230°

Announce your console now, Microsoft

There's an old saying that goes like this "Loose lips, sink ships" and while we're not dealing with ships here, but next-generation video game consoles, Adam Orth, formerly of Microsoft, learned the hard way that speaking your mind on social network sites isn't always the best policy.

Orth's resignation [or was he pushed?] from Microsoft this week comes after last week he told the internet to "Deal with it" over rumours that the next Xbox console would require an always-on internet connection.

OC_MurphysLaw4029d ago

LOL... let me sum up MS's response the title of this article:

NO

and...."We do not comment on rumor or speculation. We value our loyal fans so the moment we have something to announce we will make sure the gaming community is made aware."

Zuperman4029d ago ShowReplies(6)
darthv724029d ago

announcing and revealing. sony announced their console but only revealed the controller. MS isnt one to simply announce, they like to show off their product so to answer questions people will have.

They did it with the original xbox, they did it with the 360, they will do it with the 720. when they feel the time is right they will announce to the world and reveal the system at the same time.

Patience my friends....patience.

g2gshow4029d ago (Edited 4029d ago )

@dlacy

exactly preset response the only thing they care about is percentage ,stock they have whole teams to report that every day .who cares about costumers waiting the sheep's will be fighting to get in line for what ever we release. just to say they had if first. LET THE IDOT"S WAIT (ms) o yeah give the first two sucker's free game an t shirt. do i have to touch them (ms)yes look's good on camera

aviator1894029d ago

They've had a countdown on major nelson's website for over 3 months now, so you can pretty much guess when they'll be announcing it.

Cocozero4029d ago

MS knows how to build hype, everyone wants to know about the 720 and the PS4 is already getting less articles for it when its been announced.

Ashlen4029d ago

I highly doubt this is the type of "hype" they want. Especially considering they fired a guy over it.

And I can't imagine there are many people who are saying things like "always online drm, just what I was hoping for!" and I doubt there are many PS loyalists who are thinking "mind blown i'm switching to MS now!"

Jek_Porkins4029d ago

I actually doubt MS fired Orth for the "Deal with it" comments, more likely it was the fact that he was in heated arguments with Microsoft customers, and he was also being pretty immature by poking fun of where people lived, if I had to guess that is probably the main reason he was let go.

Microsoft has indeed gotten a ton of hype, and everyone will want to check out their reveal, but in no way should Microsoft rush their reveal just to deny rumors, it wouldn't make for a very good event and I'd rather wait and see the unveiling the way Microsoft originally intended.

Also, any person with some intelligence will take a wait and see approach to the earlier rumors, hopefully the newer rumors that are coming out that state the Xbox 720 wont be DRM and will play used games will hold people over till Microsoft actually decides to announce something.

Announcing a console by denying rumors would be a terrible way to do it in my opinion.

blackstrr4114029d ago

MS's current fan base is enough. I don't think they are thinking of bringing sony fanboys. They just wanna please their loyal fans (hopefully)

Dee_914029d ago (Edited 4029d ago )

MS didnt Fire Orth he resigned.Forced resignation? we dont know.Either way somebody getting "fired" or resigning because of a rumor isnt a good look.I believe he violated a contract by even speaking about it or mentioning it.That would be a main reason for him to " leave"
I honestly believe it wont be an requirement.

Oh_Yeah4029d ago (Edited 4029d ago )

Hype is hype, a ton of gamers are talking about it right? So it's staying fresh in gamers minds and that's what they want. The fact is, Microsoft won't require always online to run games...after all the criticism and backlash they received from rrod you think they'd do something like this? Cmon now. They'd be losing sales also...and you know they're all about sales first and foremost.

brave27heart4028d ago

All hype is not equal.

Negative press, people jumping on rumours of unwanted features, having someone resign over poorly worded and offensive comments. This isnt good hype. Its damaging hype.

People should stop trying to justify it because its their console of choice. If Sony were pulling this stuff Id be screaming bloody murder at them.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4028d ago
Riderz13374029d ago (Edited 4029d ago )

Actually I want to know more about the PS4 lol. Still haven't seen what SSM or ND is up to for next gen. I could care less about games like Halo, Forza or Gears. No innovation in those games and it just seems like it will be more of the same from Microsoft this gen.

Godmars2904029d ago

At this point, whether they wanted to and especially or not, They're going to have to address the always online issue during their main E3 presentation if they don't have an event before.

OC_MurphysLaw4029d ago

So legit question...do they really have to address the always online issue OR do they merely need to announce the console and allow the conference itself answer those questions? Could they not quiet all the rumors one way or another by just giving their regular conference including specs?

I just wonder how much they really feel they need to address it vs just ignore it now and announce then.

Godmars2904029d ago

If they don't address it satisfactorily, if they leave any room for negative rumors to remain, they will.

And honestly, if any of the Kinect rumors are half true I sincerely hope that general consumers offer criticism of being exploited in that way.

Bad enough we have to deal with the current level of internet intrusion we do.

4029d ago
rainslacker4029d ago (Edited 4029d ago )

At this point, if false, a firm denial, with no room for misinterpretation to meaning, would be needed at the conference. If false, they will not want one shred of this rumor to remain in the consumers eyes. It may get people talking/arguing, but it isn't going to be what they want people talking/arguing about. If false, all it would take is one sentence saying, "The console is not required to be connected to the internet to play games." At this point they could go into what being connected provides.

If true, they will need to address it in a firm way that explains why it's online, and what exactly that means. Vague sayings like "we are always interested in providing the consumer with the best experience" just aren't going to cut it. The community will disseminate the information, and MS will be right back where they were 3 days ago. Despite whatever else they announce during their 90 minute conference, this would be the only thing being talked about. The media will insure that, because it's already proven to be a major hit generator for the web sites.

I'd imagine even if they denied the rumors beforehand, they would still deny them during the conference. If it's true, they would likely put out something that goes over the idea briefly, and then expand on it with a lot of PR spin during the reveal. If true, an inordinate amount of time is going to have to be spent on it during the reveal. If false, on sentence is all that's needed.

One thing to keep in mind, it is the bulk of our community which buys these things in the first year. We are their major market for that first year. Wii was just an anomaly in this trend. If you want to know what happens to a console that has trouble selling it's first year...well look at the Wii U. Hated on for no good reason, with pitiful showings from 3rd party, and in Nintendo's case even 1st party support.

Edit:
One thing here, while not related to MS or a rumor, Sony did have a really bad negative scenario in the press with their PSN hack. The E3 following that whole ordeal, it is the very first thing that was addressed by Jack Tretton after greeting the audience. He said what happened, what they did to fix it, what exactly the hack involved in relation to the consumer besides the outage, offered something in return for consumer inconvenience, and then went into a humble PR speech.

While this is still a rumor, the press for it is still almost as bad. It will remain for as long as the issue generates heat among the community, and for the time being, this is the only really negative thing that has any legs to stand on, although I personally doubt it will come to pass.

brave27heart4028d ago

Good question. Am I really in the comments section of N4G??

Whether its true or not they just need to come out and be clear on it. Sony were very clear there wouldnt be backwards compatability and although a lot of flack came their way its better to be open about it than have it come out in an interview post reveal. If the always on features are true for games people are either going to acept it or not, but if MS are open about it people are more likely to accept it.

Its like politicians. We'll accept most things if we believe we're being told the open whole truth. If we find out through some backwards channels we feel lied to and distrust them. MS are best to address these concerns at a reveal and be open about it.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4028d ago
waltyftm4029d ago

Just got off the phone withh Microsoft head office, the next XboX is a tablet/handheld.

.

brave27heart4028d ago

Just got off the phone with Sony. Their updated Vita hardware (release date tbc) doubles as a toaster.

DOMination-4028d ago (Edited 4028d ago )

could the Xbox Mini = Handheld ?

Probably not..

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Bethesda Needs to Reduce the Gaps Between New Fallout and Elder Scrolls Releases

Waiting a decade for new instalments in franchises as massive as Fallout and Elder Scrolls feels like a waste.

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gamingbolt.com
-Foxtrot10h ago

Microsoft have Obsidian but I feel it's Bethesda who just don't want to play ball as they've always said they want to do it themselves.

Once MS bought Zenimax in 2020 they should have put the Outer Worlds 2 on the back burner, allow Bethesda to finish off its own Space RPG with Starfield (despite totally different tone why have two in your first party portfolio with two developers who's gameplay is a tad similar) and got Obsidian for one of their projects to make a spiritual successor to New Vegas.

When the Elder Scrolls VI is finished Bethesda can then onto the main numbered Fallout 5 themselves.

The Outer Worlds 2 started development in 2019 so putting it on the back burner wouldn't have been the end of the world, they'd have always come back to it once Fallout was done and it would have been nicely spaced out from Starfields release once they had most likely stopped supporting it and all the expansions were released.

If they did this back in 2020 when they bought Zenimax and the game had a good, steady 4 - 5 years development, you might have seen it release in 2025.

We are literally going to be waiting until 2030 at the very earliest for Fallout 5 and all they seem bothered about is pushing Fallout 76.

RaidenBlack8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

Its not just only Todd not playing ball.
Obsidian have made a name for themselves in delivering stellar RPGs, but most famous once have always been sequels/spin-offs to borrowed IPs like KOTOR 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Stick of Truth etc.
Obsidian wants to invest more in their own original IPs like Outer Worlds or Pillars of Eternity with Avowed.
Similar to what Bluepoint & inXile wants to do or Kojima is doing (i.e not involving anymore in Konami's IPs).
So yea, even if New Vegas has the most votes from 3D Fallout fans, Obsidian just wants to do their own thing, like any aspiring dev studio and MS is likely currently respecting that.
But a future Fallout game from Obsidian will surely happen. Founder Feargus Urquhart has already stated an year ago that they're eager to make a new Fallout game with Bethesda, New Vegas 2 or otherwise. Urquhart was the director of the very first 1995's Fallout game after all.
And don't forget Brian Fargo and his studio inXile, as Brian Fargo was the director of Fallout's 1988 predecessor: Wasteland

KyRo4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

Obsidian should take over the FO IP. They're do far better with it than Bethesda who hasn't made a great game for almost 15 years

Duke194h ago(Edited 4h ago)

I disagree. Part of these games is the support for the mod community. If they move to releasing a "next game" every 2 or 3 years, the modding support plummets and the franchises turn into just another run of the mill RPG.

Make the games good enough to withstand the test of time, to keep people coming back to them and expanding on them with mod support.

--Onilink--1h ago(Edited 1h ago)

I dont think anyone is saying they need to come out every 2 years (not to mention almost no game is released that quickly anymore)

By the time Fallout 5 comes out, it will be more than 15 years since Fallout 4 came out (same with ES6 coming out 15 years after Skyrim). Even if you want to use F76 as the metric for the most recent release, that one came out in 2018. It will be a miracle if F5 comes out before 2030

The point is that for a studio that doesnt seem to operate with multiple teams doing several projects at once, that their projects normally take 4-5 years as a minimum, and that now they even added Starfield to the rotation, it becomes a 15+ years waiting period between releases for each series, which doesnt make sense. Imagine that Nintendo only released a mainline Mario or Zelda game every 15 years…

They either need to start developing more than 1 project at a time, let someone else take a crack at one of the IPs or significantly reduce their development times

Duke1919m ago(Edited 15m ago)

Why should someone else take a crack at one of the IPs? Look at what happened to Final Fantasy as a recent example - there is pretty clear FF fatigue setting in because they are now pumping out titles in the franchise every few years. Pumping out more games faster doesn't always make a series better.

There are plenty of options to make new games, not just create more titles in the same universe at a faster pace.

mandf1h ago

Yeah I’m going to say it, who cares about the modding community when making a game? Half the time developers only tolerate modders because they fix there game for them.

Skuletor3h ago

Yeah, let's all advocate for smaller gaps between series' releases, then we'll probably get headlines about how the series have dropped in quality and they could have benefited from more time in the oven. Let them cook.

SimpleSlave2h ago

"how the series have dropped in quality and they could have benefited from more time in the oven" So every Bethesda game then? Got it.

Listen, I would agree if this was about From Software or something, but Bethesda?

🤣

C'mon now. What timeline are you from?

Skuletor13m ago

Think about it, they're already bug filled messes on their current schedule, can you imagine how much worse it would be if they rushed things?

Duke1918m ago

I mean you aren't wrong. People are going to complain about anything

isarai2h ago

Hows about you focus on quality, just a thought 🤷‍♂️

Sciurus_vulgaris1h ago

Bethesda [or Microsoft] would have to reallocate internal and external studios towards fallout and elder scrolls titles. Bethesda has the issue of developing 2 big IPs that are large RPGs on rotation. If you want more Fallout and Elder Scrolls, development will have to be outsourced.

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