Console Wars Archives - Page 6 of 15

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!!!”

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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.

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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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