Consumer confidence will decide outcome of console wars

Consumer confidence will the deciding factor in which games platform wins the day, according to Sony.

Chris Deering, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, said at a roundtable meeting at the Milia conference in Cannes this week: "If you look at the great platforms in history like audio cassettes, 33rpm record players and audio CDs, their success has not been based on technology, but on customer confidence in the platform."

Deering said that consumers need to have confidence in the company they buy from. Compelling content, consistency and predictability in the platform's future were also important factors, he added.

But he accepted that on top of consoles, there were some untapped games platforms around the corner, including interactive TV, broadband and wireless application protocol (WAP) based phones. "Place some safe bets, but also some side bets," he said.

Sony is gearing up to launch its second generation console, the Playstation 2, in Europe this autumn.