Hirai questions Xbox 360 longevity

By James Orry - 24/07/2008 - 4:35pm GMT

Sony is working on a ten-year lifecycle for PS3, but Hirai isn't sure how long the Xbox 360 will be around.

kaz hirai - Hirai questions Xbox 360 longevity

Sony Computer Entertainment global president Kaz Hirai has questioned recent claims made by Xbox boss Don Mattrick that the Xbox 360 will sell more units than the PlayStation 3 this generation.

Hirai told MCV: "The key word there is this 'lifecycle' or 'this generation'. As you probably know, we're working on a ten-year lifecycle, we've said that since day one and we've proven it with PSOne and PS2. I guess Don is saying they're also going to be embarking on a ten-year lifecycle, then?

"If they are then that's terrific, but I've never seen them manage it before. Last time I checked, the Xbox went by the wayside four or five years after launch.

"On the other hand, if he's saying that Microsoft will outsell us after five years, if he calls that this generation, then he's saying he's going to exit the 360 business within five years. I'm not exactly sure when he says 'this lifecycle' or 'this generation' what standard he's using - five years, 10 years, I don't know."

Do you think the Xbox 360 will match the PS3's ten year lifecycle or will be it replaced by a new Xbox console five years after it launched? Let us know in the comments section below.

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The next xbox will be totally dependant on whether or not Sony sell them the license to use the Blu-Ray for games and I can't see it happenin so some of the flaws of this generation may be carried forwards! ...

- El-Dev

FantasyMeister wrote at 17:09 on 24 July 2008

A lot of people seem to be thinking along the lines of "Increases in game performance, graphics and gameplay are now in such small increments that we no longer need new consoles, the existing ones should do just fine." I tend to agree with this line of thought so I'm not expecting the 'NextBox' to be announced any time soon. Having said that if everyone thought the same way we'd still be playing with third generation hardware.

Given the 360's reliability, I'll probably have to replace it within a few years with another 360 just to keep my gaming going, which is maybe what Don Mattrick is secretly thinking when he plans to shift more units than the PS3 this generation.

Sony might have an ace up their sleeve, I have a conspiracy theory that the PS2 was secretly designed to die automatically after 3 years via Disc Read Error, I'm on my 4th one, hence the hundreds of millions that were sold. Maybe they've secretly designed Blu-Ray to self-destruct after 36 months.

On a more logical and less insane note, Sony have always had that 150 million or so PS2 installed base to build on, and as more and more of those switch over to the PS3 as they seem to be doing PS3 will start pulling ahead, so if Kaz is right in his guesstimate that Microsoft are talking about a much shorter generation lifecycle then that's the only way I can see the 360 outselling the PS3 'this generation', i.e. if they stop counting after 3 more years rather than 8.

Wii will probably outsell them both, regardless.

It's all pointless speculation really, nobody knows if or when the 'best game ever' is going to turn up nor which platform it'll land on. This should ultimately define a winner.
IRohanIgame wrote at 17:14 on 24 July 2008

Cant say much , 5 years is hell lot of time and by then i suppose x-box's hardware will start showing itz age.Yup i think then will surely be .PS3 on the other hand has other problems has it not.With all that crappy game designing ,do they really think they will last ten years????
ps1 ,ps2 were success b coz they had no competition in their era .360 on other hand beat ps3 in everyfield
IRohanIgame wrote at 17:19 on 24 July 2008

If truth be told , if games like Crysis keep on being released on pc with grafics increasing by tenfold each time, consoles really will be hard pressed to survive.

Upgradable consoles anyone???
Player 2 wrote at 18:01 on 24 July 2008

U Poor guy, u were exposed to poor game design on ps3, do u own one, in terms of quality PS3 games are ahead of X360, have some knowledge of both the console, no blockbuster exclusive games in near future for X360
NinetiesKid wrote at 18:08 on 24 July 2008

Lol, are you serious? Never heard of Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Banjo-Kazooie, Infinite Undiscovery, Viva Pinata 2, Left 4 Dead, Halo Wars...? I could go on..
Wido wrote at 18:22 on 24 July 2008

@ IRohanIgame: PC Gaming will always be better than console gaming hence why there price is well over �1,000 pounds also why parts like graphics cards, sound cards and RAM are expensive. Thats why console gaming will not be the same as PC gaming, as consoles are the cheapest way to play games like the PC graphics and more afford-able.

@P Player 2: Your on about exclusives.... Hmmm well there is alot of exclusives on the 360, I'm going to look at Square Enix 'The Last Remnant' or 'Lost Odssey'. Go onto Fable only number two is coming out in Oct also with Gears 2 but 7th Nov, still exculsives aren't they and its still obvious that in the near future the 360 will have exclusives.

Back to my own opinion: Kaz Hirai is he blind?! Yes the PSone was good in that era about nearly everyone owned one, but I didn't own one I owned a N64 when that came out but my brother did own a PSone. PS2 which I did own and its the only console to breach that 10mil units sold world-wide, the PS3 has got alot to perform and I do own a PS3 and a 360.

There two different consoles, and they have both up and downs.

This 'Life-Cycle' to what Kaz Hirai is stating sounds like to me that he his covering the PS3 down-side, but however is has dug himself a massive hole there. My personal view about the 360 Long-activity say roughly about another 2-3 years left in its life span. Hes saying that the PS3 should at least stay around for 10 years, when Microsoft could have a poweful console with blu-ray, with a bigger hard-drive and a good sale value. Sony is only making sure that the PS3 stays out for 10 yrs is to make its losses from building it so they can gain it back, so if Sony wants to make a PS4 then a lot of money is required.
DooYA wrote at 18:37 on 24 July 2008

Im really starting to hate Sony which is weird cos i kinda was coming round to Playstation i dont care how long their console will be around i want good games NOW at least microsoft isnt keeping their hordes of good games from the xbot community. Sony PLEASE make some good games and yes all u fanboy idiots out there halo 3 is awesome go get it and remember for GOD's SAKE its about the games i hate FAN BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!! oh and please bring out home this year im getting impatient
mystik wrote at 19:39 on 24 July 2008

I don't know why Sony keeps touting the superiority of the PS3's hardware. I've been lucky enough to own both consoles for some time now, and from what I can tell, there has been nothing thus far to indicate that the PS3 is THAT much more powerful than a 360. In certain aspects, (GPU) the 360 is actually more powerful than the PS3!

Hideo Kojima even expressed his disappointment with the hardware capabilities of the PS3 and stated that the PS3 hardware was too limited to fully realize his expectations when he made MGS4. Having recently finished MGS4, I can't see any reason why the 360 wouldn't be able to handle it. I haven't seen a single PS3 game that the 360 wouldn't be able to handle, and developers have had plenty of time to figure out how to exploit the PS3's hardware.

Given all of that, I have no idea why Sony is so convinced that the PS3 will have a longer product life-cycle than the xbox 360, given the rate that technology is improving. PC's have already been more capable than the PS3 for the past year.

Don't get me wrong, the PS3 is a powerful piece of hardware, but when a replacement for the 360 is anounced 3-4 years from now, there is no way in hell the PS3's hardware is going to be adequate enough to compete. Sony will have to develop another system to keep their brand name competetive, especially given that Sony has created a brand image that is associated with cutting edge technology.
scoob101 wrote at 19:46 on 24 July 2008

Anyone with a bran stopped listening to Hirai when he spouted "The PS3 is clearly a computer". He talks more crap than I get rid of in a year.

Lifecyles are based profit, and precious little else. Hirai is talking up his product, but he`s not talking the truth.
Rogue Soul wrote at 20:34 on 24 July 2008

QFT!
David wrote at 22:12 on 24 July 2008

"Don't get me wrong, the PS3 is a powerful piece of hardware, but when a replacement for the 360 is anounced 3-4 years from now, there is no way in hell the PS3's hardware is going to be adequate enough to compete. Sony will have to develop another system to keep their brand name competetive, especially given that Sony has created a brand image that is associated with cutting edge technology. " No kidding, the next 360 will likely just be a little more powerfully, more memory, larger drive, faster network connection, ect, fully backward compatible, and priced lower then the ps3. and Sony fanboys will still be talking about the big games still to come, that is my main problem with the ps3, it is all about the future, and what is to come, yet I have been enjoying the 360 for two year now. and will still be in the future.
PS3 owner wrote at 22:17 on 24 July 2008

we have resistance 2, MAG, god of war 3, kingdom hearts 3, dc universe. oh yeah sony owns 9% of sqaure enix so 9% of all sales from ffXII on the xbox will go to sony's wallet thx xbox fans u r helping us. oh yeah we get bioshock microsoft has to stop lying when they say exclusive
El-Dev wrote at 10:51 on 25 July 2008

The next xbox will be totally dependant on whether or not Sony sell them the license to use the Blu-Ray for games and I can't see it happenin so some of the flaws of this generation may be carried forwards! There is enough games out there now for PS3 in my opinion that it has enough variety and good games to compete with 360 in that way. Also we are starting to see a shift on multi-platform games being better on PS3, GTAIV lookin better on PS3 was quite the triumph despites M$ payin millions for a few extra missions. On another note, does anyone think that GTAIV wasn't that original, same missions with a lick of paint. Haven't looked at it since I completed it a while ago. MGS4 is replayable and in my opinion better than GTA for that reason, and it looks better and plays better and isn't on xbox.
last 2 comment wrote at 12:00 on 25 July 2008

FANBOY ALERT !!!
to ps3 owners wrote at 12:05 on 25 July 2008

Bioshock was exclusive. A Timed Exclusive. And for your information you stupid idiot. DC universe is coming to xbox too. At least we know when our games are coming God of war. All you got was a CG trailer that didnt explain anything. And yeah sony owns 9%. And again you speak more shit. Do you think we could care. We are still gettin Final fantasy, Obviously that 9% they own doesnt mean shit because there biggest rivals get access to part of their company and a possible great game. So look who gets the last laugh,