[GoseiWonder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kickback

I was a huge Microsoft fan for years. I've gone through 3 different 360's and I'd probably buy another if my current one crapped out. That being said I can't justify the decisions they've made. I posted on my personal Facebook my own opinion and I'll summarize what I said there, here:

Microsoft sought to monopolize a market that they thought was 100% theirs in the United States. By data-mining, Microsoft discovered that a majority of their X-Box 360 users are using the system to live-stream Netflix, Hulu Plus, and more - a percentage of that group actually play games more than 3 to 4 times a week. With that knowledge, Microsoft short-sightedly believed that the reason people want the X-Box is so they can do TV stuff *AND* play games.

While not inaccurate by any means, they seemed to put a heavier emphasis on the TV side of things right out of the bat, thinking that it would win over their crowd.

What Microsoft failed to realize is that the reason people are watching TV and such on the X-Box is because there's no games really worth going out and buying right now. The Halo series is becoming watered-down, it's impossible to keep that game fresh and interesting when it's the same character with the same weapons fighting different monsters. There's no more "EVERYONE MUST HAVE THIS" games out there - sure, Madden and Call of Duty will always sell, but that really feels like those are the only "everyone wants to get it" games.

Microsoft, also knowing that the 360 was super successful in the United States, thought that they themselves could control the used-game industry. Hoping to be pioneers of a new age, they sought to over-reach ... "You buy the right to play the game, but you did not buy the right to do what you want to with the game". An "always online" tool suspiciously created for the very extent of "we control the game you bought the rights to play because lol it's all on the cloud!" forces the consumer to a broadband internet connection. This decision is again based on data-mining ... if you know that 35 million people are online using 360, you know you can count on 35 million people to buy X-Box One's and still be profitable.

The problem is Microsoft took the same step that Nintendo tried to do and they failed. Nintendo, hot off the success of the Super Nintendo (which towards the end of its time was out-performing the Sega Genesis), decided to stick to cartridges for their "Next-Gen" while Sega decided to go with the CD-based ... the result was the Sega Dreamcast battling the Sony PlayStation but losing horribly due to the money-giant that Sony was. Nintendo also began to fall to the wayside, hanging on simply from the popularity of their cult games (Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, etc.).

The next gen came again and Nintendo made their system a cube while Sony went for a more "entertainment" based system and pulled off the most successful gaming system to date - the PlayStation 2. It revolutionalized home entertainment and pushed DVD's to the forefront of uber-success. Microsoft joined the party late with the X-Box, touting a "gaming system for gamers" branding and focusing a lot on "arcade-style" games that picked up a lot of the old Sega crowd who had no where to go (because Fuck Nintendo and Fuck Sony, right?).

The current-gen gave us the most heated battle to date:

- The family favorite Nintendo Wii, featuring wireless motion controls
- The affordable but fragie X-Box 360, featuring a superior online system and an infrastructure second to none
- The expensive but powerful PlayStation 3, featuring a Blu-Ray player built in

Obviously the PlayStation's price killed it at the start, as Microsoft offered a cheaper solution but foolishly tried to back HD-DVD while Sony went after Blu-Ray. Obviously, Blu-Ray won and what effect Sony had on that I'm not certain. But throw in the online hacking of Sony's network and you have a company that had promise that fell apart due to oversights. They didn't think ahead for online gaming, they didn't react quickly enough to the changing demands of gamers.

The Nintendo Wii was still a fad - mom and dad bought it for the kids and it was family entertainment. I know more people (I'm serious with this) that say their Wii sits in a closet somewhere, unplayed for months (sometimes over a year).

The Wii U has launched now with less than stellar results. The system's overall power is that of the current-gen from Microsoft and Sony. The controller is strange and support for the Wii U is falling from publishers who don't like having to incorporate a controller for their multiplatform game (looking at you, Wii U Tablet).

As of right now, it looks as if Sony will be the ones rocking this generation in early vote-getters. With no restrictions on what gamers want (privacy, used games, offline capabilities, region-free) and an affordable price ($399 for PS4, $499 for X-Box One, $349 for Wii U), there's no reason that Sony can't be on top once again. Throw in the fact that the X-Box One will not release until LATE 2014 in Japan and Sony is guaranteed to steam-roll Microsoft.

Nintendo tries to make you think you need/want it.
Microsoft tries to tell you what you need/want.
Sony is giving you want you need/want.

Welcome back Sony. You've been missed.

That. Was. Beautiful.