jvd said:
Well that's too bad for them, i'd just be happy to see my future console getting a speed bump, but hey maybe i'm just strange...
Why no Xbox2 at CES?
- Thread starter quest55720
- Start date
Well that's too bad for them, i'd just be happy to see my future console getting a speed bump, but hey maybe i'm just strange...
If Xenon is to be release in 2005 then they missed an opportunity to get the hype going. They could've done a 1-2-3 punch with their hype. Some news at CES, specs at GDC, and actual demo's/game play at E3. Though they didn't release any info. it COULD mean: A. They are not ready with the console (later release) B. They are waiting for PS3 to show their hand (reactive move?/not good).
So now that they waited to release info. they have lost whatever momentum they had hoped to gain with Xenon. It will be neutralized with next-gen announcement from Sony and Nintendo.
One other thing to mention is a potential troubled aspect of Xenon is the inclusion of a next gen DVD sytem (specially that EA&VU are promoting Blu-ray). It could: A. delay Xenon's release further, B. Raise costs.
So now that they waited to release info. they have lost whatever momentum they had hoped to gain with Xenon. It will be neutralized with next-gen announcement from Sony and Nintendo.
One other thing to mention is a potential troubled aspect of Xenon is the inclusion of a next gen DVD sytem (specially that EA&VU are promoting Blu-ray). It could: A. delay Xenon's release further, B. Raise costs.
Mythos, maybe. Altough I am not sure not announcing at CES = losing momentum.
I think showing the system, specs, and some games all in development at E3--just blow away E3--with the promise, "You can own one in November 2005" would be fine. If they release specs now that gives Sony 5 months to find ways to play down Xenon pluses, point out Xenon negatives, and to empahsis PS3 pluses. And if necessary, they could even alter bits and peices from now till May.
I would guess that offically anouncing the system and some movie demos at GDC, and then at E3 release specs, release date, and playable demos would be a good ONE-TWO. They build the hype of "its coming" with some great video feeds and the promise of playable demos at E3. Then at E3 steal all the thunder. Playable units, game demos, and specs. Sony might (will?) have a more powerful machine, but it does not give Sony a chance to pick apart the Xenon specs. A console with running games goes a lot farther than a promised system.
So I think this was a good move by MS. Revealing your hand too early can be bad. MS has some great momentum from this holiday season, unless Sony/Nintendo beat MS to the punch before E3 I do not see them losing that momentum.
I think showing the system, specs, and some games all in development at E3--just blow away E3--with the promise, "You can own one in November 2005" would be fine. If they release specs now that gives Sony 5 months to find ways to play down Xenon pluses, point out Xenon negatives, and to empahsis PS3 pluses. And if necessary, they could even alter bits and peices from now till May.
I would guess that offically anouncing the system and some movie demos at GDC, and then at E3 release specs, release date, and playable demos would be a good ONE-TWO. They build the hype of "its coming" with some great video feeds and the promise of playable demos at E3. Then at E3 steal all the thunder. Playable units, game demos, and specs. Sony might (will?) have a more powerful machine, but it does not give Sony a chance to pick apart the Xenon specs. A console with running games goes a lot farther than a promised system.
So I think this was a good move by MS. Revealing your hand too early can be bad. MS has some great momentum from this holiday season, unless Sony/Nintendo beat MS to the punch before E3 I do not see them losing that momentum.
I just don't think CES is/was the right place to "launch"/"preview"/announce or whatever a new console.
They'd be better off with their own press event.
FWIW I don't even think that GDC is the right place, but ti would be a lot better than CES.
The console is probably at least 10 months away, why start sprinting for the line now?
They'd be better off with their own press event.
FWIW I don't even think that GDC is the right place, but ti would be a lot better than CES.
The console is probably at least 10 months away, why start sprinting for the line now?
BigGamer X
Newcomer
I was dissappointed for the same reason Dave was 
But really, it would be a mistake to show your hand first then let Sony figure out how to one up you by E3.
But really, it would be a mistake to show your hand first then let Sony figure out how to one up you by E3.Panajev2001a
Veteran
Sony/SCE will have at least a working prototype of PlayStation 3 at E3: they will not just come there with specs on paper.
First off when is X05 this year, that will be the big event.
Personally if they hold out until E3 this year they have the chance to wipe the opposition clean, just look at E3 2001 and GC. They showed next to nothing before E3 so that when they did it came as a huge surprise.
WHo knows MS could be brave enought to show XB2 at E3 and launch a mere 6 months later, that would be quite something, I'm sure nether Nintendo or Sony could match that... this is just my dream though so take it witha grain of salt.
Personally if they hold out until E3 this year they have the chance to wipe the opposition clean, just look at E3 2001 and GC. They showed next to nothing before E3 so that when they did it came as a huge surprise.
WHo knows MS could be brave enought to show XB2 at E3 and launch a mere 6 months later, that would be quite something, I'm sure nether Nintendo or Sony could match that... this is just my dream though so take it witha grain of salt.
Far from showing their (Xenon) hand at E3 they could've started rolling the momnetum. At least give out the name of the system, their DVD Tech. they will be using (IF they were going with HD-DVD that would help out alot for Xenon and the HD-DVD format), also how the system will relate to the CE world.
Then at GDC bust out XNA and some Xenon specs.
E3 unveil the system and games ...BAM!
As it is Sony has already started their Hype; a. Some insight to Cell and b. Nvidia GPU announcement.
I can already see Xenons advantage being neutralized specailly IF SONY and NINTENDO shock us at E3 with something huge.
Then at GDC bust out XNA and some Xenon specs.
E3 unveil the system and games ...BAM!
As it is Sony has already started their Hype; a. Some insight to Cell and b. Nvidia GPU announcement.
I can already see Xenons advantage being neutralized specailly IF SONY and NINTENDO shock us at E3 with something huge.
Panajev2001a said:
Anything's possible, even a liquid nitrogen cooled prototype of PS3, just for E3.
nelg said:
I was thinking the same thing--with the nVidia deal, should we expect a working system at E3? If yes, what does that say about how the nVidia PS3 GPU will compare to the ATI Xenon GPU?
It would be interesting if they had the nVidia GPU up with CELL and BR. I still say if Xenon has working games, and not just demo HW with some cinematic footage, it has an advantage.
There is also a risk Sony has here: If they have a running demo unit at E3, what if they do not blow Xenon away?? If Xenon holds it ground, but will be available come fall 2005, I think that would be a plus for MS. So the pressure is on all sides. It will be an interesting E3!
Johnny Awesome
Veteran
It's smart to wait until E3. It's like I've said before: MS learned just as much from Nintendo as they did from Sony this generation. Maybe more.
MS is trying to create a low cost system that is profitable and relies more on software than hardware to make its mark. Just like Nintendo did with Gamecube. The difference is that MS has better 3rd party support and a better image in the marketplace (outside of Asia, of course) than Nintendo right now, especially with casual gamers.
They want Sony quality marketing/branding/3rd party support combined with Nintendo's cost efficiency and emphasis on gaming. That's their goal with Xenon.
That's also why I think MS is going to skip the HD optical format wars with Xenon. They'd be better off just putting a 9GB high speed DVD drive in it and keep their costs down. 90% of consumers don't have HD and the 10% that do probably want a real stand-alone unit for the next generation optical format. By the time the dust settles in the BR/HD-DVD war it's going to be 2007+. Why take on the extra risk and cost for such a small portion of the market?
It's doubtful that a video enthusiast with $5000 worth of equipment is going to say: "I really want to play Halo 3, but the $200 Xenon doesn't have HD optical so forget it."
MS is trying to create a low cost system that is profitable and relies more on software than hardware to make its mark. Just like Nintendo did with Gamecube. The difference is that MS has better 3rd party support and a better image in the marketplace (outside of Asia, of course) than Nintendo right now, especially with casual gamers.
They want Sony quality marketing/branding/3rd party support combined with Nintendo's cost efficiency and emphasis on gaming. That's their goal with Xenon.
That's also why I think MS is going to skip the HD optical format wars with Xenon. They'd be better off just putting a 9GB high speed DVD drive in it and keep their costs down. 90% of consumers don't have HD and the 10% that do probably want a real stand-alone unit for the next generation optical format. By the time the dust settles in the BR/HD-DVD war it's going to be 2007+. Why take on the extra risk and cost for such a small portion of the market?
It's doubtful that a video enthusiast with $5000 worth of equipment is going to say: "I really want to play Halo 3, but the $200 Xenon doesn't have HD optical so forget it."
Johnny Awesome said:
No it's not, they're going to be head-to-head with Sony's launch and marketing of superior multimedia system and hardware based on their Cell world. You really think they have a chance in hell of them coming out on top? How quickly we forget how a simple MGS2 video on PS2 basically stunned and owned E3 just a few years ago; you think this isn't going to happen again?
This being said, it's not necessarily a bad think they they didn't unveil at CES as Sony would have overshadowed with PSP, and the ISSCC hype untill March unveiling. It's my opinion that launching early was a bad strategy born by the fallicious idea that Sony's only ahead because of their launching earlier. This is incorrect as the derivates of Sony's growth over Xbox continued to grow into atleast 1H2004, never slowing due to an Xbox influence at all. They've failed miserably compared to PSOne's template of breaking-in to the industry and only suceeded according to some abstract concept of the-MS-way. If they unveiled at CES, Sony would have overshadowed at ISSCC and their March unveiling. And by not unveiling they're now head-to-head with Sony's PR machine that can fall on bigger numbers and a better system. I think they've failed to grap that they are a niche with XBox, a niche of hardcore gamers and PC-gamers who've migrated -- a group demographic that demands the high-technology.
Party like it's 1999.
I tended to think like that, for the cost reason, but with the recent focusing on HD by Gates, and with the recent gamespot inerview of some MS employee, I think there's some fluctuation in the MS camp about it and even the possibility of delay in the launch. If broadband connection, I mean T3+ class, can prevail in home across the US, then they can skip HD optical media and still claim HD in both games and movies, but if not, they can only claim 720p/1080i gaming as HD and are left non-HD in other categories.Johnny Awesome said:
Sony is always clear and ahead in the disclosure of its launch plans unlike other 2. Microsoft and Nintendo are keeping their cards close to their chests.
Recapping the (semi-)official information regarding launch plans -
Microsoft: The official codename is 'Xenon'. Will launch before others.
Nintendo: Unveiling the 'Revolution' at E3. Will launch along with competitors.
Sony: the plan as of July 2004: premier in March 2005 (their fiscal year starts in April), demoing the console at E3 2005, playable games at TGS 2005.
PSP is on schedule, exactly 1 year earlier than the 'Next System'.
Recapping the (semi-)official information regarding launch plans -
Microsoft: The official codename is 'Xenon'. Will launch before others.
Nintendo: Unveiling the 'Revolution' at E3. Will launch along with competitors.
Sony: the plan as of July 2004: premier in March 2005 (their fiscal year starts in April), demoing the console at E3 2005, playable games at TGS 2005.
PSP is on schedule, exactly 1 year earlier than the 'Next System'.
