What game console wins the Xmas sales wars?

Page 4 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
17,090
2
0
I hear so many posters say the ps2 graphics are outdated. But you don't buy the console to stare at the graphics you buy it to play THE GAMES if you forgotten. Sad really.

I'm not so bothered about graphics as long as the games I do play are good. But if the console starts to lag badly because its not powerful enough or the games been coded badly then YES that is a point to make.

I have a ps2. Got it when it first came out. I love fighting games so I got TTT as soon as it came out. I have T4, CvS2:D. I'm also a hardcore GT3 player and hooked on the 1st one for the psx. Also MGS2 and FFX I'll get when I have some free time to play them!

As for online gaming the games that I'd play online are racing games and fighting games. The fps work best on the pc. Can't beat a mouse and keyboard combo, everything else is just too slow for me imho. Also broadband isn't as widespread and gaming on 56k dial up kind of sucks when its slow:(. I'll be getting broadband soon though:D

I'll probably end up with an xbox sometime and same with the GC, both have cool games for it. Just not enough to warrent a purchase from me.

ps2 wins over the xmas period.

The xbox is doomed to fail in Japan as the support for games is good but not the *type* of games the Japanese market likes....
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Originally posted by: Koing
I hear so many posters say the ps2 graphics are outdated. But you don't buy the console to stare at the graphics you buy it to play THE GAMES if you forgotten. Sad really.
So why aren't you playing on a PS1? Cheaper than PS2, lots of good games, etc. The reason? The graphics SUCK.
ps2 wins over the xmas period.
I've had both and I don't agree.
The xbox is doomed to fail in Japan as the support for games is good but not the *type* of games the Japanese market likes....
Yes, that's true it's doing badly. For me personally I've never liked Japanese-target games much. The xbox has "american games", whereas PS2 has a good combination of both. Although the Xbox may not have the software support since a lot of people, like me, don't want to play Japanese style games it doesn't matter to me if the Xbox never has the sort at all.

 

Kilgor

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
3,292
0
0
Yes, that's true it's doing badly. For me personally I've never liked Japanese-target games much. The xbox has "american games", whereas PS2 has a good combination of both. Although the Xbox may not have the software support since a lot of people, like me, don't want to play Japanese style games it doesn't matter to me if the Xbox never has the sort at all.

:)

 

Balthazar

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,834
0
0
Hehehe, ok people, I see this is STILL going on.

The PS2 rules currently. Not because it's some superior product per-se, but because it was the only one out for awhile.
So for this generation, it will ALWAYS havemore units solde, XBox has taken second place in sales, and GameCube 3rd, but it's moot because neither of those two are ever going to be #1.

For it's first entry into the market this is VERY good for MS, trust me when I say this is NOT a failure for MS.

The REAL battle is going to be the NEXT generation of platforms.
Sony is almost certainly not going to continue on with the Playstation name next round because otherwise everything from it would lose 10% to nintendo, so they are losing a VERY popular name (that interestingly enough Nintendo COULD use if they so choose).
And if they all come out relatively close to each other Sony will have lost a BIG part of its edge. Nintendo will be in the same spot it's in now while MS will be gaining ground, if they continue on with their buyouts and exclusive titles this may bode very well for them. HOWEVER if they delay or run into problems and are forced to push back, it may very-well be another 2nd place ranking for awhile.

None of this is to say it matters much, XBox is not going to go away, just not gonna happen, the initial "loss" is over, their biggest portion on consoles are sold, now it's software licenses which are pure profit for the company, so it only gets better, same with Nintendo, though many will argue that Zelda will either make or break them.

So there is no important argument over consoles anymore, now it's a personal tone of what entices youmost about the platforms? The PS whose starting to see some age, and will inevtiably be replaced (most likely without support for older games like the PS2 had for PSOne games), or the GameCube which has good franchise backing (though if you are like me it matters little because Zelda, Metroid, and Star Fox are all, personally speaking, the worst games of the year from supposed blockbusters) but lacks some of the growth features like XBox which has ever growing software ties with LARGE allies, the Hard Drive (which is just starting to see interesting use from manufacturers besides "huge memory card") and XBox Live! making an impressive play, which has served to embolden many software companies to make online games.

Anyway, as always its a personal prefference, except now it's far enough along that none of these consoles will "fail" like the DC did, so it's no argument really....all you fanboys will have to wait for the next round of consoles.
 

Balthazar

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,834
0
0
Originally posted by: gopunk
in my random opinion, i vote for PS2 - GameCube - XBox.... simply because PS2 seems to be winning in the other posts in this thread, and i think more grandparents, etc will be buying the cube for their grandchildren.

This is what is so damned stupid about the internet, people are constantly having stupid conversations with nothing solid to base it on. You know you could argue that more college kids will be getting the X-Box for X-mas because of X-Box Live! but it's dumb, because for every college kid wanting an XBox theres a grnadparent getting their grandkid a cube, it all leverages out, the ONLY exception to the rule is the PS2 who has a longer presence in the market so it holds its own nicely....

Again though, looking at who sold what in consoles it silly, it's software that counts, if you have 50 grandparents buying their <12 year old grandkids a cube and a game or two, and you have 30 people my age (early twenties) who get an X-Box and a game or two, which one of these two age groups will be buying more games? The ones that have to hound mom and dad (and in the most case will have to wait for holidays or birthdays) or the group that has a job and can buy their own games?

So the initial sale is better for Nintendo but in the end the X-Box crowd (using your given example of age group) would best them. And that gap only widens with time.
 

Smolek

Diamond Member
Aug 30, 2001
4,985
1
0
Problem with Gamecube is once you get past the core Nintendo games (Mario, Luigi, Pokemon, Zelda, Metroid, etc) you dont have much else.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Originally posted by: Smolek
Problem with Gamecube is once you get past the core Nintendo games (Mario, Luigi, Pokemon, Zelda, Metroid, etc) you dont have much else.
Gamecube is HEAVY on the kids games.

 

Desturel

Senior member
Nov 25, 2001
553
3
76
Originally posted by: Smolek
Problem with Gamecube is once you get past the core Nintendo games (Mario, Luigi, Pokemon, Zelda, Metroid, etc) you dont have much else.

Except the Sega games and Capcom games. :)
 

flavio

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,823
1
76
These figures are the only ones I've seen so far and they are a bit vague. But apparently Sony outsold the other two over the holidays by far.
 

Smolek

Diamond Member
Aug 30, 2001
4,985
1
0
Originally posted by: flavio
These figures are the only ones I've seen so far and they are a bit vague. But apparently Sony outsold the other two over the holidays by far.

Hard figures from NPD or similar groups wont be out til prob. Mid Jan.