SCEA president talks up Blu-Ray storage size

SCEA president Kaz Hirai has questioned Microsoft's decision to opt for the HD-DVD format over Blu-Ray, observing that larger games may have to be presented on multiple discs.

Speaking to Dean Takahashi of the Mercury News, Hirai described the PS3 as "A console that is here for the long haul and is not on a five-year cycle."

"Microsoft is coming out with an HD-DVD accessory for HD movies as an add-on only a year after they launched. That is exactly the kind of thing we don't want to do," he continued.

"This console is going to do much more... If you look at the lack of Blu-Ray on Microsoft, what do you do if the game requires 40 to 50 gigabytes? Put it on three discs?"

Hirai went on to dismiss suggestions that at USD 499/599, the PS3 is too expensive, stating: "I think that is the right price for what we're bringing to consumers."

"Let's look under the hood and see total value we are delivering to consumers. At five to 10 years, you see the lasting power of the PS2. If you go out there now, there is a lot of PS2 software out there."

"From a consumer's view, who got the better value? If you look at which console is giving the publishers more time to amortise their development costs, the answer is pretty obvious."

Hirai said he is "confident" Sony will maintain its position as market leader once the next-gen battle kicks off, stating: "With the PlayStation 3, we are keeping to our belief that we have the true next-generation console."

"It's all about the games. We all know that. It's about delivering compelling entertainment to the consumer once again. We are well on our way to showing that."