Network now...NEWS
Next Xbox Far Off, Says Microsoft
Though the original Xbox was replaced by the 360 in just four years, Microsoft President of Entertainment and Devices Division Robbie Bach has assured that the platform holder is likely to stick with its current console for a longer period.
"Just coming up with something that's faster and prettier isn't going to be sufficient," Bach told the San Jose Mercury News. “The life cycle for this generation of consoles, and I'm not just talking about Xbox, I'd include Wii and PS3 as well, is probably going to be a little longer than previous generations."
Bach’s position is parallel to Sony’s, which has for a long time asserted that the Playstation 3 has a "ten-year lifespan.” The Wii too, with its successful pierce into the wider market without the need for bleeding-edge hardware, shows no signs of needing an upgrade.
The economic downturn will also play a part in the lifespan of consoles, as the three platform holders are no doubt aware that consumers are more reluctant to make large investments (such as with a new family car), while smaller luxuries such as software continue to sell well.
"When you look at consumers, they are going to be more value-conscious," Bach said, before adding that Microsoft wants “to make sure that as the economy does start to recover, that we're positioned well."
Microsoft has recently stated that the Xbox 360 has hit lifetime sales of 28 million.
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That's good news, I think it would be a bad move to announce a new console, there's plenty of life left in the existing hardware. Would be worthwhile Microsoft getting the existing hardware in tip top condition before jumping the gun and releasing news on the next console.
Looking forward to seeing about 2009 brings for the 360, with the new Chipsets and other hardware changes could Microsoft have finally cracked it?
I'm fine with this. in fact, I'm not sure why we should bother jumping to a next gen for any reason -- hi-def is the limit, technically speaking. Nintendo figured this out with the Wii.
I suspect sony may try to start the next gen prematurely, though, since they're fizzing out in the current gen, exactly how MS hopped into the current gen early after lackluster (albeit succesfuly penetrated) last gen.
Fizzing out in the current gen ha what a joke more like Xbox is fizzing out after the price cuts holiday boost again Sony is on top weekly despite the price cut, in Japan Xbox sold less than the PS2 so wuts that say not to mention the 09 lineup is certainly lacking 4 360 and even the biggest xbox fanboy cant deny that, It looks like 09 is the year of the PS3 once again and I say again bc PS3 was crushing xbox sales month to month b4 the price cut most of you Xbox lovers forget that and again Im sure Ill hear somthin about Xbox increasing its lead yada yada but remember Xbox had the momentum from a year head start and could afford a price cut sooner while PS3 at it 2 yr mark vastly outsold 360 at its 2 year mark so if the PS3 is failing then the Xbox mustve failed a year ago according to that logic.
PS The price cut was an act of desperation for the 360 s dwidling sales and the PS3s rising sales.
Flamebait much?
Apart from that, you have some points.
Oh for the hells sake stop with being Nostradamus. Do you really think that SONY has not done any price cuts recently just because they catching up? They just can't afford it. What is a PlayStation year anyways? XBOX will still have a bigger user base by the end of this year. MS still earns more money then SONY. Look at the game attach rate, MS users are buying more game and this is were it counts. You should stop praising the battles while the war is still on. Sure thing PS will get more users and it may even catch up with XBOX or surpass it. The reality is: MS will make more money from XBOX 360 through it's life cycle then SONY will from PS3. The sooner you'll understand it the better it's for you. Point taken?... Hope so.
MS treat their consumers like crap to be honest. A 720 isn't going to change my mind about the Xbox brand after the disastrous 360.
Anyway, MS got into the games industry for all the wrong reasons. It wasn't for "gaming" sake, that's for sure.
Man, you're something apart!!! I mean in a very good way! More people like you and we have less wars in the world. :) Keep it up.
Are you suggesting Sony released the first Playstation for any reason other than profit?
nolim said:
Are you suggesting Sony released the first Playstation for any reason other than profit?
_________
Who said anything about Sony?
I think his point was that you called MS out for apparently joining the gaming industry for profit only (you insinuated they didn't join for gaming purposes, it’s safe to assume you're saying they had some ulterior motive beyond just making games i.e. making money).
His point was Sony joined the gaming industry to make money and nothing else, is that more/less noble than MS' reasons?
I too am confused by your comment.
Precisely. Sony was contracted by Nintendo to develop a SNES cd add on to compete with the Sega CD. Nintendo decided they didn't like that idea. Sony was left with a bunch of game tech they still had rights to and decided to profit from it.
Had Nintendo not contracted them in the first place, maybe they wouldn't have entered the market, but who knows.
It's a psychological factor. Like my dear mother Russia, whenever they doing something equally bad to others country deeds, they will always be blamed more cause they Russian - Evil. :) The same basically goes for Microsoft, they just evil :).
I'm guessing late 2011, assuming 360 sales remain fairly strong, but no earlier than late 2010 even if they don't. The biggest question is what media distribution model will they use, it seems unlikely they will go for download only (with only 18 million active live accounts against 28 million sales) which means they either need to adopt Blu-Ray or back another physical media. Maybe by then Blu-Ray drives will be too cheap to resist, but knowing M$ they'll go for something different in order to disrupt the Blu-ray market, like the "Microholas" project.
To difficult to say. They may go for a BR or a different(500gb toshiba :)?) disc. They may even go for some kind of USB 3.0 mini data storage device. And why not? Imagine, Year 2012: 100Mbit fiberglass internet becomes a wide spread phenomenon, Netflix shows all movies in 1080p(maybe they do now i don't know :) as I leave in EUROPE.), Netflix.eu is online and effectively eliminates the necessity of buying DVD in the stores(don't forget the growth rate for digital distribution). If i remember it correctly MS always wanted to eliminate(in a sense) physical distribution so that you only need to have an XBOX 720 and a good internet connection. Next generation they will probably go for a mix, you can buy your game at the store or you can download it for say 5 euro less directly too your hard drive. Yeah!!! a small price difference to convince the customers. And while now at my 20Mbit(1.3MB) per second downloading 10 gig will be a bit lame, at 100Mbit it will surely be fine.
Ehhh... Only future will tell. :)
If the next system is as reliable as the 360, then MS can keep it.
Oh c'mon Top, you bash the 360 just as much as the biggest MS fanboy bashes the PS3. We get it, you had 3 die, you hate MS and all their products (especially the windows products you use everyday), and you'll never buy another MS product. You don't have to keep repeating yourself. MS won't keep it, they'll sell millions, just not one to you.
I don't see the nextbox coming out any later than fall 09. If it's not out by 2012, I'd be surprised. And plus, the xbox 360 came out 4 years after the 360, if the 720 comes out by the end of 2010, that already be a year longer than the xbox 1 laster. Close of 2011 at the latest...
Heh, I think you missed it bro :). If I remember it correctly it was Whisky a Go Go who had 3 dead XBOX 360.
About the next XBOX, I'll put my money on 2011-2012.
Yeah, oops!
Top, you do bash the 360 quite a bit though, regardless of my snafu.
I would guess 2011-2012 as well. They'll have more than likely Gears 3 come out at the end of 2010 and that will kinda be like their final hurrah. 2011 will have some solid games, but their focus will start to shift to their next system that year as will developement. Of course that's just a realitvely educated guess.
NickgamertagO1 said:
Oh c'mon Top, you bash the 360 just as much as the biggest MS fanboy bashes the PS3. We get it, you had 3 die, you hate MS and all their products (especially the windows products you use everyday), and you'll never buy another MS product.
I think you're confused because:
I suggest you keep your exaggerations to yourself in the future.
Fair enough.
720? That'd be a pretty daft name, let's hope it sticks.
heh, you ain't kidding.
whenever the 360's successor does come out, i'll be waiting at least two years before i even consider buying one. if this current generation of consoles has taught us anything -- from defective launch units to radically changing SKU's every three weeks -- it's that patience must be practiced more so than ever before.
Cause Sony never changes their SKUs...^^
which is why that sentence began with:
"if this current generation of consoles..."
I'm going to just shut up today.
Sorry.
" A little longer" probably translates into 2011. The economy will have recovered fully by then (if not, we've all got bigger things to worry about than consoles) and they'll probably still come out before the next PlayStation since Sony can't afford the massive R&D costs for another console anytime soon (unless they pull a Wii/Gamecube type scenario).
As always, PC gaming doesn't stop for consoles and both 360 and PS3 will look very long in the tooth by 2012. The pendulum will gradually swing back to PC as a gaming platform with each passing year until the next round of consoles arrives, so whenever it reaches critical mass the console companies will feel compelled to release another system. Happens every generation...
So long as the economy stabilizes by 2011/2012, I can see MS squeezing a few more years out of the 360. If they were to launch the "Nextbox" in 2012, they would still be about 3 years ahead of Sony running out their 10-year life cycle for the PS3. A 3-year head start on the competition would be a ridiculous advantage, provided that MS can demonstrate that their next console is a dramatic improvement over the current gen. A great launch and strong early support for a new Xbox could very well bury Sony's chances of catching up for good.
Still there's no accounting for curve balls. The economy could still be in the dumps enough to dissuade the Big Three from making any sudden moves. And even if the Nextbox gets pushed out early, the PS3 is a powerful piece of kit and I imagine it could hold its own against first-round next-gen competition. There's more to success than just technical whizz bang as the Wii and PS2 can attest to.
Not what I expected at all, a welcome turn from all the consoles. No need to have bleeding edge hardware to play good games, allows developers to get into the console and really get creative.
That's certainly one way to try and get the jump on Sony a second time.