yeah but ps3 has blu-ray and you can play for nothing online with the ps3. if this wouldn't be the case it wouldn#t sell so much better i think. so the "it did cost more" wasn't really a matter for many people watching blu-rays on their new tv.

and you shouldn't forget about the playstation as a brand. this name is huge and xbox was nothing here in europe don't know about america. but with the 360 it's now a known brand here as well but still only a small brand compared to playstation. if people on tv talk about consoles they only say "on playstation blablub". like there would be only the playstation brand. that's funny because in germany it's forbidden to call brandnames like they do with the playstation. don't know the english word for that (my dictionary says "plug" is that right?) it is "schleichwerbung" in germany  but they all do it because it's like the name of consoles is "playstation". like you would say ford to every car evenn if it would be a toyota, mercedes or ferrari

with the next xbox the gap between the brandnames will shrink even more.

Almost every year the PS3 has taken a significant price cut. The lower the price the faster it caught up with the 360.

Hence, if PS3 started at an equal price to the 360 it would have easily surpassed the 360 in a short time. Even with the 360's head start.

You can't deny that. Sony's bad decisions allowed 360 to thrive.

@Superchunk

This isn't 2006. Microsoft was almost forced to launch before the PS3 due to the extreme power of the Playstation brand and the equally miniscule Xbox brand. The 360 would have had a tough time competiting with the PS3 for that reason.

Fast forward five years and the Xbox brand is on par with the Playstation brand, some could make the case that it's bigger. Microsoft doesn't need to launch before Sony, they already have the brand power AND much higher 360 sales compared to XB sales. They could ride the high success of the 360 next year, remain on par with Sony, and then release the Xbox3 in 2013.

BTW, "anyone who thinks the PS4 will launch after 2013 is delusional?" Hmmm.. That's almost as controversial as your assertion that "You're not a real gamer if your not excited for the 3DS."

If the world was only the US, then you're argument would make sense. However, in most of the world PS has already beat out 360 by a large number. MS knows as much as most of us do that next gen we won't see a PS4 that is $200 more than its nearest competition. Therefore they will want to have some advantage of PS beyond strong US sales. If a 2012 launch is possible with some key titles, it will surely happen.

As for the quotes, yes, if you don't think PS4 is coming in 2013 (at the latest) then you are dilusional. There is absolutely NO way Sony will wait more than one year after the first company dives in to put out their system. Once Nintendo said the WiiU was coming in 2012, Sony told their R&D to finalize it asap. Plus, all the rumors point to a 2013 launch as well.

The 2nd quote... I don't remember the context or even posting it, please show post... if its actually something you want to discuss further.

Bad reasons.

1. MS if anything should launch at the same time as Nintendo and outspend them on advertising to convince them that Kinect 2.0 > Nintendos tablet. Can't give Nintendo breathing room to convince the public their route is better.

2. Pulling a Twilight Princess with Halo 4 won't hurt the 360 at all. Only the core, early adopters will buy launch consoles.....the vast majority will do a wait and see approach. Your gonna get millions buying the 360 version and more early adopters with the next Xbox.

So, Microsoft should spend a fortune when they don't have to on a new console launch and advertising just to launch Xbox 1080 with Halo 4 against Nintendo, when "the vast majority will do a wait and see approach" and purchase Halo 4 for the 360 anyway?  Talk about bad reasons...

You fail to realize that it was a completely different situation with Twilight Princess.  Nintendo knew it was in their best interest to release the game for the Wii, as the Gamecube was ailing badly.  With the 360 it's a night and day difference; with price cuts, steady third party support and Halo 4, Microsoft not only has the opportunity to have the 360 sell really well for one last year without a successor, but also make a lot of profit, not lose money on an expensive new system when their main competitor, Sony, won't be out for at least another year.

They'll be in a much better position for a strong launch with better priced hardware a year after Halo 4 and 360's sales have died down a bit.

OP is 100% right on the money with this one.

Anyone who thinks the next Xbox is coming by the end of next year is either a big time fanboy or has no idea how the game industry operates.

I believe 2013 is best for MS because that would allow the Nextbox to be very powerful and many developers would focus their efforts solely on the Nextbox (and PS4) instead of making games for the weaker Wii U, much similar to how most multiplatforms only come for PS360 and not Wii this gen.

If they launch in 2012 the console might not be significantly more powerful than the Wii U and many big multiplatform games would be shared between Wii U and Nextbox which wouldn't be in Microsoft's interest.

@Superchunk

I'll reply more later, but for now, I'll just leave this here:


http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=4021577
It seems you have a tendency to insult those who don't agree with you...nice