im very mixed up on this.
on the one hand competition is great. it drives innovation and lowers costs. on paper at least. now although innovation is going at a steady pace, prices are only going up. in alot of ways it feels like a cartel. any more consoles under the current business model for consoles would be a disaster for the consumer. crazy but there ya go.
should one go though? im not so sure. the one thing MS have done well this gen is to keep sony on their toes. if MS wasnt here then the PS3 would probably still be $600. yes theres ninty but ninty are doing their own thing (and major kudos to em..the wii is great) and are keeping everyone on their toes in a different way.
on the other hand though...the 360 is getting the crap undermined out of it by MSs policies (as is the PC of course...neither side is benefiting from thsi crossover). as a 360 owner....mine is getting basically no use. were into june and ive bought alot of PC games, quite a few wii games (with 2 more later this month that i want), 1 PS3 game (with 2-3 more this year that im interested in) and 0 360 games (and nothing coming that wont be on the PC at some point) so far this year. since i bought my 360 (around 6 months after launch) ive only bought about 4 games for it. if i didnt have my PC then my 360 would be far more used. this is something that MS seriously need to address...ideally with completly seperate PC and 360 divisions in the company that effectively compete with each other.
does that make the 360 irrelevant though? absolutely not and 20+ million seem to agree. it has kicked online play on consoles into gear (before MS, online play on consoles was a laughing stock compared to the PC...at least now its respectable) and it has also done the same with downloadable content and content distribution over dinternet on consoles (yes there ideas MS took from there experience on PC but PCs are not consoles). it also has a titanic attachment ratio and games sell very well on the platform...so clearly MS are doing somethign right on that front.
im ranting a bit though...i think a 3rd competitor is good to have in this industry with its current business models. the PC, godly platform that it is, has no voice and tis not a console and ninty have thrown a major curve ball (which is great) but i think its still important for one company to keep another in check by meeting them blow for blow.
i wish it wasnt MS though in alot of ways, i wish it was another company like toshiba, samsung or panasonic....i wish MS were completly focused on PC gaming and someone else stud up to the plate to create a console just like the 360 and the 720 in the future. but alas MS are very entrenched in the console market and, chances are anyway, there the only company thats bullheaded, stubborn and powerful enough to keep sony on their toes (and vice versa of course...MS are no angels either).
Log in to comment