So this morning I read this: http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/and...out-226691.php. This is the third "major" blogger site to have a 360 recently brick on them.
Then I read this: http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/gizmodo...ive-226813.php. Suddenly it all made sense. We are talking about Bill Gates and MS. This is the same company that has a history of selling beta testing retail products.
Here's a quote from the bloggers lunch with Gates:""That's a very big deal," he said. "If you go into Microsoft and say what's the thing that when Ballmer shows up, Bill shows up, Ray shows up they just try to hammer into your head. It's Live, Live, Live," he said. "We have to get Windows more Live enabled, office more Live enabled.""
Remember when everyone laughed at Ken Crazyguy from Sony for pressing that the PS3 is a PC? Well MS wants to make the Xbox more than a PC. This is Gates vision of (and I am not kidding here) home domination. MS wants to use the 360 and Live to control many of the electronic aspects of our lives. Notice how the 360 has taken a one year leap into downloadable movies and DVR service? In the span of one console generation the Xbox has gone from a gaming machine to a multi-purpose entertainment machine.
Okay so...here's the history lesson: remember Windows ME? If you had it you remember it. ME was pretty bad. The tech community hated it and consumers were frustrated by it. MS cannot have the 360 going down the path of ME. If more consoles begin to brick within a year the backlash could be awful. We are starting to see it happen. I know quite a few people on their third machine. Gamers will put up with it, but will regular consumers? What happens if MSNBC or another major source picks up on this story? Damage control anyone?
What's dangerous for MS is the competition is smart. This isn't NT vs Netware. The Wii is being marketed in a brilliant way. It has a great message, press and most importantly word of mouth. Sony seems to be doing a reversal going into a different spin away from Ken Crazyman. MS cannot afford to go down a poor quality path right now. Yes Halo 3 will sell, but it is not going to be alone.
Software wise the 360 has everything going for it. Live is the best online gaming platform out there. If MS plays its cards right it can also lead the charge for digital distribution. The Xbox has the potential to beome the name in home entertainment as it grows. However, if the hardware game keeps going the way it is the company is going to shoot itself in the foot. The quality must improve and if MS is smart they will offer the new chips in every repair issue. Sure it will cost them more in the short-term, but in the long-run they can make out like bandits.
Let's hope for the best.
Then I read this: http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/gizmodo...ive-226813.php. Suddenly it all made sense. We are talking about Bill Gates and MS. This is the same company that has a history of selling beta testing retail products.
Here's a quote from the bloggers lunch with Gates:""That's a very big deal," he said. "If you go into Microsoft and say what's the thing that when Ballmer shows up, Bill shows up, Ray shows up they just try to hammer into your head. It's Live, Live, Live," he said. "We have to get Windows more Live enabled, office more Live enabled.""
Remember when everyone laughed at Ken Crazyguy from Sony for pressing that the PS3 is a PC? Well MS wants to make the Xbox more than a PC. This is Gates vision of (and I am not kidding here) home domination. MS wants to use the 360 and Live to control many of the electronic aspects of our lives. Notice how the 360 has taken a one year leap into downloadable movies and DVR service? In the span of one console generation the Xbox has gone from a gaming machine to a multi-purpose entertainment machine.
Okay so...here's the history lesson: remember Windows ME? If you had it you remember it. ME was pretty bad. The tech community hated it and consumers were frustrated by it. MS cannot have the 360 going down the path of ME. If more consoles begin to brick within a year the backlash could be awful. We are starting to see it happen. I know quite a few people on their third machine. Gamers will put up with it, but will regular consumers? What happens if MSNBC or another major source picks up on this story? Damage control anyone?
What's dangerous for MS is the competition is smart. This isn't NT vs Netware. The Wii is being marketed in a brilliant way. It has a great message, press and most importantly word of mouth. Sony seems to be doing a reversal going into a different spin away from Ken Crazyman. MS cannot afford to go down a poor quality path right now. Yes Halo 3 will sell, but it is not going to be alone.
Software wise the 360 has everything going for it. Live is the best online gaming platform out there. If MS plays its cards right it can also lead the charge for digital distribution. The Xbox has the potential to beome the name in home entertainment as it grows. However, if the hardware game keeps going the way it is the company is going to shoot itself in the foot. The quality must improve and if MS is smart they will offer the new chips in every repair issue. Sure it will cost them more in the short-term, but in the long-run they can make out like bandits.
Let's hope for the best.
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