Comments on: Does the Xbox 360's 'lack of longevity' matter?

Sony's Kaz Hirai claims that the video game console "lacks longevity." But does that even matter?

[sth360]

@ hardikhrs

Sorry to burst your bubble but Sony is not the great tech company you think it is. Historically and even thru today Sony has bought much of its technology from other companies. Sony cordless phones and car audio used to be made by Craig an abysmal electronics company. Today Sony's LCD?s are made thru a joint venture with Samsung. Sony provides most of the money and Samsung provides most of the technology. What Sony used to be supreme at was marketing. Not so much anymore.

[raindog469]

"The Wii, for all it's multi-million sales figures and profit margins, is not competing with the 360 or PS3."

Whether or not the Wii is competing for the same market, it most certainly is competing for software development dollars. Every dollar spent developing a Wii title is a dollar that won't be spent on a 360 or PS3 title. This wouldn't matter if the Wii weren't outselling both of them combined. That kind of install base is irresistible to developers, even when it includes a disproportionate number of people who say things like "A yoga simulator for 80 bucks? Wow, that sounds awesome. I'm going to go out this Sunday morning at 5am to wait in line for one."

[jsnowbordr47]

I'm so sick of these comparisons of the price of a fully loaded 360 vs the PS3.

It's funny, when it comes to buying the stripped down version of Xbox 360, it's not the people who buy the stripped down version who complain about it, it's the owners of the PS3 who complain.

I originally bought a 360 core system and a memory card, it did what I wanted which was play next generation games that look amazing. I didn't buy a hard drive until about 1 year later when I decided I wanted to buy a few arcade games. I had no problem with having a Xbox360 without wi-fi or hard drive because I didn't need those features. And even now that I use Xbox Live, I still prefer an ethernet connection over wi-fi. Maybe someday I'll get the wi-fi adapter but I'll do it when I really want or need it.

So there is nothing wrong with Microsoft selling stripped down versions of the Xbox 360, people know what they are getting when they buy the Arcade version. So to all those people comparing the price of a 360 when you add all the accessories, your comparisons are useless because those accessories are not required.

Yes it's true that if I buy the 120GB hard and the Wi-Fi adaptor that the price will be more or less equal to the PS3, but I don't HAVE to buy that stuff.

since everyone loves doing comparisons, here's one of my own. And it's legit because not everyone has a PS3 or 360 but everyone seems to want to play these story heavy games that have no online component.

Okay let's say you don't have any next-gen system and you only want to play Fallout 3 or Assasins Creed or Final Fantasy XIII (when it comes out). So you're going to get the game with either a PS3 or and Xbox360. I just checked Best Buy and Walmart and the cheapest PS3 is the 80GB that is not PS2 compatible for $400usd. So your total cost to play Fallout 3 would be $459.99 before tax or about $490.00+ with tax. (And that's just to play the PS3 version of Fallout 3. Or you could buy an Xbox 360 Arcade with 256mb of internal memory for game saves for $200. So your total cost to play the Xbox 360 version of Fallout 3 comes to a before tax price of $259.99 or about $280.99+ with tax. This works the same way with other multi-platform games.lol

I don't know about you, but I think the about $200 extra is a lot to pay for the PS3 version especially considering it's a single player game. With the money I save by getting the Xbox360 and 360 version of Fallout 3 I can buy a 60GB hard drive for the 360, an extra long ethernet cable, a 1 year subscription to Xbox Live, and another game or a few Xbox Live Arcade games (Geometry Wars or Castle Crashers anyone?)

Here's another comparison, my cousin has an 80GB PS3, and even with all of the game instals his hard drive is nowhere near full, because his internet connection is barely fast enough to play games online. In fact he would have been fine with a 20GB PS3 however, Sony forces its customers to pay for more system than what they really need (why they discontinued the 20GB version I'll never understand). He uses the Wi-Fi even though the router is in the same room because the PS3 doesn't come with an ethernet cable. Had Sony made the 80GB Hard Drive and Wi-Fi optional the price of the system would be so much cheaper, but since all of these features are "required" by Sony the console will always be more expensive.

I like having a choice of what technology I embrace and when I decide to embrace it. I didn't buy my first standalone DVD player until 2004.lol

[Hiphopsdead]

It definitely matters. I will be more weary of purchasing any microsoft consoles in the future. My xbox360 elite just game me the rings of death after 6 months of use. My rechargeable controler stopped charging after 2 months. Its starting to become obvious that microsoft is not properly testing and is more concerned with making the money than providing quality hardware.

Although I love the games I've been able to play(I bought six games when I first bought it), I cant overlook this blatent consumer disrespect. If I could sell this back and get a PS3 I would.

What swayed me to xbox360 to begin with was the higher resolution for games(1080p), the superior online experience, and the games. But the PS3's bluray player, and higher quality hardware (not more powerful, less defective) are looking more attractive right about now.

"December's NPD sales numbers might prove the company's point: 1.1 million PlayStation 2 units were sold in December, besting both the PSP and the PlayStation 3 for the month."

What NPD numbers is this idiot looking at?

December
Wii - 2,150,000
Xbox 360 - 1,440,000
PS3 - 726,000
PS2 - 410,000
Nintendo DS - 3,040,000
PSP - 1,020,000

It looks like he's reversing the numbers for the PSP and the PS2. The PS2 and PS3 were the only two machines to not break a million sold in December. Further, if you compare December 2007 to December 2008 all three Sony platforms are selling less.

12/07
Wii - 1,350,000
Xbox 360 - 1,260,000
PS3 - 797,600
PS2 - 1,100,000
Nintendo DS - 2,470,000
PSP - 1,060,000

[tmt345]

Everybody on here that is saying that is Xbox 360 is doing better than the PS3 is a lunatic. The Xbox 360 has sold 28 million, the PS3 has sold 20 million. The Xbox 360 has been out for three years, which means its sold on average of 9.3 million (28 divided by 3). The PS3 has been out for two years, which means its sold an average of 10 million (10 divided by 2). We don't even know how many of the Xbox 360's numbers includes the people who got the RROD either, so its probably even lower. I'm not trying to say which one is better than the other, I'm just trying to show how stupid some people are. I will say however that graphically the systems broke even in 2008 on MULTI-PLATFORM games and the PS3 will surpass in 2009, and if the rumors are true the PS3 will be getting 3D gaming in 09 also. The PS3 game problem is long gone too, it stopped in 2008 and in 2009 the PS3 has lots of exclusives coming out like God of War, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, and many more. Besides that halo extension I don't know what exclusives the Xbox 360 is getting. Just saying...

And yet if you look at NPD numbers, which is what this article is talking about, the 360 has outsold the PS3 for 21 of the 26 months they have been competing head to head.

The only months the PS3 outsold the 360 in the last 2 years were 01/08, 02/08, 05/08, 06/08 and 07/08. The PS3 loses to the 360 for the other 21 months.

To date the PS3 has only sold 6.7 million in North America. I say "only" because the 360 has doubled that number and the PS3 has MORE than doubled that number.

[tmt345]

Yes, the Xbox 360 doing better in the US but is doing much better in other parts of the world such as Europe and Canada. Everybody seems to ignore the other parts of the world... The PS3 is having a little bit of a slope right now but that will diminish once Killzone 2 comes out and then after that in March the price will drop to 300, which should bring in LOTS of sales, I know several people who aren't getting the PS3 until the price drops.

[mackenzie2009]

i dont understand why people go on about extra features like blue ray etc, the reason you buy a console is for gaming nothing else, for instance i bought a new phone the other day and the shop assistant asked me if i would like to pay an extra 5.99 a month to watch movies and tv on my phone and my anwer was no as i have a tv. it just seems like the original use for things takes a back seat to the novelties. now if you will excuse me i am going to buy the latest microwave, it sings and dances you know.

[ivanpinillos]

Yeah, I mean, who in their right mind would want a cellphone that makes not just calls, but can play video, take pictures, replace a PDA, surf the net, run applications. Really, that's crazy!

[McPlot]

Wow, you have no idea what you are talking about. Intel made the processor for the Xbox, and nVidia made the graphics chips. On the Xbox 360, IBM makes the processors, they are PowerPC chips like Mac's used to use. And ATi makes the graphic chips. The technolgy is night and day between the two systems. Comments like yours just show how little you know about things and you are just a whinny little fanbox. I have a Xbox 360 and a Wii. I ALMOST got a PS3, but to be used as a Blu-Ray player since there were not any games I wanted, that just were on the PS3. Now, there are a couple, but I got a Blu-Ray play for $120 at Wal-Mart on Black Friday. So I don't want to throw down $400 for a system I will only use for a few games.

[bythewayside]

First off there are 3 concepts of Longevity:
1. Product quality (is this thing going to last or break in 2 years?)
2. sales (Will this system still be selling down the road)
3. Hardware (will the technology last?)

Addressing #2:

Longevity is important to some of the population. The massive crowd of people that swarmed to buy the xbox 360 shows that SOME are willing to pay top dollar right at launch. I've had a ps2 for a long time and only recently bought a ps3. Because the facts are that consoles are expensive. While some are willing to spend a load of dough right away others will wait. Which is why a 10 year longevity rule is huge to costumers like myself who plan to use the ps3 a couple years or so into the ps4 and xbox 720's releases. I just don't have the kind of money to do that.

Addressing #1:
I'm the type of consumer who is willing to save a little longer and spend some extra money to get something that is higher quality and will last. The idea of buying a 360 scares me. There are far too many "red ring of death", etc. horror stories. Buying the ps3 feels like a better choice for hardware/product longevity. The fact that so many people are so willing to buy a faulty console shows that most people don't care or think about those things. But many, like myself, do.

Addressing #3:
The ps3 is really just beginning to be tapped for its performance (i.e. killzone 2, MGS4, GT5, etc.). It does take longer to develop for. But after playing killzone 2's demo I can say "ITS WORTH IT!".
Blu-ray: Ok after reading many threads above I sense 2 sides:
1. 360 fanboys claim blu-ray disk is too big
2. ps3 fanboys claim this an advantage
I have to say that I see it as an advantage. Open world games are becoming increasingly popular. The ps3's blu-ray will allow for much larger open world games. And I think I heard that GT5 will require like 3 disks for the 360 but 1 blu-ray for the ps3. Times have changed and games are bigger.


Now one last thing I want to address:
Current pricing:
The pro 360 is currently $299.
The 80g ps3 is currently $399 (or $299 if you apply for a playstation credit card).
Now to play online in my situation I REQUIRE wifi. I can't string a 50 ft ethernet cord to our main computer. So in either console I'd need wifi. The ps3's $399 comes with it. The 360 would need a $100 add on. By that time its $399 like the ps3. And which one has more features at that point. The ps3 has free online play (while admitidely not AS good as live), 80gb instead of 60gb and blu-ray. So if your in a wifi requiring situation, they're the same price!!!

[Haywood_J]

Let me just say I?m glad Xbox is in the game with ps3. If they weren't, then we'd all be paying $600.00 for a ps3 or we'd be bored in about 10 minutes of playing wii tennis. Now I only have an Xbox 360 because when I bought it for $250.00, it was $250.00 cheaper then a $500.00 ps3. But I would've rather bought a ps3. Xbox doesn't care about its consumers, it try's to nickel and dime them with every little thing (hdd, wireless, Xbox live, HD DVD player "I feel sorry for anyone who bought one" and even batteries). Think about it, you never have to buy batteries for a ps3. Plus google "red ring of death" and you'll see how MS is trying to avoid taking care their mistake of rushing the release of 360, just to beat the ps3 release. And now they're being sued class action style.

Ps3 will outlast 360 for one season, Blu Ray. And not because of movies, but because of games. You know how when there's a game released for ps3 and ps2 or xbox360 and regular Xbox, there is a huge difference between the new platform and old platform. what's going to happen when 360 meets it's full potential with 9gb DVDs and ps3 still has way more to go with 50gb Blu Ray? (It?s already happening with the game "RAGE"). 360 will be like that old platforms and if MS wants to keep up, they'll have to release a next gen console. I can only imagine how much that'll cost. And when that happens if all you have is a 360, it'll be buy a "by then" cheap ps3 or an over priced next gen console. And how much better then 1080p can you get? So I don't see how a next gen console could be any better then a ps3.

Pardon the poor grammar.

[ivanpinillos]

Why is Don always wrong? :)

Don says that HE doesn't care whether a console lasts 10 years because HE can / will buy the newest console as soon as it comes out. I also buy my consoles as soon as they come out, but when you are writing an article like this, aren't you writing for people in general? Do most console owners buy theirs in the first or first two years? How many PS2s were sold after 2005 and how many games?
However, I agree it might now matter to a FEW people.