200°

Analysis: Is Microsoft falling behind the competition?

With the recent announcement of XBL's Play to Earn program, Marc Lynch wonders if Microsoft is reaching out just a little too late.

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press2reset.com
thequadskater4472d ago

Great article that fleshes out my own thoughts on Microsoft. As an indie fan with many indie dev friends I've heard repeatedly how difficult it is in dealing with XBLA.

In terms of patching I know of a few games that are great but lack in updates on XBLA. Take Dungeon Defenders for example, on PC is WAY better than on XLBA in terms of updates. Isn't this because it is so costly to patch/update on XBLA. One free one, right?

Too little too late. I'm already sold on the PS4 in terms of next gen consoles.

JoGam4472d ago

Im sold too. Love Indie Games.

Starfox-174472d ago

WiiU has the most quality indie games of any console end of going off wiiu support,ps4 is looking to equal it as well.

MikeMyers4472d ago

The Indie scene is where you will see some great ideas come to life. I play a ton of Steam games that don't get the marketing like Bioshock: Infinite does but they are a lot of fun.

Microsoft will have to be more open and want a better relationship with the Indie development. There's a lot of talent and innovation coming from them. They should also offer greater benefits for being a Gold member instead of having everything behind a pay-wall.

darthv724471d ago

what MS is planning to do. all that has been outed is speculation. some believe that the sources of that speculation are genuine and others don't.

So when Ms does come forward and state here it is and this is what it can do....are people going to just overlook that and still believe the speculation because they trust the source more than MS?

As for them falling behind...that all depends on what competition is leading. If MS were taking a more serious stance in the mobility market to gain market share from the likes of ios and droid devices then so be it.

I mean did anyone see that market as a threat to traditional gaming before such apps like angry birds and temple run? Probably not because they were more focused on what traditional gaming is.

Gaming isnt about consoles or handhelds or PC its about entertainment. There are way more people playing simple time wasting games now than there ever was before. Mainly because of accessibility. Its far easier to play a game on things we already have at our disposal than before.

We know what sony is doing. We know what nintendo is doing. We really dont know what MS is doing but we like to guess. All the guessing will come to an end once they make an official statement about the direction they are taking their entertainment division.

Until then, its probably a good idea to just play the games we have and maybe even revisit some we havent played in a long time. Nostalgia has a way of making things all better, even if for a little while.

xHeavYx4472d ago

MS has already fallen behind. Unless they come up with something absolutely crazy for E3, I don't see a bright future for the X-Box

AngelicIceDiamond4472d ago

"I don't see a bright future for the X-Box."

Apparently nobody does on this site.

dasbeer884472d ago (Edited 4472d ago )

I don't know why you're obtaining a lot of disagrees. What Heavy is saying is completely true.
First and foremost, their 1st Party developers suck unless you count out 343 Industries (which they're barely doing well).
Secondly they lost their major developer which is Bungie, and now they're developing games for MS rival (Sony).
Thirdly, they're catering towards the casual audience with Kinect while ignoring their hardcore fanbase...and I'm betting their future will be pretty disasterous.
Fourthly, NO FRIGGIN ORIGINAL GAMES. What happened during 2006-2008 when you guys were pumping out exclusives after exclusives Microsoft? Gears of War series, Fable, Mass Effect, Viva Pinata, and plenty others! Now you guys are just focusing on Kinect...which doesn't regulate as decent exclusives.
Fourthly, for some reason MS LOVE TIMED EXCLUSIVES. For me, I don't want timed exclusive crap which will eventually be ported to Sony and maybe Nintendo's consoles. Hell, I'll bet Minecraft will be announced for the PS3/PS4 in Sony's E3 2013 conference.
And lastly, monthly subscriptions. I mean come on, you guys have little original content on your game consoles now MS. I can watch Netflix, CNN, football (which I personally hate but I'm just suggesting) ON MY COMPUTER rather than on an Xbox360. Is it worth paying cash monthly for this stuff while I can carry my laptop, walk to a nearby Starbucks with FREE WIFI, and watch these contents there? NO!
Sorry for the long post, I just had to get the steam out of my head.

nukeitall4472d ago

I actually see the complete opposite, as MS strategy continues where the Xbox 360 succeeded.

Let's face it, I use my Xbox 360 more now than ever, thanks to all these apps. It has pretty much replaced my HTPC.

The vast majority of consumers don't just play games, but they listen to music, watch movies and play games. On top of that, to really break a console out of the bedroom it needs to cater to other family members too. MS is doing all that.

It might not be what n4g readers want, because they are the hardcore of the hardcore that care mainly about gaming, but even then over 90% of the games released is going on the next Xbox.

That's assuming of course that MS doesn't have anything else cooking themselves or partnered up like they did last generation.

I remember when the PS Vita was praised to high heavens as the hardcore device, and the 3DS being to casual and had a gimicky 3D feature. Fast forward and 3DS is a huge success, while the PS Vita is pretty much sinking like a rock.

So if multi-billion dollar companies listen to n4g, then will likely only sell to the niche group of n4g!

MysticStrummer4472d ago

MS needs to win a generation before they can worry about falling behind.

bluetoto4472d ago

"I don't see a bright future for the X-Box"

Are you kidding me? MS has tons of loyal fans who will buy their next device regardless.

With their grip on north America MS is in a great position to generate huge profits for themselves over the next ten years.

With Xbox core gamers satisfied with multi's and the profits from Live they will print money next gen.

That is a huge win for MS.

Starfox-174471d ago

Over 30 dissagrees what a bunch of kids look from what i have seen its Wiiu doing the best in the indie scene end of,with html5,unity 4 pro ect ??

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4471d ago
SolidSystem4472d ago (Edited 4472d ago )

Most consoles are closed system... this cost for patches isn't a MS specific problem... in fact this generation MS was very open to indy devs (till they hid the indy section deep inside the store and made it hard to find).

Sony has shown their hand for the PS4, where MS hasn't announce how XBL and the next Xbox will be handled, so its hard to really comment on MS's behavior.

Edit:

just to be clear, when I said MS was more open to Indy's this generation than the competition I was talking about how for FREE i got access to the development environment for the Xbox and could start making my game and for 99 dollars a year publish games. I couldn't do that with Sony or Nintendo. I as a student found this incredibly interesting to be able to dev for the xbox the same way I could iPhone.

Jek_Porkins4472d ago

Great comment, bubble up for you. Microsoft isn't the only one with a closed system, you have to be careful about who you let into your infrastructure and Microsoft is a software company at heart. I don't blame them for being a bit more closed off, they have lightened up more recently and hopefully they will offer some decent indie games on the next Xbox.

At this point, we know absolutely nothing about what the next Xbox will bring to the table, it doesn't really make sense to speculate.

ThatsGaming4471d ago

Patching efforts and costs are a poor excuse. The devts should take more care and attention to building bug free code.

Devts are relying too much on patching now.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4471d ago
acidbrn4472d ago

Nice to seem them support their loyal customers, but overall I'm not impressed with the offerings. It has a long way to go before it rivals what PS+ gives their gamers.

pompombrum4472d ago (Edited 4472d ago )

How can anyone disagree with this? I signed up to PS+ for the first time last week and had access to so many free games.. if someone took every game offered, stuck it in a bundle and said you could get all these for just 11.99 for three months, people would think Christmas came early.

What has XBL gold given me in the last six or so years I've subscribed to it? Absolutely nothing I can't get for free elsewhere. Only reason I'm still signed up to that and not moved over fully to ps3 is because all my friends play over XBL. Microsoft HAVE to step it up with the nextbox especially if they think they can justify charging people on their current level of service.

acidbrn4470d ago

How can anyone disagree with this? They must not have a PlayStation, or haven't subscribed to PS+ yet. Once they do, then they'll understand what is so great about PS+.

HyperBear4472d ago

I find it funny that not too long ago Microsoft dumped their XNA/Indie support for XBox 360, which although brought some very dull games, was still a great way for Indie Devs to get their games on Xbox Live Arcade and play them on the TV with the 360 controller.

Now all-of-a-sudden, with Sony's next-gen surge to core gamers and indie gamers combined, seems Microsoft are now playing catch-up, and seeing if there's anyway to get indie devs back on Xbox.

Cueil4472d ago

dumped? They stopped development on the tools that is all... it's likely they are getting ready to launch the next generation tools and they learned a TON from this generation... that dirty crap that was pulled on the Fortress Craft developer really showed how ugly some indie devs are and to think the reason they did it was to gain time to release their own game... dirty dirty dirty... XBLI is still the most open platform on consoles

HyperBear4472d ago

XBLI/XNA "was" the most open platform for Indie's on consoles, but since Microsoft have stopped the development tools and have taken the XNA project off of Xbox 360's everywhere, where can I play indie games on my Xbox 360 as of right now?? You can't, unless the devs go through Microsoft first and they publish your game to Xbox Live Arcade, but that takes away the whole concept of an open-platform and having their games being accessed by anyone without going through an approval process.

But we know how Microsoft feels towards the Indie Community anyways, just ask Jonathon Blow.

Y_51504472d ago

I am not blind, Microsoft always were behind the competition (Sony and Nintendo).

Think about it. They released the original Xbox really late in the generation. Then they totally dropped support just a couple years later to release the 360 early as possible to try to stay ahead of the competition. As of right now it's not looking good and the "720" is the only hope now. Kinect probably drop the ball for them the most even though it was a commercial success.

Jek_Porkins4472d ago (Edited 4472d ago )

The original Xbox was losing money on every one sold, also the chip needed for that Xbox was stopping production. Both of those things forced the 360 to come out earlier than they wanted and it also meant they had to drop support on it. I don't think they will drop support of the Xbox 360, it's been marketed to a different group of people now and they will be able to continue using the 360 for various other options, and 3rd party games of course.

Even though they were late with the original Xbox, it was the first console to have a high speed modem built in, HDD built in, HD ready out of the box, first analog triggers, and they did a great job setting up Xbox Live a year into it's life cycle.

Minato-Namikaze4472d ago

where have you been the last 3 years? Support from MS is almost gone for (i dont count kinect as support) outside the the usual gears, halo, forza title.

SolidSystem4472d ago

@Minato

MS has never had a strong first party (though now they have like 30 internal studios working on various things). So to call MS out on that is a little unfair. the Xbox has always been a 3rd party machine and has done a good job of it.

while exclusives are few and far between, 360 owners still have a huge selection of great games coming out every year. This generation everyone won. the 3rd party games totally blew 1st party games out of the water. few other games got to the level of awesome that DeadSpace did when it first game out, and most recently Bioshock really shined and made everyone one regardless of which system is your favorite a winner.

I do most of my gaming on PC and see this little console war as idiotic, but I cant say anyone has had their support "dry-up".

xabmol4472d ago

"the 3rd party games totally blew 1st party games out of the water"

Lol, you funny.

SolidSystem4472d ago

@Xabmol

the fact that you feel like that is exactly why I have finally decided to leave this site. too many fanboys like yourself that have pledge allegiance to a console instead of just being a fan of games.

xabmol4472d ago

And the fact that most of the "BIG" 3rd party games were unappealing to me. AssCreed, I hate it's auto play it's self mechanics. Bioshock was monotonous; never played 2. Infinite looks good, but kinda samey. CoD is way not my style. GTA 4 got boring real quick; like 10th mission quick. Thought Fallout was Meh... Same with Skyrim.

I do like MGs4/MGO, Ratchet&Clank, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Demon's Souls, Heavenly Sword & Heavy Rain, but those are 3rd party. Tack on a 1st party list of great games and you'll see why I laughed.

JamieL4471d ago

@ xabmol
LOL, dune your bias motivations are showing. So only PS3 exclusives right? Not that any of the games you named are bad, but 3D Dot Game Heroes and Heavenly Sword over Bioshock, Fallout, and Skyrim? Really? To each his own.

xabmol4471d ago

I'm sorry I only own a PS3? /s

Besides where do I exclude another systems 1st party games?

And yes; I'll pick 3D Dot/Heavenly Sword over BioShock/Skyrim any day. Heck I'd rather play Megaman Zero on the GBA, than Fallout.

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240°

‘I think Xbox hardware is dead’, says Microsoft gaming veteran

One of the founding members of the Xbox team has questioned Microsoft’s multiplatform gaming strategy, and said they believe the Xbox hardware business is effectively “dead"

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videogameschronicle.com
1d 7h ago Replies(3)
Goodguy011d 6h ago

Think that rumor that they'll still make a new console but at a profit at $1000 will be true though. The series consoles will remain their cheap alternative throughout next gen I would say. Keep in mind that game pass and pretty much going 3rd party is their main focus. They want to bring xbox everywhere.

1d 5h ago
GamerRN9h ago

If they don't maintain some kind of console presence, I think they will lose gamepass subscribers and just become a 3rd party publisher who eventually sells everything off

Cacabunga8h ago

Xbox games are releasing on all platforms. Who needs this hardware? PS or PC is all you need

Flewid6387h ago

I've never owned an Xbox in my life and I have GamePass.

thorstein6h ago

The only Xbox I owned was the 360. I have gamepass for my PC.

GamerRN1h ago

Majority of Gamepass users are currently on console...

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crazyCoconuts7h ago

Even if they could get it down to $800 for a box that can run with comparable performance to a PS6 (at, say $200 cheaper) the population of people willing to buy such a thing would be so limited.
It would be the worst of both worlds.

1d 3h ago
Futureshark18h ago

A slow, painful and public death too.

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300°

Looming Xbox layoffs threaten Microsoft's reputation

Even as the company sets out to overhaul the very definition of Xbox, cuts at its studios risk creating a negative image reminiscent of EA's worst era

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gamesindustry.biz
Jingsing3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

I appreciate the article but this guy must be living in a delayed universe, The reputation was ruined 10+ years ago and hasn't recovered since. As such people have voted with their wallets and stopped buying Xbox products in large amounts.

YourMommySpoils2d ago

Their reputation was lost way before that. From the moment Microsoft said they entering the console business, we all knew it would be a downgrade.

Bathyj1d 14h ago (Edited 1d 14h ago )

That's not true at all the OG Xbox had drive and they had hunger and they wanted to accomplish something. It was a great console.

they didn't quite reach their goals and they gave up prematurely because they couldn't win. It was halfway through the Xbox 360 when kinect released and that was when they lost their way and we're a rudderless ship ever since

Agent751d 12h ago

In all fairness, Xbox had some great games with online play, Xbox 360 even better. Xbox consoles started to die with the Xbox One. Ditch consoles for the PC and PS.

YourMommySpoils1d 3h ago

@Bathyj hard to compute ay. Xbox was never better than a PC and that's all they ever were. A demo box. Doesn't get more true than that.

3d ago Replies(1)
isarai3d ago

What reputation is this threatening exactly? 😂

Lightning773d ago

Rumors of Turn 10 being either shut down or hit with massive lay offs is on the horizon.

The issue is MS will do something right only to do something very, very wrong. And they do this what seems calculative at this point. Doesn't matter what they do the Investors and leadership want more and more money an endless bottomless pit of purr insatiable greed. A company that acts like it's broke or hurting is what really, really infuriates me. They've surpassed apple again well over 3 trillion who acts like they're a million dollar company is fk stupid. Pivots and changes for no reason and can't do things for more than a year with out a pivot or changing their metrics.

Christopher2d ago

That would be really bad since Phil just hyped up next year as a big Forza year at Summer Game Fest.

1Victor2d ago

@christopher: “ That would be really bad since Phil just hyped up next year as a big Forza year at Summer Game Fest”
The key word big can be ether good or bad 🤷🏿only time can tell

DarXyde2d ago

First Forza being generated entirely via AI?

If any company would do it, it'd be them.

Nacho_Z1d 19h ago

Isn't the point that it's irrelevant how profitable MS is, the suits have decided it's time that the Xbox division started making them money. Hence the layoffs, the pivots.

hennessey861d 15h ago

That wouldn't surprise me, as motorsport has been heading down hill since the great number 4. Where as playground have consistently put out better games. I think the two studios will be merged under playground games banner.

2d ago Replies(2)
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660°

Microsoft planning “major” Xbox layoffs next week

The cuts are expected to be announced next week.

Microsoft is also planning thousands of job cuts that will impact other parts of it businesses

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theverge.com
6d ago Replies(1)
6d ago Replies(1)
Obscure_Observer6d ago

MFs has been beating their chests over great quarterly results and big profits to shareholders while firing people by the thousands just like Sony.

I wonder if at the top of those rumored layoffs they´ll also cancel upcoming or unannounced games while shutting down more studios as well.

6d ago
pwnmaster30006d ago

Always got to throw shade at Sony smh.
Yes we get it,
MS good Sony bad
MS bad Sony is also bad lmao

6d ago
Obscure_Observer6d ago

F* them both!

Just for the record, I don´t care about your victim complex crap either. Find someone else who cares.

blacktiger6d ago

He was talking about both. Why you getting offended when he's using both names

pwnmaster30006d ago (Edited 6d ago )

@Blacktiger

Im not offended , that’s just his formula lol
He can’t help help himself, he needs to bring Sony down when the topic involves MS.
Whether is good news for MS or bad, it some how leads to Sony doing bad lmao.
It’s actually hilarious.

InUrFoxHole6d ago

He's not wrong but im tracking what youre saying. In this case is should just be MS bad. Thats a lot of people fired

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Tacoboto6d ago

"just like Sony"

Gosh you're insufferable, not everything needs to be both-sides'd. Sony's had layoffs, but nothing like what Microsoft has been doing and is continuing to do.

CrimsonWing696d ago (Edited 6d ago )

I mean, no offense, but this is why you’re not some corporate business person running a major corporation. Big profits don’t mean jobs are safe. Do you understand why things like this happen:

Cutting jobs to maintain or increase profitability, especially in underperforming divisions like parts of Xbox like other gaming divisions.

Corporate restructuring and relocating resources for strategic stability in ever changing markets and consumer behaviors.

Investor expectations and optimizing operations to maintain investor confidence. Whatever boosts stock prices and improves future margins.

And there’s many other factors at play. It’s never as simple as business doing well, everyone’s safe. That’s just you not understanding at all how corporations work and have been working since the beginning. This isn’t something that’s specific to Xbox, you can bet your ass Sony and Nintendo do this and if it’s not clear by now, game development is not a stable job nor has it ever been for many. A lot of developers are contractors and guess what happens when a project is done?

Ganif6d ago

Nintendo said they have no plans for layoffs, and you can't seriously claim that the scale of Sony's layoffs most of which involved Bungie which is self managed as even close to the same scale as what Microsoft has done since they purchased Zenimax. And that significantly less layoffs would have happened if those publishers had stayed independent. Keep in mind that much of these layoffs have been due to redundancies specifically related to these buyouts.

CrimsonWing696d ago (Edited 6d ago )

@Ganif

Nintendo:

https://gamerant.com/ninten...

Sony:

https://gamerant.com/playst...

https://techxplore.com/news...

I don’t think it’s realistic to treat Sony’s layoffs as somehow outside the norm for the industry right now. Even if Bungie is self-managed, Sony’s cuts went far beyond that like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, London Studio being shut down completely, and multiple teams across the globe took hits. These weren’t just minor adjustments.

Nintendo, I had to look up and you’re right. They seem to be an outlier, but rest assured at some point it happens. And even then there’s been layoffs, albeit a smaller amount and contractors.

Would fewer layoffs have happened if studios from acquisitions stayed independent? Maybe. But even independents have been hit hard and look at what’s happened with Embracer’s fallout, or smaller devs like Digic, Roll7, or Volition. This isn’t just a “Microsoft problem” or strictly tied to acquisitions; it’s a broader correction happening across the whole industry, and unfortunately, layoffs are a big part of that process right now.

Ganif6d ago

From your article:

"According to reports, Nintendo of America restructured its testing operations, leading to layoffs of about 120 contractors, part of a strategy for global integration.

Nintendo of America, publisher of iconic franchises like Mario and Zelda, is shifting some contractors to full-time roles for better development integration."

Contractors are not employees, and even if you want to count them as that, it's 120 people vs around 7500 since Microsoft purchased Zenimax.

In an era of game industry layoffs, Nintendo is hiring more people
https://automaton-media.com...

Nintendo Announces 10 Percent Pay Raise For Devs Despite Lower Profits
https://kotaku.com/nintendo...

Nintendo CEO’s refusal to layoff staff goes viral following industry-wide cuts
"Satoru Iwata took pay cuts to ensure staff didn’t have to be let go"
https://www.nme.com/news/ga...

And as for Sony you're comparing less than 1000 total jobs to an estimated7500

Has the industry faced layoffs, yes, but that still doesn't account for the mass layoffs due to redundancies that was easily predictable, or that fact that at least 1/3 of Microsoft's layoffs and studio closures happened before the industry downturn.

thorstein6d ago (Edited 6d ago )

Take the L, Crimson.

People hate Nintendo, but Ganif proved why they deserve support.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 6d ago
-Foxtrot6d ago

It's like banging your head off a wall, he just can't help himself.

Microsoft can do no wrong, Sony sucks at everything and Nintendo is bigged up because it's less hassle than trying to defend Microsoft all the time

What's going to happen when Microsoft finally turn completely third party, then what?

anast6d ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts6d ago

Did you know that the first n4g was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program.

Tacoboto6d ago

I wouldn't be surprised at this point if anast and osbcure were both alts for the Admin.

We know how Obscure especially drums up additional comments and clicks with his spam-worthy remarks that somehow never get moderated

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Profchaos6d ago

Thats business present a strong front to your shareholders while your company burns around you.

Keep shareholders happy at all costs andnif not happy keep them numb to the reality of you organisation

Angyobangyo5d ago

" Just for the record, I don´t care about your victim complex crap either. Find someone else who cares. "

Just for the record, you clearly you do if you have to vent this hard.

TheExecutioner5d ago

Basically you think like kids when it come to choose between candy or chocolate.

Sonic18815d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Are you and Anast the same person?

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6d ago
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