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Stupid, Stupid xBox

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Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#111

Post by cwilson »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #104

I see a couple comments here, including the highest voted top level comment, questioning how the xbox can be "crushing" their competition given that a straightforward reading of console sales indicates things aren't so cut and dried. However, the xbox is crushing its competition, in several ways, and let me explain why a naive reading of unit sales is misleading. Many consoles sell at a loss, especially initially, or…

It's very interesting to take this spot-on assessment of the game console industry and compare it to the mobile phone industry.

Microsoft and Apple are dominating in very similar ways when it comes to gaming consoles (Microsoft) and mobile (Apple).

Yet Microsoft hasn't been able to replicate this winning strategy with its own phones. It seems to me that if one department at Micrsoft is "killing it", it would be Xbox. Yet that's the last thing anyone talks about.

Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#112

Post by MBCook »

revscat wrote: post #52
OmarIsmail wrote: post #38

I don't know if people on HN are following the rumors related to the next-gen consoles, but it looks like MS is going to be addressing at least one of these issues: UI fluidity. If the rumors are accurate, then MS has a multi-pronged approach to making the UI a lot more fluid. While the 360 reserved 32MB of RAM for the OS, rumors suggest that MS is reserving 3GB (out of a total of 8GB). Furthermore, MS is apparently…

The arguments he is making are about UX, not UI fluidity.

Unfortunately, I'd say that the UX has actually deteriorated in the years I've owned an XBox. As they've tried to push more and more non-game content, access the games has gotten worse.

The other things, like the settings screens, are just as bad as ever.

I wouldn't award Sony's crossbar interface any points either. After a few years (on two systems), I've learned where to go hunt for the 2 or 3 things I usually use... but that's not a complement.

The Wii, despite being sluggish, at least had a UI that made it very quick to launch games. I haven't used a Wii U so I don't know if it's any better. Based on my 3DS, I highly doubt it's objectively "good".

Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#113

Post by Goronmon »

natbro wrote: post #53
WestCoastJustin wrote: post #49

After letting the article percolate for a bit. Just think about what the industry will look like in 10 years. - internet game distribution is going to change content delivery just like it changed VHF/DVD rental stores. The game stores will be gone, walmart will not display/sell them. - those who can provide a pipeline like netflix for games are going to destroy the current establishment. It will likely be worse than…

The dawning horror for the console vendors is that the change is already happening around them and on every iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Android, etc device. These already have digital-only distribution. These already have very high-quality GPU's that push almost as many triangles as an xBox 360 or PS3, and are on a faster product-iteration-cycle. Some of these - iPad3 and Samsung Galaxy Tab's - already have higher-resolut…

The dawning horror for the console vendors is that the change is already happening around them and on every iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Android, etc device. These already have digital-only distribution. These already have very high-quality GPU's that push almost as many triangles as an xBox 360 or PS3, and are on a faster product-iteration-cycle. Some of these - iPad3 and Samsung Galaxy Tab's - already have higher-resolution screens than your 60" HDTV and many people are using them more hours per day

You could argue a very similar point by replacing mobile devices with PC in your argument. But I console vendors don't look in horror in the PC market.

You are also missing a fairly big aspect of a game console, the games themselves.

many people are using them more hours per day and spending more dollars per device than they ever did on consoles

Do you have a reference for this? Sounds interesting, but I haven't seen the comparison before.

Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#114

Post by tibbon »

TwiztidK wrote: post #55
sophacles wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, the fact that I can't plug in an old keyboard to the PS3 for the occasional password or search drives me nuts.

Unless they've changed something you should be able to use a keyboard with the PS3. I used to have a wireless USB keyboard/mouse that I used with my PS3 for web browsing.

Yea, it still works- but its clunky as my only extra USB keyboard in the house is a huge Unicomp one.

Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#115

Post by sk5t »

rhizome wrote: post #106
chc wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That too, but it wouldn't have been as much of a problem if they hadn't needed to spend billions cleaning up their mess. They were already taking a loss on the system, then they had to take yet another loss because the systems didn't work.

RROD was much less of a problem than .jp sales, and much more easily fixed.

Y'know, it always seemed intuitively obvious to me that Japanese consumers would not be very receptive to any non-Japan-designed console unless it absolutely smashed the domestic offerings. One needn't chalk this up to xenophobia, but consider the advantage enjoyed by US domestic pickup truck manufacturers...

Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#116

Post by teamonkey »

It seems obvious to me that the next Xbox will support small developers via some form of the Windows App Store. No point having a unified App Store if that wasn't to be the case. I feel there's a strong chance that many existing apps will Just Work on the next Xbox.

Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#117

Post by InclinedPlane »

cwilson wrote: post #111
InclinedPlane wrote: post #104

I see a couple comments here, including the highest voted top level comment, questioning how the xbox can be "crushing" their competition given that a straightforward reading of console sales indicates things aren't so cut and dried. However, the xbox is crushing its competition, in several ways, and let me explain why a naive reading of unit sales is misleading. Many consoles sell at a loss, especially initially, or…

It's very interesting to take this spot-on assessment of the game console industry and compare it to the mobile phone industry. Microsoft and Apple are dominating in very similar ways when it comes to gaming consoles (Microsoft) and mobile (Apple). Yet Microsoft hasn't been able to replicate this winning strategy with its own phones. It seems to me that if one department at Micrsoft is "killing it", it would be Xbox.…

Microsoft does well when it starts with an advantage and the main issue is avoiding making huge mistakes.

In phones MS has been ahead, then utterly disrupted, then made valiant come-from-behind efforts. But the problems they are faced with are different than they're used to. With phones they're fighting against the network effect of competitors. They need to not just be a little better than the competition, they need to be a lot better. Also, look at how much money both MS and Sony spent buying up game studios and exclusive content for their consoles and compare that to the relatively weak outlays in the same vein for mobile content.

Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#118

Post by Karunamon »

rbanffy wrote: post #81
nemothekid wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If Apple can position the AppleTV as a console (maybe open it up to developers) or build something more along the lines of a traditional console, they will crush. This opinion is pushed around a lot, however I cannot really see it happening, and I doubt Apple will ever pursue such a strategy. For Apple to enter the console market, they would have to compete with the big boys, meaning if it can't push 100 million pol…

> meaning if it can't push 100 million polygons at 1080p it will never get great adoption If you look at the Wii sales, you'll notice polygon pushing does not equate sales or profits.

Kind of a bad choice analogy... As per sales figures and TFA, a lot of Wiis might have been sold but their owners aren't using them all that much, and Nintendo is posting large losses.

I'll agree with you on principle, though. While gameplay > graphics every day of the week and twice on sunday, coming to the table with graphics from half a decade ago in this market is rather.. unwise. It's a huge blow to developers, a huge blow to imagination, and a boon to their competitors.

Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#119

Post by yk »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #104

I see a couple comments here, including the highest voted top level comment, questioning how the xbox can be "crushing" their competition given that a straightforward reading of console sales indicates things aren't so cut and dried. However, the xbox is crushing its competition, in several ways, and let me explain why a naive reading of unit sales is misleading. Many consoles sell at a loss, especially initially, or…

I fully agree. But I think that this is, what the original blog post called:

" Touting strategic and market success when you’re just experiencing your competitor’s stumbling failure[...] "

The problems of the PS3 where the exotic hardware, the problems of the Wii were the exotic HID. Because of this, Microsoft won this generation, but actually it does not tell us anything about the next generation of consoles. And I think it is a bit disappointing, that this round of the console war was not won by doing anything right, but by fumbling least.

Re: Stupid, Stupid xBox

#120

Post by gfodor »

Mark my words in 5 years time it will be Valve and Apple in the living room. Sony, MS, and yes, for real this time, Nintendo are done. The wave has crested and basically Samsung and Google are the only other companies who are trying to ride it.
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