Bach: 'PlayStation Network Not a Service’

Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division, has belittled Sony’s PlayStation Network, insisting that Microsoft’s online gaming service Xbox Live has no rivals.
Bach told the LA Times that the platform holder was years ahead of its rivals when it came to online gaming and media services.


“It's fair to say that Xbox Live is clearly head and shoulders above anything anyone else has tried to do,” he said.

“We don't have competition. Sony has done some things online, but nothing that can be called a service. We have a big advantage and we're going to keep pressing that advantage.”

Xbox Live, which recently celebrated its fifth birthday, has eight million subscribors. It has managed to broaden iits appeal beyond the traditional male game playing audience by targeting casual gamers and delivering other forms of media content.

“Demographically, when we started, you would say that it was a place for serious gamers. That has changed a lot in the last five years,” Bach continued. “It's now become a great place for casual gamers. When one of your leading games is Uno, you realize you've reached a new type of customer.

“Secondly, it's expanded from being a gaming service to an entertainment service with a social network. We have now expanded into the world of movies and TV shows. It's become a much broader place for people to experience entertainment.

“We have a broad long-term vision for connected entertainment across all platforms. That includes music, video, television and gaming. You're going to see pieces of that roll out over time. We're not ready to talk about the specifics.”

In comparison, Sony’s relatively young, free of-charge PlayStation Network service has 3 million subscribors, a number it hopes to boost dramatically when it launches online social networking space Home next year.



News-Source: Next-Gen