340°

Microsoft needs to 'win' at E3 or say goodbye to their customers

Hardcore Gamer: If Microsoft were smart, they’d change their outlook between now and E3 or at least be honest and confess that they’re trying to set-up their consumers. They should speak more about the console itself and give concrete details about how the disc locking and selling of used games will work.

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hardcoregamer.com
BigFnHooters3992d ago (Edited 3992d ago )

"If Microsoft were smart, they’d change their outlook"

The depth of the self delusion is staggering.

It's been four years of the same exact self delusion.

"Next E3 Microsoft is finally going to deliver!"

Consoles and their supporting structure take years to develop and set in motion. What you see right now from Microsoft IS IT.

* Microsoft has shut down almost all of their non-shovelware first party studios. So all this babble about 'showing more games' have to come from somewhere. There simply aren't secret Microsoft first party studios that can magically make these new franchises

* Microsoft has given up on the Asian market so there are no new franchises coming out from developers in that market

* The only possible area for Microsoft is what they've used as a crutch for the past decade - buying Xbox ports of PC games and pass them off as 'exclusives'

* The weak Xbox One hardware was finalized a long time ago and isn't going to change outside of Microsoft canceling launch this year. Nothing is going to change on that front.

Enemy3992d ago (Edited 3992d ago )

Everyone's waiting for the PS4 reveal now. E3 belongs to Sony.

Considering how close E3 is now, Microsoft could have just gone all out today and disappoint at E3 again. It's become a normal thing for them anyway. Instead of impressing, they display this oversized VHS thing with no games, a bunch of TV features in which 3GB of the console will be wasted on leaving only 5GB of RAM for gaming, Kinect expanded meaning more Kinect games, more voice recognition, offline pass (lol), and Call of Duty DLC as their main event.

A clusterf*ck in every regard, and a bad, bad time for it to happen to make matters worse.

4 > One

Edit: Lol @ below.

ApolloTheBoss3992d ago

LOL look what I found. Next Xbox in a nutshell.

scofios3992d ago

Extra fee for playing used games WTF;

you might even have to pay extra fees for a red ring this time.

maxgamehard3992d ago

I believe that Sony will have the best conference but Nintendo will also bring a good amount of content

Sony and Nintendo still care about the core gamer at the end of the day.

Freak of Nature3992d ago (Edited 3992d ago )

It really was a true clusterf*ck....

As a original box and 360 owner this show was exactly what I "did not" want to see...

Start the show with Gears 4, that's how you start the new gen, end it with halo 5, throw in Forza in the middle, something like this, break up the features, yada yada yada...

How about an appearance of Banjo alive and well on the next XBOX1 from Rare? Throw in Black tusk's new IP? They could show more at E3 still, they should have won over fans now, why only at E3? They could have still added looks into these games at E3, plus held back a couple other games...Add 15 minutes to the show, you mean to tell me that fans would actually mind that extra 15 minutes to be able to see 3/4/5 or system selling IP's coming in year 1?

The avoidance of showing more gpu and cpu specs is glaring too....

And just what are the 15 exclusives in year 1? I certainly hope it is "not" the list below. I would hope it would be all hardcore, but get this feeling it will be more like the list below...

Forza 5
Gears of War 4
Halo 5
Rare game
Quantum Break
Black Tusk Game
Fable 4
Ryse

A couple Kinect Exclusive's...
And about 5 XBLA exclusives...

VenomousHail3992d ago

@maxgamehard I agree with you that Sony will have the best conference, but I'm pretty sure Nintendo will not be present at E3.

insomnium23992d ago

Who the HELL wants to give voice commands to a console? It's embarassing to a whole new level.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3992d ago
Pyrrhus3992d ago (Edited 3992d ago )

Im just curious how many of their 15 'exclusives' are actually Kinect games.

BABYLEG3992d ago

There's no such thing as Kinect games. Its called Xbox one games. One system.

Man-E-Faces3992d ago

I would bet half of those are Kinect games, and let me tell you why I can assume this. You don't pack a Kinect in every box and not support it, otherwise Microsoft would still sell it separate as it is now. Kinect now that it's more improved & included will hold more precedent over a traditional controller only game.

EVILDEAD3603992d ago

Nah. They may lose this fanblogger, but they set themselves up good for a great E3.

It goes without saying that, both MS and Sony have to have a great E3 after both of their reveals though.

Evil

cyguration3992d ago

No Sony doesn't have to have a great E3, they just need to show a few more games, a price point and the console itself. That's it. They've got it in the bag.

Unlike MS I know EXACTLY what Sony will be about with the PS4 and it's about the games. I love that. They're working to bring back mid-budget games, which were stamped out due to all the money-chasing this gen. They're bringing in more indies and setting the price ceiling at $60 and the barrier of entry at free-to-play, with EVERYTHING else in between.

Microsoft didn't mention squat about game pricing, they didn't mention squat about game availability. Nothing about tools, nothing about game functionality, feature proofing or future proofing. NOTHING.

I'm sorry but MS has A LOT to show at E3 to warrant any interest out of this disgruntled gamer.

Sony just has to stay the line and they'll be all right. They've already won against MS for as far as I'm concerned unless MS takes a huge step in the opposite direction.

Gaming shouldn't be about buzzwords and marketing ploys. I don't spend my money on crap just so some shareholder can buy a golden yacht.

rainslacker3992d ago

MS is going to have to spend an inordinate amount of time at the Next E3 trying to spin, or better yet convince, all the stuff coming out today as a good thing for the gamer. If E3 is about the games, then well no game in the world is going to make me want an Xbox given what is currently known about it.

Hell, Sony could not do a conference this year ala Nintendo and probably still come out ahead of MS given current news.

Army_of_Darkness3992d ago

If you seriously think sony needs to have a great e3 showing as well even after you've just seen the xbox one reveal, then you clearly are a ms fanboy rather than a gamer.
Wake up bro! Sony's conference slaughtered ms's! And the sad thing is that they went after sony and still bombed!

EVILDEAD3603992d ago (Edited 3992d ago )

Nah. it's 3 weeks prior to E3 and over 6 months prior to launch, MS is perfectly fine.

But, make no mistake, MS has to bring it's A-game to E3.

They said they were using E3 to concentrate on the games, well that's what they need to do.

If they squash the quirky stuff, show great games at E3, then the One is going to fly off the shelves.

But, if they phone it in which there is no indication that they will, then it's going to be an uphill battle.

Evil

edit

@ Army of Darkness

Nah. In my opinion, Sony did exactly what they were supposed to as well in Feb. The hardware stole the show, but they held off on showing the big dogs till E3 as well.

Nothing exempts any of them from needing a good showing at E3.

I didn't see any knockout punches from any of the reveals.

But we all know what franchises Sony has been holding on to for the last 3-4 years.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3992d ago
The_Blue3992d ago

Why is there so much hate for the Xbox?
I don't get it? Its up to the developers. Its always been about games nothing else.

Army_of_Darkness3992d ago

"Its always been about games nothing else."

Exactly the reason why everyone is hating on the xbox one and loving the ps4.
Did you even watch the ps4 reveal??

Virtual_Reality3992d ago

And blocking used games.......

tuglu_pati3992d ago

MS is in deep trouble. I thought Nintendo was in trouble but MS just dug up a deeper hole.

ugly name
bad console design
weak specs
no games
casual oriented

At least Nitendo has a great first party catalog. MS better say "adios" because I dont think they'll make it through this next gen and this is coming from an xbox enthusiast.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3992d ago
3992d ago Replies(2)
Reborn3992d ago

They need to provide some clarity, before that.

jc485733992d ago

it's like a deadly virus they are hiding from us.

003992d ago

they can't do that without paying a fee.

Rusty5153992d ago

Usher's gotta dance his ass off at E3 after that reveal..

Double_O_Revan3992d ago

I don't think even Usher and his moves can save the One. Not even taking off his shirt.

Rusty5153992d ago

Then Microsoft has to bring out the big guns...Justin Bieber to showcase dance central 4 running on the new kinect 2.0

Double_O_Revan3992d ago

A little late for that.

I said goodbye the moment they decided to block used games. Let alone the always connected policy.

Show all comments (94)
190°

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
darthv7215h 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.

solideagle2h ago

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

Cacabunga1h 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.

shinoff21831h 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.

Cacabunga3m 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

purple1014h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos4h ago

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

XBManiac3h ago

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

SimpleDad3h ago(Edited 3h 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.

purple1012h ago

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

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos2h ago(Edited 2h 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

Kornholic1h ago

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

Show all comments (17)
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 12h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN1d 9h ago

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

Barlos1d 6h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN1d ago

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

peppeaccardo1d 1h ago

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

ChasterMies21h 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 11h ago (Edited 1d 11h 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 9h ago

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

Mr Logic19h ago

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

Crows9018h ago

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

Profchaos1d 11h ago (Edited 1d 11h 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 11h ago

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

Profchaos1d 10h ago

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

Yi-Long1d 7h ago

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

XiNatsuDragnel1d 10h ago

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

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

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

TheColbertinator1d 9h 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 (21)
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?"

purple10112d 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.

DarXyde11d 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.

PhillyDonJawn11d ago (Edited 11d 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.

Einhander197211d 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.

MrBaskerville11d 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.

DarXyde11d 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.

Einhander197211d 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.

Einhander197211d 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.

BehindTheRows11d ago (Edited 11d 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.

Zeref11d ago (Edited 11d 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.

Chevalier11d 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.

Tacoboto11d 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?

crazyCoconuts11d 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.

Xeofate11d ago (Edited 11d 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.

crazyCoconuts10d 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)