By "generation", I'm referring to generations of games.. i.e. "current-gen" or "next-gen".
I'm not sure how much of a concern this will be, but a lot of it will depend on what Microsoft considers to be a normal "life-span" for a console.
As we all know, MS was a little late to the current-gen. As a result, the Xbox will have only a four-year life span, as opposed to the "normal" console life span of five years (and, in fact, PS2 will be six years old by the time PS3 launches).
What if they continue this tradition of shortening their consoles' life spans? What if the X360 is replaced after only three or four years? What would happen to the "generations" if their console is suddenly offset by two years or more compared to the other consoles?
A lot of it will depend on how MS approaches the life span issue. If they agree with the industry as a whole, with it's five year life span, then there shouldn't be any problems. But what if they change it based on business?
Let's look at the Xbox. It's no secret that MS is largely unhappy with how well the Xbox has performed in the market.. I think they expected it to have a much larger market share than it does. And I think that's one of the reasons why they cut it's life span short. This is only my opinion, but it's backed up by the fact that MS is completely killing off the Xbox this year... when the X360 launches, production of all Xboxes and Xbox games will halt, and they're probably going to completely cease all forms of support, including the "old" Xbox Live (although I'm sure even the "old" Xbox will still be able to connect to the "new" Live, although the game selection may be limited).
What if this happens again? What if, next-gen, MS grows unhappy with the X360's market share? What if they launch a new console in 2009, after four years? Such a launch would be at least a full year ahead of Sony or Nintendo, and possibly even longer, if PS3 and Revolution are still going strong after five or even six years. What will this do to the industry, to have a "next-gen" system out so far ahead of everyone else? What will the developers do? Will they be comfortable creating games for this system, knowing that they'll never be able to port them? That while the X720 (or whatever) will be superior to PS3, it'll be "weak" compared to PS4? And that next-next-gen games (PS4, etc) can't be ported back to X720?
Basically, what kind of problems would happen if all of Microsoft's consoles had only a four year life span? And everyone else had a five or six year life span?
This is not meant to slam MS or anything, but I think it's a legitimate concern for the industry and for gamers, if they decide to do something like this. What do you guys think?
I'm not sure how much of a concern this will be, but a lot of it will depend on what Microsoft considers to be a normal "life-span" for a console.
As we all know, MS was a little late to the current-gen. As a result, the Xbox will have only a four-year life span, as opposed to the "normal" console life span of five years (and, in fact, PS2 will be six years old by the time PS3 launches).
What if they continue this tradition of shortening their consoles' life spans? What if the X360 is replaced after only three or four years? What would happen to the "generations" if their console is suddenly offset by two years or more compared to the other consoles?
A lot of it will depend on how MS approaches the life span issue. If they agree with the industry as a whole, with it's five year life span, then there shouldn't be any problems. But what if they change it based on business?
Let's look at the Xbox. It's no secret that MS is largely unhappy with how well the Xbox has performed in the market.. I think they expected it to have a much larger market share than it does. And I think that's one of the reasons why they cut it's life span short. This is only my opinion, but it's backed up by the fact that MS is completely killing off the Xbox this year... when the X360 launches, production of all Xboxes and Xbox games will halt, and they're probably going to completely cease all forms of support, including the "old" Xbox Live (although I'm sure even the "old" Xbox will still be able to connect to the "new" Live, although the game selection may be limited).
What if this happens again? What if, next-gen, MS grows unhappy with the X360's market share? What if they launch a new console in 2009, after four years? Such a launch would be at least a full year ahead of Sony or Nintendo, and possibly even longer, if PS3 and Revolution are still going strong after five or even six years. What will this do to the industry, to have a "next-gen" system out so far ahead of everyone else? What will the developers do? Will they be comfortable creating games for this system, knowing that they'll never be able to port them? That while the X720 (or whatever) will be superior to PS3, it'll be "weak" compared to PS4? And that next-next-gen games (PS4, etc) can't be ported back to X720?
Basically, what kind of problems would happen if all of Microsoft's consoles had only a four year life span? And everyone else had a five or six year life span?
This is not meant to slam MS or anything, but I think it's a legitimate concern for the industry and for gamers, if they decide to do something like this. What do you guys think?
Meow! (='.'=)
The sales of EA Games does not count because they always go multi-platform anyways. I am talking about exclusives that will help strenghten their market share. The only games I can ever think about is Halo series. Is Halo the only Xbox game that really make the Xbox sells? 
I really can't think of anything else that makes it sells, but maybe Dead or Alive series. Whoops! Almost forgot to mention Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2. I think those sell well too.
