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The result has been a rapid shift in expectations for the two machines, with Sony gaining the upper hand with fans and early sales against Microsoft, the console leader for the past two years. The Xbox One will sell for a premium-priced $499 and limit users’ ability to buy, trade and resell games. Sony, once dominant in the industry, came in $100 cheaper and won’t limit transactions, and has been rewarded with a boom in orders.
“A lot of people who are hardcore gamers are going to be turned off by the Xbox One,” said Gabe Bethke, 19, a sophomore at Occidental College in Los Angeles, who watched online and owns an Xbox 360. “It has too many rules and restrictions.”
Fresh Orders
Sony is cashing in with higher-than-expected pre-orders for the PS4 at Game stop corp. (GME), the biggest video-game retailer, according to Andrew House, president of Sony Network Entertainment. He said the company has delayed a decision on whether to start selling in Asia, by year-end in order keep up with demand in the U.S. and Europe.
The PS4 was outselling Xbox One on the U.S. Website of online retailer Amazon.com Inc. yesterday, taking the No. 1 spot on the video-games category bestseller list. Xbox One was No. 2, although Amazon had sold out of its special Day One edition of the console.
Sony Resurgence
Sony lost its lead in the current generation of video-game hardware by charging an initial $599 for the PlayStation 3 seven years ago. Nintendo’s cheaper Wii sold the most units during that generation, although Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has topped the monthly charts more recently.Now Microsoft has to justify an extra $100 for its machine, which goes on sale in November -- a premium that largely goes to cover the Kinect motion sensor that some gamers aren’t convinced they need.
Kinect, the Xbox Live service, content partnerships with the NFL, access to Skype video calls and unique features such as the SmartGlass app that allows users to switch between screens set Microsoft apart, Don Mattrick, president of the company’s interactive entertainment unit, said in an interview. The console will have 13 exclusive next-generation games, including the next “Halo.”
‘Lame’ Connection
“We’re overdelivering value against other choices,” Mattrick said in an interview. “Any modern product these days, when you look at it, $499 isn’t a ridiculous price point.”Microsoft’s plan to require an Internet connection every 24 hours to check game licenses has proved unpopular. Game discs can be resold only through authorized retailers, can be given away only once, to friends who have been listed for at least 30 days, and publishers can opt out of supporting resales. Titles, stored online and on the machine, can be shared with as many as 10 family members.
No Change
Since its press conference on June 10, Sony has clarified its stance on so-called digital rights management. Like Microsoft’s Xbox One, the PS4 won’t prevent publishers from instituting limits on trade-ins and resales. However, that represents no change from the current PlayStation 3.Audience Cheers
The two companies’ June 10 press events were mirror images of each other. Microsoft went first, highlighting its exclusive titles and unique features like SmartGlass and the Kinect motion sensing controller. In the closing minutes of the event, Microsoft announced the price and was met with a gasp followed by silence.Ebb, Flow
Both machines will compete against Nintendo’s $300 Wii U, which was released in November and has generated disappointing sales. Nintendo announced coming titles for the new machine based on characters including Zelda, Super Mario and Smash Bros.For game publishers, the developments are encouraging, said Frank Gibeau, president of labels at Electronic Arts (EA)'s., the second-largest U.S. game publisher. While Sony and Microsoft have differences in their approaches to online services, title slates and how they use the power of the machines, the dialog with the public is still very early, he said..
