Xbox 360

[milohimself]

I still play GT4 every week. Forza has been collecting dust, and I'm holding off on Forza 2... I still haven't heard a clear answer on this system crashing business.

I agree though. After playing Halo 2 on XBox Live religiously, I don't really have a taste for online play anymore.

[milohimself]

Originally Posted by vol_freak

You were a Halo fanboy. We all know that Halo is the only reason xbox is still around. Pretty good game to debut a console with. Probably the best ever.

(All that said, I don't really like Halo).

Yeah, XBox made it... The problems are similar, too. XBox was new, it took developers time to come around to it. PS3 has a lot going on before developers get used to making games for it. Still, the XBox didn't have nearly the second year the PS3 is poised to have. And before you conclude that the games don't have much buzz... They don't stateside. They do internationally. Most people may not shell out $600 for a system just to play Final Fantasy in the US, but they will in Japan and Europe.

[vol_freak]

Originally Posted by milohimself

I still play GT4 every week. Forza has been collecting dust, and I'm holding off on Forza 2... I still haven't heard a clear answer on this system crashing business.

I agree though. After playing Halo 2 on XBox Live religiously, I don't really have a taste for online play anymore.

Some people still play pole position but that doesn't mean it's the greatest ever. I think the Forza2 crashing business is laughable. Although better safe than sorry.

If you are basing your whole online experience on Halo2, no wonder you don't like it.

[vols kick balls]

Pole position was awesome

[vol_freak]

Originally Posted by vols kick balls

Pole position was awesome

Actually, it was.

[vols kick balls]

I still play is everynow and then on those plug and play things.

[milohimself]

Originally Posted by vol_freak

Some people still play pole position but that doesn't mean it's the greatest ever. I think the Forza2 crashing business is laughable. Although better safe than sorry.

If you are basing your whole online experience on Halo2, no wonder you don't like it.

I mean, I've played GOW online. I've played Madden online. GRAW. Lost Planet. The list goes on. It never holds my attention. I like continuous storylines driving me to keep playing, not leveling up or having a good team experience online. Just different tastes, man.

As for Forza 2... Still undecided on it. For a fun sim experience, I still like GT4 better. As for customizing cars every now and then, I like the Fast And Furious video game. More actual aftermarket brands that I know and love.

[rwemyss]

Originally Posted by milohimself

Yeah, XBox made it... The problems are similar, too. XBox was new, it took developers time to come around to it. PS3 has a lot going on before developers get used to making games for it. Still, the XBox didn't have nearly the second year the PS3 is poised to have. And before you conclude that the games don't have much buzz... They don't stateside. They do internationally. Most people may not shell out $600 for a system just to play Final Fantasy in the US, but they will in Japan and Europe.

This is like saying soccer is the best sport ever b/c it is by far the largest worldwide. Americans could care less about that argument. To them, football reigns supreme.

[DrRosenRosen]

And frankly, the Japanese market today isn't the supreme commander it once was. It's the middle of the 3 markets, but Europe is gaining quick. You don't need the Japanese market like you did 10 years ago and the industry definately shows that.

But who cares...I don't work for MS for profit from them. Just pointing out that the market has shifted quite a bit the last 5-10 years and the US, as the largest market, has the most influence on gaming right now.

[milohimself]

Originally Posted by rwemyss

This is like saying soccer is the best sport ever b/c it is by far the largest worldwide. Americans could care less about that argument. To them, football reigns supreme.

Yeah, but I was trying to say that the Playstation would be more successful.

To use your comparison, I wasn't pointing out that soccer is the best sport ever. I was pointing out that it is the most popular.

If you compare the PS3 and XBox 360 since launch, they've performed about the same sales-wise. However, since the PS3 has a higher price tag and had a weaker launch period than the 360, that leads me to believe it will do better once things get up and running, and the library actually gets good.

It's a battle for second place though. I think it's already fairly clear that Nintendo is the big winner of this generation with the number of Wii consoles sold worldwide to match the XBox 360 in less than half the time, while operating more profitably than Sony and Microsoft.

And Rosen, I still think you're undervaluing the Japanese market. It may not be as big of a consumer market as the US, but developers in Japan always cater directly to their own market, and the biproduct always seems to be a lot of great games. More than what American and European makers can put out. Microsoft just simply doesn't sell there, while Sony and Nintendo do. It took Sony about one month to beat out Microsoft, and Nintendo sold more Wiis on launch day than there are XBox 360's in the country currently. That means the exclusivity and increased support goes to Sony and Nintendo.

Microsoft needs to figure out a way to appeal to the common Japanese gamer if they're going to make a serious run at world domination. The XBox 360 might have the US market pinned, but if things continue currently, I don't see any reason why the PS3 won't be the bigger dog at the end of the day. They may not have the consumer numbers, but they do have the developer numbers.

[rwemyss]

I think you missed my point... since the audience you are speaking to isn't Japanese, but American, the argument for which is "more popular worldwide" is nullified. The 360 is more popular in the US ATM, and the reason is the games for the PS3 just aren't there, while the 360 has a pretty good library... even without Halo 3, which will just make this thing all the more important to the American gamer.

[milohimself]

Shut up, Wemus.

[milohimself]

Nah, I know. I readily admit the XBox 360 is currently a better system. And I don't doubt that the 360 will ultimately be more successful than the PS3 in the US. It's because, as many of you have so clearly stated, the new wave in US video gaming is online play, which just doesn't jive with me.

And that's just the way it is. XBox Live is a fantastic online system, and the catalogue of XBox games grows ever more reliant on that system for their high quality. Nothing wrong with that. Lots of people play them online, they're high-quality in that regard.

I feel that ultimately the PS3 will have slightly more success worldwide than the 360, while the 360 will have the American market... Of course, with the Wii dominating them both.

100% offline gaming is my deal. I'd rather devote 100 hours to a storyline than to online multiplayer matches.

[Arclight]

Will there ever be a price reduction for the 360 ?

[milohimself]

Yes. All systems drop in price over time, due to increases of efficiency in the manufacturing process, and demand going down.