Sony to Microsoft: game over!

Sony Computer Entertainment head Ken Kuturagi says the next generation gaming market belongs to Sony, not Microsoft

In this story: Microsoft 'out of the game' Xbox ignored RELATED STORIES, SITES

By CNN's Kristie Lu Stout

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- The head of Sony Computer Entertainment said Microsoft "has put itself out of the game" in the battle to win gamer market share.

Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony's video game unit, told the Financial Times, "Microsoft was finished before it even got started. They have no games."

His criticism follows industry buzz of Microsoft's development delays and boring game titles -- stumbling blocks that analysts say will make the software giant's gaming debut with the Xbox a rocky one.

Microsoft 'out of the game'

Microsoft has ambitions to dominate the $20 billion game industry and defeat industry incumbents with its November 8 launch of the Xbox game console.

However, Microsoft may not have the gripping gaming content needed to seduce gamers away from Sony's PlayStation 2 or Nintendo's upcoming GameCube.

"Microsoft has put itself out of the game," Kutaragi told the FT. "Retailers in the US are already disappointed."

"Retailers told me that on a dollar base, they expect 70 percent of their sales to come from PlayStation. The remaining 30 percent will come from Nintendo and Xbox but almost all of that will be from Nintendo."

Analysts say that because of software development delays with third parties, Microsoft has to rely on its own game software development to have titles available by its November launch date.

But according to the talk from the halls of last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Microsoft has a long way to go in terms of making compelling in-house gaming titles

"I think compared to Nintendo, they have a lot of work to do," Takiko Mori, UBS Warburg's gaming analyst in Tokyo, told CNN.

"The stuff I saw looked OK, but I was not blown away by it," said West LB game analyst Zachary Liggett. "I thought Nintendo's content looked very good."

Xbox ignored

Analysts say gamers will ignore the Xbox and opt instead for the creative strengths of Sony or Nintendo, the handheld gaming powerhouse known for its Mario and Pokemon characters.

Nintendo, which announces its annual results later Thursday, will re-introduce its cast of characters with the GameCube launch on November 3.

Analysts say its compelling software and $199 price tag, $100 less than both the PlayStation and Xbox, will prove a winning combination.

Analysts also anticipate that, with its second year approaching, the PlayStation 2 will enjoy bigger, better titles that will really bring out what the Sony machine has to offer.

"The next generation platform belongs to Sony and Nintendo," said Kutaragi.

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Sony PlayStation

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