Console Discussion/E3/Tokyo Game Show Thread

[MJ4H]

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

This part of the MS product is what they've done right in America. They're creating an integrated product that tries to keep you within their offerings, much like Apple has done in the past. Sony hasn't reached this point yet, but they're making a smart move this generation by differentiating themselves as the cheapest of the options while still providing an optimal gaming experience.

The problem that MS is facing right now worldwide is the backlash over the same integration that makes the product desirable here in the U.S. The X1 has seen significant problems integrating with the TV offerings on that side of the pond. With the product not working as seamlessly on that side of the pond, it hasn't sold nearly as well.

The original Xbox sold 15.77 million units in the US and 7.17 million in Europe. The PS2 sold 38.94 in the US and 36.91 in Europe. So the Sony share in those markets was over 75%.

The 360 vs. ps3 totals were US: 45.57 million for 360 vs. 27.94 for PS 3 and Europe: 24.96 Million for 360 vs. 32.46 for Sony. The 360 won the battle with a 55% market share in one generation. (Sony barely squeaked by with the win in Japan, a market MS concedes every generation)

It's ridiculously early to judge this generation on anything. It looks to me like Sony has momentum, but considering the head start MS gave them with their early marketing it was not unexpected. On the other side, we won't really know how this will play out until more exclusives come out and the first mad rush is passed us. To put it into perspective, Sony won the toss, received the kickoff and has driven down to the red zone. They haven't scored yet and even if they do, there is still plenty of time left in the game.

The 360 took off so huge, so quick, Sony was never able to gain traction in the US. I don't see Sony jumping out that far in front this time. I don't see any knockout punch happening here.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Not sure if you are trolling or just under-informed, but nearly every GPU has an HDMI output nowadays. PC's output to both 1080p and 720p, console controllers work for PC games, and Steam has a mode designed to be completely operated by just a controller. Switching to that mode is nearly identical to booting up a console complete with a similar UI. Put all of this together and I think you can figure out where PC games can be played in 2013.

Not trolling at all. I just like the simplicity of the consoles. The only computer game I have is FOF 2k7. Oh, and Madden 2008. So, under-informed, I guess.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

The holiday numbers for the consoles in North America are going to be extremely intriguing. I just got done listening to a podcast interview of Jack Tretton. He very clearly made the point that Sony is not in any way holding back stock at this point and that everything that they send out to the major retailers is gone within minutes (gave an example that when the PS4 is in stock at Amazon, they are selling at a rate of 500 units/minute). He also noted that the thought of people holding $400 in their hand and wanting to purchase the PS4 and being unable to do so is something that drives him crazy. Said that there's only one holiday season a year and that holding back any stock would be foolish when people are ready to buy.

On the other side, we're seeing Xbox One consoles in stock both at retailers and online with no shortage to speak of at this point. We have to assume that MS is doing the same thing as Sony (i.e. pumping them out as soon as they have them available). Are they pumping out that many more units than Sony? At some point, does the fact that they have consoles on the shelves and Sony doesn't benefit them with the "I guess will buy X1 since it's available" impulse buys?

Also, the silence of both companies at this point is deafening. MS is saying almost nothing outside of the occasional blurbs from Major Nelson. Sony is saying even less. I suppose the next announcements will be "we've reached 3M consoles sold" by either company.

[cartman]

[Logan]

This is what I see every time MBBF posts about "Major Nelson" in these video game threads.

[chadritt]

Well I went and made my contribution to the video game wars...I bought a 3DS XL and a few games for myself. It should arrive in time for my week off so i can play a ton of Zelda.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by chadritt

Well I went and made my contribution to the video game wars...I bought a 3DS XL and a few games for myself. It should arrive in time for my week off so i can play a ton of Zelda.

You must have missed the part of this thread where Nintendo does not exist...

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by chadritt

Well I went and made my contribution to the video game wars...I bought a 3DS XL and a few games for myself. It should arrive in time for my week off so i can play a ton of Zelda.

I'm not someone who has played a bunch of Zelda games (I think Link's Awakening on GameBoy is the only one I've ever beat), but I've really enjoyed A Link Between World in the 4 or 5 hours I've played it so far. Also just ordered Fire Emblem: Awakening.

[chadritt]

I have an unabashed love of Zelda games, though Skyward Sword lost me, since the original was the first nintendo game I played and i distinctly remember thinking "I need to own this and play it forever". Honestly it was what finally made me buy a 3DS even though I've heard good things about the system.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

You must have missed the part of this thread where Nintendo does not exist...

I said that they're dead in the water as far as consoles goes. You disagree with that?

The handhelds are quite healthy right now.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Logan

This is what I see every time MBBF posts about "Major Nelson" in these video game threads.

{anyone but MBBF}
(who is Major Nelson? I mean, Googling the name gives some mid-level lieutenant from the Microsoft gaming executive pile

EDIT: Is there some reason someone would be fixated on him as opposed to the head of Microsoft gaming division or some major talking head like Reggie or Iwata for Nintendo? Then again, Reggie is like COO of NOA and Iwata is CEO of the entire company so it's not like either are some mid level flunkie)
{/anyone but MBBF}

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

{anyone but MBBF}
(who is Major Nelson? I mean, Googling the name gives some mid-level lieutenant from the Microsoft gaming executive pile)
{/anyone but MBBF}

SI

He's a huge piece of Microsoft marketing and known by literally millions of gamers. I'm not buying that you don't know who he is.

[Neuqua]

I can honestly say I have no idea who he is.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

He's a huge piece of Microsoft marketing and known by literally millions of gamers. I'm not buying that you don't know who he is.

Actually, I don't know. I haven't been paying that much attention to the gaming politics side for a couple of years now and Microsoft is the area where I'm least aware. Most of their guys aren't really memorable and they seem to cycle them in and out.

For E3, the playbook was simple for quite a while. With Nintendo, you know you're getting Iwata, Miyamoto, and Reggie, once he became popular. Sony would go grab a designer with an exclusive game like Kojima or someone from Square and some generic executive from Sony USA but, again, no one memorable. Microsoft- who knew what they were doing from one year to the next. One year it would be EA and then next year some musician.

SI

[Fidatelo]

I have no idea who Major Nelson is and only ever see his name in MBBF posts.

[dubb93]

He's basically Microsoft's face of social media. I haven't turned on my XBox 360 in a while, but there was a point in time when you couldn't turn it on without seeing his face on the dashboard. If someone has a stupid name like Major Nelson, it's a good bet that he is a social media moron.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I have no idea who Major Nelson is and only ever see his name in MBBF posts.

Same here, though I do think of this guy

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by dubb93

He's basically Microsoft's face of social media. I haven't turned on my XBox 360 in a while, but there was a point in time when you couldn't turn it on without seeing his face on the dashboard. If someone has a stupid name like Major Nelson, it's a good bet that he is a social media moron.

I remember him from back in the XBox days he was only Lieutenant Nelson. He's come so far.

[RainMaker]

I had never heard of him either.

[Coffee Warlord]

Nor I - Though I attribute this to not owning an XBox, XBox 360, XBOne, etc etc etc.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Same here, though I do think of this guy

He's no Punt Speedchunk

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by dubb93

He's basically Microsoft's face of social media. I haven't turned on my XBox 360 in a while, but there was a point in time when you couldn't turn it on without seeing his face on the dashboard. If someone has a stupid name like Major Nelson, it's a good bet that he is a social media moron.

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Nor I - Though I attribute this to not owning an XBox, XBox 360, XBOne, etc etc etc.

Yeah, if you owned a 360, you know who he is even if you don't know directly. He is the face of Xbox social media and marketing. His real name is Larry Hyrb, but most know him by his online name. He's MS's way to circulate their opinions on console sales, new games, interface changes/updates, etc.

Sony has finally started countering his online presence over the last year by pushing some of the personalities in their executive team. Shuhei Yoshida (often referred to as Yoshi) and Adam Boyes have been heavily involved with increasing their social media presence. Both of them are known well from their appearance in the 22 second video where they demonstrated how to share a PS4 game which was released during E3.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

The holiday numbers for the consoles in North America are going to be extremely intriguing. I just got done listening to a podcast interview of Jack Tretton. He very clearly made the point that Sony is not in any way holding back stock at this point and that everything that they send out to the major retailers is gone within minutes (gave an example that when the PS4 is in stock at Amazon, they are selling at a rate of 500 units/minute). He also noted that the thought of people holding $400 in their hand and wanting to purchase the PS4 and being unable to do so is something that drives him crazy. Said that there's only one holiday season a year and that holding back any stock would be foolish when people are ready to buy.

On the other side, we're seeing Xbox One consoles in stock both at retailers and online with no shortage to speak of at this point. We have to assume that MS is doing the same thing as Sony (i.e. pumping them out as soon as they have them available). Are they pumping out that many more units than Sony? At some point, does the fact that they have consoles on the shelves and Sony doesn't benefit them with the "I guess will buy X1 since it's available" impulse buys?

Also, the silence of both companies at this point is deafening. MS is saying almost nothing outside of the occasional blurbs from Major Nelson. Sony is saying even less. I suppose the next announcements will be "we've reached 3M consoles sold" by either company.

Who cares?

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Yeah, if you owned a 360, you know who he is even if you don't know directly. He is the face of Xbox social media and marketing. His real name is Larry Hyrb, but most know him by his online name. He's MS's way to circulate their opinions on console sales, new games, interface changes/updates, etc.

Sony has finally started countering his online presence over the last year by pushing some of the personalities in their executive team. Shuhei Yoshida (often referred to as Yoshi) and Adam Boyes have been heavily involved with increasing their social media presence. Both of them are known well from their appearance in the 22 second video where they demonstrated how to share a PS4 game which was released during E3.

Who cares?

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Who cares?

I don't care about either set of you guys. It was fine when MBBF posted something and then you guys ignored it and posted useful stuff. Now every one of his posts is met with 10 who gives a fuck posts or trolling or whatever. I get that you're fed up with it. I don't care, stop posting about it. If you don't like what's posted it's easy enough to skip over a couple of posts. It gets to be a bit much when you have to skip half a page of bickering to pull out 1 thing you want to read.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by nilodor

I don't care about either set of you guys. It was fine when MBBF posted something and then you guys ignored it and posted useful stuff. Now every one of his posts is met with 10 who gives a fuck posts or trolling or whatever. I get that you're fed up with it. I don't care, stop posting about it. If you don't like what's posted it's easy enough to skip over a couple of posts. It gets to be a bit much when you have to skip half a page of bickering to pull out 1 thing you want to read.

I'll just stay out of this thread.. you know, to appease you. This thread is full of BS, so reading though the mud is a prerequisite if you are going to read it. I am sick of it and it's probably best I stay out of this thread for good.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm still stuck on how the fuck console gamers (or at least anyone with XBox Live) could not know Major Nelson. I mean, I'm not a social media maven & I've known him for years. "Major's Minute" I think was the name of his XBox Live hype segment, ran seemingly forever.

[CU Tiger]

console gamer.
xbox live member.
Never read his name except MBBF in this thread.

Sorry.

Then again I dont facebook or twitter so maybe i missed him there.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

console gamer.
xbox live member.
Never read his name except MBBF in this thread.

Sorry.

Then again I dont facebook or twitter so maybe i missed him there.

His face was on every screen in the XBox UI. You really had to go out of your way to not notice him. At different points over the years, his face would literally be right next to where you click to play your game.

EDIT: His segments would even autoplay if you happened to scroll over to it. You didn't even need to click on it.

[CraigSca]

Just bought a PS4 - they're in stock at amazon. Really, an impulse buy - looking forward to MLB the Show.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by dubb93

His face was on every screen in the XBox UI. You really had to go out of your way to not notice him. At different points over the years, his face would literally be right next to where you click to play your game.

EDIT: His segments would even autoplay if you happened to scroll over to it. You didn't even need to click on it.

I admit I'm probably in the 1% or less of gamers.
I'm not even sure how many times Ive seen the XBOX homescreen.

Typically I either join a game my son is playing, or open the drawer insert the CD and it launches straight into the game screen.

Ive never used XBOX360 to Netflix or anything similar. Until we recently (last month) got Uverse internet and now I get ESPN3 I had never screwed around with much of the XBox capabilities.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Just bought a PS4 - they're in stock at amazon. Really, an impulse buy - looking forward to MLB the Show.

You get just the console or one of the bundles. Noticed that the Knack and Kindle bundles were both in stock for brief times over the last day.

[jbergey22]

I got a PS4 from Amazon the night of release. The Battlefield 4 bundle. I dont play it a lot right now but it is very nice. The graphics on NBA2k are amazing.

Id imagine the Xbox console is wonderful as well.

I think many people are still up in the air about which console they want as each "niche" is to be determined considering neither has a lot of game options at the moment.

As far as competition I hope they all do well. Nothing raises the bar faster than competition.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I'm not sure.

Oh I know - I would like to play FIFA with the new Ignite engine, but then again they'll be using it for next year's too, and I have GTA V and Assasin's Creed on the PS3 to hold me over for the next few months.

I don't play a lot of games, so theoretically I could pickup the PS4, upgrade my Assasin's Creed to PS4 for $10, and pickup FIFA 14 for the PS4 and just sell back my PS3 copy of GTA V and I'd be perfectly happy for months (until I could pickup GTA for PS4 on sale).

But I'm not in any huge sort of rush to do so - although I did resolve to google and familiarize myself again with the differences between the two versions of FIFA to see if that changes my mind .

I read they completely botched FIFA on Ps4 by not offering a tourny mode. You know how EA Sports refuse to think or learn after years of mistakes.

[Neon_Chaos]

If anyone cares to add me on PSN, my ID is ImmortalKaiser.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some interesting comments from @thuway on Twitter. He's a great source for industry information.

Would anyone care for some nice concrete sales figures for PS4 during the second week of December?

It's the closest thing I have to insider information, but no one should even begin suggesting PS4 sales aren't incredible.

PS4 sold between 245-248k units in the second week of December in the USA.

Last thing is going to be vague, but I'm hearing amazing things for 2015, both first and third party. Dev teams given time.

I've heard folks at Sony are both excited and afraid of the PS4's momentum. Things are being read carefully, and lids are being sealed.

Titanfall's exclusivity was the smartest thing anyone has done to date. Business is chess.

Oh and fun fact about Titan Fall, performance is not up to snuff at 720p, waiting for January driver updates.

I also assure you, through two sources a PS4 port was talked about at one time, but that's not breaking news, that's more like common sense.

And this last one comes from a new source, which could mean nothing, Gran Turismo 7 is 2015. Alongside some sort of price drop.

How must Microsoft feel knowing there are Xbox One's in stock at retailers mere days before Christmas?

It's scary how much momentum Sony has going forward. I expect PS4 to gain 66-70% market share once the dust settles.

The obscene amount of scalpers on the PlayStation brand is a running joke. There is a Pawn Shop in Brooklyn selling PS4's for 550

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'm still stuck on how the fuck console gamers (or at least anyone with XBox Live) could not know Major Nelson. I mean, I'm not a social media maven & I've known him for years. "Major's Minute" I think was the name of his XBox Live hype segment, ran seemingly forever.

I guess that's probably the key: I have never had an XBox so I would never have seen him

SI

[MJ4H]

Only Major Nelson I know is from I Dream of Jeanie.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Some interesting comments from @thuway on Twitter. He's a great source for industry information.

Wow, 75% market share prediction, MS's best exclusive is garbage, Sony with 5 billion top secret exclusives that nobody has heard about.

Guess any XBox One owners should probably commit ritualistic suicide at Mount Ranier so they have a prayer of an afterlife without eternal fire.

So sad.

[sterlingice]

I'm going back to this post from before

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I don't get why analysts have such bad track records with the gaming industry. Are consumer electronics that hard to peg, particularly when there's a "tipping point" for popularity for a lot of them where if you can get a certain level of mainstream buy-in, another level of sales kicks in.

SI

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Some interesting comments from @thuway on Twitter. He's a great source for industry information.

Ever heard of EA Sports? We should support competition and all of the companies doing well rather than supporting an all out monopoly and watching laziness and complacency take over. Nothing good would come out of XB1 folding up. We would get a PS5 that would be barely an improvement over the PS4. When these companies compete they raise to bar high each new release.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Sony with 5 billion top secret exclusives that nobody has heard about.

Does this go in the category of 'who's Major Nelson'? There's absolutely no secret as to what's on the horizon with Sony. We know the big names that are going to be coming in the relatively near future. MLB: The Show, Infamous, GT, Uncharted, The Order: 1886, Shadow of the Beast, Rime, Driveclub.......that's some good ones just off the top of my head and if you haven't heard of those, you haven't been paying attention.

Here's an article with a list of currently announced exclusives for each console if you want a bit more of a comprehensive look at it. Note that this article doesn't even have some of the titles we clearly know are coming from Sony eventually (first party developers).

Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: Post-Launch Exclusive Games - Neoseeker

Also, as we have seen in the past, the market leader is the one that tends to win the exclusives battle as the generation goes along. MS landed some because of that last generation. If Sony continues to push forward with a lead worldwide in the current gen, that's going to change. Ask Sony how hard it is to play catch-up if you have a slow start.

[jbergey22]

Xbox One sells over 2 million consoles in 18 days, Microsoft fighting to meet demand - Neoseeker

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Ever heard of EA Sports? We should support competition and all of the companies doing well rather than supporting an all out monopoly and watching laziness and complacency take over. Nothing good would come out of XB1 folding up. We would get a PS5 that would be barely an improvement over the PS4. When these companies compete they raise to bar high each new release.

You really think Sony is going to monopolize this generation? I think that's a very flawed theory. I'd expect 60% PS4 worldwide and they'd be thrilled with that I'd expect.

As for EA, they've clearly looked to align themselves with Xbox One judging from what we saw with the Euro launches. Thankfully, it appears that alliance fell flat on its face and was not rewarded judging from early sales over there. As you mentioned, generally speaking, the less EA, the better.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Xbox One sells over 2 million consoles in 18 days, Microsoft fighting to meet demand - Neoseeker

It appears demand has been met.......

Microsoft Xbox One Pre-Order & In Stock Tracker - Day One Edition Pre-orders Available - NowInStock.net

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

You really think Sony is going to monopolize this generation? I think that's a very flawed theory. I'd expect 60% PS4 worldwide and they'd be thrilled with that I'd expect.

As for EA, they've clearly looked to align themselves with Xbox One judging from what we saw with the Euro launches. Thankfully, it appears that alliance fell flat on its face and was not rewarded judging from early sales over there. As you mentioned, generally speaking, the less EA, the better.

Never said anything close to that.

Informing you what happens when competition is completely eliminated as you seem to be interested in seeing XB1 fail miserably.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

It appears demand has been met.......

Microsoft Xbox One Pre-Order & In Stock Tracker - Day One Edition Pre-orders Available - NowInStock.net

Exactly! I think you read a lot of things and believe they are fact when they are probably more smoke than anything else. I was just at Walmart yesterday and they had a stock of PS4s for sale. Considered buying them up and re-selling on E-Bay but figured it wasnt a Christmas like thing to do.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Exactly! I think you read a lot of things and believe they are fact when they are probably more smoke than anything else. I was just at Walmart yesterday and they had a stock of PS4s for sale. Considered buying them up and re-selling on E-Bay but figured it wasnt a Christmas like thing to do.

------------------------------

Never said anything close to that.

Informing you what happens when competition is completely eliminated as you seem to be interested in seeing XB1 fail miserably.

I would have bought them in no time flat. People are making $150-200/console right now because they're very difficult to find. You could pay for some gifts for your family off a couple of those consoles.

The overdramatics are getting ridiculous at this point. There's clearly not going to be an elimination of competition in this generation and anyone who suggests that is out of their gourd. However, dismissing the evidence that a changing of the guard could be taking place is equally as baffling.

[MJ4H]

lol