Phil Harrison: "This is a marathon, not a sprint"

Saucy Sauce

Microsoft exec Phil Harrison has defended the Xbox One's ongoing sales battle with PlayStation 4 as "a marathon, not a sprint" in response to Sony's higher global sales total.

"We're happy with our plan," Harrison told VentureBeat. "We're happy with the performances of our key franchises and key partnerships, most notably Titanfall in the last couple of weeks.

The typical user has their console on for "more than five hours average per day" - presumably including TV watching and streaming services use.

Well he is right..... I'm sure sony said the same thing when they were doing awful at the beginning of last gen.

Nothing is set in stone yet.

Lol @ Phil with TitanFall since the second is going multiplatform, but yea it is to early to tell what's going to happen. And yea right now Xbox is not doing as well as PS4 but they could turn it around, in a way I'm kind of glad since MS got cocky last gen for a while and this seems to be humbling them, either way it is to early tell but MS needs to get a bunch new IPs and can't rely just on halo/ gears this gen.

No nothing is set in stone but I think at this point we can all see how the consoles will perform. We know MS' game history...we know Sony's. I think MS did well last gen at the start because they had a head start and then the PS3 was expensive. Multi plats were available so unless one was in bed with first parties....most games were playable no matter which console was purchased.

Hardcore MS fans are going to pick up the X1 and be happy. Sony fans the PS4. That leaves the multi console gamers and casuals. Even with Kinect MS will need more than shooters to get that demographic. And the cost does make decisions for people.

I think unless a miracle happens (for MS)....we're seeing how the gen plays out.

This was a statement not meant for you, the gamer. It was meant for Microsoft investors and stockholders that are furious that a supply-constrained Playstation 4 is dominating every market on the planet right now. They're upset that the Titanfall bump only got them to even with Sony, and that tragectory only indicates a temporary reprieve. Walk into any store here in the US that sells game consoles and you'll find several XBox Ones on their shelves. But unless you're lucky, not one PS4. You can say what you want, but the market reality is that XBox needs to do more to convince consumers that their product is as good as Sony's. You can forget better.

He is totally right. Price is the prohibiting factor and with the sales increase we have seen from The One in the end it will be the games that matter. A price drop will help the console but not as much as games. Last gen Sony launched with a $600 console and absolutely no games. This gen MSoft launched at $500 and has depth in most genres, driving, platformers, shooters. In the US it is selling well, and in the UK it is picking up as well. The premature celebration for Sony is funny to see and expected with a cheaply made console.

Whoah, that's a massive assumption there. You really think Titanfall pushed 2.5 million Xbones?

lol that epic grasp at straws to include a jab. Must sting that that cheaply made console has the better specs, the better price point and is the popular console this gen.

You're also sounding like a regular lem. I do hope you've not been demoted. I need you around to stoke the fire so don't sink to their level. You are necessary Lemdom for this board, heed your destiny.

@Shewgenja: No. I should have been more specific. In the UK, it got Micorsoft even (or nearly even) for that week's worth of sales.

The Xbox One is running a marathon with a 100 lb Kinect weight on its back.

This thread should be closed. Nothing to discuss.

/Thread

Did you know that PS4 sales also rose 74%? So, while XBones relatively weak numbers doubled, Sony's strong numbers went up by 3/4 almost. XBone got a bump from Titanfall, but the "drama" surrounding Titanfall may or may not be respective to reality.

I'm sure Nintendo is going with that mantra too

Exactly. 6+ million PS4 and likely 4+ million Xbox One. Those are a long, long way from the 80+ million the 360/PS3 sold last gen. Its 4 and a half months into this gen. Its shaping up to be one hell of a fight and I kinda like MS more when they are behind and having to fight.

Oh please. I look at the games for both consoles that are out....and neither has anything compelling as of yet to induce to me to purchase right now. I think Titanfall may have been the reason for the slight bump in the UK. We shall see. That game was hyped and advertised like crazy. That doesn't mean the sales will continue at that pace.

I see X1 sitting in stock frequently....and it's not like the supply is that great.

M$ does not have to build super powerful machines they know more about software and developing than sony ever will. On one hand Sony is now by themselves with the only DX11.1/opengl hybrid system, their system is unique. M$ works with Nvidia and their competition AMD so M$ does have an advantage when it comes to the software because they are at the forefront of the industry. If they say the xbox will last ten years they are the one's to know because they control the software that pushes the hardware of around 80% of all tech. So now Sony is gonna have to outhink M$, AMD, and Nvidia because they will be optimizing their stuff for xbox, pc, mobile, etc. So anything done on pc can be done on xbox heading forward. Why would M$ ditch unified architecture seeing as how it worked out so good last gen? You never hear someone say "I have to get new software because it's to weak for my hardware", software pushes hardware lets' not forget.

On the other hand Sony just has a powerhouse of a machine that needs no developing tricks to acheive full potential in todays environments. But I doubt Sony plans on using DX11.1/opengl for 8-10 years in PS4, they will need to come up with something because even if the PS4 has more power it could loose a lot of performance if it has to spare extra power to do things that the xbox system already has work arounds for. Some parts of PS4 Sony skimped on but they went big on all the parts that matter, they can focus on build quality with PS slim release, maybe add a gigabit wifi adapter this time for true next gen wifi.

Both consoles are doing great by this time last gen I'm pretty sure both consoles were in the low 100 thousands in sales, this generation is good for both systems PS4 just doing better.

TBH everything you are saying is exactly what was said about the PS3 vs the XBOX360 was it not? Xbox was cheaper, had more casual gamers on board, had the shooter craze fans.... PS3 this more expensive console that took 2 years to get a good game.

What changed exactly? neither console has amazing games at the moment. who is to say people won't be bored of uncharted 4-5-6 (the new gears?) some franchises are likely disconitnued (motostorm, resistance) killzone is not doing ANYTHING good.

Whats left? Naughty Dog , Little big planet (I hope they make something epic out of this ... now that they have 7gb ram to play with... no excuses) will it be jsut another graphical upgrade small scale?

honestly... I can't think of much on either system worth owning in the next 2 years let alone further.

people WILL get bored of uncharted... especially if it doesn't even stand up to Tomb Raider in the gameplay department.

No way in hell TF got MS 2.5 million sales. One million worldwide would be surprising to me. I think TF go the One to 4+ million console sales. Nothing short of a price drop will truly benefit sales in a long-term profound way.

@MBirdy88: Um that's where new IPs come in. Something Sony is way better at executing than MS.

I can't say. All I said with the PS3 was I'll get it when the price drops. And I did.

Sony has more than those few games dude. They might not be hyped in SW but Sony does have more first party games. As for the difference.....multi plats. If you buy a console at launch...that's the one that you will buy the third party dev games on. MS isn't going to drop the price any time soon. The console is too new for that and it sends a bad message actually.

As for people getting bored with a series....Gears, Halo, and Forza come to mind. That is the big three of MS...no? And Halo is at a disadvantage now with a new dev. Some Halo fans stopped buying the series....will casuals? See the difference is Sony has been a brand name for many for four generations now. MS is the new guy on the block. Yes it's now the third gen....but the 360 is really where they came of age so to speak. However, the RROD death wasn't creating good will. Not everyone is as into consoles as those who post on gaming sites. So that has to be taken into consideration. MS did not support their consoles well toward the end of the run. All of this will weigh on the mind of consumers who aren't looking to delve too deeply into games. Sony has nothing to do with how people think of MS right now.

I watched E3 expecting to be interested in both consoles. Boy did MS have a surprise for me. E3 totally turned me off their console....and even now....I'm not sold. They have to win my attention....I will not give it to them without some guarantee this gen. I want games. I want variety. I don't want an entertainment system that plays games on the side. And thus far....if you've seen their commercials...it's an entertainment system first and foremost. If you market it as such....it's such. And you can buy cheaper alternatives to integrate your TV.

Only difference was Sony launched already 9 million behind and a year late.....These two launched at the same time

Ice cold

Sony right now have the tools for DX 11.2+/OGL 4.4. I'm sure with DX12 on the way all Sony has to do is get something written of an equivalent. the Ice Team are gonna be on that shit. I think you're underestimating Sony on the software side to be honest. Look at what devs managed to do with the Cell after the massive ballache of cracking its magic. Now their hardware is simple as pie, no more ball aches to hinder development and the creation of tricks to help with PSSL.

People forget Last gen? Xbox 360 was sprint, PS3 was marathon

Now Xbox One is marathon, PS4 is sprint.

FUNNY HOW PEOPLE IGNORE FACTS.

Your talking outta you ass. Playstation has always been about marathon. Heck, PS1 games are still popping up these days, however, where are all the xbox one games?

Last gen PS3 was at last place. So it was not marathon

@misterpmedia said:

So XB is leading the race and PS is trying to catch up? lol!!

They are both fat and out of shape, which shows neither system was ready to race. lol!!

Bit of a hollow victory when the competitor caught up in no time and ended up being the better console with most exclusives lol. But sure 360 'won' last gen, I doubt people would agree with the particulars though. ;). So much for that year head start hey? They could have used it this gen. Jesus christ did they need it.

@blackace said:

@misterpmedia said:

So XB is leading the race and PS is trying to catch up? lol!!

They are both fat and out of shape, which shows neither system was ready to race. lol!!

That's PS4 catching up with dat 360 success that MS dropped. We all know that the fella in the front gets chow downed upon. ;)

Please do us all a favor and put all that information back in your ass. Microsoft stockholders and investors are not furious. Microsoft stock has been rising all year. https://www.google.com/#q=Microsoft+Stock

Microsoft is showing profits in the billions every quarter. The PS4 supply constrain is slowly going away, just like I predicted. http://www.nowinstock.net/videogaming/consoles/ps4/

Amazon has been stocked for over a week now.

http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-4-Console/dp/B00BGA9WK2/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1395425000&sr=1-1&keywords=ps4

I'm sure there are some places that are still sold out, but there are other places you can buy the console at. The demand is slowly dwindling. The demand in Japan fizzled within the first week. Sony still wants gamers to think the PS4 is in high demand, but by the end of April no one will have any problems finding one.

Microsoft says a lot of things since getting their crap pushed in by Sony and the godly ps4.

Sounds like Sony last gen

This is how companies say: "We know we've lost but we're sure as hell not going to admit it"

"Whoever reaches 10 milrrion first winz though."

I'm pretty certain Phil Harrison was one of the key people responsible for the PS3 being so bad.

Is it any coincidence that when he joins Microsoft/Xbox that the Xbox stops being as successful as it once was? I don't think so.

Drop the load and appeal to gamers.

Yea I know they will probably come up with some sort of software equivalent for whatever hardware shortcuts M$ built in but that also adds more overhead. I'm not gonna say I'm underestimating sony on the software side it's just that M$ has a clear advantage because they have other divisions besides xbox that continue to work closely with companies like Nvidia, Amd, etc. Developers did take advantage of the cell but it took too long, do you think it would have taken as long to unlock if M$ had produced the cell? Sony fault for building something even didn't understand how to develop for, hopefully they get it right this gen.

why can't most next gen games do 1080p+60fps pc has been doing it for 5 years

X1 is in a wheelchair. PS4 is inside a car. Who do you think will win this so called 'marathon'?

why is @FreedomFreeLife@kuu2@blackace in here?

this isn't a mrxmedia thread

lmao im reading all this and i see people argue about who won last gen ,they forgot one small peice- -- wii actually won last gen while they were in the back seat ds only adds insult to injury so im not even gonna include that , nintendo won last gen just as they won every handheld war , -microsofts 0 for 3 so far sony and nintendo are looking to be 3 and 3 after this gen lol and i m calling and betting ms gets 3rd place

And it's all uphill!

Yeah this isn't the forum for pipe dreams.

I have a Playstation and an XBox. I'm fans of both, actually. I'm simply stating that the statement was made for investors, not fanboys on game forums. PS4's supply constraint, according to the press, is predicted through summer. Like I said, walk into any store and tell me which company has more product on the shelf. XboxOne is simply not performing as well as its competitor, despite having the better games and despite having more product to sell. THAT'S why investors are not happy. With the early hic-ups concerning messaging about DRM, etc., this has been an executive-created problem. It's a management issue. Behind the scenes, they've probably got an angry board. Hense the sound bites from...management.

really smart and oh so true :D

I feel like Sony would have said this at one point back when the PS3 was blowing chunks. But of course now that the roles are reversed Microsoft is doomed teh lolz, bla bla bla.

@misterpmedia said:

@FreedomFreeLife said:

@alcapello said:

@FreedomFreeLife said:

People forget Last gen? Xbox 360 was sprint, PS3 was marathon

Now Xbox One is marathon, PS4 is sprint.

FUNNY HOW PEOPLE IGNORE FACTS.

Your talking outta you ass. Playstation has always been about marathon. Heck, PS1 games are still popping up these days, however, where are all the xbox one games?

Last gen PS3 was at last place. So it was not marathon

Bit of a hollow victory when the competitor caught up in no time and ended up being the better console with most exclusives lol. But sure 360 'won' last gen, I doubt people would agree with the particulars though. ;). So much for that year head start hey? They could have used it this gen. Jesus christ did they need it.

@blackace said:

@misterpmedia said:

So XB is leading the race and PS is trying to catch up? lol!!

They are both fat and out of shape, which shows neither system was ready to race. lol!!

That's PS4 catching up with dat 360 success that MS dropped. We all know that the fella in the front gets chow downed upon. ;)

Caught up in no time? You can't possibly be serious with that statement unless you think 7 years is no time. I remember when the PS3 launched, it was supposed to have caught up and pass the 360 within the 1st year let alone barely catch up 7 years later.

Better console?Hardly with it's inferior multiplats or did all those games that ran and looked better on the 360 not count? Most exlcusives yet the 360 had well over 100+ more games. Go figure huh.

The Wii won and Sony came in last or at the very least tied for 2nd. Pretty big decline considering the huge user base they had in the 5th and 6th gens.