MS Q4 report: Xbox hardware down 48% YOY

[The_Liquid_Laser]

curl-6 said:

The_Liquid_Laser said:

PS3 was more powerful than the 360.  I am including the Blu-Ray drive in that, since a Blu-Ray disc has significantly more capacity than a XB360 disc.  Overall the specs on the PS3 were clearly better (disc drive, clock speed, hard drive, etc...), but that drove up the price.

PS4 also proves my point, because the PS4 launched at a cheaper price and it trounced on the XB1.  Price matters a lot.  Price matters so much that it also makes power a disadvantage.  All other things being equal the weaker console has an advantage over a more powerful one.  Of course an expensive peripheral like Kinect can totally destroy that advantage, but that doesn't change the fact that having the weaker console is an advantage.  This is especially true when comparing Sony and Microsoft consoles, because they get mostly the same games.  In the end a lot of people just buy the cheaper console, and the easiest way to be cheaper is to be weaker.

360 outperforms PS3 in several areas, such as available RAM, fillrate, and bandwidth. It's a marketing myth that PS3 was far more powerful. It's price was due to using exotic rather than standardized parts.

If MS came out this year with a $500 Scarlet, Sony would just come out with a more powerful $500 PS5 next year, and from then on Scarlet would be crushed.

No, because if Sony can make a more powerful $500 console a year later, then Microsoft could just drop the price on theirs.  Then it would be a $400(ish) console vs. a $500 console that plays the same games.  The $400 console would crush the $500 one.  (At least in English speaking countries, which is where Microsoft actually has an appeal.)

Let me put it this way.  There are a lot of people out there who think Lamborghini makes really cool cars.  They are far, far cooler than any Toyota out there.  But if Lamborghini is so cool, then why doesn't everyone have one?  Lamborghini costs too much.  All of that power seems like an advantage, but it really is a disadvantage, because it drives up the price.  Lots of people buy sensible (lame) Toyotas instead, because that is what they can afford.  There are probably even some Lamborghini owners out there who can't imagine why anyone would ever get a Toyota.  And yet those lame-ass Toyotas are always going to sell a lot more than the super-cool Lamborghinis, because the Toyotas cost less.

Consoles work the same way.  Powerful consoles seem cool, but they are really putting themselves at a disadvantage.  Most people just want the cheaper console even if it is less powerful.  Also people like a console with more games on it.  So if a console launches a year earlier, then it has an extra year to build up a game library.  This is exactly what happened with the XBox360.  It had a year head start on games and it cost less than the PS3.  The XBox360 totally crushed the PS3 is the US and UK.  Extra power does not really help, because it drives up the price.