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
4127d ago Replies(5)
Catoplepas4127d 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_Crawler4127d ago (Edited 4127d 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.

AngelicIceDiamond4127d 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.

MrBeatdown4127d 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.

rainslacker4127d 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.

Belking4127d ago (Edited 4127d 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.

StrongMan4127d 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.

Hicken4127d 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.

Proeliator4127d ago

@Ezz2013

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

Sound logic.

Proeliator4127d 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.

Ezz20134127d ago (Edited 4127d 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

Catoplepas4127d ago

I am indeed referring to worldwide numbers.

I suggest you take your own advice.

MysticStrummer4127d 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.

jessupj4127d 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 4127d ago
Rockubot4127d ago

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

hardcorehippiez4127d 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.

4127d ago
Belking4127d ago (Edited 4127d 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.

Show all comments (38)
260°

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

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insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere14h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN11h ago

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

Barlos9h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN2h ago

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

peppeaccardo4h ago

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

PassNextquestion13h ago(Edited 13h 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

blacktiger11h ago

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

Profchaos13h ago(Edited 13h 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

Tacoboto13h ago

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

Profchaos13h ago

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

Yi-Long10h ago

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

XiNatsuDragnel12h ago

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

Profchaos10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

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

TheColbertinator11h ago

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

Show all comments (17)
130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg15h ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos14h ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola9h ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

Show all comments (7)
280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple10111d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref11d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde11d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander197211d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville10d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff218310d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos10d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
isarai11d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref11d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan11d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis00710d ago (Edited 10d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander197211d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

11d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197211d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

11d ago
11d ago
Zeref11d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde11d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander197211d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander197211d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier10d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto10d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff218310d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto10d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
Hofstaderman11d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts10d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts10d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic10d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

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