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60°

Microsoft Wants to Improve Their Gaming Presence on Windows, But Will They?

Rumors of Microsoft taking a more aggressive stance in the PC gaming market have been swirling about since mid-2013. While Microsoft has claimed in the past to want to do more on the PC side of things, we've all seen the years come and go without much of an uptick in their first party PC titles. While Microsoft has completely failed with Games for Windows Live, they've also spearheaded the whole DirectX thing, which clearly the PC benefits from (as well as the Xbox). If you include DirectX, it's decidedly been a pretty mixed bag in recent years.

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Nanux4043d ago

MS should leave xbox1 and focus only on PC. Realease some xbox machine(like steam machine) witch cheaper version of windows, xbox1 controler, keyboard-mouse.

:D

Zichu4043d ago

They need to follow through, people are already complaining that they took away features from the X1 and are changing stuff.

Are people really going to trust them any more if they got rid of the X1 and focused on PC?? I don't think they would.

Baszs4043d ago

Ms should just make their next Windows a gamerfriendly environment.

But why should they invest in bringing xbox-titles to pc, most pc-gamers get their copies illegally. so there isn't really a profit to be made on pc at least not on the level of console games sales.

it's one of the reasons why Rockstar doesn't release
GTA-V on it, or they plan to release it months and months later after they cashed in the consoles money.

Zichu4043d ago

@Baszs

This is why they need to make it appealing. I know you will always have those people that pirate games regardless of how friendly a service is.

Steam seems to be doing well and has millions of people to cater to.

I'm not saying MS will be able to have as big of a following that Steam has, but they can certainly work on uniting Windows and Xbox together to create a service that appeals to both audiences at a great price.

If I knew I could just log into my account on Windows and play any game on my account, whether I bought on the X1 or Windows, I would gladly get it.

kevnb4043d ago (Edited 4043d ago )

Even if pc gaming itself makes very little money games are a huge part of what makes many people buy windows machines. Pc gaming is very profitable by the way, especially multiplayer games that aren't pirated. Gta v is one game, diablo 3 is another...

XiSasukeUchiha4043d ago

@Nanux

I do agree with this, Windows should be their only focus!

Nanux4043d ago (Edited 4043d ago )

It was kinda of troll comment. But i think in 3 years from now xbox will have some kind of window games and software emulation, if they will not release something similar to PlayStation Now (Windows Cloud).

steve30x4043d ago

Not with the horrible Modern UI they wont. The sales figures show people dont like the Modern UI so they should give us a choice to have the windows 7 start button back in desktop mode. Also I can run windows 7 for as long as I want without it crapping out on me but every time I run windows 8 it starts blue screeni8ng on me for no reason what so ever after a few weeks. I also see people having problems with software and games compatibility in windows 8.

Charybdis4043d ago (Edited 4043d ago )

I do believe that Microsoft said the start button will make a come back. Wonder how compatability for games will work out,on pc side of things, with dx12.

Thantalas4043d ago

Of course Microsoft want to improve their presence on Windows because if the Xbox/Windows games store on PC becomes the main destination for digital purchases they will make a sweet 30% of every sale.

This is what Valve is so concerned about, that is why they are trying to build the Steam Box platform. So Microsoft is in a difficult position, they have exclusives for Xbox but can't give games like Halo or Gears to Windows for fear of devaluing the value to Xbox gamers. So now they have to find different exclusives more appropriate to PC gamers. Just this week they bought classic franchise Rise of Nations. I think we will see more buys like this and Microsoft making more games specifically for the PC platform.

Zichu4043d ago

They need to connect Windows and Xbox together, not the devices, but the services.

For them to ensure that people will use Windows, they need to make sure games are also developed for Windows. They could have deals like, you buy for example, Watch Dogs on the X1. They could give you a discount on the Windows version. Almost like an indefinite sale, or make it free depending on the game. Achievements could be connected to your account and transfer, same with game saves.

It would be good for situations where someone might want to play a game on the X1, but you also want to, so you could instead, play your game on your PC without any interruptions, no using memory sticks and such to transfer saves or your account. Everything is on the cloud already, your achievements, your account, your saves.

mcstorm4043d ago

@steve30x I have been using Windows 8 since the beta and never once had an issue running any program I ran on windows 7 with windows 8. I do agree the new start screen is not for everyone and when Windows 8 was launched the OS was very messy and so was the start screen but since getting the 8.1.1 update I have found the start screen is very good for both touch and none touch devices as they have now added items in like popup menus when you now use a right click on a mouse or big menus when you press and hold with a finger.

For me the new start screen is better than the start button as you can now customise it how you want and I have all my apps I use pinned to it and in am order. I also find it quicker to use than the old state menu and if you ever have an issues finding an app you just start typing it on the state screen like you did in the start search box.

Since 8.1.1 has come out it also bends the lines between old an new us and desktop.

As I said its not for everyone but for me I really enjoy using windows 8.1.1 on my work pc (none touch) and my Surface 2.

As for Microsoft gaming side foe me they now need to look to make all the apps in the Windows app store be ported to the Xbox one app store and then look at making some cross platform games too.

I still think Forza, Halo Gears and others should stay exclusive to the Xbox brand but cerate some new IP's that are Microsoft exclusives too. They also need to bring in the mobile side to this as well.

Hopefully Phil can see the bigger picture in terms of what Microsoft can offer for the gaming industry and like he is now doing with the xbox one by making it about games do the same with the xbox brand including Phone and Windows as this is one advantage Microsoft have over Sony and Nintendo.

steve30x4043d ago (Edited 4043d ago )

Ive run windows 8 three times and every time I start getting BSOD's a few times a day after three weeks but it lasted up to three and a half months before it started in windows 8.1. Also Ive seen in many forums where people have software compatibility problems. I am running Windows 7 with 4 months now and its still running perfectly. Also theymade it extra hard to install some drivers. With my sound card I have to install the driver through hardware install in control panel then I have to install the user interface seperatly afterwards. With non WHQL Nvidia drivers you have to disable driver signature enforcement to install the drivers.

Einhert4043d ago

Nah you stay right where you are MS

We don't need the PC to become a closed off space where you are charged for online.

Immorals4043d ago

Severing games for Windows, announcing dx12, having big XBox titles come to pc also, it's a start

Perjoss4043d ago (Edited 4043d ago )

Like the person below said, they need to make changes or additions that will make people like windows as a gaming platform. Come up with some really good ideas, lock down all the things that are not that great about gaming on PC right now and improve or fix them. Not try to force stuff down people throats.

cabbitwithscissors4043d ago

Lol, April fools was a couple of months back. MS you're late.

Anyways, this looks to be MS hedging their bets. If their sales for xbone doesn't improve, they'll probably start releasing games on both PC and xbone platforms for this gen. Come next gen, I'm sure we'll see PC relegated back to the doldrums of in-existence for MS.

Just you wait and see.

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110°

Looming Xbox layoffs threaten Microsoft's reputation

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

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Jingsing1d 4h ago (Edited 1d 4h ago )

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

1d 2h ago Replies(1)
isarai23h ago

What reputation is this threatening exactly? 😂

Lightning7720h ago

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

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

Jkryx31m ago

So do the PS layoffs threaten Sonys reputation too? Or is this just a Microsoft thing 😂

pwnmaster300025m ago

Why you guys always got to mention Sony when MS is clearly wrong lol

It’s like a little kid, “but Sony did this” 😂

Time to get MS nuts out of your mouth man, they don’t care for you

Jkryx22m ago

I’m just curious how this only applies to Microsoft

660°

Microsoft planning “major” Xbox layoffs next week

The cuts are expected to be announced next week.

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

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Obscure_Observer4d 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.

4d ago
pwnmaster30004d ago

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

4d ago
Obscure_Observer4d ago

F* them both!

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

blacktiger4d 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

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Tacoboto4d 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.

CrimsonWing694d ago (Edited 4d 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.

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-Foxtrot4d 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?

anast4d ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts4d 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?

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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.

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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.

Ganif8d 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_Observer5d 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...

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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.

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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.

Eonjay8d 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.

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