| RolStoppable said: Finally someone tries. 1. Microsoft will keep producing 360s until they stop selling. The first Xbox could have been continued all throughout 2006 on customer demand, but Microsoft chose not to, because they were losing so much money on it. The same won't be true for the 360 and that's why they will be producing it as long as people buy it. 2. The reason why Microsoft stopped making the Xbox was already explained. The PS2 still continues to sell, because customers are still interested in it. The PS2 also is a winning console, that's why it has such a long lifespan (just like the Atari 2600, NES, SNES, PS1, Game Boy and GBA). Systems that don't win their generation are usually discontinued quicker, because third party support dries up faster and customers lose interest and favor the winning system. Neither the 360 nor the PS3 are winners, so they won't enjoy an extended lifespan like the PS2. 3. and 4. With both of those things being about equal, as well as point 2 bringing another tie, everything leads to point 5. 5. Since both the 360 and PS3 aren't winning systems and their software support is so closely tied together, they will likely stop selling during the same year. Let's assume that's going to be the case by the end of 2013, for example. That gives the 360 an eight year lifespan and the PS3 a seven year lifespan, because the 360 was launched a year earlier. |
I think I might have found a (relatively small) flaw
This statement seems to jar a bit as, if your assumption about the ps3 and 360 being so closely tied together is true, then they have a 51.1% market share for third parties to sell to. This, coupled with relatively poor third party sales on wii, would mean that from the point of view of third party developers the ps3 and 360 are, together, this generations "winning system".
So, third party support will continue for both consoles and it'll come down to which company decides to take the initiative and release their next machine first, which, judging by the success they found releasing first this gen could very well be microsoft. This would presumably gradually switch the attention of both MS and xbox fans to the new console and lead to a decline in sales and eventual stop of support, which would hand the (frankly meaningless) prize of longest 7th gen HD lifespan to the ps3
First post so please be gentle when telling me how wrong I am
