Microsoft (MSFT) Surprises PlayStation Exec with Key E3 Announcement

Did Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) get a leg-up on console rivals with its announcements at E3 this year?

Over the last 9+ years since its launch, Microsoft has sold plenty of Xbox 360 consoles. However, it's had limited success with its Xbox One console, which was mainly due to one thing: Sony.

Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4 was lauded by gamers when it debuted alongside the Xbox One at the end of 2013. Console sales figures largely saw Sony with an edge over the first year or so, due in part to the PS4 pricing about $100 less with similar (and better, in some cases) features.

But, Microsoft recently announced that the Xbox One would now be backwards compatible with Xbox 360 games later this year. That might have given it an edge moving forward.

Eurogamer recently quoted Sony Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida in saying that Microsoft's move was surprising.

I didn't think it was possible. There must be lots of engineering effort. They talked about 100 games, but what kind of games will be included? Is it smaller games or big games? We don't know,

Sony might not make the same effort for PS4. PS3 is such a unique architecture, and some games made use of SPUs very well ... It's going to be super challenging to do so. I never say never, but we have no plans, Yoshida said.

That doesn't mean Sony can't offer PS3 games via the cloud, though that would be less convenient for PS4 users versus simply being able to play a game right from a CD.

Shares of Microsoft are indicated higher Friday.

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