Console Launches Good And Bad

Another interesting feature from 1up: rundowns and scores for console launches from the last twenty years. From the article: "The DS, on the other hand, is hardly the system one would have expected from its launch. The system's U.S. debut was a dull thud, with the one truly notable title being a port of Super Mario 64 with compromised control and jaggier graphics. (It also popularized the lamentable concept of "launch windows.") Chalk this up to the fact the developers only learned about the system's existence half a year before its debut. Fortunately for early adopters, the system has gone on to accumulate a killer lineup."

Comments

Meh... / Xbox 360 launch

[Fred Or Alive]

Is it just me, or are most of the scores pretty arbitary? The entire article is pretty contentless, if this were a magazine it would probably be a sidebar to a proper article on console launches or something.

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Anyway, I think the Xbox 360 launch is very impressive, in that as someone living in the UK we're getting at about the same time as everyone else, and not six months (or more) after the first area to get it. Of course Microsoft doing this does seem to mean that the 360 will be in such short supply just about everywhere, as they've got three big launches simulatenously, with the possible bonus of new technology teething troubles. (I don't buy the "It's all marketing" stuff, the rumours make it sound like Microsoft are having problems getting enough of they systems together in time to me, it just sounds too bad).

The lack of much info on what the launch software lineup is going to be is rather disturbing, although as the article points out, few console launchs actually have that many games, especially for the first launch (remember that North America and Europe usually get the consoles after Japan, so a few more games will be ready compared to the Japanese launch). Although of course, some of this is from Microsoft's rush to get the console out of the door. I guess the lack of announcement about launch games is Microsoft trying to get as much time as possible for games to be completed, but I think with about a week to go it may be getting to the point where it's impossible to actually manufacture and distribute a game in time for the launch.

Re:Meh... / Xbox 360 launch

[macshit]

Is it just me, or are most of the scores pretty arbitary? The entire article is pretty contentless,

Yup.

1up.com seems to be pretty awful in general though, so I suppose it's par for the course; the real question is why do they get referred to so often on Slashdot?

Re:Meh... / Xbox 360 launch

[badasscat]

Is it just me, or are most of the scores pretty arbitary?

Completely, and most of them are utter bullshit.

I truly believe that, like films or music or a lot of other things, you need the passage of time to judge the quality of any console launch. True, part of the equation is the excitement generated at the time, and the organization of the logistics, marketing and promotion, but the whole purpose of a launch is to start selling a system (duh) and often the particular strategy being used takes some time to play out. To at least some extent, it's pretty meaningless if you have a launch that generates a lot of hype but not much in the way of sales (i.e. Dreamcast).

So, there's that. But some of these scores are also completely ridiculous on their face. The DS landed with a "thud"? It sold as many units its first week as the PSP! The PSP's the one that only sold half the units produced.

Anyway, you can't take any article like this too seriously because they're specifically written to generate discussion like this - controversy is the goal. But this list does seem particularly ridiculous.

More opinion than fact.

[MeanderingMind]

The article is interesting at best. While reviewing all the previous major console launches is a good idea, the result here is about 70% opinion and 30% fact. Instead of presenting us with much in the way of information, we have some vague statements about hype and retail shipments, followed by arbitrary statements as to how well the launch went, and how the system fared thereafter.

Anyone who ever tries to call any console a success or any other console a failure (beyond being immediately branded a fanboy) will ignite whatever medium used into arguments about how Nintendo profited on the Gamecube, Microsoft didn't even want to with the Xbox, and how Sony dominated.

I can already hear the weapons being armed.

Um wait

[FidelCatsro]

How can the Xbox 360 launch get 4 stars and a 1up .. It hasn't been launched yet . Talk about jumping the gun a little , it is still pre-hype .

Re:Console Releases...

[Dehumanizer]

Agree with most of it, except for the last part: Nintendo doesn't target "kids". It targets "everyone".

People still make the mistake that "if it hasn't got sex or violence, it must be for kids". But games aren't like those toys that say "ages 3-6", which a 10-year old will probably find too simple and boring.

This guy said it better than I probably could.