Microsoft remains 'absolutely focused' on core audience

Halo dev suggests core gamers should be 'ecstatic' about SmartGlass, Kinect and browser integration.

[user5467007]

They said we should be ecstatic and excited for Kinect...look how that turned out.

I hear alot of MS or developers working with MS saying how they havent forgotten the core yet it's so obvious that they have. Core gamers have been dead to MS since Kinect launched, they'll only take an interest when they want us to buy their next console, like what Nintendo are doing.

[EVILDEAD360]

'Core gamers have been dead to MS since Kinect launched'

Not even close to the truth. .but ignorance is bliss

Once again, it's non 360 gamers who scream core and have zero idea what the 360 core gamers play.

The biggest core 360 games are released year in and year out.

Kinect didn't stop Halo Reach, Gears 3, or Forza 4 to be released.

It didn't stop millions of core 360 gamers from play Battlefied 3, MW3, or Elder Scrolls.

It didnt stop gamers from playing Witcher 3 or the current XBLA king Mincraft.

Sony just admitted that 'Wonderbook' for Move is the biggest Sony release this holiday.

The biggest exclusive release this holiday for the 360 is Halo 4, So based on MikeCosgrove's last post Sony 'core gamers have been dead since Move was launched'

Interesting how that works..

Evil

[StarFox]

- you had 6 halo games this gen plus now halo 4 make that seven

- 3 gears games and another one announced not even a full year after 3 released

- 3 forza games and another coming out this year.

i'm sorry but M$ doesn't give two shits about the core now, at least throw in some damn variety.

and another thing who mentioned sony? seems like you have some insecurities about your fanboyism. at least sony has variety im just saying the whole time i had a 360 it was nothing more than a paperweight. biggest waste of money i've ever spent on a console. hell i spent more time playing the atari jaguar when that came out which had little to no games than i did the xbox 360.

EDIT: now when i mean games im talking first party

[Hisiru]

I have to agree that Microsoft has some nice games for the x360 players (Gears of War spin-off, new forza game, Halo 4 etc). I don't know why people is complaining, x720 is probably going to be revealed next year and yet, they are releasing 3 main games. I no longer have my x360, but maybe Microsoft is giving x360 players what they want. I would love more Infamous, Uncharted, LBP for my PS3 as well.

Maybe people is complaining about the lack of new IPs? What is exactly RARE doing? Rare is pretty much dead right now, which is sad...

There is only 2 things that disappoints me when it comes to Microsoft:
-Lack of a proper Banjo Kazooie from Rare or lack of any decent RARE game.
-Kinect has more potential, but they aren't using it right.

[AusRogo]

Well, as someone who also owns a 360, I disagree. I think mike was talking about exclusives, not multiplatform games. Halo and Gears are great , dont get me wrong (got a 360 just for them) but a little something else like a new ip would be great , full retail not XBLA. When Sony are giving us Beyond, and The Last Of Us so late into this generation. @greenpowerz , when did anyone ever say 360 was too hardcore? Never heard that one

[greenpowerz]

You guys are still waiting on PS3 games shown 3 to 4 years ago. I don't think your opinions on what company has the better offerings is valid. It's like Sony slapps together games demos on wall plans(draft boards) and shows them at E3 hoping people like you guys start trolling with the hype. This is the end of this gen. I'm surprised Sony continues to release new IP exclusives without slowing down and seeing if these franchises are worth the effort and losses in chash.

[mananimal]

@ Mikecosgrove
I wouldnt call it ignorance. I do however agree with your opinion. Its actually more along the lines of being " typical", in the sense, theyve sold out & are afraid to say what is true. Like saying evil is good, & good is evil, a society of compromisers, who no longer care , narcissitic in nature, in just plain ol liars, selfish, they just represent the typical corporate attitude, spewing whatever there told, with no regard for truth, or whom they mislead with propaganda.

[xPhearR3dx]

@StarFox

Seven Halo games? Hmm

You have; Halo 3, ODST, Reach, Wars, Anniversary and 4. 6 games. Ones an expansion, ones an RTS, and ones an HD remake. Meanwhile on PS3.

3 Ratchet and Clank Games
3 Resistance Games
3 Uncharted Games
3 Yakuza Games
3 Motorstorm Games
3 God of War Games (Including the HD collection since you decided to speak Halo)
3 LittleBigPlanet Games

Fact it. This gen is coming to an end so both MS and Sony are repeating the same games over and over.

[Sharty_Pants]

@xPhearR3dx

3 Ratchet and Clank Games
3 Resistance Games
3 Uncharted Games
3 Yakuza Games
3 Motorstorm Games
3 God of War Games (Including the HD collection since you decided to speak Halo)
3 LittleBigPlanet Games

VS

6 halo games
3 forza games
3 gears games

you have just admitted that the PS3 gets variety, Thanks for proving everyone's point

[dcbronco]

Sharty,

You have to admit all of those MS games sold over 2.5 million copies because people like them. Those PS games sold little. Because no one really plays them. Apparently MS makes the games people actually want.

[xPhearR3dx]

@Sharty_Pants

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was suppose to list every single exclusive for both platforms. Considering the 360's head start along with their amazing XBLA exclusives. The 360 has more titles, and more variety in exclusives than PS3 since launch. That doesn't include the 360's shit Kinect library.

And don't even try the "Quality > Quantity" excuse. You only pull that card when it works in your favor.

[killerhog]

Its kinda sad if you go by "core" and all you have under your belt is halo, gears, cod and forza

No, what kinect stopped was Ms support for more core games. I mean you guys have halo, gears, cod (multiplat) and forza, with couple of pc oriented games to look forward to each year, really? you gonna be excited as a core gamer for those same games every year?

ohm, i think the ps3 biggest exclusive this holiday would be the 'playstation all-star battle royale' game dude.

ohm, once again we had what (off of my head) warhawk, twisted metal, yakuza dead souls, MLB the show 2012, jak and daxter hd collection

Released later
sly cooper, dust 514, the last of us

@greenpoerz

sorry to say, but youre delusional and the only one trying to "twist" things around is you. this not a good habit man, dont should yourself from the real-world.

[killerhog]

@dcbronco

"those ps game sold little. because no on really plays them.", are you serious?

Motorstorm - 6.44 million
uncharted - 14.82 million
GT5 - over 7 million alone
resistance - 9 million
LBP - over 5-6 million

really "no one" plays these games huh? or sells a "little"? those are the sales figures of this gen only.

[Guwapo77]

@ xPhearR3dx

You are missing a lot of exclusives there bud and I'm not going to list them all but here are a few more.

Grand Turismo
MLB The Show
Killzone
Metal Gear 4
Heavy Rain
Heavenly Sword
SOCOM
Twisted Metal
White Knight Chronicles
Valk Chronicles

This is where I'll stop as I'm not trying to explode with a wall of text. But there is a clear contrast when it comes to exclusives Sony put out vs Microsoft.

[asmith2306]

Hi Evil, I have a 360 and its collecting dust! Part of the fact is that i am tired of Microsofts exclusives, they have nothing new and aren't going to change that. For them its Kinect all the way. Your holiday argument is bull too. As a gamer I don't care about whats out during the holidays because I buy games all year round so I always have something to look forward to. That argument says to me that you are a 'consumer' rather than a gamer who doesn't care less about what time of year a game is released in order to buy it. Its not about holiday releases, its about consistent releases of great games, new games. That's something that Microsoft fails at. It thinks it can keep giving something for the core by releasing Halo, Forza and Gears every second year. Not good enough in my opinion. Maybe you have low standards of expectations. Oh, and why do you always bring up Sony when we are talking about Microsoft??

[blackstrr411]

@starfox. Resistance uncharted killzone trilogies say hi!

[user5467007]

...

...

I really don't understand how someone like you has 6 bubbles...I really don't

[EVILDEAD360]

@ Mike

'I really don't understand how someone like you has 6 bubbles...I really don't'

So let me get this straight, if someone like me has a different opinion than yours and provides a counter argument then you got issues with their bubbles?

I backed up my counter-argument and why my beliefs are different from your blanket 'hardcore' statements. Can you back up yours? Or even come up with a counter-argument to mine?

Evil

[Hicken]

Releasing the same few franchises each year shows no dedication to the core. It shows dedication to the people who like those particular franchises, but does nothing to draw in core gamers who aren't interested in them, or KEEP gamers who have grown tired of them.

I'm not gonna say that any of these IPs suck, because I don't think they do. And I'm not gonna compare them to similar offerings by any other console makers. But if you don't think Microsoft is stringing the core gamer along with just these offerings every year, you're delusional.

I'm SO tired of people mentioning multiplats and pointing to them as evidence that Microsoft is somehow taking care of them. Call of Duty has NOTHING to do with Microsoft, except that it's on their system; stop acting like Microsoft is bringing the game to you.

[BrutallyBlunt]

Hicken, i think more people are actually getting tired of Sony fanboys like you who feel the need to be in Microsoft related articles. You don't like them, we already know this. You don't like their business practices, again we already know this. So why come into an article about Microsoft when your mind is already made up on how you want to respond to the article?

As for Call of Duty yes it does have relations to Microsoft because they have been very aggressive in getting the content to come out first on that platform and more improtantly getting consumers to relate the two. Sony did the same thing last generation on the Playstation 2 and Grand Theft Auto. Gamers actually tied the IP to the Playstation brand, that is something Microsoft wanted to do with Call of Duty and the relationship has woked very well for both of them. The software sales have been huge, the Live memberships have risen and hardware sales may be attributed to the success of Call of Duty as well.

This is what people like you simply don't understand, the business tactics that go on behind the scenes and the consumers reaction. Instead we get reactions from you that are all negative and all pessimistic. You are so focused on the exclusives that you fail to grasp why people buy an XBOX360. It isn't just for the exclusives, it's for the entertainment it provides and both the Playstation and XBOX brand rely heavily on 3rd party support. The difference is Microsoft set out this generation to take that power away from Sony and now both systems seem to sell fairly evenly and both systems have pretty much the same games on them.

Games like Mass Effect are core titles, they were heavily marketed and promoted on the XBOX system. Yes it's now available on the Playstation but Microsoft got consumers to buy it on the XBOX 360 fisrt and now they have those gamers. Same with Oblivion and Ghost Recon. Now we have Splinter Cell and Towmb Raider being showcased on the XBOX360 hardware. What it does is it markets that system for those games and they also get timed exclusive DLC. Something you probably think is a waste of time but it isn't. People like having things first and millions still enjoy playing their games on the XBOX360 and the XBOX Live universe. Also, how many ports on the Playstation 3 were inferior versions? That's what happens when the industry uses the XBOX360 as the lead platform. Consumers care about the end result, not forum junkies like you who tell everyone how lazy those developers were for not having the Playstation 3 version better.

Microsoft has also brought a bunch on XBLA games to the core audience. They simply don't have the amount of game studios Sony has, so of course they won't come out as many big titles or have as many IP's to work with. However Microsoft seems to be doing just fine, unlike the impression we get on forums. Which just goes to show how the forums don't exactly represent what mopst consumers think.

Go ahead and do what you do best, add your disagree stamp because i didn't make Microsoft out to be the monster you want them to appear as. Now go and post on articles related to Sony, you'll be in a much better mood there.

[EVILDEAD360]

Level literally hit it right dead center on the head at the heart of the silly 'hardcore' argument repeated from fan bloggers to the usual suspects the last couple of years.

It's always fun to point out the huge holes and hypocrisy of the statement when posed against reality.

Which is why you hear crickets from Mickey...

Evil

[Hicken]

@LevelHead

So lemme get this straight:

PS3 owners and Sony in general got bashed for trying to be a multimedia system, but it's okay now that Microsoft is doing it. No hypocrisy here.

The PS3 got bashed for not having exclusive games for years. But now that the PS3 is pumping em out like mad, they all suck(as if every 360 exclusive back in the day was of superior quality) and exclusives don't count, anymore. Nope, that's not hypocritical.

Gamers have become stockholders. At least, 360 gamers have. So instead of focusing on the GAMES, like you did all generation, it's now about sales and business practices and market penetration or saturation.

Grand Theft isn't the same as Call of Duty. For one, Grand Theft was on PS2 for more than two years before it saw a release on Xbox. Call of Duty comes out the same day on both systems. In fact, by the time Xbox got it, the next game in the series was out. A better example would have been Bioshock or Mass Effect, but it's a little late for that now, isn't it?

Why come into this article? Because that claim is an absolute lie. My original comment- pumping out the same few exclusives each year- explains my stance on that. Yet people eat it up. And they even go as far as to disregard other 360 owners who AREN'T happy with things the way they are.

I think consumers care about their version not being crap and full of bugs because the devs WERE lazy. Or are you saying people that own PS3s should just accept that their versions have less polish than their 360 counterparts because the 360 is the lead platform? Were you making these excuses for Skyrim? Would you be making this excuse if it were the other way around?

Microsoft has MORE studios than Sony has; they're simply primarily developing Kinect games. I don't count downloadable titles because they're entirely dependent on having both XBL and an internet connection; you can't go into a store and buy these games at retail.

I love how you essentially ONLY have eyes for whatever I'm saying; multiple people defending the 360 say fanboy-like things, and you ignore them, as always.

EVILDEAD: "The biggest exclusive release this holiday for the 360 is Halo 4, So based on MikeCosgrove's last post Sony 'core gamers have been dead since Move was launched'"

PhearR3d: " This gen is coming to an end so both MS and Sony are repeating the same games over and over."

dcbronco: "Those PS games sold little. Because no one really plays them. Apparently MS makes the games people actually want."

You could counter the fanboyism of ANY of these guys, but you don't. You focus on me, because I dare to say something negative about Microsoft. And then you try to appear unbiased by saying things like "The Playstation 3 to me offers greater value," and "You don't see me continually promote one system over the other..."

Yet: "Tell us how many games actually look better on the Playstation 3 than they do on the XBOX360? Now list games on the XBOX360 that look better." "So yeah, they can pat themselves on the back for games like Journey but there really isn't all that many each year." "Like coming out with the format UMD? How has slow and steady helped them in the TV division as of late? How about the portable music device, will it eventually outsell the IPod? Do you think their music store will entually overshadow ITunes too? "

And plenty of your comments show displeasure with the 360. But I have no right to say anything? I guess that's not hypocritical, either.

[EVILDEAD360]

I love how you essentially ONLY have eyes for whatever I'm saying; multiple people defending the 360 say fanboy-like things, and you ignore them, as always.

EVILDEAD: "The biggest exclusive release this holiday for the 360 is Halo 4, So based on MikeCosgrove's last post Sony 'core gamers have been dead since Move was launched'"

LOL @ the irony of you wining about people only having eyes for what your saying when you can't even see the fankid statement that I responded to.

You know the very FIRST one.

Don't clump me into your fankid world and quote me without quoting HIM first..

Mike wrote

'Core gamers have been dead to MS since Kinect launched'

I replied with:

So BASED on MikeCosgrove's last post Sony 'core gamers have been dead since Move was launched'

Again, like I said earlier Level Head was DEAD on about the usual suspects on this site.

Evil

[BrutallyBlunt]

Hicken,

1. Where did i bash Sony for being a multimedia system? I bought the Playstation 3 partly because of its multimedia functions, so why would i bash it?

Where did i say the exclusives suck? Who is it you're talking to? Uncharted is awesome, so was Warhawk, Valkyria Chronicles, MLB series, Twisted Metal, Ratchet series, Infamous series was good, there are many exclusives i enjoy.

Compose yourself, you're a fanboy who has no way of communicating with others. You have no real agenda other than to show why you prefer what Sony does over what Microsoft does. That's it.

2. So now i'm acting like a stockholder? No, i was trying to reason with you showing why the XBOX360 has managed to do just as well as the Playstation 3 after all these years. See how i say just as well, that means the Playstation 3 is also doing well. Funny how people like you can't stand equality so you focus all your attention on the negatives to make it appear inferior all the time.

Grand Theft is the same, it's a key title Microsoft managed to detract from the consumer into thinking the franchise belongs on the Playstation console. Sony did that last generation by making sure the PS2 had the upper hand, now Microsoft did the same thing with GTA IV, they used the timed exclusive DLC and marketed the game more. It ended up selling more units on the XBOX360 didn't it? How well did previous GTA games do on the original XBOX compared to the PS2? call of Duty same idea, they made sure the attention was on the XBOX360, that's why you see it every year at E3 at Microsofts presentation. Sony is trying to now do that with other titles like Bioshock and get gamers to want it on the PS3. Same idea and that is to get consumers to lean to your system by using DLC, timed exclusive or ceratin features (Move, Kinect, Vita, etc).

3. This goes to show how much you resent Microsoft and how threatened you are by then where you continually feel the need to get the word out there they are lying. Do you do the same when Sony lies? Do you do this as much and as this aggressive when Nintendo lies? Doubtful, you really have personal issues, that much is true. Microsoft can also claim they haven't forgotten because XBOX360 gamers still get core games. Plenty from 3rd party sources and certain key titles like Halo, Gears of War and Forza remain. This isn't some pissing contest because if it were Sony has more core titles. There is no argument there. I have also commented in the past that i wish they would create more new IP's that are not just Kinect games. You're a bottom-feeder, plain and simple. You crave negative assertation towards the XBOX360 because you're a Sony fanboy and that's what Sony fanboys do, focus all their negative attention on the enemy.

As far as inferior ports go that's what happens when the XBOX 360 is easier and often the lead platform. The irony is Sony spent a lot of their marketing showcasing how much more powerful the PS3 is. That's fine but when the bulk of your games comes from 3rd party sources those claims become diminished. When they are inferior it becomes even more sour.

This is about you because there is no way for you to turn the tables on me. That's because i enjoy both systems and unlike you i can see things in a reasobale fashion. It's not anger or resentment or ignorance like we see coming from you. I'm here because i'm interested how Microsoft intends to keep supporting the XBOX360 and future devices. So tell us again why you're here?

[Hicken]

@EVIL: Mike's comment (rather correctly) implies that, as soon as Kinect released, core support by Microsoft all but dried up. You get your Halo, Gears, Forza, Fable, and what else? Alan Wake and Witcher 2, both of which can be found elsewhere?

You try to imply the same has happened since the Move was released, but we all know that's not true. We got Uncharted, Killzone, Resistance, WKC 2, Disgaea 4, Atelier Totori, MLB The Show, and plenty more. Because the two situations are not parallel, your attempt fails.

@LevelHead:

First, I didn't accuse you of all that stuff, and you know that. You're busy taking personally points where I single out no one, or say "gamers" in a general sense. Dunno why you're trying to twist that around now.

Turning the tables on you is easy. Hell, you did it yourself by assuming all those things I said about gaming and gamers in general were about you: your ability to actually address any issue I bring up is nonexistent. Instead, you attack a part here or there, or attack something similar to what I said, but what isn't what I said. I believe that's called a straw man.

You still haven't explained why, when this site is overrun with fanboys, supposedly most SONY fanboys, I'm the one person you follow around responding to. There are far less rational individuals posting on either side of the argument, but only I stir you to action.

I guess I should be flattered.

[EVILDEAD360]

@EVIL: Mike's comment (rather correctly) implies that, as soon as Kinect released, core support by Microsoft all but dried up. You get your Halo, Gears, Forza, Fable, and what else? Alan Wake and Witcher 2, both of which can be found elsewhere?

You try to imply the same has happened since the Move was released, but we all know that's not true. We got Uncharted, Killzone, Resistance, WKC 2, Disgaea 4, Atelier Totori, MLB The Show, and plenty more. Because the two situations are not parallel, your attempt fails.

LMAO @ you proving your how hypocritical fankids are today.

You literally reiterated that Micrsoft still released it's biggest HARDCORE games for it's HARDCORE fan base AFTER KINECT in Halo (prequel), Gears (sequel), Forza (racing instalment), Fable (sequel), Alan Wake (new IP exclusive..PC got it this year), and Witcher 2 (biggest PC hardcore RPG of last year).

Which is laughable that you are NOW pretending that Alan Wake's release doesn't count...LMFAO

But you argument is because Sony is somehow different because they released Killzone (sequel), Resistance (sequel), MLB The show (annual installment ), WKC 2(sequel), Disgaea 4 (sequel), etc. etc. etc.

Once again thanks for proving my point..by MIKE's standards and Now yours..if You are going to pretend the 360 hardcore games driefd up because of Kinect then unless your a outright hypocrite then by those standards the PS3 hardcore support all but dried up as well.

But the truth is pretty evidant that neither your or his is accurate at all.

Case closed..

Evil

[greenpowerz]

^^^^

I remember the days when haters attacked the 360 for being too hardcore. You just can't win with these guys. The only casual games releasing on 360 are Kinect games, 360 games have been core basically. I think the hate really comes from MS actually has successfully penetrated the casual market when their "guy" failed. It's like a damage control spin. They have always attacked the biggest threat and tried to turn the reput ation of said
thing, upside down.

I think MS is the only company that actually has core games this holiday. The best choice this year for core gamers is on Xbox(exclusive or multi) I guess MS could show tons of games at E3 inwhich most don't even release the year they were shown. MS shows mostly what gamers can buy in a few months. More like free advertising vs fluffing lists.

[BrutallyBlunt]

There is an argument to be made that Microsft should be creating more IP's and ones that are not Kinect focued. The real issue here is from people like Hicken who have no intentions of supporting Microsoft regardless. Even if they showed a few IP's that were new and were focused on the 'core' gamer they would still have something to whine about. Microsoft doesn't need these guys as consumers because their expectations are likely to be unreasonable and totally biased.

An example would be a game like Forza. I think the franchise is awesome and i also thing Gran Turimso is awesome. So i play both games and enjoy both games. Yet you have trolls like Hicken who will say Turn 10 bashed Polyphony Digital so i won't buy their game. It's whatever reason they can quickly think of to take the focus away from the actual game. They also tie the game to the maker of the console which is another red flag. What it does is again put added pressure on the game to deliver because they hate Microsoft.

What i do find to be common though is how they are actually threatened by Microsoft which explains the need and desire for them to continually post in these types of articles.

[vega275]

Have a bubble+ for that levelheaded.

[DeadlyFire]

Ok guys I am gonna only say this.

Core = what exactly?

Hardcore gamers is the original term. I believe they use the term core now just so they can use it to describe Softcore(casual).

[ALLWRONG]

360 gamers buy more core titles than PS3 and PC combined.

[arbitor365]

to quote the nostalgia critic

"no.... in fact, I am going to call "lying" on that"

[iNFAMOUZ1]

really sad how kinect has been 360s attraction as of late i still love my halo but dam

[josephayal]

I feel KINECTED

[Zha1tan]

Hey least MS retains a good sense of humour

[theWB27]

No need for Microsoft to come out and defend itself. XBOX is as "hardcore" as Sony. I hate that label though...top xbox exclusives sale just as much, if not more than sony. But who cares really, I own both systems and get to witness the greatness they both offer.

GAMING!! FANBOY!!...not brand associated.

[dubt72]

Sorry, man. Sony fanboys hate bipartisan gamers, too. if you aren't all-in with Sony, you are dead to them...

[theWB27]

Believe me I've felt their wrath. It's comical really. You want to know the craziest part about all this? Nintendo and Sony have been doing this 1985 and 94 respectively. That's a long time to build developer and customer relationships. Microsoft, in 2 generations, has done better than anyone expected when they first announced they were making a system. Id argue they have a better all around business plan than any of the other 2. The future, as a business looks brighter for Microsoft. They're hunting for entertainment room domination, cater to the whole house. From the looks of the way they're merging their products, they're on the right path.

[DestinyHeroDoomlord]

N4G doesn't think so...

[TheColbertinator]

Microsoft should do stand up since game development is no longer their concern.

Microsoft tells a lie,makes it big,repeats it often.

[Fyflin]

Worst part of this gen?

Someone deciding that gamers should be labelled "hardcore" or "casual" and 90% of people agreeing with them.

[vega275]

Sony started this "core" and "casual" seperation of gamers. This was never a issue last hen cause Sony was in control. But because they couldn't overtake Nintendo and Ms they came up with " we cater to "Core gamers" while everyone else makes casual games.

[-MoOkS-]

Why are people doubting MS? they are simply trying to cater to all demographics - and successfully, may I add.

[HappyWithOneBubble]

I think the core audience want real games not stupid gimmick crap.

[DiRtY]

So from "OMG XBOX is the the shooter-box" to "OMG XBOX is the casual box!"

*This change happened in just 2 years... *

And Sony is so hardcore. They gave us Starhawk and Twisted Metal this year! Okay, nobody of us bought those games and they flopped pretty bad, but Sony is so hardcore!
And it gets better for the holiday season we will get LBP Karting and PSABR! Okay, wen won't by these games either and they are not hardcore at all, but... well... Sony is so hardcore!

Your lineup this year is casual only, because of Dance Central 3 and Nike+! Okay you had the Witcher 2, Halo 4, Forza Horizon, Fable Journey, Trials, Fez, Minecraft, Alan Wake American Nightmare, but ... well... Microsoft is so casual!

*edit*

seriously: This is fanboy talk. People would praise Sony for offering options, but they can't do that. Move flopped, Sorcery was THE game for Move and it did not even sell 60k units worldwide. Sony failed to get the casuals this gen and MS did not. That is the only reason people come up with "ignoring the core audience".

[noctrnl13]

If you didn't buy starhawk and twisted metal you are missing out. Just because the game didn't sell well doesn't mean it's bad. I could have sworn this article was about Xbox and MS though and not the PS3 and Sony.

->rant starts here

You say fanboy talk but all of which you just said is well..fanboy talk. Everyone praises sony for giving options outside of the regular trio that MS gives (Halo, Gears, and Forza). By your standards the witcher 2 flopped it sold less than Twisted Metal (BTW it was an amazing game just like Twisted Metal and Warhawk). I wouldn't even have put Fable Journey up considering the train wreck that was fable III but hey you can hope.

The true difference between sony and MS and why people praise Sony is the fact that Sony has continued to launch new AAA IPs even this late in the Gen. MS will throw halo, gears, and forza and call it supporting the "core" (in my opinion wtf is the core? This just popped up this gen and it baffles me. A game is a game enjoy it however you like).

Halo continues to be MS's saving grace which is why there have 6 games with the Halo name this gen. Another gears of war and another Forza. I don't mind sequels especially to good games but how about a little hiatus on MS's big three and invest in a new AAA IP? My problem is that MS shows off COD like it's not a multiplat. How is that a reason to get an xbox? How is that supporting the so called "core"? They send out the yearly update of their flagships and barely give anything else. They regulated Alan Wake to xbla, never gave Lost Oddyssey a chance, let fable become a joke, and snag games from the windows platform when they need them (minecraft, the witcher).

Also are you blind to the near future? Beyond, and Last of Us drop early next year. Would that have been great for the holiday season, sure but I don't want them to rush their masterpieces.

While I praise Kinect for catching on, can you name 5 truly good games for Kinect? I hate motion gaming and it was an attempt to bite into Nintendo's success with it. I wish the move/kinect never happened but hey they're businesses foremost and have to make money so meh. Although out of the motion craze I demoed sorcery and it was pretty good (again sales figures do not transmit to quality gaming experience) would it make me buy a move bundle probably not but again I'm biased against the whole motion gaming bonanza.

I hate it when "fanboys" call out other "fanboys", especially with such an idiotic argument as yours. Also this is microsoft stating this not some fanboy so who are you even mad at? Don't substantiate your purchase by comparing it to another system/company. Enjoy what you have for what it is.

->rant over

[humbleopinion]

First of all: Seriously!? "The Witcher 2 was an amazing game just like Twisted Metal and Warhawk"?
Let's not cheat ourselves. The Witcher 2 was head and shoulders above these two games. You might like them, but people expected them to be a triple A game and some of Sony's best showing this year (after all, what else is planned for them this year? Sly 4 and LBP Karting?), yet they turned out to be shallow experiences and a shadow of the former games in their respective franchise.
The Witcher 2 on the other hand was a superb experience and one of the top RPGs released this generation. You can't even compare these games and be serious about it.

I'm also glad to hear you and everyone are happy Sony is giving you "options" (when you say options, do you mean Killzone/SOCOM/MAG/Resistance/ Warhawk? So much genre variety there!) with more than three IPs, but didn't MS do the same with games like Crackdown/Lost Odyssey/Kameo/Alan Wake?
There are are more than 3 core ips in Microsoft's arsenal, but I guess people are drawn to attack them and ignore the others because these are their most successful games.

As for the near future... the thing I find the funniest is how suddenly everyone here are all about "a new IP late into this gen is the best thing!", something that I don't recall anyone caring about after the last E3 or the one before that.
I mean - not including unreleased games and vaporware, when was the last new IP Sony released this gen? Heavy Rain or something like that in 2010, right? The same year Microsoft released Alan Wake.
But that only counts if you're stupid enough to care only about retail games. After all, Sony released Journey this year - which is a fresh and original IP that surpasses all their other retail games this year.
So why not count that? I guess that because then you will also have to count all the amazing new IP microsoft relased this year (Fez, Sina Mora), and also their newly announced games like Lococycle and Ascend. And this will make your entire point

[noctrnl13]

The witcher 2 was easily one of the best rpgs this gen but let's not forget it was a pc port and the game plays much better on pc. However whether or not Twisted Metal and Starhawk were as good as the witcher is subjective I was merely stating you cannot judge a game by it's sales. You obviously missed the part where your fanboy friend said that, so by his logic the witcher 2 sucked just as bad as Starhawk and Twisted Metal (none of them suck)

How can you say starhawk and twisted metal are shadows of their former selves? Have you even played those games? Starhawk changed MP and is infinitely better than Warhawk. Twisted Metal's online and multiplayer game mode set that game above every other in the franchise the only gripe is lack of characters.

Also since when is Sly not awesome? I distinctly remember the first three games being amazing and if you doubt it you obviously never played them. Also I like karting games they're awesome since when were karting games not awesome enough to be released? Either you lack a soul or are just too "hardcore" to enjoy those games which would be sad.

Killzone is an fps and Socom was a tactical fps. That's like comparing rainbow 6 and Halo keep trying. MAG had one iteration and it's multiplayer was revolutionary 256 players online has anyone done that since? Aside from some mechanics that game was pretty good. Warhawk is a 3rd person shooter so I don't even know why that's in that list you either never played it or starhawk (which is radically different from any online shooter I've played in recent years)

You just happened to forget to list
Uncharted
GOW
Ni No Kuni
Folklore
Ratchet and Clank
Folklore
journey
Fat Princess
Gran Turismo
Lost Oddysey
The Last of us
Beyond
Heavy Rain
Disgaea
Versus XIII
Heavenly Sword
White Knight Chronicles
LBP
Infamomus
Metal Gear
Valkria Chronicles
Yakuza
~should I continue?

Be serious Kameo was a joke, MS let Lost Odyssey die (I have no idea why), Crackdown was meh (It launched with Halo 3 beta pass) and the second one proved that. Alan Wake was fantastic (as I said in above post or are you blind?)

Everyone has always cared about new IPs being released late in the gen, or did you own an Xbox which MS dropped off as soon as the 360 dropped. I owned a ps2 and xbox and was happy that Sony kept sending games my way. MS left me to die. You are seriously going to ignore that?

Vaporware? It's only vapor ware because it isn't released in an almost yearly format a la
Halo 3 -2007
Halo: ODST -2009
Halo: Wars -2009
Halo: Reach -2010
Halo: Anniversary- 2011
Halo 3 - 2011

I have no problem waiting a little bit extra time for a good game considering the Dev's history. I'm not even worried because Sony has a track record of releasing games (new ones) even after it's next console has launched. I don't mind the wait have a bunch keeping me busy right now.

I praise MS in xbla that doesn't excuse MS for lacking in the AAA IP market. They are absolutely getting hammered there and it say otherwise is just insanity. That's why my xbox collects dust for the most part until Halo, and lococycle drop.

[krisq]

If by core they mean celebrities, then yes.

[FlashXIII]

Actions speak louder than words..a yearly update to halo, gears, forza, fifa doesn't really feel like they're all that focused on the core. The fact they ended their conference on a multiplatform game and proudly announce timed exclusive DLC speaks louder than any fancy words from someone employed by Microsoft.

[hazelamy]

yeah, and if you believe that, i've got this bridge for sale.

[TheGamingArt]

LOL... such crap.

[Plagasx]

Lol fuck kinect.

[PS3gamer4life]

dont xbox on rare??y they not makn a new KI for there fans xbox fans have very little choice of games to play and im not talkn bout multi plat games ps3 fans have lots of choices to play xbox sucks tho they dont give what games want or new ip but yall paying for live yall give them money but they dont give yall shit lol

[MilkMan]

Please M$ what bullsh!t are you selling man?
Don't believe this for an instant.

[GraveLord]

lmfao. Such a joke.

[Nes_Daze]

Microsoft did have some great lineup of games years ago for the Xbox 360, then it seems they slipped off the map. Now it's " oh but we have Halo, Gears, and Forza and they all sell well". Great, can't wait to play those sales.... Rather have 10 new exclusives(some of them ips) than 3 games that just sell well.

[DFresh]

From a 3rd party perspective M$ does have game support but from an exclusive stand point their lacking really bad in variety.
There's only so many times someone can play Halo, Gears of War and so on before getting stale.
I have a feeling M$ is going to have a hard time next gen judging by their past (3) E3 showings.
M$ better step it up next gen or else they will lose hardcore supporters.