Microsoft AND Sony both Praise the Nintendo Wii

[Para]

Exclusive: Sony's Phil Harrison Tells All on PS3, Peter Moore, Nintendo Wii
by GamePro Staff | 05/12/2006 | 23:18:12 PM PST

In an exclusive interview with GamePro editor Bro Buzz, Sony's resident PlayStation 3 expert, Phil Harrison, touches on a variety of topics: Xbox exec Peter Moore's praise for the Nintendo Wii, pricing for PS3 games and hardware, and rumors concerning the PS3's abilities.

GamePro editor Bro Buzz had the opportunity to sit down with Sony executive Phill Harrison. The two industry veterans spoke about a wide range of topics. Here are the key highlights from that conversation, in Harrison's words. Sony fans should take note -- there are quite a few PS3 tidbits revealed in this sprawling, three-page article.
...On Peter Moore's Praise for the Nintendo Wii
"I think Peter Moore is exactly right. I think Nintendo will be the second system consumers purchase after PlayStation 3."

"I haven't had a chance to check out the Wii myself, but Nintendo has a great history of innovation and has always done great things for gaming and long may they do so. But as it relates to our strategy they are very much in a different market."

http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=55089

E3 '06 Focus: Microsoft Plugs Nintendo
May. 12, 2006
NEWSROOM
EVERGEEK MEDIA
As hard as it might be to believe, Microsoft is telling gamers to buy a Nintendo Wii. At E3 today, Microsoft vice-chairman Peter Moore told the Reuters news service that the new Nintendo console is a smart buy this fall--as long as the system is accompanied by an Xbox 360, of course--especially in comparison to the Sony PlayStation 3.

In an interview, Moore, master of rhetorical questions, bluntly asked "Tell me, why would anyone pay $600 for a PS3?" And then followed this with the prediction that most gamers would buy two systems--a 360 and a Wii--for what Sony is asking for its next-gen console alone.

The comment mimics what thousands of gamers have been posting on net message boards and forums since Sony released the news that a top-of-the-line PS3 was going to cost a whopping $600 USD / $659 CDN on release day this November (a cheaper version lacking a few key goodies and a fair bit of hard-drive space will be sold for $500 USD / $549 CDN). Most have categorized this price as extremely high, especially in the absence of a killer launch game like a new Grand Theft Auto.

Like Moore, many have suggested that gamers would be best off buying an full featured Xbox 360, currently going for a maximum of $399 USD or $499 CDN, and a Wii, estimated to cost somewhere between $199 and $249 US (although final pricing has yet to be revealed). That way, gamers would get the high-tech, high-definition performance of the 360 combined with the unique, motion-sensing controllers of the Wii--as well as access to a host of downloadable retro games available for both--all for about the same price as a single PS3.

Sony is obviously betting the farm on what it deems to be superior technology in the PS3, and the hope that gamers will flock to such amenities as a built-in wi-fi adapter and the system's standard Blu-Ray DVD drive for high-definition movies. Both Microsoft and Nintendo are taking very different approaches, going with cheaper, more affordable hardware, and, in the case of the latter, experimenting with radical new ways of controlling games.

http://evergeek.thestar.com/News/1955.aspx

Quick News - Following Microsoft's Peter Moore praising Nintendo, Sony's Phil Harrison has said the same thing to GamePro, 'I think Nintendo will be the second system consumers purchase.' With even Sony and MS backing Nintendo in this way, how CAN the Kyoto company fail with the Wii?

Looks like Nintendo has much to gain in November .

[Bubblemonkey]

Hahaha...it wouldn't look too good on Sony's part to criticize the very same system they're 'borrowing' ideas from. Microsoft also makes a good point in that a single PS3 costs as much as a full featured 360 and Wii combined. From a marketing standpoint alone, it's a smart move (if you're going to empty your wallet, you want to get as much as you can...2 decent consoles vs 1 super powerful console that may or may not live up to the hype seems like a no brainer (at least for those of us who work hard for our money)). Seriously, though, they can't really bash Nintendo's offering in public considering the risks Nintendo is taking on the innovation side as well as the loads of positive press it's getting for doing so. No matter how much you dislike the fact that they're the 'competition', you have to give them a level of respect for taking the risks that you aren't...the fact that showing respect to them takes away some steam from the one you view as your biggest competitor is simply an added bonus.

[nick64]

First Place - Wii
Second place - X-360 or PS3, it doesn't matter

[orisa]

Both of them still have to put the Wii after them, kinda sounds narcissistic in those articles if you ask me. -_-;

I know one thing for sure, it's either 360&Wii or the PS3 for most gamers planning to spend nearly $700 on a gaming console...Buying 2 consoles where one of them is a PS3 would cost $1000 more or less. Only spoiled kids can afford THAT much money on gaming.

[karahasan]

Hmmm, it seems Sony is trying to get the public's good side after being accused of doing last minute copy-cat techniques.

And I thought they were already confident with the titles in their hands, which is why they risked getting consumer rage by doing last minute tweaks to their controller.

I am not bashing the ps3. It definitely has great titles to look out for. I'm bashing just the guys behind it, for giving it a bad rep.

[Raziell]

I find it rather humorous that Sony is literally doing what everyone else is. I mean goddamn, do they have any originality of their own?

[rpgmaster1]

Sony steals techologies from other companies who made it their own. That company has gone downhill lately from crappy products. Only products that are decent are the HD camcorders and SXRD projection TVs. It looks like Sony is relying too much on the PS3 to help them recoup their revenue losses and turning them back into profits.

[skip n hop]

I have to give my respect to Nintendo on they

[karahasan]

You cant blame all of it at them though, pricing wise.

How many forum topics have you read wherein 10 or more people kept on saying "no matter how much it costs, I'll buy it?"

Maybe part of reason for the ps3's price and content is because of gamer feedback (not necessarily consumer feedback)

[Talon87]

With all due respect, many of the people who have been saying they'll buy a PS3 in spite of the price have shamelessly admitted that it's because they just HAVE to have FF13. The Final Fantasy franchise is a drug for some people, and Sony is only too aware of that. It seems like no price is too high for people who are incredibly huge fans (read: ADDICTS) of Final Fantasy / a game that promises to have incredible visuals.

Don't get me wrong -- going into E3, I was excited for PS3 and thought it would be the first console I bought for the next gen. I own two PS2 games and no PS2 console. I wanted to get a PS3 to be able to play my PS2 games on my own machine, and to continue buying Sony games for the franchises I've always been interested in. But now, it's looking more and more like I'll never get my hands on one, either because it's going to succeed and remain at a high price, or it's going to bomb and then I'll have little reason to buy one anyway. Lose/Lose situation for the middle class gamer.

And I hear you, PS3 PrePurchasers. FF13 does look great, and I can understand why people will pay $600 just for the ability to own the game. I just don't feel the same way, is all. I think it's all a little bit absurd. I truly wish you the best and hope the game is worth $600. For a college student like me, $600 is like my entire piggy bank. For those of you with hard-earned jobs who work 40+ hours a week making a living for yourself, $600 probably just feels like one extra payment of rent.