MS laughs in Solid Snake's face
In a manner of speaking.
As you'll know if you've read our big fat preview, Konami unveiled a rather impressive trailer for PS3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots at the Tokyo Game Show recently.
At least, we thought it was rather impressive... Xbox VP Peter Moore, perhaps unsurprisingly, would disagree.
"Cell processor or not, when I look at the technical specs, I don't see anything that concerns me overly from a performance point of view," he told our sister site, GamesIndustry.biz.
"If we look at the capabilities of the Xbox 360 from a technical aspect, and we lay against it the capabilities from a technical aspect of the PS3, everybody that works at a technical level that I respect says... It's a wash," he continued.
"It really is. Both companies have incredibly powerful machines, and it will be about what the developers can do with them."
And it'll also be about what us lot make of them, he went on: "Gamers are a very smart bunch, and gamers who still haven't seen a PS3 or seen one played will make the determination.
"The English expression is, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. Having videos, having characters in videos... The fact that they feel the need to have Snake tell you that it's powerful, that could be seen as a sign of worry, or weakness, potentially," Moore concluded.
But the likes of Mario, Sonic and Crash have done all right for Microsoft's rivals, haven't they? "You know, I really think that for those platformer icons, those days are over," Moore said.
"Many would argue that Master Chief is an icon for Xbox, but that is not our intention. I really don't think we need an icon.
"I would rather focus on the fact that the icon for Xbox 360 will be an incredible wealth of games, a spectacular online experience, an unbelievably unprecedented digital entertainment experience of how you connect your devices, how your digital experience in the living room is enhanced by having this machine."
For more Moore, head on over to GamesIndustry.biz to find out what he thinks about Xbox 360 game pricing, European gamers and sequels versus new IPs.