FinalEvangelion said:
MrPickles said:
FinalEvangelion said:
The American Anti-Sony sentiment is nothing new. This generation, Microsoft gets a free pass to lie or what ever they want to do. They can say their failure rates are only 3-5% and get away with it. They retracted that when they were seeing message boards and how people were considering their other option. The real Anti-Sony sentiment started when they took over Columbia pictures a long time ago and were labeled as the Evil Foreign Corporation. Even though not too many were affected by the rootkit compared to Windows Genuine Advantage, the Anti-Sony sentiment gained alot of ground. Again Microsoft - halloween documents (huge FUD operation), WGA, failure rates and outright lies about it, monopoly charges - it's all ok. It's got Master Chief - right - A symbol of American patriotism and nationalism (war hero).
The American media tried to stop Sony with the PS2. "You don't need DVD, Dreamcast has everything a gamer needs, etc." That was a failure and the PS2 train rolled on through. Sony had the third party connections - Sega, Nintendo, and Microsoft didn't.
Now, the media had much more success in slowing the PS3. In English-speaking countries it is really showing. However, in non-English speaking countries like Spain, Japan, Germany, etc., they still seem to view Microsoft as the bad guy. Maybe because they are less exposed to American media?
I'm an American, and while most people were with the attitude - "Why should I get a PS3 when everything I want to play is on the 360?," I had the exact opposite feelings - "Why should I get a 360 when everything I want is on the PS3?" I do have a 360, but only because I am a Hironobu Sakaguchi fan. I could care less about Halo and Master Chief.
I've never had a problem with Nintendo at all and I always got their previous consoles when they came out. When the Wii came along, I was alot less enthusiastic. I'm just one that prefers high definition and real time physics over waggle. I've played the Wii alot with friends, and it doesn't provide me with more than the PS2 and Gamecube provide, except that I get to shake the controller instead of press a button. I did like Super Mario Galaxy and I'll probably get a Wii when Mario Kart and SSB come out. |
I agree that MS has made some terrible mistakes as well, like the RROD and covering it up, but for some reason (warranted or not) there is a palpable hatred of Sony in some places. Of course, you seem to know more about exposure in other countries than me, so I can't say anything about that part. By the way (not trying to change your opinion at all, just stating a couple of facts) only the very shoddily-made games simply change a button press for waggle. The games that use the controller well, like Trauma Centre and Mario, are greatly enhanced by it. |
I do know some about Japan because I have alot of friends from their and I like to discuss these topics with them. Microsoft had a very bad approach - they went convincing them that they were "liberating" them from their own company - Sony. Then they gave them the impression in the original Xbox era that they hated their taste in gaming and wanted to convert them into a Halo / FPS loving country like America and Western countries. Sounds a bit like America in current foreign affiars, huh? With the 360, Microsoft is working hard to reverse that trend, and its working to a small extent. But the original Xbox left a bad taste. However, Apple was successfully able to tear down Sony's dominance in portable music. Minidisc was huge in Japan, and still had a huge presence when I was there in 2005. Ipod took it by the storm. The reason was because Apple showed a great reason why they should defect from their support in the Minidisc format - style and innovation. While last generation, Microsoft really tried the "our stuff is better than your stuff" approach, this generation they are trying the "me too" approach. It's working slightly better than the old approach - making RPGs and paying Japanese developers - but they need to go further. They need to show something that the Japanese have not seen before that they will accept. As far as what you said about the Wii. Trauma Center and Mario Galaxy are excellent examples of games that embrace the Wii. Wii Sports and Wii Play are also fun to play when drunk with friends. However, some of the shovelware for the first year really made me want to cry. |
