Nextbox - Will we get MGSV and FFXIV and GTVI?

[Final-Fan]

JaggedSac said:

Final-Fan said:

JaggedSac said:
@Final-Fan - So you are telling me that if a publisher/developer could avoid printing discs and avoid shipping costs, it would be a bad idea. They either make more profit, make the game cheaper, or both. Everyone wins except the un-needed middle person. Not sure what your point is about hardware. Any company would sell hardware. Walmart would sell hardware. Look at Steam. It works. Also not sure what your point was about the interview. The vp was obviously aware that Sony had plans to have a long shelf-life for the PS3.

OK, let me lay it out:
1. The current retail setup for video game consoles is that retailers make practically no money on console sales. They get their profits from game sales.
2. How do you think they will react to a console manufacturer saying, "OK guys, we're not going to be selling games through you anymore, but please keep devoting huge shelf space to our console anyway"? They might just retaliate by dropping that console in favor of other ones. On the other hand, they might just jack up the price on the console to make a profit on it.
2b. PC gaming doesn't have this problem because retailers don't have the same incentive -- PC sales turn a profit without the help of games. And for an example of retailers dropping a console, I give you the Saturn. (It was for a different reason, but still.) I believe Wal-mart was one of the ones that shunned the Saturn in retaliation for not being one of the launch retailers.

As for the interview, I find it hard to believe you truly do not understand that as a VP of Microsoft, his job is not to answer interview questions with evenhanded thoughtful analysis but to offer analysis that makes Microsoft look good and for bonus points makes everyone else look bad. Besides which, only one of the questions was even remotely on point to this discussion and if I recall correctly he didn't even say anything substantial. Just fluff that sounded confident about the 360.

Your right.  Just like retailers have stopped selling mp3 players because everyone steals music or downloads from iTunes and don't buy music from their stores.  Just like people said music downloads will never EVER take off.

As for the interview, I mentioned nothing about what the VP said.  In fact what he said IS irrelevant to my point.  Just stating the fact that when the interviewer posited the question, the vp already knew about the info.  So ipso, facto, Microsoft must have information regarding Sony's shelf-life plans.

Sorry, not sure how I missed this. 

A.  Retailers make money on that hardware.  I did admit that one possibility for that kind of console is retailers jacking up the price so they can profit on hardware as opposed to now when they currently do not. 

B.  I never said or implied that the companies don't know more about their competition than we do -- I'm sure they often do -- but (1) your example only proves that he knows AS much as a random game journalist, and (2) if he doesn't TELL us all about what he knows (instead of only the stuff they feel like telling us, some of which is true and accurate) then it's pretty useless to us, and (3) it's been a few days now since I saw that video, but I seem to recall that he didn't actually give us any useful information germane to the position you claimed his interview was evidence in support of. 

Maybe this goes back to you being "not sure what [my] point was about the interview", so allow me to reiterate:  "only one of the questions was even remotely on point to this discussion and if I recall correctly he didn't even say anything substantial -- just fluff that sounded confident about the 360."  That "confident-sounding fluff" may be well-founded on a deep understanding of the opposition and his own side which finds his own side in a better position.  Or it could be false confidence, or simple propaganda to give the image of confidence in the press.  Since he did not substantiate his views and claims regarding this discussion in any way that I recall, I see not reason not to believe that it was #3, and certainly no reason why his statement should be considered evidence about anything except what MS's spin-of-the-day was.