Sony: XBL HDTV "a disservice"
SCEA's Dave Karraker says he'd be upset upon hearing about Microsoft's recently revealed multimedia download scheme if he owned an HDD-less Xbox 360.
Last night, Microsoft unveiled an ambitious plan to make available a sizeable offering of high-definition movies and television shows on Xbox Live on demand. As is becoming common in the increasingly acrimonious next-gen console war, one side was quick to respond with a scathing criticism of the other's latest move.
"I think they are doing a disservice to their consumer base because they are ignoring all those people who bought the Core system," said Sony Computer Entertainment America PR chief Dave Karraker, referring to the lower-end $299 Xbox 360 system. Said system does not come with the attachable hard drive necessary to store content downloaded off of Xbox Live.
Naturally, SCEA's head spokesman pointed out that both the $499 and $599 models of the PlayStation 3 have hard drives built in. "We would never segregate or shut out any of our consumers from our entertainment experience because they didn't buy the top of the line system," said Karraker. The HDD-equipped premium Xbox 360 costs $399, and the hard drive itself costs $99.99 when bought separately.
The executive also pointed out the fact that 7 gigabytes of the Xbox 360's 20-gigabyte hard drive are taken up by preloaded content, such as the game Hexic, and its operating system. He did not point out the fact that nearly 4GB of said content is deletable. Since only test units have been made available to the press, it is unknown how much of the final retail PS3s' hard drives, which weigh in at 20GB or 60GB, will be taken up by their operating systems and preloaded content.
Microsoft plans on launching its video and movie service on November 22. Sony executives said at its 2006 Gamers Day that the company will eventually tap its vast library of music, video, and movie content to distribute online to PS3s, but they won't say when. "We haven't announced when other entertainment content, beyond games, will be available from the PlayStation Store," said Karraker.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
Dragon Age: Origins Interview with Ray Muzyka
We chat with Ray Muzyka about some of the features in Dragon Age: Origins. Full Story
- Posted Jul 8, 2009 4:06 pm PT
-
Left 4 Dead 2 Doug Lombardi Interview
We talk to Doug Lombardi about Left 4 Dead 2 at a recent preview event in London. Full Story
- Posted Jul 3, 2009 4:42 pm PT
Featured Stories
-
Sony dismisses Activision threats, PS3 price cut rumors
Sony Corp. CEO Sir Howard Stringer brands third-party publisher's comments as "noise," SCEA CEO Jack Tretton says other consoles don't deliver the same value. Full Story
- Posted Jul 8, 2009 1:15 pm PT
- 952 Comments
-
PS3 MGS4/Killzone 2 bundle now available
Best Buy begins offering rumored $400 retail configuration, which packs in 80GB console with nearly $90 of top-rated games. Full Story
- Posted Jul 7, 2009 11:19 am PT
- 479 Comments
-
Battlefield 1943 suffers server snafu
EA Dice's multiplayer-only downloadable shooter experiencing matchmaking technical difficulties after Xbox 360 launch this morning. Full Story
- Posted Jul 8, 2009 12:48 pm PT
- 140 Comments
-
Blizzard: Free-to-play WOW 'possible'
Lead designer Tom Chilton says the multiplatinum MMORPG champion could abolish monthly subscription plan by adopting microtransaction system. Full Story
- Posted Jul 7, 2009 12:43 pm PT
- 337 Comments
-
Square Enix retires Eidos publishing label
Japanese pub consolidates operations in Europe and NA, confirming some headcount reduction; British company's name will live on through dev studios. Full Story
- Posted Jul 7, 2009 11:15 am PT
- 134 Comments
Recent News
Site Blogs
-
Sony gets Netflix streaming...for Bravia HDTVs
Ever since Netflix video streaming came to the Xbox 360, Microsoft has been touting it as a major advantage over its competing consoles....




1393 Comments