Sony isn’t afraid of its stiff competition. If you’ve been paying attention to the explicit, stiff jabs the company has been throwing Microsoft’s way, you’ve likely noticed a console manufacturer with a high level of confidence in its product. With both the Xbox One and PS4 hitting North American markets in November, this will be one of the closest, most competitive console transitions in many years. The outcome is unclear, but Sony thinks this type of shoulder-to-shoulder launch holds a benefit to the industry as a whole.
"At the risk of sounding over-optimistic, I think there is a huge benefit for the industry overall in having two platforms launch very close together," he said in an interview with The Guardian. "It creates a large focus on our form of entertainment that wouldn't exist unless there were these two powerful organizations, both playing in the same space.
One of the biggest indications of excitement for new hardware is the pre-order numbers. As Sony recently announced on stage, over a million PS4s have been purchased early.
"I think it's already happening in that there's so much strong interest, so much excitement and demand – I mean, over a million pre-orders for PS4 at this stage before launch I think says something very powerful. Competition is a good thing for this industry, offering choice is a good thing. These are all positives."
We’re almost at the turning point. Sony will be launching its PS4 in North America Nov. 15, and Nov. 29 in Europe.