160°

PS4 Needs a Head Start

GR's DeShaun Zollicoffer writes:

Gamers love a good showdown, and it’s hard to imagine a better one than the PS4 and Next Xbox launching within weeks of each other. This would set the gaming world a blaze; diehards on both sides would revel in the madness. “Who will come out victorious, place your bets!” Predicting the winner of such a showdown should prove easy for any unbiased gamer, though, Microsoft wins. If Sony wants to outsell the Next Xbox in 2013 -- the PS4 needs a head start.

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geekrevolt.com
4129d ago Replies(5)
Catoplepas4129d ago

"Predicting the winner of such a showdown should prove easy for any unbiased gamer, though, Microsoft wins."

Last I checked the PS3 consistently outsold the 360.

You may need to re-evaluate that bias of yours.

Knight_Crawler4129d ago (Edited 4129d ago )

@ Catopleas - Still does not change the fact that Sony loss a major chunk of gamers to MS.

People forget quickly what a power house the PS1 and PS2 was and even Sony them selfs knew that which was why the they were so arrogant with the PS3 pricing it at $600 and making statements like next gen doe not start until we say so and you can get two jobs to afford a PS3.

The Xbox is the youngest of the 3 and people are not giving MS enough credit for making the 360 a true competitor and threat to the PlayStation brand.

Every one was ragging of the 360 and saying that Sony will kill it like they killed the Dream Cast - remember that the original Xbox sold poorly and the Red Ring fiasco did not help the 360, name one company that could have survived that.

Yes the PS3 is selling well but give credit to MS for giving the PS3 a run for its money and for being in the position to release another console next gen.

AngelicIceDiamond4129d ago

And that's the truth. I couldn't said it better my self.

Sony's doing very good right now but the Xbox did make a name for themselves this gen. Only because MS new what was at stake 2nd time around. I just hope MS doesn't get extremely confident and slips up come next gen.

MrBeatdown4129d ago

@Knight_Crawler

What does anything he said have to do with giving Microsoft credit?

Yeah, Microsoft did great this generation. But the fact remains... Microsoft's best performance and Sony's worst performance has resulted in a tie, even after Microsoft's head start. Very impressive. Let's all give the plucky underdog multi-billion dollar corporation a pat on the back for being the little engine that could.

Let's look at facts. Microsoft threw everything they had at Sony. An early launch. A massive price advantage. Acquiring many of the PS1 and PS2's defining franchises.

What did it get Microsoft? A tie. A tie that, if the sales trends remain consistent, could turn into a third place finish.

And now the author of this article acts as if any unbiased gamer can easily see that Sony's only path to success is launching early, just to fight of MS's marketing?

Sorry, but Catoplepas has it right. MS proved they can be competitive with Sony, but they haven't proved "to any unbiased gamer" that they would undoubtedly win in a head to head showdown, especially one in which Sony comes out of the gate strong.

rainslacker4129d ago

@MrBeatDown

I would love to see Sony come out of the gate like they did with the PS1. They had so much momentum, and were the most exciting thing to happen for a long time in the industry. People that weren't around back then just don't seem to realize how game-changing the PS1 was.

Belking4129d ago (Edited 4129d ago )

Next time you should read the entire article, not just the first few sentences. The article makes sense when you look at things like advertising. Sony won't win any wars when it comes to that( mainly because of cash reserves) but they always make up with it by providing a strong lineup of 1st party titles. That alone will keep the ps4 as a strong contender for next gen, but they do have their work cut out for them. PS3 didn't start as strong and wasn't profitable for them as soon as they envisioned but they won't make the same mistake next time. One thing for sure that it is difficult when you go up against someone like MS who is willing to just spend, spend,and spend some more. it makes things more difficult because you have to try and match or better whatever they have to offer......

Some people laughed when MS showcases Kinect on TV shows or have music artist in Kinect ads but that is just smart marketing... Usher and TV host Ellen are bound to sell more of a product than Kevin Butler because out side of gaming no one knows who he is. I know some of you will disagree but it's just the way i see things.

StrongMan4129d ago

"Usher and TV host Ellen are bound to sell more of a product than Kevin Butler because out side of gaming no one knows who he is."

Usher was used to advertise Dance Central 3 and it only sold 400k so your logic is flawed.

Hicken4129d ago

Sony CAN "win wars" when it comes to advertising. It's not necessarily about spending the most, but spending wisely, so Sony can match Microsoft in marketing the way they do with games: quality.

The first party games will come, and companies like ATLUS and others will continue producing third party exclusives for Sony. There's really no need to worry about them on that front.

And while you say it's difficult, Sony seems to have matched and surpassed Microsoft in units sold(to say nothing of fielding so many devices at once). It's actually more accurate to say Microsoft only managed to make it as far as they did because of their propensity to spend, spend, spend, and spend some more.

What was Ellen selling? StrongMan debunked you with Usher, and though I like Ellen, I can't see her being THAT influential. She's not Oprah. And I may be mistaken, but did the Kevin Butler commercials only show up on TVs that gamers were watching? I could have sworn all sorts of people were able to see those ads.

You may say you're unbiased or something, but that just makes it more ironic that every comment you make regarding Sony and/or Microsoft has the same "Sony did good, BUT" tone to it.

Proeliator4129d ago

@Ezz2013

Oh, so sales in the US - the largest market - don't count?

Sound logic.

Proeliator4129d ago

360 has been the number one selling console for 23 months now.

Not sure if you know math, but that's almost two years.

Keep living in a bubble.

Ezz20134129d ago (Edited 4129d ago )

"360 has been the number one selling console for 23 months now."

he's talking about world wide numbers
while you are talking about USA numbers

Catoplepas4129d ago

I am indeed referring to worldwide numbers.

I suggest you take your own advice.

MysticStrummer4129d ago

The sales gap has shrunk consistently since PS3 launched. Not sure if you know math, but that means PS3 sells more.

Keep practicing your arithmetic.

jessupj4128d ago

Ironic how you talk about living in a bubble when you're only talking about the US sales.

Not sure if you know basic geography, but there's a whole lot more out there than just the US.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4128d ago
Rockubot4129d ago

I would have to say Xbox 720 should take a headstart instead.

hardcorehippiez4128d ago

id say its going to need it , after the fiasco of rrod i know a lot of people thats not going to touch an xbox until they see if it is reliable.

4129d ago
Belking4129d ago (Edited 4129d ago )

@StrongMan
You are missing the point here. When you advertise a game, you aren't only doing just that. You are also advertising xbox360. Out of those 400,000 copies sold I'll bet that some xbox360s went right along with them. How do you think MS has sold 73 million consoles so far? It's called good business and smart advertising. Something you obviously know nothing about. You just stick to trolling. You seem to know that area pretty well. You are pretty pitiful as usual.

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280°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

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theverge.com
darthv721d 5h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle16h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic188113h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio13h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Lightning778h ago

What he said was facts. How he plays games is no concern of you. Don't get too mad about it.

Cacabunga15h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

darthv721h ago

to you it may seem like the minority... but your bubble is shrinking because more and more are following suit. convenience is a hell of a drug and its also why physical sales only amount to 30% of overall game sales. times are changing, you either get with them or you get left behind.

shinoff218314h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga13h ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

itsmebryan9h ago

@shin
Well keep it simple Sony 's operating income is down 26% and Microsoft's is up 32%. No MS spin there, just facts. 😉
Cheers

S2Killinit2h ago

MS is after diminishing consoles as a medium. They want to destroy this market because they couldnt win. MS’s vision is to dissolve console gaming.

romulus238h ago

Odd that a company that touts you dont need the hardware to play is already touting another console in the works.

darthv728h ago

They are not reliant on the HW but still want to maintain a presence (no matter how small) is a good thing. It shows commitment to the craft. It reminds me of SNK and how they made games for their own hardware (Neo Geo) while also making them for others because they knew there was a market to do so. They knew they would sell more to others but also sell to their own niche fan base.

TheEroica2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

Perfectly reasonable post down voted by insecure corporation friendly folk.... But not gamers. Real gamer want accessibility and ease of acquisition for all.... Company shills are the only ones still telling us that hardware locking people from games is good for us.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1h ago
purple10118h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos18h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

DOMination-7h ago

In the last two years they've started exiting the consumer market altogether. All of the newest Surface products are business models only. They can't seem to work out what they want to do with it.

XBManiac17h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad17h ago(Edited 17h ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple10116h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos16h ago(Edited 16h ago)

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic14h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

MrDead8h ago

The only growth MS will get out of the console industry is if it supports it's rivals platforms. Xbox is a pointless machine now. I can see them on a big push for live next, and they won't give up on trying to buy Steam.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 8h ago
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150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos1d 18h ago (Edited 1d 18h ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers1d 14h ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos23h ago(Edited 23h ago)

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken1d 1h ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g1d 10h ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing1d 10h ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H91d 10h ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola1d 6h ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn6691d 9h ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle1d 9h ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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300°

Microsoft Seemingly Closes Bethesda France

As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people

Read Full Story >>
insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere2d ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN1d 23h ago

If they are let go, they can be whatever they want. They ARE 3rd party now... 🤦

Barlos1d 20h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN1d 13h ago

They can form a company if they want, they are just as jobless as if "Microsoft had left them as 3rd party".

peppeaccardo1d 15h ago

"MIcrosoft leaves Bethesda do what they know how to do best" ... close! Oh the irony ....
(Citation from a week old article)

ChasterMies1d 11h ago

I think Microsoft and other game publishers are letting people go because they think ai will replace them. Doesn’t matter how much profit they make. They were always going to be let go.

PassNextquestion2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Bethesda France was made up of roughly 15 people... they couldn't of being doing much

Bethesda France mainly did publishing and marketing within the region

blacktiger1d 23h ago

that's a shame for you to say that, i'm sure Elite loves hearing what you just said.

Mr Logic1d 9h ago

What a stupid thing to say. The elites give 0 fucks what we say on an obscure website in the comments section.

Crows901d 8h ago

You can always reach out and give them jobs at your company man. Don't wait

blacktiger5h ago

You own nothing snd be happy. I'm sure you heard that

Profchaos2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Bethesda France focused on publishing and marketing in the region. And 15 people lost their jobs as part of the closure.

I wonder if this is part of Microsoft's strategy to abandoned physical media or possibly gamepass advertising makes their roles redundant you don't need to market a game as hard when the majority of players get the game as part of a sub which already promoted upcoming games

Tacoboto2d ago

It's France too, there's a high likelihood only 1-2 people on the team even had an Xbox.

Profchaos2d ago

Possibly guven all the leaks we know the Xbox brand is really struggling in the region.

Yi-Long1d 21h ago

Well, if your consoles and games are barely found in any stores any more, of course you're gonna struggle finding consumers ...

XiNatsuDragnel2d ago

Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo

Profchaos1d 22h ago (Edited 1d 22h ago )

I think it would have been better for all parties really especially gamers

TheColbertinator1d 23h ago

The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.

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