Microsoft won't stop charging because 360 owners will keep buying, just like 360 owners will willingly swallow a third or fourth RRoD on their system.
But Microsoft SHOULD stop charging for their online, or at the very least they shouldn't charge for basic multiplayer. People love to say "OMG! XBL is SOOOOO much more stable than PSN", and that is untrue. Both networks are pretty much the same when it comes to stability, except that PSN is free. Plus, if M$ needs to char...
Yet another "WHAT WILL SAVE TEH BLU RAI?!?! OH NOEZ!" article.
I think that if Sony hadn't bundled Blu Ray with the PS3, media critics would be a lot more positive about the format. However, because Sony made the PS3 a so-called "trojan horse" for Blu Ray and won the format war in large part due to that, critics seem so bitter (and perhaps that's because their paycheck is written by M$).
Yeah....great for the developers and publishers, but terrible for people with no internet connection.
Mike Capps, would you like to know how to combat used game sales of your game? Don't develop exclusive games for the 360. It's that simple. Yes, every month people fawn over the "high attach rates" of 360 software, but what goes ignored is that the 360 also has the highest rate of re-sells back to a used-game retailer like Gamestop or Play N' Trade.
I'm not...
I don't think anyone except the most blind fanboys and rabid M$ PR reps would ever claim that NXE was meant to sell consoles. It's simply meant to appease current 360 owners and that's it. After all, who buys the Wii for the Miis? If you do, you're an idiot. Who buys a PS3 for (the yet to be released) Home?
NXE is just another one of Microsoft's "me too!" developments.
@ NickIni
Well, stereotype or not, you'd better tell Microsoft that they're stereotyping Japan, because they seem to think that all the 360 needs is a bunch of JRPGs and then the system will automatically sell like hotcakes.
I think this is more about Unreal Engine 3 as opposed to Gears of War 2. No one in their right mind would actually claim that Gears 2 simulates anything except male-on-male "bonding".
Well, the only "big" FPS that the PS3 currently lacks is Halo 3, but that's for obvious reasons. Resistance and Killzone fill that gap, and since Sony seems fixated on trying to dethrone the 360's hold on the FPS genre, Microsoft seems to be trying to capture the JRPG market.
I think the gem of truth we can glean from this joke:
Even Cliffy realizes that the main demographic for Gears is 15-year-old boys.
I believe that the PS3 selling less than the 360 would actually be abnormal if you had enough brains to look at Japan's console sales from the rest of the year.
Step 1: Grab a case of Mountain Dew.
Step 2: Ask your parents if you can have friends over past 9 PM and if you can borrow the big screen TV
They forgot the most important steps!
Hopefully this will give Halo fanboys a small shred of entertainment while the rest of the world is playing Killzone 2 in February.
Well I want to comment on one thing.
Most of the reviews have neglected to touch on what is -- in my opinion -- the thing that sets Resistance 2 apart from other FPSs, and that is the amount of enemies on the screen at a time. Yes, reviewers have mentioned the huge bosses but the huge battles (with 50+ enemies on the screen) are equally impressive and it makes the battles in similar FPSs like Halo 3 and CoD4 feel small in comparison.
I know that Left 4 Dead is all about the co-op, but it will have to really impress me. I'm currently playing 8-player co-op in Resistance 2 with 75 enemies in the area at a time and I doubt Left 4 Dead can top that.
@ ultimolu
But when your system keeps Red Ringing, the quality of your exclusives is dropping, Blu Ray keeps eating more of the market, Microsoft keeps nickel-and-dimeing you, and the PS3 keeps increasing in market share, you HAVE to bash in order to keep yourself sane. Either that, or use arbitrary review scores and Metacritic to "prove" that your system is superior.
:)
Two perfect examples of the problem Microsoft has:
1. A red light
2. two red lights next to the first red light
OR
1. Gears of Glitch 2
2. Fable 2: Glitchfest
OR
1. 2008's lack of AAA exclusives
2. 2009's lack of AAA exclusives
I could go all day. Hey! Maybe I should write articles like this guy...
@ Karum
That's why I put "lead" in parenthesis. The fanboys were all jumping for joy at the so-called 7-week "lead" because within those 7 weeks the 360 sold more than the PS3 (completely ignoring the rest of the year where the PS3 continued to outsell the 360).
The 360 doesn't have a lead. I agree with you.
Dude....that game will totally pwn LBP. If 360 comes out with "Gears of C++", the PS3 doesn't have a prayer.
Just make sure you have Marcus or Master Chief sawing through an alien enemy (remember, tons of blood, too!) while going through the tutorial and dozens -- maybe even HUNDREDS -- of 360 owners will buy that game.
Microsoft will brag about 50% or 100% increases all the time. So, where do we draw the line?
The fact remains that within one week the PS3 destroyed the 360's 7-week "lead" of sales in Japan. That is newsworthy.
I haven't gotten a beta code (yet; hopefully Sony loves me), but I'd sell a kidney for one. The game looks so slick even in this beta stage and I can't wait to see how the final version will turn out.
Geez. Critics love to talk about this "failing economy" and they love to speculate, but they ignore the facts.
FACT: PS3 has sold more systems in 2008 than the 360, even at a much higher price point.
FACT: Neither of the 360's TWO price drops (which isn't a good sign) this year were able to significantly boost the 360's sales.
FACT: So far this year, no 360 exclusive has managed to significantly boost the 360's hardware sales. Of course, I'm no...