time, there is little to recommend about the machine other than the hype from Sony.
Quiiick
09/05/08 @ 16:13
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... and what about the RROD on the Xbox360 Mr. Greenberg?

Experiencing the RROD twice myself plus a faulty disc-drive was enough for me to switch to a PS3.
And despite the shortcoming of the PS3 (which are highlighted by Greenberg) it is still the superior hardware.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 16:14
malteaserhead
09/05/08 @ 16:13
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as a somewhat disgruntled ps3 owner I'd have to agree with most of that.

Last week's shite being spouted by Sony really did start to get on my tits too. Get the fking games out and quit messing around.
Of all 3 consoles this gen I'm probably still disappointed the most with Sony's.
BiscuitBase
09/05/08 @ 16:13
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The fight for second place rages ever onward
smelly
09/05/08 @ 16:14
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"my 360 broke...so i sent it off and it was back to me within a week, with a free extra month on my xbox live membership and its never had any problems in the year and a half since."

I guess it's probably ok in europe.. In the states it takes more than a week for the blood box to arrive to send it back in!


For me, the 360 was the console of choice up until VERY recently.. I couldnt see the point in the ps3.. Not many games,.. expensive.. no good exclusives.. etc..

But since i had problems with the rrod... and since blue ray took off - I can see why people might "jump ship" back to sony.

That and you can almost gaurantee microsoft will be announcing the xbox 360 2 (or whatever) by the end of the year.. Just as the ps3 overtakes it worldwide..
smelly
09/05/08 @ 16:16
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"Of all 3 consoles this gen I'm probably still disappointed the most with Sony's."

To be fair...

if you look historically at the ps1 & ps2.. both took a year or 2 to start getting decent games and start selling decent amounts of units.. (and start being a decent price)
espibara
09/05/08 @ 16:17
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Lets face it

xbox 360= sluttty good time girl that will love you long time, every night until she dies.

PS3 = stunning supermodel of the year that promises to give you the best shag ever only to announce shes a celibate virgin.
miiiguel
09/05/08 @ 16:17
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promisses != deliver
malteaserhead
09/05/08 @ 16:18
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Smelly
Oh I know that and I'm still more than hopeful that in its long life we'll end up with loads of quality... but so far it has been disappointing for me.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 16:18
Darren
09/05/08 @ 16:22
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I don't understand how Microsoft only has a 5 million unit lead over Sony now when back in January they announced the 360 had sold 18 million units and Sony's PS3 stood at 10.5 million units worldwide (roughly). Now three months later the PS3 has managed to reduce the lead by 2.5 million according to Microsoft yet they aren't worried, instead they're claiming that PS3 sales haven't increased?!? :?

Am I missing something here? LOL
mikeck
09/05/08 @ 16:22
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I think only selling an extra 5 million consoles with a 16 month head-start isn't much to brag about, especially as PS3 hardware sales figures keep rising. Also - how many of those extra 5 million are replacements bought because of RROD and no warranty cover in the early days?

I know I mention this and then will go and say who cares, but hey does it matter, let's just play games instead ;)

mossychops001
09/05/08 @ 16:23
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Looking at the stats , over the same life span Microsoft will only sell 4 million more Xbox360's than they did with the original Xbox.
if they are lucky!
Original Xbox 24,000.000 Noveber 2001 -2006
Xbox 360 28.000.000 Nov 2005 -2010

Folowing the tipical S curve in sales.

mikeck
09/05/08 @ 16:23
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"I don't understand how Microsoft only has a 5 million unit lead over Sony now when back in January they announced the 360 had sold 18 million units and Sony's PS3 stood at 10.5 million units worldwide (roughly). Now three months later the PS3 has managed to reduce the lead by 2.5 million according to Microsoft yet they aren't worried, instead they're claiming that PS3 sales haven't increased?!? :?

Am I missing something here? LOL
"

Well said
Skooch
09/05/08 @ 16:25
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All of this is absolutely true and the difference with MS is when the hardware problems became clear they offered a 3 year warranty at the cost of $1bn. Sony continuously lie and cheat their way into consumers hearts and too many consumers suck it up because of the success of the PS2. Anyone remember when the PS3 was going to have 6 USB ports, and support for 7 controllers, and a worldwide launch, and every console would be backwards compatible, and there would be a huge 1080P games library because the real next gen only starts when Kaz says it does...all bullshit.

The Wii has done great and MS have been sucker punched by poor hardware reliability, but Sony really are just lying scum.
miiiguel
09/05/08 @ 16:25
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"because of RROD and no warranty cover in the early days?"
That's weird..., early 360's don't have warranty ? Why ?
Psychotext
09/05/08 @ 16:26
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@squarejawhero: Kids are only just getting their sunny d after school. Give it a few mins.
spekkeh
09/05/08 @ 16:26
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He sounds like a whiney kid. Is he supposed to be an industry bigwig? What happened to putting respectable civilized people at high places?
Buztafen
09/05/08 @ 16:27
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@ SeesThroughAll -" The friends list integration across all games?.....

It IS integrated, all online games can access the friends list and set private matches...."

Beg to differ bud, PES 08 has no friend intergation at all, and no PS3 game has the ability to send you into a game with a mate with 2-3 simple button presses....

(Randomname wants to play, press to accept, press to join game, game loads, your in!)

I play on both machines but online on the PS3 is like fucking a rusty cheese grater...so very VERY painful!!!
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 16:27
miiiguel
09/05/08 @ 16:29
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mikeck, can you explain me why early 360's don't have warranty ?

Wonga, I said that a few times, imagine 360 doing what PS3 does (doesn't) and vice-versa... PS3 would be ruling the world and 360 would be dead...
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 16:30
Mr_Brown
09/05/08 @ 16:31
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Bit of a caty comment, but he has got a point. The gulf between the hype Sony built up and what they have actually delivered is enormous. So much so its embarassing for Sony. And they really have noone but themselves to blame, if they hadn't set expectations so high for the PS3, and tried to continue to dominate the market on hype alone, they wouldn't be seen right now has failure. That said, the PS3 is improving rapidily, and it has some awesome games on the way. But in comparison to how Xbox 360 has delivered straight away, its not good enough IMO. Hopefully Sony will learn from this from next Generation and not expect to get all the consumers by dazzling them with lies and software that won't appear for years.
kangarootoo
09/05/08 @ 16:31
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gareth886
09/05/08 @ 16:35
#47
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Oooooh. It looks like handbags at dawn in the Microsoft and Sony camps.
Anthony_UK
09/05/08 @ 16:37
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I have all 3, and I have to say that if it wasn't for strong playstation brand. Microsoft would of wiped the floor with them this time round.

Yes my 360 does sound like a jet engine next to the PS3, and the build quality on the PS3 is far better. But from a gamers point of view, especially a gamer who spends alot of time online with friends etc there really is no contest.

Come on Sony! we want games!!!! Motorstorm, Heavenly sword, Drakes Fortune........all great! but now i'm getting a little bored!

Metal Gear in June is good, but what on the horizon after that? Killzone in 2009.

I'm trying to convince myself that i've got value for money with me now owning a blu-ray player, but at £23 a disk i'm having a hard job of it!

.......all I want is a game from sony that betters Twilight princess on my £170 wii! then i'll feel like i've got my moneys worth!

Edited 2 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 16:38
rick_x
09/05/08 @ 16:38
#49
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I have a PS3 (my 360 died the day I got it and went straight back) but I have to agree with what the man says. Sony and SCEE in particular are so inept it's unbelievable. Forget sixaxis, chip removals, 40Gb UK models vs 80Gb US, look at this week - they herald two updates to the PSN (as if that's going to make up for all the delays and poor content on the European PSN) and then, as soon as Kaz is out the door, they forget to put up one of the demos THEY so loudly shouted about.

Add this to the 'statement' Threespeech said we were supposed to receive about the poor state of the PSN, the 'big surprise' we were supposed to get after the store redesign and frankly I don't think SCEE knows it's arse from it's elbow.

Oh and shame on Eurogamer for just printing a press release (from SCEE) without checking it - you should know by now to take anything they say without a large pinch of salt.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 16:39
TONYgr
09/05/08 @ 16:39
#50
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he is right.promises,promises,promises.

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