Console Wars: The Xbox One’s Failure to Launch is a Marketing Failure

playstation-4-vs-xbox-one-controllersHaving had a few days to digest the two very different launch events for Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One, I’ve come to a realization. As much as people don’t seem to like the Xbox launch, it wasn’t a failure in and of itself. In fact, I believe that Microsoft successfully accomplished what it set out to do.

The Xbox One and PlayStation Four both play video games. However, if you were to watch the two launch events, I’d understand if you were a little confused by that statement. While the PlayStation 4’s launch emphasised how it plays games and how it augments that with the social networking and sharing features, the Xbox spent comparatively little time talking about the games.

The difference in the launches was an example of how the console manufacturers are positioning their next-gen consoles in the market.

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Console Wars: A Battle No One is Trying to Win

nintendo-vs-sony-vs-microsoft-console-warsOne console has a sharing feature that nobody wanted and unveiled with a slightly underwhelming line-up. Another console is strongly rumoured to mandate a permanent connection to the internet to play games and is likely to prevent playing used games. The third console is so underpowered that some third-party publishers have abandoned it less than six months after release.

For as excited as everybody was about this generations console wars, it sure seems to be shaping up to be a race to the bottom and a case of not survival of the fittest but survival of the least weak.

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Rumours say Sony is Dropping the DualShock Controller for the PS4

broken-ps3-controllerIt appears the folks in charge of designing Sony’s PlayStation 4 live by Red Green’s philosophy of if it ain’t broke, you’re not trying. A recent report on CVG says that Sony will radically change their traditional DualShock analog controller for one that will include a touchscreen on the front and biometric sensors built into the grips. Continue reading

Console Wars: Will The PS4 and XBox 720 Kill Console Gaming?

For the last couple of years, rumours have been flying about the next generation of video game consoles. Since, at least, the introduction of the Playstation 2 and original XBox, it seems as though the balance of power (and money) in video gaming belonged to the consoles. Very few if any big games weren’t released on console. However, with some of the recent rumours about the PS4 and the XBox 720, the console manufacturers could destroy themselves to help publishers. Continue reading