Let me first start out with two points:
-Incredible topic here. Great debate, great points.
-Do we need any more proof that Xbox enthusiasts are the "best" fanboys? I always felt that when I bought my system and it's always been confirmed when I've been working in game stores. Xbox enthusiasts probably own more than one console, and they probably have a great deal of respect for all of them, unless there's just some incredible BS they can't stand (which unfortunately tends to come from Sony). Just take a jog over to the Wii60 forums- Nintendo and Xbox fans (and newcomers) all living in perfect harmony. Everyone just cares about the games and the experience- making fun of Sony just becomes a focusing point. It seems like people who give the Xbox brand its due credit are people who are (generally) less biased, more informed, and more inquisitive. They want to know about all the consoles, and if they're not buying the competition, they at least want to understand them. All in my own personal experience, anyway.
Now to break apward bpsmx001's excellent post. Great job on this one!
"I have been a long time Sony supporter, but realistically there is NOOOO WAY that I can support them here and still respect myself as a gamer."
-Welcome to the Xbox camp. A lot of pro-Xbox people just got fed up with Sony's BS and wanted an alternative. And you're not alone- I spot topics on teamxbox.com all the time where long-time Sony fanboys are admitting they just can't take it anymore.
"Also, I don't remember the last E3 that the developers, analysts, manufacturers, press, and gamers all unanimously proclaimed that a company dropped the ball like Sony did."
-Correction, you can't remember when the press ever CORRECTLY laid the blame like this. The press have destroyed nearly every MS showing at e3 since the Xbox first arrived. Look at last year's e3- most press outlets almost laughed MS off the floor (despite the tons of playables) while lauding Sony like Killzone was the Second Coming of Christ.
"I don't see how anyone with any common sense can say that Sony had a good show."
-Ridge Racer. Riiiiiidge Raaacerrr!!!
"This failure actually started with the PS2. [...] flat out lied about the PS2s capabilities"
-This was the #1 reason for my early support of Xbox (besides 16-player Halo LAN). Even if Xbox didn't turn out to be a commercial success, developers loved it, and MS seemed to have the right mentality. Look at the amount of multiplayer goodness generally experienced on Xbox versus PS2. I was drawn like a moth to a flame, "This is the experience I've been waiting for."
"Then SEGA proceeds to out-cool and outmanuver Nintendo to the point were even Nintendo's most loyal developer began making games for SEGA."
-Like all the Japanese companies / franchises moving to Xbox?
"Nintendo still won overall, but they lost a HUGE chunk of market share."
-Nearly identital results with X/PS2
"Nintendo thought they could arrive late to the party, show up drunk and nobody would care because after all they were Nintendo, and everybody
LOVED Nintendo...RIGHT?!!"
-See the exec saying PS3'll sell 5mil even without games.
"The bottom line is that outside of fanboy loyalty there is no REAL compeling reason to be an early adopter of the PS3."
-The box has yet to demonstrate ANY justification for its price, other than being a BluRay player.
"This will either be Sony greatest comeback or the one of the biggest corporate downfalls in history...The public will ultimately decide. But, it doesn't look good for Sony."
-Not so long ago, a fresh-faced kid walked into the biggest corporation on the planet, sat down to sell software he didn't even own, and with nothing at all to really back it up, told them "you need us". And that's how Bill Gates took the first hammerswing in the effort that finally toppled IBM as the "big brother" of the computer market. MS has done this before, and they're better at it than anyone else has ever been.