Nic Foster, Sony's general manager for Sony Australia & New Zealand, must be rueing an interview he gave to
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper yesterday. Speaking about the down-under delays to the PS3 launch (the Aussies are getting theirs in March 2007, too) he compared Nintendo’s Wii to Sony’s next-gen device, he said:
”Wii is a core gaming device. It's a more fun, intuitive sort of product to pick up..”
And that quote is what has been picked up and will be used by Sony HQ to ban him from ever opening his mouth again, even to ask for a schooner of New
† down at his local.
"Give the lad a break!" says SPOnG. Here’s the context in which he made his off-message faux pas:
”The Wii-type functionality is more just a sub-element of what the PlayStation 3 offers.
"Wii is a core gaming device. It's a more fun, intuitive sort of product to pick up, where the PS3 is a broader entertainment solution; so you can have your fun, enjoyable gaming ... but then you have a whole suite of other applications ... such as Blu-ray media playback, the ability to access your music, access your photos and the interoperability with the PlayStation Portable.
"Gamers are extremely aware of what they're after and what they want. So gamers will already have a very good understanding of what PlayStation 3 offers versus what Wii offers and many of them will probably have both devices."
OK, maybe his PR minders were simply transfixed by the unbelievable goings-on in the Ashes cricket match - because in the spirit of the famous ‘Stralian “fair go”, it does look as if Nic actually suggests that gamers buy both Sony and Nintendo’s machine.
SPOnG is all for this sort of even-handedness. There is even a chance that by the time the PS3 hits PAL territories, gamers will have become Wii-bored and will been able to save up for PS3. Maybe.
We wonder what Nic will be doing by then?
† Sort of a mini-pint of sort-of-lager beer.