360°

Microsoft Seems Unsettled With Xbox One

We are finally coming up to the next generation of consoles; we will have the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. When E3 came about and Microsoft leading up to it and during it was doing everything wrong. The problems seemed endless and on top of all of it they didn't seem to grasp the concept of what gamers wanted. Almost felt sorry for their ignorance. However, Microsoft just kept digging themselves deeper.

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omnigamer.com
PSVita3906d ago

Actually a fair and honest article.

Cmk01213906d ago

they had a clear vision, fans hated it they changed it to meet fans vision. Fanboys complain endless that changing to meet there wants is doing 180 thus here her are.

colonel1793906d ago

But that's the point. Just like the article said, what is Microsoft's vision for the Xbox One then? Right now they have a different product than what it was revealed. What people don't get is that Microsoft doesn't care about vision or the product or the consumers. They want the money. If the Wii U was selling like pancakes right now, they would have put a screen on the controller, or do something to counter that and do it too. Microsoft did all those 180 because they don't want Sony to have any advantage whatsoever with the PS4. Their product wasn't well received, so they preferred to make it as equal as possible to the competition.

abzdine3906d ago

worst console in history so far, shame that such a big corp makes so many mistakes in a very short time.

Rimeskeem3906d ago

im not sure if they changed policies because of fans or because of pre orders but either way they made the console better and I am thinking of buying it with my other consoles

creatchee3906d ago

@colonel79

"But that's the point. Just like the article said, what is Microsoft's vision for the Xbox One then?"

The vision has changed, albeit not the direction. What Microsoft originally going for was a uniform user base - everyone with a regular connection to the internet, everyone with Kinect, and everyone with their games installed onto their hard drives.

DRM/check-ins, always-connected Kinect, and an unclear trade-in system were the prices of these. These were the also the main complaints about the Xbox One after the reveal.

However, the vision of uniformity would have had many benefits. Developers could assume a near-constant internet connection and a 100% Kinect adoption rate and develop games accordingly, whether with cloud or persistent online aspects, and of course, Kinect functionality where appropriate. DRM/check-ins would have significantly cut down on piracy and "unauthorized" sharing, while allowing "authorized" sharing with the family plan, whatever it really was. The trade-in system would have allowed developers and publishers to be compensated for their intellectual property rather than JUST resellers.

The problem is that Microsoft's first 180 was not the DRM elimination - it was the Xbox One itself. The One in its original form, whether you loved it or hated it, was completely different than what every other console was before it. It wasnt just one big change or upgrade like most consoles are from their predecessors - it was a complete about face from what any of us were used to. And it scared a lot of us.

Game ownership, spying, connection issues, and a bunch of other things (whether justified as true problems or not) were right in the faces of people who had to decide whether they wanted it or not, or at least wanted to see what it was all about. Bottom line - the One was full of concepts dissident to what we as gamers had come to expect for a home gaming console. And we weren't ready to make such big changes or accept what Microsoft was telling us was their best presentation of the way a console works for the next generation.

As for now, I think that while they've made significant changes to their policies, they are still headed in the same direction as their original vision, albeit in a limited capacity. Kinect is still in every box (at the moment), but you don't have to hook it up. You have to connect to the internet at least once, which typically means that you do have internet available at least occasionally. The DRM is gone on disc-based games, but they've kept full game installs and have hinted at bringing back family sharing for digital games. So while there have been changes on requirements, you can still operate as the original Xbox One was intended to run for the most part.

Time will tell if they've made the right moves or not. However, they have given us no shortage of things to talk about, and we're now being informed at levels that some might consider overkill. All in all, we're back at where we began - we'll see how it turns out when it's released.

devwan3906d ago

@colonel197 "If the Wii U was selling like pancakes right now, they would have put a screen on the controller"

Had to laugh there, nicely put.

rainslacker3905d ago (Edited 3905d ago )

@creachtree

"The vision has changed, albeit not the direction. What Microsoft originally going for was a uniform user base - everyone with a regular connection to the internet, everyone with Kinect, and everyone with their games installed onto their hard drives."

Snipped the DRM stuff because we know the argument.

So the gist of this argument is that MS tried to be as non-inclusive as possible. They turned away users who didn't meet THEIR criteria. Isn't that kind of a ass-backwards way of releasing a gaming machine?

The reason Sony is so popular among so many different groups isn't just because they make some good games...it's because they are extremely inclusive with their devices. Even with their $600 PS3, they put as many things as they could in there to include different markets and customers. Same with Nintendo. Their whole company line is centered around inclusion and they are liked by most gamers, even though they go through dry spells, there aren't many who hate Nintendo.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3905d ago
Thatguy-3103906d ago

They should have just gone with the vision they saw. They sort of lost sight of what they want to go for. I mean hopefully at Gamescon they can explain their new vision.

Godmars2903906d ago

And by pre-orders that was shaping up to into a train wreck.

s8anicslayer3906d ago

Instead of backtracking they should've just fully explained the benefits of their visions instead of the "If you don't like it, we have the 360 for that" approach and marketed it better,or maybe just actually sold their policies like true salesmen! Everything just seemed like smoke and mirrors, the public saw that and they got the backlash that they deserved for being unprepared for the big show.

MWong3906d ago (Edited 3906d ago )

Gotta agree with you. While their initial vision didn't sound great, they should've explained it. They should have told us what the benefits of this vision were. What they did as you mentioned was say,"oh you can't go online, we have a console for you called the XB360."

Now, M$ is explaining a little bit of what they're doing. However, they really have no vision, they just want to clean up the train wreck.

rainslacker3905d ago

I honestly wondered if people would have accepted anything MS said if they tried to explain it. But I will agree that they should have tried. When asked the serious questions, they talked down to the fan base, or pulled out lines like "Did you see the games!!!?".

It's car salesmanship, and MS should know better.

Transporter473906d ago (Edited 3906d ago )

Their Vision atm is non existent. They developed this console over so many years just to be changed months before release, honestly I as a customer I am weary of this and on a wait to see, not getting it launch day but maybe next year if I see something i like. Ps4 Day One for me though.

ShwankyShpanky3905d ago

Vision this, vision that... more like a hallucination born of unchained hubris.

jmac533905d ago

It's the 3rd console curse!

DivineAssault 3906d ago

they dont know what they wanna do.. I think theyre sweating & dont know what to do cuz PS4 pre orders are stomping them into the ground world wide.. Im not dismissing XB1 anymore cuz theyre making better decisions now but unless i see strong eastern support, i dont want it.. PS4 has everything i need/want in a nx gen system & have no use for xb1 at the moment.. Bring on some more 3rd party exclusives i want & maybe ill get it when they dont force kinect on u

ape0073906d ago (Edited 3906d ago )

make a kinectless xbox one at 399$ or 350$ or sony gonna win easily

people don't care, they jumped from SNES to PS1 and from PS2 to Xbox 360

all they want is an affordable system that have games and ps4 is cheaper and at the same time is not weaker, not weak like PS1 compared to N64 or Ps2 compared to xbox

ps4 appears to be the ULTIMATE choice based on that model of thinking, cheap and not weak

kinect is not the next big thing, making something that is a side prephral as a mandatory purchase is wrong and will backfire at MS, no xbox gamer i know like kinect, not that it's bad or something, just make it OPTIONAL

AceofStaves3906d ago

Agreed. If nothing else, this current gen proved that a higher price can hinder a console's adoption. It didn't matter that the launch model PS3s were backwards-compatible and the cheapest Blu-Ray players on the market at that time. The price tag was too high for the average consumer.

Price is a stronger factor than some people realize.

shivvy243905d ago

true! i got a ps3 but didnt see its advantage over xbox until 2009 when games like killzone2 and uncharted2 showed what the console was capable of !

Cmk01213906d ago

while winning is the goal for them its not for the consumer, MS will put out a top notch console to match sonys and all will be ok. perspective is acknowleding the wii won last gen BUHHHH.....

hardcorehippiez3906d ago (Edited 3906d ago )

last gen is not done yet and when all is said and done the ps3 will outsell the wii putting it back into number one although not by a great margin this time . congrats to nintendo and micro though because all consoles did well this gen. next gen will be a different story though.

McScroggz3905d ago (Edited 3905d ago )

I just don't see "winning" as a binary thing. Sure, the Wii sold the most units and copies of games while making by a good margin the most money. From any financial standpoint the Wii did "win." However, it was a short term success that quickly died down and now Nintendo's next console is struggling mightily and a part of the reason is because Nintendo further cemented their reputation as a maker of weak consoles without third party support, and only a few new IP's. Because of the Wii and now Wii U, Nintendo seems to have a growing divide between what modern gamers want and Nintendo's philosophy.

Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 developed a bad reputation the second half of this generation that it clearly hurting the Xbox One. Sure, 80 million units sold is good (and Xbox Live makes a ton of money) but with or without the 180's the Xbox One was always going to have a negative perception starting this generation.

Then there is Sony, who I'm willing to bet made the least amount of money this generation. The PS3 and Xbox 360 are basically tied for hardware sales and the PS3 is behind overall software sales, but the PS3 looks to still have a decent few years to go. But, more importantly, even though there have been some issues with the PS3 - namely PSN getting hacked - Sony developed a reputation for offering the best and most diverse gaming library between the three consoles while also earning a lot of respect and love for PS+ and the feeling that Sony is very generous (really its just smart business, but we are talking perception).

It's easy to see why people disregard the Wii. For most people it was, or became, a secondary console or just a machine for casual gamers that don't play many games at all. Between the PS3 and Xbox 360 I THINK the PS3 is slightly ahead in hardware sales (after launching a year later) but the Xbox 360 is ahead in software sales. So what does it all mean? Who really won this gen?

I think it's silly to say anybody "wins." There are only losers, like the Dreamcast.

Rimeskeem3906d ago

Problem is that the kinect is something they need or else the kinect itself wont be useful at all

iHEARTboobs3905d ago

I'm willing to bet that they will eventually start to sell them without kinect. Moreso now that it doesn't have to be plugged in. My guess is they'll wait and see how it sells and come next year if it's not selling as well as the PS4, you'll most likely see the kinect-less xbone.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3905d ago
theWB273906d ago

These kind of articles make no sense what so ever.

They showed a product...people weren't happy.

They reverse everything people didn't like...and now they don't seem to know what they're doing. WTF kind of logic is that?

People must not know what they really want then. Cause that's what every reversal has been about...appeasing the customer.

fossilfern3906d ago (Edited 3906d ago )

Your right. Their vision was screwing over customers and people weren't happy and they saw the statistics and done something about it, simple.

negative3906d ago Show
MasterCornholio3906d ago (Edited 3906d ago )

"With any logic and intelligence you'd see that they were moving with the times - everything is going digital at some point. "

http://www.computerandvideo...

""We're shifting our platform more and more to the digital side - PS4 will be similar to PS Vita in that every game will be available as a digital download, and some will also be available as a disc...."

Whats stopping you from buying only digital copies?

"If you're an ignorant ....... then yes it would seem their vision was "screwing over customers"."

Also this was how the XBOX One was going to "screw consumers"."

http://www.ign.com/articles...

"“With Xbox One you can game offline for up to 24 hours on your primary console, or one hour if you are logged on to a separate console accessing your library. Offline gaming is not possible after these prescribed times until you re-establish a connection, but you can still watch live TV and enjoy Blu-ray and DVD movies.""

"“We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers...."

And what about those without an internet connection?

http://games.yahoo.com/blog...

""We have a product for people who aren't able to get some form of connectivity - it's called Xbox 360," Don Mattrick told Geoff Keighley on GameTrailers."

Many of their policies have changed but that doesnt change the fact that they tried to be unfair to consumers in the past with the XBOX One.

GryestOfBluSkies3906d ago

its pretty sound logic actually.
a lot of people take brand loyalty pretty seriously. MS breached their loyal customers trust, and now people are unhappy with them and dont trust them.
in this case, 'my bad, heres what you want' is too little too late

theWB273906d ago (Edited 3906d ago )

There's a distinct difference between not choosing to buy a product and complaining about it, getting the things you want and still complaining, saying they don't know what their vision is.

They had a vision, people didn't like it. Their new vision is giving people what they're asking for.

You can do that...brand loyalty is fickle. I'm a pretty decent guy, got some layers to me and care about alot of things. When it comes to electronics I'm pretty shallow, give me what I want and I'll be there, especially enjoyment.

I'm not a Playstation guy at all. But I bought a PS3 cause I wanted to game beyond my 360. Brand loyalty would've prevented me from experiencing what it had to offer this gen..and I would be stupid to voluntarily miss out. Same this coming gen. Don't care for the PS4 as a console...X1 fills my need. But I'd be stupid to miss on the games to come out on the PS4 cause of misplaced loyalty.

rainslacker3905d ago

MS "Vision" started with the first Xbox. Their "Vision" was to be the center of everyone's living room. Even the most ardent fan boy should know this fact. MS said it themselves before the consoles release...with great pride I might add.

They saw the way PC was going long before the Xbox ever came out, and they wanted to be ready for it. I think what they didn't expect was the smart device/tablet revolution, which they were totally unprepared for, even years after it started.

MS is still holding true to their vision. It is more than apparent that all the changes they made are being made because it's the only way that they can become the center of everyone's living room.

There is nothing wrong with having this vision. To achieve it it means you have to give the customers what they want, in a package they're willing to pay for.

MS vision is unchanged. There was no new vision with the Xbox One. The entire product is geared to be the biggest step they've ever made in becoming the center of the living room. Every feature showcased at the event made it blindingly obvious that they were finally making the big step to achieve their goals. It's their initial policies that screwed everything up.

I doubt MS is lamenting the loss of control over it's distribution methods, given how much they would have lost on achieving their true goal. The initial policies were to make an extra buck, but served no purpose to what they want to achieve in the long run.

Too many fan comments on here either have very short memories, or simply weren't around when the fist Xbox was released. I highly encourage anyone who blindly follows MS to go and look into the history of the console. It is quite interesting. It has it's ups and downs, but you would learn a lot about where MS started in the game industry, how they got to where they are today, and how far they've come to get to where they want to be.

MS was doing great taking the long road to get to the prize. One little pothole derailed them, and now they have to fix the wheel to get back on track. I wish them the best of luck.

TrollCraftTales3906d ago

People are mad because they didn't want certain things, but some things looked cool, but then they took out everything to basically make a more expensive PS4 with slightly different games... Also some people don't trust MS after them trying to put those restrictions on us in the first place...

Christopher3906d ago

@theWB27: My only contention here is that they had to backpedal on so much already and it wasn't because of "what" customers said but because of poor pre-order numbers.

Remember, these guys were the ones who said, absolutely, that they weren't changing their plans and knew what was best for the customer. They derided a few who questioned them on how easy it would be to change these concepts. They derided those who wouldn't be able to utilize their product by saying to stick with older products.

Then, with all that derision, they literally flip the switches that they said couldn't be flipped to appease the people they derided.

So, for me, it's not about them changing to make us happy, it's how it all went down all together and knowing that this would never have been done if pre-order numbers were going as planned.

If Microsoft comes out with a non-Kinect version of the Xbox One and keeps going "in the right direction" I will likely get an Xbox One. But, much like how I can't forgive Sony for their lackluster networking/online infrastructure, i can't forgive Microsoft for their fairly anti-consumer concepts.

McScroggz3905d ago

What kind of reductive logic are you using? Microsoft had a vision for the Xbox One; what they wanted it to be and the policies to help shape that vision. By changing these policies, they are actively acknowledging that they had a poor vision and not the conviction to stick with it. Without vision, products end up being safe and not progressive. This is a problem.

Here's an example. Sony, after being burned by Nintendo on its CD expansion, decided to develop a console that only used CD's. Nintendo stuck with cartridges, but the low cost and ease of use for CD's helped lead to the PS1's incredible library and very strong first party support. It also made others use a disc based delivery system going forward. Without Sony's vision to use CD's the cost of development, thus the cost of games, would have been higher in the late 90's and who knows where we would be now.

Or, the original Xbox. Microsoft put an Ethernet port with no support for dial-up connections because they wanted to create a robust online community and dial-up connections were too slow and inconsistent for quality online interactions. Many people starting upgrading their internet to play the Xbox online, not only helping the country's online infrastructure but really popularizing online features. What would online play be like today if Microsoft wasn't so aggressive with their vision for online play? Well, Nintendo is still struggling.

So yeah, vision is very important for a company. And clearly Microsoft had a poor vision and wasn't confident in it.

jmac533905d ago

The problem is the execs at MS. When the first Xbox and the 360 came out they had people who really cared about gaming and wanted to take the PC experience to consoles. Now, mostly because of the Wii, you have people in charge that are chasing after the casual and TV watching market. Most of the people who had vision with the 360 are now long gone.

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240°

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.

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theverge.com
darthv7220h 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.

solideagle7h ago

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

Sonic18814h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio4h 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:

Cacabunga6h 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.

shinoff21835h 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.

Cacabunga4h 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

itsmebryan40m 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

purple1019h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos9h ago

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

XBManiac8h ago

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

SimpleDad8h ago(Edited 8h 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.

purple1017h ago

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

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos7h ago(Edited 7h 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

Kornholic5h ago

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

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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

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insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere1d 16h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN1d 14h ago

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

Barlos1d 11h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN1d 4h ago

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

peppeaccardo1d 6h ago

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

ChasterMies1d 2h 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 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h 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 14h ago

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

Mr Logic1d ago

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

Crows9023h ago

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

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

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

Profchaos1d 15h ago

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

Yi-Long1d 12h ago

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

XiNatsuDragnel1d 15h ago

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

Profchaos1d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

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

TheColbertinator1d 14h 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.

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.

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.

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.

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