They should offer all heroes for free without the grind. Over time it creates an uneven playing field as new free players may not have access to good team combinations.
@berrlett: I applaud your effort Berrlett, quite well written post.
PS1 was successful because of games, Sony capitalized on the fall of Sega and the struggle of Nintendo at the time and secured a lot of deals with various studios and took games initially were releasing on other platforms such as FF and other games planned for other platforms such as RE & TR. Music was a feature nobody cared about, Walkman was dirt cheap to pay a console price for music, A big number out of the 103 M bought the PS1 bought it to continue FF. know your gaming history to see who failed here.
Yeah I remember the fall of SEGA, when they made it to the Dreamcast they had some game gems though, too bad it was kind of late at that point for SEGA. I may be the minority but I remember playing music Cd's on my PS1, of course back then I bought the PS1 for the games not the music capability.
Re options and features, sure I get your point what am saying if in the end it stands I as a consumer have to decide when buying a gaming console between 100 features & options and no games VS no features & options but good games I'll pick the latter, as said to each his own and we're obviously entitled to our opinions for me these features are useless MS hypes for lack of a decent game library. In other words you make a lot more of a statement if you had the GAMES and all of these features and options (AKA Extras/Add-Ons).
In that extreme scenario you mention, yes, it would seem logical to prefer the console that has games. True, having a catalog to back up the additional features is indeed better.
Yes success is when you forecast a year or 2 ahead and end up exceeding forecast figures, Yes its measured by popularity, yes its measured by meeting the target of what is the merchandise's purpose and how it is met in the market, Yes its calculated on market share basis.
Thank you for defining what success means in your statement. I see success as not necessarily being the market leader but providing value to the customers you currently have and retaining them, loyalty to a brand can be used as a predictor for future success. As we have seen during the PS2 and PS3 transition, Sony initially lost some of its loyal fanbase, probably because of the high cost of the PS3. In my case, I enjoyed the PS1 and PS2 era but when the PS3 arrived the prohibitive price made me think between buying a 500 USD console and have no money left to buy a game or buy an Xbox 360 and buy two games for almost the same price. I chose the latter. In terms of finance then yes, I would agree with your definition of success.
I would more think Sony would add a feature/option and see how their fans react to it and decide if its worth keeping or not, you do know for example Backward compatibility was avail on their platforms but hardly any one used so it was removed right ? of course it thrives and highly praised by MS & Xbox fans, Xbox has no games anything else is welcome.
I do know the amount of people that use backward compatibility is small, I still find it a very nice feature. Just a month and a half ago I was able to play Vanquish through backward compatibility. I know the game is also available on PC, unfortunately I do not possess a PC with a dedicated graphics card. Backwards compatibility allowed me to play a hidden gem from the Xbox 360 era.
We don't need any research just look at how the market reacted to the current state of both consoles, one with games the other with features & options, its there, black and white. 2-1 in NA with Xbox finishing last almost every single NPD, the rest of the world its more like 10-1.
True the PS4 is undeniably outselling the Xbox One. I would try to see the bigger picture though not only the current generation. I believe you are aware of how Microsoft is pushing to blur the line between PC gaming and Console gaming by unifying both ecosystems. I believe Microsoft is aiming to significantly expand their customer base. Like you pointed out, they are being outsold in terms of consoles, therefore, it is not crazy to think that their software sales will be less than PS4 software sales. However, if you unify ecosystems suddenly you can sell software to an install base (estimated at 1.1 billion according to Intel https://blogs.intel.com/technology/2015/08/the-game-changer/ ) that dwarfs the install base of all game consoles combined. This particular strategy I believe, will have a significant impact on the next generation. I think console sales will become less relevant and not an indicator of success. But this is just my opinion and forecast.
I am not against you either and I sure take your point into consideration. I am more involved in this market due to personal investment that is why maybe I have more in depth view of what is going on and why the Xbox struggles to sell, I have this research done for me and what turned out as facts are solid and I have stated reasons above why the Xbox one as a brand failed if it wasn't for a giant like MS it would have been dropped altogether. Hope next Gen rectify all of this and MS realize what went wrong and work on it. delusion won't help anyone here.
I believe people at Microsoft know what went wrong and have already started making their moves for the next generation if we can at all call it next generation. If you allow me an analogy, I believe consoles will be closer to phones, where you can change every so often while still being able to access new and old apps even if you do not have the latest model, it will all be about the gaming ecosystem. This together with the unification of the PC & Xbox ecosystems should give Microsoft a significant advantage, unless Sony and Nintendo follow suit. It will be interesting to see if it pays out, I believe it will, giving Sony and Nintendo a run for their money.
@berrlett: Did the PS1 have any blue ray capabilities ? it did one thing but it did it very well, play games, a lot of them.
Well besides the obvious fact that blu-ray was not even invented back then you still managed to fail with that argument. The PS1 was able to play music CD's so it did more than just play games, so guess what, Sony was giving consumers choice!
It amuses me how you think I am defending a particular console. The only thing I have said repeatedly is that gamers deserve choice and as an example I have cited how Microsoft has done consumer friendly choices while Sony seems to be doing the opposite right now. However, you seem to have a very hard time understanding that choices are good.
What is success?
Is success selling the most consoles? Is success having the most loyal fan base? Is success having the most software sales? Is success just surviving in the console market? I believe you need to define what success means before you can even say that any specific console is a success.
These are not opinions, these are facts, stop shutting your eyes, blocking your ears and go running around shouting NO NO NO.
Ok... so because I am trying to be objective and work with facts you decide to say that I am not listening to you.
You say you are a "gamer" see ?, Games, Games SHOULD be your first target, second, 10th and then everything else specially if you shell out top dollar on a GAMING console because you're a gamer not extra feature enthusiast and if you were, oh God please don't waste your money on a console of any kind.
I am a gamer like you, but you really seem to have a problem with people that like choices with their consoles. The market speaks, I can assume that these features that YOU DO NOT WANT are INCLUDED BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE WANT THEM! Whether they make use of them or not that is a different topic up for discussion.
So in your logic, out of 10 complete rookies to the industry and want to go out and buy a GAMING console just for a little fun maybe with the family etc how many would ask about the games and how many would ask if they could be watching TV sport channel on the new console ?
I have not done the research for that. I would not be able to tell you just like you are not able to tell me what they would prefer. If you have not done the research or cite someone who has done that specific research then you really can't say anything except your opinion. And if you do say that they would buy the console without no evidence or formal research done then what can I say... Maybe try developing a researcher mindset?
I never called you a Fanboy. I said an Xbox Fan.
My mistake sorry.
Look Berrlett, I am not against you, I just want you to think more deeply and consider how you argue. Let's try doing a bit more research before stating something as a fact. If you do not know if what you are saying is a fact then state it as your opinion.
I sincerely hope that you take my comments into consideration.
@berrlett: I would be careful making statements like I am running away from the truth etc. That is after all just your unfounded opinion. Here is just am example of the PS2 and PS3 era it is said that people boght them because they were cheap dvd and blu tay players look it up online. Your claim that most people hear bla bla bla is also unfounded, please show me the data supporting this “fact”. No, I am not brainwashed I am just a gamer that likes choices like some other gamers out there. Yeah the xbox is lagging in sales so what? Fanboy, haha yeah if you say so man another unfonded opinion. It is hard talking and reasoning with opiniated people like you. I said PS4 offers less choice and that is a an undeniable fact. Deal with it. Peace out and if you want to reply talk with facts.
Your statement implies that you used them every now and then, if you had bought a console just for games then you should never make use of those other functions. Your behavior is not in line with your written opinion. I would advice you to be more consistent.
Another example from your writing, you played sea of thieves on PC you would not have had been able to if that was not an option that Xbox Microsoft decided to give you. You were able to experience Sea of Thieves mediocre game or not, without having to own an Xbox one, don't you think that is great? The point is, choices are good, you want to have only beef then go for it just don't make everyone else eat beef just because you think that is how it should be. Think about it, would not your beef taste better with some black pepper or your favorite condiment?
You participate in choice as much as I do and make use of additional features even if it is seldom. So if I may ask, what should we add to your beef sir?
I am playing Sea of Thieves and Battlefield 1 the most right now but I plan to play Gears of War 4 soon.
If these giant corps decided their direction, one is selling you a console to brush your teeth with the other is selling you a console to play games which would you go for?
Really? Consoles and brushing your teeth could not be more unrelated, I believe your microwave oven example was better. Maybe you or someone you know owns a car that I don't know... has a radio? Air conditioning? Automatic windows? Automatic transmission? Comes in different colors? By your game console logic, a car should only turn left or right, go forward or back, accelerate and decelerate. Everything else is just crazy stuff that we as consumers have no right to decide and do not need. I might be crazy because I see a lot of different cars out there, which makes me think that consumers like options. Oh wait! Doesn't Sony also offer the PS4 in different colors and special editions? Doesn't it also play blu-rays? Or offer the following services PlayStation Vue, PlayStation Music and PlayStation Video? I think the PS4 does much more than playing games... but it can't because otherwise you would not like to buy it right? Still, you seem to be ok with having those options. You are no different than me, the only difference is that I prefer having different options from the ones that you prefer. To each his own.
@berrlett: It seems like you do not having choices on top of the regular functionality of playing games. If that is the type of consumer you are then good for you. However, Sony is still the consumer unfriendly console maker at this moment, if you want to support them then go ahead, I cannot stop you.
Just embrace cross-play people, it is the future whether we want it or not. Sony is being anti consumer and I hope they pay for their attitude. We are on the last stretch of the current generation and so far I am not impressed with Sony's decisions. I am predicting Xbox will make a huge comeback next generation. With Phil Spencer at the helm and all the consumer friendly policies they have been implementing Sony is and will continue to be under fire.
Here are just some consumer friendly decisions beyond cross-play that Microsoft has made:
1. Backwards compatibility that you do not have to pay for.
2. Whatever games and console accessories you own now will continue to be compatible towards future console generations.
3. The xbox adaptive controller for disabled gamers so they can enjoy gaming like the rest of us in an easier way.
4. Buying the game once and owning it on PC for some games.
5. The best value in gaming with gamepass (as long as Microsoft releases two first party games every year gamepass is a steal).
What has Sony done so far lately for the consumer?
Are loot boxes bad (for the consumer)? Yes, loot boxes are bad, in the old days we would just unlock new characters, skins, weapons through game progression. You always knew exactly when you would be getting something. With loot boxes, you never know and keep grinding and playing the game, sometimes not even unlocking everything in the game. So yes, loot boxes are bad for us the consumers. Are loot boxes bad (for game companies)? No, loot boxes represented an additional revenue stream that brought in more money than the actual sale of the game, and I assume, kept consumers engaged with the game for longer, much better than what DLC and season passes did. I have no problem with loot boxes in F2P games but if I am paying 60 USD plus a season pass to play a game... I will be disappointed if the game is trying to monetize me through loot boxes.
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