Will

The sales were down because they did not have any big exclusives that hit before the quarter ended. I must say the last year for exclusives on the xbox was not that exciting. Sony on the other hand has been steadily coming out with true sequels and exclusives at a steady pace and it is steadily bringing them back.

Microsoft needs to conintue to spend the money and come out with exclusives on a more consistant basis. If they do this they will keep their position in sales. I think the drought in exclusives stems from their money being spent on Natal and their attitude. By attitude I mean their approach to game sales. They have such a large install base now that they can let 3rd party developers carry the torch and they can sit back for a while until a new halo is needed to bump sales.

Microsoft has me2 and SCC coming, but those are on windows as well ( I got ME2 for pc and bugs aside it is still amazing and has a higher res with better effects and interface.) Microsoft got lazy this last year and their fan base let them know how they felt about it. I think Microsoft realizes that Sony is a legitmate threat now and this will push them to create more true exclusives and sequels, not just an add on disguised as a game.

This all means competition and competition is a good thing becuase it breeds (hopefully) new and innovative titles for everyone to enjoy. I turly believe that Sony's approach to the market has kept Microsoft in check. With the PS3 to compete against Microsoft has had to change their game a little. If the PSN was not free you can bet your ass that live would not be free in any capacity, it would be a mandatory fee regardless of the service. Also you would probably be paying more for the network adapter and hard drive if you can believe it. Sony has forced Microsoft to compete with their machine which is a better value when broken down to components. So all you people out there that hate Sony and love xbox, you should be thanking Sony or any other company that competes against them. Without the competition Microsoft would require your soul for use of their machine.

I wonder what wonderful words will be written by T-mac and branwhatever on this subject. I do not normally comment, but man those (that guy?) guys really has a following of haters ( I am not saying he/they do not deserve it). Almost every story has a comment from them/him. I look at the comments now for the single purpose of reading their thoughts and then laugh at the hate that follows, good stuff.

Living proof that a new flood "gimmicky" games is going to drown the market to make sure nothing that is remotely deep or interesting gets made. This is truly a scary trend for someone who does not like casual gaming or party games. I want deep engaging games that use the "gimmick" in new and interesting ways; not crap that companies throw out to make a quick buck. I think I just vomited in my mouth after looking at that screen shot and thinking back on the year of the turd that was the Wii catalog.

I agree that MS and Sony need to show us why we shouldn't just pick up a Wii.
The main problem with Natal is that MS went the cheap route and took some guts out of their motion machine to save costs. Anyone who cares to argue this fact is fighting a battle that cannot be won. Think about it, it makes perfect sense. Use a CPU that developers already have a handle on, cut down hardware costs, less r&D and a quicker turn around for the hardware to hit the market. On paper it is a brilliant move by MS. However, one must not forget what happened last time MS did this with the 360 lauch. They had a 30% failure rate. Look at the history of companies that have had that high a rating with a new device and tell me who of that group is still around, I'll tell you right now it is a short list. MS does not care about the consumer and that will be their biggest downfall. I bought a 360 as an early adotper and it died after 6 months and they wanted me to pay for it. This is no way to win over customers. MS has a very strong install base right now because they are the "mainstream" gaming choice. They figure pump out a device that sounds like a Wii and they already have made millions on the device.

The true longevity and interest of these devices lies in the software. I am sorry but the Wii has 80% shovelware and 20% true gaming experiences. With MS taking more power from the CPU it is inevitably leading down the road to crappy games. Developers will see that number and limit themselves from the onset, all they have to do is make a profit so why bother making a truly great game when we can make barly passable game that will see based on a gimmick. At least Sony is not taking away from their CPU (God knows developers have enough trouble as it is figuring the damned thing out). Sony could give a more immersive experience without sacrificing power and that could give it the edge.

My prediction for the Natal is similar to what happened with the Wii. Initially there will be some cool "hardcore" titles, but then the flood of crap comes and core gamers who adopted the device will feel ripped off (again) and alienated by MS. MS will not address the issue though because the $ signs will be covering their eyes. This will hurt the gaming market because companies will see how little effort it really takes to make a buck on the Wii esque bandwagon.

Not to mention down the road MS will release a Natal+ which will have the guts and yet again another way to rip off customers ( I am looking at you hard drive and wireless). This trend is a dangerous one, especially with MS behind it. MS goes where the money is and in motion controls the money is in the "casual market" and not the hardcore.

Sorry to go on so long but I have to give a fair and balance approach to the situation. Sony needs to capitalize on their tech being so similar to the Wii and really push developers to harness the power of the PS3. With the PS3 not taking any power away it makes it easier for developers to expand and not limit on their ideas. Do I think this will happen, probably not. The PSMC will likely follow in the same steps as the Natal (my prediction anyways).

To sum things up this is a scary time for me as a gamer. Nintendo has made billions, but not because they have a ton of awesome software. They made billions because there are a billion Wii games out there and if they sell just one copy of every game then bam, billionaires (obviously I am exagerating). The games selling and making money on the Wii are not good games. The graphics are horrible, no HD and it is old tech, yet the numbers speak for themselves. The trend is leaning towards the casual market and us core gamers will be left in the cold. The market is going this way because people let MS get away with the RROD scenario and still they stand behind the product after 2,3 or even 4 differnt non-working units. The consumer needs to demand more respect from companies and do so by not buying poorly designed devices they knew were junk from the get go. How would you feel if Dad brings home a car on your 16th birthday and you get in it only to find out there is no motor. He sits ther laughing at your expense while he drives off in his working car. I know this was all over the place but I think these are all valid point.

So when they break in two weeks will M$ make them pay to have them fixed, again and again and again. M$ may have some good games, but when it comes to the quality of their console it is unacceptable. I can't believe people would acutally back M$. They are ruining the creativity in games. Just look at their track record, each year there are fewer and fewer big name games from M$. M$ has their install base so now all they are going to do is sit back and let the shovelware fly like craptendo. Thank god Sony actually cares about their gamers isn't afraid to try something new. ( ala heavy rain, little big planet).

I bouught an Xbox360 once. Within 6 months it died and Microsoft wanted 130 (plus shipping) dollars to fix their broken machine. It would be interesting to see this data again with the figures for the RROD scenario and the amount of money people have paid out of their pockets to fix Microsoft's mistake. If Sony were smart they would release ads attacking the stability/cheapness (fanboys don;t get your panties in a bunch, it is a well documented truth unfortunately) of the xbox360. Sony does need to do a better job marketing and show why the PS3 is superior to the xbox360. I gave Microsoft a chance, but they blew it. Microsoft does not care about their fanbase, they care about money. This is a company that made money off from selling a poorly designed machine. I have never been a fanboy and I never will be. I simply chose the company that acutally cares about its gamers and treats them with respect. Anyone who has a 360 that starts to talk about how great the system is, is blind. Everyone is entitled to make their own decision and if you want to continue to let Microsoft rip off consumers then by all means enforce their "business model" by letting them suck your wallet dry. I view Microsoft like the airlines. They give you an initial price that sounds great, but once you add up all of the little fees you realize they were using that initial low price to sucker you in. Here is how much money I would have to spend on a 360 in order to get a working, equivlant to the ps3. machine=200$, Wi-Fi=80-100, online membership yearly= 50$x amount of year of service,fix microsofts crap box=130x amount of times system will RR. That works out to be between 500 and 650 dollars depending how much internet service you would like. My point is that Microsoft is ripping people off and the very people who are getting ripped off are defending Microsoft's actions. There are some good games for the 360, but come on people, wake up and see Microsoft for what it is, a monopolized business who cares nothing about it's consumers. By arguing for Microsoft, Microsoft now thinks that the whole RROD is okay, They will pull the same crap for their next system and the cycle will start again. There should be a study done on PS3 v Xbox360 quality. I would bet all of my lifesavings that the PS3 will come out on top every time.