Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

They have been, for 2 years now. Xbox Live does mad bank and PS3 owners are still not buying software at nearly the rate on average that 360 people do. Especially when you gave a download title, 3 to one is typical. That's why so many PS3 versions are later

Well a lot of PS3 owners still buy for bluray I'm sure.

[Penton-Man]

Analyst and PC’s…
http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-brie...ion-in-4-years

a little bit more in depth -
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/s...77&newsLang=en

[kefrank]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

The Wii is basically an Apple-like game console.

Doesn't support HD, because who needs it?

Sold more on owning the "hot" item, then gathers dust due to limited functionality.

White.

Limited software selection, biggest "apps" are from first party.

Don't forget:
Competitors now trying to clone their innovations.

Actually, the biggest hole in your comparison is that the Wii has always been intentionally value-priced in the market. Apple products are intentionally premium-priced, as I'm sure an Apple-developed gaming console would be.

[Uxi]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I personally can't wait to see the temper tantrum he throws when someone makes a nice thick sturdy iPod clone with a user replaceable battery and a MicroSD slot in it, stocked with legal Blu-ray managed copies and other material purchased from a non-iTunes retailer but using his DRM. I also can't wait to go to some of the parties around the entertainment industry in celebration

Any chance of such a chimera ever reaching market in the near future? You'd think there's a market for it and that Google and/or MSFT and/or Sony and/or Samsung would be eager to release such a device.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by kefrank

Don't forget:
Competitors now trying to clone their innovations.

Actually, the biggest hole in your comparison is that the Wii has always been intentionally value-priced in the market. Apple products are intentionally premium-priced, as I'm sure an Apple-developed gaming console would be.

Except Wii was overpriced for what it is. Last generation GameCube hardware overclocked a tad. No resolutions above 480p...and the original XBOX supported 720p. No HDD (another thing the original XBOX had), and didn't even play DVDs, like XBOX and PS2.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

The Wii is basically an Apple-like game console.

Doesn't support HD, because who needs it?

Sold more on owning the "hot" item, then gathers dust due to limited functionality.

White.

Limited software selection, biggest "apps" are from first party.

I cant argue with this. I almost NEVER touch my Wii (hehe. see what I did there ) I only recently finished the first SUper Mario Galaxy after owning it on release day back in 2007. Although, I will play Zelda non stop when it comes out. Metroid Prime 3 I played a lot too

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Except Wii was overpriced for what it is. Last generation GameCube hardware overclocked a tad. No resolutions above 480p...and the original XBOX supported 720p. No HDD (another thing the original XBOX had), and didn't even play DVDs, like XBOX and PS2.

Yeah, thats why Im REALLY hoping (but not expecting at all) is that they announce the Wii HD that will play current games with a bump in resolution. Super Mario Galaxy looks good as it is, but given 720p it would look a whole helluva lot better.

[Jeff Kleist]

Analyst and PC’s…
http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-brie...ion-in-4-years

a little bit more in depth -
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/s...77&newsLang=en

I don't think it's going to be a factor. PC monitors too small for 3D to wow, gamers will buy the gear, but the common person will invest in a TV if they want 3D. There's a huge percentage of PC gamers that are alraedy running on 32 inch TVs, so if I was looking for 3D market on PC, I'd start with a sub-$500 32" 3D 1080p monitor

Any chance of such a chimera ever reaching market in the near future? You'd think there's a market for it and that Google and/or MSFT and/or Sony and/or Samsung would be eager to release such a device.

3 years minimum, best case scenario, assuming Apple doesn't manage to forbid such common-sense features in their licensing agreements

Thet's the other thing, were Apple to actually open up, they will kill Droid dead, virtually immediately. As it stands right now, Droid will be eating their lunch in 5 years simply because everyone can use it in their diverse hardware, and you can write one app to run on tablet, TV or phone. Sure they'll still have a nice marketshare, but they could send google packing before they get a foothold. It's Steve Job's megalomania and control freakyness that's actually preventing them from making even more money.

The orignal Xbox actually did 1080i. The games had virtually zero texture detail, but it did it.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

The orignal Xbox actually did 1080i. The games had virtually zero texture detail, but it did it.

Was there a game that went that high?!

[Jeff Kleist]

Enter the Matrix, 1 or 2 others

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Enter the Matrix, 1 or 2 others

Fewer games fell farther than that game. My roomate was someone who fell for the hype and bought the game before reviews. I knew at the time that games tied to movies were destined for failure and Enter the Matrix lived up to that.

There was a trilogy of films that got a lot of high marks after the first one and then dropped completely off the face of the earth with the 2nd and 3rd one.

I just remember all the hype and even the Wachowski's were talking about all sorts of Matrix related stuff only to be silenced when both films more or less failed.

[Jeff Kleist]

I really wouldn't say they failed with a combined billion dollar worldwide box office before video. Those two movies probably made $6-700 million in PROFIT after video and cable died down.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I really wouldn't say they failed with a combined billion dollar worldwide box office before video. Those two movies probably made $6-700 million in PROFIT after video and cable died down.

Well the 3rd one made $139M domestic and $288M overseas. Not a failure, but for the amount of hype the films had before both we're released $139M is a failure when I seriously doubt that is what Warner was expecting.

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by merrick97

Well the 3rd one made $139M domestic and $288M overseas. Not a failure, but for the amount of hype the films had before both we're released $139M is a failure when I seriously doubt that is what Warner was expecting.

I agree that neither of the sequels failed. I don't think they did perform as WB would have liked them to, but hardly a failure. I was ambivalent about the 3rd film when I first saw it, but my views on it have softened as I've revisited it.

[Jeff Kleist]

Please let me fail to the tune of $600 million in my pocket

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Please let me fail to the tune of $600 million in my pocket

Yeah I bet the cast and crew were crying all the way to the bank on that one.

[kefrank]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Except Wii was overpriced for what it is. Last generation GameCube hardware overclocked a tad. No resolutions above 480p...and the original XBOX supported 720p. No HDD (another thing the original XBOX had), and didn't even play DVDs, like XBOX and PS2.

Overpriced at $250 on launch? No. Not when you compare it to the launch prices of the other current-gen systems. Nintendo omitted certain features to price it at that point of course, but you're cherry-picking is moot when you consider that the Wii has features not present even in some current gen consoles (motion controls, built-in wifi, etc). Nevertheless, stating that the Wii was overpriced in your opinion doesn't negate my point at all. My original statement was that Nintendo's pricing strategy was quite a bit different than the one Apple typically employs. Nintendo intentionally released a gaming system that cost quite a bit less than their immediate competitors and took a wholly different technological approach in order to do that. Apple generally releases a product that costs more than their immediate competitors and justifies the cost based on their own technological approach (which is very form-factor-design-centric). The Wii was a "least expensive in its market" option. Apple virtually never releases such a product.

And now I will unhijack Jeff's thread as this is really not an important discussion...

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by kefrank

Overpriced at $250 on launch?

A repackaged GameCube (which was $99 at the time I believe) with different controllers and wifi.

Overpriced.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

A repackaged GameCube (which was $99 at the time I believe) with different controllers and wifi.

Overpriced.

I agree with you on this one. I do blame Sony and MS for giving them an excuse to charge the price they did.

They were making a profit on selling the hardware from day one. Probably a huge profit.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Told you this was coming

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/te...er=rss&emc=rss

The DOJ will have absolutely no trouble finding witnesses from all over the entertainment industry

With Apple passing MS in revenue this year, prepare for the smack of justice, and remember that MS never refused to sell Windows to OEMs, while remaining guilty of many of the same crap Apple's trying to pull.

Yet their stock price continues to soar while the hammer looms.