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New Consoles, Different Focus – Why the “Big Three” Will be Just Fine

by Deejay Knight: at December 6th, 2006, 2:19 am

Editorials, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360

Xbox 360

Next up, we have Microsoft’s Xbox 360. While the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 both seem to cater to the same exact audience, I don’t see that happening. The Xbox 360 caters to a different kind of gamer – and for the most part, that gamer is the online gamer.

If you’ve played more than one or two games on Xbox Live, you can probably tell that there isn’t a better online service on a home console, and that’s exactly what Microsoft aimed to do. To be honest, as soon as you lay eyes on the 360’s dashboard, you can tell that the console was meant to be online. Xbox Live is integrated completely into everything about the console, and every game has to have some sort of component that relates to it. Combine that with Achievement points and the Friend’s List that Xbox Live utilizes, and you make the act of gaming itself into a friendly competition. It’s like Pokémon with points instead of monsters, simply because there’s the underlying “Gotta catch ‘em all” feel when it comes to each game’s many Achievements that competitive gamers can’t ignore.

The multimedia functions of the Xbox 360 also lean more toward online gamers, especially with the implement of movies and tv shows into Xbox Live Marketplace. Xbox Live Arcade is the answer to online gamers who don’t like spending large amounts on their game purchases, but still enjoy a good online match or two. Sure, these cater to casual gamers, but how many casual gamers will spend $300 – $400 on a dedicated gaming console?

The reality is that their focus on Xbox Live has placed Microsoft in a very good position so far in the New-Gen console race simply because people like to be competitive, and Xbox Live is the perfect place to do so. Every game on Live makes use of the voice-chat, Achievements, and Friend’s List – perfectly placed for competition.

On top of all that, the Xbox 360 was the first console to hit the market, resulting in a multi-million console lead against it’s ‘competitors’, ensuring developer support. Microsoft is securely fastened into console gaming, and currently on top. What are the chances of them leaving the gaming market anytime soon? There are none.

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  • Thank You
  • I like this piece DJ.
  • StarbuckZero
    In the end I'll end up with all 3 next gen consoles. Last gen I started with a GameCube because I always had people over to play Mario Kart, Mario Party and Smash Brothers. Once I realized I was missing out on some good RPGs I got a PS2. When I moved and none of my friends were close by I ended up getting a Xbox for online play. I still enjoy my Xbox 360 but I've been playing the Nintendo Wii because of Zelda.

    I'm interested in the PS3 because of some of the games (FFXIII and MGS4) that are coming out on it and Linux. Anyways it's going to be interesting to see how Nintendo do this time around, after all the Nintendo DS is beating out the PSP and the PSP is a more powerful device. I guess it comes down to the user base and games.
  • Liquid_Mind
    I can't say I'm going to buy all three, but only because I no longer play enough games to justify the spending the money. I agree with the sentiment here that each console has something to offer.
  • satanic mouse foo
    like the article DK. And yea for me there is something on every console I like some more then others but there is something there which is why i guess id be grouped as a hardcore gamer and i will own all 3 systems sooner or later.
  • Thanks a lot, Xanth!

    The Linux-testing is more liable to happen via hardcore PC users due to there not being any serious support for gaming in Linux, but in order to keep the article from stretching on too long I paired them in with hardcore gamers.
  • DK: Like the article a lot. Gives a good overview of everything. I'd say the PS3 comment about how you can install Linux and test out the cell processor may be a difficult comment. Difficult in that in order to take advantage of it,you really need to know what the heck you are doing, especially when it comes to threading, and it's my assumption that most hardcore gamers don't code to that degree in their daily lives. Anyway, like I said before, I love the article, very good :)
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