2011....will it be the beginning of the end for the Xbox 360?

[Coca Cola Duracell Franklin.]

Bottom line, i love the PC, but, the moment all games end on the PC, what is the reason to have a 360?

Because it's not a PC.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

Because it's not a PC.

That´s not a good enough reason, as the majority of people that buy a gaming platform buy it for the games it has.
When you have two platforms with the same games, it´s easier to choose the one that you have more to gain, namely, more exclusives.
Why would you choose a 360, when "all" games go to the PC and the third party ones go everywhere?
You might as well buy a PS3, because, when combined to a PC, you will have all the games, as opposed to have two platforms that run the same thing.

 

[Coca Cola Duracell Franklin.]

Maybe most people would rather buy one gaming platform, instead of two.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Doomed.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

The board up there only backs me up.
On the exclusive side, the 360 not only is the one with the least games, they are the console that only has ONE 1st party game as opposed to the PS3 which has 10
Gears 3 is from Epic, and Gun Loco (which looks like utter crap) is from Square-Enix

I´m sure there are other games going to be announced (Halo...i´m looking at you), but still...

 

[Grommers]

I can't see the 360 dying or MS closing that "department", at the very least they will purchase nintendo and combine the two haha.

Microsoft is to big of entity and thats way to large of a market to NOT be involved with when dealing with technology. They may take there losses in that department, but it opens up tons more opportunity and advertising for there others.

 

[Coca Cola Duracell Franklin.]

Why would Microsoft close it's gaming department when it's profitable? Sony's isn't profitable, and last year even Nintendo's profits have crashed without recovery.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

My beef with Microsoft goes because i feel cheated, i feel betrayed by them.
I know that there are a lot of people that see it the same way...
It´s not that i really want to see Microsoft "burn to the ground", what i want is for Microsoft to return to what they once were.

I bought a 360 back in 2007 and loved it. Then the year went by and two huge things happend at the end of that same year. They lost Bungie, but more importantly they lost the heart and soul of the console, a man called Peter Moore.
After that they begun to fall, with no end in sight, not sales wise of course but in quality.
The Xbox is, above all, a gaming console, and that´s where they really fail and where i feel betrayed, since 2008 they are much more interested in the media capacities than the games, it´s a total shift from what the Xbox is.
Where the PS3 is a gaming console that plays movies and music; the 360 is as time goes by, a media hub that also runs games.
They are more interested in Facebooks and Twitters and ESPNs, then what really is important to it, games.
I´m sure that this E3 Microsoft will announce something else media releated.
Sure, they still have games, but that´s not the point as third party games also go to the PS3, and even first party games are starting to return to the PC.
Why do i care about exclusives?
Because i bought the damn thing, it´s not about exclusives for bragging rights, is about actually have something that i can only have on the 360, if not, i would have bought a PS3 or not buy a console at all.
For example, the loss of Mass Effect from exclusivity only bugs me because it was something that i could have because i had a 360, not because the other guy can´t have it; in that regard, i´m happy that more people can enjoy the game.
The Xbox now is all about Halo, Fable and Forza (Gears of War is not theirs, it´s Epics)...all the rest are details.
Then is about buying exclusives and exclusive DLC (one of the most stupid battles of all, the exclusive DLC war).
Sure there is occasional Crackdown and the upcoming Kingdoms, but those few video games only show the little they care for gaming.
For example, the fact that they have one amazing character, one of the leading ladies of video game history as one of their assets, and don´t do anything with her is ridiculous.
Joanna Dark is superb, and the last video games was in 2005.
If they don´t announce Perfect Dark 2 (i would prefer a restart on the franchise but still), Microsoft is beyond salvation.
Many people say Zero sucks, but it´s Microsoft´s job to amend it because it´s still a great character and Ip.

I don´t understand Microsoft, the lack of vision and interest is astonishing.
Just look at Kinect, the modders are doing a way better job than the ones that actually made the damn thing.
When it was announced on E3 09 as Project Natal, i easily found a lot of potential for it; i still think that is has a lot of potential for greatness and it´s, in time, the best of the motion controllers, but i was simply speechless when i watched the streamed press conference at E3 2010.
Where was the WOW factor?
Where was the potential it has?
I can´t even understand why people actually buy the damn thing...

I blame Phil Spencer (for the ones that don´t know, he is the head of Microsoft Game Studios)....well, not only him, but Don Mattrick and Steve Ballmer as well.
The three men should have been fired long ago, as they are the ones holding Microsoft back.
But, for my problem with MS, i blame Phil Spencer above all.

Microsoft Game Studios (MGS lol), Microsoft´s publishing arm, sucks, not as much as Koei, which are the worst publisher i´ve ever seen, they only do Samurai Warriors and clones (and they all suck).
Phil Spencer is a suit, he doesn´t know anything about video games, or show any passion for it, he only does what he is told to.
They do the same "crap" over and over again, with no new Ips in sight (there is the upcoming Kingdoms, which everyone is excited, but for me it´s long overdue....and it´s only one for a publisher that needs a lot more than just one new Ip).
Developers....Rare, Lionhead and Turn 10...that´s it.
Project Gotham Racing, Perfect Dark, Conker, Brute Force, Killer Instinct...those games are dead until proof of the contrary (KI might make it´s way to the XBLA this year from what i´ve read).
Microsoft has Ken Lobb as their creative director since 2001, and Lobb was on Nintendo during the 90´s, working on video games like Perfect Dark and Goldeneye (he might be the reason why MS bought Rare).
Why don´t they do any more new Ips and restart old ones is beyond me.

But MS can still turn it around if they want to (i see no interest from them in doing it, but still), that´s why i say stuff that make me sound like anti-Microsoft, because if they don´t stop a moment, they will never care enough to try.
A business rule states that, to make money you have to lose money; Microsoft, on the other hand.....
They don´t buy developers, they don´t make new Ips, they only make the next installment on already established franchises, the only new Ips they make is on the XBLA (which is, imo, the best thing they have), because they are less expensive...
I´m not a business man, and i could easily turn it around (at least i knew what to do), i would do like THQ did this in 2009, and things are starting to look bright to them for it.
I had this idea before THQ, but what they did was split the company in 3 divisions: Core, Casual and Online.
The core is headed by Danny Bilson, the casual is the responsible for the recent deal with Mattel to make video games out of Barbie, Hot Wheels and many more (many are going to be casual, but some, like He-Man should be core) and the Online is making the Warhammer 40.000 MMO.
Microsoft should do the same and divide into Microsoft Game Studios (core), Kinect and XBLA.
The Kinect division would be headed by Kudo Tsunoda, i have no idea for MGS, just that Phil Spencer should be out (maybe Peter Molyneux, or buy Valve and put Newell in charge of Valve and MGS, as he was, before Valve, a Microsoft employee...the last part was a joke as it would never happen) and give the XBLA division to Jonathan Blow.
Jonathan Blow, the developer of Braid, know his stuff when it comes to indie and smaller games.
Then buy some developers.
Twisted Pixel and Hothead Games are good and small enough; Remedy and Double Fine are not very expensive (at least, i don´t think so) and then buy some heavy hitters: Epic (of course, and it would be 3 for the price of one, as Chair and People Can Fly are Epic´s) and Gearbox (they would get the Duke Nukem Ip as well).
In a year or so, Microsoft Game Studios would be a force to be reckoned with.

 

[hippie_hunter]

There's no good way to generalize entire continents. Even for what you're trying to do, that's an incredibly narrow and overly-simplified view.

He is sorta right though. Where I work at the number of PS3/360 owners is rather split and a lot of those who have 360s say that the only reason why they have one instead of a PS3 is because their friends have 360s and want to play over XBL with them.

 

[hippie_hunter]

That´s not a good enough reason, as the majority of people that buy a gaming platform buy it for the games it has.
When you have two platforms with the same games, it´s easier to choose the one that you have more to gain, namely, more exclusives.
Why would you choose a 360, when "all" games go to the PC and the third party ones go everywhere?
You might as well buy a PS3, because, when combined to a PC, you will have all the games, as opposed to have two platforms that run the same thing.

I find it to be a good reason. PC's are a pain in the ass to keep up with. You really don't have to do much with a console.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Why would Microsoft close it's gaming department when it's profitable? Sony's isn't profitable, and last year even Nintendo's profits have crashed without recovery.

Actually Sony Computer Entertainment has been profitable since 2008 due to lower manufacturing costs, being able to sell AAA games (Uncharted, Gran Turismo 5, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone, God of War), and fees from high selling third party games (Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Call of Duty). The PlayStation 3 itself has been selling at a profit for Sony since early 2010.

Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division on the other hand, while the Xbox 360 console is able to make a profit, is more reliant on Xbox Live, fees from third party games, and non-gaming revenue. While I wouldn't be concerned about Microsoft's money making console, I would be a little concerned about their publishing efforts since they really only put out 2 AAA titles a year.

 

[Iceman]

The slide towards casual/mainstream is a valid criticism of Microsoft from the point of view of classic/hardcore gamers. I'm quite happy for them to embrace the casual side (I enjoy that side of it too) as long as they maintain the same level of commitment to AAA games & producing some of these themselves. Casual gamers are not loyal like the hardcore after all.

That being said, I think it's too late in the day for them to lose their position as the people who analyse in depth the strengths & weaknesses of the various consoles & which have the better games/exclusives etc are those who buy consoles within the 1st 5 years of a new generation. Only casual gamers have yet to make the choice, so it kind of makes sense to make that the current battleground.

 

[hippie_hunter]

The slide towards casual/mainstream is a valid criticism of Microsoft from the point of view of classic/hardcore gamers. I'm quite happy for them to embrace the casual side (I enjoy that side of it too) as long as they maintain the same level of commitment to AAA games & producing some of these themselves. Casual gamers are not loyal like the hardcore after all.

There's nothing wrong with embracing the casual gamer, Sony and Nintendo are doing the same thing. The differences between Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo is that Sony is attempting to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers, Nintendo is trying to regain the favor of hardcore gamers after abandoning them and they realized that the casual gamer is not loyal at all, and Microsoft is abandoning the hardcore gamer.

Take a look at what Sony is doing. Yeah, they are attempting to appeal to the casual gamer with the PlayStation Move and games such as Sports Champions, EyePet, SingStar, and Buzz! but they have a specific studio dedicated to such games (SCE London Studio). Meanwhile they still focus a lot on hardcore gamers with most of their studios Naughty Dog (Uncharted), Zipper Interactive (M.A.G., S.O.C.O.M.), Guerilla Games (Killzone), Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet), Polyphony Digital (Gran Turismo), SCE Santa Monica (God of War) and they work with outside developers such as Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank, Resistance) and Sucker Punch Productions (inFamous, Sly Cooper). It's pretty clear that both the casual and hardcore gamer should be happy.

Now lets take a look at Nintendo. At first Nintendo and the Wii were awesome by releasing all sorts of awesome Nintendo games (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl), but Nintendo shot their wad way too fast and with the collapse in hardcore support from third party studios because no one bought hardcore third party games....Nintendo pretty much abandoned the hardcore crowd. Their money was coming from casual gamers who bought Wii Fit, Guitar Hero, etc. Add in the massive amounts of shovelware and hardcore gamers ended up hating the Wii. Then the casual market collapsed due to oversaturation and now we have Nintendo while still making casual games such as Wii Party has put their hardcore studios to work with Retro Studios (Donkey Kong Country Returns), HAL Laboratory (Kirby Epic Yarn), Nintendo EAD (New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword), Monolith Soft (Xenoblade), and worked with Team Ninja (Metroid: Other M). Nintendo still has a bit of work to do, but they are making up a lot of ground.

Now let's look at Microsoft. Instead of expanding their hardcore presence in video games they let BioWare get sold to Electronic Arts after the success of Mass Effect, they let Bungie go independent after the success of Halo, they closed down Ensemble Studios after the success of Halo Wars, and turned Rare into a casual studio so bad that even the biggest Rare fansite said that Rare was dead to them. The studios that Microsoft has accquired more recently (BigPark, Good Science Studio) are studios that focus on casual games. The only real hardcore studios that Microsoft has anymore are Lionhead Studios (Fable) and Turn 10 Studios (Forza Motorsport). And they pretty much just work with Epic Games (Gears of War) and Bungie (Halo). From the looks of it by Microsoft turning out fewer and fewer hardcore games (Halo: Reach, Fable III), poorly advertising Alan Wake, and pushing way more casual games (Kinect Sports, Kinect Joy Ride, Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Lips) in 2010 it looks like Microsoft really is abandoning the hardcore gamer that has given them their success just like Nintendo did.

 

[Cth]

I would say Microsoft lost more when Allard went than Moore.

If anything Moore is the one who started a lot of the problems.

He goes to EA, suddenly EA goes after Mass Effect.

Either way, Microsoft ALWAYS keeps its cards close to its chest. It's still the first week of 2011 and we've already got the doom and gloom naysayers out in full force. As usual, E3 will roll along and everyone stops being Chicken Little.

As anyone who follows the industry knows, most software sales come in Q4. Why anyone panics now is beyond me.

As far as the move towards social media, compare the numbers. You'll see why there's a shift towards that. Complain all you want, but the industry is changing and like it or not, this is how things are moving. Hate motion controllers? Guess what, they're here to stay. It's not just Microsoft, it's everyone. The industry is changing, and much like the change from joysticks to gamepads, not everyone is going to be happy.

Anyways, I think things are going to implode spectacularly on Sony's side this year. If GT5 couldn't move consoles and arrive DOA -- BEFORE widespread piracy what can they do now? When are the third parties going to start lawsuits aimed at Sony for creating one of the worst security failures in console history? If anything, more and more games are going to go multiplatform as a result.

What you'll see is more people start buying Sonys but software sales tanking which hurts the industry. Studios fold, and we're left with big studios that are multiplatform that crank out yearly updates and the only difference being DLC.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Either way, Microsoft ALWAYS keeps its cards close to its chest. It's still the first week of 2011 and we've already got the doom and gloom naysayers out in full force. As usual, E3 will roll along and everyone stops being Chicken Little.

I agree with that, we should wait until what Microsoft unveils at E3 this year before we go off saying how bad everything is. But I sure do remember last year

Anyways, I think things are going to implode spectacularly on Sony's side this year. If GT5 couldn't move consoles and arrive DOA -- BEFORE widespread piracy what can they do now? When are the third parties going to start lawsuits aimed at Sony for creating one of the worst security failures in console history? If anything, more and more games are going to go multiplatform as a result.

Already Gran Turismo 5 is the highest selling game on the PS3. And I don't think that piracy is going to plague the PS3 the way it has with the handhelds.

What you'll see is more people start buying Sonys but software sales tanking which hurts the industry. Studios fold, and we're left with big studios that are multiplatform that crank out yearly updates and the only difference being DLC.

I do think that we are going to start seeing more consolidation within the video game industry. I wouldn't be surprised to see Sony buy up a few more developers. I do think that Warner Bros. and Disney are going to try and make big moves. And I think that someday we'll end up seeing Konami-Capcom.

 

[Jick]

Already Gran Turismo 5 is the highest selling game on the PS3. And I don't think that piracy is going to plague the PS3 the way it has with the handhelds.

But you can't pirate Blu-Ray...can you?
So far, I thought Blu-Ray was a successfuly anti-piracy product.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I think the software that was used to prevent blu-ray piracy was cracked pretty much the day it came out.

I think cost and sales is what drives blu-ray piracy down way more than the software. DVD's are cheap to obtain, easier to work with, and most people who buy DVD now are people who just simply want to be entertained. Blu-ray on the other hand is more expensive to obtain, are not as easy to work with, and most people who buy blu-ray want the best. They want the best picture quality (not bootleg quality). They want the best special features (which don't come with pirated copies). They want it all, so they will buy from legitimate sources.

And with today's video games on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, there is just so much data to deal with and other features (online multiplayer, Achievements/Trophies, etc.) that wouldn't work with a pirated copy that it just really isn't worth the time, effort, and money to pirate those games as opposed to handheld games that take up less than a gig of data and are rather simplistic.

 

[Cth]

I agree with that, we should wait until what Microsoft unveils at E3 this year before we go off saying how bad everything is. But I sure do remember last year

True. The last two years September-Dec have been insanely crowded. It's starting to look like the movie model with summer tentpole films. Sure, there's hits outside of that range, but by and large, that's what's been successful, hence my not being too concerned at this point. I'd rather stuff is locked in place than go through a LA Noir situation (losing exclusivity) or GT (delay/delay/etc)

Already Gran Turismo 5 is the highest selling game on the PS3. And I don't think that piracy is going to plague the PS3 the way it has with the handhelds.

Ahh, I missed that announcement. I wonder if it's shipped vs. sell through though.

Either way, it's looking more and more like Europe is Sony's last big hope.

And I'm going to have to disagree on the piracy thing.. it's an easier hack than the iPod/PSP/etc. And it's only going to get easier.

I do think that we are going to start seeing more consolidation within the video game industry. I wouldn't be surprised to see Sony buy up a few more developers. I do think that Warner Bros. and Disney are going to try and make big moves. And I think that someday we'll end up seeing Konami-Capcom.

Very likely. It's going to be interesting to see who weathers these moves.

Disney picking up Marvel might be a sneak peek at the future. Especially if they can make Marvel work for them long term.

But you can't pirate Blu-Ray...can you?
So far, I thought Blu-Ray was a successfuly anti-piracy product.

You'd be surprised.

Most stuff is padded though. A lot of times developers put garbage on discs so people trying to download it end up having to grab 5gigs+ of junk to go with a 1gig game.

The bad scenario I see happening is this.. a multiplatform game comes out like Assassins Creed 3. Because it's multiplatform, the PS3 version will be smaller and even more likely pirated. Developers may see slumping sales as a reason to stop future development on PS3.

Anyways, just to get back on topic, here's some preliminary numbers until NPD comes out with official numbers:

Wedbush / EEDAR (year-over-year change)
DS: 2,550,000 (-23%) / 2,400,000 (-27%)
Wii: 2,600,000 (-32%) / 2,200,000 (-42%)
360: 2,500,000 (91%) / 1,900,000 (45%)
PS3: 1,200,000 (-12%) / 1,100,000 (-19%)
PS2: 2 00,000 (-40%) / NA
PSP: 4,50,000 (-31%) / 5,00,000 (-24%)
Industry: 9,500,000 (-12%) / 8,100,000 (-25%)

 

[Cth]

I think cost and sales is what drives blu-ray piracy down way more than the software. DVD's are cheap to obtain, easier to work with, and most people who buy DVD now are people who just simply want to be entertained. Blu-ray on the other hand is more expensive to obtain, are not as easy to work with, and most people who buy blu-ray want the best. They want the best picture quality (not bootleg quality). They want the best special features (which don't come with pirated copies). They want it all, so they will buy from legitimate sources.

I almost forgot.

One of the things that prevented that in the past was because they did something with the output. I'll have to dig up the exact explanation. Since they found the keys, that's no longer an issue.

Another thing is that previously, you had to have a blu-ray burner which could be expensive. Now, they can simply rip it directly using the PS3.

 

[Iceman]

....Sony is attempting to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers..

Interesting stuff. I see Sony is making some effort in the casual market but are they making any inroads into it? I ask as I don't know, having seen no adverts at all of casual PS3 games or anything for Move. I thought with the PS3 naturally being the most expensive of the 3 & the other 2 heavily marketed towards casuals that the PS3 would struggle to pull that crowd in.

For Nintendo, I believe it's too late to get the hardcore back this generation. Going to be very difficult to change the overall image of the wii now & the console also doesn't have the specs to compete on the more adult orientated games. I think they will still do ok though, after that great start, if they stick to their strengths & develop their core games to their full potential.

Microsoft for all their faults in terms of current studio-produced AAA titles have left a hardcore legacy with a really great XBox Live setup & pulling in more or the serious guys early who couldn't wait for PS3. By inventing achievements, platform loyalty was further encouraged & I think many chose early on to use the 360 for multiplatform titles. Probably why a lot of people who are tempted to leave are stopped by the fact that their friends still all have 360s. Maybe it will take Sony to come up with an exclusive Super AAA game with COD-popularity-level multiplayer for people to start moving en masse but I think it's too late.

I think the software that was used to prevent blu-ray piracy was cracked pretty much the day it came out.

I think cost and sales is what drives blu-ray piracy down way more than the software. DVD's are cheap to obtain, easier to work with, and most people who buy DVD now are people who just simply want to be entertained. Blu-ray on the other hand is more expensive to obtain, are not as easy to work with, and most people who buy blu-ray want the best. They want the best picture quality (not bootleg quality). They want the best special features (which don't come with pirated copies). They want it all, so they will buy from legitimate sources.

And with today's video games on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, there is just so much data to deal with and other features (online multiplayer, Achievements/Trophies, etc.) that wouldn't work with a pirated copy that it just really isn't worth the time, effort, and money to pirate those games as opposed to handheld games that take up less than a gig of data and are rather simplistic.

That all makes sense & is good to hear. I really hate piracy & its effects. I stopped spending big on DVDs, CDs, MP3s, PC games etc when everybody started pirating them.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

I would say Microsoft lost more when Allard went than Moore.

If anything Moore is the one who started a lot of the problems.

He goes to EA, suddenly EA goes after Mass Effect.

I don´t know what problems are you refering to, but when Moore was there, the Xbox brand was actually a force to be reckoned with when it comes to games and developers acquisitions.
They actually made very good decisions.
Allard was extemely important, but it´s not comparable to Moore due to the fact that he was a hardware guy.
And, ask yourself, why is everyone Xbox related running for the hills?
Peter Moore, J. Allard, Robbie Bach, Shane Kim....
One of the things i don´t understand is Don Mattrick.
When he went to MS i thought it was a good substitute to Moore, due to the fact that he is a gamer, he is one of the creators of the Test Drive Ip, but after a few months i was speechless about the man, he is nothing more than a tool, he didn´t brought anything new.
But, like i said, Phil Spencer is, imo, the worst of the bunch...

As for Mass Effect going to EA, it has nothing to do with Moore but with Riccitiello.
John Riccitiello was the COO of EA until 2004, and, imo, he was the best thing about the company.
He then left and co-founded Elevation Partners (The firm is named after U2's song "Elevation, due to the fact that Bono is also a co-founder) .
In 2005, Elevation invested $300 million to create an alliance between video game developers BioWare and Pandemic Studios.
From what i´ve read, Bioware became good friends with Riccitiello.
In 2007, he left Elevation Partner and returned to EA, now as a CEO (best move EA made in years).
The first thing he did was to write a letter to fans, saying he was sorry for years of bad decisions (the closer of Westwood, Bullfrog and Origin) and that things would change; buy Bioware and Pandemic for $860 million and to hire Peter Moore for the job of President of EA Sports.
So, it had nothing to do with Moore, but with John Riccitiello and Elevation Partners.
2007 was, imo, the begining of the fall of the 360 (which is weird, because it was their best year so far), but the raise of EA.

Either way, Microsoft ALWAYS keeps its cards close to its chest. It's still the first week of 2011 and we've already got the doom and gloom naysayers out in full force. As usual, E3 will roll along and everyone stops being Chicken Little.

I never said otherwise, i´m sure MS will have something to announce on E3, maybe a new Halo, more exclusive DLC crap and another partership in the likes of ESPN.
Fans will go wild if they show more of Codename: Kingdoms, and that´s the problem.
Sure, Kingdoms is a great exclusive due to the fact is Crytek´s and it´s first party (from what i´ve read, it´s MS ip), but it´s only one new Ip in a console that has a shortage of exclusives and 1st party games.
A great E3 would be for MS to announce 2 more AAA exclusives (1st parties, not timely, not third party, not Kinect....and no Gun Loco crap), the next Perfect Dark, Kingdoms gameplay and the acquisition of 2 or more developers.
I got hyped two times during the MS press conference since 2007, one during E3 09 and the other last year.
I got really excited about the Alan Wake reveal, not only looked great, it was Remedy´s (i love them since Max Payne) and it was totally diferent from what MS usually have.
Last year, about Kingdoms, more even when i thought that, when Mattrick said it was 1st party, i misheard i thought it was MADE by a 1st party studio, which meant they had bought Crytek.
For a publisher that really lacks 1st party studios, to buy Crytek was amazing....but i was wrong, and my excitement went downhill.
I´m still very hyped, but not nearly as i was when i misunderstood the all thing

As far as the move towards social media, compare the numbers. You'll see why there's a shift towards that. Complain all you want, but the industry is changing and like it or not, this is how things are moving. Hate motion controllers? Guess what, they're here to stay. It's not just Microsoft, it's everyone. The industry is changing, and much like the change from joysticks to gamepads, not everyone is going to be happy.

Have you went to the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim thread?
I have nothing against motion control, nor casual games for that matter.
The same goes to the all social media, the problem is when the focus on that put the essence of a gaming console, namely the games, on the back burner, which is what MS is doing.
I´m not defending the PS3, i have no reason to, but look at them, they have EVERYTHING the 360 has when it comes to the social and media and they never once put the games aside, the Playstation is still a gaming console at heart...as it should.
If tomorrow, by any chance (just an example), the 360 puts the games aside and focus 100% on being a media hub, no one will buy it.

The problem about Microsoft is that they are a bad company.
It was never like this, but it is in the last few years.
The business rule of having to spend money to make money doesn´t apply to them, as their rule is to spend the least possible money, so, what they do is, they stand still, don´t take chances and do partnerships galore (ESPN, Activison DLC timely exclusivity,...).
Halo sells, let´s make 10 of it....Fable sells, let´s make 5...and so on.
One can say that other companies do the same, but, when you have 3 Ips that you use on a daily basis (Halo, Fable and Forza), it becames stale and a bit pathetic.
Other companies have more games that that, even if they return to one or two golden Ips.
Kinect showed that Microsoft can still innovate if they want to, but i´m sure the same rule will apply, because it is selling like hotcakes (have no idea why), MS will be all over it, making tons of casual games for it and only changing their way when it starts to fade (what will not happen very soon).
A company should always try to be better than they are, always aim higher; that´s why they were surpassed by Apple, because MS is a stale company.
Sony always tries to transcnd themselves, always try to make better games, sometimes they win, sometimes they lose...but they try, MS, on the other, releases the same thing over an over again because it sells.
Just a quick note, i have nothing against Halo, Fable or Forza.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

It was announced a couple of days ago that The Secret World is going to be published by EA.
That MIGHT mean that the game will be on the PS3 as well (when was the last time EA made an exclusive?).
The problem is not going to the PS3, the problem is that it´s one less exclusive for the 360, a console with the extreme need of exclusives.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

It was announced a couple of days ago that The Secret World is going to be published by EA.
That MIGHT mean that the game will be on the PS3 as well (when was the last time EA made an exclusive?).
The problem is not going to the PS3, the problem is that it´s one less exclusive for the 360, a console with the extreme need of exclusives.

Mass Effect 1 and originally 2? Command and Conquer 3?

Seriously, this thread needs to be shut down. You have created it for the sole purpose of using every piece of gaming news that comes out as some kind of proof of Microsofts eventual downfall or at the very least evidence that it's an inferior console. One opinion does not does not justify an entire thread, these are opinions that could be expressed in any number of threads, they do not need their own.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Mass Effect 1 and originally 2? Command and Conquer 3?

The first Mass Effect was published by Microsoft originally. EA only published the PC version. And EA always intended Mass Effect 2 to go multiplatform. The original Mass Effect staying exclusive along with the timed exclusivity was probably what was used by EA to pay off Microsoft for the three game Mass Effect publishing deal Microsoft had with BioWare. Sorta like how Disney paid off Paramount so that the Disney label could be used with the Avengers and Iron Man 3.

And I think with Command & Conquer 3, the developers had trouble with the PS3 version so they canceled it.

Seriously, this thread needs to be shut down. You have created it for the sole purpose of using every piece of gaming news that comes out as some kind of proof of Microsofts eventual downfall or at the very least evidence that it's an inferior console. One opinion does not does not justify an entire thread, these are opinions that could be expressed in any number of threads, they do not need their own.

I don't see this as a thread to bring down Microsoft's console. I think this thread however has so far brough some rather valid discussion over the direction that Microsoft is taking with its video games.

However, I will be keeping an eye on this thread.

 

[Cth]

I don´t know what problems are you refering to, but when Moore was there, the Xbox brand was actually a force to be reckoned with when it comes to games and developers acquisitions.
They actually made very good decisions.
Allard was extemely important, but it´s not comparable to Moore due to the fact that he was a hardware guy.

Most of the stuff you enjoy with the Xbox 360 can be directly attributed to Allard.

So yeah, I disagree big time.

Here's a sample of Peter Moore's genius:

[RE: EA] Our games have become more and more complicated and complex, and we often get dogged for one of the biggest misconceptions in the entire industry - a lack of innovation year in and year out on annually iterated titles. I bristle at time when I hear this, because nothing could be further from the truth.

Pretty much the same thing he did at Xbox, crank out sequel after sequel.

Or how about this quote?

Nobody is concerned anymore about backwards compatibility. We under promised and over delivered on that. It’s a very complicated thing… very complex work. I’m just stunned that we have hundreds of games that are backwards compatible. More are coming, but at some point, you just go, there’s enough, let’s move on, or people aren’t as worried about a game being backwards compatible – and I like to think we’ve upheld our end of the bargain in making at least two or maybe three hundred games backwards compatible.

And it's odd that he quit 2 weeks after Xbox dropped 1 billion dollars to address the RROD stuff.

So, no, I don't think Moore was all that good for Xbox. He wasn't horrible, but nowhere nearly deserving of the praise you give him, IMO.

And, ask yourself, why is everyone Xbox related running for the hills?
Peter Moore, J. Allard, Robbie Bach, Shane Kim....

Allard? They cancelled his tablet project.

Moore? Easier job at EA and the whole 1 billion $ fiasco.

The same goes to the all social media, the problem is when the focus on that put the essence of a gaming console, namely the games, on the back burner, which is what MS is doing.

No, they're just not making the games YOU want them to make. And again, it's Jan 2011.. wait for the announcements.

I´m not defending the PS3, i have no reason to, but look at them, they have EVERYTHING the 360 has when it comes to the social and media and they never once put the games aside, the Playstation is still a gaming console at heart...as it should.

Could have fooled me.

If anything they went further with the web browser, adding Home, their own video marketplace, PSN+, video magazine, Linux, Hulu, etc.

Please don't try to spin things from what the reality is.

If it was purely about the games with Sony, you'd have been able to play The Last Guardian and GT5 years ago.

It launched in 2006, and 4 years later you barely get GT5. LBP2 kept getting pushed back. TLG. Etc. See a pattern? Might as well call it the Delaystation.

I love my PS3, but again, let's be realistic here.

The problem about Microsoft is that they are a bad company.
It was never like this, but it is in the last few years.
The business rule of having to spend money to make money doesn´t apply to them, as their rule is to spend the least possible money, so, what they do is, they stand still, don´t take chances and do partnerships galore (ESPN, Activison DLC timely exclusivity,...).

The 500 million sunk into Kinect says otherwise.

Just because they're no longer buying exclusives (again, exclusives are a non-issue this generation when you have games like Black Ops outselling all of them.

They take plenty of chances. Look at how many people were bashing Kinect before it launched. Look at the success it's brought them.

Halo sells, let´s make 10 of it....Fable sells, let´s make 5...and so on.
One can say that other companies do the same, but, when you have 3 Ips that you use on a daily basis (Halo, Fable and Forza), it becames stale and a bit pathetic.

This discounts the entire XBLA section, which is insulting.

Again, for YOU, that's what you see, the numbers show otherwise.

Sony always tries to transcnd themselves, always try to make better games, sometimes they win, sometimes they lose...but they try, MS, on the other, releases the same thing over an over again because it sells.
Just a quick note, i have nothing against Halo, Fable or Forza.

Move isn't nearly transcending.

And again, it's a shame you ignore XBLA's contributions.

I really wonder what games you play since it sounds like to you, Xbox only has 3 games.

It was announced a couple of days ago that The Secret World is going to be published by EA.
That MIGHT mean that the game will be on the PS3 as well (when was the last time EA made an exclusive?).
The problem is not going to the PS3, the problem is that it´s one less exclusive for the 360, a console with the extreme need of exclusives.

Again, exclusives only matter to fanboys, IMO.

If they did, Sony would be in 1st place and their titles would be selling like hotcakes. They're not.

Besides, ask yourself how annoying exclusives are when Gamestop gets them when other stores don't.

I really don't get the whole exclusive obsession. If anything Kinect gives them a whole bunch of exclusives. Again, it's a matter of perception. You don't like Kinect or the games Xbox is making, so from your POV Xbox is dying, etc. For others, it's a great time to own an Xbox, or if you're lucky all three consoles.