| ironmanDX said: I think Xbox One will win most months, including March. Just not all months. It was $100 more with only a few hundred thousand ahead in the US. Of course the XB1 will take back the US, just not yet. |
Hahaha,
nope.
I don't think it's doom though. I expect it to be about 55/45 in the US, maybe 60/40 UK, and well, the rest of the world doesn't matter much to XB.
Sony is in command as far as market leadership, but the US will be split enough to prevent outright domination (or anything close to it really).
Microsoft would need a miracle to completely flip everything. With a weaker console, and very damaging pre-launch timeframe, not to mention the final years of 360 were less than stellar, well .. they've got an uphill battle.
Even a price drop is problematic. Yes, it must be done. $449 obviously isn't enough. So it has to be $399 or less. The problem they face is that Sony can march ahead as they go. The suits at MS won't allow them to swallow much of a loss per console, and Sony has a cheaper core system to produce. So a $349 PS4 could face the $399 XB1, then later on $299 vs. $349, etc.
True bravery on MS's part could turn that, but that's not in the cards.
Think about it, post Jan 1st, XB1 sales have been poor outside of Titanfall week. What happened the very next week? Ah yes, they slid behind again, even in their strongest marketplace, the US.
But as I said, being 2nd doesn't mean jack really. Bring out great games, support your players well, and that's a success in my book. They took some major risks and the results were less than stellar. But now the hard work begins, and one thing will help :
Great game after great game after great game.
The 'cloud' BS that has recently resurfaced (which I thoroughly debunked as viable in the XBO nation thread already) concerns me a bit. Nothing would ignite more fanboy shitstorming than yet another PR debacle from Microsoft. They need to keep their mouths shut on that front unless they magically get something that defies all laws of technology and internet limitations.
Promising people something that is impossible to reasonably deliver it just a setup for embarassment. If we see a canned demo where they are running a 100mbit or gigabit lan to the 'cloud' server (or they don't comment on the exact test details), then we'll know we're being taken for a ride.
But show a bunch of fantastic games, build the in-house talent further, and bring those out exclusively on XB1, and we're talking solid years of sales and happy gaming.
