The Xbox 360 glory days are over

[Guest Black Knight]

pcauthority.com.au

 

This week's price cuts are too little too late to save the Xbox 360, says Nathan Taylor. The 360 glory days may be over, with only Fable 2 up its sleeve and Blu-Ray scoring wins for the PS3.

 

Microsoft has a lot to worry about these days. It’s frustrated by it’s inability to crack Google, or buy anybody else who might; people are hating Vista, and the life of Windows XP keeps getting extended; it’s actually having to compete with Linux on the desktop, and now on the mobile as well; and it’s console, once the market leader, seems to be slowly fading away.

 

Its latest announcement is clearly designed to stave off the latter. It may be too little too late, but Microsoft just announced a new round of price cuts for the Xbox 360, making the cheapest version of the console, the hard disk-less Arcade, $50 cheaper than the Wii.

 

It’s now just $349, half the price of the PlayStation 3, and some retailers are selling it for considerably less than that. The 20GB version of the Xbox 360 has also been cut, from $579 to $499 and the 120GB Elite has dropped from $729 to $649. I don’t think it will be enough to save the Xbox 360.

 

It’s funny how this generation of game consoles panned out. Most analysts had figured that the PlayStation 3 would sell the most, followed by the Xbox 360, with the Nintendo Wii trailing up the rear. Turns out the opposite of that happened.

 

The Wii continues to dominate sales, the Xbox 360 has killed the PS3 in terms of market share (so far) and the PS3 proved too expensive for most buyers, especially before Blu-ray had officially won the format war. Of course, now that Blu-ray has won, and the PS3 remains the best and most affordable Blu-ray player on the market, sales of the PS3 are really starting to take off.

 

Now the Xbox 360 has a strong established user base and a very high attach rate compared to the other consoles (the attach rate is the number of games sold per console), but it’s struggling to maintain momentum, especially after it expended its big gun: Halo 3. It has Fable 2 coming out later this year, which should give it a boost, but apart from that the console has very little steam left.

 

I imagine that the Microsoft brain’s trust is already thinking about upping the announcement date of the next version of the Xbox 360.

 

They’re also probably thinking that their relentless focus on one-upping Sony with meaningless processor performance numbers was a mistake. Nintendo got in under that radar because it made gaming fun, and you can bet dollars to donuts that the next Xbox version will have a motion sensing controller and a host of family-friendly games, not just first person shooters.

 

Microsoft might also think about making more of Xbox Live, which has tremendous potential, but has been sadly left to lie fallow, especially in Australia and other non-US territories. In short, it's going to have to kick ass to make an impact on the next generation, and saying that the console has more power than a supercomputer just isn't going to cut it.[/Quote]

[King 277]

Utter rubbish.

[Paul 584]

Good points, but wrong in the regard that the 360 will keep getting better IMO. Though for me its still the worst of the 3 next gen consols.

[Guest Jayfunk]

In the end of the day HD will kill the 360.

 

Playstation 3 is getting cheaper and with a decent blu-ray player is a plus, there games are very much the same and PS3 have better franicises on there platform such as GTA. MGS, FF and Grand Tursmo (SP) the PS3 will in the end beat the 360.

[Guest Al Stevens]

Good points however from reading that it comes across as the writer of the bit is being a bit snobbish regarding the 360. Yes some people have the pitched tent attitude of it being the hight of all things to play, but then again you have that with the PS3 and Wii.

 

Me personally I think that the 360 still has a lot of gas in it personal. However I believe that the PS3 is slowly gaining some ground on the 360 and well the Wii STILL doesn't have anything to attract to it.

[Guest Fiona]

I'm glad to see the price finally start coming down somewhat. The X-Box imo has always been overpriced and too many problems associated with it.

 

You would think at Microsoft and Bill Gates could have figured out a way a long time ago to reduce prices and make their system work a little better. Almost all of my son's friends who own an X-Box have experienced one problem or another. Now that it is getting cheaper may buy one. So good news.

[Guest Al Stevens]

I have had mine a year into release and the only problem I had was a Lazar burn when my mate caught it with his foot. I believe that its where you place said machine and if you have enough air coming through then everything is OK.

[Guest The Beltster]

360 still tramples the others as my personal choice of console, its awesome. With RE5, Silent Hill 5, Bio Shock 2, Age of Conan, Legends of WM etc all expected out in the next 12 months, I dont see the problem. Sure, they will all be available on PS3 too, but more people own a 360 so they will get more game sales than the others.

[Paul 584]

My only real isue is how much I hate the damn controllers. It feels so good to use a PS/PS3 pad again after using an XBox one. :lol

[Guest The Beltster]

I'm used to the pads now, although I always liked them from the start, unlike the original XBox ones which were horrible. PS3 pads are much better though, they feel so light. In general though, I am a mark for 360.

[Paul 584]

Which is fine, lets be fair all 3 NextGen systems have good and bad bits to them. Its about what appeals to you that makes you buy it. You like the 360 while its the PS3 for me. :)

Swings and roundabouts.

[Guest big pau hoolinator]

I bought a PS3 a week or 2 ago and still play my 360 just as much as before really...there is perhaps a lack of games but Gears of War 2 will own all

[Guest The Beltster]

I like the fact that the PS3 controllers dont house batteries...it makes the 360 pad so heavy. I love the shape, but the weight sucks compared to the PS3 pad.

 

To be honest, I think Sony came up with the best shape pad ever, thank goodness they didnt go with that ugly banana shape deal that was originally considered to be packaged with the PS3.

[Paul 584]

How many exclusives will be released on the Xbox? Just thinking as most people use that as its main selling point, is it still significant?

[Guest Al Stevens]

What i can think of there is:

 

Forza motorsport

Gears of War

Fable

PGR

Halo

[Guest Saz]

I wouldn't say the X-Box is over, because clearly there is a market for it. I made the choice against the X-box for the exact same reason as DS, the pads, my hands used to ache after using them and I never pressed the right buttons.

 

frustration led me to the PS3, and I have a wii, but the funny thing is, I only play it when I have friends round.

[Guest The Beltster]

I like that BioShock is coming out on PS3, I just wish God of War 3 would come out on 360. I think having platform exclusive games is a load of bullsh*t.

[Guest Saz]

I like that BioShock is coming out on PS3, I just wish God of War 3 would come out on 360. I think having platform exclusive games is a load of bullsh*t.

 

MArketing ploy to get people to buy your machine.

 

B*llsh*t perhaps, but a profitable load of cows manure it is!

[Guest The Beltster]

Oh definately, I understand it, I just think it stinks. It shows, to me, that a company isnt comfortable letting their hardware speak for itself, and need the security of having platform exclusive games to get people to buy their consoles.

[Paul 584]

While any company does it they all will. Shame but such is life.

[Guest MojoPogo]

The Xbox is a great machine. I liked mine, i just hated the fact Microsoft fobbed me off when it got the red rings of doom....i want it to do well, competition is good for us gamers ultimately, as it spurs the big developers on to greater things, and ultimately is the games that matter. If i could, i'd own both.