Dennis Durkin, Xbox CFO for Microsoft, has a vested interest in proclaiming his company’s products to be “superior” to their competitors. In a recent interview with IndustryGamers, that’s exactly what he did.
I think our first party performance in terms of quality bars and units per title this shift has been superior to our competition’s
It’s hard to criticise the guy for doing his job and trailing the company line but the assertion that Microsoft Studios are noticeably superior doesn’t appear to make much sense to me.
Statements like this are needfully non-specific. Is Durkin talking about every Microsoft Game Studios title released this generation? Is he including the Games for Windows and Windows Phone 7 content that Microsoft Studios publish too? Is he discounting sales of bundled software like Wii Play? Without clarification, it’s impossible to determine what he means and that makes it impossible to argue with his statements. Except that I’m not sure it works on any level.
[drop2]Of course, it would be equally as foolish to claim that Sony have had a clear advantage in anything but actual number of exclusives published on a home console. It’s simply too difficult to conclusively prove superiority in general terms when there are so many factors to be considered.Metacritic averages for critical responses to each stable shows that Microsoft and Sony are very close (73 and 75) with Nintendo just faring slightly better with critics at 77. So there is a rough similarity with general critical response but using the best data we’ve got access to, and the most basic way of presenting it, Nintendo comes out on top.
Economically, of course, it’s a little more difficult to pin down. It’s almost impossible to get accurate data with many retail outlets not counting, a discrepancy between “shipped” and “sold” and no European figures at all. But it’s reasonable to assume that titles like Wii Fit and Super Mario Galaxy, with their astronomical sales and long tails, have outstripped first party offerings from either of the HD consoles. So economically speaking, at least on specific titles, Nintendo seem sure to take that crown as well as their narrow victory with the critics. But it’s all very marginal and based on a fair amount of guess work and supposition, not to mention wilful manipulation of the data.
Of course, another way to look at it is by taking specific examples and pitting them against each other. For example, is Uncharted 2 a better game than Gears of War 2? I think so, but then I also suspect that Gears of War 2, as great as it is, will have sold more units. So financially speaking, Gears would be the better product. But that triumph is short lived when Nintendo weighs in with Wii Fit. Is that a better game? I would say not but I think the sales figures, if we kept accurate data, would say it outstripped both Uncharted 2 and Gears 2 by quite a considerable margin.
It’s a murky debate perpetuated by plenty of participants with varying degrees of knowledge in the subject but, ultimately, it’s a fruitless one. The only sensible thing to do is to enjoy the games you enjoy on whatever machine you want to play them on and let the executives, like Durkin, worry about what business they’re doing.
Source: IndustryGamers
The Lone Steven
When i saw this on the front page. I thought oh shinto as it could lead to some fanboy comments. But so far there has been none. And the article is excellent even though i suspect you were a tad bit drunk last night.;-) I wonder how many wars have started on the internet now because of this?
Origami Killer
very well written article, has in no way provoked a “fan boy” war.
Overall I would say PS3 offers a wider range of exclusives than any other console. I still think the 360 exclusive sales are much higher though only due to the large fan base in the US, and Microsoft tend to go for the small exclusivities on third party games. But Nintendo tops it, they have had some great first party games which I have really enjoyed. But xbox is by no way “superior” :L
fattyuk
Let the xbox bosses think that, they can keep their heads in the clouds for as long as they like.
I’ve been wanting to buy an xbox for a few years but the problem for me personally is that there’s not that many exclusive games I could justify purchasing 1 for. Theres been a few DLCs I almost bought 1 for (GTA,Fallout 3), but they ended up the ps3 anyway! Same with a few individual games that have ended up on the ps3.
fattyuk
That comment wasn’t ment to be a reply to origami killers post, pressed the wrong reply button.
Darksidesystems
I was going to say something about the PS3 probably having more must-have games but after having read everybody elses comments I think that would be the most fanboy statement so far. Hurrah for TSA readers! :D
quinkill
I actually laughed out loud on reading this. No one beats Nintendo for 1st party and it’s been a while since anything MS have released has come close to PS3 quality. Maybe Alan Wake at a stretch?
tyrant161
A few years ago i would agree that microsofts games had the edge but not any more. The experience gaming experience from sony’s console are second to none, uncharted, flower, LBP, GT5, god of war, flow and the soon to be released shadow of the colossus collection (although a remake) can only be played on sony’s console and are some of the best gameplay experiencws on any generation of console…..sony is where it’s at for me. My xbox live gold has run out and i won’t be re-newing it anytime soon. The 360 still gathers dust in the corner.
tyrant161
i must check my post before i submit it….”the experience gaming experience”…..plank! lol
TSBonyman
Nicely written article and for me it comes down to your final paragraph.. as a consumer all i’m really interested in is the variety and quality of experiences available on my console of choice.
Radiitz
I almost came onto this page just so I could say how much TheSixthAxis are just being PS3 fanboys. But I cannot fault you.
I’m no fanboy (I hate all today’s consoles, actually) but even I have to admit that it really is a no brainer that PS3’s exclusives are head and shoulders above 360’s in terms of Quality, Variety, and whether anyone likes it or not, Quantity.
If I was a casual gamer who just enjoyed playing video games, I would choose the PS3 in a heart beat. Why, you ask? Its because of the big 3 I listed above. You can’t go wrong with Quality, Variety, and Quantity. You just can’t.
Darksidesystems
The responses are blowing my mind today. An excellent article loaded with troll bait and there’s not one to be found!
“Look under the bridges, that’s where they hide…”
enroene
Do figures tell the whole story,not always in my opinion but give us something to base our arguments on.nice time with your claims Sir.
icuyesido
Between the three consoles they cover all the basis, I don’t mind where I play them so long as I enjoy doing so. Nintendo have there first party titles, Xbox have there big budget franchises and PS3 has it’s innovation. Oh and PC’s make you look hardcore, it’s win win really…