Ian Livingstone, product acquisition director at Eidos, had some very positive things to say about Sony,s PS3 and his view that the next gen console races are far from over. In regards to the PS3, Livingstone believes that it has the best specifications of all the game consoles, according to an interview given to gi.biz.
“[The PS3 is] extraordinary quality, that’s the starting point. If people are seeking the ultimate machine, the PS3 is clearly the best spec machine as far as next-gen goes. As with all things in life, you have to pay for quality. It is absolutely beautiful to look at and you are getting virtual interactive cinema in the comfort of your own home. It’s a very compelling selling point and Sony just has to educate people that yes, it’s a lot of money, but it’ll be worth it.”
In as far as Sony educating the public to the PS3,s strengths, Livingstone says it won,t come cheaply. “Sony is going to have quite a lot of marketing to have to spend, to let consumers know that the PS3 is not just a games machine but a complete home entertainment system with Blu-ray. To get the consumers to understand exactly what that means, and how that justifies the cost of the hardware – that’s going to be the challenge for them.”
Livingstone then went on to say that declaring a winner in game console race wouldn,t be as easy a call as it was with the previous generation. “I don’t think anyone knows who’s going to win this race. I’m just saying it’s not going to be as clear-cut as during the last hardware cycle. It’s much more of an open race and it’s a very exciting time for independent publishers like ourselves, to be able to successfully leverage our IP (intellectual property) over more formats than before.”
