Who won the next gen Game Console war for 2013? (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Collins]

Well now that the sales figures have came in and have been scrutinized, we have data that shows who won in shipments of their next-gen game console in 2013.

Microsoft bragged that about 3M XBox One consoles being shipped in 2013, but Sony countered by stating that they shipped 4.2M PS4's in 2013. Was that because they shipped one week earlier? Given that they said they shipped more than 1M in the first week, it probably is the case.

What will be interesting to see is how those next-gen consoles fare over the next quarter and what that $100 price delta means.

I've only used my XBox One to do Skype with my mom. We are still playing Minecraft on the XBox 360... I can't see buying it over again just to have a bigger world.

My mother wasn't really impressed with the newer Kinect as it didn't show the kids on the bottom (i.e. not a wide enough angle lens).

Who thinks the $100 price delta is going to be the determining factor on who is the leader for this gen of game consoles?

 

[Sam Posten]

The only correct answer is "It doesn't matter".Slightly behind that is "nobody but fanboy teenagers cares".

 

[Edwin-S]

It is always going to come down to the games and, so far, both Sony and MicroSoft have done a piss-poor job of getting product out there that takes advantage of these new systems. I have had my PS4 since launch. It is January now and I have yet to see anything new on the shelves that wasn't on there from launch date. Still, I think that sales of the PS4 are pretty well going to outstrip XBOXONE on a global basis. Domestically? Who knows? This gen, PS4 might narrowly beat out the XBONE but it could go either way. SONY was bleating that they were focusing on the gaming side. Well, I have yet to see that they are doing anything to take care of gamers.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I'd argue that the best value (price, games, features) was the Wii U.

Consoles and games sold, Sony wins. Sam is right that it doesn't matter, though. This is like trying to call the winner of a race once they've taken a couple steps in a 100m dash.

That said, I do not think the 1 week head start of the PS4 did much for Sony. MS launched a week later but in way more territories. The bad press MS got last summer combined with the good press Sony got and the price difference probably helped them way way way more than the 1 week delay.

An neither has yet to launch in Japan, which will be very interesting.

 

[Edwin-S]

I doubt the Japanese results will be all that interesting. XBOX has always been the loser in that market and I don't expect the result to be any different when the BONE and the PS4 launch in that region. To me, China would be the more interesting market to watch if there were actually enough people who could afford to buy the machines that they are manufacturing.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

You're right, but on top of that MS hasn't even announced a release date for Japan yet. PS4 comes out in a few weeks, I believe.

 

[mattCR]

I have all three. Opening thoughts:

The best games are easily on the WiiU. Sorry, but Mario3d, Zelda, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101 are better than anything out on either of the other next-gen consoles. That said, if you're after FPS/etc. what is out on the other consoles is a mixed bag.

We bought Ryse for the XBOX360, and it's -horrible-. I mean, borderline unplayable button masher that looks pretty but sucks; on the other hand, Forza5 on the XBOX1 is a blast. So far, the best on XBOX1: Forza5, Peggle2, and XBOX Fitness.

On the PS4, I wasn't in any way impressed with Killzone which is too clunky, and BF4, on both platforms is riddled with enough bugs to make it not matter.
Knack was 'fun' but not great, though I enjoyed it. The kids enjoy Skylanders Swap Force. So far, the best on PS4: Pinball (which is FANTASTIC in 3D), Don't Stare and Resogun.

Lots to look forward to though; Infamous Second son soon, and so on. We'll see.

 

[Edwin-S]

So far on the PS4 the ones I have liked best are NFS:Rivals and AC4: Black Flag.Surprisingly, Zelda:ALBW has been pretty decent on the 3DS XL; although, I find I play it sans 3D the most. I say it is surprising because I normally think Nintendo games are too kiddie. The 3DS XL is the first Nintendo product I have ever owned and I have actually had quite a bit of fun playing ALBW.

 

[Ruz-El]

I'm tempted to be a dick and say neither have won. We're two months into the launch, hardly any new games on the shelves for either system, and around my neck of the woods, you can't even buy the systems themselves. I get that Christmas sales are important, but to still not have product on the shelves?

Is the lack of systems on the shelves creating demand or is it showing potential customers that were excited that now that we're past the launch heat, maybe we don't need to upgrade?

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Around me (the greater NYC metro area) there are some systems on shelves and in stores. Not a lot, but they can be found if you're really looking. They can also be found sporadically online. The reason they aren't there is because they're sold out, but the demand for next-gen stuff isn't too high right now; everyone who wanted one has probably already gotten it and everyone else is waiting for more games.

I was playing Knack yesterday and thought about how the game is really pretty but, honestly, isn't anything that couldn't be done on the PS3. Granted, there would be less particle effects and the cutscenes would probably be pre-rendered (I really can't tell whether they are or not) but the gameplay, the movement and controls and stuff, could be done on even 15 year old hardware. The only thing we're getting is better graphics. I believe the exact same thing can be said of Ryse (the flagship crappy launch XB1 exclusive).

I think the fact that developers are moving on to the new systems is what will drive sales more than anything else. We don't NEED new hardware, but the developers want it and that's where they will be.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

What will drive sales is when those developers start releasing games that *really* make people want to get the new systems. That hasn't really happened yet.

My neighbor pre-ordered an XBone and a PS4 with the intent of re-selling them. He ended up returning the XBone to the store and just keeping the PS4 to play with his kid.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

You may think that hasn't happened yet, but both next-gen consoles sold well enough to set records for their respective brands. The reason demand for re-sold consoles is so low, like your friend saw, is that they're not THAT hard to come by, not like the PS2 or Wii at their launches.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

What I meant was that we haven't yet seen true system-selling games for the PS4 or XBone. Which makes their sales so far impressive, but, I suspect, a shadow of what they'll be once a couple of megahit titles hit the shelves.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I don't know, I think that its almost a good thing nothing huge is out yet. They both were just able to keep up with demand WITHOUT a major game. Imagine how crazy it would have been if, say, Halo and Uncharted both came out in November.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I bet my neighbor could imagine that.