News write-up trashes XBOX! (1 Viewer)

[JeffreyH]

http://www.msnbc.com/news/648811.asp?cp1=&cp1=1#BODY
Check that link out, an insight on the Xbox system from MSNBC.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I totally agree with the review. They probably should have taken into account that the games they played were most likely incomplete, but they are dead on in my book. MS doesn't know what they are doing and they think they can just throw a bunch of good things together into a large package, ship it out, and make profit. MS makes computer stuff, which usually targets people who will reorganize a whole room to make space for a product. Videogames are different, and MS isn't making a smooth conversion from one to the other.

 

[brian a]

Which computer does microsoft make?
brianca.

 

[Kyle-K]

I think it's funny that this article is listed on MSNBC
--kyle

 

[Morgan Jolley]

MS doesn't make computers, but they do make some accessories and software. People will go out and buy a brand new PC or will soup up a PC just to get the best things out of it. Console gamers do not, so MS is targeting a different audience right there.

 

[James D S]

Says a lot about integrity, doesn't it.
The article doesn't say anything we don't already know and several opinions we've already heard.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

So? We have heard this before, and them saying it again just shows some validity to the opinions expressed by the reviewer and others with similar opinions.

 

[Gary King]

We have heard this before, and them saying it again just shows some validity to the opinions expressed by the reviewer and others with similar opinions

Since when have Newsweek's video game opinions been given any attention at all? I seem to recall them naming Myst the "Best Game Ever." And about a year ago (maybe 2), they ran an op-ed piece loaded with invectives which asserted that video games would never, nor could they ever be, art. The reviewer's opinions are the reviewer's opinions... and in Newsweek's case, I've learned to ignore them.
Off-topic, I consider the rest of Newsweek just as worthless as I consider their video game section.

 

[Dean Cooper]

I agree with James and Gary, the clown that wrote this didn't do his homework. This article is something I would of expected right after E3, not now. Its dated and negatively biased against MS...big friggin suprise there.
NEXT!
Dean

 

[Gary King]

I'm not sure I'd call it biased, just ignorant. There were some rather uneducated comments made about the PS2 and Gamecube in the article, too.

 

[David_LM]

Sounded more like a Microsoft review rather than an XBox review. The following quote from the Newsweek article exposes an obvious bias on the part of the reviewer.quote: Lift up the emperor’s new threads and you’ll see the same old company single-mindedly focusing more on market domination than on initial quality. That approach has served it well in operating systems and productivity software, where it could keep offering improvements until it got the product right. And Microsoft has approached the Xbox hardware with a software mentality—emphasizing a laundry list of marketable features over judicious, timely design.[/quote]The article goes on to say:quote: The result: a game console that’s expensive to manufacture, a bulky, awkward controller that few seem to like and an underwhelming lineup of launch games. This doesn’t mean the Xbox won’t ultimately prevail. It means that Bill Gates has made a large and potentially expensive bet.[/quote]The fact that it is expensive to manufacture is MS's problem, not the consumer since the list price is only $299 (same as PS2). The comment that few like the controller is very debateable. The comment that there is an underwhelming lineup of launch games is also debateable, however even if it is true, many other great games are right around the corner.
Now this last quote from the Newsweek article concerns me:quote: BOTH OF MICROSOFT’S RIVALS have weaknesses. PS2 developers are still complaining about the difficulty of making games under the complicated Sony technology. And Nintendo is still releasing games at a snail’s pace and doing business in a way that suits Nintendo far better than it does independent game publishers.[/quote]
[Edited last by David_LM on October 31, 2001 at 08:50 PM]

 

[Brandon_H]

Disagree with the article if you want to, but don't mistake this as a "hard news" piece. This is obviously meant as an analysis or column. Someone at MSNBC.com should have slugged it as such. And as such, the author is supposed to express an informed opinion. That's what columnists and analysts get paid to do.
The fact that the article appears in the "Business & Money" section says volumes. It's not aimed at technogeeks like us.
It's aimed at the Microsoft stockholders in middle America who don't read EGM or Next Gen, and don't care how many polygons Xbox pushes or how many exclusive titles Microsoft wraps up for its new toy. All they care about is whether Redmond is making smart, savvy decisions that will make their dividends and retirement investments go up.
This piece is meant to inform them about Xbox and warn them of the potential pitfalls, and frankly, I think it succeeds. Betcha Microsoft's slick annual report doesn't detail many of the hurdles Xbox faces as described here.
I speak not as a fanboy, but as a journalist. I have already ordered an Xbox and a Gamecube to go along with my PS2, and could care less what this writer or anyone else thinks about the console.
But I think that, perhaps, the purpose of this column and its intended audience should be considered before everyone digs into their respective trenches and starts quoting it as ammunition in an increasingly ridiculous argument over a video-game machine.

 

[Camp]

The fact that it is expensive to manufacture is MS's problem, not the consumer since the list price is only $299 (same as PS2).

It is absolutly the consumer's problem.
If Xbox really costs a significant amount more to manufature than it's competitors it means Microsoft must sell more software and accessories than Sony and Nintendo. If they are unsuccessful in out-selling their competition in software (not an easy thing to do) they will bleed out and leave the market. They aren't making games because they're fun...this is about making money.
Consumers will then be left with a $300+ investment to sit next to their Dreamcast.

 

[Gary King]

It costs less to manufacture an Xbox than a PS2.
You don't enter the console market if you're only planning for near-term gains. Microsoft has acknowledged as much in their profit projections and other filings/announcements, and the Xbox isn't the same last-ditch hardware effort that the Dreamcast was for Sega. I don't think there is any reason to believe that Microsoft is going to dump the Xbox in 2 years, unless you expect the Xbox to sell dozens of units at most.

 

[Dean DeMass]

It costs less to manufacture an Xbox than a PS2.

I thought this was the exact opposite. I just can't see how the X-Box is cheaper to make than a PS2.
-Dean-
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My HT Equipment
"I've seen you and you are not cool."

 

[RANDY FISHER]

"The result: a game console that’s expensive to manufacture, a bulky, awkward controller that few seem to like and an underwhelming lineup of launch games. This doesn’t mean the Xbox won’t ultimately prevail. It means that Bill Gates has made a large and potentially expensive bet."
Sounds like 3DO-2 to me.
Randy

 

[Joel Mack]

I just can't see how the X-Box is cheaper to make than a PS2.

Parts-wise, it can't possibly be.
Labor-wise, though, I dunno...
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bitch about movies and share pornography."

 

[Michael St. Clair]

3DO? Sounds more like the next "Playstation" to me.
3DO
- Company new to game hardware business
- Company with limited cash resources
- Console targeted as "entertainement/educational"
- Console has mediocre 3rd party support from contemporary console game publishers.
- Console launched at 4X the price of it's nearest current competitors
PSX
- Company new to game hardware business
- Company with near-limitless cash resources
- Console targeted for gaming
- Console has very good 3rd party support from contemporary console game publishers.
- Console launched at same or less than it's nearest current competitors
Which does it sound more like to you?
A lot of people predicted that the PSX would fail for many of the reasons that people are predicting the XBox will fail.
The XBox may succeed. It may fail. Realistically, we won't even have a very good idea until xmas 2002. There will be articles predicting both, even in the mass media.
If touting the articles that support your viewpoint while ignoring the ones that don't gives you some sort of personal validation, go for it.

[Edited last by Michael St. Clair on November 01, 2001 at 09:46 AM]

 

[Shawn O]

That's a pretty good comparison.Looks more like the PSX to me.
Shawn

 

[Mark Leiter]

I've been wondering what problem eveyone has with the controller? I had the chance to see and feel it the other day as far as i can tell it has a better quality feel than either PS2 or DC.
Everyone says it too big?!? I say screw the friggin twelve year olds. If im the one that going to shell out $400+ dollars i want the dang thing to fit my hand. That was the one thing I hated about having the DC. Even the Third party controllers were too small.
just my 2 pence
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Mark F. Leiter
My 1995 Corvette is for sale. Please view the web site I have set-up if you are interested.
www.corvetteforum.net/c4/mark_leiter
[Edited last by Mark Leiter on November 01, 2001 at 01:59 PM]