Ballmer - Xbox 'Can Take Sony' In Next Generation 676
An anonymous reader writes "According to GameSpot, a Q&A with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has him saying that, although the company's Xbox game console isn't making money (or bleeding them dry), the pain has been worth it. 'We have gone from nowhere to a significant player,' he said, adding: 'I am betting we can take Sony in the next generation.' Guess things are set to get even more interesting with the forthcoming next-gen console launches."
Sad but (maybe) true (Score:5, Interesting)
I have no problem if Microsoft become a bigger player in the console market. The original XBox definitely raised the standards of what we could expect from console performance, and without XBox there would be no one to keep Sony honest*. What I don't want to see is Microsoft pulling a Windows on the console market. That would be very bad for all involved, and would just give Ballmer the meathead more to crow about.
*Yes yes yes. Gamecube, Dreamcast, Phantom, blah blah. Anyone honestly think they could keep Sony honest?
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:3, Insightful)
It's always somebody elses job isn't it? Somebody else better keep Sony honest because I don't want to have to shoulder that burden! I don't want to have to make the sacrifice. Somebody else will do it. Ever thought about your own actions? Why not take it upon yourself? Don't buy a PS2. Buy a Gamecube, Xbox, N-Gage, GBA, or (insert console here).
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:3, Insightful)
Why give them *ANY* money if you want to prevent them from increasing market share?
Such a silly argument. It's like advocating buying CD's but then breaking them into tiny bits and mailing them back to Sony to get back at the RIAA?
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft is fiercely competitive, but I'd hesitate to call it _evil_. Microsoft doesn't have an army of children it's exploiting, and doesn't destroy the environment to make it's millions.
Pick and choose your battles I guess. Personally, Microsoft can have my $100 or whatever for Windows, because the convenience and price is better than the competition. They're gonna use that money to make a better version of Windows and hawk it--big deal. My peronal beef is with big media companies such as Disney and Clear Channel. I could rant a long time about the injustices of big media, but it's off topic.
My point is that maybe you'd (not you, the general 'you') want to investigate if your antiestablishment energy would be more productive elsewhere. Fretting about Microsoft can be good, but maybe it's better to help out here [aids.org], here [worldhunger.org], or here [aclu.org]?
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:4, Funny)
No, but I buy "Tuna-Safe" Dolphin though.
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:3)
The things you list are not as relevant as trying to own a monopoly on software in general. Of course various companies use children as cheap labour, but they are hardly held at gunpoint. It's also mostly a problem for the kids involved, while Microsoft's reign is a problem for the information technology as a whole. Supressing technology is more evil th
dear god.... (Score:5, Insightful)
someone please tell me that this is not the general Slashdot opinion.
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:3, Insightful)
A very big part of the gaming market is located in Asia, and that market it fought for by Nintendo and Sony. Xbox doesn't succeed very well over there, and I doubt Xbox2 will do any better.
As far as exclusivity goes, about 95% of games that are on either PS2 or Xbox are also on the GameCube, and now that SquareEnix is back on the Nintendo platform (both GameCube and GameBoy), Sony lost on
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:2, Interesting)
Also, there's the comparison of the Dreamcast and the original Playstation where the DC got the jump but failed to keep the momentum and faded away. (Do correct me if I have my consoles mixed up!)
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:5, Interesting)
Now I have a modded xbox, my brother has one, and a few friends have bought them.
MS have gone from having no console product and no real reputation in games (negative if anything) to selling a decent number and giving us a real competition for the next generation of consoles. I know people have wanted MS to fail, but I think it's hard to disagree with Ballmer: MS could very well take Sony or come very close next time around.
I have my xbox loaded with games, mp3s, movies and use it to play DVDs, etc. I think Halo is brilliant (and play it through quite regularly), enjoyed Splinter Cell, and have a great time with Fusion Frenzy, Unreal, Tiger Woods, about 5 different NBA games and so on. I don't even pretend to buy the games -- I have a 250GB HDD in there for a reason!
It's a great mix of playing games and tinkering with alternative dashboards/launchers and applications, etc.
If it came from anyone but Microsoft, I think the slashdot crowd would be all over it, installing open apps, getting it to do a myriad of different things.
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:5, Insightful)
- No hard drive
- No backwards compatibility
- No more underpriced hardware
The xbox 2 won't be able to store mp3s or play xbox games because it won't have a hard drive. It doesn't have a hard drive because Microsoft needs to make money on the xbox 2 to prop up the stock value. So therefore they can't underprice the hardware anymore. This means you won't be able to "tinker" with alternative dashboards, launchers or applications.Honestly, the more I hear about it, the more it looks like the xbox 2 is going to be a huge bomb. The only thing it can hope to salvage it is Halo 3, which probably won't be released until the PS3 hits the market (it might be even later). I'm guessing it will be a deliberate attempt to steal the PS3 launch thunder.
Re:Sad but (maybe) true (Score:4, Funny)
riiiight (Score:3, Funny)
Re:riiiight (Score:5, Insightful)
If you haven't already realized, the Xbox is a *good* console. If Sony just sits on their haunches with the PS3, Microsoft could very well take the lead from them in the next generation, especially now that the new Xbox and Playstation seem likely to launch very close together.
The Xbox brought lots of innovative new features to the table, if Microsoft can continue to come up with interesting stuff they will likely have the most compelling system.
Word of mouth may have kept many away from the Dreamcast, but I doubt it'll stop Xbox Next (or whatever they are calling it)
Re:riiiight (Score:3, Funny)
-bankrolled by a multibillion dollar corporation hellbent on marketplace domination
-do i need any other points?
now if the phantom does anything (or for that matter exists) - THAT would be coming out of nowhere.
Re:riiiight (Score:5, Interesting)
There's a few things stopping MS from winning the console wars.
1. Japan is EXTREMELY Xenophobic. They aren't going to sell out their extremely LARGE (highest pre-selling American game: Zelda at 700k units. Highest pre-selling Japanese game: Dragon Warrior 7 at 3,000k units.) console market to a "Gaijin" company without VERY good reason. The XBox is NOT good enough to make them give up their stranglehold on the market.
If you don't get why Japan is where the console wars will be won or lost, let me point it out to you. 99% of all successful console games in the past 20 years have been from Japan. The only exception I can think of is Halo -- and that was a PC game which had it's XBox port released a year before the PC version. Unless Microsoft can invade and make progress in Japan, they will NEVER make any headway in the console market. Period.
2. Sony might drop the ball but the chances of them truely screwing up the PS3 is *very* slim. Yes, the cell processor is a gimmick and a scam, and will fall flat. The PS3 will almost definately be a success, however, because of sheer inertia.
The only thing that could really kill them is if their arrogance makes them do the same kind of stupid errors that Nintendo did in the late 80s that put Big N in the spot they are now (basically being arrogant asses, pissing on 3rd parties and trying to push people around). Granted, the PSP and their repeated micromanagement with stuff like Final Fantasy 11 in the US kinda hints at that same kinda arrogance... However. Nintendo would be far more likely to capitulate on this than Microsoft.
3. Nintendo is *not* going to be idle during all this. Nintendo blew *everyone* out of the water this E3. Sony had a mock up of a unfinished portable with a 2 hour battery life. Microsoft had games they announced a year ago. Nintendo had a playable version of their new portable and about 9 bombshell announcements, one after another. The "Reggielution" as it were got so many people fired up that it really breathed some very much needed fresh air into Nintendo's sails.
Nintendo is calling their next console the Nintendo Revolution. This represents Big N's new thinking -- that horsepower isn't going to be enough to win the next generation of console wars. They're right. The DS completely blew everyone away who saw it, not because it was so graphically potent -- although it was quite nice -- but rather, because it brought so many NEW THINGS to the table. Touch pad, Wireless Link, WIFI Internet on a portable, 2 screens, etc. These are going to bring new games, and new WAYS to play games, and that is going to push sales.
In other words -- Japan has 2 huge titans gearing up for a *huge* battle for #1. There's no room for some silly spoiled foreigner brat of a company to try and push their way in. Especially when all they can muster up for information at the largest console convention in the world is some new screenshots of a game that was announced at last year's E3. Unless Microsoft gets serious, they're not going to be getting anywhere.
Re:riiiight (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually I think Japan is rated more important than it really is. Its main market is slightly bigger than germany alone. There is only one fact why it is important. Japan has many game studios and is looked up upon for historical reasons. The big markets currently are probably US, the EU as a whole (face it economically the EU is a single country) and China, with India probably as an emerging market.
Japan from a non producer perspective is small compared to those markets. The fact why there are so many successful japanes game companies has two sides. Face it US corporations usually produce lots of rather lousy non intuive sequels, whereas japanes companies used to go for the riskier sides and didnt rely entirely on sequels and shooters. But the situation changes currently with more and more sequels to sequel being released by them also.
The other thing is, from the middle of the 80s til Microsofts attempt, there has not been a single successful console which was not japanese. So we have japanese manufacturers holding a tight grip on what games are released and we have game producers who want to enter the market. Guess who has an advantage?
Re:riiiight (Score:5, Interesting)
Face it US corporations usually produce lots of rather lousy non intuive sequels, whereas japanes companies used to go for the riskier sides and didnt rely entirely on sequels and shooters.
This really isn't fair or particularly true. Sure, Japan gets more weird or niche games overall, but outside of a few exceptions that doesn't mean they ever sold all that well. Looking at the twenty best-selling games in Japan so far this year (via Magic Box's [the-magicbox.com] recent news), I only see two games that aren't existing franchises or sequels. Maybe it used to be better, but I think if you actually look back you will see it has almost 'always' been like that in Japan - niche games do niche business, almost always, almost everywhere.
And US game devs have made lots of innovative games, it was just that in the past you were more likely to see them on a PC rather than a Japanese console. This is even more true for European devs.
Re:riiiight (Score:3, Interesting)
The market in Japan for video games is shrinking. Even Satoru Iwata was quoted as saying the same. The Japanese market is not as signifigant as it once was. What is important, however, is Japanese developers. If they can get enough Japanese developers to sign on to Xbox, even if its only outside of Japan, they'll be fine.
99% of all successful console games in the past 20 years have been from Japan.
Re:riiiight (Score:5, Informative)
IIRC:
Grand Theft Auto, Getaway, Sing Star, Eye Toy, Tomb Raider, Lemmings, Worms, Rare games, Peter Molyneux games all developed in UK.
Prince of Persia etc. developed in Canada.
The Sims etc. developed in USA.
Wierd games with quirky characters (Oddworld, Heart of Darkness) developed in France
Settlers developed in Germany
Tetris devised in Russia, but ported everywhere. Some new wierd PC games (perimeter) from CIS countries also.
Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy from Japan.
The Hobbit, Way of the Exploding fist, etc. from Australia.
No one country has a monopoly on game development, but there are differences in traditions between the main areas.
Re:riiiight (Score:3, Informative)
Re:riiiight (Score:4, Interesting)
The distribution network may be xenophobic (I have no idea really), but I'm pretty sure the great majority of consumers don't give a crap -- indeed, being non-Japanese may actually be an advantage because you might end up being considered fashionable (and yeah, a lot of American stuff is currently pretty hip in Japan).
However Japanese consumers do care about good games, in genres they like -- which MS pretty much completely failed to provide. The success of the PS2 was also strongly influenced by (1) hype (which Sony pegged, and MS -- though they tried a bit -- didn't), (2) compatibility with existing PS games, especially important near launch, (3) being a familiar and trustworthy brand-name that has in the past come out with plenty of popular games, and to some extent (4) good industrial design (design-wise, the xbox was a bloated mess).
In the case of the Xbox, distributor discrimination doesn't seem to have been a factor either, as the Xbox was promoted heavily and received a lot of prime display space in stores (to an extent completely unjustified by its sales, so I assume MS was paying a bundle for it), even in many small independently owned stores (which I figure might be a bit more um, patriotic). This was true for quite a long time, though in the past year xbox games seem to have been relegated to the back shelves (presumably because nobody buys them...).
This is all based on my personal observation, as someone who lives in Tokyo. As far as I can tell the ultimate reason the xbox failed was because most people said "I already have a PS2 and there are lots of games I like; why would I want an xbox?"
BTW, I don't own either one... (I have a gamecube
Re:riiiight (Score:5, Informative)
As a resident of Japan, I can never understand why Microsoft's collosal incompetence in Japan is blamed on some sort of Japanese xenophobia. MS released a system that was huge, whose clock got reset when unplugged (unplugging peripherals is very common in Japan to save on electric costs), which scratched customer CDs and DVDs and then told those consumers to just "ignore it, it's no big deal", which featured as a flagship game aimed at adults "Sneakers", which got a 34% on gamerankings.com, as well as a "killer app" consisting of an FPS (Japanese aren't too fond of FPS), and yet the reason the Japanese didn't buy it is xenophobia??
Re:riiiight (Score:5, Interesting)
Same thing happens to my dreamcast yet that was a HUGE success in Japan.
Do this for me: count the number of American cars you see in Japan. Count the number of Japanese cars you see in America. Japan has a very protectionist economy, it wouldn't surprise me if that's why the Xbox is down.
Re:riiiight (Score:3, Insightful)
Jeep started making Cherokees and Grand Cherokees with the steering on the right and you see a boatload of them on the streets here in Tokyo. Not much else in the way of American cars usually but there are lots (and I means lots) of Mercedes, BMW's and Audi's as well.
Japan has a protectionist economy, that's very true, but Detroit has done it's damndest not t
Re:riiiight (Score:3, Funny)
And if the console can't fit through the doors of the average Japanese apartment...
Re:riiiight (Score:3, Insightful)
Creating a very technically impressive console by losing a billion dollars a year is impressive?
More to the point, losing a billion dollars a year to be tied for last place is impressive? Hell, give me that much of a budget to piss away, and [i]I'll[/i] tie for last place in the console industry.
Re:riiiight (Score:3, Informative)
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as a playing card company. Their first electronic game system product was a line of light-triggered gun gallery machines in 1972. They first entered the console market in some fashion later in the 70s as the Japanese distributor of the Magnavox Oddysey console. As the 70s continued they released three home game systems in the "Color TV Game" series, each of which was a small thingy you could hook up to a TV to play one of a number of Pong-like g
Re:Game Guides (Score:5, Funny)
The next version of Windows CAN be bugless. It won't, but until it comes out, they can say it CAN be a lot of things.
You're too pessimistic (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Of course they can... (Score:2)
That may not be the best idea. I have no doubt that MS is trying out schemes to lock down PC hardware. The Xbox hackers are doing penetration testing for them.
That said, I look forward to gen1 Xboxes showing up in the thrifts for $20 or $30. With a Linux port, thats quite the handy cheap PC.
in Japan (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:in Japan (Score:5, Insightful)
Sony have a huge following in Japan, and there are a squillion totally insane and unfathomably games for the PS2 that never see the light of day outside of Asia.
I doubt MS would be able to understand Sony's Japasia market, let alone penetrate it.
Re:in Japan (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:in Japan (Score:4, Interesting)
Compared to Nintendo, Microsoft has its Mario (just go and make the Master Chief from Halo your mascot already!), its FPSes, a couple RPGs (does KOTOR count?), and enough sports games to challenge EA's draconan rules. In Japan, considering the sheer amount of games that are released there but never make it to the US... well. Lets just say theres enough PS2 games there that some video game stores there sell ONLY PS2 and they STILL don't have enough space to put up every game for the system. (Drumming games, guitar games, eyetoy games, dancing games, Japanese drumming games, karaoke games, a new Gundam game almost every year, a new RPG almost every 6 months, enough fighting games to make even a hardcore gamer's head spin, etc etc... We get about half that, plus awful voice acting, and often times poor translations.)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:in Japan (Score:5, Insightful)
Sony would be foolish to discount Microsoft's resolve to be successful in Japan. Read up [msdn.com] on the failure of Word 6.0 in Japan, followed by the success of Word 95.
Not without tying it wont (Score:3, Insightful)
Funny how Microsoft's essentially unlimited resources are not enough to penetrate a market (based on the relative lack of success of the XBox to date).
Not until MS finds a way to tie XBox 2 to Windows will they be able to "take" Sony. Maybe if they can force users to activate Windows via the XBox? ;-)
Re:Not without tying it wont (Score:5, Insightful)
Red herring. MS could've sold each console for $50 and taken control of the market. But that would not set them up for long-term success. They are essentially playing within the same boundaries as everyone else, although they do pump in an extra infusion of cash as needed. But their monetary advantage paled against Sony's mindshare advantage.
Besides, are the only successful products in the world the ones with >50% of the market share? How does the rest of every industry operate?
Dumping charges (Score:4, Informative)
It's called Dumping. If they did that Nintendo or Sony could file a complain in each area of the world and have it stopped. MS would be fined and a duty to make up the difference would be imposed.
MS is probably skating close to the edge as it is with their current pricing.
Re:Dumping charges (Score:5, Informative)
MS could have easily sold the XBox for $50 as long as it was $50 [or the local currency equivalent] in all markets. Selling a product below cost is not dumping, idiot.
Here, read this and find out that you're completely wrong [wto.org].
This is why I hate Slashdot. People are so interested in both gaming the system to gain karma and to try to sound smart that nonsense like the above gets posted. Please, don't post here anymore. You're obviously not trying to add anything to the actual discussion. If your self esteem is this poor, go see a shrink.
Re:Not without tying it wont (Score:3, Interesting)
They turn a profit. RTFA. MS is losing money on the Xbox. That pretty much means its not a successful product right there.
If you think that's not important in deciding whether or not it's successful, I've got some dot-com shares to sell you.
Re:Not without tying it wont (Score:2)
They weren't competing against Be Inc this time, they are competing against Sony.
Microsoft is a huge company, but so is Sony. And Sony has plenty of money to fight-off Microsoft, and a major advantage when it comes to developing hardware.
I can't think of any market (other than their core OS/Office market) that Microsoft has ever been able to dominate. Ar
Incorrect quote (Score:4, Funny)
should be:
"I am betting we will take it in the ass from Sony in the next generation."
Really, that is far more plausable.
Deja vu... (Score:2)
Bah (Score:2, Interesting)
Microsoft is where
Re:Bah (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, they are. Since the launch of Pocket PC, Windows CE devices have been growing in marketshare consistantly. In fact, the #1 PDA manufacturer isn't PalmOne anymore, it's HP.
"They are slowly but surely losing the server market."
They can't lose what they never had. Microsoft never owned the server market.
"Microsoft is where IBM was in 1980. They are on top, but headed for a fall. The reason? Because despite the rhetoric, Microsoft can't innovate. They can only copy."
IBM is still a $90 billion a year company. There was no IBM "fall". They are still very much alive and kicking.
"Despite reams of hype and much marketting muscle on Microsoft's part, Sony still sells ten Playstations for every Xbox."
Statistically, you're full of crap. At the beginning of this year, Microsoft had sold 13.5 million XBOX consoles. Sony has sold 50 million PS2 consoles. That's 3.7 to one, not the ten to one you quote.
And, remember, PS2 launched over a year and a half earlier than XBox.
"Because despite the rhetoric, Microsoft can't innovate. They can only copy."
When Apple rips off features from Windows XP (fast user switching, video chat, disk encryption, save window with places on left), it's "innovating". When Microsoft invents these features, it's "copying".
"They are not the king of set top boxes."
Carriers deploying Microsoft TV based products:
- Comcast Cable (largest cable operator in world)
- Megacable (largest cable operator in Mexico)
- Bell Canada
- Swisscom (largest broadband provier in Switzerland)
- Reliance Infocomm (largest broadband provider in India)
Re:Bah (Score:3, Informative)
It sounds like you define "fall" as a complete failure or bankruptcy of a company. Not so. IBM of today is a major player in IT. However, during the 80's, they were THE voice of business IT. They owned the market. They set standards. Heck - the IBM PC didn't become popular because it was first to market, most powerfull, least expensive, or first to provide the business computing killer
Re:Bah (Score:5, Informative)
The encrypted file system introduced in OS X is actually based upon some NeXT technology. (And NeXT is even older than those SGI Indy systems...or did you also miss the part of history when Steve Jobs brought over all the engineers from NeXT and took over Apple?) Anyway, NeXT had an encryption API (for use by applications) for fast elliptic encryption. Go read a little about the encrypted file system in OS X and you will find, well, how about that - fast elliptic encryption!
Also, OS X is UNIX based and UNIX systems are inherently multi-user. The "fast user switching" (and remote desktop stuff) just exposed the multi-user guts of the OS in a user friendly way. (Yes, NeXT also had stuff like remote desktop - login to any machine on the LAN and see your files and apps as if you were sitting at your own box.)
Its just taking time for the OS guys at Apple to take all the good ideas from what came before and fit them together in a logical way in OS X.
In many ways, the "modern" Windows UI (95, 98, NT4, 2000) actually borrow from the NeXT UI. In my opinion, XP tried to do something new with the UI and it turned out pretty bad where as OS X also tried to do something new with the UI and (while somewhat rough at first) is actually getting pretty damn good!
Re:Bah (Score:3, Insightful)
>been growing in marketshare consistantly. In fact, the #1
>PDA manufacturer isn't PalmOne anymore, it's HP.
Great. Microsoft will be king of a **DEAD MARKET**. Congratulations, Bill Gates! Now maybe you can realize your lifelong ambition and become the world's #1 buggy whip manufacturer, too!
PDA's are so 9/10, dude. The market for them is contracting. Cell phones are where the action is now, and Palm has the hottest - and most profitable
Re:Bah (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Bah (Score:5, Insightful)
I know that it's unpopular to actually say good things about Microsoft, but the Xbox is a really good console. It's easy to program, full-featured, and especially lately seems to be getting a lot of the top releases.
The fact that a company could enter an industry with no prior experience and do better than the likes of Nintendo is really impressive, huge bankroll or no. They had a good strategy, good hardware, innovated in relevant areas, and managed to do pretty well. The simple fact that they stand a good chance of unseating Sony in the next round of consoles (which many analysts believe) is just evidence of their success.
Re:Bah (Score:5, Insightful)
By "standard", you mean Microsoft's standards. Which is fortunate since this is a Microsoft product. An obvious advantage to this is being able to develop a tittle for both the Windows and Xbox (or "pc" and "console" if you prefer the misnomer) markets. But in the end, this "standard" is not any more special as any other existing standard. When you code for Sony, you use their tools. And when you code for Microsoft, you use their tools.
Re:Bah (Score:4, Insightful)
No other gaming platform (except the PC) has anything at all like that. I googled for "sony playstation 2 sdk" and the only SDK-like tool I found was this link [metrowerks.com]. You must become licensed as a PlayStation developer to even purchase the product. Metroworks didn't list any prices, but I'd be surprised if it was less than $5000.
Re:Bah (Score:3, Insightful)
No. This has been so they can learn about developers. What developers like. What works in development environments. And, to be honest, if they get their shit together they'll end up with something almost identical to Vi
Re:Bah (Score:3, Insightful)
And yet you get modded up to 4. Actually it's the best way to get karma on slashdot.
For the newbies take this hint. Always post a couple of "I don't like MS but they make a great (X)". In other words take a light swipe at them while praising one of their products highly. It's the best way to get karma.
Monopoly against monopoly (Score:5, Insightful)
COMPETION!
The net's biggest adult anime collection [sharkfire.net]
COMPETION! COMPETION! (Score:3, Funny)
AEWSOME!
Re:Monopoly against monopoly (Score:2)
What are you talking about? Sony does not have a monopoly in any market that I am aware of, certainly not like Microsoft (+90% of the desktop OS market, probably similar for the office software market). Sony may be a large corporation and may have a dominant marketshare in some markets but they are no monopoly. Also, two giant titans may
Re:Monopoly against monopoly (Score:5, Informative)
Microsoft, however, has no intention of doing what's good for consumers. Their goal is to eventually force Sony to sell bellow cost and make the market un-profitable for them. Whether this is feasible depends on more than simple economics so it is by no means a foregone conclusion. The best case for consumers would be to have numerous, interoperable choices in consoles so the number of producers isn't limited to a select few. The one sure thing is that Microsoft won't start any movements in that direction.
Blah Blah (Score:2, Interesting)
Wake me up when the next console is ready to be sold, give me full tech specs with game screenshots, and I might give it a nod.
If the world moves too fast on these, small to mid-sized developers won't have the time to develop a game for the
I guess we'll find out at E3 or GDC or something. (Score:2)
the question is, does ballmer know more about ps3 than we do? I'm sure he knows more about the next console from Microsoft than we do...
optimistic, no? (Score:5, Insightful)
The Xbox2 will rule all (Score:5, Funny)
Oh wait, didn't Nintendo say the same thing?
Re:The Xbox2 will rule all (Score:2)
What's Ballmer smoking and why won't he share?
Re:The Xbox2 will rule all (Score:5, Funny)
Gamers are fickle. (Score:5, Insightful)
Many gamers don't even commit to one console. And gaming platforms aren't like business platforms. They go stale after a few years. Gamers always want to be the first kid on the block with the hot toy. Technical superiority isn't enough either. "Intellivision basketball is much more like real basketball." only worked once when console gaming was getting off the ground. As long as the graphics are the next obvious step up from the last console it will come down to the controllers and the GAMES. The graphics being a little bit better won't mean jack.
I only point this out because MS seems to be badly addicted to having monopolies. Having one in gaming is a completely different kettle of fish. The closest thing to a monopoly in gaming was Atari back in the day. They weren't invincible and neither was Nintendo. The real danger is that an also-ran console is a deep money pit. MS currently has the second place console and I'd guess they're just breaking even. It's a big risk and lot of money just for the chance be number one for a generation.
Re:Gamers are fickle. (Score:3, Insightful)
IMHO, it's not to establish a new monopoly as much as it is to protect the one they already have. I mean, what's stopping the PS2 console from becoming a nice workstation [megagames.com]?
Soko
Re:Gamers are fickle. (Score:3, Interesting)
Last I heard, Microsoft was losing money hand over fist in their game console division. Part of the problem is that they lose money on every console sale. They might be breaking even in software sales; they're hampered a bit by an unwillingness to port to other platforms. Makes it harder to make money when you skip part of your potential market.
Re:Gamers are fickle. (Score:5, Interesting)
> competitor or two with credible competition.
I don't believe this is the case with consoles.
Nintendo, Sega, Sony and maybe one or two others essentially created this market from scratch; MS was able to enter it only because they had such huge cash reserves that they could afford to buy their way into it. Very few other companies would be in this position.
The days of the likes of Coleco and Atari coming up with big innovations in consoles are well and truly past.
Taking Sony - Not going to happen. Yet (Score:4, Insightful)
It also means(and this is what I think)that you will not be able to play XBox games on the XBox 2, they will have to re-write DirectX, build a RISC OS for it and then there is Live I would say there will have to re-write most of that as well. MS has never writen software for RISC in the past and I think that the time frame they have set themself is very unrealistic.
Now if you look at how Sony they have had far more years under there belt in the console market, they have partnered up with some good people to bring the PS 3 to life and have build a technology that they are plaining on putting in there other product(Cell).
Saying all that I am looking forward the XBox 2 and think it is a good step for MS in there battle for the console market. Do I think they will catch up with Sony, no but I think they will make money off the XBox 2 and that is a good out look for the future of the XBox console. May be the XBox 3 will be the one that turns the tide.
Re:Taking Sony - Not going to happen. Yet (Score:5, Informative)
Sony is using a different CPU (Cell), and probably a different GPU, why doesn't the same argument apply to them?
and then there is Live I would say there will have to re-write most of that as well.
Why would they have to do that? Nothing that runs on the servers needs to change very much.
MS has never writen software for RISC in the past and I think that the time frame they have set themself is very unrealistic.
They wrote Windows NT for the DEC Alpha (a 64 bit RISC processor) and supported it until NT 4, and they have Windows CE which runs on ARM's RISC processors.
they have partnered up with some good people to bring the PS 3 to life
Microsoft has "partnered up" with IBM and ATI. Are they not "good people"?
Re:Taking Sony - Not going to happen. Yet (Score:3, Informative)
Because they apparently will have "PS2-on-a-chip" to run PS2 games. You know, including backward compatibility without sacrificing current generation features.
Sad, but probably true (Score:5, Interesting)
1) The current Xbox is losing money, but the Xbox 2 will be built with cheaper materials (esp. Flash memory, instead of a hard drive)
2) The current Xbox has much better graphics than the PS2, and there is no reason to believe that this will change with the Xbox2/PS3 3) Microsoft is hell-bent on dominating the console market (watch the discovery channel special "Inside the Xbox").
4) They believe that if you control a family's entertainment, you essentially control the family (again, from "Inside the Xbox")
This is one market MS cannot afford to lose. They will throw everything they have at it.
Re:Sad, but probably true (Score:5, Interesting)
The Playstation (the original
Always wanted a PS2, can afford it too. Couldn't ever justify it. (see above
The Mac on the desktop is, well, amazing. I think I've finally found a computer system that can keep up with me. I don't say that lightly. Watching TV, playing Quake, encoding a DVD, burning another
The Powerbook is a office companion as well as a network fed movie player in the living room. A little back-end video rendering and the mini-farm smokes anything I've ever seen something like 3D-Max or Studio-Viz produce -- and in half the time typically. Oops, another way to make some money.
There's a reason "old" PC's are being magically re-born in the offices with Linux as well. Microsoft is finally losing their strangle hold on anything "PC" related and at their burn rate it'll only take them a few years before the coffers are running low and the revenue stream is drying up.
They may throw everything they have at Sony. And now IBM? Those are some pretty serious forces to deal with
Sorry Balboy, still won't buy it (Score:3)
I'm really looking forward to this new generation (Score:3, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
who cares? (Score:3, Insightful)
unless the next model comes with wires in my scoobieroos wonderwear, there is nothing to be improved upon- all it means is recycling the same shitty bullshit boring games into a uber-designed new plastic housing and sucking up your dough for the "most realest everrrr!!!!" virtua-skateboarding.
who fucking cares? i'll let you know when breakthrough videogame entertainment comes along- right now we have a significant commercial movement towards original donkey knog, for god's sake.
admit it, you are still playing halflife and rainbow 6...and i, i with an XtrUberConsoBoxen, i still play hack. and larn.
carl
Xbox is (Score:2, Insightful)
If Microsoft can continue to take the loss on the ahrdware and continue to offer a superior system, Sony may be in for a rough ride...
Next generation FUD machine (Score:3, Funny)
Xbox Next will take PS3 to the next generation as a flower girl, then go away somewhere obscure...
From Nowhere to Significant (Score:5, Insightful)
Who didn't expect Microsoft to be a significant player? For Microsoft to have entered this market and remain insignificant in it would have been evidence of a colossal blunder. Microsoft has the funding it takes to bring in top talent / expertise and develop. Microsoft has one of the most formidable marketing machines in Technology. These alone almost guarantee Microsoft got attention when it entered a market that isn't exactly awash with players.
However, an important piece that might not be immediately apparent is that Microsoft's day 1 for competing with console makers didn't start with the Xbox. Microsoft has competed for decades; every time a consumer or game developer makes a choice on whether they pick a "PC" or console.
Granted, this hasn't been direct competition per se. People tend to look at PC gaming and consoles as exclusive markets. However, there IS a certain degree of indirect competition between the two markets. And more importantly - whether Microsoft has been competing with consoles all along or competing with other OSes for personal computing gaming... Microsoft has been developing expertise in gaming technology.
Microsoft is not going from "nowhere to significant" with the Xbox. It's nowhere as drastic as Ballmer makes it sound. Microsoft has simply decided to shift their existing business strategy to compete directly with console makers.
Granted, the console industry is made up of considerable competition. Microsoft's task isn't trivial. But combine their existing expertise, funding, and talent for marketing... it's no surprise the Xbox has had at least mediocre success.
Paradigm Shift (Score:3, Insightful)
Excuse me, is he joking?
Text of interview (Score:4, Funny)
CONSOLES! CONSOLES! CONSOLES! CONSOLES! CONSOLES!
Battle of the Bottomless Pockets (Score:3, Insightful)
Bizarro World! (Score:4, Informative)
'We have gone from nowhere to a significant player,' he said
Welcome to Bizarro World, where the Xbox is a significant player, rather than being challenged in sales by the PS1 and WonderSwan [m-create.com]!
(Disclaimer: I live in Japan, where the Xbox's popularity level is somewhere around "the whowhat?". Is the Xbox doing any better in the West?)
Re:Bizarro World! (Score:5, Insightful)
Several posts have suggested that if XBox can't win Japan, they can't really compete in the console market. That's crap: Nokia phones are nearly unknown in Japan, but they sell more wireless phones than anyone else in the world. Japan is just a market, like anywhere else.
the rule of threes (Score:3, Interesting)
we've seen this in categories like
desktop OS
Server OS
Databases
Browser
IDE
PDA OS
Smartphone OS
i'd really be shocked if they got it right on the second try, already it seems like the replacement of the hard drive with RAM seems like a step in the wrong direction.
this rule is particularly true in enterprise software- and typically factored in when planning long term strategy. with five years of breathing space, you can innovate quite a bit to stay ahead of the curve.
about 7 years ago, MS bought an Israeli based analytics company, and people predicted the end of ISV's like Cognos, Business Objects, Crystal and others. now, about 7 years later, they're kinda releasing a 1.5 product that people are chuckling at.
remember SQL server 6.5- no row level locking? version 7, heh, not bad...pretty good bang for the buck...
as a long time gadget freak, im actually pretty excited about the next generation MS smartphone, the motorola mpx220, which fixes all of the crappiness of the second generation.
remember great plains software? the basis of the MS CRM strategy? SAP's not exactly quaking in their boots, but you can bet their thinking about that third release in about five years...
if you believe Eillison's testimony, they're poised to take over the world, and he wakes up nights in a cold sweat.
of course, when that happens, there are countless nubile young asian women to dab his forehead with hundred dollar bills.
XBox can be easily replaced (Score:5, Insightful)
When I bought a console system I was thinking about all the stuff I wasn't getting on the PC: being able to play a game with my friends in the same room on the same screen, making gaming a bit more of a group activity. Having a fun system to play around with some stuff that consoles actually do pretty well, and playing exclusive titles that I'm not going to get a chance to play on the PC. Given all this and considering that I already have a solid PC for gaming the XBox isn't really that great. My final decision was actually a Gamecube.
Why? Well, the 'cube has a strong library of very good games that simply won't ever be ported to another system because they're Nintendo properties. If I want to play Legend of Zelda, Metroid Prime, Super Smash Bros., Eternal Darkness, Mario Kart, etc. there's only one system that's going to fill that need. As for multi-platform, but console only games (e.g. Starcraft: Ghost) almost all of them are made available for the Gamecube and with graphics that are often better than the PS2. The PS2 drew me with its large library of games, but nothing really stood out. Many of the best PS2 games (e.g. GTA3) are eventually ported to the PC or to the Gamecube. Online play is nice, but again, most of the games that involve online play are often ports of PC games or sports games that I have no interest in. The XBox, in its favor, often has the best graphics and sound of any of the consoles. It has the very nice feature of an integrated hard drive. Ultimately though any of the games I'd really want to play on it are really just PC games. KOTOR, Thief 3, Splinter Cell... I can't imagine wanting to play these on a console system when I could play them on an upgradable, typically more powerful computer with the added bonus of free online play, easy patching and all the other things that computer gaming means.
Ultimately this is where I see the XBox. Microsoft wanted to make a console that was more or less a computer and that's pretty much what they've done. The problem with this is that if you already have a computer you probably don't have much need for the XBox.
The argument works both ways... (Score:3, Insightful)
Last year, three things happened (concerning PC's and games). I turned 32, I built a PC that would meet my required needs for (at least) several years and I bought an Xbox. I realized that while I still enjoy gaming, I do not enjoy the yearly costs incurred by continuing to upgrade my PC for those games.
For me it simply came down to want I wanted more:
I've got $150 t
What is being a "significant player" really worth? (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, I can't think of any other industry where 'significant players' crash and burn on as regular a basis as the console market - Being a 'significant player' didn't help Atari or Sega, both of whom had at one time or other bigger shares of the market than the xbox does, and it didn't do them any good.
Re:What is being a "significant player" really wor (Score:4, Insightful)
Another thing that should be noted, gamers don't "grow" out of any market, if anything there always looking for the next best thing. If a large portion of console buyers WAS infact first time buyers there would only be a marginal increase in console growth, and if you compare it what the console market was from what it is now... it's grown tremoundasly. This closely ties in to the fact that gamers that bought there first nintendo have not grown out of anywhere, and are still buying even more consoles now.
Atari and Sega made mistakes, huge ones. The console market is a very sensitive one, one blunder and it could cost you everything. Who would of ever thought of playing a sega game on the gamecube.
The console market is becoming more and more like the film industry. Like it or not, there is money to made there, and HUGE audience... and it only keeps growing.
As entertaining as it is to watch Ballmer gibber (Score:3, Insightful)
There have been a lot of words coming out of Redmond lately but almost nothing of a tangible nature.
Just shut up and do what you're going to do, Microsoft. I'm buying Nintendo's console anyway. (I don't see why these kids keep saucing their pants over HALO. It's not THAT good of a game.)
Only on Slashdot! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Has to Be Said... (Score:3, Funny)
SONY: What you say! Somebody set up us the antitrust legislation! FOR GREAT JUSTICE!
Re:Why I won't buy an XBOX 2 (Score:3, Interesting)