Microsoft, Channel Stuffing and Desperation: Old Tricks for a New Era

Wall Street veteran Roger Ehrenberg writes: "Microsoft is in trouble, and this ain't no joke. Vista is a disappointment. Search is weak. Xbox is under siege from the Wii. Paul Graham recently posted that "Microsoft is Dead." Paul might have a taste for the dramatic but you can see where he is coming from.

Further, it has come to light that Microsoft, in an effort to embellish its perceived momentum in gaming and its window into family rooms the world over, has been using the oldest and shabbiest of retailer tricks to juice sales figures for the Xbox 360: channel stuffing.

Strong companies confident in their strategy and performance don't do these things. They don't have to. What kind of a message does this type of behavior send to the investor community and, more importantly, your customers? Weakness. Fear. Short-term thinking. Nothing that represents a positive signal for a better, brighter tomorrow."

[Bigmac573]

Wii and PS3 are rapidly closing the gap. The Elite will only put the nail in Microsoft's 360 coffin.

[Marriot VP]

yes the console's going to be doomed because more people will buy or re-buy the 360 and trade in their previous premium so more units get into circulation.....in trouble, riiight. There are so many more important problems that could spring up.

I'm interested to hear you response too, i'm waiting.

[MissAubrey]

How fnckin old are you?! all I know is that you're stupid.

[Marriot VP]

well this is hilarious, apparently 7 people can disagree with me, but not one of those people want to point out a flaw in my statement.

Come on, PROVE YOURSELF.

[BIadestarX]

Yes, they are so dead. Man, I wish my company was a dead as they. Look at that... they are still making huge profits. weird.

Also, it's not that vista sucks it's that windows xp is still good.
"Vista is a disappointment" how is that? People just don't have reason why to invest in a new OS when their current OS does the job.

[hfaze]

I can tell that you haven't had the misfortune of working with Vista yet... I've got seven PC's up here at work running Home Basic, and they are subject to some of the strangest issues I've run into yet...

Outlook 2003 would come up and PEG the CPU on a dual-core machine, but only on SOME of the PC's. 1GB of RAM is realistically not enough (gives you the performance of an XP machine running 256MB of RAM), and those stupid "security" notifications that do nothing more than confuse the user into clicking Yes on everything...

It's enough to make me REALLY appreciate Linux and MacOS X that much more... After five years in development, I sincerely expected a LOT more out of Vista...

"Over-hype and under-deliver", looks like that applies to Microsoft as well...

[uxo22]

I'm an IT manager at engineering firm and I have migrated all of our desktop to Vista Business. I haven't seen any of these things that you speak of. The only thing I see as a problem with some of my users having to learn the new features. If you've dealt with corporate users, you know how you get the old guy in the room down the hall that still wants to use DOS 6.0 for everything.

Otherwise, Vista is working very well in our company. It's amazes me how some people have so many wierd problems right out of the box. I thinks it's because they start tweaking things and they really don't know what their doing.

Perhaps your machines are barely meeting the minimum requirements. I would wonder why someone would invest in a dual core machine and place only 1gig in it. Also, 7 machines running vista home basic, this is obviously a home workgroup and not a bonified network with domain controller. (strange arrangement to have home basic at work.)

[shotty]

I have Vista Premium and the only issue I have is that Im running 1GB which is alright but loading up a game and you can see studders, 2 GB will be fine but im using ready boast to add 512MB of RAM. I had it for 2 weeks so far and no crashes and it runs very smooth.

[techie]

Lol. Take it with a pinch of salt and read his musings. It's interesting and dare I say has a grain of truth with it.

**edit**To everyone below. Hear this. I personlly do not agree with the article. I think it is off in a lot of places. Why did I post it? Hmm...because I was on Kotaku and they had this as one of their news stories. I thought it was best to actually link to the original article rather than Kotaku.

Number two. This post was actually editted by News bot and approved straight away...so no reports.

Three. This is a company we're talking about. You don't need to fall in love with a company and serve it...we're turning into machines in this day and age where capitalism and money making companies rule what we think.

This is an analyst who does some research and puts forward an argument which you either find compelling or you do not. If you don't, say why...please do not start attacking members or the analyst.

Finally, there have been plenty of FUD articles posted about Sony, and your saying when one is posted about Microsoft, that the person who put it forward for approval should be banned?

WTF is going on. If you people think like this, I have lost respect for this whole site and everybody on it. You can frankly get f*cked and I won't bother coming here again. If you can't take a little bit of criticisn of a company then you're lame.

Please reply to me why I should not have posted this? Why? If it's another bias article SAY WHY. I wouldnt have found this if I didnt go on Kotaku...I don't go digging around. Without an apology this site can f*ck itself up the ass in the words of David Jaffe. Punish my bubbles as well..if you think I'm a bad person for posting this then bloody punish me...who said democracy was the best system hm?

[PSN Starfleets]

I dont even need to read the article to know these simple facts.

1. Vista is not perfect but its another Windows Operating System that everyone including the haters will be using within another year or two. FACT.

2. Xbox360 is fine. It could do better but no software is going to push it until the next line up of games are released like Forza 2 and Mass Effect.

3. Profits..? This is Microsoft. Profits in the gaming industry for them isnt a word. But then again, its more of a word than it is for Sony right now.

[Karebear]

I absolutely HATE the mentality that "Windows sucks, but eh what can you do?" There are other options. I went Microsoft free in 2000 and never looked back. You can still do gaming on your PC using cedega (www.transgaming.org) under linux. I pretty much just switched all my gaming needs to a console at the time though. My PSP and PS3 keep me pretty satisfied in the gaming side of things. As far as productivity I can do anything I want on my linux box that I could do in Windows. Plus I have the added benefit of total control of everything, security, and stability.

Look at it as a challenge to learn new things :) Heck with the latest Ubuntu stuff you don't even really need to learn much of anything.

[ben hates you]

on the news MS stated they have made 1.2 billion off of the xbox 360 since its release i think that is a decent profit so no i don't think that the xbox is dead why would it be it still sells so no its not dead

[techie]

nowhere does it say microsoft is dead! lol just read the article. Stop being so defensive and read it. COme on...no flamebait title...I don't like them. Do you agree with the dangers facing microsoft?

[Phlapp]

"nowhere does it say microsoft is dead!"

whats this then

Paul Graham recently posted that "Microsoft is Dead."

[MissAubrey]

Ive lost so much respect for you today...

[techie]

that's not the guy who wrote it. That's another lad he's quoting. A guy once said "microsoft is dead"...why is he saying that. Is he right? I think he's wrong.

WTF is your problem "I've lost respect for you" This article was on Kotaku! Look it's clear that some 360 fan is not going to post this...someone has to. You post news, the good and the bad. As soon as I put this up it was editted by news bot and then approved, so what the hell is your problem?

Read it and understand it is an article. Take it with a pinch of salt. Did I say that? Yes I did. I'm not saying it's true. If you can't take a bit of critism for your beloved multimillionaire company then what is wrong with you. It's a company! You don't belong to them...you can think apart from them. Sony bugger up, Microsoft bugger up. I hate it that we're in a capitalist world where everybody is following these companies. It's disgusting. You need to wake up and realise what you're saying.

(deepbrown cries inside)

[ben hates you]

says so

[techie]

Look I study philosophy and what is important are the arguments and the evidence...not who says it. Damn it! Why don't people understand that. If the argument is flawed or bias then say so...if it is valid then understand it. I'm not sure how valid the arguments are, but they seem to be well thought out and researched.

Slugg...well then there we go. No need to do comparisons and say Sony lose another exclusive. Your point is valid though.

[M1am1U]

I agree with you in that the article is well thought out and researched. Channel stuffing is not anything new, and is certainly not exclusive to Microsoft. He seems to group Sony in with the technique as well, since both companies report shipped, not sold numbers. Let's face it...the only console that you can't find in stores right now is the Wii. The 360 and PS3 are oversaturated in the market (which supports channel stuffing from both companies), along with the fact the the 360 has been out for over a year. The Wii is still riding the novelty it has created. None of these companies or their consoles are dead, or are going to fail. There is a deeply competitive market right now, and that's not a bad thing. Everyone is trying to one-up everyone else, and in the end, we're the ones that benefit from it.

[slugg]

Where is the evidence? Does he quote any actual sources? No, because the article is SPECULATION. I posit this: Microsoft didn't intentionally STUFF THE CHANNEL, they boosted shipments at the end of the year to meet percieved demand. They had every reason to assume that with the shipping constraints of the PS3 and Wii, some people would pick up 360's for Christmas presents because the other systems weren't available. Also, with their library of games and price point, and huge games like Gears of War being release, MS was trying to avoid the system shortages that hurt sales in the first few months of the 360's lifespan. So, the Wii is selling like crazy right now, but with Nintendo's history of delaying big titles, I think a lot of current Wii owners will be left with a novelty machind where the novelty has worn off. (Some people are already wondering why they just "HAD to have" a Wii when the big games they want, GTA IV, Halo 3, MGS 4, FF XIII, etc, will never be on that machine...) PS3 is in a holding pattern until more good games come out... first hint of any games that aren't already out on 360 looks to be September... FIVE MONTHS from now! In the meantime, 360 has Forza 2 and the Halo 3 beta, followed by Mass Effect, The Darkness, Bioshock, etc. all coming out BEFORE September. Couple this line up with an almost certain price drop, once again probably in September, and I think Microsoft will be o.k. Think about it -- Price Drop + Halo 3 = Sony loses another holiday sales battle....

[kewlkat007]

good one...Ya know very time a new OS is released, Investors always freak out. Trust me Vista will eventually be fine. I don't say MS makes the best products , well honestly, they don't.

What have we learned from Investors lately from the past? They talk a lot of BS predictions.(just looking out for their money, it's understandable)

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Sounds to me like someone is bitter about being in that third place spot for a change.

[THAMMER1]

LOL!

[GaMr-]

I honestly dont think Sony wrote this. But hell if I know. If thats the truth them im sure Microsoft hand wrote every piece of negative Sony news as well. lol

AMAZING...THE LEVEL OF DENIAL ON N4G...

[PS360PCROCKS]

Wow what a moronic article. Sony is in a much more precarious position right now, much more so than Microsoft. Also "channel stuffing?" How about there were massive shortages so when they finally fixed them they sent all available units to stores resulting in backup. But I haven't seen stacks of 360's at best buy in months, their are only a few units just like every other store. Also comparing the Wii isn't fair it's the ultimate family toy, PS3 and 360 are the adult and teen machine. Anyways F this guy this article sucks.

[Lyberator]

Theres always more ps3's in stock than 360's in the stores around here.

[Lyberator]

how are people going to agree or disagree to that. they know where I live and are in the store? HAHAHAHAHAHA damn fanboys

[SuperSaiyan4]

Yep thats right anyone who says Microsoft is dead is like saying the world has just run out of water...

[omansteveo]

This a wall Street Expert with a biased opinion...Why doesnt he talk about how MS is making effort to better its product. Maybe say somethin about how the Wii is going to keep peoples interest after this Christmas..There wont be a Smash Bros game this xmas nor Super Mario Galaxy...Metroid isnt the game to keep the boat a float.

Or how Sony the Reigning champ is going to combat the two this year what is the Title that puts them back in the race we wont get a Final Fantasy or a Metal Gear this year...Killzone 2 is not the game. He's not commenting on any or these scenario's at a all which makes me think hes another Blogging nerd who hates MS bc he thinks they spy on him so hes runs linux an his deskop

[ASSASSYN 36o]

I love doomsday blogs.

[omansteveo]

I dont know if the channel stuffing i dont think i agree with that one i work at a retail chain and we sell alot of xboxes and are constantly in need of them...so if there is channel stuffing i dont see it.

[grunt360]

Microsoft will never die. FACT. There shall always be critics in terms of criticism. Nothing is ever perfect anyways; this is because otherwise they wouldn't have anything to improve on in the next version of the console.

[TheMART]

Hahah Deepbrown you dug up a nice Sony fanboy story again dude

First off all those Sony fanboys crying about their PS3:

"Xbox is under siege from the Wii.". And so is the PS3. In Japan, normally PS homeland (not so for the XBOX but that is known) the PS3 is slaughtered by the Wii.

Wii is another league though. It's close to 200 dollar/euro which make more of the mass buy them. A 400 EUro premium or 600 euro PS3 is out of that league.

Then about Vista. People will start buying it after a while. WHen they need it for new software. When they want the newest updates. It has always been this way.

And he is using VGA charts. If he thinks that's a legit website, then this one is also:

http://nexgenwars.com

who will win? you decide.

who will win? pick the 360
29.4% (173,171 votes)
pick Xbox 360
consoles sold
10,424,173

market share:
who will win? pick the PS3
19% (112,084 votes)
pick PS3
consoles sold
2,810,464

market share:
who will win? pick the Wii
51.6% (303,735 votes)
pick Wii
consoles sold
5,957,076

It seems the 360 is doing over 10 million. I expect this site to be the best one, because before they had it closer to 11 million but had to recalculate. They also redid the PS3 sales, which were increased on the latest sales data.

2.8 million PS3's. That's still about 8 million less then the 360 sold. And the sales after launch on PS3 have declined faster then the 360 sales ever did. 360 always sold about or above 200k in North AMerica alone. All months about between 200 and 300k. The PS3 fell to 130k in February.

In Japan 17k PS3. COmpared to Wii that does 3 to 4 times as much in sales. UK after launch fell to 30k two weeks ago, 17k last week. Max. 12k next week if you ask me.

Sony will not be able to catch up and for sure not on the rate they want and the fanboys wish. If anyone is in trouble, it's Sony and not MS. MS has 40 billion dollars in bank. Sony has a half billion dollar loss every quarter. Sony took a multimillion dollar loan last year.

Sony has had red marks/loss since 2005. Sony pushes the BluRay format to death to save them. Sony made the wrong choices for gaming with the PS3. If anyone is in trouble, it's Sony

[techie]

lol as if. The only person doing digging is you...finding a picture of a store saying "50 ps3's in stock". This article was on the Kotaku front page...and I post a lot of their news.

Some people have read the article like Cane. Some people have read the title like you and just got offended.

Why not say the 360 is doing well (in your opinion) rather than attack the ps3 and Sony? You can be positive without having to be negative themart.

[artman]

is there any other reason for choosing 360?

[Dreamworker]

my pc is 3 years old if i would like to upgrade to vista it would cost me 300-400$. I am sure many people like me say i am doing fine right now and i will buy me a new pc at christmas and many people with me.

[nix]

... so they've found a new one - MS!!!

what goes around comes around! he he... MS! q:

[Firewire]

It seems curios to me how almost none of you are actualy talking about the article. I've heard everything here, um well vista will push the 360! Oh look at the games we have coming! Um the guy that wrote this is a Sony fanboy! Whoever posted this article is a Sony fanboy! Microsoft will never die!
Its become clear that 360 fanboys don't seem to trust anything said in a negative manner about there beloved company. Alot of people have questioned MS sales numbers as being fishy, take it for what it is, they juiced there sales numbers! So right now I think no one person outside of MS has a clear idea of how many 360's have sold! Its also evident that we cannot trust MS to give accurate info on sales numbers as well.
All of a sudden the Wii is looking pretty good, and Sony ain't looking so bad are they! It seems MS ruined that year plus head start, released a faulty machine to be first into the market this gen, screwed there fans with the Elite bull, but everything is rosie with the 360 fanboys.....can you say denial?

[GaMr-]

DENIAL.... ohhh soo true. They are all in it my friend. Its sad.

Please people I beg as one consumer to another. Do not blindly follow any company may it may Sony,Microsoft or Nintendo. Cause they way some of you Microsoft fanboys hop on your defensive. Peter Moore can crap in a dinner plate and you will probably still eat it. All im saying is. They dont love you. They love money. So dont defend them like as if you took the to the high school prom or something.

IM OUT/

[Dogswithguns]

I know that, Im gonna buy a new laptop soon, the Vista is built-in -- do I have a choice??!!

[BIadestarX]

Options:
Buy a Mac.
Buy a Laptop with linux.
Built your own and intall linux.
Format the drive and install linux.

Ohh wow... people are just so dumb.

[hfaze]

If you go through Dell, you can create enough stink about Vista, and get them to ship the system with FreeDOS on it (along with a nice $60-70 off of the system), then you can STILL order XP (OEM Version only, unfortunately) through NewEgg (for about the same price that Dell was charging for the Vista pre-install).

I wonder what Micro$oft would do if more consumers went this route to circumvent Vista... Muhuhahahahaha...

XP will continue to be the biggest competitor to Vista until Microsoft completely phases it out. Then they have to deal with the consumer backlash when they force a BROKEN OS on ALL of their customers...

I REALLY hope some serious competition steps up to the plate to give consumers a viable alternative to the Windows monopoly on the desktop...

[QuackPot]

Retailers are compelled by Micro$ofts monopolistic policies to sell their laptops/PC with Winblow$. Fact: the price always includes the OS installed. It is not free although sellers may give you the impression it is with 'Vista installed'! It's around $200 of the retail price. But you won't get a reduction in price by having winblow$ removed from the HD so you can intall your fav Linux Distro. So we are forced to pay that extra $200 for something we don't even want when buy a PC or laptop. Absolute Fact!

So now I'm just going to buy a PS3, install Linux and have a true PC alternative(media center, gaming, internet, productivity). I'm going to stop feeding those greedy pricks in Redmond, Micro$$$$$$$oft.

Well done Sony. PS3...the PC Console. The future.

[artman]

M$ force the gamer to get vista for the sake of DX10, why they r not just release the dx10 for xp?
while any business doesn't really care about dx10... who would want to upgrade their office computer for vista? which is required a high-end hardware after all... recommended 2Gb ram (sure that is a waste for microsoft office)
just wait another few years to make vista sell more on the market.

no more comment on 360...

[Says you]

Instead of down there just plain stupid making the XBox $150 to $175 . and plus forcing a retailer to take the XBox 360 and saying its saled doesnt count as a sale and I know its the same thing with the PS3

[BIadestarX]

No one is forcing you to do anything.
I don't have Vista (Well, I got it for free. But never installed it).
Besides, think about this. If you are interested in DirectX 10 you will still have to buy a Video Card that supports it... And if you do, that means you have to have a motherboard that supports it (PCI Express) which means you will have to change the ram and probably the CPU... in other words you need a new PC.
I am not getting Vista until I get myself a new PC... Until then I will use XP for gaming. Besides most game developers creating games for directX 10 will still support DirectX9 which means we are all going to be fine until DX10 capable cards are cheap and everyone can afford one.

EDIT: Comment was meant for artman. ^^^^

[sovietsoldier]

we go round and round and round! ps3 will lose,wii will lose,xbox will lose. round and round ..the he said she said. i isnt over till its over.

[artman]

just learn to accept the fact... welcome to microsoft's way of business

[Anerythristic26]

It's not just MS way of business. Sony has been famous of channel stuffing and cooking the installed base numbers since the PS2. THEY ALL DID IT AT ONE POINT. THIS ARTICLE IS VERY BIAS.

[kewlkat007]

we have Bladestar. Listen to him and read his comment before you bash. MS is not holding you captive, there are plenty of inhabited deserted Islands for you to roam free away from Personal Computers and Windows.

If all fails:
Scroll up to this comment:

" 22.1 - ...
Options:
Buy a Mac.
Buy a Laptop with linux.
Built your own and intall linux.
Format the drive and install linux.

Remember linux is free people, we all know how Sony whiners love free networks and such. Sony Ps3 even uses linux now, so there ya go. Use your PS3 to go online and come to N4G.com and stop whining.

We all know MS is not a perfect company, neither do they make the best OS, but quite frankly MS is not going anywhere.......

[Juevani]

I agree with the article ;)

PS!! Im postin for my PS3 ;)

[nicodemus]

This is for people like Juevani (and the same goes for fanatics on either side)... The instant you use a term like "xbot," your argument and viewpoint immediately lose all credibility. No one's going to listen because you've shown every reader that you're a biased "fanboy," incapable of reasoned thought.

So when you say, "I agree with the article," the statement falls on deaf ears. No one cares what you "think" because you've already labeled your views as slandered by calling everybody "xbots."

I just don't understand why people insist on commenting like that... If someone were to ask a BestBuy employee what he thought about a certain game and he said something like, "It's just for Xbots," or "Only PAYstation Fangirls like this crap," than any sensible customer would rightly seek an alternate viewpoint.

The same principle applies here, Juevani. So if you want your opinion to be valued, even if it isn't valuable in actuality, you need to take a more thoughtful approach next time. Try commenting with a little more tact, and you might not get written off so easily (or get met with nothing but "flaming"). You might earn a little more respect for yourself, and you might even gain a few bubbles in the process!

[mandrake]

The article makes some good points but tosses a lot of crap into the mix. For example, the author quotes from Kotaku as if it was made by one of the bloggers, when it was actually from a mere commenter named "br549." Guess what the "br" stands for. Duh. Why pick that one from among dozens of other comments on the same article? For all we know, he could be br549.

Channel surfing is a shady practice and MS is no angel, but everybody does it. Who was MS trying to scam? Certainly not developers, who have access to the real installed base numbers so they can allocate their resources properly. The only people that fall for this sort of gimmick are regular folks. But even so, what's the big deal? What MS did may have been a dumb PR stunt, but it's just part of the game, nothing more. By calling it a sign of desperation, the blog author made it out to be more than it actually was, and wasn't being any more honest than MS.

[Anerythristic26]

The only issue I hae is there was no reason to ever post this nonsense. It has only one purpose.

Channel Stuffing ? LOL , the only company not participating in massive channel stuffing is Nintendo at this point , let's face it they priced the consoles too high. This is just so bias it stinks of it.

[Anerythristic26]

Deepbrown you deserve a PERMA BAN for this post. If the XBOX 360 is under siege from the Wii , what exactly is PS3's relationship with the Wii ? You need to explain how the PS3 is NOT under siege from Wii sales. Stupid just plain Stupid.

Also how is Sony not channel stuffing ? We all know Sony has to do this. You need to back up the articles you post.

[nicodemus]

I agree. To me, the article smacks of bias, particularly because its scathing criticism is focused solely on Microsoft, even though the author acknowledges that other companies do the same:

"Sony, like Microsoft, announces units shipped, not actually sold. This allows both companies to advertise sales numbers based on how many units they can force retailers to accept, not on how many units customers actually buy; both have considerable market power to push excess unsold inventory into the channel."

From this, I'm not really sure why he only focuses on Microsoft, or why he thinks PS3 "looks set to pass the 360 this year," especially when the 360 has 10 million sold and more each month than the PS3's 3 million. So I'm not really sure why Microsoft is set to fail. The problem isn't solely within Microsoft, and it isn't even solely within the videogame industry either.

All companies try to bolster their numbers at the end of each quarter. For stocks to go up, the numbers have to look good. In theory, activities like this could hurt investors, but in so many companies, numbers like this are already inflated (There were something like 4 or 5 different versions of the ps2, certainly enough to bolster sales totals!)

It's not a good practice, and it's certainly not Microsoft's practice alone. But then again, it doesn't really affect gamers anyway. Just buy your system of choice because you like the games and you like the services on offer. Any investment between $300 and 600$ that is made because you like one executive more than another, is never a wise choice, especially when the purpose is just to have fun playing videogames!

[murc13lago]

ms is losing like xx,xxx,xxx
8 figures in japan and they dont even care
there pockets are so damn deep
so how are they dead?

[EZCheez]

I cannot fathom how someone can come to believe that a Wall Street veteran is some kind of fanboy! What kind of brainwashing occurs over XBox Live? I own a PS3, and guess what, I KNOW ALL IS NOT WELL. Why can anyone not seem to understand that this is not about who has the better console, but who has the shadier business execs? I have a headache now.

[snoop_dizzle]

but the Wii is probably going to have a massive game drought, since they depend so much on 1st party developers. Metroid 2 might not come out for a while(in the next few months they have some great stuff coming out though), but Microsoft's biggest gun hasn't even come out yet, Halo 3. Hell gears of war was basically an unxpected killer app, and there are sequels coming. Not to mention that they have a great lineup of games this year and next year. Looking at the Wii, not so much stuff. I personally want a Wii, but i just cant see it competing for a long time, and by sony fanboys logic, its screwed because of lack of graphics. EVEN THOUGH I DISAGREE. If anything then, if Nintendo is such a powerful force as he seems to make it to be, the PS3 is doomed as well. Which I DISAGREE with as well.

The other thing is in someways the 360 and PS3 are just getting started(though the 360 has some great titles already.) Once the PS3 and 360 come in full swing the Wii is going to have trouble, especially if they depend greatly on 1st party developers, because there MIGHT be long game droughts like the Gamecube. I actually like the Wii, and liked the Gamecube, so when i said what i said, it was not in hate. But seeing the Numer of games coming for the 360, and PS3(some multipaltform, but many arent even going to be on the Wii), i just wonder how they will smoke the competition.

The thing this guy seems to forget is that the Halo franchise will sell 360s initially at least. Even if it turns out not to be the greatest. Undoubtedly it will hurt them, but Microsoft has enough great games to depend on as it is, and so will sony as well.

Now as for the Elite, i can see why its a mistake, but could it be possible that thats the version of the 360 that new people will buy when halo 3 comes out, unless Microsoft drops the price of the premium, which they will probably do. Which would be a good thing.

This of course is only speculation, and well, seeing whats coming in the future of the PS3 and 360, they'll be able to compete. They are hardly screwed.

[GameJunkieJim]

You get a bubble.

http://coke.soffish.com/con...
The wii threatens?

http://coke.soffish.com/con...
Enter the Wii.

http://coke.soffish.com/con...
360 vs. PS3

All of my thoughts on the subject of console fanboyism.

[highps3]

They are now worse off then before they announced the Elite.

Sorry but Gears of War was the best and will be the best that console ever sees.

The console was over hyped and over priced and still is.

Enjoy paying for online games because ill be playing the same games on my PC for free...

[Nervsys]

You can't possibly say that Gears of War is going to be the best looking game ever on the 360.

Look at the PS2, it too years to get to games that look like God of War.

Its called progress, and I'm sure we'll see improvements on all the new consoles.

[Killer Cop]

Vista is a very big dissapointment. Xbox 360 is loosing much ground. And they recently lost a case for using a MP3 patent illegally.

Did you know that 50% of all computers in the USA, do not meet the minimum requirements for Vista?

And I have very bad experience with Vista myself. It's slow, confusing and irritating. Microsoft didn't even make a MSN version for Vista ready. The only good thing about Vista is the visuals, but I havn't even tried it with Aero on, so I won't even think of how slow a computer will become. And no VIA chipsets is ready for Vista.

[leon]

WHATS YOUR FCUKING AGENDA?

DO SOME RESEARCH...> http://software.silicon.com...

VISTA IS NOT A DISSAPOINTMENT, OH WAIT YOUR A CHILD YOU CANT AFFORD TO UPGRADE
AND WHO IS THIS SO CALLED WALLSTREET VETERAN????, NEVER HEARD OF HIM.

360 CAUSING THE DEATH OF THE MICROSOFT...DONT BE ABSURD !

MAY JUNE AND JULY WILL WHEN THIS SO CALLED NEXT GEN WAR WILL BE OVER

3 LITTLE GAMES, FORZA 2, MASSEFFECT AND BIOSHOCK

THE ONLY COMPANY THAT IS IN TROUBLE IS SONY, 82% DROP IN HARDWARE SALES AND 60 % DROP IN SOFTWARE SALES 1 WEEK AFTER THE eu LAUNCH.
AND SLOW WORLD WIDE SALES > http://www.gametrailers.com...

WHAT YOU POSTED IS WHATS CALLED "SHIFTING THE SPOTLIGHT"

[Bonsai1214]

turn your caps off...

no one has heard of any of these experts. but they are experts in their fields. can you name an expert in the field of video games? probably not.. but they do exist..

but anyways, i've pretty much given up on this site. its good for the news, but a lot of the people here are prats. i'd love to make a poll seeing which console is supported the most, cause if anyone makes an anti-360 comment, they're down to 1 bubble in no time..

[sajj316]

- Vista is not a sales disappointment, only from an OS standpoint.

- article never said that the 360 was causing the death of Microsoft, but that Microsoft is causing its own decline

- "MAY JUNE AND JULY WILL WHEN THIS SO CALLED NEXT GEN WAR WILL BE OVER" ... once again, your opinon. 3 games will not win a game generation.

- 82/60% ... yes we all heard it before, its called a 'launch'. The only numbers that you should be concerned about is after everything is said and done (end of this generation). The winner ... ?? Right ... thats a question mark. That means I, you, or some analyst does not know.

[pshizle]

first of all i am using a home premium vista
2gigs
256mb nvidia 7900 gs
core2 2.13
xps410

and vista is amazing

vista clears all the key issues in xp

easier to find files
search for programs is amazing
entertainment is what i always wanted media center tv tuner and so on
pc live is coming out for vista and its free
you could do stuff like aero simple and easy when you have many programs up
if you have ultimate you can do dream scene which you can play a video in the background
you got the gadgets in there
volume mixer
nice looking
very simple to use ever on a windows for the first time

i have used mac os x 10 and vista is a bit better but os x 10 did somethings first that are in vista search and gadgets

i would get a mac if i only wanted to do video editing and make my own music or stuff like that...Windows succeeds in entertainment while os x 10 succeeds in editing and making your own stuff

linux= garbage i have used ubuntu, xubuntu, and kubuntu and there all awfull cant do anything with it...i have seen some hacks for it...its cool but useless

Microsoft will not die

[ACE]

lol at this post .

ms in trouble hahahahahahhahahahha.

posted by a errrr never mind .

[Anego Montoya FTMFW]

MS is showing the world there is some major problems.
it`s not death, but it`s not good.

it started w/ the 360 breaking and them denying it.

[Bill Gates]

That has got to be the funniest picture EVER!!!

[Whoooop]

It looks like the PS3 bited his @ss

[Arkham]

So this is what happens when someone posts something that actually contains some facts? Har, that's rich.

No one is saying Microsoft is going to flop. This was just a good look into how tricky playing the numbers game can be.

Relax kids, it's just business.

[Lacarious]

Seriously... i find it str8 comedy that everyone is joining Spartacus' battle 'baby' cry.

[Lacarious]

This current installment (the xbox 360) will be neck and neck with the wii. However, the xbox 720 will recieve serious gamer backlash due to their red ring of death history. No gamer in their right mind will look to purchase the next system.

[BlackCountryBob]

The console business as a whole is having problems, generally bought on by a massive over estimation of the number of "hardcore gamers who will buy the hardware at whatever price" but if there is one thing going for Microsoft this year it is the fantastic software line up they have and that is really what games consoles are all about.

And Vista probably is rubbish but at when you buy your new PC in the next 3 years, 95% of them will come loaded with Vista!

Microsoft is far to big to have serious financial problems but it wouldn't hurt them to take a hint from the Wii and apply the message across the entire company, "better to be a master at one thing than try to be poorly do everything" (eg: Give up on Zune, it doesn't stand a chance against ipod, stop trying to fight Google as again you don't stand a chance! Focus on making Xbox games great and Vista secure, and a little cheaper too!)

[ironwolf]

...except for people trying to install it on inadequate hardware. I maintain an MSDN subscription, and have been using Vista since its release; in fact, I have been using Vista (in beta form) for about a year on one system. If you don't have or can't afford at least 2gigs of RAM don't bother to upgrade.

That may sound harsh, but it is the way it has always been with new OSs. Most manufacturers provide a preloaded system with about half the memory a new OS needs in order to keep their costs down and profits up. I am currently shopping for a new laptop, and I will not look twice at one that does not come with or cannot be upgraded to 2gigs of RAM or more.

Unfortunately, you would not believe how many businesses are running on obsolescent operating systems. I still run into businesses running Windows 3.1 and even Versions of DOS as early as DOS 3. Just over a year ago, I upgraded two small businesses running self written programs, both were running on old CPM systems. Many people just don't like change.

P.S. at #45 I love my Zune. Much larger video screen than the IPod.

[FeralPhoenix]

-Damm, there's nothing worst than f-king cry babies, people who get offended just because they don't agree with the criticism/opinion of others.....although I like and own both consoles, I still lean more in favor of the 360. The thing I hate about both sides in this war is how "thin-skinned" Gamers have become.....this doesn't apply to everyone of course but I'm sick of hearing the "old" cries of "this is not news its flamebait" or "this is a bias story"....hmmm, and yet "negative" posts seem to get the most attention, so flamebait or not people sure show their interest, so it may or may not be true, but why not just debate the merits of a "supposedly" biased article and explain why you think its biased?

Its so predictable, its comical, It never fails, any news that posted about either side thats negative is labeled as "flamebait" or not "newsworthy".....and attacks on the poster? Attack the merits of the article if you believe in what you say but just stop crying.

I think he made some valid points however I do disagree with him because I think M$ is doing fine.....Vista is great, I use it, but its not needed yet since XP works just fine. Wii's are selling better than 360's and has gained alot of market share quickly, but the Wii's popularity I think will always be suspect....if the current demand holds up then it will surpass the 360 sometime late 2008 but then thats even worst for the PS3...things change, we'll see. Bottom line, M$ is far from dead, both M$ and Sony can be accused of what he describes as "channel stuffing"...actually right now I would say if things remain the same and the current trends continue then the future would be much worst for Sony. -but of course no one knows exactly what the future holds especially this early so, again we will see.

[Lumbo]

spot on comment, i only read n4g for the comedy called flamewars. Its somewhat amusing, but it gets old pretty fast. Its actually sad how both camps cry for the Spanish inquisition as soon as a news post comes up that does not fit their hype agenda, and this fits for both the ps3, the wii and the 360 people.

[Gamer13]

Ive got a 360 and planning on getting a wii and ps3 this year, this news is for people who are working for MS and Sony to see how thinks are going "Not For Gamers".

May the best "Console Win" - who cares just give us the games to play.

For me its not about which company sell the most, its the console with the best and most games.

IM OUT...///"""

[FeralPhoenix]

I agree with you in spirit....meaning its about the games? and "Gamers" just want to play Games....but obviously those of us who participate in this site are not you're average Gamer, I have alot of friends who I would describe as "average gamers" simply because they do NOT care about the "news" and following the industry...yeah they might check IGN or a videogame news site every now and then to see a review of a game they "heard" about or whatever but honestly most of them don't know and don't care about "Kojima said this" or "Epic said that" or what "channel stuffing", etc. is....but we(most of us) are interested in learning about every aspect of the industry....from sales, game development, market trends, and on an on, otherwise we wouldn't need the "comments section" on N4G, we could just read the news and move on, -NO, the comments section is filled with comments because "We",(the members) obviously are interested in what developers, journalists, analysts, and industry professionals say about our hobby. That makes us Gamers, no better or no worst than average gamers.....and unfortunately I don't have any stocks in M$, Nintendo, or Sony nor do I work for any of them. -I just think the entire industry is interesting.

[DAKing240]

I find it funny that people hear can honestly believe that Microsoft is in trouble. I will pose one simple question... do you know someone who has had a broken 360, and if so, what system are they currently playing? Exactly, a 360 still.

I will admit that the 360's break a little too easily, but it easily has the best selection of games, and Microsoft has the best PR I have seen from a company in a long time. The customers always know whats going on, and whats coming out in the future.

As for me, I am not a fanboy, just a consumer who enjoys the system I purchased, and which fulfills my gaming needs.

[artman]

well, I'm playing ps3 since my 360 got red light... and it still there~ why should I buy another 360? since I know that the product is easily over heat (and noisy some how)

and the games is so similar on both console rite now... just waiting for japanese developer to release some more games... no offense but US dev released all in similarity games... it's nice at first... but everything is similar... FPS nor 3rd person shooter...
the only thing I like about forza... coz of playable with 3 monitor... but I'm not sure I want to get a 3 360s... surely very noisy...

[snoop_dizzle]

Sony has had some financial problems as well. Now while part of that could of been because the PS3, i don't think thats the whole of it. But still Sony hasn't been doing great either recently. Microsoft isn't really screwed, and neither is Sony, its just that they might not be doing the best. Then again, i haven't really heard anything that bad about microsoft recently.

Oh and Lacarious, did people stop buying the PS2 with all its problems? By your logic, no one would of bought a PS3, considering all the problems the PS2 had(mostly disk reading errors). Now you could say that the PS2 didn't have widespread problems, but i could say the same about the 360. I haven't had 1 problem with mine, neither have i heard a ratio or percentage of 360's with red lights.

[sabbath420]

you my friend are out there. Could you imagine if linux was as widely used a windows? Hackers would be all over it just like windows.

[ben hates you]

ever heard of the term going postal thats because postal is one of the biggest employers thus it will have most people go crazy and shot someone, windows being the biggest OS will have the most hackers ect. you get a bubble sabbath

[power091999]

+1

This is the same reason I can't stand those Mac commercials.

"I'm a Mac I don't get viruses".... uh huh...

It should be "I'm a Mac, hackers don't want to waste thier time coding a virus that will only effect 5% of the population".

That's my story and I am sticking to it :)

[Bad_Karma]

C`mon people , time for a group hug

[Omicronn]

All i have to say is its great that the hype shows what sells articles,and its bad news... not good news non stop:)

[ChefDejon]

are ppl going after deepbrown in the guidelines it says post stories good or bad dont be gah. oh and about this article ive been saying this forever the 360 is not here to stay get over it its here for the short term ( i didnt say microsoft is here for the short term so dont start). buy a ps3 and invest buy a Xbox 360 and buy and xbox 360

[Texas GMR]

...BS. And it's still the best over-all system out.

[Scrumptious]

And why are you making such comments. This article is a blatent attack on MS. This is an opinion piece. There is no reporting on the tactics of other companies. What about the rumors of the Wii being held back on purpose? How much channel stuffing took place with the PS3? Whether these rumors are true or not, the piece focussed on attacking Microsoft with absurd claims. I consider myself to not be a fanboy, as I own all 3 consoles. Which system is best for gamers right now? The 360, and it isn't going to loose the number one spot for any time soon. The gaming industry has noticed, so why can't you.

[uHuRu]

all their moves shows that they indeed rushed X360. over heating, rings of death, console freezing, lots of add ons e.g HD DVD add on, 3 SKUs on the market Core, Premium and Elite, and more.

X360 is crap. I will never buy that console. its games are not appealing, they are all shooters, GRAW, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Bioshock, Shadowrun, Gears of War, Lost Plante etc.

[Whoooop]

hehe

[ALIEN]

DANM! This site is fulla kids.

IM OUT!

[kamakazi]

damn you MS faithful sure are lashing out at DEEPBROWN, for posting some bad news about the 360, we should lynch him for posting such nonsense right? much like everyone else in here who has found some negative story about the other console they dont like. the MS hardcore remind me of SCIENTOLOGISTS. who sue or backlash at people who say anything remotely negative about their so called religion. dont hate on DEEPBROWN, hes just posting news that he found just like the rest of you. now back to guitar hero 2, trying to beat JORDAN on expert. :)

[bombzombie]

First off, I own all three systems.

Reading this article I conclude it is junk science. There's a mistake in the analysis. It has fundamental error inherent to it. Yes, measuring actual sales is a better method, but stores don't release such info. However, shipping units normally correlates well with sales, and it's much easier to measure. Retail chains normally take only what they need. Profit is the bottom line. Stores ultimately look out for themselves, not Microsoft. If they think they can sell their supply, that's how much they will take in. Stores will not take an excess of inventory just to satisfy Microsoft. We are talking about one product out of thousands or more for stores with online presences and back-room shipping warehouses. Its claimed that Vista is the reason why stores are taking a higher inventory. The chains that predominantly sell the Xbox360 do not sell Vista. You are mistaken if you think the vast majority of sales of Xbox360 are through Best Buy and CompUSA.

Further, the article fails to disclose what would be an expected amount of shipment during the holiday season. Most game units are sold during that busy retail season and stores don't want to lose out on sales at the very part of the year the consumer is most willing to part with cash.

Finally, the failure of the author to factor in any number of factors such as game pipe-line, console manufacturing restrictions, consumer trends and the like is appalling. If you're selling or buying stock based on that research, I have some Arizona swampland...great deal!! Call me.

But seriously guys, anybody that doesn't at least contextualize the influences of the HDTV adoption rates, the next-gen DVD format adoption, competing next-gen DVD hardware prices, features and price attrition rates, price attrition rates for console parts, consumer target segments for various consoles due to price targets, and doesn't utilize or at least compare the numbers in a proper temporal basis (mixing and matching trend data separated by 3 months is statistically and inherently flawed given the limited release time for the Wii and PS3 and the X360 for that matter) providing proper context is not worth comment except to say the following:

Let us Gamers, all of us serious, whether we prefer PS3, Xbox, Wii, SNES, PS2, Xbox 360 or whatever, give such an article the very limited merit it deserves.

I can only hope for much more substantive discussion in the future.

[ConnerS]

I read the comment that the guy doesn't agree with this article but i mean come on Microsoft is kicking ass and taking names all of you who agreed with this article are dumb

P.S. I'm a Microsoft fan so don't really take anything I say seriously but do at the same time and believe me I have good reason I went Sony.... it sucked my PS2 broke like a month after I got it I went PC.... it sucked there was just nothing good about it keyboard and mouse sucks so much it sucks in my opinion and thats really all gaming favorites are is opinions on what you like better if you like games like Final Fantasy then go Sony if you like First Person Shooters go Xbox if you like f*ck I don't know online Star Wars fighting games then go PC although the new Star Wars game for the 360 looks f*cking bad ass!

Oh Yeah I Almost Forgot
Xbox Pwns Noobs!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sumfood4u]

MS NEEDS 2 KEEP IT REAL! STOP FORCING THERE PLAYERS 2 BUY NEW XBOXS BECAUSE OF A CATCHY NAME LIKE ELITE! IF THEY WERE SMART THAT FOLLOW IN Wii FOOTSTEPS! OH WAIT THERE RIVALS! WELL MS IS STILL AROUND, BUT IT'S SLOWLY DECAYING LIKE A GRANDMOTHERS TEETH! OK MS SHOW US YUR SMILE!

[Shaka2K6]

vista was a huge flop.
x360 being outsold by the PS2 in the states and right on dead in Japan.
supporting dead formats like h-dvd.
biggest PC makers in the USA Dell now offering Linux on their desktops.

not looking good for microsoft.

[snoop_dizzle]

First of all, get your fact straight. the 360 isn't even dependent on HDDVD, its an option. Now if thats a good thing or not, ill leave that up to everyone else. But even iuf it was it wouldnt kill them. The umd movies failed but they still made umd games for the PSP.

2nd of all the PS2 is also outselling the PS3 taking some of the shine of the PS3. So one big reason the PS3 isn't selling is because of the PS2. And financially, Sony is doing worse than Microsoft. So really you have no idea what you are talking about.

As for vista, im not big on it, but its not really a flop

So Microsoft might not be doing the best financially, but Sony isn't either.

[Rybnik]

Just like the article.
Ok, I imagine that most of the figures in this story are accurate, however, as people have pointed out many figures are rather incomplete, sometimes I believe only US figures were used, some of the claims are not entirely documented either.

My point though, and I really do think its a MAJOR one is that the vast majority of huge titles many of which people have been anticipating since E3 2005 and E3 2006 for both PS3 and 360 have not hit the market yet. This is a really large hole in the guys entire argument; nowhere did I see him take into account the GAMES on the systems. I'm sorry, it really is way too early to say things like MS and Sony are in serious trouble. IF the consoles still aren't selling that well come holiday 07 or 08, then, yes we have a problem. However, I highly doubt that will be the case.

[Bhai]

Definite terms, so obvious from so long:

The 'weakness' factor pushed Microsoft to think in console-making terms 6 years from now. Microsoft was devastated by Sony's success in PS1 era. When first Xbox died the company lost billions, especially affected were the consumers.

Microsoft's 'fear' of extinction pushed them to just pump their deep pockets out, capitalize on their names as a business software firm by showing connectivity between Vista and 360, just moving back to their origins of OS design, not thinking about money. I've just read in yesterday's interview that MS has fallen from 65billion company to 29 billion company. The desperartion is clear.

The most clear ugly approach is "SHORT-TERM THINKING". MS is learing by experimenting on their fooled fanbase. Their own game-studio is underperforming, the best software from them is either 3rd party(which is under-provider in itself) or the one budgeted by them. Modern techniques are scarcely used like procedural synthesis and other insane physics implementations. The only 'upgrade' from current PS2 games to be seen on 360 is in texture department only which doesn't define next-gen. Its so obvious their incompetent, unlearned and handicapped ways are just not going to have them spared. In the world of today MS is trying to do what Sony did over 7 years from now !

[CyberSentinel]

Nice Try, Deepbrown. Keep your opinions to yourself. WTF is the author of this crap? Roger Ehrenberg? Deepbrown? The TRUTH is...its been 5 months now and PSN don't have sh!t on it, and it makes lemmings cry.

Where's your movies? You guys have a powerful movie production corporation, and you lemmings STILL don't have sh!t. Where is your TV shows? Sony has TV studios, and you lemmings STILL don't have sh!t. How many RETAIL demos do you guys have on the PSN? I could count them all on 1 hand! 5 months later and you lemmings STILL don't get new demos. We got your precious "Armored Core 4" (which used to be an PS exclusive-HaHa!) and "Ace Combat 6" (another exclusive PS title we raped from you lemmings)TOO! WE HAVE AC4 DEMO NOW! its 1 of at LEAST a hundred demos that you could download RIGHT NOW! You lemmings are just mad because your sh!tty little "FREE" network, cant compete.

I'd rather be stuffed, then starved. Don't even make me have to bring up what "Sony Santa Monica Studio Creative Director David Jaffe" thinks of your RayStation. http://www.n4g.com/industry... I was nice enough NOT to post a comment to that thread.

Attention Admin:
If blog opinions are NEWS now, just wait till I submit some google searches. Deepbrown should lose her status as contributor.

Blind Lemmings, 2 can play that game.

[Whoooop]

man chill out.. i got Ambien CR, need one???

[Antan]

AC4 demo has been on US PSN for nearly 2 weeks.

[shotty]

Vista and Xbox 360 are complimentary to each other....I know I have both. Use the xbox 360 to stream everything off the computer...its easy and all you need to set up is the 8 digital code the xbox 360 spits out when you first start media center on the xbox 360. Videos comsume the biggest portion of the xbox 360 harddrive, which isnt an issue if you save it to your PC and stream it.

So hey microsoft made an easy $700 off me, so now that I have the 2 im more inclined to buy a Zune (I have an ipod btw but you never know). This leads to a windows mobile phone and on to using other Live services. And this isnt even counting all the games and accessories I will get for the xbox 360.

[NextGen24Gamer]

Microsoft has stated that their are over 6 million xbox live subscribers currently for the 360. If that is so....Its not far fetched for MS to have sold 11 million 360's by now. Not everyone who owns a 360 has internet access... Thats an amazing accomplishment in its own right. 6 million xbox live subscribers....and the 360 leads the movie download market....It was a brilliant move to use the 360 as a media center extender for content on your Computer as well..... Then you look at the fact that the 360 has sold over 10 million 360's to Consumers without Halo 3. All in one year. Thats very good folks. Then you look at 2007 and even if you take away Halo 3....YOu still have a very impressive lineup of AAA Games. Then you look at the 3rd party games that release on both the ps3 and the 360....And in just about every case the lesser expensive 360 outperforms the ps3 version. Many have asked me about oblivion and Fight Night Rnd 3....Let me tell you this...I have compared both games on both consoles on my 1080p DLP TV....and the colors don't look as deep on the ps3 version. I have adjusted the contrast and when I do that....it degrades the picture and changes the black level....Its not the tv...its the gpu on the ps3. It doesn't offer as deep blacks and as white...whites....as the 360....and the overall look of the 360 versions of both games on "MY 1080P tv" is just better. More detailed...and better effects....Now, I do have to say the load times on OBlivion on the ps3 is notibly better than the 360 version...But thats the only advantage I saw when comparing them. Then you take into account with the ps3 you don't get all the extra stuff. Like the add on shivering Isles. It adds a good 30 hours to the gameplay and many new weapons, creatures, quests, armor, ect....It makes the total game area 1/3rd bigger than oblivion on the ps3. BTW...the patch really makes the 360 version shine.....They should re review the game with the patch and new downloadable content...I believe an already Great Game has just been improved on a massive scale. And I would have to agree with the 1000's of gamers in attendence when they compared Fight night on the ps3 and 360 with a blind test that had the 360 dominating the ps3 version easily. It just looks much better than the ps3 version. I know you can find a review here or there that states otherwise....But I have compared head to head on the same tv and its quite clear to me. The ps3 version has some new features...but the graphics look better on the 360 version in 1080p. Thats my opinion and the opinion of all the people who voted on Spike TV's comparisson at the apollo. Its important to note that you will always find people like this guy on this article to have an opinion of some sort of conspiracy...its laughable to me. But its his opinion. All businesses use their leverage to push their products....And from my experience "SONY" does it more than anyone. They have their hand in Movies, Computers, Sterio Equipment, HD players, Music, and so on. At Best Buy the sales people aren't on commission....but if they sell sony products....they get rebates on other Sony products....thats how Sony rewards allegence to selling Blu ray, Ps3's, ect....I don't think its bad business. Its just life. When the ps2 was released....Sony wouldn't even let EB games carry their product unless they put the Dreamcast in the back of the store and the ps2 in the front. I know this because a family member of mine is a manager at EB games. And from what he tells me....the 360's have been selling steady since launch....and they never have an over stock of them. Interesting indeed.

[MikeGdaGod]

you think somebody gonna sit up and read that long winded-speech

[Arkham]

Not that you're wrong, but the 6M XBL subscribers number includes original XBOX subscribers too. You can't really use that to quantify any 360 numbers.

Suggestion: Paragraphs.

[pustulio]

do you are crazy or what the 360 is the best gaming console the wii sucks nintendo dosnt know how to do games and consoles nintendo sucks the only two cool consoles is ps3 and 360 but the 360 have a market place and demos from games and the super cool game named gears of war and halo3 so better start thinking about what console you are gona buy because the 360 is kikinass!!!

[DrWan]

All 3 platform is here to stay this generation.. Nintendo is strong eventhoug the system is so damn boring after 30 minutes everytime, PS3 has some nice qualities and Sony has such a huge fan base and first party developer support, and MS has so much money...

They are not going away, who will win in seven years is a different story but none of the 3 will disappear overnight..

"trust me, I am a doctor".. -_-

[n4g sucks]

i always thought some day microsoft would run into a little karma. if you think of microsoft as a company and not video game system., they are the most crooked company the world has ever known. i turned on microsoft after windows 98. i never went back and now use a dual core imac with 2 gigs of ram thats a year old a never crashes....( i rarely turn it off ) this is something microsoft needs to learn ( reliability ) vista will do ok because microsoft is almost running a monopoly...i would love to see linux as the operating system of choice in a decade..no one stays on top forever. my biggest complaint is that just about every person has had two or more xbox 360. that means 10 mil sold but only a 5 mil install base. plus the only people that will buy the elite are people who already own a 360 so that wont help the install base. microsoft only cares about how it looks on paper. i think 2008 is gonna be real hard for microsoft. their is alot of competition in the market right now. mac osx leopard vs vista??? zune vs ipod(thats one they will never win) xbox360 vs ps2 ps3 wii ds psp and emulators (free virtual console games) not to mention the increased interest of pc games. MS is investing so much money into its game division i dont know if they will ever even break even....thats a bad business and if billy gates doesn't do something soon, their might not be a third xbox

[artman]

windows is disturbing, I just need windows to run my 3D studio Max only... anything else I just use my mac.
people who never use mac will never understand how fragile is windows...
I don't think I want to buy vista, I've been using windows since 3.1 and after have my first powerbook with OS X... I just realized how fragile that windows OS it can be...

I can finish my work faster using os x, thank using windows without disturbed by any crashes and hang problem.

the only thing I like from MS is office/excel~

[DJ]

Quite a few hardcore Microsoft fans are looking at this article and reacting with a curious amount of intimidation and fear, and a great example is TopGamer who resides a few posts above me. They’re going to great lengths to protect Microsoft’s image because they feel loyalty to a company that technically doesn’t care about us, and I can’t understand why. Well, ok, I understand why but it’s illogical nonetheless.

The facts are that Microsoft has been on a downward slope for quite a while, and it’s not in just one or two areas. True sales of their flagship operating system have been slipping further and further, and in order to combat this trend Microsoft has been pushing PC manufacturers to include their upgrades in ALL hardware offerings. This may have worked between 1998 and 2002, but PC sales are also slipping since the market is getting fairly saturated. Their other offerings such as Microsoft Office aren’t as popular anymore since the upgrades are both expensive and don’t offer any compelling new features; you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between Office 2000, ME, 2003, and XP. Their market share in the server arena is also falling in the face of Linux, which happens to be open-source, more secure, more reliable, and completely customizable to fit each company’s needs.

Then there’s the console arena, the one that matters most in this particular discussion. One has to ask why Microsoft entered the console race in the first place considering that they dominate 90% of the PC market, and the main reason is because Microsoft did not achieve dominance through capitalistic practices. They know damn well that the fact that most owners of Microsoft Windows, Office, etc, didn’t choose those respective pieces of software means that the Microsoft Brand has very little staying power-> Someone could easily topple them over. And because they are a software company, they can also be pushed around by hardware providers like Dell or HP. At the end of the day, consumers are purchasing physical hardware; the software is replaceable at basically no cost.

The Xbox brand was created in response to this inherent fear that Microsoft has, and while the original Xbox was simply to test out the waters, the 360 is the full realization of that mindset. Think about it. Microsoft has created physical hardware that they own the rights to, hardware that also runs a Microsoft-built operating system and requires software developers to use Microsoft hardware + software to build videogame titles for. They run a closed online network and take away almost all control from developers for those online features. Everything is in their control, and that’s the way they like it because Microsoft has never had the ability to have that much control over a single product.

Videogame consoles were originally meant to generate profits and that’s it, but the Xbox brand exists for a completely different purpose. True, Microsoft would love to make the Xbox brand profitable and delete their Xbox Division’s $5.4 Billion debt, but really the Xbox 360 is there as a way of easing consumers back in and erasing their negative image. Anyone who’s been keeping track of the PC gaming market knows that Microsoft now requires that all games that run on Windows now have to come with a fancy “Games for Windows” tag. Why? Because PC gamers don’t give a sh*t about the operating system; they care about the physical hardware that makes those games run at breakneck speed.
The Xbox 360 is a decent effort, but wasn’t/isn’t being pushed to its full potential because Microsoft is scared of truly unifying their PC and Console markets.

“But wait a second DJ, they created the Live Anywhere system to unify PC and 360 users!”

Eh, not quite. Here’s what I mean. The 360 is meant to be Microsoft’s little Trojan horse, a way of sneaking in a physical piece of Microsoft hardware into your living room. It has almost all the functions you would need such as the ability to run videogames, play movies, communicate online, download both game and non-game related content (IPTV is a big example), burn music from CDs, and communicate with your iPod or PSP. But it’s missing something, specifically a Web Browser. The PS3 has one. The Wii has one. But Microsoft, the all powerful inventor of Internet Explorer lacked the technical know-how to port it over to the 360? Huhm.

You’ll now notice that I said Microsoft is afraid of unifying their PC and Console markets, not PC and Console gamers, and there’s a specific reason I said that. Microsoft, or at least certain divisions within Microsoft, are worried that the act of including certain Windows-based features with the Xbox 360 will end up eating into their PC market share. Sony Computer Entertainment and Nintendo Corp. are able to include fully functional web browsers because they don’t have software-based stakes in the PC market. Basically, Microsoft has looked into the situation and doesn’t want PC owners to abandon their hardware and move over onto the Xbox for their basic needs because that would equal hundreds of dollars lost on potential upgrades for Microsoft software.

But web browsers are only one significant aspect. The other is the subject of operating systems. While Sony was able to make the PS3 essentially open-source and free to tinker with, Microsoft has kept a lid so tight on their hardware that they release firmware updates that attempt to dismantle Xbox hardware that has been tampered with (or at least, allegedly). The big issue is control, and the fact that Microsoft is trying to run two markets that are becoming more and more similar with each generation.

Say a team of programmers builds a Linux-based Operating System that ran programs like Adobe Photoshop, Itunes, Firefox, AIM, and word processors on the PS3, or say that similar programs are built to run on the Playstation 3 platform. This would end up benefiting Sony since such features don’t compete with their own offerings, and thus expand Playstation 3’s market share. If the same thing happened to the Xbox 360, Microsoft would sh*t their pants. Can you imagine people buying the Xbox 360, but at the same time abandoning their PCs in order to run free open-source programs that Microsoft doesn’t make a dime off of? Good god. Their financial situation would make the Titanic look like Apollo 11.

The people who have been attacking Microsoft for allegedly being ‘greedy’, ‘arrogant’, and ‘over controlling’ should actually take a step back and look at the complex dynamics behind the corporation’s behavior. Microsoft’s fears are very justified, and they’re simply making decisions that help preserve their market share. Well, ok, you can go ahead and state that they’re over-controlling ‘cause that’s pretty obvious. I’m just hoping that the users of this site can look into these situations from a broader perspective and see what’s really going on. If you’re worried about the Xbox brand dying out, don’t be. It is not a for-profit venture, and it’s actually that very fact that is going to keep the Xbox brand alive for at least another hardware generation after the 360. There actually might be a day when all consoles are finally launched at a profitable price point (no, Nintendo doesn’t count =P ) because consoles are basically becoming personal computers. I can actually imagine Playstation 4 launching with an array of Office titles that anyone can purchase at their local Circuit City or Gamestop, software that would allow owners to do everything from make Powerpoint presentations to write documents, do their email (already possible on PS3), or even put together their own home movies a la Windows Movie Maker. Better yet, these could be built by competing companies and foster even better software every year that consumers get to choose.

If Sony does this (and you know they will) Microsoft will be forced to do the same with the Xbox brand, lest they switch gears and use Nintendo’s image of ‘games only’.

[MikeGdaGod]

must be contagious

[Antan]

Well at least we had paragraphs Scottie!!!!

[nix]

Sony also had the same problem, not the console related though. Sony electronics didn't come out with MP3 players because Sony has their own music record company and were afraid about piracy and losing money. thus, apple came out with ipods and we know the rest.

MS has the same problem with both their hands in PC and console business. MS came out with xbox because they wanted to own the living room. the next batch of xbox should well give us the answer. q:

[Shadow Flare]

really good read. The future will be interesting

[bombzombie]

If you had read what many of us wrote, we are just saying that if you're depending on this article to say that MS is losing its swagger, it is not a proper undertaking of analysis.

Read:
Reading this article I conclude it is junk science. There's a mistake in the analysis. It has fundamental error inherent to it. Yes, measuring actual sales is a better method, but stores don't release such info. However, shipping units normally correlates well with sales, and it's much easier to measure. Retail chains normally take only what they need. Profit is the bottom line. Stores ultimately look out for themselves, not Microsoft. If they think they can sell their supply, that's how much they will take in. Stores will not take an excess of inventory just to satisfy Microsoft. We are talking about one product out of thousands or more for stores with online presences and back-room shipping warehouses. Its claimed that Vista is the reason why stores are taking a higher inventory. The chains that predominantly sell the Xbox360 do not sell Vista. You are mistaken if you think the vast majority of sales of Xbox360 are through Best Buy and CompUSA.

Further, the article fails to disclose what would be an expected amount of shipment during the holiday season. Most game units are sold during that busy retail season and stores don't want to lose out on sales at the very part of the year the consumer is most willing to part with cash.

Finally, the failure of the author to factor in any number of factors such as game pipe-line, console manufacturing restrictions, consumer trends and the like is appalling. If you're selling or buying stock based on that research, I have some Arizona swampland...great deal!! Call me.

But seriously guys, anybody that doesn't at least contextualize the influences of the HDTV adoption rates, the next-gen DVD format adoption, competing next-gen DVD hardware prices, features and price attrition rates, price attrition rates for console parts, consumer target segments for various consoles due to price targets, and doesn't utilize or at least compare the numbers in a proper temporal basis (mixing and matching trend data separated by 3 months is statistically and inherently flawed given the limited release time for the Wii and PS3 and the X360 for that matter) providing proper context is not worth comment except to say the following:

Let us Gamers, all of us serious, whether we prefer PS3, Xbox, Wii, SNES, PS2, Xbox 360 or whatever, give such an article the very limited merit it deserves.

[soccerstar]

As far as i can tell sony and microsoft are channel stuffing. The best buy where i live has huge towers of both of their systems. Although nintendo is doing the exact opposite and almost never have any wii's in stock so they have a very different approach then sony and microsoft and propably a much better one.

[GameJunkieJim]

http://coke.soffish.com/con...
360 vs. PS3

http://coke.soffish.com/con...
Enter the Wii.

http://coke.soffish.com/con...
The wii threatens?

All of my thoughts on the subject of console fanboyism.

Neither the 360, nor Microsoft as a company, are in 'trouble'. An analyst from Wall Street knows exactly what about the gaming culture or world?

All of these companies besides Nintendo loses money on consoles. All of these companies including Nintendo makes money off of licensing fees, they all make royalties on every title and accessory sold.

The install base AS IT IS, is enough to ensure a profitable few years for Microsoft off of simple software sales. PS3 will be there quite soon as well. Nintendo makes money off of the consoles themselves.

Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft all have a long life ahead of them.

[Shaka2K6]

Not that i think the wii is actually a factor here but ,
nintendo really needs to die for the sake of all of us true gamers.

[GameJunkieJim]

Always will be. Hell, they've already made more money than Microsoft, and that's just off of console sales.

The Wii is about gameplay. Nintendo has always been at the forefront of gaming technology, the analog stick was perfected by them, Rumble was instituted by them first, system upgrades, hell, the d-pad is thanks to nintendo. If Nintendo passes it will be a sad day for gamers - TRUE gamers - everywhere.

[NextGen24Gamer]

That was the silliest Rant of mis information I have ever read. Its simply hilarious. I wouldn't touch your rant with a ten foot pole....Intelligent people can read your post and see who you are for themselves. WOW. You have officially lost the little credibility you had.

P.S. You can try to make me out to be a Microsoft Fan. That serves your strange purpose. But anyone who knows me, knows I'm a "Gamer". I love video games. This site is called News4Gamers. You may not agree with my opinions....but most can respect my views based on my experience in Gaming. I could care less about who sells the most consoles and has the most games. I spend my hard earned money on both companies. And I enjoy playing games. I'm honest about my experience and the Truth I speak obviously rubs fanboys the wrong way. But, I could care less about fanboys like you DJ. People are starting to see what you and Deepbrown are all about. And its sad and pathetic.

P.S. You actually think Sony will take over the world. ha ha ha ha ha ha.... Boy oh boy are you off in your own little world buddy. I think you need to be put on ignore. I used to enjoy our debates....But you have completely lost it.

[DJ]

Yeah, I made you out to be a Microsoft fan because you are. There’s nothing negative about that. I mean hell, I’m an Xbox owner so if I ‘hated on MS’ that would be a bit contradictory. My problem with you is that you actually lie in a sad attempt to hide that fact about yourself. The other N4G members and I would actually start to respect you if you had the balls to simply state “I prefer Microsoft over the other two console providers” instead of creating a weak façade with statements like “I’m a Gamer. I love all videogames.” That statement cracks us up every time you go out and bash Playstation titles. Beating Motorstorm in 2 hours? Based on actually testimony, it’s more like 7~8 hours; repetitive usage of a small number of tracks was the number one complaint by reviewers, not game length. There's 40 races, each race takes 5~8 minutes, you do the math… Maybe if you researched a bit more before starting your little smear campaigns you wouldn’t lose so much credibility.

Seriously dude, just say that you don’t like Playstation. It’s an honest statement, and we would have more respect if you just went and did that. There’s no need to lie. I actually do wish that you could respond with counterarguments rather than simply stating “You’re hilarious” every time. But maybe in the next life…

P.S. Don't even dare try to label DeepBrown as a fanatic. He's very impartial and isn't afraid to defend and criticize each side. The only reason you verbally attack him is because you yourself lack impartiality. You are unable to deal with Microsoft-directed criticism, and your actions reflect that.

[bombzombie]

First off this article, if this is what anyone is reying upon to back up their argument is unreliable and engages in suspect analysis. I have yet to see anyone back up this guy's analysis or state why it should deserve merit. I can think of a ton of reasons why it does not, but none for it given the methods of analysis employed.

There's a mistake in the analysis. It has fundamental error inherent to it. Yes, measuring actual sales is a better method, but stores don't release such info. However, shipping units normally correlates well with sales, and it's much easier to measure. Retail chains normally take only what they need. Profit is the bottom line. Stores ultimately look out for themselves, not Microsoft. If they think they can sell their supply, that's how much they will take in. Stores will not take an excess of inventory just to satisfy Microsoft. We are talking about one product out of thousands or more for stores with online presences and back-room shipping warehouses. Its claimed that Vista is the reason why stores are taking a higher inventory. The chains that predominantly sell the Xbox360 do not sell Vista. You are mistaken if you think the vast majority of sales of Xbox360 are through Best Buy and CompUSA.

Further, the article fails to disclose what would be an expected amount of shipment during the holiday season. Most game units are sold during that busy retail season and stores don't want to lose out on sales at the very part of the year the consumer is most willing to part with cash.

Finally, the failure of the author to factor in any number of factors such as game pipe-line, console manufacturing restrictions, consumer trends and the like is appalling. If you're selling or buying stock based on that research, I have some Arizona swampland...great deal!! Call me.

But seriously guys, anybody that doesn't at least contextualize the influences of the HDTV adoption rates, the next-gen DVD format adoption, competing next-gen DVD hardware prices, features and price attrition rates, price attrition rates for console parts, consumer target segments for various consoles due to price targets, and doesn't utilize or at least compare the numbers in a proper temporal basis (mixing and matching trend data separated by 3 months is statistically and inherently flawed given the limited release time for the Wii and PS3 and the X360 for that matter) providing proper context is not worth comment except to say the following:

Let us Gamers, all of us serious, whether we prefer PS3, Xbox, Wii, SNES, PS2, Xbox 360 or whatever, give such an article the very limited merit it deserves.

To see that this argument has blown up into personal attacks is sad. And the reason it is sad is because, there are no substantive or operative set of facts from which one could conclude that this guy has a reasonable basis to draw his conclusion. This isn't about the console....it's about this guy spouting off analysis which is just junk science. This is as much mumbo-jumbo as cold fusion. It is analysis wrapped up in speculation and innuendo. And bear in mind what I am concluding, I am not saying that this guys conclusion of MS can't be right....I'm just saying that he has not employed the proper vehicle to demonstrate that such a conclusion must necessarily follow. I encourage debate, and I enjoy it. I guess that's why I am lawyer. :-)

But if we are going to engage in debate, let's do so in a serious and sincere manner without ad hominem personal attacks, speculative operation of logic and supposition-based conclusions. Anything less is just a waste of time and effort. This guys article proves nothing.

[MikeGdaGod]

good article

[bigj]

As much money as Microsoft has they will be ok. I mean what other OS you gonna get. Linux is a joke and a Mac is not far behind. I hear people saying that a mac is the most reliable computer you can get. The reason of that is nobody writes viruses for a mac, because not to many people owns the overpriced POS. You cant find nothing to run on a mac. Windows will never go anywhere. Bill Gates will never let that happen. Anyone saying Vista sucks has not ran the home premium. I got 1.4 ghz processor and 1gig of ram and it runs great. So you do not have to own a $2,000 multicore computer to run Vista. If there is a company in financial trouble its SONY because everywhere I go I see PS3 stacked up. There not selling

[QuackPot]

Take your head out of the ass of Bill Gates - the same guy who said the internet would never take off.

Micro$oft and its crap Winblow$ only became the dominant Operating System on PCs because Apple(who made both h/w & OS) was a direct competitor to IBM and it's PC. There was no way IBM was going to put Apple's OS on their PCs. Micro$oft got lucky and secured its trash on PCs for the next 20 years - creating a monopoly and raking in B$$$$$. Apples OS was far superior then.....as it still is today with OSX.

OSX pawns Vista anyday - in fact Micro$oft got up to its usual tricks and copied a lot of features and looks from Apple for their piece of crap. iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, miniMac, iMac - show me anything that can beat any of those. And if Apple chose to get into gaming consoles - wow! - then Sony and Micro$oft are screwed. Owned completely.

Linux like OSX has Unix roots(powerful, stable, more secure multiuser, multiprocessor OS) and is increasing used on many servers as well as most of the top ten SUPERCOMPUTERS. Linux a joke. You twit! You better tell IBM they are fools as well as they are now actively promoting Linux.

And if you haven't heard, IT'S ALL FREE. Download your fav Linux distro with XGL, Beryl, OpenOffice, The Gimp, NVU, Inkscape, Scribus, MythTV, Blender 3D, and you will have a powerful system that would have cost you $,000 if bought commercially.

And further still, Sony had the foresight to allow the easy installation of Linux
onto PS3 turning it into a true PC alternative. No need to buy a PC. Once more, as people realise the versatility of PS3 longterm, the more that will flock to it. Fortunately not those delusional xbot fanboys who idiotically judge a console's merit on game exclusives. The dweebs.

In second thoughts, dont take your head out of Billy Gates ass. He probably enjoys it - you keep on forking out money and feeding that beast we all know as Micro$$$$oft. To each his own.

[Nervsys]

... Microsoft is dominant. And that is what matters. Not whether they're the best, or whether they're the cheapest, or most expensive, but the fact that they are currently in so many offices and homes, and supported by so many development companies because of this.

Linux may be a good OS, but most people do not have the skills or interest to setup and use it.

[Nervsys]

I thought this was a gaming news site.

I guess veteran is just a polite way of saying senile in this case. I can only think that this bloke installed vista and his pc died or something. Its the must overblown/biased piece of rubbish I've read in ages.

I myself am not a real fan of microsoft or their business strategy, but this is a joke.

[Nervsys]

DJ, I have only been reading this site for a month or so and every post I see from DB seems to be bigging up sony.

If DB isn't a fanatic, then he seems to be doing a good impression of one.

[nix]

and soon you might change your mind! don't pre-judge dude... q:

[Ivasawa Jin]

Wii did sell welll and is catching up to xbox360 but will people buy wii in 08 or 09 ?? when in so called innovation is off and the visuals of the games on wii will look ooolllddd ??? wii will fall after 2 years... and PS3 is like .. what??? it sellss good but after some time it gets repetative !!!! and the fact that PS3 in europe sold well in the 1st week was that they had a good stock for the launch nothing more cuz after the 1st week it got kicked 82% hardwere and 60% softwere....

[overrated]

ha ha ha ha ha ha, people crying over a company.

[Shadow Flare]

"The Wii sold 3.19 million units by the end of 2006, and is on track to catch up to and outsell the Xbox 360 by this fall. Even the PS3 looks set to pass the 360 this year; Microsoft recently dropped its June 2007 sales estimate from 15 million to 12 million.

Microsoft had announced the 15 million goal in November 2006 to distract attention away from the other consoles that were just being released. It met its earlier goal of 10 million by the end of 2006 by stuffing the channel with unsold inventory.

That move didn’t help to actually sell units; Microsoft’s SEC filings report that at the beginning of October, the company had only sold 5 million 360s.

That means that half of the world's 360s were sitting in retail shelves this holiday season, and a significant amount still are. That has pressed Microsoft to dramatically slow new shipments until the channel clears out excess inventory."

[EDIT]

Ivasawa Jin - 2 Hours ago

81 - Thats Just BS !!!
Wii did sell welll and is catching up to xbox360 but will people buy wii in 08 or 09 ??

- The Wii will have dried up interest with time. There's only so much poor graphics, an incredibly small game lineup and a novelty controller can do for Nintendo. Tie that with this article that basically says, 'The Xbox 360 just isn't selling and Microsoft is shipping out huge amounts of 360's to make it look like its 'selling'" and here lies the way for the PS3 to reign supreme this generation. Again. The PS3 has a load of great games coming and tie that with a price drop later this year and Sony will be on glory street again

Shame on those who don't think sony knows what its doing. Once again, its not only sony's genius in the console market that will make them win this generation, but their competitor's short-sightedness and stupidity

[bigj]

I dont need to go back to school I am Microsoft certified and A+ certified and have a associates degree in Computer Technology. What do you have? You are probably still living at home with your mommy. Apple is not in the same league as Microsoft. The only thing keeping Apple going is the ipod. How about you take your head out of Steve Jobs ass.

[Dukester101]

although i dont agree with the approach that you used fulconer... Linux in fact does beat Vista in every respect. Windows lost it's power when it became too big for it's britches, and stopped listening to it's consumers (around the time of WinXP).

The fact that Linux has so many great apps for free is what makes it great. Beryl, and the cube desktop is one of my favorites... that and how easily the OS is to use, and the freedom that comes with it. I'm still not used to OpenOffice, but that's what Wine is for, or I could always run VMWare.

Nervesys, you're right too. MS is dominant, and will continue to be until the general public, and governments realize that it is a limiting OS. The only reason people think Linux is difficult to use is because they are sooo used to Windows! I work for the Dept. of Defense, and used Linux for over 3 years. I still prefer certain windows apps, but Linux is not at all difficult to use, maybe difficult to get "used to."

They do make a lot of good apps for Win (photoshop, office), but the point is they all charge out the azz for them! I am planning on buying a new computer soon, and since I'm not fully Linuxed out (but still enjoy the freedom of it), i'm going to be running VMWare with Linux as my main, and windows as the secondary (so i can enjoy my photoshop, and office apps).

With the Xbox vs. the PS... it's kinda a moot point. Each has their own strengths/weaknesses, just like the OSs on PCs do. I really dont care who wins as long as I have a good console that can play games (of good quality), let me play online, and let me talk to friends... that's all i really care about.

Although I'm not much of a MS support for Windows, I still back the Xbox 360 over the PS3 100%. I dont care for either corporation (cuz corporations are just evil), but I like MS over Sony anyday. It would be nice if all the fanboys stopped bashing people around, and actually did something with their time... like maybe studied, and went to school so they could make games and systems and OSs and hardware and software the way THEY want it to be. Like I said above, I work for the DoD, i'm not any kind of developer, i'm an engineer... just tired of all the bickering over useless BS. Sh1t happens, and there isnt anything the gaming community can do about it.

Until MS realizes that open source and free source apps (be it PS3 browser, MAC OSX, Linux, w/e...) are really starting to pull their "monopoly" out of the game, and show consumers that alternative/free software is just as good, or better in some regards, then they are in a world of hurt. The reason Vista is not successful is that XP is still good enough, consumers dont want to upgrade yet, and it's not as good as some of their previous... it could be better...

[QuackPot]

Don't get me wrong with respect to xbox 360. It's a capable machine with a great collection of games. In fact, I'm going to buy a secondhand unit in a year from now so I get my hands on Forza, Halo, GoW, Bioshock etc.

But with my Comp Science background and knowledge of the history(esp Micro$oft's monopolistic practises and actions to discredit Linux), it is clear the Redmond Company is trying to force out and monopolize the game console market as it has with OS on PCs. It will do what is necessary to achieve that objective. This article is not a surprise to the informed. But to the fanboys, Micro$oft's sh*t doesn't stink as all they see are the great games and net service.

PS3 is clearly the better hardware with greater long-term value and versatility.
It's not easy to program for but developers will eventually be able to harness the full power of PS3 in a year or two. Great titles have come and are coming(the biggest of which will be Little Big Planet) and a large library will eventuate.

A PS3 can be turned into a PC(media centre, gaming, internet, productivity) by easily loading Linux onto it. Most computer users don't need a high spec PC for every day use - serious gamers, engineers, developers etc are a minority. So simply buy one computer(a PC console such as PS3) instead of buying two(a PC AND a console). Great value for money esp with BD which will be the standard.

Sony needs to preload Linux onto their machines with ready-to-use Firefox, Thunderbird, Open Office and others, so the people can see the versatility of PS3. As micro$oft will inevitably copy the idea of a pc console, I believe Sony will move from GameOS to its own Unix/Linux core(removing the dual boot and making avail FOSS). The pure gaming console is a thing of the past. The PC console is the future.

So this is why I have chosen PS3. For practical reasons and to stop Micro$oft from monopolizing the game console(aka PC console) market as it has OS on the PC. The war between Winblow$ and Linux has found a new battlefield.

People need to wake up and open their eyes. It's obvious what's happening here and what's being done to achieve it. Any game can be ported to any console. So focus on what really matters. Dont allow Micro$oft to win. You deserve better.

[bigj]

I really dont care what you agree with. People should quit b_tching because they cant afford a real OS.

[skylar2000]

LOL

[bombzombie]

It is absolutely without foundation. It lacks the fundamental propositions built upon evidence to support the ultimate conclusion. The burden is on the guy making the hypothesis to elevate the central proposition to theory. It doesn't work any other way. If that was the case, then relativity would not have had to be proven....nor gravity, nor inertial effects, etc...all science is based upon this structure. Anything less is inherently untrustworthy and subject to manipulation. Once again, this guys conclusions lack the fundamentals to support his conclusion whether it is true or not.

[Bad_Karma]

that captures Peter Moore`s expression the best . (Picture accompanying this article )

[DJ]

"But, but...our's is cheaper!!!"

[Marriot VP]

dj, yah consumers never cared about price anyways. When people walk into a store they think of spending over 1000 on a HDTV and PS3. That's the normal household anyways.

[Soulxxx]

*After demo 360 overheats and shows the three red lights*

"B-but we have more GAMES!"

*Throws console on the crowd*

EDIT: Here's another one-

"This console is the B-ahhh!!! *CRAMPS*"

[skylar2000]

hahahahhahahhaha

[Shadow Flare]

killjoy, this is it, just save as the ones you want

[levy]

It's escalating.

[Shadow Flare]

uh, forgive me for the first comment. I was trying to attach an image for a guy called Killjoy so he could save it but it didn't work. Interesting article though isn't it?