| starcraft said: Lol, that would require a lot of patience on MS's part Madskills. My only issue with that is games. I genuinely believe Microsofts line-up will remain better than Sony's, with wonderful new IP. But that doesn't change the fact that Sony has gaming franchises that are well known and will move consoles because of it. I would think if Microsoft wanted to deliver a killer blow, they would need to do it well before the arrival of the FF's and GT's..... |
MS is a very patient copy. The Xbox was just a trojan horse to get the 360 to the table. If it worked, cool - if not, they were expecting that too.
The big difference between the Xbox and the 360 is - the appeal and its dominance over Sony - for the time being. Sure, Halo 3, Mass Effect and Bioshock are out, but don't for once think MS has used its big guns yet. MS was the one who pushed for a later GTA IV date. Remember?
If not, here's a refresher:
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, in his latest assessment of Take Two, said that the publisher might delay Grand Theft Auto IV so as to move it farther away from Halo 3's September 25 launch. Currently, GTAIV is expected October 16, just three weeks after Master Chief moves in.
"We believe that a two-week delay would provide a reasonable gap between the launch of Halo 3 and the launch of GTA IV, and would actually help sales of both games," he said.
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/01/pachter-halo-3-could-cause-gta-iv-delay/
MS ALWAYS wanted GTA IV delayed. MS knew it would steal Halo 3's thunder, and they needed Halo 3's thunder for the stockholders. Now, even though I am a journalist, this is all speculation ... but ... using some deductive reasoning ... MS offered R* $50M for extra content ... but I can bet you cash money they asked R* to delay the release. That way, Halo 3 would have its thunder, R* would get paid for content AND to intentionally delay its release. Who benefitted from there? MS and R*. Sure, the financial reports looked bad now for R*, but they had that money in the bank - like a postdated check of sorts. It's good either way for R*.
According to the NPD numbers, MS had an awesome Christmas. Mass Effect sold well, as well as Halo 3, and several other multiport games on the 360. MS is just grinning. Now, with the holidays behind us, MS has cleared the decks for GTA IV. And MS, once again, hasn't even showed its cards for 2008. There's no need to. If blood is in the water, sure ... but not now. And watch MS tout the devil out of the GTA IV extra content.
I saw MS laying a trip right in front of Sony - and coming out strong in 2008. All they need to keep this competitive is to offer bundle games (Gears - though its old/ Blue Dragon/ Mass Effect) and watch sales skyrocket.
I am looking at this from a purely business standpoint. MS rarely - RARELY makes mistakes. That's my plan if I was running the MS entertainment division show.
For Sony to win, take the loss and force MS to counter. I would also sign tons of exclusive games to the system and get the games out, not delayed. One delay and our contract is null and void. Time is of the essence. I would rather win and leave on top or a close second than win by default.
