Sony flinches in next-gen standoff with Microsoft

Who will move first in the next-gen battle? It’s the question on everyone’s lips in the games industry right now.

Established opinion seems to veer toward a PS4 in the surprisingly near future, but speaking to The Times – and widely reported across the games press – Sony boss Kaz Hirai has cast doubt on that belief.

"Why go first when your competitors can look at your specifications and come up with something better?" he stated.

Now, this isn’t necessarily the confirmation that many outlets are reporting. The company is on record as not wanting to let Microsoft enjoy the same head start on the market as Xbox 360 did over PS3.

And if other speculation is to be believed, Sony is having a bit of trouble finalising its hardware manufacturing agreements for the new machine.

The truth is we’re unlikely to know anything for certain until one of the pair plays the first move. Which could still happen very, very soon.