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We have the best games, says Microsoft News
Xbox 360 News by Ellie Gibson
Xbox Europe boss Chris Lewis has declared 360 has better games than any other console, which he believes will help Microsoft win the hardware war.
Speaking to our old friends GamesIndustry.biz Lewis said, "We do, genuinely, I think, have the best games for both the core and the masses.
"I certainly wouldn't trade places with any other platform holder right now. We've got the best games line-up, over 1,000 games for the holiday period - that's true for exclusive and first-party and third-party."
According to Lewis, 17.7 million Xbox 360 units have now been sold around the globe, although we reckon that's an old figure, since we first heard it in January and John Schappert has since said 18m. The attach rate is just over seven games per console - "Considerably ahead of where we stand with our competition."
Lewis said there have been lows as well as highs, however. "There are some parts of Europe where we enjoy less success than we aspire to," he conceded. "There are parts of continental and southern Europe where we made a slightly shaky start, certainly with the first version."
But he reckons factors such as a healthy software catalogue and good old Xbox Live will give Microsoft the edge over its competitors in the long run.
"We are very well positioned to win in Europe, [with the] best games for the core and the family, best service and a great set of price points to broaden our appeal to a wider community," he said, "And a lot more to come."
Read the full interview over on GamesIndustry.biz, where the attach rate of fact to news is always high.
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seasidebaz
13/03/08 @ 12:01
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i would agree that they have some of the best.... and also some of the worst.
it's the same with all 3 consoles, however. |
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What did you expect him to say the 360 is running out of steam?
That they would kill to have Mario/Zelda on the 360? That they are worried now that the Blu-ray has now become a very clear advantage to Sony? He is the boss at Xbox Europe, he has to say what he said, is whether you believe is true, that matters. |
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DonnieDarko333
13/03/08 @ 12:04
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Microsoft should have the best game it's been out the longest! Why don't all these games companies shut up and just get on with releasing the big-guns? I want Alan Wake damnit!
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@Vin - LOL
I'd argue that the *only* way to play all the "best" console games is to own an Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii; I don't think any one on their own offers me everything I want which is the very reason I do actually own all three! If I only owned an Xbox 360 I wouldn't be able to play wonderful games like Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Zack & Wiki, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Uncharted, MLB 08: The Show or forthcoming games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Wipeout HD, Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy XIII, White Knight Story, MotorStorm 2, etc., etc. In fact, I'm glad I *don't* just own a 360 really! :P I'd hate to have to choose one but if I had to it would probably be the Xbox 360 but only because of Banjo-Kazooie, which is my most wanted game at the moment. |
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"I certainly wouldn't trade places with any other platform holder right now."
What an idiot... If he really didn't want to trade places with Nintendo (selling consoles about twice as fast at higher profit margins) his boss should fire him. "[with the] best games for the core and the family" Best games for the family is pure and utter bulshit. I understand that this is just another PR interview but if the facts are painful, than don't talk about it instead of making things up... |
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GamesConnoisseur
13/03/08 @ 12:31
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I would not trade in X360, but at same time I would not trade away Wii and PS3! Sure X360 do get most of my playing time but Wii and PS3 do get a reasonable good share, better than they did last year.
So X360 getting a bit less share of my attention this year, but nothing yet for it to be worried at being possibly neglected and unwanted!! |
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farticusmaximus
13/03/08 @ 12:37
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The man speaks the truth.
However, due to ignorant people buying consoles based purely on the brand name and not the consoles abilities or titles, Sony are likely to continue with their insipid and entirely undeserved catchup. It's all academic anyway as neither MS or Sony will match Wii hardware sales. |
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The best games, yes. Even though the PS2 obviously have a bigger library, most of the world has moved on, and while the PS2 is still a viable machine, it can't really compete with the 360 library in terms of graphics, at least, even though real mass-market games like Guitar Hero III is essentially the same on any platfprm it's published for. Either way - Microsoft deserves credit for games like Mass Effect, Halo 3, Gears of War, Crackdown, Dead Rising and Bioshock. There are just a lot more games of this level of quality than on any other current platform. The amount of downloadable games also seems to be a lot better than with the competitors. And in adittion, many of the cross-platform games seem to perform best on the 360. So yeah, the 360 wins when it comes to games.
However - there are two or three big arguments against the 360 as well, and their combined weight may make the wealth of available games a moot point. First, and most imporant, The Xbox 360 is the worst designed and least reliable gaming console in the history of computer gaming. It is also the noisiest game console ever. Many users don't mind sending their consoles in for replacement once in a while, a lot of users do mind. They're slowly taking steps to fix this, and currently available xboxes are about as reliable as the competior's product. The brand value is pretty severly damaged, tho. So for issues as noise and reliabilty, the Xbox is a bad choice. Second - although there are a lot of games to choose between, they're pretty much all the same. The Wii pretty much has the market for casuel, family friendly games cornered. They've got a mass market apeal that the Xbox don't even come close to, even after significant cost cuts. And third: they don't have any long term brand leverage. Gamers have been playing their nintendos and Playstations for generations (literally); while Microsoft's last console ended in tears. And for the mass market, the mommies and daddies do have final say in what console the family will get for christmas. Personally, I know a lot of thirty- and even fortysoethings that have bought a Wii for the family, or are eagerly awaiting GT5 for which they'll get a PS3. The 360, while they have lots and lots of great games, don't have anything that even approaches the mass market brand recognition that the PlayStation in particular has. So I think it's looking very shaky for Microsoft with the current generation of consoles is now venturing into the mass market. It will be very interesting to see which platform GTA IV will sell best on. I think the PS3 GTA's will outsell the Xbox version in the long run, but not at launch. A year after GTA launch, we should probably see a significant margin in sales, tho... DLC or not. Oh, and mister mass market don't even know what DLC is. BTW: it's not a war, it's a competition. And both consoles are worth getting. I'm getting a 360 once they un-fubar the hardware. |
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Monkey_Puncher
13/03/08 @ 13:09
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Microsoft have a lot of games just around the corner as well though. Strangely out of all the exclusive games I'm looking forward to on 360 this year there's not a single 1st person shooter, and only one 3rd person shooter.
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I know MS messed up by rushing through testing and took their time sorting it out but the FUD from Sonybots has been off the charts(off da hook PStripple style) I can see the next step is posting images of burning 360s in peoples cabinets, while they sit on their couch with their ears bleeding from the super loud jetplane noise.
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most recently on 13/03/08 @ 13:24
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They don't have the best games for the masses though. As is proved weekly by the Wii and DS software charts, the masses want utterly shite games, which 360 doesn't have enough of. Only when it has output as bad as Game Party and Sight Training will it ever appeal to the masses. Also, it has no Sims games, which automatically rules out 99% of casual gamers.
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scouserfuller9
13/03/08 @ 13:31
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At least it shows not everyone at MS are a bunch of muppets because if he had said XBOX has the poorest games it isn't gonna do them any good is it!
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It will be very interesting to see which platform GTA IV will sell best on. I think the PS3 GTA's will outsell the Xbox version in the long run, but not at launch. A year after GTA launch, we should probably see a significant margin in sales, tho... DLC or not.
I've been saying on this and other forums for quite some time that the release of GTA IV is what will cause PS3 sales to rocket. To this people have looked at me strangely, as it's a cross-platform game that will be as good if not better on 360 thanks to better online implentation and exclusive episodic content. But, and I know this from asking a lot of people, the number of 'casual gamers' (not the casual as in family market, but casual as in the 16-25yo male that occasionally plays GTA, NFS and PES and doesn't know much about gaming) that are still playing on their PS2 and have not made the jump yet is huge. To these people, GTA IV is the reason to upgrade their hardware, and to the bulk of these people the PlayStation brand is absolutely synonymous with quality gaming, and they also see a very clear link between PlayStation and Grand Theft Auto, like the two are meant to go together. They get all their info from the mainstream press which routinely reports on PS3 in terms of its amazing power and revolutionary graphics and blows it out of all proportion. They will stick with what they know and what they believe to be the best. Come the end of April, the statements made by SCE that they could 'put a turd in a box with a PlayStation label on it and millions would buy it' will be realised. |
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designerheadache
13/03/08 @ 13:36
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why is it when peter moore spoke I at least took notice, but this douche bag just makes me laugh and point at his face......
oh yeah, does he remind anyone else of a used car salesman, i just get that impression, can't put my finger on why though! |
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sadly i have to agree with Zomoniac. There are a lot of sheep out there who don't really know about games who buy the brand not the machine. When GTA4 hits Sony WILL shift more PS3s.
But, if some are just upgrading for GTA is it not possible that when they go to buy they might (I say might) see a console offering the same game but for a £100 cheaper (even cheaper with the arcade version). No doubt GTA did help PS2 stay the dominant console, but it's not exclusive any more................. |
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