610°

5 Things Microsoft Can Do At Their Xbox Event To Beat Sony To The Punch

Vincent Deshaies of Gamefocus gives us his analysis of what Microsoft should do with their Xbox 720 reveal in order to beat Sony to the punch.

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gamefocus.ca
unworthy154078d ago

I agree with all of these things for once

BananaEatingSquid4078d ago

I don't think they'll focus on games like it says but I want them to!

unworthy154078d ago

I heard they have 4 new IPs and there's that black tusk studio working on something, maybe they'll surprise everyone with no kinect stuff??

Vinc3604078d ago

I'm sure there's going to be a lot of Kinect and multimedia stuff to please investors, but I don't think it'll be quite as casual-oriented as their past few E3 conferences were for the simple reason that early adopters are usually "core" gamers!

Blacktric4078d ago

So what they have to do to "beat Sony down to the punch" is to do exactly what Sony did only on a tiny teeny little bit bigger scale?

These bloggers are so cute with all their not so thought out and already moot points.

Red_Orange_Juice4078d ago (Edited 4078d ago )

my wishlist for Microsoft as a PS gamer:

Yes to Halo
Yes to Alan Wake 2
Yes to new FIRST PARTY games (not on PC)

No to moneyhatting 3rd party devs
No to Kinect
No to Fable
No to Gears

sGIBMBR4077d ago

@Red_Orange_Juice

As a 360/PS3 gamer, I agree to all your choices... Maybe a new PGR game too?

MikeMyers4077d ago

1. Have Xbox Live become the leader in the industry. Show why people should gravitate to their service again.

2. Have a free option to playing online.

3. Get back to showing games the hardcore crowd wants.

4. Come out strong with new IP's.

5. Prove Kinect 2 actually works and not just under ideal conditions and scripted, if they are rumored to come out with one again.

6. Explain how powerful it truly is and don;t shy away from being future proof.

7. Work with developers and have them explain why they want to work on the new hardware.

ABizzel14077d ago

1. Be more clear about the features

I completely agree. Based on the rumors (which were spot on with the PS4 besides 8GB of GDDR5 instead of 4GB), the Nextbox is going to be the weaker console, so they need to focus more so on what they believe makes their console the better choice, Services. And they need hit every detail regarding them.

2. Focus on announcing games

MS doesn't have the first Party that Sony or Nintendo has, so they'll always be behind in IP's until they build up their home stable. I expect a similar amount of games to be shown, Halo ODST 2, Project Gotham Racing 5, Rare New IP / Reboot Franchise, Kinect 2.0 tech demos, and third party games. And well see better demos of the same stuff come E3.

3. Show the console

That's fine. I'd rather know the specs., but being able to see it is good as well.

4. Reveal all the details on Xbox Live 3.0

Guaranteed. I feel XBL GOld will be free, and we'll have a new paid service XBL Platinum, with many cloud gaming, DVR, gaming recording, and media features.

5. Tell us about how powerful the system is

As I said earlier, they're not going to spend too much time here if they're aren't going to have a system as powerful as the PS4. They'll highlight what makes it next-gen, and list things like CPU, RAM and type, but they won't get into details on the GPU.

This was the best one of these I've seen thus far.

On a side note one thing people seem to be forgetting about these conferences is that they're not E3 conferences. These are not for gamers. They're for publishers, developers, and investors, so when they're showing tech demos, data, and other things many of the established game journalist sites like IGN are complaining about, just shut up and realize this isn't meant for you. You're just invited to spread the news, not review the console and it's games. These are basically pre-GDC events, with more technical news given out on GDC. E3 is for gamers, not these conferences. It's just a sneak peek of what's coming.

WarThunder4077d ago (Edited 4077d ago )

1- Be more clear about the features, what?

Like Sony wasn't any clear.....

3- Show the console

LOL this is becoming a trend now... Stupidity of gaming website is beyond anything...

guitarded774077d ago (Edited 4077d ago )

I hope MS impress as much as Sony did... BUT, I hate the company A "beat" company B. I like both... hell, I like all, and while some offer more or better options for me, I don't think of it as one "beat" the other. It's just lame.

What MS can do to impress me is come out, and show the tech with hardware specs out in the open. They must also show the games, exclusives have to be key to the presentation, and come out and show a couple 3rd party big guns. EA was absent from the PS4 reveal, so it would be nice to see them at the XBOX reveal showing Battlefield 4. They could also show something like Star Wars 1313.

I don't really care about Kinect as a gaming device, but I will be interested to see what MS's plans are for Kinect in relation to apps and social features, and as an input device in general.

I'd also like to see online gaming go free, and if they still want a paid model, make it something unique. I'll also be interested to see if they change their controller too, since that's kinda been a theme with the Wii U and PS4.

EDIT: I commented before reading the article (typical n4g user), and I guess my wants are about the same as the authors.

mistertwoturbo4077d ago

They are going to reveal Kinect 2.0, megaton news like Destiny is coming to the 720, and Diablo III will now come to consoles!

Nafon4077d ago

@Red_Orange_Juice
I agree with everything except add:
Yes to Forza Motorsport.

knowyourstuff4077d ago

All those things were childish quite frankly. You can't expect everything to be finalized one year in advance, including the specifics on features, the final packaging of the system and how it will look, final specs and total cost. Development just doesn't work that way. With a year to go all you have is a vision, the nitty gritty details aren't finalized until much later, that's just how manufacturing something of this magnitude works.

Showing every single game is just blowing your load all at once with nothing to get excited about after that. What happens when you do that is one or two games that are a highly anticipated sequels will soak up all the attention and overshadow everything else, so there's no point in showing everything all at once. The industry knows this, which is why you've never seen it happen.

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 4077d ago
-Superman-4078d ago

As they start showing Kinect 2 and those games... it will fail.

Muffins12234077d ago

Yea i cant wait for my
Dance Central:Justin Bieber Edition

PFFT4077d ago

EXACTLY!!!!!!! If its KINECT supported that fine BUT if its all Kinect FCK THAT!

WarThunder4077d ago (Edited 4077d ago )

Showing Kinect 2 will not be a fail for MS... MS does not care about their fan base (just like Apple) they are the ones who decide what to bring to the market. MS saw the success of their first Kinect, now they want to improve it "Kinect 2.0" make it better and sell more Kinect devices.

This is the truth like it or not...

GezForce4077d ago

i disagree..... i got my poncho ironed and ready to go. A kinect centric nextxbox is going to dominate the masses. i got a spare one with green poka dots if you like?

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4077d ago
user39158004078d ago

5 things they need to steal the show?

1) Show the freaking console and spec

2) Bring back the core gamers, start with KILLER INSTINCT 3 and another 4 first party game no ones knows.

3) BC, optional download and hardcopy and give us multiple scoring for users from the same console

4) Illumiroom, skype, and multiple tv play from same console

5) Give us multiple MMOS from online play even if we have to pay for it.

6) fill in the blank ------------------. And last but not least cockroaches = sony trolls.

HammadTheBeast4077d ago

5 things they need to steal the show?

1) Show the freaking console and spec

Specs already confirmed to be less than PS4, unless they drastically changed console which would result in a delay.

2) Bring back the core gamers, start with KILLER INSTINCT 3 and another 4 first party game no ones knows.

Never happening, casuals with Kinect make too much money. Enjoy Dance Central.

3) BC, optional download and hardcopy and give us multiple scoring for users from the same console

PS4 will do this too, hell even Wii U does this.

4) Illumiroom, skype, and multiple tv play from same console

Illumiroom is a gimmick will not work with most living rooms as they are not perfectly empty square cubicles. Skype, congrats, just $50 a year for something everyone gets free. Multiple TV play?

5) Give us multiple MMOS from online play even if we have to pay for it.

PS3 already has quite a few.

6) fill in the blank ------------------. And last but not least cockroaches = xbox trolls.

Fixed

PFFT4077d ago

HammadTheOne

"Specs already confirmed to be less than PS4, unless they drastically changed console which would result in a delay."

You mean Rumored not CONFIRMED. Or do you work for the industry and now something we dont.....??
Cause last i checked all these so called Xbox Specs have been nothing but that RUMORS.

DigitalSmoke4077d ago

illumiroom... You casuals are so easily fooled, its sad realy

morkendo234077d ago

ONLY!!! way for MS to beat Sony to the punch is to launch the 720 march 3rd next month.
since we all know thats not happening no sweat.

andibandit4077d ago

No, the only way for MS to beat Sony, is for Sony to shoot themselves in the foot again.

slaton244077d ago

i did to except the one about the console...reason sony didnt show theirs is because think of the hype at E3 and wouldnt wont the competition to get ideas to steal and make their own

AngelicIceDiamond4077d ago (Edited 4077d ago )

If MS wants to really sell well out of the gate. They need to announce free basic MP out of the box along with Netflix and Hulu and other apps free also. Lets be honest, 360 locked its customers out by the gold subscription.

If they unlocked it, free MP for everybody then that's instant sales.

While keeping future offerings under the paid subscription stuff like free games, cloud service, social services under the paid model.

I have confidence in MS. If there's one thing to go by, MS this gen has had a great track record on delivering on what they announce.

lilbrat234077d ago

They should focus on everything mention but I don't think they will. I for one want to see NEW games no remakes or continuations of another game. They better bring it and also I hope they get rid of the online subscription.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4077d ago
HammadTheBeast4077d ago

Would require a pretty large delay, about 4-6 months at least.

DOMination-4077d ago

Sony didn't require such a delay and they changed it days before their conference. Even their first party didn't know anything about it.

Vinc3604078d ago

If there is a graphical gap, hopefully they'll try to minimize its impact by showing games with great art and design

delboy4078d ago

Like ddr3 on wiiu producing better visuals, NFS, Trine2... more to come.
Don't forget next xbox comes with fast edram and sosophisticated data moving engine and a 33% waker gpu won't make a big difference at all.
And there's still time to change the rumored specs, those are over 10 months old floating the net.
MS is a software company, so I expect a much much better OS on box,overall better user interface and better features than a share button.

And in the end, MS will kill Sony with price, maybe even with a subscription model like for mobile phones.
MS can afford to sell with a loss unlike Sony.
Btw rumors on GAF are that the Ps4 costs 400-450$ to produce, so good luck for those expecting a 399$ ps4.

DarkZane4077d ago

Considering Sony usually sell their hardwares at a lost on release, it not being 399$ (and maybe even lower) would be a surprise.

Raider694077d ago (Edited 4077d ago )

WELL UBISOFT CEO told that they hold back BG2 game development because they saw the price tag that one of the consoles is been released an is too high!WE dont know what console he was talking about,but im also almost sure that the PS4 will go with atleast $500 to $550 bundle with some game.Im picking it because i can even at this price but the majority will wait for a price drop if any of the consoles comes this high.

DigitalSmoke4077d ago

Price?

Gamers can't wait to spend serious cash on à cutting edge console.
All these soft priced low tech things are for childeren...

nirwanda4077d ago

It depends on how the compression chips if its moving stuff around at even 2x the compression your getting double the speed and double the memory,
And on top of that you have the move engines that make it easy for the cpu/gpu to share data and allocate registers for the data.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4077d ago
Vinc3604078d ago

At the end of the day, I just hope we get another great platform to play games on. I'm already sold on PS4 and will be getting one at launch. I'll be pleased if both the PS4 and 720 grab my attention.

BananaEatingSquid4078d ago

That'd be best for all gamers!!!

shivvy244078d ago

im already getting a ps4 but if ms goes hardcore gamer first + hardcore exclusives then ill get both

greenpowerz4077d ago

"I'm not the type to go looking for trouble or discriminate against any platform :P"

I find that funny snese you're trying your hardest to paint the 720 in a way that is pro Sony with nothing more than PS3 fanboy talking points.

What you say in a nutshell:

-PlayStation 4 is more powerful no matter what because I say so and I know more about what MSFT can do than MSFT does. The need for Sony to win anything and everything is because this fills the void of something missing in my life.

-360/720 has no games because saying that makes me feel beter about my PlayStation purchase/preference/loyality Plus I hate Kinect for being something that has made MSFT a force to be recond with.

DigitalRaptor4077d ago

@ greenpowerz

You are mad delusional! Who said what you're quoting?

insomnium24077d ago

My god why did someone let green out of his cage. Bad boy!

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4077d ago
THC CELL4078d ago

I'm glad Sony only teased us at the last event and after Xbox big show off the bigger guns come out from Sony. We yet to see nd new.game and many others

Jobesy4077d ago

Too much THC not enough CELLS methinks...

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210°

Microsoft Seemingly Closes Bethesda France

As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people

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insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere6h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN4h ago

If they are let go, they can be whatever they want. They ARE 3rd party now... 🤦

Barlos1h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

PassNextquestion6h ago(Edited 6h ago)

Bethesda France was made up of roughly 15 people... they couldn't of being doing much

Bethesda France mainly did publishing and marketing within the region

blacktiger4h ago

that's a shame for you to say that, i'm sure Elite loves hearing what you just said.

Profchaos6h ago(Edited 6h ago)

Bethesda France focused on publishing and marketing in the region. And 15 people lost their jobs as part of the closure.

I wonder if this is part of Microsoft's strategy to abandoned physical media or possibly gamepass advertising makes their roles redundant you don't need to market a game as hard when the majority of players get the game as part of a sub which already promoted upcoming games

Tacoboto5h ago

It's France too, there's a high likelihood only 1-2 people on the team even had an Xbox.

Profchaos5h ago

Possibly guven all the leaks we know the Xbox brand is really struggling in the region.

Yi-Long2h ago

Well, if your consoles and games are barely found in any stores any more, of course you're gonna struggle finding consumers ...

XiNatsuDragnel4h ago

Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo

Profchaos3h ago(Edited 3h ago)

I think it would have been better for all parties really especially gamers

TheColbertinator4h ago

The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.

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110°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg7h ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos6h ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion6h ago(Edited 6h ago)

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola2h ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple10111d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref10d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde10d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander197210d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville10d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff218310d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos10d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
isarai11d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref10d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan10d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0079d ago (Edited 9d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander197211d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

11d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197211d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

11d ago
11d ago
Zeref10d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde10d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander197210d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander197210d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier10d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto10d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff218310d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto10d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
Hofstaderman10d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts10d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts9d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic10d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)