Behind the mild-mannered, be-spectacled demeanour of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates hides the heart of a lion - his fighting spirit firmly on display recently as he hit out at 360's competitors. In an interview with Dean Takahashi of the San Jose Mercury News, Gates was confident in the future of Xbox 360. He was keen to stress that Sony wasn't necessarily the big player in the console market any more. "We wanted to swap positions with Sony," he explained. "We wanted to not be a year late, not be a big box, not be a more expensive box. How are we doing on that?" You're not doing bad Mr. Gates, well done. Although Gates has previously praised Nintendo and its unique approach with the Wii, it seems he's changing his tune: "Sony has always been our most direct competitor. Nintendo of course is a competitor. But look at the resolution you get with a controlled experience like that," he said. "Say to yourself, how in terms of using a game for a long period of time, what kind of accuracy and capability do you want? "Look at the classic Nintendo positioning. Look at the graphics. Look at Nintendo's execution in terms of online capability. We have this thing that nobody has ever seen before. When you say to your friend, hey let's play online, you say then you have to buy an Xbox. That's what 10 million people say. If you want to play online, get an Xbox. We're not standing still."