370°

Microsoft Rumored to Roll Out Silverlight for the Xbox 360

Word on the street has it that Microsoft will be introducing Silverlight for the Xbox 360, so those who are interested might want to keep tabs on the company’s plans over at the MIX11 conference that will be happening next week in Las Vegas. I

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ubergizmo.com
TotalPS3Fanboy5200d ago

Silverlight is what Microsoft will focus on.

Nolando5200d ago

not to sound unimformed or anyhting but what is WPF?

darthv725200d ago (Edited 5200d ago )

silverlight has been available to the 360 since netflix. That is the whole backbone of the service on the 360. In fact, I believe it is silverlight that is used in the zune marketplace for their hd streaming as well as all those little vids like major's minute and what not.

edit @chubby, i believe WPF is windows presentation foundation.

the_best_player5200d ago

Some Exclusive games would be a good start, only got Gears 3 this year as a big game.

kaveti66165200d ago

if all you care about is exclusives, then you're the one who is gonna be left feeling disappointed.

Fallouts5200d ago

you can not be the best player if all you play is exclusives..

AAACE55200d ago

I agree that MS does need some exclusives, but most people make it seem like exclusives make or break a console!

Ps1 and 2 were great because they had the most games available! Not how many exclusives it had. Wii is doing good because of the same reason. Nintendo is the only console maker who's exclusives generally always sell high numbers while other games make little impact!

The Dreamcast tried to mainly focus on exclusives and didn't try to get other games like Madden on the platform. That was our main example that exclusives can't save a console.

Like it or not, there are some talented third party developers out there who make some of the best games that millions of people want to play!

Why waste money trying to build exclusives with unestablished developers. MS dumped so much money into exclusives for the Xbox 1 and the early years on the 360 only to produce a few decent games.

You can see it with every console. There will be 10 games announced as exclusives. Yet only 3 of them will really do well at retail! Then the delusional fanboys will still try to hype the game up because they have spent the last 2 years believing the game will be great, and they refuse to accept that it's not!

No matter how much marketing is put into it(MS), or How great the graphics are(Sony), or how familiar people are with your franchises(Nintendo)... If people stop talking about a game shortly after it's release... it just wasn't that interesting to begin with!

Chaos695200d ago (Edited 5200d ago )

I just beat Dragon Age: Origins, I still have yet to beat Awakening, ME2, RedDead, Final Fantasy XIII, DA2... Skyrim, Uncharted 3, Gears 3, Brink... so really I could care less about exclusives at this point.

FailOverHero5200d ago

Maybe its just me but I'd say another installment of the the ONLY AAA scoring racing game franchise this gen is pretty big. Forza 4 may not be a shooter but with more sales than Uncharted 2(oh yeah) I'd say it is definately up there with the most anticipated titles of this year

5200d ago
newhumanbreed5200d ago

@Apophis

Ummm both? I have both a 360 and PS3, and don't have to worry. Multi-platforms usually play better on a 360, and well PS3 has a huge line up of exclusives, but almost all multi-platform games are developed on the 360. You should probably stop being a fanboy and open your eyes...

Arnon5199d ago

...Huh? Is there some major difference between exclusive and multiplatform games to the point where I'll have a different experience simply because it's only available on one console?

I'd rather take:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Battlefield 3
Batman: Arkham City
Duke Nukem Forever
Rage
Portal 2
Mortal Kombat
Space Marine
etc.

Thanks. Luckily, I own everything, so I wont miss out. Doesn't really change the fact that multiplatform games have been the biggest and highest scoring titles this gen.

Kushan5199d ago

You're all arguing about the same stuff that gets argued day in and day out on this site, when the article has absolutely nothing to do with it. You're all either trolls or feeding the trolls.

Rainstorm815199d ago (Edited 5199d ago )

Im sorry are you guys delusional??

Exclusives give your console identity, how far would ninty have gotten without the Usual suspects; Mario, Link, DK, Kirby...etc

Even the 360 and PS3, i mean Master Chief is probably more recognizable than HALF of PS3 exclusive characters.

Multiplats are great, but they cant define your consoles gaming style, especially if you have both the 360 and PS3 like myself or all 3.

@Kushan
I agree but i think it gets brought up because people will defend a console for not having a good exclusive line-up. When in reality the 360 went from most exclusives, to most timed exclusives to an apparent lack of exclusives. i know ive had 3 xbox360 since launch.

Imo the best thing about exclusives are that each consoles exclusive games differ from the competitor consoles, the more exclusives the more kinds of games....i would think all the Forza supporters would get this its GT main competition, not NFS.

@failoverhero
There is so much fail in your statement i dont know where to start, is it that U2 "scored" higher than Forza or GT5 out "sold" Forza 2 & 3 combined that makes you lose sleep? Scores or Sales? take your pick...

MeNoRasta5199d ago

@the_best_player

Ps3 needs new servers before you can talk about games.

Aloren5199d ago

@Raiinstorm81: GT5 didn't outsell Forza 2 and 3 combined though. Forza 3 is close to 5 million, it's not GT5, but that's still a huge success.

antz11045199d ago

Who cares about exclusives, seriously? Sure Gears 3 is going to own but all the multiplats coming out are awesome as well:

- Red Faction: Armageddon
- Brink
- Portal 2
- Batman: Arkham City
and the list continues

So at Apophis yeah, I will be content, have fun at being ignorant.

YodaCracker5199d ago (Edited 5199d ago )

@the_best_player

So are you implying that Forza Motorsport, the highest rated racing series of this gen, and multiple time 4 million+ seller isn't a big exclusive game?

the_best_player5199d ago

Multi platform games are on PS3 to you know LOL!
Exclusives push the hardware and are much better quality in all areas.

It's a sad year to be a 360 owner.
M$ spams/pays more on ads than exclusive games.

FACT

Arnon5199d ago (Edited 5199d ago )

Wrong.

I'm betting Battlefield 3 and TES V are pushing way more than Uncharted 3 by this point. The minute I saw that preview for the game where Drake and Sully are in the alleyway, I already saw aging, mainly in the environments.

Character models still look great though, but after playing certain VALVe titles on the PC, they're no better than the character models that they produce.

Sorry, but I'm betting the big titles of this year are going to be multiplatform.

+ Show (14) more repliesLast reply 5199d ago
zeal0us5199d ago

Maybe bring a browser to the 360. Sure the 360 can live without one but man look at the other consoles. Even the wii got a browsers and its hardware is weaker than the 360.

rlm415199d ago

More applications (Youtube etc.) > Browser

zeal0us5199d ago

Forgot about more ads maybe lol whats screwed up is evening having xbl gold and you still see some advertisements.

YodaCracker5199d ago (Edited 5199d ago )

Obviously having a browser has nothing to do with the strength of the hardware. Microsoft could easily incorporate Internet Explorer into the Xbox LIVE service, but there is no reason to. I'm sure it would be at the bottom of most people's wishlist for new features.

Raven_Nomad5200d ago

Sounds very interesting, would be a great way to get developers to do console/P.C. connection.

Shok5200d ago

Good to hear that they're doing something that's not Kinect-related.

DrHouse5200d ago

Sounds like the precurser to an internet browser.

kneon5199d ago

I don't think so, this is just so they can pull apps from Windows Phone 7 onto the XBox. I'm surprised it wasn't ready when Windows Phone 7 launched.

IHateYouFanboys5199d ago

like someone said, Silverlight has been on the 360 for months. Zune, Netflix, etc all run on silverlight.

im looking forward to some more Windows Phone 7/Xbox 360 cross compatibility though.

Show all comments (37)
230°

‘I think Xbox hardware is dead’, says Microsoft gaming veteran

One of the founding members of the Xbox team has questioned Microsoft’s multiplatform gaming strategy, and said they believe the Xbox hardware business is effectively “dead"

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videogameschronicle.com
1d 2h ago Replies(3)
Goodguy011d ago

Think that rumor that they'll still make a new console but at a profit at $1000 will be true though. The series consoles will remain their cheap alternative throughout next gen I would say. Keep in mind that game pass and pretty much going 3rd party is their main focus. They want to bring xbox everywhere.

1d ago
GamerRN4h ago

If they don't maintain some kind of console presence, I think they will lose gamepass subscribers and just become a 3rd party publisher who eventually sells everything off

Cacabunga3h ago

Xbox games are releasing on all platforms. Who needs this hardware? PS or PC is all you need

Flewid6381h ago

I've never owned an Xbox in my life and I have GamePass.

thorstein46m ago

The only Xbox I owned was the 360. I have gamepass for my PC.

crazyCoconuts2h ago

Even if they could get it down to $800 for a box that can run with comparable performance to a PS6 (at, say $200 cheaper) the population of people willing to buy such a thing would be so limited.
It would be the worst of both worlds.

22h ago
Futureshark13h ago

A slow, painful and public death too.

Show all comments (58)
300°

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

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz
Jingsing3d ago (Edited 3d 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.

YourMommySpoils1d 23h ago

Their reputation was lost way before that. From the moment Microsoft said they entering the console business, we all knew it would be a downgrade.

Bathyj1d 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h ago )

That's not true at all the OG Xbox had drive and they had hunger and they wanted to accomplish something. It was a great console.

they didn't quite reach their goals and they gave up prematurely because they couldn't win. It was halfway through the Xbox 360 when kinect released and that was when they lost their way and we're a rudderless ship ever since

Agent751d 6h ago

In all fairness, Xbox had some great games with online play, Xbox 360 even better. Xbox consoles started to die with the Xbox One. Ditch consoles for the PC and PS.

YourMommySpoils22h ago

@Bathyj hard to compute ay. Xbox was never better than a PC and that's all they ever were. A demo box. Doesn't get more true than that.

3d ago Replies(1)
isarai3d ago

What reputation is this threatening exactly? 😂

Lightning773d 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.

Christopher2d ago

That would be really bad since Phil just hyped up next year as a big Forza year at Summer Game Fest.

1Victor2d ago

@christopher: “ That would be really bad since Phil just hyped up next year as a big Forza year at Summer Game Fest”
The key word big can be ether good or bad 🤷🏿only time can tell

DarXyde2d ago

First Forza being generated entirely via AI?

If any company would do it, it'd be them.

Nacho_Z1d 14h ago

Isn't the point that it's irrelevant how profitable MS is, the suits have decided it's time that the Xbox division started making them money. Hence the layoffs, the pivots.

hennessey861d 9h ago

That wouldn't surprise me, as motorsport has been heading down hill since the great number 4. Where as playground have consistently put out better games. I think the two studios will be merged under playground games banner.

2d ago Replies(2)
Show all comments (63)
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
6d ago Replies(1)
6d ago Replies(1)
Obscure_Observer6d 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.

6d ago
pwnmaster30006d ago

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

6d ago
Obscure_Observer6d ago

F* them both!

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

blacktiger6d ago

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

pwnmaster30006d ago (Edited 6d 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.

InUrFoxHole5d 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 5d ago
Tacoboto6d 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.

CrimsonWing696d ago (Edited 6d 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?

Ganif6d 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.

CrimsonWing696d ago (Edited 6d 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.

Ganif6d 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.

thorstein6d ago (Edited 6d ago )

Take the L, Crimson.

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

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 6d ago
-Foxtrot6d 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?

anast6d ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts6d 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.

Tacoboto6d ago

I wouldn't be surprised at this point if anast and osbcure were both alts for the Admin.

We know how Obscure especially drums up additional comments and clicks with his spam-worthy remarks that somehow never get moderated

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 6d ago
Profchaos6d 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

Angyobangyo5d 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.

TheExecutioner5d ago

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

Sonic18815d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Are you and Anast the same person?

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 5d ago
6d ago
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