Microsoft Hints At a Very Different Future For Xbox Gaming. Plus: What Are EA and Activision Up To?

If people in the gaming industry really wanted to hide stuff, they're going to have to do better. The one and only Superannuation keeps digging stuff up that just has to be shared with Kotaku readers. Today, we're looking to the future... a very weird future that has Microsoft, EA and Activision making games you probably weren't expecting.

[DiRtY]

This is pure speculation on Kotakus part and not good journalism.

[Fishy Fingers]

If people only published confirmed news N4G would be a quiet place. At least it isn't another f***ing 'opinion piece'.

[scotchmouth]

Or a top 9 of top 7 lists

[Redgehammer]

I think your mistake was in thinking Katakus reporters are capable of good journalism.

[trenso1]

after that completely bogus rumor they started on versus 13 being cancelled that blew way out proportion. I can't trust anything that comes out of this site.

[GraveLord]

Speculation? No. More like an educated guess based on research and what we've seen from Microsoft in the past few years.

They are moving away from the core, and focusing on the casual. It's funny because this is the opposite of what Sony is doing right now.

[DiRtY]

Educated guess based on 2 job ads?

I mean, they predict the strategy of a whole company on 2 job ads and you call it an educated guess. Well, we might have different definitions of the word "educated" then.

They just hired The producer, desginer and AI developer of BioShock Infinite - do you think these guys will start to make a farmville clone?

http://www.joystiq.com/2012...

The lead designer of Crysis 2 joined MS Vancouver - Do you think he is working on Dance Central 4 then?

Oh and the opposite of what Sony is doing...

MS holiday lineup: Halo 4, Forza Horizon, Fable Journey, Dance Central 3

Sony holiday lineup: PSABR, Wonderbook, LBP Karting. Yeah, that is freaking hardcore.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

"They are moving away from core, and focusing on the casual."

So out of this article that's how you see it? Of course you would coming from you and other SFB's.

I don't know whats completely going here either, but it sounds like MS is making some preparations for next gen and if this is accurate MS is getting busy with a wide variety of games for Xbox and the Windows 8 platforms, F2P, Rares possible new name change plus recruiting. Lion Head possibly working on multiple projects.

This in no way tells the future of MS going completely casual that you suggested, but yet expanding on different platforms. This could possibly be one out of many MS preparations for next gen.

[StreetsofRage]

Ouch! Dirty just pwned Grave!!!

[ceballos77mx]

@ Dirty.
halo 4 and forza are the only "core" titles MS has and you're sayng theyre not focusing on the "casual" please.

[moegooner88]

@Dirty comparing a single season's holiday line up and using it to prove a point is just as ridiculous as making a guess based on 2 job ads (interested in sharing the other Microsoft published harcdore titles that were released this year, then be my guest), Microsoft is definitely still involved in the hardcore market, just not as much as they used to during the first couple of years this gen, whether you want to believe it or not, atm Sony is the one catering the most to the hardcore gamers.

[ziggurcat]

@ DiRtY:

sorry, but you can't just take the games being released during the holiday season, then claim that MS is not moving away from the "hardcore" (or that MS is more "hardcore") just because halo, and forza happen to be on that list (the other two games are clearly casual).

looking at the past year, sony's clearly been focusing on "hardcore" more than MS.

[starchild]

What? At the moment there is absolutely nothing I want to play on my PS3. I'm playing all the amazing multiplats (like Dishonored) on my PC. At least the 360 has Halo 4 this year. There hasn't been anything interesting to me on the PS3 in a while.

You console fanboys always overstate things. Both Microsoft and Sony have diverted significant resources towards the casual market.

[ArmrdChaos]

"Both Microsoft and Sony have diverted significant resources towards the casual market." ....no no no no that's not possible.

One MUST ALWAYS be better than the other...the Ego has spoken. /s

I swear there are more case subjects around here than actual gamers.

[Army_of_Darkness]

@starchild
Too funny.
saying that Sony and MS are focusing they're attentions towards the casual market more and got no games for the hardcore, yet you mention a multiplat game that your currently playing that is also available on both consoles?!?!?
Sony seemed to be leaning towards the casual market more this year, but next year it's very clear that they are very focused on the hardcore gamers-> The last of us, beyond 2 souls, God of war:A and until dawn to name some at the top of my head..

BTW, you do realize that the PC has TONS and TONS more casual games than the ps3 and 360 combined right? ;-)

[Zhipp]

Grave, are you supposed to be Chunky's antithesis or something? You're a Sony fanboy, and he's an MS fanboy. You have a Simpsons avatar--he has one too. Hell, you both even have only 1 bubble left!

[Kurt Russell]

^ 1 bubble is the new black I tell ye! ^

[Qrphe]

>Kotaku
>journalism

pick one

[doogiebear]

Oh great, the 3 greadiest, franchise-ruining, casual-audience-catering-to game companies are catering to casuals even more -_-. Thank God for Sony (and maybe Nintendo (if they really do intend on focusing on core gamers this time around)).

Those 3 companies set some decent trends for current gen, but did more harm than good, mostly

[Jazz4108]

Nah Sonys on there way out. They are hurting in almost every area and been in the red five years straight and closing studios left and right while ms keeps opening more and now have over twenty studios. I think we will see alot of original ips from ms next gen but there retail offerings will again be to what sells and not that many ips sell and thats why ms has so many new games on arcade.

[DivineAssault]

we will see soon enough

[Septic]

Indeed.

If MS really do relinquish all ties with casual gamers, we gamers will lose out massively as there really won't be any competition.

Time will tell I guess. I can, however, see MS jumping into the whole Home Entertainment industry quite decisively at the expense of core gaming. The Xbox and Xbox 360 have served as an excellent gateway for doing what MS has long struggled to do otherwise; and that is penetrate homes and the home entertainment market.

We are seeing signs of it now and whilst currently, the game lineup is great with the mix of third party and key first party titles, core gamers won't be content with the status quo in the future.

Not a good sign I'm afraid, if these rumours are to be believed. But like you say DivineAssault, time will tell.

[Pillsbury1]

Micr0$0ft never cared about catering to gamers, it was all about taking control of the living room. M$ already has a monopoly on pc side it wants to also control families entertainment, they will focus more on casuals. They don't give a flying fudgesicle about us gamers.

[Septic]

@Pilsbury1

And you think Sony's motivations in the industry are more righteous? Do you think they packed in a Blu-Ray player into the PS3 for the sake of it? Wasn't Sony touting its hardware as a media centre when it introduced it to everyone? All these additional features like Netflix, Lovefilm etc, these are just there for s**ts and giggles?

Don't be under any illusions; all these companies operate primarily to make a profit, including Sony. Sony and MS only care for gamers in so far as their money is concerned.

It is, however, interesting to note that key figures working for MS seemed to show a greater personal attachment to the industry than Sony's counterparts; the passion the likes of J Allard had when it came to gaming was evident from his many interviews and presentations. Unfortunately, he seems to have disappeared off the radar. Now, I don;t really see any spokesman for either MS or Sony that resonate with gamers' opinions.

However, this whole "MS never cared about gamers" is a juvenile argument in that MS, Sony and Nintendo operate to make a profit. That is business and anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded in my opinion.

[fossilfern]

@Pillsbury1

The first Xbox was a great machine and MS did try hard to get the "core" gamers, mainly PC gamers. They had a good run for a few years and even the first 2 years ,or so, of the 360 was pretty good but I agree that now the machine is a total joke.

[aiBreeze]

Okay so the makers of one of the best fps games in history has been further demoted to making mobile based games. Not only that, the makers of one of the most highly regarded pvp orientated mmos could potentially be demoted to making a scrabble game.. whatever next?

[Knight_Crawler]

@aiBeeze - Do you know how much AAA games cost to make? Well over 30 million dollars...sure some games sell well but people fail to realise that the game developers does not make $60 from each game sold.

Next gen will be 3 times more expensive to develope AAAA games and yes I said 4 A's becuase thats what developes are starting to call next gen games, also since its all going to be new hardware developement time will increase and game companies have to pay thier employees more money.

With all that said I can see why its safer and profitable to make mobile ot tablets games...look at Rovio and Notch those guys are swimming in money right now.

[aiBreeze]

I'm well aware of the costs and it is going to be a problem but taking the gaming equivalent of "cult" developers and having them work on stuff aimed at an audience who have no idea who Rare and Mythic are just seems wrong.

Gaming needs to come full circle though tbh. Back when I was a teenager, there used to be so many quirky games coming out on the ps1 that just wouldn't ever see the light of day today.

[DARK WITNESS]

if next gen is going to be soooo expensive to develope for and require sooo much work, then why bother having a next gen?

if the publishers and devs can't afford to make AAA games on the new tech then they may as well tell sony and MS to scrap next gen altogether.

[Flatbattery]

I don't believe there will be an increase in cost.

Visually there will be an improvement, but nothing that is not already being done on PC. So I can't see why there would be a cost increase, besides I'm sure visual quality has to be lowered from what is designed to fit consoles.

Programming will be easier according to what the industry is telling us, so that should cut work rates. More RAM will mean less work involved optimizing code or cutting mechanics.

Publishers are whinging about costs now, do you really think they are going to spend more in the future?

[unkn0wn]

@Knight_Crawler

There will be no increase in cost of development. It WILL BE CHEAPER INSTEAD. Look up the various articles on developers commenting about next-gen development. The software AND hardware architecture will make it easier for everyone, and way less costly. I forget what exactly the developer was referencing, but he mentioned a specific task that required multiple people to attack from different angles to have the desired effect. Aside from the new hardware being rumored to be closer to that of a computer than ever, the dev kits will allow set up so the base is established much more easily and things are added on.

[forestfrog]

I've already waved goodbye to Xbox brand, halo 4 and all, I embrace my vita now.

[WetN00dle69]

Got rid of my VITA since there was nothing worth playing.

[torchic]

that's interesting, considering you never really owned one.

[WetN00dle69]

Yeah cause you were there to confirm whether or not i had one right.

[boybato]

so whats you're PSN so we could confirm that you did own one. And please don't tell me you don't have any trophy since Vita has no games.haha

[darx]

Really boybato? Maybe your dad can beat up his dad.

[WetN00dle69]

http://us.playstation.com/p...

UNFORTUNATELY, i had no games for the Vita lol BUT here is proof that at one point or the other i supported Sony and its Console. AND i will sometime soon purchase another PS3. AND maybe even another PS Vita once all the bad *** games hit the stores.

[Redgehammer]

I could never replace my console, with any handheld device. However, as long as your playing games, it does not truly matter to me upon which device you choose to do so. I will be playing Halo 4; actually, I can't wait to tour Requiem. Enjoy whatever you game on, or find something else upon which to game.

[forestfrog]

what if you had a partner and kids under 5 AND worked fulltime nightshift So had almost no time to fire up the console anymore, would you get a handheld replacement then hmmm?

[Redgehammer]

Since I have already lived a similar life to that, i can say I still did not, nor would I, get a handheld. The last handheld I owned was in the 80s, and that was a football game.

[KMCROC54]

Will wait for a press release from MS , before some halfass reporting.

[Drummerdude41]

Actually Microsoft Has already stated that next gen it's planning on entertainment as a whole apposed to just games. G4 took this as them saying were trying to appease the whole family and not just the gamer. I love video games and not the consoles so don't get the impression i'm hating on a console but the next xbox sounds like it's going to be watered down. Hopefully it isn't and a large emphasis is made to keep gaming and good hardcore gaming it's #1 priority!

[Vic_Mackey]

If it isn't, I'm sucking to my 360. Plenty of games I haven't played.

[forestfrog]

yeah, you suck your 360!

[KwietStorm]

Well at least you're not ashamed to admit it. Suck that 360 in public.

[Shadonic]

i dont belive there stopping hardcore games and all there just as you said trying to get the family in on the console as well. The social market is just as big as the hardcore market and then theres the non gamers heck even my grandmother was thinking of buying a 360 or console just for netflix and stuff Theres a profit to be made out there and the only ones neglecting to see it are the gamers who forget that MS is there to make money.

[Knight_Crawler]

Drummerdude - I understand your concern but as a hardcore gamer and father of 3 kids that are less than 13 years old I am glad MS is going this direction.

I like that my 360 has games that are easy with kinect for my kids one which is 5 to play and games that I enjoy. I remember when the 360 first launched they were tons of hardcore games and not much games for kids so I ended up buying a Wii for my kids becuase Ninty was the only ones offering kid and family friendly games.

Next gen I do not want to own 3 consoles as my kids are becoming more expensive as they get older so I hope MS can deliver a family friendly experiance while also giving me hardcore games...I do not care about 20 exclusives a year as long as they keep supporting 3rd party deveopers and have 1 or 2 top first party games then I am happy and MS will have my money next gen but TBH I am pulling towards Nintendo with the Wii U since its looking to cater for both family and hardcore.

[ceballos77mx]

You make an excellent point there, you get the console that caters yo your needs. That is a good strategy for MS and whoever pulls it next Gen will be the "winner"

[Axonometri]

My biggest worry is that the giants focus too entirely on the casual/tablet/new envisioning of the console and forget how to make big games. You know, those games that gave birth to the industry to start with.

I'm all for broadening the market and I enjoy some of the new age "entertainment as a service" type games, but I fear for any future industry that removes it's backbone to make a third leg.

[Belking]

No one outside of MS really knows what their plans are. As long as I can pick up a controller and play a game, I'm satisfied. The entertainment side is just a bonus to me. Looking forward to the next gen xbox..... Go MS!

[YodaCracker]

Very exciting propositions for the future. I can't wait to see what Microsoft has in store!

[telekeneticmantis]

I'm not sure if the "Free to Play model"
works for Microsoft, when people are already paying for Live. It works for PC, and for Sony because gamers aren't already paying to play. Gamers aren't stupid, either way we're paying to play, and I personally won't be enthused in buying items/weapons when I already know I'm being charged for a free service.

Here's a suggestion, how about you drop the Xbox Live fee, before you go "free to play", then it will really be free to play, and not a hoax.

[ALLWRONG]

Here's a suggestion, how about Sony charging a fee so they don't go bankrupt? If it wasn't for Live subscribers PSN wouldn't be where it's at right now, because PSN is a clone of Live. Maybe if Sony charged for PSN you would have a network on par with Live, at least have some cross game/party chat. Same goes with trophies, you can thank Xbox for that too.

[telekeneticmantis]

Oh God No
No, NOOOOOO! Don't give Sony any ideas, as for Live being orignal, come on it's 2012 and you've never heard of SegaNet? The real originator. Thanks Sega.

If you wanna feed Xbox money for a free service, fine by me, I work for my mmoney, so I'll keep suggesting it droneslave.

[2v1]

no how about you keep paying and let me have the free psn at least

[cedaridge]

Dude you are "ALLWRONG" on every point. 1st Whether you pay for online or not you won't stop the lag if it is there. When you look at the BIG 3: Multiplayer, Netflix, and U Tube (from your TV) alone with other items, Sony is Neck n Neck with Microsoft in Entertainment. And Microsoft need to "THANK US THE GAMER" for stickin with them after the RROD incident. Both Microsoft and Sony have whether the storm this gen and if u think for 1 second that Sony is going away? then you are wrong. I don't want to think of any of these home console departing the industry, It would surely SUCK! But i will give you cross game chat. psn: cedaridge / xbl: cedar4Thunder

[Megaton]

They should absolutely drop the Gold fee, but they won't. Their fan base keeps paying the door tax, so they'll keep charging. They might even raise it again.

[3-4-5]

IF the nextbox doesn't give us AT LEAST the same experience as 360 it won't sell as well.

I can't wait for "720", but I hope they stick to what they know and what they do best.

Give us a controller that is pretty much the 360 controller, and if not give us the ability to use it with the new system.

Control matters so much in how a game plays.

[ChunkyLover53]

Microsoft is probably the best of the big three at keeping secrets. We knew about the Wii U way before the E3 where it was revealed. Sony couldn't keep a secret if their life depended on it.

I think Microsoft is the enigma, I sort of like guessing and speculating, but at the end of the day, that is all you can do.

[StrawHatPatriot]

Dude, how many times have you heard some sort of rumor that could have legitimacy (The tweet about the durango press conference, the job ads, all the patents, how they took down the domains of Xbox 8, and more importantly, how they took down all those leaked documents), compared to how the only thing we probably know about the PS4 is the codename, Orbis and that's probably it.

[Tzunoy]

Ea+Activision=Bastard kid.

[StreetsofRage]

Microsoft has around 70 million xbox 360s sold this gen. Huge market share and serious profits has been made. All this was made on the backs of hardcore games.

So why do you idiots believe that they're abandoning that?

Man, this site has weird thinking.

[ceballos77mx]

Give me other "core" titles other than halo or gears that are not multiplat or transformed to a kinect gimmick that have released this year.

[googergieger]

"Microsoft Hints At a Very Different Future For Xbox Gaming"= Halo 5!

[StrongMan]

Last time we heard that they announced project Natal.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

The future of being the only console to survive off of 3rd party support?

[Pillsbury1]

Lol at drive... Seriously though, Xbox is down to just 3 exclusives. Gow, forza, and halo while the competition keeps bringing more and more exclusives. The only thing m$ has its to improve its arm flailing recognition system, and charging people to play online.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

lol at you missing the point of one of the years BEST/ORIGINAL cinematic expierences!

[Pillsbury1]

The only thing that is certain about the next xbox: they will continue to rape you of cash just to play online. Go fudge yourself m$, never again.

[grayfoxx881]

I'll be surprised whatever direction Microsoft takes with the next Xbox. Sure, they'll cater to the casuals, every company does this to a certain degree. But what about the core? MS must support the core gamers from the start because those gamers will be in line the night of launch. Also, I'm assuming their new console won't be below $400, and again the core gamers, not the casuals, will be dropping their cash for that system. The only thing I do know is the cost for gold subscriptions won't go away, if anything, they may shoot up $10.

[Sithlord-Gamble]

Wow, im reading all these comments from the MS loyalists and all i can do is shake my head. You guys sound so delusional, making excuses for whats right there in your face. Whether you want to admit it or not, MS is moving towards casual. If you cant see the trend thats been happening for years, & then think that its all gonna change youre sadly mistaken. If you like paying to play multiplats online, when you can play for free somewhere else, more power to you. Sounds like a waste of money to me tho.

You guys remind me of a love-struck sucker for love making excuses for a cheating girlfriend. Even when its obvious of her intentions, you still make excuses for why it isnt true bc you dont want to see the writing on the wall.

"Hey Bro, youre girls cheating on you. I saw her making out with another guy"
"Shes not cheating on me. She would never do that. Shes just making new friends. We love eachother"

Whether this article is true or not, deep down inside you DO know its true regardless. Wake up & face the facts.

Yea Sony is a business & they want the casual market too, but for some of you to say Sony is abandoning the hardcore market is also delusional.
Say all you want, but their past library & the games coming out in 2013 prove otherwise. Someone who does research, list all of MS hardcore & NEW ips coming out next year compared to Sonys.

THOSE facts dont lie.
Enjoy your "entertainment system" MS gamers.
Us Sony gamers will be waiting for you with open arms & our multitude of Exclusive & Hardcore games.

[Pillsbury1]

Exactly they just cannot see what's coming they look at micr0$0ft with rose tinted glasses. They can't see the fact that they do not care about gamers they want the mass casuals dollars and you can see the facts with their exclusives,. Why do you think they had usher perform at E3? They had nothing to show! What does usher have anything to do with gaming?! When they unveil their improved arm flailing recognition system for next gen all the hardcore will flock to ps4.