The Xbox 360 Will Win the Console Wars

[orionantares]

Also consider that part of sales is also based on hardware reliability. Nintendo is well known for building the most reliable hardware in the industry. I've never had to replace a Nintendo game system because it failed. Sony products on the other hand... Never used the Xboxes but I hear plenty about the RRoD.

 

[CptTripps]

[citation][nom]tgsa[/nom]I don't see how Microsoft will come out on top. A couple of weeks ago I was at a Gamestop and the only console that wasn't sold out was the 360. Although I can admit I have a bias to the PS3, I do believe there are quite a few pros to the 360, but I don't see it as offering as much the PS3 does. Nor do I like the additional expenses of the peripherals. Is it still about $100 for the 20gb hard drive? Also, with all the prior failures that the 360 had, does that not distort the NPD numbers?Personally I liked the first Xbox, but was extremely disappointed with the 360. I guess I'd just wish Microsoft did a better job with it and not rushed it to the market.[/citation]

It is now $100 for the 120GB hard drive until stock runs out. The new 250GB is $130, still very expensive but much better than before. And sad to say, even if hardware failure caused more Xbox sales (I have two but both work), sales are sales and they do count.

I am not bias as I have owned about every console there is over the years (no virtual boy though). The thing that keeps me on Xbox (when I do play console, I play PC mostly) is the ease of forming a party and joining the same MP game. The only thing PS3 offers over 360 imo is BR playback. If I had no PC my opinion may differ.

 

[Regulas]

[citation][nom]KillerOwen[/nom]Regardless I won't ever buy and XBOX. Maybe if they added blue-ray and it was free to play online I might consider it, but even then all the games I have a desire to play are already on my PC and PS3.[/citation]
Exactly, the author must have be on the MS payroll to try and post such propaganda. Sounds like the State run media MSNBC and their drool over the Socialist wannabe Obummer.

 

[CptTripps]

[citation][nom]rooket[/nom]wow I get -3 for heralding a PC on a PC hobbyist site. Go figure?[/citation]

I think it was the fact that "all anyone ever needs" is not true. Local MP gaming on the PC is... non-exsistent. Consoles rule in that aspect and are far more social.

Also you said the Wii has better exclusives than the 360. The Wii is pure crap when it comes to good games, worst $250 I ever spent.

I don't think anyone was downrating you for loving the PC.

 

[Simple11]

I play console for games, not some NUI. And clearly the ps3 has more higher rated games. I'm sorry but this article does seem like an April fools piece.

 

[megamanx00]

PS3s biggest problem is that games are too costly to develop for it. The PSX originally built it's success on being both easy and cheap to develop for compared to it's rivals at the time. Ninendo's problem is that 3rd party developers are having a hard time making money on it and they seem to be running out of ideas themselves. Microsoft tries to make it easy to develop games for the 360 and them port them over to PC (didn't this use to be the other way around?). Nintendo can still win the race, but we'll see. I've been meaning to buy a 360 myself, but I keep upgrading my PC and buying PC games ^_^

 

[mikepaul]

I can't believe anyone takes any news delivered on April 1st as valid. I usually ignore all such stories but the idea of the 360 winning became much more believeable after I took delivery of my PS3 and realized it isn't so swift...

 

[Moonrise]

APRIL FOOL'S or this is the worst fan-boy article on TG so far

 

[joe gamer]

This is April fools right?, the hardware fails, the accessories are the biggest ripoff since text messaging, and you have to PAY to play multi-player? You PAY to stream Netflix? For the sake of people everywhere I hope you're wrong because this is not the gaming I want more of in the future.

 

[Userremoved]

All the fanboys defending there console...
Well will they realize there console is inferior to a budget PC?

 

[idisarmu]

[citation][nom]Wolfgang Gruener[/nom]Sony doesn’t get it[/citation]

No, YOU don't get it. You just wrote an article about who WILL win the console wars. Now I don't know how aware you are of the current console situation and the games that have come out, but just to be safe, I will explain it.

All three consoles are quite mature now and most series that were once only for the previous generation have now had two or more sequels released. (Think COD, Halo, EA sports games, and many many others)

My point is this: The console war is already over and the Xbox 360 has already won. Sure, it has been plagued by consoles, but if the console makers tracked how many games have been sold for each console and how many hours have been spent playing those games, then I would be extremely confident that Microsoft would come out on top.

Xbox 360 gamers generally buy more games and play more than people who game on the Wii or PS3. Now Nintendo may have sold a ton of consoles, but everyone I know only plays the Wii when they are extremely bored, and they only play it for about 10-20 minutes unless they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs and/or with a group of people.

Xbox and PS3 gamers, however, are far more likely to go on a gaming marathon and play for much longer periods of time.

The number of PS3 owners is smaller than the number of 360 owners, so realistically, PS3 owners will not log more hours as a whole than Xbox 360 gamers.

 

[Userremoved]

[citation][nom]Userremoved[/nom]All the fanboys defending there console...Well will they realize there console is inferior to a budget PC?[/citation]
Just kiding but still the PC does have better hardware

 

[Montezuma]

[citation][nom]hovaucf[/nom]I wonder how much money Sony is losing to the cost of running PSN and not charging. Xbox Live is usually $30-$40 on amazon, and let's be honest people pay $15/month to play an MMO but people complain about $4.17/month to play all their console games online? Additionally playing online over wifi is a terrible idea so that's a terrible complaint, as wired connection will always be superior in performance. Lastly if you're going to quote prices on MS products at least be accurate or state other currency.[/citation]

MMOs provide an unlimited number of hours of entertainment and the companies that run MMOs are constantly generating new content. Console games cost us $60(USD)(new release) and are essentially static in the amount of entertainment provided. If a MMO company expected me to pay approximately $15(USD) a month for the same amount of content that is provided in a console game, then I would not give said company a dime.

I pay for a "Gold" subscription to Xbox Live, but I disgree with having to pay to play the games I own online. I dislike it even more after Microsoft started adding in ads to a premium service. I would not disagree with seeing ads on PSN if it were to generate money to improve the infrastructure for the PSN.

 

[calgarian]

We've bought 4 XBox 360s, 3 Wiis, and 2 PS3 over the past number of years - I have five sons who play and the house always has their friends over playing games as well as online battles. Every one of the five televisions have consoles attached to them.

My teenagers like the XBox 360 the most, the pre-schoolers prefer Wii, and I like the PS3 - both as a Blu Ray player for movies and for playing Civilization Revolution (the only game I play).

We're all looking forward to the next generation consoles and can't wait for their release. I don't really care who wins the console wars - we're probably going to have all competing consoles anyways.

 

[wawa sxm]

i think microsoft learned from the xbox which made the xbox 360 my choice and the fact that i feel they dont neglect the online community makes it my bet for the future...
sony first 2 playstations were great, the first was a revolution and the second evolve from that with the third i gotta agree with the article, it seemed like they didnt know where they were going (i think microsoft scared them a bit, oddly enough) and they were so late to the game it was insulting...and you remember that boomerang controler...and the insult about the dual shock when we all knew the truth...i used to differentiate sony products from the console but not anymore..sony arrogance and always trying to impose something on you is just too much for me...
thank you microsoft even if my first 360 rrod no biggie 2 360's cost me less then it would have cost me to get a ps3 at the time.

 

[jamezrp]

I've got to disagree with the premise of the article on one singular basis: the Xbox 360 is not the top selling console, nor will it ever be.

Just looking from the point of view of console sales, Microsoft may be in big trouble. They have almost no ground in Japan, who's culture has a huge influence on gaming and has millions of gamers. Asian countries in general have had poor sales. In Europe, the PS3 has outsold the 360 and has much more media functionality, where you can record and watch TV straight from the console. Console comparisons differ from country to country (UK and Germany favor the 360, Sweden and Switzerland the PS3, for example), but overall the PS3 is more popular.

It's only in the US that the Xbox 360 really dominates. And it should...I mean, it's Microsoft's home turf. Microsoft succeeds in every area their company is well acquainted with: software, controllers, support, and online functionality. Yet as we've seen, their hardware pales in comparison to the PS3 and Wii, not because it's not as powerful, but because it hasn't been stable. Putting $1 billion into support so that RROD problems could be solved is proof of that.

Ironically, Sony's loss is the fact that they just don't get software yet. A recent look back at Sony on Gizmodo had an interview with some higher-up who agreed, that Sony understands hardware but hasn't caught up on software. Obviously, software is much more important today, so regardless of whether or not their hardware is great, their PS3 software still sucks compared to the 360 and Wii.

Even knowing that, the Wii still defeats both consoles in every market. It's more sophisticated thanks to it's motion controls, and while hardcore gamers (myself included) may not enjoy gaming on it, casual gamers and non-gamers alike have found it much more exciting. And they easily outnumber the hardcore gamers.

So does the Xbox 360 win? Clearly not. They can get second, depending on what games come out for their console, and what future support they have for it. Sony can easily overtake the 360 with a complete software overhaul and this year's worth of game content alone in the US and those European countries where the 360 is ahead. I don't think it will, but the point is clear: Microsoft doesn't have the more powerful machine, and while they may continue to stay ahead in the US, worldwide they won't succeed.

Not yet, anyways.

 

[naterandrews]

I've been out of the "gaming loop" since about 2001. I'm part of the SNES/Genesis generation of gamers- I grew up to platformers and sidescrollers, racing games and RPG's; though now, I'm debating jumping back in.

While looking at game sites, I noticed that (still) nearly every big game for the 360 is a FPS! Splinter Cell, Modern Warfare and Call of Duty dominate the charts. To me, the 360 is still a console that caters to "trigger happy" gamers and is still overpriced- especially considering how old the console is getting-- seriously, $300 for a console that was released 5 years ago?? Needless to say, I didn't buy one. Although, I wish that Sony would regain their former gaming glory, much as Nintendo has done recently. It will be interesting to see how this battle ends in a couple years; maybe then I'll go for the winning system.

 

[falchard]

I think out of this current crop of consoles, the 360 is the worst and will be solidified as the worst going forward. When you think about the console as a whole it loses in every place it attempts to compete. As a gaming system, the Wii just dominated generation. It was the only console that was solely meant to be a gaming console.
When it comes to what the 360 does well, its done better by the PS3. The PS3 is also easier on the end user and has more open options. I do find the PS3 Move to be a superior motion controller to the Wii and XBox solution. Its a method that can accurately depict location, rotation, and velocity.

 

[falchard]

Also Nintendo and Microsoft most likely are going to be refreshing their consoles in the next year or two. Its about the right time for a refresh.

 

[Guest]

Not touched on no doubt because it's one of those pooh-poohed things to talk about in public is the fact that Microsoft has boosted their numbers by allowing people to modify the drive, play burned copies easily obtainable for less than $10 for sometimes years and then banning the console from "live" access which basically renders the thing useless because almost every game is released in an unfinished state and needs to be patched. Unless you like using a HDD tool and finding fixes for games it can become tidious so you buy a new exbox and hack it again because the money you save from not purchasing full priced games pays for the entire process within 3-5 games... I say shame on Microsoft, I personally will not be purchasing a 3rd XBOX 360! (Yes my other two were banned , one has since stopped working because the life of these things as mentioned being pizza ovens is if you're lucky like I was and had an Original Hitachi which lasted OMG 6 years!!!!!!!!! while I've heard most peoples just cross that good ole 3year mark and the warrenty expires...)