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WilliamWatts on 16 March 2010
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nordlead said:
WilliamWatts said:
nordlead said:

ok, not reading the whole thread, just throwing out my thoughts.

Microsoft hasn't matched Sony yet, but they are getting there and could be there in the next generation. While Microsoft is currently beating Sony in Unit sale (x360 vs PS3 only) Sony still has a few things in its favor. Overall the PS3 & X360 are relatively matched in terms of system influence, but Sony has portable gaming and much larger 1st party software support. Both of which aren't being matched by Microsoft.

Doesn't Windows Mobile count for anything here? Theres a lot of bus surrounding their Courier tablet (which looks very cool I might add) and their Windows Mobile 7 operating system. I saw a presentation on that and it looks like Windows Mobile 7 will have some excellent gaming capabilities and cross platform support with the much larger Xbox Live service. (Note: I heard from a friend who was working on developing an indie game that the only way they would release on PSN is if fully funded by Sony, so that would just compound their advantage)

No, Windows 7 and Windows mobile do not count for gaming as they are operating systems. Those platforms are made primarily for business/productivity/web use, not gaming. Windows Mobile hasn't even toppled Apple yet, and I was just reading an article about how Apple brings in ~$1.00/month and Android only brings in ~$0.061/month per user in gaming revenue. As much as Apple wants you to think the iPhone will kill the DS, it is a phone that happens to have gaming capabilities. It is a small player when compared to the DS or even the PSP.

Operating systems are platforms which unify distinct hardware under the one umbrella. What the user does with the system is up to the user. For example it seems that more people buy the PSP for media playback than gaming based off attach rates. Does that mean that the PSP doesn't count as a platform for gaming? In addition to this, as future consoles do far more than gaming as well then how do you categorise them?

The iTouch, Phone and soon Pad are the same ecosystem even though they are three distinct pieces of hardware. People have no trouble describing them as a unified platform and they have no problem with the idea that part of their appeal is the mobile games and apps you can get on all three. Windows mobile 7 is also fairly unified in terms of the hardware basis for the phones even if the manufacturers are distinctly different.

In the home operating system space, Microsoft seems to have spent considerable time and money developing their gaming related tools and APIs. Infact both the Xbox 360 and PS3 bear Microsofts influence in the design of their respective GPUs. Its no happy accident that a wide range of gaming does happen on the Microsoft system and people are aware that if they wish to play games they have to go Windows. How does this not add to their overall gaming 'presence'?