Poll: Is brand loyalty keeping the 360 alive?

[MK Tha Rebel]

No, this isn't a hate-filled rant. No, I don't hate 360 fans. Yes, I plan on doing other threads about PS3 and Wii followers, because I'm fair and have things to say about them, too.

Here's what really confuses me. I can see why the Wii is so popular. I can see why the PS3 is so popular. I cannot, for the life of my, figure out why the 360 is so popular, let alone has this cult-like following. It has nothing to do with games or services, those are fine and the popularity of the games and Xbox live is well-earned. What gets me is that the 360 itself is a bad piece of hardware. The thing breaks often, costs lots of money to fix, takes too long for you to get it back, and the whole process is just way too aggravating. It's a well known fact and is proven that 360s have this tendency to die...a lot.

Yeah, the original Xbox was pretty good, but still, why has such a bad piece of equipment done so well? I know brand loyalty is a factor, but come on, after the 4th time, do you really want to keep aggravating yourself with this? The system not working properly should have been the death sentence for the 360, or anything else. If the PS3 didn't work right and had this proven history of dying a lot, I wouldn't buy it. If the Wii had a tendency to fry it's inner workings and cost $100 and 3-6 weeks to fix, I doubt it would be as popular as it is. Other things in the market that don't work tend to not sell well, but the 360, hardware problems and all, has done very well, somehow.

With that said, I have this respect for 360 owners for being able to put up with all this shit and yet still stay loyal to Microsoft and promote the 360 as a great system with the passion that they do. Trust me, I don't have the patience to own a 360. If I bought one, and it dies twice on me, I'd just say "Fuck it." and return everything for a refund. I'm not paying money for bad equipment.

I ask you, 360 owners, why do you stay with the 360? Brand loyalty? Patience and faith? Are the games THAT amazing? And non-360 owners, would you be as loyal with your system, or would you say, "Fuck it," and move on?

EDIT: Link to the PS3 thread: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.130520#2860002

 

[Helmet]

For me personally, it's the "I bought this, by God I'm going to get my money's worth out of it" mentality.

I get where you're coming from though. The reason I bought a 360 in the first place was because most of my friends had one, so we could play online.

 

[HardRockSamurai]

Actually, brand loyalty is keeping EVERY console alive, not just Microsoft's Xbox 360. Hell, we've become so caught up in the console war, everyone has become a participant.

Do you really think any of the consoles would be surviving right now if it weren't for the fanboy gamers?

 

[fix-the-spade]

we've become so caught up in the console war, everyone has become a participant.

I'm not taking part, I'm a PC gamer. PC gamers are officialy the console war version of Switzerland, sitting out all the big conflicts being smug.

 

[Jedoro]

I'd have to say partly loyalty (playing Xbox since the first launched) but it's also because mine haven't failed me. I have one of the launch Xbox's or very soon thereafter, and it still works. Gotta smack it around a bit, but it works.

I've had my 360 Elite for a year now, and it hasn't failed me, either. So I guess I just have good luck with mine.

 

[scnj]

Good online service, great game line up and a comparatively low price are keeping it alive.

 

[New Troll]

The deal with the 360 being so popular is it was cheap, so a lot of people bought them over the PS3. And now that they're breaking, those people already have friends with 360s so they're almost forced to buy another, and another, and another one, or else lose thier already made friends.

Sure, there will always be those people who have to have the 360 for a particular game, or are just Microsoft fanboys, but over-all it's the community that holds the community together.

edit: If my 360 was to finally break down, I doubt I'd get another one. I'd probably just give my 360 games to my roomate and wait for Microsoft's next system to debut.

 

[oliveira8]

we've become so caught up in the console war, everyone has become a participant.

I'm not taking part, I'm a pc gamer. PC gamers are officialy hte console war version of Switzerland, sitting out all the big conflicts being smug.

And having big banks filled with other peoples money. One day we shall use that money to conquer the world!! MUHAHAHAHHAHA!!!

 

[awsome117]

Doesn't brand loyalty keep most things alive?

Look at the Wii. Churns out crap after crap(there are some good games here and there, but not a lot) and yet is still the best selling console out there.

Brand loyalty is keeping every console alive.

 

[HardRockSamurai]

...we've become so caught up in the console war, everyone's taking part in it.

I'm not taking part, I'm a PC gamer.

Funny, cause you just did.

 

[Deleric]

...we've become so caught up in the console war, everyone's taking part in it.

I'm not taking part, I'm a PC gamer.

Funny, cause you just did.

Zing!

And also, my 360 has never broken in the 2 (almost 3) years that I've had it.

 

[Supreme Unleaded]

this is the excact reason why i dont have a 360 anymore, i have a PS3 and it is miles better, although i do miss the everyone having a mic thing.

 

[Bhuggy]

I think 360 fans really are overly loyal they go on about how their console s so great when the only problem I encountered with the Ps3 once I obtained it was that it once had to recover it's hard drive and that was all. while the 360 you need to pay for live, it breaks ofte etc like you mentioned in the opening post. Fankly this war is stupid :l

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

Brand loyalty is the reason why the console war exists now, and why it existed before. Xbox is synonymous with cool in this generation when it comes to the average gamer, it's the thing to have.

The console has the strongest lineup of games and a solid online experience, if you aren't buying it out of brand loyalty, you're buying it because it's a good console at an affordable price.

 

[GodsOneMistake]

It's all worth it for the better online services.... I mean It's hard to argue without sounding like an idiot that the 360 has the best online services out of the three systems..

 

[Shadowed Intent]

I bought the 360 because it has my favourite games on it, and also because it has the best controller in my opinion.

 

[MK Tha Rebel]

Actually, brand loyalty is keeping EVERY console alive, not just Microsoft's Xbox 360. Hell, we've become so caught up in the console war, everyone has become a participant.

Do you really think any of the consoles would be surviving right now if it weren't for the fanboy gamers?

To a point. So you're saying that everyone is so loyal to their brands, that they could come out with anything, bad or good, and they'd stick with it, because they're THAT LOYAL to the brand? Like I said, I'm not THAT loyal. If it doesn't work, I'm not spending the money in the first place, brand or not.

For me personally, it's the "I bought this, by God I'm going to get my money's worth out of it" mentality.

I get where you're coming from though. The reason I bought a 360 in the first place was because most of my friends had one, so we could play online.

Oh yeah, I know the mentality, I do the same thing. But, if it keeps dying and you keep sinking money into fixing it, would there be a point where you say, "No, it's not worth it," or is it just always worth it?

Xbox is synonymous with cool in this generation when it comes to the average gamer, it's the thing to have.

if you aren't buying it out of brand loyalty, you're buying it because it's a good console at an affordable price.

But that's the thing, people can say how cool it is, the game line up can be amazing, and the starting price can be affordable, but the fact is, it doesn't work right. Why buy something that has a good chance of failure? Is it really worth the trouble, aggravation and extra money?

By the way, I'm really happy with the kinds of responses that are coming in so far. I'm worried that my PS3 and Wii threads aren't going to be nearly as good now.

 

[Robert632]

well the reason is that apparently the PS3 supossedly had a rough time in the beggining, and the wii is filled with alot of casual games.

 

[Knonsense]

What gets me is that the 360 itself is a bad piece of hardware. The thing breaks often, costs lots of money to fix, takes too long for you to get it back, and the whole process is just way too aggravating. It's a well known fact and is proven that 360s have this tendency to die...a lot.

This has declined a lot from what I've seen. I don't consider it a problem.

Anyway, the backwards compatibility and familiar controls did contribute, but for the most part it was the cost. I picked my 360 up used for 130 USD from an acquaintance. Even if it broke down and I had to pay for a new one, the cost for both of them would be substantially less than a PS3. Also, I got a free 360 controller from a source that I will not advertise for.

EDIT: Also, I'm a programmer. I like the free pseudo SDK they offer.

 

[Cliff_m85]

I loved my PS2. I wanted a PS3 so badly when I heard about it.


Then I found out it was $700.


Then I found out it wasn't producing games fastly enough.


Then I found out that all my friends already noticed these and bought a Xbox360, so I followed them because ofcourse I want to play online with friends....especially since my best friend is in Iraq at the moment.