| Fumanchu said: It will make for a very interesting console race next-gen. Will MS and Sony effectively alienate the tech-enthusiasts that they've captured as loyal fans to persue these historic trends? With just as many owners as the Wii - the HD twins sales still prove that there is a market for the 'realist graphic nut'. Placing emphasis on online marketplaces and subscription mutliplayer services, may mean more profits despite a lower hardware sell-through, which is a weird thing to say. |
Great question. Personally, with the evolution of video gaming, I just cannot see the Xbox 720 or the PS4 being less or equally powerful than their predecessors. Out of the two, I believe Sony may again push for another cutting edge piece of hardware around the $400-600 range with the express intent of using it as a platform to sell their other products such as 3D television.
I don't see Microsoft making the same kind of boondoggle Sony did with the pricing and technology of the PS3. Microsoft does not have the multi-product line of business comparable to Sony and Microsoft is not big enough to take the financial loss until it "becomes profitable" as had been the case with the PS3 until very recently.
I am bit skeptical of MMORPGs having the same impact on console gamers as they have had on PC gamers for a few reasons:
1. Expectations. Console gamers expect at least 2 to 4 must have titles every year.
MMORPGs do not make money when people cancel their $15/month subscriptions in order to put aside $120 to $240 in order to buy those must have titles.
2. Attention span. Console gamers do not have the attention span to make a console MMORPG as successful as the World of Warcraft.
The console gaming market has too many good games and new releases for any title along the ambitions of WoW to dominate it and shut the market down for 4 years while the MMORPG makers reap in the profits. Look at PC gaming before WoW and after WoW. Much less quality and quantity of games after WoW.
In other words, MMORPGs are not good for the market if you expect refreshing new titles year after year. Conversely, they are every Bobby Kotick wannabe's wet dream.
3. Network Support.
A content patch for the World of Warcraft is already a long and arduous process consisting of at least 3 months of waiting and testing. Imagine trying to do all the beta testing over the Xbox Live network. Complete logistical nightmare full of approval required upon approval required upon approval required from Microsoft.
