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[CassidyIzABeast]

With or without DRM, historically whenever console maker tried to make it more than a game machine, the reaction was bad. I think that aspect of XBone is as much trouble for MS as the DRM debacle.

No, major problem was that they had the always on DRM stuff. All the more than a game machine stuff was only a issue because they didn't show any games. They nipped that problem in the bud when they brought a shit ton of games to E3.

I don't think I've seen as much of a peep about Tv or sports since E3 now that I think about it. So after their press conference their only major hurdle was the DRM stuff. Historically, companies don't try to fix the problem until years after launch when its too late to really repair the damage. Microsoft has begun their turnaround 5 months before a single piece of hardware hits the store shelves.

 

[twobear]

This is pretty much exactly why I hate this gen so much. The industry is split so many ways that nobody can focus on just making good games anymore - they have to focus on appealing to so many different demographics and userbases that every game just feels the same.

When I say a "resurgence of the PS2 gen", I mean a generation where there's one leading console that everyone develops for, not necessarily just a console infested with Japanese games (though I would love it if consoles DID have more JP games, to be honest). Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like if we had a clear winner, some of the anti-consumer bullshit (moneyhats, timed exclusives, exclusive DLC, lowest-common-denominator multiplatform development) that has infested this generation so horribly would be a little less prominent.

I see no real distinction between moneyhat exclusives and exclusives in general. The company is still paying for content to not appear on another console, even if you phrase it as 'they're paying for it to only appear on their console'. So that's not something that goes away if you have a PS2/Xbox kind of thing. Timed exclusives, shrug, just don't care. I'll wait. Exclusive DLC is a niggle but not that horrible. Lowest-common-denominator development was not a problem this generation, it was FAR worse in the PS2 era, and led to some developers spinning off PS2 versions with cut features etc. (Splinter Cell leaps to mind, which was doubly worse because the Cube version was shafted too).

For me the major problem is exclusives, but I think 'there's too many games I want to play!' is...yeah.

Finally, I think there's a certain kind of hypocrisy in wishing death on Xbone for being anticonsumer and then hoping we end up with a PS2-style single console generation. I don't want to suggest they're equivalent or identical, but neither situation is pro-consumer.

 

[BadWolf]

As far as I know, MS isn't launching in Japan. That alone should give an edge in gobal sales to Sony.

Then I'm pretty sure that PS4 will dominate in Europe. Maybe he's talking about US sales in which he may be right.

Launch or not, Japan is Sony's for free when it comes to the PS4 vs. 180.

Their only threat in that region is Nintendo.

 

[KillerTravis]

He is probably not far off if he's talking about USA only.

 

[WJD]

In australia the xbone is $599 and ps4 $549 so price difference is a measly $50 and we already pay on average $80-$100 for a new release game!

It'll be interesting to see if XBO's dedicated servers help it's cause in Australia at all.

 

[Marleyman]

how much more does those games sell on 360 compared to ps3? i always saw the online numbers being similar, and big enough to not really matter which has more.

I believe the PS3 version of BLOPS 2 sold over 2 million less worldwide and it just seems to be the system of choice to play COD games competitively. That has been why I thought Activision releases map packs to them so early, why COD Ghosts was prominent at the Xbox reveal.

 

[RevDM]

Would love to see a graph of times Pachter was right vs wrong

 

[teiresias]

No doubt MS had advertising money to burn, but if they're having sufficiently bad yield problems restricting supply it makes sense for then to hold the big advertising push for when stock is more available, and probably try and coincide it with Titanfall.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

This is pretty much exactly why I hate this gen so much. The industry is split so many ways that nobody can focus on just making good games anymore - they have to focus on appealing to so many different demographics and userbases that every game just feels the same.

When I say a "resurgence of the PS2 gen", I mean a generation where there's one leading console that everyone develops for, not necessarily just a console infested with Japanese games (though I would love it if consoles DID have more JP games, to be honest). Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like if we had a clear winner, some of the anti-consumer bullshit (moneyhats, timed exclusives, exclusive DLC, lowest-common-denominator multiplatform development) that has infested this generation so horribly would be a little less prominent.



I'm not holding my breath. A bunch of new IP announcements probably won't do much for me after a game with a title as interesting as The Order: 1886 ended up being a shooter.

Yeah, I also miss the PS2 era and imo the PS2 was arguably the best console of all time. It had they type of games I enjoyed the most if you get my drift. Next generation will definitely be good, but I get the feeling that it is going to be a direct repeat of this one expect issues such as DLC, preorder bonuses, high development costs, games not taking advantage of hardware, cookie cutter games, etc will be escalated to higher levels. I did enjoy this generation, but there are a lot of things I really didn't like and I do not see those things changing next generation.

 

[Dyno]

"We are confident that with six months of focused messaging"



Ok, this comment bothers me. When are they going to start their focused messaging? Think of everything they have talked about up to this point, that has all changed. Their focus has changed, what they have tried to convince us about, has changed.

I agree. There are probably millions of man-hours that got shoved into a room full of filing cabinets with this decision. They have only four or five months to come up with a new game plan.

As for Pachter, I guess he feels the need to say something though really this thread should be full of Captain Obvious and Nicolas Cage pics, maybe even Captain Obvious played by Nicolas Cage.

 

[SMZC]

Sony will win this generation. If both companies were virtually tied sales-wise this generation after Sony fucked up and with Microsoft doing everything right, this generation can only end with Sony as the clear winner. I predict 90 millions of PS4s sold and about 60 for the Xbox One by the end of next-gen.

 

[DyTonic]

Price makes all the difference, this guy really annoys me >.<

 

[Bigmac1910]

Almost 100% sure he means the US, but his predictions has gotten worse and worse this last year, 5 million copies of FUSE anyone? lol

 

[kpjolee]

Pachter trying to put Xbone back in the coffin? Lol.
Xbone will keep playing catch up until it matches the price of PS4.

 

[B.O.O.M]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if XBone sells better than PS4 in the US and UK. MS got a lot of good momentum going with the 360 heading into next gen. Worldwide tho...hell no. They don't have the price or the release date advantage they had with the 360

 

[Glorified G]

Majority of the library is the same yet one is $100 more.

 

[Gammacide]

MS can't provide *3 days* of focused messaging, let alone 6 months! Good luck with that.

And LOL at Pachter saying that XBone will meet PS4's sales numbers...BUT IF THEY DON'T we figure they'll lower the price. So essentially we have no clue. Jesus.

 

[SymbolicGamer]

I disagree.

I think most consumers will go with a PS4 just because it's $100 cheaper. I preordered my mine today. I'm getting both consoles though, with the Xbox One being my primary gaming system.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I see no real distinction between moneyhat exclusives and exclusives in general. The company is still paying for content to not appear on another console, even if you phrase it as 'they're paying for it to only appear on their console'. So that's not something that goes away if you have a PS2/Xbox kind of thing. Timed exclusives, shrug, just don't care. I'll wait. Exclusive DLC is a niggle but not that horrible. Lowest-common-denominator development was not a problem this generation, it was FAR worse in the PS2 era, and led to some developers spinning off PS2 versions with cut features etc. (Splinter Cell leaps to mind, which was doubly worse because the Cube version was shafted too).

For me the major problem is exclusives, but I think 'there's too many games I want to play!' is...yeah.

Finally, I think there's a certain kind of hypocrisy in wishing death on Xbone for being anticonsumer and then hoping we end up with a PS2-style single console generation. I don't want to suggest they're equivalent or identical, but neither situation is pro-consumer.

A single-console future would definitely have its drawbacks, but it'd be a hell of a lot better for the gamer than where we are right now, where it's just an endless cycle of spite campaigns between Sony and Microsoft.

This current gen has been a nightmare for anyone who isn't a fan of linear shootbang experiences, and if the Sony/Microsoft situation remains the same stretching into next gen, nothing's going to change except Sony being in an even more precarious position and Microsoft being more bloodthirsty than ever. If Sony fucks up even a little bit, they're gone.

And an industry controlled by Microsoft is better off not existing at all, in my opinion.

 

[Discomurf]

Wii U? Surely you jest?

Sony has the advantage over MS, but MS is still going to outsell Wii U handily.

Worldwide MS will be in last place next summer. Xbone is not releasing in Asia until Q2 2014 + Nintendo has a year head start, plenty of supply, cheaper price (probably much cheaper by this holiday) and major consumer & family friendly franchise releases coming. Think about it

 

[Applecot]

Considering how few countries they're shipping to I really doubt it's worldwide.

Besides the US is special in terms of Xbox.

 

[chiablo]

This must be how Pachter looks at the world:

 

[GuitarAnthony]

Pachter said something besides "OMGZ! NINTENDO GONNAZ DIIIIIIE!"?

 

[anexanhume]

This must be how Pachter looks at the world:

Dat AlASSka.

 

[MrValtor]

I don't think so. The mainstream people heard all about the restrictions and that stuff, because everyone told there friend and they told their friends and so on. But I haven't heard anyone speaking about the xbox 180 . I still think that ps4 is in a better light in the mainstream public.

 

[BadWolf]

Worldwide MS will be in last place next summer. Xbone is not releasing in Asia until Q2 2014 + Nintendo has a year head start, plenty of supply, cheaper price (probably much cheaper by this holiday) and major consumer & family friendly franchise releases coming. Think about it

There's also the fact that its TV etc. features are targeted at the US and its still uncertain as to how or if they will function in other regions.

 

[jim2011]

This post just made me look up Kinect sales thinking they were only around the 8m mark and fuck me, I didn't realise it had sold 24m units. Leads me to believe that maybe a lot of the more casual, family oriented market might actually see the additional Kinect 2 worth the extra $100.

This

Kinect sold for 150 yet sold a lot and pushed Microsoft further into the lead in America. I think many people will feel the $100 is justifiable for a better kinect. If I recall, the more expensive 360/kinect bundles sold quite well.

 

[Killing_Joke]

I highly doubt it. Judging by the all the pre-order news. Sony is ready to trounce them when it comes down to supply. I'm willing to bet they'll sell double than MS. (with X1 still selling out).

 

[Oersted]

All those Kinect-less posts. Kinect was a selling point and it could happen again. Get used to reality folks.

 

[njean777]

Of course, we haven't heard yet of subsidies from ISP but they're coming, I'm pretty confident about it.

And Sony couldn't do this why? I love how only MS will do this.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

He might be right....in the U.S.

 

[mrklaw]

6 months of focused messaging from MS? We've seen what 6 *days* of focused messaging did for them over E3, why would you have any faith in them turning that around?

 

[Azzurri]

I don't doubt Xbone will sell really well in the USA

 

[TheGreyHulk]

In the US, we should see a bunch of 360 owners move on to the xbone, so it will sell well here.

World wide, I expect Sony to win the sales game.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I don't doubt Xbone will sell really well in the USA

It will initially. Not quite to PS4 levels but MSFT has built a decent loyal following. That doesn't mean that the king of the previous gen hasn't been humbled before. Look at the PS2. It was brand loyalty which kept them afloat for a while there before the price made more sense on the consumer level.

 

[Daishogun]

This

Kinect sold for 150 yet sold a lot and pushed Microsoft further into the lead in America. I think many people will feel the $100 is justifiable for a better kinect. If I recall, the more expensive 360/kinect bundles sold quite well.

And you are forgetting that those sales were because of the mainstream. The same mainstream who bought Guitar Hero in droves, only to see its sales plummet in a few short years. The same mainstream who bought a Wii but didn't move to the WiiU. Kinect's sales were amazing because of Microsoft's marketing push of it's family friendly games, making it the toy of choice for the holiday season.

At launch, it's all about the core, and the vast majority of the core have a predisposition to Kinect based on how poorly it was implemented on the 360. There's also the fact that core gamers generally read price breakdowns, and they understand that the Kinect is costing MS $20-$30 and doesn't actually justify a $100 price hike.

At the end of the day, both consoles will sell-out come launch, of that I'm sure. I still believe, however, that the $100 price differential puts Sony far ahead of Microsoft. If not in America, definitely in the rest of the world.

 

[mrklaw]

This

Kinect sold for 150 yet sold a lot and pushed Microsoft further into the lead in America. I think many people will feel the $100 is justifiable for a better kinect. If I recall, the more expensive 360/kinect bundles sold quite well.

they weren't buying $500 consoles. If xbox one does poorly through 2014, the mainstream will ignore it when it gets to their pricepoint.

 

[Currygan]

yeah, probably. But I'm going to be as bold as him saying that maybe not

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

This announcement will get many on board because of the stronger launch lineup IMO.

I don't think either launch lineup is that great. I'm waiting for Destiny and Division and Sunset Overdrive, personally. PS4 for the first two, XBO for the latter (bovs).

 

[Coolwhip]

With this prediction Pachter can look his buddies at MS straight in the eyes again at the next cocktail party.

 

[GamerJM]

I think they're going to beat Nintendo in terms of sales now, but not Sony. Before the DRM nonsense was canceled I was betting on them being dead last and possible dropping out of the game market altogether.

 

[Natureboy99]

Pretty sure Sony will be pouring on the messaging for the next six months too. They already stated they have a marathon mentality. I almost wonder if they had predicted the 180.

 

[antibolo]

In 6 months everyone will have forgotten all about Microsoft's E3 blunder. Business will then continue as usual, ie. Xbox wins in North America and loses everywhere else.

 

[flyingmonkeywhoa]

I believe the PS3 version of BLOPS 2 sold over 2 million less worldwide and it just seems to be the system of choice to play COD games competitively. That has been why I thought Activision releases map packs to them so early, why COD Ghosts was prominent at the Xbox reveal.

Money, money, and more money

Microsoft has a deal with Activision wherein they pay for Call of Duty's massive advertising budget in exchange for 30-day DLC. It has nothing to do with a 2 million sales difference.

Assassins Creed has been made out to be a Playstation centric franchise even though the series sells well on both Xbox and PC

 

[JCX]

Where did the ISP Xbone subsidy idea come from? Seems interesting. US consumers are used to pricing models lie that from smartphones, so the idea isn't too crazy.

 

[muu]

the one big factor I didn't get for either system was whether multiplayer was cross plat on 360/XBone. I for one don't see myself getting a newer system for a bit if it's going to be the WiiU CoD situation all over again...

 

[Demon Lizardman]

I think the PS4 might sell a bit more, but it might be a close contender, let's just wait until they both launch.

 

[VE3TRO]

Europe no way. UK is hard to decide at this moment.

 

[Bgamer90]

Where did the ISP Xbone subsidy idea come from? Seems interesting. US consumers are used to pricing models lie that from smartphones, so the idea isn't too crazy.

It has been talked about for a while now. More than a year at least -- want to say that it was talked about shortly after the $99 Xbox 360 was introduced.

But yeah, I can see it happening. Might see something this time next year.

 

[nib95]

It'll make a difference in Microsoft's main territories, it already has in the UK.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Seller...m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=112QWW8F8BFR9JMBZKK0

Before the DRM policies change, XO games were nearly non existent in this list. Now they're prominent.

Worldwide? PS4 will dominate the XO.