Business Approach Comparison Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox

[DuckThor Evil]

Kinect is still a valid accessory, no point to remove the ability to connect it, in fact it would be a silly decision and I can't see that ever happening. The family/holiday thing Rangers mentioned sounds like a good way to position it.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Kinect is still a valid accessory, no point to remove the ability to connect it, in fact it would be a silly decision and I can't see that ever happening. The family/holiday thing Rangers mentioned sounds like a good way to position it.

Ummm.. So there's no games for Kinect, and in fact, games need to know it is not enabled to bogart those resources, so why would they include it in the hardware redesign?

There's also the other little sticking point about the fact that the Kinect2 has now been released for PC's and those PC's are just connecting via USB. So why does the next iteration of the Xb0x need a specialized connector to the Kinect2? Considering they've ripped all the guts out of the OS that fed directly to it, and now if it is used, it just a peripheral like any other?

And, just so we're clear: you agree that MS will most likely kill the HDMI-in and their entire TV stupidity?

 

[Blazkowicz]

What happens if you connect an Xbox One to the Xbox One's HDMI input? and a third beyond that?
Or make a loop and have a splitter in the chain to have a look at what happens!

 

[DuckThor Evil]

If it's possible to connect it through USB, then fine, but it's unnecessary to remove the ability to connect it at all. Kinect can still offer some value with those dancing etc. games. I have no opinion about the HDMI-in and the TV stuff. It don't really matter to me either way. The problems imo are. Lack of power, too pricey, limited appeal/number of exclusive games. I personally think the fall lineup looks weak in terms of exclusives.

 

[BRiT]

What happens if you connect an Xbox One to the Xbox One's HDMI input? and a third beyond that?
Or make a loop and have a splitter in the chain to have a look at what happens!

Been done already, the same week as launch. Just look on YouTube videos.

 

[function]

Realize my box is weaker so that means I have to charge less for it. Getting the price to $350, and then $299 is paramount, in a hurry.

Yah, MS need to be first to attack the mainstream pricepoint. Kinect would have more traction here too, both as a gaming device (if MS should decide to release any games for it) and as a cool "talk to the telly" thing.

MS really made a premium box, but forget the premium guts too it. How ass backwards. They need a small form factor without any unnecessary bells and whistles, now.

They made a "premium piece of AV kit" (I think they said), too bad it's about ten years since most people aspired to that. lol. Small and integrated is the way to go.

Totally agree on form factor. They are considerably cooler than PS4, so if they're prepared to accept console levels of noise when powered up for gaming they can go smaller and cheaper. Cheaper cooler, cheaper PSU, cheaper case. If they've planned ahead for DDR4 they can drop to 8 x 32 chips and be cooler and cheaper and lower power on the memory too, with fewer traces to route on the mobo.

They could ever drop to 6 x 32 nit DDR4 chips if they were prepared to slim down the OS reserve to 1 GB during gaming (though this might mess with some Kinect games that rely on concurrent Kinect features so it's probably a no go).

Point is, no they're not chained to Kinect they can make a small and cool device that will slip nicely next to bedroom TVs, go in dorm rooms, sit next to a PC in the the study, basically go in lots of the places that consoles used to go.

 

[function]

Tier 2 launch needs to be accompanied by a new lower price. Xbox is uncompetitive at its current price and MS are already one year behind in these territories.

Global price cut (or a sub PS4 introductory price) in September is needed. Doesn't even need to be a huge drop. Something like $349 / €329 / £289 would probably do the trick.

 

[SlimJim]

Tier 2 launch needs to be accompanied by a new lower price. Xbox is uncompetitive at its current price and MS are already one year behind in these territories.

Global price cut (or a sub PS4 introductory price) in September is needed. Doesn't even need to be a huge drop. Something like $349 / €329 / £289 would probably do the trick.

360 is still €249 or something though..

 

[orangpelupa]

they should be able to make Xbox One S rather easy by seeing that Xbox One have much of "free room". Can't they just adapt PS4's design? buy the same fan from same supplier, etc.

PS4 is more powerful (+have internal PSU) and slimmer than X1.

 

[Rurouni]

They should ditch BR drive (since I believe it (will?) support external drive for game install?) and HDMI in (if every cent counts), and release a smaller, cheaper X1. I'm on the fence on totally remove the Kinect port unless they can somehow use USB and still be compatible with all the Kinect X1 functions. With this mod, $349 should be possible without reducing the profit margin (heck, they might even go lower than that.. Or better yet, include bigger HDD as a compensation for removing BR). I don't know if it will succeed, especially on tier 2/3 countries because they are already late in there and most likely those countries were loyal to the PS brand, but it will certainly help in US and maybe UK.

 

[SlimJim]

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/mseea/nl_NL/pdp/productID.305948600?icid=home_triple_2_xboxone

The Xbox One will release at 399 in the Netherlands, and you get the 2 most popular games for the Xbox One: Forza5 and Fifa, for free.
Seems like a pretty good deal. I hope they can regain a bit of market share

 

[dobwal]

This is the gaming console market, where brand matters. So much so, that any price difference would have to be rather large to negate the influence of brand on the market.

If you own a PS4 how much cheaper would the Xb1 have to had to been to make you choosee a Xb1 over it? I doubt $50 would have matter to the lot of you and I doubt a $100 difference would have lead to even 20% choosing differently.

Nintendo dropping the GC price to $99 led to a boost in sales but did nothing to change its fortune. And the PS3's $200 reduction in price would have did nothing if it weren't for brand power that Playstation has over the market.

If MS wants to turn the Xb1 around, it has to strengthen the Xbox brand. It will have to do that with features and games. Not treating it like some mundane tech product (e.g HDMI cables or USB sticks) and simply compete on price.

Gutting it in an attempt to cheapen the XB1 will do nothing but probably make it less attractive to the market as a whole. Not everyone wants a BR less console especially given that DD is standard across the hardware of both the PS4 and Xb1 and yet only 10-15% of games are sold as DD.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I'm on the fence on totally remove the Kinect port unless they can somehow use USB and still be compatible with all the Kinect X1 functions.

As I understand it, Kinect's port is a modified USB with more juice. It should thus be possible to replace it with a USB3 port and an extra power port to run a Y-cable into a new Kinect model, and that way just keep USB3 as expansion with the user choosing whether to use as Kinect port or not.

 

[-tkf-]

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/mseea/nl_NL/pdp/productID.305948600?icid=home_triple_2_xboxone

The Xbox One will release at 399 in the Netherlands, and you get the 2 most popular games for the Xbox One: Forza5 and Fifa, for free.
Seems like a pretty good deal. I hope they can regain a bit of market share

Around 430 euro (600 dollars) in Denmark at Gamestop, with the same 2 games, however this is WITHOUT kinect.

Since i kept my Pre-Order i am in line to get the Kinect version (yes!) with the same 2 games as above, plus a copy of Dance Central Spotlight and a Day One controller (ehmm sure , why not).

This bundle is 520 Euro (around 710 dollars)

My pre-order passes a year soon, and when the One is released here it will be close to a year later than the PS4..

 

[function]

Those Euro prices are truly awful. A year later and you get to pay through the nose to buy into a struggling console.

This makes me uneasy about Xbone's prospects.

 

[SlimJim]

Around 430 euro (600 dollars) in Denmark at Gamestop, with the same 2 games, however this is WITHOUT kinect.

Since i kept my Pre-Order i am in line to get the Kinect version (yes!) with the same 2 games as above, plus a copy of Dance Central Spotlight and a Day One controller (ehmm sure , why not).

This bundle is 520 Euro (around 710 dollars)

My pre-order passes a year soon, and when the One is released here it will be close to a year later than the PS4..

They should print "Day Three Hundred And Sixty Five" on the controller then

But good point about the Kinect missing, I didn't even realise that.
I'm putting 10 cent on The Kinect with 2 bundled games-edition at 399 within a month though.

 

[Kaotik]

Those Euro prices are truly awful. A year later and you get to pay through the nose to buy into a struggling console.

This makes me uneasy about Xbone's prospects.

Remember that our prices include VAT, which depending on country is usually around 20-25%

 

[-tkf-]

Those Euro prices are truly awful. A year later and you get to pay through the nose to buy into a struggling console.

This makes me uneasy about Xbone's prospects.

The PS4 is priced similar to Xbox one without kinect. Apart from that the price can't be compared to other countries because of the vast difference in how our society works and the salaries that goes with our tax system.

Compared to the former generation these machines are relatively cheap.

My PS3 at launch was a cool 1000 dollars..

 

[wco81]

And they say Europeans have no money for consumption.

 

[Nesh]

And they say Europeans have no money for consumption.

And you judged this based on a console price?