Posted on 11/20/2005 11:06:54 PM PST by CAWats
Microsoft's (MSFT) grand plan to take the lead in the video game console business from rival Sony (SNE) gets under way Tuesday when the software king releases its next-generation game machine — the Xbox 360.
Microsoft is counting on its head start over Sony's next console, the PlayStation 3, to give it an edge this time around. PS3 won't hit the market until next spring.
The Xbox 360 goes on sale Tuesday in North America, Dec. 3 in Europe and Dec. 10 in Japan. The company expects to sell up to 3 million consoles in the first 90 days.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
Video game ping.
My son has been keeping up with this. MSFT is artificially limiting the number of boxes shipped in the US to drive up interest. He pre-ordered the X360 and has learned that many who pre-ordered the box will not be receiving them in the first shipment. They may not even receive theirs until after Christmas.
He pre-ordered the xbox 360 and 8 new games. If they tell him he won't be able to receive his pre-order, he'll cancel and wait for the PS3. He says the graphics are better and it will be backwards compatible with the older games. The x360 is not backwards compatible with all of its games.
If the PS3 does everything Sony says it can do, it will really be an advancement in gaming. I just hope they don't institute some of the security protections my son says they are considering.
Sony will be going cash poor defending lawsuits regarding the damage their DVDs are doing to computers.
I think that is going to be their big story all next year.
CDs
What...the kind that roots your computer and leaves it open to explotation by automated intrusion agents (worms) while it charges you an arm and a leg?
Oh BOY! Where do I sign up?? (/sarcasm)
CDs? Holy S, that is going to be a much higher potential for damage then than their DVD movies.
That is going to be one large lawsuit.
Don't forget their CDs are doing the same bloody thing.
Crackers across the world thank them.
Yep, they can be in quite the lawsuit causing trouble to many folks computers, especially in businesses where money is lost.
Sony Computer Entertainment is not Sony BMG. Hell, SCE is the only profitable division Sony has left.
It's a stretch to say the rootkit DRM crap from Sony BMG will reflect on the PS3.
For the same price as a X360 I can get a decent gaming PC with better graphics, no?
If they have separate corporations for doing this, I think it would not.
Im not sure.
Indeed. Sony is a conglomerate, with a central HQ corporation controlling the various divisions. But the divisions themselves have little to do with each other. What precisely would Sony BMG, a music company, do with Sony Computer Entertainment, a video game company? The PlayStation can play music CDs: that's about all Sony BMG really cares about as far as the PlayStation goes.
Thanks for the Sony information. My son was really concerned about that. I'm sure with all of Sony's negative publicity lately the decision to kill all that special security talk came quickly.
The graphics in either console's case will probably not be very distinguishable without an HDTV.
Games do determine the system and according to my son, Microsoft is falling into the same trap that Sony did with the PS2. Many of the games that they announced would be ready for the X360 release have been pushed back. My son originally ordered many more games, but they will probably not be released until next summer.
The new Nintendo System sounds very interesting, especially to an "old lady" like me. They have staked out a niche and they appear to be making an excellent attempt to accommodate it. In fact, whoever loses the Sony / Microsoft battle may very well end up being third in the game console wars.
True, only one segment of the company would be sued off the face of the earth and at most the residual problems would only be the publicity on their stock.
It would be bad, but not a complete disaster.
That is why companies form corporations.
Consoles are usually stable; PCs need to be constantly upgraded to play the latest titles when consoles can easily duplicate all but the highest-grade titles. For instance, Half-Life 2 was ported from PC to the Xbox, and it looks like the exact same thing.
And CA Guy, did you know that Sony's Playstation brand is the only thing left keeping them afloat? As hard as it is to believe, ever since the Gamecube/PS2/Xbox phase of the console wars began, Nintendo's the only one who's posted a profit. Microsoft and Sony have actually LOST money... but Microsoft is better off than Sony, because they have Windows and Bill Gates. :P
Now, you can order a cheap PC clone that has a so-so graphics card, however you would be severely limited in the types of games you could play on it (and the quality of game play you would get). To have a top-of-the-line gaming PC requires either a lot of effort and a nice cache of cash, or a whole lot of money if you do not want to upgrade your own stuff and instead opt to buy one of the uber gaming PCs out there (like some of the swankier AlienWare gaming PCs ....you can get a base AlienWare PC for as little as 800 bucks, but the premier gaming PCs can go up to 5,000 for the Area-51 ALX Alienware).
To get a PC that has what you stated ('better graphics' than the 360) would definitely mean looking at some of the upper echelon gaming PCs (like the Area-51 ALX). You would have to spend many times the cost of a 360 to get that quality (or you can build one yourself, and for the type of quality you are after it would still cost you a pretty penny for the components).
Also consider that the XBox360 has 3 core processors (with an oomph factor of 3.2 Ghz EACH), A 500mHZ graphics card, and bring forth the games in HDTV (you do need a HDTV to get the full benefit, but even with a granny tv one can still see a difference).
Anyways, a true gaming PC is a beast when it comes to power and performance, however it will cost you. You can get the same performance in a console for much less ....far far less. You can always get a 'decent' gaming PC, however if you want decent it will not come close to what the 360 can offer. I'd say that unless one is one of those hard-core gamers (eg the ones that go for annual game competitions in Vegas, and use truly upper-end PCs) then a console like the new 360, the upcoming PS3 or even the current PS2/XBox should be more than enough.
"Nintendo's the only one who's posted a profit. Microsoft and Sony have actually LOST money... "
Isn’t that because the profit’s in games? I heard consoles are sold as a loss leader, in the hope that the profits will be recuperated when the games are sold. If Nintendo’s the only one making a profit then I guess it’s because they do their own games. I presume that bags them a better margin than the royalties Micorsoft and Sony get for the games for their systems.
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