Microsoft to show big titles at GDC 2008

[thekitchensink]

crumas2 said:

Bodhesatva said:

Blakjak said:

SG: You mention that your number one, which is a fantastic achievement however with the Wii’s sales beating yours this holiday season- does that show your simply in second place.

RB: At Microsoft we think of the Wii in a different bracket of gaming so its hard to compare the two consoles. The Wii has a very small life cycle and doesn’t compare to the Xbox 360 feature wise. And while it is taking plausible 360 sales its important to notice that Nintendo has created a revolutionary device and Microsoft expected it to sell decent, and the system can afford to sell decent because its very similar to a childs toy. It would be like comparing the 360 to the PSP which wouldn’t be a good comparison. Regardless to all this, overall sales is what counts.

 

I lol'ed. Don't like losing much, Microsoft?

Yes, the Wii is clobbering everyone, and I'm also incredibly annoyed at the "lol kids" remarks which are now clearly untrue (but can you blame them? They're PR guys, that's their job).

However, I do feel that this may be the right approach, all PR spin aside. The boat has sailed, the Wii has won the mass market, and I don't think there is a ton of use in trying to peel off users from the Wii at this point. I think the better approach -- at least for this generation -- is to establish the 360 as the "hardcore" gamer's console (not PC) of choice, and then perhaps flesh out from there in the future.

It's actually very similar to the way the Wii rose to power, Blakjak. Nintendo said: "MS/Sony are going left, why don't we go right?" And now, Nintendo is the one on top -- Microsoft can say: "Nintendo is gobbling up the mainstream market, why don't we go after the core gaming audience?"

It's not as profitable, at least short term: I agree with that. But keeping a portion of the market (an important part) as your corner of the world is a lot better than having no corner at all, which is a situation I think the PS3 may be approaching.

The Wii is doing great, but it doesn't seem to be "clobbering" anyone.  Almost everyone I know (including myself) who owns a Wii also owns a 360 or PS3.  The Wii seems to compliment the other two consoles in many cases instead of supplanting them.  This probably isn't true in families where the kids are < 8 and the dad doesn't game, but it seems to be true in many other situations.

 

I understand your logic, crumas2, but I can't agree with you.  Hypothetically, it would be like saying the iPod isn't dominating because a lot of families buy a Zune or other MP3 player in addition to their iPod.

 

Gears 2 will definitely be announced (I have a very strong feeling that they had pre-production completed soon after the first game shipped, then they did UT3).  It will come out either by holidaytime or in time to counter one of Sony's big releases (day and date).

 

I also strongly believe they will announce some type of price reduction for Live (if not making it free) because MS is very good at proactively assessing their competition (the competition that fights the same fight they do, anyway).  They knew that they would put a large dent in Sony's plans by shipping 360 early, forcing Sony to do the same with PS3 (it was shipped before it was ready--they wanted more memory and processors IIRC).  One of Sony's big guns this year is going to be Home, which is more interactive than Live and it's free.  Therefore, I think they will announce a price cut or free Live.

 

Which brings me to this out-of-left-field prediction: Achievements.  Sony also looks to be ready to counter this, with more-tangible trophies instead of an arbitrary number.  I believe one Live update will make it so that when you get Gamerpoints, you also get MS points.  Not exactly equal (as then people would never actually buy the points anymore) but I think 200GS points =100 MS points.