140°

Xbox TV could soften the blow of an expensive Durango

Gamasutra- Microsoft is rumored to be readying a low-cost "Xbox TV" console focused more on entertainment than games, but will the move confuse customers? Or will it ease the transition to a likely-expensive Durango?

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StrongMan4167d ago

This will not work. A low cost console with high media and social focus but less game focus(sounds like the Xbox 360) will only appeal to casuals and not the hardcore. The casuals will not pay to use free media and social features. The only reason people pay for XBL is to unlock the online portion of the games they bought. The casuals who buy the cheaper media answer social focused Xbox don't care about online multi player. Won't work.

hennessey864167d ago

Fee was for gaming alone I wouldn't pay for it, you get a lot of bang for your buck with Xbox live.

Minato-Namikaze4167d ago

Can't bring myself to pay an extra fee for MP.

majiebeast4167d ago (Edited 4167d ago )

Do tell or are we gonna go with cross game chat again?

cl19834167d ago

You underestimate human silliness.

iamnsuperman4167d ago

I personally do not see these consoles having such an important place in these functions like TV/demand services because TVs themselves are doing it already. Most TVs (even cheap ones) are ever more connected to the internet and I know from experience in the UK freeview with its on the demand services added on is incredible for something that is free. Obviously the latter is something that seems to be exclusive to the UK but I can see similar service being introduced into other countries as TVs become even more connected.

Godmars2904167d ago (Edited 4167d ago )

Not the way and as much as they advertise it.

@Soldierone:
Except where the PS3 was everything as advertised - not that its been properly advertised - in one package, with the 360 there are instances like the HD-DVD add-on where 360 fanboys talked up "giving people options." Nevermind that said "option" came at additional costs and even had limitations.

rainslacker4167d ago

It could work, and possibly already is. This is what MS has wanted for a long time, to get into people's living rooms, and be the center of their entertainment needs. So many people disagree with me when I say this.

I think a lot of people on here either don't remember, or weren't around when MS was a bully in the pre-XBox marketplace. They didn't get slapped with multiple anti-trust suits for nothing. The people that think the Xbox brand is god's gift to gaming have no clue why the first Xbox was made in the first place, or any of the vitriol that came out before it's release because of the strategy they were using to get into people's living rooms. People used to really HATE Microsoft.

Microsoft has done well for themselves in the gaming market, and I commend them for that. They have pushed technology and competition to be better, and I don't deny that they do some things right. They have also gone to great lengths to repair their public image over the last decade, and in many ways they are a lot better than they were, to which I will also commend them for. But to people who think MS really cares about gaming, I suggest you go read up on Microsoft's history. Their only concern is money and controlling every aspect of your wallet.

gnothe14167d ago

Rainslacker...the main reason MS got into gaming was because of sony...the PLAYSTATION BRAND was getting really huge...an sony was talking about replacing PC's with playstations an have the playstation as the center on the living room...an MS saw that as a threat to their empire...so the only way to stop sony from doing such was to challenge them for the living room...if sony would have just kept quite an played their hand..things probably would have been different...but sony beat their chest to much about replacing the home PC an MS wasnt gonna sit by an let that happen...

rainslacker4167d ago

@gnothe

Your right, that's why MS got into it, although it was in their plans before the Playstation brand came into existence. It should be noted that this is one reason they partnered with Sega with the Dreamcast and offering a version of WinCE on it. MS wanted to have this position for quite a while, but I think their sights early on were more PC being that center, and not something else. When Sony encroached on that premise, and made it appealing, they ended up making their own console, thus why they got into the gaming industry.

OC_MurphysLaw4167d ago

Ever heard of Apple TV or Roku? a small box focused on media and social features absolutely can work. Question will be in how its priced and if they try to attach something like XBLG to it.

BlmThug4167d ago

The casuals, sadly, outnumber vastly the hardcore gamers. It's why theirs a much bigger emphasis on non-gaming related features because the aim is to make money, that includes Sony and Nintendo.

nukeitall4167d ago

Well duh! Obviously it will not appeal to the core gamer when it barely does games. It would be great as an extension of your Xbox where you would only use it for media such as Netflix, ESPN, Hulu and so on while still have the social aspect.

Think Windows Media Center extender, but only with Windows 8.

The full on SKU will be the one to appeal to core gamers, with hopefully little compromises. That is really the best of both worlds isn't it?

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 4167d ago
Soldierone4167d ago

No it won't, ask Sony and all the Xbox fanboys that were bashing Blu-ray and all the added features of PS3, stating they were all "not needed!!!!"

Now MS is going that route? Sony will for sure take the move of undercutting the price. Not only that you are saying Sony doesn't have access to a lot more media thanks to their giant company, and won't fight to get the same media? Then add in the fact its FREE to access it ALL on PSN and not Live....

KMCROC544167d ago (Edited 4167d ago )

Will buy one just to be able to pass judgment on it, cause unless you have tried it first hand you have no reason to judge or badmouth . Also talking the word of a friend ,family member, journalist is not the same as hand on experience.

Belking4167d ago (Edited 4167d ago )

nothing to see here folks. Until this has been confirmed by MS, this is all BS.

dkgshiz4167d ago (Edited 4167d ago )

If it doesn't focus on gaming then why bother having an "xbox" title on the name? These companies focus to much on the entertainment media part of things and forget about the games.

Show all comments (23)
60°

Pacific Rim Pinball comes to Pinball FX

This could be fun as they make great tables. Go big or go extinct. Prime your senses for a neural handshake and step into the cockpit of a Jaeger. It is on you to cancel the apocalypse when Pacific Rim Pinball comes to Pinball FX on May 16.

130°

Looking Back At 2008, An Unbelievably Incredible Year Of Video Game Releases

Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."

ChasterMies1d ago

Some of these low paid video game “news” writers weren’t born before 2007.

just_looken20h ago

Here here

Those that were around before 2000's i am sure are like me that think we entered a world of non readers or those that follow without question.

I can not wait to see fallout 3 a goty game even though it was about water with non content until you add the dlc/updates then you got the performance/crashing

CrimsonWing691d 11h ago

I don’t think anything can compare to 2023

lucasnooker1d 11h ago

1998 - the best year in gaming! Metal gear solid, crash bandicoot 3, medievil, half life, ocarina of time, thief, tenchu, resident evil 2, Spyro, tomb raider 3, oddworld abes exodus, banjo kazooie.

It was a different breed of a gaming era. You’ll never understand what it was like back then. The aura of gaming, it was different!

KyRo1d 11h ago (Edited 1d 11h ago )

I second this. Gaming was a lot more varied and fun than it is today. I'm 35 so getting on compared to some here but I got to see all the changes from NES up to now but I've never felt so disappointed in any generation than I have this current gen. I was expecting more from this generation rather than prettier versions of games that came before it. Game mechanics have become so refined that alot of games feel the same and has done for a while now.

Maybe it's time to have a break for a while. I love gaming but I don't feel I get much fun in the traditional sense out of it anymore.

CrimsonWing691d 11h ago (Edited 1d 11h ago )

Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Abe’s Exodus, and Ocarina of Time are the only things from that list that I liked.

Here’s the 2023 game releases that I personally liked… and big releases that I didn’t care for:

- Dead Space Remake
- Wo Long Dynatsy
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Diablo 4
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Hogwarts Legcay
- Street Fighter 6
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Like a Dragon: Ishin
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters
- Final Fanatsy XVI (actually ended up not liking this, but it was still a big deal release)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield (Ended up hating this one, but big release)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m an old-school Zelda fan, but didn’t really enjoy this game)
- Alan Wake 2

I mean, honestly I’ve never seen a year of major IP releases like that, ever.

Profchaos1d 8h ago (Edited 1d 8h ago )

Isn't it just a generational thing realistically.

I've been gaming since way back and I some of my favourite games go as far back as the late 80s for me each generation has a year or two of game changing releases one after another before an inevitable dry spell.

I kind of agree gaming had a different feel games hit different because we didn't have the internet nothing got spoiled and you really had to put in the effort to beat a puzzle which could set entire groups of people looking for a solution. But most importantly games were experimental and not as cookie cutter as today even basics like controls were not universal today r2 is shoot l2 is ads garunteed you can't deviate from that in a shooter back then it could of been square, R1 or R1 and circle nothing was standard.

But as time moves on a new generation picks up their controller they are going to be interested in different things that PS1 demo disc with the t Rex blew our primitive 16 bit brains back on launch but to kids today it's laughable.
The new gen of kids coming into to hobby seem to value different things to us there seems to be a huge focus on online play, streamers, gaming personalities, and social experiences, convience of digital downloads. To me I value none of that but that's ok like my parents not liking the band's I would listen to its just the natural cycle.

Gameseeker_Frampt23h ago

Just about every year in the 7th generation was great and something we most likely won't experience again.

2009 for example had Assassin's Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Killzone 2, Borderlands, Bayonetta, and Demon's Souls to name a few.

just_looken20h ago

It still amazes me we got over 7 rockstar games ps2/ps3 but 3 for the ps3/ps4/ps5

Dragon age 1-3 and mass effect 1-3 in 7ish years what a generation.

120°

6 Fun Games Where You Actually Play As The Bad Guy

While the mainstream media always sees things turning in favor of the hero, here are 6 games that own being a bad guy.

Profchaos1d 17h ago

Pretty much all of these games listed are based around a morality system you don't have to be bad and you don't have to be good.

It seems to have left out some real amazing games like red dead redemption 1/2,ass effect and true crime la/ny

Tacoboto1d 16h ago

Armored Core VI?

Ok, I'm really missing something here. Just beat chapter 3 earlier this evening, unlocked A-rank Arena fights. I'm not seeing or sensing any branching paths or morality system and I've done every side mission and arena fight available to me up to that fight.

Is something big coming soon to branch the story?

banger881d 16h ago

No mention of Grand Theft Auto? Saints Row (original trilogy), Manhunt? Also The Suffering (depending on the ending you get).

ChasterMies1d 6h ago

Trevor in GTA 6 is a sadist and psychopath who dabbles in cannibalism. Should be top of the list. These game “news” sites should hire people that know games.