Sony plays up PS3 Blu-ray

Sony has responded to news of its victory over Toshiba in the next-generation DVD battle by pointing to Blu-ray as "one more reason" for people to buy a PlayStation 3.

The comment, made by Sony Computer Entertainment America president and CEO Jack Tretton, also pointed to 2008 as being key to the platform's evolution.

"The emergence of Blu-ray as the de facto high-def standard is one more reason why PS3 is a great value to consumers. The combination of strong sales, Blu-ray dominance and widely-anticipated games all point to 2008 as a breakthrough year for PS3."

Both analysts and publishers have now gone on record stating their belief that the PlayStation 3 will outsell its Microsoft rival, the Xbox 360, throughout 2008 and the demise of HD DVD is expected to give Sony a monthly boost in sales of around 10 per cent.

But Microsoft isn't admitting defeat, and Studios' corporate VP Shane Kim hinted recently that there was more to come from his company's machine that hadn't yet been announced.