it would be good, although it would have drawbacks, i don't think it will ever happen as ms, sony and especially Nintendo are fiercely independant

TheRealMafoo said: Reasonable said: MS cannot buy Sony - that's just a dumb rumour. Sony is simply too large and MS ain't gonna takeover a major Japanese business. As for merger - given their twin styles couldn't be more different - I doubt it. Besides, this gaming view ignores the fact that both MS and Sony are much larger in other areas. MS is going to be too busy trying to get Yahoo to compete with companies to worry about its tiny entertainment division. Also, to original post - on evidence to date (which incudes PS1, PS2 and Xbox) Sony clearly know how to sell software even if they've struggled a little with PS3. MS has still to prove it can win a generation with both SW and HW. Heck, Nintendo HW and SW has caught up with MS in 12 months and time adjusted Sony is matching MS so one of your two basic points is completely wrong - mind you the other is correct :)  I must have written that wrong, because it looks like you misunderstood everything I said :)  I never meant the companies would ever merge, just they could parter on the next console. Sony has no problems selling software. It's making it where they have issues (at least compared to MS). There Dev kits pail in comparison. There online experience sucks compared to XBL. Although Sony did compete with MS with online gaming and won (Everquest vs Acheron's Call), they have yet to prove they can do it here. I don't know what Home is really going to be like, but I bet as cool as it will be, for pure online gaming with friends, it's still going to fall short. MS is working hard on IPTV. Sony is not working so hard in that arena. Merging would bring Sony into that market, and provide MS with a set top box that they don't have to produce. It's a win for everyone really. At things that each company is good at, nothing really overlaps. Sony would still make the same profit they make now, with systems and game sales, so it's no loss to them. MS would make billions on XBL an IPTV without having to make a piece of hardware (Perfect for them). It might never happen, but it should.  Oh and @Morgyn. Sony works with partners all the time.

Actually, I think I read too fast originally.  Yes, in some ways a simplified HW market would be easier and enable a stronger focus on the games, but I just don't see it happening.

In many ways MS themselves threw a big spanner in the works when they decided to jump into the fray with Sony & Nintendo, and in an industry that looks set to grow it's probably likely we could see more entrants rather than consolidation although the cost of entry is clearly something that would cut down just how many others could decide to try and take a pop at the marketplace.

 

Personally I think MS should just drop out of the hardware business -_-; It's there software that kicks ass, not the other way around >_>;;;

Microsoft should make a deal with Sony to waver any licensing fees in exchange to maybe offer OS or System support for every PS4 sold.

TheRealMafoo said: MS can not compete with Sony when it comes to hardware. Sony can not compete with MS when it comes to software. Wouldn't it be great if Sony and MS got together and made the next console? Everyone wins. Sony could make all there money off the unit and games, and MS could make there money off XBL and downloads. Both companies would make more money. A lot more money (especially MS). All the high end games (assuming Nintendo goes the same route and makes a far less powerful unit) will by nature be exclusive, and thus coded better for the platform. It could play all PS1,2,3 games and all X-Box and 360 games. MS could make the dev environment, and lower costs and time for release, yet on Sony hardware, thus producing better results on a more powerful system. I bet if that thing came out, they would sell 150-200 million of them. Huge profits all around. Best of all, not only would Sony and MS come out better for it, we win.

I really wouldn't describe Microsoft as a good software company because there have always been far better options when it comes to their software ... Microsoft is far more of a services company. You can see this in their market position because it is XBox Live, Achievements, and the other services Microsoft provides through the XBox which makes it an interesting product.

A couple years ago (before the revolution was announced) I thought the best pairing of console manufacturers would be Nintendo and Microsoft. In many ways Nintendo and Microsoft have very different expertise and would compliment each other in ways that no other companies could ... Of course, now that Nintendo is doing so well there is no motivation for this.

People are getting way ahead of themselves on this software stuff. The 360 really doesn't have a software lineup that is that amazing.

Its good, dont get me wrong, but COD4 is still the best FPS, Oblivion is still the best RPG, and BioShock maybe be the most creative and interesting game.

The software was good last year for the 360, but saying Sony can't compete is ridiculous. Exlusives Mass Effect, BioShock, Halo 3, and Gears of War still don't make outweigh Sony's exclusives. The lineups are not one sided like last gen, but Microsoft is just competing right now, they havent done anything that blows my mind.

What? Microsoft, the company that sold the vastly superior and easier-to-program-for Xbox hardware for the same price as the PS2? The company that launched the 360 a year earlier and $200 cheaper than the PS3, while still (so far) delivering graphics virtually indistinguishable from it?

And Sony, the company with the largest, most diverse, and (in my opinion) best lineup of first-party software developers in the world?

These two can't compete with each other in these areas?

By all indications, the gaming market is now large enough to accommodate three competitors, especially when Nintendo is going in a different direction from the other two. Even if there were a few benefits for Sony/MS to merging their efforts, it would just invite a fourth company (say, Apple) to join the fray and take up the missing spot. The result would only be MS and Sony cutting their piece of the pie in half.

well, MS = good software ?

are u joking ?

1/ they dont make game
(that explain why all the Xbox360 exclusive games come from PC (whatever they are good or not))

2/ their software are bad : each Window was worse than the MacOS equivalent
MS has just stolen all the idea from MacOS to adapt it to their Window.

Just look what people say when they compare internet explorer vs Firefox ...

TheRealMafoo said: MS can not compete with Sony when it comes to hardware. Sony can not compete with MS when it comes to software. Wouldn't it be great if Sony and MS got together and made the next console? Everyone wins. Sony could make all there money off the unit and games, and MS could make there money off XBL and downloads. Both companies would make more money. A lot more money (especially MS). All the high end games (assuming Nintendo goes the same route and makes a far less powerful unit) will by nature be exclusive, and thus coded better for the platform. It could play all PS1,2,3 games and all X-Box and 360 games. MS could make the dev environment, and lower costs and time for release, yet on Sony hardware, thus producing better results on a more powerful system. I bet if that thing came out, they would sell 150-200 million of them. Huge profits all around. Best of all, not only would Sony and MS come out better for it, we win.

 y can't MS compete in Harsware? MS has much more resources than Sony so it could if it really wanted to. As for combining, that's like MS advertising Apple computers

why not just make a PSWii720? PS3 Hardware, MS software? Nintendo Controls

ms's whole reason for the xbox project was to keep sony out of the living room, if they were to team up with anyone it would be nintendo who dont really have the same media controlling ambitions and would be a far better fit