Sony: 360 GTA won't hurt us
Just as many in the industry agree that Sony ruled E3 2005, several also saw the company's showing at E3 2006 as disappointing. The price tag of the PlayStation 3 ($600 for the high-end model), coupled with the fact that some previously announced features were scrapped, left some scratching their heads.
Not Sony, though. In an interview with TheStreet.com, Sony of America co-COO Jack Tretton said that the company was "really pleased" with its showing at E3.
"If we were trying to do a PR blitz on our announcements, we would have perceived it a little bit differently," Tretton said. "But we really saw this as an opportunity to announce some very important details to the trade. And I think if you ask the trade, meaning the retail constituency and the third parties, they came away pretty pleased with how everything went."
TheStreet.com's Troy Wolverton asked Tretton about the pricing of the PS3, to which Tretton responded, "Well, I guess if price is the only consideration, then we've won the war, because we've got a $129 PlayStation 2 that outsells the Xbox 360 today." He went on to say that the premium edition of the Xbox 360, priced at $399, "falls well short of what the PlayStation 3 offers at $499."
One of Microsoft's biggest announcements during its pre-E3 press gathering this year was the fact that the next installment of the top-selling Grand Theft Auto series would be coming to the Xbox 360 on its first day of release. Previous editions of GTA were released on the PlayStation 2 before they eventually pulled any Xbox crime sprees.
While Microsoft seems to be making a big deal out of this (see Peter Moore's faux tattoo), Tretton doesn't appear bothered. "There's no question that having the Grand Theft Auto franchise helped us a lot and helped us sell some units, but I don't think the battle would be any different with or without Grand Theft Auto ... I don't think [losing GTA exclusivity] hurts us. ... I really don't."
987 Comments
I think Jack Tretton is full of crap, I honestly do. And I also like how he avoids price questions and instead he denotes the 360. I honestly have to ask if I have to show him the PSM article in which the writers of PSM, the people who write specifically for Sony, said the 360 was the better console.
Also, another thing that he doesn't seem to realize, is if blu-ray doesn't take off, the PS3 crashes. Blu-ray doesn't hold half the content that HD DVD does and so if HD DVD wins the CD war, the PS3 has crashed and burned completely.
i agree with RunzWthScissorz ,
before when i just had a playstation the original playstation, i didn't even think of buying a PS2 untill i played a rental of GTAIII at my cousin's house. I was hooked and that's what led me to buy a PS2. I've been a GTA addict ever since. haha. sh*t i even bought a 360 just to try out xbox's version saints row. even though I got a 360, you know i play different games also, but im going to buy me a top of the line PS3 right when GTA4 comes out in October. bes believe that!
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Hey Jack Tretton (he reads this stuff)... regarding your last comment in this article... I bought the PS2 specifically for playing GTA III when it came out. Sure, I have purchased more games since then, but bought the console SPECIFICALLY to play GTA III. I am also waiting for GTA IV to come out before I buy the next console. If it is out on both platforms at the same time, my decision on which machine to purchase at the time will be decided on the number of good games available AT THAT TIME for each platform.
To make a short story long... not having exclusivity IS going to hurt Sony.
Well...I have a PS3 and I think Sony is being stupid right now since there really losing more of their exclusive games. The only way Sony is going to sell more of thier consoles, is to make thier graphics 5x better than the Xbox 360, and keep more of their exclusive titles.
Whatever is already good stays good! and xbox360 is good and gettting better when gears of war 2 comes out that will just wreck whatever they make just 1 game will ruin ou WING KING BABY!
brooooo i told you give it 6 monthssssssss!! youll be crying for a ps3 and smackdown's gonna be 45X better on ps3 and f** gta IV watch! were gonna come out with maad sh*ttttt well rock youre pantsssssssssss WING KING BABYYYYYYYYYYY
aright im takin the b3 right now 
nah but for real ps3 shouldve kept gta IV for themselves they got nothing now! name 1 thing they got!? we have Gta now lol halo gears of war SMACK DOWN VS RAW urs got cancled lost planted ithink crackdown and what!!!!!!!
lettss dooo ritee twenty thirddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd lmaoo hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Yea ok 
fight me thennnnnnn ill rock you like xbox is rockin ps3 :O
Broo PS3 is gonna rockkkkkkk the 360 in half no jiggiti jokee watch!, give it 6 months watch what happens! ITS OVERRRRRR!!! PS3 Is taking OVER =]
I don't think [losing GTA exclusivity] hurts us. ... I really don't." whoever said that will cry for saying that lol watch what happppensssssssssssssssssssss Xbox is rockin ps3 and what!
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Its a win for all gamers. Online gaming has no appeal to me and neither does Halo. All past GTAs played better on Playstation than Xbox, so maybe that's what Sony is paying for now...
that guy at sony says that to him but i bet he crys into his pillow with fear of the 360 taking over
I think a big factor in the "console wars" is going to be online playability, at present if nothing else 360/ Microsoft have proved with xbox live they know how to do it and they have done a damn good job of doing it too, i dont think Wii is competition for either as its more a party console than an all rounder, as for 360/PS3 choice is yours but i will stick with my 360, was always a PS fanboy, some of my work colleagues talked me into a 360 after a lot of abuse, and i will never look back awesome piece of kit with awesome online capabilities, i also read ( could be wrong so dont flame me here) but apparently the 360 is easier to write games for than the PS3 so its ok saying PS3 has all this hardware but if its a **** to code for then 360 will still win? Look at the gamespot screenie article beetween the 2 not an awful lot in it but 360 has smoother framerate?
hmmm... back stabbing comes to mind, how could sony have been so arogant after the gta franchise helped revolutionize gaming and do it mostly from their ps2 console, to go and say that it won't hurt them, god, rockstar, drop their asses... thats just two timing righ their, thats like not giving complements to your friend for gettiing your back in a fight.. may not be a good analogy, but wow... to say that.. is just.... geesh....
True that black iron...No doubt the ps3 has nice hardware...but we wont even be seeing the peak performance for another 6 months+ and by that time the 360 will have loads of games,accessories, content, you name it...to me the ps3 is a shiny p.o.s..they should stick to making tvs . just my .02.
