510°

Microsoft Xbox 360 set to dominate

Analysis: The Xbox is now very profitable and is currently dominating game sales. This is set to continue with a whole slew of exclusives and with Natal scheduled for Q4 at $50.
Next year sees the Xbox 720 which will be backwards compatible with the 360 and eight times as powerful.
The fly in the Microsoft ointment is that they have badly screwed up mobile, which is set to be the biggest area of computing and gaming.

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bruceongames.com
THE MAX SPEED 215217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

the article is pretty much on point. I just dont think that the 250GB HD will change things Unless they bundle it or sumtin because the 120gb is already at a high price.

-Alpha5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

Halo Reach can be crap on a disc but it will sell a million in a day.

ME2 already is selling fantastic, and general software sales always do better on the 360.

That's for MS.

But for PS3 the hardware sales will continue and the games are bound to be more top quality again.

At least MS is not going to have as bad as a year they did in 09.

I'm really split on GOTY this year. GoW is the PS3 fan favorite but Reach, TLG, and many other games are all heavy hitters this year.

I think we will have another 09 situation where God of War is going to be more of the same we've come to expect and it will easily win many GOTY's. However, I personally am going for something a little more unique in TLG. Much like how Demon's Souls won my GOTY in 09 I am banking on GOTY 10 to go to The Last Guardian.

Anon19745217d ago

360 revenue is down. Microsoft said, flat out "This decrease was due mainly to decreased revenue from Xbox 360 video games, decreased Xbox 360 consoles sold, and decreased revenue per console."

So why are profits up? Because the 360 is selling so well? No! Profit went up because the 360 is slightly cheaper to make, they slashed 360 marketing by almost $100 million and they laid off over 1600 Xbox staff!

Bruce incorrectly claimed that the increase in profits is partly because "the ever increasing user base buying proportionately more software"

This is false..according to Microsoft of all people! Microsoft said, unequivocally, that 360 game revenue is falling. It's right in their financial report, for everyone to see. But, here's Bruce, falling all over himself to declare the 360 the winner and still champion.

Bruce, the 360 is in decline. Sales are down. Revenue is down. Microsoft is slashing the Xbox division and the 360 has been outsold ever since the PS3 became available worldwide.

And then you start on about Natal. Quick question, buddy. Who's going to buy Natal? The casuals? Yeah, they're going to rush down to the store to buy a 360 and happily plunk down an extra $50-80 to play Milo when they could buy a Wii, for less money, and play Mario - a character everyone knows and loves. Most casuals aren't even sure what an Xbox is, but I can bet you their wives know what a Wii is, because all their friends have one. So that leaves the hardcore and we know they aren't shelling out extra cash to throw virtual paint on a wall and make elephant shadows.

Get your facts staight for Christ's sake, before you write another one of your poorly researched articles.

Guido5217d ago

Yeah right, much like they did last gen. With year on year sales less than the PS3, I can see just exactly how the 360 is set to dominate. Wit Nintendo b*tch slapping MS in terms of sales, I too can see how this is helping their world domination. PS3 releases the best games but that matters little in terms of the 360 domination... Yeah, Bruce is as delusional as the other 360 fanboys. Pretty sad this guy has a website, thanks for wasting bandwidth.

maxcer5217d ago

120GB drives are being phased out by MS, it's getting harder and harder to find one in stores. this probably means that we will have a 60GB and 250GB options. the new 250GB drives will take over the old price point of the 120GB drives.

Christopher5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

Oh, God, I really need to start looking at the URLs before I click these links.

Sorry, but this guy is a known and annoying MS shill.

@above: Sorry, but the new 250 Gig HDD is a sad replacement for the 120 Gig HDD considering it costs almost as much as a new 360 on its own.

Anon19745217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

I don't mind if authors or fans have a console preference. I don't have anything against the 360 (Gamertag's DarkrideHex66, say hi sometime). Even if all you write is pro-Microsoft or pro-Sony articles, knock yourself out!

But I hate game writers that can't be bothered to verify their facts before writing an article, especially when the facts are readily available and easy to access.

"They will produce a scaled Xbox 360, so it will be backwards compatible. The new machine will have many more features and benefits such as 3D."

I don't know about you, but I have two balls, and neither of them are crystal, unlike Bruce apparently. Nice that Brucie has a direct feed into the future, but given the fact that he can't even get the present right, should he really be making these future predictions?

Parapraxis5217d ago

Bruce also completely forgot to consider the increased adoption rate of Blu-ray.
Making any new purchaser of an HD console have to stop and really think whether or not they want a Blu-ray compatible device to go along with their new HDTVs (which are also increasing in sales).

mint royale5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

*Looked at article*
*Looked bemused*
*Look at the source*
*Saw Bruceongames*
*Chuckled*

@above
haha!

gaffyh5217d ago

Oh Bruce, you're so deluded, always make me laugh.

Oner5217d ago

@ darkride66 ~ Your 1 comment reply has more information in it than ANYTHING that Bruce has EVER "published". You really deserve more than 1 Bubble. Damned fine post.

DevastationEve5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

at below:

You're only declaring that Xbox 360 doesn't have games with stellar graphics. It's not truth, it's only your opinion. Graphics is a sbjective term, it means visuals. Both consoles can have "impressive visuals" if you want to see them as impressive. Likewise you can chose NOT to be impressed.

You can't really say that one console has better games or games with better graphics than the other. If you want to measure graphics by sophistication or cutting edge techniques than why not give credit where its REALLY due. Not to the console but to the developers.

You saying that PS3 has better games would be better attributed to Sony having the support of (arguably) more capable developers. What I'm basically pointing out is that it's NOT because of the hardware, the Xbox 360 console is MORE THAN CAPABLE of producing generation-leading visuals.

Anon19745217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

This post is in response to ApocalyPS3's hardware rant below (sorry bout that)

You can quote hardware stats all you want but the end result is the 360 hasn't been able to prove itself versus the PS3's exclusives.

It's like saying "Hey, Car A is way faster and has way better performance than Car B," but Car A has never won a race, and gets beat by Car B again and again.

Until the 360 proves itself superior, it's all just theoretical.

I have to ask though, obviously you think the 360 is a superior machine. With no games that can touch games like Heavy Rain or Uncharted 2, how do you justify the 360's hardware superiority to yourself? Or do you just pretend that Uncharted 2 doesn't exist?

You say "The only real determining factor is RESULTS."
Indeed. And the PS3 has them over the 360. You'd be blind not to acknowledge that. Nothing against the 360, it's a strong console, but let's not kid ourselves here.

indysurfn5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

This article is a collection obvious facts. next we will here HDTV to dominate TV sales as people Migrate to the next big thing! Film at 11!

DUH do your OWN homework darkride66! Flat does not mean down it means not significantly up or down!

Bruce started the article out telling you about why! THE FIRST THING HE TELLS you is Moores law he mentions it twice! And your telling him to do his homework? Hypocrite Pay attention! Didn't you see it? You had to because your own words give you away when he mentions the other reason it is also in the first paragraph. So why did you LIE? Because you figured people did not read the article? YEP THAT's the only reason people tell such blantent lies.

And while your saying Microsoft is on the decline there are FOUR fingers pointing back at you, and your PS3 fantoys hypocrites. Last time I checked the ONLY console of the three that saw a overall increase of any kind, and was carrying the market was the Microsoft xbox360!

Hypocrite you ps3 fantoys claim the only reason 360 sales is because of marketing like Halo (totally ignoring it is still the most replayed game!). But then you admit that they slashed $100million in marketing. Which way is it going to be Hypocrites?

Then you call them false about porpotional software sales. Hypocrite, first you claim Micrsoft is living large only on 3rd parties then you turn around and say they are not? Which way is it going to be irrational Hypocrite. Look at the biggest software sales of all time Modern warfare. Even batman sold on 360 more. Look at the music games, EA sports.

Almost every top third party game sold better on 360. It does not matter if it was just because 360 has better graphics or frame rates. If Sony has 40 and Microsoft has 60 consoles for your game then Sony should sale 40% and Microsoft 60 percent but ps3 does not keep up!

And here is a big hint THE ENTIRE VIDEO GAMES industry as a whole went down. Microsoft was the only one to be FLAT. The other two just lost a lot Hypocrite.

This is why they went down THE ENTIRE WORLD ECONOMY WENT DOWN HELLO!
to be flat when people are losing jobs by the millions in each country is amazing!

You can't see the big picture for the fantoyism foot stuck in your mouth!

mastiffchild5217d ago

Bruce is so one eyed about his love affair with MS that it's actually quite cute. A grown man who should know better but still feels it needed to post thinly veiled love missives to his favourite company? You have to, at the very least, feel sorry for him.

What gets me is just why he does what he does. I don't see what he gets out of such under researched scribblings which , basically, make no attempt to show a fair amount of both sides of the argument-and he's also a bit slack with some of his prediction as fact bits and bobs. I don't mind him showing hs obvious leaning towards MS-he always has done as far as I've seen from him-but just think he's gotten so far down that road that whatever credibility he might have once had or accrued for himself has long since vanished-which is sad as sometimes he's got a point but it gets lost in the mind of most readers who just can't trust him or his views after so long beating MS's drum for them.

This, I'm afraid, is merely more of the same.

DevastationEve5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

The reason why my posts always quote the hardware specs is because I'm showing the ignorant guys here that it's not the hardware that's holding Xbox 360 back. It's developer support and the quality that they produce. In a way it's actually the multiplats that have hindered Xbox 360 as most developers see oodles of money to be made through utilizing a single engine or development platform and milking it as quickly as they can to produce results on a yearly basis.

From a fiscal standpoint you see the dilema: should I make 1 game in 4 years and charge $60 for it or should I make 4 games in 4 years and make back 4 times as much.

Sadly...I'll admit it. It's the mutliplats that fuel this current gaming economy. And it's the multiplats that stagnated it.

commodore645217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

It's sad to see the typical 360 basher(s) out in force again, misquoting MS financial reports, as usual.

The absolutely disgusting part, is Bruce has been attacked, using a quote from the 2009 annual report even though Bruce has in fact referenced the most up-to-date Q2 2010 report

Yep, the most recent quarterly report shows a wholly different picture to the 2009 end of year report.
http://www.microsoft.com/ms... (q2 2010)
http://www.microsoft.com/ms... (2009 annual)

It really is disturbing to see some 360 bashers cling to the figures in the 2009 financial report, which are now between 6 months to 18 months old.

Fact is,
Bruce is talking about the Q2 2010 statement.
That means Bruce IS right and Bruce HAS done his homework!
I just wish the 360 basher(s) could see that their own homework is sorely lacking indeed!

With that out of the way, let's consider the real, up-to-date facts:

The 360 now costs less to make than ever and it is likely showing a profit.
The EADD division is showing 188% INCREASED profit, year on year, even while revenue has declined.

While it may be true that some staff got laid off, thus saving some money, it is concurrently also true that NATAL has cost big development dollars and the marketing budget for that has been and will be very significant. Thus these two would effectively cancel each other, on the balance sheet.

Hence the only variable that's worth considering is the profitability of the 360 sku.
Clearly, given the 188% increase in EADD profits, the 360 is making money hand over fist.
It's not rocket science, it really isn't.
No amount of huffing, puffing and misquoting out-of-date MS financial reports will change this fact.

MS has really got the EADD cost side under control and the profits keep rolling in, despite decreased revenue, of that there can be no doubt.

soxfan20055217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

Your "cars" analogy completely misses his point. If one car wins a race, there's no subjectivity to that - it's clear which car crosses the finish line first.

When it comes to graphics - especially on machines as close in technological specs as PS3 and 360 - it's all about how a certain person interprets the look of a game or games.

Comparing graphics is like asking who has a better body - Megan Fox or Jessica Alba. How could you possibly get a definitive answer? Someone can post side by side pictures and claim "you'd have to be blind" if you can't see Megan has a better body, while someone else can do the same for Jessica.

You will get a lot of different answers, as well as reasons why one person finds something (or someone) attractive while another person sees things a different way.

Diamondwolf5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

But what's even funnier is to see you all fight for 2nd place.

No matter what, especially towards indysurfn's ridiculous rant, wii is stomping a hole in both PS3 and 360. My favorite parts of your comment

"Last time I checked the ONLY console of the three that saw a overall increase of any kind, and was carrying the market was the Microsoft xbox360!"

Umm, Wii say's hi! especially in december 09

next up:
"Even batman sold on 360 more"
http://ps3.ign.com/articles...

Edit: Good comment Soxfan, bubs

GiantEnemyCrab5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

Darkride you take everyone to task about their "facts" yet you consistently state bad "facts". Just in your recent post, as if using old data isn't enough you then go on to say MS let go of 1200 people in the Xbox division. That is false. The cuts where not in the Xbox division as it was a cross section of employees from the EDD which includes Zune, PC, etc.

I do agree Bruce loves to shill for MS though..

BulletToothtony5217d ago

you remember how much you bashed bluray.. i'm sure you do cause you kept writing the same crap for months.. and look how that turned out.. just shut up already.. you're too old and you ain't changing crap with your stupid articles..

Diamondwolf5217d ago

Leave poor ole Brucie alone. Can't you see that he's marketing his website and ridiculous "opinions" to garnish ad revenue from Microsoft?

He doesn't really feel the way that he writes, he's just trying to put food on the table.

I mean if he actually believed what he wrote then that would make him......................

FamilyGuy5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

At this point in the article description I knew not to waste my time clicking the link/reader the article. How do they claim Natal at $50 when we have know idea of its price? FUD article.

All I can get from this is that the 360 will keep M$ rolling in dough based on the game attach ratio and the fact that they some notable exclusives this year. But making an article saying "M$ will profit this year" is equally as pointless.

So what IS the point?

memots5217d ago

quote "with a whole slew of exclusives"

Can someone elaborate what this whole slew is?

I am currently playing Me2 on steam. Is there any other 2010 exclusive i missed?

CWMR5216d ago

-"I have to ask though, obviously you think the 360 is a superior machine. With no games that can touch games like Heavy Rain or Uncharted 2, how do you justify the 360's hardware superiority to yourself?"

That is based on an assumption. The assumption is that everybody agrees that those games are untouchable by any game on the 360. But the assumption is wrong.
Heavy Rain looks good because it has a realistic art style and very controlled environments, but I look at the textures and lighting and it isn't any better than many other games. It looks good, but go look at how good Indigo Prophecy looked on the PS2 and you will see that Heavy Rain is nothing surprising or exceptional. It has more to do with the controlled scripting and realistic art style. I have no doubt in my mind that if it were on the 360 it would look as good or better than it does on the PS3.

Uncharted 2 looks fantastic and in my opinion is the best looking game on the PS3, but it isn't that big of a difference from great looking games on the 360 like Gears of War 2 and Mass Effect 2. And Uncharted 2 is exceptional mostly because Naughty Dog are an exceptionally talented developer. If that wasn't the case, then we would see many games on the PS3 that look as good as Uncharted 2.

God of War 3 is another game some of you tout as being better than any other game, but many PS3 fans don't even agree with that. I look at it and it looks nice, but its graphics do not surpass some of the better looking games already out. http://ps3.ign.com/dor/obje... I see average textures and lighting and aside from the nice Kratos model I don't see anything exceptional about it.

You say the 360 hasn't proved itself, but I play a game like Mass Effect 2 and it is right up there with anything I have seen. And let's not even mention the fact that the 360 continues to outperform the PS3 in multiplatform games. I know you will just claim that that doesn't prove anything because it is just the fault of the developers. But if developers are responsible for making better looking multiplatform games on the 360 then surely they can also be given credit for making a couple exceptional PS3 games. I agree with ApocalyPS3 that the credit lies with developers. Especially since we know both consoles are so close in power.-

EVILDEAD3605216d ago

The funny part about this Bruce guy is he did a pro 360 blog and didn't mention the PS3 once..

But guess who came to the party..hint..rhymes with Trolls

Even funnier is this guy Bruce getting crazy hate for displaying his opinion..but silly little blogs that bash the 360 from tiny 'try-to-get-hit' sites like examiner.com and HHG will get zero hate when they bash the 360 on the regular..

The hypocrisy is flowing through their veins..

But with that said..Bruce did a lot of speculating..no one knows Natal's pricepoint..$50 came from one of Pachter's infamous quotables.

Whether Bruce uses 'dominate' to descibe this year's 360 potential or not..the truth is Microsoft set-up what could be the biggest year in it's history.

Mass Effect 2 is a bonified SMASH..even if it gets a PS3 port eventually..360 owners got it right now

So we have Mass Effect 2, Splinter Cell, & Alan Wake right out of the chute

X10 in a couple of weeks for the E3 warm-up

Bioshock 2..Final Fantasy..Dante's Inferno for the Multiplat love

HALO REACH BETA 2 weeks before E3

E3 in June for the hype explosion

HALO REACH for the DAY that the gaming EARTH STOOD STILL

FABLE 3 for another dose of Peter M's RPG CRACK

Lost Planet 2 & Call of Duty: Vietam

NATAL for the day Microsoft let's us put down the waggle & play something with the family besides Wii Sports.

And last but surely not least..whether it's 4th quarter 2010 or 1st quarter 2011

GEARS OF (f-ing) WAR 3 FTW!!!!

So guess what Bruce..the Evil one absolutely agrees with the fact that the 360 is poised to sell a whole lot of new 360s and an ridiculous amount of games in 2010.

So let the 360 haters hate..because 360 gamers will still be in gaming heaven all year long

(It also still won't stop me from getting some God of War 3 love on my PS3 slim)

EVIL

Pika-pie5216d ago

Theres no reason not to own both consoles this gen. Both have very strong games, are cheap enough... and will co exist for a long while yet!

gamer20105216d ago

Quote from soxfan2005: "Comparing graphics is like asking who has a better body - Megan Fox or Jessica Alba. How could you possibly get a definitive answer? Someone can post side by side pictures and claim "you'd have to be blind" if you can't see Megan has a better body, while someone else can do the same for Jessica."

That is the best analogy I have ever seen. You summed it up perfectly. Bubbles. :)

heroprotagonist5216d ago

I do think the 360 is going to have an outstanding year. The lineup is amazing and I am excited to see what MS do with Natal.

TROLL EATER5216d ago

strong start( mass effect2) Strong mid year line up AND
strong fall ( halo reach and natal) 2010 year of domination

+ Show (29) more repliesLast reply 5216d ago
Karooo5217d ago

atleast he is better than patcher though. 360 has been very successful this gen microsoft needs to buy more first party studious i think for 720.

Jamie Foxx5217d ago

one of the biggest 360/microsoft fanboys on the internet....a year ago he spewed nothing but hate articles against the ps3 claiming its doomed and sony would have to exit gaming while portraying the 360 as the console jesus plays in his spare time, and this was weekly articles

Karooo5217d ago

I didnt know about that :P

Bill Gates5217d ago

the only thing MS. Is dominaing is the no games category.......AHAHAHAHA

BY the time this "720" is released Sony will have really hit it's stride and will be unstopable....AHAHAHAHAH

Parapraxis5217d ago

"could hit store shelves as soon as November 2010 and cost as little as $50. "
"Could".....do you know it's definition?
LOL

Wrathman5217d ago

new xbox @ 8 times the current power..just out of interest..how much more powerful is the ps3 than the xbox360?

and i agree with this article.

eagle215217d ago

Not only did you waste your life writing this pathetic garbage. You had to contribute your own garbage article on N4G!

iMad5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

Well done Bruce. Now you are 100% right in you view of modern gaming world. Microsoft allready cooking next xbox 4 years. and it will be 5 years ahead of PC tech in 2011. it will be a real beast. they allready spend 1 billion USD to next xbox. Microsoft&AMD wants to show to asians&japans who is a king in producing computer architecthures. Japans can't innovate and can't lose. they have good brains work for them. but thouse brains are not japans.

PostApocalyptic5216d ago

Not this m Bruce Everiss again. This 50 year old dork is such a M$ shill!

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5216d ago
MetalGearRising5217d ago

I feel sorry for ps3 owners while we have loads of exciting news to look forward to. PS3 owners have nothing makes me feel guilty.

Gimped Hardware5217d ago

take my friend for instance a PS3 owner.
after work today he's going into town to trade his PS3 in for a 360 - hence he's very excited about the future.

playstationthird - it only does non-selling exclusives.

Karooo5217d ago

I will wait for heavy rain now, then yakuza 3 then final fantasy ( superior version ) then gow 3 then GT5 haha

lie more bot.

i knw you must look forward to alan wake , conviction then halo reach in november lmao.

Doc Sony5217d ago (Edited 5217d ago )

what kind of exiting news

Is it The God of Hack and Slash ???
Is it a Rockstar exclusive ???
The king of Driving Sims ???
The next masterpiece from Team Ico ???

oh oh wait I know I know...

Halo

GeoramA5217d ago

How do you still have more than 1 bubble?

You're a joke. You make one troll post, then you take off running.

Stinger_2095217d ago

the title should say: 'Xbox 360 set to explode in 2010'

gamer20105216d ago

"I will wait for heavy rain now, then yakuza 3 then final fantasy ( superior version )"

FFXIII hasn't been confirmed to look better on the PS3, but so what if it is? Do you know how many multiplatform games have looked better on the 360? Most of them, ie hundreds. Does that mean the 360 gets to claim those hundreds of games as exclusives?

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5216d ago
Dance5217d ago

Give me some of that Money Microsoft!

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Profchaos13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

Name someone that isn't trying to look us these days maybe cdpr.

Take two, ubi and yes even PlayStation are pushing us to own nothing and be happy with our live service ad injected games on a sub so they can raise prices at will and take access away when they see fit.

If it keeps up I'll be a full time retro gamer and this industry will be crashing hard

As rediculas as it sounds we need government reforms to defend consumer rights