What does it take to win the console war? It’s not an easy question, but the answer boils down to two simple words: great games. Despite all the noise at this year’s E3 about new controllers, online services, and brand loyalty, the surest way to win the heart of the gamer is to deliver true next-generation games. And it certainly helps if those games are exclusive.
At this years E3, Microsoft fired a shot across Sony’s bow by debuting some killer exclusive titles, including the one-two punch of Gears Of War for 2006 and Halo 3 for 2007. After you add in exclusive offerings like Lost Planet and Mass Effect, it becomes clear that Microsoft is finally showcasing exclusives that are a big step forward from the xbox.
So how did Microsoft go from an embarrassing next-gen debut last year at E3 to this year’s five-star performance? Once again, it comes down to the games - both the quantity and the quality. Now that developers have worked on the final 360 hardware for more than six months, we’re starting to see signs of the power of the Xbox 360. And while last year’s E3 media briefing was a weird, highly scripted affair with an audience of paid extras and a script that read like a late-night infomercial, this year Microsoft showcased real cutting-edge content and a cut down on the hyperbole and mentions of the “zen of gaming.”
Gears of War looked phenomenal, as did the trailer for Halo 3. And Microsoft surprised the crowd by announcing that that Grand Theft Auto IV will appear for the Xbox 360 on the same day as it will for the Playstation 3 in October 2007. That holy trinity of games led to Microsoft’s favorite sound bite at the show, which was to reiterate that the only place you can play Halo, Gears of War, and Grand Theft Auto IV is Xbox 360. Nevertheless, Microsoft showed the press, game publishers, and developers that the Xbox 360 was here for real. Comparisons to Sega’s Dreamcast – which launched before the Playstation 2 – can officially be put to rest.
Of course, Microsoft doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Part of the reason Xbox 360 did so well at E3 was due to Sony’s less-than-stellar rollout for the Playstation 3. While most of the PS3 games looked solid, it was hard to point to any one title that looked like it was doing something not possible on Xbox 360. Add in a steep price point – starting at $499 and hitting $599 for a 60GB hard-drive in the machine – and most journalist and publishers felt underwhelmed by Sony, especially after last year’s incredible show-stealing PS3 tech debut.
What will game publishers take away from E3? Will the $500 price point for the PS3 cause some developers to re-think their state of titles? Will publishers decide that the Xbox 360 should be the base development platform for games going forward given the PS3’s high price point? Microsoft hopes so, but any definitive answer will have to wait until after the PS3 launches in November. If Blu-ray becomes the standard for high-definition movie releases, consumers might see the PS3 as a cheap Blu-ray player as opposed to an expensive game console. That could be very important distinction – there are a lot more DVD players out there than game consoles. As for the games, while the PS3 games at E3 looked no better than current 360 games, Sony was quick to point out that if you compare the pre-launch PS3 games this year to the 360 games at last year’s E3, there’s a significant difference in quality. (For one, the PS3 games were all running at good framerates.) Sony’s suggestion is that come this fall, consumers will see an appreciable difference between the two platforms.
There are, to be sure, many moving parts and unanswered questions in the console rat race. But Microsoft and Xbox can at least bask in the glory of a strong E3 for the 360 – a fact that will only help against the Playstation 3 juggernaut. The console war is about to get ugly.



Geoff Keighley

Good feed Multi, this is going to be the greatest console battle in history and im gonna be front row in front of my 51 inch big screen enjoying every last bit of it. The 360 is looking pretty damn solid with all the new features on Xbox live and all. With that said the folks at sony have better step their game wayyy up or they might find themselves looking up at the competition.

its basically the same damn price after u buy all that shit

sony comes with interenet ready shit in the system and u dont have to pay for ANOTHER internet service

Is this on tv or something.........?

Well I know the original xbox came with the ethernet port, you didn't have to pay some crazy ass price for it. I asked a friend earlier, and he said the higher price xbox 360 comes with a ethernet port and xobx live headset so there isn't much to buy because the 360 comes with online subscription for a month or so.

No It's not, I have 360 and It's 400 without the hardrive 500 with the Hardrive. With ps3 its 500 without and 600 with. Plus them boomerang looking controllers could fuck the whole thing up.

I have a 360 and most likley cop a PS3, But I am not gonna say PS3 is better when they haven't even fuckin played it. And most peeps who say this is peeps who don't have a 360

The only people that I have heard say 360 is WACK, is peeps who don't have one.

I just got NCAA 2007, and EA added all the Features that Madden didn't have (Mainly a Dynasty mode that lasted more than one season and that could have multiple players)

^^^^^SHIT IS CRACK

VERSE

1) they already announced a while ago that they not using those boomerang controllers ya big dummy
2) both versions of PS3 are coming with a hardrive one is 20 gb and the other i think is 60
3) after u buy all the internet shit for the 360 etc... its the same damn price
4) no dynasty mode in any sports game = wack

step ya game up

Whats the big deal about paying a yearly 49.99 fee for online access. Its nice for the ps3 to have free online and all and i respect them for that decision but its not gonna kill me to cough up 50 bucks a year for it.

I heard there's to many 13 yr olds on XBL (xobx live)...