Anyone Else Feel Like the Xbox 720 is Going to End Up Monopolizing the Industry?

Given articles like this saying the 720 will be six times as powerful as current gen systems (whatever that actually means), and seeing as how Sony is working hard to excel their demise, do you feel it's going to be a clean sweep with this upcoming generation of consoles?

I think it is too early to say that.

I think these threads are pointless jibber jabber and should no longer be made.

I don't imagine too many people have their minds made up right now about whether they're going to buy the new Playstation or the new Xbox yet, especially without any actual official information out there yet. There's no reason for Sony to be out of the race yet, they still make plenty of money.

Ah, hooey. You're all a buncha girls. Ten bucks on the green system.

I'm not interested in the hardware, actually. More powerful hardware is a given. I want to see how Microsoft's going to push Xbox Live forward, and where they're actually going to take it. Between now and the 360's launch, a lot has happened in the platform space:

• Steam got really good.
• Mobile app stores sprung up.
• Microtransactions within an application became possible.
• Background updates became something that should be done.
• Your list of software purchases no longer distinguishes between what you've bought and what you've installed; they're all listed.
• OnLive showed what could be possible by streaming video.

There are exciting times ahead, and I don't doubt that Microsoft is looking into improving Xbox Live. But more and more I feel that Xbox Live, and not the hardware it runs on, will be the true differentiating factor in the next generation of consoles.

No.

I'm not interested in the hardware, actually. More powerful hardware is a given. I want to see how Microsoft's going to push Xbox Live forward, and where they're actually going to take it. Between now and the 360's launch, a lot has happened in the platform space:

• Steam got really good.
• Mobile app stores sprung up.
• Microtransactions within an application became possible.
• Background updates became something that should be done.
• Your list of software purchases no longer distinguishes between what you've bought and what you've installed; they're all listed.
• OnLive showed what could be possible by streaming video.

There are exciting times ahead, and I don't doubt that Microsoft is looking into improving Xbox Live. But more and more I feel that Xbox Live, and not the hardware it runs on, will be the true differentiating factor in the next generation of consoles.

That would be a fair assessment if Microsoft, like the other console developers, didn't shoot their foot from time to time. ahah 
 
I don't believe the next Xbox will be as successful as this one. 

I'm not interested in the hardware, actually. More powerful hardware is a given. I want to see how Microsoft's going to push Xbox Live forward, and where they're actually going to take it. Between now and the 360's launch, a lot has happened in the platform space:

• Steam got really good.
• Mobile app stores sprung up.
• Microtransactions within an application became possible.
• Background updates became something that should be done.
• Your list of software purchases no longer distinguishes between what you've bought and what you've installed; they're all listed.
• OnLive showed what could be possible by streaming video.

There are exciting times ahead, and I don't doubt that Microsoft is looking into improving Xbox Live. But more and more I feel that Xbox Live, and not the hardware it runs on, will be the true differentiating factor in the next generation of consoles.

Remember when Nintendo was killin' it in the SNES era, but then Sony did extraordinarily well with the PS1? Remember when Sony was killin' it in the PS2 era, but then Microsoft did extraordinarily well with the Xbox 360? Things can swing really hard once a new hardware generation comes out. I can't imagine why anyone would think they have any ability to imagine how well the next generation of consoles will perform.

Not to mention all of the very relevant points that @Ubersmake made.

Sega's coming back, man.

Just watch.

I hope they do, I’m tired of having to shell out for two/three consoles every generation.

Remember when Nintendo was killin' it in the SNES era, but then Sony did extraordinarily well with the PS1? Remember when Sony was killin' it in the PS2 era, but then Microsoft did extraordinarily well with the Xbox 360? Things can swing really hard once a new hardware generation comes out. I can't imagine why anyone would think they have any ability to imagine how well the next generation of consoles will perform.

Not to mention all of the very relevant points that @Ubersmake made.

Like a literal monopoly? Cause I'm pretty sure Microsoft is still on the "This Company might form an Evil Monopoly" watch list.

Microsoft are in the strongest position, but that's just a head start.

They are entirely capable of screwing the pooch, although I think Nintendo and Sony are setting themselves up for failure as is through some shitty decisions and a lack of understanding of how the games market is changing.

Sony seems pretty committed to waiting on their next console, and with nintendo jumping the gun so quick this isn't gonna be quite as head to head as it was in the past. Considering two of the three next gen systems aren't even announced its really too soon to be making any predictions other than "Nintendo is shooting themselves in the foot by releasing hardware whose specs will be irrelevant by the time sony and microsoft get around to theirs."

I don't think Sony will make the same mistake again of letting the NextBox get a head start at sales. Sony were pretty arrogant coming into this current gen of consoles; they most likely thought the Xbox 360 wasn't a big threat. It would extremely foolish of them to think similarly for the next one.

If sony pull the same nonsense with releasing amazing hardware after the new xbox, with weird new architecture and poor developtment packages, they'll be heading straight back for crappy port town for the first few years.

Seeing as how from generation to generation we've had a different company sitting pretty atop the pile pretty regularly, I don't think any kind of declaration can be made at this point.

@benpicko said:

@Ubersmake

I'm not interested in the hardware, actually. More powerful hardware is a given. I want to see how Microsoft's going to push Xbox Live forward, and where they're actually going to take it. Between now and the 360's launch, a lot has happened in the platform space:

• Steam got really good.
• Mobile app stores sprung up.
• Microtransactions within an application became possible.
• Background updates became something that should be done.
• Your list of software purchases no longer distinguishes between what you've bought and what you've installed; they're all listed.
• OnLive showed what could be possible by streaming video.

There are exciting times ahead, and I don't doubt that Microsoft is looking into improving Xbox Live. But more and more I feel that Xbox Live, and not the hardware it runs on, will be the true differentiating factor in the next generation of consoles.

As Mark Rein has already said on the Tested podcast, all of those things are already possible on the 360. They're all just in the software. Also, given the fact that next gen games are likely to take full advantage of BluRay, do you really want to be downloading 50gb games?

Yes....

I do want to download those games....

ASSUMING THE RUMORS ARE TRUE

It's running an ATI 6670. That's a $99 budget card -today-. In TWO YEARS, you will be able to experience the performance that a $500 desktop computer offered you in 2011, but on a closed platform that can't do anything productive. WHAT AN AMAZING LEAP IN PERFORMANCE

Look at this for what it actually represents. This is not a generational leap whatsoever. Rather, this is probably Microsoft signaling its intent to permanently move to lower initial price points and more frequent platform iterations a la the Apple model.

My bet is that the launch price is... $250.

No.

And stop calling it the 720, its stupid.

If the next generation is anything like this current one, there tends to be some parity between the top systems so the differences in power don't wind up meaning too much. PS3 is more powerful than the 360, but for the majority of the games you can't tell the difference between the two visually. Is the Next-box going to dominate with game enthusiasts over the Wii U? Probably, but by the time the PS4 drops who knows which way the market will go. And, let's not forget this Xbox "monopoly" only applies to North America.

What, you think Sony and Nintendo are just going to give up?

Yeah, right.

Nah Sony and Nintendo would need to go out of business for MS to monopolize the industry.

I think it all depends on when and at what price Sony releases the PS4. If Microsoft releases the next Xbox (Xbox 720 is a dumb name that will not become the official name and I refuse to use it even in a speculative discussion such as this) sometime in 2013, and Sony isn't launching the PS4 within months, they may be screwed. If the next Xbox comes out a year after the Wii U and has significantly better hardware, Sony needs to be right there with them to have any chance of avoiding the type of uphill battle they've had this generation. However, if Sony releases a similarly powerful system with a more developer and port friendly infrastructure than the PS3 at a price that doesn't make average consumers cringe, at around the same time as Microsoft's next console, I might actually consider them the favorites.

I think withen 10 years Sony will be putting out games for the Xbox.

@Jumanji said:

ASSUMING THE RUMORS ARE TRUE

It's running an ATI 6670. That's a $99 budget card -today-. In TWO YEARS, you will be able to experience the performance that a $500 desktop computer offered you in 2011, but on a closed platform that can't do anything productive. WHAT AN AMAZING LEAP IN PERFORMANCE

Look at this for what it actually represents. This is not a generational leap whatsoever. Rather, this is probably Microsoft signaling its intent to permanently move to lower initial price points and more frequent platform iterations a la the Apple model.

My bet is that the launch price is... $250.

The one thing you are missing here is that consoles can do much more with much less than a PC can. If you were to build a PC today with the exact same technical specifications as an Xbox 360, you would not be able to run anything even close to Xbox 360 quality games. Just by their very nature, consoles are able to squeeze much more out much less when compared to the same specs on a PC. Obviously PCs have much fewer limitations, and the cutting edge PC hardware will always be ahead of even the most advanced consoles. But, even assuming the rumor about the 6670 like architecture of the next Xbox is true, it will not be like, as you say, "experiencing the performance that a $500 desktop computer offered you in 2011". Having this type of hardware without limiting factors like running Windows and having 50+ processes going will allow developers to squeeze performance out of this hardware not really possible with a PC.

@Subject2Change said:

I think these threads are pointless jibber jabber and should no longer be made.

That is all.

@FunExplosions said:

Given articles like this saying the 720 will be six times as powerful as current gen systems (whatever that actually means), and seeing as how Sony is working hard to excel their demise, do you feel it's going to be a clean sweep with this upcoming generation of consoles?

Six times as powerful huh. So roughly as good as my gaming laptop?

@ll_Exile_ll said:

@Jumanji said:

ASSUMING THE RUMORS ARE TRUE

It's running an ATI 6670. That's a $99 budget card -today-. In TWO YEARS, you will be able to experience the performance that a $500 desktop computer offered you in 2011, but on a closed platform that can't do anything productive. WHAT AN AMAZING LEAP IN PERFORMANCE

Look at this for what it actually represents. This is not a generational leap whatsoever. Rather, this is probably Microsoft signaling its intent to permanently move to lower initial price points and more frequent platform iterations a la the Apple model.

My bet is that the launch price is... $250.

The one thing you are missing here is that consoles can do much more with much less than a PC can. If you were to build a PC today with the exact same technical specifications as an Xbox 360, you would not be able to run anything even close to Xbox 360 quality games. Just by their very nature, consoles are able to squeeze much more out much less when compared to the same specs on a PC. Obviously PCs have much fewer limitations, and the cutting edge PC hardware will always be ahead of even the most advanced consoles. But, even assuming the rumor about the 6670 like architecture of the next Xbox is true, it will not be like, as you say, "experiencing the performance that a $500 desktop computer offered you in 2011". Having this type of hardware without limiting factors like running Windows and having 50+ processes going will allow developers to squeeze performance out of this hardware not really possible with a PC.

QFT

Unlikely.

Previous leaders have all pretty much dropped the ball because they were late to the party on some new innovation... could easily happen to Microsoft.

@Rowr said:

@FunExplosions said:

Given articles like this saying the 720 will be six times as powerful as current gen systems (whatever that actually means), and seeing as how Sony is working hard to excel their demise, do you feel it's going to be a clean sweep with this upcoming generation of consoles?

Six times as powerful huh. So roughly as good as my gaming laptop?

That's the problem with closed environments like consoles. They'll always be behind current hardware, given the time manufacturers need to come up with affordable specs, produce prototypes, give dev kits to developers and finally produce and sell the console. But, yeah, we all know PCs are better. Stop beating the dead horse. I love my PC, but I also love my 360. You have to look at what each platform does well, not what other better products do better.

Also, "gaming laptop". Those are basically the consoles of the world of PC.

Really? They don't even have close to a monopoly at this point, and with Nintendo and Sony fanboys, they cant and wont.

But others have said it right, graphics are at a point where there isn't that much more you can do, and console players accept the fact that their versions are not as pimped out as what they could get on a PC. So it is the additional features that will make or break a system.

Mo-nop-o-ly /məˈnäpəlē/

Noun:

1. The exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service.
2. The exclusive possession, control, or exercise of something: "men don't have a monopoly on unrequited love".

Microsoft and the next Xbox will not be the sole supplier of consoles/games. So, no.

You know that it's not one bit about who got "the most graphix", right?

You know that it's not one bit about who got "the most graphix", right?

@JoeyRavn said:

@Rowr said:

@FunExplosions said:

Given articles like this saying the 720 will be six times as powerful as current gen systems (whatever that actually means), and seeing as how Sony is working hard to excel their demise, do you feel it's going to be a clean sweep with this upcoming generation of consoles?

Six times as powerful huh. So roughly as good as my gaming laptop?

That's the problem with closed environments like consoles. They'll always be behind current hardware, given the time manufacturers need to come up with affordable specs, produce prototypes, give dev kits to developers and finally produce and sell the console. But, yeah, we all know PCs are better. Stop beating the dead horse. I love my PC, but I also love my 360. You have to look at what each platform does well, not what other better products do better.

Also, "gaming laptop". Those are basically the consoles of the world of PC.

I guess I didn't mean it like "PC IS BETTER", I guess i'm just not as excited for the next set of consoles like I feel I should be. I guess at this stage of my life where affordability isn't one of the large contributers, i'm happy to pay twice as much for a more flexible and powerful machine.

I'm sure by the time this is exaggeratedly shown off at E3 i'll be excited.

I doubt it and I wouldn't listen to any of these early rumours. We always hear things like "next console will be 250 times more powerful and can shoot lasers!". There's likely not going to be much of a graphical leap again, I'd expect to see a big focus on social networking, apps and content streaming side of things.

And like others have said, the trend shows that the market leader tends to slip up when it comes to new consoles, so I wouldn't automatically assume Microsoft have this one in the bag. Although I do think they have the best grasp of where the market is heading, which does give them a pretty huge advantage.

Guy works for Microsoft, probably.

@KamikazeCaterpillar said:

@DeF

You know that it's not one bit about who got "the most graphix", right?

Says the person with a red username :p As for the question, no.

red username and a gaming PC, 360 and PS3 at his disposal :)

colors also mean nothing :P

I think there's a big difference between having a monopoly on the console market and a monopoly on the games industry, but I find it very unlikely that we'd go from a very healthy three console market to a one console monopoly in a single generation. The information here is not definite, and we're quite a long way from having all the information about the next generation of consoles, but generally I don't believe creating a monopoly on consoles is as simple as having the best hardware anyway. Besides technical specifications, brand name recognition, marketing, the games library, accessibility, price, and the quality and range of services the consoles provide are also major factors in what consoles sell the most.

The question that you should be asking is:

Anyone Else Feel Like the Xbox 720 is Going to End Up Being Announced after Halo 6?

@Subject2Change said:

I think these threads are pointless jibber jabber and should no longer be made.

Hahahaha. No. That is not going to happen at all. They claim that the next xbox will be 7x more powerful than the current..... that is still not as powerful as my PC.

All that interest me in all this rumor stuff is the Oct 2013 release window. I was really hoping for a spring 2014.

I think Nintendo is out of the big-boy game already, only children and families buy Nintendo now. As for Sony and Microsoft I think if games stop being exclusive like they're well on their way to being now, Sony doesn't have a chance. I think it's all in the hardware, honestly. The only thing Sony has over Microsoft right now is using blu-ray in their PS3. But come on, does anyone really care that much about having all your stuff on one disc? Naw. Other than Metal Gear Solid I only use my PS3 as a glorified blu-ray movie player anyway. The HD collection is even on the 360, so the only games you can buy are Playstation exclusives like Uncharted.

To be honest, I'm a PC gamer anyway. I have over 400 games on STEAM so I guess I don't care either way as long as STEAM keeps being the top digital distributor and Origin sits down and shuts the fuck up.

@matthias2437 said:

Hahahaha. No. That is not going to happen at all. They claim that the next xbox will be 7x more powerful than the current..... that is still not as powerful as my PC.

I think history has pretty conclusively proven that the most powerful platform does not always sell the most units. Hell, if anything it's usually the opposite.