Console Wars Archives - Page 7 of 15

Coffee Talk #292: 3DS vs. NGP is the Same Fight…But Different

The upcoming round of console wars feels a bit familiar. Based on what you know so far, how do you think the upcoming portable console war will play out? Will Nintendo’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, Roger Federer falling at the Australian Open, 15-year olds dominating American Idol (so far), or looking forward to seeing Jay Mohr, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Before I start today’s column, please remind me to never switch to a new keyboard the same night a console company unveils new hardware. That was…not so smart. Anyway, the console wars have heated up with Nintendo’s announcement of the 3DS’ global launch dates and Sony unveiling the (codename) NGP. As I mentioned back in September 2010, this is going to be an amazing year for portable gaming.

The upcoming round of console wars also feels a bit familiar. I had an exchange with my friend Giant Bomb Jeff about the matter. He said, “It’s still kind of crazy to see Sony go tech and Nintendo go quirk considering how it all panned out last time.” I replied, “I see it as Sony being the electronics company and Nintendo being the game company. They gots roots!” On several levels, it’s the same story as before. Sony has the superior tech and third-party partnerships. Nintendo has the more obvious gimmick and beloved first-party games. Yet these wars have played out differently in the past. PlayStation vs. Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2 vs. GameCube, PlayStation Portable vs. Nintendo DS, and PlayStation 3 vs. Nintendo Wii were all very different battles. How do you think Nintendo 3DS vs. Sony NGP will pan out?

Certainly it’s too early to tell…but it’s still fun to see if you can do a better job than Michael Pachter. Based on what you know so far, how do you think the upcoming portable console war will play out? Will Nintendo’s longtime dominance in the handheld space and eye-catching 3D gimmick help the company maintain its dominance? Or will Sony’s modern social features, motion controls, and superior hardware win the day? Perhaps you’ll go with the safe option of predicting that the Nintendo 3DS will do worse that the Nintendo DS while the NGP will perform better than the PSP? Put on your videogame analyst hat and let me know (please)!

NPD 2010 Console Sales Figures (Flame On!)

NPD Group has released its December console sales figures, giving flame warriors some nice 2010 numbers to play with. I haven’t been able to track down the PSP year-end totals yet, but I’ll add them as soon as I do. Here are the total U.S. console sales in 2010 according to NPD Group:

Nintendo DS: 8.56 million
Nintendo Wii: 7.07 million
Xbox 360: 6.76 million
PlayStation 3: 4.33 million

While most of the numbers were lower than 2009, Microsoft had a tremendous year with the Xbox 360, selling more than 40 percent more units in 2010 than 2009. The new model combined with Kinect made the Xbox 360 a huge winner in America.

What do you guys and dolls make of the 2010 console wars (in America)?

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Today’s Poll: PSP Android Phone vs. Windows Phone 7

With Apple making huge strides in mobile gaming with groundbreaking titles like Infinity Blade, Microsoft and Sony are looking to up their mobile phone offerings. Windows Phone 7 features Xbox Live capabilities with limited gaming functionality. The upcoming PSP Android phone will also have limited PlayStation Portable capabilities. Which mobile gaming phone interests you more? Kindly vote and discuss!

[poll id=”91″]

Coffee Talk #261: Has Apple Doomed the 3DS and PSP2?

In a recent episode of Pach Atttack starring Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter (I’ll give you a few moments to soak that all in), your favorite videogame analyst and mine (not really) said that Apple’s iOS is the future of mobile gaming.

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, if the NY Knicks have finally gotten past years or mediocrity, Verve Roasters’ Ethiopia Nigusie Lemma, or your holiday shopping, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

In a recent episode of Pach Atttack starring Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter (I’ll give you a few moments to soak that all in), your favorite videogame analyst and mine (not really) said that Apple’s iOS is the future of mobile gaming. In fact, he felt so strongly about the iPod Touch that he doesn’t see a bright future for Nintendo’s and Sony’s next portable systems. Check it out:

I think the ubiquity of the iPod Touch is cutting into the handheld market, I think the PSP was dead on arrival and I think the PSP2 is going to be dead on arrival. It looks to me like young kids are just as happy playing with an iPod Touch or a Nano. The Touch is cool, it plays games, plays music, they’re going to put a camera in it and you’re going to get all kinds of cool stuff.

The 3DS will prolong the handheld market for the game manufacturers, but ultimately, I think handhelds are in trouble. After the 3DS has had its little rush I think the handhelds will continue to decline.

What do you think of Pachter’s stance? Is he on the money? Or is he just talking out of his ass to get more attention? Will the multifunction wizardry of the iPod Touch beat out the sheer power of the PSP2 and the 3D wonder of the 3DS? Can’t we live in a world where all of them do reasonably well? Share your feelings like a Care Bear (please)!

Sony Engineer Critiques Kinect for Xbox 360

Sony Computer Entertainment engineer Anton Mikhailov recently gave an interesting critique of Kinect for Xbox 360. Obviously he has a vested interest in PlayStation Move succeeding, but his critique was more interesting than the typical pissing contest between sales-and-marketing executives. He are some of the things he told Videogamer.com:

We feel like Move has more applicability across more genres so it fits better with what we try to do.

Also I think the tech is a bit, not so much immature, but not quite up to spec in what we think. Like the PlayStation Eye camera runs at 60 frames per second so it can track you very quickly whereas the Kinect and other depth camera are only 30 frames per second. So they are more suited for slower motions. Dancing is still kind of okay and then the yoga stuff that they were doing, it fits that very well, whereas if you want to do quick punches it’s harder to do that just because you can’t see the player as quickly.

The fact that it runs at 30 frames per second instead of 60, that’s a common problem with all those cameras. It’s actually hard to fix because you have a lot of data to transport. Sort of working with that image is expensive computationally-wise. I think they quoted something like 10-15 per cent of the Xbox resources, plus like 50 megs of memory or something like that. The Move takes less than 1%, and like 1 megabyte. So, you know, that’s just a bunch of numbers but to developers that means like Killzone 3 can just put in Move and not have to worry about it, whereas something like Kinect you have to make significant game changes to actually fit that into your game.

Whether you believe him or not, superior technology doesn’t necessarily win console wars. Look at the Nintendo Wii, for example. Furthermore, from what I’ve gathered, Microsoft’s marketing budget for Kinect makes Sony’s Move budget look like lunch money. People will buy into hype and purchase products that seem different.

What do you think of Mikhailov’s views on Kinect? Are they honest and legitimate? Or is he just touting his product’s technological superiority over one that’s outselling his?

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NPD Console Sales Figures Top 10 Games of October 2010

It’s time for NPD Group’s sales figures! It’s the second month of neutered NPD numbers (*sniff* *sniff*) and I miss the flame wars the old numbers started. That said, the game sales data is still interesting. Let’s have a look!

NBA 2K11 (Take-Two Interactive, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, PC)
Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Medal of Honor (Electronic Arts, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Fable III (Microsoft, Xbox 360)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (LucasArts, Xbox 360, PS3, WII, PC, NDS)
Halo: Reach (Microsoft, Xbox 360)
Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft, Wii)
FIFA Soccer 11 (Electronic Arts, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, NDS, PC)
Madden NFL 11 (Electronic Arts, Xbox 360, PS3, WII, PS2, PSP)
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 (THQ, PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, WII, PSP)

I’m said that more people didn’t buy SmackDown vs. Raw. The people need games with superior writing and that game has the best writing (of any kind) of 2010. Combining platforms and market saturation have changed the way the top 10 has looked for the last few years — way fewer Wii exclusives on the list. I’m surprised and pleased that NBA 2K11 and Fallout topped the list. Not that those games were release by “small” publishers, but it’s good for the business when Acitivsion and EA aren’t completely dominating the scene.

What do you think of October’s numbers? Any surprises for you?

Does This PlayStation Move Infographic Scream Desperation?

With Kinect for Xbox 360 and PlayStation Move for PlayStation 3, the console wars have a new wrinkle. Kinect has been selling out all over the place, while Move has put up some good, but hardly earth shattering, numbers. Sony recently sent out this infographic to show how well Move is doing. It’s nice…but feels a bit desperate to me. I understand that Move isn’t backed by the ridiculous marketing budget Kinect enjoys, but I don’t think that Sony needs to issue “hey, we’re cool too!” infographics. It looks weak to me.

Then again, that’s just my opinion. What’s yours? Check out the infographic and share your thoughts (please)!

PlayStation 3 Ahead of Xbox 360 Worldwide?

According to Famitsu, developer Tose claims that PlayStation 3 is ahead of Xbox 360 by a cool one-million units in terms of global installed base. At a recent presentation, Tose reported that the current worldwide numbers for the three major consoles are approximately:

According to Famitsu, developer Tose claims that PlayStation 3 is ahead of Xbox 360 by a cool one-million units in terms of global installed base. At a recent presentation, Tose reported that the current worldwide numbers for the three major consoles are approximately:

Wii: 74,000,000
PlayStation 3: 42,000,000
Xbox 360: 41,000,000

I’m sure this will shock some American gamers. Xbox 360 is way ahead of PS3 in North America, but globally it has been close for the last year. Tose believes that Sony has pulled ahead of Microsoft. What do you think of these numbers?

Source via Sankaku Complex

Today’s Poll: Will Xbox 360 Kinect Sell 5-Million in 2010?

Kinect for Xbox 360 is out! Microsoft has already spent millions on a lavish E3 2010 event and a ridiculously expensive launch in New York City’s Times Square. There are still plenty of marketing dollars to be spent and the company is feeling so bullish on Kinect that MS president Don Mattrick has increased internal projections to five-million units sold in 2010.

That said, the reviews have been pretty average. Almost every reviewer is more impressed with the potentiality of Kinect than the actuality. Certainly there will be people that want it because it’s exciting and new (like Love Boat), but will the initial fervor be tempered by not-so-enthusiastic reviews? Do you think Microsoft will snag five-million customers this year? Kindly vote in today’s poll and back up your choice in the comments section.

[poll id=”83″]

Microsoft Ups its Kinect Estimate to 5-Million Units

Microsoft is feeling pretty good about Kinect for Xbox 360 — so good that it has upped its estimated units sold this quarter from three-million to five-million. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business president Don Mattrick has revised the company’s estimates.

Microsoft Corp. boosted its forecast for the Kinect motion-control device for the Xbox gaming system to 5 million units this quarter, predicting the most successful Xbox product debut by sales.

Based on pre-sales, retail orders and consumer interest, the company expects to exceed a previous forecast of 3 million units, Don Mattrick, president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, said in an interview today. The device, which lets players control games with motion and voice, goes on sale tomorrow.

It looks like this will be one of the rare times that Michael Pachter is correct (I kid, I kid). What do you think of Microsoft’s numbers? Is the company being overly optimistic? Or is Kinect going to take over the world?!? Will Sony’s PlayStation Move come close to matching Kinect’s numbers?

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