Sony boss says they're not arrogant, but Apple is

Sony is a company that has often, and perhaps quite fairly given past comments, been viewed as arrogant. In what may be viewed as more arrogance from a company that is trying to distance itself from that image, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia managing director Michael Ephraim told the Brisbane Times that he thinks there is a "company that is a fruit" that "has taken the mantle" from Sony for being arrogant.

The view of Sony being an arrogant company stem from comments and claims made by Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Ken Kutaragi over the company's PlayStation 3 games console. In 2005 the CEO said that the console was "the most beautiful thing in the world" and that "nobody would criticize renowned architect's blueprint". As reported by 1UP, Kutaragi also claimed that the PS3's launch price tag was for people willing to work for it and that the consoles concept was "4D".

But since then, the company has changed its advertising with the introduction of the Kevin Butler adverts in the USA and has largely tried to avoid making statements such as those previously made by Kutaragi.

In an interview with the Brisbane Times yesterday, the SCE Australia managing director Michael Ephriam said that he believed Sony was no longer arrogant, if they ever were, before alluding to "a company that is a fruit" being more arrogant.

"I don't think we are arrogant anymore," he said, before continuing, "I think we can name a company that is a fruit that is in the news a lot about their arrogance, I think they have taken the mantle from us, if we were ever arrogant!"

The director then went on to say how he thinks that the company is in a unique position of having the ability to distribute 3D across both the PlayStation 3 and its line-up of televisions. 

"I don't think we were arrogant. We know there are a lot of challenges in this space, but we're very comfortable, especially with 3D across the entire Sony group," he said. "There's no company that can deliver that like we can."

With Nintendo saying earlier this month that it is now targeting Apple, is the "company that is a fruit" now beginning to make its presence felt in the gaming industry?