[Am-info] Re: X-Box Dud

[Sujal Shah]

On Thu, 2002-04-11 at 12:12, sturde@az.com wrote:
> In <20020411160101.4DF9429BC3@lists.essential.org>, on 04/11/02 
>    at 12:01 PM, am-info-request@venice.essential.org said:
> 
> >I think I said here a week or so ago that Xbox is a big dud.
> 
> It confirms what I have maintained, that when MS gets beyond the world it
> cannot bully and manipulate, i.e. where there is in fact true competition,
> it fails.  We on this list have no problem with people wanting to buy MS
> products.  We want software available for other operating systems.
[SNIP]

Look, this is really starting to bother me.  The X-Box sales are
disappointing.  THAT'S ALL.

The machine isn't going anywhere if Microsoft truly does believe it's
central to their future strategy.

I personally believe that they do feel it's essential for them to branch
out into consumer electronics, or software for such electronics (which
is what led them to build their own box, since their deals with Sega et
al failed).

Keep in mind that this time last year everyone was claiming that the PS2
sales figures were dull and that shortages and lack of demand meant that
the PS2 wouldn't do well vs. the X-Box.  Clearly, that picture was a
little too bleak.  Microsoft has some 40 billion in the bank.  Trust me,
if they really want this to succeed, we'll see what 40 billion can do
for you.  

The other annoying thing about this thread is that people are acting as
if Microsoft is peddling an inferior product.  NO ONE agrees with that
statement that's seen the X-Box or reviewed it (PS2 fans included).  It
is, from a purely hardware standpoint, a far superior gaming machine
than anything that's on the market today.  

Their main problem is a distinct lack of exclusive game titles.  If
their is one Achilles heel to the X-Box, it's that they don't have any
real differentiator from PC games.  In the slashdot thread on this
topic, people have speculated that Halo, their launch title, is due to
be out for the PC... Bungie was also planning a Mac release (it
apparently was the demo game for MacWorld several years back to
highlight the Mac's 3D capabilities (I haven't had time to verify
this)).   So, if you have a computer, why fork out $300 (or 260/270
these days) for a console for a game many people claim is better suited
for a mouse?

Anyways, the X-Box is NOT dead.  Not until Microsoft wants it to die.

Sujal

> 
> James Sturdevant
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> sturde@az.com
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> 
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---- Sujal Shah --- sujal@sujal.net ---

        http://www.sujal.net

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