Microsoft Prepares to Curb Stomp Sony

If the rumors of a significant price drop in September for the Xbox are true, then Microsoft will deliver a curb stomp to Sony's cranium this fall.

Microsoft will be the first next-gen console to break the magic $200 barrier with the Arcade Edition. Sure, it has no hard drive. It doesn't need one. All it needs to do to split Sony's skull is to be able to play Gears of War 2. Gears of War defined next gen gaming, and its still the #1 next-gen franchise. In case you didn't know, Halo IS NOT a next-gen game.

It's unbelievable what's about to happen. RRoD, No next-gen media format. Inferior audio, inferior UI (XMB and Thumbnail previews are the bomb). Even media streaming from a Windows-based computer is inferior on Xbox 360 (you can copy directly to the PS3 over the network wirelessly).

All of those negatives for Xbox 360 and positives for PS3 and Microsoft is still sitting in a position to deliver a bone-jarring blow to Sony and the PS3. A $199 next-gen console is going to sell millions, now all those fence sitters who only read stories about Gears, will be able to play it for less than $300. It's going to be massive.

And why is Microsoft in this position? It's the games stupid. Technology counts, but in the end, its the games. Killzone and Resistance are good games in their own right. But they're still Sony's attempt to answer Gears. They keep knocking but they can't get in. They don't come close to reaching the cult status or recognition of Gears. And XBLA vs. PSN. Uhh, UNO, Geometry Wars, Hold 'Em, Pac Man, Galaga, Catan, it goes on and on. Sony still can't deliver the one game that could raise the status of PSN and give it real credibility, Wipeout HD.

Let's not forget the lead Xbox has in downloadable content. Almost all new releases are now available in HD with DD 5.1. This, thanks to Bluray. Not only does MS have a huge lead in content, but Sony isn't delivering any titles with surround sound yet, and few HD titles for rent, and none for sale. It'll take a year or more, for them to catch up. That assuming they want to. See, Sony has no interest in delivering HD content over PSN, it might hurt Bluray sales. Conversely, Microsoft needs HD content on XBLA to battle Bluray, and they're really going for it.

Wow, what a turnaround. I truly thought this would be Sony's year. Problem is, they just didn't deliver the games. We won't see God of War till well into '09 and how late is Little Big Planet (assuming it will be a hit)? After Nov. 7, it may all be too little too late. My God, if Microsoft is really developing Killer Instinct 3 for XBLA ...

And on top of all that, the only exclusives that really matter are on Xbox: Gears of War, Halo. That's it. MGS isn't in that kind of a league. God of War is non-existent on next-gen platforms, Gran Turismo, ditto. There's really only two big daddy's and they belong to Microsoft. You'll be able to play them soon, for $199.

What can Sony do? Hell if I know. They've made so many blunders trying to protect profits for shareholders they may have dug a hole to deep (to win). Granted, Microsoft can take more losses due to Windows and Office profits but hey, that's business. Sony has all the advantages ... they have to start losing money to get more and better games for PS3 and PSN.

The only things Sony can do at this point is:

[Le-mo]

You fail when you said "the only exclusives that really matter are on Xbox" and MGS isn't in the same league as GeOW and Halo. Shows how much you know about gaming.

[MorganX]

Sorry but, MGS isn't in the same league as GOW and Halo on next-gen platforms. Not talking the game itself, but it's impact on all aspects of the industry and it relates to the current generation of gaming. In fact, nothing currently on the PS3 is in the league of GOW and Halo, not MGS, not Uncharted, nothing. That's my opinion.

[MUNKYPOO]

thats why all this is just your opinion.

[SuperM]

Well we all know Halo and Gears of War would sell ALOT less if it wasnt for the huge marketing campaign surrounding both titles. How many sales a game has shouldnt matter to a gamer, its how good the game is. In my opinion MGS4 is a better game then gears of war (havent played Halo3 but from what ive heard its overrated so im pretty sure MGS is better). Gears is a great game no doubt about it but it cant touch MGS when it comes to production value, story and graphics although gears looks great. So far MGS4 has sold around 3 million coppies world wide while gears has sold a little under 5 million if im not mistaken. It is very likely that MGS4 will sell around the same amount of copies if not more over time. Concidering that Gears had a way larger marketing campaign then what MGS4 did its just silly of you saying MGS is not in the same league. Tbh its the other way around. MGS is a league above, a league where you dont need a massive marketing campaign to sell millions of copies, because the game is simply amazing.

As for Resistance and Killzone being sony's attempt to answer gears of war, both resistance FOM and killzone 2 was shown at E3 2005. I dont even know if we knew about gears of war at that time but whats sure is that nobody knew it was gonna do that well. So Sony must be good at looking in to the future since they answered something that hadnt even happend yet.

Im sorry but this blog failed. Xbox has sold worse then the PS3 worldwide every year since PS3 launched so it is not in the position to be curvestomping anybody. If anything it would be turning the tide, because at the moment things are working out for sony, not microsoft.

[JD_Shadow]

Uncharted and MGS4 isn't in the same league as GoW or Halo.

Uncharted and MGS4 are in a much BETTER league!

[Alexander Roy]

"And on top of all that, the only exclusives that really matter are on Xbox: Gears of War, Halo. That's it. MGS isn't in that kind of a league."

Right there you lost me. If you aren't able to admit that other consoles have great games, you fail - no matter what console you own. Besides, not everybody is into shooters, sorry to burst that bubble of yours.

[MorganX]

Alex, I am not denything that the PS3 has great games. When I say the only exclusives that matter, I'm referring to the industry as a whole. Uncharted, MGS, Killzone, Resistance, are great games, but they're not the events that Halo and GOW are. If MS acquired any of those titles on Xbox, only Sony would care. MGS coming over would make noise for about a week. If Sony got Halo or GOW, it would rock the industry. That's what I mean when I say the only exclusives left that really matter are GOW and Halo, for now anyway.

[SuperM]

What a load of bullcrap. MGS4 is likely to sell as much as gears 1 did. MGS coming to xbox would rock the industry just as much as gears coming to PS3... the only difference would be that people find it more likely that MGS comes to xbox then gears come to ps3 so it would be more expected. Secondly Halo and Gears wouldnt be the giants they are had it not been for the huge amount of marketing done by MS (Sony probably has a thing or two to learn from MS pr department, Gears and Halo commercials were great). When it comes to the games themselves they are all great AAA titles but there are many games out there that are just as good even though they have sold alot less

[Odonnus]

No doubt it will put a lot of pressure on Sony to follow Microsoft's price cut! Unless of course Ps3 continues to outsell a console that is twice as cheap as it...which would just be embarrassing lol. Just remember, competition is a good thing for us all. You've already seen it whip Sony into shape, they're now trying to pull things a better direction from launch :D

Oh, and really i must disagree with you not putting MGS in an elite category of games!

[Le-mo]

So you're saying games like Mario, Zelda, MGS, and Gran Turismo have no impact in the gaming industry. You are really arrogant.

[MorganX]

We're talking next-gen consoles. I don't consider Wii a next-gen console. And you're right, I don't feel that the next-gen exclusives MGS and Gran Turismo (Prologue, for now) have the impact on the industry that GOW and Halo do.

[SuperM]

Gears is still a tiny puppet compared to Gran Turismo. Wouldnt surprise me if GT5 sells twice as much as gears when it is released. After all its previous installments have sold up to 10 million.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Gears of war isnt "GOW" its GeOW

God Of War is "GOW"

It had it first,i dont see how GeOW could replace it?

By the way lol,love how you make GeOW sound like some big iconic masterpeice.I've played it on PC.it's good.Wouldnt call it AMAZING unless your into guys pumped on steroids carrying big guns..

Didnt it sell like 5 million? out of a 20 million userbase...?

[vdesai]

Ya your right God of War did have a large impact on the industry, seeing as how practically every game since God of War has had quick time events (I know they didn't invent it). Oh, but I think you meant GeOW had a large impact on the industry, no it did not there is nothing new or innovative in GeOW that has been introduced in the game that cant be found elsewhere. GT5P "the glorified demo" has had as much of an impact on gaming as any (GeOW)game. YAY! Another generic Unreal Engine Based shooter with a chainsaw OMFG. Ya thats all thats new in GeOW the freaking chainsaw. MGS shook the industry, it shook it hard, if I remember right not the whole week of the release of GeOW all that was talked about was GeOW but a week before and after MGS release EVERYONE was talking about it even if they were bashing it. Thats what major IPs can do for you when you have few IPs you start to lose momentum. The only reason you think it wouldnt matter if MGS4 ever came too the 360 because you are a 360 owner(FANBOY NOOB). Please learn to respect truely amazing games. Notice Halo did bring something too the industry (better multiplayer) which is something cool and did shake the industry. If you take a look at GeOW 2 its looks similar too the first one. Look at MGS < Francise. NONE of them look the same, each is created with its own unique touch. Where the hell were GeOW and Halo when Sony + Nintendo were shaping the industry, increasing the momentum of the industry too what it is today. This is Nintendos 5th home console and Sony has 3. < boy was that off topic. These IPs your talking about have existed longer then either of those so dont count them to be some shums. (Except Uncharted ofcourse).

[JD_Shadow]

Umm...

NEXT-GEN CONSOLE: A console that proceeds a companies PREVIOUS-GEN console. In other words, the next console they make.

By OFFICIAL definition, the Wii is a next-gen console (I see your point (I don't agree with any of them, by the way), but still...).

[BlaST_ProCesSiNG-]

I think ur making too much of a big deal about the price drop X. No doubt it WILL DEFINITELY help sales, but to say "This is going to be brutal folks" is a little...uhh... extreme.

[MorganX]

You're right, the price drop alone won't have the brutal impact. The combinaton of $199 Xbox and Gears on Nov 7. may.

Basically, RRoD will be a non-factor and soon forgotten, Bluray is being marginalized, and a loud clumsy console with no HD Audio/Video is still commanding the next-gen. That's brutal. Again, this is assuming Sony has no response. I don't think it has to be price, they need games. If Sony has no significant response between the September price drop and Nov. 7, I do think it will be brutal.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

RRoD will be a non factor and soon forgotten?
thank you.You've confirmed your insane.

Everybody's 3 year warranty is up near the end of this year..
when the red light's start flashing..people are gonna be pist.

[Greysturm]

It will do good but being cheaper and having some of the best gens exclusive (mass effect, bioshock at the time) last year didnt help it outsell the ps3. Gears and the pricecut will keep america from falling to the ps3 for a while but it will not be a curbstomp since neither japan nor europe are so easily taken by that awesome game and its already cheaper at a really low pricepoint at least in europe.

As for your suggestion to sony...

1) Wipeout hd will come when it passes quality tests if they release it without them theyll get sued to hell and will not only cost money but their reputation as Microsoft foun out with the RROD.

2) LBP date is secured and depending on the sucess of the title i think they shall decide wether to charge for extras or not as is their right for developers. No one complains about Halo Map packs and extra stuff for forge why should lbp be any different.

3)God of war is already set for 2009 throwing cash at stuff doesnt make a full game done any faster it only makes it half ass attempt if its not paired with the time needed to filter ideas and implement the right technique at the right moment.

4) What would that do? its a good game but the original didnt do so much for the 360. Of course it would benefit them in the long run but as the "crisis management" theory you propose this would have no effect to stop the "curb stomp". An anouncement that could tip the scales in their favor would be getting mass effect or reclaiming exclusivity of a franchise.

5) Fable is gonna be a great game but it wont have a miracle effect that cant be easily compared with what other titles have already achieved this year. (In your logic Fable is not a next gen game and it so far has sold way less than mgs so it wont do anything for microsoft) besides the only developers that make good d&d games (bioware) are currently working on dragon age and probably mass effect 2.

6) Blu ray still means a lot it is one of the reasons its selling so well worldwide as it remains the best bluray player on the market bundle only get you so far the fate of bluray now solely depends on the quality of releases by the movie studios. A bundle like the spiderman one dont particularly entice buying.

7) As much as you believe the rrod is over and done with. Its damage remains as it has tarnished the reputation of the console for casuals and mediumcore gamers. Its effect is still being felt.

8) Thats the point of the psn to get unique artisty games. Everybody can get rehash but original content is not only more atractive it also helps them foster relationships with coming about developers that could later be hired under SCE for future projects. HTe ps3 will never be able to match xbls sheer amount of content so in order to differentiate themselves they did this and its been working well so far. Nostalgia factor is really overrated.

[SolidSnake93]

There is only one problem with this, is the fact that people don't buy the arcade, they buy the pro, they see the arcade as a gimped version so they buy the pro, plus the arcade doesn't have a harddrive so DLC isn't gonna matter there. I don't really care about this, but I'm sorry to say that your logic is a bit flawed.

[IaMs12]

I believe the PS3 is selling so well, is it does have a lot of loyalty but its the newest thing out.. The Xbox 360 is old compared to the PS3 so people want the new thing just like when the Xbox 360 came out the PS2 was old... If MS comes out with the new console first i just see this same year repeating everytime... History repeats itself..

[Defectiv3_Detectiv3]

The PS3 has outsold the 360 almost every month this year even though it's more expensive.

Blu Ray sales up 200%, market share 12% and rising, 25% by 2010. PS3 is the preffered blu ray player among consumers. Blu Ray is predicted to outsell DVDs by 2013.

PS3 exclusives are almost double that of the 360 in 2009. I have yet to hear of a 360 system seller on the level of God of War 3 or Killzone 2 slated for '09.

In fact, while PS3 might have lost exclusivity of FF(they'll still have it a full year b4 360), 360 has lost Mass Effect and Bioshock. Not to mention there are rumors of an Exclusive Epic game coming to PS3. Could it be GeoW 3? Well, Epic only signed a 2 game deal w/ MS that expires when GeoW 2 comes out. Hmmmmmmmm.

PS3 Exclusives

War Devil
Uncharted 2
White Knight Story
MAG(new socom)
DC Universe
Socom: Confrontation
Hardware 2
God of War 3
Killzone 2
Resistance 2
Tekken 6
Gran Turismo* #1 racing franchise
Little Big Planet
Infamous
Motorstorm 2
The Agency
Heavy Rain
BBC mystery Title
Square Enix Exclusive
Team Ico Project

PSN
Fat Princess
Flower
Ragdoll Fighters
Siren
The Last Guy

And you're trying to tell me the PS3 is dead? If anything, MS better watch out. Their price drop is the last trick in their bag. If that doesn't work then they're really screwed.

E3 this year was a joke. It is now just a venue for them to show their big dumb american games (Resistance 2 and GeoW2). Expect the Tokyo Game Show and Lepzig to have more impressive announcements.

[Truplaya]

i love how you've pissed off all these PS3 owners and they now have to write huge answers to your blog to justify their PS3 ownership/purchase.

Im happy with my PS3 and my 360. I also beleive the 360 does have the two biggest IPs in Gears and Halo. Their launches are massive events (MGS4 didnt even get a midnight launch by me) and they both sell huge amounts of copies.

I think any price drop could make a difference this holiday season, but not a big one.

If you want two play all the best games own BOTH SYSTEMS, dont just hate on one because you dont own it.

EDIT - @ Toni - Epic are making a trilogy for Microsoft - assumed to be a Gears trilogy.

[vdesai]

Its not defending that im doing Im explaining why he is wrong.

[Isaac]

Typical, you say you will lash out against "all fanboys" yet you only lash out against "PS3 fanboys". That speaks volumes of who you're siding with, you don't need to be very explicit. If anyone is too blind to see fanboys on every side, then it must be for a reason, and sadly for you it is not a good reason, especially since you say you hate fanboys. Hypocrite much?

Owning both systems doesn't just make you exempt, I also own both systems and I happen to digress with "Halo and Gears = Biggest Franchises". I didn't buy a 360 for Halo, I do have Gears but it's not my best game on 360, hell I liked Prey and Viva Piñata a lot more. Gears simply has a huge marketing budget which is why it is so overrated.

I actually liked Resistance's storyline more than I did Gears, at least Resistance's storyline takes place somewhere on earth and required more production values (i.e. doing some research instead of taking almost everything out of their asses). Also, the game doesn't try to compensate with huge bulky figures that lack a certain amount of polygons by using high res textures to mask Unreal Engine's limitations. "Destroyed beauty" is the worst marketing catch phrase I've ever heard, they should have added more buzzwords to make it even more successful. "Destroyed beauty" my ex's ass.

I can't wait to be labeled as a fanboy for liking resistance more, even though liking Gears is exactly just another subjective preference, nothing more. Halo? Pfff... As I said below, there are lots of franchises that have sold better than Gears and Halo, that have been reviewed better than them. There are almost no games with the marketing budget that Gears and Halo have anyway, which is what made them big.

[Truplaya]

Fair enough, but i know at tleast 3 people that bought a 360 just for Halo3. They were playing Halo2 on their original xbox until it came out.

Resistance is a great game but i did trade it in once i've played it through a few times, it is afterall, just another FPS game. Everything in it had been done before, and better.

I do side with the 360 side more just because i prefer the console, and this site is plagued by Sony fanboys so i feel my prefered console needs more of a voice. I'll still call it out when its crap though, and many games on it are crap.

best games this gen for me are BioShock and Gears. Gears for being the most fun, and i played it more than anything else so that tells me something. BioShock for having the best story, gameplay and making me feel like its a proper next-gen experience. My PS3 has given me no games like this yet, just glossy versions of last gen games.

Sorry, thats just my opinion, call me what you like it wont change anything.

[riskibusiness]

If your going to be passionate about something, be passionate about something that matters.

[vdesai]

Right on like your education which some of them very severely need.

[Isaac]

They know what they're doing, they are outselling the cheaper, older console with less games. Microsoft must be either desperate or well prepared if they are willing to sell 360 for just 199 without HDD. That will most definitely be an annoyance for developers and will surely limit Xbox 360 to a much shorter tail.

If consumer response is as brutal as you are saying, then Sony will respond. Perhaps not with a price drop, but with a 2 game bundle like they did in Europe with Resistance and Motorstorm. That had the equivalent effect of a price drop, and I don't doubt Sony could now bundle with more games as their game portfolio has grown a lot. Hell, the MGS4 bundle is sold out everywhere and it's just one game, they could simply make more of those.

Anyway, where the hell are you from? Because you sure as hell are giving a lot more credit to Gears and Halo than they really deserve. Where I live people don't give a sh1t about Halo or Gears, they care about Grand Theft Auto, Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy 7 and Wii Sports.

Neither a Gears nor a Halo game has sold as much as these series in the world, as San Andreas sold about 17 million, GTA3 sold almost 15 million, Wii Sports has sold what the Wii has sold, and FF7 sold almost 10 million (spin-offs not withstanding). Gears a "pop culture phenomenon"? only in hardcore gamer america and even then it's not for everyone. You must think everyone lives in your little mental bubble.

[TheColbertinator]

Very flawed arguments here,Morgan X.The Gran Turismo series has sold over 50 million units for Sony.Not to mention that Final Fantasy has always been more popular on the Playstation and its series has sold over 85 million units.Halo and Gears of War are faaaaaar behind.

Besides the low price of 199 has been in Europe for over 6 months and the PS3 is still tied up.200 dollars will help Microsoft win only if the consumer is stupid.Other than that,they would rather get a 20 GB or 60 GB.

[JD_Shadow]

"* Get Wipeout HD on PSN ASAP"
And risk having the Pokemon Porygon incident happening all over again? I would rather them delay it than them giving everyone epilepsy.

"* Don't delay LBP anymore and don't charge for any content"
I think they are done delaying LBP. Sony's been good on their promises lately, so they will do good here. I don't know about the charging for content thing. You DO have to BUY the game first before being able to USE any content.

" * Open the treasury and fund the accelerated development of God of War III"
How do you know they aren't? And how do you know how far into development the game is?

"* Stop making artsy niche PSN games and get some classics up, get something Microsoft can never get like Donkey Kong, and get Geometry Wars, get all the retro classics from Atari and Williams. Remember Star Wars in the Arcade? Buck Rogers, Tecmo Bowl, Operation Wolf. Capcom has plenty."
I have a huge problem with this one. What you're basically saying is that no one gave a crap about SSHD, Everyday Shooter, Pain, Echochrome, and Eden? And yet MS is allowed to do whatever they want with their downloadable games? This sounds like double standard: MS can worry about THEIR artsy Marketplace games, but God forbid Sony supports PSN games. They could use more PS1 classics in the US store, but that wasn't the full point you made. You REALLY failed there!

"* Announce Dead Rising 2 for PS3"
I think I read somewhere that DR2 might be coming for the PS3, but I can't remember if I read that right.

"* Get a really good Dungeons & Dragons title to combat Fable (real D&D rules and next-gen audio/video, turn-based online multiplayer even. Something.)"
THIS could be awesome, actually. But remember how bad the PS1 Magic: The Gathering game turned out to be. Don't want to repeat THAT mistake.

"* Somehow start taking advantage of Bluray while it still means something (uhh, Dark Knight bundle)"
Dark Knight isn't even done in theaters yet and you want them to make a Blu-Ray bundle out of it already? And, umm...TIME WARNER would have to concede on that decision because, well, it's coming out of THEIR STUDIOS!

"* Pray for RRoD v2.0"
RRoD 1.0 isn't fully solved yet. Why pray for a new version when the old version is still functioning like new?

[jacobie74]

you got to be smoking fat rocks to think that mgs4 is better than gears lets take it to the street were they pull big money too we dont here mgs4 all i here is gears of war and call of dutty4 thers more first person shooter in the ghetto we allways here ps3 this ps3 that but dont nobody want to give props were its doo resistance man that game sucks next to even cod4 so gears of war 2 is going to kill anything els off on the ps3 .........ps the playstationkilla

[Lord Shuhei Yoshida]

Learn to spell right.Also,use facts and hard numbers to prove your point not just opinion.