makingmusic476 said:
leatherhat said:
MS needs to right ship very quickly. They are at ps3 launch levels of fucked. |
It's possible, as the ps3 and 3DS were both able to see significant turn arounds despite weak launches, a result of Sony and Nintendo becoming incredibly aggressive in response to their initial failures.
However, it'll be tough. Sony had certain advantages with the ps3 that allowed them to remain competitive despite their screw-ups. Incredible brand recogntion acrrying over from the ps2, significant room to cut price, and a more receptive audience in Japan, mainland Europe, and various smaller markets. The cut to $399 and eventual software releases like MGS4 kept them in the game.
The 3DS was able to make a comeback because it really had no competition in the dedicated handheld space. A massive price cut, the ambassador program, and the release of popular, multimillion selling titles lifted its sales in a way that the Vita could never hope to match, and the Vita's internal hardware made it such that it wouldn't be able to compete with the 3DS on price for quite some time to come, if ever.
Then there's the Vita, which may never make a proper turnaround no matter what Sony does. Aside from impossibilities like buying Monster Hunter from Capcom or Pokemon from Nintendo.
The XBO will be in a challenging situation given the PS4 will essentially hit the ground running, establishing a lead that the XBO will be hard pressed to erase. The PS3 was able to outsell the 360 despite its many problems and late launch, and the XBO will have draconian DRM, US-centric features and online check-ins, a higher price tag, and weaker hardware all holding it back over and above what issues stymied the 360's sales. Plus, esram yield problems should ensure shortages at launch that will result in the ps4 necessarily outselling the XBO at a rapid pace in those early weeks.
So, the PS4 will outsell the XBO from day one. Due to the inclusion of the camera in every box, plus more expensive hardware in general (look at the size of that box - a result of the unexpectedly large, power hungry, and hot internals, despite being weaker overall relative to ps4) will ensure that Microsoft will always struggle to compete on price. A failure to compete on price and a smaller (and shrinking, as a % of marketshare) install base will hold Microsoft back, even if they decide to drastically alter their DRM policies.
They've have to bleed money on hardware and moneyhat out the wazzoo to change their current course.
|
