180°

How Microsoft Can Outdo Sony’s Announcement

Sony’s PlayStation 4 announcement has come and gone. Most of our lives have gone back to normal, and gamers have returned to blissfully enjoying the latest awesome games on their current generation consoles.

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mochachino4054d ago

Only thing that can make it possible IMO - free online MP for silver.

vishant1014054d ago

Xbox doesn't have to be more powerful then ps4 it just needs to be better value to anyone buying it that means games and functionality as well as reasonably good hardware. The most powerful game system has not won the console war in a very long time all ms needs to do is open new more studios make more games its perfectly ok for them to make kinect games as long as they bring out core games as well.

zebramocha4053d ago (Edited 4053d ago )

@vish only thing Ms had over Sony this gen is better third party games and a slightly better online,so it would be hard for Ms to counter unless they were significantly cheaper than Sony.

AngelicIceDiamond4053d ago

I agree with you. But the whole deal with the PS4 is not only is it really strong but its easy to develop for. But that power probably wouldn't mean much if the new Xbox is similar in strength. And it is said that the new Xbox is, once again easy to develop on.

We'll have to wait and see.

Gimmemorebubblez4053d ago

I just don't see that happening. Microsoft outsources the production of Xbox consoles. They sell the Xbox at a very low profit margin. The Xbox division's primary source of income is Xbox Live Gold. If SIlver enables online play than Gold subscriptions will drop. So unless MS changes their business model, I am pretty certain the Xbox's online will be subscription based.

ATi_Elite4053d ago

Simple.........

Show an actual Xbox720 running Halo 5

that would blow the MS fans away and impress non MS fans like me!

rainslacker4053d ago (Edited 4053d ago )

Halo 5 couldn't hurt to be sure. A new Forza couldn't hurt either. I would like to see some new IP's, because while Halo is one FPS that I actually enjoy, it would be nice to know if MS is going to go into actually creating new ideas for us to play. Have to remember, the next gen is what we'll be playing for the next 6-7 years, and bringing something new is always good. I'm reasonable enough though to know they won't say everything that they will do right up front, but a little hope would be nice.:)

mochachino4053d ago

Halo is popular and a system seller but the franchise is not nearly as big as it was when Halo 3 came out.

More FPS fans like COD and BF more now.

MysticStrummer4053d ago

Free online gaming and exclusive games I'm interested in.

_FantasmA_4053d ago

Not even. Free online has already been done before. It would sell for ameericans who have really gotten more racist and xenophobic after the economy went in the toilet, but the rest of the world knows where the games are at. What good is free online if there still aren't any games to play? Only Xbots will pick free online in Halo 57 and Gears 62.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4053d ago
cyberninja4053d ago ShowReplies(1)
Wizziokid4053d ago

well judging how defensive they got with the PS4 reveal I would say they are concerned.

and even without that logic of course they are concerned, that's their competition they need to sell the console to consumers and they wont do that by ignoring sony they need to learn and adapt and showcase a better console otherwise people will go to sony for the value.

it's how business works

Gazondaily4053d ago

Oh yes they are, unless of course they want to hammer down the nails in their own proverbial coffin.

Past responses via Twitter etc alone are proof contrary to your point.

Sony are MS' direct competitors; believe me, they have sized up the competition to a greater degree than any of us on here. The reasons for doing so should be obvious.

OT- MS can outdo Sony in several ways:

1) Technical Specs- The PS4 is quite a powerhouse and on raw specs alone, I'm skeptical as to how MS can achieve it. But we all know that it isn't simply about the specs, its how you incorporate them into your machine.

2) Games- The potential library of first party games that MS has at its disposal is quite formidable. It remains to be seen whether they will even utilise this. Here's hoping

3) Hardware- Illumiroom and Kinect may seem gimmicky but that's only because we they do not appear to be of little use to core gamers. If MS can, somehow, prove naysayers wrong about its applications, then we could be in for a real treat. However, skepticism seems to be more than justified at this point

4) Features- The share button for example, on the PS4 is absolutely brilliant. We need features like that, that really enhance the social functionality of the console and really feel like it is a decisive step into the next-generation.

Exciting times ahead.

4053d ago
Gazondaily4053d ago (Edited 4053d ago )

@XaviorZ

Well, I was going to post a longer reply but then I noticed you created your account a couple of days ago. So what is your original account's name or are do you not have the courage of your convictions to mention that?

Desperate? I don't follow a certain brand of console manufacturers religiously so I have no reason to be desparate. Also, regarding my so-called 'high hopes', I was merely listing what I thought MS COULD theoretically do to outdo Sony. In fact, I even elaborated on my skepticism in my post but your lack of comprehension skills (among other things) clearly came into play.

I've wasted too much time on the likes you as it. Ciao.

AngelicIceDiamond4053d ago (Edited 4053d ago )

I agree with Septic.

As for @Xavior he fails to use any proper logic Like most on this site, sheesh.

You see if he was even remotely smart he would know that MS has allot more studios going on next gen To handle allot more.

If he was smart he wouldn't make a stupid assumption like he just did.

"MS will try to draw their cards right to satisfy the hardcore fans but only at the beginning after that they will focus on the casual gamer "KINECT" exactly like they did with 360."

That's stupid comment how do you know? "Ohhh because the Xbox 360 did it." Get out of here, if you were smart you wouldn't make that assumption and you wouldn't worry about a "change of direction" on future unannounced console which is something you don't know anything about. Your getting Waaayy ahead of your self.

But, I'm using the same logic again to further make my point clear in conjunction to my first statement.

MS created more studio's to handle allot more. They created entertainment studios, casual studios and more importantly, more CORE studios. So, the likely hood of MS doing what they did with the 360 isn't likely.

MS tried to do allot with the 360 and even sacrificed creating new Ip's later in the gen they didn't have the studio power to cater to the core but they did have the power to give its fans Gears, Halo, Forza and many, many critically acclaimed XBL Arcade titles.

MS will have more studios next gen, the more studios the better for everyone.

Are we clear?

rainslacker4053d ago

I agree with Septic on all his points, although I don't consider the share button all that interesting from a game play standpoint.

@Angelic

It's not so much that some of us believe MS will repeat what they did this gen with abandoning the core, it's more that because of what they've been doing the past couple years it gives cause for concern that they will do it again.

Typically you can look at a companies history and know how they will behave in the long run. Nintendo pushes out a steady supply of their staple game IP's, along with some great gems which mostly go unnoticed by the mainstream. Sony fully supports both core and casual players with a diverse library of IP's, and continuously seems to be trying to push the games industry forward.

Right now MS has gone and focused mostly on Kinect with little new IP development for the core. Since the original Xbox was dropped fast, we only have one generation to really see how MS behaves in regards to it's outlook on the gaming industry.

The acquirement of "core" studios is a good sign, no doubt, but as I recall MS also acquired Rare, and we saw what happened to them. Until the games are announced we can only speculate on what those studios are doing. We can also only speculate on what MS is doing for next gen because they have been silent on everything.

It's not to say that we don't want them to do well, because quite honestly I do. I want them to blow me away and give me a reason to become a MS gamer. In order to do that they will have to deliver something that I want, and that's a great core experience overall, along with new IP's to keep things fresh, and a reasonable value to make it worth picking up the system in the first place.

I'm not rooting for or against MS. I'm looking at what kind of gaming experiences they can deliver for my own personal enjoyment. Something they've failed to deliver for me this gen.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4053d ago
Cocozero4053d ago

Just announcing it would be enough. And showing something othercthan better graphics wether that be Kinect 2 or Illumiroom

OlgerO4053d ago

whatever helps you sleep at night

mrmancs4053d ago

why is this in the ps4 section? It is Sony who does not case about microsoft , we got final fantasy + tons more exclusives to look forward too :)

Wizziokid4053d ago

They can do a good presentation by following sony and saying here's the console it's going to focus on games and we want it to be for games.

cut all of the we have all this built in crap and make it about the games again please!

oh and don't focus on kinect.

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70°

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.

jznrpg10m 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.

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.

Profchaos9d 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 9d 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.

10d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197210d ago

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

10d ago
10d 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.

Tacoboto9d 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 9d 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

FinalFantasyFanatic9d 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.

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

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ChasterMies20d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken20d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga20d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken20d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6420d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long19d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197219d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic19d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 19d ago
DivineHand12520d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91320d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer20d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91319d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit19d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 19d ago
Christopher20d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6919d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit19d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher20d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken20d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197219d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic19d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2320d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218319d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder20d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts20d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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