Is the Xbox 360 on the decline?

[Mr. GameBrain]

We have both, but most of my games are on the 360.

They tend to be cheaper, and no-one really played the 360 besides me.

Most multi-platform games I get tend to be on the 360, as the family pc's not really all that good at playing the latest games, and my older brother hogs the PS3.

I don't think the 360 is going to die yet. Maybe in a few years the next xbox console will be out, but I still think the old beast has some life in her yet.

However, I am now really torn.

I have Street Fighter 4 on the PS3, (As I owned most street fighter games on the PS1 and PS2), however, I want to get Super SF4 on the 360, BUT, if I get it for the PS3, I'll get that "loyalty" bonus Capcom have been teasing us about.

EDIT: For the record, people who don't use headsets can be worked with fairly well, (I personally try to avoid using one), but unfortunately the 360 devs seem to designing games these days with a vital flaw, in that most games don't use text communication, (or impliment it poorly).
Sure you have MSN support when playing with your friends, but when you play with stangers, not being able to communicate can be a problem.

However, I remember I got on just fine playing Monster Hunter on the PS2, despite the fact you had no headset.
You just had to take the time to actually think out strategies before you executed them.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

I have a PS3 and an Xbox 360 and i prefer the 360 much much more i believe it still has life in it although i suppose you could see that as me being one sided as i prefer the 360. I think its funny that people jump to PS3 because of the Xbox's RROD because the PS3 acctually has its own version of the RROD...if you get a little yellow light on your PS3..its fucked, happened to my first one happens less though. As for better exclusives being on PS3..i wouldnt say that PS3 and 360 both have their good and crap exclusives and as for the PS3 games being blu ray and Xbox's are not doesnt bother me in the slightest, i like my 3 disc Final Fantasy XIII thanks very much

360 on the decline? No! PS3 has better exclusives? With all due respect not on my planet it doesn't, You can't get Mass Effect on the PS3 and FFXIII is available on both (I have FFXIII on PS3, btw, so not blindly defending the 360, not a fanboy of any console) Better exclusives would be a very subjective issue, imo dependant on the games you enjoy playing, as an RPG'er the PS3 offers less than the 360 and I have way more exclusives on 360 than PS3.

More RPGs? Really? Honestly? Serious? The RPGs offered on the Xbox are laughable at best, and the ones that are good are multi-platform. They didn't get a half ass decent one till they started handing SE blank checks. Gonna laugh so hard when FFXIII verus doesn't got to Xbox or comes in 7+ disc.

Most my friends who had Xboxs, traded their ins or sold all their Xbox stuff off when they got red ring. I am one of the last to have one and haven't touched it in weeks. It's got some decent exclusives, only reason I keep it but if I have to choose, i will take PS3 game any day. It all comes down to person preference.

I made it very clear I thought this was a subjective issue, so in reply to your rather rude response I will say - Yes! More RPG's! Really! Honestly! Serious! The RPG's are not laughable at best they are very good ME, ME2, Lost Odyssey and more. I also pointed out that I have a PS3 and have FFXIII on it, also meaning Versus won't be an issue for me so you can laugh as hard as you like!
You have your opinion, I have mine, don't bother me again if you are just going to be cocky!

I have to agree with Jenova on that and personally i find the Xbox has much more and much better RPG's exclusive to it than the Ps3 does. Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, ME 1 & 2, MagnaCarta 2, Takes of Vesperia (i think MC2 and Tales of Vesperia are 360 exclusives anyway but i could be wrong)

 

[.Warheart]

I don't see a decline in 360's. My downside is that the consoles are outdated on graphics since they lack anti-aliasing and cutting edge power, but that's not a problem. I love the connectivity, community and games that it has to offer.

Playing Borderlands with friends is awesome, having a profile on 360Voice and competing in gamerscore challenges is real fun and the games that the console has to offer are so widespread I never get bored.

In short, no, I don't like the PS3 and won't switch my Xbox for anything.

 

[TPiddy]

Yeah but does anyone here really give a shit about what people in Japan are playing? In all seriousness, I couldn't care less that the Japanese don't take to the 360, because I wouldn't be able to play games online with them anyways, and the same goes for anyone who speaks anything other than English. I'm not racist or anything, it's just a simple fact that if someone on your team has no mic or doesn't speak your language it makes things worse. I'm much more interested in sales trends in places that speak English because they'll have a greater impact on me personally.

What? What the hell are you going on about? I really don't see what your statement has anything to do with the current topic. It has nothing to do with whether or not I care about who plays what. Cause...I really don't. It has a great deal to do with the vitality of the hardware market, and the purchasing demographic for hardware increasing across the board. And yes, *gasp* Japan actually matters as a marketplace.

As for people speaking English, I have enough PS3 buddies to play virtually anything I want. So, I don't really have to deal with that issue. And unless I am playing with a group of friends, I'll usually play deathmatch anyway. I don't need to understand different languages to know they're pissed I just killed them.

That aside though, you cannot simply 'ignore' the PS3 sales in Japan, they may not have exactly the same tastes as...typical western gamers. (I for one actually like a great many Japanese games...not sure why you'd be adverse to them). They're selling 20-30K a week in Japan. That counts for quite a bit in the overall picture. Which is what I was referring to in my original post.

Japan is only 12% of PS3's install base... but just because Final Fantasy comes out and Japanese fans go batshit for it doesn't mean the 360 is in decline. That's my point.

 

[TPiddy]

I see your point, but the fact is, the 360 isn't leading nearly as impressively as it once was. Globally, it continues to lose ground to the PS3, because of situations like what's happened in Japan. The Japanese market at one point seemed inclined to play around with the 360, but I believe that faulty claims of exclusivity regarding several serious Japanese IP's, took any chance of faith from the Japanese market, away. Yes, home turf does make a difference. But, look at Halo 3's opening sales week in Japan, or Star Ocean 4. Those were some of the best times for the 360 in Japan.

12% of the PS3's install base, for a country of 127,704,000 is pretty damn significant. And again, I fail to see why you can just ignore those figures. If you re-read my original post, however, I didn't say that the 360 was doomed, and that it's likely that MS will use it's brilliant marketing team to buoy sales for the time being. That having been said though, the 360 had a great first couple years, but the PS3 is definitely on the winning end. And NA sales just aren't enough to offset what's occuring across the rest of the world (Whereas, in the past, US sales of the 360 were sometimes 100K+ higher than the PS3...that's the point I was making).

Well, I'm not naive enough to just exclude Japan, but it's not really fair to MS that they can't get much of a foothold there. Overall, total 360 sales are sitting about 6 million units ahead of PS3, which is pretty much the US lead minus PS3's Japan lead. And yes, 360 has been out for a year longer.

So I'm not going to sit here and deny that PS3 is gaining ground and finally coming into it's own, but I'll re-iterate what I had said in my previous comment....

In the previous generation, when the PS3 was announced, the first games that would be coming for it that immediately came to mind were Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo and God of War... now that they're finally here it may actually be worth it to own one.

XBox didn't have as much time to build up franchises, which is why Halo, Forza and Fable were the only major accomplishments for the original Box. MS has done a good job creating new franchises on the 360 though, with Mass Effect, Gears of War and Crackdown. However, most of their major titles have to be multi platform because they just don't have the first-party support like Sony does. They instead have to rely on exclusivity deals with PC developers like Bioware and Valve.

 

[Nomanslander]

Xbox isn't on the decline, PS3 is just on the rising.

I know a lot of people would rather play multi-platform games on the PS3 since it's a more reliable system (saving the 360 for exclusives titles to extend the short life span most 360s have in the first place).

But as long as Xbox Live is still the hottest ticket, and games like Mass Effect 2 are exclusive when it comes to consoles.

I don't see it happening.

 

[internetzealot1]

No, OP, you just have weird friends.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Xbox isn't on the decline, PS3 is just on the rising.

I know a lot of people would rather play multi-platform games on the PS3 since it's a more reliable system (saving the 360 for exclusives titles to extend the short life span most 360s have in the first place).

But as long as Xbox Live is still the hottest ticket, and games like Mass Effect 2 are exclusive when it comes to consoles.

I don't see it happening.

Well, yeah. Quoted for truth.
Also, Conviction is coming out soon. Think about that.

 

[MortisLegio]

I think all the gaming platforms have all just leveled off

 

[Woodsey]

Meh, perhaps.

I think that things are just balancing out because the PS3's actually come into its own recently.

The 360 didn't have a particularly impressive line-up last year though (let's face it, no one did) which may have something to do with it.

 

[AntiAntagonist]

No changes here. 360 is still head of the pack.

PS3 is pretty 'meh' in the area.

 

[Nomanslander]

Xbox isn't on the decline, PS3 is just on the rising.

I know a lot of people would rather play multi-platform games on the PS3 since it's a more reliable system (saving the 360 for exclusives titles to extend the short life span most 360s have in the first place).

But as long as Xbox Live is still the hottest ticket, and games like Mass Effect 2 are exclusive when it comes to consoles.

I don't see it happening.

Well, yeah. Quoted for truth.
Also, Conviction is coming out soon. Think about that.

I never liked Splinter Cell, but I'm interested to see what Alan Wake has to offer.

Personally I don't own a 360 since my PC has been the best substitution, but a few games have made me curious...just not enough to buy a 360. I own ME2 on the PC, right now the 360 would be useless to me.

But then again that's because I own a PC.

 

[TPiddy]

It's true that MS fails terribly in Japan. Terribly. But, again, I can't blame the Japanese for being hesitant or spiteful towards Microsoft, given their actions in the past. As I said, MS promised exclusivity of several key JRPGs to the Asian populace, and many many bought into it. Unfortunately for them, the same IP would come to the PS3 in time, with greater content and in some cases a much more refined engine. That was something that exploded pretty heavily in MS's face, and unless they actually _try_ they'll never get that trust back.

For one, they brought Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon as major JRPG's, and then acquired the Final Fantasy license. I don't think they were a complete letdown. I suppose the stereotype is that MS is American and appeals to western gamers with stuff like Halo, Gears and WRPG's, while Sony has always appealed to the Japanese market.

I wonder if this is how Sony planned their 10yr cycle though. Starting off with a whole truckload of new IP in the first several years, then transitioning over to established IP such as GT, GoW 3 etc... in the middle years. They've long been criticized for investing too heavily in new IP, as one of the major reasons their sales lagged for a long time (Of course, for many price tag was also an issue, but as they say, Software sells hardware), afterall, 120 million + PS2 owners bought into the system for a reason. It kind of seems brilliant in a way, because now those transitioning will not only get the IP they've been waiting for, but also the earlier games, due to developer name recognition (Not to mention word of mouth and all other forms of hype).

I don't think Sony planned their cycle like this, I think it took developers longer to make the games up to the quality standards they were expecting. If GoW 3 could have been out last year or even 2 years ago you can bet your ass it would have been. The new hardware is tough to develop for and this is just more proof of that.

Microsoft has a very long way to go here, in my opinion the will be unable to buy major exclusives as easily as they have in the past. The PS3's install base is just too big and too lucrative now. They'll likely pick and choose carefully what they attempt to lock down exclusively. The other real problem with this though, is that Microsoft also has the Games For Windows platform to encourage, and the more exclusivity they give to the 360 (I mean real exclusivity, no PC), not only hurts growth their, but also shuts out another install base that's roughly, what, 7x larger than the PS3 (PC). But, in order to continue making the 360 compelling, they gotta increase the number of in-house devs they have. Take risks with younger/smaller devs, or attempt to purchase the mid-level ones and pump money into them.

The problem with using both PC and 360 as your platform is that the 360 is 5 years old and modern PC's are capable of much more, meaning you'd really have to push the limits of 360 in order to draw in both the audience, or pull what Bioware did with Dragon Age, and allow for enhancements on PC and not so much on the consoles.

The PS3 has kind of shot itself in the foot with it's difficult development curve, because, as you've seen with Valve, they just can't be bothered to develop fully for it. The only games that will be able to take full advantage of PS3's power will take longer to develop and be exclusive... something that is just not worth it for many dev studios.

Also, I think MS will go with what they have for exclusivity and continue to encourage formerly exclusive franchises to hop on the 360, like they have with Resident Evil, Metal Gear and Final Fantasy. So far, the 360 has only lost exclusivity on Dead Rising and Full Auto.... who's getting the better end of THAT deal? Now if only I could get Twisted Metal on my XBox .