Xbox 360 Launch: Success or Mess?

[A Black Falcon]

So what, Microsoft shouldn't even try?

They're only trying so much... they are releasing Rare's games, but the rest of the market they've built up around the Xbox isn't really conductive to selling Rare games, while Nintendo's is perfect, so they aren't really succeeding... and going by sales, it doesn't look like anything has changed on those regards this generation. In short, Rare was stupid to want to leave Nintendo, as bad as their relationship may have been. :)

I'm a fan of all the consoles, but I'm not loyal to any of them. The last console I was loyal to was the Dreamcast. So loyal that I bought every single first party game released regardless if I liked it only so I knew I was doing my part in making Sega successful. I vehemently defended it as thought Sega could do no wrong, and hyped up even the most mediocre of their releases. When Sega killed it off I was crushed, and I was truly concerned for their future.

Now I'm more into the games than I am the consoles. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo release some really good games, and I want to see more of them. It just doesn't make any sense to be loyal to a video game company.

"Were" worried about their future? Sega hasn't exactly been doing well, quality-wise, since the DC died... there is a very distinct and noticable drop in quality and massive increase in porting. I mean, what have we gotten from Sega... a mountain of DC ports, a few sequels to DC games (some not that good), and only a few great original titles like the ones that the DC was known for...

As for loyalty, maybe it doesn't make "sense", but that doesn't make it wrong. :) I mean, if I had the money I'd have all the consoles... but even then I'd likely often get the GC versions of games, just because I like Nintendo more...and anyway, the consoles are different, so it makes sense to compare them and choose a favorite. Oh yes, and becoming loyal to a company that makes great games is a quite natural, and probably good, thing... (and in my case I don't just mean Nintendo here; I am also extremely loyal to Blizzard, for example.)

Square's first game didn't come until 1997, Final Fantasy VII, two years after the console's release. There is time for a killer app.

And if you remember 1996, people had a lot of hope for the N64... skeptical about the cart decision possibly, but it was Nintendo, so it had to begreat and would probably win the generation, right? But the third parties abandoned Nintendo, and Sony's 'aim at an older market' campaign worked better than Sega or Nintendo expected... but yes, it wasn't an overnight victory. Well, it was an overnight victory over the Saturn (at least in Western markets), but less so for the N64...

Yes, we've been over this before and you know I don't count the handhelds. If Nintendo were counting the handhelds then they probably have more units out there than PS2 and PSP combined.

And I maintain my position (same thing I say when Stealth starts saying that portables don't count...) that portables definitely do count, since they are an integral part of the gaming market and are at worst a very closely related field to the major console market (and at best the same one, just in a different aspect). It is utterly senseless to cut out half of the market just because of the type of screen that the game is developed for... handhelds are a huge portion in the market, in Japan especially (DS has sold over 5 million units in Japan, versus 2.something million in the US (PSP is at 2.something, slightly behind DS I think, in the US, and farther back in Japan.)...)... but the DS is doing very well here too. PSP too, though to a bit lesser degree...

Anyway, I can understand the "it's a different format" argument. Even ignoring everything else, what invalidates that in my eyes is the fact that so many people who say it (like you) tie it to something that intimates 'and it'd make Nintendo look like it's winning when it's really not'... I don't think that counting handhelds (GBA and newer only) gives Nintendo first place overall... GBA+DS+GC isn't quite up to PS2+PSP I believe, because of that 100 million PS2s number (versus 19-20 million GCs, 8-10 million DSes, and 60-70 million various GBAs)... but either way, I definitely think that they count in the final anaysis. Sure, say that in the major console market MS is beating Nintendo (and it is, if not by much), but when looking at the overall picture, leaving out handhelds is just wrong.