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[David Ricardo]

Interesting to see that the initial messaging really did have that much of an impact on the overal sales.

I own both consoles and far and away prefer the XB1. From the controller to Live > PSN to the exclusives (currently) being of a higher quality and quantity.

It's not only the message. It's also the first Microsoft console that was not the most powerful console when it launched.

I don't know why people continually overlooks this. When 2 consoles share 95% of their catalog, and one of them is running games consistently better than the other one, the worse performer becomes a much tougher sell.

If you mix that up with the terrible MS prelaunch messaging and Playstation brand awareness , you get the current sales situation.

 

[StrongBlackVine]

Interesting to see that the initial messaging really did have that much of an impact on the overal sales.

I own both consoles and far and away prefer the XB1. From the controller to Live > PSN to the exclusives (currently) being of a higher quality and quantity.

PS4 would be winning by a lot even without that messaging. The big difference is that PS is being competitive in the US this generation while Xbox is almost non-existent in most of Europe. Launch and price being equal Xbox is just not nearly as desirable a brand as PlayStation.

 

[nekkid]

It's not only the message. It's also the first Microsoft console that was not the most powerful console when it launched.

I don't know why people continually overlooks this. When 2 consoles share 95% of their catalog, and one of them is running games consistently better than the other one, the worse performer becomes a much tougher sell.

If you mix that up with the terrible MS prelaunch messaging and Playstation brand awareness , you get the current sales situation.

Not buying that a performance delta was as big an issue with the mass market as some people believe. Or that the mass market gave a shit about launch messaging.

It was price that was the main factor. Two consoles that both largely play the same games, but one is cheaper. No wonder the PS4 did well.

 

[Goose_Se7en]

Not buying that a performance delta was as big an issue with the mass market as some people believe. Or that the mass market gave a shit about launch messaging.

It was price that was the main factor. Two consoles that both largely play the same games, but one is cheaper. No wonder the PS4 did well.

This.

Many of my friends who were PS2 owners in gen 6 switched over to X360 primarily because 1. They didn't wanna wait an entire hear to play "next gen" games and 2. The $599.99 price tag scared them away.

Same thing this generation. Folks like us are in the minority, Joe and Jane Schmo aren't looking for the technically superior console, they're looking for the good enough cheaper console. Coincidentally Sony managed to pull of both.

 

[Hyunashi]

Interesting to see that the initial messaging really did have that much of an impact on the overal sales.

I own both consoles and far and away prefer the XB1. From the controller to Live > PSN to the exclusives (currently) being of a higher quality and quantity.

The shift towards Sony was evident towards the end of last gen anyway. The 360 really dried up in terms of a variety of games being offered in comparison to the PS3 but it was pretty evident the market was shifting towards Sony. While the initial messaging on the One did have an impact, Sony offering a cheaper and more powerful console with a WELL REGARDED first party studio group is the real impacting factor.

 

[MasterChief'edUp]

WTF???

3 years after launch and a PS4/PSN commitment still makes zero sense whatsoever...

Cheap ass bastards....on a global level....

 

[Dimorphic]

It's easy for people like us, who frequent gaming forums and are invested deeply in gaming, to think that the power difference in the PS4 over the XB1 is a decisive factor but when you look at multi plat games next to one another they really are essentially identical. This isn't a massive factor for the difference, in my opinion.

I did however forget the pricing different and considering it now, yeah, that's probably the main factor. $100 is a massive difference in the mind of a general consumer for sure.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

Still, you'd think that over these past two years they'd have been able to solve that issue. But apparently not.

Considering how difficult Microsoft makes your life if you are not using instant on and online, I dont think its something they care about.

The Xbox one might not be always online console, but its pretty much an "annoy you until you are online" one.

To be fair though, PS4 is only a couple of shades better.

 

[boredandlazy]

WTF???

3 years after launch and a PS4 purchase makes zero sense whatsoever...

Sucks

2 years...

And haha.

 

[Night Angel]

WTF???

3 years after launch and a PS4 purchase makes zero sense whatsoever...

Sucks

Lol

 

[StrongBlackVine]

WTF???

3 years after launch and a PS4 purchase makes zero sense whatsoever...

Sucks

Yeah man I agree it's just selling on hype. No games, controller sucks, PSN is always down. Every one buying PS4s are just sheep. Why do you think it is selling so much?

 

[GHG]

WTF???

3 years after launch and a PS4 purchase makes zero sense whatsoever...

Sucks

Please don't fuck this up junior. You could entertain us for generations to come:

A new Xbox One update is out right now...

Please let this be the savior from the hell that is the PS4 love fest (Bloodborne & MLB The Show exclusives yay!) that has plagued us since that other half of this decade!!!

Oh please let me get some from that glorious and sexy CLOUD action.... maybe a little Kinect love on the side??? If you're feeling up to it... maybe a peak at HoloLens baby?

Seriously..There are some really shitty bugs in the NXBE for "power" users that got screwed over the holidays.... here's to hoping...

 

[boredandlazy]

Please don't fuck this up junior. You could entertain us for generations to come:

Sounds like he's been Chief'd up quite a bit.

 

[bootski]

Approximately 20% of people didn't use their xbox during Christmas break? No

1/7 is ~20%? statham's approximation does seem a little high but yours is just bananas.

 

[Neuromancer]

MS making positive steps to salvage a dire situation was also a factor...

True. First dropping Kinect, and then the series of price cuts, helped a lot.

 

[Ombala]

WTF???

3 years after launch and a PS4/PSN commitment still makes zero sense whatsoever...

Cheap ass bastards....on a global level....

So salty

 

[Neuromancer]

why does everyone hate statham so much?

I don't hate him at all. He's one of my favorite posters actually.

 

[Inuhanyou]

WTF???

3 years after launch and a PS4/PSN commitment still makes zero sense whatsoever...

Cheap ass bastards....on a global level....

Oh boy...

 

[Bitch Pudding]

I don't hate him at all. He's one of my favorite posters actually.

Nobody hates him. If he was this kind of guy, he wouldn't have a tag of shame but a grey one.

Still, seems some people are still in denial about that 2:1 ratio...

 

[carl32]

If it is about 18 /19 milion i think its quite impressive considering it's only popular in USA and UK.

 

[Inuhanyou]

The first thing that needs to go is this obsession with the false narrative that everyone cares about the kinds of games MS invests in these days, the ecosystem that they have fostered.

We don't.

What also needs to go is the false narrative that XB1 would be absolutely killing the competition anywhere if only Sony had not had better marketing and a lower price.

It may hurt to hear, but these kinds of differentials is just what defines a global brand against a non global brand.

I'm sorry if that's offensive to some, but its hard to not come to the conclusion that every viewpoint from the Xbox side whether it be sales, gaming tastes or otherwise, are funneled through a western dominated point of view, and that's just not how the wider world works.

 

[Ray Down]

WTF???

3 years after launch and a PS4/PSN commitment still makes zero sense whatsoever...

Cheap ass bastards....on a global level....

Keep making posts like this and Bish will be at your doorstep.

 

[carl32]

I don't anyone thinks Xbox would be killing PS4 if it had a lower price. Just sold more and taken sales from PS4.

 

[nekkid]

Nobody hates him. If he was this kind of guy, he wouldn't have a tag of shame but a grey one.

Still, seems some people are still in denial about that 2:1 ratio...

I'm not. I embrace being part of the better third.

 

[The Artisan]

It's not only the message. It's also the first Microsoft console that was not the most powerful console when it launched.

I thought it was established that the Ps3 was the most powerful console last gen?

 

[W.S.]

The first thing that needs to go is this obsession with the false narrative that everyone cares about the kinds of games MS invests in these days, the ecosystem that they have fostered.

We don't.

Where are you pulling this from? And "we"?

 

[Pathfinder]

I thought it was established that the Ps3 was the most powerful console last gen?

It had the most raw potential, but lots of multiplat devs didn't want to spend the extra time to give it the attention it needed.

Games like TLOU towered over anything the 360 had going for it at the time, but launch titles and multiplats heavily favored the console with the easier SDK.

 

[joecanada]

1/7 is ~20%? statham's approximation does seem a little high but yours is just bananas.

He said 21 or above so 14.2 is baseline to him
I said approximately. doesn't matter it's not close either way. They haven't sold over 20 by anyone's guess ever

Edit - he also stated it as fact so that's why people are giving him a hard time

 

[carl32]

Yeh the 360 just wouldn't have been able to run TLOU if allowed, man the gameplay graphics didn't impress me that much on the PS4.

 

[Hockeymac18]

The first thing that needs to go is this obsession with the false narrative that everyone cares about the kinds of games MS invests in these days, the ecosystem that they have fostered.

We don't.

What also needs to go is the false narrative that XB1 would be absolutely killing the competition anywhere if only Sony had not had better marketing and a lower price.

It may hurt to hear, but these kinds of differentials is just what defines a global brand against a non global brand.

I'm sorry if that's offensive to some, but its hard to not come to the conclusion that every viewpoint from the Xbox side whether it be sales, gaming tastes or otherwise, are funneled through a western dominated point of view, and that's just not how the wider world works.

You're making it seem like this is a common narrative...I rarely hear these arguments, and usually when a poster does go there, their name is grayed eventually (often of their own doing).

That said, I think MS realizes most of this. Their lineup isn't as homogenous as most make it out to be. They do have an issue with getting big Japanese games (especially as exclusives), but their first party games lineup is pretty diverse. And honestly, as much as I like Japanese games, that's not why they're losing. Lets be real here for a second, western style games dominate the industry today.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Where are you pulling this from? And "we"?

I constantly hear "there's nothing to differentiate the consoles besides better exclusives on XB1's side, so why is XB1 so far behind"? Its in this very thread and other places on the net.

I'm saying, not everyone has the same tastes in games.

"We" as in those of us who have not contributed to the sales figures.

That said, I think MS realizes most of this. Their lineup isn't as homogenous as most make it out to be. They do have an issue with getting big Japanese games (especially as exclusives), but their first party games lineup is pretty diverse. And honestly, as much as I like Japanese games, that's not why they're losing. Lets be real here for a second, western style games dominate the industry today.

I didn't say anything about Japanese titles. Although that was the reason for why i abstained at the very least.

I said the type of games that MS cultivates. We've had 3 Forza's in as many years, Gears last year, Gears this year. 2 Halos. Its almost like the 5 years of last gen never left, which was very bad 360 wise in my opinion, just from fostering a catalog.

They have may Cuphead coming, and Recore, and Ori and for a time even had D4 but i can't really say that in general, the type of 'diversity' that MS has in their lineup gives the impression of something for everyone.

 

[boredandlazy]

MasterChief'edUp

Banned

(Today, 03:28 PM)

I'm shocked! Shocked I tellz ya!

Probably one of the occasions where the 'Junior' in 'Junior Member' was literal.

 

[StrongBlackVine]

I'm shocked! Shocked I tellz ya!

Probably one of the occasions where the 'Junior' in 'Junior Member' was literal.

Wow. I was hoping they would get a chance to write a few more words of wisdom before the hammer dropped!

 

[onQ123]

I thought it was established that the Ps3 was the most powerful console last gen?

PS3 wasn't out when Xbox 360 launched.

 

[oti]

Not buying that a performance delta was as big an issue with the mass market as some people believe. Or that the mass market gave a shit about launch messaging.

It was price that was the main factor. Two consoles that both largely play the same games, but one is cheaper. No wonder the PS4 did well.

Trust me, the mass market in Germany did absolutely give a shit. Mainstream media and politicians called the thing a "spy-machine". Sure Xbox is nowhere near as big as PlayStation over here but Microsoft definitely killed their brand with their DRM plans.

 

[Subpar Scrub]

18 million is a pretty solid number. I wonder what they could do to close the gap more. Features are all there, I guess it'll come down to the way they handle their exclusives and price.

 

[tattooed_dwarf]

18 million is a pretty solid number. I wonder what they could do to close the gap more. Features are all there, I guess it'll come down to the way they handle their exclusives and price.

Gap of units will keep growing, at best they can is keep ratio of gap the same or even slightly reduce it.

 

[Subpar Scrub]

Gap of units will keep growing, at best they can is keep ratio of gap the same or even slightly reduce it.

I think they could make the gap smaller (they'll never come close to parity). Just depends on their marketing, bundles and exclusives I guess.

I just like brainstorming ways they could do it, but I'm too unfamiliar with the marketing issues in Europe and stuff to really come up with anything.

 

[Lionheart]

Not buying that a performance delta was as big an issue with the mass market as some people believe. Or that the mass market gave a shit about launch messaging.

I think the mass market does not care about these things, but it's the early adopters that obviously did and they could very well have been the people where the mass market goes to ask advice which device to buy or where they first see the device in action and don't even do research themselves whether there are comparable devices.

 

[Behlel]

18 million is a pretty solid number. I wonder what they could do to close the gap more. Features are all there, I guess it'll come down to the way they handle their exclusives and price.

Close the gap? The gap is continuously increasing from day one, they'll never catch up PS4 in this gen.

 

[le.phat]

Gap of units will keep growing, at best they can is keep ratio of gap the same or even slightly reduce it.

to reduce the gap they have to actually outsell the ps4 on a global scale. Think about it for a second.

 

[tuna_love]

to reduce the gap they have to actually outsell the ps4 on a global scale. Think about it for a second.

Ratio of the gap

 

[tattooed_dwarf]

to reduce the gap they have to actually outsell the ps4 on a global scale. Think about it for a second.

Think about what I said.

 

[Sesto]

they might close the gap with difficulties in the US, but in Europe it's impossible, not to speak of Asia

 

[jbluzb]

all xbox one needs to connect before you can use the console. so I do not understand someone not connecting the xbox one, If you buy physical media for xbox one, you need internet connection before it can even install the game.

18 million is the ceiling.

 

[TLZ]

The Xbox One's story was already being written the day both consoles were announced for preorders.

There was absolutely a backlash due to the 24 hour online requirement. They saw the preorder numbers and backpedaled.

Of course that played some part but how many of the people who bought the Xbone are actually online on forums/game sites and know about this? I don't think we count for much tbh. Imho, if it wasn't for the 360 ( and its achievments) that brought tons of people in and created brand loyalty, the xbone would've been dead in the water. The same could've been said about the PS3 of sorts (PS2 mass success) but the different here is people already got attached to their Xbox profiles and achievements. Not many can easily just ditch that and start from scratch with PS4. Now imagine the Xbone was Microsoft's first console and people having no previous Xbox profiles attached to, being lower spec'd and selling for a $100 more, forcing their kinect on us, than the better spec'd PS4 with it's VCR look. I don't think it would've lasted a year. I won't use the always online requirement here because they backpedaled so I'll give them credit for that.

 

[Bits N Pieces]

Because the guy has been here forever and still is completely delusional. He's like a resident timDog really.

You do realise that this guy Tim Dog has been built up by the community here on GAF, I'm an Box gamer who's on Twitter and I didn't know who he was til I signed up here? I've seen him name checked, tweets posted and even seen him be brought into graphs on this very thread.

How does the old saying go . . . 'Cant live with him, can't live without him.'

 

[StrongBlackVine]

all xbox one needs to connect before you can use the console. so I do not understand someone not connecting the xbox one, If you buy physical media for xbox one, you need internet connection before it can even install the game.

18 million is the ceiling.

Plus games, OS updates, using Netflix/YouTube or other apps etc. I find it highly unlikely that many people on current gen consoles are completely offline for any extended amount time.

 

[omonimo]

Interesting to see that the initial messaging really did have that much of an impact on the overal sales.

I own both consoles and far and away prefer the XB1. From the controller to Live > PSN to the exclusives (currently) being of a higher quality and quantity.

Seriously? Except a lot of talks here are highly subjective, how much count long waiting time before to play for the starting game installation, in this quality ranking?

 

[mike4001_]

If you buy physical media for xbox one, you need internet connection before it can even install the game.

Wrong