The latest news in the 'he says, she says' battle of words between Microsoft and Sony comes from an interview with Microsoft’s Senior Regional Director, Neil Thompson. Speaking to Spong he believes that Sony are relying on brand loyalty when it comes to the PS3 and calls the console a next-generation DVD player.

The interesting thing about this week is that they have really positioned themselves as a Blu-ray player, said Thompson." And I think they’ve missed the ball, in that it’s not really a next-generation games player – it’s a next-generation DVD player. For us, that’s great news, because we think we make the next-generation games console. We’ve got the content to back that up, we’ve got Xbox Live to back that up, we’ve got price-points that are very compelling. If gamers are desperate to get the next-generation DVD player, then they’ll start considering Blu-ray and the PS3."

The interview continues much on the same vein, with Spong asking him more questions about the rival consoles than the Xbox 360 iteself.Thomspson obviously doesn't mince his words and speaks freely about the PS3 online service, the launch games and Wii.

No doubt Sony will respond to the comments over the next couple of days.

Read the full interview : here