Topic: What's MS' next move with the XBox 360?

[Kairon]

Well, the PS3 has outsold the XBox 360 for the last two NPD months, and MS' little console-that-breaks is also rapidly losing ground to the PS3 in Europe. They actually just dropped the price for the XBox 360 in europe such that the arcade is cheaper than the Wii!

So what's MS' next move? Some say the current sales slump is because of console shortages... ehh...

Another theory could be that MS is stock-piling XBox 360's for the GTA IV launch. Will they try to bundle the console with the game for people who want to buy a console just for GTA?

Or... could MS be gearing up for a price drop in anticipation of GTA IV?

Do you guys think a price drop is likely coming for the XBox 360 this Spring? Maybe this summer/fall? And what should Nintendo do about it? And what can Sony do about it to maintain their momentum and not fall behind again?

[animecyberrat]

It reminds of of Dreamcast all over again, price drop after price drop, still no sales.

[DAaaMan64]

It reminds of of Dreamcast all over again, price drop after price drop, still no sales.

Way to early to call that.  I'm sure the DreamCast was doing terrible by this point in it's life. 

As for what MS should do?  3 things:

-  Make a new controller with "waggle"
-  release a super scope clone
-  1,000,000 Fusion Frenzy games

You know it is actually kind of hard to compete with a console that really has no advantages over yours but sells anyway. :/  I also doubt they have anything big ready to be release that could do anything in addition to the GTA launch. And at this time, price drops don't do anything.

Hmmm... They need buy and permanently own a big name. Like Call of Duty.  That's what they should do.

[RABicle]

Microsoft will start paying people to own the broken Xboxes that are piling up in their warehouses.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Probably try to make it a Wii clone, first it was a expensive PS2 clone(as in trying to emulate the PS2's success) that broke more.

[Deguello]

"So what's MS' next move? Some say the current sales slump is because of console shortages... ehh..."

LOL Console Shortage?  How?  I see piles of them everyday.  If Nintendo gets criticism for having a legitimate shortage and can nearly double 360's totals each month, there's no way in hell MS is having a shortage and barely beating the in-stock all day long PS3.

[Ceric]

Make a new revision that is rock solid hardware wise?
Release what is finished in Too Human and split it up to 6 games.

[Nick DiMola]

I think MS just needs to release a few more family friendly games to grab some of the new market share Nintendo has opened up. Otherwise, I would say they don't really need to do anything because they seem to be appeasing the hardcore market quite well here in America, and quite frankly I think that is enough to carry them.

[NWR_insanolord]

I think MS just needs to release a few more family friendly games to grab some of the new market share Nintendo has opened up. Otherwise, I would say they don't really need to do anything because they seem to be appeasing the hardcore market quite well here in America, and quite frankly I think that is enough to carry them.

There's no point in Microsoft making family friendly games to go after the Wii, that's a lost cause. They should stick with what's working, appealing to the "hardcore" gamers.

[Nick DiMola]

I think MS just needs to release a few more family friendly games to grab some of the new market share Nintendo has opened up. Otherwise, I would say they don't really need to do anything because they seem to be appeasing the hardcore market quite well here in America, and quite frankly I think that is enough to carry them.

There's no point in Microsoft making family friendly games to go after the Wii, that's a lost cause. They should stick with what's working, appealing to the "hardcore" gamers.

Probably true, but if the games are low effort, low impact games, why not? There is little to lose and they could at least advertise that they are hitting that market, and fool a few parents into buying one for their kids.

[animecyberrat]

What they NEED to do is fix the stupid problems long enough for people to forget there was a problem. My friend who got his at launch, is now on his third 360! I mean he is pretty stubborn too, he knows they're gonna crap out on him but he keeps trying anyways. Funny thing is the last time it broke, he just bought a Wii and Guitar Hero 3 and said **** it, but he got another 360 anyways. I only have 1 friend who still has a working 360, it is an elite, he got it the day the elite came out so it should be close to crapping out any day now.

Maybe MS can keep pretending like there isn't a problem but some people once a console breaks twice they give up.

[Flames_of_chaos]

I think MS just needs to release a few more family friendly games to grab some of the new market share Nintendo has opened up. Otherwise, I would say they don't really need to do anything because they seem to be appeasing the hardcore market quite well here in America, and quite frankly I think that is enough to carry them.

There's no point in Microsoft making family friendly games to go after the Wii, that's a lost cause. They should stick with what's working, appealing to the "hardcore" gamers.

Well for Microsoft, Japan is the biggest lost cause and arguably more than half of Europe. Traditionally they need to cling on America which they have a strong base but the Wii is almost neck and neck with Microsoft in amount of home console sales in America (life time totals). Microsoft made some shots at casuals with Scene it!, fusion frenzy 2(horrible attempt) and Viva Pinata Party Animals (another one that bombed fast). I heard that even when Microsoft dropped the price of the 360 in Europe with the Core/Arcade being cheaper than the Wii I don't think it even dented the Wii's momentum in Europe or didn't make a big impact.

Edit: Also a lot of people on NeoGaf has been reporting that on their Falcon chipset 360 Elites theres an HDMI port failure and those people were only able to get a signal if they used the component cables.

[animecyberrat]

MS tried to get into Japan, they failed. They lost Europe and are losing America fast. A year ago I saw 360 everywhere I went, and was bombard by those annoying "Get a free Xbox 360" tv commercials. Now most stores that used to have big 360 displayed are all displaying PS3 and Wii instead. And those same TV commercials now advertise a Free Laptop instead cuz they learned the 360 wasn't a good sales pitch anymore. To tell you the truth, I even see more commercials for Wii than I do 360 now and that never happened last gen.

[Maverick]

To be honest the only place that I hear the 360 is in trouble is on the interwebs.  In real life, everyone I know that has jumped into the current-gen with only one console has done so with the 360.  I have all three consoles, but I only have two friends with a PS3, and one of those has a Wii as well.

Then again I'm not really a social butterfly so for all I know everyone out of my circle of friends is waggling and six axising their way to success.

[Pale]

I think we'll see a price cut for GTA.  They'll then ride that as long as possible without the PS3 catching up too much.

As soon as the PS3 hits a certain point in the US, you'll see them unveil the next system.  Jumping the gun early is the only reason  they have the foothold they do this gen.  There is no reason for them to change that strategy.

You'll see them really focus on the stability of the new hardware, because the best way to break that stigma is to stop selling the product that has it.  You'll also see them commit heavily to a hard drive and digital content.  They had Live Arcade first, but both Sony and Nintendo have arguably taken that crown away.  The XNA stuff we've seen is a hint of what's to come there.

This November will be 3 years for the 360.  Going by the five year cycles, that is only a little bit early to start showing the new one.  I fully expect to see it E3/Summer 09.

[Smash_Brother]

I can't think of anything MS could do now to pull this one out.

The Wii is stomping the hell out of them and if even the PS3 is starting to gain on them, they're definitely in trouble.

I think a Wiimote clone controller would be too little too late and any attempt to engage the "family" sector from them has always crashed and burned.

[BranDonk Kong]

There actually have been 2 supply issues - first is that no one in China works for 2 weeks during Chinese New Year, which actually hurt production, and second is that they are getting ready to release a new 60GB model (replacing the current "Premium/Pro" system), and are no longer making the 20GB HDDs. You'll see in the next couple weeks or so...

[NWR_pap64]

I think a Wiimote clone controller would be too little too late and any attempt to engage the "family" sector from them has always crashed and burned.

lol Viva Piñata...Although, I heard Scene It was going well for them.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned that the system constantly dying could be affecting its popularity.

No one wants to buy something that has a very high chance of dying, even if its brand spanking new. So the red ring of death issue could be scaring off potential customers aways...

[Plugabugz]

I went to the Play.com Live thing here at Wembley Stadium, yesterday. (Karlie? Greg? Did either of you go?) Despite their losing sales, Microsoft had about 60% of the floor space to themselves. Throwing money at it (console RRP's or floorspace) won't solve the problem, but it does make it look like nothing is wrong.

Seeing two bands rock it out on Rock Band and Guitar Hero... then wait for the 360 to "warm up" was funny though.

Despite the event being described as "being able to play games that aren't released yet", i only played Sega Superstars Tennis and a little bit of Haze. Nintendo didn't show up.

[mastro]

The problem with Xbox is the variety of games suck. Every time MS says they will fix and realse a better variety they go crazy and start over hyping the next big shooter. They say they want mass appeal but they only cater to the niche.

I kinda agree that they will hype up games like GTA4 and Too human then announce the next console. I personally can not wait for the day when a console last 10 years. Hoping this generation will become that but with 3 consoles I just have a hard time thinking that will ever happen. I just can't see much more noticeable improvement in game quality with better consoles.

It seems like console makers are starting to sell brand and hype instead of hardware and games.

[NWR_pap64]

Yeah, as much as I love my XBOX 360 I feel a tad annoyed at the majority of the titles being FPS games. I do enjoy them, but I would love developers to be more daring and make new things.

What I find baffling is that people whine and bitch about the Wii getting nothing but mini game collections, but mum's the word about the 360's lack of variety.

I know some people will say "Well, FPS games offer more challenge and depth than mini game collections", and I agree with them, but its still an issue nonetheless. Even the PS3 has more varied titles.

This could also be an issue as to why the 360 isn't doing as well as it should.

[ReverendNoahWhateley]

It's true, there ARE too many FPS games on the 360.  I don't even LIKE shooters, but somehow I've wound up with BioShock and The Orange Box.  Shame on the 360 for enticing me with games based on Westerns and the Civil War, only to have them turn out to silly old FPSes.  FPS's.  Uh.  FPSi.  Whatever.

[Chozo Ghost]

The logical move may be for MS to withdraw from the video game console market. I thought the whole point was to stop Sony, and they seem to have failed now that Blu-Ray has apparently won the format war.

I don't see them withdrawing, though, but it does make logical sense because the Xbox is not a profitable product compared to their other products like Windoze. Since they're going to stay in the market, the Xbox should probably tie more into the computing market where they are their strongest. I expect in the future the Xbox will run some form of Windows Vista and you'll be able to hook printers and just about any other computing peripheral up to it. Gaming will still be a big factor with it, but the main focus will probably switch over to computing.

[NWR_pap64]

I just discovered an irony in all of this...The XBOX 360 is doing poorly in console sales, but software sales are fantastic. Yet the Wii is doing greatly, but games are slowly selling.

If you check the charts, you'll see a lot of 360 games. If a game is multiplatform the 360 version always sells the best.

Weird, no?

[Plugabugz]

360 gamers, generally, know what the internet is and know about the release dates. So everyone buys them all at the same time 1 minute past midnight.
Wii gamers, generally, get on with their daily lives and pay the bills. Then they hear about brain training, go "OH!" and buy it, 2 years after release.