The PS3 is a Mess

Akanae · Post by **Akanae** » June 22, 2006, 7:45 pm

Here is a little preview of how the Wii Vs. PS3 fight is going to go down

"Apparently, the 5.44 million DS units sold in 13 months in Japan make the Nintendo DS the fastest selling console ever. From the article: "This makes the DS the fastest-ever selling console to hit the magic and mightily impressive five million sales, beating the GBA which took over 14 months to reach the same number. Sony’s PlayStation 2, by comparison, took 17 months to hit this many."

Innovation > "shitty games for assholes" (to quote my husband)

http://www.dsfanboy.com/2005/12/26/ds-s ... -in-japan/

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » June 23, 2006, 10:52 am

comparing the DS to the PS2 is like apples and oranges, not to doubt the impartiality of dsfanboy.com. what people want from a handheld experience vs the console experience is completely different. the DS also cost half as much on release as the PS2 did when it released. the DS vs PSP war is much more interesting... and the success of the DS can't be blamed solely on being first to market, because the DS lite has been incredibly successful.

i have no doubt that the wii will come out on top, with both microsoft and sony touting it as the perfect compliment to their own systems.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 23, 2006, 11:20 am

the DS vs PSP war is much more interesting

I wouldn't really call it a war.
The DS has consistently outsold the PSP 2:1

What I think is interesting is that the PS2 is still selling better than the Xbox 360.

In the US, the 360 has had average sales of 246k per month since release. In the same period of time, the PS2 has averaged 473k per month.

Post by **Sylvus** » June 23, 2006, 11:27 am

How much do PS2s cost these days?

miir · Post by **miir** » June 23, 2006, 11:29 am

Sylvus wrote:How much do PS2s cost these days?

About as the same amount as microsoft loses on each 360 they sell.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 23, 2006, 11:54 am

miir wrote:
Sylvus wrote:How much do PS2s cost these days?
About as the same amount as microsoft loses on each 360 they sell.

How much in the hole is Sony on the PS3 vs Microsoft on the Xbox360 so far?

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » June 23, 2006, 11:59 am

I think that's rather irrelevant. Both paid for their R&D and are taking a loss on the consoles sold. MS will only see black with the gaming division if the 360 helps sell Windows Vista and Live Anywhere and Sony will only see black if Blu-Ray becomes the standard format.

At least current MS development is partly paid for by 360 sales, Live Subscription and microtransactions (15$ of the GRAW addon anyone? http://www.gamespot.com/news/6153077.html).

miir · Post by **miir** » June 23, 2006, 12:00 pm

Winnow wrote:
miir wrote:
Sylvus wrote:How much do PS2s cost these days?
About as the same amount as microsoft loses on each 360 they sell.
How much in the hole is Sony on the PS3 vs Microsoft on the Xbox360 so far?

Since Sony has not started losing money on every unit sold so they must be in the hole less than Microsoft on the 360.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » June 23, 2006, 12:18 pm

miir wrote:
Winnow wrote:
miir wrote:
Sylvus wrote:How much do PS2s cost these days?
About as the same amount as microsoft loses on each 360 they sell.
How much in the hole is Sony on the PS3 vs Microsoft on the Xbox360 so far?
Since Sony has not started losing money on every unit sold so they must be in the hole less than Microsoft on the 360.

Depends on how much it cost Sony/IBM to develop the Cell processor. You can also somewhat tack on the Blu-Ray player/disk development cost to the PS3 cause it's gonna be their flagship Blu-Ray player for the next little while. Sony seems to have re-used the PSP code for their dashboard so there's a savings there.

I believe that MS used tested and currently available hardware and in-house developed software for their system so logically, R&D costs were probably lower.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » June 23, 2006, 12:49 pm

Sylvus wrote:How much do PS2s cost these days?

$129... the same as a ds lite!

the ps2 is way cheaper than the 360 and the supply is greater than the demand. plus the catalog of offerings is way bigger and more diverse. if i didn't own a 360 already, i'd probably wait until the ps3 came out and then make a choice to purchase one or the other... that's what i assume a lot of people are doing.

noel · Post by **noel** » June 23, 2006, 1:29 pm

miir wrote:Since Sony has not started losing money on every unit sold so they must be in the hole less than Microsoft on the 360.

This information entertained me greatly.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 23, 2006, 2:32 pm

Animalor wrote:
miir wrote:
Winnow wrote:
miir wrote:
Sylvus wrote:How much do PS2s cost these days?
About as the same amount as microsoft loses on each 360 they sell.
How much in the hole is Sony on the PS3 vs Microsoft on the Xbox360 so far?
Since Sony has not started losing money on every unit sold so they must be in the hole less than Microsoft on the 360.
Depends on how much it cost Sony/IBM to develop the Cell processor. You can also somewhat tack on the Blu-Ray player/disk development cost to the PS3 cause it's gonna be their flagship Blu-Ray player for the next little while. Sony seems to have re-used the PSP code for their dashboard so there's a savings there.

I believe that MS used tested and currently available hardware and in-house developed software for their system so logically, R&D costs were probably lower.

Stop interrupting our trolling with serious questions and information!

miir · Post by **miir** » June 23, 2006, 2:34 pm

Animalor wrote:At least current MS development is partly paid for by 360 sales, Live Subscription and microtransactions (15$ of the GRAW addon anyone? http://www.gamespot.com/news/6153077.html).

How can something that is being sold at a loss pay for anything?

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » June 23, 2006, 2:47 pm

miir wrote:
Animalor wrote:At least current MS development is partly paid for by 360 sales, Live Subscription and microtransactions (15$ of the GRAW addon anyone? http://www.gamespot.com/news/6153077.html).
How can something that is being sold at a loss pay for anything?

I meant that live subs and microtransactions are more than likely making up for the loss on the consoles themselves.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6140383.html says that they're only losing about 126 bucks on each premium system and 71$ on each cores. I'm sure they can make that up in the long run fairly easily.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » June 23, 2006, 2:49 pm

miir wrote:
Animalor wrote:
miir wrote:
Winnow wrote:
miir wrote:
About as the same amount as microsoft loses on each 360 they sell.
How much in the hole is Sony on the PS3 vs Microsoft on the Xbox360 so far?
Since Sony has not started losing money on every unit sold so they must be in the hole less than Microsoft on the 360.
Depends on how much it cost Sony/IBM to develop the Cell processor. You can also somewhat tack on the Blu-Ray player/disk development cost to the PS3 cause it's gonna be their flagship Blu-Ray player for the next little while. Sony seems to have re-used the PSP code for their dashboard so there's a savings there.

I believe that MS used tested and currently available hardware and in-house developed software for their system so logically, R&D costs were probably lower.
Stop interrupting our trolling with serious questions and information!

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » June 23, 2006, 4:34 pm

Akanae wrote:Here is a little preview of how the Wii Vs. PS3 fight is going to go down

"Apparently, the 5.44 million DS units sold in 13 months in Japan make the Nintendo DS the fastest selling console ever. From the article: "This makes the DS the fastest-ever selling console to hit the magic and mightily impressive five million sales, beating the GBA which took over 14 months to reach the same number. Sony’s PlayStation 2, by comparison, took 17 months to hit this many."

Innovation > "shitty games for assholes" (to quote my husband)

http://www.dsfanboy.com/2005/12/26/ds-s ... -in-japan/

Comparing the sales of anything in Japan to the rest of the world is silly. They tend to like more of the simple pokemon type anime shit, and other worthless games like dance revolution about 1000x more than the rest of the world.

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » June 23, 2006, 4:41 pm

thank you Senior Japanalyst

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 23, 2006, 5:21 pm

miir wrote:
Winnow wrote:
miir wrote:
Sylvus wrote:How much do PS2s cost these days?
About as the same amount as microsoft loses on each 360 they sell.
How much in the hole is Sony on the PS3 vs Microsoft on the Xbox360 so far?
Since Sony has not started losing money on every unit sold so they must be in the hole less than Microsoft on the 360.

Sony is running at 100% loss while MS has recovered some! I don't know why you keep harping on Microsoft selling their units at a loss...makes you look rather stupid considering how much Sony is going to be losing on each unit if and when they get them out the door.

Monday's drop follows a 2.8 percent decline in Sony stock on Friday, after Wall Street stock-brokerage firm Merrill Lynch published a report skeptical of the company's next-generation console plans. It predicted that the launch of the PlayStation 3 console could be delayed by 6 to 12 months from its current spring 2006 window, resulting in an autumn launch in Japan and a late-2006 or early-2007 launch in the US.

"We wrote last November that Sony’s design choices for the PS3 had resulted in an expensive and difficult-to-manufacture product," read the report, "and we think that we're seeing the consequences of those choices play out now. In particular, we think the problem points are the Sony Cell processor and the Blu-ray drive." Merrill Lynch also cited heat-generation issues with PS3 hardware and the far-from-finished state of most games for the platform as factors.

"Our updated analysis indicates that the initial bill of [production] materials for PS3 could approach $900," read the report. The report said that the production cost of a single Cell processor will be $230 at launch, with the Blu-ray drive setting Sony back $350 per unit. However, the $900 price tag presumably includes a $100 optional hard drive, as a breakdown of component costs in the report totals just $795.

If the $900 estimate is correct, that means the PS3 would have to sell for around $775-$800 to maintain a $100-$125 per-unit loss similar to that of Microsoft's Xbox 360. the $795 estimate is correct, the console could sell for around $699--within the range recently forecast by a group of analysts and developers polled by CNN/Money.

Sony will be losing at least as much per unit as Microsoft and most likely more.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » June 23, 2006, 5:34 pm

Winnow wrote:Sony will be losing at least as much per unit as Microsoft and most likely more.

They may be losing more.. But they have Blu-Ray.. BLU-RAY!!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 23, 2006, 5:41 pm

A little more for you:

Business 2.0 is not going to be receiving any love letters from Sony any time soon. Their latest "10 People Who Don't Matter" list includes none other than Sony president Ken Kutaragi. It appears that they've already jumped into their time machine and have seen both the PS3 and Blu-ray fail.

From CNN Money:

Remember the Betamax debacle? Sony seems to have forgotten all about it. Under Kutaragi, who is the power behind Sony's PlayStation videogame consoles, the company is launching another format war with its Blu-Ray high-definition videodisc, the successor to the venerable DVD. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 3, which was supposed to put Blu-Ray into millions of living rooms, is months late and hundreds of dollars more expensive than competing consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo - largely because it includes one-of-a-kind technologies like Blu-Ray. The delays and cost overruns are likely to make both the PS3 and Blu-Ray nonstarters.

And some rumors which sound reasonable to me as Microsofts production costs go down and they can afford to continue taking loses to stick it to Sony:

Scuttlebutt around the Internet has it that Microsoft has plans to lob $100 off the price of the Xbox 360 by the holiday season, putting the popular game console at about $300, or half of the cost of the PlayStation 3 when it comes out this December. With the Xbox 360 full bundle running $400 at the moment and the fully loaded PS3 set to drop at $600, that extra hundred bucks would be even more bad news for Sony. The decision to build an expensive Blu-ray drive into the PS3 is looking to be more and more questionable, as the drive doesn't give any benefit to the machine as a gaming device, only allowing owners to watch high-definition Blu-ray movies. With just a small percentage of consumers currently set up to view HD content, will consumers think twice the price is worth buying a console with game play comparable to the Xbox 360, but with a Blu-ray drive added on? Doubtful, especially with the even-cheaper Nintendo Wii console in the fray as well. — Adam Frucci

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » June 23, 2006, 6:45 pm

cadalano wrote:thank you Senior Japanalyst

It's not an arguable point, it's a fact. I know personally that I can't remember the last time I was in a bar/bowling alley/ whatever and saw someone on dance dance revolution that was anything but asian. I can think of countless games that are simple enough for a 6 year old to play that are big hits in Japan.

Akanae · Post by **Akanae** » June 23, 2006, 6:49 pm

The last time I was at a movie theatre there was a white chick on DDR, the time before that it was a white guy.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » June 23, 2006, 7:04 pm

Akanae wrote:The last time I was at a movie theatre there was a white chick on DDR, the time before that it was a white guy.

Lies !

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » June 23, 2006, 7:08 pm

As a quick aside, GameInformer has an interview up with the Pruducer of the latest Castlevania DS game.

Here's what they had to say about the 360 in Japan

GI: Microsoft has talked a lot about wanting to penetrate the Japanese market. They’ve got Square Enix putting out Final Fantasy XI. They have Mistwalker working on some projects. As a Japanese developer, do you think this will work to draw in the Japanese market?

Iga: I’m not really negative over Microsoft, but for some reason they tend to back off a little when it comes to something really foreign. But if Japanese developers would say they’re working on Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest or Metal Gear maybe, then I guess Japanese consumers would take it seriously and consider purchasing it. There has to be some killer titles to move the consumers into the 360 market. What I’m thinking is if Bill Gates uses his personal money and says, “I have a billion dollars. Why don’t you make a game for me?” Then we would love to work on it. (laughs)

http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/ ... .28664.htm

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » June 24, 2006, 2:05 am

Funkmasterr wrote:
cadalano wrote:thank you Senior Japanalyst
It's not an arguable point, it's a fact. I know personally that I can't remember the last time I was in a bar/bowling alley/ whatever and saw someone on dance dance revolution that was anything but asian. I can think of countless games that are simple enough for a 6 year old to play that are big hits in Japan.

what the fuck does that even mean? and where do you live where all the asians hang out in bowling alleys and play DDR?

that aside, the new castlevania is a lot of fun. typical castlevania, but still fun.

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » June 24, 2006, 3:52 am

Syenye wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:
cadalano wrote:thank you Senior Japanalyst
It's not an arguable point, it's a fact. I know personally that I can't remember the last time I was in a bar/bowling alley/ whatever and saw someone on dance dance revolution that was anything but asian. I can think of countless games that are simple enough for a 6 year old to play that are big hits in Japan.
what the fuck does that even mean? and where do you live where all the asians hang out in bowling alleys and play DDR?

that aside, the new castlevania is a lot of fun. typical castlevania, but still fun.

It means Funk is jealous that asians have more than a 5 second memory and timing!

I think there's a wide gulf between what asians want from a video game and what yanks want though (to generalise on a global scale).

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 24, 2006, 5:58 am

When you look at the Asians, the Asian is very gifted in creation, creativity and inventions. If you go to Japan or any Asian country, they can turn a television into a watch. They're very creative.

Tell me where in the quote above does it imply that asians would be any better at DDR than a honky? They could shrink the DDR mat or something but that doesn't mean they're more coordinated!

Dal-KoE · Post by **Dal-KoE** » June 26, 2006, 1:38 pm

Winnow wrote:A little more for you:

Scuttlebutt around the Internet has it that Microsoft has plans to lob $100 off the price of the Xbox 360 by the holiday season, putting the popular game console at about $300, or half of the cost of the PlayStation 3 when it comes out this December.

IF this is true.. I see a problem down the road for Sony. I won't buy a PS3 for $500..$600..or $900 just for a Blue-Ray HD addon. I have spent a lot on my entertainment system.. 52" LCD/HDTV.. BOSE Surround.. Dual VHS/DVD/DVR, and the last thing I want is to be tied to a game console to watch my movies. I very seldom play any console games and when we are done playing one, the console it gets unplugged and put away.

However my kids (I have 4 - ages 8-16) do play a lot (N64, XBox, PS2) and they have already weighed in and their big OMGIREALLYWANTONE item for Christmas is none other than Nintendo's Wii ...

miir · Post by **miir** » June 26, 2006, 3:36 pm

Dal-KoE wrote:
Winnow wrote:A little more for you:

Scuttlebutt around the Internet has it that Microsoft has plans to lob $100 off the price of the Xbox 360 by the holiday season, putting the popular game console at about $300, or half of the cost of the PlayStation 3 when it comes out this December.

IF this is true.. I see a problem down the road for Sony.

Uhh, take a look at the source.

I could just as easily start a rumor that Sony plans to surprise drop the price of the PS3 to $400 right at release and it would have about the same credibility as any of the 360 fanboy crap that Winnow posts.

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » June 26, 2006, 3:47 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:
cadalano wrote:thank you Senior Japanalyst
It's not an arguable point, it's a fact. I know personally that I can't remember the last time I was in a bar/bowling alley/ whatever and saw someone on dance dance revolution that was anything but asian. I can think of countless games that are simple enough for a 6 year old to play that are big hits in Japan.

okay lets set everything aside for a sec and focus on something else:

What kind of bar has dance dance revolution? And what were you doing there?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 26, 2006, 3:59 pm

miir wrote: Uhh, take a look at the source.
I could just as easily start a rumor that Sony plans to surprise drop the price of the PS3 to $400 right at release and it would have about the same credibility as any of the 360 fanboy crap that Winnow posts.

It makes sense, but you can see that it's clearing noted as a rumor in my original post.

Since then, MS has come out and said they don't plan a price drop at this time...but why in God's name would they admit to a price drop now and slow sales of 360's...if it officially happens, it will be announced closer to when it's going to take affect.

The PS3 is looking like crap atm so Microsoft may not necessarily need to do naything. The PS3 will probably be sold out all the way through the holidays if my some miracle Sony can get it out by then, so Microsoft will sell tons of 360s even at 399.00.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » June 26, 2006, 4:04 pm

Zaelath wrote:
Syenye wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:
cadalano wrote:thank you Senior Japanalyst
It's not an arguable point, it's a fact. I know personally that I can't remember the last time I was in a bar/bowling alley/ whatever and saw someone on dance dance revolution that was anything but asian. I can think of countless games that are simple enough for a 6 year old to play that are big hits in Japan.
what the fuck does that even mean? and where do you live where all the asians hang out in bowling alleys and play DDR?

that aside, the new castlevania is a lot of fun. typical castlevania, but still fun.
It means Funk is jealous that asians have more than a 5 second memory and timing!

I think there's a wide gulf between what asians want from a video game and what yanks want though (to generalise on a global scale).

That was basically the bottom line of what I said, without the yanks part

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » June 26, 2006, 4:06 pm

cadalano wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:
cadalano wrote:thank you Senior Japanalyst
It's not an arguable point, it's a fact. I know personally that I can't remember the last time I was in a bar/bowling alley/ whatever and saw someone on dance dance revolution that was anything but asian. I can think of countless games that are simple enough for a 6 year old to play that are big hits in Japan.
okay lets set everything aside for a sec and focus on something else:

What kind of bar has dance dance revolution? And what were you doing there?

It's called Gameworks. And I was there, because once in a while it's a nice change from the normal club/bar scene. They have a couple of bars, a bowling alley and a fuckload of arcade games of all sorts. Not to mention that you can get a good laugh out of watching hot drunk girls try to ride the mechanical bull.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 26, 2006, 4:17 pm

It's called Gayworks. And I was there, because once in a while it's a nice change from the normal gay club/bar scene. They have a couple of gay bars, a gay bowling alley and an analfuckload of arcade games of all sorts. Not to mention that you can get a good laugh out of watching hot drunk bodybuilders try to ride the mechanical bull.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » June 27, 2006, 1:19 am

that's gross, dude.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » June 27, 2006, 2:37 am

Trying to take Japanese sales out of the equation when it comes to console figures is like trying to take America out of the equation when it comes to global fuel consumption. It doesn't matter why they buy it, it's selling big there, and that's the bottom line.

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » June 27, 2006, 8:11 am

No , I'm sorry, the Japanese don't buy the ALL CONQUERING XBOX 360 and are therefore irrelevant!!!! These silly little yellow people are making the wrong console and every time they sell one it will actually DESTROY THE WORLDS MONEY. The ACTUAL bills in your wallet will turn to DUST! HOW WILL YOU LIKE IT WHEN YOU HAVE A POCKET FULL OF DUST!?!?!?

Thank God Microsoft is here to save us. Thank. God. OOOH SAY CAN YOU SEEEEEEE!?!?!?!?! etc

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » June 27, 2006, 10:07 am

Dregor Thule wrote:Trying to take Japanese sales out of the equation when it comes to console figures is like trying to take America out of the equation when it comes to global fuel consumption. It doesn't matter why they buy it, it's selling big there, and that's the bottom line.

PS2 is selling big there. Last I saw, the PSP wasn't doing nearly as well.

The japanese don't blindly follow one company to a fault. Nintendo has a chance to score huge there with the Wii this generation. It's the last of the rising sun, not the land of the money trees and I'm willing to bet they're also pretty concerned by the price of the PS3. I think Nintendo will take Japan this round, with Sony coming in second and the 360 in third with the new round of consoles.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » June 27, 2006, 11:28 am

In an effort to avoid superfluous thread...

The talking heads at MS PR have, in a move that's against their policy of not commenting on rumors, quashed a rumor of a 100$ price cut on the 360 for the PS3 launch, saying that no such plans have been put on the table at all.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6153170.html

Is this just a move to avoid people buying 360's in the near future? your guess is as good as mine.

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't you need a memory device at all to be able to use XBL(silver or gold) in the first place?

I agree that a core system and a memory stick would do the job but that's still somewhat stupid to be selling the core as an inexpensive alternative on the strengths of XBL but not mentioning that you need storage to actually use the service in the first place.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 27, 2006, 11:47 am

Well duh.

Dropping the price on a brand new product which is already losing them money is idiotic... There are so many fucking people that are stupid enough to believe internet rumors so who knows how many might have been holding off buying a 360 in lieu of a price drop?
I imagine MS wanted to quickly debunk any rumors that might further hurt the 360s disappointing sales.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » June 27, 2006, 2:34 pm

miir wrote:Well duh.

Dropping the price on a brand new product which is already losing them money is idiotic... There are so many fucking people that are stupid enough to believe internet rumors so who knows how many might have been holding off buying a 360 in lieu of a price drop?
I imagine MS wanted to quickly debunk any rumors that might further hurt the 360s disappointing sales.

microsoft doesn't make their money on game consoles. they make their money by getting the 360s into homes and then gathering data with their systems. sure it would be nice if they could turn a profit with the 360 but it's not a priority... the data they gather is worth much much more.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 27, 2006, 2:40 pm

Syenye wrote:
miir wrote:Well duh.

Dropping the price on a brand new product which is already losing them money is idiotic... There are so many fucking people that are stupid enough to believe internet rumors so who knows how many might have been holding off buying a 360 in lieu of a price drop?
I imagine MS wanted to quickly debunk any rumors that might further hurt the 360s disappointing sales.
microsoft doesn't make their money on game consoles. they make their money by getting the 360s into homes and then gathering data with their systems. sure it would be nice if they could turn a profit with the 360 but it's not a priority... the data they gather is worth much much more.

If that were true, why aren't they selling the 360 for $99?
Or better yet, maybe thye should give them away!!!

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » June 27, 2006, 3:41 pm

Umm I'd take one if they were giving them away.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » June 27, 2006, 7:49 pm

miir wrote:There are so many fucking people that are stupid enough to believe internet rumors

Similar to the ones here that like to post them.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 27, 2006, 8:09 pm

So witty!

Aruman · Post by **Aruman** » June 27, 2006, 8:55 pm

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20060623

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » June 28, 2006, 11:26 am

miir wrote:
Syenye wrote:
miir wrote:Well duh.

Dropping the price on a brand new product which is already losing them money is idiotic... There are so many fucking people that are stupid enough to believe internet rumors so who knows how many might have been holding off buying a 360 in lieu of a price drop?
I imagine MS wanted to quickly debunk any rumors that might further hurt the 360s disappointing sales.
microsoft doesn't make their money on game consoles. they make their money by getting the 360s into homes and then gathering data with their systems. sure it would be nice if they could turn a profit with the 360 but it's not a priority... the data they gather is worth much much more.
If that were true, why aren't they selling the 360 for $99?
Or better yet, maybe thye should give them away!!!

because a 2 billion dollar loss hurts more than a billion dollar loss. and they tried that with free computers, and it didn't work. as much as it seems like a farfetched internet rumor, i believe it a lot more than i believe that microsoft operates its entertainment division at a loss out of the goodness of their hearts. it came from a microsoft pm... is it true? i don't know, but it makes sense to me... it's a great business model if you think about it.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 28, 2006, 11:38 am

Syenye wrote:
miir wrote:
Syenye wrote:
miir wrote:Well duh.

Dropping the price on a brand new product which is already losing them money is idiotic... There are so many fucking people that are stupid enough to believe internet rumors so who knows how many might have been holding off buying a 360 in lieu of a price drop?
I imagine MS wanted to quickly debunk any rumors that might further hurt the 360s disappointing sales.
microsoft doesn't make their money on game consoles. they make their money by getting the 360s into homes and then gathering data with their systems. sure it would be nice if they could turn a profit with the 360 but it's not a priority... the data they gather is worth much much more.
If that were true, why aren't they selling the 360 for $99?
Or better yet, maybe thye should give them away!!!
because a 2 billion dollar loss hurts more than a billion dollar loss. and they tried that with free computers, and it didn't work. as much as it seems like a farfetched internet rumor, i believe it a lot more than i believe that microsoft operates its entertainment division at a loss out of the goodness of their hearts. it came from a microsoft pm... is it true? i don't know, but it makes sense to me... it's a great business model if you think about it.

So you can put a price on the data they gather... and that price tag is 1 billion?
B...bu...bu....but wouldn't an 360 in every household mean more game sales for Microsoft games? Wouldn't the added sales make up for the money they lose selling the 360 at a bigger loss?

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » June 28, 2006, 11:51 am

There's something to the theory that anything free isn't worth having, so it would overplay their hand.

OTOH, what data are they gathering exactly? That my brother plays racing games more than any other genre? Wooo, I bet they'll be excited to know that if he ever gets an internet connection.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » June 28, 2006, 4:30 pm

Zaelath wrote:There's something to the theory that anything free isn't worth having, so it would overplay their hand.

OTOH, what data are they gathering exactly? That my brother plays racing games more than any other genre? Wooo, I bet they'll be excited to know that if he ever gets an internet connection.

not just the gaming information. they are picking up other signals that come in through the wires from smart appliances and the like that broadcast or announce their existence in your home.