Ben-DutkaKnuckle up, Microsoft. Sony is very much in this fight; they've worked their way off the ropes and as of now, they're landing some pretty damaging blows.
At this time last year, there was nothing but doom and gloom in the news for Sony and the PS3. We all remember those dark days – we at PSXE distinctly recall writing one horrible update after another – but now, those days are no more. In a recent interview with GameDaily, Steinberg spoke about the company's excitement for 2008, and that includes the great software, PlayStation Home, the benefits of the Blu-Ray victory, and more.
"The software lineup is here," said Steinberg. "I think we're at the point to say we're ecstatic about what we have in 2008. It's finally to the point where there are no standards uncertainties, so consumers now can evaluate us on the skills and attributes of our lineup, and we've got an incredibly diverse lineup."
That's one statement – "the software lineup is here" – that many early PS3 owners wish they had heard a year ago, but nevertheless, better late than never. Besides, every console goes through an early drought of software (we dare you to find one that didn't, for at least its first 6-8 months of existence). And as far as the Network goes, Steinberg is plenty excited about that, too, and reiterated that the public beta is on the way.
"On the network side, we've stated that we're in a closed beta now for Home, we'll be rolling out functionality later this year, both for the Network and making Home public to others."
Last but not least, Steinberg addressed Blu-Ray's recent victory over HD-DVD in the high-definition format war. Not surprisingly, he figures this gives Sony a nice boost- "I think it's a huge win and it gives us a lot of momentum and also gives us momentum to stop talking about standards and start talking about games." Basically, given its current position, and with just about every industry analyst on earth noticing this major turnaround, the PS3 is surging. This fight is just getting started, of course, but suddenly, the Xbox 360 doesn't appear to have the upper hand, anymore…
