Ben-DutkaIt will come as no surprise to learn that Sony and Nintendo are – and have been – catering to different demographics.
So when Sony UK boss Fergal Gara was asked by Eurogamer about Nintendo's Wii U, and what threat that could pose to the PS3 (and maybe PS4 down the road), Gara said the two companies are "sitting in separate camps at this stage."
However, he did say they certainly watch Nintendo "with interest" and he also admitted that the upcoming Wii U is a promising product. Said Gara:
"We respect Nintendo as a highly successful competitor. Of course we will watch what they're doing with interest. It's a very interesting product they're bringing to market. I don't have a clear view on how successful it will be. And to a large extent it doesn't matter what I think. It matters what the great British public think. So we will see.
They certainly laid a broad church in terms of the list of features hopefully trying to have a broad appeal in the device. I don't think there will be huge volumes in the market this side of Christmas. I think they will pull in early adopters. It's probably one to be concerned about far more and watch more carefully into next year. But we feel very confident that in the PlayStation and we won't be going after the same niche early adopter market they'll be going after this Christmas. I think we're sitting in separate camps at this stage, so it won't be head to head."
Gara added that if the Wii U gains "real traction" in 2013 and beyond, it becomes a "more important factor." Right now, it's interesting to see how long-time fans of Nintendo respond to the Wii U; some are less than lukewarm and suspect another gimmick while others believe it will offer something fresh…and you can't go wrong with Mario in HD. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.