Opinion: Microsoft just saved the Xbox One (X)

The E3 press conference just came to an end and Gaming Boulevard wrote down an opinion piece, stating Microsoft just saved the Xbox One (X) from its declining sales.

[Gustertote]

It really didn't.

Nothing unexpected was announced.

[Brave_Losers_Unite]

The conference was good. But all those games are coming out on other platforms. Sony wins again. So again, how does this save Xbox?

[getbacktogaming]

Sony hasn't presented yet and in the meantime I personally think Xbox has an amazing presentation not that I will be selling my PS4 anytime soon but hey, healthy competition right?

Meanwhile I think Xbox never needed saving, they are doing well in their own way (Xbox Game Pass is one of their innovations although I have no personal interest in it).

Edit: I think I got too excited with their presentation when I saw that Cyberpunk trailer at the end!!! Like my jaw dropped lol, but I'll play it on PS4 of course.

[Skull521]

The focus on Xbox being the best console experience was the best part of the conference for me, I love powerful hardware. Looks like Digital Foundry can retire comparisons, we all know Xbox wins from here on out!

[Ashlen]

It was another Halo Gears and Forza focused E3 as far as the games go. And them buying Ninja Theory, which is only good for Microsoft. Other than that it was more or less just a preview of what most everyone will be playing on PS4 next year.

[BiggerBoss]

Yeah this conference didn't really make me want a One X.

Ninja Theory was the biggest announcement, and we probably won't see a game from them for a few years.

A bunch of great games were shown, but nothing that you NEED an Xbox for.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

Just my honest opinion, good show, lots of reveals and great games. As I gamer I liked it but all those games all also coming to PS4. At the end of the day they still have no AAA exclusives outside of Halo and Gears, and those 2 franchises are not what they use to be. So It was a good show but not a game changer by any means.

[nix]

I just hope Sony as usual doesn't cut down games because of the dismal show of MS. The show was great for gamers but not MS at all.

I wasn't that impressed with most of the titles shown... They really didn't have the wow factor. Everything looked like we've seen it before and all those pre-recorded scripted "gameplay" footages were just cringe worthy. I really didn't understand the number of Xboxes that was there on the stage. I really thought they were going to call the audience and have them go at one of their new games... But nothing. Some 16 ppl came and "played" horizon which also looked scripted.

What I am glad about is with most of the 3rd party games shown here, Sony should have more time showing us more of their own games.

[tontontam0]

All the "world premier" trailers hypnotized me for a moment there I thought oh no sony is done I, but after the show I realized its just forza gears and halo again saving xbox nothing new I almost forgot that most of those games are also coming to ps4.

[Realms]

@Skull521

So did you still enjoyed the xbox one when it had the worst performance? MS didn't show any must have games, it's sad that the only thing you MS fanboys can talk about is extra pixels of games that can be played on other platforms.

[Aenea]

I agree up to your your sentence. It doesn't save Xbox One as the title of this article suggests, but acquiring new studios can possibly save Xbox in the future. These studios don't have anything to show yet and before they have next gen is around the corner...

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

You saw Sony’s conference already? I thought it was tomorrow...

[BLUEBLASTER]

I think it save them because they bought 5 developers who will bring more games to the next Xbox?

[milohighclub]

Gears looked good but I'm not gonna rush out n buy an Xbox for it.

Kinda hope battletoads isn't exclusive tho...

[-Foxtrot]

Games wise...pretty much

Only BIG thing that shocked me was the new studios but we don't know what they'll be focusing on yet, AAA, Indie, something else. Too early to judge.

Most of the games at that show will be multiplatform at the end of the day.

[BiggerBoss]

The purchase of these new studios was by far the biggest and best announcement, but we probably won't see their new games for a few years at least, and I don't see that convincing anybody to buy an Xbox One.

[SpringHeeledJack]

More studios snapped just be trashed like with Rare. these companies never learn. why do they sell out to the likes of MS and EA?

[AngelicIceDiamond]

To clarify Ninja Theory, Playground Games and the new studio in Santa Monica "The Initiative" are making new AAA ip's.

[Sunny_D]

@angelic

Based off their video, Ninja Theory are not making AAA titles. That was one of the conditions they had if Microsoft wanted to buy them. They want to stay in the AA market,

[TheProblem]

True. The only new "exclusive" announcements were Halo, Forza and Gears.

There have been many jokes for years about that but thats all they have announced in 1 conference. The conference was dull as usual.

[getbacktogaming]

It was great presentation, especially in Xbox standards! Come on, give 'em a break :D

[Gazondaily]

What? U knew about about Ninja Theory?

It was a mad conference. Had everything MS needed to show. Acquisition of FIVE studios.

Even the usual 3 Xbox games looked MAD! Not even a big Gears guy but that latest trailer looked mad! Halo looks insane going open world! Dont even start on Forza Horizon!

Battletoads is back!
Ori 2 looks beautiful
We know that Playground's new IP is now exclusive.

Variety is there with the not so typical xbox games with the Japanese games.

The long term moves are the right one.

What has Spencer done? He showed that Xbox is here to stay. Not a PR mouthpiece anymore when they sorted out the hardware, sorting out the software now, making the right moves long term and bolstering their existing ones.

[Bhai]

Yeah and everything a Sony Fanboy already predicted:
-Nothing major new besides new Forza, Halo and Gears being exclusive (check)
-A preshow for Sony themselves, all these games, the top ones are multiplatform already (check)
-New studios acquisition? haha for like next-gen? a mad show alright... how many of those will be shutdown? When will they be making something substantial? in 3 years or more???
-We've known about Ori, CD3 already too, so what's new ;)

So yeah, with Phil delivering the exact same speech every year, there isn't anything new here... oh the cloud was kinda missing, ain't it? ;)

[Dark_Knightmare2]

Bro two of those studios were already ms studios it’s just now official,the other two being compulsion and ninja theory have released nothing but mediocre games well besides hellblade from ninja and the fifth one wasn’t bought they are just opening it with nothing to show yet and a lot to prove. Most of the games they announced were freaking multiplats that will be on ps4,pc etc and the few exclusives they did announce were from the same tired franchises with two of them coming off mediocre entries which were halo and gears.

[Gazondaily]

The 1X team working on the next Xbox when people called this the last Xbox ...things are looking great on the Xbox horizon

[notachance]

yeah this is a good move for MS though if I'm being picky I'd say MS saved Xbox, not XB1 cause I'm pretty sure they saved all the new stuff for next-gen instead of now

it's kinda nice to see all those 11 first-party logo though, now the exclusive war can finally enter its peak (and giving me all the good games)

[Imalwaysright]

Reaprr

But I was told by some dingbat around here that MS would go services only and kill the hardware. How's that possible?

[UCForce]

Even MS E3 2018 conference show is great and better than last year and I gave it a 8 out of 10, but it’s nothing special really.

[rainslacker]

Notice they still didn't have game play of CD3. At least nothing coherent. Just Terry Crews yelling a lot trying to make the game look cool.

That should have been shown, considering it's probably their biggest release outside Forza before the next E3.

[RainbowBrite]

Gears of pop or something like that. That was unexpected

[Relientk77]

Lol true

[getbacktogaming]

muahahaha lol loved it though I'll never play it!

[Goldby]

@Gustertote

i dont think anyone was expecting the Ninja Theory Acquisition.

im still shocked myself at that one

[BiggerBoss]

Definitely a huge surprise, unfortunately, we probably won't see their new game until the Xbox Two is out.

[blackblades]

Hell yeah, like we knew they were acquiring new studios and rumors were saying big ones so I was also tightening up hoping they didn't announce some huge popular studio.

[KickSpinFilter]

Ninja was a shock, kinda a bummer for PS4 players

[PapaBop]

Ninja Theory acquisition was unexpected.

I think it was a solid overall conference for them but ultimately doesn't make me want to buy an Xbox and just reinforces my belief that PS4 and PC is the way to go this gen.

[Artemidorus]

You had no clue a new console is on the way.

[Sunny_D]

You mean no one knew a console was on the way when it's been more than half gen since these current consoles came out? Who didn't see that coming? That's obvious as hell.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Ninja Theory being acquired was expected?

[BiggerBoss]

Completely unexpected, but you probably won't see their new game until the next Xbox is out.

[BiggerBoss]

@reaprr

REALLY??

You don't care that almost nothing was announced for the Xbox one? Really?

I'm sure you're really pumped for the Xbox Two, but what about the current gen?

[rainslacker]

It didn't save anything yet. At best, it showed they actually had something behind the statements about building first party studios. All their first party stuff shown was more of the same, and already predicted. Most of what they showed was multi-plat, so no reason to buy an Xbox if you already have another console, unless you just want an X1X to upgrade.

The acquisition of new studios, which is by far the highlight of the conference, probably won't amount to much for this generation. Undead Labs just released a game, and probably haven't started their next one. Playground will probably always make Forza Horizon, and they're rumored to be making Fable which just started last year. New studio is just now building a team, so game hasn't even started production. Ninja Theory may get another game this gen, but they weren't exactly in a position to start heavy production on anything since releasing Hellblade, and Compulsion hasn't even finished their current game yet.

So, MS hasn't saved the X1/X1X. They just had an entertaining show, which if you're a gamer there was a lot of good stuff to watch in it, because a bulk of what they showed will be available elsewhere.

MS really failed to remove most of what they've been criticized these past couple years, and for one big criticism, it's unlikely to be resolved to be relevant for this gen.

[gangsta_red]

"MS really failed to remove most of what they've been criticized these past couple years, "

I believe it has more to do with people still harbouring resentment and anger and just for the life of them won't let it go no matter what MS does.

I've seen you complain about MS from the beginning and in the beginning during the reveal it was warranted.

But since then they have fixed the Xbox One by getting rid of Kinect, making a more power mid gen console, releasing the Xbox S with better features, Game Pass, crossplay between Switch, digital gifting, digital refunds, elite controller, BC and now they're addressing their games issue by buying Five new studios on top of the games they have already on progress. It's obvious that they were listening to fans and the harsh criticisms from others.

And yet here you are still talking about they failed(?) to remove the criticisms people had against them. Exactly what more can they do that they haven't laid out and already done?

It just goes to show how far and what lengths some will go to move these goal post just so they can complain.

[rainslacker]

I haven't spent a lot of time complaining about the original launch criticisms since they reversed them. Usually if I talk about it its mostly just in retrospect, or using it as allegory to show how MS is working towards that through different means.

MS failed to do what they had to do with this conference. Whether MS failed overall depends on what metric one is using. On that topic, I feel MS screwed the pooch this gen, made a lot of bad decisions that caused harm to the brand, and it's not going to go away easily. However, the system has sold alright. Not as well as it could. I assume with the services and licensing costs from games, as well as any revenue gained from cloud usage from developers, that Xbox overall has been profitable. If it's as profitable as MS wants(or if it's achieved the MAU's if that's the case) is the only metric which really matters, and since I don't know what MS wants to achieve, I can't say if it's been succesful to them.

As far as what they can do? Well...deliver on what they keep saying they're doing. The features are nice, and they've been good about delivering on those. But when it comes to games, this particular conference was really just more of the Forza, Gears, Halo. All three in fact. Fable is coming, they didn't say it, but there was the nod when talking about acquiring playground, and it's been heavily rumored they're working on that. Obviously, the new studios will make new exclusives, and that's what they need to do, but we only know one game from all those 5.

I'm afraid it's just one of those things that MS kind of made it so it's easy to be skeptical of them.

I'm still skeptical, but I know they wouldn't have brought 5 studios just to waste money. But I also know given what's been released so far, and the state of the new studio based on what they said, that the acquisitions won't be relevant for this gen. Maybe a cross gen SoD3. Possible a new game from NT, but Fable and the next FH is probably going to be the next gen. The new studio will certainly be next gen. We happy few is all that's left, and they aren't likely to get a 2nd game out after that releases.

So basically, while they made the future look a little brighter for XBox as a whole, they haven't actually changed the nature of what is their biggest criticism for THIS GEN...and that's providing copious and varied X1 content.

Anyhow, I'd like to say on a personal note, that I'm willing to give MS a bit more benefit of the doubt, so I probably won't be as vocal about them not trying anymore. But I will likely still express my disappointment with how they handled this generation as a whole. I'm kind of coming to the point where I"m about to take the advice of someone else, and just become indifferent to Xbox as a brand. This gen was a bust, and I don't see it changing before it ends. Next gen may be better. We'll see. I'll keep my Xbox for the few games I'll want to play on it.

[No Way]

Oh.. So you knew they were buying 5 studios? Why didn't you share with everyone? Selfish.. so selfish.

[bluefox755]

Right? I can't figure why people are acting like this was a great e3 showing. I must be missing something, because it seems like more of the same from MS. Are our standards so low that this has become a "great" e3?

[subtenko]

more of the same stuff, just like last year. Nothing changed. I saw just a little more hint at xbox being a service though but theres no definite confirmation.... the 'new' studios...half of them were view as xbox already by me.... Undead labs announced partnership with microsoft when state of decay was announced, the people who made forza Certainly didnt bring it to ps4 before..... come on yall....

[Christopher]

Great conference from them. It still had some "Microsoft" moments (FH4 scripted stage event, Press Pass lady, usual "best gaming only on Xbox"). But they showed games, they showed IPs we know to be coming, and they showed some new stuff.

The only negative I can really say is that this is something I think people wanted a lot sooner. A lot sooner.

[getbacktogaming]

well said

[MuddyWaters]

Many wanted more studios, they have added 5 new ones and Ninja Theory was the big surprise.

To think back in 2013 when so many called the Xbox One a big advertisement for TV and the past few years have been nothing but games and more games.

They also now have the most powerful console to showcase all these multiplat games.

Japanese support is growing.

Game Pass is showing great value.

I say it was a good conference, not the best but a good show and one that shows promise for the next Xbox. Microsoft clearly identified they are in this for the long haul and now Phil has the full confidence of the CEO and is part of the big table that makes the real decisions.

[Spurg]

I'm sorry but that demo got me really interested in Forza horizon.
And also what game demo isn't scripted, you actually think they will allow themselves to sing on stage....that would only end in disaster.

[Christopher]

Scripted as in they were not playing the game. I don't mean 'practiced' demo, but they weren't actually doing anything but sitting on stage and holding controllers. They did it two years ago as well. I would much rather see legit gamers who aren't suddenly all drifting in synch on demand while also having their game switch between completely different season and them driving like they never had to start accelerating.

[optimus]

@Christopher... I disagree, if you're going to be showcasing a game (an unfinished one at that) for the world to see I doubt you would want people that are not familiar with the game playing it and making mistakes and looking like idiots while maybe 1 or 2 other gamers are looking like pros.

You'd be sending them wrong message in doing so, making everyone think the game is hard to pick up and play. It is after all, an arcade racing game.

For what they showed and how they showed it I was actually intrigued by the game and would consider playing it. And I'm not a racing fan and have never played any Forza games but this one I'll consider just based on what I saw, which is what every presentation aims to do.

[Christopher]

@optimus: I don't think you understand. The people on stage were not playing the games in front of them. They were vidos of gameplay. Not live gameplay.

[rainslacker]

@Chris

They could build the demo to allow them to play, but then break to scripted events that show off something more dramatic...like the drifting and what not.

The video we saw online though was certainly edited, because they switched between players, and then the end was more a trailer than something you see from game play on stage.

However, MS is known for having scripted demos....well they all have done it really. But the first part of the trailer may not have been scripted in the actual play.

I went to throw some dinner in the oven when that started, so I did miss part of it though.

[No Way]

Christopher - Your point, being? Elaborate, please.. as I think you are missing the point of what everyone else has said. It's a presentation, not a youtube walkthrough. Unscripted in a huge open world will likely cause all kinds of problems - and wouldn't show what they want you to see.

It's really not a hard concept to grasp. And every company does this. I guess you complain about advertisements? Since it's scripted. :D

[optimus]

@Christopher... I understood it was scripted and I still stand by my statement. Would you prefer to see people that didn't know how to play an unfinished game play the game?

Even if it was a live demo with good players do you think we would have seen everything they showed in the amount of time that they showed it? We probably wouldn't have seen the cross traffic driving that we saw and instead it would have been a car driving through the same scenery for the entire demo... If people saw that they would complain that this Forza is no different than the rest. Again, the objective is to showcase the game in the best way possible... And they did.

[Christopher]

***Your point, being? Elaborate, please.. as I think you are missing the point of what everyone else has said. It's a presentation, not a youtube walkthrough.***

Why are people on stage to sit in front of game and why are they telling us they're playing the game that we're seeing when they aren't? It's called lying and unnecessary. They could have just shown us the clip the way they did, no people on stage, it would have done the exact same thing but wouldn't have lied to us at all.

OR! And here's an idea, they could have had them actually all race in a game that we saw from spectator mode and then played a clip afterwards as well.

[annoyedgamer]

It was ok but not the surprises I wanted.

[jznrpg]

Agreed , it would have been good if this was 3-4 years ago but they are already talking next console being in deep development so the 1X is just an afterthought . 2X incoming 2020

[Christopher]

Regardless if it was wanted before, it's happening now. Better late than never. This means good things going forward and a definite investment in gaming on their part that we shouldn't take for granted.

[OB1Biker]

Phil officially announced they are working on the next xbox (particuliarly the way he announced it was interesting) and with those studios acquisitions I feel its more and more likely to get next gen reveals next year.

[EDKICK]

@Cristopher That's a fair assessment, I would say I enjoyed the conference more than that but everything you said was right. Ultimately the Game pass is a huge plus to Xbox. For $180 (Gamepass the rest of this year and next year) you get We Happy Few, Forza Horizon 4, Forza 2019, Halo Infinite, Ori 2, Crackdown 3, Sea of Thieves DLC, Cuphead: Delicious Last Course, Battletoads, Gears Tactics, Gears 5, plus anything else that may come out.

That's the best we've seen from MS this gen and a really good value, that's not even including everything already on Gamepass, new additions like Fallout 4 and The Division, or non exclusive games launching day and date with Gamepass like Afterparty.

The first party is definately still not yet where it needs to be but it was a good conference and Gampass is an awesome value.

[Christopher]

Halo Infinite is a strong pull for next year release. I'd push that to 2020, possibly even cross-generational title.

I think the *only* issue they have on first-party is delivering new strong IPs that people will be interested in. If you're already into those IPs, you're solid. But, if they can start to pull those fans from Sony with the type of games they like? That would be remarkable. I think that's part of the reason they bought Ninja Theory. They not only know Sony, they make games that Sony fans love.

I'm hoping Gears Tactics is capable of getting a console release. I'm not a fan of K/M because of carpal tunnel syndrome. At least good controller support. If Microsoft makes more Xcom-style and RPG games, they'll keep me as a gamer. If they came out with a good stealth RPG game, they'd probably never lose me.

[rainslacker]

Exactly. This is what people have been asking from MS since the beginning of the gen, and it only grew as the generation went on.

They finally started telling us what they're doing, instead of just saying they're doing something. But they started really late in the gen, and the studio acquisition stuff is pretty irrelevant for this generation.

But, with those studio acquistions, it shows that MS is at least not just trying to be a hardware provider, or service provider, while the rest of the industry does most of the work. It's showing they want to have the same influence on game design advancement that the other console makers have.

[DigitalRaptor]

I'd like to see actual substantiative figures to go along with this odd claim.

When you present a conference like that which is 90% third-party multiplatform games that you can also buy and play on the far, FAR more popular PS4 platform, well that doesn't spell a recovery from declining sales. That only emphasises that more people will end up buying it on the healthier and more popular platform. They literally only announced on exclusive for the rest of 2018... a Forza game.

But yeah... they "saved" it.

[lodossrage]

I have to agree with this statement.

I know fanboys (not fans) will get annoyed with this comment, but the fact is Microsoft hasn't evolved. The more things change, the more they stay the same in their case. The only exclusives the put out there were the usual suspects of Halo, Gears, and Forza as newly announced games with crackdown 3 gameplay. Any of the other new games they showed are also coming to the PS4, including Tales of Vesperia's remaster.

The Biggest news is the Ninja Theory purchase. The other studios come off as a non issue because most of them work with Microsoft almost exclusively anyway.

Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions, but I couldn't disagree with this author's opinion more if I tried. Halo, Gears, and Forza are already on the XB1. Each of them have at least 2 games on the platform as we speak. So I don't see any real chance of saving the system from declining sales.

If they REALLY want to reverse the sales trend, they HAVE to make new IPs and broaden themselves.

[Xb1ps4]

Oh please.., ms are changing things around and are headed in the right direction if you can’t see that and all you care about is sales then stick to being a single console owner cause I’m sure Sony will deliver all of your dreams as only Sony can do such a thing in the n4g world..

[Kingoftherodeo]

im pretty sure ps4 isnt getting that skating game and dont tell me nobody wants a skating game. this is as close as anyone will get to skate4

[Spurg]

Although they didn't show new IP they have shown step to improve the their first party studios which is more than enough. This will only result to new IP. But if you think ms is still halo, Forza and gears then be part of those crazy lot.

[lodossrage]

@Xb1ps4

Look man, I don't have stock in any of these companies. I love how if I say something fanboys dislike about one company it's because I like the other. And why stick to being a one console owner when I've had/have just about every system that ever came out outside of the 3DO and Atari Jaguar?

You may feel their heading in the right direction. But in MY OPINION, they're staying the course they've already been doing.

[Xb1ps4]

Yea.. I’m sure no one on n4g has stock in ms but you Sony fanatics sure seem like you have stock in Sony

With comments like ms “hasn’t evolved” and “reverse sales” tells me more then I need to know no matter how neutral you may think you sound..

[Spurg]

Well I'm sorry but you lack imagination. Ms just aquired 5 studio and have multiple times said they are committed to single player and creating new experiences. I can see that Phil Spencer has a clear vision of where he wants to take Xbox.

We happy few and Forza horizon 4 for this fall ain't bad considering there are lots of third party games on the horizon.

[lodossrage]

Four of those studios normally work exclusively with Microsoft in the first place. And We Happy Few is also PS4 despite the MS purchase. They even put that in their tweet just two hours ago.

https://twitter.com/wehappy...

And to be fair if it's anything like the Early Access game, We Happy few isn't anything special

[The Wood]

Phil has spoken about improvements since he's been at the helm but produced very little and even had to cancel games from an already small pool so you should understand the cynicism. I agree with your comment above for sure though. Ms is moving in the right direction for next gen at least. They shegged this gen royally because they didn't make smart moves last gen. They're trying to avoid making the same mistakes. Well done

[nix]

They've been saying "they listen to gamers" for years. If they really listened, they wouldn't be in the state they are now. False promises are all they are good at showing you. Most of what has been told will never reach the promised results... You guys truly deserve each other.

[rainslacker]

Yeah well...he also said it's hard to justify SP experiences, and that GaaS is more promising for the future.

So, 2 of the three studios they brought are SP studios, and it makes you wonder if their future projects will fit into MS vision.

MS has more problems than their 1st party, and gaining more 1st party studios is only one step towards resolving the criticisms that people have against them. It's good for MS to show they are going to try to expand, but they still have to show what the fruits of their labors will bring before I say they've reversed the course.

A lot of us don't lack imagination, but some Xbox fan boys seem to have way too much of it. Show don't tell has been a big thing people have been telling MS, or at least implying MS needs to do for the past couple years. This conference was nothing more than some more telling.

Even CD3, their biggest release outside Forza until the next E3, still didn't have any actual game play showing.

Spencer is at fault for people being skeptical of anything MS says. Almost Everything is either a lie, misleading, or very far off in the future. That's not much different than what MS was at the start of this gen, so no, they aren't growing, it's more of the same. In the future, when they have something to show for their current effort, that may change. But don't expect people to just jump on board because Phil said it's so.

[I_am_Batman]

They seem to finally invest a lot into the future of Xbox which will pay off but it'll take a while. Microsoft's next gen console will probably benefit from these investments but for Xbox One it's a little too late.

[salmonade]

What? No it didn't. People need to actually buy them.

They showed 4 exclusives Crackdown. Halo. Forza. Gears.

1 new AAA studio.

3 small ones. and Playground games who will continue the Forza etc.

Everything everything else will be playable on PS4.

And every exclusive they do have can be played on PC.

What Microsoft did was suppress any anger about their direction going forward. People know. But it's not going to change the sales. It will just make their faithful happy.

[Spurg]

3 small one??
-Ninja theory isn't small as it's acquisition was easily the biggest news of the conference. They have made AAA games such as enslaved ,DMC and hellblade.
-We happy few studio is a the only small one.
-Undead labs is a semi AAA developer which can be bigger with the right resources
-Playground isnt a small studio as their Forza horizon series is a AAA game.
-The iniative is a studio that can easily rival 343 and the coalition with Darrel Gallagher leading so expect AAA games from them.

[salmonade]

Ninja Theory is small. Playground just keep doing what they're doing. Undead LAbs yeah sure State of boring Bugs. There is one new big AAA. And as always, you have to wait a long time to see the fruits and even the most experienced studios can have failures.

What is great is that this is such a good start for Microsoft. But 'saved the Xbox One X'... please. That will just keep chugging along until Next Gen. Xbox X did not need saving. It's great signs for Microsoft future and their fans can be happy. Good for them and PC players like me.

[Strange_Evil]

By no measure is Ninja Theory a AAA studio. Yeah HellBlade was decent but it still lacked compared to the quality you see from legit AAA studios. You can't put them with the likes of Naughty Dog or Santa Monica or even someone like Crystal Dynamics. Playground was a good buy I'd give you that. Undead Labs a semi AAA studio LMAO!! I wouldn't even call then a AA studio until they post a game that scores above an 80 on metacritics.

[Xb1ps4]

I know I’m running out to buy a capable pc right now! So I can keep up with all the pc gamers on n4g! Pc ftw!

[Millard]

This presentation tells me Microsoft are looking for a far more successful launch of their next console.

[BiggerBoss]

Let's hope so, it would be hard to do worse than the Xbox One launch...

[jznrpg]

The X hasn’t been saved but maybe next gen will be a little better. Acquiring 5 studios and making good games out of them is 2 different stories. They are “deep in development” of next console so that X isn’t going to be the main focus for very long if hardly at all

[1-pwnsause-1]

Microsoft didn’t save the Xbox one, they however did save the next gen Xbox...

[blackblades]

Yeah, I wonder if that was the right move to announce that they are making a new console when the x just came out.

[1-pwnsause-1]

It’s a smart move, now people will anticipate what ninja theory is gonna do now that they’re first party, they have a a big budget now to make dope games, it’s going to interesting next gen for microsoft

[1-pwnsause-1]

As a PlayStation fan that I am, I’m envious they got the talent of ninja theory with them, Im just pretty worried how Microsoft will manage the studio. They need to let them spread their wings and let them come up with good games without Microsoft stepping on their toes.

[ClanPsi1]

I wonder if any xbox fans are actually happy about this. I sure as hell hope not.

[Razmiran]

I dont know if they saved anything
But boy was that a joy to watch, even if I dont own an xbox one

[jhoward585]

More like it...3rd party games saved the Xbox.

[zshadow]

No but they just saved the next Xbox .lets hope

[Artemidorus]

They did ok, just start the games rolling.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Was a great showing, with a lot of games on display, but I don't know that it affects sales all that much. They put a big emphasis on playing their games regardless of what you're playing on, and even spoke about console quality games on mobile devices. All that and purchasing existing studios lines up with the universal future we keep hearing about. I was surprised to hear Ninja Theory sold out though. Was also funny to see PUBG and Cuphead labeled as console launch exclusives after the fact.

[J-DARKnes]

I thought it was a snoozer to be honest, didn't get that wow factor (my personal opinion) I felt like crackdown 3, battlefield V ANC a few other games were a waste of time slot and the division was just painful.

[XabiDaChosenOne]

All I saw was more promises ad multiplats.

[TocaCannaBowl]

you cant save whats already dead

[Tross]

I don't think the XB1 has performed so terribly that it needs "saving", but it did need a boost to stay competitive. I think this conference was a big improvement over previous MS conferences. As most of what was announced is multiplat and the rest isn't that unexpected aside from the studio acquisitions (which will only be good news if MS changes its approach and doesn't run them into the ground), I think Sony still has the upper hand this E3. However, MS is at least acting as though they've figured out where the chinks in their armour are. Whether they've actually figured it out or not remains to be seen, but we'll know soon enough.

[Pancit_Canton]

It's already too late this generation.

Those 2 studios have always developed exclusively with Microsoft last gen and this gen.

Ninja Theory is a hit or miss developer, not very consistant with quality. (I will be more worried since Microsoft is running the studio)

Compulsion games a below average developer with no successful game. Their new game looks mediorce.

The Iniative looks......?????

[PizzaSteve]

Ninja Theory is great. They did Heavenly Sword which I always wanted a sequel of. Hellblade is great.

I believe given the time, they can make amazing games long as MS let them.

[nix]

Yes.. given the time - that means they're going to come out with a new game next gen. HS was amazing but after that there's nothing as great as that game.

But look at it... It's MS at the end of the day. They'll throw out the game that doesn't pass the litmus test. The difference is when you're independent, you can make any game and choose to be exclusive with MS but once you're in their pay checks, you better make games they think are good.

[Spurg]

-Ninja theory isn't small as it's acquisition was easily the biggest news of the conference. They have made AAA games such as enslaved ,DMC and hellblade.
-We happy few studio is a the only small one.
-Undead labs is a mid tier developer which can be bigger with the right resources.
-Playground isnt a small studio as their Forza horizon series is a AAA game. And they are currently working on a new IP.
-The iniative is a studio that can easily rival 343 and the coalition with Darrel Gallagher(crystal dynamics) so expect AAA games from them.

REPLY

[ocelot07]

If that was just a gaming conference (take the Xbox out of it) that was a pretty fun show. As a PC/PS4 owner that was a pretty fun show. However, If all I owned was a Xbox I would still be a little disappointed in Microsoft for the lack of first party games and resorting to Forza, Gear and Halo game.

But they are heading in the right direction by getting a few new studio's but still have a hell of a lot to do. But as a PC/PS4 owner I was happy with that conference well done to them.

[deadfrag]

I think people with a normal Xbox One will have to upgrade to the Xbox One X or PC because even Gears of War 5,Forza Horizon 4 @60fps and many other games showed will run very bad on the original Xbox One.Most games are pushing new tech and i frankly dont see Forza Horizon 4 running at 60fps on Xbox One S without been 720p or lower...Its pretty obvious that developers are going to push the Xbox One X and the Xbox One S is going to suffer hard trying to run this new games,and Phill knows this...and again Microsoft add is Games run better ...Yeah yeah on Xbox One X or PC.And we are not forgeting that multiplatform games coming will also run better on the PS4 Pro instead of the standard system and with this both Sony and even Microsoft achieve what they wanted from the start with the release of this mid generation systems..extend the generation until 2021 minimum and get a second round of sales from people that will most certain will double dip on this more powerful versions because they want the best experience.

[monkey602]

They had a great show. It was almost a fan service. They gave those already invested in Xbox a lot of reason to stick with it.

They won't be converting anybody after it but they have finally shown they are listening to those already dedicated to the brand

[Psychosious]

He had this article wrote before it was finished, just plugged in games and pressed release..... nothing major was shown that wasn’t going multiplat.

[Lionalliance]

In all honestly, no it didn't. What they showed were multiplatform games, you can get them on ps4 as well. As for the exclusive ones, they were pretty hit or miss.

[PizzaSteve]

I enjoyed it.

[firelogic]

MS wins if someone finishes watching the conference and says to themselves, "Wow. I need to get myself an Xbox!"

I don't think they accomplished that today. They showed a lot of interesting/great games but the majority are multiplatform titles. They revealed new Halo/Gears/Forza but how was it any different from before? 3rd party games available on PS4 and Xbox. Check. First party offerings amount to Halo/Gears/Forza. Check. Seems like status quo to me.

What did they do today that's going to make a non-Xbox owner run out and buy one? DMC5/Fallout/Cyberpunk/Just Cause/Tomb Raider/Tales of Vesperia/Session/Division/King dom Hearts/and more available on PS4 and if you don't own an Xbox by now, clearly Halo/Gears/Forza isn't your jam.

As a conference it was great. As an Xbox conference designed to sell me their hardware it was mediocre.

[Elda]

I will say that this conference was much better than last years but far as exclusives it was pretty much the same franchises that's always expected & predicted from MS.The showed a ton of multi-plats that I'll definitely will be buying though Gears 5 & Tunic looked interesting.Though I have to say they turned it with the 5 acquisitions especially one being Ninja Theory...that I'm still gagging at!! Though a decent conference this year it still didn't sway me to buy an XBO.

[Destiny1080]

forza / halo / gears and a bunch of multiplats, made worse by phils monotonous voice

[TheGamingArt]

How?

[boing1]

How?

[OffRoadKing]

Your hyperbole aside. People excited for Halo, Gears and Forza already own xbox, so no they didn't, Didn't take long to get these nonsense articles.

[ElementX]

People keep saying MS is going to drop out of gaming because the Xbox One is doing poorly but the acquisition of five studios plus the mention that the next Xbox is being worked on shows they are not going anywhere.

[Razzer]

I thought it was a very good conference. MS did what they needed to do. I didn't realize it, but Halo Infinite is also coming to Windows. Incredible news. Gives me hope that the entire franchise will come to PC at some point.

[ILostMyMind]

lol Too soon for that.

[optimus]

Man there sure are a lot of Xbox haters in here. If they don't show halo, forza, and gears then they would complain "how can you not show your main properties? " They show them and then some and they complain "that's all they got. " Make up your minds folks! 🙄... Who cares if you can play some games on ps4? The best version will be found on the xb-x. They announce 5 new game studios and everyone already expects them to die out. You people have issues. 🙄

[DerekTweed]

They always say there are no games on Xbox, then they show all those game but then they say bu..bu but exclusives.

To say there are no games on Xbox is BS.

[LOCO209]

Maybe good news for their NEXT BOX console and for their Games pass portfolio.
But this really didn't do much for the X in general. Plus many will probably wait til they actually start delivering..

Especially since they grabbed a few devs but most already only made xbox games
and we will probably see most of the fruits of the other devs labor NEXT gen.

[Donnie81]

Great showing and a very pleasant surprise to see the new studios being brought into the fold. Now put them to work on some amazing games. Its e3 week people put the console war stuff aside for a few days and enjoy a look at the games we will be playing next year

[Kyizen]

Very good presentation IMO but no reason given to buybam Xbox. Maybe in 2 or 3 years when the new games get developed but right now a ton of those were multiplat or on PC.

[terstomp]

Microsoft did what they had to do. No surprises, did what was expected. Maybe I'm not their target customer.
Was hoping for other changes and other innovations.

[chiefJohn117]

Tomb raider is a timed exclusive again.

[quenomamen]

@ starchild
" but I still think using sales as some kind of ultimate trump card is lame "

Yea sales numbers are so lame nobody in any other industry uses them to judge how well a product is doing..................Well except maybe cars, planes, phones, TVs, music, movies, books, food, clothing, and the list goes on and on. But yea no, I'm sure MS doesn't have more than or two guys tops who keep track of sales.

[tagzskie]

Nope! For me MS is just gearing up next xbox. What they annouced are the one we expect, halo and forza, next is gears. Acquiring NT is a big suprised and nice start. But that alone cant save xbox one

[Jrios355]

While nothing unexpected was announced, I'm surprised that Microsoft were the ones to reveal multiplatform titles such as Devil May Cry 5, Just Cause 4, and show more of Cyberpunk 2077. And now that they have Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, and Compulsion Games, they might finally get the boost they desperately need.

Still, we knew Forza Horizon 4 and Gears of War 5 would be happening. Not much of a surprise, but will say I'm interested in where else the Gears story will go.

[ShadowWolf712]

Ehh, not quite. It may become the moment they did, but that's gonna depend on a lot of variables.

That said, the X specifically... I think they killed those sales the moment they announced formally that they were working on the next gen of hardware.

[rainslacker]

It was an odd way to announce such a thing. They made it sound immanent, even though it could still be 2-3 years off. Usually they won't say anything other than vague, "we're always considering what will come next", in response to a questuon, but never make it so obvious at a conference.

I was considering with Bethesda also announcing a next gen game, and with me possibly doing some early marketing of a new system less than. Year after their mid gen released, if they know something we don't. Like maybe Sony is in a position to release a new console a lot sooner than most predicted...namely next year. That would be difficult for me if they aren't ready for the next gen with hardware or software, and it would be a really hard sell to do another mid gen next year.

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

LOL all games people will be playing elsewhere..but gears, halo and forza..everything that is wrong with xbox. No new original ip's

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

All Sony needs to do to beat this is show what games , EXCLUSIVES , they have already announced. Just more of them. As a platform holder MS is a mess.

[DELTABOY04]

so what is the reason to own a xbox..because they never made that case...

[ClanPsi1]

If Halo, Gears, Crackdown and Forza haven't helped the XBone out of last place, how can anyone actually believe they will help it now? XBox is the literal definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

[UltimateRacer]

a boring, bland E3 that trumps there previous effort witch wasn’t hard to do but save the Xbone X, no just no.

[conanlifts]

I must have watched a different conference. My concern is they have secured the future of xbox 2 not Xbox one. Where are the games for this year? Where are the release dates for anything they showed. Or the gameplay for anything except gears 4. Almost Everything they showed was multiplatform. I was waiting for this years games not future concepts and plans not more launch exclusives or marketing deals or premiere trailers.

[DivineAssault]

How?! Showing scripted trailers, multiplats, & promises? Thats not saving anything but i hope they have a great show next year & beyond. I want MS to do well by their console. It only benefits us consumers but greed is powerful. I dont want subscription services what so ever. I want my machine, compelling 1x fee games, & thats it.

[strayanalog]

Microsoft saved the Xbox brand, not the Xbox One. Unfortunately, we won't get to see how this investment goes until next generation.‎

[Petebloodyonion]

I don't agree with the opinion stated in this article.
Yes MS had a great E3 conference but it won't save the Xbox1 from its declining sales.

What MS did, however, is to reassure the current Xbox owner that games like Gears 5, Halo6, etc were coming.
But most importantly they made a statement toward the game industry that despite being 3rd right now they were not quitting and that they were actually investing a lot of money into strengthening their position as a key player for the future.

[JMyers]

The conference did not make me want an Xbox One. What it did was show was that MS are investing in games again. Let's see what exclusives these new first party studios can make and then I will consider getting one.

[subtenko]

I mean its just business as usual. Nothing really changed....

[EnsignHiro]

It was a wise presentation. MS buying studios made a ton of sense. They started out strong with opening up with halo infinity. People said they needed more games amd they responded via a games only conference. Its true not all games shown were exclusive but it wasnt a bad presentation. Its their best one in the recent years imo. Looks like they have been listening to some of the criticism about their library.