Microsoft uses beer to illustrate Xbox 360 cost advantage
After yesterday's shenanigans, we imagine the guys at Microsoft strutting around their various international offices as if they were in a locker room after a big game; lots of high-fiving, butt-slapping, and other telltale indicators of competitive confidence. For example, for the European (and New Zealand ... ean) PS3 launch, they did what any self-respecting mega-corporation would do: Used beer to visually communicate the price difference between their console -- the Xbox 360 -- and their competitor's -- the PlayStation 3. UK-pub CVG received the above stockpile while Auckland, NZ's GamePlanet store got a similar treat (pic after the break). We normally would consider additional games a more appropriate metric when discussing price deltas, but we suppose they wanted to stick with the locker room theme.
Read - MS sends CVG the difference between 360 and PS3... in beer! (CVG)
Read - Microsoft NZ Tease Sony (NZGamer.com)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Myke @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:20PM
OH MY GOD, I think MS just became my favorite PR department, seriously. They are the coolest company ever.
Fosters: Austrailian for "better value than a PS3".
LaughingTarget @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:21PM
Aww, why didn't MS do awesome stuff like this in the US?
Matt B @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:22PM
So microsoft uses Mac's? (pictured in backround)
Vidikron @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:24PM
I love it when the console companies pull stunts like this. It's always good for a laugh.
Intentless @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:24PM
mmmmmmmm..... beer..........
Jack of No Trades @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:27PM
Please substitute that Fosters with some Red Stripe or Amberbok.
Todd @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:27PM
Mmmm, Fosters... Austrailian for Xbox.
daniel @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:38PM
#3 thats the cvg office in the picture
Game Artist @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:42PM
lol. That's awesome, but fosters is kinda vile I think.
Intentless @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:42PM
MS does use Macs for game development... Saw it on one of the behind the scene things for Bungie or some game of theirs.... A 20 x 40 room lined with mac 10s at the time...
Matthew @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:44PM
The only thing that makes me laugh about this is that Foster's isn't considered a great bear in Australia. I only asked for it once during my trip last month and after some glaring looks, I stuck to Hahn Light for the rest of the two weeks. It would be like doing it in the U.S. and using Meister Brau instead of Budweiser.
Matthew @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:45PM
BEER, not bear.
shase @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:45PM
is that a core or premium 360? and does it have built in wifi, free online and Bluray player?
If they try to be funny at least do it right.
The_Wind_Waker8 @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:46PM
Mmmm... Beer...
"They say beer will make me dumb
It are go good with pizza
Now that we have drunk some beer
Let's go drive a car."
^_^
Joshua @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:48PM
That's sad.
Myke @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:49PM
BEER IS GOOD
BEER IS GOOD
BEER IS GOOD....AND STUFF!
lionzub @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:50PM
Ewwww fosters!?
I'll go with the PS3 and that non-fosters beer thanks.
D @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:54PM
wow... I can't believe MS would be this dumb. They are comparing their console to Fosters? LOL. Fosters is the horse piss beer of Australia. Most Australians don't drink it but yet North America thinks that everyone over there drinks it because of the TV ads we have. So when I saw that picture, I think Fosters=shitty beer. Associate shitty beer with a console and what do you get? I'm sure even the MS fanboys can figure that one out.
THH @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:59PM
Crappy choice of beer aside, funny promo
shase @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:04PM
@18
They probably used the cheapest(and known) beer they could find
D @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:14PM
they also used the biggest cans of beer too. Kind of like the 360 power supply.
No I think Fosters was chosen for a reason. It perfectly reflects the quality of the 360 and the components used to build it.
Next Generation console = console shipped without HDMI, WiFi, HighDef player and proper heat ventilation. Yeah, it's a Foster quality console for sure.
konajinx @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:21PM
@11: Budweiser sucks. Microbrew is the best way to go for American beers (Rogue, Weyerbacher, Victory, and Dogfish Head are just some of the greats). Other than that, Belgium makes my fave beers all around.
AdminT @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:22PM
All well and good, but apparently the guys in UK got a nice surprise as well when they got their first set of PS3s...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6474045.stm
mcloki @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:24PM
And when they return the empties, they can pay for online.
Where's the HD DVD player? OOOOPs.
What's Nintendo going to do. Send over a keg.
IslandLife @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:28PM
Great advertisement for the Mirrored Drive Door (MDD) Power Mac G4!!!
Stupid MS, tricks are for kids.
rfom @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:30PM
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
What a bunch of classless, clueless idiots M$ are.
Resorting to cheap gimmicks to disrupt the PS3 launch
While Sony shows what class is - can you imagine 36 hours waiting for a console, and then you reach home with in a free taxi with a HD TV!!!!
As someone put it "Fosters is the horse piss beer of Aust"
And 360 IS a horse piss console
MASIVE DAMAGE, noisy drive, NO MULTIPLAYER, no HD, 12GB, no HDMI, no wifi, pathetic BC, nothing other vthan shooters and a buggy, hacked Live network
Vidikron @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:36PM
@26
Do you ever give up? Stuff like this is hilarious. I supposed you are too young to remember back in the PSX/N64 era when Sony sent a Crash Bandicoot mascot over to Nintendo N. American HQ?
DiirtDevil @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:41PM
@ #26: I feel your pain (pain for playing a system that most developers are ditching for support) :p
Jake @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:45PM
Cmon, you people bitching need to pull the wad out of your butts. This is funny. It is a nice lighthearted poke at the PS3. I love how they put the 1 bottle of beer next to the PS3. It's hilarious. I hope Sony comes back with something equally funny.
Their choice of Fosters is a bit odd, though. On one hand, it is considered piss by most people in Austrailia. On the other hand, it is cheap and comes in bigass cans, so the beer stack is larger than it would be with a more expensive, high class beer. That and bottles don't stack very well.
Slaziman @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:45PM
LOOOOOOOOOL owned!
@rfom
lol? how old are you? :/
Charles @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:45PM
For the curious, that looks like a bottle of Beck's, which I've never had.
Foster's is not good. Bud's alright. Heineken's better.
I'd love to see a comparison shot with the Wii and even more beer. =]
bootsielon @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:50PM
I rather spend the extra dough in a Blu-ray player, backwards compatibility, WiFi, bigger HDD, playStation Home, a GT Demo, and saving humanity from cancer than in beer, which is only good for a belly (Turning off the chicks) and destroying brain cells, turning into an Xbot.
It's understandable Microsoft wants you to kill your brain cells with alcohol, that way Microsoft gets more sales ;)
andres @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:02PM
@32 I wish i can save humanity from cancer...but im too busy playing all these video games that the 360 has.
Justin @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:02PM
This is childish. I hope other companies dont start resulting to this. Im glad Im not an Xbox supporter. I would feel ashamed. Its actually flattering for Sony that Microsoft is really that afraid of them. Theyre trying to lie to customers and compare that the two machines are the same when only one actually plays a next gen format. Oh sure, you can get the add on HD DVD drive but whats the point in paying the same amount, but still have your games on a regular DVD? I just dont get it. People are so brainwashed.
WebPimp @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:04PM
@2 because here in the US, people get their panties all in a wad if you "defamed" someone like that.
Zamfir @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:04PM
I'll take the Beck's any day... a quality beer beside a quality console. Fosters is garbage, Beck's is made with 4 ingredients, the way beer is supposed to be made. Mmmmm... tasty.
andres @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:07PM
Because when I buy a video game system I want to play video games. I do not care about hd-dvd or blu-ray. I dont care about HDMI I dont care about wi-fi . I want something that plays games.
The fact that I can get an Hd-dvd player if i want is just microsoft telling me. By our console and oh hey if you want to watch HD movies get this.
As far as blu-ray being the big thing, right now it is not. RFOM has been opened up to show that the extra blu-ray material is nothing more then just padding to make the disc look big
Draco @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:17PM
Becks over here in Canada is a non alchoholic beer you can get at the local Safeway.
Vidikron @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:23PM
@34
Apparently you are the one that has been brainwashed. What does the format have to do with the actual games? Why do you think a game being on a BR disc makes it next-gen? It's just a storage format. You could burn NES games to BR if you wanted, would that make them next-gen?
Myke @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:35PM
Vid, don't be silly, we all know next-gen games have to be displayed in 4D, and NES games are only displayed in 2D.
Silly Vid
greendublin @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:43PM
Sony could stack the 360 with the number of 1-yr Live Gold packages that one would have to buy over the console's lifespan to enjoy the games' full experiences. 360 = more expensive.
flash @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:44PM
Sony sucks as much as MS. Sony + Quality = complete lie.
Joe @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:44PM
Jesus Henry Christ you mouthbreathing sony douchers are hilarious. It's PR for gods sake. Who gives a good holy set of balls what kind of beer it is? I'll bet they got the point across with that big stack of beer compared to that measly little lonesome bottle, just sitting there waiting for some good games to come out. Waiting for something useful it can do other than run linux or folding @home. Exclusives? Once we get Metal Gear (and we probably will), your high dollar console becomes completely useless, other than a BluGhey player. Better buy those discs while you can before they go the way of the UMD.
Hey you know what's funnier than using Fosters Beer to emphaisise PS3s shitty value? The fact that you sissies can't wait to play house and dress-up videogame dolls to have ANY kind of online integration with your console! You want Xbox Live so bad, you're willing to cash in your integrety so you can run around with ghey little avatars, looking for fellow choades to play your games with (that is of course assuming you get a game or 2 worth playing by then).
Bring back the Futurama quotes someone please! If I read one more poorly written, bland post about how yucky Fosters beer is, I'm going to personally track each and every one of you gramatical retards down and insert your PS3 where it belongs: Right up your ass with the rest of the turds.
Shagittarius @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:45PM
Just Imagine the pile of beer you would get with the Wii!
And just like a fat ugly chick at a bar you'd have to drink all that beer to get excited about it.
NeverSage @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:45PM
"Oh sure, you can get the add on HD DVD drive but whats the point in paying the same amount, but still have your games on a regular DVD? I just dont get it. People are so brainwashed."
So playing DMC on DVD vs. Bluray is different how...? Bluray don't matter son, get that in your head.
Todd @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:47PM
Anyone consider that maybe the beer was bought by someone who likes Fosters? Probably not.
Wow. I'm stunned by some of these idiot responses and need to whine. People are actually willing to give up cases of beer for just one bottle. People are also willing to state that Fosters is horrible, as if by fact, when seriously this is your opinion.
Shagittarius @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:49PM
I like Fosters, it reminds me of drinkin when I was 19.
Myke @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:51PM
KrazyKen: Whatever the problem is, I'm willing to put wave after wave of men at your disposal, right men?
Disgruntled former Sony Supporters: YOU SUCK!
You're welcome, Joe =)
Matt B @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:51PM
Can you stop with "where is the games" tripe? Everyone that bought a PS3 bought games with it.
"Because when I buy a video game system I want to play video games. I do not care about hd-dvd or blu-ray. I dont care about HDMI I dont care about wi-fi . I want something that plays games."
The PS3 plays great games it just has all that stuff you don't care about for cheaper than you can get it.
Eventually, you all will have to go HD. Don't fool yourself and say that you don't want to because you would be lying to yourself. Then you will have to spend all that money and more you saved from getting a 360.
And we are considered the morons?!?
Duby @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:51PM
Of course, as one Australian put it to me, "Why do all Americans know Fosters? Fosters is the shittiest Australian beer!"