UK video gaming stalwart Jeff Minter has criticised Sony for being "smug" about its PlayStation 3 console.
Mr Minter, who founded Llamasoft in 1982 and developed a light synthesiser for the Xbox 360, said the machine was "expensive" and lacked launch games.
His comments were published in the respected video game magazine Edge.
Sony chief executive Howard Stringer recently defended PS3's price - of about £400 - saying it was "high" but that the console was "future proof".
Mr Minter, writing in his regular column for Edge, said: "They seem absolutely certain that even when they say it's going to be considerably more expensive than existing consoles... nevertheless us eager customers will rush out in droves to buy it because it's, hey, a new PlayStation."
'Arrogant'
Mr Minter, who is famous for his 1980s games Llamatron and Gridrunner, said Sony was "incredibly arrogant".
The PlayStation 3 will have a global launch in November with most analysts expecting the initial delivery of two million consoles to sell out immediately.
"If the PS3 lives up to its total potential, then I don't think anyone will be worried about Nintendo or Xbox's cheaper price"
Sony has said it hopes to ship four million PS3s by the end of the year.
Last month Mr Stringer said: "The price of the PS3 is high but you're paying for potential."
He added: "Obviously, it's a higher-risk strategy - as all new inventions are - but if the PS3 lives up to its total potential, then I don't think anyone will be worried about Nintendo or Xbox's cheaper price."
The new PlayStation comes with a Blu-ray high definition DVD player inside and Sony is hoping that its inclusion will prove attractive to gamers moving into the HD era.
The Japanese company has invested hundreds of millions of pounds in a new processor called Cell, which is at the heart of the new console.
Microsoft has said it will soon sell an external HD-DVD player, which is a rival format to Blu-ray, but has not specified a price.
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