John Riccitiello EA Games

The so-called console clash is still very much ongoing, but some commentators are already starting to award the PlayStation 4 with victory. John Riccitiello, who's currently a chief at game engine Unity but previously was the big boss at Electronic Arts, is one such pundit, telling an audience at the GamesBeat Summit that the Japanese giant "f***ing nailed it" and "deserves the victory".

"There was a clash of ideas that really separated Sony and Microsoft," the ever candid executive explained. "They actually had very similar architecture that they were trying to bring to the table. But Microsoft focused a lot on entertainment beyond gaming."

According to the suit, the Redmond-based organisation allowed a more focused Sony to steal its thunder. "Microsoft was focused on the shot after the one that they needed to make, putting the 7-ball in the corner pocket, but they missed the first shot and didn't get another shot after it. Sony focused on the shot that they needed to make, which was win the hearts and minds of the gamer."

He concluded: "The broader scope of entertainment might be a bigger idea, but not with an unfocused execution. A tight execution on the 50 million people that matter, which are the people currently lapping up consoles... Sony fucking nailed it, and they deserve the victory." To be fair, there's still a long way to go yet – but we're sure that the firm will appreciate the recognition.

The irony here, of course, is that Riccitiello and crew expected the Japanese giant to get stomped. "He thought that Microsoft was going to eat Sony's lunch – but we all thought so," industry analyst Michael Pachter said of the ex-EA boss last year. "We thought that Xbox 360 had a large loyal install base on multiplayer and we thought that Sony would price about the same as the Xbox One."

What a difference a couple of years can make, eh? Of course, one could also argue that the lack of foresight demonstrated above could be linked to the fact that Riccitiello is, er, no longer in charge of EA. What? Someone had to say it...

[source venturebeat.com]