500°

Rumors: Microsoft Wants to Annualize Halo, Leaks Controlled Because of Low January Numbers

Karam Elahi writes: "Famousmortimer (Pete Dodd) had a couple of comments about why the barrage of MS leaks occurred, and MS’ intention of annualizing the Halo franchise."

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spawnfirst.com
Thatguy-3104164d ago (Edited 4164d ago )

Everyone run and get xbox one's....NOT! The 500$ price tag is costing them. No one can deny that great exclusives are on the way but at the moment shelling out that much isn't worth it. Many can argue that PS4 doesn't currently have games but people KNOW that they will come. Heck the console would have been flooded if they weren't pumping exclusives after exclusives the last few years for the ps3. People also know the quality that follow those exclusives too so many rather pay 400$ and be patient.

StealthPandemic4164d ago ShowReplies(14)
arinaborina4164d ago

wow that is exactly what a sony drone would say lol

GribbleGrunger4164d ago

But the leaks this is based on was legitimate ... right?

Sharky2314164d ago

I think the draw to halo is that it only comes out every few years. They will be killing halo if they put it out every year!

whome4163d ago

i think halo has already been analized

georgeenoob4164d ago

@Majin

Of course it died according to you.

OT: Halo is one of the most popular franchises in gaming history. As long as MS continues to push new IPs and popular Xbox franchises, I'm all for an annual Halo!

T24164d ago

Disagreed because georgenoob lol.
I say if cod can do it then why not halo? But I personally won't be getting it annually

nypifisel4164d ago (Edited 4164d ago )

Annualized games always sacrifice in quality, they need to rely on simplistic and rushed development based on previous assets. It kills franchises since it bring son fatigue. It's something EA, Activision and Ubisoft pushes for cause they want short term profits, they don't care if it hurts game quality which is does, which is a long term catastrophe for them cause people will loose interest and become begrudged. I love the Metal Gear Solid franchise but never would I want Konami to release rushed, poorly thought out games every year, that would make me stop playing them cause they lack what drew me in initially.

GarrusVakarian4164d ago

You would actually be willing to let one of the most popular gaming franchises in gaming history (your own words) be annualized, resulting in the inevitable drop in quality that annualized games get?

That tells me a lot about you as a gamer....all you X1 fanboys care about is quantity. A game like Halo needs a good few years, the last thing it needs is the AC/CoD/BF treatment.

Spartan1194163d ago

@Lukas_Japonicus

Hey dont put me in the same basket as georgenoob. The last thing I want is an annual Halo. Same as AC and COD. Id rather see them go every 2 to 3 yrs or something. Hell I wouldnt even be bothered if Halo took the GTA route and really took there time to get it right. Its Microsofts fault Halo 2 ended the way it did. Im still dirty on that after all these yrs lol

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4163d ago
Automatic794164d ago (Edited 4164d ago )

@dboy

Why would shelling out 500 not be worth it. Lets see we already got so many exclusives on Xbox one with DeadRising 3, RYSE, Forza 5, Halo Spartan Assault, Killer Instinct, Zoo Tycoon, Max and the Cursed Brotherhood, Crimson Dragon, Lococycle, Powerstar Golf all exclusives, also the system bring blueray, Xbox fitness, allows you to play MP3 and delivers Skype which many of us use.

Note for years I heard people say that Xbox never brought games. But when you look at it the competition is the one who continues to steal from MS example indie games all of a sudden they count but when MS delivered constantly through out the years it didn't. All I see is hate, hypocrisy and just plain ignorance. Most knock MS but they are delivering the games. Personally I like Phil Spencer he is assuring us there are games coming and more to follow. For example Plants vs Zombies,Titanfall, Kinect Sports just to name a few. Enough with the nonsense and support the games.

mmc-0074164d ago

(360 vs PS3)
http://www.ign.com/blogs/br...
(XB1 vs PS4)
http://www.ign.com/wikis/xb...

lmao.. even while the xbox 360 had a year lead.. I love how nearly everything you said was false.

MorePowerOfGreen4164d ago (Edited 4164d ago )

Wow These trolls. Now it's *MSFT's doing* because MSFT debunked the rumors designed to get gamers to wait for the disc-less XB1 to hurt sales now and to spread that Halo 5 isn't coming while throwing in probable things in there to it make seem more real(although no one really believed Halo 2,3 and 4 were coming to XB1 but the 2014 launch year is know) This year all in a effort to divert attention from Neogaf's CBOAT propaganda account.

These things are not real.
https://twitter.com/aarongr...
https://twitter.com/RobSems...

T24164d ago

Disc less sounds terrible now that at&t is applying to cap bandwidth.. And the pricecut will come that's the,price you pay for early adoption of new tech

No_Limit4163d ago

Shoot< Greenpowerz, is that you? :-)

hellzsupernova4164d ago

Halo is already an annual franchise
Sometimes we get a halo game twice in one year

u got owned4164d ago

I was about to say the same

No_Limit4164d ago

I didn't see a Halo in 2013, unless I'd missed something?

Brute_Shot_Adam4164d ago

@nolimit

Spartan ASSult - Windows 8 & Xbone, techically two difirent game due to the multiplayer additions.

Nicxel4164d ago

Typically when people talk about how often Halo comes out (myself included) they mean the large titles. Such as Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Reach, Halo 4. Every other title was either made by a different group (Halo Wars), made as a smaller title (for mobile gaming: Spartan Assault), or simply a game that gives a new campaign and added DLC for the larger title (ODST, Halo AE). It's the large titles that we don't want to see every year (2-3 years is perfect). Never include smaller games or add-on titles when talking about how often we see 343 (or even Bungie) push out Halo. There has never been an annual Halo release.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4164d ago
No_Limit4164d ago

I have both now so I don't care as my plan now is to get all single player focus games on PS4 and still prefer live for multiplayer games. Good to own all consoles. :-D

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 4163d ago
lifeisgamesok4164d ago (Edited 4164d ago )

Once a Halo drops sales will increase significantly

Same with Gears

GarrusVakarian4164d ago (Edited 4164d ago )

Gotta agree with you there, those 2 are system sellers by title alone.

But please, please don't annualize Halo.

B-radical4164d ago

Halo is one of my most beloved series i doubt they will annualize it but if they do...ill write 343 a very angry email!

Improv4164d ago

The last Gears bombed in terms of sales.

AusRogo4164d ago

Ill buy one when Gears is out (will probably be cheaper then too)

christocolus4164d ago

@lifesagame

I totally agree with you, but you forgot to add titanfall.those three games will sell loads. I also think sunset overdrive and quantum break will move console but that will greatly depend on how much hype they generate before release and how well they are scored.

@lucas

I actually agree with you too. A yearly release of the main halo game would ruin it,but ill accept a sequel to halo wars and may be a third person halo shooter inbetween main halo releases though...lol.

GamersHeaven4164d ago

Seems Xbox One sales steadily declined I don't see how annually releasing Halo will help.

StealthPandemic4164d ago

They aren't declining. They are climbing.

nypifisel4164d ago

I seriously doubt any console ever climbed in sales after the holidays lol.. Esp not a 500 dollar console.

BG115794164d ago

Strangely there are no numbers from MS or Sony, which I find to be weird.
MS would be publicizing numbers if they sales would have increased.
SONY still has difficulties providing PS4, yet it seems to be a little bit easier to get it. Well the drought isn't over.
Numbers of sales must have deceased for sure on both sides. But they do seem to decline faster in one of the sides.

nategrigs4164d ago

You don't believe that people will buy xbones for Halo? Ok.....

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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

Read Full Story >>
theverge.com
3d ago Replies(1)
3d ago Replies(1)
Obscure_Observer3d 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.

3d ago
pwnmaster30003d ago

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

3d ago
Obscure_Observer3d ago

F* them both!

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

blacktiger3d ago

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

pwnmaster30003d ago (Edited 3d 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.

InUrFoxHole3d 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 3d ago
Tacoboto3d 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.

CrimsonWing693d ago (Edited 3d 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?

Ganif3d 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.

CrimsonWing693d ago (Edited 3d 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.

Ganif3d 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.

thorstein3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Take the L, Crimson.

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

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3d ago
-Foxtrot3d 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?

anast3d ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts3d 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.

Tacoboto3d 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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Profchaos3d 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

Angyobangyo3d 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.

TheExecutioner3d ago

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

Sonic18813d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Are you and Anast the same person?

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 3d ago
3d ago
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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_Observer8d 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.

InUrFoxHole8d ago

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

VenomUK8d 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.

Agent757d ago

But Microsoft forgot the games.

KwietStorm_BLM8d ago

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

Ganif7d 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_Observer7d 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.

Notellin7d 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_Observer4d 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 4d ago
Agent757d ago

But Microsoft forgot the games

Obscure_Observer7d 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_BLM7d 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_Observer6d ago (Edited 6d 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 4d ago
Fishy Fingers8d ago (Edited 8d 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_Observer8d 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

BeHunted8d ago (Edited 8d 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...

HyperMoused8d ago

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

Christopher8d 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?

Lightning778d 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.

Eonjay7d 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_Observer7d 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 7d 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.

27d ago
27d ago
lukasmain27d ago

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

jjb198126d 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.

VenomUK26d 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?!

crazyCoconuts26d ago

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

VenomUK26d ago

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

26d ago
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