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Santa was very happy with Microsoft this Christmas season

Facing a tough battle as an underdog to the worldwide leading Nintendo Wii and a resurgent Sony PS3, Microsoft is jubilant to report that it experienced very solid holiday sales.  The company has had a tough time despite strong titles such as the best selling Halo 3 and Mass Effect. 

Part of its problem is that the Nintendo Wii had some hits of its own with titles such as Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime Corruption offering a more parent-friendly image.  Microsoft responded by releasing the Xbox 360 Arcarde, which hoped to win over more of the younglings.

In the end it appears that Microsoft's strong library, in particular Halo 3, and its aggressive marketing carried it to a big holiday season.  The company announced that in the last three months of 2007, it sold a total of 4.3 million consoles worldwide, bringing its worldwide tally to 17.7 million.

Halo 3 blew through sales records like Master Chief through a pack of angry Convenant, racking up a record setting 8.1 million units sold since its September release.  Mass Effect also reported strong sales, moving 1.6 million units in about a month since its late November release.

Nintendo and Sony have not yet released sales figures for the holiday season, so it is too early to know the true victor.  However, Microsoft can't feel too bad regardless of the outcome as it is building a strong user base.

Microsoft made the announcement in part to help build buzz around its CES 2008 presentations next week in Las Vegas.  Microsoft is among the many companies demoing products at CES 2008, which DailyTech will be reporting live from.  

Microsoft Chairman and founder Bill Gates is set to personally unveil information on the future of the Xbox 360 and various other Microsoft products at the show.  Stay tuned for more details.

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Nice Figures
By Alexstarfire on 1/4/2008 10:22:59 AM , Rating: 2
That's some pretty impressive figures, but I wonder what Nintendo and Sony pulled off. I'm also interested to know the breakdown of those 4.3 million consoles. Like the figures for each country and for each week/month. No doubt Black Friday and Christmas were the biggest sellers. I mean, Nintendo said they sold 271,000 consoles IN JAPAN over December. Japan is pretty much saturated with Wiis already.




RE: Nice Figures
By FITCamaro on 1/4/2008 10:26:36 AM , Rating: 2
Well I know locally stores had plenty of PS3s available, no Wiis longer than an hour after getting them in, and even shortages of 360s at times.

Whatever the Wii's sales, it was supply constrained, not demand.


RE: Nice Figures
By Vanilla Thunder on 1/4/08, Rating: -1
RE: Nice Figures
By therealnickdanger on 1/4/2008 10:56:55 AM , Rating: 3
Normally what you wrote might be really funny, but you should re-read his comment. He said that the Wii's sales were supply constrained - meaning they could not stock enough to meet demand. There's no problem with demand.


RE: Nice Figures
By TomZ on 1/4/2008 11:59:05 AM , Rating: 2
Not having inventory available at the stores just means that demand > supply. That is a good thing of course, but it doesn't in itself tell you whether demand is strong or weak.


RE: Nice Figures
By Murst on 1/4/2008 12:01:34 PM , Rating: 2
demand >= supply

:)


RE: Nice Figures
By deeznuts on 1/4/2008 12:49:01 PM , Rating: 1
having more demand than supply is hardly ever a good thing, ever. It means you are leaving sales on the table. Sales that may wait around for supply, or go to another console.


RE: Nice Figures
By TomZ on 1/4/08, Rating: 0
RE: Nice Figures
By Oregonian2 on 1/4/2008 1:52:18 PM , Rating: 1
It's also known that they're selling very large volumes of units even if not as high as the demand. There are numerous article about that and the side effects (with the Wii guys giving coupons of sorts to try and keep buyers from going to the competition as well as knowing that they haven't been able to stock-up for the holidays due to their selling all they make).

Have you not noticed that Nintendo has been leading sales rather strongly for the last year?


RE: Nice Figures
By robinthakur on 1/7/2008 6:24:04 AM , Rating: 1
These are my predictions: The Wii will continue to dominate-That's a given. Just look at the genuine sustained demand from non-gamers and the 'Mario-Effect' amongst developers. The 360 sales will start to slip from here on in as the games start to dry up. The PS3 will hit its stride as the industry originally predicted in the coming year. This will be ably assisted by price cuts and the fact that since Warner Bros announcement, HD-DVD is effectively dead in the water. The greater availability of games will also help. 360 sales were very lacklustre prior to Halo 3 and without big exclusive games to sustain it, I don't think it will sell greatly. Even my elderly mother saw about the reliability issues with it on the news and asked me about it. Massive widespread product reliability issues on items as expensive as the 360 rarely get forgotten by the public. The shocking performance problems of Mass Effect are also made worse on 360's which are on their last legs.

Trivial differences between versions of multi platform games are NOT significant, people really don't care unless they own both or all consoles when it becomes an issue. Exclusive games are cclearly much more influential. Naturally you never need to ask which console Mario and Zelda are available on...


RE: Nice Figures
By inperfectdarkness on 1/7/2008 9:06:06 AM , Rating: 2
couldn't have put that better myself.


RE: Nice Figures
By wallijonn on 1/7/2008 12:58:12 PM , Rating: 2
The problem is that most may buy the PS3 for movie watching and decide to rent PS3 games versus buying them outright, due to the high cost relative to the number of hours of game play. Pointing to internet on-line play ignores the fact that there will be very few servers running that game a year from now, so only the cream of the crop will be purchased (Halo3, Portal, UT3). A game like Warhawk may die a quick death.

The plain fact of the matter is that America prefers FPS, which makes the 360 the game console of choice.

If game developers perceive the PS3 as mainly a movie player then they will be hesitant to make games for it. The 360 will still continue to dominate.

I own a PS3 and there is no game that I am willing to buy at the present time. I will rent instead. Movies are another matter, though. I will most likely just replace my favourites with BD. But having been burnt, somewhat, by Resident Evil 3, I will be more wearing in the future.

If most decide to rent rather than buy then subsidising hardware sales through software sales will be seen as a failure. If I can beat a game in a weekend then there is very little reason to pay $60 for it. Making the game frustratingly difficult won't help, either, since broken platforming mechanics and unwieldy cameras won't help the immersement factor. The PS3 can still fail, seeing as the 360 seems to be the console of choice for not only users but developers also.


RE: Nice Figures
By helios220 on 1/4/2008 11:23:16 AM , Rating: 4
Throughout my holiday travels I saw no real shortage of Xbox 360s, although I did notice that at most B&M stores there seemed to be a much larger amount of Xbox 360s in stock compared to PS3s.

That is not to say that the PS3s were selling faster, they were always in stock as well but stores (Best Buy in particular) were carrying far fewer PS3s than 360s. I saw a fair amount of 360s being bought over the holidays but the PS3 pile just seemed sort of stagnant even though I by no means think my limited observations represent the complete market outlook.

Personally I don't own either console and I don't believe the PS3 is going to die out or be a complete failure, but I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up riding out this generation in a healthy 3rd.


RE: Nice Figures
By glennpratt on 1/4/2008 11:43:38 AM , Rating: 2
I don't know about just before Christmas, but for most of November and early December all I could find we're Halo 3 Edition's or Elite's at Best Buy or anywhere else.


RE: Nice Figures
By EBGames on 1/5/2008 12:21:18 AM , Rating: 5
I work at a EB Games near Montréal, Canada, and here are some stats:

Before Christmas:
-No Wiis in stock, aggressive people calling us or asking for the Wii 100+ times per day (like the one threatening us because we sold the last Wii 15 minutes before and he promised one to his son for Christmas);
-No 360s in stock, except the Halo 3 sku, lot of people asking for the Premium sku;
-Backstore full of PS3s, really hard to sell, people not interested in BluRay and aware of the lack of games.

After Christmas (boxing week):
-Still no Wii in stock;
-Still no 360s in stock, sold most of the Halo 3 edition because of the $50 rebate (didn't sell any between release and Christmas);
-Sold a bunch of PS3s (with a $50 rebate), but still having a lot in stock, most of them sold because people couldn't find any 360 Premium edition.

Music games bundles:
-Guitar Hero sold out except the PC version because of the Crysis-like minimum specs;
-No Rock Band in stock;
-DDR in stock for PS2 and 360.

And finally some random stats: Most of the time, people don't buy games at the same time they get a Wii or a PS3, but buy Halo 3 or Assassin's Creed when they get a 360. Wii's best seller this holiday was Mario Galaxy, PS3's was Call of Duty 4 and 360's was Viva Pinata. Okay, just kidding, 360's best seller this holiday was Assassin's Creed and NOT Halo 3 (every X360 gamer already bought the third chapter of the adventures of Master Chief in late September). For the portable market, DS had a slow start but sold like hotcakes 2 weeks before Christmas and we sold a lot of PSPs, Daxter bundle sold out since release.

Sorry for my poor english but I wanted to share those stats.


RE: Nice Figures
By Alexstarfire on 1/4/2008 10:27:52 AM , Rating: 2
Damn, I remembered something completely wrong I think. Disregard the 271,000 I mentioned. Japan had about 200,000 PREPRDERS for Wii at Christmas, so yea. That's all I know.


RE: Nice Figures
By KeithTalent on 1/4/08, Rating: -1
RE: Nice Figures
By Alexstarfire on 1/4/2008 10:41:47 AM , Rating: 1
I'm not too surprised. I feel that many people are turned off by the RROD issues. Sure, Microsoft may have a 3 year warranty for that specific issue alone, but I'm sure no one wants to have to deal with it either. I know that there are several games I'd like to play on the 360, like Mass Effect. I can't get past the RROD issues though. It's so wide spread. If they can't fix that issue after all this time.....


RE: Nice Figures
By mholler on 1/4/2008 11:05:50 AM , Rating: 5
I haven't heard of any recent issues regarding the RROD since the revised cooling system. Even less since the die shrink. It's possible I missed the articles, but microsoft seems to have addressed the issue with the extended warranty and product revisions.


RE: Nice Figures
By Alexstarfire on 1/4/08, Rating: -1
RE: Nice Figures
By rcc on 1/4/2008 12:35:04 PM , Rating: 4
quote:
If it were completely fixed we'd hear about it all over the net.


Not necessarily. One of the joys of customer service is that you only hear from unhappy customers. When people aren't having problems, they don't bother posting.

There are, of course, two exceptions to this rule. 1. When someone else posts a "the xyz is a POS" message about a person's favorite system and they have to reply that "no, it rocks" and the other guy is an idiot. And, 2. there is a thread regarding issues that the person doesn't have so they have to chip in with "it must be you, cuz mine is good".


RE: Nice Figures
By anotherdude on 1/4/2008 2:00:45 PM , Rating: 2
Some units may still be RRODing, of course, units sold before the fix - do we have any reports of units sold after the fix going RROD. If not, why not, that would be pretty big news. It seems to have died down and the obvious explanation is it is not happening much on newer units. Unless you have evidence to the contrary.


RE: Nice Figures
By The Sword 88 on 1/5/2008 2:51:36 AM , Rating: 2
My 360 just RRODed a couple days ago, I got it at launch and it died, but Microsoft sent me a box to send my 60 in and they are fixing it for free, it just sucks that it happened right before Christmas, so I havent been able to play Bioshock yet. My PS2 broke three times with disc read error so I cant complain about MS and Xbox.

Despite that I have still been very satisfied with my console, it has the games I want to play, where Wii and PS3 are lacking in my eyes.


RE: Nice Figures
By Ryl3x on 1/4/2008 10:43:34 AM , Rating: 5
Of my 10+ friends here in Irvine, 9 360's and 1 wii. 6 of us already have wii's and none of us have PS3's.

You can find PS3's everywhere here...no wiis to be found and 360's are hit and miss.

The feeling is the same with my friends and coworkers...no reason to buy the PS3 for games when the 360 already has a great selection and a great online community.

PS3 = Someone looking to buy a blue ray player.


RE: Nice Figures
By Bioniccrackmonk on 1/4/08, Rating: -1
RE: Nice Figures
By PAPutzback on 1/4/2008 11:19:26 AM , Rating: 2
I don't own any yet. Still waiting for a WII to come in. In fact I already bought games for it when Toys R Us was selling buy two get one free.

I couldn't name one game on the PS3 but if I had a HDTV I would buy one to use as a BD player. The price is about the same as other players out there and it has better DVD up-scaling. I think that places me in the consumer market. If you look in the AV forums that is what a lot of people use the PS3 for.

If the 360 had HDDVD built in and looked nice I'd go that route if it was cheaper. The 360 up-scaled DVDs well also.


RE: Nice Figures
By Ryl3x on 1/4/2008 11:25:56 AM , Rating: 2
Bioniccrackmonk,

Didnt mean to confuse you. You come off acting pretty smart but yet you your comments prove that you arent. Re-read and think before posting.


RE: Nice Figures
By Alexstarfire on 1/4/2008 11:35:43 AM , Rating: 2
I was just about to post that. He misread EVERYTHING. I don't wanna go to name calling, but I bet you know what I'm thinking.


RE: Nice Figures
By BansheeX on 1/4/08, Rating: -1
RE: Nice Figures
By inperfectdarkness on 1/4/2008 1:47:42 PM , Rating: 2
=

someone who builds a $400 pc to run linux, and a wii for retro-gaming.

buying a console based on fanboi views is retarded. buy a console based on exclusive titles you want to play.

pc + wii = ftw


RE: Nice Figures
By BansheeX on 1/4/2008 2:22:50 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
buying a console based on fanboi views is retarded.


What of that list constitutes a fanboy view and why? Are legitimate advantages the sign of fanboyism. I give you actual reasons of why many people choose a PS3. Then you proceed to suggest a $400 PC plus a $250 system, which at $650 is still incapable of high definition playback and requires two separate connections and twice the shelf space. Then you bring up the Wii's virtual console which is overpriced and has a VERY limited selection of old titles. I mean, are you just blindly promoting something without breaking down the costs and limitations of each? That's the real fanboyism.


RE: Nice Figures
By Steve Guilliot on 1/4/2008 7:30:44 PM , Rating: 3
How about almost everything?

Every comment partially omits, or stretches, the truth in favor of the PS3 and against the 360. If you can't see the fanboi attitude there, no one is going to be able to point it out for you.


RE: Nice Figures
By inperfectdarkness on 1/7/2008 9:20:30 AM , Rating: 2
you're also forgetting that $400 pc will have much more storage capacity, a much more diverse library of available games, and the addition of an internal HD drive will be minimal cost, compared to a standalone player (especially in another year or so).

if the virtua console is overpriced...then i'm baffeled to explain why it's selling in such great numbers. the selection is SOMEWHAT limited, but it's growing each week. and you already have access to sega, neo-geo, and turbo-graphix games that are otherwise next-to-impossible to find, get, and play. if they find a way to add dreamcast to the available library---that will be the icing on the cake.

any self-respecting gamer is going to have the capability to play pc games, and not just console games. my contention is simply that the investment spent on something like a ps3 could be more wisely invested between a wii and upgrades/building a pc.

that $150 difference between the $250 wii, and the $399 ps3 could be used to drop SLI into your pc.

anyone would be hard pressed to find more depth, exclusivity, and availability of gaming that going with a COMBINED pc/wii.


RE: Nice Figures
By omnicronx on 1/4/2008 2:36:45 PM , Rating: 4
quote:
So I can easily see how peer pressure will lead to friends owning the same system. Their decisions are partially dictated by who bought what first, not necessarily their real personal preference.
I do not see why this would be weird to you, the xbox had many more 'features' than the ps2, but it was the previous ps1 and the current ps2 owners that swayed peoples decisions.

Get your product out there first, let peer pressure and the early adopters do the rest. Microsoft does know a thing or two about marketing.

quote:
The PS3 has both of those and much more.

No.. it doesn't.. There are a handful of good games I can count on one hand, and EA games that all run at 30fps (compared to the 360's 60fps). They do not have many exclusive titles, and their previous cash cow GTA will be cross platform with 360 exclusives. Most people do not use their consoles to watch movies, run linux or use it as an HTPC, I really do not know who you think you are kidding here.


RE: Nice Figures
By SirLucius on 1/4/08, Rating: 0
RE: Nice Figures
By sweetsauce on 1/4/2008 6:28:51 PM , Rating: 3
Except people do make side by side comparisons, and in every single one the 360 version is supperior. If my memory serves me, the ps3 was out a year later, has the almighty cell chip inside, and has the name sony written on it. That should make it far superior to the 360.
Reality has proven differently, but that isn't a shock to me. The ps2 was touted as a 70million polygon graphics monster, and we all know what a piece of crap the ps2 really was. Typical sony stance, claim their machine is the greatest thing ever, build hype, and sell sell sell. This time they have someone willing to compete with them for the hardcore gamer so we all benefit.


RE: Nice Figures
By SirLucius on 1/6/2008 12:35:40 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Reality has proven differently, but that isn't a shock to me.


How so? All the numbers I've seen show Sony doing just as well, if not better than the 360 worldwide during a similar time period in the 360's life cycle. That should say something. With a higher price and the popular notion of "no must have games", the PS3 has managed to not only keep pace with the 360, but according to some sources, surpass it.

Of course Sony's going to have less overall sales than the 360. The 360 was released a full year in advance. If Microsoft didn't have any kind of sales lead it would be kinda embarrassing.

quote:
The ps2 was touted as a 70million polygon graphics monster, and we all know what a piece of crap the ps2 really was.


Piece of crap? For most of it's life cycle the PS2 produced some of the best looking, best playing, and most fun games. Sure, there were a lot of crap looking games, but when you have the massive library that the PS2 has, your bound to get some lemon games.


RE: Nice Figures
By Steve Guilliot on 1/4/2008 7:26:47 PM , Rating: 2
Sorry, that rant doesn't pass the gut check.

The 360 has a vastly larger and better library, and any objective person can see that. You can omit games that are cross-platform with PC to help your cause, but it just looks like mental gymnastics to me.


RE: Nice Figures
By SirLucius on 1/4/2008 7:51:33 PM , Rating: 1
Then enlighten me as to the massive library of exclusives that the 360 possess outside of Halo 3, Mass Effect, and Gears of War. Please. Bioshock? I own it for the PC. Call of Duty 4? Got it on the PC, while my brother has the PS3 version. Assassin's Creed? Got it on PS3. Orange Box? Have it on the PC and it's also available on the PS3. Guitar Hero? I have the PS3 version. Seeing a trend?

Back up your argument. I gave examples of PS3 exclusives that have been received well by reviewers and your everyday gamers. I've listed popular games available on both systems. What have you brought to the argument? Nothing other than a blanket statement and nothing to back it up with. It's getting tiring when people repeat the same exact dated arguments over and over again.

And if you can't comprehend that a game available on more than one platform is not considered an exclusive, then I don't really know what more to say.


RE: Nice Figures
By sweetsauce on 1/5/2008 7:50:11 PM , Rating: 3
I'll bite. Even if the 360 had none "0" exclusive titles, every game it has would still be superior since the system is superior. Only someone mentally challanged, or a sony fanboy, would buy a game on the ps3 that is also available on the 360. Now you throw in the exclusive titles it does have like mass effect, it just solidifies the argument that games on the 360 are better. You don't need to have exclusive crap to have the best games.


RE: Nice Figures
By SirLucius on 1/6/2008 2:25:46 AM , Rating: 3
Have you played the games on the PS3? Have you ever sat down and played a game on the 360 and then played the same game on the PS3? Having played several games on both systems, I can honestly say that the difference between the two is little to none. And yes, I OWNED a Xbox 360. This isn't like running a PC with a 8800 Ultra vs. a 9800 Pro. It's more akin to running an 8800 Ultra vs. two Ultra's in SLI. Are the two Ultra's a bit better? Sure. But are 90% of people going to see a difference? No. The ONLY difference between the two (outside of EA Sports games) is that the PS3 might have a hiccup here or there. Most games feel and play exactly the same. I'll admit, some of the early releases for the PS3 weren't up to snuff. But games released recently have been pretty much on par with their 360 counterparts. And that's me comparing not only to the 360 I have at home, but to the numerous friend's of mine that have 360's here at school. I play the 360 with my friends almost as much as I play the PS3.

It's really just tiring hearing people who clearly not only don't OWN a PS3, but haven't even PLAYED one, mouthing off like they know what the hell they're talking about. I have to be mentally retarded to buy a PS3 game that's available on the 360? Pull your head out of your ass. I think the PS3 controller is infinitely better than the 360 controller. That alone is enough for me to get that over th 360 version.

I swear to God this isn't rocket science. Most games that come out now are cross platform. Most games score within .5 points of each other for both systems. I don't see what's so hard. How can the PS3 have no games (which is what I was originally responding to) when half the games are available on both systems? Logically, it makes no sense. Personally, I think the PS3 has more exclusives out right now that are worth playing than the 360. That's my opinion and you're free to disagree. But don't sit there and make an asinine statement like there are no games available when there clearly are. And don't make an even more asinine statement like if the 360 had no exclusives *cough*Halo*cough* it would be superior. You just make yourself look like a fool.


RE: Nice Figures
By NullSubroutine on 1/6/2008 5:01:23 AM , Rating: 2
I absolutely hate the PS2/PS3 controller, I have big hands and the Xbox 360 controller in my opinion the best controller made for PC/Mac/Console


RE: Nice Figures
By sweetsauce on 1/6/2008 4:47:01 PM , Rating: 2
I seem like a fool in your eyes because you refuse to see the facts. I will now maky my argument for why the 360 is better and how we would all benefit if the ps3 didn't exist (oh damn a reverse argument in the blu-ray/hd-dvd war, sit back and enjoy).

Most games made today are made for multiple platforms, we can all agree on that. Most premier games today are made for the ps3, 360, and occasionally the pc. Now we get to the basics. The 360 is more powerful GRAPHICALLY than the ps3, all while being easier to program for. You can try to argue otherwise or list some theoretical date when developers will untap the incredible potential of the ps3 (reminds me of the untapped potential of the emotion chip whhich proved to be crap), but right now the 360 is a superior GAMING machine. Now this proves to be a problem for ME THE CONSUMER. Lets take a look at GTA, or Grand Theft Auto for the non gamer. Its a known fact that the game was ready to launch for the holidays on the 360, but because of the ps3 they had to delay the game. You can say, oh well delays are part of being a game deal with it, but we wouldn't have a delay if it wasn't for the ps3. So right now i propose, for the good of the gaming community, that the ps3 goes away and everyone goes exclusively to developing for the 360. Having 2 formats confuses everyone and makes addoption of next gen hardware slower. Scoreboard me.

PS. I have played cod4, live 08, madden 08, assasins creed, and Oblivion on both system, 360 was superior on every game.


RE: Nice Figures
By SirLucius on 1/6/2008 5:11:47 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I seem like a fool in your eyes because you refuse to see the facts.


What facts? Not once did I argue that the 360 is somehow a bad machine. I've never said that the 360 is a bad gaming machine. Not once. I like several of the games available and like I said, I routinely play the system with friends. My only point all along is that the PS3 is a viable gaming machine that shares a large library with the 360 and that has a good lineup of exclusives. That's it. The common games between the two systems generally perform about the same, with a slight performance edge in favor of the 360. 90% of the time you have to be focusing on performance hiccups to notice. I'm sorry, I'd rather focus more on the game than the fact that the PS3 version is running at 60fps instead of 70.

quote:
I will now maky (sic) my argument for why the 360 is better and how we would all benefit if the ps3 didn't exist


And with that statement you've lost all credibility. No matter what evidence I may have, you'll always be believe what you want, and nothing I can say with change your mind.

quote:
The 360 is more powerful GRAPHICALLY than the ps3, all while being easier to program for.


Yet games look nearly identical. Why is that?

quote:
PS. I have played cod4, live 08, madden 08, assasins creed, and Oblivion on both system, 360 was superior on every game.


Define superior. You make it sound like the PS3 version of those games run like monkey nuts while the 360 version runs like honey suckled from the tit of an angel. That's not the case. I already made note that the PS3 version of games can have hiccups here and there. Assassin's Creed is a great example of this. There's the occasional hiccup here and there, but in my experience, it loads faster on the PS3. But there's not some huge gap between the two systems. They're nearly identical.

And with your previous statement about how the world would be better off without the PS3, I have no doubt that even if any of those games performed better on the PS3, you'd convince yourself otherwise.


RE: Nice Figures
By Farfignewton on 1/6/2008 1:31:58 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I'll bite. Even if the 360 had none "0" exclusive titles, every game it has would still be superior since the system is superior. Only someone mentally challanged, or a sony fanboy, would buy a game on the ps3 that is also available on the 360.


You are in no position to be using the word fanboy. You've got enough B.S. in two sentences to make a killing in fertilizer sales.


RE: Nice Figures
By ani4ani on 1/6/2008 7:17:39 PM , Rating: 2
silly little fanboy


RE: Nice Figures
By Alexstarfire on 1/4/2008 7:31:39 PM , Rating: 2
Not sure about you, but I've heard all three systems. The PS3 is the loudest thing I've ever heard. You can hear the one that Gamestop has from anywhere in the store. It's even louder than my computer, which I think it pretty loud. It's not distracting loud, but it's noticeable.

HD is great if you have an HDTV, which would then make sense that you get a 360 or PS3. If you don't, like 95% of the population, then it's just a waste. Well, not a total waste, but it's unnecessary. That's not to say that you couldn't just play the games on it, just that the HD stuff is useless. It would seem that many people don't see the need for HD. One reason why they might buy a Wii instead of the others, but that's doubtful.

BTW, I bought a Wii first out of all my friends, first next-gen console that is. My other friend still got a PS3. He can't even play online either, since he's in the military. Doesn't have an HDTV either. He does have Lair, Uncharted, and Warhawk. But that's all the good PS3 games he has. He has two Spiderman games, which aren't that great. He also said he didn't like Lair. His choice though.


RE: Nice Figures
By SirLucius on 1/4/2008 7:56:08 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Not sure about you, but I've heard all three systems. The PS3 is the loudest thing I've ever heard. You can hear the one that Gamestop has from anywhere in the store. It's even louder than my computer, which I think it pretty loud. It's not distracting loud, but it's noticeable.


You must have heard some banged up PS3's then. You're the first person I've ever heard say the PS3 is louder than a 360. Mine is by no means deathly silent, but it puts the 360 to shame. I don't have to turn up the volume on my speakers just to hear over the fan.


RE: Nice Figures
By robinthakur on 1/7/2008 6:05:04 AM , Rating: 2
Lies. My PS3 is almost silent. My Xbox 360 sounds like a jet taking off and is actually distracting when I'm playing the games especially during quiet bits such as Gears of War. Having the fan so noisy mean that if the noise varies in any way or appears to be struggling, it starts to panic me that the console is dying. I hardly play it but it is nice to have one in the winter what with my apartment being so cold, running all 3 consoles and my pc's heats it up nicely :)


RE: Nice Figures
By BMFPitt on 1/4/2008 11:06:42 AM , Rating: 2
Off the top of my head: Friends (including me*) with...
360 Only = 5
Wii Only = 4
PS3 Only = 0
Wii60 = 3*
All 3 = 1

6 of the 360's, including mine, have been since the price drop. 3 of those were for Christmas, with the 2 bundled games.


RE: Nice Figures
By Captmorgan09 on 1/4/2008 12:49:15 PM , Rating: 3
So, after the holidays I was looking to purchase either a 360 or PS3. After much debate, I decided to go with the 80Gig PS3 for the following reasons:

- Built in wifi, don't have to screw around with an external device. Plus I'm not going to drill holes in my apartment walls to run CAT-5.

- Remote play with my PSP. Being able to stream music from my PS3 to my PSP is great.

- Linux, I haven't installed Yellowdog yet, but it's a very interesting prospect to have the option.

- PS2 games being upscaled to 1080i (Noticed I bought the 80Gig)

- Cheaper to upgrade the HDD to whatever 2.5" SATA drive I want.

This was in no way an easy decision. 360 has a lot of good games already out and is kicking ass. But the above reasons were enough for me to go with the PS3. Exclusive game titles are few and far between, so that really didn't make much of a difference in my decision making.


RE: Nice Figures
By BMFPitt on 1/4/2008 1:27:47 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
- Built in wifi, don't have to screw around with an external device. Plus I'm not going to drill holes in my apartment walls to run CAT-5.
I prefer to keep internet connections wired - especially if it has to do with gaming. I actually have a router on my A/V rack that is out of ports.

But for your purposes it seems like a good way to go, since you seem to already have a PS2 library and a PSP. I hadn't owned a console since SNES.


RE: Nice Figures
By Captmorgan09 on 1/4/2008 2:17:18 PM , Rating: 2
I know what you mean about gaming and wifi, but so far I've been surprised. I've been playing Motorstorm online and I haven't experienced any lag. Of course this isn't a FPS, but I can't stand playing FPS console games, it just doesn't feel right not having a keyboard/mouse.


RE: Nice Figures
By BMFPitt on 1/4/2008 4:14:27 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Of course this isn't a FPS, but I can't stand playing FPS console games, it just doesn't feel right not having a keyboard/mouse.
I categorically refuse to play an FPS without a mouse/keyboard. I don't get why they don't just release one, it would be a cash cow.


RE: Nice Figures
By Murst on 1/4/2008 5:32:40 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I don't get why they don't just release one

I was under the impression that basically any USB / Bluetooth keyboard and mouse would work with the PS3. Is this not the case?


RE: Nice Figures
By darkpaw on 1/4/2008 6:01:29 PM , Rating: 2
That is the case, it is up to the developer to support them. I know for a fact UT3 is playable with mouse/kb on the ps3.


RE: Nice Figures
By Captmorgan09 on 1/4/2008 10:47:48 PM , Rating: 2
Sweet, I'm going to have to get UT3 on the PS3 then. After dropping the cash on my PS3, I'm a little strapped for updating my aging 800 Pro in my gaming PC.


RE: Nice Figures
By Murst on 1/4/2008 4:12:08 PM , Rating: 2
I think most of us prefer wired connections. However, some of us just dont' want to mess around with the wire, especially if its off in another room.

In my computer room (which is upstairs), everything uses wires, and the modem / router are up in that room, so its pretty easy.

However, the PS3 is downstairs in my living room, and running a wire there would require drilling holes in the walls. If the PS3 wifi was crap, I would probably drill the holes, but as it turns out, the PS3 wifi is pretty good. Sure, I'd prefer wires, but the advantage of the wire is not sufficient to justify the holes in the wall.

Of course, everyone's results will vary, depending on how the house is built, the router, and any other devices which may interfere w/ the connection.


RE: Nice Figures
By ajfink on 1/5/2008 1:07:13 PM , Rating: 2
Wireless may not be the best in terms of latency, but it is indeed great in terms of convenience in many cases. So I've found, I guess.


RE: Nice Figures
By inperfectdarkness on 1/4/2008 1:39:35 PM , Rating: 3
you make a very strong case for the wii.

exclusive titles.

built in wi-fi.


RE: Nice Figures
By Captmorgan09 on 1/4/2008 2:11:19 PM , Rating: 2
Everyone has their own opinion and I'm not saying mine is better then yours. The Wii is cool, a friend of mine bought one and I'm headed over there this weekend to drink beer and bowl/golf/play baseball.

Before I decided to buy a console, I was planning on building a HTPC to watch DVIX/XVID videos and listen to music on my home theater. But then PS3 and 360 came out with DIVX and limited XVID support. I figured, what the hell, I don't have to go through the trouble of building/configuring a HTPC when I can get it all in one box. Plus having the capability to run Linux means I can do almost everything I wanted on a HTPC. Seemed like a no brainer at the time and I'm happy.


RE: Nice Figures
By FITCamaro on 1/4/2008 3:48:51 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah but even with the PS3s ability to swap hard drives, the biggest 2.5" hard drive is 250GB I believe. That's not going to hold a whole lot of video really. I've got 2TB in my video server and just stream it all. And both let you do that.

I do have a question on Linux with the PS3. Does it have a lot of packages available for it? Like will any Fedora or Ubuntu package work with it provided the things it requires are already there? I'm just kinda wondering what functionality actually exists there. I mean a text editor, an ftp server, a web server, and an internet browser isn't all that impressive if thats all its got. Does it have full OpenGL support? Stuff like that?


RE: Nice Figures
By SirLucius on 1/4/2008 4:03:38 PM , Rating: 2
It's actually up to 320GB now. To my surprise I found a 320GB Western Digital drive on Newegg 2 days after installing my 250GB for my laptop. But you're right, for internal storage that's not much. You can hook up as many external drives as you want though.

I know that Ubuntu is supported on the PS3. Not sure about Fedora. I messed around with Yellow Dog but I'm getting ready to put Ubuntu on the system. There are a bunch of resources about how to get as much functionality as possible out of it all over the web.


RE: Nice Figures
By Durrr on 1/5/2008 8:21:04 AM , Rating: 2
you can connect external USB Hard drives to the PS3 and it recognizes them


RE: Nice Figures
By Alexstarfire on 1/5/2008 7:53:44 PM , Rating: 2
I just bought a $50 DivX DVD player, might even have been cheaper than that, and burned all of them to DVDs. I've got over 200 DVDs, but that's still not over $100 total. Can't beat the convenience of not having to swap discs though.


RE: Nice Figures
By Legolias24 on 1/4/2008 4:06:44 PM , Rating: 2
You know Captmorgan09, I never bothered to try the wifi for online gaming with my PS3, but I see from another post of yours that it works quite well so I kinda regret not giving it a go; instead I just ran some CAT6 along the baseboards of my apartment using my handy dandy staple gun I got for Xmas. :P

People kept offering me a concrete drill to use when they heard that I was placing a small 5-port switch in my living room which I'm sure would cut down on the amount of cable I would need. Instead, I just ponied up the dough for the extra cable because I'm lazy and I doubt my Super would like me drilling into the walls just to run some ethernet Cables :P

Now my roomate and his 360 are online (Halo 3 is a very smooth experience) and my PS3 is online (Team Fortress 2 is addictive :P). I did notice some lag issues with TF2 from time to time (more so than with Halo 3; which hardly has any); not sure if that's the servers or not though...

- Legolias


RE: Nice Figures
By Screwballl on 1/4/08, Rating: 0
RE: Nice Figures
By cobaltb on 1/4/2008 12:25:29 PM , Rating: 2
I experienced the RROD. Called up Microsoft and they were very quick to send out a prepaid package to ship my xbox in. I shipped it out and received a replacement within a week and a half. Since then I have had no problems with games locking up or another RROD. It is running perfect This new Xbox 360 sits in the exact same place as it's failed predecessor. I also use it as a Media Extender (very cool). Since then I have purchase another Xbox 360 for the bedroom. Thought about a PS3, but I don't see much value other than having a blue ray player. Call me ignorant about the PS3 because I don't really care.


Replacments?
By jonrem on 1/4/08, Rating: 0
RE: Replacments?
By mholler on 1/4/2008 10:35:13 AM , Rating: 2
I'd guess very few since the 3 year extension of the warranty to cover RROD issues.


RE: Replacments?
By Alexstarfire on 1/4/2008 10:38:02 AM , Rating: 2
You'd be surprised. I think we'd all be surprised to find the real numbers.


RE: Replacments?
By wempa on 1/4/2008 12:36:03 PM , Rating: 3
It's probably higher than you think. All of my friends have modified their Xbox 360s and voided their warranties. So, when a few of them got the RROD, they bought new ones. Also, some people aren't aware of the warranty extension to 3 years so they just go out and buy another one.


RE: Replacments?
By FITCamaro on 1/4/2008 10:37:32 AM , Rating: 2
There's no way for even Microsoft to know that.


RE: Replacments?
By Schadenfroh on 1/4/2008 10:53:55 AM , Rating: 2
Large drop in attachment rate?


RE: Replacments?
By Alexstarfire on 1/4/2008 10:53:56 AM , Rating: 1
For them to know how many 360s are replacements? If anyone knows it's them. I'd be shocked and horrified if they didn't know. I'd imagine they'd need it for some kind of tax purposes, or at least for supply purposes.


RE: Replacments?
By tdawg on 1/4/2008 11:14:29 AM , Rating: 2
Yeah, MS would know how many they replaced, but they wouldn't know how many people went out and bought a new one when their old one RR'd, rather than getting it fixed for free by MS under the warranty.


RE: Replacments?
By FITCamaro on 1/4/2008 1:40:45 PM , Rating: 2
How could they possibly know that someone's 360 died and the person went out and bought a new one. There's no one asking you at the store "Are you replacing a 360 today?" and when you register your system they don't ask "Have you previously owned a 360?"

They can't. Pure and simple.


RE: Replacments?
By SirLucius on 1/4/2008 3:18:56 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe they could base it on the number of people that transfer Live accounts to new systems? Dunno. But you're right, there's no concrete way for Microsoft, or anyone for that matter, to know if someone bought a new system to replace a RROD system.


RE: Replacments?
By MrWho on 1/4/2008 10:43:20 AM , Rating: 2
Now that's nice for them - I mean, your console goes up in smoke and you go and BUY another one?

I thought about that old saying "Fool me once..." but then again, what's the point? :)


RE: Replacments?
By PAPutzback on 1/4/2008 11:21:28 AM , Rating: 2
I'm with ya. Good for MS is people don't return them. Just like people who don't mail there rebates in.


Gesture
By crystal clear on 1/4/2008 11:05:48 AM , Rating: 2

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it will offer a free downloadable video game to users of its Xbox online gaming service after the network was plagued with connection troubles over the holidays.

Xbox Live General Manager Mark Whitten said the problems stemmed from a "massive increase" in new users of the service over the holiday season, when sales of video game hardware and software surge.

"While the service was not completely offline at any given time, we are disappointed in our performance," Whitten said in a statement.

Whitten said all Xbox Live members around the world would be able to freely download one game over the service. Games sold on Xbox Live typically cost from $5 to $20, and Whitten said Microsoft would give details of the offer in the coming weeks.



http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0...




RE: Gesture
By AmbroseAthan on 1/4/2008 11:44:02 AM , Rating: 2
Oh nice! I was one of those people who was getting frustrated over the Holidays as getting on to play Halo3 was annoying at best; finding matches was taking a few minutes between each round.

Past few days it has seemed to have cleared up for the main part, games are being found very quickly again and people don't seem to be being randomly booted anymore. During the past few days there has been 500,000+ people playing H3 during the post-work hours, its nice.


RE: Gesture
By michal1980 on 1/4/08, Rating: -1
RE: Gesture
By sweetsauce on 1/4/2008 6:21:52 PM , Rating: 2
I had no problems using the online service on my friend's new ps3. We were able to upgrade his shiny new blu ray player very easily. After that was done, we unplugged it, and went back to playing a real console, the xbox360. Too bad so many people agree with me and overwhelmed their servers. At least i know they will be willing to invest in increasing their capacity since people help contribute to the network by paying a small yearly fee. Im sure if that ever happened to sony they would be willing to dish out more cash so their consumers aren't troubled with slow connections right?


RE: Gesture
By Alexstarfire on 1/4/08, Rating: 0
Great sales
By Murst on 1/4/2008 11:47:51 AM , Rating: 1
All consoles had amazing sales this holiday season.

Soon I'd expect Sony to release a press release stating that the PS3 has outsold the 360 in december, and then Nintendo can follow up how they sold more hardware than Sony and MS combined :)

Press releases are easy when everyone has something to brag about.




well
By EnzoFX on 1/4/08, Rating: -1
RE: well
By MrWho on 1/4/2008 12:19:18 PM , Rating: 2
Not everyone has the dough to put down on a PS3/360.

Me, I'm waiting for a price drop on the Wii to buy one.

I'm mainly a PC gamer, it's true, so I do not intend to go for a 250+ € console...


RE: well
By BMFPitt on 1/4/2008 1:54:37 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Me, I'm waiting for a price drop on the Wii to buy one.
You might be waiting a while...


RE: well
By FITCamaro on 1/4/2008 3:58:57 PM , Rating: 2
No offense but the 360 is a minimum of $30 more than the Wii and comes with two games at that price.


RE: well
By inperfectdarkness on 1/4/2008 1:37:44 PM , Rating: 1
lol.

that must be why i've been playing mine non-stop. for 5 months.

i'm sure that the virtua console had NOTHING to do with that....lol!

bubble-bobble got released last monday. dkc3 the week before. no, there's NOTHING fun to ever play on the wii.

link's crossbow-training is "really lame" too, eh? ROFL!

haters.


RE: well
By Steve Guilliot on 1/4/2008 7:38:23 PM , Rating: 2
The die shrink helps, but the real improvement is in the motherboard redesign. Together, the thermal issue that caused the RROD's last year is resolved.

There are other reasons an RROD can trigger. Just because someone gets an RROD on a new system doesn't mean the improvements are ineffective. Also, keep in mind that every system has some failure rate, and you will disproportionately hear about those on the 360, given the 360's bad record from last year.


"Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine." -- Bill Gates











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