Microsoft on the PS3 launch

Stephen McGill, Microsoft's head of gaming and Entertainment and Devises Division UK, speaks exclusively to CVG about the arrival of PS3.

With Xbox 360 and Wii already selling well across Europe, the obvious question is; has the PS3 launch come too late?

McGill: I think consumers are certainly going to see it as quite late and they've got lots of great choice already out here. I think the good thing is that they're actually here now; we've been waiting for them for quite a while and I think it gives consumers the chance to make an informed decision, because there's been a lot of hype and a lot of great demos. Now they can actually see the real thing and decide whether the £425 is worth it or not.

I'm feeling pretty good about where we are in the business; we've got a great install base, we've got fantastic membership on Xbox Live, we've got a portfolio that's unrivalled and I don't see that changing. It's a great position we're in and we're looking forward to continuing that position.

Do you think the average gamer will decide PS3 is worth the price tag?

McGill: I think there's certainly going to be a few people going out this weekend and buying it as a willingness to fork out that kind of money. If you look at what the difference is between the Xbox 360 and PS3 we're both big power-horses in terms of we've both got a lot of power in the box and we can both do amazing things.

Through us we're putting gaming in the centre and so games are part of everything we do, but we do do a lot of different things; you can play music, you can watch movies and look at your photos and stuff, which actually seems to be something that Sony is really focusing on - they don't seem to be focusing too much on the games.

So if you look at the early reports of people queuing outside of Virgin Megastore - there's another report in the paper today - they're already saying they've got 27 games that are already out but where are the killer games that will drive console sales?

With Blu-ray playback and a hefty hard drive, do you think PS3 purchasers get what they pay for?

more information

Other Article