The President of Sony Online Entertainment, John Smedley, recently told the Seattle Times that the Xbox 360 will find it hard to compete with the upcoming MMO titles for the PlayStation 3. Smedley believes that titles like The Agency will help separate the PS3 from its competition. On top of that, Smedley feels that MMOs are going to be a mass-market genre in the near future.
“I think MMOs are going to be a real strong selling point for the PS3 long term — there’s going to be some great ones on the PS3. You’re not going to find The Agency on the [Xbox] 360. I would say [MMOs are] getting more mainstream. If I were characterizing it, I would say think of the video gaming industry five years ago.
“That’s kind of where I think we’re at. … Five years ago, do you think Grand Theft Auto IV would have done $500 million [in opening-week sales]? To me, video games are just reaching the real mass-market now. That is going to translate to the MMO side of the business.”
While it is pretty common knowledge that a Sony title such as The Agency wouldn’t find its way over to the 360, it is interesting to say the least that Smedley feels the 360 will not be able to provide a group of MMO titles in order to compete with those released for the PS3.