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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Major Nelson: 'PS4 vs X1 a marathon, not a sprint, we know what we have to do'

dreamcast210 on 18 April 2014

Everyone keeps mentioning the "price cut". But it really wasn't a price cut. It was retailer discounts and nothing official. So the impact of this could only be so big. Go on Amazon, it says the price is $499. But if you know the code, you can get it for $449. Similar with Walmart and Best Buy. You don't see the price until right before you checkout online. An official price cut from Microsoft that allows proper price tagging will have a bigger impact.

That being said, I thought the bundled games would have larger success than it did. Let's face it, this gen is flipped from last.



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greencactaur on 18 April 2014

I'm still going to give my money on PS4. Sony has been known to support their consoles even after 2 years of releasing their next ones so I think if we're talking about Marathons Sony's got it



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MoHasanie on 18 April 2014
dreamcast210 said:
Everyone keeps mentioning the "price cut". But it really wasn't a price cut. It was retailer discounts and nothing official. So the impact of this could only be so big. Go on Amazon, it says the price is $499. But if you know the code, you can get it for $449. Similar with Walmart and Best Buy. You don't see the price until right before you checkout online. An official price cut from Microsoft that allows proper price tagging will have a bigger impact.

That being said, I thought the bundled games would have larger success than it did. Let's face it, this gen is flipped from last.

Well a lot of people knew about the unofficial pricecut. 



    

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Dr.Henry_Killinger on 19 April 2014
dreamcast210 said:
Everyone keeps mentioning the "price cut". But it really wasn't a price cut. It was retailer discounts and nothing official. So the impact of this could only be so big. Go on Amazon, it says the price is $499. But if you know the code, you can get it for $449. Similar with Walmart and Best Buy. You don't see the price until right before you checkout online. An official price cut from Microsoft that allows proper price tagging will have a bigger impact.

That being said, I thought the bundled games would have larger success than it did. Let's face it, this gen is flipped from last.

It's not though.

PS3 had a catostrophic launch, hard to think of a system with worse, in contrast XB1 sold a million in 24 (or 48) hours.

PS3 started the gen against a console with 6 million sales and with the system that began the next best thing.

PS3 was outselling the 360 by a small margin despite having a higher pricepoint sku and no gaemz.

Price alone is not enough. While price is important, the performance of the wii u(the cheapest console on market) directlty contradicts such reasoning.



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daredevil.shark on 19 April 2014
celador said:
VXIII said:
I can't wait for the truth to come out.


I think that was Albert Penello


Nope. It was major nelson. Not albert penallo.



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daredevil.shark on 19 April 2014
Shadow1980 said:
Of course it's a marathon. Except in America the XBO is overweight and out of shape, in Europe it's got a broken leg, and in Japan it'll be on a mobility scooter with low batteries and a flat tire. Meanwhile, in America the PS4 has had better training than the PS3 and is in better shape than the PS3 or XBO, in Europe it's an Olympic-class athlete (Europe is PlayStation Country), and, well, in Japan it's more of a casual jogger, but that's still enough to beat someone on a broken-down scooter by several country miles.

Games will help the XBO only so much. Both it and the PS4 share 90+% of the same library, and when it comes to exclusives Sony is capable of delivering on quantity as well as quality, whereas MS has been relying more on buying exclusivity rights to third-party games than on in-house development. Their first-party selection is still pretty much just Halo, Gears, Forza, and Fable. What happens when no third parties find it worth their while to release a game only on a system that's in second place? Will MS have invested more on first-party AAA development, or will the XBO end up like the 360 and be relatively lacking in exclusives in the latter half of its life compared to Sony? In any case, the XBO will never have a clear advantage in the games department. Both systems will be largely a wash for the time being. And besides, individual games only provide temporary boosts.

The biggest problem facing the XBO is that price. Even with an unofficial price cut it's still not enough to help it take first place in the U.S. It needs a permanent, official price cut that gives it at least price parity with the PS4, but even that may not be quite enough. If they can release a Kinect-less SKU that costs at least $50 less than the PS4, then they stand a chance. That overweight, out of shape runner needs to shed some pounds to keep up in the U.S. marathon. As for Europe, it took the 360 being cut to 60% of the PS3's price for it to close the gap between the two, and even that didn't last because the PS3 had its price reduced as well. Once the PS3 Slim came out that sealed Sony's victory in Europe. The XBO getting a price cut could help in Europe as well, but it'll take more than reaching price parity to close the gap. The runner with the broken leg might have the cast come off, but the damage is done and he'll never run as fast as the other guy. With the right games and price, they might charge the batteries and fix the tire of the Japanese participant, but even then it'll plod along at a snail's pace.

Price cuts are the only things that have demonstrated a capacity for long-term sales boosts. When all those limited edition Titanfall bundles go away, the PS4 will once again have a clear price advantage, and the longer MS waits to enact a permanent and official price cut, the bigger the gap between the XBO and PS4 will get.


Ha ha ha.



Zekkyou on 19 April 2014

I've never liked the phrase "it's not a sprint, it's a marathon" used in this context. It's intended to mean that you shouldn't play all your cards at the start, but neither the X1 or PS4 have really played many cards at all :/ Certainly neither more than the other. So really they are both currently running a marathon, the PS4 is just doing it better :P



HesAPooka on 19 April 2014

Seems like only yesterday MS had the internet on their side and could go about their business being cocky and brash. Now all of the sudden they have found a new nice guy bravado. I wonder what brought about these changes?



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binary solo on 19 April 2014
walsufnir said:
Aerys said:



This, PS4 sells thankts to trust about having a lot of good first party games, japanese games until the end and even after.


X1 doesnt sell also because a lot of gamers was legitimately disappointed by the last  3 years of almost nothing on 360


This is a bold thesis about 160 million of gamers and their minds. Hardcore gamers are interested in first party, yes, but look at the sales of first party games and consider the bundles from these games.

Most games sold are 3rd party. It's especially the price that is making the difference currently.

And PS4 will have the better performing 3rd party titles. So even that is against Xb one making any ground in this marathon.



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walsufnir on 19 April 2014
binary solo said:
walsufnir said:
Aerys said:



This, PS4 sells thankts to trust about having a lot of good first party games, japanese games until the end and even after.


X1 doesnt sell also because a lot of gamers was legitimately disappointed by the last  3 years of almost nothing on 360


This is a bold thesis about 160 million of gamers and their minds. Hardcore gamers are interested in first party, yes, but look at the sales of first party games and consider the bundles from these games.

Most games sold are 3rd party. It's especially the price that is making the difference currently.

And PS4 will have the better performing 3rd party titles. So even that is against Xb one making any ground in this marathon.


Which doesn't make the games any better. 360 also had most of 3rd party better, still people bought PS3 and 3rd-party games on it (actually them selling better than first party if you look at the top games).