Livingstone predicts "much closer race" between next-gen consoles

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, industry veteran Ian Livingstone has said that although Sony has been the clear victor in past console battles, the race will be much harder to win this time around.

In an exclusive interview, Livingstone said: "It's going to be a much closer race and significantly, I think Nintendo, with the Wii console, is going to be right back up in the thick of it.

"Sony has had a recent history of being the clear winner, and I don't think anybody believes that's going to be the case this time... It's going to be a much closer race."

According to Livingstone, Sony will have to allocate a hefty marketing budget to communicate the value of the PlayStation 3, and "let consumers know that the PS3 is not just a games machine but a complete home entertainment system with Blu-ray.

"To get the consumers to understand exactly what that means, and how that justifies the cost of the hardware - that's going to be the challenge for them."

Livingstone, who is currently product acquisition director at Eidos, confirmed that the publisher will be supporting all three next-gen consoles, stating: "It's much more of an open race and it's a very exciting time for independent publishers like ourselves, to be able to successfully leverage our IP over more formats than before."

Click here to read part one of the full interview. Part two will be published tomorrow.