endimion said:
psrock said:
mrstickball said:
Maybe it's just me but..........
From the get go, how was the 360 supposed to actually win, in the first place?
Yes, it started first to gain traction - but where, exactly? Japan, for the Xbox, already proved an incredibly disasterous ground for it to tread upon. No analyist that gets paid for his job could honestly say that Microsoft had a snowball's chance in you-know-where to win in Japan. Could it of fared better, from an analyising point of view? Sure, but under the best of ideas (from reasonable predictions), Microsoft could of done 3-5m hardware units this generation, if they pulled out all the stops.
The US would of, again, best case scenario, been dominant by a small margin - after all, the PS2 was the best last-gen, and the Gamecube was pretty close to the green box last gen. Even though the US has proven a great area for Microsoft, again, no analyist could of seen it destroying the great Playstation 3, but could of greatly matched the PS3, and dominated a weak Wii system. But nevertheless, best-case, the 360 could of sold 30-35m units in the US and Canada if pigs flew right into Bill Gate's Xbox sales.
Europe could of been Microsoft's greatest gain, however, I do believe. The Xbox did very well in PAL-Land for what it was. It secured a dominant 2nd place, although the true news was about the PS2. But again, good case scenario, it could of done 20-25m units. But as I've always felt, Europe is Sony land. And guess what? It is. The PS3 is selling pretty great, as it should have.
So in the end, the question is: which self-respective Xbox fanboy, if you can quote any here, ever said the 360 was going to win? I might have selective memory, but I can't, for the life of me, remember major Xbox 360 contributors to this forum that ever said the 360 would lead in worldwide sales versus the PS3 and Wii. I am sure some made that prediction, but all were like the PS3 fanboys that thought the $600 wouldn't deterr users, or the Wii dooms-dayers that felt the Wii would be a mere novelty and fall out of the charts within a few days of sales: they were outside the norm, and were just stupid fanboys with no real scope of things.
Having said all that, I think the 360 was, and is moderately succuessful. For the first time in Microsoft's lifespan, it's had 2 profitable quarters, and looks to have another profitable quarter. This is great news for the cashcow Xbox we all knew and loved to hate.
And the 360, despite it's numerous flaws (lack of compelling J-Library, hardware problems, XBL costs, and lack of MS price drops), has done very well, securing a strong 2nd place in the world. Sony, while gaining, is still looking from the outside in - a feat never once thought of before this generation started (although much of this can be attributed to the Wii, Microsoft has still proven an effective adversary in the US, and I sincerely doubt the PS3 will win the LTD battle in the US ever, or at a minimum of years).
And I will go further: the Xbox 360 has done great things, but certainly nowhere near perfect: It took on the PS3 beast in terms of software, and has won. Being an Xbox owner, I was treated to crappy JRPGs, if they existed at all, way too many shooters, and little else. The 360, for a RPG gamer and Sim/Strategy gamer, am in hog heaven. Microsoft has also built the strongest Online empire of this generation, and is still doing a fine job of keeping a lead, and strong competition despite compelling strides by Nintendo and Sony.
Will the 360 manage #1 worldwide? Heck no. How 'bout #2? Probably not. But it'll still garner the strongest #3 history has ever seen, and will be stronger than any console #2 ever had been (Genesis/N64) by a long shot. Software is still the boon of the 360, and the bane of the PS3. The 360 has also butchered any sort of Microsoft record established, and long passed it. The 360 even has alot of hope for strong continuing sales: 2008 looks to be great for titles, and there is still the issue of the ultra-inhibitive price.
We've also seen what a X360 price drop has done in Europe for 4 or 5 weeks: great. Despite still being 3rd place, it's still garnering, year over year, a giant leap ahead of last year. I can only question what will happen if/when Microsoft initiates the same pricing strategies in the US. There's alot of hope if you see things the way they are (a comfortable, profitable #3 finish, and a strong hope for next gen). Only a PS3/Wii fanboy would otherwise argue.
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i agree with you, however they will be no excuse for MS if they let PS3 pass them, they have the best library of games, they have a better online experiance and they are cheaper. The ps3 has few things they've done right, expect having the playstation brand. |
exactly it's why it's not totally into MS hands to get people who just buy a brand which is widely the case for PS 3.... the never ending I hate MS so hate XB plays a lot also in that direction... when i could easily name as many reason to hate Sony but people don't really get into hardware quality as much as bitching against windows because their geek friends said linux is better and open source soft is the holly grail and MS should die for their way of doing things.... you put any other company than MS behind XB and i'm pretty sure PS 3 would have had more struggle than they did.... and the RRoD is also a big factor... so like mrstickball said they built a stronger customer base this gen... and that could be a big problem for PS and even sony in the video game market for next gen... especially if they are still dreaming about a 10 years lifespan this gen... if MS does it right in terms of hardware... find a great new fashion like Wii and implement it right... and keep improving their service offer and capability... for a cheap price.... Sony has some really hard work to do... |
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