Sony's Phil Harrison has gone on record to state that, "I think Peter Moore is exactly right. I think Nintendo will be the second system consumers purchase after PlayStation 3," in a recent interview with Gamepro.com.

Harrison went on to say, "I haven't had a chance to check out the Wii myself, but Nintendo has a great history of innovation and has always done great things for gaming and long may they do so. But as it relates to our strategy they are very much in a different market."

Harrison's comments follow on from a statement made last week by Microsoft's Peter Moore, when discussing the PS3's controversial pricing policy. You can read about that story right here on SPOnG.

To recap, Moore bullishly asserted last week: "Tell me why you would buy a US$600 PS3?...People are going to buy two [consoles]. They're going to buy an Xbox and they're going to buy a Wii ... for the price of one PS3."

Whilst Nintendo merely wowed the crowds with Wii at E3 last week, with some of the longest queues to play on a system in the history of the show, it seems that Sony and Microsoft are having to bicker amongst themselves in order to put in place some form of strategic partnership with Nintendo - at least in the eyes of gamers, who they seem to assume will buy one of their 'next gen' PS3 or 360 systems first, followed by the 'new gen' Wii second.

Firstly, we have to put Microsoft's position and Moore's comments into perspective. Since even the lower priced PS3 pack still includes a 20GB hard drive, there is a US$100 difference between this and the HDD-equipped Xbox 360. Whilst the final price of Wii is still to be confirmed, it is widely believed that it is going to be priced at around $250.

Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan weighed into the debate on what the hardcore gamer will want, in an interview over on Engadget, having the following to say about the type of gamer who will buy into both 360 and Wii, which is: "...a hardcore gamer who really wants a plethora of ways to pick from, someone who really wants to spend a lot of time gaming."

Though Kaplan was also quick to reinforce the Nintendo party line, adding: "I do think the casual gamers that we are expanding into will own only one, and it will be ours."

The success of the PS3 is increasingly tied to the uptake of Sony's much-vaunted Blu-Ray player. And whilst it's clear that initial demand for PS3 amonst the so-called early adopters will ensure that the console is going to be playing hard to get this coming Christmas, its long-term success is far from secure.

Let us know what next/new gen purchases you plan to make this coming Christmas, and - crucially - why in the forums below. Share this item on... Comments >>