Apparently the war is in full force and Microsoft’s Don Mattrick is ready to poke the flag in the ground and call it a sure fire victory (in so many words). He said he’s “willing to declare here today that Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than PS3” (eurogamer)
They’re either not seeing the Wii as a competitor or are trying to avoid that evil word considering the growth of the tiny little console in the market. After telling the audience the Xbox 360 has already outpaced the PlayStation 3 and Wii he failed to mention the one-year head start the 360 had over its competitors.
There are, of course, bonuses to talking figures when you were first out of the gate. The interesting facts, which won’t present themselves for years now, will be the end unit sales figures for Wii, 360 and PlayStation 3 when all boxes are end-of-life’d. We’re sure to hear each side declare victory when they’ve decided when the war actually ends. In Microsoft’s eyes, the console war will probably end when they release the next-generation box, barring the fact that they should wait at least one year before claiming the title.
You can’t argue with the facts, Xbox 360 is doing very well in the United States (if we ignore Japan). The Nintendo Wii has sold 8.8 million units to the Xbox 360‘s 10.3 million units. How many units did the Xbox 360 have sold around the same time Nintendo boasts 8.8 million? Probably a bit less.
Press can be a great thing when you have numbers to play with and figures to skew. Oddly enough, if some of us are any indication, we’ve purchased multiple Xbox 360’s because of dead systems. Sure, we’re stupid for actually doing it, but those figures will work into the total units sold for the Xbox 360 hardware sales. Imagine, their failing systems may have actually boosted sales figures a bit; probably not statistically significant but funny non-the-less.
We can’t wait to see what type of numbers Sony and Nintendo are going to fling out. If we ask each competitor, we’re sure they’ll say we’re going to win the console war. Nintendo may just ask, “what console war? We just make game hardware” and you can’t fault them there!
@Black&White
It was the first PC game I played properly. I was surprised at how complex the game was compared to console games. I enjoyed it but it got tedious real quick. One thing that annoyed me about that game was the difference in effort you had to put to be good or bad. If you wanted to be good, you had to feed the villagers, build them houses, protect them and look for their sheep. Being bad was so much easier. Just pick up a bunch of kids and chuck them in the sea. And their parents. And animals. Just chuck everything in the see. That took care of everything and you were on your way to becoming an Elite Omnipotent Asshole.
@Steambox
I for one would love to have a console that runs steam games. For many out there high system requirements are a barrier to PC games. And they just keep getting higher and higher each year. I bet Johna’s new rig already can’t run the latest releases on highest specs. And I find buying PC games to run them in shitty resolution not worth my money. The Steambox would be a good thing. A gaming dedicated PC with decent specs and a powerful cooling system for a sensible price. Although the idea does sound too ambitious. PC games are not uniform. Fitting them all on one hardware if bound to have issues.
@World of Rockcraft
I think they will do it. But for next gen hardware. Wouldn’t want them to make an MMO out of it because I don’t want some twats ruining my criminal empire.
@QOTW
I am with Paul on this one. I get deep into a single-player game storyline. I read books in Elder Scrolls games. I talk to every villager in Final Fantasy games. I do every available side quest in Mass Effect. But when it comes to MMOs, I tend to avoid stories. Mostly because they are crap. 90% are set in a medieval setting where some Dark Lord has been revived and now there is like 3 million warriors that try to stop him. But you are the specialiest one here. Also, because I only play MMOs with friends and it’s difficult to read stuff when others are not interested in the story. I am really into the DC Universe story but that’s because I already have a large knowledge of DC Comics.