Speaking to Games Industry International, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida talked about the competition between the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. He also stated, regarding the many changes Microsoft has made to its policies with the console, that, “We know they’re very smart people. It’s great that they were able to quickly realise that some of the things they were doing were not popular, and were able to make really quick decisions to change some of those things – even things that their engineering group must have spent a lot of time preparing before the launch.
“It must have been a very tough time for them. That shows how smart they are, and it shows their dedication to making Xbox One successful. We never took them lightly. Especially in the States, we are the challenger – we’re trying to compete with them. Some of the messaging that they stumbled on just gave us more chances to compete with them in the States.
“Other markets are very different – in Europe, we have a larger market share and in Japan, we have a much longer history of being here. Being consistent and persistent helps; the legacy and people’s associations with the brand, their memories of having a great time before.”
As of now, the PlayStation 4 has a stronger advantage in Europe since it will be launching across a larger number of territories compared to the Xbox One. Both consoles will be arriving in Q1 2014 in Japan however, although Sony has a stronger history there. Will the Xbox One beat out the console in North America this November? We’ll find out.