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Ballmer: Xbox 'can take Sony'

Mama Smurf

My penis is still intact.
You know, if they'd done better in Japan this time, maybe I could start to believe him. I think they can probably close the gap extremely far, but until they crack Japan, it's going to be tricky.
 

thorns

Banned
Deg said:
lol, they are losing money and arent anywhere near Sony. The must be kicking themselves in private.


Not if you look at the monthly sales. Or are you arguing that they have established themselves as a significant player? Next gen they might not "take sony" but it's going to be much closer.
 

Deg

Banned
thorns said:
Not if you look at the monthly sales. Or are you arguing that they have established themselves as a significant player? Next gen they might not "take sony" but it's going to be much closer.

That would be fine and dandy if they werent losing money. Losing money from a company like MS i expected alot better.
 
It's hard to imagine any scenario in which Microsoft could ever crack Japan. They've bungled it up so much that it might actually be impossible for them now. (I'd link the appropriate Tokyopia piece, but the site's not working for me right now.)

If Sony falters in Japan next generation, the company most likely to pick up the slack is not Microsoft. It's Nintendo.
 

SantaC

Gold Member
Kobun Heat said:
It's hard to imagine any scenario in which Microsoft could ever crack Japan. They've bungled it up so much that it might actually be impossible for them now. (I'd link the appropriate Tokyopia piece, but the site's not working for me right now.)

If Sony falters in Japan next generation, the company most likely to pick up the slack is not Microsoft. It's Nintendo.

indeed. What do MS have in Japan now? Techmo? It's a nice dev, but one isn't enough.
 

human5892

Queen of Denmark
Kobun Heat said:
If Sony falters in Japan next generation, the company most likely to pick up the slack is not Microsoft. It's Nintendo.
Definitely.

Similarly, though, Microsoft is poised to pick up any possible Sony slack in the US, unless Nintendo can make a serious turnaround at the Revolution's launch. They have an easier battle in the US than Microsoft does in Japan, though.
 
You guys are forgetting that the last successful US-made consoles were made by Atari in the '80s. What Microsoft has done with the Xbox is way beyond what Atari, Philips, or 3DO was ever able to accomplish.
 

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
mjq jazz bar said:
You guys are forgetting that the last successful US-made consoles were made by Atari in the '80s. What Microsoft has done with the Xbox is way beyond what Atari, Philips, or 3DO was ever able to accomplish.

Dare I say it? Which of those company's had as much of cash cow in another industry to be able to afford to take the losses MS has on the Xbox?
 

neptunes

Member
mjq jazz bar said:
You guys are forgetting that the last successful US-made consoles were made by Atari in the '80s. What Microsoft has done with the Xbox is way beyond what Atari, Philips, or 3DO was ever able to accomplish.

that was a whole different time and the industry has changed drastically since then.
 
V

Vennt

Unconfirmed Member
The biggest joke I've ever read!
The stupidest he could say!
This guy lives in his "dreamworld" and nothingmore.

Ahh man, its not often we get multiple-choice tag options volunteered in one post.

I'm spoilt for choice!


Freeburn
 

cja

Member
Remember these comments from EB President last month:

"Yes, they could get a 30 per cent share, I think if they got less than that they'd be disappointed. If they come out earlier than Sony, if they have the breadth of exclusive titles like Sony had for PS2, I think they'd definitely have potential for market share leadership."

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=55769

If Sony don't have market leadership in the US or Europe with the amount of money they've invested in Cell.... DOOMED :p
 

Deku Tree

Member
We'll if they don't "take Sony" next generation then after comments like these it will be very hard for MS to fall back on the following standard argument; "this is a tough market to crack and we're very happy with our progress so far".
 

pcostabel

Gold Member
Despite the bold talk, I don't see MS aiming for market dominance with Xenon. Their emphasis on XNA makes me think they will be perfectly happy to exit the hardware market and collect royalties from their tools. Remember, they are a software company.
 

human5892

Queen of Denmark
Deg said:
Its not similar at all.
Bah, don't take it so literally. Put "by the same token" in there if you like -- whatever you call it, Microsoft has a battle to fight in Japan for relevance just as Nintendo has in the States, although Microsoft's is far greater and unlikely to succeed (as I mentioned in the original post).
 

SyNapSe

Member
haha, that's the longest tag ever. I don't think MS has any chance of 'taking Sony' next gen. Sony just has too many huge franchises, and they've done a great job of developing more 1st party titles this gen.

MS does have a chance it would seem (by recent sales trends, I guess) to be competitive with Sony. Obviously overall this generation Sony has blow MS and Nintendo out of the water.
 

jedimike

Member
I think if MS can keep gaining momentum through the holiday season, then they certainly have a shot at besting Sony. Specs don't matter... games don't matter... what matters is when all the casual gamers think it's cool to have an Xbox.

If they have that, then MS will win. Right now, I'm definitely seeing a shift of momentum and I think Xbox will be a hot Xmas item. I remember when Xbox first came out... let's just say it wasn't a very popular thing to have.
 

BeOnEdge

Banned
people always talk abot MS "LOSING" money yet therr stock price has stayed the same. they arent "losing" anything. Act as if the XBOX is a financial drain on the company. MS isnt sega.
 

Kiriku

SWEDISH PERFECTION
"We've generated something brand new."

To me, it feels more like they've forced their way onto the videogame market. And as he said himself, they're still losing money. They've artificially generated something new, but as long as they're losing money it's not much more than an illusion IMO. Will be interesting to follow the next generation.
 

jedimike

Member
SolidSnakex said:
" games don't matter"

You do realise that games are what make those casuals think a system is cool to own, right?


Not really... games can help form the opinion, but there are a lot more consoles that get sold simply because some big rap star or sports star happens to play it. People are like sheep, they buy what's cool and really don't put a lot of thought into it.
 

human5892

Queen of Denmark
BeOnEdge said:
people always talk abot MS "LOSING" money yet therr stock price has stayed the same. they arent "losing" anything.
Yes, they are losing something. It's money. On the Xbox.

Their stock isn't dropping because investors don't feel it's a big enough concern (yet), and it's offset by profits in other areas, but it is happening. If Microsoft was like Sega -- by which I mean, mainly profited and operated in the console business -- they'd have gone the exact same way. The only way they can play the game they're playing right now is because their other divisions can take the losses.
 
jedimike said:
Not really... games can help form the opinion, but there are a lot more consoles that get sold simply because some big rap star or sports star happens to play it. People are like sheep, they buy what's cool and really don't put a lot of thought into it.

I think you're overestimating how many people would actually do that. There were plenty of celebs hyping the DC and praising it also and look where it got. People latch on and buy systems because of games. Without any real games it doesn't matter how many celebs you get foaming out the mouth over something because people aren't going to want it. But if you've got an impressive lineup of games and lots of people start praising it for that, then you'll see the sales.
 

Mock

Banned
Mama Smurf said:
You know, if they'd done better in Japan this time, maybe I could start to believe him. I think they can probably close the gap extremely far, but until they crack Japan, it's going to be tricky.

You know, I like my Japanese games as much as anyone, but they're only like a fourth of the market now. It's not really arrogance that drives people to say Xbox doesn't need Japan, it really just doesn't.

It'd be nice if they played a little more smart with the Japanese market, but I can honestly see them overtaking Sony in the US if they keep thinking forward like they are now.

With Sony's attention divided on PSP and PS3, they're vulnerable and trying to fight a battle on two fronts. Fighting Nintendo in the handheld market and fighting MS and Nintendo in the console realm. Brand loyalty may have won them this round, but with Xbox's powerful showing this gen, Sony isn't going to have an easy victory next time.

They won't have a launch advantage, they likely won't have a signifigant hardware advantage, they'll have to start a real online service, their first party content still isn't the calibur or Nintendo or even MS and, once again, its their own proprietary hardware which they likely won't help developers figure out. Nintendo and MS will have ATI and make life easier on devs (again).
 

Greekboy

Banned
There is no way that MS or Nintendo can overtake the PS3. Their best bet is to close the enormous gap that the PS2 has created in the next generation and then hope to overtake the PS4 in the subsequent generation.
 

Mama Smurf

My penis is still intact.
I just think until MS can make some sort of dent in the Japanese market, they're going to be vulnerable. At the moment Sony are so far ahead in every market, they're not so worried about MS.

However, if MS close the gap considerably in Europe and the US next gen, Sony might start to do something about it. They might start to use their influence in Japan to ensure MS get even less big Japanese titles than they have this generation.

I mean, when you look at the big PS2 titles this gen (in the west), there are a hell of a lot of Japanese games there. Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry, Tekken...I could go on. A lot of Japanese games are big sellers in the west, much more so than the other way round. If Sony decided to crack down on these sorts of games being released on other consoles (the degree to which they could do that is debatable), then they'd hurt MS worldwide, not just in Japan.
 
Dont hurt me but I think Xbox 2 wont do as well as Xbox 1 *runs*

especially once they forfit their hardware advantage. They lose a major selling point of the Xbox. The way things seem to be panning out:

PS3 - Japan = Xbox 2
 

neptunes

Member
I mean, when you look at the big PS2 titles this gen (in the west), there are a hell of a lot of Japanese games there. Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry, Tekken...I could go on. A lot of Japanese games are big sellers in the west, much more so than the other way round. If Sony decided to crack down on these sorts of games being released on other consoles (the degree to which they could do that is debatable), then they'd hurt MS worldwide, not just in Japan.

exactly!

but don't forget GTA which popped out of nowhere and was made here in the us ;)
 

Mama Smurf

My penis is still intact.
It's not like they're just throwing away a hardware advantage though and that's it. They're swapping it for a time advantage. It's worked in the past.

If reports are to be believed anyway.
 

Manders

Banned
Give me a break. MS has been losing money on the xbox since day one, and God knows they're not making money from their games (excluding Halo of course).

Even if MS was willing to sell the xbox 2 at a cost lower than the ps3, they would still need good games. And Halo 3 alone ain't gonna cut it.
 
Mama Smurf said:
It's not like they're just throwing away a hardware advantage though and that's it. They're swapping it for a time advantage. It's worked in the past.

I think Sega might disagree with you
 

Mama Smurf

My penis is still intact.
I think Sega might agree with me as this is far, far more like the Genesis situation than the DC which should be obvious but has to be explained every damn thread.
 

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened
Xbox is selling fairly well along side PS2, of course you can't take compare total sold because Sony is what? nearly 2 years ahead of the curve?
 

Greekboy

Banned
DopeyFish said:
Xbox is selling fairly well along side PS2, of course you can't take compare total sold because Sony is what? nearly 2 years ahead of the curve?

Xbox has been getting dummied by the PS2 on a monthly basis.
 

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
DopeyFish said:
Xbox is selling fairly well along side PS2, of course you can't take compare total sold because Sony is what? nearly 2 years ahead of the curve?

Fairly well since the price drop or before that? And why brush off the two year lead? Is that Sony's fault?

Hell let's just brush off any Sony exclusive titles while we're at it.....
 
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