The Official Console Talk Thread

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:23 am

macsomjrr wrote:I've heard rumors talking about Apple trying to enter the gaming arena with a gaming option of their own.

Based on someone that I know that they just hired recently... this is likely true.

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:57 am

kevinpars wrote:You know, at first the idea of MS charging $179 for a larger hard drive did not really bother me - especially since it does not affect me in the least since I have never come close to filling my 20 gig drive. But the more I think about it, the more I think that MS is biting the hand that feeds them. The people who most want the larger hard drive are the people who have gone full force into the digital media downloads and want the space for all of the movies they rent and TV shows that they buy. I would think that MS would be better off taking a loss on the hardware and making it up with the digital media sales/rentals.

The longer this battle for the next generation goes on, the more I feel like MS is not taking advantage of their lead. It is like when a baseball team loads the bases with no outs and only scores one run. You just get the feeling that later in the game they will be wishing they had done more when they had the chance.

I agree. I don't think $180 is that high for a bigger hdd, but not 120 gigs. Maybe 200-300gigs would be fair. I mean, why not give them bigger hdd so they can buy more streaming media?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 2:18 pm

kevinpars wrote:The longer this battle for the next generation goes on, the more I feel like MS is not taking advantage of their lead. It is like when a baseball team loads the bases with no outs and only scores one run. You just get the feeling that later in the game they will be wishing they had done more when they had the chance.

I completely agree. MS should be trying to expand their advantage over the PS3 and fend off the Wii at this point, and they attempt to do this by bringing out an even more expensive version of their console? This seems like such a me-too product that's too focused on a technical pissing match with Sony instead of something that will bring in new customers to the XBox brand.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 2:47 pm

Dave wrote:I completely agree. MS should be trying to expand their advantage over the PS3 and fend off the Wii at this point, and they attempt to do this by bringing out an even more expensive version of their console? This seems like such a me-too product that's too focused on a technical pissing match with Sony instead of something that will bring in new customers to the XBox brand.

Absolutely. That's what gaming has become now in this day of $400-600 next-gen systems -- a hardware pissing match.

Neither system manufacturer trumpets the great lineup of SOFTWARE for its systems other than graphics capability. Maybe that's because there ISN'T a great, innovative lineup for either system.

Instead, Sony and MS are trying to out-HDMI each other, out-GB each other, out-mHZ each other, out-nM chip size each other, etc., etc.

Both have forgotten that innovative, fun software is what drives the gaming train.

It reminds me a lot of Formula One racing in this decade. The powers that run the sport and the manufacturers are bickering over engine size, aerodynamic aids, traction control, electronics, revenue distribution and more non-racing stuff ad nauseum, while the racing on track is more uninspiring than ever.

I'm sure some people are rolling their eyes since I'm one of the last of the next-gen holdouts. True. But the reason I hold out is because there's absolutely NOTHING I've seen from a hardware or software perspective that makes me think the PS3 or 360 are three to five times better than their predecessors, yet Sony and MS are charging anywhere from three to five times more for their new systems than the predecessors.

I just don't see the value in the next gen, especially with the over-emphasis on hardware and graphics. I play games for quality gameplay experiences, not gee-whiz hardware and pretty pictures. From what I've played on next-gen systems, and I'll admit it's not a long list, nothing has blown me away as a quality gameplay experience that fits MY needs.

So in the words of the late Johnnie Cochran, "If the system does not fit, then I think it's sh*t."

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 3:26 am

Cool little QWERTY keyboard add-on eventually coming for the 360...for those of you who like to message.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6615

And a nice little update for the 360 firmware in Early May as well.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6835

I love the fact that the achievements will actually tell you what you accomplished now.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:34 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:Cool little QWERTY keyboard add-on eventually coming for the 360...for those of you who like to message.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6615

And a nice little update for the 360 firmware in Early May as well.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6835

I love the fact that the achievements will actually tell you what you accomplished now.

Yea, I think the QWERTY is cool, not sure how well I would like it attached while playing so I would probably unplug it a lot and that could get to be a pain.

As for the update the achievement portion is about the only good thing on it I think. I always hit the guide button to see what achievement I got. As far as everything else I am not too excited. The separate blade for marketplace is OK, but I don;t have a problem using it now. I am more concerned with with improved audio for hd-dvd playback and maybe even some sort of clan support would be cool too!

Overall though, who can b*tch? I mean we all seem to complain about everything MS does, but they sure do like to try to please their customers and whether or not what they do directly affects you or me does not matter. Its the idea that they care and are trying to constantly improve what was an awesome service and console out of the box. Some day though they will make an update or add a feature that each and every one of us will love.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:11 pm

The two other features I thought were great were:

Being able to have your console shut off after it has finished downloading from the Marketplace...and being able to watch and control a movie/tv show/whatever, while it is downloading. So if you're downloading a huge movie, you can start it while it continues to download in the background. Obviously, you have to be sure you don't catch up to the download process, but it's still a good idea.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:12 pm

A couple of links to negative articles about MS.

The first one is about how MS used "channel stuffing" to get to 10 million units and the second is a gripe by Mike Antonucci at Mercury News (Dean Takahashi also blogs here)

http://www.informationarbitrage.com/200 ... phili.html

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/dean_t ... index.html

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:46 pm

Getting rid of the 20 GB PS3:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070412/tc_nm/sony_ps3_dc_1

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:31 pm

Amazing...

March 07 numbers:

1. Nintendo DS - 508K
2. PlayStation 2 - 280K
3. Wii - 259K
4. Xbox 360 - 199K
5. PlayStation Portable - 180K
6. Game Boy Advance - 148K
7. PlayStation 3 - 130K
8. GameCube - 22K

I have to imagine that the PS3 people cannot be too happy about that. But then again, they can just use the profits from all of the PS2 sales to dry their tears. So I guess all is not bad in Sony land. It's not like the 360 is tearing up the charts either. So who wins the next-gen wars? I guess it's the PS2.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 1:22 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote: It's not like the 360 is tearing up the charts either. So who wins the next-gen wars? I guess it's the PS2.

...Looks that way...

In the end it comes down to price and library...PS2 is inexpensive with a massive library...The PS3 is over priced with No library...

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 3:22 pm

Software numbers are interesting too. God of War 2 was the big seller but the 360 had several top 10 titles but they don't seem to have moved more units.

Some speculate that the Elite announcement may have dampened 360 console sales.

PS3 is hurting. Motorstorm sold okay, more units than the number of PS3s sold. But that isn't well-known enough to move hardware and certainly not by itself.

Note that not too many Wii games on the software list either. So maybe some truth to the argument that casual gamers are getting it and they're satisfied with the novelty of the Wii Sports.

I don't know what the Wii games lineup is like for the end of the year but even the PS3 should have a decent lineup, barring major delays.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:49 pm

Aprils console numbers:

DS: 471,000
Wii: 360,000
PlayStation 2: 194,000
PlayStation Portable: 183,000
Xbox 360: 174,000
Game Boy Advance: 84,000
PlayStation 3: 82,000
GameCube: 13,000

How in the F*ck is the PS3 being outsold by a handheld that has been dead for 3 years?

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:56 pm

How do you spin 80,000 in sales?

Also they accomplished another low feat last week, by not selling 10,000 or more units in Japan.

Remember how Kaz told us the PS3 would rule the world? LOL

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:59 pm

Danimal wrote:Remember how Kaz told us the PS3 would rule the world? LOL

It's still early...but then again, he was probably saying that when the Mavericks were down 1-0 and you saw what happened. LOL. The PS3 will gain some momentum as soon as some damn games come out. The Show is a good start, but come on...I could give a f*ck less about anything else in the next six months.

Fshguy · Post by **Fshguy** » Thu May 24, 2007 12:51 pm

I ran across this article today published in the Tampa paper. I would expect a lot better writing from a wire agency?!

http://www.tbo.com/news/money/MGBZHEIH22F.html

These two sections really confused me:

The PlayStation 3 has a Cell processor that is 40 times faster than the chip used in the PlayStation 2. The machine also has enhanced graphics and more lifelike characters than the Wii, which features a motion-sensor controller that allows users to replicate movements like swinging a tennis racquet on screen.

And:

Nintendo sold 2.5 million Wii players in the United States since the console was introduced in November, making it the top seller among the newest generation of machines.

U.S. consumers have purchased 1.3 million PlayStation 3s since it was introduced two days ahead of the Wii. Microsoft Corp. sold 5.4 million Xbox 360s, released in 2005, according to market researcher NPD Group Inc., based in Port Washington, New York.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:00 pm

That is hilarious. The Wii sold 2.5 million and the Xbox 360 sold 5.4...so that means the Wii sold the most!

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:27 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:That is hilarious. The Wii sold 2.5 million and the Xbox 360 sold 5.4...so that means the Wii sold the most!

In my world of writing excellence, yes it does.

You know newspaper writers. Most are write like they have a college paper do tomorrow. You get a few quotes, or even better get a press release and change the words around and call it an article. Don't laugh, most of the newspaper writing is nothing more than glorified PR re-copying.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:36 pm

JRod wrote:In my world of writing excellence, yes it does.

What's really funny is that I actually checked to see if you were the writer. Well not really...but I thought about it.

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Thu May 24, 2007 3:28 pm

MGS4 and Final Fantasy XIII are both delayed to 2008, I don't know if there is a killer app for PS3 this year. Ouch.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Thu May 24, 2007 6:47 pm

WillHunting wrote:MGS4 and Final Fantasy XIII are both delayed to 2008, I don't know if there is a killer app for PS3 this year. Ouch.

KillZone?? I don't follow it so I don't know when its coming out but I assumed it was this year.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri May 25, 2007 1:06 am

There will be worthwhile games, some of which are more appealing to certain people than MGS4 and FFXIII.

But they don't have the brand recognition those games have so people who might be waiting will wait some more.

Which is not bad for them as consumers as by next summer, those games will be discounted and there's more of a chance of the console being cheaper.

With such a high price, there's always the prospect of a price cut within a year after you purchase.

But then again, people might want something for this Holiday season.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Fri May 25, 2007 10:48 am

WillHunting wrote:MGS4 and Final Fantasy XIII are both delayed to 2008, I don't know if there is a killer app for PS3 this year. Ouch.

They do have one killer app....the failure rate of the 360 hardware.
Since even that isnt helping it is becoming more and more obvious that..

Its all about games and price. The two areas in which they are last and last.