-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Jesus, this old Major Nelson interview is all you need to see how far MS has come this generation
- Thread starter MrMatt555
- Start date
When the always online fiasco came to light, I remember swearing I would never buy an xbone, yet 4+ years later I have one under my TV. I only use it for slingtv and 4k blu-rays, which is kind of ironic considering the initial focus on TV.
Spencer has turned things around, but they are sorely lacking any games I can't get elsewhere. The same cannot be said for the other two consoles, and the switch has only been out a few months. I'm not sure this will ever change though, but at least can watch stuff in 4k I guess.
P.S. what the hell is he wearing on his head?
Spencer has turned things around, but they are sorely lacking any games I can't get elsewhere. The same cannot be said for the other two consoles, and the switch has only been out a few months. I'm not sure this will ever change though, but at least can watch stuff in 4k I guess.
P.S. what the hell is he wearing on his head?
I actually did not say or give Major too much shit about that. He clearly looked uncomfortable and as an employee he had to tow the company line or risk losing his position. I don't know this for a fact, but if work for a major corporation and you publicly go against what their message is it usually does not end good. I have been part of a large corporation and had to tow the company even though I disagreed or did not believe in what they were trying to say, but I also had a family and a home so I just did what I was told to do.
Wasn't that almost certainly a lie? Or at least the "share with 10 people" part.
That's not what this is about - it's about economics. Games like Nioh and Bloodborne have zero bearing on how well the PS4 is doing except Japan where games like that wouldn't help the Xbox One anyway.
True, that's all speculation on my part. But Nadella has presided over several rounds of downsizing and layoffs since he became CEO. If the Xbox Division were still losing money hand over fist or threatened to burn a massive hole in the budget due to a manufacturing error, he probably wouldn't be talking them up on quarterly calls as he does now.
It didn't. People are simply disagreeing with the OP and if you want to compare the Xbox brand to the competition, well, it's called Playstation.
I agree, Microsoft has changed and it's doing great compared to the fiasco the OGX1 was, but I still ended up buying that console for Sunset Overdrive and Dead Rising 3.
Xbox One X looks like a beast, but I have pretty much no reason to buy one. "Third party games are going to look better" isn't worth 500$ to me as a PC, PS4 (Pro) and Switch owner.
I wish they had spent that R&D money on funding new games, but well, that won't happen. PC is the future, I won't be shocked if there won't be any new Xbox in 10 years.
MS was losing its way even before the XBone reveal. It's like they forgot who bought the 360 in the first place...
Newsflash: people care about popular games, not exclusives. FIFA, CoD and Destiny do push consoles way better than some exclusives that barely sell.
Do you really believe that? You think the average gamer have the same mindset like a console wars veteran on the net?
Newsflash: people care about popular games, not exclusives. FIFA, CoD and Destiny do push consoles way better than some exclusives that barely sell.
I'd love to see the receipts on that. I hardly picture Japanese gamers rushing to the stores and lining up to buy an X.
For all the praise Spencer gets, he still hasn't brought anything when it comes to the games, I haven't turned on my Xbox in ages and there's not a compelling reason for me to do so in the foreseeable future.
I never understood why MS went into this generation with so much arrogance. The Wii was, by far, the biggest winner of the previous generation. The PS3 was able to catch up to the 360 in the second half of that generation. With Sony you could at least understand why they were so arrogant with the PS3. The PS2 dominated everything, and the GameCube and OG Xbox were in very distance 2nd and 3rd place positions. MS never had that level of control of the industry like Sony and Nintendo had. They had no reason to think they had the clout to upend the industry the way they would have wanted to with the original vision of the Xbox One.
The Kinect was wildly successful for MS and increased sales...
It sold because it tapped into the casual market that Nintendo found success with when they sold the Wii. Don Mattrick focused so much on that market that they lost the core gamer market with the Xbox One reveal. He literally set the goal of selling 1 billion Xbox One's as DVR set top box (seriously, why was he in charge?!) and had a TV and Kinect focus over what actually matters and that is Games, Hardware, and a good entry price!
Mattrick played a big part in the terrible XB1 launch I agree, but to give him all the blame while putting Spencer up on a pedestal is rubbish IMO. Spencer has been with MS for quite a while now and in senior positions. He surely gets some of the blame too, and as noted in the interview linked in this thread even he agrees with that.
Spencer had to fall in line as Don Mattrick was his boss. So yes, Mattrick gets all the blame!
I still was a fan of this model... being able to have your Physical disc and a digital library was a win-win to me. But I completely understand why they noped-da-f out of that.
No offense but this is not true.
I live in Canada and I don't even have to leave my house to get an Xbox X. It's in stock on Amazon as we speak.
Like the Pro was selling out and later we learned only 1 out of every 5 PS4's was a Pro.
As if "Selling out" without numbers means anything.
So you also knew this is how the thread would go. Cool. I don't have a problem with the flow of discussion and I agree that they have a pretty long ways to go. I also agree that they've come a long way from the start of the gen, which is what the thread was about. My only point was that a thread about how far MS has come would naturally and quickly be met with talk of how they're not good, they don't have games, "I'll never buy one", etc. Just predictable is all.
Sony were catching up every single year since the PS3 released though. The year that Kinect launched was pretty much the biggest sales year that MS had, and if Kinect didn't come along the PS3 would have caught it even quicker. Kinect did wonders for the 360.
Well, that is true, but the XBX is selling phenomenally and that's pretty crazy for a $500 mid-gen console. Microsoft really has turned Xbox around, and if they come packing with games in the next few years then it's going to be the biggest 180 in the history of gaming (even beating out PS2>PS3 because PS3 had massive competition from the extremely innovative Xbox 360 while Sony got to coast with PS4 due to Mattrick and co. killing their own brand).
And it has to be said, Nadella is an absolute genius CEO. I hate Ballmer.
The worst part about their proposal was them pretending it was being done in the best interest of customers, and not pandering to publishers bitching about used games.
I doubt anything will ever beat Nintendo's turnaround from the Gamecube to the Wii.
I doubt anything will ever beat Nintendo's turnaround from the Gamecube to the Wii.
They do seem to have turned around. After buying a stupid amount (5 I think) of 360s thanks to a mix of RROD and theft, they kinda lost me. I went from having to have a 360 TODAY if I lost mine, to feeling like the console was not for me anymore around when the cartoon avatar update came it. This gen I've been completely happy with my PS4 up until the XBX which makes me not want to buy anymore multiplat games until I have one (and even sell and rebuy the multiplat games I have.
WiiU -> Switch will be a bigger recovery, even if the Switch isn't quite up to Wii success levels long term.
People already complaining smh
Can't we appreciate the man turned the ship around? All negativity towards Xbox is gone and sales will be better from here, we all know it won't compete with Ps4 or Switch because Euro Asia domination but who cares, it still does good that's what matters.
Can't we appreciate the man turned the ship around? All negativity towards Xbox is gone and sales will be better from here, we all know it won't compete with Ps4 or Switch because Euro Asia domination but who cares, it still does good that's what matters.
Coming packing with games is such a massive challenge for them to overcome though. I'm genuinely curious what their approach will be. They really need 343i to deliver on a game that is goty worthy. They need to rebuild relationships with partners, most of which were burned over the last few years. They need to invest heavily in internal studios with time, money, and top tier talent. And they need to avoid saddling their good games with obtrusive micro transaction models like in Gears 4 and Forza 7. It is an extremely long road for them, one that I don't know can be solved in anything shorter than 5 years time. The fact they haven't produced a mainstream goty contender for the entire generation while their competition has been right there should be a sore spot for them to drive the next few years.
Funny thing, I hated pure digital libraries when MS first announced it. And yet, I've never owned any physical copies for my PS4. And I never will, it's too convenient.
MS was really ahead of the curve on this one, but their messaging was horrendous and showed incredible hubris - you can't dictate market trends - especially with us gamers (look at EA's Battlefield fiasco).
MS was really ahead of the curve on this one, but their messaging was horrendous and showed incredible hubris - you can't dictate market trends - especially with us gamers (look at EA's Battlefield fiasco).
Clubs, looking for group, easier refunds on console, Xbox live game pass, EA game pass, enhanced backwards compatibility, play anywhere, pro controller, cross-platform play, controller color options, 4k blu-ray player, TV inputs, etc. You look silly.
I mean PS2 was a way bigger hit than 360 ever was. PS2 was massive. And the PS1 was certainly no slouch. PS3 was a huge fall from grace... and you're not accounting for the fact that Sony turned things around during the PS3 generation. Microsoft will continue to lose this generation so I'm not really sure how that's a bigger turnaround.
Mattrick is a despicable being and I'm glad he's out, but I feel like MS first party efforts were much better when he was in charge. Not that they can't turned around, but we shall see. I will admit tho that the X is so impressive that they have won me back. I loved the 360 but that initial X1 reveal killed any hype I had for that console.
There's much better material out there in case you wanna masturbate, you know?
Last edited:
It remains to be seen whether 2017 was bare because there was a drought as a result of restructures that occurred 18-24 months ago, or whether it is a sign that they are just not going to have that many first party games going forward. If they have secured more games in the style of Quantum Break, DR3 or Sunset Overdrive, then we should be hearing about them before the end of next year. There does not appear to have been any signs of notable activity vis a vis bulking up first party studios so realistically that's the only area that could be growing in the next year or two that we wouldn't already be able to see the signs of.
The only reason MS changed is because they lost significant market value this generation. Their methods and target audience was an extremely different group of people compared to the people who invested in the platform previously. Something that was mind bending considering a lot of these analyst were paid to know this shit. Once the reputation is damaged, it stays damage even after all the backpedaling that happened after E3 2013. I know several people to this day where they still believe they can't buy used games on XO. So they looked at Sony is doing and just did what they did and even improved on some aspect such as BC. Something that Sony was just not invested in. Their first party games are still severely lacking though. Nintendo and Sony are on a different league completely. They are 10 years behind IMO when it comes to the sheer assists that both of those companies have developed over the years. If MS invests on studio starts up, I can see myself adopting their hardware. I look at the Xbox One X and I see a magnificent hardware that will never be utilized to it's full extend, and even if some titles do, it won't be enough of them IMO.
Offering digital games is a great idea.
These things are not a great idea:
Online checkins to be allowed to play games you've bought.
Retail game licenses DRM being tied to your account instead of the disc.
Killing secondary market for games.
At least not without offering something significant in return.
As you said, you've been able to enjoy the convenience of a digital library on a platform that made non of the consumer hostile decisions Microsoft made.
Digital is fine now, but it was still stupid when they launched the console. That combined with TVTVTV, Kinect, and a homerun from Sony fucked them bad.
I stuck with it, but 343 killed halo for me and I'm burned out on Forza Motorsports.
I stuck with it, but 343 killed halo for me and I'm burned out on Forza Motorsports.
Exactly.
Really doesn't help that Halo & Gears of War feel incredibly stale now and don't muster the same kind of hype they once did.
Sea of Thieves and Crackdown 3 also don't look like anything special to me personally.
Not seeing the change, to be honest. Phil is still giving interviews that they have as much 1st party output as Sony and that Horizon/Zelda didn't move the needle. Shannon Loftis still giving tone-deaf interviews about that as well.
It's just that Larry has been quietly pushed to the background so it seems like a change but the same spirit of hand-waving remains.
It's just that Larry has been quietly pushed to the background so it seems like a change but the same spirit of hand-waving remains.
Phil Spencer himself disagrees with you.
https://www.cinemablend.com/games/P...oing-Take-Responsibility-Decisions-67999.html
The Mattrick years
The man that almost killed the Xbox brand.
Also the dude that probably can be blamed for the lack of games and new studios now. That shit takes years of investment, and this dude didn't put in the reps.
No, yes and no.
Spencer has been open about 1st party. Loftis can't speak without putting her foot in her mouth. Major Nelson is more prominent than ever.
Phil Spencer has reinvigorated the brand. It's clear as day. But the issue it had wasn't Larry's fault (he's a good guy is Major) it was a set of poor decisions that he was asked to try and sell.
I remember that video! I forget how, but I think some person found me on twitter and asked me if I would post the video on neogaf for them. Pretty sure it was the creator. One of my most quoted posts I think.
edit: noooooo the video has apparently been taken down :/
The brand could've been...probably should've been dead. If they keep Mattrick, they likely dissolved by now. Investors within Microsoft pushed hard to get Microsoft to sell the division.
Games are much like a sports roster. When a new GM comes into a sports franchise, if it's a mess, he tears it down and rebuilds. It gets worse before getting better. The owner usually isn't going to open the checkbook to keep putting bandaids over a crappy foundation.
Leaning out the 1st/2nd party was the responsible thing to do as they focused their resources on the bones of the division. Gamers think games are the foundation. Good games are the result of a good foundation. Microsoft was a bit of a mess on the software front and the downward spiral started almost a decade ago.
Now the Xbox team has Nadella buying into the division and moving Spencer to the table. This is the most direct path the Xbox team has ever had to the guy who'll sign off on new investments. The few studios they do own all make money. They fixed the hardware, UI and services. Last is exclusive games. They admitted this was the plan a year and 1/2 ago.
Blaming the current Xbox team for the lack of exclusives now would be like blaming a sports GM for not signing any great free agents when the owner has put major financial restrictions on him while they are in rebuild mode.