Xbox 360 already dead in Japan, no Xbox 720? |
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BY Chris King March 11th, 2008 |
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A recent article quoted Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter as saying, “PS3 will likely outsell the 360 in Europe by 20-40 percent, and will kill 360 in Japan” in late 2008. As if it’s been enjoying a life of luxury in the land of the rising sun the headline read, “PS3 will kill 360 in Japan” by year’s end. This struck me as misleading because the 360 has essentially never been “alive” in Japan to begin with. I think what Pachter meant was that the PlayStation 3 would “kill the Xbox 360″ in sales figures. In fact, Xbox 360’s death in Japan has been widely known to the Japanese as soon as it hit the street.
When the Xbox 360 first released in Japan in November 2005 (concurrent with the U.S. release), you could walk into any given Japanese electronics store and find shelves full of unsold units sitting alongside a few returned units for sale at discounted prices. This was despite the fact that the initial price offering for the system was 39,999 yen brand new, approximately equivalent to over $60 cheaper than the U.S. price at the time. Stores couldn’t give the units away because most Japanese gamers simply were not interested. Japanese game developers seem far more comfortable supporting Sony and Nintendo’s consoles to release their roleplaying and casual games towards the Japanese market, and so that is where their customers will follow. This is a battle where Microsoft will always be the outsider on very foreign soil, and they will likely never gain any ground.
Vgcharts.org shows that to date, sales figures in Japan indicate .59 million units for the Xbox 360, 1.97 million units for the PlayStation 3, and 5.5 million units for the Wii.
Nearly 11 months ago, in April of 2007, the PlayStation 3 and Wii had only been around for 5 months, while the Xbox 360 had already been available for 17 months. At that time, the sales figures were .38 million units for the Xbox 360, .87 millions units for the PlayStation 3, and 2.12 million units for the Wii.
These figures illustrate that despite the Xbox 360’s year long head start, it owned only a meager 11% of next-generation console sales in Japan as soon as Sony’s and Nintendo’s offerings joined the war. Since then, sales for both the PlayStation 3 and Wii have aggressively more than doubled there, leaving the Xbox 360 now with only 7% of the pie.
If that’s not dead, I don’t know what is. I think even Toshiba would have given up this particular battle by now. It was reported that Microsoft really made a strong attempt at winning over a Japanese market share with the Xbox 360 and yet they have failed horribly for a second time. Maybe Microsoft will throw in the towel and Japan will never see an Xbox 720? What do you think? Does the Japanese market matter? Is there a compelling reason for Microsoft to continue releasing their products there?
March 11th, 2008
at 11:41 am
I agree, Microsoft should starve japan from xbox 720. And by the same time, get MGS into 360 and if possible, FF. Than we’ll c what happens.
March 11th, 2008
at 11:42 am
I mean get MGS into 720..
March 11th, 2008
at 11:48 am
With the way things are going for MS in Japan, I don’t think it matters that much when looking at the full picture. I think the 360 is doing even worse than the original Xbox did there, right? Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t keep pushing though, but it takes a whole lot to come close to Sony in their own backyard.
March 11th, 2008
at 12:00 pm
Kanan, 360 is actually doing better than the original Xbox but yeah, Microsoft should definitely continue pushing the 360 and the 720 in Japan. I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t, they’re not running out of money any time soon so they can afford the slow growth over there.
March 11th, 2008
at 12:15 pm
A lot of people are quick to point out that the Xbox 360 is doing better than the original Xbox in Japan. Only problem being overlooked is that the original Xbox launched nearly two years later than the original PlayStation and the Xbox 360 launched one year ahead of the PS3 and Wii. Of course the 360 will have done better than the original! It’s only common sense considering the circumstances under both launches, but I would hardly call a quickly shrinking 7% of market share any measure of success.
I would hypothesize that if the Xbox 360 had not released one full year ahead of its competitors, it would have likely fared no better than the original. Take that as food for thought.
March 11th, 2008
at 1:02 pm
if the **** are so biased against an american company this much that they still support the PS3 despite seriously severely inferior sortware then screw ‘em.
The 360 is clearly the better system to own right now (and more than likely in 2008 as well), yet the Japanese are still getting sucked in by Sony’s over promise under deliver policy (a policy that ensured the PS2 killed the dreamcast before it was even released - remember the hype for Metal Gear Solid 2? it was pretty much was decided by everyone it would be the best game ever made even when it was only 10% complete - then when it came out it was mediocre. Sony has been at this for years, seriously when is everyone going to finally catch on?!)
theyre at it again with the new metal gear, killzone, resistance, little big planet (seriously, unique or not i cannot for the life of me see how this game will be any good) etc blah blah. Notice how many PS3 fanboys give it the ‘PS3 will own 2008′, then it’ll tank but ‘PS3 will own 2009′ etc etc heard it all before.
Screw the **** microsoft, theyre not worth it. Stick with the US and UK/Europe and with people who buy and appreciate good quality games rather than get sucked in by gimmicks, TV ads and empty promises (or to give them their official name: ‘casual gamers’) - Sony have lost their casual gamer market to Nintendo now: In the UK, all those people who had a PS2 with just Pro evo/FIFA gathering dust in the corner now have a Wii with just Wii sports gathering dust in the corner. Therye not worth it, the money’s in software sales/attach rates and that means targeting ‘hardcore’ gamers (or people who read reviews and buy only good games) - in that regard Microsoft has the console war sown up
March 11th, 2008
at 1:51 pm
maybe microsoft should try improving the hardware build quality first! and before anyone says anything i own both ps3 and the 360.
March 11th, 2008
at 2:23 pm
Well I don’t think MGS is going to really do anything for them, if MGS was a muti then they would choose the PS4 for it, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest as exclusive would help them but I don’t see that happening.
March 11th, 2008
at 2:24 pm
well, europe also is a loosing ground for the xbox360. ps3 is constantly outselling it on as world wide scale.
i dont understand how american consumers keep on buying that RROD ridden machine??? all its advantages are due to the early start of the xbox.
March 11th, 2008
at 2:25 pm
I don’t think it’s necessarily a Microsoft thing. Japanese people are extremely patriotic and don’t purchase anything that isn’t made locally. Samsung (Korea) just pulled their business out of Japan because they weren’t able to sell to them either.
In a way it’s funny. The US used to be very patriotic, but at some point American patriotism has become less of something that is done as simply said. The Japanese have earned their position in the world as a capitalist power in the world and are now bitch slapping the US and Americans are taking it and loving it.
March 11th, 2008
at 3:06 pm
@ IA
You sir, are an idiot.
Pls do tell us what makes the X360 the better console to own. You’re just a blind fanboy and its because of the likes of you that he 360 sells the most in the states.
So far, the more expensive PS3 has been outselling the 360 in the states, all of last year well at least for the 9 months it was out in UK/Europe, the PS3 has outsold the 360. And all this with the PS3 supposedly not having its games. What does that tell you.
Wake up pal, this isn’t 2007. The one Ace in the hole that MS had was the US, but sales of the 360 there has really slumped. The sooner yu realise that the rest of the world is bigger than the US? The better.
March 11th, 2008
at 3:43 pm
Um…PS3 only recently started selling well, dude. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not a MS fanboy by any means. I have all three systems and love all of them. Only thing I can say is that I do like the 360 a little more only because the software is there. Let’s face it, until MGS4 and FFXIII comes out, the PS3 does not have any real good exclusives. Resistance is ok, but it’s not a Halo killer. I have a feeling once the REALLY good games come out, I’ll be all about the PS3.
Either way, this whole “who’s gonna win the console war” argument is pointless. All three systems are selling well. Japan’s not buying the 360? So frigging what? Japan doesn’t hold the weight it used to. By next generation, it’ll be even more so. I could care less if they want the 360 or not. They’re so patriotic and won’t buy stuff from the outside, but have no problems trying to sell us their crap.
March 11th, 2008
at 4:39 pm
@ David
Seeing as were throwing insults here: nah pal, your the idiot.
Go to http://www.metacritic.com/games (combines the scores of all game reviews for a net average score - a very good and fair judge of the quality of games in IMO) and compare all time xbox360 games scores versus ps3 scores for all games worth buying (ie take games of say 85% or 90% and above) and you’ll see the painful thruth for you beloved machine. I prefer the xbox360 cos i think (and game reviews seem to back me up on this) its got better games. Am I a fanboy? I personally don’t feel any special affiliation to Microsoft and I would def consider buying a PS3 if there was any good reason to but maybe I am. Blind? i dont think so.
So the playstation since its release has outsold the xbox360 in the US and Europe? i’m pretty certain thats b*llocks but lets pretend its true for a second. im assuming all the folks who had already bought the xbox360 BEFORE the PS3 came out don’t count? Should they have been made to go out and buy a 2nd system to make the figures comparable for you? And since when were hardware sales an indication of quality? Given that most multiplatform games are poorly ported onto the PS3 (Orange box is criminally practically unplayable) I’d say probably more an indcation of blind brand loyalty and good marketing. Does this then mean that the Wii is technically c.8 times better than either PS3 or 360? Its ‘casual’ gamers buying up all the systems mate, people with money but no clue and buy into the latest fads like iphones and the like. However, to be fair to Nintendo and the Wii since Mario Galaxy came out it has vastly improved its games library so I have changed my mind about it and will certainly be buying one in the near future. And lets forget the fact that some people buy the PS3 exclusively/mainly as a blu-ray player (As I imagine most do).
It doesnt matter about the hardware (often a console is sold as a loss-leader) its all about the games and 360 has the highest quality and highest attach rate of all 3 - an indicator of the fact people who are clued up and choose a system based on the quality of its games (the ‘hardcore’ market).
I accept the argument however that the RROD is a big error on MS’s part and shouldnt have happened. My 360 packed it in 9 months after i got it (fair enough it was 2nd hand) tho MS were very good at replacing it within 2 weeks - still its not on and a major inconvenience esp as it was not long after i got halo 3 which i was absurdly addicted to (which is actually probably why it overheated).
FYI I’m Irish and live in the UK. So I dont think it’s ‘the likes of me’ that contributes to the US sales of the 360. Yes the rest of the world is bigger than the US, well done. You must have aced geography at school mate
BTW i suggest you use spell check before your next post
March 11th, 2008
at 4:42 pm
“painful thruth”
…maybe i should have used spell check too!
March 11th, 2008
at 4:57 pm
I just wonder how many of these so call Microsoft loyalist really pay attention to the US economy. MS has money..yes but their gaming division is losing them millions…YES… Yes this is not an opinion this is a fact. Oh yeah their biggest money maker their pride in joy OS… the great Vista is already on of their biggest blunders and isn’t well received here in the US. Not to mention about 3 major class action lawsuits a year. Microsoft is slowing bleeding itself to death. However the most important fact that tells you all you need to know about a division of Microsoft that has never been a cash cow is that their business is based on the dollar. Unless this country fixes it’s economic problems with housing, credit, and energy the dollar will continue to fall. This in itself drains millions on a daily basis from Microsoft. How long do you think it will be before someone starts looking at the gaming division as a liability. Before long they will sell the division for a profit and concentrate on the software…. their bread and butter from day one. By the way yes I am a US citizen and I’m older than 25… so if you are not at least 25 don’t bother trying to figure out anything in this post.
March 11th, 2008
at 5:06 pm
As an experiment it could be interesting if MS decides to NOT sell in Japan. Just EXCLUDE Japan altogether. Just sell it EVERYWHERE from brazil to iceland but NOT in Japan. Just to see what the reaction would be.
Suddenly an Xbox (360, 720) could very well be regarded as THE console to have in Japan. A status symbol. Something exclusive. Or perhaps they would be happy with Sony and Nintendo and don’t give a d*mn … financially the experiment wouldn’t harm MS. I guess they are losing money in Japan anyway.
It would be funny so see. (even more when Sony would react ‘Now, we don’t sell PS3 in USA anymore’)
March 11th, 2008
at 5:11 pm
Cuzzz3000: Actually, MS WAS losing money on the devices and gaming division. They’ve been profitable for the last few quarters now.
March 11th, 2008
at 5:15 pm
why would anyone buy a 360 in japan or anywhere overseas for that matter… just can’t imagine the service turn around on rrod’s international!
March 11th, 2008
at 5:20 pm
and remember too they took a $2m (correct me if im wrong) hit for the RROD c*ck up as well. I’m not sure if they’ve written that off in one quarter or amortizing it over a period but it shows that the 360 as a console is cash generative
I cant get the financial info here in the UK (actually I assume i cant cos i cant be arsed looking it up) but I good indicator of the performance of the division - chiefly its ability to generate cash is EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxation) or ideally if you can get it EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortization) - so basically operating profit (or the equivalent in the US), what has that been over the last few quarters for the MS gaming division does anyone know?
March 11th, 2008
at 5:23 pm
@ krauley
took 2 weeks for me in the UK to get my 360 replaced - although i did have to phone up and deal with a girl in an american call centre, she wasnt the sharpest tool in the box
March 11th, 2008
at 5:44 pm
@ IA
ok I will correct you Microsoft’s loss 1.15 Billion with the RROD problem
March 11th, 2008
at 5:52 pm
@ Warhawker
This is true Microsoft’s devices and gaming divisions have had 5 months of operation in the black. However these stats are based on the the quarters of operations not on the divisions life cycle. Since the first day of creation of this division Microsoft has never reached an overall profit gain from the gaming division period. Devices was only added later when they tried to take on the ipod. Hence why they are separating the division by 4 quarter 08.
March 11th, 2008
at 6:37 pm
Microsoft is in a tough situation; if they forego the Japanese market, there is approximately 0% likelihood that major Japanese developers will support the system. Without Japanese developer support, the Xbox 720 will lose ground in North America and Europe. On the other hand, they have been losing money hand over fist in Japan for two generations, and future success is about as likely as the next Zelda coming out as a PS3 exclusive. This could also lead to less Japanese developer support.
If I were Microsoft (which I am not), I would develop my next-gen console’s internal specs, then contract out to a Japanese company to design and sell the system in Japan. Have them make a system that appeals to Japanese aesthetics, marketed by a trusted Japanese brand, and see what happens.
Of course, it would be difficult to do this with just any old company. For best results, you would want to license the hardware to a company with brand recognition in the gaming space. My choices (again, if I was Microsoft) would be either NEC (the PC-Engine was HUGE in Japan back in the day) or SEGA (who would likely have to be purchased by Microsoft; that’s not a bad thing, as it would give them a huge catalog of potentially successful franchises).
Thoughts?
March 11th, 2008
at 8:16 pm
“Mmmm…. I love the smell of fresh napalm in the morning!”
March 11th, 2008
at 8:52 pm
I don’t claim to be an expert in this area but it seems to funny to worry about the Japanese market so much when there are much larger ones, at least population wise. Why not focus more on China and India?
March 11th, 2008
at 9:32 pm
@ HeyItsMe
Those two countries has billion of people, but nobody wants or can buy $59 game every month.
March 11th, 2008
at 11:12 pm
the 1 billion dollars they had set aside is not necessarily a loss. They have just set a billion aside for warranty issues. Far as lawsuits, they don’t get sued often, let me correct that, they don’t pay out often. Micrtosoft usually sues and they make millions upon millions. I do agree with the prior poster about selling everywhere except japan. That would be so flippin funny. Teaches them right. We need to be more patriotic and buy more American and less japan and see what happens to that pos country when they go belly up because they have absolutely no natural resources.
March 12th, 2008
at 12:47 am
Yes, Japan has no natural resources, and little habitable land. So we are hating them for their patriotic consumption because…? Seriously, here in Canada we have the exact opposite situation. We sell all our metals and wood, get other people to design products, build them, then buy them back with the money we got from selling our metals and wood. Is this smart? Will this last forever? Are we getting a good deal?
Now back on topic :)
In the end, I believe history will tell that coding for the Cell was less of a problem than RROD. Oh, and toss in some footnotes about Bluray stomping HD-DVD. Take your emotions out of your brand loyalty. MS rushed a product to market and royally fucked up. It’s early success was built on a house of cards. PS3 just needs mediocre success to surpass x360 at this point. Home, Bluray and further price drops will ensure this regardless of their exclusive titles.
March 12th, 2008
at 1:04 am
Are you shitting me? They buy QUALITY products, not pieces of ****. They sure “hate” American products like the Ipod (Apple in General), MICROSOFT Windows, McDonalds, Nike, etc … right?
Selective memory ftl. IA.
March 12th, 2008
at 1:07 am
Also, IA you might want to brushen up on your sales records. The PS3 has in fact been outselling the 360 WORLDWIDE since last October 07.
It outsold the 360 in the US in January.
It also outsold it all of 2007 Worldwide, 360 sales are falling from its first year -> while the PS3’s are going up.
The PS3 is about to overtake the 360’s TWO YEAR install base in almost 1 year (PS3 hasn’t even been out in the EU for 1 year yet.)
I’ll see you in Christmas 08, son.
March 12th, 2008
at 1:08 am
correction above: Overtake *EU* install base. Japan is already won.
US is left.
March 12th, 2008
at 1:42 am
I’d just like to add, the idea that Japanese consumers are snubbing the x360 purely out of patriotism for their country is utterly hilarious.
Suppose Honda sold a Civic in the States with a 30% failure rate.
The Japanese show very high brand loyalty. That’s why $2,000 Louis Vuitton handbags are the norm over there. If it’s high quality, fashionable and functional they’ll sell like mad.
Do these characteristics describe the x360?
I hope I don’t sound like a Sony fanboy - I don’t actually own either console - I’m just rather fascinated by the passionate adolescent allegiance to a product that’s so clearly broken it’s basically disposable. My co-worker has just returned his 3rd, and refers to it like the jug on his water cooler.
March 12th, 2008
at 2:12 am
@ IA
I agree and disagree on a few of your points
- It is true games do sell the Consoles but, if your console constantly fails then it makes no difference if it has the games.Since you can’t play the games without the system IMHO it is much more important to have a fully working system,
- The 2 Reasons Microsoft has those games in the first place is only because it came out a year ahead & it is easier to program for.
- Microsoft does have a good set of exclusive games but, they are all Shooter games such as Halo,Gears,Bioshock,Mass Effect etc etc etc… which only appeal to the core gamer, yes they have other exclusives such as Forza series,Scene it,Dead Rising & Viva Pinata but there are still more shooters then other Genres.
- Sony has it’s own set of Exclusives but it seems like they have a much broader choice when it comes to the genre. such as, Resistence FoM,Folklore,Lair,Heavenly Sword,Motorstorm,FFXIII,MGS4,GT4,Uncharted Drakes Fortune,Warhawk, GoW III etc etc etc..
- Starting from the first Sony games I mentioned ^^ we have a FPS,RPG,Flight/Action,Action/Adventure,Offroad Racing,RPG,Action/Adventure,Simulation Racing,Action/Adventure,Flight, & Action/Adventure again. It seems Sony is focusing on Action Adventure Titles more then shooters. It can also be noted that in the above titles 4 of the games listed something in the game can be shot.
Now I am No Fanboy. I do have a Wii & PS3 and want a 360 but am waiting to hear that it is more reliable. Both systems have done some things wrong. Microsoft with rushing the systems to Market to beat Sony & Sony following Microsofts lead by introducing Multiple SKU’S to the market and confusing everyone.
Back to the point though of the Article IMHO I think that Microsoft is wasting it’s time in Japan if they don’t want it then don’t give it to them. Besides the way I have been reading it Gaming is in a Slump in Japan although with the way the Wii is being bought up over there maybe not.
March 12th, 2008
at 3:23 am
@ia
u are a dumbie!!! your all about xbox huh!? that system sucks! it RROD on me about 2 times….then i got rid of it. the sad thing is i only had it for about 1-1/2 months. it also freezes on me when i play too long.piece of shhhht. it has a bunch of good exclusives but it is not reliable to play those games for a long period of time without thinking if it’s gonna heat up or give u a RROD. not to mention it also scratched the **** out of my games even if i accidently touch the system….you are one confused and obsess xbox fanboy to be giving that stupid white thing that much credit.
Hey!…what does michael jackson and the xbox have in common???. they both went from black to white, there both made of plastic and they both get turned on by lil’boys….and dats u!! a lil’boy who dunt knoe much about systems than just the games and there reviews frum websites. u need people to tell u if a game is worth getting or something???? later ia!! hahahah!!!
March 12th, 2008
at 4:32 am
Why waste your time in Japan, those people have too much brand loyalty. Even if Sony churns out horrible games theyll still buy it just cuz its a Japanese product. Let them have their RPGs / Horse Racing games, and Dating Sims. We’ll just take the rest.
March 12th, 2008
at 4:58 am
Well, I heard that the 360 will be discontinued soon due to its performance results on Halo 3. Plus, its GPU DirectX format is 9.0c, which is like vintage graphics. And my crackhead gamer buddy says from Mircosoft services that you get DirectX10 on many games. LIES I TELL YA!
March 12th, 2008
at 6:27 am
@IA I agree with you 100%
To PS3 Fanboys
I’ve owned both PS1 and PS2. So don’t take this the wrong way. But you guys have been getting duped by Sony. Remember, Sony’s console was supposed to BLOW AWAY the 360 in terms of performance, yet MANY games don’t even run as good on the PS3 as the 360!!!
Yes, the 360 has the RROD…but I have a launch console and I am STILL USING IT, I have no problems…My Brother had it, sent it in, and 2 weeks later he got it and hasn’t had any problems since.
I’m always hearing guys saying they don’t want to buy 360 because of the RROD, they don’t want to purchase multiple ones….well MS gives you a replacement…for FREE, at no expense to you. To be honest, that’s the only mistake MS made, but at least they are backing it up with their wallet.
When was the last time in a console war the console that came out the games weren’t a step above the “old” console right off the bat? NEVER, until this generation.
The Sony hype machine is still going strong and I honestly believe that they pay people to hype their system on forums. Actually, I wouldn’t put it past them as they had that website “AllIWantForChristmasisMyPSP.com” remember that? What a joke, Sony got busted trying to make a site seem like it was just a fan site.
Also, what ever happened to TWO HDMI ports and running games on 2 TV’s in 1080p each? LOL…Sony announced it, but never delivered. (It was dumb anyway, most people don’t have 2 HDTV’s to use at the same time for games).
Its clear that the real gamers play on a 360. The only thing PS3 has over 360 now that HD DVD is dead, is blu ray. PS3 owner constantly ignore the fact that Cross platform games have been better on the 360 almost all of the time. I’m still waiting for a game that can’t be done on the 360…yet it still hasn’t arrived.
Sure the developers have to learn to program for cell because of its complexity…but isn’t THAT a weakness? If YOU made a game and could make console A move a car across the screen in 1 day, and console B took a week and the graphics are still choppy, guess what? Console B is doing something drastically wrong.
Some quick facts…
1. PSN Network - Sure it’s free, But you get what you pay for, its not even in the same league as Xbox Live. $50 a year is nothing, for a network that destroys the competition.
a. There is no mic standard, so most people don’t have mics…and when they do, the mic quality is not consistent so people don’t always sound clear.
b. No in game chat with players not in the game…yes its coming, but is should have been there from day 1. Sony does that trick a lot….promise things and don’t deliver it until they HAVE to.
c. No cohesive friends list…which is huge.
2. Can’t play custom soundtracks with EVERYGAME.
3. No GAMES worth buying the system for!
4. BLU-RAY DRIVE…..it loads data too slow! Sure they have a HD in every system, but this is a console…not a PC. Installs shouldn’t be mandatory for some games.
5. Still NO RUMBLE. Yea, its coming, but almost 2 years later. ‘Last gens’ tech….what a joke. 360 games had rumble from day 1.
March 12th, 2008
at 6:28 am
@ Andy
The 360 graphics processor is actually better than the PS3’s….and thats a fact.
March 12th, 2008
at 7:27 am
Reason why 360 doesn’t sell in Japan.
Accuracy is the lowest as the industrial commodity.
The sales promotion activity is not done.
The technical term is used too much.
The manual is not attached.
The response of Microsoft is the worst.
The noise is cruel.
It breaks down at once.
March 12th, 2008
at 10:22 am
come on guys!!!! sh’t 360 sucks!!!!!! what more evidence do you need??
heetsink did not work, the fan was to small, gpu and cpu was no good mother board etc…..
XBL is no good plus RROD break downs. microsoft slap 360 together and hopeing no one realize how crappy it is. and for the love of God. ppl still buying this unfinish crappy console. why?????? XBL is not all that. so what it has good online games. I agree with “japen user” and Im a american!!! the first xbox was to big, to bulky. microsoft discontinue it to fast. and out of panic m$ slap together the birth of RROD console the 360 is dead from begining the new name for the console is “the XBOX RROD” console haaaaaaa ,haaaaaa,haaaaaa how dare microsoft try to compete with sony or nintendo. microsoft need to go back under its software rock and do what they do best ” add new app. to old applications and sell it as something new which really is an old app. painted new. haaaaaaaa microsoft you guys really a joke.
March 12th, 2008
at 10:34 am
dont make a deal with microsoft on the blu-ray issue. cuz that would be seriously crazy
and another reason for sony to struggle. hell american gamers would eat up the chance to hinder sony’s advancement if that deal fell threw. if blu-ray is keeping ps3 afloat that would be crazy on sony part. money not everything for christ sake. I personally would like to see the 360 suffer and die out like neo-geo 3DO and poor ol saga dreamcast.
March 12th, 2008
at 10:36 am
I hope sony dont make a deal with microsoft on the blu-ray issue. cuz that would be seriously crazy
and another reason for sony to struggle. hell american gamers would eat up the chance to hinder sony’s advancement if that deal fell threw. if blu-ray is keeping ps3 afloat that would be crazy on sony part. money not everything for christ sake. I personally would like to see the 360 suffer and die out like neo-geo 3DO and poor ol saga dreamcast.
March 12th, 2008
at 11:51 am
1. PSN Network - Sure it’s free, But you get what you pay for, its not even in the same league as Xbox Live. $50 a year is nothing, for a network that destroys the competition.
–LOL? “a network that destroys the competition” are you shitting me? Enjoy your 4v4 and 8v8 player matches on your “superior” laggy *** !P2P! service. While us PSN users enjoy DEDICATED SERVERS and play some 16v16/30v30/etc FOR FREE.
a. There is no mic standard, so most people don’t have mics…and when they do, the mic quality is not consistent so people don’t always sound clear.
–No mic standard? Sony gives you more than enough options. You can use ANY BLUETOOTH OR USB headset that you have lying around or you can buy them cheap online for $5. I had an old logitech usb headset for my PC that I use for PSN.
b. No in game chat with players not in the game…yes its coming, but is should have been there from day 1. Sony does that trick a lot….promise things and don’t deliver it until they HAVE to.
–Yeah…like how M$ should have had HDMI, HDD, etc standard - they “weren’t needed” for this gen right? They sure changed their minds quick when they heard all PS3s would have HDMI standard.
c. No cohesive friends list…which is huge.
2. Can’t play custom soundtracks with EVERYGAME.
–Comes with home, but yes this is true. There are only a few games that allow custom soundtracks at the moment.
3. No GAMES worth buying the system for!
–Old flame is ooooold. There are plenty of games worth buying now. Not to mention the PS3’s 2008 lineup is amazing. Hell, I could say any 360 game worth playing I could just play on my PC, not the dumbed down console version.
4. BLU-RAY DRIVE…..it loads data too slow! Sure they have a HD in every system, but this is a console…not a PC. Installs shouldn’t be mandatory for some games.
–Oh please. If you happened to look at the transfer rates they’re exactly the same, on top of that BD drives read at CONSTANT rate, unlike DVD which fluctuates - not to mention dual-layer DVDs read even slower than single layer ones. One lame *** developer adding a 20min install =/= all games require an install. I have 16 games and only ONE game requires an install - and that’s DMC4.
5. Still NO RUMBLE. Yea, its coming, but almost 2 years later. ‘Last gens’ tech….what a joke. 360 games had rumble from day 1.
–The PS3 has standard HDMI, HDD, rechargeable packs, BD, wifi, etc etc etc - since day 1.
You know what’s a joke? People defending M$ when they clearly rip them off? WTF? $100 for wifi? $20 to be able to CHARGE your controller? Last-gen format? $50/year for laggy P2P online play? Dead HD-format? You can’t even download demos in the first week without a gold membership? $100 for a TWENTY GB and $180 for a 120gb hdd? Seirously? I could buy a 320gb 2.5″ SATA drive for my PS3 for that much money. lame.
March 12th, 2008
at 12:03 pm
@Jinkster
They are almost identical. What sets the PS3 apart is it’s processor, it can actually help with graphics processing. Which is why games exclusive for the PS3 are the best looking games around - they haven’t even been able to use the full power of the processor yet because of coding issues, but it is possible - expect games to get better and better looking as time goes on.
March 12th, 2008
at 12:04 pm
LOL? Look at you XBOTS defending your little WANNA-BE-PC-IN-CONSOLE-FORM breakbox 3fixme.
hahaha.
Seriously, I have a PC that pwns the 360. Not mention it doesn’t break every 15 minutes. Way to fail M$, use off-the-shelf PC parts from 2005 to build some POS shell of a console that’s missing a lot of standard equipment.
Seriously weak. You guys are seriously M$ crotch lickers.
March 12th, 2008
at 4:49 pm
@streamspeed
Lets not even get into the PC market.
You may have a PC that owns your 360, but you paid MUCH more money to get it that way. The graphics SHOULD be better.
Also, my 360 is still going and its a launch console.
March 12th, 2008
at 4:54 pm
@huhuhu
You are right, they are close, but the work involved to get the graphics better is costly. I’m sure the graphics will get better, but my point is that that the 360 has had more consistantly really good graphics in its games and the games themselves have consistantly been better.
And its still an issue for the PS3 going into its 2nd year., by time they really get good for the PS3, we all will be looking to go on to the next generation of consoles.
March 12th, 2008
at 5:45 pm
Its funny how everyone mentions the RROD on the 360.but I recall real well how the PS2 had the “disc read error” problem. Sony knew about the problem and almost did nothing to fix it. Funny scince they were selling so many of them, My friends and I all had ps2 and we all got the damn “disc read error” problem and sony didnt fix that for free. Sony charged all of us $140 to fix the problem. Micorsoft is fixing the RROD for free,and everyone who paid to have that fixed, got a refund before the warrenty was extended. And that is another thing they did, was extend the warrenty to 3 years on all there consoles. Sony didnt do that with the ps2 knowing well that alot of the ps2’s were defective. They’re not going to do that with the ps3 ither.Now I know that the ps3 dosent have the amount of problems as the ps2 or xbox 360 had, but judging how they handled the “disc read error” problem of the ps2, if the ps3 were to have any problem like that come up, they would make the cosumers pay for it just like they did with the ps2.You got to give MS some credit for fixing what was wrong with the 360 by do the repair work for free and then going beyond that by extendind the warrenty to 3 years.
March 12th, 2008
at 5:49 pm
@roofledoofle
“–LOL? “a network that destroys the competition” are you shitting me? Enjoy your 4v4 and 8v8 player matches on your “superior” laggy *** !P2P! service. While us PSN users enjoy DEDICATED SERVERS and play some 16v16/30v30/etc FOR FREE.”
PSN DOES NOT have DEDICATED SERVERS!!!! Go do your Homework! I admit, SOME games have it, but SO DOES XBOX LIVE!!!!
“–No mic standard? Sony gives you more than enough options. You can use ANY BLUETOOTH OR USB headset that you have lying around or you can buy them cheap online for $5. I had an old logitech usb headset for my PC that I use for PSN.”
Like I said….MOST people don’t have mics because of it! That SUCKS. Also, because of lack of standard when someone DOES have a mic, they sound horrible.
“–Oh please. If you happened to look at the transfer rates they’re exactly the same, on top of that BD drives read at CONSTANT rate, unlike DVD which fluctuates - not to mention dual-layer DVDs read even slower than single layer ones. One lame *** developer adding a 20min install =/= all games require an install. I have 16 games and only ONE game requires an install - and that’s DMC4.”
Not True. DVD 16x transfer speeds are faster than Blu-ray 2x….KNOWN FACT.
“You know what’s a joke? People defending M$ when they clearly rip them off? WTF? $100 for wifi? $20 to be able to CHARGE your controller? Last-gen format? $50/year for laggy P2P online play? Dead HD-format? You can’t even download demos in the first week without a gold membership? $100 for a TWENTY GB and $180 for a 120gb hdd? Seirously? I could buy a 320gb 2.5? SATA drive for my PS3 for that much money. lame.”
you know whats a JOKE?
-PS3 NO HD video cables in the box!
-30 FPS in Madden. when 360 has 60 FPS.
-Consistantly putting out sub par games to the 360 when its supposed to be more powerful.
-Silent players on a multiplayer game, cause 3 out of 30 people have mics!
-Still WAITING for rumble and HOME. How long are you going to wait? LOL. Like I said, ALMOST 2 YEARS!!!
-Still no games worth getting the system for!!! Yes, there are games COMING out, BUT THEY ARE NOT OUT YET.
-Controllers that die after 10 hours of play.
-$40 for a DEMO! GT 5 Prologue! Come on, the system has been out for almost 2 years and they STILL can’t make the full version LAME.
BTW, I had PS1 and PS2, but I’m not blinded like most consumers. Real gamers are on to Sony’s tricks!
March 12th, 2008
at 9:44 pm
PC??????XBOX360????????
PC???????????????????
PS3????????
????BLUERAYDISC?????PS3????????
March 12th, 2008
at 9:50 pm
XBOX360 games is not only XBOX360
i can buy PC GAMES
PS3 GAMES is not released for PC
i bought PS3 for Anime Blueray Disc
March 13th, 2008
at 4:36 am
interesting thread. I have a bunch of consoles… Non of which are sony… Just never got around to getting one. I have a game cube, wii, xbox (just to mod and make into a media pc) and a 360.. The only reason I got the 360 is someone was stupid enough to sell it to me for 50bucks with controllers, hard drive and hd cables (Standard I know). It was RROD and they sent it off To MS to be fixed but it was rejected because it was modded.. Well I fixed it in under an hour with 8 dollars worth of parts from home Depot.. Cheapest Console EVER! :)
Anyhow my buddy has a ps3… the graphics are close between the two but I much prefer the 360 to the ps3 in Call of duty.. The ps3 won’t play in 1080p which is huge when the native res of your tv is 1080p not 720p. 720 p on a native 1080p tv blows.. it looks awful ( to my eye anyhow) You have to disable 720i and 720p on the console settings to have the ps3 output at 1080p in the game.. That is a joke… The 360 outputs EVERY game in 1080 (up scales if it has too)
MY buddy had to buy the hd cable and extra controllers and the total bill came in well above 600$. I just a bought an arcade (falcon mother board (65 NM cpu and reduce gpu chip) for $299 ( i didn’t need the HD) I bought the arcade because I wanted a second media center in the bedroom and wanted to see if did run that much cooler (it not even warm to the touch).
All this being said I love the 360.. There are sooo many games for it that I love playing. Used games can easily be found for 10 to 30$ as sooo many people have 360s vs the ps3.
I personally don’t see the draw of the ps3… The 360 had the RROD issues from lack of product testing prior to launching but they stood up and fixed the problem.. We will have to see how the latest revisions hold up over time.. If they are truely fixed then I think they will do well..
Good thing about the RROD issues makes picking one up CHEAP really easy if you are at all technical savy (im a network admin).. if You have a PS3, buy a RROD 360, apply the x-lamp mod and test the 360 for yourself :)
I will probally get a ps3 in the future as My Girl friend grew up with Playstations and wants wants one just because.
ANyhow this is another biased, pointless post…
March 13th, 2008
at 10:30 am
“…My Girl friend grew up with Playstations and wants wants one just because…”
The playstation market in a nutshell
March 14th, 2008
at 3:53 pm
You could fool her and give her a PS2 instead … ‘Look, it says Playstation’ now lets play Buzz.
April 12th, 2008
at 10:16 pm
leathersoup you sir are a moron. thats why the US market is bigger then Japan….yeah we love being number one so take it. btw what 3rd dump are you from?
April 12th, 2008
at 10:17 pm
forgot WORLD after 3rd.. Man see how easy it is to forgot about you nobodys.
May 10th, 2008
at 10:59 pm
I don’t know why everyone is arguing the “PS3 is better than 360″ thing, what it comes down to it is brand loyalty. I have had 4 360’s because of RROD BUT i keep coming back to it because XBL is amazing and the games look stunning,I also have a PS3 because I love some PS3 games but I have been disappointed at the weak graphics(for all the hype that PS3 put into it)but I still own it and play it. As for Japan, MS should pull out and concentrate on other markets because they lost the battle in japan and Japanese game designers will still make games for the xbox(money is still universal).