Is the console war starting to turn?

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vat_man

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As mentioned in other threads I picked up TOCA Race Driver/V8 Supercars 2 on the weekend, in the PC format. The X-Box format was out a couple of weeks ago, and at this stage, although a PS2 version is in the pipeline, there's no indication of when.

I've been scooting around the web and seen a couple of forums on this, and other games, and am starting to form the impression that the fortunes of the two main protagonists in the console war (let's leave Nintendo out of this for the moment, as they're a niche player) might be starting to turn in in favour of Microsoft and the X-Box.

Temporary exclusivity of this particular title aside, there's a few things I'm forming this opinion on:
- the success of the X-Box Live service, compared to Sony's on-line which has been a bit of a disappointment
- the ongoing delays with important elements of the PS2, like on-line, the hard drive, and notably GT4
- the significant time gap between X-Box 2 and PS3, which is likely to be between 9-12 months

I haven't seen the sales figures of late but I understand that X-Box sales have been boosted considerably in the wake of recent price cuts.

I'd be interested in the comments of others. As I mentioned, this is just a perception.
 
...I haven't seen the sales figures of late but I understand that X-Box sales have been boosted considerably in the wake of recent price cuts...
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They have indeed.

It was only a matter of time for this to happen I'd say. Sony will have shape up a bit too keep within reach of Microsoft, by upgrading their customer services and maybe enticing game developers to step-up the pace with long awaited titles they may have coming, cutting the price of the PS2 should be one of the highest priorities still. Then again they won't even be shipping as many consoles next year.

Time will tell, but for now Microsoft can bask in all the financial glory I guess.
 
Neither do I. I'm sticking with my ps2. The controller size is good, and games are great. The online capabilities I don't really care about, but i agree that Sony has to sharpen up that area.
 
Originally posted by VipFREAK
I really don't see the point in getting an Xbox?
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Most people do cuz they feel that the Xbox is nothing compared to the PS2. I would have to disagree with that.
 
Microsoft is still losing money everytime they sell a Xbox. Sony broke even with PS2 two years ago... Sony has sold over 70 million consoles worldwide while Microsoft has only sold 16 million. You tell me who is going to win in the long run?
 
Yea, my dad actually said the samething. Microsoft actually loses money whenever they sell an XBOX. I totally agree with what you said Viper. Obviously Sony is going to win in the long run. And also who cares about the big gap of the release date between XBox2 and ps3. The longer it takes, the better the quality console will be.
 
That's fine - but I am talking about the long run - the elements that made the PSX and PS2 successful are starting to come into place for the X-Box, and looking forwards, as I mentioned in the first post, Sony are going to be carrying the PS2 for quite some time - probably as long as the gap between the PS2 and the X-Box.
 
Frankly, if the xbox had the gran turismo series, and the ace combat series, there would be no competition at all.

I bought a ps2 so I could play titles, not for the power of the system.

If I had my choice, I would buy a system for the power, and not have to worry about the titles.

However, at the moment, there are only like 2 games for the xbox that interest me.

I would say that in America the xbox will take off as more titles come out.

But I want to stress that as long as ms is planning on releasing an xbox2 I will not buy one.

For real, consoles should not be like computers... you know, you buy a computer and 6 months later there is something to replace exactly what you bought...

I don't want to find ms coming out with a new xbox hard drive every year, that would just be too much, and if that was the case, I would never buy an xbox.

Also, broad band only is a major set back for the xbox because so much of the xbox is based on the xbox live features.

So for me, sony is still winning the war, but xbox has some perks and maybe one day I will have sufficient reason to buy one.

On a side note:
Nintendo. :tombstone:
No chance, I haven't even seen their name in this thread... says a lot about where the game cube will be in this war.
 
Nintendo's demographic target is a young audience (for the most part), while the videogame industry is getting older.
I believe the age of the average videogame enthusiast is stretching from the late teens to the early 30s. You tell me what 30-year-old... scratch that, 20-year-old looks forward to playing "Mario's latest adventure".

You're most definitely correct on wanting to own a console basing yourself on the titles available for it. And frankly if you ask me, the longer an awaited game takes to be released, the better. Gives me time to save up enough money. Granted I already have my GT4 money stashed away, but I'm also looking into buying the Logitech wheel as well. ;)
 
Originally posted by GoKents
For real, consoles should not be like computers... you know, you buy a computer and 6 months later there is something to replace exactly what you bought...
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An interesting point, and one I was discussing with a colleague who's also a PS2 owner. Given the likely prices of the X-Box 2 and PS3 on launch are probably going to be pretty similar, if not more, than a pretty decent upgrade, it is quite possible I may have bought my last console, and that GT4 might be my last Gran Turismo title (so make it a good one, Sony!).

I've been heading more towards the PC for my gaming in the last two to three years, and I suspect that this will continue. I have bought a few cheap platinum titles for the PS2 of late, so been getting a bit more out of the old girl recently, but I hardly touched it in the second half of last year.

As for Gamecube - yeah, niche product. If they weren't so strong in Japan they'd have already vanished. As a 33 yo, there's little to excite there, although that Star Wars: Rebel Assault title looked damned good...
 
Since the next generation of consoles are all going to have IBM processors and ATI graphics, i think a lees fiersome competition is in the future.
 
The PS3 does not have an ATI graphics chip. It uses the Cell chips to do graphic processing. 'Xbox 2' is the only console that ATI has confirmed to be building it's graphic processor. 'Gamecube 2' is rumored to also have ATI on board, but nothing concrete.
 
This round is Sony's by a landslide and the rest of the mountain. With 60 million consoles sold to the Xbox' 10 and more people playing Socom 2 each day during the first month of launch than all the combined Xbox Live customers it isn't even a race.
Most PC games will hit the Xbox first just because it's a low end PC with a decent video card and ports are fairly simple and streamlined (unlike the PS2 architecture.)
The next round of console wars is just going to get ugly though with some serious specs being tossed around (I really doubt the 3 3.5GHz spec sheet though for the simple factor of price.) Nintendo is in a do or die position, Sega is teamed with Sammy and rumored to possibly re-enter the arena or team with another company exclusively at E3. And all the companies are either sharing IMB/toshiba chips or ATI for video.
 
If Sega decides to make another console I would really like to see that happen. I've always been a big Sega fan especially with the Sega arcade games. Anyway, yeah you're correct we're gonna have some big specs for upcoming consoles. I've firmly decided to get PS3 mainly because I can play PS1 and PS2 games on it, but also the hardware sounds delicious. I kinda doubt Microsoft is gonna have anything close to the PS3. But if they come out with great games I'll buy that console too. I don't know anything about Nintendo, but they have a large ladder to climb.
 
No Offence, but this "Console War" or whatever it might be has clearly been won by PS2.
Sales Figures:
Gamecube - 7 Million
X- Box - 11million
PS2 - 70million
That just proves it.
Toca Race Driver 2 was a really disappointment, not on PS2 where TOCA originally started (traitors) and not ETCC or BTCC. It was originally only BTCC.:(
 
Originally posted by BMWz
No Offence, but this "Console War" or whatever it might be has clearly been won by PS2.
Sales Figures:
Gamecube - 7 Million
X- Box - 11million
PS2 - 70million
That just proves it.
Toca Race Driver 2 was a really disappointment, not on PS2 where TOCA originally started (traitors) and not ETCC or BTCC. It was originally only BTCC.:(
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Please note I said 'starting to turn', not 'to date'. Given the range of software and console sales, Sony's dominance to date is not in question - I was specifically referring to the coming two to three years.
 
The console that gets bought by me will be the one with the GT series available with it (hellllo, Sony!). If the GT series ever dies, then whichever console has the best racing game is mine. I've only ever been good at racing games (I absolutely suck at fighting and first-person shooter), and RPGs tend to get on my nerves after a while.
 
Originally posted by Sage
The console that gets bought by me will be the one with the GT series available with it (hellllo, Sony!). If the GT series ever dies, then whichever console has the best racing game is mine. I've only ever been good at racing games (I absolutely suck at fighting and first-person shooter), and RPGs tend to get on my nerves after a while.
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Interesting you say that - I've been becoming much more PC based in my gaming over the last 2-3 years, and whilst I've bought mostly cheap and second hand games for the PS2, I would say that 85% of my gaming is now on the PC - it's not unusual for the PS2 to go untouched for a couple of weeks.

I was chatting about this to a work colleague, and realised that unless GT5 is beyond incredible, the PS2 may be my last console.
 
Originally posted by vat_man
Interesting you say that - I've been becoming much more PC based in my gaming over the last 2-3 years, and whilst I've bought mostly cheap and second hand games for the PS2, I would say that 85% of my gaming is now on the PC - it's not unusual for the PS2 to go untouched for a couple of weeks.

I was chatting about this to a work colleague, and realised that unless GT5 is beyond incredible, the PS2 may be my last console.
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Well, being an Apple freak, I sorta don't have as much of a choice on that. ;) Anyway, even if I did have a PC, if there's one thing I can't stand, it's playing games on the computer – I simply hate using a keyboard for playing anything, and I hate being so close to the screen. I much prefer the TV... nice big screen, a dedicated gaming system, controllers, and better speakers. In fact, I deleted all of the games that came with the default install of OS X, because I knew I'd never play them.

I can definitely see why you'd prefer PC gaming, but I'll probably always be a console gamer. :) And at that, only a racer.
 
actually sony only has sold 24 million and had 23 million defective system. People I know have suffered with dres alot. The 70 million figure was a but off:odd:
 
I'm not really sure where you get your "figures" but it is unquestioned that PS2 has already won the current generation console war. The next gen is still up in the air, though you have to give the inside track to Sony, a company who was the first to knock off Nintendo as the ruler of consoles.

As far as the big N goes, you might be writing them off a bit prematurely. They had a fantastic E3 with a number of exciting products upcoming (most notably the simply astonishing Zelda preview) and still have the gaming cred to do big things in the coming years.

In conclusion, I would say that no matter who wins the upcoming console war, we, the gamers, will be the real winners.
 
http://news.com.com/2100-1043-5141061.html

The 70 million total further widens the PS2's lead over its rivals, Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox, which both are edging past the 10 million mark
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http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/01/14/news_6086482.html

In a statement released in Japan shortly after midnight Pacific Standard Time, the consumer electronics giant reported that it had reached the milestone of having shipped 70 million PS2 units into the retail channel worldwide.
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Get your numbers straight, Emo Trendwhore, or whatever your name is.

I agree with Majin, Nintendo did have a strong E3 showing. But, IMO, it's too little, too late. There should have been a 'mature' Zelda in the beginning. There is still no online play (even though there is a GC modem) nor a 'mature' Mario (Mario 128). I thought Mario Sunshine was a little too childish for me. Mario 64 had the right mix. I still believe Nintendo did a Crazy Ivan with the DS. It was scared right out of the water when it heard about the PSP.
 

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