House: PS3 has captured Wii's momentum

Sony Europe president Andrew House has said that just as Nintendo's Wii has lost momentum, PlayStation 3 has picked it up - largely thanks to the launch of the new slim console and the price cut.

"I think at a time when we're seeing one of the major competitors somewhat losing a sense of momentum - at least in many of the markets I've looked at - it's gratifying to see a platform that's always had a very significant share of sales go to third-party publishers capture that momentum again," House told our sister site GamesIndustry.biz in an interview published today. He later confirmed he was referring to Wii.

"The knock-on effect can only be a positive one if publishers are making up 75 per cent of the sales on a particular platform, as opposed to a much smaller share elsewhere, then that's the platform I think it's in their interests to see succeed - and I think that's the dynamic we're seeing return right now."

Nintendo presumably wouldn't dispute the decline in Wii sales, not least because Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has acknowledged it himself, putting the problem down to a dearth of "strong software" to match the performance of games like Wii Fit in the past.

House told GamesIndustry.biz that he believes PS3 has "finally capitalised on inherent brand strength" with its reconfiguration and price cut, and that it's something he will look back as a highlight of 2009.

"Seeing us be able to establish momentum not purely based on price, but I think with a sense of capitalising on internal brand strength, is really gratifying for me," he said.