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[pug_ster]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19677596/

Sony and Microsoft thinks that better hardware translates to better sales but was totally sidelined by Nintendo's WII.  I'm sure that Sony and Microsoft will appeal to game freaks, but if they want to make something successful, they have to make something that will appeal to the wider audiance.  

The other day I was playing with the WII sports and I thought the game was fun for a change.  For me, I could never play a FPS game because I don't have the reflexes for it and the learning curve is too high.

[throwingks]

I think both Microsoft and Sony would do much better, if they not only admitted they are competing with the Wii, but recognized why the Wii is successful and also implemented it into their own consoles.

Having powerful hardware is fantastic for a small niche, that can appreciate it. But, by and large, people just want the new, cool system every few years. You can say "But, the controls are a gimmick." Well, when a gimmick works it becomes a trend. Trend-setters lead. Case in point. DS's touch screen was a gimmick. Not anymore, apparently it worked. It is the best selling game device of all time.

When I sold PCs the #1 thing people looked for in a new system was the aesthetics. Price did not matter, content didn't matter. It is how people feel about being owners of a product. It is the same reason Linux doesn't catch on. Vista costs $400, Linux is free, they do the same thing. Why is Windows so popular? Because people feel more secure owning it. Doesn't mean its true.

Right now the Wii is the console to own, and it has a larger target audience. People feel secure, when their friends come over, they will be impressed with their new Wii. Apple's philosophy is at work here.

[pug_ster]

I saw my nephew playing with the WII and he just plays the free games that comes with the WII, ie fishing, tank game, cow racing.  Simple games like that sold them on the WII.  

Remember when Burger King made $4 games for the xbox 360 and they sold about 2 millions of those things.  Obviously Microsoft didn't get the hint yet.

Yes linux is not making any headway in terms of sales.  However, ubuntu is changing the way how linux works.  They have a simplified way of updating software and drivers.  However, they don't seem to have support of companies like nvidia, citrix and others where the software are 'restricted' which is harder to install.  

[throwingks]

Wii Sports comes with the Wii. Those games you mentioned are on Wii Play. That is a game that is bundled with an extra controller that most people but with their Wii just for the free controller.

I agree with you about Linux. I am on Ubuntu right now. But, any time I mention to anyone to try it out, they make a face and mention something about how I am either too cheap to buy Windows (I dual boot ) or they think that open source makes things less secure, or they don't feel like learning a new interface. Facts don't matter in the real world, only perceived facts. Linux sucks is the perception non-computer people have.

nVidia supports Linux, ATi doesn't.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html

Logitech doesn't either. Bastards! That is all that I own right now.

[gronned]

Seriously, Nintendo made us think in new terms. MS and Sony think they can't sell a console if their numbers(cpu, ram etc) aren't the highest.  They forgot there could be different aspects to the definition of a console more than high numbers to get it sold in the first place. Nintendo will have forced MS and Sony into a new gaming era where the quality of the game isn't how good the graphics are, but how fun the game is. So thank you Nintendo for showing the way.

[pug_ster]

QUOTE(throwingks @ Jul 10 2007, 04:59 PM)

Wii Sports comes with the Wii. Those games you mentioned are on Wii Play. That is a game that is bundled with an extra controller that most people but with their Wii just for the free controller.

I agree with you about Linux. I am on Ubuntu right now. But, any time I mention to anyone to try it out, they make a face and mention something about how I am either too cheap to buy Windows (I dual boot ) or they think that open source makes things less secure, or they don't feel like learning a new interface. Facts don't matter in the real world, only perceived facts. Linux sucks is the perception non-computer people have.

nVidia supports Linux, ATi doesn't.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html

Logitech doesn't either. Bastards! That is all that I own right now.

You're right about ATI, I recall that I had an Radeon 9800 pro when I had to install restricted drivers.  I just upgraded recently to a new motherboard and an 7900gs recently:)

QUOTE

Seriously, Nintendo made us think in new terms. MS and Sony think they can't sell a console if their numbers(cpu, ram etc) aren't the highest. They forgot there could be different aspects to the definition of a console more than high numbers to get it sold in the first place. Nintendo will have forced MS and Sony into a new gaming era where the quality of the game isn't how good the graphics are, but how fun the game is. So thank you Nintendo for showing the way.

You're right about that.  Ps2's hardware is inferior in every way compared to the xbox yet they have better sales than that.  The quality of the content is always better than the hardware.  They should've learned from Apple why the Iphone's web browser is worth its money:)

[Chancer]

QUOTE

They forgot there could be different aspects to the definition of a console more than high numbers to get it sold in the first place. Nintendo will have forced MS and Sony into a new gaming era where the quality of the game isn't how good the graphics are, but how fun the game is. So thank you Nintendo for showing the way

No doubt they have some fun games but a huge factor is the price point. It is cheap enough for people to buy as an extra console, even cheap enough for people to buy just for the sports game.
Nintendo will not force MS or Sony anywhere. They will still follow the same lines. To me it is a whole different market. I would buy a Wii for the fun aspect and as  great party console but I wouldn't choose it instead of either of the others

[gronned]

QUOTE(Chancer @ Jul 11 2007, 08:03 PM)

No doubt they have some fun games but a huge factor is the price point. It is cheap enough for people to buy as an extra console, even cheap enough for people to buy just for the sports game.
Nintendo will not force MS or Sony anywhere. They will still follow the same lines. To me it is a whole different market. I would buy a Wii for the fun aspect and as  great party console but I wouldn't choose it instead of either of the others

Well I mostly meant that they've changed it for the upcoming consoles MS and Sony will make. But even today they've changed it as MS will also produce a motion control all of a sudden. The numbers will still have relevance even in the upcoming consoles, but it won't be what MS and Sony will brag about the most, instead it'll probably be some new kind of peripheral that'll take gaming to new levels, because honestly, it's almost only been about the high numbers in every past console up till now.

Nintendo were brave when they released the wii, but braveness most often come out of desperation, and Nintendo sure were desperate in the stationary console market.

Hopefully Sony will be desperate next and develop something amazing.