Digital Home Thoughts: Sony to Microsoft: "Stop Copying Us!"

"Every time we go down a path, we look behind and they're right there - we just can't shake these guys. I wish that they would come up with some strategies of their own, but they seem to be going down the path of everything we do. If you look at their strategy in other business areas as well, they tend to do that ... And the other thing is, you take a look at, for example, the fact that we incorporate the Blu-ray drive from day one. You're not going to be asking me, 'So, talk to me about this Blu-ray add-on that you have. Does it work for games? Is it just for movies?' That's exactly the kind of pitfall you fall into if you launch something that's too early, too premature..."

The quote above is courtesy of Kaz Hirai, a bigwig at Sony Electronics working on the Playstation 3. I've seen delusional thinking before, but this one really takes the cake. Sony may have been first to market with the original Playstation (which was quite powerful), and they can certainly take credit for some aspects of the gaming console world, but Microsoft blazed a new trail with the original Xbox. Specifically with Xbox Live, Microsoft created an online gaming experience that was completely new to the console world. The eventual inclusion of HD-DVD is a matter of timing: what would be the point of putting an HD-DVD drive in the Xbox 360 without there being widespread media on the market? When the PS3 finally ships (sometime...) with its Blu-Ray drive, there will be some Blu-Ray content, but certainly not much. If and when Microsoft makes HD-DVD standard in the Xbox 360, they'll do so at a time that makes sense. Hey Sony, ship your freakin' product first before trash talking your opponent!