14 DAY TRIAL // The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles will continue to be around for quite some time, at least according to Electronic Arts, who believes that Sony and Microsoft are certain to keep on supporting their current products, before starting to talk about the next generation of devices.
While video game consoles are finally reaching some very affordable prices, what with the recent price cut of the PlayStation 3, many industry pundits are already demanding the three large hardware manufacturers, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to release brand new devices.
While Nintendo has already confirmed that it will deploy the Wii U next year, neither Sony nor Microsoft have any public plans concerning a PlayStation 4 or a Xbox 720.
The companies are right, however, as EA's European boss, Jens Uwe Intat, has talked with Eurogamer about the current generation platforms and how they're still capable machines, so they won't go away anytime soon.
"All three first party manufacturers do have interesting platforms out there. 360 certainly will be around for quite some time. As will the PS3. The PS3 with the price drop should hopefully get some acceleration for the Christmas business," Intat said. "The Wii U is certainly a platform we like and will support going forward."
EA is thrilled with the current gaming landscape, as affordable consoles mean bigger sales for its own games. Intat does admit, however, that new devices will be needed in the future, in order to keep things from stagnating and offer new sorts of experiences.
"We do see healthy sales of software into those existing hardware platforms. It's the first-parties you have to discuss with when a, they think they can afford to come out with a new platform, but even more important, b, when they think a new platform will really offer something meaningful to the consumer," Intat commented. "The existing generation of consoles is actually technologically very advanced. They're still very capable machines. It's their call."
Both Microsoft and Sony have emphasized that they're going to back up their current devices for quite some time, which are still halfway through their lifecycles.