BCanr2d2 Posted April 28, 2002 Share Posted April 28, 2002 I am having a lot of fun reading all the news postings about XBOX and it's immenent demise. Why don't some of these people try and show a balanced view of the whole situation, rather than their Anti-MS stance. A price drop, well that was epxected sooner or later, the PS2 opened in Australia at $750 and is now $499. The XBox opened at $650 and is now $399. It's all to do with getting a high install base, so the games, the part that actually makes the money, can be sold. Slow sales figures? Hmmmm, seemed to beat the PS2 to all major milestones along the way. So is it really struggling as many sites that love to hate MS say? Let's look at the gaming market, Nintendo is more built for pre-teens - the Mario franchise proving that, so isn't necessarily a direct competitor for MS. That leaves the PS2 and XBOX to fight out a market that has room for both of them. Are there any other major players? I think not. Why aren't of you anti-Sony, since they helped push VHS, which is technologically inferior to BETA, and they were also another company to contribute to the DVD development, and in turn, region coding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anox Kleevah Posted April 28, 2002 Share Posted April 28, 2002 Xbox r0xx0rz all consoles with its specs but i think nintendo will win the award for best games. Even though gamecube is weak compared to ps2 and xbox, i think the games is gonna kick (when it comes to gameplay, not graphics.) However i tend to like xbox most of the new consoles, not because its the most expensive or has the greatest graphics, but becouse it has games like DoA that is fun to play has good graphics and the best female models seen today:D:D:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuckuss13 Posted April 28, 2002 Share Posted April 28, 2002 Even though gamecube is weak compared to ps2 and xbox GameCube beats PS2 hands down in every aspect, and it ain't really aimed at pre-teens, it has the Resi series exclusive to it, and games like Eternal darkness are certainly aimed at adults, and it does have all the good licences now aswell, now even Final Fatasy, so Ninty will whip some ass in the near future, only PS2 have a chance in hell as it alredy has a large fan-base, Xbox yes it is the most powerful, but as the N64 proved graphics, power and speed aren't everything, u still need a good third party support Scott:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obijonkenobi Posted April 28, 2002 Share Posted April 28, 2002 It doesn't matter which console is the best as all consoles get their ass'es shreaded up to fish food by computers! I assume you would agree with me since its about consoles only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCanr2d2 Posted April 28, 2002 Author Share Posted April 28, 2002 Well, lets look at what Nintendo has traditionally aimed for with their games systems.. Perhaps pre-teens is a bit too low, but it is definitely a brand name that has a younger audience - all to do with their market positioning. It's more of a console that your mum would want to buy for you as a kid. XBOX and PS2 are more aimed at the late teen - early 20, ones with high disposable cash. My personal opinion is that there is still room for all three to succeed in most markets around. Only the PS2 and XBOX will compete directly with each other, the Gamecube, with the way Nintendo has always positioned itself, will be happy to take the younger part of the demographic and steal some of the market share from both Sony and Microsoft. Ever thought that the N64 failed because it was using a cartridge rather than a CD? Most of the PS2's appeal is that it can be modded to allow for copied games, or games out of your zone.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted April 28, 2002 Share Posted April 28, 2002 I like PS2 and X-box..i like PS2 cuz the backwards compatability (yay i don't have to plug in my ps1 to play a ps1 game!!!) I like X-Box cause my best friend likes it, and I'll probably get one sometime so we can share games back and forth, and I want a few games coming for it...Project Ego, Turok: Evolution, and Knights of the Old Republic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.L. Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 I hate the X-Box. I don't hate Microsoft. I use Windows XP and I'm happy with it. Now that, that is out of the way I'll continue. Why I hate the X-Box 1) It's huge. I want a compact console not a tank. 2) The controller. Sorry, my hands don't come in XXXL. 3) The Graphics. Good but where's the promises of far surpassing the PS2. I don't see it. 4) I have to buy a DVD kit!? **** off! 5) Ps2 - 300euro, X-Box - 500euro 6) Halo. Stole it from the PC. We get it in Autumn. Why I would get the X-Box 1) Hard Drive. No need for memory card. 2) Halo. Amazing game. I'll get the PC version anyway. 3) Um...um.....It's black? I really can't think of anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicket the Ewok Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Slow sales figures? Hmmmm, seemed to beat the PS2 to all major milestones along the way. So is it really struggling as many sites that love to hate MS say? In the US it has but in Japan and Europe it's had "it's teeth kicked in". In it's first month out in Japan it sold 190,000 units. In comparison the PS2 sold 2 million units in 3 days. In Germany, in it's first week it sold a pitiful 10,000 units. The price came down in Europe because it was doing so badly. You don't knock £100 off the price of your less than a month old console if sales are good, do you? And without a strong fanbase in Europe and Japan, European and Japanese developers will think twice about making games for it. Which is a shame because out of my three favourite games out on the PS2 two are Japanese (Metal Gear Solid 2 & Pro Evolution Soccer) and the other is British (Grand Theft Auto III). Eventually it will all come down to games and at the moment the X-Box only has one good game, in Halo, out for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrEEpaGe Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Originally posted by Zuckuss13 GameCube beats PS2 hands down in every aspect, and it ain't really aimed at pre-teens, it has the Resi series exclusive to it, and games like Eternal darkness are certainly aimed at adults, and it does have all the good licences now aswell, now even Final Fatasy, so Ninty will whip some ass in the near future, only PS2 have a chance in hell as it alredy has a large fan-base, Xbox yes it is the most powerful, but as the N64 proved graphics, power and speed aren't everything, u still need a good third party support Scott:D what??? how is it NOT aimed at pre teens?...the only way i would get a GC is if they came out with any decent games on it.....i guess that just about stops me from buying one....btw, i would much rather have an xbox than a game cube...you people have little faith in the power of the dark side that is manifested in microsoft....how do you think they manage to sell windows?? they have immense power in the pc industry, and that power WILL soon migrate over into the video game industry....i would be very surprised to see them fail....btw, M$ is losing money every time an xbox sells...i believe that it costs them approximately $400 to make them (not sure though it could have changed)....good games will come methinks... either way, im not buying any console =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuckuss13 Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 the only way i would get a GC is if they came out with any decent games on it Everybody know Nintendo make the worlds best games, they also have all the big companies working for the and ever heard of a little company caller Rare? PS2 oly have one good licence left GTA3, and XBoX only have Halo, GC has Resi , Mario, Zelda, ........ do i have to make u look more of a fool? Sorry if i sound crabby, but i hate people who slag nintendo Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.L. Posted April 30, 2002 Share Posted April 30, 2002 PS2 also has Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo, some Star Wars games (inc. Bounty Hunter which looks great, also on GC) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCanr2d2 Posted April 30, 2002 Author Share Posted April 30, 2002 Hmmm, interesting comparisons here. PS2 is following on from the original PS, had a big name, and after all, SONY is a Japanese brand, comparing Japanese sales is like saying how well does Honda sell in Japan compared to the rest of the world. It's like comparing the Australian Car market with the US Market. It is like comapring the US Music market compared to the world - the US has the highest country music selling rate in the world, nowhere else really buys the stuff... Microsoft has the resources to take both Nintendo and Sony head on, after all, MS was prepared to buy out Nintendo to get a start in the industry. Who thought when MS took on IBM in the beginning of the PC industry. As long as MS gets some kind of footing in the games industry, then they will build on it the same way Sony, with MASSIVE advertising for the PS2 built on the PS fan-base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.L. Posted April 30, 2002 Share Posted April 30, 2002 That doesn't really explain why the X-Box flopped in Europe does it!? None of the main 3 are European, we just hated teh thing over here. And to be honest, I don't expect it to last longer than the Dreamcast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicket the Ewok Posted April 30, 2002 Share Posted April 30, 2002 How can they possibly expect to gain a foot-hold in the industry when their Japanese sales are so pitiful? The fact they're not native to the country is a moot point, they'll have to conquer Japan if they want to conquer the world. Japan is the largest consumer of consoles and games in the world and a lot of the best and most popular games are developed there. Sony also has a much better brand image world-wide. Everyone has heard of Microsoft but they're universally hated and distrusted. Microsoft can spend all the money they like on advertising ($500 million, I heard) but they're never going to be perceived as being as "cool" and "now" as Sony. I want a console that has the best games reguardless of technology and because of it's failure in both Japan and Europe I don't see the X-Box ever being able to compete with Sony and, to a lesser extent, Nintendo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicket the Ewok Posted April 30, 2002 Share Posted April 30, 2002 How can they possibly expect to gain a foot-hold in the industry when their Japanese sales are so pitiful? The fact they're not native to the country is a moot point, they'll have to conquer Japan if they want to conquer the world. Japan is the largest consumer of consoles and games in the world and a lot of the best and most popular games are developed there. Sony also has a much better brand image world-wide. Everyone has heard of Microsoft but they're universally hated and distrusted. Microsoft can spend all the money they like on advertising ($500 million, I heard) but they're never going to be perceived as being as "cool" and "now" as Sony. I want a console that has the best games reguardless of technology and because of it's failure in both Japan and Europe I don't see the X-Box ever being able to compete with Sony and, to a lesser extent, Nintendo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raith Posted April 30, 2002 Share Posted April 30, 2002 I have all 3, so who gives a **** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anox Kleevah Posted April 30, 2002 Share Posted April 30, 2002 Originally posted by Raith I have all 3, so who gives a **** Common senced peeps who has some sort of criticism left and dont wanna spend 300$ on ****! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedantic Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 Screw consoles. PCs rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raith Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 Originally posted by Anox Kleevah Common senced peeps who has some sort of criticism left and dont wanna spend 300$ on ****! People who have £300 to spend should have enough common sense to make up their own mind without some idiot saying "This is Crap and that is Crap, what do you want to buy that for?, Consoles Suck ..... blah blah blah!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCanr2d2 Posted May 1, 2002 Author Share Posted May 1, 2002 Wicket, since when is Sony considered as a "cool" or "now" brand? I don't think that is the name that Sony has, many people don't associate the good name through the PS2, not many people call it a Sony PS2. I think all the branding is with the Playstation name, their electronic gear doesn't have the good name that it used to. As for Microsoft being universally hated, I think the majority of people don't really have an opinion on Microsoft, it is only the people who really care about PC's have an opinion either way. Many PC's are owned by families, who's main choice is what version of Windows to get, rather than get Linux or an Apple OS. They probably don't care that Windows is made by Microsoft, nor if Office is made by them, the software names are a lot better known than the company that makes them. Lets call that bad brandname awareness, but that is more to do with the proliferation of the PC into more homes, why does the PC sellers need to explain which company makes the software, other than both Office and Windows are "de facto standards" in the majority of the PC world. Not everyone wants, or needs to know the details, other than they have to click here to do this, and click there to do that. The majority of the current PC users are essentially computer illiterate, just use it for Word Processing/Email. I think the main problem is that people are wondering why a SOFTWARE company is releasing a console. I don't think everyone necessarily knows that Microsoft is one of the largest companies in the world, and the owner is the richest man. Sony had their good name come from selling electronic equipment etc, BUT like the majority of Japanese PC parts manufacturers, used alternate trading names just in case the PC wasn't the be all and end all that it is now, so that their name wasn't tarnished by their foray in PC hardware manufacturing. All about brand awareness in the market it is in, Microsoft has NO brand name in the console market, and as much as PC/XBOX mags say it is more powerful than whatever, unless it reaches the mainstream public that MS does have a console. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicket the Ewok Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 I think SOny has a very positive brand image, they're a brand that most people (although I'm not one of them) associate with high quality electrical goods. And their name is plastered all over the PS2. It's on the console, it's on the initial loading screen, it's on the boxes of all the games. I have to agree though that most of the marketing has been about the PlayStation brand name rather than the Sony brand name and they've done very well with it. They know who to target and with what. They've sponsored a lot of events that would be of interest to their main target audience - 18-24 year olds (Champions League Football, skateboarding events, etc). I've also met some of the people who've made commercials for Sony, they're not the kind of people who work for a large PR company, the kind of company I'm sure Microsoft have blown all their money with. They're talented, relatively underground artists. Well, they're talented, relatively underground and stinking rich artists now. As for nobody knowing who Bill Gates and Microsoft are, I don't think that's true. Bill Gates is a celebraty, he and Microsoft been mocked The Simpsons, in South Park and many other books, cartoons, films and TV shows. Everyone knows him as the world's richest man and the personification of "geek". And now with the Antitrust trials they're in the spotlight as much as ever. Even my mother knows and distrusts Microsoft and she can't even use a mobile phone. Marketing and brand image is a lot more important than technology or even games when it comes to selling consoles. Just look at the way the original PS destroyed Sega. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCanr2d2 Posted May 1, 2002 Author Share Posted May 1, 2002 Well, let's put it this way: Not here in Australia does he have the supposed high profile you make him out to have. We aren't talking about the PC crowd here, we are talking Joe and Jane Public, who may have a PC, but don't really care that Microsoft makes windows, and that is your average PC owner right now. It's not the highly knowledgable Pc literate person that most of us on here are. Most people find that Sony is a brand for goods that are overpriced when compared to the opposition in electrical goods. After all, when the PS2 was coming, there were ads everywhere here, and TV ads that had a black screen which I can't remember, and a voice saying "The Third Place", a 10-15 second ad that had you wondering "What The...?" Microsoft is relying too much on the "PC owners will know who we are, so they will buy one" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.L. Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 Out of the main 3, only Nintendo have a good name that you associate with Consoles. Maybe it's just me growing up in the Nintendo-Sega wars. I can say Nintendo Gamecube but Microsoft X-Box and Sony Playstation 2 just don't sound right. I have a PC which love and use for gaming. I have a console (PS2) which I mainly use for watching DVD's in my room and I have a few games but I don't really play them much to be honest. Still wating to get Spider-Man and FFX. Sony do however have an excellent customer support. My PS2 broke (sister dropped it). Sony paid for delievery and I had a new PS2 within a week. A friend had an X-Box that never worked. Took Microsoft a month and a half to sort it out. By then he had gotten a PS2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'akt Sangwar Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 imho ps2 beats em all xbox is just 2 fecking huge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Simpson Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 xbox is just 2 fecking huge I always fail to see this a valid argument for anything. Your PC is probably 2-3 times bigger than the Xbox. Why not complain about that instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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