Console Wars - the revenge

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Asher
I've never encountered a problem yet. And the 360 HD DVD drive also hooks up to the PC, rather conveniently.

That said, I've only ever ripped 3 HD DVD. I mostly rip DVDs.

Why do you think I got a quad-core 3GHz CPU? I need the horsepower for media encodings.

Why would you need to reencode ripped DVD's/HDDVD's?

[Asher]

When I store them for keeps, I re-encode the the HD DVDs in 720p H264 instead, and DVDs in 480p H264 for space consideration. I only have 1 TB of storage, of which 100GB is free.

[Kuciwalker]

Jeez, even I have 1TB. Space is cheap.

[Asher]

I'll expand later, but I'm happy with the current arrangement. I'm going to add a 1TB external soon when the prices become more reasonable.

[El_Cid]

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/28753/New-low-price-compact-PS2-to-arrive-in-2008

That looks like just what i've been looking for - assuming it has no hidden issues like game compatibility, poor read quality etc(what else did the various PS2's suffer from?).

Probably it will be my last console purchase(other than maybe new hand-held options), as the games I often find poor, and getting poorer for the most part with next-gen. £75 for a lot of great console gaming

The relevance to the thread is that I will be getting this and not a Wii

[flash9286]

Of course current gen looks bad if you look at Wii games. Get a 360.

[Verto]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Or I could just skip the drive and download HD video straight off of Live

(ends up being cheaper per movie, too)

Meh. Netflix is a much better alternative.

[lord of the mark]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20071207...20071207tech01;_ylt=Amwy0B6GefXbWA1L69CV.hAjtBAF

Fri Dec 7, 5:56 PM ET

Nintendo's hit video game console Wii is in short supply this holiday season. But the Japanese company insists it's making and shipping as many as it can.

Demand for the Wii (pronounced "wee") didn't slow down over the summer, so Nintendo says it wasn't able to build up an inventory for the holiday season. The device has proved popular with families because of its easy-to-use, motion-sensing controller.

"Normally we would come into the October-November-December time period with a warehouse pretty well stocked with hardware," said George Harrison, senior vice president of marketing at Nintendo of America. "But we never were able to achieve that this year because we were shipping and selling everything that we received from overseas."

Nintendo has been steadily increasing production this year, he says. It's now at 1.8 million units a month, but that output has to be divided worldwide.

The company originally expected to sell 14 million units for the fiscal year ending March 31. It has twice upped the forecast, to the current 17.5 million.

The Wii debuted in November 2006 and has sold 13.2 million units worldwide as of Sept. 30.

It's outselling more-sophisticated game consoles from Microsoft (NasdaqGS:MSFT - News) and Sony (NYSE:SNE - News).

Plus, Nintendo makes money on every Wii unit it sells. By contrast, Microsoft loses money on the Xbox 360 as does Sony with its PlayStation 3 because of their high-end components. Microsoft and Sony aim to make their profits by selling games.

"We expect the demand for Wii to continue into January, February and March," Harrison said. "We've got some big (game software) titles scheduled for the first part of the year. So it doesn't look like it's going to slow down anytime soon."

Nintendo has managed the supply of Wii consoles so they wouldn't sit long on store shelves, says Van Baker, an analyst with market research firm Gartner. The tight supply helps keep the buzz going for Wii, he says.

"There's enough inventory out there that people don't quit shopping for them. They may have to go to three or four different locations before they find one, but ultimately they do," Baker said.

But Brian O'Rourke, an analyst with research firm In-Stat, says Nintendo isn't intentionally holding back.

Nintendo's tight supply of Wii consoles comes from the fact that it isn't a manufacturing company, O'Rourke says. "They outsource their manufacturing. And qualifying contract manufacturers is a fairly time-consuming process," he said.

It takes Nintendo five months to increase production from the time it makes the decision to do so, Harrison says.

Demand for the Wii is likely to remain strong for at least the next two years, says O'Rourke. It is the cheapest of the current-generation consoles on the market and it appeals to a larger audience of casual gamers.

Gartner's Baker thinks Wii sales will be strong this Christmas but will cool by next holiday season.

"In general, it looks pretty positive for Wii this Christmas," Baker said. "The product's shortcomings are going to catch up with (Nintendo) by next Christmas."

The knocks against the Wii, Baker says, are that it lags in horsepower and graphics performance compared with rival consoles, and that it doesn't have as big a portfolio of games to play.

Most of the popular games for the Wii are Nintendo's own titles. Third-party game publishers aren't having as much success with the Wii, Baker says. The casual gamers who use the Wii don't buy as many game titles as the active gamers who use the Xbox 360 or PS3.

Those factors will make for a "relatively short run for this console," Baker said.

Other analysts disagree, saying Nintendo has expanded the audience for video games with its intuitive, easy-to-play game devices like the Wii and its handheld Nintendo DS.

"The Wii is going to be the best-selling console this generation," O'Rourke said. "There's very little doubt about that."

A big factor in Wii's favor is its cost. The Wii is priced at $250 and comes bundled with game software called "Wii Sports."

The lowest-price rival console is a stripped-down version of Microsoft's console called the Xbox 360 Arcade. It costs $279 and comes with five arcade games, including "Pac-Man Championship Edition." The standard Xbox 360 costs $349 and includes a 20-gigabyte hard drive, headset and network cable that the base version doesn't have.

Sony's PlayStation 3 costs $399 for a version with a 40-gigabyte hard drive and $499 for an 80-GB model. All PS3 models come with an integrated Blu-ray Disc drive for playing high-definition movies.

Nintendo expects a good holiday selling season thanks to the Wii and accessories like extra controllers and the new Wii Zapper for precision targeting. It also has first-party games like "Super Mario Galaxy" for the Wii.

[Asher]

But Brian O'Rourke, an analyst with research firm In-Stat, says Nintendo isn't intentionally holding back.

Nintendo's tight supply of Wii consoles comes from the fact that it isn't a manufacturing company, O'Rourke says. "They outsource their manufacturing. And qualifying contract manufacturers is a fairly time-consuming process," he said.

It takes Nintendo five months to increase production from the time it makes the decision to do so, Harrison says.

Brian O'Rourke is a moron. Microsoft doesn't manufacture its consoles either. The Wii has been in production for 16 months, whining about a 5 month leadtime (which I'd say isn't accurate, based on how quickly MS could ramp up after launch) is even more stupid.

That article provides nothing new. Fact is, Nintendo isn't producing enough because they're not interested in doing so. If they had ATTEMPTED to ramp up production and failed, it'd be different, but they haven't even tried.

Thus, they ARE intentionally restricting stock by the simple fact that they haven't bothered to increase it.

I'm getting real sick of running in circles here, LOTM. Was there anything new in that article or was it just a +1?

[Jon Miller]

I expect Nintendo to announce a new consol in another year or so. They are working towards that, and not properly supporting the Wii because of this.

JM

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Asher

But Brian O'Rourke, an analyst with research firm In-Stat, says Nintendo isn't intentionally holding back.

Nintendo's tight supply of Wii consoles comes from the fact that it isn't a manufacturing company, O'Rourke says. "They outsource their manufacturing. And qualifying contract manufacturers is a fairly time-consuming process," he said.

It takes Nintendo five months to increase production from the time it makes the decision to do so, Harrison says.

Brian O'Rourke is a moron. Microsoft doesn't manufacture its consoles either. The Wii has been in production for 16 months, whining about a 5 month leadtime (which I'd say isn't accurate, based on how quickly MS could ramp up after launch) is even more stupid.

That article provides nothing new. Fact is, Nintendo isn't producing enough because they're not interested in doing so. If they had ATTEMPTED to ramp up production and failed, it'd be different, but they haven't even tried.

Thus, they ARE intentionally restricting stock by the simple fact that they haven't bothered to increase it.

I'm getting real sick of running in circles here, LOTM. Was there anything new in that article or was it just a +1?

It was an outside view on a topic we have discussed, and as such clearly at home here. Just because you happen to disagree with some of the opinions expressed isn't a good reason to attack the poster.

Now O'Rourke might be an idiot - I have no idea. However, those forecasting Wii doom have of course all been wrong so far. I myself would tend towards the 'Baker' view about the position by next Christmas - but I'm far from sure, and you do yourself discredit by reacting so angrily to each and every post that disagrees with your views.

[Asher]

I don't mind when people disagree with me. But when people post the exact same argument dozens of times in a row, it becomes infuriating. The more they say it, the more they think it makes it true. Let's try not go to in circles here.

LOTM thinks that just because some no-name analyst thinks the same thing it is something new to the argument. It's not. Need I also open the can of worms about how much of a tool "analysts" are? I've ranted on that many times too, what's another? You guys seem to enjoy running in circles.

I also don't consider Brian O'Rourke an "outside view" on the topic, as it's an identical view to what was shared here by many others. It's a repetitive view, and nothing new.

[Verto]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
I expect Nintendo to announce a new consol in another year or so. They are working towards that, and not properly supporting the Wii because of this.

JM

Yes, maybe this time they'll include powerful enough hardware to provide a meaningful change in gameplay.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Asher
I don't mind when people disagree with me. But when people post the exact same argument dozens of times in a row, it becomes infuriating. The more they say it, the more they think it makes it true. Let's try not go to in circles here.

LOTM thinks that just because some no-name analyst thinks the same thing it is something new to the argument. It's not. Need I also open the can of worms about how much of a tool "analysts" are? I've ranted on that many times too, what's another? You guys seem to enjoy running in circles.

I also don't consider Brian O'Rourke an "outside view" on the topic, as it's an identical view to what was shared here by many others. It's a repetitive view, and nothing new.

Come on, be fair - you post links all the time to back up various views you hold on the Wii (and other console matters as well). And in many cases they are the exact same views that you have expressed and defended 500 times here before.

I guess that's ok?

All (including both you and LotM) should be able to post their opinions or articles that might be of wider interest to participants of this thread, without the kind of angry responses you have been making lately.

[Asher]

Can you provide an example of a time where I provided a link to some numbnuts Analyst who just seems to be repeating what a lot of people say?

I post links, but to facts -- not to meanderings by incompetent "analysts". LOTM incessantly posts "analysts" without apparently realizing most of them live in their parents basements, and those that don't still don't know much. It's akin to quoting some random poster at IGN or GAF. It does nothing for the thread.

On a slightly more related note, I passed 10,000 gamerscore today.