Microsoft NeXtBox - What I would do to make the NeXtBox a success

[Pygmy_Hippo]

I don't think this will happen. MS wants you to buy your music and movies from the Xbox Marketplace. Supporting these codecs would appear to run counter to that goal.

sadly I think you've hit the nail on the head - i'm just waiting for the day when I can replace my HTPC with something a little less power-hungry!! :D

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

To be fair, in terms of being a gaming device I doubt the PS3 will be the first thing on anyone's mind. It will undoubtedly be Wii -> 360 -> PS3. That being said, Sony made leaps and bounds in the last few years but even so I think the only reason they've made up sales is because all the people who owned a 360 eventually bought a PS3. Also a majority of sales go to Sony's initial marketing of the PS3 as a media device. Sales numbers aren't really a great representative of how well a console did in a generation. What matters is its image in the market and from what I can tell Microsoft has made a bigger impression (although that has been dwindling more and more as this generation continues to get stretched to its limit).

I guess the best response to this is "Time heals all wounds". At least in sales numbers.

Because of an old saying, and that is "the numbers do not lie," I have to respectfully disagree.

My personal opinion completely aside, I just cannot see how anyone when looking at the raw data can possibly believe that 70+ million PS3's were sold as a result of people first getting an XBox 360 then getting a PS3. As a result, I also cannot see how anyone can believe, again just based on the data itself, that everyone on this planet thinks Wii -> Xbox -> PS3. While those overall numbers are indeed the way America, and a decent amount of Europe, see things, there just had to be a decent amount of people who thought Wii -> PS3 -> Xbox -> just based on the data itself. As I am sure there are people who saw things as XBox -> PS3 -> Wii, or PS3 -> Wii -> Xbox, so on and so forth. I just believe that the numbers, while they do show the Wii was the clear cut winner, show that everyone feels the same about this generation. In fact I believe it is quite the contrary, there was no clear winner when looking at the data.

So I cannot help but feel that your take on things is definitely the way America see's it, I will totally admit that, but what I am saying is America's sales are not the only ones that matter in the grand scheme of things. A great example, do you really think Japanese gamers see things as Wii -> Xbox -> PS3?

I do also feel that believing MS was so dominant at the end of the day is definitely a Western perspective as well. While MS has probably indeed come out of this generation the winner from a popularity perspective, popularity is not the only thing that does pays the bills. Sales do. I also feel if one sits backs and compares the exclusives that actually give each console their uniqueness from the other console, strictly from a gaming perspective, they were pretty much dead even. The 360 had some great exclusives as did the PS3. I enjoyed playing Gears Of War & Halo just as much as I enjoyed playing Uncharted & Infamous. I also realize I was fortunate in the fact I never had to choose one console or the other, I always have enjoyed the best of both worlds.

I just think it is limited view of things to dismiss the PS3 so easily, especially when the numbers tell a different story. And I would say the same exact thing about the XBox 360 to a Japanese gamer who would laugh at the notion that the 360 was the most popular console.

Simply put, I believe that putting things in a global perspective is important when talking about anything. Consoles being no exception. This belief no doubt comes with age. Hell, when I first joined this site, I did not think about things from a global perspective. However I can wholeheartedly say it was actually the interaction with members from all across the globe right here on Neowin that made me realize there is a whole lot of people on this planet. And while it is very easy to believe that the American way is the most popular way across the globe, that is not necessarily the case.

[Emn1ty]

Because of an old saying, and that is "the numbers do not lie," I have to respectfully disagree.

My personal opinion completely aside, I just cannot see how anyone when looking at the raw data can possibly believe that 70+ million PS3's were sold as a result of people first getting an XBox 360 then getting a PS3. As a result, I also cannot see how anyone can believe, again just based on the data itself, that everyone on this planet thinks Wii -> Xbox -> PS3. While those overall numbers are indeed the way America, and a decent amount of Europe, see things, there just had to be a decent amount of people who thought Wii -> PS3 -> Xbox -> just based on the data itself. As I am sure there are people who saw things as XBox -> PS3 -> Wii, or PS3 -> Wii -> Xbox, so on and so forth. I just believe that the numbers, while they do show the Wii was the clear cut winner, show that everyone feels the same about this generation. In fact I believe it is quite the contrary, there was no clear winner when looking at the data.

So I cannot help but feel that your take on things is definitely the way America see's it, I will totally admit that, but what I am saying is America's sales are not the only ones that matter in the grand scheme of things. A great example, do you really think Japanese gamers see things as Wii -> Xbox -> PS3?

I do also feel that believing MS was so dominant at the end of the day is definitely a Western perspective as well. While MS has probably indeed come out of this generation the winner from a popularity perspective, popularity is not the only thing that does pays the bills. Sales do. I also feel if one sits backs and compares the exclusives that actually give each console their uniqueness from the other console, strictly from a gaming perspective, they were pretty much dead even. The 360 had some great exclusives as did the PS3. I enjoyed playing Gears Of War & Halo just as much as I enjoyed playing Uncharted & Infamous. I also realize I was fortunate in the fact I never had to choose one console or the other, I always have enjoyed the best of both worlds.

I just think it is limited view of things to dismiss the PS3 so easily, especially when the numbers tell a different story. And I would say the same exact thing about the XBox 360 to a Japanese gamer who would laugh at the notion that the 360 was the most popular console.

Simply put, I believe that putting things in a global perspective is important when talking about anything. Consoles being no exception. This belief no doubt comes with age. Hell, when I first joined this site, I did not think about things from a global perspective. However I can wholeheartedly say it was actually the interaction with members from all across the globe right here on Neowin that made me realize there is a whole lot of people on this planet. And while it is very easy to believe that the American way is the most popular way across the globe, that is not necessarily the case.

Numbers tell us nothing but a number. An average tells us something different than a total, or a trend, etc. Saying "oh they've ended up within a couple million of each other means that Sony didn't do poorly" isn't really an accurate way to interpret that. I won't deny Sony has done well, but they undeniably had the hardest road to travel this generation. Retroactively removing features, obnoxiously high prices, hacking, retarded advertising campaigns, etc. They've consistently been behind in sales numbers vs the 360 (although that difference was closing until just recently when a huge 360 sales spike happened).

I'm also not saying all the consoles were sold after the buyers had 360's. In fact, I bet a very high percentage of them weren't. But that doesn't change the fact that this generation has dragged on long enough (prices have dropped low enough) that its very easy to own both systems. And I could see that part of the consumer base easily filling in that gap between the PS3 and 360. Seeing as I have owned a PS3 and played only a single game on it I'd put myself in that group of people, too. I have a PS3 because I want both the systems, not really because there was any specific need to own a PS3 (outside of it being a Blu-Ray player).

In terms of the thought process I mentioned. The general consumer is more likely to have the Wii pop into their head when they think about video game consoles than the 360 or the PS3. I'm not talking about like/dislike. I mean the very first brand to hit their brain. I'm sure the general consumer thinks of the Wii before any other console which may be exactly why its sold almost 20+ million more units than the rest (aside from being cheaper initially and having better advertising than both the other consoles).

In the end of the day the numbers don't even touch things that Sony came out of this generation with such as feature removal and horrible security practices. Sony was hit hard in more than just sales (not to mention losing a lot of money on their console for the first few years). Just saying "they are both at similar points now, so its obviously even" doesn't even begin to consider the whole picture of this generation. Sure, Microsoft was hit hard by the RROD, but overall it seems MS gained a lot of respect from the way they handled that situation. Sony has done nothing but LOSE in that area.

[The Evil Overlord]

Considering xbox has outsold PS3 for almost 24 months in a row putting sony label on it would just kill sales.

That was a joke I know the current xbox has more sales, and I know the reason why

[NoLiMiT06]

1) Allow free online game-play out of the box for everyone

It will turn in to garbage like PSN... I would much rather pay then have ****.