Here is exhibit A, in a long line of press leaks hinting at a permanent Xbox 360 price cut. Rumors of said price cut have been making their rounds on the Internet, since May of this year. It has almost become an assumption that this will happen, in order to kick start lagging sales of the console.
I would argue that this is not something that is inevitable, but rather something that is necessary. In June, the cumulative sales of the Nintendo Wii eclipsed that of the Xbox 360. Lets just stop for a second and process this. Microsoft had a full year head start on both Nintendo and Sony consoles. They had an extra year to build up a strong game library and establish a grassroots fanbase.
This lead was then decimated in a matter of a year by a demented little plumber, who has a penchant for enjoying the use of pipes? I mean for Christ sake, the key to the success of the Wii hinges on waving your arms in front of a television screen like a retard on acid! Is that really what is selling consoles in today's market?
While amusing, this is sadly relevant now.Sony is even starting to gain on Microsoft. The Playstation 3 have had better sales that of the 360 in three of the last four months. This is even after Microsoft announced a temporary price cut, in order to make room for new supply. VGChartz.com shows that over the past six months, the Xbox 360 has only shipped 3.8 million consoles. This is quite the inverse of Sony, which is seeing sales in excess of 5.1 million Playstation 3's and the obvious outlier of Nintendo's 10.6 million Wiis.
The Microsoft marketing team might as well shutter their doors and put a big sign out front of their offices that reads, "On leave, back in November!" Cruise control has been initiated and they are coasting into the holiday season on an empty tank of gas. I am no marketing genius, but I can see trouble from a mile away.
J. Allard was the visionary behind the design of both XboxesEver Since J. Allard left the Xbox team, there has been no unified vision to get behind. This has lead to the tailspin of the last few months. By the way Allard went on to helm the Zune team, or as I like to call them, Team Failure. If something is not done soon, The Xbox 360 could end up being this generation's purple lunchbox. Hell, at least the Gamecube wouldn't break every two days...
As I wipe the lather from my foaming fanboy mouth, here is an ironic reflection on the last console generation:
0 comments: