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With Microsoft, even fairly short games like Max Payne 3 have to come on two disks, which means JUST as I get comfortable and am enjoying the game, I get slapped with a "Insert Disk 2" sign that completely shatters my immersion. And this is because Microsoft refuses to use Bluray disks, which would have not only made the game run at better resolutions, but would eliminate the need to switch disks all the friggin time. It seems like ever single game I play on the 360 forces me to switch disks so many times. If I had a dime for every time Mass Effect 3 made me switch disks I'd have enough to buy it all over again.
That problem doesn't exist on the PS3. Plus, you don't have to pay for the right to play games online, which is a huge barrier to entry on the 360. Why should I have to pay to use the internet that I'm already paying for? Why should I have to pay to use a service that offers me nothing I can't already get on the PS3 for free (minus cross game chat). Just the fact that I have to spend money on the 360, to get services that I can get free literally everywhere else, is a HUGE barrier in my book.
Add on to that the fact that Microsoft fights developers who want to let us have free DLC, or MMO'S, or reasonably priced games. Microsoft prices their Games on Demand games so high that you can buy the same game at a retail store twice, and still pay less. Or what about the fact that you are paying Microsoft for the right to be advertised to? If the 70 bajillion ads that get thrown in your face every time you turn on your 360 doesn't directly affect your experience in a massively negative way, I don't know what will.
When I turn on my PS3, or use the PSN store, 90% of the screen is dedicated to what I want to actually see. Only 10% is dedicated to ads. On Microsoft's console, it is the opposite. You know something has gone horribly wrong when I had to spend 20 minutes trying to find demo's on Microsoft's console because there were so many ads everywhere. The ads are so intrusive that I've actually given up buying games on Xbox Live, and I just buy everything on PSN now.
So, as you can see, they both have their negatives. I may have to wait 20 minutes for updates when playing a PS3 game, but I don't have to deal with any of the problems mentioned above when I buy for the PS3."
No, they aren't. This is why no data exists to prove it, because it simply isn't true. The only proof you need is this...Used business has literally been around as long as business itself. As far back as history can show us (I have studied a LOT of history), people have been selling their used items to others. More recently, we sell our cars. We sell our old TV's. We have garage sales and sell our old clothers and toasters.
We sell our old iPod or iPhone to help pay for a new one. We buy used cars to save some cash. We buy used DVD's and second hand records from that tiny music store on the corner. We as a human race have been buying as selling used products since, well, as long as history can show us. Name one industry that closed its doors because of used sales. Just one.
Not to drag this into the ground, but there is a reason people use the "Car" analogy. It is true. Ford is never going to remove the tires off of the used Pickup you just bought and demand money for it back. Samsung isn't going to block your used TV from working until you pay them. General Mills isn't going to take the sugar off of your cereal and demand money for it back. Every single one of these companies has massive costs associated with their products after they leave the warehouse, and video games are no different.
Yet, the video game companies claim that server costs are too expensive and Online Passes are needed. Funny how no other industry on the face of the planet needs to steal from buyers of used products by removing features and demanding money for their return. Funny how every other business manages to do just fine, even if their products are available for purcahse used all around the world. I don't see anyone worrying about the poor film editor who won't get his royalites check from the production company on the used DVD you bought the other day.
Yet, I am supposed to feel bad for buying my games used? No, never. Used business does not hurt the video game industry. It was a lie that they started over a decade ago, and it has gotten out of control. They are lying to you and manipulating you to feel sorry for them. They want you to buy new all the time at $60 a pop, and feel terrible about yourself if you don't. Don't fall for the song and dance. The smartest industries in the world figured out how to profit off of their own used products after they leave the warehouse, like the auto industry.
What has the video game industry done besides hassle, lie to, manipulate, rob, and deceive the gamer at every opportunity? When you buy used, you are contributing to the economy, and that is all that matters."
I don't think it works like this. From what I have heard, buying everything that comes in that bundle the old fashioned way is only $20 or $30 less. So, you are only paying a bit more in the long run. And when that 2 year contract is up, you don't go back to paying it again. The 360 is paid off, you just buy a subscription to Xbox Live.
I really don't see the problem with this at all. I think it's a great idea and I think Sony would be stupid if they don't jump on the bandwagon and get going with a similar deal. And I hope these deals stretch into the next generation as well. Release a brand new console at that cheap of a price, and let people pay off the rest through contracts, is a great idea to me.
As long as they don't get greedy. As long as they don't try and do what every cell phone provider does.
"Oh, you want a larger friends list, well that will be an extra $5 a month."
"What's that? You want more cloud storage, well that will be an extra $10 a month"
"Oh, so you want faster download speeds, you'll have to sing up for a Platinum Membership for that, which is an extra $10 a month""
If you want a larger friends list, you have to pay extra. You want access to Netflix, Hulu, and ESPN? You'll have to pay extra. You want more cloud storage? You'll have to pay extra. You want a console that does true 1080p? You'll have to pay extra. You want an Ad free experience? You'll have to pay extra. You want cross game chat? You'll have to pay extra. I can see this becoming almost like a free to play model. And that means, VERY dangerous.
On the other hand, if by some miracle hell freezes over, pigs fly, and I stop growing so much gray hair, they might not resort to these tactics. Maybe they really do just want to offer as many people as many options as they can for payment. Wouldn't it be great to have choices? Do I want to pay $400 for the whole thing right now, no contracts? Do I want to pay $200 with a one year contract? $100 with a two year contract? These are the kinds of payment options that would get more people playing, and that's never a bad thing in my opinion.
However, I don't have that kind of faith in Microsoft. As we have seen with the dashboard, they are more than willing to compromise our experience in order to advertise even more to us. They are completely OK with asking us to pay them a fee for the right to be advertised to. They are not afraid to push us as far as we will go. I just hope they realize that gaming is not like cell phones. Many people need cell phones and are willing to put up with the hassle. However, many people won't put up with the same kind of nonsense when it's simply a game machine."
Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Valkyria Chronicles and Zenoblade Chronicles are great examples are fantastic games from Japan. These games prove that Japan has a lot of life left in them. However, so few of them are putting that kind of effort into their games. Most are just releasing the same exact games they've been making since the SNES days and wondering why it only sells 50,000 copies. So, again, either get in or get out Japan. Stop making games, or start changing your ways."
...You win this round, Killham..."