Pachter has lost his mind: RAM Equals Innovation, Xbox 720 wins Because of Skype & TV

Playeressence's Furious Francis discusses Michael Pachter's latest Wii U hate/blind, bias predictions. PS4's RAM will lead to innovations we have never seen before, PS3/Xbox 360 to be outsold by the PS4/Xbox 720, and the Xbox 720 has been declared the winner before the console has even been announced.

[Agent Smith]

So, what's new?

[Theyellowflash30]

Usually he's just wrong, now I think he's actually crazy.

[LOGICWINS]

Either that, or he knows something big about the 720 that we don't.

[reynod]

RAM = The New Cell lol

[Nitrowolf2]

@Logic
lol, really Him know something?
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[black911]

Why the Freak Do we even listen to this guy? He's The Skip Bayless of The Gaming Community!!!!

http://blogs.miaminewtimes....

[amiga-man]

As has been said the opposite normally happens to what he says, so I'm quite relieved he didn't choose the PS.

[NewMonday]

is the TV tuner the same idea as Torn, NASNE and PlayTV that Sony used outside the USA?

and Skype has many other services that do the same like Tango.

and some time back their was news Sony is setting up an MSO itself, so I still don't see an advantage for MS yet.

[knowyourstuff]

He's not crazy, he's just out of touch boob and knows nothing about gaming, why people buy games, why people stay away from certain games/consoles. He's just a boob who doesn't game, and as a non-gamer he is personally more interested in non-gamer related things like skype and tv-tuning.

More RAM does mean a Developer can do more on screen, so with less limitations they will be able to do more. If you call it innovation then fine, that's one way of putting it. Another way might be "better AI, more complex things on screen and under the hood happening all at once to make a more real, visceral experience". It doesn't mean innovation is guaranteed, just more possible with less limitations.

[Ritsujun]

The Joker IRL. =/

[Irishguy95]

Pachter lost his mind....in 1997

[kingmushroom]

fucking LMAO.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Pachter might know something that we don't about MS. He must of saw what MS was doing therefor getting all excited and and jumps the gun and claims the 720 a winner.

Not even Pachter is that dumb enough to make that stray prediction without having some sort evidence backing it.

Pachters not even a real gamer hes a tech enthusiast. Lets wait and see what MS announces before hasting such claims.

EDIT: So fanboys are claiming victory with the PS4 over MS unannounced console. And now Anylist are claiming victory with unannounced Xbox over the PS4?

https://www.google.com/url?...

What is gaming news coming to 0_O people.

[HammadTheBeast]

Actually Patcher is dumb enough. He said Wii would fail based on nothing at all. And in terms of sales, it did amazingly.

[joab777]

It may be true. Xbox, imo, will choose a different path and they may sell more consoles or make more money but it doesnt matter. Why? The wii sold a gazillion consoles and was very successful but not many of us talk about it when talking about this gens greatest moments. This could happen if microsoft chooses to take the casual route. Both, according to him will be very successful but in different ways. The xbox may end up being the console evryone owns because its cheaper and does alot of entertainmemt stuff. But, the ps4 may be the place that all hardcore gamers go for the best games. Thats fine. I will buy a ps4 at launch and if microsoft can convince me its worth owning an xbox too, i will biy one. I just think that many ppl ultimately get both. Its just that the new xbox may become the new wii.

[pandaboy]

are you guys serious here? this article is completely nonsensical. Pachter's predictions seem to be spot on and coincide with the information we have. There is a reason he has the job he does and you guys troll the internet desperate to degrade him.

[Jacobster]

I understand what you are saying but Analysts from any industry do get things wrong more often than not especially when forecasting the future and especially predicting the overall sales of a new console cycle! I guess time will tell :)

[MEsoJD]

It's funny how people lose their shit over Pachter's opinions. He's not always right, but I appreciate his perspective.

[ritsuka666]

It's incredible how upset you are that a Pacther made a comment you don't agree with.

[falcon79]

Considering 1GB of RAM is all they need for games NEXTGEN as that equates to 4GB for devs as it gets compressed so please tell me what game will use more than that on textures ??

[jmac53]

It's more than just "textures". Pretty much all of the information will be funneled through the RAM include physics info and OS functions.

[a_squirrel]

Try running your OS with 256MB SRAM and 256MB VRAM (Or just 512MB)

Windows 98 can. *laughs*

[KwietStorm_BLM]

1GB equates to 4GB for devs. Lol yea you really just said that.

[Gildarts]

Skype would be a pretty steady drive for Sales if its integrated right and advertised it right. Many people use Skype now, about half a billion. Microsoft can take SOME of that cake. But that will definitely not be what will make the 720 the "winner". If Microsoft doesn't focus on games this Gen all they would have is casual gamers. The PS4 right now sounds like it's the place to go for core gamers. But we won't know for sure until Microsoft shows what strategy they're going to use.

[Jazz4108]

Cant we wait till both systems are fully disclosed before we speculate a winner. This is madness.

[Anomander]

How dare you make sense on this forum ;)

[showtimefolks]

patcher oh patcher you will never learn to keep your mouth shut, i bet you he just says stuff just to start a controversy

[babadivad]

Who the fuck is Patcher. People post his articles all the damn time but who the fuck is he and why should we care???

[chaos-lockheart]

Like I said before, I can take his job anytime. I can BS more.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

For Consoles Ram does = Innovation BUT
if that is the case then Nintendo takes the lead as innovators once again.
(Remember the one of the complaints about PS360 development...)

Yeah, I used to be more patient with Pachter but now I'm just getting the "I will make more $ by helping turn WiiU into a 3rd Party" Vibe from him.

You broke my heart Pachter... I trusted you... I trusted you...

[Theyellowflash30]

I don't think RAM equals more innovation. I think more RAM equals better graphics/better media functions.

Innovation is done through gameplay, not RAM. It's the same reason why Chrono Trigger, an almost 20 year old game is far more innovative than Final Fantasy 13

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

"Innovation" has a wide swath of meanings.

You are taking a particular definition.
You are talking about Gameplay (Like Z-Target Lock) and I am talking about System Architecture (Like Cartridges to Disc format).

Innovation is just a beneficial change (or just a change).

But in terms of Gameplay and System Power:

1) Miyamoto said last week that somethings in the new Pikman could only be done through more processing power.

2)He also said the same thing about Super Mario Galaxy, whose ideas were originally tested on the Gamecube and later finalized on Wii because it was more powerful.

So, what I am saying is Power does not =Innovation
But it can hinder Innovation.

Majora's Mask could not be done on an Atari 2600
Halo could not be run on NES.
Golden Eye could never be run on SNES.

Wii can't handle WiiU games not because of graphics but because of concepts- Wii does not have the Power to stream to a 2nd screen.

But we all know great games were on all of the systems I mentioned.
And some of the games are better Gameplay-wise or just as good as the games that are around today.

Zelda 1 is one of my favorite Zelda's but so is Z: SS.
Old School Doom is still fun even though new FPS's are deeper.

[jmc8888]

RAM gives you the ability to load more things into memory from a disc or hard drive so it's ready to be processed.

It doesn't affect power, it's just the ram CAN BE a bottleneck.

Thus if you reduce the bottleneck, then you will see performance increases because the data will be there when the processor/gpu is ready for it. If the processor is waiting, then it slows things down.

Right now on the PS3/360 what you have is that games are quite far beyond that old hardware so to make the games work on the PS3/360 they had to use tricks to get it to load the bigger worlds, but all of this had a price by reducing what it could do elsewhere.

So no, you don't have increases with RAM, with the new console you simply won't have the bottleneck because you won't have to rely on those tricks because the amount of RAM will be sufficient. That's not increase, it's simply removing the slow down from the system.

It's like saying if you are driving you push the gas pedal to go, but with the 360/PS3 if they were a car, you were at the same time hitting the gas and brake at the same time. So is it correct that you have a more powerful car by simply taking your foot off the brake when you hit the gas? NOPE.

But your care will go faster than it would have otherwise.

Simply because you removed what was holding it back.

Basically with the PS4, 8GB's of GDDR5 means that in its lifetime it will have enough memory to not have to worry about resorting to such tricks. If anything it's a bit of a waste seeing that the power of it won't really be able to utilize more than 3 GB's or so of it for gaming in it's fullest extent. Now the reason for this is because it will be a 1080p gaming system, thus those size textures don't utilize 8gb's.

Most of the power of the system will be used to run things that aren't a big user of RAM, but ARE a big user of the power inside the system. Thus what I am saying is the DX11 type effects will tax the systems power whereas the 1080p textures will use up more overall ram than these but use less of it's power. So 8 GB's is a little bit of overkill, but it's an amount that is pretty much justified. It is the right amount. It's just too bad the GPU/CPU combo is a little lacking. Still good, but a little lacking. But overall 8gb's is more appropriate for the size of 1600p or even 4k (3840x2160) gaming. But the system will only be a 1080p gaming machine.

Of course probably 2gb's will be reserved for the OS so you'll have 6gb's or so used for the actual gaming, while the GPU will only be able to push about 3 GB's of it. The remaining is just there for any wasteful process that is invented between now and it's end of life so it's there just in case.

A good example is the GTX 670. They have two varieties. They have a 2gb version and a 4gb version. There is NO difference between the two at 1080p gaming. Even at higher resolutions there is negligible difference.

So really to properly utilize 8gb's of GDDR5 you would literally need a game utilizing the full power of 3-4 PS4's if they were somehow linked and capable of pooling the power together. Then be displaying it to a 4ktv, with monster textures.

[Ju]

I agree with everything you said but the assessment that the 8GB won't be used. This machine has 8GB guaranteed. Believe me, designers will find a way to fill it up and it has nothing to do that it will "only" output 1080p. You are simply not limited to use the same textures over and over again, you are not limited to duplicate geometry over and over again. Worlds can be bigger; sections of the world unique. Set pieces designed differently for various areas. And, well, I'm telling you PCs will hold the consoles back. You'd need VRAM to store all those data; the fastest GPU can't swap those in and out in time to support more than you have VRAM available. 3GB and 6GB cards are coming, but it doesn't help that the majority of cards are sold with 1 or 2GB. And well, of course, with 8GB you can push texture resolution. No more blurry textures on close ups, etc. 4K resolutions isn't the only reason why this makes sense. Well, KZ SF ran probably on 1.5GB, but it only was one level. You could actually load the whole game in one piece and never see a loading screen or a reload.

[falcon79]

You guys are all thick the wiiu has 4GB on devkits thats official only speculation got us to 2GB ?

ps4 has 8GB on devkits,neogaf,kotaka ect all said the amounts were devkits,so either way wiiu has 4GB and ps4 has 8GB thats the truth with RAM,Nintendo havn't said it has 2GB in retail sites and fanboys stated this.

So if wiiu has half on retail so does ps4 ?

wiiu can technically offer 1.5GB for games and let me just say with S3TC u can compress textures by 4x the amount ect this makes u fit alot more in,vram is used for video so your main RAM isnt needed for this,its mainly just texture compression but it allows for more RAM than the original amount.

Wiiu has IBM 32MB eDRAM on the MCM and there is said to be more ?

Everyone look at the comments from Michel Ancel and TTgames ect they basically say because of memory and the gpu we can do alot more ?? Ancel said its very powerful and has zero memory or texture resolution limitations wiiu texture res is 8096x8096 look it up,its when Ancel said movie quality textures on wiiu are possible,Moonlith soft said zero cpu limitations on X.

[Viper7]

Let's say..

Ram equals more moving space when developing games. That would probably get closest to the truth. With it you can for example store more stuff to the background (mostly content like 3D-models, textures and audio).

Many of the games stream the content from HDD or disc which is a bit slow as you still need to have it on RAM if you want to use it.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

RAM will never mean innovation. It cannot. It is an essential part for any computer to operate. Increasing the amount does not equal innovation. Not even using a "Non standard" type equals innovation. The way it is used or implemented is a different story, and that comes down to the people, the developers, the architects.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

Yes but we are not talking about Computers-

We are talking about Consoles adopting a Computer mainstay.

PS3 an 360 did not have a significant amount of Ram- now they are using Gigs.

That is a NEW TREND an Innovation.

It does not matter if you're impressed by it- it's still something "New" and it is beneficial so it qualifies as an Innovation.

[Qrphe]

Power has always allowed for innovation every generation and it always will.

[Theyellowflash30]

Except for the PS3 and Xbox 360. This generation brought a bunch of cover based and first person shooters. Hardly innovative in my opinion.

[Godmars290]

Because PC was the measured standard this gen whereas before devs had to focus on the hardware they worked with.

Therefor, power does not allow or equal innovation.

[Max-Zorin]

His mind been lost.

[3GenGames]

You possibly should join him in looking for it, as yours seems to have disappeared too. Or you just don't know proper English.

[Unztayble]

lol!

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Max-Zorin]

This is the internet. To hell with proper English.

[SolidDuck]

Does anyone actually listen to patcher? He has been full of bs for along time. Sometimes I read it just to laugh.

[RandomDude655]

He's always been a fucking idiot. People are just now figuring this out?

[cyhm3112]

how can one lose one doesn't have in the first place?

[EffectO]

I see that Sony defense force has been activated.

Pachter said this,

MS wins,Nintendo software still king,Sony thrives,PC makes a comeback

Nothing negative here for either of them.

[theWB27]

I think gamers will win next gen...as we have most every gen before. That is a fact..mostly.

[xXBlondieVanHarlowXx]

Ah Patcher, your rants are always worth a cheap giggle or two. And for that we thank you.

[DigitalSmoke]

=THIS IS THE PROBLEM=

lately, all this talk about sales, as if that justifies lack in games and exclusives for years...
Have ppl been so brainwashed that they are happy to see a console just SELL more?
I don't wanto see a console witch does all types of shit BUT! suply me with the most awesome gameing experiences to WIN! over consoles that do give their fanbase hardcore titles.
I don't believe Xbox fans want this to happen ether.

=THE RAM DOES GIVE=
room for developers to express themselfs in bigger and better ways, so this does mean innovation in terms of writing bigger and better software.

Pachter is still a nob in my book though.

[jester1122]

I mean this guy is so out of touch with reality. Gamers don't care about skype and tv apps guess what you get all those things on other consoles and computers as well. Sony will do video chat it won't be called skype since ms owns it, but will work the same way. He says skype in your living is great feature guess what laptop and phones already do this. Nobody is like man I can't wait to get the new 400 dollar xbox so I can skype lol. Psp had skpye also no one cared. All we care about is games bottom line that's why I buy a console. Really there is like three people out there that are like man halo 5 is cool, but damn bro you hear about skype being on xbox it's gonna so sick hahhaha...GTFO this guy gets paid to talk out of his ass...

[Ju]

Well, Skype on the console would actually be awesome because you can talk with people on the phone/computer not only on your console of choice. But it's no make or break feature.

Actually I'd be curios if Sony would walk up there and would want Skype for PS4 if they'd say no. I'm curious what the criteria is to get it. Non-competitive? Probably, huh (Vita has it, so, is it?).

[Gildarts]

Am I the only one who thinks it's cool that you will be able to receive Skype calls while playing? Of course with the option to turn it off.

[DiRtY]

I think Skype and TV services are actually quite a big selling point for many many users. And let's be honest 99.5% of the games will be multiplat anyway.

And all this "strictly focused on games" is stupid IMO. I would be pissed of my next xbox wasn't a multimedia hub for the living room. That is actually something positive, yet people spin this in something negative. And if the rumored specs are true, the next Xbox can EASILY play games like Killzone 4 as well.

And with all the developers MS hired for their new studios (from Crytek, irrational games, Sega, Naughty Dog) it is a safe to say MS will have their fair part of exclusives as well.

[jester1122]

See I told you I found one out of the three people who care ..You probably like facebook and twitter also.What you don't understand is MS has three first party studios and rare does kinect games so the resources they put into kinect and skype will be taken away from getting new ip or new exclusives. Also look at sony they have over 15 first party studio why do you think there are some many exclusives on playstation.I would much rather MS put money behind getting new studios and IP then kinect and skype. most of the tv apps are like netflix and comcast you have to have the service already to use them. Which I would say besides netflix most people don't have. Also netflix is streamed more on ps3 according to netflix because you have to have gold to use any apps...I think most of us would rather have money invest into better things like new IP... As far as you being pissed your xbox is already a muti media hud what more does it need really, they just want to start there own tv service to make more money. Buy a roku box if you care more about media hubs...

[DiRtY]

MS has more first party studios than Sony. And Rare made 1 (ONE!) Kinect game. Please get your facts straight. -.-

First party MS

- Lionhead
- Rare
- 343 industries
- Twisted Pixel
- Turn10
- Black Tusk Studios
- MS Victoria
- MS Redmond
- MS Soho
- Big Park
- Lift London
- MS LA
- Press Play
- Playful Learning
- Microsoft Studios Mobile Gaming
- Good Science Studio
- Xbox Live Productions
- etc.

Here is what happened in the past years:

2010

Microsoft Studios formed a Mobile Gaming studio focused on developing gaming and entertainment multimedia for Windows Phone.

Microsoft Studios expands Rare Ltd. to a second additional 90+ person in Digbeth, Birmingham to produce further titles

Microsoft Studios forms new internal studio named Microsoft Game Studios - Vancouver.

Microsoft Studios forms new internal studio named Microsoft Flight Development Team to bring Microsoft Flight to PC.

2011

Microsoft Studios opens new development studios in Soho London, Redmond, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia.

Microsoft Studios acquires indie game developer Twisted Pixel Games, known for developing titles including 'Splosion Man and The Gunstringer.

2012

Phil Harrison, the former Sony world wide studios head joined Microsoft as head of Microsoft European Studios and IEB.

Microsoft Studios recruits for new development studios in Redmond — Microsoft Studios - Playful Learning.

Microsoft Studios recruits for new development studios in Redmond — Microsoft Studios - The Connected Experiences.

Microsoft Studios acquires developer Press Play, known for developing Tentacles and Max & the Magic Marker.

Microsoft Studios announces plans to expand Microsoft Studios Victoria to between 80-100 people.

Microsoft reveals the final name of their sports entertainment development studio - Skybox Sports - in a recruitment release.

Microsoft reveals plans to open a new games development studio in London, England to develop various free-to-play, online and social games for Xbox platforms.

Microsoft downsizes Microsoft Studios - Vancouver due to cancellation of Kinect family title "Project Columbia" and announces ongoing development of free-to-play PC title, Microsoft Flight has ceased due to portfolio evaluation.

Microsoft Studios - Vancouver is officially renamed Black Tusk Studios. They aim to create Microsoft Studios' next big IP to rival their most successful series, Halo.

Microsoft recruits for a new development studio in Los Angeles, California to develop interactive Televised Entertainment for Microsoft platforms - Microsoft Studios - LA.

2013

Microsoft renames Microsoft Studios London to "Lift London" studios; a studio that would make create games for the cloud and Microsoft claims is staffed by the most incredible talent ever seen in a start-up.

Meanwhile at Sony:

- Sony closes Zipper
- Sony closes BigBig
- Sony closes studio in Liverpool
- Sony cuts ties with Superbot Entertainment
- Sony does not renew the contract with thatgamecompany

[Rainstorm81]

@ dirty

Nice list but you do know Microsoft Studios also make games for Xbox Live for windows devices (phones,PC,and tablets) as well. If you think majority of these studios will be working on non Kinect Xbox next games you will end up being disappointed..... How about we wait and see what they do with them first.

Rare also does the Avatar work for Xbox....but the question is what was Rares last great game on 360? Kameo? PD zero? B&K nuts and bolts? Viva piñata?

What about this? According to Henson: "Kinect will be the main focus for Rare going forwards as it's a very rich canvas. This is just the beginning of an experience that will touch millions of people."

http://123kinect.com/interv...

And Sony did much more than ONLY close/cut ties with five studios in that same time period, good way to be unbiased. never mind acquiring Sucker punch and media molecule among others with a proven track record for core games

Funny thing is you list those Sony devs, I bet you also hated Socom and PSASBR.....the biggest loss is thatgamecompany....Flower and Journey is amazing

[jester1122]

LOL next time you use wikki you should actually find out what the studios do. Working on mobile and kinect are worthless, Rare did make two kinect games also they said moving forward that's what they will be focused on. I mean Microsoft mobile studios who cares about that. Stop using wikki I base it off games that have been released. GO back to getting excited about sykpe or something. How many on these studios are making normal console triple aaa games about 5 like I said earlier.Superbot was never part of sony they just did allstars ...Why don't you look up who released more exclusive triple aaa titles ms or sony or new ips.Guess what not even close sony released way more this gen ... Also everything Rainstorm81 said is 100 % true...

[first1NFANTRY]

This guy is an embarrassment to fortune tellers!

[NateCole]

You can't win a generation until you conquer Asia and Europe.

MS will never be able to do this.

[HmongAmerican]

whose is the winner? last I checked game console maker are the one getting our money. Its all about the game. Not TVs and not about which console has the best features. My smart TV already come equipped with these features.

[Welcome2Die]

"Video game console Xbox 720 will win because of Skype & TV."

Oh what about you know? [Spoiler] VIDEO GAMES!! [/spoiler]

[hazelamy]

why do people even still listen to the guy?
pachter i mean.

[SOULJER]

Poor mikey he'll say anything.

[babis1974]

so...i thought that game consoles were about gaming...

[gamefiles]

im getting a wiiU very very soon

[talisker]

Can somebody explain to me how is a TV tuner a selling point? I mean, when I buy a console and hook it up to a TV, it already has a tuner and, in most recent cases, bunch of apps like streaming and Skype. Why would I want to have it doubled by my console? I see no sense in that but maybe I'm lost here.

[Nunchez]

If I wanted to skype or use Facebook I would use my PC or phone. Once upon a time consoles were actually used to play freaking games!

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Oh N4G, you are the FOX News of video game news aggregators.

You've always got another conveniently timed agenda piece ready to spin the latest news against your favorite company. And they always come for suspicious little sites with unusual names owned by... Well you know who owns them ;)

[cleverusername]

I highly doubt any insiders actually speak to this numpty as he clearly can't keep his mouth shut! He probably flips a coin to pick winners then sits back and laughs at all the comments!

[waljaber]

it make me wonder how much i get paid if i talk from my as5 like pachter!!
for sure he got famous from that.

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

Yea if MS cant get a foot hold in Japan they probably cant win at least sales wise.

[ironmonkey]

Its not like sony isnt able to do it. What if they do the same thing but its free?

[ALLWRONG]

"RAM Equals Innovation"

You failed before you even started.

[-Gespenst-]

This is what happens when you gaze into the future too much. You just lose the plot. Your mind houses time paradoxes and you just start breaking down.

[AO1JMM]

RAM = Innovation?

ok

[Theyellowflash30]

Skype and a TV Tuner are not system sellers. There just features that people can already get in other places for cheaper than Xbox Live Gold.

I think the PS4 is going to crush the Xbox 720.

[chuckyj1]

Remember lots of people said the PS3 was going to crush the Xbox360 this generation.

The arguments you use in your post are very weak. Sony hasn't even said if their next-gen online service will be free or not. You're assuming there will still be a free option.

[chuckyj1]

The author of this Patcher response story did a pretty crappy job of refuting his points. If you can have a console that is great at delivering games...While at the same time selling units to people who don't care about games it greatly improving it's demand.

Why
-The people who don't care about features outside of gaming will simply ignore those features and continue playing there games.

-People who don't even like playing games will purchase the console not for the games, but for the features outside of games.

-The console that can pander to the most audiences will win the console war it is not just about console videogames anymore... It's about everything your console has to offer.

To me it doesn't really matter, because I will probably end up with both anyway...But, I don't see myself picking up a Wii U. But, to each their own.

[ozstar]

Microsoft maybe the new Nintendo, but they've never had a friendly image so it'll take alot of effort to change their Halo image

[ajax17]

Yeah, incorporating Gaikai seems like a better selling point in a game console over Skype and tv features.

[solid_warlord]

less RAM is like asking a genius innovator such as Leornardo Da Vinci to draw Mona Lisa without color painting it and with no background cause he is being told, there isn't enough paint to color and add background setting. Would the famous painting of Mona lisa be popular if it didn't have color and background on it, i doubt it. So yes, more RAM in the hands of "Top Devs" will allow real Technical innovation with less restriction.

[Ravenous_Syn]

I missed the days when consoles just played games.

[MadMen]

Hasnt lost his mind you fool,

he understands that gamers are out numbered by the everyday consumer, which is what it will be sold too.

[MaverickStar7]

I do enjoy Pachters videos. When it comes to the business side such as game companies decision making and investment analysis is usually on point. But when it comes to predictions....I trust a weatherman calling for snow in July more.

[Game3s]

The rant of a ps3 fanboy over foolishness.

[nachokingp]

This article is really weak in a number of areas. First of all, Pachter didn't contradict himself, and I think he MAY be right, this COULD be the last generation of home consoles. Just because the next gen will sell well, that doesn't mean that there will be another gen of home consoles, there will be a different type of games system that might be dominant. I think we probably have one more after this, but unless we see trends changing, I think the dedicated powerhouse home console is going to be a thing of the past. I think once we see a rise in semiconductor technology, display technology, and the like, we will see mobile game platforms become the dominant force in the games industry. Imagine a game system that can play the best current games available and you can take anywhere to play any time. That appeals to the consumer because they don't have to stop playing because they're not home and it appeals to game devs because they can move away from game media and go towards a digital distribution system that eliminates their hated "used games market" that they think is cannibalizing their sales (which they aren't).

Nintendo is in serious trouble, and while you are correct that their big first-party games and third party exclusives will push the Wii U, it's not going to be anywhere near what the Wii was. While the Wii did well this generation, Nintendo made a big mistake in its long-term hardware strategy by releasing that underpowered system. They are now basically a generation behind as the Wii was only a little more powerful than the Gamecube was. Now with the Wii U, sure, it's more powerful than the current gen, but only just a little more powerful, that's why it doesn't cost a lot more than the 360 and PS3. The major cost in the system in my belief is the Gamepad, which will stand to bear if they ever sell it as a standalone accessory, as they currently do not, is the most expensive part of the hardware, which if is true shows that the actual guts of the system are well below the power of what the Playstation 4 and the Next Xbox will be. Sure, the Wii sold lots of units, but it sold them not because it was a great games console, it actually wasn't. It sold them because it had mass appeal to a casual gaming community. You don't see many 360s sold to retirement communities or grandparents. You don't see parents buying too many 360s for their 4 or 5 year old kids. Sure, maybe some do, but overall the Wii sold based on the motion control gimmick making the games accessible to everyone. Hardcore gamers hated the system and the only games that really appealed to true gamers were the first-party juggernauts like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc. I can tell you, I barely touched my Wii after the initial few "new and shiny" months of fun, and I never touched it once Kinect and Move came out.

Sony shifting its focus into the west is not going to hurt their sales, it's going to help them. They are still going to sell like gangbusters in Japan because the Japanese are fiercely loyal to homegrown products. They don't need to push as hard there to sell. And the fact remains that the Japanese game developers really ARE falling behind. Developers in the west are increasingly making good games, and Japanese devs are falling behind in creativity and sales outside of Japan overall. Sure, you still have major players in Japanese software like Nintendo, Kojima, etc., but Capcom, Square-Enix, and others have seen major slips in quality and sales have been affected as a result. The most to the west will only bolster their overall numbers, as will the most to PC architecture, which will make more Western devs happy and make it easier to build games on their platform.

[nachokingp]

Also, the PS3 isn't done yet, and it's going to sell a lot more than 73-75 million units. Look at the PS2, it sold nearly 200 million units and sold steady and hard well into the current generation. That's because once the PS3 came out they dropped the price of the PS2, which made it more appealing to consumers. The games for it were now cheaper since many of the best games were "classic" titles and could be gotten for under $20, and the system itself was available for $100-$150 at the end of the cycle. You will see the same thing happen to the PS3 once the PS4 ships. I know I want another PS3 but I'm waiting for the price to come down. It's still the best blu-ray player around, and playing games is a nice bonus, so would I buy another one or maybe two once the price hits $150 or $100? Hell yes! I can tell you for a fact that the PS3 sold a lot of units because it was the first blu-ray player, and still remains one of the best ones. That's its "gimmick" that it has over the other two consoles. The PS4 doesn't have a unique feature like that, and that is going to hurt its sales long-term when its gaming capabilities are diminished 8-10 years down the road.

You are correct that game play leads to innovation, but you can't compare PC RAM to game system RAM. As another commenter pointed out, PCs are not dedicated systems, and the Operating System takes up a HUGE chunk of the available RAM. Yes, multimedia game consoles have OSes too, but each generation of a game console gets a new OS, and those OSes are built from scratch to be optimized for current multimedia needs and built to work the most optimally for the hardware they're designed for. PC OSes are totally bloated and must work on a huge variety of hardware, not to mention they must also perform other tasks that a gaming console simply would never have to do, like word processing, photo editing, etc. Also, OSes like Windows have been built on a base architecture that is over a decade old, so it's far from being optimized. There is no way you can make that comparison, I'm sorry.

[nachokingp]

Pachter is 100% right about the TV tuner being important to the capability of the Next Xbox. Like the blu-ray player for the PS3 and motion controls for the Wii, it is a differentiating factor for the console. Right now almost everyone rents their set top boxes from their cable company. Being able to buy a games console and eliminate the monthly charges to rent those boxes should not be underestimated. I for one would love to have a single box that could tune my TV, act as a Media Center Extender, stream Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, and play games. Less clutter, less components, less wires, less power consumption, lower monthly bills, that sounds like a winner to me. I know I'm not the only one. I'm sure that a $500 price point would be too high for consumers to consider a Next Xbox as a viable STB replacement, but when that system drops to $300 like the current gen is at now, people won't just see it as a games console, it will be a multimedia hub that ALSO plays games and possibly can act as a DVR, which will put it ahead of things like a Roku, TiVO, and other similar boxes. The only concern I have is that cable companies might not support the hardware. Rental prices are very important to their bottom line, and if someone made a mainstream STB that would possibly eat away those fees, I think they would potentially block the ability for consumers to use that box in homes. What MS needs to do is create some business partnerships with at least one major provider, if not two. Comcast and Verizon would be big wins for them, and maybe it will take some money, but that's something MS certainly has enough of.

You also seem to be forgetting that MS has Xbox Live, which IS the premiere online gaming service. Yes, Sony has its own that is free to play, but XBL is a superior service, and I think the majority of people agree with that. They don't have a game development division for first-party titles, but neither does Sony really. Sure, there are devs like Santa Monica and Naughty Dog, but while Sony owns them, they are a unique entity and I think you will see that the time of console exclusive titles is going to come to an end soon and companies can't afford to exclude large consumer bases. In this generation, the PS3 architecture was so vastly different than the 360 architecture that it was a lot of work for a company to port a game over from PS3 to 360. However, once the PS4 was announced to have Intel architecture, it immediately made me think that the "killer app" scenario was going to die soon because with similar architecture, the barrier of entry into the Next Xbox is too small for any companies to ignore when they consider the possible sales figures they could have. It is already happening in this generation. Final Fantasy moved to multi-platform. Splinter Cell HD Collection was available on PS3. Silent Hill HD collection and Metal Gear Solid HD Collectionss were available on 360. You're only going to see more of that, I promise.

[Legion]

Though we all know 'Pachter' is a moron and is basically the Ms Cleo of gaming information. His guesses at the future in gaming are at least palpable compared to the responsive argument by 'Furious Francis'. This guy couldn't argue himself out of a paper bag.

The article is rubbish. Not a single point against 'Pachter' is thought out and valid. He is no worse then 'Pachter' himself.

Get another job son. You are clueless.

[arbitor365]

alot of wii u damage controlling in this article. and quite frankly, their reasoning is even worse than Pachter's

"Pachter also states the PS4 is likely to sell 85-95 million units lifetime. I wonder how he got this number, when the PS3 is right around 73-75 million units sold? Sony is moving their focus away from Japan and into the West. Can somebody explain to me how Sony is going to sell 20 million units more than the PS3, with a lack of first party Japanese software?"

apparently they arent aware that the PS3's biggest crux was its fubar launch. it didnt have third party support, online was ****ed, it was too expensive, there were very few games in general. it was a mess.

the PS4 isnt making any of these mistakes. its looking to have the polar opposite of the PS3 launch. so its pretty obvious that it will sell more. it should be obvious to anyone who had any grasp of why the PS3 sold what it did.

[BozoLoco]

Astonishing how people take Pachter's comments so close to the heart.

From an investors standpoint, Microsoft is definitely the sure bet. It might not "beat" PS4, that's a predication, but he's trying to assure investors that Microsoft's safe entertainment focus will be a success if the company can keep costs down.

Please people, stop looking at this guy's comments as being trolling, or gamer-focused. He's an analyst, NOT a gamer.

[TheSurg]

Wow, what a stupid article! Yes, Patcher got nothing to back his theories but the person who wrote this article is just retarded or pretends to be. RAM easily leads to innovation. How? Because with more RAM, devs can make the game calculate more things (its not just about texture resolution you tard!). Many more background processes etc will lead to more innovative games. Why it was not the case with PC? Because all games are built so they can work also either on current gen consoles or slow pc's. Once console generation skips to next, PC games will do the same. Seriously, kid wrote that article or what?

[mp1289]

Why do people think the ps4 will have to compete with tablets?psvita sure, but this gen was more succesfull than last despite all the tablets that came out and all the problems that the ps3 faced, because microsoft and nintendo did so much better than their previous generation.

[nosferatuzodd]

pach is an idiot what ,people just finding this out

[zebrahim]

Pachter knows that Microsoft is going to turn living rooms into discos! Yes....your new illumiroom combined with kinect plus 2.0 will ensure that you have a realistic disco experience. In addition you will be able to disco Skype with friends and family.....all new SKYPE! Then to add to the excitement you will get 3 exclusives in halo, forza and wait.......... gears of war 6! Thank you MS for polarizing the gaming community...I blame you for nintendos move to casual as they had no choice...furthermore it's clear from your pretentious leadership that your company has an overwhelming intention to exploit the ignorant gamer.....never again will you victimize me with micro transactions.....thankfully you have polluted EA and Activision to follow your ruthless exploitation of gamers.

[SpartanQ8]

Ram!! I think he meant Vram since it gddr5 = video Ram

[busytoad]

ms is done, what they gonna make blu ray disks?? lol they cant sony owns that patten. the xbox 720 is gona have each game on 5 disks lol cause they dont have blu ray

[chuckyj1]

A) Sony doesn't "Own" Blu-Ray.
B) MS may license Blu-Ray from the Blu-Ray disc Association.
C) Saying MS can't use Blu-Ray discs is like saying Sony Computers can't used Windows based operating systems. Just not true
D) did you know Blu-Ray disc format uses a MS patent? That means MS also makes a royalty off Blu-Ray sales.
E) Nintendo Discs don't use Blu-Ray, but can hold a lot of data up to (25 GB) Blu-Ray discs aren't the only disc format that can hold tons of data, just the more mainstream disc.

Busty toad you really don't know your facts.

[busytoad]

all i can see in future newspapers is xbox 720 red rings of death's, another reason i hate microsoft.

[brianunfried]

He's just a whore for Microsoft, always has been.

[strickers]

Everyone seems to forget ps3 sells more than 360. 5 out of 6 years it sold more and the year it didn't it sold 800000 less.
Launching together it's extremely unlikely Xbox will sell more.
In fact, it could get hammered if Sony get the software right.

[DivineAssault]

idk, unless they figure out a way to stream all future games through these new consoles, it wont be the last.. I know PS4 has Gaikai but will internet connections world wide be powerful enough to run nx nx gen games in the nx 10 yrs or so? We will see but nobody knows whats going to happen.. How does this guy have a job? my nephew can predict better than him