Tap In said:
very interesting comments
this whole thread just goes to show me how some people form an undeniable allegiance to one Company or another.
either from some fond memory of using one company's product or from disdain, distrust or dislike for another company's business practices that gets carried across all platforms.
It depends IMO. I'm told I'm a Sony fan a lot b/c I tend to view them as the dominant force in the market, and don't really see them falling off without a significant mistake on their part. I don't know if that's an allegiance to a company or not, it's just my view. Afterall, when my PS2 broke, I didn't buy another one. I got a GC instead. I still think the PS2 has by far the best library though.
IMO, the dynamics of the gaming industry lend themselves to a single company dominating. I think Nintendo had this same potential, but squandered marketshare in pretty obvious ways. The decline started right after the NES. And although they still make a handy chunk of cash, they keep losing marketshare in the console market, and stand to lose some in the handheld market too.
I think you can favor a company in the market competition without having a particular allegiance. Most Sony "fans" were once Sega or Nintendo fans at some point anyway. If the 360 is the hot product next gen, opinions can change just as quickly to favor MS in the market. But IMO, with Sony already having everyone of consequence on-board with a meaningful offering or more (except Tecmo, of course), they are once again in the driver's seat. Nothing is definite, but then you never need 100% reliability to make pretty safe/sane predictions. I mean, Windows could conceivably lose the OS market lead, but who's really gonna bet against that? Are most people MS fans, or loyal to Windows? Not necessarily. I personally hope something better comes out on that front soon, but I'm not gonna put any money on that becoming a reality. It just seems like the safe/sane prediction to make.
There's only one company I can say I slag off with no remorse, and that's Sega. And that's for my own personal reasons that have little to do with the console market. Just a random thought. It's possible to favor one company, yet have no particular allegiances. PEACE.
