Microsoft Wants 360 To Have PS2-Like Lifespan

Gamasutra is reporting on comments from Microsoft executive Mindy Mount, reacting to Nintendo's Satoru Iwata and his observations about the modern console life cycle. Mount indicated that the company is looking towards the PlayStation 2's success well into its lifespan for inspiration. "In comments very similar to those made by Iwata, Mount suggested that a rush to create a new generation of consoles was not necessary until there was a compelling hardware feature to justify it. 'At this point from the technological perspective, there are some real advances ... that make it worth having a next-generation console," said Mount. "Right now there aren't that many things on the horizon that you think, wow, that's going to be a game-changer.'"

Comments

Re:I wont' be the first one to say it but..

[Aladrin]

What if you don't have to, because it's still under warranty? That's all that has saved their ass so far...

I will say, though, that I buy/rent games on my PS3 rather than my 360 if given the choice now because my 360 is acting weird sometimes (graphical corruption that goes away when it's turned off and back on) and I don't want to have to wait 6 weeks until I can play it again. It's easier to just get them for the PS3 and not have to worry about it.

Maybe if I can make my 360 last long enough, they'll replace it with one that won't break when it finally does go down.

Re:Will This Thinking Help PS3?

[king-manic]

Even if one concedes the Cell processor is difficult to program for, its clearly not impossible to do so. If vendors continue producing games for the PS3 (and if we're having a realistic argument, its safe to say they will do so, even if not exclusively), they will become more and more familiar with the nuances of programming over time. As this happens, the greater resources on the PS3 will shine through more and more. After four or five years, its entirely possible we could see significant differences in game-play and graphics on PS3 games, opposed to 360 games. I think with Ratchet and clank the difference is starting to surface. The game looked good but the real distinction is the number of objects on screen were sometimes staggering without slowing the machine down. The number of fully animated object like passing traffic, animal life, distant objects etc... made it a more immersive and believable world.

Re:Xbox 1 owner here

[king-manic]

Not just short but artificially shortened. Microsoft basically pulled the plug on the XBox as soon as the 360 appeared. The PS2 is clearly last gen, but Sony are still producing new versions of it even now. The major difference was that the PS2 was profitable per unit (ignore r&d) soon after launch while the Xbox was never profitable per unit up until it's demise. Mostly due to the sourced parts and IP Microsoft had to deal with. Sony's costs on the PS2 diminished continually while Microsoft's weren't as much under their control. A key part of that was the inclusion of the hard drive, HD's decrease in price per GB but generally not very much per unit. Contributing to their decision to partially ditch it in the 360.

Re:I'd prefer

[Thyamine]

This is exactly what happened to me. I had to send my first back in because of the Red Ring of Death, and now the DVD drive died about a month ago. I have yet to call them about it, but this is the type of problem that will keep them from their hope of being like the PS2. The only thing that will keep me from replacing it with a PS3 is the number of games I already own for the 360. Otherwise I'd be moving on to other consoles.

Re:I'd prefer

[antek9]

The only thing that will keep me from replacing it with a PS3 is the number of games I already own for the 360. Otherwise I'd be moving on to other consoles.

Ok, this will be obvious, but that is the kind of situation eBay was invented for. There is a German saying that goes: "Besser ein Ende mit Schrecken, als ein Schrecken ohne Ende." (An ending with horrors is better than never ending horror.) What's the appropriate idiom in English, as I can't seem to find it?

Yes, I do realize that you might be talking about games that are exclusive to 360 as well, ones that you will be missing, but there might be more to gain in the long run. And thank you, I'm neither a shill nor paid to say this.

Re:I wont' be the first one to say it but..

[Anonymous Coward]

The 360's fail because they use lead-free solder on a board that has insufficient cooling. The lead-free solder expands and contacts too much around the GPU/CPU and eventually the connection fails because they pop or warp their way out. The funny part is, you can fix and fix and fix, and eventually, other parts begin popping and you don't know which, and better yet, you track down and fix one pop, return it to the customer and another one pops. The CPU/GPU gets re soldered 4 or 5 times and eventually, the memory pops, or the CMOS ROM.

Now if you quadruple the airflow going through the sucker, then you would have no problems.

As far as the DVD-Rom failures, those are caused by years of slowly scratching the fsck out of the laser. The fix is an easy job to perform, so long as you have at least some experience.