90°

Dealt with it: Why Microsoft will surely now shun an 'always-online' future

The Xbox firm is too smart to ignore community calls...

Read Full Story >>
computerandvideogames.com
EVILDEAD3604454d ago

There was nothing to deal with. Kotaku and others mixed up Durango with Xbox mini. The community cried over nothing and Orthlost his job over twitter.

Durango will play games offfline, play used games , and will be backwards compatible with Xbox mini.

Evil

evilunklebud4454d ago

this again? this site had a hissy fit over an alleged hack of live over the weekend, that turnout to be mainly the by product of fanboys hysteria, so now we are going to go back to this always on meme.

thechosenone4454d ago

"May 21 is the date for the next Xbox event."

Begun the console wars have.

pop-voxuli4454d ago

What is an "Xbox Mini"??? This is the first ive heard of this.

Knight_Crawler4454d ago (Edited 4454d ago )

MS will announce the XBox Mini along with the XBox Durango - the XBox Mini is a console that will not have a disk drive and will be BC with current 360 games.

MS wants to take on Google and Apple TV with the Mini while also catering to the gamers...this is where Apple and Google falls short as they dont have a steady gaming platform.

The price for the Mini is rumored to be around $130 USD and the Durango is rumoured to cost just over $300.

This is where the confusion about always online came in as the Mini is required to be connected to the internet to watch movies and do other online related stuff - the Durango DOES NOT NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO PLAY SINGLE PLAYER GAMES.

Edit: Who is the coward that disagreed with me?

Edit: at greyFox so his statement is wrong becuase its based on a rumor but all of these other rumors that have been posted on N4G about always being online are legit -_- you Sony fanboys are really selective.

grayfoxx8814454d ago

@Knight_Crawler

It's obvious you didn't even take the time to read my entire comment. Everything is rumor and speculation until either May 21st or E3. It's pretty selective to believe one rumor as fact over another rumor you find unfavourable, which is what you are doing right now. It's awfully big of you to call out your own pathetic fanboy behavior ;)

grayfoxx8814454d ago

The problem with your statement is that you are using a rumor to disregard another rumor. We still know absolutely nothing about the next Xbox console when it comes to factual information.

syphon324453d ago

and the world did end in 2012, sorry guy there're not that considerate.

moneygun24453d ago

It would probably be best if you wait until an official announcement before you go racing around saying things are "debunked" on something that hasn't even officially been announced. The fact is a majority of the rumors point towards on always online console. If that's the case so be it. I think it would be wise for you to slow down and wait for the facts.

No announcement=no facts
No facts=no basis
No basis=nothing to treat as source
No source=no information

Follow my handy chart and your comments will have merit.

EVILDEAD3604453d ago (Edited 4453d ago )

'The fact is a majority of the rumors point towards on always online console. If that's the case so be it. I think it would be wise for you to slow down and wait for the facts'

The FACT is the majority of those rumors EVEN Kotaku sourced VGLEAKS AS THE SOURCE for the always online rumor.

This was plastered everywhere as FACT as it went on.

VGLEAKS then retracted this when the got the information that they indeed mixed up the Always online rumor with the Xbox Mini.

This isn't reported here on N4G.com as EVERY other rumor from ANY source known to man because...well I guess we can only speculate as to why every rumor under the son makes it to N4G, except this one.

No matter, the LATEST rumor from the leading biggest source for everything Durango and PS4 hardware wise NOW says:

- Durango can play game offline
- Durango plays used games
- Durango is backwards compatible w/Xbox mini
- Durango will be priced the same as the PS4
- Kinect 2.0 is being developed by a separate team and it is not the focus of the hardware.

Source: VGLEAKS (Who dunked every rumor that came from THEM)

Evil

Lvl_up_gamer4453d ago (Edited 4453d ago )

So you are saying we can't debunk a rumor with a rumor even when it's the same source that created the first rumor?

Sony eats babies. They haven't officially denied it so then it must be true....

Rumors can NOT be accepted as fact which is exactly what you are doing. You are choosing to believe a negative rumor simply because it's easier for you to look negatively on MS.

Fact is, the source that originally stated that the 720 would always be online (which is the rumor you wish to believe) is also the same source that is saying they were wrong and that the 720 will NOT be always online (which is the rumor you don't wish to believe).

Your kind, along with the mass majority on this site, including the bias mods, have an agenda against MS and would rather believe any kind of negative rumor as some kind of truth or fact while ignoring or preventing the actual positive rumors which seem more logical and would require a bit more common sense to believe.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4453d ago
Software_Lover4454d ago

And another one. Who's keeping count.

dcbronco4453d ago

I'm keeping count and we have now reached the grand total of 509.

I think gamers need to smarten up and not allow themselves to be used for hits. All of these silly Farticles(yes I meant to type that)need to be ignored. Gamers should ignore them because they shouldn't allow themselves to be used. And fanboys should ignore them because it only ends up being another opportunity to make yourself look stupid with another ignorant comment.

Fanboy articles are a waste of everyone's time.

InMyOpinion4454d ago

Why this and why that. Let them announce it already.

Why o why4454d ago

Imagine a 'yawn meme' imagine funny caption.

Bakkies4454d ago

Lets all start a gaming blog and write an article "What always online means for the next Xbox."

We've seen the story a billion times and it's old as fuck, but people love reading articles about speculation and rumours.

lashes2ashes4454d ago

This only online stuff is so stupid. Microsoft could not sell the system it lots of countries that have spotty Internet access. There is still places in America that have really crappy Internet that goes out all of the time. I highly doubt at any time they were really even intertaining the notion..it's bad buisness.

Show all comments (25)
650°

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

Read Full Story >>
theverge.com
21h agoReplies(1)
21h agoReplies(1)
Obscure_Observer20h 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.

20h ago
pwnmaster300020h ago

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

20h ago
Obscure_Observer20h ago

F* them both!

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

blacktiger19h ago

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

pwnmaster300018h ago(Edited 18h 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.

InUrFoxHole13h 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

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 13h ago
Tacoboto20h 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.

CrimsonWing6920h ago(Edited 20h 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?

Ganif18h 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.

CrimsonWing6918h ago(Edited 18h 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.

Ganif17h 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.

thorstein17h ago(Edited 17h ago)

Take the L, Crimson.

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

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 17h ago
-Foxtrot19h 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?

anast19h ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts19h 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.

Tacoboto18h 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

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 18h ago
Profchaos16h 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

Angyobangyo7h 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.

TheExecutioner3h ago

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

Sonic18812h ago(Edited 2h ago)

Are you and Anast the same person?

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 2h ago
20h ago
Show all comments (82)
260°

AMD CEO Shares Vision Behind Xbox Partnership and Next-Gen Chip Roadmap

AMD CEO Lisa Su talks about the Xbox AMD partnership, next-gen Ryzen + Radeon chips, and AI rendering tech coming to all Xbox devices.

Read Full Story >>
clouddosage.com
Obscure_Observer5d ago

AMD is really building hype around their unique partnership with Microsoft to help and build an advanced and seamless Xbox ecosystem across all Xbox consoles and devices.

I wonder what she meant by "full roadmap of gaming optimized chips" though? Seems ambitious.

Next year´s Xbox Showcase already looks promising and exciting. Here´s hoping they deliver.

InUrFoxHole5d ago

They had best show 3yrs in a row. Heading for another

VenomUK5d ago

Obscure_Observer said “I wonder what she meant by "full roadmap of gaming optimised chips" though? Seems ambitious.” To me, I interpret this to mean rather than having a couple of X/S products for launch and a handheld there is a longer term plan to release new products with higher specs at timed intervals. I’m speculating of course, but this could mean a spec bump every year or two, so that even if the PS6 or Steam Deck Home is released a year after ‘Xbox’ Microsoft can release an updated model that has a higher spec.

Agent754d ago

But Microsoft forgot the games.

KwietStorm_BLM4d ago

It's X3D chips for console. Everyone knows this. And it's been rumored in the PS6 forever.

Ganif4d ago

Correct.

"Sony's PlayStation 6 reportedly will feature an AMD semi-custom APU with a Zen 5 CPU and UDNA GPU, capable of 4K 120FPS and 8K 60FPS gaming. The console will include X3D cache and advanced AI upscaling technology."

https://www.tweaktown.com/n...

Obscure_Observer4d ago

"It's X3D chips for console. Everyone knows this. And it's been rumored in the PS6 forever."

I doubt that AMD´s CEO would waste her time making this huge and important partnership announcement over a tech that will be 7 years old by the those next gen consoles will be released.

Notellin4d ago

You should have just lead this comment with the fact that you have zero understanding of technology in the consoles and instead have a Toms Hardware online forum level of education.

Obscure_Observer1d 20h ago

"It's X3D chips for console. Everyone knows this. And it's been rumored in the PS6 forever"

I´d told you were on some bs

https://www.pcgamesn.com/wp...

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 20h ago
Agent754d ago

But Microsoft forgot the games

Obscure_Observer4d ago

@VenomUK

"I’m speculating of course, but this could mean a spec bump every year or two, so that even if the PS6 or Steam Deck Home is released a year after ‘Xbox’ Microsoft can release an updated model that has a higher spec."

Very interesting theory. Still not sure how MS would actually make it work.

KwietStorm_BLM4d ago

"I doubt that AMD´s CEO would waste her time making this huge and important partnership announcement over a tech that will be 7 years old by the those next gen consoles will be released."

How old is the tech in consoles? It's not a huge announcement. It's marketing and you know it is.

Obscure_Observer3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

"How old is the tech in consoles? It's not a huge announcement. It's marketing and you know it is."

Dude, what I know for certain is that a tech as old as X3D chips which is actually *older* than both PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, is hardly the reason behind this new partnership between AMD and MS to build new *custom silicon* for next generation of consoles.

And yes it´s a huge announcement since AMD is working closely with MS to co-develop custom SoC which will allow backwards compatibility across all MS´s next gen devices allowing seamless integration between devices and full backwards compatibility across all generations of Xbox consoles.

I also know is that this announcement don´t have anything to do with Playstation and their strategy with AMD for the PS6, so stop comparing the two pretending that you know what´s going on, because you clearly don´t.

If Sony is working on something remotely similar, that´s remain to be seen.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1d 20h ago
Fishy Fingers5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Some odd, deliberate wording, no branding, not 'Xbox consoles, Xbox handhelds' specifically, feels and sounds like they're building towards hardware that anyone can be used or licensed to/by themselves and other manufacturers.

Multiplatform software and hardware 'Xbox/AMD APU'.

Obscure_Observer5d ago

I guess you missed Sarah Bond´s next generation Xbox announcement this week, were she clearly states:

"I´m thrilled to share that we´ve established a strategic multi-year partnership with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices, including, *our* next generation *Xbox consoles*."

But hey, I don´t think you´re entirely wrong, maybe MS will build their own Xbox consoles while licencing other manufactures to build and sell their own Xbox branded consoles. Who knows

BeHunted5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

I think you watched the wrong video. It's below the description, or you can watch it directly on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/kprpRvsOua...

HyperMoused5d ago

Shares vision....we provide chips for money, this deal will sell many chips, we will make lots of money...good vision

Christopher5d ago

The marketing behind this is so heavy that I worry about the actual outcome. Why are they just not showing us the product, why all this talking in market speak?

Lightning775d ago

Probably because the next xbox isn't ready to release yet?

The marketing and rumors seem to be heavy out of no where. The rumor was a 27 release but it maybe it could be 26 new console launch instead.

Who knows.

Eonjay4d ago

There PR is alrways super heavy handed. No one is acutally buying an Xbox as is.
Also it is very early to be talking so much about a next gen console.

Obscure_Observer4d ago

There´s a lot of people interested on Xbox Next and its ability to run games from major stores like Steam.

We know that the PS6 is just around the corner as well, but so far, no news on what it might improve over the PS5 or PS5 Pro.

However, Sony already made public that their priority and actual focus is the PS6. So its not "very early" to talk about next gen when the very console manufactures are talking about it.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4d ago
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210°

Activision Forces Adverts into Call of Duty Black Ops 6 and Warzone Loadouts

With the launch of Call of Duty Season 4, Activision quietly put adverts inside loadouts for Black Ops 6 and Warzone, sparking a backlash in the process.

24d ago
24d ago
lukasmain24d ago

Putting Ads in a pay-to-play Premium title? Well done Microsoft. Well done /s This is really scummy.

jjb198123d ago

This game will never change because these sweatlords love buying up all the skins and bundles that become obsolete the following year. They're the ones perpetuating Activision's greed.

VenomUK23d ago

If Microsoft introduces adverts into its other games I hope it can do them without disrupting the immersion of the game world. So for example in the new Fable game it would look out of place if there was a billboard advertising Cadillacs.

A far better way to do it would be to have a wizard conjure a 'dream cloud' in front of your character and then in the cloud you can see the Cadillac car and see the text with price and availability and hear a booming sales voice promoting the car. That would work so well as it wouldn't be a billboard and completely, 100%, fit in with your character's adventuring in Albion. Doesn't that sound so much better?!

crazyCoconuts23d ago

@venom, or how about our of 100 farts in Albion, 1 of them has a Cadillac pop out

VenomUK23d ago

@crazyCoconuts That’s undeniably off-beat - but it could really work!

23d ago
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