Sony's president of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, has said that he wants Microsoft's Xbox 360 to succeed in Japan in order to help push the concepts of high-definition gaming to local consumers.
With Nintendo's Wii the most popular console in the Japanese market, Yoshida would like both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to sell well in order to convince punters of a more sophisticated take on next-generation gaming.
"I like to see people here in Japan showing interest in high-definition gaming and more sophisticated gaming experiences," offered Yoshida, in an interview with our sister site Eurogamer.net.
"In terms of realistic-looking graphics and smarter AI, they haven't really shown the appetite for what this generation of gaming can offer. I'd really like to see both PS3 and 360 succeed here."
"What Microsoft is offering and what we are offering are closer, compared to what other platforms are offering. Because of that commonality, the new games coming out on 360 and PS3 help to get consumers more interested in this generation of gaming," he added.
Both consoles are currently being trounced in Japan by Nintendo's Wii. And although the Xbox 360 has been outselling PS3 in recent weeks, Yoshida sees the success as short-lived.
"Quite honestly, the real number being sold - we haven't seen real acceptance of the platform here in the Japanese market. The Nintendo Wii is still by far the biggest platform in Japan," he said.
And still on the subject of Microsoft, Yoshida admitted he's impressed with the New Xbox Experience, prefering the ****of the avatars over Nintendo's Miis.
"I think it's quite nice. I like the avatar designs they're working on. Personally, Microsoft's work is closer to my personal preference. The Miis are very nice, but everybody looks cute, like Japanese-****characters," he said.
The full interview with Shuhei Yoshida, where he discusses the release of Home, forthcoming PS3 titles and the success of PSP, can be read here.
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Well folks - this is why I love the gaming industry sites - you can read stuff like this! Some folks have complained that multi-platform titles are holding back the PS3 and 360... it would seem, at least in Japan, the success of the Wii and apathy towards the "bigger, badder, better" next-gen experience on the PS3 and 360 are a much bigger factor.
Sony and Microsoft compete in some things, cooperate in others, and coexist on a few. This is a good example of business - how even your competition's success can prove beneficial to you.