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September 5, 2000 Link to this post
Does Xbox have what it takes?
R.net has found an Xbox article on the New York Times website. If you don't have a NYT login, read the R.net news post for information on seeing this easily. The Times is a bit pessimistic on the Xbox; they think the console market might not last long enough to keep the Xbox afloat:
Brand and demographics may well conspire against Microsoft. Since July 1998, the penetration of video-game consoles in the nation's homes has begun to decline, to 35 percent from 37 percent.
The reason, according to the San Francisco-based market research firm Odyssey is that the home PC is also increasingly a game machine.
And they also worry that the rate of console speed growth could increase, putting Microsoft (a newcomer with no software titles) at a disadvantage:
While Microsoft will take the performance lead in 2001, it will be with a powerful machine and little software.
Sony could then trump Microsoft with a faster machine in a year or two that could spell trouble for the software publisher: if the video-game business becomes more like the PC hardware industry, Microsoft may find itself locked in a bitter war over profit margins in which it lacks the comfortable software cushion it enjoys in the PC business. Sony has not publicly acknowledged that it plans to speed up the pace but it has quietly sent signals to its developers.
It's almost certainly too soon to really judge the Xbox's chances in this lucrative market... but this article certainly brings up some heretofore unspoken fears. Go read it! (Again, check the R.net news post for instructions about access if you don't already have a login for the NYT site.) (Louis Wu 00:30:09 UTC)
