"I am very confident that after the 10-year lifecycle we will have the install base that we are looking for, and that is obviously to be in the leadership position," Hirai told the BBC after his PlayStation Day keynote on Tuesday.

In his earlier remarks to the media, Hirai admitted to the slow start of the PS3. "I think it’s fair to say that the first year of PlayStation 3 was somewhat a difficult one," he said. "There were some teething problems, success from our competitors, and our customers were a little underwhelmed by the range of titles that were available.

"This is something that we’re very much aware of, and something we were always confident we could overcome."

Despite its inferior graphics, the Nintendo Wii has handily outsold Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 at a rate similar to that of the PlayStation 2, which has become the all-time best selling console with 127 million units sold thus far.