PS3 vs XBox 360

There just isn't a magic bullet to this debate. It's many factors playing together with a kind of "tally sheet" that still could come out with an unclear result based on the unpredictable nature of humans. So, here are some of the major factors I see (numbered for convenience, not ranked in any way):

1) First to market
2) Price
3) Features
4) Technology advancement
5) Accessory price
6) "fun" value with friends and family
7) Killer apps
Marketing
9) Timing

Here's a few examples that I'll talk through to show why there are so many variables: Betamax, Laser Disc, XBox, XBox 360, iPhone and Starbucks (had to throw that in - I love my Starbucks)

Betamax
Pretty obvious argument for most of you out there, but as a quick refresher Betamax was by far the superior product in quality and came out a full year PRIOR to VHS hitting the market. So, by the "first to market" argument, Betamax wins, right? Obviously not - we all know that the format. So, what caused VHS to come out on top? A mixture of factors - first, VHS had much better marketing. Also, it hit the market with a greater variety of choices in movies and quickly became a cheaper alternative to consumers. But, the critical factor? Recording length - yup, that simple thing - Betamax tapes came out and recorded at 60 minutes. Not so good for movies. VHS tapes recorded 3 hours at the time which was a clear winner. Boom - game over. Interesting side note – like in the HD DVD vs Blu-Ray formats, there were manufacturers on both sides and Sony sided with Betamax.

Laser Disc
Well, here’s an interesting example because it was the only player in the market – these discs were kinda cool looking and had an entire movie where you could skip instantly to scenes instead of moving in a linear format like with tape. Sound like anything you know (cough hint DVD cough)? But, I’m betting most of you reading this have an instant image of the HUGE F-ING DISCS in your head right now and you’re right – they were freaking huge. Bigger than a record and heavier by far, it was a superior format sooner to market that was in an unattractive package and had poor marketing.

Xbox
An unknown gaming system from Microsoft? Yeah, they didn’t have a chance…. Until, that is, for XBL. I’ll give Microsoft props for the killer app that was known as “Halo” (or to my ex-wife, the thing that takes my husband away for weekends), but the thing that put MS on the map was Xbox Live. I beta-tested XBL and it was clunky, had connection issues, etc but was the coolest thing ever in community gaming long before World of Warcraft was a time suck. It meant that I didn’t have to string wires everywhere and setup multiple TVs (this was when TV’s had tubes, kids – yeah, they weighed a lot and took up all kinds of room. It’s true. And we had to carry them up hill through the snow!) to play with our friends. It meant that when the spouse said it was time to do something else, we could move on with the click of a button. It meant so much when no one else had it.

Xbox 360
First to market meant something, but again it was the seasoned backbone of XBL that made it happen with some good apps (COD4, Halo 2, etc) that made it stay on top when Playstation swung with the PS3. There are good games on the PS3, but the backbone of XBL is killer. Imagine if Playstation had come out with a system comparable with XBL – not even better, just basically the same. Things may be different – but they didn’t. They came up with a bastardized model trying to pretend on the surface to compete but showing off it’s blemishes quickly through a few test drives.

iPhone
First to market? Nope – Microsoft beat them by years with the Smartphone. I could write for days on this subject because it’s near and dear to my heart. I owned multiple devices before my iPhone and was so frustrated with the issues that led to my switch that I now feel somewhat knowledgeable. I’ll just hit a few points, though, because I’m tired of typing. First, the Smartphone or the Windows CE product or the… oh, ouch – yeah, multiple Microsoft operating systems for multiple devices with multiple names and multiple versions…. TOO OPEN. iPhone is a closed system. As a quick side note – Mac is a closed system but has never realistically challenged the standard PC for market share, but there are some key differences – iPhone was groundbreaking in putting things together in a closed system with a better screen than ever seen in a device that size. So, developers took a chance and a few stories of developers becoming overnight millionairs and – boom – apps drove the iphone’s success. Mac is a specialized, closed system without many apps – yeah, it’s good, but it won’t be mainstream unless there’s a change.

Starbucks
Not the first to market by any stretch – you and I both had coffee before Starbucks. But, they were first to add service muscle behind the coffee and provide a cool place to go to get said coffee. Yeah, it costs more to get the ambiance and good service, but the coffee is consistent. A controlled environment brought to us by a rigorously trained staff means that millions of people are happy to pay the extra money to go there. Even if you aren’t.

Summary
My basic point is this: there are a ton of things at play, here. First to market counts only if the other factors are in place to a degree. Being second or third to market is fine if your other factors are strong enough. Marketing didn’t get any play in my paragraphs above, but is absolutely huge itself. Blu-Ray had great marketing – HD DVD not so much. HD DVD was as good as Blu Ray in quality, but didn’t have the support and Blu-Ray was wrapped into PS3 from the beginning, giving it a boost in sales. Price point makes a difference a lot of times, but the accessibility and applications make a huge deal as well. The Wii was cheaper but had years old graphics – yet the technology hadn’t been seen in mass-media form ever before. And, it was kid friendly. Instant success. Microsoft will be very late to market with its upcoming competitor but if it’s done right, it could regain that aspect of the market. XBL did very well teaming up with the successful Netflix service, so this could work too.

Literally, I could discuss the points mentioned above for hours and still have more to talk about – I just want to make clear that any one thing on it’s own isn’t enough. Being first to market matters not at all without a lot of other factors and vice versa.