460°

Episode #358 – Exclusive Podcast interview with Christa Charter aka Trixie360

Gamertag Radio interviews Trixie, an ex-Xbox employee about her new novel, the reason why she left Microsoft and much more.

*"Xbox is run by mostly middle managers with no gaming experience"
*"Xbox left J Allard"
*Xbox Community
*Xbox Live Gold member vs ads
*The reason why Inside Xbox failed

Xbox conversation starts at 25:04.

Read Full Story >>
gamertagradio.com
dedicatedtogamers4235d ago

Unfortunately, this is becoming true for a LOT of companies, not just Microsoft's Xbox division. Notice how many "social media" integrations are being added into consoles these days? That isn't gamers saying "this is how we make our games better". That would be middle managers saying "hurr hurr wouldn't Twitter be a good thing to add to our system guize?"

I miss the old days of developers (and console makers) being die-hard gamers, from the entry-level guy all the way up to the boss.

Knight_Crawler4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

I agree and as much as I wish things could go back to the good old days, I have accepted that as technology progresses things have to change.

Game consoles are no longer dedicated gaming machines like they were in the past and gaming consoles are your one stop social media hub and the next gen consoles will take social media even futher...heck I expect the 720 and PS4 to be 20% console and 80% PC.

With this said its not hard to see why Sony and MS are hiring experts of all sorts that dont have a back ground on gaming...Sega was made up of people who were hardcore gamers but lacked the business mentality and the Dream cast ended up sinking them.

Sure my gamer instinct is pissed about how gaming is no longer just gaming but from a business perspective this make sense and in these times you can not just rely on games and have to offer a variety of things with your gaming service.

Nintendo is now feeling the pressure because they lacked so many things that MS and Sony offered and are now playing catchup...the Wii U online can either break or make Nintendo.

Edit: My point was that the gaming business has become more than just games and experts from other fields are needed in order for the company to make a profit and survive.

knowyourstuff4235d ago

It has been thought of by companies that didn't start up as gaming companies (like Microsoft) that businesses are just machines designed to make money, and you don't need a game developer who specializes in coding to run the business, the marketing, the supply chain, etc. Quite frankly, this is true, however some industry knowledge is still required. You do need to know what people are playing, and someone who can analyze current and emerging markets. I don't need to play videogames all day to understand markets and how to do proper project management, but if you have someone who really doesn't care about games because they don't play them, that's a serious problem. You do need to care about the product you're putting out, because without that you get rushed games that release full of bugs.

shutUpAndTakeMyMoney4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

If ps4 & 720 were 110% pc they would still have hardcore tactical shooter & true horror games left.

lol now if wiiU takes off the tablet crazy will be part of everyday console gaming.

One of the big companies already bought into cloud gaming so yikes.. Console gaming so popular it is killing it as a hardcore platform.

After looking at splinter cell the only stealth game left is MGS. Kojima stands alone.

forestfrog4234d ago

I disagreed with you, im not saying you are wrong, I just don't like what your saying.

miyamoto4234d ago

LOL What are u peeps talking about?
Nintendo's longtime president Yamauchi prides himself as the emperor who never played a single video game on any Nintendo console since they started doing games in the 1980s. Bitter irony eh?

Of course they are all about the money.

But the question is who among them are doing their homework about nurturing the industry and making it grow up.

My point is by this time if you are really passionate about legit video games you should be able to discern for yourself who is are REAL DEAL from the PHONY POSERS.

Who continues to make the effort to move games forward and who holds it back and who brings it backwards? who brings new stuff to gaming . who abuse it & just in it for money only?

EVILDEAD3604234d ago

The music industry isnt run by Musicians...
The Sports Industry isnt run by Sports Atheletes
The Game industry isnt run by gamers

The Xbox is a platform for games and entertainment, just as any console is at this point.

Just because we all love and play games doesnt necessarily make us all qualified to manage a business.

MS made some great business decisions this gen that has put the Xbox brand in a great position.

But at the end of the day, like Sony and Nintendo, not all of those decisions are perfect.

Evil

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4234d ago
PirateThom4235d ago

Sadly, the days of gamers making games is almost at an end.

It's too big a business now. While I have no doubt some of the middle managers do enjoy games, I am under no illusion it's in the same sense a lot of people enjoy games; casually, on their phone, the yearly COD/Madden/FIFA release.

Problem is, even the ones who play games, like Shuhei Yoshida are still in charge of a company/part of a company and the bottom line is all that matters.

3GenGames4235d ago

Apparently you haven't heard about Homebrew for older consoles. Or Indie games for PC and such.

extermin8or4234d ago

tbh there are still great games being released, rarely in an industry is the person in charge the best person for the job purely because he like the stuff he's in charge of, you need someone to make practical unbiased decisions so you survive as a compnay; as long as they aren't stifling the developers too much and allow them creative decsions or at least take their advice then gaming will be fine; it's the actual main development workforce that needs to have a passion for what they are creating (sorry about typo's my pcs dying and theres a30sec lag between me pressing a key and it typing so i cba to fix issues)

lastdual4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

And yet a lot of those social media features may end up not mattering when Smart TVs become the norm in a few years.

Once your TV has all the functionality of a tablet computer built into it from the start, your console connecting to services such as Facebook will just be redundant. At that point, it becomes all about the games once again.

In fact, TVs may eventually give the consoles direct competition if they come with game-streaming platforms such as OnLive pre-installed. The execs at companies such as MS are going to be in for a hard time if they think their current stategy will continue to work in the future.

Knight_Crawler4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

Thats a really weak argument...have you tried browsing the net on one of those smart TV's or watch a youtube video? slow as hell and maybe 1 or 2 tv have descent speed - it wont be till another 3 years until we see a TV with PC capabilities.

The next gen consoles will be more PC than gaming consoles and if this true then this will kill 2 birds with one stone...sure they wont replace PC's but what if gaming consoles can do 80% of what a PC can do.

mcstorm4235d ago

The biggest problem with the digital age is there is no default format from videos, music, websites ect. Plus here in the uk to get netflixwe need a game consles as our smart tvs dont support it they tend to go for love film and sky player is only aavailable on thr 360 so because of this people will still use consoles for this access but i dont think any of this is the reason why people buy a games console.

The 1st reason is games and type of games they want depends on which console they buy and if it then works with a service they have they will use there consoles to access there service.

lastdual4235d ago

@Knight_Crawler

Obviously Smart TVs are still in their infancy, but looking forward, there's no doubt that the tech and user experience will improve.

What tablets can do now, TVs will be able to do within a few years - the point being that the "console as an internet/social media hub" model isn't really the future.

chasegarcia4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

Sony boss is a gamer / just saying.

nukeitall4235d ago

He is still middle aged, and probably doesn't have time to game much while earning his millions.

G20WLY4235d ago

@nukeitall, so you have to be young and play all day long to be a gamer? I both disagree and resent that :|

showtimefolks4235d ago

they did hire phil harrison so hopefullt that will help

Bigpappy4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

If any of these companies don't put gaming ahead of all else, they will loose their console business. Gaming is what sells consoles and keep them relavant. All that social stuff, music, sports, movies, ... is available else where. Consoles are sold because of games, all the other crap is just nice to have.

I am still mad at M$ for not working something out with Jay Allard though. I am surprise that Apple our Google didn't give him an offer he can refuse. He was the brain that made Xbox a viable alternative to what was already on the market. He created Xbox Live (Voice chat; maket place; XBLA; Achievements; ...). He is a gamer and gets excited about things that make gaming more enjoyable and promotes growth.

These new guy are more focused on how to make more money with the Xbox. I understand that side too, but they have to know that gaming has to be the main focus or it will all blow-up in thier faces. Halo4 show that someone there still understands that Xbox will only allows other areas to grow if the gaming side remains very strong.

Cueil4235d ago

J Allard left the Xbox brand long before he left Microsoft... his other projects were mostly failures or got cut as a device and later partially used in other devices

pain777pas4235d ago

This was not suprising and I have been saying this for so long. 2005 to 2007 Mass effect release was 360 in its prime. Really great system and shocking Japanese support with exclusive games. I have not been on live in years so knowing now that Trixie is gone is so sad. Her and Major N were my peeps at a time. I remember the good old days of watching the first trailers for Assasins Creed lonely souls (best trailer in my opinion of all time)and Ace combat (didn't buy it though). The Halo 3 build up vidocs about the brutes. Mass effect trailers and build up. Lost odessey, Blue dragon.... I loved it especially when it was the only system on the market at the time till MGS4 and RROD pushed me over edge back home. This was a depressing interview but we still have Sony which only overpriced their system really because the 60gig PS3 is the best disc based console ever made. 360 I loved you for Oblivion, seeing Gears(played it but it was a long tech demo to start really), Bioshock, Halo 3, Mass Effect and RR6 (don't laugh the community in the early days were amazing mature gamers who loved the game to master it and have fun).

ChickeyCantor4234d ago

It's because these people talk business. And good business is money.

meetajhu4234d ago (Edited 4234d ago )

This is the reason Console gaming should die. The PC gaming is so much better and mature. 3rd rated mong heads who have no flipping clue about gaming, run console business eg:Major Nelson.

RustInPeace4234d ago (Edited 4234d ago )

If PC gaming is so "mature" (in the sense of the players, not the tech being newer/better/"mature" ; ), then why can't I play ONE legit game of BF3 (or any competitive game, really) without someone blatantly using hacks for the sake of being an as*hOle and tarnishing the experience? Given, it does happen on consoles, but its almost a lifestyle for PC players when its skill VS skill.

rezzah4234d ago

I think we may always miss the old days because companies are heading to were the money is. They want to popularize their product with the social media. Some to a greater extent than others.

If any company reflect the idea of more gaming dedication over another company, I think we would head over to that console. But there are other factors that I'm sure I don't see right now.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 4234d ago
Bumpmapping4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

She looks like the gremlin chick from Gremlins 2.

MikeMyers4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

This is why many are pleased with what Steam has done, is doing, and will be doing in the future. You can tell it's not run by a bunch of managers with little or no experience.

When you have a company as large as Microsoft, the innovation, the hunger, the eagerness to prove themselves gets lost along the way. Plus the Xbox brand was created with more than just gaming. That division is there to work within all of Microsoft's vested interests.

TekoIie4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

You kind of missed the point -_-

Steam doesnt fit the comparison in this subject. On top of that MS didnt start out in the gaming industry and so when they went to make the move into that industry the reasoning was simple: to make money with a new product.

Valve on the other hand was created because people wanted to make games for a living.

MikeMyers4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

Not sure how I missed the point when a company like Sony also didn't start out with gaming under their portfolio. However they did manage to run the Playstation brand quite well early on.

I feel there is a disconnect between those who run the Xbox division and the consumers, and that could be allocated to what this article is suggesting. If we agree to disagree that's fine but I don't feel I missed the point at all. If you get involved with something you should have people running it that have an interest and either have experience or gain experience while being there.

@nukeitall

I don't believe their budget was all that limited. This is Microsoft we are talking about and their initial investment with the Xbox back in 2001 was by no means small. Sony also seen Nintendo and Sega as competition and they managed to provide a product consumers wanted while not appearing as though it was run by a bunch of managers with no gaming experience.

Microsoft also bought Rare for $375 million dollars. That's not something a start-up company with a limited budget does. Look at Rare today and it's obvious they are nothing like they used to be.

sadday4235d ago

Mike, I tend to agree with nuke here.

Almost no one can enter the console business without heavy investments unless you want to be like ouya. Only way to be taken serious is to make serious investment.

To the gaming industry, that is a start up.

The beginnings of Xbox is detailed in a book called The Xbox 360 uncloaked. It is a great read.

I wonder if nuke read it.

Cueil4235d ago

even steam is starting to move away from being a totally gaming platform

nukeitall4235d ago

I don't think a large company has necessary lost the eagerness to prove themselves. It is more the culture set at the outset.

From the start, the Xbox division had to prove itself and had very limited budget. In almost all ways, it was almost like a startup company.

MS perceived Sony's dominance as threat, and so the battle began.

wastedcells4235d ago

This is why I always end up supporting the console who seems to be geared towards games and the people playing them.

neogeo4235d ago

So you are a big Wii supporter?

majiebeast4235d ago (Edited 4235d ago )

Frank Gibeau from EA

That man is responsible for all the social aspects of deadspace 3,simcity and generals 2 among others. He is responsible for destroying those franchises to get the casual gamer with social media aspects like implementing twitter and facebook in games.

Show all comments (107)
160°

More Job Losses At Xbox, “There’s More To Come”: Paul Thurrott

Paul Thurrott in a recent episode commented on the on-going Microsoft fiasco hinting at more job losses and that "there's more to come".

Read Full Story >>
spieltimes.com
Sonic18813h ago(Edited 3h ago)

There won't be no more acquiring game publishers from Microsoft in the future . Xbox has to pay Microsoft back. It might take two decades to do that.

sagapo5m ago(Edited 4m ago)

I don’t understand what you’re saying. Xbox IS microsoft so there’s no “paying back “.
And MS gross profit in 2023 was over 140 billion dollars so forget your 2 decades.

Unless you mean the money MS invested in Xbox (acquisitions included) and the time it will take for xbox as a brand to gain that money back on it’s own, then yeah, that could take a while.

jwillj2k43h ago

There really needs to be a class action lawsuit here. You buy these companies just to put people out of jobs. And it’s not like something happened to derail their plans this WAS the plan. Microsoft has no business in this space at all.

franwex2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

Microsoft has been doing this for years. They simply want the IPs. Look at Nokia. Look at Skype. This time it simply expanded to games. Gaming is not as important to Microsoft’s executives as it was to the founders too. Bill Gates was willing to sell the og Xbox at a loss. Steve Balmer approved the red ring of death fiasco. This CEO isn’t really a gamer.

-Foxtrot1h ago

Maybe it's time though to put a stop to it and use a big giant like Microsoft as a huge example to the rest of these big companies.

There has to be a line drawn somewhere.

People like the FTC and the like went against Microsoft yet their Actvision deal was still allowed to go through yet look what's happened...it's not even Acitivisions studios aswell, it's Bethesdas.

RNTody2h ago

Ninja Theory, Perfect Dark, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Wolfenstein 3, Dishonored, Prey, Doom, Quake... something tells me that bad things are going to happen to these entities under Microsoft.

anast1h ago

Good thing the bosses of all those small studios made their money.

glenn19791h ago

they cant do it right now they will get burned

Show all comments (12)
90°

Microsoft Opening Xbox Mobile Game Store in July

The Xbox brand is expanding, as an Xbox mobile game store is opening this coming July where Microsoft will brings its "first-party portfolio."

Jin_Sakai1d 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h ago )

“Bond adds that they will start on the web”

This will go nowhere.

Nice knowing you Xbox. This is what happens when the house never gets cleaned.

MrDead1d 16h ago

The only this MS is expanding is the amount of feculence it sprays on everyone who just want to enjoy gaming and make games.

The best thing MS can do for the gaming industry is leave and never return.

XiNatsuDragnel1d 14h ago

Good luck with this even it might not succeed.

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210°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

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eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel2d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga1d 4h ago (Edited 1d 4h ago )

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow1d 22h ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo1821d 3h ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie17h ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow16h ago(Edited 16h ago)

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

11h ago
Hereandthere8h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Bond revealed that MLB The Show “always came up” in conversations between Microsoft and the Major League Baseball organization. “We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox.'” she recalled. However, when Microsoft’s efforts materialized, it put the company in an awkward situation where it had to send in pre-release consoles to a rival company.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 8h ago
Notellin13h ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

11h ago
Hereandthere8h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Hereandthere8h ago

They were too cheap/inept/lazy to develop their own mlb game, so they port begged for years and bribed the mlb to make the show multiplatform. Like i said many times, xbox brought nothing to the table their 24 years, ZERO.

OtterX1d 5h ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

RNTody1d 5h ago (Edited 1d 5h ago )

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno1d 4h ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Sheppard7t31d 2h ago

How did Sony kill the series?

Inverno1d 2h ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

11h ago
fsfsxii13h ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno12h ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

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