PS3 to come out on top, says Jez San

Jez San, founder of the now-defunct Argonaut Software and now involved with PS3 slash 'em-up, Heavenly Sword has said that he thinks the PlayStation 3 will come out on top in the next-gen console war, "but only because its got Blu-ray."

Speaking to The Guardian, San said: "I think the combination of a next-generation games machine and a next-generation DVD player that plays full high-definition movies is very compelling, despite the huge price. Remember price is just a function of time and volume. It doesn't matter what the PS3 comes out at, it's what it gets down to, over time, that's important."

In the same article, market analyst Paul Jackson of Forrester Research agrees with San's comments, saying that Sony stands a good chance because, "Far more people will go for a PS3 than spend $1,000 on a Blu-ray player ...it's a question of how quickly [Sony] gets the price down."

Jackson goes on to echo San's own comments on the importance of price. "You can't get to the mass market until you get down to $300/£200 [mark]."

Jackson then asserts that it's going to be far from an easy ride for Sony, because of the amount of negative press that currently surrounds its next-gen console: "You can't over-estimate how much negativity there is around the PlayStation 3 in the web ...The stories just keep getting worse and worse. They've got a real fight on their hands."

There's only a few months left until the PS3 hits - and most-likely vanishes from - store shelves, and with likely stock shortages ensuring a Christmas sell-out for the console, it's going to be next year before we get the slightest inkling of who's really going to rule the next gen.

But as San points out, the unique appeal of both Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft's machines means it could very well end up being a three-way tie. Whichever way the next gen cookie crumbles, it's certainly going to be an interesting 12 months...