What console would you buy?

Shinji

Hello? A few weeks? Try a few months considering the stats for XBox hard drive failures are in line with the American ones.

I don't know the yank stats offhand. I know that the failure rate of the unit as a whole has been high enough to set off alarm bells with various consumer organisations there. That hasn't happened here yet, probably because sales of the system in Europe are low enough that failures are low.

I have (fairly good but not marvellous) connections with Microsoft. I don't read PCFormat. I know what I'm talking about. You work for eurogamer.net - I suppose that's where you get most of your nonsensical waffle.

Okay, you brought it up so I'll take the bait here.

Firstly, your opinions on Eurogamer.net are meaningless since I don't work for that site, although I'm involved in advising on commercial aspects to do with the running of the site. The project I'm working on for Eurogamer Network hasn't gone live yet.

Secondly, I've been working as a games and technology journalist for nearly seven years. I don't have any qualms about claiming that I know this industry inside out. I spent the last year working on CTW, the industry weekly trade newspaper. You don't go much higher than that in terms of industry coverage.

I don't know who your source at Microsoft is. Personally, my information about HomeStation comes from a conversation I had with J Allard in London over a dinner a few months ago. I also heard a roughly similar story from Seamus Blackley in Cannes last year.

You can wave around your "sources" and slag off Eurogamer all you bloody like, but I do this for a living and I know my stuff, because it's my JOB to know my stuff. You can be as sarcastic and arrogant as you like, but ultimately you're a snotty nosed fanboy who talks like a Microsoft press release, and that's blatantly obvious to everyone here but yourself.

It enhances a game, games are an interactive multimedia experience - listening to Japanese while reading English DOES have an effect on a good game.

A positive effect, for the most part. It's a simple argument. The Japanese voice actors are highly skilled professionals, simply due to the nature of their industry in Japan. They work closely with the director of the game to realise his vision. The American voice actors are poorly paid and generally people who are doing VA work as a stopgap between other acting jobs. They come in, read the lines and leave. It shows, too.

If you have difficulty reading subtitles while picking up nuances from Japanese speech, then you're in a minority.

Get with the program - even the Dreamcast had a good chart run for the weeks following launch.

But the Xbox didn't. What does that tell you?

Oh, and try every street in Dublin...but you wouldn't know much about the outdoors...

Failing miserably at making a sensible argument, our hero falls back on stupid statements (so you spoke to folk on every street in Dublin, I see!) and personal insults.

Wrong. Oh so badly wrong. GT3 basically turned around the PS2, and in subsequent weeks we saw a definite increase in sales. Don't kid yourself with false stats.

And now you know better than Chart-Track how many units of PS2 hardware were sold every week last year, too! IMPRESSIVE! Or possibly you're just making up rubbish to support whatever the hell point it is that you're trying to make.

Over 90 people walked out with an XBox. Compared to the 5 that walked out with a GameCube at launch. Oh dear...

A shame then that this wasn't carried forward into the sales figures then, eh? Maybe GC people just have the common bloody sense not to hang around at midnight to pick up a console...


And a quick final word. I'm moderator on this board, and if you were arguing with anyone else but me I'd ban you for the personally insulting nature of your posts. If you're going to take a bad attitude, I'll ban you anyway, because frankly one more frothing-at-the-mouth fanboy who makes up crap and spouts PR drivel is something the board can get along perfectly happily without.

Shinji

Christ, here we go again.

*Applause* Yes and now that their sad, usual, core group of zealots is out of the way, sales have in all parts gone down dramatically I hear - though this is unconfirmed so don't quote me on it.

No, I will bloody well quote you on it. You have no idea what you're talking about. There are no official stats for week two. Every major retailer is still talking about doing a brisk trade in Cube hardware and software. Two of the biggest software launches - SSBM and Pikmin - are still on the way in the coming months.

Stop making up utter crap in order to try and convice people of your pathetic arguments. This isn't a board composed entirely of fanboys and you WILL get caught out, and look stupid.

Oh and another thing - realise that NOBODY CARES about the Irish launch. Ireland, for all that I love my country, doesn't matter a tupenny damn to companies like MS or Nintendo or Sony. The Republic of Ireland has a population about the size of Birmingham. It's the UK/Ireland launch that counts, not some bloody stupid self-assessment of "what the launch in the virgin megastore in dublin was like, by noel aged four and three quarters". Cop on.

Dont be at yourself

Technology mags weren't going by the Irish launch - don't kid yourself, and they're hardly going to ignore it.

The European launch of the GameCube received widespread coverage. And the root of the matter is that you dispute the fact that the GameCube is getting good press - which it is. Check out the big news sites - they'll have all done features on it.

Glad you asked about websites that panned it, here's one such site: http://www.irishplayer.com .

It seems that they had more issues with the HMV call centre and buskers on Grafton Street than the console

GAME did sell that many on that day - and I've seen the closing week sales figures too that say it.

No, really - they didn't. I believe QBall used to work in that store, maybe he can confirm this?

The DVD player ownership rates in this country are under 15% - there's still a large market out there.

Yes, but the people who own a DVD player are the same people who go out and buy a console - I'd wager a good 80% of the XBox's target demograph are standalone DVD player owners.

I know, that's why I mentioned GTA3 and MGS2...

Oh, so you admit that you were talking through your arse originally then?

Baby steps.

It's funny how you mock the XBox lowering price but then don't mock the kneejerk reaction by Nintendo evidently prompted by fear. You must enjoy fooling yourself - honestly you try it so much, next you're going to be telling me the decision by Nintendo to make shorter games is a good thing.

I mock Microsoft's price cut because it was everyone who had a fucking clue were screaming at them to do weeks before the launch - only they were too sure of themselves to do it. I found it immensely funny when the console bombed at that price point and giggled at how ignorant Microsoft's attitude has been to the market.

I applaud Ninty's decision to cut the price because a) it wasn't born out of neccessity, and b) it underlines their commitment to Europe.

*Applause* Yes and now that their sad, usual, core group of zealots is out of the way, sales have in all parts gone down dramatically I hear - though this is unconfirmed so don't quote me on it.

Really, where did you hear this from? Its actually a similar situation as it was with the PS2 launch - sales are due to spike every time Ninty replenishes the stock.

segadreamcast

Originally posted by NekkidBibleMan


Oh, so you admit that you were talking through your arse originally then?

Baby steps.

Sorry Nekkid, I had actually worded the whole thing wrong initially, I agree wholeheartedly that GTA3 and MGS2 were much better sources - but for the mass media I think GT3 was the turning point.

Anyway, I'll reply to the rest of these points tomorrow - sorry but I'm just wrapping up a 19 hour day now - and I have more to do in six hours time, so I'll be back then I suppose.

Oh and Shinji, please, by all means, wave your moderation stick at me if you wish, by no means are you guarding a gaming metropolis here - so it will be no huge loss to me. On the flipside, I have started one of the most active back and forth debates here for a while, but hey, go ahead and ban me just because I don't agree with you, I won't change.

G'Night now.

Shinji

hey, go ahead and ban me just because I don't agree with you, I won't change.

That's not what I said I'd do. If you can't maintain a sensible discussion, then I'd rather you weren't here. That's all. I've got no problems with people disagreeing with me as long as they're not outright lying, making up crap or being personally offensive.

I agree wholeheartedly that GTA3 and MGS2 were much better sources - but for the mass media I think GT3 was the turning point.

Also interestingly, this isn't what YOU said, in fact you slagged me off for pointing out to you that GT3 hadn't sold bucketloads of PS2s like you originally claimed.


Never let blatantly obvious facts get in the way of a good story, of course.

segadreamcast

I believe I called it the turning point - where as you said Ominusha had had a more significant effect on PS2 sales than that.

In reality, GT3 wasn't a mammoth hit - but it was the PS2's first "must-have" IMHO, then MGS2 came along and everybody had to have it. But the one game that has probably saved PS2 from the hands of Nintendo (or perhaps even Microsoft) is probably Grand Theft Auto 3.

That was generally along the lines of what I was originally saying, but I was only mentioning GT3 initially :P

Stephen

Noel, you strike me as an utter fanboy. Others have expressed a similar opinion - you talk like you're reading an MS press release.

The sales figures and the results of this poll show the opinion of the masses - There's a lot more cubes and PS2's being sold than XBoxen.

Swifty

Halo is the only reason I might buy an Xbox, I still won't though. The gamecube looks great, I want one but I'll probably have to earn some sort of currency first

The PS2 would be your best bet now if you ask me, a truckload of top notch games out already.. oh and a whole library of psone games (one of which is the most sexual game ever).

CodeMonkey

Originally posted by NoelRock
In week to week sales yes. I'm talking about overall sales figures.

A very belated reply but I was talking about overall sales figures too for the PS1 and PS2. Last time I checked, the PS2 have sold over 30million units globally since it's launch but I can't find the links I read it on which is why I said I wasn't 100% sure. Maybe Shinji knows what the official sales figures are.

amp

Poll closed, unstuck, with the Gamecube the clear winner. Interest the the x-box is definitely down and the PS2 seem to be still causing saliva production.

amp

And here's the poll we did before on this.

Dont be at yourself

It makes my heart bleed to see that people are losing interest in the Atari Jaguar

Mountjoy Mugger

I was planning to buy the x-box next month, but after geting a bill for €500 for my apartment maintenance, it's gone til probably Christmas!