The J man believes no , Microsoft is already proving to be big in the game industy and is seen as an equal to sony (which was not the case last gen).

So the J man believes that microsoft doesnt need to release 1 year before the competition to get better sales than they are now.

No, and after the statements they made on the PS3, I doubt they will.

I think they will if the RRoD wouldn't have haunted the 360 it will be way stronger then its now.

I think they will try the same trick next gen

I don't think they need to but I think they will, and they will get it right this time. No RROD, No Supply issues and no previous PS2 owners holding out for the next playstation. In a year Microsoft can build an impressive userbase for its next console.

I dont think they need to, but every advantage any of the 3 can get will only be good for them.

there is no doubt that the head start was genius...rrod or not. They will be first out the door again.

I would be very surprised if they were not first out of the gate again

Well they already said they working on it and plan to bring it out before the other competition.

Then again, we don't know what Nintendo or Sony will pull either.

I think they need to. So far they have done quite a bit better than the last generation, but there are a lot of underlying factors involved that can't be counted to build further in the next gen. First, we haven't seen the 360 pass the XBox worldwide yet, and it could start to lag once the existing fans are on board. We also haven't seen the PS3 come down below $400, and we simply don't know how competitive MS is without a serious price advantage. Heck, they were getting beat solidly until their last price cut.

Also, they got the 1 year head-start this time, and we don't know how influential that was. It may, for all we know, be the sole reason why they could outdo their last performance. Considering the fact that they've only been met with moderate success and undoubtedly want more. Launching early helped this time, so doing it again should be in their better interest.

So yeah, MS needs to launch early.

I most definitely think they should, and yes I believe that they need to. Microsoft has done a great job of netting a ton of previous exclusives and making them multi-plat. But the Microsoft name in my opinion doesn't have a great enough legacy to compete toe to toe with either Nintendo or Sony's first party guaranteed exclusives. If Microsoft can build up a more solid franchise base from now until then, I'd say quite possibly not? But as it is now, I think it would be un-wise.

Check your numbers, simple mistake, Xbox 360 passed Original Xbox sales a week or so ago. I also think the Xbox 360 is garnering very different fans this time around.