Eidos’ product acquisition director Ian Livingstone is a man with words… lots of it. In an interview (part 2) with Gamesindustry, he stated his support for all three next-gen consoles, offering positive words for each of them. According to him (and rightly so), Microsoft “has obviously got a 12 month head start on the competition” with Xbox 360, while Nintendo is “concentrating on gameplay above all else” with a “cheaper priced product” referring to the Wii.

His most positive words, however, were left for the PS3: “It’s extraordinary quality, that’s the starting point,” he said about the console’s Blu-ray technology, adding that “if people are seeking the ultimate machine, the PS3 is clearly the best spec machine as far as next-gen goes. As with all things in life, you have to pay for quality.” He concluded that “Sony just has to educate people that yes, it’s a lot of money, but it’ll be worth it.”

He didn’t stop there. Livingstone also spoke about the company’s big franchise, and gaming icon, Lara Croft, commenting that further Tomb Raider games are in development and that the publisher is currently speaking to Paramount about a third Tomb Raider film. And that’s not all: he also made the dubious claim that Lara Croft is more popular than Mario, Nintendo’s long-time mascot, due to her ability to break beyond the games niche “thanks to two blockbuster films” as well as her appeal to women as well as men.