Microsoft’s Kinect needs no introduction. It is a device of such profound influence that it has managed to create a catastrophically divisive reputation in only four years. Introduced as a response to the success of Nintendo’s Wii, Kinect was an all new interactive interface for the whole family. You could play sports, work out, fight a monster, and see the bottom of an avatar’s shoe.
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.
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.
Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.
"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.
As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people
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
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
Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo
The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.
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?"
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 ☝️
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.
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?
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.
No, not this E3. Its going to be surprising if MS focuses on Kinect titles after making it more of an option at least.
Just make it option and then I'm find with that, and my nitpick which will never come true if it did that would be nice that XB1 price would drop $350-$380 then I would be a happy customer, like I'm already am so far.
If they announce the price of Kinect to be more than $100, expect a shit storm MS! Don't let your greed fuck this one up AGAIN.
Nope, there better be 0 talk about Kinect or TV at this E3. Yes, they need to prove that it's a device worth owning, and if they have a good game to demonstrate on-stage, such as Fantasia, or whatever, then by all means demo it. Even if there was loads of Kinect titles in the works, they don't have the window at E3 to cover it. One or two at best, but the show needs to all be about games.
I thought they had a great E3 last year, it's just the stigma of the reveal and their policies that left uncertainty over what was a great Xbox One showing for games. They just need a repeat of last year's E3, only now the messaging is much clearer, and the pricing more palletable. Let's hope they don't fuck it up.
"Kinect Future Depends On E3 2014"
Bullshit. Kinect is dead the moment MS said it's not going to be in every box.
It was always an add on gimmick device that was yet to find traction with the developers and gaming community and MS, realising more people didn't want it's inclusion than did, dropped it cold without making a formal announcement.
Like last gen, Kinect has been tried and failed. It's dead.
Even if they re-incorporated it into the day one box on Xbox Two, no one will want to buy it and developers won't build for it.
MS have cut that line and burned that bridge. Even if they said tomorrow, 'kinect is here to stay' people will always look back to what's just happened and never trust it again.
MS can continue support within their own ecosystem on Kinect support all they like, but for the wider community of developers and gamers, this device is now DEAD.
So, forget the hype and hope. Drop it and let's just get on with other things.