Losing its byte

These are strange times in the world of video games. For the first time since the mid1990s, three rival consoles from different manufacturers are doing real battle for our leisure time. Back then, it was Sony, Nintendo and Sega. Now, Microsoft has taken Sega's place; worryingly, it seems also to have taken on Sega's habit of confusing potential customers with too much hardware.

The uncomfortable truth about the new 360 Elite is that it feels like a product from a company that is struggling to come to terms with the fact that it no longer has the next-generation playground to itself. The Elite may turn out to be a stop-gap on the road to the next version of the 360, but for now it feels like a Jack of all trades. And a master of absolutely none.

[Xbox is the BEST]

here to stay.

[bung tickler]

nothing is here to stay, everything gets outdated... that said.

if anything ms is taking sonys place and sony is taking segas... ok, ok, give me a second to explain.

nintendo been here for forever, then there was sega the second most established... along came sony, new guy, durring it's second system cycle it killed sega...

fast forward a few years...

nintendo been here for forever, then there's sony the second most established... along came ms, new guy, durring it's second system cycle it killed sony...

now you fanboys might not like it, but untill sony digs its way out of a distant third worldwide (if it even can) you can't help but to connect the dots. oh and here's another dot, sega had the most expensive system when it died...

[ISay]

the US is only 24-30% of the market and while i agree all good things come to an end it wont be by microsofts hand

[barom]

First off Dreamcast was made to be easy to develop for. Same way as Xbox series.

Second Dreamcast came out a year earlier (or at least earlier).

Third Peter Moore worked for Sega and promoted the Dreamcast

Fourth Dreamcast had an established game library and PS2 had nothing when it came out

Five Microsoft is not gaining any third party support (anymore at least) and actually lost some (Haze). Is there any upcoming Xbox 360 exclusives that is NOT sponsored by Microsoft?

Sixth Dreamcast was a lot cheaper than the PS2 at PS2's launch.

On a sidenote I would like to say PS3 is doing great in both Europe and Japan. They increased sales in Japan when every other system decreased (DS,Wii,X360 included and probably PSP,PS2 too). I mean 2k a week and still decreasing, how low can X360 go? Haven't followed Europe's chart but I do know it's doing pretty good.

[BenzMoney]

"It feels like a Jack of all trades. And a master of absolutely none."

lmao! Is he talking about the 360 or the PS3?

[power of Green]

The Elite is nothing more than a console with a bigger HDD and HDMI thats it!.

You don't look at the Silver set top box and pic it apart when all thats different from the Black one is that it enables HD content vs the black standard one; people will buy accordingly. Ridiculous...

[Spike47]

he's talking about the 360 elite.

I think that their might be a new rival in the horizon, hp fanboys rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bloodmask]

and has a negative connotation bc of the lack of HD media, Wifi, etc. But these extra "options" are the very reason that the PS3 is failing miserably. Bc they have attributed to the $600 price point at launch.

Basicly the extra $100 dollars on the Elite price is for the larger HDD and HDMI.

HD media isn't needed for gaming and was solely put in the PS3 to win the format war. A very limited number of consumers watch HD movies on Consoles. By recent statistics less than 13% and half of consumers who buy PS3 don't even know what Bluray is.

Not to mention a hardwired connection will always be superior to WiFi. Even with the WiFi option I would never use it. Too many dropped signals.

So in conclusion I would think that Microsoft made the smart decision by not adding these extra features to the Elite, or the 360 for that matter. The sales would have been lackluster with the higher price tag. Very similar to PS3 sales most likely.

[gEnKiE]

"HD media isn't needed for gaming and was solely put in the PS3 to win the format war. A very limited number of consumers watch HD movies on Consoles. By recent statistics less than 13% and half of consumers who buy PS3 don't even know what Bluray is."

Wasn't their an article just not too long ago about how PGR4 or whatever it is ran out of space on a DVD and is forced to cut corners to get the game to fit on a single dvd? You know, you say HD media isn't needed for gaming but i have to disagree with you their. Sure it isn't essential for todays games but down the road games are only going to get bigger and the more space is going to be needed. Even Epic said that their is going to be more content shipped on the ps3 version of unreal because they have the extra space to fool around with. Then again, the space isn't "needed" but it definitely is less space to be taken up on your hard drive for extra game content. I could really care less about the bluray as a hd movie format but i really love the fact that developers dont need to worry about how much space is left on a disk when they plan out a game, and like i said, games are only going to get bigger and i think microsoft really should of included a hd-dvd drive in the 360....

[johnnywit]

I agree totally. Also, why would I want to spend so much money on wifi when I can get a 50 foot cable for 20 bucks. There would be no lag and it would be 80 dollars cheaper. I think the PS3 looks like a good system but I really believe they have added to much stuff to drive up the price.

[MrTeenie]

Good read, and agreed.

[razer]

The Elite seems to be flying off shelves faster than the Pro or Core SKU's. I haven't even seen an Elite in the store since they went into production.. Every place I've checked has them backordered.

What's the big deal that their is choice?? Should I jump on Apple because they offer so many different models of iPOD?

Just look at the specs on the box, pick the product that's best for you and STFU! This is a non-issue.

Comments like this:
"Microsoft’s representatives were at pains to point out that the 360 now competes on price with the Wii (£179.99). What they did not point out was that the 360 still offers precious little in terms of games for fun. "

Games for fun??? Erm, the last time I checked the games I am playing are fun.. I certainly don't turn my 360 on and say wow I had no fun at all with that.

As well, I don't want a freakin HD-DVD drive and if I do want wireless(wireless is for lagging turds) I will go buy a third party adaptor thats $30 USD.. You don't have to buy the actual 360 WiFi.

This is an article that makes few if any valid points.. Sounds like perfect N4G headline material and I expect it on the front page ASAP.

[WafflesID]

yeah. Once I read "What they did not point out was that the 360 still offers precious little in terms of games for fun." I pretty much stopped reading.

[WafflesID]

I agree though, the elite was a bad idea. They needed ONE SKU. Get it right the first time. You don't go releasing a revised version before the 2 year mark. That makes early adopters pissed off. Why should we ever buy another microsoft console when it first comes out knowing they will probably just release something with newer features that we might need.

Ok, that said, I STILL traded in my 360 premium for an elite because I wanted the HDMI.

But I wouldn't use wireless if it was my only option. screw the extra latency.

[WilliamRLBaker]

If you have a decent router, then there are no latency problems with internet acitivity only high bandwidth using computer to 360 *media extender* functions.

As for that you dont have to buy the official microsoft adaptor, There are many off brands that will work, and not only that there are official ones *wireless bridges from linksys, and dlink* that can be had for 40 dollars and less.

[WilliamRLBaker]

yet the 3 versions of the ps3 isnt? lol what a crap article, my dog lays better journalistic tidbits rolled up on the ground.

the elite is the answer to the ps3? As opposed to the pro and core? hes basically is saying the core and pro aren't ment as competition to the ps3.

Infact I dont even have to say any thing Chris From London said it all and showed why that article is a bunch of crap.

[gEnKiE]

woah....coundnt of been said it better myself. this article is a great find and pretty much sums up the 360...

[Genki]

First of all, I know that whenever I get a 360, the Elite is it. The only thing that's happening is that this generation is more likely to be a level playing field than we've seen in over a decade. Just because sales are at X because of variable Y doesn't mean anything, these people(and there are entirely too many of them) are NOT looking at the bigger picture.

[BIadestarX]

Ohh wow.. how the hell... this crap gets approved? What's the purpose of this article aside from bashing and flaming the xbox 360?
And this.. laddies and gents... is the reason why I pledge to bring the edge of my blade to Sony fanboys. I will continue to return the favor and contribute to make Sony fanboys visits to this site as painful as possible... maybe one day when they stop their stupid hate article.. maybe we can all focus on gaming... wait. yes... I guess that the reason why they are posting this articles.. they are pissed because of lair..

[360_Rules]

This guy is getting paid by Sony after the 260% increase of the 360 in the UK. Master of none would be the PS3! :D

[Herby]

Xbox has 3 SKUs with too many differences between them. Sony has 3 SKUs also (well just 2 now that the 20gb was phased out) but they basically have the same features the only difference is the HD capacity. As of now MS may have the better games but once the good games come out for PS3 then hardware will increase in sales.

[DJ]

Nintendo surpassing Microsoft's installed base, and Playstation 3 seeing a big increase in sales throughout all territories, it's safe to say that Microsoft's console has fallen to the sidelines.

The number of different SKUs has become ridiculous, and they all offer different features that end up confusing consumers. Switching from 60GB to 80GB isn't the smoothest thing Sony has done, but there's understandable business decisions behind this move and the hardware is identical feature-wise and capability-wise to the 60GB. When Microsoft changed the Premium SKU to offer HDMI output after the Elite was introduced it basically said to the game community "We don't give a damn about 1st and 2nd year adopters; if we feel threatened by our competitors you are the ones that will pay the price."

There's other issues such as the weak aesthetic design of the console, the fact that Microsoft is trying too hard to make the 360 a 'family console', the 25~30% failure rate, and small amount of compelling, exclusive software. Mass Effect, PGR, and Halo are the only big console-exclusive titles available on the platform this holiday season, and I just don't see how they're going to stand up to Sony's diverse and intense lineup. Luckily there's enough multiplatform titles to hold over 360 owners until the Spring, but almost all of those titles are on the PS3 as well...

[THUNDERMARE]

Well, I bough the core because I thought that I can get the hard drive later, which I did but the price is ridiculous and I felt that I got rip off for a bit. Then when RROD hit with 30% chance, I didnt care much since I didnt get one. But then when MS came up with core with HDMI, that's when I really mad with MS. When I first get the PS3 and knew that all my blue-tooth peripherals are all work on the PS3 and I can put a 350GB hard-drive that cost me only half of the 120GB 360's hard-drive. I'm pretty much done with MS and their business model.
Its felt bad to carry a console without games for 6 months and got rip off later, MS should respect first adopter more than what it is now.

[RINGOFDEATH]

More RROD (Red Ring of Death) will appear.More dissapointed xbox fans be crying on their cheap hardware,you pay for what you get .

[Razzy]

The absolute worst thing would be to get your shiny new copy of Halo 3 home and then get the dreaded RRoD because the ol' 360 can't handle these newer games that are maxing out the system. OMG can you imagine the carnage that would ensue inside that kids bedroom? MELTDOWN!!

[TheExodus]

MS just has to drop the Pro to $299 for the holidays & we'll be waving goodbye to both Blu-ray & PS3.

[synetic]

ok we see you a xbot fanboy but now , stop dreaming .

Wii and ps3 will be the winner for sure

[kennyfisterbotm]

People, i just have to state the obvious here. Microsoft is alot bigger than sony, nintendo, and sega all put together. Well thats the end of the statement. I hope you understand where i'm going with this. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

[johnnywit]

Yeah people tend to forget that one of the reasons sega lost was because they only had 100 million dollars to work with. MS has a hell of a lot more than that.

[TheExodus]

Let's give rational thought a try shall we? MS is spending what amounts to pocket change to them to break into the consumer electronics industry (Xbox & Zune) while Sony is taking on massive amounts of debt in hopes of remaining relevant.

[gEnKiE]

well, thats what you get when you rush a piece of hardware to beat your competitors.....a console that has numerous accounts of hardware failures that forced the company to add a 3 year warranty to cover its mistake.........

[THUNDERMARE]

Matter of fact, asset wise, Sony is about 40 billion bigger than Microsoft

here the data is taken from 10-k (I pick only big one so you get the picture)

Sony March 2007 (million)
Asset
Cash, time deposits & cash equivalents 7,279
Total assets 106,619

Liability/Equity
Total liabilities 75,591
Total liabilities, minority interest & stockh 106,619

MS June 2007
Cash & equivalents 6,111
Total assets 63,171

Liability/Equity
Total Liability 32,074
Total stockholders' equity 31,097
Total Liability/Equity 64,171

What this these number mean??
Sony got about 1 billion more than MS to burn and about 40 billions bigger.

[celticlonewolf]

Are people that desprate on here for any sort of negative news that they pull up cr#p like this I mean I have to agree how did this get aproved? The guy really hasnt done much research into this other wise he would have known that the 360 is doing very well in sales and lets face it going up against a gaint in the gaming busness like sony is no small feet. People on here complain and b@tch about the 360 yet guess what it is selling really well so there must be doing something right or maybe just maybe the 360 is a good gaming machine and people are having fun with it(I think if not for the stupid amount of hardware cr@p it be doing even better). I think sometimes we as gamers dont realise how well we have got it I mean 3 yes 3 good gaming systems to choose from and a slew of great games to come yet it seems taht some people would rather talk smack about the other system than realise that compation between the 3(sony working real hard to close the 6m gap while ms really wanting to hold on to it)is working for us in a big way. Good gaming

[celticlonewolf]

Ps DJ your facts are way off if the 360 is stalling so bad how come it outsold the ps3 in the us, uk, france,scandinavia, australia, and other smaller regions(doesnt give names)for last week and the week before. I cant stand fanboys who throw out stuff which isnt even true. Yes the ps3 is selling well but as I have shown above so is the 360 for outselling it in all those places. If the 360 is doing so bad what does that say about the ps3 which is behind in sales in those places? Think people Think. Good gaming

[Says you]

And you would have to be stupid enough to actually believe that.

[kennyfisterbotm]

Please tell me what your smoking for you to beleive that Sony is bigger than microsoft. What ever it is, it must be good. Man the people on this site are just getting dumber by the minute. Thanks!!!!!!!