| mario64 said: @jarrod : a 1 year head start is a huge advantage since it had no competition as a next gen console during 1 full year. RROD definitely helped and not hinders sales in my opinion, since a lot of people had to buy 3 to 5 consoles in a few years. The number of people who decided not to buy a 360 because of RROD is probably very weak compared to those bonus sales. YLOD occurrence has been told to be around 5%, it's very far from the 50 to 60 % Xbox 360 failure rate reported. Making the comparison seems laughable. |
No other next gen consoles doesn't mean "no competition". 360 was facing off against a hugely successful PS2 directly with releases like Final Fantasy XII, Resident Evil 4, Kingdom Hearts II, Shadow of the Colossus, Bully, Dragon Quedst VII, etc, etc.
The one year headstart certainly helped 360 in the long run (and I'm sure Microsoft is grateful for that ~6m lead right now), but I think it tends to get too much weight attributed to it alone. Honestly, had the PS3 launched in 2005, I seriously doubt it'd have sold any better (and likely worse).
RROD rebuys are hugely mitigated by the extended 3 year warranty too imo. The extremely hardcore may not want to wait the 2-4 weeks it takes to get their fix or refurb, but I'd wager the vast majority of 360 owners would take that option (I did). Meanwhile, out of warranty YLOD victims (which seem to be growing in frequency) get faced with a $150+ bill from Sony's CS or a new $299 slim.
