The Console Wars

HenryTo · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:43 am Post subject: The Console Wars

Xbox to cut existing prices in light of an upcoming upgrade. Following is analysis courtesy of Retailing Today. The Wii comes with WiFi connectivity that lets you read news articles and weather forecasts, etc, but that's about it in terms connectivity outside of gaming.
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Top Story: Xbox price cut kicks of E3 convention
Microsoft kicked off the annual E3 video game convention in Los Angeles this week with a $50 price cut on its Xbox 360 console.

Effective July 10, the company lowered the price of the Xbox 360 to $299 from $349 to make way for a new-and-improved Xbox due in August. The new Xbox will feature a 60GB hard drive--compared to a 20GB hard drive in the current version--and will be priced at $349. The move may prompt Sony to lower the price of its $399 PlayStation 3.

The new Xbox will also allow users to stream movies and TV shows through a partnership with Netflix. That service will debut this fall and will require users to be members of Netflix and subscribe to the Xbox Live Gold online service.

E3 runs through July 16 and should generate more news today and tomorrow when Nintendo and Sony hold their annual press conferences.

RT Analysis...
The upcoming Xbox 360 upgrade shows video game consoles are continuing to evolve into all-in-one entertainment systems that combine gaming with TV, computers and the Internet, providing the "connectivity" consumer electronics analysts have been talking about for almost 10 years.

The big jump from a 20GB to a 60GB hard drive will allow the Xbox 360 to handle its new role as a conduit for video streaming and deliver faster connectivity. It's akin to what Apple did last week with the debut of the 3G iPhone that's twice as fast online as the original iPhone.

And it's following a trail blazed by Sony, which signaled where the game industry was heading two years ago when it loaded the PlayStation 3 with a Blu-Ray disc drive and 40GB and 60GB hard drives, giving them the power of most desktop computers.

Nintendo may be missing the boat on the interactive front, since its Wii console comes with a miniscule 512MB flash drive, so it will have to provide the second generation Wii with some serious upgrades if it wants to compete in the same space as Sony and Microsoft.

In the mean time, Nintendo can take comfort in the fact that it has sold 2.8 million Wii consoles during the first five months of the year, more than the PS3 (1.2 million) and the Xbox 360 (1.1 million) combined.

HenryTo · Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 3:43 am Post subject:

Next generation consoles rumored to be less powerful than originally thought.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/04/the-x86-playstation-4-signals-a-sea-change-in-the-console-industry.ars

HenryTo · Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:05 pm Post subject:

Xbox now likely to be announced and sold in 2013.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-15/microsoft-says-it-won-t-be-discussing-new-xbox-at-e3-conference.html

HenryTo · Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 3:34 am Post subject:

Next Xbox, the Xbox 720, to be unveiled next January or June.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Sony-PS4-Xbox-720-Release-Date-Announcement-New-consoles,news-13305.html

rffrydr · Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 7:09 am Post subject:

And we have a double knockout. Turns out five function buttons just don't cut it. Back to the PC it is. Dell could live on this alone.
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Today is the Tomorrow you worried about Yesterday!

HenryTo · Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:10 pm Post subject:

First "preview" of the next-gen Xbox. Analysts looking for a roll-out in 2014:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20110718231606_AMD_Expects_Next_Generation_Xbox_to_Feature_Avatar_Like_Graphics.html

HenryTo · Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:40 am Post subject:

Nintendo's stock price tumbles on the Wii U unveiling:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-08/nintendo-falls-amid-questions-whether-new-console-can-repeat-wii-s-success.html

HenryTo · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 5:57 pm Post subject:

Preview of the Wii 2 (or Wii U). Video link attached:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=21842

HenryTo · Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:17 pm Post subject:

Getting closer. Likely not a game-changer but definitely a console everyone has been waiting for:
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Nintendo's Wii successor to dominate E3 expo
Nintendo's Wii, Sony's PlayStation Portable successors to dominate E3 video game expo

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Almost six years ago at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, Nintendo unveiled what would eventually become known as the Wii. But the Japanese gaming giant didn't show off the new console's distinctive motion-sensing capabilities until later that year at the Tokyo Game Show. Nintendo won't be such a tease at this year's E3.

After two years of shrinking Wii sales, the gamemaker will fully raise the curtain on the Wii's successor at the gaming industry's annual convention in downtown Los Angeles this week. Nintendo Co. has remained silent about just what the doodad will do, but gamers are anticipating features like high-definition graphics and touchscreen controllers.

"What's interesting about it is that it's a platform that seems much more oriented to the core gamer, in terms of its capabilities and specifications," said Ken Levine, the Irrational Games creative director who will tear into E3 with "Bioshock Infinite," an airy in-the-clouds follow-up to the stylish undersea saga "Bioshock," published by 2K Games.

Meanwhile, Sony Corp. will try to rebound from the embarrassment of a massive security breach that recently crippled the PlayStation Network, affecting more than 100 million online accounts. Sony plans to introduce several new PlayStation 3 titles, as well as detail the name, price and sale date of a new hand-held device code-named Next Generation Portable.

John Koller, director of PlayStation hardware marketing, said the NGP will be slightly larger than the PlayStation Portable and will feature a touchscreen, touchpad, two cameras and an accelerometer, meaning it can react to motion. It will also be able to connect over cellphone networks and Wi-Fi hotspots and use GPS location-tracking technology.

"The NGP is not a singular experience as a lot of other portable and mobile devices are," said Koller. "There's augmented reality, location-based and social gaming experiences. All those things add up to a much greater whole than what we think is available on the market or will be on the market over the next four to five years."

Following last year's flashy Cirque du Soleil production to introduce Kinect, the motion-sensing camera system for Xbox 360, Microsoft Corp. will likely take a different tactic than Nintendo and Sony and keep the focus on new games instead of new devices. The gaming industry's current champion hasn't announced any plans to debut a new console.

The most explosive battle for hype will involve Electronic Arts vs. Activision, who will simultaneously use E3 as a theater for their military shoot-'em-up franchises. Activision Blizzard Inc. aims to continue to dominate with the globe-trotting "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," while Electronic Arts Inc. hopes to capture interest with "Battlefield 3."

"These are the type of heavyweight fights that I think are good for customers and the marketplace," said Frank Gibeau, president of EA Games. "It brings a lot of attention, gets people excited and gives customers a choice. We like our chances. We're an underdog, for sure. They're the big kids on the block, but we're giving it everything we've got."

Other games scheduled to be on display on the show floor include the third-person alien blaster "Gears of War 3," sweeping role-playing game "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," moody Dark Knight sequel "Batman: Arkham City," ambitious zombie slasher "Dead Island," virtual demolition derby "Twisted Metal" and violent shape-shifting adventure "Prototype 2."

"E3 is still one of the largest showcases for all games out there," said Jonathan Lim, a Radical Entertainment assistant producer currently working on "Prototype 2," published by Activision. "For us to be able to have such a large presence is really rewarding. I personally haven't been part of something that's going to be so large at E3."

Several unannounced games are rumored to be making their debut at this year's E3, including a 3-D "Super Mario" game for the Nintendo 3DS, new installments of choreography game "Dance Central" and supernatural thriller "Alan Wake" and a "Star Wars" title that utilizes Xbox 360's Kinect system to transform players' movements into the powers of The Force.

The convention will also serve as a celebration for the gaming industry, which has been bouncing back in the wake of the recession and rise of inexpensive social and casual games. The NPD Group, a research firm that tracks sales, said last month that the U.S. sales of consoles, software and accessories were up 20 percent over last year to $961.2 million.

While mobile gamemakers like Gameloft and EA Mobile will be at E3, casual gaming giants like Rovio and Zynga, the creators of "Angry Birds" and "FarmVille," as well as Apple Inc., aren't expected to have a presence at the show. The iPhone and iPad maker is throwing its own party in San Francisco this week: Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference.

"I think the mood at this year's E3 will be healthy," said Adam Sessler, editorial director and co-host of G4's "X-Play." "The gaming industry has been wandering in the forest a little bit in regards to this whole causal gaming thing. This might be a year of refocusing on the style of games and attention to the audience that has supported the industry."

HenryTo · Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 7:10 am Post subject:

Nintendo to debut the Wii 2 at the E3 trade show in LA next month. System to be commercially available potentially as early as spring next year:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/05/13/wii.2.steinberg/index.html?hpt=T2

rffrydr · Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 10:01 am Post subject:

NPD said that video game sales in June hit a nine year low.
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Today is the Tomorrow you worried about Yesterday!

HenryTo · Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 12:54 pm Post subject:

Wedbush analyst (who actually have a good track record) believes that there will be no new playstation or Xbox until 2013 at the earliest:

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/analyst-hi-def-wii-in-2010-next-gen-won-t-start-until-2013/1311594

HenryTo · Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 10:54 am Post subject:

Sony says no current plans for Playstation 4 - but difficult to believe given the huge success of Playstation 2. The franchise is still solid although a bit chipped:

http://www.ps3center.net/news/2010/sony-has-no-current-plans-for-playstation-4/

rffrydr · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:09 pm Post subject:

The kids are all using the Microsoft Live.com discount to buy overstocked PS3s on ebay--nothing is obvious.
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Today is the Tomorrow you worried about Yesterday!