This Is How Microsoft Can Win the War

CCC Says: "Sony has fumbled the ball on their own 20 yard line. Time for Team Xbox to pick it up and run with it!

When I first heard about Sony’s proposed PlayStation Now service at this year’s CES, I was floored. Your telling me that an entire library of games will be accessible at the touch of a button, streamed right into my living room without ever having to set foot in the devil’s playground (AKA GameStop) again? Hell yeah, where do I sign! If I had one of those “Shut up and take my money” signs, I’d insert it right here. To me, this was to be an absolute game changer in not just the current console fight, but the future of our entire industry."

[TheParanoidx]

I thought these articles disappeared...

[Codey47]

Unfortunately.........

You thought wrong.

The way MS can win is

A) Delivering better content
B) More top tier exclusives
C) Better value for money

Unfortunately (C) has never been embedded into MS' infrastructure now's the time for change.

[Abash]

Microsoft can do anything and everything to improve Xbox One sales, but their problem is that all their efforts are unable to stop the PS4's momentum and crazy sales.

Thats why they can't beat the PS4. Microsoft would have to improve Xbox One sales AND lower PS4 sales which is something they just cant do

[Pogmathoin]

Abash, in all fairness, Sony had that juggernauth with the PS2, but Sony themselves destroyed that run..... All can do good things, bad things...... All that ever happens is that both deliver great games to keep tempting us..... As gamers, this is the best scenario..... Sony does not win....MS does not win.... Gamers win......

[johndoe11211]

Apart from giving away millions of xbox one's for free and hoping to make back the money on software sales, Microsoft cannot win this war. It would take a collosal screw up on sony's behalf, and by collosal I mean on the scale of everyone's ps4 simultaneously exploding, for Microsoft to make a ccomeback at this stage.

[Kingthrash360]

Ms cant do anything. Ps4 will win this "war" For many reasons. I know its early....but already, its too late for a comeback. Let these articles end.

[HeWhoWalks]

@ Pogmathoin:

Sony fixed their issue from the PS3 days, so bringing up what they "destroyed" with the PS2 is moot. As for this "gamers win" mess, yes, we know. As long as these companies battle for our dollar, it's better for us. Not the point of the discussion, though, so it's also moot.

[jebabcock]

No actually... They are doing all of those things. Their killer is their reputation and image... Outside of the cult following for xbox/halo, people just don't like MS at all... Unfortunately changing people's perception is alot harder to do than about anything else.

[MysticStrummer]

@Pogmathoin - If Sony "destroyed" their own run then so did MS, except MS has never had a juggernaut console as long as competition was on the market at the same time. Both got arrogant after some success, but MS also has lingering RRoD memories to deal with.

MS can win the war by biting the bullet and dropping XB1's price, but it will have to be a huge price drop at this point. XB1 may very well win the holidays this year, at least in the US and maybe UK, but if they do it will be a brief victory and they'll still lose the year by a wide margin. Next year, without a huge price drop for XB1, PS4 will dominate again.

[gootimes]

The free games thing worked to boost momentum of the X1 a bit, maybe they should just keep doing that...

I don't think the PS4 needs anything like that, I'm not sure it ever will seeing how things are moving for it. Once Uncharted, Gran Turismo, God of War etc. are out for it, it will sell even faster.

[Benjammin25]

As long as there's websites trying to get as many views as possible, there will be articles like this.

[Why o why]

Doc....

Flux capacitor....

Car beginning with D

[johndoe11211]

And this.

[Aussiebeachbabe]

These articles will disappear only when the trolls return back to their caves.

[Benjammin25]

At this point, winning Europe and Japan is probably a lost cause. US is still up in the air but I believe PS4 will just about nick it in the end. Who cares about winning anyway? All consoles will do well in the end.

[Mikefizzled]

Except the Dreamcast ;_;

[kneon]

They could make up some ground in the US at Christmas when the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are out there buying. They don't generally know what's going on in the gaming world so a price cut to 299 for the holidays would see a big sales spike.

[user367272]

At this point...xbox owners like myself really don't care
About catching up to sales anymore as long as the games keep coming out like Forza Horizon 2, Halo MCC and see new franchises like Sunset Overdrive, Quatum Break, and Scalebound. The system is being consrantly updated monthly to make it the best it can be and is being supported by all major third party publishers and that is what matters to xbox fans. Keep doing whAt you been doing Phil Spencer and the xbox team. I rather have it this way as a underdog MS is at its best and most aggressive in terms of giving to its fanbase what they are asking for just like the original xbox days in early 2000s even though the PS2 outsold it like 6-1. The Tomb Raider and Minecraft deals are the latest examples of MS being aggressive when their backs are against the wall and I suspect more to follow.

[Why o why]

Fair enough...

I believe the same thing kinda.. I think the only way ms can close any gap or at least compete is to pump games out and not adopt the same minimalistic attitude they did last gen. They dont have the same advantages at their disposal. 'Back to the wall' is an apt description.

[MysticStrummer]

"At this point...xbox owners like myself really don't care"

MS cares, otherwise the "integral" Kinect would have stayed that way. XBox owners should care because if the gap keeps widening support may start to fall off.

[DirtyLary]

He rolled over and accepted it.

[DigitalRaptor]

"At this point...xbox owners like myself really don't care"

Not only is that a defeatist attitude, but it goes to show that your perspective overrides your desire for more content. It's the same attitude as to why the Wii U is a barren wasteland as far as third party multiplatform games are concerned. https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Believe me, once the already massive sales gap widens and keeps widening when Sony's juggernaut exclusives come out in 2015 the support for PS4 from third party devs will increase and the support for Xbone from devs will drop off. It won't be a quick process but it will happen.

You shouldn't be happy about that. The early years of PS3 told the same story, until they began selling at a faster rate than the 360 did and proved that they can sell a more expensive console than its vastly cheaper competitor and still sell more in a shorter space of time. That's never happening for Xbone vs. PS4 so it's a reality that will come to pass.

Deals like Tomb Raider and Minecraft are short-term investments for the Xbox brand that needs any kind of boost it can get. Those "investments" offer no aggressive strategy for the Xbone because they won't do anything for it. Minecraft is available on most other gaming platforms and Tomb Raider is a timed exclusive that is releasing beside Uncharted 4 (will wipe the floor with TR). It's like paying for something that you can't win something round the hard way and have it be respected. And global respect is what the Xbox brand needs to at least come close to competing with PlayStation… well that, or a year's head-start.

[Blueraven316]

Xbox won't catch up in total sales. Europe and japan will be sony all day. They have a small chance to win America still but I don't see it happening. The 3rd party games are going to sell more on ps4. Even with the madden advertisement the Sony version outsold the x1 version by a lot

[warzonegamer]

lmfaooo what war fanboys are so dumb smh

[scark92]

Came here to say that! I am glad others feel the same :D

[warzonegamer]

its stupid

[joeorc]

what's ironic is this person has not done as much research if he did than he would have known

A: Remote play does not exclude or could not exclude other devices that are not Sony only hardware. the technology can be used on other such hardware.

and the big one:

B:

Sony Plans to Turn Game Division into Hub
Sony to Develop Service to Stream Games onto Phones, Tablets, Other Devices

"Mr. House said Sony also intended to develop a service to stream videogames onto smartphones, tablets and other devices from a range of manufacturers other than Sony."

Again:

"A streaming-based approach needs to have a very wide funnel of devices, and that inherently means a broad- and manufacturer-agnostic approach," said Mr. House, who was attending the Tokyo Game Show in this Tokyo suburb."

http://online.wsj.com/artic...

http://n4g.com/blogs/detail...

Grin...Lmao

[Spotie]

There's nothing Microsoft can do. At this point, Sony would have to make some rather drastic mistakes for anyone to catch up.

[MetroidFREAK21]

These "wars" people are having with video games will be the death of gaming. I for one personally don't care about who wins. All I care about is my system of choice being supported throughout its lifespan. And for those who care, my system of choice this generation was Xbox One.

[user367272]

Amen to that. 👏

[MetroidFREAK21]

Thank you for agreeing with my opinion. I appreciate it

[user367272]

You are welcome. I always appreciate smart and honest posts from level headed gamers. You have the most thoughtful and neutral reply in this entire thread by far. 👍

[voodoochild346]

Where have you been the last 30 years? Gaming has always had these "wars" between consoles and gaming has only grown.

[HeWhoWalks]

Thank you! Someone actually gets it! Funny how, for a certain fanbase, these "wars" are suddenly meaningless, but all last gen, they battered the PS3 into the ground.

Just funny how things change and opinions flip flop so quickly!

[MetroidFREAK21]

Trust me. I know that its been around... I choose not to read or listen to anything that pertains or encourages fanboyism. I find it idiotic and immature if you ask me.

@HeWhoWalks... I had a Wii last generation. I personally didn't get an Xbox 360 until July 2010. I didn't care about 360vPS3 and I don't care about the OnevPS4 "war"(yes I put war in quotes because its idiotic) You can jump to conclusions all you want, but until you know the facts about me or what I prefer as a gamer, I suggest you don't jump to conclusions. Thank you

[SilentNegotiator]

Then gaming must already be dead. We "gamers" are all "dead" according to several media sources, after all. lol

"Trust me. I know that its been around... I choose not to read or listen to anything that pertains or encourages fanboyism"

So it hasn't affected you as a gamer...but will somehow be the death of gaming? OK then....

[Regis]

Funny how video games were meant to ward off boredom if they don't do that anymore then video games and these "wars" are stupid now.

[Major_Glitch]

@Metroid Umm...the console wars have been going on forever, we just didn't have the internet back then. And if you don't think it matters, ask Atari, Sega, or any other now defunct console producer. And as for...oh never mind. After reading your follow up comment to HeWhoWalks I just realized you reek of salt and cognitive dissonance.

[n4gusername]

Crap article. I didn't make my decision to switch from 360 last year based on PSNow.

[OrangePowerz]

The football comparison is rather wrong. Even if they would fumble the.ball it wouldn't be at their own 20 yard line they are deep down in Xbox territory standing at their 10 yard line waiting for yet another touchdown when they already lead the game by a big margin.

[SilentNegotiator]

Plus a fumble (at least as an analogy) would suggest a turnover. And Ps4 is clearly still "gaining yards" as it were.

[MonkeyOne]

Microsoft is probably thinking about an exit strategy more than winning a war.

The devices, consoles, tablets, phones and other consumer / entertainment divisions of Microsoft are not going to help drive growth for them and have, in fact, lost billions of unrecoverable dollars thus far.

[mamotte]

...war?

[InTheLab]

Even if MS cooked up a cloud based streaming service, they've never done anything better than Sony or at least, anything long term. All of their policies are borderline ripoffs with Xbox live finally rewarding loyal customers with games after 10 years and basically being forced to do so because of the superior psn+.

So no a new streaming service will not magically erase a 6m console deficit.

[strangeaeon]

Your opinion stinks, MS has done plenty better than Sony, including making online gaming for consoles relevant.

[InTheLab]

Name something else....

[strangeaeon]

How about being the first to include a HDD in the console? The first Xbox beat the Ps2 all to hell hardware wise.

[InTheLab]

So basically 2 things and one is incredibly weak.

Which console was the first to use

CD
DVD
Blu Ray
HDMI
Camera based gaming
2nd screen

I can go on but I suspect the point has been made even if you throw in achievements.

[strangeaeon]

At this time MS should just worry about making profit and selling enough units to stay relevant, and I am huge fan of Xbox.

[Gamer777]

There is no console war. According to the media if a company is second or third they are failing, struggling even if they are making good profit.

[takohma]

Exactly. X1 is selling good. Just not as crazy as ps4. I'm tired of hearing people say things like Microsoft failed or they lost. And things like that. I'm no fanboy I have both systems but this gen I prefer my X1 over my ps4.

[medman]

Wishful thinking runs amuck. Microsoft has never "won" a console generation over a Sony platform, even considering the considerable advantage they had with the 360, specifically the 360 launching more than one full year ahead of the ps3 at a much more friendly price point, as well as selling multiple units to the same customers due to incredibly high red ring failure rates.

[Major_Glitch]

Don't see why you got a disagree. You just stated a FACT. Sony has ALWAYS beaten Microsoft. The PS2 dominated the original Xbox. The PS3 struggled a bit against the 360, but still won last gen. And at the beginning of this gen, Sony is once again dominating MS. I'm not saying people can't or won't enjoy gaming on an xbone, but I wish they'd stop deluding themselves about who makes the better system.

[jmc8888]

So the author's plan is for Microsoft to take on another project, that will take years to do, so more like 2016-2017, and all because you disagree with Sony's pricing policy that is currently under review?

OK

Personally I don't want to rent games. If I want something digitally delivered, I'll buy it. I can understand why some might want to rent before buying, but generally you can try a demo, or wait until reviews and youtube videos, read comments, etc. Renting before buying made sense in the Genesis/SNES/Blockbuster video renting games days.

Now we get so much info, that if you can wait until after launch for a game, it's pretty hard to make a mistake. Plus you won't be able to rent before the game is out, so, this doesn't help with that.

[SilentNegotiator]

I'm still at a loss that anyone put THAT much stock in PS Now and thought that it was going to be a massive game changer.

[DougLord]

Hahahahahahaha

I am a HUGE MSFT TROLLm and even I don't think we can WIN the sales battle vs Sony. They will go BANKRUPT - but PlayStation will win the sales battle.

[Subaruwrx]

Lol. Appreciate your candid comment. Even if Sony goes bankrupt, imo, the Playstation brand will live on because some corporation looking to get into gaming will buy it. 11 million PS4 consoles sold World wide in less than a year (and before the 2014 Holiday season) is by, most standards, pretty damn good.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

MS is clearly trying to appeal to gamers and there doing good but honestly after the huge mess when it was announced not a lot of people want to buy a One over a PS4.

[ainTgoTTime2bleed]

''This Is How Microsoft Can Win the War''..Release RROD 2.0 and maybe, just maybe they can have a shot for 2nd place....lol

[metalgod88]

Microsoft shot themselves in the head a long time ago. They only way they can overcome their faults is to pull the plug and just...start over.

[GeofferyPeterson]

The only way Microsoft can come back is if Facebook buys M$ out for 40 billion, then integrates the Oculus Rift with the Xbox Two that would have to be realesed within 3 years. Mark my words.