Earlier this week, Sony Computer Entertainment’s boss Kaz Hirai talked about the company’s future, also addressing the position of its competition. He suggested that the Xbox 360 ”lacks longevity” and that the PlayStation 3 will surely end up victorious in the long run. Also, Hirai did not want to bring Nintendo’s Wii, the undisputed market leader,  into the discussion, as he does not consider it a direct competitor.

He also talked about the accusations brought by various developers who claim that the console’s features represent a great obstacle for programming. He explained that the reason why the console is build this way is because this is the only strategy available in order to make sure that nobody will take advantage of the hardware’s features and that the new programs and features will be carefully developed over time, providing customers with the best possible offers. "So it's a kind of - I wouldn't say a double-edged sword - but it's hard to program for, and a lot of people see the negatives of it, but if you flip that around, it means the hardware has a lot more to offer," he said.

Still, the programming issue was not considered very interesting, as what managed to attract attention was the part about Microsoft’s console. As expected, such a statement was bound to receive an answer. Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for the Xbox 360, talked to Torrance Davis at thebitbag.com and said that Hirai comments are the clear indicative of “an old hardware company that’s comfortable with its market position,” and that Sony’s “complacent attitude is out of touch with where the industry and consumer is today.”

He also talked about the factors needed to become this generation’s winner, as hardware specifications will not be the only aspect of interest. He offered the example of Nintendo’s Wii, which is extremely popular but compared to other consoles, underpowered. In his opinion, one of the defining factors of today’s competition is the ability to out-innovate in the area of online capabilities and software strenght.

“This is the kind of stuff that’s in our DNA,” said the Xbox 360 executive, “and frankly it moves the console war onto our home court,” he confidently added.

He concluded by saying that there is no possible scenario where the PS3 could be able to catch up with them. This certainty is based on the figures recorded by the two companies, with Microsoft considering that its market position is fully secured and that the competition has a long way to go before even getting close.“In fact, even if you doubled the current PS3 sales and Xbox 360 remained flat, they couldn’t close the gap until 2014,” Greenberg explained.

The competition between the two companies is well-known and goes back a long way. Each one is always looking to top the other’s offer with new features and better prices.