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Microsoft not only worried about Sony

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Microsoft doesn’t see Sony as their only competition.  As much as people like comparing the consoles and discussing the possibility of a console war, the reality is that this isn’t just about the Xbox One and PS4 – there is plenty of competition from a variety of companies.

At a roundtable, Don Mattrick (Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business president) told a group of outlets

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment on Sony’s vision.  I think they are one of the competitors inside the space, Nintendo’s another… Apple, Google, Samsung. There’s multiple people who will bring things into the market.”

It would seem that Microsoft is trying to win their share of the market against all the big boys.  Apple, Google and Samsung are all very active in their pursuit of home entertainment.  Although I must wonder why someone would buy an Apple TV in order to stream their Netflix, Hulu and iStore content when it doesn’t offer the other capabilities that a console does – I’m not just talking about gaming but also Blu-Ray.

 It makes sense that Microsoft is taking this stance, and it’s nice to see other people ignoring the console war idea.  However, I wonder if the Xbox One is falling into that classic trap of being a jack of all trades, and master of none.  At least Sony is insistent that the PS4 is all about the games and gamers – CEO Kazuo Hirai reaffirmed that commitment.

 I use my PS3 for games, but also as a Blu-Ray player, media PC and for Netflix.  I’m not sure I would have forked out that cash solely for Netflix or Blu-Ray – I was driven by gaming and happy to have added value.  How do you use your consoles?  Do you think maybe Xbox is competing in an unfamiliar market, hence their PR mess?

Last Updated: May 31, 2013

43 Comments

  1. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    May 31, 2013 at 15:06

    It’s kind of funny because I don’t see Microsoft as Sony or Nintendo’s competition any more. Microsoft is off bringing that 1950s technology, TV to the masses. The other two are focussed on games.

    Reply

  2. Rinceandspit...

    May 31, 2013 at 15:08

    I hate to say it, and I have done so many a time, but MS will win as far as market value. Just like the wii did. Still, I don’t think anything with an X will be in my room. SONY on the other hand can have the most valued of space in my home!

    Reply

    • Andre116

      May 31, 2013 at 16:12

      X-rared movies?

      Reply

  3. Argentil

    May 31, 2013 at 15:08

    I don’t see how streaming services and TV can evolve much further. There’s room for expansion, sure: Anything involving a forum/comment feed operating real-time in tandem with a broadcast – would be neat for viewer driven interviews. They seem to be moving into more gimmicky territory with Kinect gesture and voice control as well as TV achievements.
    They need to be careful, a lot of what they’re promoting is unnecessary or even a detraction. Skype while watching TV… alright, but why would I do so on the TV that I’m watching things on. I would rather boot up skype on my phone, tablet or PC if I really wanted to multitask. Achievements and targeted advertising aren’t attractive either.

    If this is ‘all’ they are offering, outside of some good games and magical cloud computing that defies logic, they should be a little more humble.

    Reply

    • robert

      May 31, 2013 at 15:20

      The reason for the Xbox one is simple, people are sick of multiple non-cooperative devices. That’s why apple is successful, this is your music device, buy songs, but now you’ve invested you’re stuck. MS could have easily won this war simply by making it backwards compatible, so all those who have already invested would be more inclined to stay.

      Reply

      • Argentil

        May 31, 2013 at 15:22

        That’s a good point. I still don’t know why they didn’t include B/C – the hardware in the 360 is quite standard and shouldn’t be hard to emulate.

        Reply

    • Argentil

      May 31, 2013 at 15:59

      I’m assuming I was downvoted for using the phrase “magical cloud computing that defies logic”

      Allow me to vindicate myself (if that’s the case):

      Microsoft have claimed that they will have the XOne employing cloud computing to bring it’s performance up to the equivalent of four Xbox Ones. This is impossible even with the best internet available, there isn’t enough bandwidth to transmit the info quick enough.

      http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/83120

      There was an excellent article I read detailing some figures and mhz and stuff. Can’t find it now.

      Reply

  4. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    May 31, 2013 at 15:16

    Hehehe I’m Don Mattrick, look at my jacket!

    Reply

  5. DarthofZA

    May 31, 2013 at 15:22

    I use my consoles for about 20% gaming at the most…

    I still think MS are all about the gamers in addition to all these other bells and whistles. I’m waiting for E3 to see which way they’re going. But if MS end up shafting the gaming side, and the PS4 end up shafting the media side, I will probably get neither. The amount of money for a console isn’t worth it for just games anymore.

    So far the XBONE has me more interested as I know they are focusing on everything, and Sony seem to be a one trick pony at the moment.

    Reply

    • Umar Kiiroi Senk?

      May 31, 2013 at 15:24

      IS being a one trick pony a bad thing?considering the trick is gaming

      Reply

      • Rinceandspit...

        May 31, 2013 at 15:25

        No, it isn’t. Not any more. When the NES, SNES, SEGA etc were out, totally. But people now tend to suffer from ADD and cannot focus on any one thing at a time, you know I thi… OHHHH BUTTTERFLY!

        Reply

        • Umar Kiiroi Senk?

          May 31, 2013 at 15:29

          Lol nice 🙂 but yes agree ….. look it’s not bad to focus on more than one thing, it’ natural to have apps, and netflix etc, but to make tv and all other things the focus is just bullship

          Reply

          • DarthofZA

            May 31, 2013 at 15:42

            But we don’t know that TV is the focus of the XBONE. They said at the launch that they will be showing games at E3, doesn’t mean games aren’t their focus. They have a huge team at MS, and they will have guys focusing on the games, and guys focusing on the media. Doesn’t mean that games is getting any less attention because of the media. It is nice to know that the media is getting all this attention though, as the console will be used for the media a lot.

    • Argentil

      May 31, 2013 at 15:25

      I think it’s impossible to ‘shaft the media side.’ Even if it has the features of the PS3 carried over, it’s already a powerful media device. It’s obvious that the PS4, with it’s cloud infrastructure and Sony Entertainment integrated background will introduce new media partnerships and features. You can subscribe to Sony Music Unlimited for like $1 (or was it free?) if you’re a playstation plus member.

      Reply

  6. Double-O-Six and a half

    May 31, 2013 at 15:58

    Just a question here for those more knowledgeable than I in these matters… but does anybody know if MS plans to have a time period where both the 360 and XBone will still continue to be supplied, supported and maintained ala PS2/PS3 model? I mean if they keep the 360 going as more of a gaming focussed device while giving everybody that wants a replacement TV remote the XBone, I’m not just talking of a traditional switchover type period but more of the model where new PS2’s are STILL being supplied even though PS4 is on the horizon…?

    Reply

    • Harvey P. Cheeswinkle

      May 31, 2013 at 16:05

      Early adoption is a crucial period in a consoles life and companies rely greatly on early adopters to get things out. ‘Everybody who wants a replacement TV remote’ doesn’t exactly sound like a massive demographic to be staking your bets on. Their E3 better kick ass at this point.

      Reply

      • Double-O-Six and a half

        May 31, 2013 at 16:24

        I was an early adopter of the 360… heck I was even an early adopter of the RROD ( 3 times),I was an early adopter of the PS3 until a Lightning strike took care of that, and then I had to adopt another PS3… Will I be an early adopter now, quite frankly neither of the two are looking really appealing to me right now, XBone for obvious reveal(ing) reasons and PS4 for not being revealed enough… However, I must say, my wishlist has to include: “what aint broke don’t fix”, just make the games, prettier, sound better, and faster, anything else is just icing on top

        Reply

    • Argentil

      May 31, 2013 at 16:28

      MS are inviting people to keep their 360’s in tandem with their One’s. There are rumours that they are even planning on making a smaller 360 to sell at a lower price point to complement it’s new console.

      Reply

      • Jakster

        May 31, 2013 at 17:11

        There’s a big reveal for the 360 coming at E3 but they are keeping quite on it for now.

        Reply

  7. Jakster

    May 31, 2013 at 17:15

    MS acknowledges their competition. Kaz on the other hand is beating a dead horse and we’ve seen what happened to the Vita when you concentrate just on games. Sony’s share price has started to plummet once again from Kaz’s bland response at D11.

    Reply

  8. HvR

    May 31, 2013 at 19:23

    At the rate MS is agitating the gaming community they should be worried by all major electronic device manufacture, they should also be worried about Matchbox, board-game vendors and the girl in the street drawing a hop-scotch squares.

    Reply

  9. Guest

    May 31, 2013 at 22:40

    my wife liked our ps3 more after she realized you could use it to watch porn on the big screen. I love my wife.

    Reply

  10. Tbone187

    June 3, 2013 at 10:43

    These new consoles are powerful pieces of tech…using them for games only would seem to be a waste I reckon so MS might be onto something…

    Kinda like how Vmware created virtualisation software to make use of wasted system resources in servers for optimal usage…

    Question is, will the gaming side of things be compromised.Personally, I don’t think so with all that power…OS overheads shouldn’t really be an issue either…

    Reply

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