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Quantity has a quality all of its own: Why the Xbox 360 has won this

The Xbox 360 is the winner of the current console war. A bit of a premature statement considering as how the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii have only been on the market long enough to have their first technical teething problems? I think not, and here's why:

The Xbox 360 has won the current generational console war because it was first to market and is the most mature system out there. There are over 7.5 million Xbox 360's in the wild as we speak, the console has overcome its teething problems (does anyone even really remember the overheating problems anymore?) and, most critically of all, it's the only one you can actually walk into any given shop and be practically assured of securing. 

So what, says you, Sony and Nintendo just need time, right? Well, not if we qualify what a "win" in the next-gen console war actually is. First of all, Microsoft is probably not winning over that many PlayStation fanboys. That would be a coup, not a win. Fanboys are fanatics by any other name and their share of the market isn't worth attempting to go after at this point.

Secondly, the Nintendo Wii doesn't count against Microsoft. Every hardcore gamer I know who will be buying a Wii either already has an Xbox 360 or is planning on getting a PS3. These people can mostly be counted twice among the market share figures. The mom and pop and grandma and grandpa new audiences Nintendo is developing don't matter to Microsoft as they market Gears of War, any everyone else is buying the Wii after/before another console.

So, if you discount the fanboys and the old folk what you are left with is the market of "new" console gamers. Tired PC gamers, rich PC gamers, budding hardcore gamers... New blood, new money, new market. These are the undecided who help my dear colleague Rob Wright further his notions of parallels between the console wars and US politics; the swing voters are the ones who you have to watch.

Why, pray tell, will these budding hardcore console fanatics buy the Xbox 360? Well, for the reasons above: It's a mature platform which is easily available. Even Rob Enderle agrees with me on this one (I might as well retire now); if a kid wanted a PS3 for Christmas but the parent can't get one, that kid will get an Xbox 360 and like it. Or, a swing gamer will say "To heck with standing in line for nine days, I'll just get an Xbox 360." Once a swing gamer picks up an Xbox 360 they will have doubled their price in marketing money alone for Sony to win back when the PS4 rolls around.

After all, what real difference is there in the systems to complain about unless you're a fanboy? In the world of Xbox vs PlayStation 90% of games, if not more, are multi-platform releases, and for every great exclusive PS3 game there will (you better bet) a great Xbox 360 exclusive to counter. The Xbox 360 is available and it works, for less money than the PS3 to boot. Among the hardcore swing voters it is the platform to beat.

This will have wider ramifications into the realm of HD-DVD vs Blu-ray and beyond, but for now Microsoft can sit with the happy crown atop its head of being the market leader, the one to beat, in this current console war. Sure the PS3 will mature during 2007, but who cares? It'll still cost a hoot and Microsoft will still have more units in the wild than Sony can possibly supply until well into the future, if even ever perhaps.

The most impressive thing about this is the further context you put it into: Even if Microsoft gave Sony a run for its money and Sony came out on top of the heap, it would be an impressive feat. Despite having named its console the "360" so as not to look second rate to the numerically correct PS3, Microsoft is only on its second console, ever; the first having been released (in reverse to this time around) a year after Sony's second had hit the market.

I told everyone who would listen that beating the crap out of one another to get one of the limited supply of Xbox 360's last Christmas was a fool merely seeding the market for Microsoft to dominate the market over a year later into 2007. Well, not many listened then and Microsoft is the market leader today for a lot of guts, good medium to long-term strategising and good fortune in the guise of their biggest competitors worst year of blunders.

Comments (32)

Ram:

Sorry but thats not a win.
Even by your words MS will nover get sony fanboys and thier are alot of them.
Add in th fact the PS2 is till selling and those people buying PS2 and PS2 games
will wait for the PS3.

Sorry but in 3 years Sony will ahve caught and passed MS. And for the record i
own a 360 and will not be buying a PS3 or Wii ever.

Now if MS gets get 70% the total sells of the PS3 they will consider it a win.
I believe they will do this. But by the same piont if the Wii gets even 40% of
teh sells they will see it as win too. And believe they will too.

End the sony will have lost a decent share of the market, but still come out the
winner. But the 360 and Wii will have gain thats share and both will be happy
cutting to Sony pie.

I guess they are all winners. At least in their own little worlds.

Nope:

Read over your article before you post it. There are a plethora of spelling
mistakes that make your whole argument seem arbitrary. How do you expect people
to take you seriously when you can't even present the most rudimentary level of
spelling?

A man in the know:

Everyone knows that once a console is released, its specs are set in stone. But
MS will shock the gaming world when they announce that the 360 will be soft-
upgraded to directx 10.

Any 360 game that needs DX10 can have it installed from the game disc. ATI's
graphics subsystem is even DX10 friendly...

The Man in the Know above me should learn that DX10 lies not only within
Software, but hardware. If the hardware ain't DX10 capable... Do I need say
more?

In the industry:

Do you realize the Dreamcast launched first? Or the Sega Saturn? You base your
predictions completely against the grains of the history of this industry.

Then you have the audacity to claim Nintendo doesn't count this gen. By your
own logic that because people will buy one anyway, then it's the other two that
don't count and Nintendo has already won.

Another point you made that is refutable is that you claim PC gamers will go for
the Xbox360. Why would PC gamers buy an inferior product? A grand majority of
X360 games will be released on PC as well and will cost less (typically $39.99
vs $59.99). From my own experience, most PC gamers have shown more interest in
Wii because it offers something their PC can't. And THAT is what sets it apart
from the pack and ensures it's success this generation while X360 and PS3 fight
over the incredibly niche market they've been fighting over the past several
years.

Siko:

Excellent article.

Having given it some thought over the last couple of days, I arrived at the same
conclusion.

In addition, I can't help feeling that the double-whammy of Wii and 360 is gonna
make it even harder for Sony to meet their own arrogant targets.

While skint right now, and still happy with my GameCube, XBox and PS2, I will be
getting a Wii as soon as possible, followed by a 360.

And yeah, the end point about Sony shooting themselves in thir collective feet
(a welcome return for the chain-gun...) is both funny and accurate.

How (quickly) times change...

Paul:

Just because Sony has sold 100+ million PS2's, doesn't mean all of those people
are Sony faboys, a lot of people who buy video games will buy whatever is in the
store for there kids, and what they can afford... many are latecomers and aren't
tech saavy. They probably don't know what a Blu-Ray is, or why they have to pay
$600 for it. They'll just see a year and a half from now that the 360 is $300
for the Premium, and the PS3 has dropped to $529.99.... and they can pick up a
360 core for $200... So, the lesser fortunates, who are JUST buying a PS2,
because it's now affordable to them, aren't going to wait for a PS3, they're
gonna get a 360, when it's $150... when the PS3 still costs $400+

Tudor:

RomanzoR: MS is going to release DX10 API for the X360, and yes, the hardware is
capable of DX10 already, thanks to ATI-s unified shader architecture ;)

Ian:

The Xbox 360 still has heat issues; it's just that no one is complaining about
it now - they know how to get it fixed (e.g., pelican's add-on cooling devivce)
or send it to MS for repair.

I have two PS3s and I believe it's way better in terms of gaming performance,
all-in-one solution (no external junk - e.g., HD-DVD/HDD), and it incorporates
well into a home theatre.

Sony probably won't meet their target of so many consoles; but the fact that it
was sold out in what a few hours, that shows gamers (sony fans, and the like),
are interested in this machine, and it won't die out.

My nephew asked me for a PS3 for xmas -- I asked him if he could get by with the
360; his answer was, and I kid you not >> "Hell No!"

One by one,

Ram, Sony has gone from the de facto market leader to a beatable beast. Who
would have thought you could have drawn blood from Sony like this only two years
ago? That's a victory.

Nope, I spell with Her Majesties English, hence any spelling mistakes you may
pick up are not, in fact, mistakes. I ran the article through Word to check, it
seems to agree with me.

In the industry, I am aware of the Dreamcast, Sega Saturn and all which have
come before. As I recall they no longer matter... There is no Dreamcast 2, 360 or
180 threatening to storm the world. They are irrelevant. Nintendo DOES count,
it's just that in the battle for market share you traditionally either bought
one console or another. The Wii is the third option to go with one or the other,
in the eyes of hardcore gamers.

As for PC gamers, I said that those buying into the console race - by far not
all - could well go for the Xbox 360 this Christmas simply because if you're
entering into the market who is going to pay $2000 for a PS3 on eBay?

Ian, many complaints about the PS3 are surrounding its sheer functionality - or
lack thereof. These can be patched, but there's an entire ironic argument there
that I'm sure PC gamers could make...

Stephen Long:

I agree with this article whole heartedly.

I have played the PS3 first hand and it is no better than the Xbox360. Couple
this with the fact that Sony (in general) sucks, the PS3 costs $200 more, and I
may well consider buying an Xbox360 this Christmas. Mind you, this will my
first console since the Colecovision.

Mr Xiao:

I remember when the 360 came out there were comparisons with the original Xbox
and I found it hard to tell the graphics apart in many cases. When a console is
released, developers are like infants, they need to learn and adapt to the
hardware and given time they will release a game that uses the console to its
full advantage. I think it is too quick to judge a winner of the next gen market
especially since the PS3 and Wii havent been released in the UK. Statements such
as "Xbox 360 has won the current generational console war because it was first
to market and is the most mature system out there" sound quite childish. Of
course it is going to be winning!!!

I do however think that Sony's latest venture with the playstation 3 is risky,
but only due to blu ray dvd. They have failed in the past with new formats so
this will be nothing new. This could also work to their advantage if people are
ready for the HD era. I myself am not; HD televisions cost a small fortune (for
me and many others like me). The PS3 does have one distinct advantage over all
the other next gen consoles; it comes with a HDD as standard. This may make it
easier for developers to create more visually fantastic games that dont take an
age to load, but that will remain to be seen. It may just end up being used for
things you download from the sony shop...

For now MS is "in the lead" in this Next Gen battle, but I think it will be
short lived. I like the 360, it has some brilliant games, great graphics and a
brilliant UI for it's internet services. I think it will all be quite even, and
I even think the Wii will be the more popular choice for the next 12 months. My
ramble is over...

I must say this is one of the most enjoyable threads I've read recently. Great
debate from both sides. Great topic to have a great debate!

I venture to add that this "Console War" has been far more interesting that all
past, though they, of course, had their moments.

The original Xbox was a suprise announcement years ago. But did anyone really
doubt that it would succeed, at least marginally? (I mean, this is Microsoft
were talking about - they never 'loose', maybe take one step back, but always
two more forward, eventually).

Sony was the clear winner with the PS2 vs. XBox, in terms of sales and fan base.
But then, Microsoft never truly intended to kill Sony then. They just wanted
one foot wedged in, establish themselves comfortably, and prepare to compete on
a level playing field (which to MS means they can now use every trick in the
book, the one they helped co-author, to beat the heck out'a Sony).

All said, Microsoft really should not have been able to unseat Sony. As
technologically great as the Xbox360 is, Sony has the marketing might to drive
home they're revolutionary Cell processor, embedded High Definition DVD player
(DVD player alone was a huge selling point for the original PS2), and
respectable backwards compatibility (remember the millions of previous
sentimental owners of zounds of PS1 titles, and how happy they were?)

It should have been a reasonable show, this battle between two colossal
corporate giants, but one inevitably ending in a market snatching stalemate.
Consumers would benefit the most (value choice, quality choice, old and new
options - fun, fun, fun), and with a celebrating, ingenious Nintendo having
gained some small, yet respectable market share, or at least revenue, with their
novel Wii, joked and jeered at mere months ago.

Really, for Microsoft to seriously upset Sony, Sony would need to be inflicted
by some sequential cataclysm: a torrent of delays, massive unit production
problems, committed to an apparently loosing HD format for its multi-media disc
player, and have a comparatively, substantially overpriced nex-gen system.

I mean, only Sony could loose this one for Sony.

Synergy6:

"Nope, I spell with Her Majesties English, hence any spelling mistakes you may
pick up are not, in fact, mistakes. I ran the article through Word to check, it
seems to agree with me."

Pity the grammar is so bad. (Hot tip: It's "Majesty's English")

Very similar mistake in the concluding sentence of the actual article. Nice work.

"hence any spelling mistakes you may pick up are not, in fact, mistakes." No,
they're actually just mistakes. Sorry.

Echokin:

Your arguments are good, I pretty much agree with you. Time will tell whether
being first to market is the huge advantage this columnist thinks it will be.

One thing though. It's LOSE not LOOSE. You're pants can be loose, but you can
only lose a race. It's the 13th most commonly misspelt search term so you're not
alone.

s:

sega lost because it system (dreamcast) was left wide open to pirates. Back in
hs when it first came out, copied games flew all over the place. Sure the
hardware sold well, but no need to buy any software its free over the internet.

eRIC:

X360 has a good combination of great system integration and powerful hardware.
But face the fact that it lacks variety of game lineup. It has fallen into the
same issue that Xbos has been having. Go to Bestbuy, CircuitCity or Gamestop and
see what kind of games XBOX or XBOX360 has? Basically NFL, NBA, violent
shooters, Tony Hawk, Tiger Woods and Halo... These games look cool, plays great
but they pretty release a new version every year over and over again. PS2 or PS3
and GC/Wii have and will have these games but they have much more varieties.
XBOX and XBOX360 are just like GM. They are every where in this country but just
cannot get out of this continent...

sumpm1 :

I can tell you why you are wrong. First of all, I am not a fanboy of any sort. I
don't have $400 to shell out on ANY console lol!

You say for every exclusive PS# game there will be an exclusive 360 game. But
that is not apples to apples. An exclusive release for one system does not mean
it is as valuable as another. Take Mario for example. There are so many people
that have subscribed to this series over the years... IT is mature. So these
people don't give a damn about a NEW exclusive release series, such as Halo or
Gears of War (which I want bad). Not that these games won't bring in the dough
for 360; it seems that at the selling rate of GOW, ever 360 owner shall have one
soon! But MORE people are familiar with Mario. So MORE people will buy a Wii for
an exclusive Mario release.

I know you are saying that Wii is not in direct competition with 360 (which I'm
not sure I'm convinced of, but I'll agree for sake of this argument), but the
PS3 is. And Sony has a BIGGER fanbase of not only the PSONE and PS2 (WAY
BIGGER!) than Microsoft does. So how many people are dying to buy a 360 for the
next release of Gotham Racing? About 1/100th the amount of people that are
waiting for the next Gran Turismo. As well as Tekken and other Sony exclusives.
I'm afraid that even with the bad rap that Sony has recieved lately, they would
have a hard time losing a console war, they know what they are doing.

I'm not sure that the Microsoft console gaming division has even turned a profit
yet.

Thanks Echokin. 'Lose' - 13th most commonly misspelled search, eh?

Well, lets all just hope "Vista" blooms with some nifty blogging feature,
undoubtedly ripped off some 8th grade genius, that automatically identifies and
corrects these mystical, say, top 100 misspelled search terms.

But I'd recommend digging real deep for that hope ;)

DigitalKid:

I have to admit I like some of the stuff PS3 added, such as USB recharge for the
controller, wi-fi (though expensive), Non-proprietary memory (only on the
expensive sku) but it wasn't enough.

Lets face a few facts, technically both PS3 and 360 released a year ago. How so?
Well PS3 was suppose to be released the same time as 360 but Blu-ray held it's
release back by a year. This means PS3 actually had a year to get it all right
and didn't! It had a year to one or more up on 360 and it took the lazy way out.
Look at the UI, great on the PSP but ehh, on something costing as much as the
PS3 does. Online sucks but free, Blu-Ray playback issues on older TVs and the
list goes on. Don't think a sell-out constitutes a good release considering the
word is, there were less than 200K units made available and half of those went
to Ebay and other places.

Let us compare then and now. PS2 with DVD was great however, what was it going
up against? VHS! Blu-ray and/or HD-DVD vs DVD not the same. You didn't need to
put a down payment on a house to enjoy the benefits like you do for anything HD
today. You didn't need a $3,000 TV to understand that you no longer need to "be
kind rewind" or that you can skip to your scenes or you got a better package ,
if you like to watch the extras. Hell most consumers can't tell the difference
and from what I've read, the average person can't tell 1080i from 1080p unless
you have a huge TV Set.

MS could've done better with 360 by making it a little bit more user upgradeable
ie, any usb wifi, user replaceable HDD (The current housing doesn't allow for
this), and a Non-proprietary memory slot (this could've been any single flash
memory type I can walk into any store to buy, compact flash, SD Card, hell a
thumb drive!), a better recharge option for wireless controllers built-in, and a
few more USB ports.

About the add-on love hate thing. I can understand not wanting them but,
considering the cost vs actual use I rather have an add-on. I don't own any HD
TVs not for another 4 or 5 yrs maybe so how would I benefit from having a blu-
ray drive that I can't technically use or is nothing more than a super expensive
DVD player? However, if I bought a HD set and then wanted to get HD movies I
have the option of getting a cheap add-on. The key being "I Have The Option" and
if I actually want it or not. As it stands, whether I want it or not I'm
required to have it where as with the 360 I'm not and I still get HD games.

What if Blu-ray fails, as it seems to be doing, then what did I really gain from
spending that money? Also note that older HD Sets are having problems with the
PS3 and its Blu-ray playback. The importance of this is that most people are
more likely to buy one, thinking they're getting a deal on a used one, and when
that happened again the benefit is lost as it stands right now if $ony can't fix
that problem.

I can't for the life of me understand why people think Blu-ray will win anything
other than maybe, at best, storage adoption! Here's why I say that. Currently
every BD player on the market retails for $1,000. Why would any electronics
maker want to get on the same train as the competition, aka PS3 that's up to 50%
less than a standalone player? Doesn't make much business sense, especially when
the same company has only now JUST released their stand alone version of the
player under their brand. Also, for blu-ray to compete with HD-DVD, in picture
quality, they need to go to 50GB disk which is sad; a 15GB disk has consistently
shown it's not the size that counts!

The good news is that $ony will eventually get the system ship shape together
enough to call it a PS3 and released. They had an extra year to not only get the
hardware right but the software too and still it's lack luster a best.

360 has won and it won't be fighting with the same problems that $ony will be 6
months from now. Yes the 360 has some problems early on, but they will be small
compared to what $ony seems to have to face.

Mark my words with the cost of development being so high you will see games
going way above the $60 price they are now for PS3, especially for top titles,
though I think they're high for both the 360 and PS3, they will skyrocket for
PS3 and you will see alot of the exclusive titles being exclusive to 360 or go
multi-platform to off-set costs. Also by March I would not be surprised to see a
price reduction on the 360 seeing that it's ACTUALLY profitable for MS, who
would've thunk it!?

Once the price comes down for both systems I'll get one. I spoiled myself by
playing Gear of War, OMG! I want a 360 for that alone right now!

Jim:

One thing that hasn't been taken into consideration yet is that in the
inevitable price war to come, and Sony is at a huge disadvantage. The estimated
production cost for an X-BOX 360 core system is approximately $230; while a base
PS3 system costs approximately $800 to produce. MS could essentially give
Xbox's away for free and still lose less money than Sony does selling PS3's for
$500. Couple this with the fact that MS is the richest company in the world
with over $40 billion in cash at hand, while Sony is struggling manufacturer who
has consistently lost markets to competitors over the last 10 years (anybody
purchased a walkman mp3 player?) and I would say its pretty much game over for
Sony at this point. Most analyst project that Sony's Play Station division will
lose $2.3 billion over the next 2 years trying to pay for the huge development
expense of the PS3. Sony has dug itself into a hole it will have a hard time
climbing out of, while MS is in a great position to cut prices, create gaming
bundles, add new features, and make improvements to its existing system.

Fred:

While it may not be a "win" for MS, they do have one thing in their favour - the
360 is out in numbers. A software developer isn't going to write for PS3 just
because it's better. He's going to concentrate his efforts where the biggest
potential returns are - and that's the 360. Also, the new architecture of the
PS3, while it may be powerful, will be more of a challenge to coders as they'll
have to basically have to code everything twice if they want to cover both
platforms.

At the end of the day, I think the 360 will probably hold its own, simply
because it appeared first.

I just wonder how many of the plonkers who paid over the odds on Ebay got a
system that was actually stable. There's a lot to be said for waiting until all
the bugs have been ironed out.

Eric:

Altrough the PS3 is clearly the loser for this christmas season, I think it
could stage a comeback next year! YDL has just released linux for the PS3,
apparently they have a deal with sony allowing them to sell this. The
interesting point is that it's a "customer" release, not an SDK. Maybe they have
learned from the mistake of trying to keep the PSP too closed and will eventualy
allow the PS3 to be really an open "multimedia computer" and not just a game
console. If this is the case and the price drops the PS3 may become interesting.
At it's current price point and availlability it is not.

Of the majority of PS3 users, who really cares about Linux? If I wanted a Linux
box I could probably pay closer to half of what the PS3 costs to run it decently.
I think Linux on the PS3 is something that geeks will fret about for the sake of
doing something cool, but it won't sell units. If anything, it's just another
point as to why the new consoles are more and more like computers; Patches, the
ability to install a new OS....

Dani:

I always had a strong feeling that PS3 is about more than just console gaming.
If you think about it, Sony knew they were going to have trouble with blue-ray
since a year ago. They could have just dropped the thing and go for a HD-DVD,
and if they did that, they would have came out with the PS3 a while ago and in
numbers and it would have cost less. That would have made sense from the console
business point of view. Yet Sony didn't because they wanned to push the Blue-Ray
to the market using the established fan base of the PS1/2. This may have been a
mistake, because Blu-Ray could fail nonetheless.
Still, more importantly, there is the Cell processor. Besides the tremendous raw
processing power that it has (but which has to be harnessed and it's going to
take a while for developers to do that), it also was designed to share
processing loads with other Cell processors in the household (TV, DVD Player,
Computer maybe) and across a network and Internet (which by the time this
feature of the Cell processor will begin to be used on a largescale will be High
Speed everywhere). This is something like SETI@Home or Folding@Home, with the
difference being that the processor itself is designed for this= Monstruos
processing power potential.
I think (or maybe hope?), that Sony is willing to bet on a risky strategy in
order to force the acceptance of hardware that can do unbelievable things and
all this out of vision for the future of us all. Of course, they could just want
to rule the world. Anyway, if the PS3 will be a success (or even if not), more
consumer products integrating the Cell processor will appear and before we know
it we'll be on track for the realization of the Planetary Supercomputer :P.
See, it's all about the games.

Who said the PS3 integrates with home theatre better? I'm at home watching HD
OTA tv though my 360 with media center..do that on the PS3

Then I'll play a game while streaming my winamp mp3 playlists, no matter what
game I'm playing..do that on the PS3

Then I'll pull up my Xbox live friends list and see what everyone is playing,
put on my headsets. Then I'll fire up a provate chat to see how it's going and
join someone in a game....do that on a PS3

And the 1080i looks great on my TV, which only does 1080i, you know like 90% of
the tv's out there and every game upsamples to 1080i.....do that on the PS3.

and last, GEARS OF WAR!!!!


But look at the bright side, if you bought a PS3 at least you paid alot more
money! :)

Synergy6:

Am I allowed to say that I value Gears of War as a graphical masterpiece, but
aren't too awed by the actual gameplay? I know such sentiments are blasphemy in
some parts, much like any supposedly "great" game. I mean, don't get me wrong,
it's a good game. But pay $$$ for a console and a decent HDTV, just for such a
short experience? Not for me anyway.

OK, so i think there is a different perspective on this.

1st, the Wii is not in the same class as the x360 or the ps3, it does not look
good on an HD tv and its strength is in the controller. When either Sony or
Microsoft figure out a way to attach to that market place, people will by games
for the better looking system. Microsoft and Sony will attack the Wii with
their web cam interfaces. Microsoft has invested millions of dollars in visual
motion detection, and Sony has done the same. The Wii has a shelf life of a
year or two before the novality of the console is attacked by both Sony and
Microsoft. Nintendo is not aggressive enough to compete directly with either
Sony or Microsoft.

2nd, Microsoft has already lost Japan with the x360, Japanese consumers are
waiting for PS3s period. My guess is that Microsoft will sell less than 3
million consoles in Japan, and Sony will sell more than 20 million in Japan
alone, which is enough for critical mass.

It seems to me that Sony has lost the American marketplace and Microsoft will
not be able to win the Japanese marketplace this time around.

3rd, Microsoft wins because they talk to developers and give the developers what
they want. Gears of War cost Microsoft an additional 1 billion dollars to up
the ram while Sony was taking out an 8 billion dollar loan to pay for PS3
production on consoles that developers did not understand.

My expectation at this point is that HDDVD and Blueray will flop. Streaming
media will take hard media's place as Tivo, Netflix, Microsoft, Timewarner,
DirectTV, Comcast, Google, Verizon, etc.. all have a vested interest in their
networks.

The x360 will hit 20 million units by jan 08 which is the critical number to win
a console war. The Wii, even selling out can not hit that until jan'09, and
neither can the PS3. X360 will have close to 300 games by jan 08, another
critical difference, the Wii may have close to 150 smaller cheaper games, but
the PS3 will be really lagging until 2009. By 2009 the PS3 will look fresh, and
may have open office and a few other computer features that will enable some
people to skip the 500$ pc and monitor and go for a PS3 and HD display for the
same price. If Sony upgrades the PS3 in 2009, it might pull from PC gamers and
casual gamers, etc... It depends on what linux does on the PS3.

So, in the end, all 3 consoles will win at something, but they all have
different markets. MS is attacking the living room, Nintendo is inviting the
family to play, and Sony is really going after bringing the desktop and the
computer together.

All the while, MS and Nintendo will have made a profit, and SONY will be
billions in the red. Even if SONY wins, they loose.

Max2040:

I concur with the author's opinion that the X360 is going to win the war. After
this holiday season, the X360 will have the largest installed system base. Yes,
of course this is because it came out a year earlier, and Sony and Nintendo
might possibly catch up given sufficient time. Time can greatly work against a
system, however.

System developers will develop games for systems where they have the greatest
potential sales. What company will develop for the PS3 when it has limited
availability and a high pricing point, as well as high licensing costs? As the
author, as well as numerous commentators have pointed out, most games will be
cross-platform in order to extend the user base. The exclusive games work well
as selling points for a console, and a company looking to program for a console
will go where the revenues are. The holiday season is the best time to sell
systems as well as associated hard/software. With the scarcity of units, the
shoppers just looking to get a new system will end up going to Microsoft's court.

The fanboy argument does not hold water either. Microsoft knows that they won't
win over all of the Sony fanboys over little things like availability and
ridiculous system pricing. If The Big M really wanted to take Sony's fan base,
they would start cutting deals with Konami and Square/Enix to undercut the
software that will really set the PS3 apart from its brethren. So long as Sony
maintains deals with these two companies, they will retain their loyal fans
until their gaming division sinks from its own financial debt.

Backwards compatibility in the context of this fight is irrelevant for several
reasons. First, all three systems are backwards compatible with their
predecessors. Second, anyone who wants to play the previous generation games
enough to influence their buying decisions already has a previous generation
console. A buyer won't fork out the extra money for a new console that might
possibly even have problems with their old games when there is a perfectly good
system at home that can do the job.

TONI:

BUSINESS PROPOSAL LETTER.
We have all brands of Mobile Phones,Ipods,Sidekicks,Nextels phone,Laptops for
sell at cheap and
affordable prices, they ranges from Nokia/Samsung/LG/Sony
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Brands and Models of Nextel Phones, we want you to get back
to us with your quote so that we can begin a good business
relationship. Note they are all Brand New T2 Euro specs,
unlocked, no operator logo, come in their
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from the manufacturer, English & Spanish manual, Finland
made.
We want to assure you that you will never regret buying
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FedEx Courier service.And the Tracking number shall be sent
to you upon acknowledgement of your payment.
Kindly acknowledge the reciept of our mail and get back to
us at
Contact:ROBEAT TONI
EMAIL: MOBS_MOBILESTORES@HOTMAIL.COM
EMAIL: MOBS_MOBILESTORES@YAHOO.COM
EMAIL: MOBMOBILESTORES@GMAIL.COM

Nokia N95.............$300USD
Nokia N93.............$230USD
Nokia N92.............$200USD
Nokia N91.............$170USD
Nokia N90.............$150USD
Nokia N80.............$140USD
Nokia 8800.......... .$160USD
Nokia 8800 sirocco edition $200
Nokia N70.............$120USD
Nokia 6680............. 180usd
Nokia 880o........... 160usd
Nokia 6680............110usd
Nokia 6681............180usd
Nokia n70............. 180usd

Playstation 2........................$140USD
Playstation 3........................$180USD
XBOX 360 AT JUST......................$150USD
XBOX CONSOLE AT JUST.................$170USD
XBOX PREMIUM AT JUST..................$180USD
GARMIN 396.............................$150
Game boy latext edition.................$110

Sony Ericsson P980i..................$230USD
Sony Ericsson P990...................$250USD
Sony Ericsson S600i..................$155USD
Sony Ericsson T616...................$160USD
Sony Ericsson K600i..................$140USD
Sony Ericsson V800i..................$165USD
Sony Ericsson Z520i..................$140USD
Sony Ericsson P800...................$160USD
Sony Ericsson Z530i..................$180USD
Sony Ericsson P910i..................$150USD

Motorola E36...........................$120USD
Motorola E398..........................$140USD
Motorola RAZR V3.......................$100USD
Motorola V3x...........................$130USD
Motorola V3i D&G.......................$150USD
Motorola V3i...........................$180USD
Motorola A600..........................$130USD
Motorola A630..........................$120USD
Motorola A760..........................$130USD
Motorola A780..........................$140USD
Motorola A840..........................$162USD

Samsung D600.........................$180USD
Samsung D500.........................$160USD
Samsung E600.........................$150USD
Samsung E800.........................$160USD
Samsung P510.........................$120USD
Samsung i830.........................$230USD
Samsung MM1940.......................$200USD
Samsung T200.........................$115USD
Samsung T500.........................$135USD
Samsung V200.........................$120USD

Treo 700w............................$220USD
Treo 650.............................$170USD
Treo 700p............................$230USD
PalmOne Zire 72================== $100
PalmOne Tungsten E ============== $70
PalmOne Tungsten C ============== $120
PalmOne Zire 31 ================= $50
palm Treo 650=====================$180

Nextel 6510TM........................ US$110
Nextel i730........................... US$85
Nextel i733........................... US$95
Nextel i736............................US$100
Nextel i830........................... US$110
Nextel i860...........................US$120
Nextel i930............................ US$130

I-MATE K-JAM.....................$270USD
i-MATE JASJAR....................$200USD
ETEN G500.........................$200USD
Eten M500.........................$180USD
ETEN M600.........................$200USD

Apple Ipod video 30GB.......................$130USD
Apple Ipod video 60GB.......................$190USD
Apple Ipod Nano 4GB.........................$90USD
Apple Ipod Nano 2GB.........................$75USD

Original Extended Carbox Package 1989-1998...............$100 usd
Original Extended Carbox Sidekick/Tracker 2 &............$100 usd
T-Mobile Sidekick 2 Danger Cell Phone....................$100 usd
SIDEKICK 3 for .......................... $120 usd
AND MANY MORE OF CHOICES.................................

Note : If you are interested in purchasing any particular item from us, kindly
send to us an email with your enquiries to the company email address below :

EMAIL: MOBS_MOBILESTORES@HOTMAIL.COM
EMAIL: MOBS_MOBILESTORES@YAHOO.COM
EMAIL: MOBMOBILESTORES@GMAIL.COM
Contact Name :ROBEAT TONI
Thanks & God Bless.

Joe Hensley:

Yo,
The xbox 360 just may be the best system to date for several reasons. I currently own one and have xbox live and it seems as though they constantly update it and optimize it with more and more thing that just make you say "wow, I didn't know a game system could do that". As for all of you hardcore sony fans, sure, you may have an online service, but it isn't nearly as advanced as xbox live. I can say without doubt, that of course the ps3 online will advance at a rapid pace, but xbox has had several years of experience with this online gaming, and will more than likely always be one step ahead of Sony, not to say that Sony dosen't have some special ideas. Now, both systems offer a variety of capabilities, but if you're like me, I want a gaming system that has good graphics. As you may know, Sony has lost several of its exclusive titles, and they have become multi-platform titles such as Devil May Cry 4, just to name one. Also, developers have admitted that due to the fact that the ps3 is using blu-ray discs, it's harder for them to make games since they do not have experience with it. The xbox 360 on the other hand has chosen to use HD-DVD's which are relatively similar to regular DVD's which makes the process of creating games easier, which in turn means that many multi-platform games will end up looking better on the xbox 360. Although developers will eventually figure out how to work a blu-ray disc, by then it will be too late and Microsoft will have a big lead in the gaming community. Another aspect is the fact that Sony uses a cell processor, while Microsoft uses a 3 core processor. Even though the cell processor may have more processing power, essentially the only thing that it is good for is putting more useless stuff on the screen at once without "lag". To be honest, I myself do not really care about how much stuff can be on the screen at once, I just want a good game with good graphics, and if the need be there to have a large amount of objects on screen at once, I would gladly take the "lag" that comes with it. Over all, both companies have produced excellent systems and have worked very hard, but I personally believe that the xbox 360 has the best system.

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