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[1inthechamber]

Price will be cut after a month or two of disappointing sales.

 

[Papacheeks]

Price will be cut after a month or two of disappointing sales.

Doubt it.

 

[thuway]

Price will be cut after a month or two of disappointing sales.

Unless Sony manages to widen the gap beyond November 2014, I doubt they'll bother.

 

[Americanmushroom]

February 15th marketing starts for official price drop 349 is my bet

 

[SyenceLabb]

Nah just looking at it as a competitive market wherein each competing company seeks to out perform their closest competitors. It's pretty standard fare for a limited market like console gaming or any number of other consumer facing products. You're goal is to make as much money as possible. Which means each sale to a direct competitor is a lost sale for you and therefore lost profit.

Fair enough. Here are three possibilities why Microsoft stuck with the price raise.

1) Microsoft has built a reputation of "backtracking" and I believe deciding to stick with this price last minute would fall into that category. It would feed the "desperate" and "everything but the kitchen sink" narrative. I personally wouldn't use the word desperate, but I see this word to describe what Microsoft is doing a lot in various game forums.

2) They were probably able to get "on the fence" shoppers who were leaning towards the Xbox but were trying to wait it out because of various reasons. By providing a hard end-of-sale date and leaving a question mark for when Microsoft would provide similar deals again, I would say some of those consumers ended up pulling the trigger on one because of this

3) Finally, this will now allow Microsoft to double dip at this price point by potentially announcing a permanent price cut at a big event like E3 that could generate another sales spike.

Simply keeping this price would probably be best short term (the next few months), but I could argue the latter 2 points above could potentially allow them to have a more successful 2015.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

February 15th marketing starts for official price drop 349 is my bet

They're not a gas station dude the price isn't gonna jump around every month. I'd say E3 at the earliest possible super slim chance.

 

[Papacheeks]

They're not a gas station dude the price isn't gonna jump around every month. I'd say E3 at the earliest possible super slim chance.

Yup! And I doubt we will see that refresh that's been talked about. Refresh for Xb360 didn't come till 2009-2010.

I think will see maybe better chips in the system like we saw with 360:Falcon, Jasper.

But to have a white xbox, Day one edition hurts putting a revision out late this year.

If they do a price cut it would have to be announced E3 or later going into fall season.

 

[RexNovis]

Fair enough. Here are three possibilities why Microsoft stuck with the price raise.

1) Microsoft has built a reputation of "backtracking" and I believe deciding to stick with this price last minute would fall into that category. It would feed the "desperate" and "everything but the kitchen sink" narrative. I personally wouldn't use the word desperate, but I see this word to describe what Microsoft is doing a lot in various game forums.

2) They were probably able to get "on the fence" shoppers who were leaning towards the Xbox but were trying to wait it out because of various reasons. By providing a hard end-of-sale date and leaving a question mark for when Microsoft would provide similar deals again, I would say some of those consumers ended up pulling the trigger on one because of this

3) Finally, this will now allow Microsoft to double dip at this price point by potentially announcing a permanent price cut at a big event like E3 that could generate another sales spike.

Simply keeping this price would probably be best short term (the next few months), but I could argue the latter 2 points above could potentially allow them to have a more successful 2015.

Indeed all of the above are reasonable but #3 is a possibility and it seems to me that while it may perpetuate some sort of negative narrative of "desperation" to maintain the discounted price point it is an absolute certainty that by returning to the original price point they are sacrificing sales. As a business its puzzling to make a decision wherein you are sacrificing sales in the short term for the possibility of a marketing blitz in the long term. Especially when you consider that the competition could easily diminish the return ou would see on said blitz by announcing a cut of their own.

As far as I can tell there are a few things we know with certainty:

1. Xbox sold record numbers at the subsidized price point and regained a good chunk of lost market share.
   
   
2. Prior to the holiday price point the console was outsold for 11 straight months.
   
   
3. Both prior statements indicate that there is a value gap between the consoles in the eyes of the consumer that the new price point sufficiently met.
   
   
4. Finally, given the accuracy of the previous statement, we can say with absolute certainty that raising the price again makes the value proposition unfavorable in the eyes of the consumer majority and will result in lost sales and a widening gap in marketshare as indicated in previous months.

So, knowing these things, it seems hard to make the decision to sacrifice what would seem to be a sure bet on the backs of what amounts to two assumptions (your 1 & 2) and a risky possibility (your 3). But, thanks to your explanation, I can at least see how they might arrive at that decision. However, it still seems, at best, counter to their interests at this point in time.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

Indeed all of the above are reasonable but #3 is a possibility and it seems to me that while it may perpetuate some sort of negative narrative of "desperation" to maintain the discounted price point it is an absolute certainty that by returning to the original price point they are sacrificing sales. As a business its puzzling to make a decision wherein you are sacrificing sales in the short term for the possibility of a marketing blitz in the long term. Especially when you consider that the competition could easily diminish the return ou would see on said blitz by announcing a cut of their own.

As far as I can tell there are a few things we know with certainty:

1. Xbox sold record numbers at the subsidized price point and regained a good chunk of lost market share
   
2. Prior to the holiday price point the console was outsold for 11 straight months
   
3. Both prior statements indicate that their is a value gap between the consoles in the eyes of the consumer that the new price point sufficiently met.
   
4. Finally given the accuracy of the previous statement we can say with absolute certainty that raising the price again makes the value proposition unfavorable in the eyes of the consumer majority and will result in lost sales and a widening gap in marketshare as indicated in previous months.

So, knowing these things it seems hard to make the decision to sacrifice what amounts to a sure bet on the backs of what amounts to two assumptions (your 1 & 2) and a risky possibility (your 3). But thanks to your explanation I can at least see how they might arrive at that decision it still seems at best counter to their interests at this point in time.

A simple explanation. They're losing money on those deals.

 

[wildfire]

A lot of you guys are weird. How any of you thought the average person would see a holiday sale as the baseline for a products price is confusing. It's like all you do is only talk to people on gaf and the occasional family member.

MS won't overtake Sony with this price back at $400 but that doesn't matter. All that matters is if the console sells so poorly they get out of the game console business. That could realistically happen but it's too early to call it.

 

[Ponchito]

Glad I got the console during the price drop.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

How any of you thought the average person would see a holiday sale as the baseline for a products price is confusing.

In the eyes of consumers, the baseline price was set over the holiday period. It may not have been permanent, but in the eyes of consumers there's no reason to pick one up at the current price, when there's a minimum price set and not as a Black Friday or one of promotion, as the base price for 2 months.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

A version without bluray, for downloadable games only? It would be a pretty bold move but not unprecedented (PSP Go). But where would you stash those games without a hard drive? Not possible. the HDD alone is $40+ and the loss of value from a disc-less console is hardly worth the $30 or whatever that the bluray drive costs sony/MS.

And the PSP Go was a commercial failure too.

I meant as a system that could sell to the very-casual market. The ones who like their Apple TVs, Rokus and whatnot. Just like those they can swap out the HDD with a SD card; certain games may be off-limits because of that but a person who wants the best UC4 or TR experience isn't going to be interested in these, they'd just get a XBO or PS4 with the drives and HDDs.

But just for people who want the brand, and want the simpler (smaller) games that won't have their experience compromised b/c of lack of a disc drive or HDD? Sure, why not. Better to get them on their box than Amazon's, and if you price in their neighborhood they may come.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

A lot of you guys are weird. How any of you thought the average person would see a holiday sale as the baseline for a products price is confusing. It's like all you do is only talk to people on gaf and the occasional family member.

MS won't overtake Sony with this price back at $400 but that doesn't matter. All that matters is if the console sells so poorly they get out of the game console business. That could realistically happen but it's too early to call it.

...As much as I hate a lot of what Microsoft has done/almost done in this industry, I'm not sure if I want Sony to be the only ones occupying that space (sorry Nintendo, hopefully next gen : \ ). Competition has been good for the most part. Only downside thus far is that the hardware jump wasn't what a lot of people were hoping for after such a long generation, but that might have still happened without competition due to how safe the industry is being atm.

And no one seems to be willing to fill that void to keep things competitive given how all this Amazon and Apple talk has payed off so far.

 

[Biker19]

A lot of you guys are weird. How any of you thought the average person would see a holiday sale as the baseline for a products price is confusing. It's like all you do is only talk to people on gaf and the occasional family member.

MS won't overtake Sony with this price back at $400 but that doesn't matter. All that matters is if the console sells so poorly they get out of the game console business. That could realistically happen but it's too early to call it.

More like if they keep losing money, they'll get out of it. Heck, they've promised their shareholders that Xbox One will be profitable from Day One, & look at what they've been doing this past year alone (Papacheeks just wrote it all down not too long ago).

...As much as I hate a lot of what Microsoft has done/almost done in this industry, I'm not sure if I want Sony to be the only ones occupying that space (sorry Nintendo, hopefully next gen : \ ). Competition has been good for the most part.

There's a difference between good competition, & bad competition. Plus someone else can easily replace Microsoft.

 

[RadarScope1]

These threads keep delivering. Lots of wishful thinking (or guessing) as I see it. MS is not going to drop the price any time soon and there isn't going to be some kind of major hardware revision this year. They can't keep losing tons of money on every unit sold. Of course, I'm guessing, too. But I think the landscape we see today will be what carries through the whole year. Remember, BOTH of these machines are selling better than either of their predecessors, and with arguably less of an improvement over THEIR predecessors (Xbox/PS2) and games that aren't as good, on balance. Neither company is in a big hurry to cut price, I would think.

It's not a sport. It's not really about a scorecard. We can't seem to get past that mentality around here.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

I meant as a system that could sell to the very-casual market. The ones who like their Apple TVs, Rokus and whatnot. Just like those they can swap out the HDD with a SD card; certain games may be off-limits because of that but a person who wants the best UC4 or TR experience isn't going to be interested in these, they'd just get a XBO or PS4 with the drives and HDDs.

But just for people who want the brand, and want the simpler (smaller) games that won't have their experience compromised b/c of lack of a disc drive or HDD? Sure, why not. Better to get them on their box than Amazon's, and if you price in their neighborhood they may come.

Smaller games aren't the games casual gamers on consoles tend to go for though. Call of Duty and Madden and FIFA and Ass Creed aren't selling to a purely hardcore userbase.

 

[Papacheeks]

More like if they keep losing money, they'll get out of it. Heck, they've promised their shareholders that Xbox One will be profitable from Day One, & now look at what they've doing this past year (Papacheeks just wrote it all down not too long ago).



There's a difference between good competition, & bad competition. Plus someone else can easily replace Microsoft.

From the ashes of Microsoft, Bring back my old friend SEGA.

A man can Dream!

 

[1inthechamber]

...As much as I hate a lot of what Microsoft has done/almost done in this industry, I'm not sure if I want Sony to be the only ones occupying that space (sorry Nintendo, hopefully next gen : ). Competition has been good for the most part. Only downside thus far is that the hardware jump wasn't what a lot of people were hoping for after such a long generation, but that might have still happened without competition due to how safe the industry is being atm.

I'd hope not. Competition is good no matter what. Sony has pretty much slacked off since they're console has done so well even with no big games in the holidays.

 

[RexNovis]

A simple explanation. They're losing money on those deals.

Indeed. This is, by far, the most likely and most logical reason. I said as much in my initial post. Even so, they have potentially sacrificed their chance at gaining significant ground in their primary market by doing this so the losses per unit sale would have to be substantial to offset the possibility of regaining that marketshare.

From the ashes of Microsoft, Bring back my old friend SEGA.

A man can Dream!

After the atrocities they have committed upon Sonic and their refusal to localize Phantasy Star they can stay right where they are: in the doghouse.

 

[Papacheeks]

I'd hope not. Competition is good no matter what. Sony has pretty much slacked off since they're console has done so well even with no big games in the holidays.

Define slacked off? What has SOny not done? There games got pushed to 2015, but they released The last of Us:RM, MLB:THE SHOW, DRIVECLUB, INFAMOUS:SS, LITTLE BIG PALNET 3, and Guilty Gear Xrd.

Along with having the best version of Multplats, and giving you more current games on PS+ to play Indie or other wise.

Please define slacked off?

They did do a bundle that offered better games IMO than what MS was offering for black Friday. Just because they didn't discount the console for 2 whole months doesn't mean they slacked off.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

More like if they keep losing money, they'll get out of it. Heck, they've promised their shareholders that Xbox One will be profitable from Day One, & look at what they've doing this past year alone (Papacheeks just wrote it all down not too long ago).



There's a difference between good competition, & bad competition. Plus someone else can easily replace Microsoft.

What's the bad competition? Microsoft getting its ass handed to it doesn't make much for competition sales-wise, but policy and concept wise it helped keep Sony focused IMO.

And, while I mentioned through an edit during your typing/posting, it's been talked about for years now and none of these supposed replacements have put out.

I'd hope not. Competition is good no matter what. Sony has pretty much slacked off since they're console has done so well even with no big games in the holidays.

Sony has not slacked off. I'd rather they put out good IPs for their foundation than rush them out just to make a quarter. Plenty of indies thought the year and a steady trickle of exclusives, even if they weren't fresh IPs or didn't exactly deliver on expectations. The only ball I'd say was dropped was with Driveclub, and no one can say what happened there.

 

[Papacheeks]

What's the bad competition? Microsoft getting its ass handed to it doesn't make much for competition sales-wise, but policy and concept wise it helped keep Sony focused IMO.

And, while I mentioned through an edit during your typing/posting, it's been talked about for years now and none of these supposed replacements have put out.

Using your checkbook from the other part of your company doesn't fix the long term issues Microsoft has. You can throw tons of money to cover up the mistakes you made, as long as you learn from them and invest in putting things in place so it will never happen again.

 

[orochi91]

Going balls deep again in November/December 2015 probably won't be as effective for MS since Sony will likely be giving the PS4 an official price cut (probably as soon as E3 2015).

I can see sub-$299 XB1 bundles happening.

 

[wildfire]

...As much as I hate a lot of what Microsoft has done/almost done in this industry, I'm not sure if I want Sony to be the only ones occupying that space (sorry Nintendo, hopefully next gen : \ ). Competition has been good for the most part. Only downside thus far is that the hardware jump wasn't what a lot of people were hoping for after such a long generation, but that might have still happened without competition due to how safe the industry is being atm.

And no one seems to be willing to fill that void to keep things competitive given how all this Amazon and Apple talk has payed off so far.

Yeah I get that. Nintendo has been lacking in 3rd party support so until they turn that around currently there isn't an option in sight. That said there isn't a reason to be so emotionally distraught over it. MS may drop out next time but that's a problem that is years away. Nintendo after all their failings with the Wii U may finally get a console that is even technologically with Sony at that point especially if Sony doesn't push specs that hard just like with the PS4.

On top of that PC gaming has been getting more affordable and user friendly so by the time we even consider a PS5 we could have a simple alternative through PCs.

But for now MS offers an alternative for you. They aren't going anywhere for the next few years.

 

[Biker19]

What's the bad competition? Microsoft getting its ass handed to it doesn't make much for competition sales-wise, but policy and concept wise it helped keep Sony focused IMO.

You just admitted that you hated a lot of what Microsoft has done/almost done in this industry (which I definitely agree with you on). Plus gaming was better before Microsoft came along, anyways. They're the ones who made such nonsense like DLC be popular within 3rd party publishers, & made FPS's more popular within gamers on consoles than with every other genre.

Not only that, but had made paying for online multiplayer popular & standard on consoles when it's free on PC gaming (& in which it used to be free on PS3). They're a bad influence all around.

 

[Papacheeks]

You just admitted that you hated a lot of what Microsoft has done/almost done in this industry (which I definitely agree with you on). Plus gaming was better before Microsoft came along, anyways. They're the ones who made such nonsense like DLC be popular within 3rd party publishers, & made FPS's more popular within gamers on consoles than with every other genre.

DLC became popular because of games like COD, Elder scrolls not Microsoft. Microsoft just had a store space to sell it.

Halo would have been on PC, but it actually revolutionized online shooters for consoles.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Using your checkbook from the other part of your company doesn't fix the long term issues Microsoft has.

I don't really care either way what Microsoft does to stay competitive. I was just speaking of the effect of the competition between them and Sony, not what the companies do within themselves to make that competition possible.

Not so much as bad competition as bad management.

 

[Papacheeks]

I don't really care either way what Microsoft does to stay competitive. I was just speaking of the effect of the competition between them and Sony, not what the companies do within themselves to make that competition possible.

Not so much as bad competition as bad management.

Which MS had in droves, YUSIF, WHITTEN, DON MATTRICK.

 

[1inthechamber]

Define slacked off? What has SOny not done? There games got pushed to 2015, but they released The last of Us:RM, MLB:THE SHOW, DRIVECLUB, INFAMOUS:SS, LITTLE BIG PALNET 3, and Guilty Gear Xrd.

Along with having the best version of Multplats, and giving you more current games on PS+ to play Indie or other wise.

Please define slacked off?

They did do a bundle that offered better games IMO than what MS was offering for black Friday. Just because they didn't discount the console for 2 whole months doesn't mean they slacked off.

Driveclub? Really?

Lbp is not a big enough game either to go up against what ms offered in the holidays, even with the shitty mcc launch.

Microsoft has constantly been updating and adding features to the xbox while Sony has only given us one. Messaging is still slow as hell, some ppl have issues with the store, friends list not loading either.

Sony has done nothing but smooth sail the first year. Granted Microsoft is playing catch up but they also slacked off the last few years last gen, hence why ps3 overtook them.

 

[RBK]

You just admitted that you hated a lot of what Microsoft has done/almost done in this industry (which I definitely agree with you on). Plus gaming was better before Microsoft came along, anyways. They're the ones who made such nonsense like DLC be popular within 3rd party publishers, & made FPS's more popular within gamers on consoles than with every other genre.

As if this type of stuff wouldn't have happened regardless of the Xbox brand.

 

[Papacheeks]

Driveclub? Really?

Lbp is not a big enough game either to go up against what ms offered in the holidays, even with the shitty mcc launch.

Microsoft has constantly been updating and adding features to the xbox while Sony has only given us one. Messaging is still slow as hell, some ppl have issues with the store, friends list not loading either.

Sony has done nothing but smooth sail the first year. Granted Microsoft is playing catch up but they also slacked off the last few years last gen, hence why ps3 overtook them.

Sony doesn't have to mimic what's on the other box for games and features. They actaully brought a lot this past year to teh console, even though they are not a software company mainly. They are a hardware company mostly. SO of course microsoft is going to put out updates faster than Sony.

But they have a lot of features they added just this past fall.

Sony had enough competitive games throughout the year. And your going to rag on Driveclub when MCC still doesn't work right? Driveclub to my knowledge from the other threads has been fixed,a dn updated to the point it's a totally different beast now. They are both different companies offering different things. Microsoft pushed all their big released to fall like they always do, Sony spread theirs out over the whole year of 2014.

 

[1inthechamber]

Sony doesn't have to mimic what's on the other box for games and features. They actaully brought a lot this past year to teh console, even though they are not a software company mainly. They are a hardware company mostly. SO of course microsoft is going to put out updates faster than Sony.

But they have a lot of features they added just this past fall.

No need to mimic, but they shouldn't slack off either. SharePlay is great but that's the only major thing we got in the update. That and them breaking standby mode while also changing it to rest mode.

 

[Papacheeks]

No need to mimic, but they shouldn't slack off either. SharePlay is great but that's the only major thing we got in the update. That and them breaking standby mode while also changing it to rest mode.

So clip editing, MP3 playback, custom themes, being able to interact and save streams.

Those were all added this year.

Microsoft like I said is a software company they are running a variant of windows on the xbox, so updates will come a lot faster than Sony.

But Sony is still putting updates out with new features.

i don't get your hate?

 

[Lynn616]

Going by that logic Sony should have won Nov. And Dec. Since they had won for ten months straight

The X1 did as well as it did because of the massive price cut and bundles. Rven with at that, the PS4 still sold really damn well. I just don't see how the X1 doesn't crash in Jan. But I could be way off

You were saying the X1 would stay at $349 and still crash. How bad do you think it is going to be now that it is $399?

 

[1inthechamber]

So clip editing, MP3 playback, custom themes, being able to interact and save streams.

Those were all added this year.

Microsoft like I said is a software company they are running a variant of windows on the xbox, so updates will come a lot faster than Sony.

But Sony is still putting updates out with new features.

i don't get your hate?

No hate, just calling it exactly how I see it. You want to force ps plus on your customers, you should improve your network with more updates.

 

[Garrett 2U]

You just admitted that you hated a lot of what Microsoft has done/almost done in this industry (which I definitely agree with you on). Plus gaming was better before Microsoft came along, anyways. They're the ones who made such nonsense like DLC be popular within 3rd party publishers, & made FPS's more popular within gamers on consoles than with every other genre.

Not only that, but had made paying for online multiplayer popular & standard on consoles when it's free on PC gaming (& in which it used to be free on PS3).

That's one way to look at it.

The other way is that Microsoft published a game that redefined FPS games on consoles, which went on to become the most popular genre.
They revolutionized online gaming with persistent profiles, friends, parties, achievements, etc.

Not sure how they are responsible for DLC, but whatever, you have an agenda.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

That said there isn't a reason to be so emotionally distraught over it. MS may drop out next time but that's a problem that is years away. Nintendo after all their failings with the Wii U may finally get a console that is even technologically with Sony at that point especially if Sony doesn't push specs that hard just like with the PS4.

On top of that PC gaming has been getting more affordable and user friendly so by the time we even consider a PS5 we could have a simple alternative through PCs.

But for now MS offers an alternative for you. They aren't going anywhere for the next few years.

Not distraught at all. Just stating that I don't believe, at this current point and the near future, it would be healthy for a single company to have no checks on itself. Imagine if Sony or Nintendo wasn't in the business when the 360 had the RROD issue. Then again we sometimes get nonsense like everyone trying to do motion control without having any sense of how to develop or market for it.

With tablets and mobile devices filling in a lot of those needs for a PC, despite the affordability I'm not sure how competitive that area would be. And that's despite my preference for that platform.

But no, it would take something beyond the absurdities of this gen so far for Microsoft to fold up. With how things have been behind the scenes though between executives and investors, 'beyond' isn't that far a place to reach.

You just admitted that you hated a lot of what Microsoft has done/almost done in this industry (which I definitely agree with you on). Plus gaming was better before Microsoft came along, anyways. They're the ones who made such nonsense like DLC be popular within 3rd party publishers, & made FPS's more popular within gamers on consoles than with every other genre.

Yeah...was I not supposed to say it out loud to continue everyone's belief I'm a fanboy of some sort?

Spoiler

; )

Not sure if I'd say DLC and FPS proliferation is a problem on part of Microsoft, unless we should say Halo should never have been made (or Activision for COD4) and that businesses were never going to see the consumer-screwing advantages of an online environment.

Xbox Live provided the environment definitely, but the actual drive was likely through publishers. Now the shit that went on when Valve wanted to do free updates to their games and Microsoft said they had to charge for them...now that is bullshit.

If I'm missing the sarcasm, let me know please

Spoiler

 

[Biker19]

That's one way to look at it.

The other way is that Microsoft published a game that redefined FPS games on consoles, which went on to become the most popular genre.

But I'm not a fan of FPS's. I find them boring.

Before FPS's were popular on consoles, there were all types of genres that were more popular. Action/Adventure, RPG's, etc., amongst many other genres. Now they're being looked as an afterthought by most gamers & have now even turned against Japanese games in which we all used to be playing back in the 80's through the mid-2000's (i.e., being called "Weeaboos" for liking such stuff).

I hated that. As a result, less publishers & developers were willing to take less risks in making more genres outside of FPS's, all because they wanted that CoD money.

but whatever, you have an agenda.

Don't do that shit.

 

[Garrett 2U]

But I'm not a fan of FPS's. I find them boring.

Before FPS's were popular on consoles, there were all types of genres that were more popular. Action/Adventure, RPG's, etc., amongst many other genres. Now they're being looked as an afterthought by most gamers & have now even turned against Japanese games in which we all used to be playing back in the 80's through the mid-2000's (i.e., being called "Weeaboos" for liking such stuff).

I hated that. As a result, less publishers & developers were willing to take less risks in making more genres outside of FPS's, all because they wanted that CoD money.

That has nothing to do with Microsoft.
FPS are popular because casual gamers enjoy them. Not because Microsoft came around and made FPS on console possible.

 

[RBK]

Don't do that shit.

It's the truth.

 

[sir_kevith]

That has nothing to do with Microsoft.
FPS are popular because casual gamers enjoy them. Not because Microsoft came around and made FPS on console possible.

Yeah there's a lot more factors. Mostly has to do with the fall of console gaming in Japan which was outside our control. Not some weaboo shame.

 

[Biker19]

It's the truth.

Well, I don't want to hear that. It's how I feel about all of this.

And it's sad. It really is.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

But I'm not a fan of FPS's. I find them boring.

Before FPS's were popular on consoles, there were all types of genres that were more popular. Action/Adventure, RPG's, etc., amongst many other genres. Now they're being looked as an afterthought by most gamers & have now even turned against Japanese games in which we all used to be playing back in the 80's through the mid-2000's (i.e., being called "Weeaboos" for liking such stuff).

I hated that. As a result, less publishers & developers were willing to take less risks in making more genres outside of FPS's, all because they wanted that CoD money.

Excuse me, a what? Never heard of that term and sounds childish.

But that's probably more than Activision than Microsoft. Halo had an impact and people kept trying to develop Halo killers (Killzone, Haze, Resistance[?]), but the traction didn't seem to catch until Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Then Activision made it into an annual thing, and EA wanted to compete with their own thing. Far Cry...that was just around and don't think that had much to do with anything. Everyone else followed suit with those.

Japanese games failed in the West more than just because of shooters. Just doesn't seem a healthy genre for a good long while on its own, a lot of it due to things I have no understanding of.

Plenty of Third person shooters, action RPGs, Indies of varying genres, horror, adventure...

 

[thuway]

I don't think Microsoft would increase the price without a long term plan in play. The Xbox One is catching it's footing in North America. I'm sure they know what it takes to win over North America. However, certain facts can't be ignored:

1. Sunset Overdrive, the Master Chief Collection, and Forza Horizon 2 have not lit up sales charts in any meaningful way. None of these games could be considered "game changers" in a profit sense.
2. Third party titles are selling better on PS4 or just marginally better on Xbox One. 360 obviously destroys PS3 in terms of units sold for some titles, however.
3. The cuts needed to supplant in front of PS4 might be too much, and conceding second place and profitting might be a wiser strategy.

However, this doesn't matter when your Microsoft. You have a pocket book larger than the competition X 2 combined. The big question is - Is the Xbox worth sustaining massive losses and unprofitable investments in exclusive offerings?

Perhaps there is a Windows 10 / DX 12 / Cloud strategy that's not obvious, but from this point, it seems like a up hill battle if the $399 is permanent for the next few months.

 

[Elandyll]

No need to mimic, but they shouldn't slack off either. SharePlay is great but that's the only major thing we got in the update. That and them breaking standby mode while also changing it to rest mode.

You forget screenshots since day one, while I hear it's still not on the competitor.
The music update, while not having the elegance of DlNA, can be used to play custom playlists entirely in the background of games. Something I have read the competition also does not do.

Let's stop pretending that Sony has done nothing, yes? Granted MS has been a lot speedier in OS updates, but they had a LOT more ground to cover, and they are at their core an OS company with hundreds of software engineers at their disposal.

Now this being said, still hoping to see on PS4 a well designed Dlna client soon, video files playback, and the HBO Go app.
Oh, and Suspend/ Resume too of course.

 

[EatMyFace]

Unless Sony manages to widen the gap beyond November 2014, I doubt they'll bother.

Its hard to stop a streak. I don't think resorting to fire sales every holiday is something Microsoft is happy about.

Microsoft will try to win with clever marketing and PR before cutting price. Sony will be better prepared for Microsoft's price slashes this year.

 

[mechphree]

Why can't people just accept they are going to keep the price at $399 without any secret hardware revision or e3 gimmick? MS has made it pretty clear they only wanted to win during the holidays with sales for mind share. You can guarantee they lost a bunch of money with those bundles and still are. They needed the mind share more then profits , now. It's all about getting back to those profits.

 

[thuway]

Why can't people just accept they are going to keep the price at $399 without any secret hardware revision or e3 gimmick? MS has made it pretty cleae they only wanted to win during the holidays with sales for mind share. You can guarantee they lost a bunch of money with those bundles and still are. They needed the mind share more then profits , now. It's all about getting back to those profits.

I think platform evangelists and fans of the industry want this to be a competition and less of a one sided victory lap. Sony was feeding Microsoft crow for the better half of current gen. Out of nowhere Microsoft threw everything at the wall and managed to outpace the PlayStation 4 and take back some pretty significant market share.

Also this new Microsoft has become very unpredictable. The Tomb Raider exclusivity, purchasing the Gears of War I.P., Quantum Break in the pipe line, and a refresh of big wigs has helped them win back some sort of consumer trust. It's hard to believe they won't do another gangbuster sometime in the future. They have the check book for it, but the big question is will it be worth it for the corporation as a whole to chase after the gaming market.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Why can't people just accept they are going to keep the price at $399 without any secret hardware revision or e3 gimmick? MS has made it pretty clear they only wanted to win during the holidays with sales for mind share. You can guarantee they lost a bunch of money with those bundles and still are. They needed the mind share more then profits , now. It's all about getting back to those profits.

Do we even have any decent estimations on where the profit line is per system sold? Something that maybe gets discussed in NPD, but I tend to miss it apparently.