Sony's Kaz Hirai Can't See The Competition?

Is it snowing again?

Posted by Staff
Bwahahah... what did he say?
Bwahahah... what did he say?
Sony Computer Entertainment president, Kaz Hirai has told UK industry journal, MCV something that we find, frankly, astonishing even on a day of astonishing platform holder spats.

First, a little context. Remember earlier this week we quoted SCEE's president David Reeves telling us, "We have been consistently outselling our closest competitor since October 2007"? Sure you do.

Well, now Kaz Hirai has said this, "I think that PS3, PS2 and PSP are all entertainment platforms so I feel that our competition is not Microsoft or Nintendo, but basically any form of entertainment that is competing for the consumers’ attention".

For us small-brained, Yorkshire-based hacks, Hirai's statement is akin to Ford saying, "We've got radios and MP3 players in our motors, so we don't see General Motors or BMW as our competition, we do see any form of hardware that lets you play stuff".

Sure, we're taking this to reducing this to an absurdity for effect - and sure again, all other forms of entertainment that competes for consumers' attention is by definition competing, we get that. But if you're going to use that, you may as well say, "Anything else that gets cash from consumers is competition" and it would be equally true... carrots for example, or bloater paste or holidays in Cambodia.

It doesn't get away from the fact that Microsoft and Nintendo are the main competition - any other conclusion is either naive or simply disingenuous.

If it's not, then who was David Reeve's talking about Sony Computer Entertainment outselling?

Bah...

Source: MCV
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Comments

p 9 May 2008 19:03
1/2
Well, now Kaz Hirai has said this, "I think that PS3, PS2 and PSP are all entertainment platforms so I feel that our competition is not Microsoft or Nintendo, but basically any form of entertainment that is competing for the consumers’ attention".

Maybe he is referring to them less as games machines and more as format pushers that happen to run games as well. So PS2=DVD, PSP=UMD and PS3=Bluray. In which case two out three successful format launches (in Sony's eyes) is the name of the game.
bob 9 May 2008 19:13
2/2
Does he think of Sony pictures and sony's TV channel (AXN) as his archenemies?
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