290°

From Scorpio to Xbox Play Anywhere: Microsoft's conference might have been the smartest of E3

Microsoft's E3 showing wasn't as crowd-pleasing as Sony's, but it was smarter.

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ibtimes.co.uk
Letthewookiewin3297d ago

Smart, like showing a bunch of mediocre games, nothing new, and then showing a system to play all those mediocre games on. Ya real smart. Oh and revealing a new system for this year then revealing another system for next year effectively killing its console sales for the next year and a half. Lol ok.

2cents3297d ago

You had seen Sea of thieves before the show? Forza Horizon 3? Gears 4 Gameplay? Halo Wars 2? ScaleBound Co-op? Recore Teaser? All mediocre? AND You knew for a fact that Scorpio would be the beast it is?

All old news, nothing new?

Sound like you don't like team Xbox more than anything else. Shame, just so you know, it's even more fun to like both Playstation and Xbox. Combined they bring immense pleasure to a gamer. Just sayin.

3297d ago
MatrixxGT3297d ago

I hear this a lot from people. " same ok mediocre Xbox games, halo, gears, forza" well there is a reason they keep making them. They are good, forza horizon 2 was really awesome and now horizon 3 is twice as big, not held back by last gen 360.

Scalebound
Recore
We happy few
Sea of theives

Those are new games to go along with old favorites and I see a ton of fun in the future.

I like Sonys games too but don't be hipocritical when Sony and Nintendo reuse their start IPs just as much. But I get it. People are still salty at MS from 2013 and will never let it go no matter the fact MS has dumped all the BS and making Xbox and live a premium ecosystem.

Where's that PS Plus money going? When is PS4 getting a new update that's not "stability fix". Or are we ever getting folders? How about PS+ games worth a shit. Everything that made the extra money worth it on PS3 and Vita has gone to shit on PS4. It's great they offer a ton of diversity in their game lineup but much of it is still niche and/or indie.

Paytaa3297d ago

After getting a PS3 to coincide with my 360 last gen, it was the best gaming decision I made.

Xbox and Playstation combined provide myself with the best gaming experiences in the industry.

Going forward I plan on buying any future Playstation or Xbox just because they provide a lot of kickass games and features.

And before anyone brings up PC, I'm a console gamer through and through. I only really game on PC to play the occasional CS:GO game.

Sciurus_vulgaris3297d ago

Microsoft showed off good games, however Sea of Thievs, ReCore and State of Decay 2 deserved more screen time and better presentation.

shinrock3297d ago

Best end to a comment ever!@2cents.

AngelicIceDiamond3297d ago (Edited 3297d ago )

MS E3 was a strange one for me and so was Sony's. Overall satisfied but then again everything got leaked which left little surprise from MS. I feel like MS is preparing us for the future, but then again I feel like Sony is as well with VR and none release dates for their games except for The Last Guardian and And Horizon but GT Sport apparently got delayed. Both consoles virtually had barely any third party on stage. MS is releasing a revisioned Xbox next year but yet all the games that have been announced we get to play soon on the current Xbox or slim. Meanwhile we have to wait for all of Sony's uniquely announced games but yet VR is releasing very soon.

Both conference give me a very weird feeling.

ZeroX98763297d ago (Edited 3297d ago )

MS showed many games which most of them were already announced in prior shows, but we saw lots of gameplay from each of them. As a long time PC gamer, I think upgrading the hardware mid-gen will partly eliminate what PC gamers have called "PC master race" for years.

Sony's coming up with their own hardware upgrade, so that pretty much evens out the scorpio reveal. Nintendo on the other hand is still a complete mystery.

But still, the PS2 was underpowered VS the original Xbox and gamecube and we all know how it turned out. Games are still what's making people buy a certain platform.

jessionpc3297d ago

All of those games were teased before. Did Sony tease GOW? Spiderman? Days Gone? Death Stranding? Those games were so quiet they didn't even get leaked. How about the several epic PSVR exclusives? Were those old news too? RE7? Old news?... Yeeeeaaaa....

BTW, all of those xbox games are now pc games. And secondly, Sea of Thieves looked like shit. Wooo, group up with some kids screaming and driving your ship into a rock for lols team killing or team abusing. way to give gamers the Conker game they've wanted the last decade.

Gears 4, "MUM, I'LL GET YOU BA-", Halo Wars 2... Haha. Milk a sick cow much? Scalebound was cringe just hearing that protagonist talk... Recore, well... Looked alright. Kinda like Ratchet and Clank alright. As in, "in my opinion", shitty. Felt more like a Knack teen reboot than a serious new IP.

"It's even more fun." Haha, in your opinion.

State of Decay 2 and Forza Horizon were there only really interesting titles, and we knew about FH already. State of Decay 2 was really the only bomb dropped.

Drop news on a new console, kill it at the end of the conference, new console is 1.6 years away. Well, at least they didn't push that cloud this year ;)

Wonder what excuses Phil will have on twitter THIS year!

2cents3297d ago

@jessionpc. That is a lot of unnecessary negative energy you are harbouring. If it makes you feel better to point and laugh at me rather than debate then continue as you wish.

I don't think I could say anything to you to make you get the point of my original post.

Enjoy the rest of E3, I know I will.

jb2273297d ago

We had seen Sea of Thieves when it was announced last year, we've seen plenty of Gears gameplay, Halo Wars 2 only showed maybe a second or two of gameplay, Scalebound we've seen, co op we've known about...Recore & Forza were the only things we hadn't seen or had a strong idea as to how they look.

As far as Scorpio's beast status, it still only exists in the ether, haven't seen the box, don't know the price or release date, haven't seen a second of gameplay. Not sure we've ever seen a console revealed without showing a single frame of gameplay '& Im not sure why we should care...

I mean I honestly think MS conference was too smart for its own good, played it far too safe & ended up underwhelming as a result. I personally like the comfort of knowing that my system will be staying in games for years to come as opposed to only having knowledge of games for the next six months, especially when a new console is breathing down our necks & that new console isn't required to be forward compatible.

Spencer said he would "leave it up to devs" as to whether or not there will be Scorpio exclusive games, which is code for there will absolutely be Scorpio exclusive games, which means that the XBO has an expiration date 3 years into its life cycle.

MS conference was paced well & the games looked cool but maybe it's just me but I didn't see anything mindblowing like Spidey, GoW or Days Gone, and I wasn't surprised by a single announcement. That brought it down quite a bit for me.

2cents3297d ago

@jb227
All valid points.
I guess im just a glass half full kind of guy.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 3297d ago
xfiles20993297d ago

Not to mention Alienating there user base by basically saying you do not need to buy a Xbone of any king you can play all our games on PC.

Drake7143297d ago

yeah Xbox One sales will take a hit...but MS don't give a shit

UWP FTW

MCTJim3297d ago (Edited 3297d ago )

I've noticed 99% of the naysayers have exceptional gaming Riga that play at 1440 or better.

You are not alienating anyone. Just like PC'S you are not all going to be playing it in 4k. It will scale down and everyone gets the best experience.

leeeroythe3rd3297d ago

How does including more users alienate another install base? Consoles are better bang for the buck to deliver content to living room. The consumer is being served by removing the barrier to pc market. I can invest in a great pc and still play xbox or i can spend 400$ and play xbox on sofa... is a customer not going to buy an xbox bc game isnt exclusive to xbox and they dont have pc capable? I highly doubt it. People buy games bc the game interest their enterment needs.

The fanboy mentality of needing to be better or have exclusive exclusive titles is just ego stroking. Most of that arguement is just trolling or sony marketing.

donthate3297d ago (Edited 3297d ago )

I don't know, I think PC gamers will think I'm ready for a console for the living room, and there is only one platform that I get a bunch of games on for free. Games I'm already familiar with.

There is one console now that will get a heck of a lot more support from PC developers thanks to Windows 10, UWP, Windows Store and one massive user base. Play Anywhere!

I think the only looser in all of this is the competition, and fanboys.

jb2273297d ago

The fact that it's all available for PC doesn't bother me much, but the word that came out after the show that Spencer will be allowing for full Scorpio exclusives does...

In that instance they are almost forcing console gamers to upgrade to Scorpio...pretty sure most fans were fine with the mid cycle upgrades because they wouldn't have any exclusives not available on the box that released just 3 years ago.

Death3297d ago

If you want to alienate a userbase, make the next Uncharted of GoW a PSVR exclusive. Sony will be juggling 2 distinct userbases once PSVR hits store shelves. If they don't make exclusives for PSVR, what's the point of buying it? By making games playable on your Xbox or PC, you are giving gamers more options on where they play. Do PS3/PS4 games playable on Vita alienate the Playstation console fanbase or do these fans simply have another gaming option? The next generation for Microsoft will be interesting. Hardware will be able to evolve without impacting gamers existing libraries. In many ways the Xbox will be more like a PC while maintaining the ease and use of a console. With PC you don't need to throw away your game library every gen. The new hardware enhances older software.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3297d ago
Livecustoms3297d ago

They didn't show nothing new because they made the mistake of announcing game's prematurely last year, the same mistake Sony has done this year. Dont expect many new announcements from sony at next years e3 as they all but announced their 2017/2018 games.
Also Project Scorpio is not aimed at the core audience and most of the hardcore audience already have 8th gen consoles so i doubt it will greatly affect sales as the core audience only really care about playing fifa and cod on a cheap system

AngelicIceDiamond3297d ago (Edited 3297d ago )

@Pog True but admittedly, he kinda has a point when he says "they all but announce their 2017/2018 games." Sony had a bigger impact with the games but no release dates. Horizon and Last Guardian are really close to releasing. Everything else is seems to be way off now once again.

Pogmathoin3297d ago

Wookie, you have been on a trollathon, commenting on any article that has an X in it, spouting the same rubbish. You would swear you had no games to play.....

DeadManMMX3297d ago

....smh. Some of you guys are so desperate for everything Microsoft does to fail. So negative about nothing. If you don't want the console or aren't a fan be happy with what you are happy with. Plenty of people are going to buy that slim XB1 because the new console will be around 500 dollars more then likely. Just like plenty of people were still buying PS2's well into PS3's life and 360's well into Xb1's life. Some people are so negative it borderlines on madness. Why would I want anyone to fail? Going into Sony's conference last night I knew they would have something. I damn sure didn't want them to have a bad conference I spent 400 dollars on a PS4 at launch to play their best games. No matter which console you identify with the most why is it such a bad thing for everyone to succeed?
\

N0TaB0T3297d ago

You don't even own any of the latest consoles, and don't try to convince us otherwise... People aren't convinced by your bullshit.

jessionpc3297d ago

Couldn't agree more man, Microsoft once again completely dropped the mic. ON THEIR OWN FOOT!

Well deserved. Cringy, manipulative suits. That's all that company is. Just watch, soon they'll expect people to buy the game, then pay per hour to play the dlc you just payed for, while paying a monthly fee just to play with your friends, on the internet you ALREADY pay for.

Go Microsoft! Your so amazing! Best thing to happen to games ever!

Pogmathoin3297d ago

Like PsNow with charging to play the discs you own?

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 3297d ago
Davemyrose5923297d ago

Yea smart lmao, you did not announce any new gamesss???? Dead rising 4 star of decay 2, wow I am not impressed at all

danielc19913297d ago

that was as surprising as fifa 17 and cod

andrewsquall3297d ago

What does that mean? You can already "play anywhere" on PS4 with Vita Remote Play.

Utalkin2me3297d ago

You don't even need a vita. You can do it from a computer.

leeeroythe3rd3297d ago

The reality of consoles are that the hardware isnt the profit maker for sony and microsoft. The console is a marketplace control. You make money via games and liscensing of games... you make money via sales of controllers and small accessories. Microsoft is opening their marketplace. Would they like more console sales? Of course bc that increases residuals on digital sales, xbox live and locks in consumers to their platform at a higher attachment.

3297d ago
3297d ago
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630°

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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theverge.com
16h agoReplies(1)
16h agoReplies(1)
Obscure_Observer16h 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.

15h ago
pwnmaster300015h ago

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

15h ago
Obscure_Observer15h ago

F* them both!

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

blacktiger14h ago

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

pwnmaster300014h ago(Edited 14h 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.

InUrFoxHole9h 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 9h ago
Tacoboto15h 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.

CrimsonWing6915h ago(Edited 15h 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?

Ganif13h 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.

CrimsonWing6913h ago(Edited 13h 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.

Ganif13h 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.

thorstein12h ago(Edited 12h ago)

Take the L, Crimson.

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

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 12h ago
-Foxtrot14h 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?

anast14h ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts14h 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.

Tacoboto13h 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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Profchaos11h 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

Angyobangyo2h 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.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 2h ago
15h ago
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130°

Sony Faces Class Action in the Netherlands Over Allegedly Inflated PlayStation Store Prices

Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation in the Netherlands has filed a class action against Sony for inflating PlayStation Store prices.

dveio14h ago(Edited 14h ago)

My personal opinion:

Manufacturers and publishers have indeed inflated the industry.

From $700 million development costs for games like Call of Duty, to digital (store) prices for games and DLCs, online multiplayer fees on consoles (why can you play Helldivers 2 online for free on PC but not consoles?) or still preventing sell/lend digitally purchased games.

Sometime in the future, this bubble will collapse.

They should know better, but they just can't help themselves and suck even the last penny out of our wallets.

BeHunted12h ago

Because Sony knows people will be forced to pay those prices for single player and multiplayer games, not everyone prefers PC gaming. Sony also has a monopoly on PlayStation digital games. In 2019, they stopped allowing retailers and game key sellers to sell PlayStation digital games, making them available only through the official PlayStation Store

anast14h ago

The Dutch gov. wants a piece of the pie.

Eonjay13h ago

They should be suing the individual publishers increasing the prices to $80 instead of suing the store. There are plenty of publishers still selling game for like $50 with much success (like E33). But this proves that the publishers are the ones setting the prices.... so again nothing changes because they aren't even going after the main offender. How is suing Sony going to make Microsoft not charge $80 for the next COD? Sony being the number one store in the market doesn't mean that publisher have to charge us an arm and a leg. Again the industry is laughing at us because consumers never get real representation. Just these fake platitudes that are meaningless.

BeHunted12h ago

"How is suing Sony going to make Microsoft not charge $80 for the next COD"

Because Microsoft doesn't have a monopoly, I can purchase Call of Duty at a huge discount from CDKeys or other gaming retailers. The only way to purchase digital PlayStation games is through the PlayStation Store.

djl348510h ago

Weird, I swore GoW, Stellar Blade, Horizon Zero Dawn, TLoU, etc. were on the steam store....uh.....

BeHunted7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

@djI3485

I'm talking about PlayStation games that you can only purchase on PlayStation. I can purchase Steam and Epic games from 3rd party retailers and key stores.

"Sony to stop selling full-game download codes at retailers"

https://www.videogamer.com/...

Killer2020UK12h ago

About time. There is zero fair reason why digitally distributed products that you cannot recoup any value when you want to dispose of them, should be priced higher than that of physical copies that entail all of the costs and the benefits of owning.

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80°

Nintendo Switch 2 review. Is it enough of an upgrade?

Two weeks in, Nintendo Switch 2 feels faster, smoother, and sturdier. But is it enough of an upgrade?

Read Full Story >>
clouddosage.com
anast14h ago

It doesn't matter. Nintendo plays by different rules. They are still reskinning games from the 80s.

Grilla39m ago

It does matter. Every hit is usually followed by a flop. Switch 2 is probably the most boring console launch I’ve ever experienced. This should have released in 2023 with ToTK. It’s a Switch Pro.

Goodguy0111h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Not at the moment for most. Good investment for huge Nintendo fans though. You can also expect much more greed from nintendo this gen as well as their confidence really grew from switch 1.
I mean dear God, botw at $70 and totk at $80 fow switch 2 editions. Old games lmao.

UltimateOwnage52m ago

My review: yes. I have a huge Switch library so getting boosted FPS on games I already own and new generation titles is awesome. Hardware is top notch. Game key cards are lame though.