Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 have been at it for years now. With the ‘Xbox 720′ and ‘PS4′ on the horizon, there are lessons that need to be learned from both sides of this console ‘war’.
Released in 2005, a year before the PS3 – the Xbox 360 amazed its audience with its stunning new visuals. A select audience were shown videos of the graphical power that the Xbox had to offer. On top of that, new features were introduced: wireless controllers, an in-game achievement system, friends lists, xbox avatars - the list goes on. To this day, the Xbox 360 is one of the most commonly used consoles. Not only is the 360 a great gaming console, but it has a great social aspect to it. However in some cases, when compared to Sony’s Playstation 3, the Xbox falls flat.
Countless advertisements and featured releases have made these the two largest franchises in the console industry. Upon their release, people began arguing about which was better. Flame wars began on YouTube and other social sites: death threats, curse words and grudges filled the internet. This ‘fanboy-ism’ made people too loyal towards their consoles. Let’s face it: modern gamers are less likely to admit that there is something ’wrong’ their console – we dislike the feeling of ‘buyer’s remorse’.
In order to prevent the mistake of purchasing something that may cause people to jump onto a virtual train track and get hit by a virtual train, I have prepared a list to help Microsoft improve. This list should shape what Microsoft’s engineers will need to look for when designing their next-gen console.
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14 Comments
I’d say MS have done pretty well when you consider that their second gen console outsold the PS3 month after month for years.
So what do they learn from Sony? How to lose money?
Can I please have some of what you are smoking?
Didn’t Microsoft put a version of IE into one of the latest dashboard updates? But I disagree with Xbox getting into handheld market. It’s not that big in the western world, especially the US, and it would be a hard sell in Japan (where handhelds are king because of their lower dev costs). Plus tablets and phones are putting up pretty stiff competition to handhelds and Microsoft is already pretty well positioned to get a decent foothold in that market, so making an Xbox handheld would be a waste of money since they have to build the hardware themselves.
Even the latest Xbox 360 models, they have solved nearly all these problems.
I don’t think you own a Xbox… at least not recently cause Microsoft has fixed most of the problems you just mentioned… Internet Explorer, durability and controller design… WiFi…. all fixed in the slim version. The controller design is the best because most PC controller manufacturers use the 360 controller as a role model and you also have the choice of buying a rechargeable controller. And by the way, PS3 Joysticks last about 8 hours of continuous button smashing before running out of charge. I also disagree with the notion of hand held consoles. Microsoft is doing well enough without hand held consoles. Furthermore the reason I think Blu Ray was not included in 360 is because Microsoft is waiting to install it in the new Xbox. I again disagree with the free online services lesson. Xbox live is one of the best online services around. PSN got hacked and I don’t think people would be too happy to pay for such an unreliable service while Xbox live has been offering an awesome online service since the sixth generation of consoles.
This article was about the 360′s initial release and what they could learn from Sony in their next release. I do not intend on bashing my beloved Xbox, but I do need to be critical in order to express the point of the article. Thank you for your comment, I agree with you in terms of Xbox LIVE. I’ve experienced less ‘rubber banding’ when playing games like Battlefield and such.
Good list but the thing about some if not most of these things is most people have or in the process of addressing these issue before the 720 comes out. At this point just about everyone owns a DVD and/or Blu Ray player so I could do without it on the next Xbox, especially if that means more room for gaming horsepower. I may be apart of the minority on this but I’m over online gaming so I could really do without free online services, and just like the Blu Ray player I can do without Wi-Fi cause I’m sure more than a few of us have an extra ethernet cable sitting in a drawer or somewhere. Yeah it was weird that the 360 was the only current system without a internet browser, but at this point just about everyone has that in there pocket/purse with there smartphones or with the tablet or laptop probably sitting less than 10 feet away from their gaming console. The main reason I disagree with some of these is cause I’m thinking about the cost of the system if they were to go forward with some of these.
This story is a joke. 2 or 3 points are valid the rest are not. RRoD is a thing of the past with the slim, controller charge packs have been available since the console was released. The slim has Wi-Fi.
Bottom line this reeks of Sony fanboyism and you should reconsider writing such uninformed articles in the future.
I am not sure when this was written maybe 2005 but many of the issues you are complaining about are dated. For one you can use Explore on the xbox now, 2 the controllers are rechargeable and have been from the get go and 3 the new xbox slims come with wifi installed. You should really do some research before you write.
Yes, this article was addressing the 360′s initial release in 2005 and what they could improve in the future so that they wouldn’t have to make a second ‘updated’ console.
needs*
A few things to keep in consideration as far as your points are concerned.
- At the release of the Xbox and the PS3 both companies were fighting to have there own video format within the market. Sony owns the the rights to “Blu-ray” so its more then unlikely future Xboxs will support it (and if they do at a High cost)
- As far as accessories are concerned (this is more directed at the header photo) the Xbox allows the user to personally create there own system. As an avid PS3 my biggest grief is I’m stuck with 60GB unless I purchase a whole new system.
- And lastely as far as subscription based gaming, Xbox KILLS the PS3. I’d rather pay 60$ a year knowing that the servers will support the traffic. COD on the PS3 drops like a mother f**cker (You play 2 maps, server drops, boots to main screen, rinse and repeat).
Decent article, just needed a little more research on some points.
Mate do your research, WI-FI is built into the 360S models.
Internet explored was released in a dashboard update.
RROD is now obsolete and I don’t actually know of anyone suffering from it in the last 3 or 4 years.
YLOD is a different matter tho, i know of 6 people who have lost their PS3′s in the last 2 years.
Accessories are exactly that, optional extras that you don’t need but can buy if you want too.
You complain about the controller, it’s a great design, way more comfortable to use than the PS1 controller (it’s the same controller that was brought out in the early ’90s just with added wireless)
XBOX live is a great service, well worth the money. especially if you have mulitple accounts. I pay about £60 a year for a family pass (upto 4 people) which is for me, my son and a secondry account for myself for chill out gaming.
Also it’s never been hacked, supports party chat and gets early access to DLC for a few major titles.
Interchangeable HDD’s, so if it gets full you can upgrade and just transfer the content from one to another. or just use a USB thumbdrive instead.
So where exactly has Microsoft gone wrong then??????????
One of the worst articles I have ever read. Completely misinformed and dated. To then come out and say you were talking about the Xbox 2005 is pointless.