Sony: "Being cheaper than your competitor is never a bad thing"

SCEA CEO Jack Tretton was backstage during E3 rehearsals when he learned that the Xbox One would go on sale for $500, a full $100 below the PlayStation 4's $400 price point.

The executive told Bloomberg in a new interview that Sony saw this pricing advantage as a "positive," though he said cheaper doesn't always mean more successful.

"I think ultimately, the gamer looks at ten-year product lifecycles; they look at the software offerings; they look at the value proposition," Tretton said. "And the lowest priced system isn't always the most successful, but being cheaper than your competition is never a bad thing."

Tretton said all the pieces are in place for the PS4 to be successful at launch this holiday, noting it all comes down to execution at this point.

"I feel like we've got the gamer on our side; I feel like we've got the development community on our side; and now we've got execute," he said.

Asked what the most important thing to "get right" with a product launch like the PS4 is, Tretton said this is communicating the value proposition of the system.

"The most important thing to get right is the consumer proposition, the value proposition," Tretton said. "That people say, 'I saw it, it looks great, I've got to have it.' And if that's the answer, then you've got a winner on your hands."

The PS4 launches on November 15 in North America, November 29 in Europe, and in 32 countries total by the end of the year.