Console Wars Archives - Page 6 of 15

iPad 2 Headed to Toys ‘R Us in May?

The war between Apple iOS devices and traditional gaming machines is heating up! According to ModMyI, Toys ‘R Us will start selling the Apple iPad 2 in May. The site received a view images from an employee training sessions and they’re all about familiarizing Toys ‘R Us reps with Apple’s latest tablet. Here’s more:

We received a tip this morning from a Toys R’ Us employee that the venerable children’s toy store will begin selling the iPad 2 next month. Although there have been rumors in the past about Toys R’ Us possibly carrying the iPad at some point in the future, this is the first we’ve heard from an actual employee that an iPad launch at the toy store is imminent.

And there’s photographic evidence to back up the claim. Obtained during an employee training session, the pic clearly illustrates the iPad 2 presented in some form of employee training and testing process — something that would naturally take place shortly before a new product launch.

While it’s easy to find iOS devices and gaming machines at Best Buy, Target, and other broad retail outlets, videogames have ruled the roost at Toys ‘R Us. Do you think Toys ‘R Us is a good fit for the iPad 2? Should Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony be worried?

Source via BoyGeniusReport

Coffee Talk #330: Cartridges Coming Back to Home Consoles?

Will the next generation of consoles will use solid-state storage instead of disc-based media? It’s an interesting argument. There are great reasons to do it and great reasons not to. Let’s…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the rise of Ivan Nova, the latest iPhone 5 rumors, or your favorite painkiller, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

While we were talking about the digital future of consoles, I was intrigued by one of RPadholic smartguy’s comments. He believes that the next generation of consoles will use solid-state storage instead of disc-based media. It’s an interesting argument. There are great reasons to do it and great reasons not to. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Publishers love that cartridges are better than discs at combating piracy. A combination of anti-piracy measures on the cartridge (that can be updated) and online authentication would be tough to beat. Solid state would also mean sturdier products. As smartguy mentioned, the less moving parts a console has, the longer it will last. That’s great for the consumer.

On the downside, cartridges will always be more expensive than discs and digital downloads (obviously). Future games will require at least 16GB flash cards and some will require much more than that. While the price of solid-state memory will surely go down over the next few years, it will still be more expensive than a Blu-ray disc.

Speaking of Blu-ray (and DVD), one of the reasons disc-based gaming took off is that movies used the same format. Lots of people used their PlayStation 2 as their primary DVD player and the PlayStation 3 is still on of the best Blu-ray players around. While digital movies are becoming more and more popular, discs aren’t going away just yet. It can be argued that console manufacturers — especially Sony — still want to offer the ability to play disc-based movies on their consoles. Then again, it might be easier and cheaper to set up an exclusive deal with a digital movie partner. Or maybe they’ll have their own service, like the rumored Orapa for Microsoft Xbox.

Do you see cartridges coming back to home consoles? Why or why not? Would you prefer cartridges or discs for the next generation of videogame consoles?

Coffee Talk #329: Discless Wonders

Most pundits believe that videogame consoles will eventually be discless. When do you think gaming is going to go discless? Will it be the generation after next? Or perhaps the one after that?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Charlie Sheen’s “comedy” tour, Mark Teixeira’s quest for 100 home runs, or lower back pain, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Most pundits believe that videogame consoles will eventually be discless. It’s just a matter of when. Publishers love digital distribution. Digital movies, music, and television are booming and expected to grow at a mercurial rate. When do you think gaming is going to go discless? Will it be the generation after next? Or perhaps the one after that?

The biggest obstacle — especially in America — is bandwidth. American ISPs are all about bandwidth capping, shaping, and throttling. That has to change if consumers are going to download gigabytes of games. Gamers also need to adjust to the digital world. Some people love boxed games, while others love being able to trade games after they’re done with them. I envision a vocal minority screaming and shouting about digital distribution…and eventually accepting it.

Anyway, I wanted to get your thoughts on discless consoles. When do you think they’ll arrive? Which major console company will be the first to attempt one? How do you think the market will react to a discless console? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section!

PS3 Overtakes Xbox 360 in Global Sales

Strategy Analytics claims that Sony’s PlayStation 3 has overtaken Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in terms of worldwide installed base. The company’s numbers include sales up until the end of 2010. Here are more details from Gamasutra:

According to the company’s data, the Nintendo Wii continues to enjoy the world’s largest install base with 75.5 million active units worldwide, but the active install base of PS3s reached 43.4 million at the close of 2010 versus Xbox 360’s 42.9.

There are a few things to keep in mind. In America, the Xbox 360 still has a healthy lead over PlayStation 3. Microsoft’s sales have been strong — perhaps surprisingly so — since the release of its Kinect motion controller. While this data set shows the PS3 taking the lead, the Xbox 360 arguably has more momentum.

What do you guys and dolls think of these numbers. Also, “Flame on!!!” and, “Fore!!!”

Source

Coffee Talk #311: Apple Aggressively Invading Gaming?

There’s an interesting Apple vs. Nintendo buzz at GDC 2011. A lot of people in the business thought it was brazen or dickish for Apple to hold its iPad 2 presser around the same time as Nintendo’s GDC keynote…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, dinner/drinks with your favorite developers, hand numbered tequila, or Charlie Sheen’s ridiculousness, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

There’s an interesting Apple vs. Nintendo buzz at GDC 2011. A lot of people in the business thought it was brazen (at best) or dickish (at worst) for Apple to hold its iPad 2 presser around the same time as Nintendo’s GDC keynote. It’s really bigger than that though. Apple has become a major player in games through the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad…and it looks like the company is being even more aggressive about staking its claim in the business. But is it going too far?

In addition to Apple’s last-minute iPad 2 scheduling, the company is holding its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) during the same time as E3 2011. Apple has used the event to announce new iPhone models and everyone expects the iPhone 5 (or whatever it’ll be called) to make its debut at WWDC 2011.

Apple stole a lot of Nintendo’s spotlight with its iPad 2 announcement. The Nintendo keynote has been scheduled for months, while the iPad 2 event was announced last week. There were a lot of mainstream television crews covering the iPad event. You figure some of those crews would have been covering the Nintendo keynote — full of 3DS wonder — if they didn’t have to choose. Similarly, I expect the iPhone 5 announcement to take some of E3 2011’s thunder away. Gaming and tech enthusiasts will follow both shows, but the mainstream consumer will likely hear more about the iPhone 5 than any E3 2011 announcements.

What do you think of the matter? Is Apple being “dickish” with its scheduling? Is it being too aggressive with its expansion into the gaming world? Or is it being smart? Maybe Apple doesn’t even care and is just doing things on its own schedule while living in the reality distortion field. I’ve heard GDC attendees call Apple’s presser “underhanded”, “shifty”, and “dickish”. I agree with those assessments, but I’m completely biased since I love the gaming business and GDC. I’d love to hear your opinion on the matter. Please let me know!

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EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich Talks Nintendo 3DS vs. Sony NGP

EEDAR vice president Jesse Divnich was kind enough to chat with me about the upcoming console war between the Nintendo 3DS and the Sony NGP. As the #1 analyst in the videogame business, IMHO, Jesse’s opinion is meaningful and powerful. He also answered one of RPadholic bsukenyan’s excellent questions. Naturally, I threw a playful jab a Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter…but it was all in jest. Check it out (please)!

Duh: Sony Wants to Sell More NGPs Than it Did PSPs

Here’s some shocking news on Sony’s upcoming NGP handheld console: Sony wants to sell more NGPs than it did PSPs. It’s true! Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Kaz Hirai said so himself. Here’s the exact quote:

One of the things that we certainly want to try and accomplish with NGP is match the installed base we have with the PSP worldwide, but over and above that try to go beyond that.

It’s good to have goals….

Seriously though, that funny and completely obvious quote aside, check out the interview with Hirai embedded above. He’s a sharp guy and an outstanding executive…and I’m not just saying that because I’m afraid that he’ll send his secret ninja army after me for making fun of one of his quotes.

NGP Developer Buzz: id, Q Entertainment, and Kojima Productions

John Carmack (id Software) posted an interesting tweet on the Sony NGP that said, “Low level APIs will allow the Sony NGP to perform about a generation beyond smart phones with comparable specs.” The tweet reminded me of several Twitter and AIM conversations I had with friends in Japan about the NGP. Contacts at Kojima Productions and Q Entertainment told me that their respective companies are psyched to work on the NGP. One of the reasons both contacts cited is that development will be easy and powerful. Both pointed out that working on the NGP will be much easier than working on the PS3.

Sure it’s early and developers are excited to finally be able to talk about NGP development, but there appears to be something here. A lot of developers struggled in the early days of the PlayStation 3. It took many developers a long time before they could harness the considerable power of the PS3. The early buzz on the NGP is that it will be easy to work with from the get-go. It will be interesting to see what the first generation of NGP games will look like as a whole.

Will the NGP’s purported ease of development combined with Sony’s superior third-party relations give it a better and more diverse catalog than the 3DS? I’m excited to see how it all plays out!

How Will Sony Market the NGP?

The upcoming battle between the Nintendo 3DS and Sony NGP will be determined by the marketing — specifically how well Sony is able to convey the capabilities of its system. Remember the first few years of PS3 marketing? They sucked. The commercials, ad campaigns, etc. were wonderfully stylish spots…that didn’t say much and confused the audience. Sony has stepped it up a notch — especially with the excellent Kevin Butler commercials — but the challenge remains.

Nintendo will have a relatively easy time marketing the 3DS. The biggest and most obvious differentiator is its 3D graphics. That’s easy to sell and easy for the audience to understand, particularly casual gamers.

On paper, the NGP is much more diverse and capable, but also much harder to explain in comparison to its competitor. It has a high-resolution five-inch screen with OLED technology. It has a wonderfully advanced CPU and GPU. It has potentially fascinating social features. All of these things are more difficult to explain than 3D graphics — especially to the general consumer.

How do you think Sony will market the NGP? Will it have to outspend Nintendo in order to get consumers to understand why it’s so powerful? Will Sony learn from its mistakes with the PS3 and convey a clear message with the NGP? If you worked for Sony marketing, what aspects of the NGP would you highlight?

Coffee Talk #293: Nintendo 3DS vs. Sony NGP Poll

Now that you’ve had a day to think about what the Sony NGP brings to the table, I wanted to see which 2011 portable gaming system you prefer. Based on what you know so far, would you rather have a Nintendo 3DS or a Sony NGP?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Lea Michele pegged to sing “American the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl, if puberty will derail Justin Bieber’s career, or Charlie Sheen believing he’s immortal, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

[poll id=”99″]