By Colin Campbell and Gavin Ogden
In the wake of its XO5 pre-launch hurrah. Microsoft is confident arch-rival Sony must be "upset and concerned". A senior director told Next Generation, "Now they have work to do."
Neil Thompson Xbox's senior regional director for Northern & Eastern Europe said, "It's up to them now. The ball is in their court. If I were Sony I'd be upset and concerned. They know they have to raise the bar."
He added, "They've seen the price, the hardware, the games, Xbox Live and the functionality. They know they've got a lot to do."
Sony's PlayStation 3 is due to launch in the spring, by which time Microsoft hopes to built up a big enough lead to hold off its rival, which has dominated the last two console cycles.
Analysts such as Piper Jaffray are confident that Microsoft has built up sufficient momentum for a successful launch, though many believe it's only a matter of time before Sony catches up. The power of PlayStation's brand and the machine's claimed technical superiority are cited as Sony's trump cards, although the company is hampered by its late arrival in the market, and, perhaps, by internal turmoil.
Teasing campaign
During XO5, Sony has been quiet, with none of the PR and marketing spoiling tactics that have entertained the media in the past. At XO1 in Cannes, for example, Sony bought much of the Croisette's advertising space, with a teasing ad campaign.
There are still some questions over Microsoft's actual launch line-up, with some suggestion that Microsoft does not want too many games available on day one.
Thompson said, "For publishers the launch is going to be a battle over revenues. The sheer quality of games available is going to make it a very tough fight."
On the specifics of the launch, he said, "We've committed to Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero. Electronic Arts has also been vital with its third party support." This includes five sports; Madden NFL 06, FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup, NBA Live 06, Need for Speed Most Wanted and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06.
However, he said that a further 7-to-12 games could be available at launch, depending on certification. "There are a lot of games going through that process," he said. "It's important to wait and see which games pass through." He added, "We will be in a position to announce the launch line-up at the beginning of November and I think that's the earliest any hardware company has announced its launch titles prior to release."
Strong pre-orders and largely positive coverage of XO5 have allowed Microsoft to brush away concerns about the two-tier pricing strategy, initially thought to be a confused and risky strategy. Thompson said, "We're offering retail all the help they need in order to give consumers the offer that they want. Retail understand the situation and so I don't see any confusion."
