Adinnieken said:
Back so ages ago, when the Xbox 360 was just released, Pachter did a breakdown of the costs on an Xbox 360 HDD. At that time I think it was 20 GB or it could have been around the time that Microsoft released the 120 GB. There were actual costs involved in creating the HDDs. A raw HDD would be shipped to one facility, have the games/demos, music, and videos installed on it, then get shipped to another facility where it would get assembled into the carriage it was mounted in, and then either packed in a blister package or sent to another facility for final assembly in an Xbox 360 console. All these steps meant Microsoft wasn't making much profit at on the cost of a HDD, though it was making profit. The Wi-Fi adapter was proprietary and thus more expensive because of how Microsoft designed the Xbox 360. A portion of the Wi-Fi was built into each console, and a portion built into the accessory. In fact, it's still done the same way today. Open up an Xbox 360 S and you'll find a Wi-Fi module that unplugs internally. The intention at the time was to offer a less expensive console, then offer a Wi-Fi accessory to those people who need it. Without knowing the demand, I'm guessing the Wi-Fi adapter was always produced in small quanities, making it an expensive accessory. You can argue that Wi-Fi should have been included all along, but the fact that Microsoft didn't include it and instead offered it as an accessory meant that they could sell the Xbox 360 cheaper than the PS3 and more competatively against the Wii. No, Sony doesn't do the best to fund indie games on consoles, handhelds, PCs, or mobile. Microsoft does a far better job for funding development on consoles, Valve/Steam does a better job for PCs by virtue of being the least expensive to capture the biggest market, no one does a good job with handhelds, and right now I would say Google with Android does a better job than Apple with iOS or Microsoft with XNA for mobile phones. Could Sony break into the Android marketplace with the PlayStation Suite, possibly. Has Sony learned from Microsoft's example? It said so with the Vita, so we'll see. I don't think Sony aquiring new development studios is done in the best interest of gamers, necessarily. There are several examples of developers that produced exclusive games for Sony that weren't aquired by Sony and thus folded. Not to mention, several of Sony's own first party studios that have closed in recent years. There are examples of where this is the case with Microsoft as well. The point is, it's business. Studios that have ownership of IPs that Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo want are purchased. Studios that aren't profitable for one reason or another are closed or sold off. Aquiring studios doesn't mean what you think it means, however. Name a company Microsoft, Nintendo, Activision, or EA has bought and turned around and "charged" gamers for that purchase. That's a ludicrious statement. Sony has so many exclusive games compared to Microsoft because Sony has so many first-party studios. If those first-party studios aren't making games then they're costing Sony money. If those games don't make a solid profit, they cost Sony money. So, the games have to be good and they have to sell well. Based on Meta Critic, Sony isn't hitting either of those marks so well. Their exclusive games haven't been well rated and they haven't done particularly well either. UC3 being an example that bucks that trend, but a rare one. I'm not sure that Sony with the PS3 is at the height of anything. While Sony is holding strong in Japan and a few other markets, in Europe its marketshare is slowly shrinking. I'm not debating that it isn't still strong in Europe, just that it's shrinking. The UK, once a bastion for the PS2 is now a Wii and increasingly Xbox 360 stronghold. In several European nations the Wii soundly has outsold the PS3 in life-time sales, and the Xbox 360 continues to increase its sales. Sony's marketshare in Europe is slowly shrinking and the PS3 and it's exclusives aren't doing much to help sell it. |
Excellent post that will get ignored by the majority of back slappers on this site. I didn't mention Steam in my earlier post about Indie developers but you're quite right that the PC as a platform it is unparralleled for the little guys to create.
