Housepets!

Dubiousity wrote:You can't compare Nintendo's online service to Microsoft's, Wi-Fi can just be so freakin cumbersome at times, and friend codes are an annoyance.

Also, you don't HAVE to give MS you credit info, you can just buy Microsoft Membership/Point cards at a store.

And PSN is free AND reliable.

Xbox Live is definitely the best online service in the business. Though I have a feeling if Nintendo stepped it up and provided a similar service, they wouldn't charge for it.

Sleet wrote:Xbox Live is definitely the best online service in the business. Though I have a feeling if Nintendo stepped it up and provided a similar service, they wouldn't charge for it.

But they're not going to do that, they have said they are content with their online system and friend codes.

Dubiousity wrote:

Sleet wrote:Xbox Live is definitely the best online service in the business. Though I have a feeling if Nintendo stepped it up and provided a similar service, they wouldn't charge for it.

But they're not going to do that, they have said they are content with their online system and friend codes.

Maybe content at the moment but they will upgrade the system at some point.
I do have a temperary subscription card for Xbox Live but they can still pin charges on you when it expires and if you have a payment account, however they can not get you if you don't set up a payment account and they would simply terminate your service.
And the 13,000+ game points I collect didn't transfer to my Xbox Live profile which is another reason why I don't like Xbox Live.

MilesKingford wrote:

Dubiousity wrote:

Sleet wrote:Xbox Live is definitely the best online service in the business. Though I have a feeling if Nintendo stepped it up and provided a similar service, they wouldn't charge for it.

But they're not going to do that, they have said they are content with their online system and friend codes.

Maybe content at the moment but they will upgrade the system at some point.
I do have a temperary subscription card for Xbox Live but they can still pin charges on you when it expires and if you have a payment account, however they can not get you if you don't set up a payment account and they would simply terminate your service, and the 13,000+ game points I collect didn't transfer to my Xbox Live profile.

If they haven't updated the online system that people have complained about for 4 years so far, what makes you think they will in the future?

If they don't then they will gradually lose customers, it only makes sense to upgrade it at some point but the only reason they haven't yet is because they don't need to. After all, the Wii is the most popular console in the games industry, once Xbox or PS start to become more popular than the Wii they will upgrade.

It's popular for reasons unrelated to the online. No one buys a Wii for its Wi-Fi service, so it's not exactly a high priority. Now, when the next console comes out hopefully there will be an upgrade. But don't expect one now.

If the Wii stops selling, they'll be releasing a new console, not just a better online service. It's never going to lose its #1 spot, and even if it did, an upgrade to the Wi-Fi service won't fix that.

Dubiousity wrote:Overall it has more sales yes, but the past few months the 360 has had more sales than the Wii.

Probably due to the influx of new games coming out this year, and I can't wait for two coming out this month , as well as the many questionable games out for the Wii at the moment.

The Wii was also a lower-risk investment earlier on, causing a more saturated market, whereas the Xbox 360 still has plenty of people who were waiting for it to drop into their price range.

Sleet wrote:The Wii was also a lower-risk investment earlier on, causing a more saturated market, whereas the Xbox 360 still has plenty of people who were waiting for it to drop into their price range.

And with the new Xbox coming out this will likely happen.

MilesKingford wrote:

Sleet wrote:The Wii was also a lower-risk investment earlier on, causing a more saturated market, whereas the Xbox 360 still has plenty of people who were waiting for it to drop into their price range.

And with the new Xbox coming out this will likely happen.

The new xbox came out 4 months ago...

Dubiousity wrote:Overall it has more sales yes, but the past few months the 360 has had more sales than the Wii.

If the Wii stopped selling tommarrow, Microsoft would still have to move units at the current pace for the next 3 years in order to catch up to the Wii. See the problem here? The Wii and 360 are also not really competing for the same market. Most Wii owners are causal gamers and are not at all interested in the other two consoles on the market.

Foxstar wrote:

Dubiousity wrote:Overall it has more sales yes, but the past few months the 360 has had more sales than the Wii.

If the Wii stopped selling tommarrow, Microsoft would still have to move units at the current pace for the next 3 years in order to catch up to the Wii. See the problem here? The Wii and 360 are also not really competing for the same market. Most Wii owners are causal gamers and are not at all interested in the other two consoles on the market.

^This.
Oh and I'm going to play some Fallout: New Vegas.

Foxstar wrote:

Dubiousity wrote:Overall it has more sales yes, but the past few months the 360 has had more sales than the Wii.

If the Wii stopped selling tommarrow, Microsoft would still have to move units at the current pace for the next 3 years in order to catch up to the Wii. See the problem here? The Wii and 360 are also not really competing for the same market. Most Wii owners are causal gamers and are not at all interested in the other two consoles on the market.

Well, the Wii also has the advantage of sales in Japan, which the 360 has few of considering it's and American made console and doesn't have much appeal over there.

I don't care at all for any features of online gaming aside from the actual online play.
When I bought Modern Warfare 2 on PS3, I did it for a reason. I don't want to pay for access to its main selling point.
But now Halo: Reach is knocking at my door and friends who only own the Xbox wish for me to join them.
Curse your subscription based model Microsoft, curse it all.

On a lighter note, there's a new Ratchet & Clank game!
How am I just now finding out about this?

Dubiousity wrote:

MilesKingford wrote:

Sleet wrote:The Wii was also a lower-risk investment earlier on, causing a more saturated market, whereas the Xbox 360 still has plenty of people who were waiting for it to drop into their price range.

And with the new Xbox coming out this will likely happen.

The new xbox came out 4 months ago...

I was speaking in general terms.
Also, Xbox has the huge population of the US to buy their produces, what little market that could be gained from Japan is really not worth them striving for.

MilesKingford wrote: I was speaking in general terms.
Also, Xbox has the huge population of the US to buy their produces, what little market that could be gained from Japan is really not worth them striving for.

As does the Wii.

The US is the largest market for any video game console, but unlike the Xbox 360, the Wii and the PS3 have no trouble selling in Japan.

Sleet wrote:The US is the largest market for any video game console, but unlike the Xbox 360, the Wii and the PS3 have no trouble selling in Japan.

Exactly my point.

Dubiousity wrote:

MilesKingford wrote: I was speaking in general terms.
Also, Xbox has the huge population of the US to buy their produces, what little market that could be gained from Japan is really not worth them striving for.

As does the Wii.

Yes, most of the Wii's profits come from the US and Europe but my point was that Japan does not nearly have as many customers for games producers as the US so Xbox would not bother as much to sell their products there. So basically, as far as Microsoft is certained, Nintendo can keep their markets in Japan.

As far as I'm concerned, each of the systems cater to a different type of audience.

- Wii for E-rated titles. Family friendly games and legendary platforming/action adventure games.
Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and all the Nintendo franchises come to mind.

- PS3 for T-rated titles.
The system has a good balance of all core genres (including shooters, platformers, and adventure games).
This system is by far the best for RPG gamers.

- Xbox 360 for M-rated titles. Most games are best suited for adult audiences.
The system has a ton of shooter games and an utter lack of platformers.
Halo, Gears of War, and Call of Duty come to mind.

It is no wonder that Japan doesn't care much for the Xbox 360.

MilesKingford wrote:

Dubiousity wrote:

MilesKingford wrote: I was speaking in general terms.
Also, Xbox has the huge population of the US to buy their produces, what little market that could be gained from Japan is really not worth them striving for.

As does the Wii.

Yes, most of the Wii's profits come from the US and Europe but my point was that Japan does not nearly have as many customers for games producers as the US so Xbox would not bother as much to sell their products there. So basically, as far as Microsoft is certained, Nintendo can keep their markets in Japan.

Both Sony and Nintendo make a LOT of money off of Japanese gamers, you seem to underestimate the market there.

Esquire Fox wrote:As far as I'm concerned, each of the systems cater to a different type of audience.

- Wii for E-rated titles. Family friendly games and legendary platforming/action adventure games.
Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and all the Nintendo franchises come to mind.

- PS3 for T-rated titles.
The system has a good balance of all core genres (including shooters, platformers, and adventure games).
This system is by far the best for RPG gamers.

- Xbox 360 for M-rated titles. Most games are best suited for adult audiences.
The system has a ton of shooter games and an utter lack of platformers.
Halo, Gears of War, and Call of Duty come to mind.

It is no wonder that Japan doesn't care much for the Xbox 360.

I've always hated that generalization that one platform is for "older" players than others.

Sony and Microsoft are catering to the exact same people, aside from Sony catering more towards Japan and Microsoft towards the West. Nintendo is catering to everyone, including players too young or too old to fit into Sony and Microsoft's target demographics. Besides, Zelda and Metroid console games are rarely rated E anymore.

Please don't misinterpret what I say as being my viewpoint, I was speaking on Microsoft's viewpoint.
Microsoft simply does too well to care for some markets that they have not claimed so therefore they don't care for Japan's games markets, and Microsoft does not put as much resources into Xbox as they could.
Japan, in my viewpoint, is a wealthy and prosperous nation more capable of techological advancement and economic success than most other countries in the world.

MilesKingford wrote:Please don't misinterpret what I say as being my viewpoint, I was speaking on Microsoft's viewpoint.
Microsoft simply does too well to care for some markets that they have not claimed so therefore they don't care for Japan's games markets, and Microsoft does not put as much resources into Xbox as they could.
Japan, in my viewpoint, is a wealthy and prosperous nation more capable of techological advancement and economic success than most other countries in the world.

Microsoft HAS been trying to gain a Japanese market, they would be stupid to do otherwise.

Dubiousity wrote:

MilesKingford wrote:Please don't misinterpret what I say as being my viewpoint, I was speaking on Microsoft's viewpoint.
Microsoft simply does too well to care for some markets that they have not claimed so therefore they don't care for Japan's games markets, and Microsoft does not put as much resources into Xbox as they could.
Japan, in my viewpoint, is a wealthy and prosperous nation more capable of techological advancement and economic success than most other countries in the world.

Microsoft HAS been trying to gain a Japanese market, they would be stupid to do otherwise.

Yes, but it is not a priority of theirs, they could be more successful if they committed more resources to promoting their products in Japan but they are more committed to the computer markets in the US and Europe.

MilesKingford wrote:

Dubiousity wrote:

MilesKingford wrote:Please don't misinterpret what I say as being my viewpoint, I was speaking on Microsoft's viewpoint.
Microsoft simply does too well to care for some markets that they have not claimed so therefore they don't care for Japan's games markets, and Microsoft does not put as much resources into Xbox as they could.
Japan, in my viewpoint, is a wealthy and prosperous nation more capable of techological advancement and economic success than most other countries in the world.

Microsoft HAS been trying to gain a Japanese market, they would be stupid to do otherwise.

Yes, but it is not a priority of theirs, they could be more successful if they committed more resources to promoting their products in Japan but they are more committed to the computer markets in the US and Europe.

How do you know it's not a priority?

Because marketing to Japan is an uphill battle, and Japan is much smaller than the West. If they put too many eggs in their Japan basket, they just wouldn't get a good return on their investment.

Sleet wrote:Because marketing to Japan is an uphill battle, and Japan is much smaller than the West. If they put too many eggs in their Japan basket, they just wouldn't get a good return on their investment.

Yes but Japan is a nearly untapped market for them to make a lot of money off of, I never said it was their top priority, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was high on the list.

I would got with "unreceptive" over "untapped." Japan knows about the Xbox 360 and where to buy it. But they would much rather buy the two domestic consoles.

Dubiousity wrote:

Sleet wrote:Because marketing to Japan is an uphill battle, and Japan is much smaller than the West. If they put too many eggs in their Japan basket, they just wouldn't get a good return on their investment.

Yes but Japan is a nearly untapped market for them to make a lot of money off of, I never said it was their top priority, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was high on the list.

Microsoft deals with computers mostly and they have generated an enormous amount of money from it, and their games market is only out of convenience from their computer markets, since Japan has its own companies for its computer and games markets it would be both difficult and hardily worthwhile for them to battle against Japanese companies. Its just easier and more profitable to stick to those markets they do well in.

That's true, but I assume Microsoft believes that the reward for being accepted in Japan is not worth spending as much money as that would take.

Sleet wrote:That's true, but I assume Microsoft believes that the reward for being accepted in Japan is not worth spending as much money as that would take.

Microsoft doesn't seem to manage their money as best they could sometimes.

Well they've got a lot of it, so they must be doing something right.

Sleet wrote:Well they've got a lot of it, so they must be doing something right.

Bill Gates man, Bill freakin Gates.