Comparison of PS2 and X-Box launch (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Kleist]

Link Removed
True, it's from a PS2 site, but I think it's a good example

 

[Dan B]

Was that supposed to be humorous?

 

[Masood Ali]

Hahaha, I got a good giggle out of it.

BTW, considering the fact that the PS2 sold over 900,000 units at launch versus the Xbox's 130,000 units, I don't think that picture is stretching the truth at all.

 

[James Zos]

The funniest thing about those pictures is that one guy, sitting all by himself in the bottom photo--he got the better system.

 

[Chris_Anders]

PS2? Whats that? Didn't that come out like a year ago? I cant remember? Its a game system right

 

[Christopher Chung]

Hahaha funny

 

[Masood Ali]

PS2? Whats that? Didn't that come out like a year ago? I cant remember? Its a game system right

Yeah, its the one with all the software, remember? Software are those little discs that actually determine how great the hardware is that plays them.

 

[Scott L]

As a guy who waited overnight in line for both systems, I can wholeheartedly agree! And I'm in the US...

 

[Chris Bardon]

Interesting comment about the software, considering that the Ps2 had almost none of it at launch. It really took it about six months to a year to get going-same thing that'll happen to the Xbox. As for the Japanese sales numbers, I remember reading that more than half of those sold as pretty much DVD players only, since the software sales were really low after launch.

 

[Larry Seno Jr.]

I hardly think that comparing a racist, nationalist, jingoistic country like Japan to a free market economy such as the United States is a good comparison.

 

[BrianB]

[snip]

 

[Masood Ali]

Despite Larry's comments, I think MS does know that Japan is a very important market.

Disregarding Sony (because they're on a different level sales-wise), Nintendo and MS competing to see who gains control of the majority of the 3 markets. Winning any two (Japan, US, Europe), will ensure that company a berth in the 2005 console race against Sony's PS3.

 

[Romier S]

I hardly think that comparing a racist, nationalist, jingoistic country like Japan to a free market economy such as the United States is a good comparison.

:rolleyes

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If both consoles launched at the same time, then the lack of software could be said for both. The X-Box has one REALLY good game a bunch of sub-par or questionable games, while the PS2 had a bunch of OK or sub-par games.

As of right now, the PS2 has a lead, so we shouldn't use "what if"s. The fact of the matter is that the PS2 has more games and better games than the X-Box, period. If you had $300 and had to choose, you should go to the PS2 because of what you can get right now, regardless of what you might get in the future (which is going to be good for both consoles).

And the PS2 would have had a better launch in Japan than the X-Box anyway. Why? The same reasons it had a good launch to begin with.

 

[MikeM]

The funniest thing about those pictures is that one guy, sitting all by himself in the bottom photo--he got the better system.

Huh? That guy in front of Softmap in the bottom pic is just some drunken Salary Man working off the effects of too many sake bombs from the night before.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Morgan, please don't tell me that Gotham is a sub-par or questionable game, especially since as far as we know you have never even played it. And Halo wasn't just a "good game", it deserves serious consideration for Game of the Year. So that's one good game and one all-time great at launch, along with a few other solid titles like Oddworld, Amped, and DOA3 (hey, if you've never played DOA2, then DOA3 is pretty incredible).

That is a damn good launch. But why are we rehashing this again?

The Xbox didn't sell well in Japan at launch. So, is anyone really surprised? Their economy is in the hurt locker, and they have never been quick to embrace foreign products in the best of times (which I think is what Larry was getting at). It's still a solid system and a viable contender in the market, and once word of mouth gets out over there (the economy getting a boost wouldn't hurt either) I'm sure it will do just fine. Feel free to disagree. Plenty of people said it would flop here, too, although you'd be hard-pressed to find them now.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

HALO is amazing, thats agreed apon.

But PGR? I could care less about racing games, and so could many people. The fact that its a launch game (and a pretty good one, at that) would help it more, but I wouldn't exactly consider DoA3 (a strikingly similar rehash of a game on PS2), HALO, and PGR (which is actually a spinoff of a PS2 game that was from a DC game) to be huge reasons to get an X-Box over a PS2 (mostly my opinion, since I could care less about DoA3 and PGR anyway). There are still some other good games, but they are just good, not great or amazing.

My point still stands that the PS2 would have done better anyway.

 

[DonWinzen]

I typically stay away from politics but here goes:

Larry: It is not considered politically correct to state the truth about other countries, we are only allowed to bash the United States. Shame on you for not noticing the difference!

Note: I own an Isuzu, Sony PS2, and other electronics from Japan but I feel that the US is the best country in the world even though most would like to make us feel ashamed of that "fact".

 

[Gary King]

Well, given that GT3 has sold over 2M units, I'd question the validity of your knock against racing games. They sell quite nicely -- and PGR, while not an all-time classic, is a solid racing title (and its better than any title available at the PS2's launch in either Japan or the US, save SSX).

Hell, it took 7+ months after the US launch (13+ months after the Japanese launch) for the PS2 to get a game that was really worth playing other than SSX (GT3 and Twisted Metal: Black), unless you include perennial titles like Madden.

After 4 1/2 months, the Xbox has a nice library of solid-great exclusive titles (Project Gotham Racing, Munch's Oddyssee, BloodWake, Rallisport Challenge, Jet Set Radio Future, Halo, Amped, Dead or Alive 3, Fuzion Frenzy), and some fantastic ports (Tony Hawk 2X, Tony Hawk 3, Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams, Max Payne).

Of course, I'm also of the opinion that there isn't a game in the PS2 library that compares favorably with Halo.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Morgan, you are saying that if the Xbox and the PS2 were to go back in time and relaunch simultaneously in Japan with the exact same titles that they originally launched with, the PS2 would outsell the Xbox? Is that what you mean by your argument?

Hmm, you may in fact be right, but more for the reasons that Larry mentioned than any game-related reasons.