A Billion Dollar campaign cannot steal Sony\'s light.....Hmmm interesting.

Many people think that the problem with the XBox if they only do well in North America, is that they go the way of Dreamcast. Sega\'s last system was the only Japanese-made console that sold better in North America than in its homeland. The thing is that this time it will be an American-made system that will most likely do well in its home country. Although I have a hard time seeing FULL support from Japan, I think Microsoft won\'t do too badly. Then again, they\'ll have a tough time this Christmas going against Nintendo\'s new machine too. It\'ll be hard, but hopefully we\'ll see both pull through to challenge Sony\'s success in 2002.

It might never be perfect though

So just what is the perfect console???(didn\'t know htere was one)

Nothing can stop Sony this generation. Simple and very true.

I like the confidence, yet ****y attitude Sony is displaying right now.

LONDON--Microsoft\'s Xbox games console is \'\'finished,\'\' Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, told the Financial Times.

\'\'Microsoft was finished before it even got started,\'\' Kutaragi said. \'\'They have no games\'\' and \'\'retailers in the US are already disappointed.\'\'

It kind of remind me of Sega\'s attitude with the Saturn back in 93\'.


Here\'s a little tidbit the Sony camp didn\'t take into consideration.  Microsoft is focusing 2-3 years down the road and not at launch.


- PSX didn\'t start leading until the 3-4 year.

- Genesis = 3 years

- SNES = 4 years

Guys let\'s paint a clearer picture shall we....

They have the first party and exclusives to build a strong following off of...

Unreal Championship
ODD world
DOA3
Gun Valken
Jet Set R F
Panzer Dragoon
Gun Metal
Amped
Project Ego
Project Gotham
Halo
Blood wake




Then.....

They have the 3rd party support.  As I am aware these are the biggest players in their corner..

EA = 12 games
Namco = 2 *new* games.  6 online games.
Capcom = 2 exclusives
Konami = MGSX and Silent Hill X
Sega = 11 titles.  4 exclusives.

When you look closely at the games that are going to be released on the system, it is astounding how many *big* PS2 franchises are making their way onto the Xbox.

Then

The 1 billion advertising campaign.

- The reason why the PS2 was so successful at launch was because of hype.

- The DC with its 100 million dollar advertising push was able to pull away with "the most successful launch ever" (for its time) even though it had a bad stigma.

What does this all prove?  Hype sells!  Americans buy into hype like a giddy lil kid at a candy store.

Here is a quick excerpt:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FuncoLand and others report mass ps2 trade-ins
Financial Times May 31st, 2001
New York- In an article in todays FI, FuncoLand and other used game traders have reported a mad rush from ps2 owners to try to pawn their systems. A spokesman for the company said they received close to 26,000 request nationwide for quotes on ps2 trade-ins. The reason? "It\'s most likely the announcement that some companies are abandoning their ps2 game plans for the upcoming Xbox" John Rushkin said. " I believe by next year the ps2 line-up will shrivel up and Gamecube and Xbox will dominate".
When asked to comment a Microsoft spokesman confirmed that they are in the negotiating process with game develoment companies that are now making ps2 games to join them when their contract ends this year. "If all goes according to trends ps2 will be remembered as the biggest flop and shortest lived system in history" Larry Dousin of Gamedome said. "And if companies see Xbox doing well and ps2 fading, like it will most likely do, They too will leave the Sony train and jump over to the Xbox".
"It does\'nt look good for Sony and ps2" Larry exclaimed " They rushed out that system, made it unfriendly for developers, and never thought of the result."
"I bought a ps2 myself and I cant wait for Xbox, Ill probably use the ps2 to hold up the shelf in my den."

-Jerry Krause USA Today Online


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The article is quite biased but it is evident the hype has already started.  


Then

The prospect of Square on board is very strong.  Although nothing has been official yet, it is a good supposition nevertheless.  Why do I believe this?  Well there are a lot of reasons, but one thing that has caught my attention lately was Sakaguchi, the father of the Final Fantasy series, publicly said "he was interested in bringing the series to *all* platforms so everyone can enjoy the game."

Would it be reasonable to conclude the bad stigma the Xbox is having over in Japan be washed away once Square is on board?  You bet!  

Couple with Square...

The developement of 100+ Japanese games by various developers (whether they are stinkers or great games I don\'t know) over the next 5 years more than staple the Xbox as a serious contender overseas.  

Let\'s hope they really get Square.

Then

Online gaming!

Having the modem and the hard drive out of the box will surely attract more online users to the Xbox.  

Both the GC and PS2 requires an add on.  Add ons confuse the consumers, dillutes the buyers, and even if those companies come up with some sophisticated marketing ploy, they would have a hard time gaining widespread acceptance.

The bb market right now is too small to break in, but who knows how it will be like 2-3 years from now.  Maybe with the push of the next PSO and FF online can certainly draw more users.

Nonetheless, down the line, I think the Xbox will be the only contender with the strongest online push out of the three.

Three reasons:

- PC developers
- Marketing power
- BB and hard drive straight out of the box

Then

Developement for the PS2 is very hard.

Capcom has stated publicly it is displeased with the PS2 environment. Many developers have sweated blood just to finish a project and it is not a secret that the system is one of the most complicated ever made. Of course, there is some grace at the end of the tunnel, but in the end many are overwhelm with the amount of work they have to put in to finish a given project versus the advantages it delivers.

Enter Xbox.

Ease of developement on the system has enable it to already surpass 2nd generation PS2 games graphically (DOA 3). This is all 5 months prior to launch. If such a quick graphical task was able to be attain in such a short amount of time, can you imagine how things will be 2-3 years from now?

The potential of the system is further more coercive with its powerful chip, and architecture. Here is a quote from Tecmo:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Itagaki was first asked to address the issue of Dead or Alive 3 for the PS2 and GameCube. It is technically impossible," he stated, continuing with "The [graphics] quality would drop." Itagaki believes that the Xbox can achieve four to five times the performance of current machines. His team wants to make the number one fighting game, and won\'t consider a downgraded version. "If DOA appears on another platform," commented Itagaki, "it won\'t be DOA3, but perhaps another title.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The graphical difference between the two consoles will be quite evident. Not only is the PS2 hard to program for, it is less powerful than the Xbox. This in the long run will bridge a greater gap in terms of "graphical differences" amidst the two system.


In closure.

If you add all that up and take into consideration the kind of push Microsoft is giving the system, the prospect of Square, the ease of developement, the attainment of some of the best PS2 franchise, a strong internet infrastructure, a highly potential exclusive/1st party base, the kind of impact a 1 billion ad campaign can do, and give Microsoft a window of 2-3 years....

In your honest answer....

Do you think they have a chance?  Is there potential?

there are too many PS2 fanboys in here taking potshots at the system, so I feel a certain obligation to stick to its side.

That\'s the exact reason why i started to post in console debating 4 months ago. Although let me say this T-Shirt you should have seen how bad people here disliked the xbox long ago. Anyhow many people here now have lighten-up to XBOX, so it\'s nice to see.

Message only for t-shirt to read(even though i say this I know you guys are going to read it)


Hey T-Shirt listen, I understand you and I both share the same preference in consoles, but let me give you a word of advice. This coming in here and posting all these good solid points about XBOX superiority to PS2 isn\'t the best approach. When I first came here into console debating, I too was frustrated with all the BULL**** people here were posting about the console, so that really got me motivated to give a piece of my mind on the issue, so with that I begin with posting long threads on the xbox, backed up with links and quotes etc....  Also I defended the XBOX whenever someone posted BS about it. Man you should have seen some of the threads people started regarding the XBOX, makes me laugh today, **** like XBOX will cost $800, xbox will fail cause japan does not like it,, XBOX sucks cause it\'s too big, XBOX is weak cause it has a Plll chip etc..... . Was it worth it, well I still do not regret it, but people here really don’t care in general, why well first off this is a psx2 forum, second people have made there choice of ps2 and don\'t care for people coming in here making it seem like there choice of console was not the best(not saying your doing that, but some might take it as an offence). One more thing like I said earlier people here are not so anti-xbox  as before, so it really is not necessary to throw all your might and passion into your threads, people here are listening, there is a lot of good people here in this forums, granted they have different opinion and views, but hey that’s what makes this console debating.. I think I said this before can’t remember if I did, but I really ENJOY reading your threads. You have a fresh perspective on this thing .

I may not have been perfect myself in here sometimes, heck I admit it, there were a few times were I got a little out of hand, but many others here are guilty of the same. Every time something positive was mentioned of XBOX (which in other words further exemplified it\'s superiority) someone tried to make it look like nothing special. Reminds me of the time when XBOX was officially announced to have DD 5.1 decoding for games, people came in here saying, it was not possible for it to do it, or who needs DD 5.1 for games etc.... LOL

Anyhow I’m rambling big-time, but listen all I have to say T-shirt is don\'t get to worked up on the whole XBOX thing( not saying you have but letting you know ahead of time) or else you will be called a fanboy or even better a troll.

PS. watch people come in here and bash the hell out of me for writing this, I say let it be, cause this message or post is directed to T-shirt only. Oh and T-shirt tell me if I’m making sense, as I am drink at the this particular moment, well not to drunk, but hey it’s really hot out here, and my air conditioner is broken.



Hey mods why are the pm\'s not working.

Originally posted by TheOgodlyThing
PS. watch people come in here and bash the hell out of me for writing this, I say let it be, cause this message or post is directed to T-shirt only. Oh and T-shirt tell me if I’m making sense, as I am drink at the this particular moment, well not to drunk, but hey it’s really hot out here, and my air conditioner is broken.

Yep, I read it.  There is no reason to bash you for saying what you did.  You were actually helping Tshirts get a better idea of what these forums are like.  This forum is not like certain Nintendo forums I\'ve been to where everybody is completely clueless about everything except for the NGC.  Some people at those forums are even clueless about the NGC  They support it just because it\'s Nintendo and they have sworn allegiance to Nintendo.

This forum is not like certain Nintendo forums I\'ve been to where everybody is completely clueless about everything except for the NGC

No your right, like I said this is a Good forum. Myself I only only hang aroung two game forums out of all the forums on the net.

My favourite forum is PSX2 Central
my second is MSXBOX Though i barely go to msxbox, I think it\'s a nice forum, the best XBOX forums out there, but two many people there, alot of spam etc...

TheOgodlyThing


Thanx for the advice!  

Anyhow I’m rambling big-time, but listen all I have to say T-shirt is don\'t get to worked up on the whole XBOX thing( not saying you have but letting you know ahead of time) or else you will be called a fanboy or even better a troll.

Haha........

I really don\'t care if I am labeled a "troll" or "fanboy".  I will try my best to present myself in a neutral manner and back up all my statements with objectivity, and verity.

Of course....

Thanx for the fair warning.

hey Tshirts what gives witht he name, I kind of like it. Where did you get it from?