Jo21 said: i hope microsoft when xbox live is free (BIG PLUS) or microsoft starts making reliable consoles as nintendo or even sony got good this time around hardware (i mean good companies). then i will change my mind

 

So you want MS to leave because they charge for XBL and they don't make a realiable consoles?

I don't see how chargin 50$ per year (it's not even that because you can buy it pretty cheap in discount sales or in promotions) for offering the best online can justify i hope like this, yeah it would be cool if it was free but it isn't that much. And considering that it's MS's second "try" in the gaming bussines and Sony's second "try" wasn't really brilliant in this (the ps2 had a big failure rate) i don't see why would this be a big problem (even if MS's blow is higher), i mean, at least they admitted it and made something about it by extending the warranty

Just because a company is very wealthy doesn't mean that it's going to keep pouring money down a bottomless hole. That's just very poor business acumen. Not only did the Xbox lose 6 billion dollard, the 360 has still lost over 1.5 billion this generation even if you count their profitable quarters. Microsoft still won't have had a profitable generation after this gen is over, and they aren't going to allow a gaming console to keep losing money for the company. No product is allowed to survive on billions of dollars worth of red ink unless the government is backing it.

Not only that, but MS is and will still be in the same position as they were last gen, which is a distant, unprofitable second place just barely ahead of the third place console. They also failed to achieve the overwhelming exclusive third-party support that they need to make any real impact, and their console for the most part only appeals to core and hardcore gamers.

That being said, if either were to leave, it would be MS first. Now that the market has rejected Sony's plans for an all-in-one multimedia device and has emphatically proclaimed that they just want an exciting gaming experience, Sony obviously won't release another $600 over-engineered console with a bunch of features that 95% of gamers don't care about. The PS4 and subsequent Sony consoles will be much more geared towards gaming and not towards being a multimedia device, and hence eventually, there won't be any reason for MS to make consoles anymore, especially considering my first two paragraphs.

thekitchensink said: Not that this will happen, but I'd like to see both of them drop out. Xbox 360 is my favourite console this generation (Wii slightly behind), but I just want to see a single format for game consoles. I hate having to decide which particular version of a game to buy, having to cart my system to a friend's place if they have a different console, etc. That said, if I had to pick one to drop out, it would be Sony. True, Microsoft also lost billions in the last generation, but only in the Xbox division. The company as a whole was extremely profitable, which is not the case for Sony this generation at all. Also, while the damage is not as severe as once thought, the Playstation brand name has been severely crippled this generation. Finally, on a more personal level, while I own a PS3, I hope they burn in hell, as neither Microsoft or Nintendo, in their worst hours, ever insulted me and you, the consumers.

 

it was until Q2 2008, actually didn't post a lost in 15 years!. they were profitable the whole year until the AMERICAN stock market went downhill.

Microsoft: unreliable hardware (both zune and 360), Vista, Windows Me.

Nintendo: E3 2008

Sony: E3 2006

they all had insult me.

@falcon, too bad!, both sony and nintendo got it right this time! and game are multiplatform japanese engineering for the win =).

and steam is superior, yet they don't charge for it. yeah i know u can buy 50$ a year card but have you make the calc of having 360 for 6 year generation ? = 6 *50 = 300 $. no thanks.

 

Of course there's room for both of them! They both sell over 150k almost every single week. In fact, without competition, the PS3 would still be $600.

We've never seen a generation with less than three players.

Sony and MS have either money (MS) or influence (Sony) to burn.

SEGA has sucked since the Genesis. Once their NA operation started fighting with their Japanese operation, it was over. Dreamcast was a momentary glorious blip in their slow spiral to obscurity.

Apple won't compete. They don't like playing fairly with others (and this is coming from a longterm Apple user). It's just what they do as a company. They create a new field or they fail miserably.

No one else has the money to drop several billion dollars on a risky venture. On top of that, hardware companies have no ties to the people they need most, the software companies. MS was able to link that quite easily due to their experience but after that, the list grows short (actually, nonexistent).

Nintendo will falter... again. Like Apple, they can't keep catching lightning in a bottle. It runs out after awhile as their prominent heads go in different creative directions.

Expect the Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft triumvirate for awhile. They have all invested far too much to back out at this point and there is far too much to gain by staying in the game. Love it or lose it, those are the players we are stuck with over the next ten years.

can you guys stop flaming

DiplomaticImmunity said: can you guys stop flaming

Welcome to a videogame forum. Flaming is relative and often ignored, just for the mere fact that we'd have to ban 98% of the fucking asshats who care enough about games to post on a website about them.

This thread hasn't gone out of control... yet.

 

Here's one outside the box. Console video gaming will go one of 2 ways:

It will die off completely. This gen consoles are less distinguishable from PCs than in the past so there is convergence happening. Future console generations will take on more things that used to be the preserve of PCs, and PCs are taking on functions that were more the preserve of home entertainment systems, in particular the use of PCs for movies and music which the previous gen of consoles started doubling for and now this gen has really taken over. Either the console will morph into the PC or all gaming will return to the PC, or

One console to rule them all! That console will have advanced AI which means no matter what software you use the console itself will be able to figure out how to run the game, and anything else you care to throw at it. Such a console, would eventually kill off all other consoles. Advanced AI would even overcome the exclusivity that comes with DLC, because such advanced AI would create new content of its own from the source material, and there would be no copyright or trademark infringement because no person is involved so there is no one to prosecute. Developers would no longer be constrained by the software requirements of the console allowing for greater creativity not only in product but in software development itself. And this would drive down development costs meaning games become profitable with much lower sales, or cheaper price per game.

How far away is that? Will any of the companies in the current console gen still exist?

rocketpig said: DiplomaticImmunity said: can you guys stop flaming Welcome to a videogame forum. Flaming is relative and often ignored, just for the mere fact that we'd have to ban 98% of the fucking asshats who care enough about games to post on a website about them. This thread hasn't gone out of control... yet.

 

I'm actually surprised at that - that it hasn't spun out of control yet.  When I saw the title I looked in expecting a bloody mess of insults.

It's interesting how this gen all three contenders seem viable though, as you say.  It seems that's what most can't get their heads around - they keep waiting for the new PS2 to emerge and everything else to wilt and die - and that's looking very unlikely now.

PS3 will outsell 360 in console sales war.