before E3 I thought Sony Would own the marketshare again this gen

London Lawson · 05-17-2006, 11:31 AM

But after the dismail and pathetic showing at E3 I don't think so. In Japan i'm sure it will still rule the roost along with Nintendo, but everywhere else I think the 360 will give it some serious comp. MS put on one heck of a show and had the games to show it. I think Sony got a little to confident and it will come back to bite them in the butt.

The 360 may not come out this gen with the most sales but I would wager they will take a big chunk of that valueable marketshare.

Gears of War will own you!
http://xboxmovies.teamxbox.com/xbox-...-E3-2006-Demo/

Josh Simpson · 05-17-2006, 04:19 PM

It's really hard to say. I'm sure they will make plenty of money, but that price tag, at least early on will keep some people away. I agree with you that Microsoft and Nintendo made pretty dang good showings at E3. I enjoy the competition and think it's a good thing for gamers.

Steve Y · 05-17-2006, 04:24 PM

"Dismal and pathetic" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but of the three big console manufacturers at E3, Sony had the weakest presentation. It didn't help that their new console is priced way out of the range that many people are willing to pay, even for early adopters.

One shouldn't underestimate the power of the Playstation name. Sony's market foothold is extremely strong, and that name recognition may, for those that can afford it, be like investing in a new car from the brand you trust.

Sony should silence its top brass, though. Ken Kutaragi, SCEA's president, was recently quoted saying that the PS3 is probably "too cheap". That may be right technically if you do a cost analysis of the new technology behind the system, but you don't want to send the message to your consumer base, "you should be taking out a loan for the privilege of owning our technology, but we're giving you a break and only charging you up one nostril." Not smart.

As for Microsoft... it knows its audience, and is doing a great job of delivering exactly what that audience wants, primarily war and driving games for younger males. This is a very strange time for gaming. The line between consoles and computer systems is blurring, and some of the problems associated with PCs are now crossing over into console territory. Can't say this excites me much, despite all the pretty graphics. It's going to be really exciting in a year or so when the 360's hardware problems are ironed out and it starts hitting a stride and expanding its genres. I hope it gives Sony a run for its money.

Nintendo's not in the Microsoft/Sony console race. The "Wii" is on a completely different track, and they're coming in first because they're the only company there. Wonder if anyone will show up? Their console with the terrible name got more buzz than Microsoft at E3.

Ray Chuang · 05-18-2006, 12:08 AM

The biggest strength with Microsoft's Xbox 360 is online gameplay, especially with the superb Xbox Live centralized system for online operations. Microsoft will continue to build on this strength for years to come.

Nintendo has a hit with the strange-sounding Wii, mostly because the new controller design of the Wii allows for new ways for the gamer to interact with the game far more realistically. Also, it does help that Nintendo wil likely price Wii around US$200 for the console itself.

The big question with Sony is will they offer a centralized system for online gameplay akin to Xbox Live? If they do, that makes online multiplayer gaming far easier, and over time could erase Microsoft's advantage in this arena.

London Lawson · 05-18-2006, 12:18 AM

It will take Sony years to lay the infastucture and backbone of a network similar to live i'm sure. MS has been working on live going on 4 years. The way MS brought E3 trailers and demos over Live was great!

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Ken Chui · 05-18-2006, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by London Lawson

It will take Sony years to lay the infastucture and backbone of a network similar to live i'm sure.

Sony's PS3 network may be built from the ground up, but they also have the benefit of sitting back and taking notes from their immediate competitor as to what works and what doesn't for the past four years and incorporating that knowledge into their own, plus, they can also draw from their own experience as an ISP operator (they run Japan's second largest ISP).

It's possible that Sony could offer lower monthly/yearly subscription fees* (when compared with Xbox Live) to offset the initial cost of a PS3 purchase. I'm hoping Sony will divulge more info on the online network prior to, or during the Tokyo Game Show in September.

EricW · 05-18-2006, 02:30 PM

apparently the PS3 online gaming is going to be FREE... i wonder if they can pull that off - i mean if the service will be as good as XBL- which is pretty lagless for the few games i've played (360-GRAW and a bunch of 1st gen xbox games)

Jeffery_H · 05-22-2006, 10:35 AM

Quote:

apparently the PS3 online gaming is going to be FREE... i wonder if they can pull that off - i mean if the service will be as good as XBL- which is pretty lagless for the few games i've played (360-GRAW and a bunch of 1st gen xbox games)

You are correct about this. At E3 Sony said they planned to let users play most on-line games free with no subscription fee. However, they did NOT say ALL games would be, such as on-line role playing games where a lot of money is made. Still, very cool to have an option to play some games with no fee.

The BEST thing Microsoft has done and continues to build upon with Live is the Arcade. They promoted it quite a bit and is a serious key factor in their leadership on-line. More companies are coming on with old school games to go head-to-head with or compete for high scores. Games like Frogger, Pac-Man, etc. with titles like Street Fighter and Konomi games coming. It's like having MAME only better since there is no involved setup to do plus you get to compete old school style with others on-line which you can't do with MAME. Never underestimate the old school gamer!

Mike LS · 05-23-2006, 04:12 PM

Quote:

It's like having MAME only better since there is no involved setup to do plus you get to compete old school style with others on-line which you can't do with MAME. Never underestimate the old school gamer!

A bit off topic, but there are some emulators that allow you to play classic 2 player games online. I know of one SNES program where you can play Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat online. Not quite the Live experience, but major fun nonetheless.
In some ways it's better because you can use an original console controller instead of having to get used to the contols mapped on a 360 pad. It's amazing how many of those old MKII combos come back to you when you get an SNES contoller in your hands.