Post by oliverol on Aug 29, 2015 6:09:24 GMT -5
Halloween is over and the Holiday 2007 sales push is officially on for video game manufacturers. This is a pivotal time for Sony and Microsoft. While Microsoft is looking to expand their current lead in Next Generation hardware sales with games like Mass Effect and Halo 3, Sony is just trying to get back in the race with price drops and some big games of their own. It's certainly a huge change from just a few years ago when PlayStation 2 was king and the original Xbox was struggling to gain a foothold in the consciousness of gamers. How is Xbox 360 crushing the PS3? More importantly, what will the future hold for these two behemoths?
November 2005, I remember it well. Excitement was high for the release of the gta code. Microsoft had announced their new console before anyone else even had a "Next Gen" offering beyond the drawing board stages. Sony was no where near releasing the PS3 and in fact they had not announced final specs for it; only a wish list of "features", many of which never materialized. The early announcement of the 360's release which would pretty much guarantee Microsoft at least a six month jump on their competitors was seen by many as risky in light of the fast moving pace of technological advancement while others viewed it as necessary considering Sony's domination in the previous hardware generation when it was estimated that they controlled 70% of the overall console market.
When the Xbox 360 hit retail, the reviews were mostly favorable for the console, but it was a mixed bag as far as the software was concerned. If examined in an unbiased manner, the 360 software lineup was undoubtedly the strongest of any new hardware launch. With 18 titles available on day one including Call of Duty 2, Project Gotham Racing 3, Condemned, and Kameo: Elements of Power all of which received very strong reviews at the time of their release, the Xbox 360 had something to offer everyone right from the get go. The downside was that many third party games, most notably the entire sports lineup from EA, were all seen as lacking in features and depth.
Shortly after the launch, and straight through to the present day, the 360 has been haunted by reports of hardware failures which have come to be known as the dreaded red ring of death. However, with a continuous stream of quality software titles including consecutive Game of the Year winners in Call of Duty 2 and Oblivion or Gears of War (depending which game sites you follow), the 360 was able to maintain strong sales through it's hardware troubles by giving gamers what they truly crave...good games and customer service. At the same time, with the introduction of achievements and gamer scores, Xbox Live evolved to unprecedented levels of user friendliness and online gaming goodness, giving Microsoft yet another arrow in their suddenly formidable console quiver.