Michael Noer at Forbes sees a big future for the next generation of game consoles as centers of home entertainment, but offers some “unconventional wisdom” about the Xbox 360:
Xbox 360 will be a flop. Microsoft rushed to get its system out for the 2005 holiday season, and it shows. The launch titles are, at best, uninspired. Worse, Ubisoft is now saying that the 360 version of one of the most anticipated games, King Kong, is essentially unplayable on a regular TV and needs an HD set. Gaming blogs and Web sites are chock-full of complaints alleging that the 360 freezes, overheats and crashes. Throw in early supply shortages, a hefty price tag ($400 for the console plus a few games at $60 a pop) and many gamers are going to wait for the PlayStation 3.
We’ve mentioned the King Kong problem previously. He does, however, like the Xbox Live concept and thinks that it (the concept, if not necessarily Xbox Live) bodes ill for brick and mortar game vendors, a view which is gaining currency.