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By indospot
The console wars grand finale: Xbox 360 versus Xbox One versus Nintendo 3DS
by João Carrasqueira
Welcome to the final round of the console wars. For the past month, we've asked you to choose your favorite consoles in a series of polls, and your votes have brought us to the grand finale. Of course, that means it's up to you again to choose the true winner.
First, let's recap what happened in round two. The first matchup saw the Xbox 360 pulling an undisputed victory with nearly 50% of the votes. In second place, the PlayStation 2 won over just 24% of the voters, giving the Xbox 360 a crushing win. An interesting result, to be sure, considering the PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console of all time.
The second match pitted the original PlayStation, the Nintendo 64, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch against each other, and once again, Microsoft pulled a convincing. The battle was a bit more balanced here, but the Xbox One still got over 34% of the votes, with the Nintendo Switch slightly edging out the PlayStation for second place with roughly 27% of you choosing it.
Finally, the third match was focused on handhelds, and all of them were made by Nintendo, so there was only one possible winner. More specifically, victory went to the Nintendo 3DS, with roughly 34% of our readers voting for it. In second place, the Game Boy Advance had about 26% of the votes, and it's certainly interesting that sales numbers don't correlate to the poll winners at all in any of these matchups.
With that being said, we now have the three finalists - the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Nintendo 3DS. You can vote for them right now, but since we're down to the final three, we'll also introduce you to each of the contestants below the poll.
Poll
What is the best console of all time?
Xbox 360 45.3% Xbox One 28.4% Nintendo 3DS 26.4% Results (201 Votes) Meet the contestants
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 was Microsoft's second foray into the world of game consoles, following a relatively lukewarm reception to the original Xbox. Microsoft kickstarted the seventh-generation of consoles, having announced the Xbox 360 in May of 2005, and releasing it in North America, Europe, and Japan later that year. As such, it was the first console to feature HD graphics and it also ushered in the era of online gaming with Xbox Live, though the service was already available to some extent on the original Xbox.
Original Xbox 360 "Premium", Xbox 360 S, and Xbox 360 E The Xbox 360 also introduced a new controller that worked wirelessly and had a significantly improved design that not only negated the criticism towards the original, but actually became one of the most praised controllers for its comfort. The console itself got redesigned a number of times throughout its life, adding more storage, connectivity options, and addressing some reliability issues like the infamous "Red Ring of Death". The most recognizable revision was the Xbox 360 S, launched in 2010, but it also got redesigned to look more like the Xbox One with the Xbox 360 E model in 2012.
By this point, Microsoft had started to gain recognition for its online service, and it had a hugely popular franchise in the form of Halo, with other franchises like Forza Motorsport and Fable having also started to grow. Between that and other well-known exclusive games like Gears of War, the Xbox 360 had a strong library early on. Combine that with stronger third-party support, an earlier launch than the competition, and a more attractive price than the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 led in terms of sales for a long time, barring the casual-focused Wii.
Kinect for Xbox 360 However, towards the end of the Xbox 360's life, the company shifted its focus towards the Kinect - a motion-sensing camera - trying to lure the casual audience away from Nintendo. Meanwhile, Sony had introduced cheaper versions of the PlayStation 3 and kept investing in games like The Last of Us and the Uncharted series later on. As such, the Xbox 360 ended in third place in its generation, having sold over 84 million units. Still, it's Microsoft's best-selling console officially.
Xbox One
The Xbox One was first revealed in May of 2013, and its initial reception was completely opposite from the Xbox 360's early days. Microsoft initially wanted to require a constant internet connection, make reselling games impossible, require the use of Kinect, and the first presentation of the console focused much more on media and television than gaming. Microsoft did try to focus more on games at E3, but then it had to contend with Sony. The PlayStation 4 was revealed to be cheaper than the Xbox One, confirmed support for used games, and focused even more on the gaming crowd, which meant Microsoft was off to a very slow start. The first model of the Xbox One was also mocked for being bulky and looking somewhat bland.
But Microsoft put a ton of effort into turning things around as the generation went on. The Kinect was eventually removed from the Xbox One package (and ended up being killed off entirely for gaming purposes), and Microsoft introduced two redesigns that made the Xbox One much more appealing. The Xbox One S, announced in 2016, made the console much smaller and gave it an all-new visual identity, along with adding support for HDR and 4K. This also brought an improved Xbox Wireless Controller, now with Bluetooth support, which allowed it to work on PCs and mobile devices easily. Then, in 2017, Xbox One X became the world's most powerful console, with support for native 4K rendering, all while being even smaller than the One S.
Microsoft also started focusing on games again, and capitalized on its incredibly popular Halo franchise by releasing The Master Chief Collection in 2014, containing almost every game in the series' history so far, with the first two being remade to look the part on Xbox One. Microsoft also finally put its acquisition of Rare to good use with the release of Rare Replay, a collection of almost every Rare-developed game from the 30 years prior, including cult classics like Conker's Bad Fur Day and Banjo-Kazooie. And of course, that's to say nothing of big new games that came out in the next few years from series like Halo, Gears of War, Forza (including the open-world Forza Horizon sub-series), and new franchises entirely like Sea of Thieves and Ori. On top of that, backward compatibility, which was initially missing, would be added later on for both Xbox 360 and some original Xbox games.
Microsoft stopped reporting sales of its Xbox consoles in October 2015, but estimates point to it having sold 51 million units as of the end of the second quarter of 2020. Far from a failure, the Xbox One ended up in a distant second place from the PlayStation 4, and has also been surpassed by the Nintendo Switch, but it stands as a testament to the mistakes Microsoft made and the lessons it learned in this era.
Nintendo 3DS
We already talked about the entire history of the Nintendo 3DS just a few months ago, in honor of the console being discontinued in 2020. You can always read more there, but here's a quick summary. The Nintendo 3DS was first announced via a simple press release in March 2010 and then shown off at E3 that year, but it wouldn't release until March 2011.
Its headlining feature was support for glasses-free 3D, which required the user to look at the screen from a very specific angle and distance. It also featured higher-resolution displays, better graphics, and new control methods like a Circle Pad and motion sensors, compared to its predecessor. However, the console initially failed to gain traction thanks to its high price point and lack of blockbuster titles in the first few months.
Nintendo was determined to turn things around, though, and reduced the price from $250 to $170 just a few months later, and with big original games like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 releasing that holiday season, the 3DS began to exhibit a decent amount of success. It eventually got original games from series like The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon, revived franchises like Luigi's Mansion and Kid Icarus, and expanded the popularity of Animal Crossing, which no doubt contributed to the worldwide phenomenon that was Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch many years later. Even some third-party exclusives, like the Monster Hunter series and Resident Evil: Revelations (which was only exclusive for about a year), were released for the system.
The Nintendo 3DS received a handful of revisions, including the 3DS XL with bigger screens, and the 2DS, which removed 3D functionality and was more affordable. All models got revised with the "New" branding later on (2015 for the New 3DS and New 3DS XL; 2017 for the New 2DS XL), bringing even more control options, improved processing power, and better 3D support in the 3D-enabled models.
With 75.94 million units sold, it was far from Nintendo's biggest success in the handheld market, but it was far ahead of its competitor - the PlayStation Vita.
And those are the finalists this time around. Who will come out on top in the grand finale of the console wars? It's up to you. Cast your votes and we'll reveal the grand winner in a few weeks.
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By Asher Madan
Xbox Deals with Gold feature Shenmue, Star Wars: Squadrons, and more
by Asher Madan
Every week, Microsoft and select publishers discount a number of titles for a weekly Deals with Gold sale. This week, games like The Sims 4, Star Wars: Squadrons, and more are available for substantially less. Below, you'll find the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 games with their respective discounts. The games marked with an asterisk are only valid for Xbox Live Gold members.
Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One
Xbox 360
If you're still using an Xbox 360, there's not a lot going on this week. The only backward compatible game is Mass Effect which is playable on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, However, with the remastered Mass Effect: Legendary Edition launching in May, you might want to consider pre-ordering that instead.
Which titles are you interested in? Did you pick any up? Let us know in the comments below.
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By indospot
Console wars round two is here - Time to choose the finalists
by João Carrasqueira
Welcome back to Neowin's console wars. Two weeks ago, we started a tournament with every major console from each generation, and thanks to your votes, it's now time for round two. As previously sated, the two most voted consoles from each poll have moved on to the second round, which will consist of three matches, each pitting four consoles against each other.
The first matchup in the previous round pitted the second and seventh generations of consoles against each other and, unsurprisingly, the second-generation hardware didn't hold a candle to its newer counterparts. The Xbox 360 came out ahead with roughly 45% of the votes, a smashing result. In second place, the PlayStation 3 obtained just over 20% of the votes. Neither of the consoles was the best-selling platform of the generation, but the PlayStation 3 came out ahead between the two, and the Xbox 360's crushing win can likely be attributed to the Microsoft-focused nature of Neowin. We'll see more of that in the rest of the polls.
As for the second matchup, it featured third- and sixth-generation consoles, and once again, the newer hardware came out on top. The PlayStation 2 pulled off a clean victory with just over 30% of the votes, which isn't at all surprising considering it's the best-selling console of all time, having sold more than 155 million units. Second place was given to the original Xbox with 23.6% of the votes, despite it only selling 24 million units back in the day.
That means the first poll in this round is all about Sony and Microsoft:
Poll
Playstation 2 vs Xbox vs PlayStation 3 vs Xbox 360
PlayStation 2 Xbox PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Submit Vote Next up, the third match in round one features fourth- and fifth-generation consoles, and it's one of the closest races so far. The original PlayStation pulled ahead with 26% of the votes, with the Nintendo 64 trailing it only slightly with 25.6%. The result is surprising considering the PlayStation sold over 100 million units, while the Nintendo 64 sold just under 33 million. Left behind was the iconic SNES, which only amassed 21.9% of the votes.
The fourth poll pitted the eighth generation of home consoles against the fifth generation of handhelds, and it would seem there's not much love for the classics here. Microsoft once again took the top spot with the Xbox One, garnering 35.8% of the votes, and the Nintendo Switch slightly edged out the PlayStation 4 for second place, receiving 26.7% of your choices. Microsoft stopped reporting console sales numbers a few years ago, but estimates point to it having sold around 50 million units as of December 31, 2019, which was about half of what its direct rival, the PlayStation 4, had sold at the time. As of the latest report, the Switch has sold just under 80 million units, but it's also been on the market for much less time.
And so, the second match in round two is:
Poll
PlayStation vs Nintendo 64 vs Xbox One vs Nintendo Switch
PlayStation Nintendo 64 Xbox One Nintendo Switch Submit VoteResults (12 Votes) From here on out, we're focusing on handhelds, and Nintendo has absolutely dominated the market in this area. Pitting the fourth and eighth generations of handheld consoles together, it was Nintendo's original Game Boy that came out on top, leading with 37% of the popular vote. In a close second, the Nintendo 3DS obtained 35.4% of our readers' choices. Sales-wise, both consoles were at the top of the chain for their time - the Game Boy family sold over 118 million units, and the Nintendo 3DS sold just under 76 million, leaving little room for competition.
The picture isn't all too different in the final match-up of round one, with the Nintendo DS coming out ahead with 37.7% of the votes. The dual-screen handheld sold over 154 million units and is the best-selling portable console ever, so that's not surprising. In second place, the Game Boy Advance conquered 31.2% of our readers' preference. This was one of the least competitive generations in handheld consoles, and the GBA was practically the only viable platform at the time. Even though it was superseded by the DS just three years later, it managed to sell over 81 million units.
And with that, the final match in round two has a guaranteed winner - Nintendo. Here are your options:
Poll
Game Boy vs Game Boy Advance vs Nintendo DS vs Nintendo 3DS
Game Boy Game Boy Advance Nintendo DS Nintendo 3DS Submit Vote And those are the matchups for round two! We've gotten rid of a lot of contestants that barely anyone cared for, so the real competition starts now. Every console in these polls played a major role in gaming, so it's up to you to decide which ones were the biggest. The winners of these polls will participate in a three-way final round.
Don't agree with the results? Let us know in the comments and share the tournament with your friends so we get the most realistic picture possible. And stay tuned for the final round at the end of February!
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By indospot
Neowin Podcast Episode 18: Let's talk about videogames
by João Carrasqueira
Welcome to episode 18 of the Neowin Podcast, the only bi-weekly podcast that has absolutely never missed a beat since its creation. After returning two weeks ago to talk about fitness tech, episode 18 is focused on one of our favorite hobbies - videogames.
On this episode, Rich and João talk about their memories with videogames and their first consoles, as well as some of their favorite experiences with the medium. As you may know, we've been running a poll to decide which is our community's favorite console of all time, and the first round is almost over, so we take a look at the results so far and which ones are our favorites. We also talk about Nintendo's legacy and how poorly it's being leveraged on the Switch. Oh, and we finally get to know the logic behind João's very weird username.
If you're interested in any of the products mentioned in this show, you can (try to) buy them here:
Nintendo Switch ($299.99) Nintendo Switch Online membership (1-year, $19.99) Xbox Series X ($499.99) You can listen to the episode below, and the Neowin Podcast is available on iTunes - and apps that rely on its library - as well as Google Podcasts, Spotify, and now, Amazon Music. And if you want to add it to your own podcast library, you can use this RSS feed:
Neowin.net · Episode 18 - Let's talk about videogames! Do you have a topic you'd like us to discuss on the podcast? Let us know in the comments!
As an Amazon Associate, Neowin may earn commission from qualifying purchases.
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By Asher Madan
Xbox Lunar New Year Sale features Assassin's Creed Odyssey and more games
by Asher Madan
Every week, Microsoft and select publishers discount a number of titles for a weekly Deals with Gold sale. This week, games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and more are available for substantially less. Below, you'll find the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 games with their respective discounts. The games marked with an asterisk are only valid for Xbox Live Gold members. There are also Anime Month and Lunar New Year sales going on right now!
Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One
Xbox 360
All of the Xbox 360 games appear to be backward compatible so you'll be able to play them on your Xbox One and the Xbox Series X|S consoles.
Which titles are you interested in? Did you pick any up? Let us know in the comments below.
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