120°

Throwdown Ep. 32 – “Microsoft: From Green to Red”

Tony Polanco from The Koalition writes:

"What’s great about math is that it’s a simple thing to understand on the surface. If you sell something for less money and don’t sell a lot of that thing, you will not make a profit. Such is the case with the Xbox One. Though it is priced at $349, this hasn’t helped to move a significant amount of systems and this in turn has cut into Microsoft‘s revenue.

Our main topic deals with this latest news from the Microsoft camp. We discuss how the company’s gaming division got into this state, why people aren’t buying the Xbox One in droves like they are the PlayStation 4, and what the company can possibly do to correct this problem.

Other news covered: Star Wars: Battlefront, Square-Enix event at E3, Honey Badger Brigade controversy, gay Ice-Man, and Daredevil season 2."

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sagesurge3347d ago

Don't forget the fact they have better games

stephburdo3347d ago

Xbox One focuses too much on television functionality, whereas PlayStation 4 places gaming at highest importance. Microsoft should try to imitate this model, while providing something different to its particular gaming audience.

Moldiver3347d ago

"Xbox One focuses too much on television functionality, whereas PlayStation 4 places gaming at highest importance."

Somebody has obviously been living under a rock for the last year....You do realise XB1 has more higher rated exclusive AAA games than PS4 at this point in time right?

stephburdo3347d ago

Exclusives make a console superior? What about the fact that PlayStation Plus offers gamers nearly $40 of free content a month? Or the fact that the PlayStation community does a far superior job at supporting indie titles? Get out of here and play with your controller that still takes double a (aa) batteries dude.

Moldiver3347d ago

"Exclusives make a console superior?"

Yes. They do. Its laughable that you even have to ask this. even your fellow PS fanboy bretherin will agree that exclusives are what makes a console great.

"What about the fact that PlayStation Plus offers gamers nearly $40 of free content a month?"

Doesnt mean much if you already bought the good ones...and what of the rest of the shovel wear? hardly worth the asking price, is it? Besides I have been an XBL subscriber for seven and a half years. They still have my custom because they have been a great service...talk to me when you have been a PSN subscriber for that long...I dont even own PSN anymore but I have probably spent more money on than you. Thats why sony built the next gen X360. They want people like me spending the kind of money I spend on Xbox on the PS4.

And FYI,I have always payed to play online on console. And given that most of my gaming time is spent on halo, BF, two forzas (FM5 and FH2), titanfall neverwinter and on PC; firefall, star citizen and asseto corsa, its pretty obvious that I spend most of my gaming time playing online with friends. And XBL is the best place for that. Even if MS threw a shitload of indies at me every month I doubt I would actually have the time to play them all anyway. I just about get round to playing the free games I get with gold. Thats good for you if you like that sort of thing though. Not like you are actually paying for these games and supporting the devs yourself now is it? but whatever helps you sleep at night, hipster. Supporting indies does not make you more of a gamer than anybody else. Get over yourself, mate.

Which brings me to....
"Or the fact that the PlayStation community does a far superior job at supporting indie titles?"

If that the case how come battlefield and COD dominate PS sales charts all the time too when the odd big AAA exclusive doest take the top PS spot for a week..before handing it back to COD, madden, fifa...just like..*gasps* Xbox.

"Get out of here and play with your controller that still takes double a (aa) batteries dude."

I use the official rechargeable pack. I never have to swap out anything...so what was your point again? such a lame and cringe worthy comment. I own an xbox..this is an xbox thread (maybe you should read the article title seeing as YOU forgot where YOU are)...You dont own an xbox..so STFU and GTFO...along with any other internet acronym that involves you shutting the hell up, with your nonsense. lol, you dumb kid!

SoapShoes3347d ago

No it doesn't, you kidding? PS4 has more highly rated games than Xbox and more AAA games as well.

avengers19783347d ago (Edited 3347d ago )

See johndoe11211's comment and click the list wars link. Pretty much sums up who has more games currently, oh and Last of Us remastered and Bloodborne are the 2 highest rated games both PS4 exclusives.
Plus when you take into account a lot of XB1 "exclusives" are on PC and some are even on 360...

MysticStrummer3346d ago (Edited 3346d ago )

"You do realize XB1 has more higher rated exclusive AAA games than PS4"

Sure, if you ignore reality. Talk about living under a rock...

TheCommentator3346d ago

@avengers1978

Just wanted to point out that TLOU was on PS3, and some people don't play PC games.

Eddie201013346d ago (Edited 3346d ago )

Ryse, Mediocre, Technically sub par.

Sunset Overdrive, seriously over rated game.

Halo Master Chief Collection, a very mixed bag of good and bad.

Thrill Ride, Mediocre.

Project Spark, Mediocre.

The only standouts are the Forza games and a few smaller games like Ori.

Neither console has a whole lot to brag about in the exclusive department. The Xbox fanboys make themselves look stupid with the exclusives argument. Neither console have enough good exclusives to make it stand out over the other at this time.

By the way, I own the first three games I listed.

dirkdady3346d ago (Edited 3346d ago )

PS4 has more higher rated games in both retail and downloadable -
http://www.listwar.com/

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3346d ago
starbuck3347d ago

I dont understand the dis of aa batteries. Ive brought a few pairs of the Eneloop XX batteries and 1 pair of these last me about 4-5 days of gaming for an average of 4-6 hours a day, plus when the batteries no longer hold a charge I can buy a new set instead of a whole new controller.

GenuineGamer3347d ago (Edited 3347d ago )

I recently bought some panasonic eneloop batteries which came with a quick charge station.

I am amazed how long they last. Easily over a week gaming every day. And when they eventually die they charge fully in 2 hours.

Love it.

TheCommentator3346d ago

Rechargeable batteries, a 4 pack with a charger, can be had for around $10. When one set is dead, throw them on the charger and put in the fresh set. You never need a usb cable and you don't have to buy/repair a controller like if a proprietary battery fails to charge. It is clearly better than internal.

rainslacker3346d ago (Edited 3346d ago )

AA batteries are rather archaic in today's electronic devices outside maybe remotes. Almost everything like this has internal rechargeable batteries. Ease of replacement is a thing in Xbox's favor, but you can also replace the batteries in a DualShock with nothing more than a screwdriver and a $7 battery brought from Amazon, and about 10 minutes of time.

The thing is though, the batteries in the DS don't go bad for a very long time. While anecdotal, I have 7 DS3's, 2 being sixaxis' I got on launch day, 2 DS3's I got when they became available ~6 years ago, and 3 more I've brought more than 2-3 years ago. Every single one can hold a charge for more than 10 hours on even the most demanding game. FOr less controller intensive games it can go 15-20 hours and can be recharged in about an hour. I have to replace one now however, but that's because the D-Pad keeps registering inputs when not in use, and cleaning it didn't help, although I may just change the contact sheet.

I honestly don't know why people defend this AA batteries thing. Instead of defending it for what I assume is console preference, make a fuss about it, and get MS to include the Play n' Charge kit with the controller itself instead of charging money as an additional purchase. Then, if you want an additional replacement, you can go out and buy one.

GenuineGamer3346d ago (Edited 3346d ago )

Ugh enough already. Some people like being able to hotswap their battery packs in their controllers. Is this really so hard to understand??? It has its benefits over an internal battery this can not be disputed. I don't care what year it is, i prefer having a cradle with fully charged batteries ready to go when my controller dies so i can continue playing wireless. No cables involved. If you don't like this then fine but it doesn't mean its a bad option compared to internal its just different preferences. I prefer it this way like a lot of other people i don't care that ps4 is internal it has shocking battery life and cant be swapped out, restricting you to being plugged in while it charges.

I would much rather take 5 seconds to swap out my battery pack and be fully charged ready to go. While my other pack charges to be ready to swap again and the cycle continues. So i'm ALWAYS wireless. It works for me, and i like it.

starbuck3346d ago

I defend AA batteries because its much easier for me to swap out the AAs instead of having to plug my whole controller in reverting to an even more archaic than AAs wired controller or stopping playing whilst waiting for my controller to charge.
I just reach in to the draw next to my sofa and swap out the flat AAs for fresh ones in less than 10 seconds. Plus the DS4 battery is 1000mah whilst the eneloop xx are 2450mah so last a lot longer. After ive finished gaming I plug in the flats to charge and in about 1-2 hours theyre done.
Theres nothing archaic about AAs just much easier as most people will have a set of rechargable AAs floating around.

rainslacker3345d ago

To each their own then. You don't understand the dis, I don't understand the defense of people not asking MS to simply provide a hot-swappable rechargeable battery included with the controller. This way you get the best of both worlds. They already have the accessory available, so why not include it with the controller and for people such as yourself, you can buy an extra to hot swap.

The only reason I mention the way to replace them is because it seems that a big part of your reasoning is based on something that is hardly a consideration.

TheCommentator3345d ago

@rainslacker

The thing for me, as a collector, is that at some point no replacement will be available for a proprietary battery. This would mandate a wired connection to the system for the controller to work. AA batteries will still be here 30 years from now.

rainslacker3345d ago (Edited 3345d ago )

@TheCommentator

I'm a collector as well, and that kind of thing doesn't worry me. It certainly isn't something that's going to be a problem any time soon. You can still buy new replacement parts for the Atari 2600 or NES. They aren't official, but if there is a market, there will be a solution. The batteries are pretty simple, so you could even probably jerry-rig something much like you would make an extension cable for a controller.

Edit: It's also worth mentioning that 30 years from now, AA batteries may be kind of a rare thing. Technology is moving pretty fast, and batteries themselves(any kind really) are not exactly environmentally friendly. A couple on their own won't be that big a deal, but when you talk about millions upon millions that get thrown into landfills everyday, then it adds up. There are tons of environmental toxins used to make batteries, and unfortunately, most people just toss their batteries. They'll likely still be available though for the same reasons that I listed above, but it may become a more specialized item as technology nowadays is designed with planned obsolescence to keep customers buying new stuff.

@Everyone else above

I feel that my first comment was taken as an attack of some sort. It was not meant as such, just more an explanation of a viewpoint of why people would dis it, along with my own opinion on the subject. I, like I'd imagine most people feel, do not care if you have a preference for a battery source. My comment on why don't people ask MS for a battery was simply because I found it to be rather odd that MS didn't do it, and it always just seemed to me that people made excuses for what is fairly standard in other equipment.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3345d ago
freshslicepizza3346d ago

let's not get into some list war (the ps4 actually has more games released). what is ignorant is to suggest the xbox one is not a game platform. yes it's true the ps4 is more powerful but just because the xbox one has a hdmi input and microsoft advertises media functionality doesn't mean that is a bad thing. sony has just done things in the opposite direction. they marketed the ps4 as a gaming platform first and foremost and over time have turned it into a good media system as well. microsoft by comparison unveiled the xbox one early as an all-in-one system and spent a lot of time talking about media. they have since gone in the opposite direction once phil took over. they have released new tools that allows developers more resources (such as not being hampered by kinect and the upcoming dx12 support) and talked a lot about games.

microsoft is facing a very well marketed machine, the ps4. this has caused them to try and offer greater value by lowering the price (which sony had to do with the ps3 ironically and that system was also heavily marketed as a bluray movie machine) and offering bundled games. this is what you have to do to remain competitive if you are being outsold and try and differentiate your hardware with unique features and software. which again they are doing. the other option of course is to do very little like nintendo is with the wii u. nintendo is more worried about remaining profitable and this is why that system hasn't been reduced in price as much. the downside is the system sells even less than the xbox one.

you have the ps4 that is hugely popular but microsoft has managed to do not too badly for second place. it's not like the generation with the ps2 where that system just blew the competition away. right now the ps4 is selling approximately 2-1 against the xbox one and probably 4-1 to that of the wii u. by comparison the xbox sold less than 30 million and the gamecube sold about 25 million and the ps2 well over 100 million.

Automatic793347d ago (Edited 3347d ago )

How are they in Red when they just made 2.1 billion in profits

Romudeth3347d ago (Edited 3347d ago )

Microsoft revenue down 24% because of Xbox One. Profits and revenue are two different things.

Bzone243347d ago (Edited 3347d ago )

Xbox revenue was down 24% YOY, not Microsoft revenue. Microsoft YOY revenue was up by 6% I think. But you are right that profits and revenue are two different things.

matthewbatb3347d ago Show
johndoe112113347d ago

Guy in the video says "they arguably have more exclusives than sony does at this point"...... http://www.listwar.com/

Smh.......

S2Killinit3346d ago

Yup i noticed that little booboo

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110°

Microsoft's Xbox gaming handheld will fail unless someone else makes it

Despite Microsoft's experience in hardware manufacturing, I don't trust it not to fumble its first gaming handheld device which may eventually lead to a successor not getting released.

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LG_Fox_Brazil2d ago

Unless it has some fature that really makes it standout I don't think someone who wants a handheld will pick it when the Switch 2 is just around the corner and the Steam Deck offers a huge library with much better prices worldwide

OtterX1d 19h ago (Edited 1d 19h ago )

Especially since the existing PC handhelds (Steam Deck, ROG Ally, etc) can already run Gamepass. I don't have a Steam Deck yet, but I did see Forza Horizon 5 already running pretty well on it natively, so I'd imagine most XBox exclusives on Steam would run pretty well too. The most Microsoft could do is try to brute force a more expensive, higher power handheld. I doubt it would do well if that were the case.

ABizzel11d 16h ago

This has been my point. It’s too little too late, and there are too many options out now that can already do the same thing with similar or better tech, in a similar price-range. A best case scenario for them is slightly above Steam-Deck performance at $100 less, but that’s not a huge selling point for anyone who has already jumped into the handheld PC market, and people still on the fence. Or go the other route of as cheap as possible but making it a streaming only device around $199.

It would do well and reach over 1m sold just because of the Xbox branding, but their consoles are already selling less and less (by the looks of it), so I don’t see a handheld being this great savior for them.

They simply need to rebrand one of the Surface tablets into the device with dedicated controls and more gaming focused, and call it a day instead of heavily investing in a handheld

VariantAEC1d 12h ago

I'm guessing Xbox Wireless will be a streaming system like PS Portal. And yes I fully expect their portable Xbox to be given a really stupid name like "Wireless." Maybe even a dumber name like the Xbox Series W.

Jingsing1d 22h ago

Doesn't make much sense to have a handheld that is locked down to the Xbox ecosystem when the PC handheld can run everything. I'm sure the same people that bought the Xbox fridge will give Microsoft their free money though.

XBManiac1d 18h ago

Microsoft handheld Qualcomm based... you will see it next year... and you will see it sink.

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90°

The Xbox showcase brought the E3 magic

After having to prove itself for years, Xbox doubled down and pulled it off..

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videogameschronicle.com
GaboonViper12d ago

Yep Xbox absolutely knocked it out of the park with that stunning show, it was everything a gaming showcase should be, games games and games, well done team Xbox.

CrimsonWing6911d ago

It really did. Like I came out of that with the hype for new games I haven’t felt since… well the better years of E3.

monkey60211d ago

It was without a doubt one of the better showcases in years. There was plenty there that excited me. Something has been lacking in years on all platforms

EasilyTheBest11d ago

It was an amazing showcase I loved everything about it. Can't wait to play some of those games.
What's going on. 4 comments & no negatives yet. Wow, what's going on with N4G.

ThinkThink11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Show was so good, it made me forget about that blue dragon rumor until the next day. Too many games to process.

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240°

Is Xbox Going Multi-Platform The Right Decision For The Console Market?

Shahmeer from eXputer: "The new Xbox strategy to go multi-platform could eventually change console gaming as we know it, and I am concerned."

Bathyj12d ago

Can we stop pretending that Xbox has any great influence over the console market?

All they can do is try and steer their own Destiny. They have very little to do with what the other players in the console market are doing.

And yes, going 3rd party is pretty much their only option and is good for them.

RaidenBlack12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

Still whatever little direct competition they're offering against Sony ... that'd be gone, which is never good for consumers.
I know Sony will continue to apease the gamers but without any proper competition in same space, they might not work at the fullest efficiency.
(Taking into account, thats generally been agreed here, that Nintendo has long been not the direct competitor to either MS or Sony)

xHeavYx12d ago

The " without any proper competition in same space, they (Sony) might not work at the fullest efficiency" narrative has been proven false for years. Let's stop pretending that, in terms of games, Xbox has been any competition to Playstation.

fsfsxii12d ago

Sony had 0 competition for most of its playstation business, and they still succeeded, the only thing xbox introduced was paid online and dlc

maniacmayhem12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

Sony had little to no competition during the PS2 era and they have an iconic catalog.

I don't think Sony needs competition in the console space to still release great games. It would be the games that would be competing against each other.

Einhander197212d ago

Xbox does not need to exist for PlayStation to have competition.

They compete with Nintendo, PC, streaming and countless other devices.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 12d ago
neutralgamer199212d ago

Yes release games on other platforms

Your own gamers still get the games day one on GP. So GP will grow and stay stabilize

By releasing the games on PC,PlayStation and next switch they can get $70 for their games.

MS didn't invest 100 billion for nothing. This way Xbox generates way more revenue

GhostScholar12d ago

And Sony is doing the same thing whether you want to admit it or not.

anast12d ago

The show was like a sub-show for Sony. All these games are coming to PS5.

12d ago
outsider162412d ago

You gotta admit though..xbox showcase was actually really great.

RpgSama12d ago

I mean, yes, it was an Activision, Blizzard, Bethesda presentation, they just so happened to buy all of those publishers, nothing we would not have seen on any other award show if they had not bought developers that were and STILL are developing multiplatform games.

If you remove them you are left with Microsoft game studios, another Fable, Another Gears, Perfect Dark which for me didn't look all that great, Avowed, Age of mythology and south of midnight (might be missing something I guess)

anast12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

No better than any other show. There weren't any major new announcements, which is what everyone has been complaining about. The bar shouldn't get lowered for a trillion dollar company.

crazyCoconuts12d ago

"another Fable, another Gears, Perfect Dark"?
That's a lot of pretty great "anothers".
I could use a few of those "anothers" from Sony right now.

helicoptergirl12d ago

Yes it was a really great showcase that Xbox had. Multiplats and all. Overall it was really cool

Terry_B12d ago

for pc and playstation..yes it was. Not a single reason was given to buy an xbox.

MrBaskerville10d ago

Perfect Dark looked amazing! Wouldn't mind seeing something like that from Sony tbh.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
thesoftware73012d ago

anast,

"All these games are coming to PS5."

Very disingenuous statement... Some, but not all.

Oh, so that is the new narrative, "sub-show for Sony." lol, wow.

The sad part is that you are clearly and fully aware that it is very unlikely for any 1hr and 30min gaming presentation show to showcase ALL Exclusives, it just doesn't happen.

And don't you think it sad that MS had a better Sony showing than Sony? If I were you, I wouldn't consider that a flex, lol.?

anast12d ago

They are coming to PS5, the ones that matter of course.

There is nothing sad here. You might need to start your argument without an emotive.

I don't think they had a better showing. Unless we lower the bar for only Xbox.

crazyCoconuts12d ago

None of us really know how much they're going third party. They're still ACTING like they want to protect the platform - no mention of PS5 in their show, still marketing the console, still using the Xbox logo.
Yeah Phil acknowledged more is coming to PS5. But is that Indiana Jones? Perfect Dark? Gears?
If they keep those key properties in their stable it's not accurate to label them as simply 3rd party.
They may very well still be in the game after all...

anast12d ago

@Coconut

Sony did the same in their last. They showed games that were already announced.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
Giga_Gaia12d ago

We need to stop pretending like Xbox matters and has any influence in the industry.

By entering the industry, Microsoft made it worst, everything bad in the industry can be tied to them (like paid online and DLCs). The industry would be better off if they had never been in it.

Before you say Sony would have no competition, they would still have PC and Nintendo. As they are right now, Microsoft are not competition, they don't actually matter.

crazyCoconuts12d ago

I think you're mostly right. They've been failing on console and will most likely drop out.
But the concern a lot of us had was that they would use their $ to win monopolistically. They've already bought a huge number of big studios. Going multi-platform would alleviate that concern.
But they could still turn the screws, this game isn't over quite yet... They're sending mixed signals.

CrimsonWing6912d ago

I think in Xbox’s direness it is, but let’s not pretend like they don’t understand the value of exclusiveness to their platform. Not every damn Xbox game is coming to PS5 and the stuff that has hit have either been GaaS games or games that didn’t exactly sell gamgbusters and are extremely niche.

When Halo, Gears, Forza, Perfect Dark, Fable, etc. start coming to PS5 then that’s pretty massive and also diminishes any reason to own an Xbox.

LucasRuinedChildhood12d ago

Doom isn't niche. It was heavily implied that all Bethesda games, outside of games with contractual agreements and the existing multiplayer games, would all be exclusive to Xbox.

CrimsonWing6912d ago (Edited 12d ago )

Ok, sorry, Doom is the exception.

My point is Xbox is still keeping exclusives for their bigger games. What’s been released are GaaS: Sea of Thieves, Grounded aka Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and then niche stuff like Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush. Then you got Doom coming out, which is an outlier, I suppose.

crazyCoconuts12d ago

It's not niche but it's not everything.
MS has got a HUGE cache of IP and studios now

Scissorman12d ago

It's the only decision. Hardware sales are on a sharp decline and Game Pass growth has stagnated.

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