Sony PS3 Picking Up Steam: Xbox 360 loses its mojo
Filed under: Electronics, Gaming, Sony Playstation 3, Xbox 360 | By: Daniel
Posted on: August 18, 2008 | 6 Comments
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is still a very popular games console but as it ages its becoming clear that the next-generation games console has some major weaknesses compared to the Sony Playstation 3.
When we look closer at Microsoft’s strategy for the Xbox 360 its clear that this needs addressing if the 360 is to get its mojo back. The Sony PS3 has been consistently been chipping away at the 360’s lead in both hardware and software sales in the US.
The PS3 looked like it had no chance when it launched thanks to the Xbox 360 having a hold on the next-gen gamer with better games, and a better online strategy. Microsoft also cornered much of the gaming market by taking some of the largest franchises.
The Xbox 360 has Devil May Cry, Grand Theft Auto, and now Final Fantasy! But the PlayStation 3 still has these games, and with Microsoft backing the wrong optical format (HD-DVD), how many discs will Fantasy XIII take up when it hits the Xbox 360?
Microsoft has some amazing racing franchises, but none of these compare to the power that Gran Turismo brings to the Playstation 3. Halo makes the 360 a system-seller, but MGS4 is still a PS3 exclusive. Gears of War 2 is an amazing game, but Killzone 2 and Resistance 2 look just as good in terms of online play, scale, and graphics.
Playstation’s Home could be the secret weapon that gives the PS3 an edge that it needs in online play. LittleBigPlanet is another point for the PS3, and its one of the most anticipated casual games ever.
If you live in the United States, then you will tend to focus on U.S. gaming sales but remember that video games are an international business. Microsoft has been ruling the U.S. gaming market, but is struggling in other markets. The Sony PS3 does good business in Europe and Japan, how can Microsoft improve in these markets?
We have seen sales spikes for the 360 in Japan and Europe, but this is when there is a launch of big-name titles, otherwise the 360 fails to impress. Microsoft depends on US sales.
Microsoft has one system that does well in one market. The 360 simply has to step it up outside of the United States.
Now Microsoft may have fixed the Red Ring of Death problem, but most gamers still do not trust the hardware. You hear about this in game stores, forums and even the casual gamer. Most gamers have had a 360 go back or know someone that has.
The hard drive of the PS3 is getting larger with each new system, and the real advantage is that anyone can swap out his or her drive for a larger one. Sony even suggests this, and supports the PS3 owner with DIY tutorials on the upgrade. Microsoft can’t begin to match this and with game downloads an increasing factor, more storage is needed.
While Xbox Live is better than Sony’s PSN, how much better is the question. The fact that Sony’s online offerings are free makes a big difference to many gamers. Why should you pay for online pay when you can get it free on the PS3?
Microsoft has no competition for the PSP-PS3 connection; consumers want to own both the Playstation 3 and Sony PSP thanks to so much cool functionality. You get a great media experience. Video sales and rentals work seamlessly with the PSP, and the Blu-ray drive adds more multimedia functions to create an amazing package.
How should Microsoft fix these issues? The problems are there and things are not getting better for Microsoft. The fact is, competition is much stronger now and this is a great thing for gamers.
Source: Read
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Basically, theres not much they can do now, we’re already way to far into this cycle for any changes to make a drastic effect, the people in Europe and Japan have pretty much decided which console they want, the only place they could make a real difference is the US.
They need to learn lessons from this generation (the same applies for Sony) and put what they’ve learnt into their next console. MS was lucky that they had a solid online offering from their first console, and so they were simply able to build off that.
The PS2 online was nothing to shout about and so Sony had to come up with the PSN from scratch, which considering what they’ve acomplished with it in just 2 years is pretty good.
When it comes down to games, both of the consoles are pretty much neck and neck, the multi-plat titles are (or should) be looking the same on both consoles now, any that don’t is because the dev hasn’t put enough effort into the PS3 version. While you can say the 360 has more games, the majority of those games are before the PS3’s time, and don’t really play a major role in a consumers decision anymore.
Are u freakin serious?!?!! i just read this exact same article on Ars Technica, talk about a copy cat! and this is just as i predicted from da beginning, playstation will always win, its always has the best games, and believe it or not, GT sells consoles. a shit ton of em.
As an owner of both consoles and one that is impressed with both I sit in a place that no fanboy can touch. On this site I find the PS3 fanboys the most tedious, I don’t understand why they can’t be happy with their machines and accept there’s another machine out there with great hi def graphics and excellent games both on an offline. The 360 certainly has it’s weaknesses but so does the PS3 and all have been listed many times over. One thing that does strikes me as odd is no one ever mentions the build quality of the PS3, it’s just so very good. It feels like an expensive and quality piece of kit, maybe one you have own to appreciate.
Owning both consoles also puts me in the great position, where I can get the most out of gaming. I can take advantage out of each platform’s exclusives as well as playing the best version of any multi-platform game.
It’s a shame Sony and MS can’t work together on their next generation machine. This would be an awesome proposition and with Nintendo as their only competition, they could blow them out of the water and the consumer wouldn’t be asked to make a choice between what are ultimately two very similar machines.
@ Slippy Slop
I totally agree with your first 2 paragraphs. Owning more than one console gives a people the really perspective of how great this console generation is. If only more people owned all of them, we would hear a lot less b!tching and crying.
As for Sony and Microsoft working together, it will not happen. For the next generation you can practically see that Microsoft will follow suit of Sony and Nintendo to release a handheld device; this will happen when market penetration begins to slow down for the PSP and DS, current gen saturation near it’s topping point, and around the same time Sony and Nintendo release their next handhelds. Sony, next generation, will probably stick with a very similar architecture that they have in the PS3 while adding more horsepower (similar to the PSOne to the PS2 convertion, added DVD functionality and more power); this will make for a high powered machine with a much lower initial price tag on launch. Nintendo will keeping doing what they are doing by leading the way in innovation, however, as long as the next innovative system does go the way of the Gamecube.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA dont make me laugh xbox 360 is way better than PS3 in my opinion. microsoft may not have the “powerful stuff” but it is great in it’s own way such as xbox live you pay for what you get and what you get is GREAT PS3’s PSN wow it’s free and not good. I live in england and i dont know anyone who has a PS3 only xbox 360’s our school even has an xbox club.
anyway no arguing i was just saying my point
ok i went over the top there a bit…. sorry but i agree with Slippy Sloppy they both have there downside but i dont agree that it looks good it looks like a george forman grill and geats finger marks erc easy. There that better.