Week in review. Stories include:
Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in the latest Japan retail data released this week. The Xbox 360 ranked as the No. 4 hardware in sales compared to the PS3 at No. 5.
Microsoft this week said that the Xbox 360 lifespan will exceed five years. A company executive cited Sony's seven-year-old Playstation 2 as an example.
Wii title Super Mario Galaxy ranked as the No. 1 best-selling software in the latest Japan retail data. Unit sales exceeded 250,000 units to easily rocket the new entry to the top of the charts.
Companies, particularly public companies like Microsoft, need to grow.
i mean its pretty simple, they spent close to 30 billion in acquiring activision, they thought they'd make it bk no problem, and that didnt happen.
its just shit that because of MS's miscalculation alot of people lost their jobs.
They are going to use AI for a large portion of the game development process. Upper management need bonuses and the shareholders need more money. So, people will lose their jobs.
They shouldn't have bought any studios. Some is okay...but they went on a shopping spree...stupid
The better question is why did Microsoft buy publishers for a service they were subsidizing they knew couldn't support.
And why are so many websites trying to make people feel sorry for Microsoft instead of truly criticizing the fact they are closing studios and killing jobs that would have been fine if Microsoft themselves hadn't gotten involved.
Quit feeling sorry for Microsoft and start feeling sorry for the industry and the all the gamers who are actually losing out.
THIS IS MICROSOFTS FAULT.
The first thing that happens after any major acquisition or merger is a consolidation of the whole new portfolio, which includes cutting any excess, bloat or portfolios that don't fit the larger MO of the big boy. So far, it's been par for the course with Microsoft and that's why gamers have been so against this acquisition. Tango Gameworks is the beginning. You think Microsoft wants to pay to keep small timers like Ninja Theory in business?
There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that Microsoft will improve any of these studios, but plenty to suggest that they will get rid of what they don't need and hold onto the IP. The real agenda of the acquisition was always to acquire The Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Fallout, Call of Duty, Candy Crush etc. that will create millions in passive revenue stream for Microsoft regardless of where the games release. Microsoft simply wants their cut.
Because of Games Pass Microsoft has no interest in investing in new IP which is risky and requires creative talent they can neither nurture nor manage. Game Pass has also not grown in the way Microsoft expected it to, even post acquisitions. Therefore the logical thing to do, without serious money makers to release, is to cut as much cost as possible.
Backward compatibility works for many games on newer consoles, but titles such as The Simpsons: Hit and Run have been left out.
From base building to swinging willies, here are the best survival games around, which include a couple of less than obvious picks.
Outsold with 200 units more...thats a incedible number of 360s xD
I'm approving it just because Shmee reported it.
The Japanese are not going to like the 360 failure rates they are sure to encounter in due time
The Xbox 360 out selling the PS3 in Japan; yes but the connotations of this are rather misleading. People who celebrate that weekly sale don't usually give the other side of the story because if they would have, it would take a bit of shine from it.
The Xbox 360 is incredibly cheap in Asia, along with the Ace Combat 6 Bundles; Microsoft are playing their Aces right. They can't compete by price matching with Sony so pricing the 360 cheap, along with games Asians love; sales will come.
Although having said, it was public knowledge that Sony would drop the price of their console the week after the week of sales reported so it could easily be construed that people were just waiting for the price drop.
It's not much of a victory once you consider that vital fact but regardless, not many would have expected the 360 to outsell the PS3 even with those conditions in place.
i love how in n4g bad news are repeated 10 times, while good news does mostly not even show up, for any console. spam here spam there and so on. but well someday i hope, will n4g get some quality again.