Cockfest ftw!

i'm sure they have something of a plan but they are also very reactive imo.  psn wasn't ready for ps3 at launch.  it was, imo, a late decision in reaction to xbl.  move was an obvious reaction to the wiimote.  vita cross play an obvious reaction to wiiU's gamepad.  

the xperia "playstation certified" device taken in combination with playstation minis taken in combination with playstation mobile to me looks like 3 distinct projects with the same goal, none of which took off.

sony is a huge business and the number of synergies they should be able to create should be able to create an absolutely amazing ecosystem.  instead things appear fragmented.  more of a scatter shot approach.  playstation may indeed have a 3-5 year plan but playstation is not sony.

This is cute.

Its not surprising that you're both on the same wavelength.

I was going to say that 'I didn't see a Haptic Controller in 2012!" But then I realize the could be referring to the Nike Fuel Band. It measures how many calories you are using and as I understand connects with the game. So maybe that's what they are referring too.

It's a great idea, but not sure how well it worked out. Seems like they should get the guys at P90X/Insanity to make a workout app. But they make so much money off their DVD's I bet they don't want to give it up. (Subscription model anyone?)

As far as the Illumi Room - I think it could be amazing! I want to see Skyrim with the dragons flying all around, and imagine the end of Halo: Reach with that immerse quality. It would be great and terrible (terrifying) at the same time.

I just wonder about placement? Seems like the best place would be to mount it above the players head, and I can't do that in an apartment.

Not sure if you are being sarcastic, but people used to say the same thing about marriage equality.  Both Bill Gates (Chairman) and Steve Balmer (CEO) donated $100,000.00 to leagalize same sex marriage and Microsoft seems to be doing just fine in the south.

Anyway, pretty funny and I think it would have a "Striesand Effect."

1. I think MS and Sony invested in a lot of new games throughout this gen and many of them were not financially worth while. As this generation progressed 3rd parties began putting out some of the most anticipated titles on the HD twins.

I think MS realized its pointless to invest in so many 1st party games if 3rd parties are putting out many high quality games that people are buying in droves. So MS put its focus on a few major IPs, made Live Arcade a huge success, and of course brought in casuals via Kinect.

Sony on the other hand kept pumping out games like crazy. Many of their games failed or had modest sales. This has lead to studios closing down or no longer working exclusively with Sony. I think its safe to presume to Sony will focus on less games in the future. But maybe they should focus on more Vita games if they ever wanna get that off the ground.

I don't really feel Sony is pushing gaming to the next level. I mean a Wiimote clone, a smash bros clone, kart racers... gimmie a break. I think Kinect is more next level than anything Sony has released this gen.

2. All of that is pretty subjective. I really don't even feel like having this discussion. Sony has some good games, but lets not pretend everything they do is amazing.

I don't look at Fable as a traditional RPG, not like Elder Scrolls or other titles similar to that. Fable appeals to me like Mass Effect. The story telling, funny dialogue, and decision making is what keeps me interested. Fable 2 and Fable 3 were great unique titles. Even if they didn't live up to expectations made by Lionhead, most of don't care because we don't listen to the hype. It doesn't matter if people left Lionhead. Bungie left MS, yet Halo somehow managed to get arguably better.

3. MS gets other peoples apps to push their multimedia services. MS also gets other people to create games that give the 360 a great library. See, they are making a similar effort on games and multimedia. You happy now?

MS had strong titles for 2012, Sony did not. So this year Sony might have more noteworthy titles than MS. That's just the way it goes sometimes. Perhas MS will surprise us in the near future. Maybe they're focused on the 720.

I know what constructive criticism is. But your "constructive criticism" is saying MS games (other than Halo) aren't good and Sony has a better list of games. That isn't much to work with.

If you feel MS's first party is shallow, well nobody really cares what you think. A lot of us enjoy what MS puts out, even more than everything Sony does combined. Sony's 1st party releases are gonna become more shallow because a lot of their games are bombing. Studios have been closed and others are moving away from Sony.

How many flops can Sony have before they pull back the amount of titles they put out? Answer, they already reached that point.

Awww.. even cuter

@Michael-5

Actually Japan accounts for about seventeen percent of the console market. I think we often give it more weight in these discussions then it actually deserves, and moving forward with the expansion of the market into other regions it is probably going to account for even less. More to the point that market actually seems to be moving in a totally different direction from markets in the West. Even Japanese developers are beginning to view their home market as a liability as far as game design is concerned. Placating them almost always seems to come at the cost of alienating just about every other market on the planet.

As for the other markets I really don't see what you are seeing. I don't see genres that are particularly popular in the United States as being despised in Europe, or the other way around. Genres like Shooting, Role Playing, Sports, Action, and so on seem to do equally well in both markets. Once you factor in the different sizes of the install bases you get about the same results. Granted their are probably slightly different tastes, but it probably isn't some kind of huge culture shock.

That just leaves niche genres, and your commentary on platforming titles, and I am assuming you mean the cute and plushy kind. It just isn't all that relevant in the scheme of things. I wouldn't advocate that a manufacturer should make a game in any particular genre just to plant a flag. Genres like this can only hold up a couple high selling games per generation. Outside of that, and you see a steep drop off.

Look I had a lot of fun with Banjo, and other Rare characters in previous generations, but my tastes have evolved, and seemingly so have the tastes of a lot of gamers. This genre really isn't anywhere near as important as it used to be. I would even go so far as to say the grittier half of the genre is probably where the action is at moving forward. Assassins Creed, Crackdown, and Prototype. Are actually more compelling from a mechanical standpoint. They might not be called Platformers, but that is basically what they are.

Anyway it isn't like Microsoft has to create exclusive content for niche genres, and I don't think any company has to, and I most certainly wouldn't hold it against them for not doing that. Especially considering that if they don't someone else will do it for them. I honestly don't think Microsoft has failed to hit most notes one way or the other anyway. While I am at it I don't think Sony has either. It is really a matter of personal preference. Not that choices aren't on tap.

I also don't believe in the all powerful franchise either. They obviously help with sales, and bring name brand recognition, but good games beget franchises, and it isn't the other way around. I honestly think that gamers will buy good games, and spread the word to others. It isn't anything like a huge mountain to climb. We had a number of titles in the previous generation that were both critical and sales success stories without a pedigree. It is something that is nice to have, but hardly necessary. If Microsoft cooks up a platformer as good as Super Mario gamers will take notice. If Sony cooked up a first person shooter as endearing has Halo gamers would take notice, and if Nintendo created a action hero as iconic as Kratos gamers would take notice.

Lets not count our chickens before they hatch. That is what Sony did at the start of this generation, and they paid dearly for that hubris. There just ain't no such thing as a guaranteed lock. I would especially reserve judgment as far as first party game development is concerned in the current generation.

Wow it's actually nice to see that Microsoft has a plan for the next couple of years and it's pretty innovative (at least as innovative as a full room projector can be). Hopefully, it doesn't backfire because they're actually taking a risk and not sharing a space with Sony. Let's wait and see how this unfolds.