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XBox (Games) Businesses

2004 Good Year for Xbox 60

Posted by Zonk from the rub-it-in,-why-doncha? dept.
Voodoo Extreme has details from a Microsoft release about Xbox accomplishments in 2004. From the article: "Xbox Live online gaming service has set a new standard for online gaming with more than 1.4 million members around the world."
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2004 Good Year for Xbox More

2004 Good Year for Xbox

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  • I think (Score:1, Insightful)

    by keeleysam ( 792221 )
    that the artice is very biased, because it fails to even mention that the PS2 and Gamecube had even better years...

    NOT BEING A TROLL

    • RTFA (Score:2, Informative)

      by RegalBegal ( 742288 )
      # Xbox Live online gaming service has set a new standard for online gaming with more than 1.4 million members around the world, surpassing expectations and cementing its position as a leader in the digital entertainment landscape.


      # Xbox was the only platform to see year-to-year growth during Q4 as well as the full calendar year 2004, while the overall market was down year-to-year, in Europe.

      # Overall software sales for Xbox lead the way in 2004, growing units sales 44 percent during Q4 and 48 percent

      • Re:RTFA (Score:3, Informative)

        by SetupWeasel ( 54062 )
        # Xbox Live online gaming service has set a new standard for online gaming with more than 1.4 million members around the world, surpassing expectations and cementing its position as a leader in the digital entertainment landscape.

        Wait... How many XBOXes have been sold? When Microsoft reported their millionth Live account (in July), there was only 15 million XBOZes sold. Even with that dated number less than 1 in 10 XBOXes are online.

        # The overall Halo franchise, which includes predecessor "Halo: Comba
        • how much of that 12.8 million is PC only? All the FPS player I know scoff at anything that isn't CS, Quake, Doom or HL.
          • how much of that 12.8 million is PC only?
            0. That's how much. RTFA. Or do your own research.
            • how much of that 12.8 million is PC only?

              0. That's how much. RTFA. Or do your own research.

              Huh? The press release itself says:

              ""Halo: Combat Evolved" for the PC and Xbox, has sold a collective 12.8 million copies in just three years."

              According to the press release, they're including PC numbers in there as well. That's easily a million or two out of that number.

              5 million copies each on Xbox is nothing to sneeze at, but the hyperbole in this press release (like most MS press releases) is a bit ov
            • IFIM...insert foot in mouth. YOU read the article.

        • Re:RTFA (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Babbster ( 107076 )
          Since you're going to parse and "correct" a bloody PRESS RELEASE (I expect they get put up on Slashdot for their troll value), I'll inform you that "Dragon Warrior 7" has sold exactly ZERO copies in Japan. Perhaps "Dragon Quest 7" has done as well as you describe?

          • Re:RTFA (Score:2)

            by MrEd ( 60684 )
            So Comic Book Guy! Bravo.
          • To correct your correction, it was "Dragon Quest 8" that is in question. "Dragon Quest 7" did great sales, but it certainly wasn't released two months ago....
            • Yeah, I haven't kept track of the series in a long time (I got kind of bored taking the time required to play through those kinds of RPGs). Hence, my "perhaps." :)

      • Re:RTFA (Score:3, Insightful)

        by FriedTurkey ( 761642 )
        The overall Halo franchise, which includes predecessor "Halo: Combat Evolved" for the PC and Xbox, has sold a collective 12.8 million copies in just three years. Where can PS2 or GameCube boast a system only title selling like that?

        Actually the Grand Theft Auto Series for PS2 out sold Halo individualy and as a series. Halo isn't a system exclusive as it is on the PC too as you yourself mentioned.
        • There is a little green man on my shoulder. He's there you just can't see him.
          • Are you 12? I think you screamed at me once when I was playing you at Halo.
            • let a 12 year old break it down.

              That was a way of saying "proove it"

              Yes I know it's not system specific. I don't know a gaming soul who's bought it for PC, I know they're out there but I doubt the numbers don't touch the Xbox version.

              In regards to GTA, I know quite a few folks who nixed their PS2s once GTA (the only game that mattered to them on PS2) came out for Xbox. They're kicking themselves now (San Andreas) but are awaiting a cleaner looking, faster loading and smoother playing Xbox port.
              • n regards to GTA, I know quite a few folks who nixed their PS2s once GTA (the only game that mattered to them on PS2) came out for Xbox. They're kicking themselves now (San Andreas) but are awaiting a cleaner looking, faster loading and smoother playing Xbox port.

                Which completely explains why the Xbox version of the GTA Doublepack has sold less than a million copies worldwide (as far as I know), right?

                The Xbox only has Halo, Halo 2, Fable, Dead or Alive 3, Splinter Cell, and Project Gotham Racing as ti

      • The overall Halo franchise, which includes predecessor "Halo: Combat Evolved" for the PC and Xbox, has sold a collective 12.8 million copies in just three years. Where can PS2 or GameCube boast a system only title selling like that?

        Well, since Halo is both on the Xbox and the PC, the question goes right back at you: Where can XBox boast a system only title selling like that?
      • Where can PS2 or GameCube boast a system only title selling like that?

        Before the GTA Doublepack on the Xbox, the PS2 versions of GTA III and GTA VC collectively sold over 14 million units. Last numbers I saw for the GTA Doublepack on the Xbox, it was still under 1 million sold, worldwide.

        I'd also hate to see the numbers for the FF series on the PS2, worldwide, or Dragon Warrior on the PS2 (not on Xbox, either of them)... as they sell millions alone just in Japan for each release. I think the last Dra

    • It is a press release from Microsoft. If it weren't biased that would be noteworthy.

      Bias is the cry of the fanboi.
    • Yes, it's very biased. I for one was expecting Microsoft to provide a lot more coverage for Nintendo and Sony's achievements in a Xbox achievement list.
  • IANAT, but I was a holdout against XBox for a long time. When I purchased it in 2004, I bought a lot of the cheaper games and many of the newer ones, like Halo 2. Perhaps this is evidence that the software enticed the hardware purchase which enticed further purchases? It'd make a good study.

    Online content has gotten so much better, I only wish custom soundtracks were a more common feature.

  • New Standard? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dragoon412 ( 648209 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @01:28PM (#11433996)
    Xbox Live online gaming service has set a new standard for online gaming with more than 1.4 million members around the world.

    Yes! Never before have you been able to hear teenagers get yelled at by their parents, and foul-mouthed 10 year-olds exclaim that you're a "fucking gay homo faggot" before they drop out of the middle of the game!

    Now, you too can wonder in amazement how no one is playing the game you want online, because it's 6 months old and they're all playing the latest and greatest!

    Truly, Xbox Live has elevated PC gaming to new heights.
    • *sigh*

      That's what I get for trying to play Halo 2 while I type.

      Forgot a , and PC s/b console...

      Just ignore me. :P
    • Sadly, I could not agree more with Dragoon's statement. I've become very disappointed with xbox live lately. As a mid-20's white-collar worker, there's nothing worse than coming home to play some Halo2, and enduring the screams of 11-yr-olds without their Ritalin. Or, losing half the games due to modem cheats...and the other half are filled with high-pitched Mickey Mouse-voiced 11-yr-old taunts. "take that you faggot noob!" *end of rant*

      • Give Feedback (Score:3, Informative)

        by centauri ( 217890 )
        Seriously. Give Feedback.

        Bungie is very serious about banning modem cheaters, as well as those who violate the verbal aspects of the Code of Conduct. It can be hard, during the heat of battle to see who just mouthed off, but if they do it repeatedly you'll get an idea. After the game, send them some bad feedback. If enough people do that to them, they'll lose voice privileges. Now, maybe you won't ever play that person again, but you will have done you're part to clean the place up.

        Also, it's not that har
        • You all should start a slashdot clan for Halo 2. I was able to get into the Penny Arcade clan (it's full now tho... 100 person limit) and the games I play with all of them are an incredible improvement over the 'rabble'.
          • Dang it, I was trying to get into that clan.

            It's good to know you get an improved experience playing with clan members. None of the members of the clans I've been invited to ever seem to be online.

            Do you only play with clan members, or does your clan play in teams against other players?
        • Thanks centauri, good points. I do make sure I leave feedback for all cheaters and people who scream racial or biggoted remarks. I read on Bungie's site that they're trying to crack down, but it seems to be getting worse recently.
          • I certainly have noticed it more in the past few days. Maybe they banned mostly modem-hackers, who are too busy hacking to make rude remarks, and we're left with the loudmouths.
        • I am sure bungie and MS would realy like to stop the bulk of the "kiddies" spewing profanities. Though in my experience most of that is done during the "building/setup" of the game once enough players have been located. Its also at this time that everyone can talk and hear everyone but no one can tell who it is. This is the main reason why I rarely play without the players in my clan or my friends list.
    • Let's not forget how much glitching(ie intentionally exploiting game bugs) can ruin an online gaming experience. Last time I tried Tony Hawk Underground Online(for PS2), it seemed every round I was in had glitchers just going crazy.

  • Broadly speaking, I'd agree (Score:5, Informative)

    by RogueyWon ( 735973 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @01:37PM (#11434115) Journal
    It's a slight pity that a piece of marketing hype was linked to as news. However, I'd agree with the main thrust of the story. 2004 was certainly the year of the X-Box.

    It's interesting to note how the perceptions of the X-Box have changed since it was launched. Originally, it was mocked, reviled and no serious gamer would touch one. Nowadays, it's only the die-hard Nintendo fanboys who cling to this view. The X-Box gets virtually all of the cross-platform console titles and the X-Box versions of these games are usually the best, due in part, although not entirely, to features such as the HDD and customisable soundtracks. It also gets most of the "big name" PC action games, although MS hasn't quite got the confidence yet to insist on pure "X-Box only" releases for games such as the Halo and KOTOR series.

    The last stats I saw showed that the X-Box had out-sold the PS and the Gamecube by a considerable margin during the 2004 Christmas period. With the PS2, you don't have to look far to find the reason; it's achieved near total market saturation and there just aren't many customers left. However, the presence of big exclusives like Halo 2 and a multitude of cross-platform titles such as Burnout 3 and Silent Hill 4 has allowed it to extend a real lead over the Gamecube for the first time.

    Of course, we shouldn't ignore the fact that the X-Box did take a long time to come into its own. MS certainly has a fight on its hands to carry over its current success into the next round of the console wars.
    • Just because it sold well in the US does not put it ahead of the PS2 and GameCube for holiday sales or overall sales. For instance in Japan the XBox is a joke: http://www.the-magicbox.com/topten.htm [the-magicbox.com] Add up the world sales too before you claim XBox a success.

    • It's interesting to note how the perceptions of the X-Box have changed since it was launched. Originally, it was mocked, reviled and no serious gamer would touch one.

      That's because it had no serious games. The Xbox game lineup at launch included a half dozen snowboarding games, a crappy racer ported from the Dreamcast, and a single worthy game called Halo. However IMHO even Halo is at best 7/10; it is repetitive, too short, and has a lame story. I never thought it deserved the hype it received.

      The l

    • The X-Box gets virtually all of the cross-platform console titles and the X-Box versions of these games are usually the best, due in part, although not entirely, to features such as the HDD and customisable soundtracks.

      This isn't a very good argument for the Xbox being a very memorable console. Where are the quality first-party and exclusive titles? There are a few (Halo, KOTOR, if you're into those sorts of games), but not many. Most Xbox owners seem to have the system for the exact same games - every
    • I really don't care about customizable soundtracks and the Xbox's HDD. I don't care about HDDs when there's memory left on my memory card (as there generally is), and I don't care about customizable soundtracks when I have 1,100 hours of mp3s on my computer, which sits directly adjacent to my TV. Besides that, I really like the ambient soundtrack of Metroid Prime, and the punk rock in Tony Hawk's Underground, etc., etc.

  • It's not that great... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Cutriss ( 262920 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @01:41PM (#11434177) Homepage
    Xbox Live online gaming service has set a new standard for online gaming with more than 1.4 million members around the world.

    It's a pretty low standard if you believe that. Microsoft seems to be giving preferential treatment to some games over others with regards to Live.

    Originally with DDR Ultramix, DLC was supposed to be made available on a monthly schedule, and the first songpack was available at launch. The next one came three months later - apparently Microsoft requires a 30-day period to approve content before uploading it. The reasoning for this "approval" process baffles me, but even allowing for that, a 30 day period is outrageously long.

    Anyway, packs 2-5 came out more or less on schedule, but the 6th one was delayed for several months because Microsoft just plain forgot about it. Konami's Hawaii studio had to harrass them several times before it finally went up at the end of the summer.

    Enter Ultramix 2 - a lot of Canadian people were looking forward to it because they weren't able to get DLC for Ultramix, since it wasn't officially released in Canada due to licensing restrictions.

    Songpack 7 was due out at launch, along with a DLC item unlocking two additional characters. The game launched in mid-November - SP7 was three weeks late, the characters are nowhere to be found (despite the DLC being finished), and Canadians are still in the dark. SP8 was due in early January, and Konami Hawaii tells us that it's been approved for 3 weeks now and still isn't up on the servers. Plus, the online rankings system is intermittently broken, and Microsoft has no idea why.

    So, if this is the new standard, then it shouldn't be exceptionally hard to beat.

    • Re:It's not that great... (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Wow, the picture you paint is pretty bleak, especially for the 8 people who bought an xbox just to play networked dancing games.
  • Replace the joystick with a pic of the Gates Borg with a green X for an eye.
  • "Xbox Live online gaming service has set a new standard for online gaming with more than 1.4 million members around the world."

    steam [steampowered.com] claims over 2.5 million unique users a MONTH (4.565 billion player minutes/month). Xbox live hits 1.4 million in its (already long) life and it's a new standard for online gaming? please.
    • I think they mean the standard for online *console* gaming. I am not foolish enough to compare to PC gaming.

      Anyone care to give out the numbers of people playing any kind of Gamecube game online with the use of Nintendo's shitty dial-up or broadband adapter???

      Didn't think so.
    • steam may be the standard, but that doesn't make it any good. Does valve even plan on fixing the steam friends list? i have no complaints about xbox live. i've been a subscriber ever since the beta started up and the service is reliable and easy to use. The most valid complaint I've seen yet was the problem with not being able to find many older games getting played. I think console gamers in general have shorter attention spans than PC gamers... or are more demanding maybe.
      • I think you are right, though I would add in that while updates can be done via xbox live, its generally not done as well as it could/should be in order to provide a much longer life span. Also there is the lack of game MODS like CS for HL. Though this is "supposed" to change with farcry and another game I can not recall at this time. I love my xbox and the xbox live service minaly for its ease of use and it has proven to be rather stable, imagine that MS making something rather stable at all.
    • The statement looks even less impressive when you consider that the PS2, a machine that is (in many people's experience) no walk in the park to get online, has over 2.6 million online users in the US alone - with virtually no marketing support for this feature.

      Xbox Live has been an unmitigated disaster.
      • How would you even get reliable numbers for PS2 online gamers in the US? There isn't any unified login service, and since it is free you have plenty of 'multi-user individuals' (especially all of the cheaters). This is ignoring the fact that the two audiences aren't remotely comparable (one of them subscribes, the other is free, PS2 has roughly seven times more consoles sold, etc.).

        And with the critical support (most videogame jouralists love it), economic support (most publishers make use of it now), and
        • "How would you even get reliable numbers for PS2 online gamers in the US?"

          From Sony. I assume their data collection method involves either just going by the number of Network Adapters sold (which is as reliable a method as going by one-time Xbox Live logins), or by requesting data on the number of unique user registrations made to third party Network Play games.

          "This is ignoring the fact that the two audiences aren't remotely comparable (one of them subscribes, the other is free, PS2 has roughly seven tim
  • It's great that Xbox live has that many subscribers since it may lead more developers to make DLC, but I fear that that many potential customers will convince them to charge for it. 1.4m customers at $5 a pop for a single level or minor expansion? $7,000,000 in easy potential money per release.

  • Let's consider some counterpoints:

    Xbox Live online gaming service has set a new standard for online gaming

    ... and...

    There are now more than 200 Xbox Live-enabled titles...

    <opinion>Yeah, right</opinion> but many other people have commented on this, so I won't

    Xbox was the only platform to see year-to-year growth during Q4 as well as the full calendar year 2004...

    The obvious counterpoint is that this is most likely more a sign that the PS2 has been saturated, and the XBox was the

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