Playstation 3 (PS3) News

Under-pressure Sony must react to 360 - Ubi boss

posted by rohit at 2006-10-02 14:08:29 gamesindustry.biz: Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot has hailed Microsoft's X06 showcase, warning that the growing strength of 360 is putting market leader Sony under pressure to react with its rival PlayStation 3 console.

Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz at the aftershow to the glitzy Barcelona event, Guillemot, whose firm significantly pledged an exclusive Splinter Cell title to the next-gen Xbox, said increased competition will benefit everyone in the market.

"What Microsoft is showing is that even if Sony has a lead in market share, Xbox is going to get better penetration in Europe," he said. "It's good to have many players on the same battlefield; I think it will push Sony to react, and also Nintendo to look at how they position themselves to make their machine a success. When the manufacturers are making great games and pushing each machine hard it can help everybody make the videogames business a better business."

But Guillemot refused to be drawn on whether Sony's market-leadership was now under seriously under threat, adding: "Sony is very far ahead in terms of market share so it's not possible to say today - we will see how Sony reacts. But there is more competition, which we think is good."

Ubisoft proved one of the biggest third-party 360 cheerleaders on the night, with the announcement of the Splinter Cell exclusive and an on-stage demo of the stunning Assassin's Creed proving one of the highlights of the conference. Read More...