Sony & Microsoft to be allies in next console war?

[kain_kusanagi]

SvennoJ said:

kain_kusanagi said:

SvennoJ said:

 

We would lose competition
- Lesser quality games, no need to push the machines as hard to lure costumers.
- Less developer aid, less funding for original games to stand out from the other guy.
- Higher starting price point, less price cuts. Not just because they can but because there is less money to be made, A lot of people buy both consoles with their accesories making more money for MS and Sony combined then if they would bring out 1 console together.
- Sales will drop off sooner, a lot of consoles at the end of the generation are bought by people getting the other console. No more option to buy that other console late in the gen with a huge catalog of great games to play.
- It will throw the door wide open for a new competitor to come in offering a specialiced loss leading games console.

The only good that I can see come from it is shorter console cycles to keep interest and fend of new competitors. But a lot of people would call that a negative as well.

Ms and Sony teaming up their online would be a much better way to keep a firm grip on the market. Cross console online play would be a huge bonus to choose a MS or Sony console over the WiiU or a new competitor. Joining there movie stores can also only be beneficial. But that is unlikely to happen as long as MS is enjoying the huge benefits of gold while Sony insists on keeping online play free.

There was plenty of heated competition between Sega and Nintendo. There's no reason to assume that wouldn't be the case with Nintendo and MSony.

It will make it easier for more people to switch to Nintendo when they already have the MSony machine. 3rd party publishers will make more effort to support both WiiU and MSony this time. Plus this gen has proven that the market is big enough for 3 consoles to sell well. Leaving a spot open for the Applebox is probably not what MS and Sony want.
Isn't that how the ps1 came about with just Sega and Nintendo on the market. Instead of working with Nintendo Sony decided to launch a console themselves. Why would Sony want to work with MS now.

You bring up a lot of great points. I'll discuss them one at a time.

Do people "switch" or do they more often buy two or more? Everyone I know had a Wii and one of the HD Twins. If there was a PlayBox I'd expect them to do the same. The plus for MS and Sony would be that their side of the market wouldn't be split.

Yes, 3rd party devs would port between two more than they would three. But as far as next gen goes I don't see a lot of high end games going to the Wii U after the Sony and MS hit the market. Whether together or separate MS and Sony will have more powerful hardware and devs will probably treat the Wii U like they did the Wii.

Yes the market is big enough for three. But it's possible that MS and Sony are looking at the pie and would rather share the fight for dominance rather than fight for a third each. It's possible. As for an Apple console. If it's going to happen it's going to happen. In my opinion it would actualy be harder for Apple to jump in if one machine dominated than if it was a three way split.

Sony muscled in under some very specific conditions that had little to do with the number of players already in the market. Yes Sony and Nintendo broke up their deal so Sony went alone. Sony secured a lot of big titles and build a simple machine with powerful 3D hardware. Nobody expected 3D to be a big deal, even Sega had planed the Saturn to be a 2D monster and had to tack on 3D as a response to Sony. Sony hit the market fast and forced Sega to go to market without nothing but a few rushed games. By the time Nintendo finally hit the market with the N64 Sega had made so many mistakes that Sony was nearly unstoppable. The same could happen during any generation to generation transition. If a new system hits the market making the old systems look dated people take notice.

"Why would Sony want to work with MS now."

Well I'm not sure they do. But if the rumor is true, it would probably have to do with all the money they lost developing and supporting the PS3. It's possible that neither Sony or MS want to sink the kind of money it would take to launch a new console, with the kind of specs that people expect, just to fight over 1/3 of the market. It's possible that they have looked at their numbers, the market and they have bad forecasts. It's possible that they have looked at their customers and have seen that they are the same kinds of people so instead of fighting over them when they could share. It's possible, however unlikely.