Microsoft's Rush Into The Next Generation Market..

Starchy · June 2004

<div class="IPBDescription">will that be it's downfall?</div> I just read this interesting article : <a href='http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=pub&aid=3635' target='_blank'> <a href='http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=pub&aid=3635' target='_blank'>http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page....me=pub&aid=3635</a></a> On whether 'Microsoft's rush to next-gen could see the Xbox take a tumble.'

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>The belief within Microsoft's top Xbox executives, according to company insiders, is that the main reason that Xbox has failed to seriously challenge the PlayStation 2 is because Sony had first mover advantage.</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

Do the Microsoft bosses really think that they can still compete with the Sony-fan base if they move one/two year(s) earlier?

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>but no game programming framework is ever going to get around the fundamental problem, which is that creating games for next-generation systems is going to require tools, technologies and resources which simply don't exist yet, and which will be hugely expensive and time-consuming when they do arrive.</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

Microsoft really are pulling at straws here to try and win over the Sony/Nintendo fan-base...will it work? For the first year or so the only people willing to develop for the Xbox 2 will be Microsoft themselves and EA...that really isn't enough for a console which is trying to win over a fan-base with a huge choice of games.

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>It would also do well to remember that in fact, PlayStation 2 didn't have first mover advantage in the last generation; that dubious honour fell to Sega's Dreamcast, which launched well ahead of its Sony competitor and was completely crushed by a combination of consumer anticipation for the Sony console, and publishers being perfectly happy to stick with PlayStation 1 and wait for its successor. Two years later, Sega was out of the console business for good; and while that seems unlikely to happen to Microsoft, a defeat on that scale in the next generation would be a crushing blow to its ambitions in the console space.</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

This article obviously makes some very good points, I really can't help but agree with it. This bold move really emulates the Sega one and this could put Microsoft out of the console race for good (which I do doubt), if not dent its chances for years to come.

I was just wondering what you thought about the move?

napi · June 2004

personally i've never been much of a fan of console games - with very few exceptions, I find the games short, shallow, boring, expensive, and with no future...

all pc games have the possibility of patches/mods/expansions etc - a prime example was B&W (black and white) for me - the original was good, but had some serious problems - about 3 weeks after I got it, there was a patch that made it far more balanced (not needing to feed worshippers every other minute) - that sort of thing never happens with console games.... some thing that really bugs me

the other big factor is the cost - I got halflife for £10, and i've been playing that and mods of it for about 4 years now - £10 for 4 years of gaming variety... I got Soul Calibur for £30 and it died after a couple of months...

they just don't compare.

Venmoch · June 2004

Uh the whole idea about patching a game becomes a moot point with the X-Box. Because you can do that with Live anyway. So it isn't that long before we see people start to patch their own stuff.

As far as Microsofts console efforts go I'd probably go as far as saying it is currently the best designed console out there. Hell I'd say its the best console out there. And its only the first!

panda_de_malheureux · June 2004

I would rather they had free patches - ie no internet required. The whole point of a console is that it's simple to play. Add internet, hard drive, hub, keyboard, mouse and it becomes something else. I would only buy a console if 'net became cheap, if patches came free from the shop or if MS did something to allow me to get the patches + basic services over the net for free.

Trevelyan · June 2004

unless halo 3 is Xbox 2 only... I'm going to enjoy laughing at it's failure.

lolfighter · June 2004

I doubt that Microsoft is going to back out of the console business in the near future. Their monetary reserves are widely believed to be sufficient to afford running the XBox and its successors at a loss for a long, long while. They'll keep trying. The big difference between Sega and Microsoft is that Sega DEPENDED on the Dreamcast. Consoles and their associated games are all that Sega does. If they fail in the console department, their entire company fails. Microsoft is still primarily a software producer for the PC. If the XBox writes red numbers, they just divert a little funding from other departments. You earn on the swings what you lose on the carrousels, as a danish saying so nicely illustrates it. The chance that Microsoft gives up the console business increases with each failure, of course. But that's assuming they'll continue to fail.

I'll have to agree with the article that the XBox 2 may be coming out too early. It may well flop like the XBox did (based on buyer numbers. Yes, the XBox is more powerful than the PS2. The market has spoken though, and the market, with a very loud and clear voice, states that the PS2 is the undisputed Kingpin of Consoles). This won't stop Microsoft though. We'll see the XBox 3, maybe even the XBox 4 flop before they give up. IF they flop, that is.

MonsieurEvil · June 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (lolfighter @ Jun 20 2004, 10:17 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> I doubt that Microsoft is going to back out of the console business in the near future. Their monetary reserves are widely believed to be sufficient to afford running the XBox and its successors at a loss for a long, long while.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
$50 billion or so in cash reserves, to be exact.

My understanding is that the Xbox was MS' foray into becoming the one-stop-shop for home entertainment. They recently finalized their deal with Comcast to ship 5 million Microsoft TV (DVR) set tops. They are working on the next release of MS Media Center Edition OS. Obviously the Xbox 2 will be part of the strategy. They don't care if an individual piece of the home takeover strategy loses money as long as it penetrates the market - this is what was used to push Windows, and you saw how that worked out.

It is a myth that the Xbox failed, if you consider that it now outsells the PS2 in the US. While it does not yet have the overall marketshare, the PS2 also had a 2 year head start. When the release date playing fields are now evened, I think the Xbox will stand up just fine. Not to mention that the recent EA Xbox Live deal took away the major stranglehold that PS2 held, which was all the hottest sports franchises like Madden and such.

raz0r · June 2004

I am, always have been, and always will be faithful to my GC.

Getting an early start does not mean success.
Look at the dreamcast, it was a good console with some good games (power stone, toy commander) but it just didnt sell too well.

But getting an early start can be good, in the same way as the PS2 got an 18month head start, and had backwards compatibility.

What i'm looking forward to now is the Nintendo DS

And the PSP in 2nd if it's not too expensive

Judge_of_Death · June 2004

i think Xbox is good and i don't think Microsoft should make another one as they had to give some free stuff when the more expensive one when it dropped it's price. but they should keep makeing games as Halo is just class

lolfighter · June 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Judge of Death @ Jun 20 2004, 06:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> [...]Halo is just class  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
And also made by Bungie. Microsoft only publishes it, just like Vivendi doesn't make HL2 and Sierra didn't make the original HL. Bungie has lost its edge since being bought by Microsoft though, proof of the latter one's evilness. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' />

The XBox outselling the PS2 NOW does not make up for the higher sales that the PS2 has had since the XBox was launched and up until now. There are several possible reasons why PS2 sales could have plummeted, for example the market being sated. Nobody needs more than one PS2, after all. Saying that the XBox has "failed" may not be the right way to put it, as the console DID sell. It just hasn't gotten close to the market share that the PS2 holds.

On the other hand, the XBox has better online support than the PS2 does. The XBox 2 is likely to be even better in this department, forcing the PS3 into an uphill battle.

Hmm... who would've thought predicting the future would prove so difficult?

Cold_NiTe · June 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (raz0r @ Jun 20 2004, 11:43 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> I am, always have been, and always will be faithful to my GC.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Agreed.

And did they say they are trying to convert / steal members of the Nintendo fanbase?? WTH. Untill they magically put Nintendo games on their consoles, the hell that is going to happen. Nintendo "fanboys" to use the crude and trite term, are "fanboys" precisely for Nintendo's games. The only way they can get members from that fanbase is to bring Nintendo to its knees, to the point that it gives in and starts producing games for the Xbox. And should that day ever come, I will most likely cut my ties with console gaming and just stick with my PC...

Microsoft's Rush Into The Next Generation Market..

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