270°

Microsoft Wants To Have A Great E3, Still Working Through PR Plans For All Of Their Franchises

GearNuke: "It has been a cold war of exclusives between Sony and Microsoft this generation. Sony has got games like DriveClub, inFamous: Second Son, The Order: 1886 and Uncharted while Microsoft not only brought Gears of War franchise, they are also working on some exclusives of their own like Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, Gears of War and Halo. Unfortunately, both sides are pretty tight lipped over their games."

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gearnuke.com
JoGam3720d ago (Edited 3720d ago )

Judging by last E3, MS better get it right this year. Just give the consumers what they want and it would all be fine.

AngelicIceDiamond3720d ago

@Jo They did give the consumers what they want last E3, finally.

Like I said Don Mattrick gone so hopefully MS E3's are reminiscent of the 360's earlier shows.

Gazondaily3720d ago

They did deliver when it came to games. Shame that it was eclipsed (rightly so) by the whole DRM stuff.

thereapersson3720d ago (Edited 3720d ago )

@ Septic

That, and the fact that they have a console that is (subjectively rightly or wrongly) more expensive than the One's direct competitor (the PS4). That's pretty much the biggest elephant in the room when discussing the One vs. PS4 topic. Even if the media functions might be slightly better on the One than the PS4 at this time, most people are buying consoles because they simply want to play games on them.

The console that currently offers the greatest power advantage is the PS4. Microsoft needs to drop the price down to the PS4's level to better compete, since it's lacking on a raw performance level. Not to mention the fact that Sony has now managed to exceed Microsoft's perceived value quotient when you examine their paid online programs (respectively). Most importantly, the benefit of free games that Sony offers with a Playstation Plus subscription is something that Microsoft must answer at E3.

KingDadXVI3720d ago

Yeah, there presentation on games was good but Don Mattrick blew goats pretty hard. The guy just reminded me of a sneaky weasel. I saw a video somewhere with someone from MS saying Don went right off the reservation with his talk. He was just supposed to focus on the games and nothing else but he did not follow the script.

Regardless they have a great line up of games and more are in the Pipe. The Titanfall beta is a blast so if the keep up the work on the games front and continue to improve the SDK things are going to be great this E3.

gaffyh3719d ago

The biggest problem MS will have at E3 is that they will need to be able to announce enough new games, but by the looks of it at the moment, we will get gameplay demos of games that were announced last E3 more than new announcements. They did the same thing Gears 3, announced it at one E3, and then showed the game the next E3 like it was something new, when it wasn't.

If I had to guess, I'd say we get a Halo demo and a Sunset Overdrive demo, and maybe Mass Effect 4 or something.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3719d ago
Gamer19823720d ago

There gonna need a great E3 as Sony are on top big time right now and still holding back a lot of cards.. Sony has a ton of exclusive announcements for E3 and MS can only hope to match them I reckon with games like Uncharted no doubt going to be there.

lolCHILLbro3720d ago

@jessupj, yup and they fixed it, belive me, Sony, developers, publishers, investors all want to protect there IP and there profits from Pirates and used games, its going all digital just like music, Microsoft was just pushing to soon is all, it wasnt evil as you still would of brought your games and online as you do today, there was no hidden fees or contracts with the pre DRM Xbox, just crying internet kiddies

lolCHILLbro3720d ago (Edited 3720d ago )

Judging by LAST E3 2013 Xbox One had ALL GAMES and alot more than Sony at the time, Sony barely showed anything at last E3

1 Billion in Exclusives i guess

jessupj3720d ago (Edited 3720d ago )

You know what was far more important than any 1 single game? You know what was far more important that all the games MS showed at e3? You know what's more important than every single release for this entire generation?

MS's draconian DRM that would have complete ruined their console.

Oh, and you thank Sony for forcing MS to do the right thing.

and allegedly 100 million of that 1 billion went to blocking Gears from the PS platforms. It didn't actually buy the xbox platform any more games it wasn't going to get anyway.

If Sony wasted 100 million just to keep ratchet and clank exclusive when that money could have bought 2 amazing new IPs, I'd be pretty dam pissed.

mcstorm3720d ago

@lolCHILLbro I agree. I like what Microsoft are now doing with the xbox one. Its starting to feel like they are going back down the gaming rout the xbox came from with thx xbox and 360. I am not a fan of any one product I am a gamer and always buy the console that has the games I want and at this moment in time the WiiU and Xbox one have more games im excited about than the PS4. That may change at E3 when sony show off some of there IP's but last E3 I saw more from Microsoft I wanted than sony showed off. It seems to be since the main guy was sacked from the xbox team it had made them go back to basics and to me this is a good thing because if Microsoft can carry on pushing out its big name IP's like Forza, Halo, Gears, Fable ect as well as add some older IP's like KI (Even though it was not a xbox IP to start with) and keep giving us New IP's like Titanfall, Project Sparks, quantum break, Ryse ect I see the Xbox one doing very well.

@jessupj I have to disagree with your comment in terms of the way you put it. ratchet and clank is not the same as Gears. Maybe if you had said UC or GT then you may understand why Microsoft wanted to keep the gears name under them. For me Gears is the xbox 2nd biggest IP under Halo.

I cant wait to see what Microsoft Sony and Nintendo show us at E3 but one thing im sure we can all agree on is now is a good time to be a gamer.

pompombrum3720d ago

Microsoft could literally copy their E3 from last year now that they've done all the 180s. Games games games and either announce a kinect free console bundle at a competitive price or show gamers some real reasons why they should want to invest in Kinect.

Either way, focusing their attention to PR plans is definitely a good move. In all my years as a gamer, I've never seen since shoddy PR between the Xbox One reveal and the 180s.

Automatic793720d ago (Edited 3720d ago )

@ JoGam

Not sure if you confusing politics with games. MS at E3 won on the count of games and that is what E3 is all about.

christocolus3719d ago (Edited 3719d ago )

ms did a good job with game announcements last e3 and i believe this e3 is going to be even more awesome. i expect huge announcements from ms including a price reduction.. rare and the other devs have been quite tight lipped on their unannounced projects and we all know ms has been spending a lot on some new ips.

i also just saw the trailer of the order and was blown away funny thing is it made me want ryse 2 and a new alan wake even more. hoping its in the cards?..... cant wait.

3-4-53719d ago

This E3 is arguably more important than last years.

They were both new consoles so whatever was going to happen, was going to happen.

Now that they are both established a bit, people want to see what the future holds with each Console.

* It's kind of weird that we are already talking about E3 again.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 3719d ago
dedicatedtogamers3720d ago

I think all of the Big Three will have a great E3. I'm actually most interested in seeing what is announced for the handhelds (I hope those aren't forgotten).

I wonder if we'll get any megaton announcements.

DarkLordMalik3720d ago

Nintendo might have a few like Majora's Mask 3D and new Pokemon while Sony will probably announce JRPGs that they promised and perhaps 1-2 mid-tier projects for VITA.

AngelicIceDiamond3720d ago

I dunno if Nintendo will even have an E3. I'm 90% sure they will this time though.

R00bot3720d ago

If they don't have an E3, they'll definitely have a Nintendo Direct. They're basically E3's.

MultiConsoleGamer3720d ago

This is Microsoft's E3 to lose. They blew it last year. They really need a big comeback this year.

E3 2014 is going to be utterly amazing!

OpieWinston3720d ago

I'm sorry blew it? They gave people what we asked for...Games Games Games.
This time around there's no competitive pricing they just need to keep that model of "We've got more quality games"
Because Sony is playing the "We have more games" card...when most of them are indies that aren't even that good.
If half of the rumors are true they'll blow everyone away...

Forza Horizon 2
Killer Instinct Season 2
Halo 2 Anniversary Edition
Quantum Break this year
Sunset Overdrive
Fable Legends
Platinum Games Exclusive
Halo 5 Beta gameplay
Gears teaser trailer
Unannounced IP teaser trailers to get hype on their side...We know several studios like Lionhead are working on other IPs.

Elit3Nick3720d ago

I doubt the version of halo 5 that they would show is a beta build, especially if it's slated to come out next year

OpieWinston3720d ago

Well it'll probably be Alpha footage and people will assume Beta because everyone thinks that the finished product should look and feel just like what's advertised in early alpha footage.

THC CELL3720d ago

they have no chance of beating sony now,maybe nintendo

R00bot3720d ago

Of course they have a chance, however small that chance may be. Everything has a chance. Say, even the Ouya could outsell the PS4 in the coming year. It could, it almost definitely won't, but there is a chance.

The Meerkat3720d ago

MS would need an Infinite Improbability Drive.

Dumb_username3720d ago ShowReplies(2)
HammerKong3720d ago

wow sell i thought you are jornalist and your comment shows you are not more than a fanboy,ok are you a time travellar,now i get it.

DarkLord10033720d ago

I don't want to play "devils advocate" here but to be fair - MS had an amazing E3 last year when it comes down to games.

shivvy243720d ago

Yeah I actually enjoyed it, it was far better then their previous 3 years

IVanSpinal3720d ago

I still remember the Killer Instinct announcement,
My best 2013 moment

jessupj3720d ago

My best moment of 2013 was when Sony announced they wouldn't be employing anything like the DRM MS was, and single handed, in those few minutes, saved console gaming as we know it.

It was the most historical E3 ever and I don't think it's going to be topped any time soon.

I think anyone that calls themselves a core console gamer, that moment should be their most important for 2013.

Unless of course you don't care about losing your basic consumer rights purely for the purpose of giving a company more of your hard earned money..

Fireseed3720d ago

@IVanSpinal

Absolutely! I jumped up and down out of excitement at the sight of Glacius!

@jeesupj

"Unless of course you don't care about losing your basic consumer rights purely for the purpose of giving a company more of your hard earned money.."

I'd rather give on my hard earned money over sacrifice my personality to becoming a walking PR mouthpiece... But hey maybe it's cause I actually still play video games.

OpieWinston3720d ago (Edited 3720d ago )

@jessupj
That's some pretty sad shit if you've got such a hardon against DRM that your "most historical E3 ever" was because Sony bitched out on DRM and decided to take hands off with Disc DRM...Course they'll always have DRM...Or else they wouldn't make a profit off digital purchases.

And no...us "REAL GAMERS" weren't impressed by DRM because Steam has been doing that for decades... And as far as console gamers go, I think that "Core Console Gamer" has got to be the most silly statement ever...because if all you play on is console... That's pretty casual.

Elit3Nick3720d ago

My best moment was when I realised that the hooded guy in the desert was Master Chief :3

XboxFun3719d ago

@jesssupj

yea I liked that historic moment too as they snuck in a small detail of paid online play.

sony loves to show big explosions to make their fans go ooooh and ahhhh, then employ some backhanded design in the background.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3719d ago
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150°

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
darthv7213h 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.

solideagle39m ago

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

Cacabunga6m 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.

purple1012h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos2h ago

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

XBManiac1h ago

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

SimpleDad1h ago(Edited 1h 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.

purple1011h ago

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

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos38m ago(Edited 36m 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

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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 10h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN1d 7h ago

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

Barlos1d 5h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN22h ago

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

peppeaccardo23h ago

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

ChasterMies19h 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 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h 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 7h ago

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

Mr Logic17h ago

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

Crows9017h ago

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

Profchaos1d 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h 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 9h ago

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

Profchaos1d 9h ago

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

Yi-Long1d 6h ago

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

XiNatsuDragnel1d 8h ago

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

Profchaos1d 6h ago (Edited 1d 6h ago )

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

TheColbertinator1d 7h ago

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

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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 ☝️

Zeref11d 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?

Zeref11d 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.

MrNinosan11d 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
Zeref11d 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.

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