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X-Fan
05-16-2005, 06:55 PM
May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Forty-five Microsoft Corp. Xbox executives spent three days in February holed up at the Doubletree hotel in Bellevue, Washington, plotting a second attempt to unseat Sony Corp.'s PlayStation as the top selling video-game console.

``Things are going to be different this time around,'' said Peter Moore, head of Xbox sales and marketing. Moore helped lead the group in role-playing exercises aimed at simulating how customers and Sony executives might react to the version of Xbox that Microsoft unveiled last week.

Sony may see its share of the $6.16 billion market for video- game consoles decline to 45 percent from 57 percent currently after Microsoft releases its new machine, Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Anthony Gikas estimates. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has spent $12 billion and incurred losses of more than $2.4 billion developing and selling Xbox.

PlayStation 2, which is profitable, had 966 games at the end of 2004, including games Xbox doesn't have such as ``Final Fantasy,'' and initial rights to the top-selling ``Grand Theft Auto'' series. Xbox has 582 games, according to Banc of America Securities, including the ``Halo'' series.

Both companies will present details of their new machines later today in advance of the Electronic Entertainment Expo gaming trade show in Los Angeles. Sony scheduled its press conference four hours earlier than Microsoft's.

``Xbox has gained a lot of momentum and credibility,'' said Gikas, who is based in Minneapolis. ``The technology of the first Xbox was very competitive, and maybe even a little bit superior, and they've now established themselves.''

`Competitive Advantage'

Microsoft shares rose 27 cents to $25.49 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Sony shares dropped 1 percent to 3,960 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, wanted to avoid the mistakes of its first launch in 2001, Moore, 50, said. Microsoft's preparation this time will help it take the lead from Sony, which has dominated the market since the first PlayStation was released in 1995, he said. Analysts such as Gikas said that's unlikely to happen.

This time, Microsoft has the jump. Sony isn't scheduled to release its next PlayStation until 2006.

In 2001, the first Xbox was released in the U.S. about a year after Tokyo-based Sony's PlayStation 2 and 18 months after the debut in Japan. By the time Xbox was released, 20 million PlayStations had been shipped. Game makers then made more games for the new PlayStation and gave Sony exclusive titles, which helped propel sales.

``It is a huge competitive advantage to be first to market,'' said Jason Maynard, a San Francisco-based analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, wrote in a note to clients.

`Steep Mountain'

Xbox's ``Halo 2'' sold 6.7 million copies, compared with more than 13 million for ``Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.''

``The advantage of going on sale a year earlier for Microsoft is not trivial, but Sony is the king,'' said Scott Steinberg, vice president at Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.'s U.S. unit in San Francisco, which this week will show two games for the new Xbox. ``It would be hard for us to see anyone dethroning them.''

``For Microsoft to believe that if they have all the right ingredients, therefore they will be able to reach the levels of penetration we have, it's a steep mountain to climb,'' Sony Computer Entertainment America spokeswoman Molly Smith said. Sony has sold more than 87 million PlayStations. Microsoft has sold 20 million consoles and Nintendo Co. has sold 18 million.

Spending time at the Doubletree hotel acting out the release and marketing scenarios and taking more time with game developers and customers are some of the extra lengths Microsoft went to in preparing to take on Sony.

Sharing Pizza

``You need to take time out and put yourself in the other's shoes,'' said Moore, who took on the guise of a Sony executive and led the ``Sony'' team though the exercises.

Moore and his boss, Robbie Bach, who runs the Xbox division, turned up at the offices of THQ Inc. in Calabasas Hills, north of Los Angeles in California, with a gym bag containing the new Xbox. Moore, Bach and the THQ officials hung out eating pizza and discussing the new machine, said Philip Holt, senior vice president of product development at THQ, maker of ``The Incredibles'' game.

``It was clear they had spent a lot of time on the road,'' Holt said. Their meeting was ``comprehensive,'' he said.

Microsoft didn't pay as much attention last time, costing them the goodwill of many games makers.

Had the ``Grand Theft Auto 3'' title been initially available on both PlayStation and Xbox, the market share gaps may have been much smaller, Credit Suisse's Maynard said.

Sony's Challenge

Microsoft's early start this time may give it better exclusive games, helping it pare Sony's lead. Sony may fall to 45 percent or 50 percent of the market with the next game systems, from 57 percent now, Piper Jaffray's Gikas said.

The challenge to Sony, the world's second-largest consumer electronics maker, comes after the company posted its biggest loss in two years last quarter and in March installed Howard Stringer as chief executive officer. The stock has lost more than 66 percent of its value in the past five years.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is depending on Xbox to help revive sales growth, which is expected to drop to the slowest rate ever in the year ended June 30.

This time, Microsoft will also spend more time appealing to the Japanese market, the No. 2 video-game market and Sony's home turf. The first Xbox didn't have titles tailored to the local audience and the machine and controllers were too big to appeal to Japanese gamers.

`Battle-Hardened'

Since the release of Xbox, Microsoft has built a reputation for its graphics and technology. Xbox outsold PlayStation 2 in the U.S. holiday shopping season for the first time last year, helped by ``Halo 2.''

Microsoft will lure better games from top publishers this time, Microsoft's Moore said. The company will spread its best titles evenly over each year, slimmed down the console and contracted with three well-known Japanese game developers, including the creator of ``Final Fantasy,'' to produce Xbox games.

``We've been around the block now,'' Moore said. ``We're battle-hardened. It's a whole different ball game this time.''
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Looking good guys. Looking GOOD!

vman
05-16-2005, 09:50 PM
looking very good. my goodness. talk about the Art of War!!! OH man i love this heated competition. one question though, where will nintendo fall and whatever happend to the Phantom?

MXracer721
05-17-2005, 08:59 AM
the more i read the more i want. man this is gonna be a fun winter :)

Variation-XBA
05-22-2005, 10:20 PM
I'm just hoping they make good in JPN, cause that's a huge loss in sales for them.

mattgame
05-22-2005, 11:21 PM
They should do better

scozzard
05-24-2005, 01:55 AM
AWESOME, just goes to show how important the role of games publishers is in the market. If Microsoft can bag exclusive rights to the next big up and coming games then I have no doubt that they'll exceed 50% market share soon. The fact that its being released prior to the new PS also gives microsoft a massive upper hand, cause when most gamers want the latest gaming technologies, they want it IMMEDIATLY, which will convert some playstation users.

mattgame
05-24-2005, 08:31 AM
final fantasy will big time.

Shadow20002
05-28-2005, 12:28 PM
In here maybe but in japan no way.

ColdArmoR
05-28-2005, 02:43 PM
I seriously think Microsoft has it this time, I mean we've seen the new Xbox Live system and now you can play custom soundtracks wherever you are & doing, and Sony hasn't told us much or nothing of it's new online ideas.

Flame Sword8
05-28-2005, 10:44 PM
therefore they will be able to reach the levels of penetration :D

hehe

OC Noob
05-29-2005, 10:33 AM
In here maybe but in japan no way.

They don't need to dominate in Japan, just taking 25% would give them a huge boost over Sony considering the Xbox does so well in North America and Europe. I think those numbers are attainable too with Square games and the new IP's Blue Dragon and ... whats the name od the one from that FF creator? The company is something like Myst... something.

Anyway, they are going to have more game for the average asian this go around, and they don't really need to be all that sucessful in Japan, just getting something would give them the numbers needed.

scozzard
05-30-2005, 09:34 PM
final fantasy will big time.

Will Microsoft have exclusive rights to final fantasy publishers, or will they be available on both consoles?

-Natas-
05-31-2005, 12:37 PM
Yeah, the Xbox 360...I mean Xbox 1.5 will sell great. [/sarcasm]

Am I a Sony fanboy....NO, I am a Nintendo fanboy....NO, do I own and Xbox....YES (Halo LE Xbox). I see no point in the Xbox 360 at this time as the Xbox just started to get some good games on it. I also think this whole, gotta first out of the gate is going to blow up in their face. I think the PS3 will be a big POS for awhile since it is using a brand new chip setup as well as blu-ray. The only next gen I'm even thinking about buying at this point is the revolution as I like the size of the console and the fact that I can play classic games on it.

A new survey published by Famitsu has found out what next-generation console Japanese gamers are most interested in, and why they like the next-generation consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony.

The survey found that 42.2% of Japanese gamers are most interested in the Nintendo Revoluton, with the PlayStation 3 coming in close behind with 39.8% of Japanese gamers being most interested in Sony's next-generation console. Only 18.0% of Japanese gamers said they were most interested in Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Japanese gamers said that they look forward to Revolution because of its compact, innovative design, Japanese gamers look forward to the Xbox 360 for its developer support, and technology. Japanese gamers also look forward the PlayStation 3 for its technology, including its Cell processor and use of Blu-ray. Japanese gamers also like the backwards compatibility of all three next-generation consoles.

skorp
05-31-2005, 11:12 PM
A new survey published by Famitsu has found out what next-generation console Japanese gamers are most interested in, and why they like the next-generation consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony.

The survey found that 42.2% of Japanese gamers are most interested in the Nintendo Revoluton, with the PlayStation 3 coming in close behind with 39.8% of Japanese gamers being most interested in Sony's next-generation console. Only 18.0% of Japanese gamers said they were most interested in Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Japanese gamers said that they look forward to Revolution because of its compact, innovative design, Japanese gamers look forward to the Xbox 360 for its developer support, and technology. Japanese gamers also look forward the PlayStation 3 for its technology, including its Cell processor and use of Blu-ray. Japanese gamers also like the backwards compatibility of all three next-generation consoles.

18%?!? lol That's a pretty big improvement right there....

:)

OC Noob
06-01-2005, 12:00 AM
Yeah, the Xbox 360...I mean Xbox 1.5 will sell great. [/sarcasm]

Am I a Sony fanboy....NO, I am a Nintendo fanboy....NO, do I own and Xbox....YES (Halo LE Xbox). I see no point in the Xbox 360 at this time as the Xbox just started to get some good games on it. I also think this whole, gotta first out of the gate is going to blow up in their face. I think the PS3 will be a big POS for awhile since it is using a brand new chip setup as well as blu-ray. The only next gen I'm even thinking about buying at this point is the revolution as I like the size of the console and the fact that I can play classic games on it.

A new survey published by Famitsu has found out what next-generation console Japanese gamers are most interested in, and why they like the next-generation consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony.

The survey found that 42.2% of Japanese gamers are most interested in the Nintendo Revoluton, with the PlayStation 3 coming in close behind with 39.8% of Japanese gamers being most interested in Sony's next-generation console. Only 18.0% of Japanese gamers said they were most interested in Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Japanese gamers said that they look forward to Revolution because of its compact, innovative design, Japanese gamers look forward to the Xbox 360 for its developer support, and technology. Japanese gamers also look forward the PlayStation 3 for its technology, including its Cell processor and use of Blu-ray. Japanese gamers also like the backwards compatibility of all three next-generation consoles.


Xbox 1.5? You have no clue what kind of power the thing has. For anyone to make a statement like that shows extreme ignorance of computer technology.

Sure its the Cliche thing for casual gamers, but like many cliche staements thrown around, it has no ringe of truth to it.

People haven't even seen what it can do and they think they know what it can do, lol.

Just look at a top of the line PC and realize this thing has well over 5 times the power when you factor in the 3 cores (6 threads), the gfx card that is 2 generations ahead of anything on PCs and roughly 5 generations ahead of whats in the current Xbox. Not to mention the thing isn't using system ram, but GDDR3 ram which has... what, about >5 times the bandwidth of the Xbox 1's ram.

Its crazy to say this thing is just an Xbox 1.5. Don't listen to the nimrods at Gamestop or your buddies at school and do some research for yourself and you'll confirm everything I just typed.

-The Zen Master

-Natas-
06-01-2005, 03:03 AM
Xbox 1.5? You have no clue what kind of power the thing has. For anyone to make a statement like that shows extreme ignorance of computer technology.

Sure its the Cliche thing for casual gamers, but like many cliche staements thrown around, it has no ringe of truth to it.

People haven't even seen what it can do and they think they know what it can do, lol.

Just look at a top of the line PC and realize this thing has well over 5 times the power when you factor in the 3 cores (6 threads), the gfx card that is 2 generations ahead of anything on PCs and roughly 5 generations ahead of whats in the current Xbox. Not to mention the thing isn't using system ram, but GDDR3 ram which has... what, about >5 times the bandwidth of the Xbox 1's ram.

Its crazy to say this thing is just an Xbox 1.5. Don't listen to the nimrods at Gamestop or your buddies at school and do some research for yourself and you'll confirm everything I just typed.

-The Zen Master


Ok, first off I called it an Xbox 1.5 as that is what one of the heads at Sony called it, it was kinda of a joke. As for all the tech talk, I don't care about that stuff. You can have the most powerful console ever and it does not mean anything if you don't have the software to back it up. Right now the Xbox 360 can't even play it's own games as at E3 they had the demo's running on 2 G5 Apple PC's. I have not visited my local Gamestop or EBGames in weeks and I have not been to school since I got my diploma back in the 90's, so all the info I have on the current consoles is from the net. I have been watching all the specs companies are throwing out and by the specs PS3 will be on top, then Xbox 360, and last the Nintendo Revolution. But like I said before, all that power does not mean nothing if you don't have some software to back it up. I need more then a few good online FPS's to get me to buy a console and right now that it about all the Xbox is good for. If it was not for PSO and Morrowind I would have sold my xbox long ago.

OC Noob
06-02-2005, 12:59 AM
Ok, first off I called it an Xbox 1.5 as that is what one of the heads at Sony called it, it was kinda of a joke. As for all the tech talk, I don't care about that stuff. You can have the most powerful console ever and it does not mean anything if you don't have the software to back it up. Right now the Xbox 360 can't even play it's own games as at E3 they had the demo's running on 2 G5 Apple PC's. I have not visited my local Gamestop or EBGames in weeks and I have not been to school since I got my diploma back in the 90's, so all the info I have on the current consoles is from the net. I have been watching all the specs companies are throwing out and by the specs PS3 will be on top, then Xbox 360, and last the Nintendo Revolution. But like I said before, all that power does not mean nothing if you don't have some software to back it up. I need more then a few good online FPS's to get me to buy a console and right now that it about all the Xbox is good for. If it was not for PSO and Morrowind I would have sold my xbox long ago.


Thats the other tired sterotype people fall back on when slamming Xbox or 360.

Xbox has 560+ games and tons of great non-FPS titles. In fact, this year Xbox had as many 9/10+ games as the PS2 did +/- 1 or 2. AND that was at Gamespot no less.

I've listed pleanty of non-FPSers for the 360 like the oriental style RPGs and Square-enix support.

Those arguments have about as much merit as someones opinion on electronics hardware... that claims to know nothing about it.

Go back to console school, get an uducation and then post something that can be backed up or atleast state that its your opinion.

I can't argue that in your opinion that PS3 is better than Xbox 360, but I can argue tired, old stereo types about software and technical information. No hard feelings, but I've seen this kind of bad information all over the net and as stated its getting old.

thAshAdyOne
06-02-2005, 03:34 PM
man...forget the haters...Microsoft will have happy customers because they'll get what they were promised...the Sony fans wil be disappointed that the ps3 will not do their homework or whatever they're promised...**** Sony, I'll let my mom buy that crap

scozzard
06-02-2005, 09:41 PM
Yeah, the Xbox 360...I mean Xbox 1.5 will sell great. [/sarcasm]

Am I a Sony fanboy....NO, I am a Nintendo fanboy....NO, do I own and Xbox....YES (Halo LE Xbox). I see no point in the Xbox 360 at this time as the Xbox just started to get some good games on it. I also think this whole, gotta first out of the gate is going to blow up in their face. I think the PS3 will be a big POS for awhile since it is using a brand new chip setup as well as blu-ray. The only next gen I'm even thinking about buying at this point is the revolution as I like the size of the console and the fact that I can play classic games on it.

A new survey published by Famitsu has found out what next-generation console Japanese gamers are most interested in, and why they like the next-generation consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony.

The survey found that 42.2% of Japanese gamers are most interested in the Nintendo Revoluton, with the PlayStation 3 coming in close behind with 39.8% of Japanese gamers being most interested in Sony's next-generation console. Only 18.0% of Japanese gamers said they were most interested in Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Japanese gamers said that they look forward to Revolution because of its compact, innovative design, Japanese gamers look forward to the Xbox 360 for its developer support, and technology. Japanese gamers also look forward the PlayStation 3 for its technology, including its Cell processor and use of Blu-ray. Japanese gamers also like the backwards compatibility of all three next-generation consoles.


Considering Japan is the home of both Sony and Nintendo of course they're going to be ahead in the "japanese gamer" statistics. I imagine statistics for other countries might not be so simliar.

topo
06-02-2005, 11:19 PM
(not sure if this has been mentioned somewhere else, if so, sorry)

Xbox 360 is a sure shot, cause the PS3 controller looks like a banana! Who could play games seriously while holding a banana?

http://home.btconnect.com/hgi/ps3/e3-ps3-pad.jpg

vman
06-03-2005, 12:30 AM
(not sure if this has been mentioned somewhere else, if so, sorry)

Xbox 360 is a sure shot, cause the PS3 controller looks like a banana! Who could play games seriously while holding a banana?

http://home.btconnect.com/hgi/ps3/e3-ps3-pad.jpg
they designed it so that women can pleasure themselves. its perfect and it vibrates AND it can do 2 at a time!