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X-Box 2 will win next console battle (1 Viewer)

Richard Paul

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This is something I heard as well since the X-box has supposedly cost Microsoft between one and two billion dollars. I have heard that Microsoft was hoping to make a simplified Microsoft computer as the home computer of the future and wanted to test the idea with the X-box. Considering they are thinking of not having a hard drive in the X-box 2 I now realize they have given up on that idea and are now just trying to make a game machine. Like most of their ventures outside the computer world Microsoft is burning money with the X-box. This is one of the main reasons they are releasing the X-box 2 so quickly. They hope to lower their costs and maybe even start making a profit.
 

Morgan Jolley

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If anything, the main focus of the next round of consoles will be creativity in the interface, such as cameras, microphones, gyroscopic controllers, and whatnot. Graphical technology can get better and better, but with Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid looking like they do right now, does the amount of polygons start to become any more important than how fun the game is or how creative the developer can become? Look at some of the more popular (if only popular to critics) games of the last year or so; most of them involved a new idea in gameplay or something very unique, not just the next game with the prettiest graphics.

The next round will probably belong to Sony simply because of the sheer number of exclusives (regardless of what you think of their quality; I'm not a fan of GTA, but I'll buy PS3 for just about any other exclusive they've got) and the fact that it's Sony's next PlayStation. They've shown once that you don't need the best hardware to win a generation. In fact, you don't even need to be the first out. And beyond that, you don't even need a bunch of good launch titles. You don't need a good online structure, either.

My point is, regardless of the specs of the X-Box, regardless of the quality of the games, regardless of the legacy the X-Box is creating, that doesn't mean Sony's not going to win the next round. It's being predicted all across the board, and for very good reason.

Though, frankly, I'm quite satisfied with all 3 consoles that I own.
 

Steve Bjorg

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While I wish that more gamers would appreciate innovation over polygon count with little game depth, Doom3 simply shatters this illusion beyond any point of refutability. First impressions are what matter the most. Everything else is secondary, if taken into consideration at all.
 

Richard Paul

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Though I agree with the point that how a game looks matters a great deal most people still demand that the gameplay be good as well. Though Halo would have sold well even if it played like crap it would not have been a franchise or anywhere near as successful if it had. Its like Van Helsing which had loads of CGI and special effects and made over $150 million dollars. It may have made money but they have no plans for a sequel and it will sell badly on DVD. No one will ever say that it was a great movie and in five years few people will even remember it and if they do they'll wonder why it was such a crappy movie. This applies to games as well since though a bad game can sell it won't for long and it will definitely not become a succesful franchise. In other words reputation still matters and is the reason people look forward to a game from Bungie/Blizzard/(insert favorite game company) far more than a game from most companies.
 

DaveGTP

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I personally doubt it. Every generation, they move to some F'd up controller based on notions like this. I haven't seen it work yet, and doubt to see it work in the near future. I still think the eyetoy is a brief fad. How many eyetoy games are there, and how many people have one?

If somebody gets a mouse-like gadget working for a console, perhaps you'll see a flood of RTS titles. I still hope for a good mouse like controller (analog stick doesn't cut it).
 

Tony_Ramos

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I guess we agree on some things:

1.) Hardware matters, graphics matter, and can add to gameplay. DOOM3 is one of hte scariest games out there B/C of it's graphics and sound design. The scares ARE the gameplay. At the least, graphics sell systems.

2.) PS2 sold b/c it came with the right technolgoy at the right time. Will the same happen with PS3? B/c you can basically rule out the PC ports that are gaining popularity, INCLUDING the original HALO!

3.) PS2 also sold well b/c they had exclusive franchises. Note that all these franchises were established before X-Box was released.


The question is, will PS3 be able to maintain these exclusive franchises now that there is a viable Western-market competitor? If microsoft can to steel any of these key franchises, especially GTA 4, I feel confident they can take Sony head-on.

You guys have convinced me of several things, and to a certain extent I'm prognosticating and going on a hunch. I'm also a dejected PS2 owner who has seen the console's potential unrealized and too many derivative sequels, while X-Box is getting the innovative new titles and PC-style games & ports.
 

BrianB

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There's support from Sony, Sega, EA & others. About 2 million of the units have shipped in Europe with sales VERY strong. There's more EyeToy owners than XBL subscribers I believe.
 

LaMarcus

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Well, personally I own a PS2 and a Xbox. My PS2 collects dust in my daughter's bedroom as a dvd player. My Xbox is hooked up to the big screen, because it looks better, and that with DD 5.1 in game is the reason it gets played.

Now Hometheater aside I'd still be a hardcore PS2 fan. The point about the PS2 being purchased because of the dvd feature is dead on. Because when it came out I was not a HTF member yet, and it was my only dvd player.

Now I will say that if Xbox came out at the same time that the PS2 did it would have sold a lot better, only because the PS2 was sold out every where, lol. You had to wait a month to get the damn thing, so your waiting around with $300 dollars in your pocket wanting a console. I think on the strength of that it would have sold better.

So fast forward to the future. PS3 will sell better than the X2 because of name recognition alone. You just say the name PS3 and fan start to get goose bumps. When it does come out, and it does everything that the Xbox does now (relevant to HT), then I will become a PS player again.
 

Joe Szott

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This is actually turning into an interesting thread. Some more thoughts.

What Tony said does have some merit, although it's impossible to qualify. When the PS2 launched I remember the general thinking (and mine too) was that the games were ok. Not great, not visually stunning, not much better than the Dreamcast, but ok. Sony coasted on OK for about 6-9 months until the real next gen titles started trickling in. In that time, DC also folded and most everyone assumed PS2 would own this generation before xbox even arrived.

But what would have happened if at the same time as those lackluster launch titles, xbox came out with Halo and DOA3? Maybe that would have put a bit of a drain on the Sony hype and these consoles could have run more neck-in-neck this gen? I'm not sure, but if you put Onimusha next to Halo and asked me to buy a console based on just that, the decision would have taken about 2 seconds flat.

So who knows in this next gen what will happen. I think each console will likely carve out it's own niche and try to expand on that base (ala Gamecube), I seriously don't think we will have a clear cut winner 1-2 years in.
 

Tony_Ramos

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Joe Szott:

Actually, going against my own theory, I think that Dreamcast's software was great. It lends credence to the idea that good software doesn't matter. So there must have been some other reason Sony won. I'm thinking it's that they marketed the system as being more hi-tech, sleeker, DVDs, etc.

but then again, X-Box had that marketing plan too, and so, if they can muster up the same caliber of software this time, maybe they can beat Sony. Nintendo is still very profitable with just a few A caliber titles, so maybe Microsoft could make it if they stuck to that formula.

However, it is sounding to me like Sony's quantity, rather than quality, is what may have won the mass market race, and could do so again. The ppl here are starting to convince me on that. But if MS can get the next GTA and Final Fantasy, they might get more 3rd party support, and all the crap truck racing and 3rd rate first-person shooters in the world probably won't save Sony if that happens.
 

DaveGTP

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Honestly, that would get me right there. I don't really care about GTA personally, but my console $$ goes to whichever console has the best RPG selection. And, with the Square/Enix attitude of making games for whichever console has the most hardware, that ends up being Sony.


We ended up with a cube only because my wife wanted to play a couple of cube games (like Animal Crossing, Pikmin). I would have waited on a cube until Mario Kart came out.
 

Jay Mitchosky

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This is a really good thread and discussion. It will definitely be an interesting time for gamers when these next generation consoles are released (why do people still call Xbox and PS2 "next gen" when they're actually "current gen" ;) ). It will be very interesting to see how Microsoft approaches the X2 in terms of release, marketing, launch titles, etc. When the Xbox came out they were new to console gaming. Now with some experience (some good, some bad) I wonder how they'll apply themselves. Sony had a history with console gaming prior to the PS2.
 

LaMarcus

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I wish dreamcast would have stayed a float. I wasn't really a big Sega fan. But when I saw NFL 2k for the first time, oh man, I was mesmerized. I could not believe how real they looked. Instantly I became a Sega fan, it was love at first sight.

I wish that Sega would send more of the dreamcast titles to Xbox. Like Rush: San Francisco. I LOVED that game on dreamcast, and I'm not really a big car racer.

I think if Xbox would do that and get some of the better Rare title like Killer Instinct, they'd make a killing with the old Sega and Nintendo fans. This makes me want to start a history of games thread. ;)
 

Joe Szott

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Amen to that. I love my xbox, but second is definitely the DC. Part of the xbox love is that they sucked up several of my favorite Sega/DC licenses like JSR and Panzer Dragoon.

DC was truly a marvel, I wish it had made it a few more years. Game for game, it had the funnest titles of any console I can remember.
 

Romier S

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Rush isn't a Sega title, its a Midway property and they have a new Rush game due out this year for PS2 and Xbox. You can check it out here:

Xbox

PS2
 

LaMarcus

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Oh..my....God!!! That game is going to be sweet, I wish it could be like the future one and have the wings you can expand, and be able to play battle cars on it. I can't wait to play that, unfortunately I'll be waiting until next year to play it.



I wasn't saying that it was a quote/unquote Sega title, but just a game that was on Dreamcast that I'd like to see on Xbox.

But thanks for the link though, that made my day.
 

BrianB

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You said "I wish that Sega would send more of the dreamcast titles to Xbox. Like Rush: San Francisco. "

Sega can't send it to the Xbox, only Midway.
 

PeterK

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The only console I have right now is the N64. I think Xbox sales will get a boost when halo2 releases. I will probably get one then and I know several others who are also planning to
 

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