deucedriver
Shared on Wed, 02/14/2007 - 13:11X-box 360
If you dust off the cobwebs and think back to the release of the orginal X-box, you'll remember Microsoft's marketing plan for the entire X-box franchise. The original was just a foot in the door so to speak. It was out later than the PS2, it was from the "evil company" from WA, and Sony Fanboys were laughing - how could they ever compete?
There was always a long term plan for the console to be a way to enter the living room and be ever more present in our lives. The X-box 360 is the next iteration in this plan and I have to say MS has done a great job. Oh, there have been some issues here and there, but overall, being first to market, making life easier for developers, pushing online play in generation one so that it was polished for the 360, and not worrying about HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray were great decisions. More about the HD and online decisions later.
Now, over a year after launch the console is mature, has more great games on the way than most people can play and is really hitting its stride. As media extender it also does a great job - the invasion of America's living room is underway.
PS3
The king of gaming! How could they falter? Well, falter they have.
Remember back to introduction of the PS3, Wii and 360. Sony laughed at MS claiming they were rushing to market, there was no HD movie solution, there would be no games since there was no time to develop! Remember even further back to the PS2 vs X-box war when Sony criticized MS for including online access claiming there were not enough people with broadband to make it worthwhile.
Sony had a year to "perfect" the PS3 and get all those great games ready to bury the X-box once and for all. So here we are and we have (drumroll please).... Resistance:Fall of Man. Wow. Developers are griping about the console and the online system, well, it's not X-box Live to say the least. The biggest event for Sony now - the release of GoW II on the PS2. Come on! Maybe I'm a little harsh, but this is mismanagement and blundering on a massive scale.
On the plus side: the console is powerful, sleek, and games are sure to come. I'm looking forward to them. In the meantime I have to play the already great games on the 360. If the same game is out on both consoles which will I choose? Read my previous blog post to find out.
There are so many PS2's in the world that eventually a significant number of people will migrate. Unfortunately for Sony they have allowed MS to make serious inroads into the market and erode their market share.
Wii
- Sun Tzu
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War
Apparently someone at Nintendo is reading their Sun Tzu. Nintendo has pulled off a coup and was very smart about this console generation.
There was no reason to attack MS and Sony head-on. Going for the "serious" gamer would have been carnage. They avoided "what is strong" and attacked a weak point for both MS and Sony - the casual and family gamers. What they did is amazing, but the story isn't finished yet.
The Wii is a lot of fun. My wife loves it, the kids love it and it's something we can all do together. The question will be is it more than a gimmick? Will there be millions of Wiis unused this time next year? The trick is going to be generating new games that use the controller in a unique way. The Wii will always be great for play with people new to gaming, but we'll have to wait and see if it has legs.
If you want a fun system to play with family and friends, you will like the Wii. You may want to try it out first to see if you won't get bored with it in the future. Even though it costs less than the other consoles, once you take into account another controller and games, it's still a hefty investment.
In my opinion, the Wii is so different from the other consoles it is in a category by itself. You really can't compare it with the PS3 and 360. It stands alone.
Some Random Thoughts about the Wii, 360 and PS3
The real "next-gen" battle for serious gamers is between the 360 and PS3. If you are a serious gamer and have a family or want to play with your non-gamer friends, you will probably end up with a Wii and either a 360 or PS3.
MS really got caught with their pants down with the Internet. Remember Netscape? MS had to play catch-up. They are a smart company and weren't going to be caught again. I think that is why they pushed broadband play on the X-box, and now it is a wonderful product on the 360.
Irony
Sony laughed at the online gaming movement in the previous generation and decided to offer it as an add-on later.
Microsoft laughed at delaying a product to include some sort of HD movie experience in this generation and instead offer it (HD-DVD and movie downloads) as an add-on later.
Who's further ahead now?
The promise of another year of game development by Sony did not bear any fruit. In hindsight, maybe they should have ditched the Blu-Ray and just launched their product at the same time as MS. I think things would be a lot different now.
It will be fun to revisit this topic next year and see where we are.
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Comments
Submitted by the5thchild on Wed, 02/14/2007 - 13:44