Microsoft Sides With Nintendo Against Sony

rafemonkey writes "Looks like Microsoft loves the Wii. The Washington Post has an article in which VP Peter Moore says that since the PS3 is so expensive, gamers might as well get an Xbox 360 and a Wii for the cost of one Sony console." From the article: "Microsoft predicted on Tuesday it will have 10 million Xbox 360 consoles in the market before Sony launches the PS3. The high-end Xbox 360 sells for $399, but it does not include a built-in high-definition DVD video player that comes with Sony's PS3. Sony plans to sell a premium PS3 model for $599 when it debuts in North America on November 17, and Nintendo has not yet disclosed pricing for Wii." On that last note there is much speculation that Nintendo is aiming for a $249 price point. Sony's Kaz Hirai has in turn responded that the PlayStation 3 is priced for consumers, who are getting a lot for their money.

Comments

I bet he said that...

[moore.dustin]

While the rest of the world said I will just get a Wii and save the rest or buy games/accessories.

I dont know about the rest of you, but Nintendo really made it easy to choose which next gen to invest in.

Re:I bet he said that...

[justchris]

Actually, if you watched or read any of the information about the Nintendo press conference, you would have heard how much they stressed the physics used in Red Steel and Metroid Prime. Havok, one of the two leading physics software products (the other being Ageia's PhysX) is developing middleware for improved Physics on Wii. All the latest physics buzzwords, everything that made Half-Life 2 so great, is already included in Red Steel, and that's a first generation game.

As for AI, Wii potentially has better AI than either PS3 or 360. The only difference is, with a slower processor, it'll be able to control fewer AI at a time. So while you won't be able to have 100 reasonably intelligent AI, you will get 20 brilliant AI. It's a tradeoff, and will work better for some games than for others.

Add to that truly next generation controls, persistent, free internet service, and yes, more eye candy, and you still end up with a next generation system. The Wii will by no means be as powerful as the Xbox 360 or the PS3, but it will be a comparable solution.

OH!....

[joe 155]

dare I say it? the man is right. The games which come out for the 360 will be pretty much the same as those for the PS3, they have been for the xbox and ps2. There are very few unique games between those two consoles. The Wii will sport unique games from the other two so for me it's a must, also the 360 and PS3 will have similar styles of play, the Wii will be different. If you were to want both styles then it is only logical to get the Wii and 360 for the price of a PS3.

Personally I can only afford one - and because I live in the UK I'll be paying twice what you are anyway *shakes fist* - so for me it'll be the Wii

Spin, Spin, Spin

[jj00]

The PS3 will cost $599 WITH a Blu-Ray drive.

XBox 360 costs $399, how much will will you pay if you want to add on the HD-DVD drive? I would think it would cost at least $200 dollars.

$399 + $200 = $599!!

Re:MS has said this lots of times before

[barawn]

but I don't think they're serious about buying them out or forming a partnership.

Well, buying them out is a non-starter, as has been mentioned many times before. Nintendo's a 116-year old company. To them, Microsoft would be this little kid coming up and saying 'hey, I got 100 bucks from my parents, can I have your house?' Nintendo - the company - is worth a lot more to them than Microsoft would be willing to pay.

But I think you're right in that Microsoft definitely is not trying to compete with Nintendo. There was a quote from an editor at 1UP that sums this up nicely:

Nintendo's "job" now is to keep everyone honest. They're the voice that the industry needs.They're the conscience, and the guy at the back of the room reminding everyone why we got into this stuff in the first place.

Microsoft is targeting core gamers. That market isn't expanding (they're just spending more money, but that will of course end). In Japan, it's contracting. Moreover, modern gaming is getting more expensive, and margins are becoming much thinner, but hardcore gamers won't accept any less - they expect graphics to improve, effects to get bigger and better, etc.

Which means that, in some sense, Microsoft and Sony need Nintendo to succeed. I don't think Sony's figured that out yet (probably because Nintendo is out back in a Japanese alley beating Sony's new baby PSP into a bloody pulp) but I think Nintendo has.

Re:Tricks microsoft

[Serapth]

God I wish I had to MOD points to mod you stupid right now, but sadly I dont. Instead im going to have to take the hit to my Karma. Oh well, well worth the cost to insult someone who is so mindlessly a Microsoft basher as to not take time to make a logical argument.

Oh... I suppose I should back up what ive said... um ok.

First off, the GPU in the Xbox 360 would probrably cost about the same retail as the PS3 GPU would, infact probrably more due to that 12MB of static, highly expensive framebuffer memory and the silicon that goes into almost free post pixel effects ( like 4x AA ).

As to money losing business, read Microsofts latest quarterly earnings statement... they expect to be cash positive on the 360 business within a year or so. I cant imagine Sony is anywhere close to that number this generation.

As to a huge leap over the Xbox 360, then why is it gaming media is pretty much united in slaming the PS3 right now for not showing any great superiority. Infact, any game they have shown as playable as been pretty much acknowledged as being doable on the 360.

Point blank, Sony stumbled and fell at E3 this year ( like microsoft did last year ). The only people that dont seem to notice that are Microsoft, er Micro$oft bashers and Sony fanboys. Which of the two are you? Maybe both?

Fuckit, who needs karma.