That's kind of a funny quote, because he just dismisses the interest in the 360's lifecycle and then goes on to brag about the PS3's 10-year plan.

Anyway, I think that the 360's lifecycle will be longer than the XBOX but not as long as the PS3 due to the RROD problem. It would serve MS well to let it stabilize like Sony has done for the PS2 without putting too many resources into it, in favor of the next-gen console.

The PS3 having a 10-year lifecycle? I dunno about dat. I'm not even sure if it would make sense to keep the PS3 around for 10 years just b/c it would be incredibly outdated by that point, and I think that the 5-6 year average for console life spans would be a basis for how long to keep it going, mabey add a year or so...but a 10 year lifespan would cut into the PS4 or whatever it is going to be called.

Kaz is being entirely reasonable. As a media firm, Sony knows quite well that the center of the world media market is shifting away from the US, Western Europe and Japan (about 650 million people) and towards to the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China - about 2.6 billion people). Thrown in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, and you have a fast-growing market potentially five times as big as the current one.

Yes, the BRICs aren't as rich as the industrial nations. Yet. But at 10% growth rates, they'll catch up fast. Sony's plan is to produce affordable HDTVs, broadband devices and BluRay media and sell them to this huge new market, between 2009 and 2012. (Remember, the PS3 will be $299/299EUR at the end of this year, and $199/199EUR by 2009).

This is why Microsoft's position is so worrisome. They're doing fine in the US, thanks to the price cut, but that's not the major growth market of the future.

thats not true i want a link.. it erased all the profits sony made off the ps2 hardware not software. this is incorrect intill i see a link.

And the psp was very proftable last i heard.

WHAT?!?!?  Are you serious?  There is not freakin' way the price will be $199 by 2009 for the PS3 and the price is now $399 - $499 for right now.  NO FREAKIN' WAY

He works for Sony, right...oh...lol.

Well, Kaz Hirai can suck my... Never mind.

Every time Kaz opens his mouth, I hide my PS3 under a T-Shirt. He's embarrasing. Stop talking, and let the PS3 deliver. Actions speak louder than words!

(same goes for Microsoft...........Nintendo is exempt.)

between 2012 and 2016.... though i now lean to 2014 for the introduction of the next cycle. every one is making money off software, only sony is having trouble with hardware profit, which i see being cleaned up soon. it makes no sence, to rush another console out they cost to much, to develop and market.

licensing is where the profit is, so as long as software sells across all three there is no reason to kill the cash cows.

edit, also the xbox lives on till 8/12/08 when the last game comes, madden nfl 09

Someone (BengaBenga or Sqrl I think) created a post awhile back that added up all of Sony's Game Division's profits from 1996 through 2007 and the losses from the PS3 erased all profits gained by the Playstation and PS2 ...

Now, the PSP hardware may turn a profit when sold but that wasn't always the case (and it had huge R&D costs before it was released) and its software sales are amazingly awful ... When you factor in marketing costs, I highly doubt Sony has turned a profit on the PSP.

Doesn't Microsoft's bribing of 3rd party developers work by pay off sort of like buying up the estimated value of copies the game would sell on it's competition?

Well after March 2009 when the PS3 pulls ahead of Microsoft in total hardware sold MS will lose it's edge when it comes to bribes because they will be too expensive.

With less and less bribes from MS and size restrictions on DVD vs a plethora of space on a BD, 3rd party developers have less and less incentive to develop for the 360.

And unlike Sony and Nintendo MS, Microsoft has hardly any 1st party games.

It will not be as instant as their last flop but a bit more gradual.  The end for the 360 system begins half way through 2010 and it will slowly and slowly fade and the end will be over by the end 2011.