In a bold statement, Chairman and erstwhile the world's richest man, Bill Gates, has spoken at a meeting of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. In his address to the assembled experts he stated that the first was merely a foot in the games door, but that despite this the industry now regard Microsoft on an 'almost' equal footing with Sony. Despite the fact that far outstrip the Xbox's, apparently.

"Our goal in the last generation was to be in the game," Gates enthused at the meeting. "We came out of this round a strong number two. What we've got in this [round], at some significant financial cost, was the right to play again with great credibility. So now people are looking at the two companies at a pretty much equal basis."

A half-hour special will unveil the new Xbox globally on March 12th or 13th depending on where you live. Widely expected to be called the Xbox 360, Redmond's new opus is said to a removable hard-disc, wireless controllers, and a slicker Sony-rivalling image. Sony, unsurprisingly, dismissed the potential of the new console: "We look at delivering a quantum leap in technology, not just Xbox version 1.5," bitched PR spokesperson Molly Smith. More soon.

By Luke Guttridge

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  1. Syl Unregistered 4 years ago

    You mean May 12th or 13th? :-p

  2. Markusdragon Unregistered 4 years ago

    It's comments like this that make me want the games industry to grow up. Gates, have some perspective, Smith, don't be such a hypocrite and get a better name.

  3. jon Unregistered 4 years ago

    microsoft is nowhere near reaching sony's gaming power. they may have been a strong number two, but it was only really out of three. they think that being in the games idustry for one generation makes them as strong as sony, but it dosen't.