The XBox looks like it would go the way of HDDVD

[greenmedic88]

If it hadn't taken almost two years for the 360 to hit its first month of profitability, that initial price drop could have come earlier.

If it hadn't been for the persistent QC/RROD problems, a more significant price drop would have been possible earlier in its life cycle. Integrating the HD DVD drive back when the Elite was announced could have given the format a decent chance of success instead of becoming a dead end as a consumer media format.

MS essentially squandered their year lead in all respects other than offering a stronger second year line up relative to the first year line up of Nintendo and Sony.

MS was capable of putting the 360 into a position of dominance for the current generation if they had dropped the price upon the debut of the PS3 and Wii or shortly after the holiday rush. No one expected the Wii to dominate sales or this would have been a more likely scenario. It was not seen as a direct competitor for the 360, but ultimately, game/console sales are game/console sales regardless of what market is being targeted.

I'm thinking only a minority of people in the market for a stereo rack component BR-D player are actually buying PS3s. While many owners aren't contributing greatly to soft sales, it's more likely because they are waiting for the big releases of 2008 (many of which were delayed from 2007). Of course it never pays to buy a console until it has games you're ready to buy at the same time (prices drop), but there will always be a percentage of buyers who do this anyway.