Microsoft doesn’t do well in brand loyalty. In IT, even people who use Microsoft tend to hate its living guts. Anyone who’s had to run IIS, Exchange, or any other of their proprietary, poorly developed server-side junk is not usually happy. Windows and Office are just so dominant you likewise have to use them. The development apps and maybe stuff like World Wide Telescope are rare exceptions.
Also, outside Windows and Office, where Microsoft got in early and (famously) abused their monopoly, they haven’t been doing well. Xbox is barely profitable even years in and Zune has floundered.
The only thing saving them is that Sony, thusfar, has floundered worse. They lost the MP3 market to Apple, and now the console back to Nintendo.
For developers, a cell processor on the PS3 may not be as familiar as the PowerPC in the Xbox 360. I’ve heard it described as programming for 11 size 1 CPUs (for Sony) rather than 1 size 10 CPU for the Xbox.
All of them are crazy. Whoever first gets to market with a single development platform with complete code portability/leverage for mobile, PC, and living room will clean up from developers. Be that Zune/WinMob/Vista/Xbox 360 or PSP/Viao/PS3 or iPhone/Mac/Apple TV.
PS3Blog.net » Blog Archive » Is the PS3 an Afterthought among Developers?
N’Gai Croal writes that most developers seem to prefer the Xbox over the PS3, not only as a development platform, but also for their personal gaming. Even beyond the tech people, the business side of the industry seems to generally favor Microsoft as well.
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