| Impulsivity said:
The 360 is a great example of how the Dreamcast/PS2 thing would have gone down if Microsoft had backed the Dreamcast as it said it would (for using its OS among other things) instead of backstabbing it with the Xbox. The 360 had a solid lead when the PS2 hit the market, decent word of mouth (pre RROD) and a quality of games a bit below the Dreamcasts but still good enough that it had a decent intrenched library when the PS3/Wii launched. Of course then Sega had no real money to compete and ended up having to fold quickly as a result. The 360 has all the same advantages (a year faster on the market, entrenched base, a few big name first party releases early on) and the same disadvantages (less powerful, old media type, lower perceived value), but of course they have the cash to money hat and sustain losses on the xbox brand more or less indefinitely. They seem to be making a similar choice to the dreamcast too now at this point by lowering the prices severely to move inventory against superior competitors. Guess we will see if Dreamcast+5 billion dollars to burn would have =ed win. There is kind of a thin line between high price cuts and desperation moves to hold on. Gamecube at 99 dollars and Dreamcast cut to the bone seemed to be desperation moves that didn't help sales much, the PS2 to 199 was a brilliant play that won them the generation in part...Will be interesting to see which way people see the 360, as a dying platform cutting desperately to stay in the race or as a viable platform that takes off. My guess would be the former but I'm sure others would say the latter. I'm continuously baffled by people who act like a few hundred dollars is a big deal when the quality gap is so great, then again I spent over a months income on Martin Logan front speakers so what do I know about frugality in electronics. |
The PS2 would have still dominated even if Sega didn't run out of money. The overwhelming 3rd party support of the PS2 and lack thereof for the Dreamcast combined with PS1 momentum alone pretty much took care of that. The mere announcement of the PS2 effectively destroyed the Dreamcast, especially in Japan.
The same fate would have befallen the 360 as well had Sony not messed up so badly. Had the PS3 only been $3-$400 at launch, then the 360 would be in 3rd place right now.
Consoles owned: Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, PSP, DS, PS3
