Well, that's just like I said above. It might keep some 360 owners from buying a PS3 for a month or two. But that won't make any difference in who comes out on top next gen. They have to find ways to keep 360 owners from picking up a PS3, and to convert a great many people, to do anything other than come in a vastly distant second place again.

A difficult thing to do and something that I don't think they'll have much success with. I love the X-Box but at the same time I am now able to spend money on multiple systems and this is where Microsoft's strength lies. I would take a guess and say that the majority of X-Box owners have a PS2, a Gamecube or both. Microsoft hasn't really done anything to say 'the 360 is all you'll need'. Sony has too much of a hold on the market for that to happen. Yeah, Microsoft has GTA as well but when it arrives six months later most people don't care.

But what's so wrong about being number two anyways? As long as Microsoft keeps a healthy portion of the market and experiences some growth this time around (like you say Josh), why not be content to be number two?

BTW- I know how ridiculous the number two argument sounds according to the business model but at the same time I see enough room for all three consoles on the market. I prefer choice and I love all three consoles. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and all seem to compliment one another.

Oh I agree, they should be content to be #2 and try to make money that way.

But that's not Bill Gate's style, he's used to being #1 and is going to continue to throw money at (and lose money on) the X-box until they are number 1 or out of the industry.

On the other hand, I think Nintendo is perfectly happy being in 2nd or 3rd and making a profit selling to their dedicated fanbase, rather than trying to win over casual gamers.

It bothers me quite a bit that MS is trying to make the XBox 360 seem "cool" and "hip". Oh well, releasing Halo 3 is just a publicity stunt to get some good PR with all their sales the same time PS3 launches and gets their name out in the papers too.

I honestly think Nintendo has realized they can't compete directly with Sony next generation and instead of fighting it they are working it in their favor. They will never admit that though. The Revolution is really being pushed to be as different from the PS3 as possible. I think they realize that they need to be a strong second next time out. Let Microsoft take the punishment in direct competition and try to sneak in as everyone's second console. That combined with their dedicated fanbase will hopefully keep them in the game.

Nintendo is in a tough spot and will have to find a way to carve a niche. That goes for handhelds as well. We will see if they can pull it off.

On the subject of Halo 3 going on sale at the PS3 launch, expect Sony and Nintendo to pull the same thing at the Xbox360 launch with their big titles. Its a standard thing to do.

People keep talking about Halo 3 stealing the PS3 thunder, but if anything I would think it's the other way around. Halo 3 is a sequel to a game that sold something like 7 million copies (I think) and the PS3 is a sequel to a console that sold over 70 million units (again - that's just a number I think I heard.) It seems pretty likely that the PS3 will be getting most of the attention based on those numbers.

While I don't necessarily disagree with your overall point, there were 6 million units of halo 2 sold in less than 2 months, while 70 million ps2s (or is it 80+) is spaced out over 5 years..

Of course whether the install base for the 360 would be enough to match halo 2 sales is another question, I would assume they would need to have sold at least 10 million 360s to get those kind of numbers.

With the lack of true backwards compatibility on Xbox 360 is going to kill it, and i doubt that even Halo 3 can save them from that.

Well, Bill Gates said himself that they intend on releasing Halo 3 when Sony releases the PS3. So in effect, Microsoft is trying to spoil Sony's party.

This will hurt their sales figures as it is already beginning to deter interest in the system. I don't think the lack of full backwards comapatability will "kill" the consoles chances at succeeding.

It's still very early. Emotions, feelings, and opinions may change once you have a real-life 360 on a store shelf 2 feet away from you.

You're probably right. I like to think that I'll be keeping my money, but I'm a sucker once the hype machine gets going. I'll be in real trouble if Madden 2006 is a launch title and the previews for the game are as impressive as we hope they would be. I can see that kind of thing leading me to throw down my money.

I know he's trying to, I just don't think it will work. At that point, as one person implied in an earlier post, there might not even be a large enough installed base of XBox 360s to generate the kind of hype juggernaut that we had with Halo 2. Throw that fact in with the number of people who will be lining up to get the PS3, and it just seems like Halo 3 might get swallowed up by Sony's publicity.

It all depends on how you market/advertise your product.

I may have posted this earlier, anyway, I don't think its Microsoft's intention to steal buyers away from getting a PS3 (although that would be great through their eyes). Instead, they want to steal some of the attention and decrease the impact of Sony's launch.

I think it would make more sense to release before your competitor instead of at the same time if you wanted to sway buyers into buying your product instead of your competitors. But what do I know. I'm not a marketing guru, but I do know about psychology/human behavior.

ok, maybe kill was a harsh word but I personally think that in this round of consoles it's going to be ps3, nintendo revolution and then xbox 360 as i refuse to buy a 360 until they offer full backwards compatibility

What happens when that gamer that loves a game and is not qualified as a "hit"? He can't play it?

Psss.

Exactly, one of my favorite games for all the systems is Beyond Good and Evil, and i doubt that sold well enough to count as a "hit" game for microsoft to make it playable on the 360

Just me! I am not much into HALO series. So, i don't care much about HALO 3 but I did care full backwards compatablily with orginal XBOX games. Without it XBOX 360 is nothing againt PS3.

1. Nintendo Revolution (MUST OWN)
2. PS3
3. XBOX 360 (I'll wait & see what MS up to b4 i buy the system)

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=422226