AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
RIP Rodney =(
"Xbox, Mysteriously, is Sold Out"
- Thread starter PhatSaqs
- Start date
JoshuaJSlone
Member
:/ For as little good as it ever does me to predict hardware sales, it's become even more worthless to calculate based on trends if there's not enough supply.
Damn good argument here.Mr_Furious said:
But if you look at it from a MS standpoint --- stuck between business decisons in regards to when to launch the next XB ---- it's kind of hard to not understand why they're doing what they're doing.
That said, I think there are logical arguments to support both launching before & launching after Sony (launching alongside them would be beyond retarded for a number of reasons IMO).
At the stores I go to here in Chicago, PS2, Xbox, and DS are all in short supply. I have been seeing Xboxes and DS popping up but the PS2 has been like a ghost.
My local Best Buy had 36 Xboxes last Thursday. Sold out by the next day. They had 36 PS2s(this was the first sizable amount they've had in a month)on Friday. Again sold out by the next day. Yesterday, I was at another Best Buy and they got 12 Xboxes in(sold 3 in around 5 minutes). Today, I was at a Target that had 14 Xboxes(they were regular Xbox, not the holiday bundle).
My local Best Buy had 36 Xboxes last Thursday. Sold out by the next day. They had 36 PS2s(this was the first sizable amount they've had in a month)on Friday. Again sold out by the next day. Yesterday, I was at another Best Buy and they got 12 Xboxes in(sold 3 in around 5 minutes). Today, I was at a Target that had 14 Xboxes(they were regular Xbox, not the holiday bundle).
Mr_Furious
Member
The end of the cycle? Since when is 3 years the end of a successful platform's "cycle"? You're making it sound like this is the norm when I just argued otherwise. Just because you want the Xbox2 now doesn't mean that the market does. Once again, the market has dictated that the lifespan is an average of 5 years per generation. BTW, I never stated that the Xbox's existing library wasn't important but consumers do care about future support for their just purchased $150 (or more) system. By your rationale, no new hardware would sell worth a shit because there's not a lot of games already available on the market. Obviously people buy consoles based on it's future as well.jedimike said:
Mr_Furious said:
The "historic" console life cycle is irrelevant. People buy shit all the time and within months something bigger and better comes out. PC's, PDA's, Cars, Microwaves, Washer's, fruitcakes... it doesn't matter. People buy things on their current value or potential value. Those people that buy an Xbox in the first year are buying based on potential value. Those buying now are buying on current value. Nobody buys a console based on how many years it has left.
sonycowboy
Member
jedimike said:
The lifecycle certainly does matter. The problem with you other analogy is that
1) Replacability: if you get a new PC, you don't have to buy all new software, or if you get a new PDA, ditto, etc. The products themselves are almost completely replaceable. That's not true with consoles.
2) People buy consoles because they want to buy games, true. But a large percentage of sales are because of games that WILL be coming to a given system. It gives you a reason to buy one console vs another. This industry is ALL about what's latest & greatest. New titles outsell catalog titles 5-1.
That being said, I think you're mixing two arguments. The first statement of the console cycle doesn't matter is completely wrong. Your point was more about whether or not it's useless to buy an Xbox now, when it's less than a year from it's successor coming out and that the current platform is looking to be abandoned from a development standpoint.
I think it's certainly not useless and there are MANY positives, but I'd bet that most buyers are unaware that Xenon is coming out next year and that their new purchase will not be getting "heavily developed" games 12 months from now. I've seen quite a few people buy systems that they were unaware how close to the end of it's life they were and they were quite upset that they had made the purchase.
sonycowboy
Member
adam20 said:
WTF? It was a joke, you tool.
sonycowboy said:
I would also suspect that most buyers don't really know when Xbox came out in the first place. When you're spending $150 on a piece of electronic equipment and the damn thing comes with 2 free games, most people feel that they have already gotten their moneys worth out of it.
hmmm...i'm gonna go alittle far out there and say that maybe its sold out because there are so many good games and MS wasn'tshort on supply? maybe they've already shifted 2 million+ xboxen? Maybe in jan/feb more xboxen will hit the shelves to meet the leftover demand? MS could easily sell 2x what they sold last year IMO with the games they have out now.
open_mouth_
insert_foot_
adam20 said:
IAWTP.
Also, the 4 year cycle might be short for some Xbox owners, but there are a bunch of PS2 owners out there that are looking to the next gen in 2005 (5 years) instead of in 2006 (6 years) and if Microsoft could provide next-gen SSX, Madden, etc., then they can potentially grab a large portion of these early adopters.
Microsoft needs to shtup up the new console ASAP. Otherwise they have nothing to go on. They need developers to get familiar with it quicker so the graphics will improve before the PS3 and Rev launch. Right now, MS's fanbase is the most portable. Nintendo's fans will ALWAYS be Nintendo's fans. Sony people don't know any better. The vast majority of Xbox people got it because it has the same Sony games, but it either (A) has better graphics or (B) also has games that won't run on their crappy computer.
Both A and B can easily be added to the PS3 or Rev and MS realizes that. They established their console on design flaws of the other two consoles, which is very shortsighted.
If they can't capture the sucky PC or the graphics whore market, they're doomed. The "exclusives" have always been a joke for the Xbox console. Only a handful are truly exclusive and not on a PC. (Ninja Gaiden, Panzer Dragoon Orta namely) Aside from the online aspects, which everyone will have next gen, too, it doesn't have a hard name established for itself. THAT is why it needs to launch early to set it self apart from the current gen and get the fanbase moved over before they realize MS won't necessairly be the #1 powerhouse next gen.
Both A and B can easily be added to the PS3 or Rev and MS realizes that. They established their console on design flaws of the other two consoles, which is very shortsighted.
If they can't capture the sucky PC or the graphics whore market, they're doomed. The "exclusives" have always been a joke for the Xbox console. Only a handful are truly exclusive and not on a PC. (Ninja Gaiden, Panzer Dragoon Orta namely) Aside from the online aspects, which everyone will have next gen, too, it doesn't have a hard name established for itself. THAT is why it needs to launch early to set it self apart from the current gen and get the fanbase moved over before they realize MS won't necessairly be the #1 powerhouse next gen.
MrAngryFace
Banned
HUGE STACKS OF *INSERT CONSOLE HERE* AT EVERY STORE I GO TO AND I TALK TO PEOPLE AND THEY SAY *INSERT CONSOLE HERE* ISNT SELLING WELL!
JoshuaJSlone
Member
OH SNAP OH SNAPscola said:
Kanbee-san
Member
Mr_Furious said:
Thats all well and good, but the thing has been out for three years and has rougly another year to go. If you buy an xbox now, you would be a retard to expect games until 2006 because its widely known there arent many exclusive titles left to come past mid 2005.
As for hoping MS fail, geez thats a lame comment. Even the holiest of M$ haters know that the industry needs the competition that MS bring. Otherwise its gonna turn into the EA way of gaming (rehash the same game every year).
The way i see it, the xbox will have had 4 years of solid support when it ends. Just dont be a retard and hop on in the last half of the consoles journey and complain that it didnt give you your 5 years worth. $300 is nothing especially compared to the turnover of PC gaming costs.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
I dunno about "widely known". I don't think anything we talk about here could truly be considered widely known among the millions of people who are purchasing consoles this month.Kanbee-san said:
Kanbee-san
Member
JoshuaJSlone said:
Yeah thats certainly true, but i thought that because $300 is "so much money to spend" that people would research before they laid down there dosh ?
We've been all sold out of Xboxes for a damn long time now. Whenever we get a call, it's for the DS, Xbox, or PS2. We usually get about 10-15 calls an hour for those, and we're one of the least busy stores.
As far as my Xbox goes- I bought it in March, and it's already dying on me. Fuck you, Microsoft, and your little dog too. I shouldn't be getting dirty disc errors nine fucking months after purchase.
As far as my Xbox goes- I bought it in March, and it's already dying on me. Fuck you, Microsoft, and your little dog too. I shouldn't be getting dirty disc errors nine fucking months after purchase.
Mr_Furious
Member
Try six months from now. What's "retarded" about your argument is that the reason why "exclusives" won't last into 2006 is because MS is aborting their own system prematurely, in favor of it's successor and millions of the late (ridiculous saying this only 3 years into a system's lifecycle) adopters are not aware of this. If the Xbox would've had the full 5 year lifecycle, the support would still be there (even into 2006). Considering that this was the Xbox's most successful year, ever, it' silly to think companies (MS included) wouldn't still be supporting the Xbox in the coming years if the Xbox2 wasn't right around the corner.Kanbee-san said:
Shooting themselves in the foot does not equate to failing so please don't put words in my mouth. I want MS to have a tough time with the Xbox2 coming into market mainly because I don't believe the market is ready but I sure as hell don't want MS to fail. God knows they'd answer that failure with an even shorter lifespan of their Xbox2 in favor of the Xbox3.Kanbee-san said:
Your last statement is so filled with assumptions that you have no right calling anyone else a "retard".Kanbee-san said:
Mr_Furious
Member
Not if you work in the industry. MS has every intention on releasing the Xenon in 2005 and that's not an assumption.GhaleonEB said:
krypt0nian
Banned
GhaleonEB said:
You don't need to go outside to know its raining.
2005 is a lock.
Kanbee-san
Member
Mr_Furious said:
Care to back that up with some facts ? Less bullshit more facts please.
Mr_Furious said:
Nice save, not.
Mr_Furious said:
All you have is assumption, yet you spout on about what right I have to speak ? I would have expected more from a ron jeremy fan.
Mr_Furious
Member
Kanbee-san said:
If you don't want to listen to somone that's been working in the industry for over 10 years and has made many friends that are "in the know" then that's your loss. I don't have to prove shit to you any more than I'm insisting you back up the bullshit you spout (accompanied by immature namcalling) with facts. If you do just a little bit of investigative work on this very forum will will find that other industry insiders have all but confirmed what I've already mentioned. Many Xbox developers have already shifted development over to Xenon with just a few stragglers left to wrap up current devs. You only need to look at either EB's or GS's release lists for further proof that after June not much is planned for the Xbox. I'm sure some announcements have yet to be made but nothing significant from what I've been hearing.
Kanbee-san said:
I don't even now how to respond to this but I do question your level of maturity (or lack there of) based off both this post and your previous one where you felt inclined to insult people because they chose to purchase an Xbox 3 years into it's life cycle. And for the record (because too many people keep thinking I'm one of these people), I purchased my Xbox just six months after it was released. It's the principle of my argument that people need to focus on more.
Mr_Furious said:
I did just that...
EB
Xbox:4 games listed for July-December
PS2:9 games listed for July-December(2 of which EB has listed for Xbox in the 1st 6 months)
Gamecube:3 games
Gamestop
Xbox:5 games(I chose not to include The Unseen)
PS2:7 games
Gamecube 2 games
Games that come out in the 2nd half of the year usually don't get announced until E3. It's definately possible that there will be less Xbox support but pointing at these release lists now proves nothing substantial.
Mr_Furious
Member
I hear ya but I'm not using those as the basis of my argument. The lists fall in line with what I've been hearing from multiple reliable sources within the industry. There's bound to be multiple announcements from various 3rd parties (hell, I'm working on one of them) on or around E3 but what triggered this debate were "exclusives". I have it on good authority that this E3, MS will have no exclusive games announced for their Xbox nor are they paying any developer/publisher for exclusive rights/window to current games in development for the Xbox. Their show is going to be mainly focused on the Xbox's successor.Chi-Town said:
Mr_Furious said:
Fair enough, but the majority of people buying Xboxes this holiday season are the mainstream, casual audience who don't really care about exclusive games to the level of the hardcore early adopter audience. As long as they can buy games, they're not going to care if they're "Only on Xbox".
Mr_Furious
Member
I guess I'm alone in not liking the thought of companies shortening the lifespan of their hardware just to make a profit. As I've stated before, I do not like what MS is doing but I hope this is a one time thing and not some kind of "new trend" where they feel they can bring a new console to the market whenever they feel like it. The repercussions of such a move can be pretty damaging to the industry and the market as a whole.
Just heard from a friend of mine who got a $150 gift card from Target and wanted an XBox. His wife just got the news that every Target in Oregon is sold out of Xboxes - by calling every single one of them. So now he's getting Halo 2 for Christmas - and no XBox.
Good thing a friend is loaning him his XBox...and I'm loaning him the first Halo.
Good thing a friend is loaning him his XBox...and I'm loaning him the first Halo.
Kanbee-san
Member
Mr_Furious said:
I call your bluff. Give me some facts that have been stated by microsoft themselves or stay quiet. Its not hard to do. I dont care if you worked in the industry for 20 years, without factual evidence (not conjecture) all you have to say is rumour.
I might be immature, but i dont go around passing off my opinions as fact.
Mr_Furious
Member
As I stated before junior, I don't have to prove shit. Either believe me or don't. It's that simple. And you can fuck right off with your "be quiet" bullshit. This is a message forum and I have the feedom to post any rumor or conjecture I see fit. At least I don't resort to insults with my initial posts. I don't know what the fuck crawled up your ass and why I was targeted by your asshole remarks but maybe you should take your own advice and "be quiet". It's not hard to do.Kanbee-san said:
Kanbee-san
Member
Mr_Furious said:
All i asked you to do is backup your statements with facts. Merry Xmas.