150°

Xbox absence tells us nothing about next-gen

"The message is clear: the NDAs have
been signed at the highest level. This
next-gen discussion doesn't start until
Microsoft's lawyers say so."

iGAM3R-VIII4042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

Well it does tell us that MS are stuggling from within and trying to pull of a stunt, when E3 come we gamers will have the answer so we still do not know if MS are building a military supercomputer gaming console lol :P but so far, I am sold on the PS4

StrongMan4042d ago

Well said and I completely agree.

+bubble

Evil_Ryu4041d ago

Blinded fanboyism comment
+Disagree added. Enjoy :)

JoGam4042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

*Correction* Xbox absence tells us nothing about next-gen 720. Because we know and are learning more about Sony's Next Gen console everyday it seems.

iGAM3R-VIII4042d ago

agreed, it is only Ms who hasn't said a thing about the 720, all we know is all of this leaked unofficial rumoured stuff. Essentially, we do not even know if MS are even making a next gen console.

Knightofelemia4042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

@ iGAM3R

Microsoft will not drop out of consoles they know there is money to be made in the market with the XBox brand. Microsoft may have done a few stupid things but making money and spending money is what they are good at.

GribbleGrunger4041d ago

Magnus, it was a figure of speech.

Why o why4041d ago (Edited 4041d ago )

MS are one of the 3 so its a third of next gen we no nothing about. The other 2 have laid their cards out. Ill still be picking up a 720 before that wii u anyway.... I know that much.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4041d ago
AngelicIceDiamond4041d ago (Edited 4041d ago )

Immediately one really really stupid comment. And the usual troll agrees with you.

"Well it does tell us that MS are stuggling from within and trying to pull of a stunt"

What tells you MS is struggling within? What.. kind of insane garbage are talkin about?

Listen fanboy:

MS....HAS....NOT....ANNOUNCED ANYTHING REGARDING NEXT GEN YET.

MS doesn't operate on your, or my time, just wait. And who cares if your sold on the PlayStation "so is everyone else" on here. I'll get both eventually but in the mean time I'm still very, very interested on the next Xbox. I'm not sold on the PS4 and obviously the 720 yet so unlike you and everyone else I'll reserve judgment until I get full details on both.

Fanboys I swear....

nukeitall4041d ago (Edited 4041d ago )

It actually depends on what MS shows, but let's face it, at least it doesn't look like MS is acting reactively. That MS have some deep seated plans.

It's not like when the Kinect was revealed at E3 and then Sony came out with an extremely nervous looking Richard Marks with an amateurish presentation that looks like it was conceived hours after MS E3 presentation.

That's the thing, if MS rushes to announce things it might not be announced right and be perceived negatively.

Fact of the matter is, nothing is sold until consumers buy it and that won't be until at least 6 months from now.

Remember how the press said at $150 nobody would buy Kinect. Over 20 million sold later, it sold better than the original Xbox!

Now, remember how the 3DS was believed to perform very badly, and the PS Vita was praised to high heavens by the media? Fast forward, and the 3DS is selling like hotcakes and PS Vita well isn't gaining traction at all.

Point is, there is plenty of time to announce and inform. The big question is, what does MS have to show?

More importantly than that is the execution and management of all that. Nintendo turned 3DS fortunes around, while Sony has yet to achieve anything with the PS Vita.

Talk is easy, but execution is what matters.

majiebeast4041d ago (Edited 4041d ago )

Yeah you can schedule a tech demo in 1 day... Do you know how stupid you sound? Also atleast Sony's move demo was real, same cant be said for kinect which was alot of smoke and mirrors and bad acting.

MikeMyers4041d ago

The speculations and frenzy we see on forums really doesn't amount to much. What matters is what happens at the retail end. There will be plenty of time for consumers to decide which one to get or more than one system.

Some people are just impatient. I like being surprised, often E3 is ruined because of so many early leaks. You're right, Microsoft should not react to the PS4 announcement just for the sale of trying to be relevant. They should stick to their original plan (whatever that may be) and stay the course.

What I want to see from Microsoft at E3 (if that is truly when we hear about the next Xbox first) is for them to come out very confidentially and abolish the rumors front and center. Say "no, we are not forcing you to stay connected online". "No, we are not abandoning the used market". They reveal the specs and the price and the release date. That would shut everyone up and then move on to what the Xbox has to offer. Show real games running. Show Kinect 2 if they are going that route in real applications and not smoke and mirrors.

I want them to treat me with respect and not as being naive. We've seen enough over the years at E3 that never really materialize or mocked up tech demo's. It's time for Microsoft to put up or shut up. Nobody wants to hear about how well Xbox Live is doing or how many systems they have sold in the U.S. They need to be a global market and not have Live hide behind a pay wall.

otherZinc4041d ago

I also like what M$ is doing:

M$ is about to hit that "Game winning buzzer beater" that the opposing team can do nothing to combat because theres no time left on the clock.

M$ waiting til E3 is the best strategy of all times. If they come with what I'm thinking, others will be left scrambling for attention.

I think M$ sees an opportunity for a game winning shot & they're going hard after the Video Game Market.

Like it or not, most will be impressed and haters will not be able to deny what they deliver.

nukeitall4041d ago

@majiebeast:

You know what is stupid? To schedule a tech demo in 1-day for one of the biggest trade shows in the year in front of millions of people.

A lot of these things are at least planned far in advanced and re-hearsed frequently. If you don't you risk looking like Sony did with PS Move announcement.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4041d ago
ps3_pwns4041d ago

i seen people say just wait for e3 when it comes to m$ for the past few years because ps3 been having news way before e3 then when e3 comes out ps3 has even more blow out news. but when e3 comes for M$ its just a bunch of kinect stuff for the past 3 years and either gears or halo and thats pretty much it lol.

i think microsoft kind of screwd so its better to hide the bad news until later instead of having to say the bad new now and then later. When people dont divulge information is because they have very little of it or its bad.

DOMination-4041d ago

Genuine question. What was the blow-out news from Sony's e3 conference last year?

JeffGUNZ4041d ago

How does that tell you that? Let's think for a second, shall we? On January 2, 2013, MS launched a website that counted down to E3, don't believe me, here check the link, Major Nelson even kept the original posted date up top to confirm. http://majornelson.com/2013...
Now, that was posted prior to Sony announcing their 02/20/2013 conference. MS has never had a countdown to E3 before, so let's try and use our brains here. What could that countdown be fore? Hey, you know what, maybe it could be for their new console? Who would have thought. All these signs clearly point to an E3 reveal and there has been absolutely nothing that shows to an earlier reveal date. If ANYTHING, the fact that MS is sticking to their original plan shows they are not intimidated and confident in their product. The only thing we can do is wait, well, most of us, you'll continue trolling.

OpieWinston4041d ago

Everyone knows your sold on the PS4. I see you comment on like every PS4 or 720 story.

Personally I like Xbox exclusives, and prefer to enjoy my massive amount of Steam games :D.

All these arguments about 720 and PS4. We all know Steam is the best gaming system (Yeah I know it's just a distributor.)

But I will agree Playstation has a few exclusives that are awesome...None of the Quantic Dream games come to mind...I play games when i want to play games, I watch movies when I want to watch movies.

Console wars.................

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4041d ago
Freedomland4042d ago

If they keep their silence, they will lose lot of consumers because Microsoft is giving them the chance to make up their mind and once it's done, it will be very difficult to change it again.
Silence is also creating lot of rumors which can have repercussions.

JeffGUNZ4041d ago

Give it a rest. You think you, some guy on n4g.com knows how a business should run over one of the most successful companies in America. Do you people read your comments before you post? All armchair experts and CEO's on this site.

Freedomland4041d ago (Edited 4041d ago )

My friend, this is just an opinion, and about the companies, if they knew everything no company wouldn't ever be bankrupted.

JeffGUNZ4041d ago

I respect your opinion, but your statement comes across as a fact. Glad you clarified. I agree many businesses close due to lack of leadership, business moves, etc, but MS is not one of those businesses.

Knightofelemia4042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

I actually like the silence about the Xbox720 its buiding hype for me. It makes me want to see what options it has to offer. What kind of ponies are under its hood and what the line up of games its going to offer. Its not like the hype of Final Fantasy VS13 with a few dabbles here a little info there and maybe a few videos, Personally I lost the hype on that game and could careless about it now. But the hype with the Xbox720 is you it will be released and you'll be able to play it and be excited about the console. Not like waiting half a console generation for Final Fantasy VS13. I just want Microsoft to test and amp up quality control on the console lord knows another RROD problem would be bad.

gamertk4214041d ago

I sense some hurt feelings regarding FFV13.

B-radical4041d ago

Well we only have speculations so far. Double precision gpu or a weak gpu. Kinnect to play or not kinnect to play. None the less the silence better pay off.

thechosenone4041d ago (Edited 4041d ago )

He makes an excellent point.

"For next-gen consoles, momentum appears to be suggesting that unless a more progressive platform-holder emerges after these months of silence and turmoil, they might awaken too late to find the industry changed around them. And by then it'll be too late."

Show all comments (47)
260°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

Read Full Story >>
theverge.com
darthv7223h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle10h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic18817h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio7h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Lightning772h ago

What he said was facts. How he plays games is no concern of you. Don't get too mad about it.

Cacabunga10h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

shinoff21839h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga8h ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

itsmebryan4h ago

@shin
Well keep it simple Sony 's operating income is down 26% and Microsoft's is up 32%. No MS spin there, just facts. 😉
Cheers

romulus232h ago

Odd that a company that touts you dont need the hardware to play is already touting another console in the works.

darthv722h ago

They are not reliant on the HW but still want to maintain a presence (no matter how small) is a good thing. It shows commitment to the craft. It reminds me of SNK and how they made games for their own hardware (Neo Geo) while also making them for others because they knew there was a market to do so. They knew they would sell more to others but also sell to their own niche fan base.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2h ago
purple10112h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos12h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

DOMination-2h ago

In the last two years they've started exiting the consumer market altogether. All of the newest Surface products are business models only. They can't seem to work out what they want to do with it.

XBManiac11h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple10111h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic9h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

MrDead2h ago

The only growth MS will get out of the console industry is if it supports it's rivals platforms. Xbox is a pointless machine now. I can see them on a big push for live next, and they won't give up on trying to buy Steam.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2h ago
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300°

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

Read Full Story >>
insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere1d 20h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN1d 17h ago

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

Barlos1d 15h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN1d 8h ago

They can form a company if they want, they are just as jobless as if "Microsoft had left them as 3rd party".

peppeaccardo1d 9h ago

"MIcrosoft leaves Bethesda do what they know how to do best" ... close! Oh the irony ....
(Citation from a week old article)

ChasterMies1d 5h ago

I think Microsoft and other game publishers are letting people go because they think ai will replace them. Doesn’t matter how much profit they make. They were always going to be let go.

PassNextquestion1d 19h ago (Edited 1d 19h 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

blacktiger1d 17h ago

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

Mr Logic1d 3h ago

What a stupid thing to say. The elites give 0 fucks what we say on an obscure website in the comments section.

Crows901d 3h ago

You can always reach out and give them jobs at your company man. Don't wait

blacktiger18m ago

You own nothing snd be happy. I'm sure you heard that

Profchaos1d 19h ago (Edited 1d 19h 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

Tacoboto1d 19h ago

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

Profchaos1d 19h ago

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

Yi-Long1d 16h ago

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

XiNatsuDragnel1d 18h ago

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

Profchaos1d 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h ago )

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

TheColbertinator1d 17h ago

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

Show all comments (23)
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?"

purple10113d 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 ☝️

Zeref12d 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.

DarXyde12d 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.

PhillyDonJawn12d ago (Edited 12d 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.

Einhander197212d 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.

MrBaskerville12d 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.

shinoff218311d 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.

Profchaos11d 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 11d ago
isarai12d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref12d 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.

MrNinosan12d ago

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

mkis00711d ago (Edited 11d ago )

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

Einhander197212d 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.

12d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197212d ago

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

12d ago
12d ago
Zeref12d 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.

DarXyde12d 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.

Einhander197212d 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.

Einhander197212d 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.

BehindTheRows12d ago (Edited 12d 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.

Zeref12d ago (Edited 12d 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.

Chevalier12d 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.

Tacoboto12d 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.

shinoff218311d ago

Yay steam

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

Tacoboto11d 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 11d ago
Hofstaderman12d 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?

crazyCoconuts12d 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.

Xeofate12d ago (Edited 12d 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.

crazyCoconuts11d 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

FinalFantasyFanatic11d 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)