Developers moving from Ps2 to Xbox.
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marconelly!
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I have compared the games with my own eyes, on the same TV set, and I can flat out tell you, IGN has no clue what they are talking about. PS2 version has extra lighting effects not found in the other two (a very nice glare effect when you exit the caves, etc) and is otherwise *identical* looking, 480p and all. Framerate dips are present in all three versions, and occurs seldomly at exactly one course in the game (the night city track). I'm betting the problem with some of those head-to-head comparisions was the fact that EA hasn't even said to annyone that PS2 version supports the 480p, until almost a week after the game shipped to stores. There is no mention of it even in the manual. Besides, there are so many misjudgments in those head to head comparisions that they are not even worth reading, IMO. They can't even tell the actual framerate most of the time, much less notice other differences.
IGN's assessment of load times in the PS2 version is completely and utterly wrong, as well, which 15 seconds spent with a stopwatch can tell you. I could not believe what they were talking about there, when I saw that the load times they measured for the GC version were pretty much exactly what I measured for the PS2 version with a variance of +-1 second.
Sales could become a reason some developers start to move over to Xbox. Already in the first-person shooter sector - one which is the target of the developers mentioned in that news feature - games like the Ghost Recons and its ilk sell just as well on Xbox as they do on PS2 while also having lower dev costs.
There's been some momentum shift in the market over the last year. PS2 rates are declining while Xbox has improved their year-on-year sales and are building towards a high for the cycle. Halo 2 will truly be mass market and will bring in a whole segment of buyers that were waiting for the right time to move onto the Xbox platform. Halo 1's continued strength pretty much confirms this drawing power of the franchise to new buyers, and Halo 2 plus an attractive price point will be just what the Xbox needs to move into the mainstream.
There's been some momentum shift in the market over the last year. PS2 rates are declining while Xbox has improved their year-on-year sales and are building towards a high for the cycle. Halo 2 will truly be mass market and will bring in a whole segment of buyers that were waiting for the right time to move onto the Xbox platform. Halo 1's continued strength pretty much confirms this drawing power of the franchise to new buyers, and Halo 2 plus an attractive price point will be just what the Xbox needs to move into the mainstream.
Lazy8s said:
Give me a friggin break. Xbox has ALWAYS been the home of FPS games and those have always sold great on it (more than on PS2), due to it´s familiarity to PC devs and the "port-a-happy" philosophy between them. And what audience is Halo 2 exactly going to "bring in"? It´s a FPS, and there´s already a huge userbase for those on Xbox, that´s like hoping . Frankly, I find your idea quite laughable.
marconelly!
Veteran
Momentum shift? Xbox and GC, in their third year now, are at the peak of their sales, while PS2 in it's four year, after 70M units sold, and at the pretty high price point - is past it's peak - and yet it's still outselling everything (for the time being at least) At the moment of it's best sales momentum it has literally steamrolled everything in it's path, which is a pretty good indication what will happen with PS3 as well, unless something goes terribly wrong. At this point, PS2 is fighting it's own market saturation more than anything else - those small increases in the sales of Xbox or GC are still like drop in the bucket compared to what was going on with it, in it's prime.
Xbox cycle hasn't peaked yet, as retail data is indicating it being the best selling console right now. Of course that's part of a surge and not fully sustainable, but sales rates are going up on the yearly basis. Also, MS isn't killing off the Xbox 1 market when they start to push Xbox 2.
The PS started the brand from scratch; its first three years had to build up its enormous momentum. Because of that inevitably slower start, the PS2's sales pace to the PS's at a comparable point in its cycle is a poor gauge for how well the PS2 has really done. In reality, it never had the momentum that the PS showed right after its year three mark.
The PS started the brand from scratch; its first three years had to build up its enormous momentum. Because of that inevitably slower start, the PS2's sales pace to the PS's at a comparable point in its cycle is a poor gauge for how well the PS2 has really done. In reality, it never had the momentum that the PS showed right after its year three mark.
marconelly! said:
I agreed with you on this game Marco. But load variances between the PS2, Box, & GC are generally very noticeable when taken comprehensively.
Perhaps I have played all these games in progressive scan on an identical TV? Could that be since my college roomates & I possess a setup where we sometimes compare? Re-read my second response to marco.
Read completely Laslett, then respond. Perhaps you do not possess an eye for close visual scrutiny?
The retail data is not conclusive, & if proven correct, by how large a numerical margin should also be considered. You're right, it isn't sustainable at all. Why? The PS2 price drop is looming, & the NPD console data will return to business as usual. Sales for the GC are also rising on a yearly basis, your point? How do you know continued support for X-Box1 software will continue after Xenon's launch? Link? Btw, the cycle has about a year & a half to complete. (if projections are accurate)
Li Mu Bai:
The Xbox has been maintaining gains to some degree for many months now. On the other hand, Sony missed their expectations because they misprojected when PS2 would begin to saturate; they wrongly thought it was pacing much higher in sales than the PS had without properly accounting for just how exceptional those peak PS years actually were (the years which turned its modest introduction into one of the best-selling console performances by the end.) Clearly, these combined factors represent a shift in the momentum projected by the old figures of most analysts (and Sony's old projections, which were missed to the detriment of their stock valuation.)
Lazy8s said:
Where did you get this from?
How can MS keep the XBox 1 around when #2 is also on the shelves?
In order for this to happen, there must be a large enough price difference (PS1 vs. PS2) for this to make sense to consumers. The 3 choices are; A> XBox1 must be dirt cheap (PS1 route), B> XBox2 must be very expensive (not likely), or C> a combination of both.
Now the problem facing choice A or C is that MS is likely having quite a bit of difficultly decreasing their cost to manufacture XBox1. (how can you replace the 8 gig - well 20 gig from what I heard - Hard drive?). So unless they plan to take a beating on continual XBox1 sales, I just don't see it as a major factor for them.
Lazy8s said:
Xbox is gaining marketshare in the US, but always below PS2. Let's not forget that PS2 costs more than Xbox now. And that Xbox has seen two major releases. What will happen when PS2 lowers price and Metal gear Solid 3 (the prequel sold over 5 millions copies worldwide), Gran Turismo 4 (the prequel sold over 8 millions worldwide), GTA 4 (the prequel sold over 7 millions worldwide), Final Fantasy XII (X sold over 4 millions worldwide) and a lot of other famous titles are out (Onimusha 3, Gradius V, DMC3, Viewtiful Joe, Suikoden 4 etc. etc. etc.)? You bet.
And what a month would mean in grand scheme of things (IF the projections made by that analist are proved true, that is)?
PS2 sells a lot in Europe and above all in Japan, where Xbox is a miserable failure there. PlayStation has more market and more brand recognition than Xbox one can ever hope to achieve during the short life that is left for the console before its successor steals the thunder from it.
Let's not forget that Xbox next is to be released sooner than PS3, so the one console with a doom fate ahead is likely the Xbox.
Xbox has less market ( 8 millions VS 22 millions...), less lisfe span and less brand recognition than PS2. ONE (1) month just surpassing it on the ride of a bundle and two major releases is pretty normal if you ask me. Assuming that developers would thow PS2 market away just for such a feeble success (if of success we can speak of) is just absurd.
All Sony needs to do is lower the price of PS2 and that will be enough to sure sales where you see a nice spik in PS2 sales. I really wouldn't say Sony is losing momentum when you take a look at their software lineup at this year's E3. The Xbox is climbing in regards to sales and doesn't look to be slowing down until 2005 but do you really think it will still sell better compared to PS2 when Sony pricematches or even prices lower than PS2?
Halo 2 will be a true mass market product, so will Gran Turismo 4. Two different genres but it is comparing apples to apples in the sense that these games are considered flagship titles for each console.
Developers really aren't moving away from the PS2 if they are console developers. PC developers are another, the Xbox is more familiar and friendly to them so it's a no brainer that they will choose Xbox over PS2 even when comparing overall marketshare. They know the market on th eXbox will buy their titles and development costs will be far cheaper for PC devs simply because they know PC's architecture and Xbox is similar.
Halo 2 will be a true mass market product, so will Gran Turismo 4. Two different genres but it is comparing apples to apples in the sense that these games are considered flagship titles for each console.
Developers really aren't moving away from the PS2 if they are console developers. PC developers are another, the Xbox is more familiar and friendly to them so it's a no brainer that they will choose Xbox over PS2 even when comparing overall marketshare. They know the market on th eXbox will buy their titles and development costs will be far cheaper for PC devs simply because they know PC's architecture and Xbox is similar.
The shift in momentum won't have the Xbox outselling the PS2 or catching up in installed base; it just means that the deficit in sales rates is noticeably closing compared to earlier projections made by both companies and the industry. Developers will obviously not all choose to target the Xbox foremost... just some developers whose focus fits well with the Xbox demographics as noted and who are anxious to get a piece of its impressively growing market.
The upcoming pricedrops and line-up of PS2 titles will of course spike sales, but they won't reverse the aforementioned trend. Sony has already had to react to lower demand by decreasing planned shipments for 2004, as they're on the back end of the cycle and passed the peak. And PS2 is already mass market, so releasing some big sequels reaffirms that status without really changing it.
The upcoming pricedrops and line-up of PS2 titles will of course spike sales, but they won't reverse the aforementioned trend. Sony has already had to react to lower demand by decreasing planned shipments for 2004, as they're on the back end of the cycle and passed the peak. And PS2 is already mass market, so releasing some big sequels reaffirms that status without really changing it.
marconelly!
Veteran
It's quite normal that they are going up, because this is it's third year where we always see the sales peak. Don't fool yourself thinking that it's not going to be all downhill from this year on, especially if you take into the consideration the rumored early XB2 launch.
How about the actual total sales then, which are bigger than anything of it's kind that has been out there in the comparable period of time? No matter how you slice it, PS2 sales have obliterated it's competition - for one reason or another, people eat up that console, and expecting that to change in the next generation just because you perceive there some momentum shift is more than a bit of a wishful thinking.