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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Microsoft has done a lot of innovations

McDonaldsGuy on 19 January 2015

A lot of people hate the Xbox and wish Microsoft never entered the gaming market, but look at what they've done for gaming:

- Achievements. First one to do achievements, brilliant innovation. Achievements give games lasting value to many people and also sold many games (I won't lie I have bought games just for the achievement points)

- Hard drive standard (except for a small percentage of 360 Core machines)

- Xbox Live. Seriously, the gold standard for online gaming. So many innovations - friends list, party chat, Xbox Live Arcade/Store, great matchamking, etc. etc. Compare it to the PS2's online! Now online gaming is probably the biggest part of gaming now, and Microsoft is the one that really pushed for it by including ONLY broadband for the Xbox instead of dialup (Sega's huge mistake)

- Halo. Halo was groundbreaking and super popular. Pretty much paved the way for the FPS generation. Even if you don't like it or its influence, you can't deny the facts. Some say Goldeneye was the game that did this but I think it was Halo 2 when the FPS era really took off. Not to mention Halo is the first $350 game ever (what I mean is most people bought an Xbox just to play Halo, the Halo box)

- Gears of War. A true killer app. The 360 needed one badly in 2006 and Gears of War also paved the way for many shooters last gen.

- It also helped promote WRPGs on consoles, which are now also a huge genre and bigger than JRPGs now

- Then there are other little innovations (albeit inevitable ones) like the guide button, dashboard, Kinect, etc. etc.



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Frogger on 19 January 2015

Achievements are the worst thing Microsoft brought to gaming. Everything else, I agree with.



Eddie_Raja on 19 January 2015
McDonaldsGuy said:

A lot of people hate the Xbox and wish Microsoft never entered the gaming market, but look at what they've done for gaming:

- Achievements. First one to do achievements, brilliant innovation. Achievements give games lasting value to many people and also sold many games (I won't lie I have bought games just for the achievement points)

Fair Enough

- Hard drive standard (except for a small percentage of 360 Core machines)

Most 360's sold were core, and the PS2 had Harddrives.  The PS3 was the first console to have "Large" HDD's standard.

- Xbox Live. Seriously, the gold standard for online gaming. So many innovations - friends list, party chat, Xbox Live Arcade/Store, great matchamking, etc. etc. Compare it to the PS2's online! Now online gaming is probably the biggest part of gaming now, and Microsoft is the one that really pushed for it by including ONLY broadband for the Xbox instead of dialup (Sega's huge mistake)

- Halo. Halo was groundbreaking and super popular. Pretty much paved the way for the FPS generation. Even if you don't like it or its influence, you can't deny the facts. Some say Goldeneye was the game that did this but I think it was Halo 2 when the FPS era really took off. Not to mention Halo is the first $350 game ever (what I mean is most people bought an Xbox just to play Halo, the Halo box)

This is one game, and while innovative doesn't say much when FF, Gran Turismo, and Mario games are also genre defining.

- Gears of War. A true killer app. The 360 needed one badly in 2006 and Gears of War also paved the way for many shooters last gen.

Same as before.

- It also helped promote WRPGs on consoles, which are now also a huge genre and bigger than JRPGs now

Really the credit goes to the great studios like Bioware and Bethesda.  MS had almost nothing to do with this.

- Then there are other little innovations (albeit inevitable ones) like the guide button, dashboard, Kinect, etc. etc.

The dashboard was always chided for being confusing to navigate (And it was).  Kinect I would give some credit but really the Wii deserves almost any credit Kinect gets.





Prediction for console Lifetime sales:

Wii:100-120 million, PS3:80-110 million, 360:70-100 million

[Prediction Made 11/5/2009]

3DS: 65m, PSV: 22m, Wii U: 18-22m, PS4: 80-120m, X1: 35-55m

I gauruntee the PS5 comes out after only 5-6 years after the launch of the PS4.

[Prediction Made 6/18/2014]

Eddie_Raja on 19 January 2015
spemanig said:
Achievements are the worst thing Microsoft brought to gaming. Everything else, I agree with.


Honestly people like you make me laugh.  You don't HAVE to use them...



Prediction for console Lifetime sales:

Wii:100-120 million, PS3:80-110 million, 360:70-100 million

[Prediction Made 11/5/2009]

3DS: 65m, PSV: 22m, Wii U: 18-22m, PS4: 80-120m, X1: 35-55m

I gauruntee the PS5 comes out after only 5-6 years after the launch of the PS4.

[Prediction Made 6/18/2014]

Scoobes on 19 January 2015

Most of those point to Microsoft bringing a more PC-like experience to consoles, which makes sense considering their PC background. Halo helped popularise FPS on consoles (previously a PC genre), Live popularised online play for console games (previously only done on PC) and hard drives, whilst obvious, reduced loading times and allowed users to download content (again, previously PC-only).

They can also be credited with helping to convince previous PC-centric devs make the jump to consoles (hence the wRPG and Gears points).

I suppose the question is, are these really innovations, or would PC devs with Sony and Nintendo have brought these experiences to consoles anyway? We can be sure even if they did, without MS, it would have taken a lot longer.




Get your Portable ID!

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McDonaldsGuy on 19 January 2015
Eddie_Raja said:
McDonaldsGuy said:

A lot of people hate the Xbox and wish Microsoft never entered the gaming market, but look at what they've done for gaming:

- Achievements. First one to do achievements, brilliant innovation. Achievements give games lasting value to many people and also sold many games (I won't lie I have bought games just for the achievement points)

Fair Enough

- Hard drive standard (except for a small percentage of 360 Core machines)

Most 360's sold were core, and the PS2 had Harddrives.  The PS3 was the first console to have "Large" HDD's standard.

- Xbox Live. Seriously, the gold standard for online gaming. So many innovations - friends list, party chat, Xbox Live Arcade/Store, great matchamking, etc. etc. Compare it to the PS2's online! Now online gaming is probably the biggest part of gaming now, and Microsoft is the one that really pushed for it by including ONLY broadband for the Xbox instead of dialup (Sega's huge mistake)

- Halo. Halo was groundbreaking and super popular. Pretty much paved the way for the FPS generation. Even if you don't like it or its influence, you can't deny the facts. Some say Goldeneye was the game that did this but I think it was Halo 2 when the FPS era really took off. Not to mention Halo is the first $350 game ever (what I mean is most people bought an Xbox just to play Halo, the Halo box)

This is one game, and while innovative doesn't say much when FF, Gran Turismo, and Mario games are also genre defining.

- Gears of War. A true killer app. The 360 needed one badly in 2006 and Gears of War also paved the way for many shooters last gen.

Same as before.

- It also helped promote WRPGs on consoles, which are now also a huge genre and bigger than JRPGs now

Really the credit goes to the great studios like Bioware and Bethesda.  MS had almost nothing to do with this.

- Then there are other little innovations (albeit inevitable ones) like the guide button, dashboard, Kinect, etc. etc.

The dashboard was always chided for being confusing to navigate (And it was).  Kinect I would give some credit but really the Wii deserves almost any credit Kinect gets.




Oh yeah no doubt about it. Mario, GT and FF are definitely innovative, but let's face it, for the last 10 years which genre has been king? First person shooter. Like it, or hate it, can't deny the facts. And Halo is more than just "one game" when you think about it. It saved the Xbox from complete failure and paved the way for shooters to become the dominate genre.

PS2's hard drive was optional, the original Xbox had a standard hard drive however.

Bioware and Bethesda deserve tons of credit but so does Microsoft. Their system really made it easier to port/create WRPGs, which is why games like Jade Empire, Star Wars: Kotor, Morrowind, and Mass Effect were on Xbox/Xbox 360 and not the PS2/PS3. Now WRPGs are bigger on consoles than JRPGs and the Xbox is a HUGE reason for this. In fact Sony still doesn't have a killer first party first person shooter franchise or WRPG franchise despite many attempts. It's not as easy as it looks.

Here is a good article on this subject: http://cimeas.kinja.com/did-the-xbox-save-the-western-rpg-508285567



Scoobes on 19 January 2015
McDonaldsGuy said:


Oh yeah no doubt about it. Mario, GT and FF are definitely innovative, but let's face it, for the last 10 years which genre has been king? First person shooter. Like it, or hate it, can't deny the facts. And Halo is more than just "one game" when you think about it. It saved the Xbox from complete failure and paved the way for shooters to become the dominate genre.

PS2's hard drive was optional, the original Xbox had a standard hard drive however.

Bioware and Bethesda deserve tons of credit but so does Microsoft. Their system really made it easier to port/create WRPGs, which is why games like Jade Empire, Star Wars: Kotor, Morrowind, and Mass Effect were on Xbox/Xbox 360 and not the PS2/PS3. Now WRPGs are bigger on consoles than JRPGs and the Xbox is a HUGE reason for this. In fact Sony still doesn't have a killer first party first person shooter franchise or WRPG franchise despite many attempts. It's not as easy as it looks.

Here is a good article on this subject: http://cimeas.kinja.com/did-the-xbox-save-the-western-rpg-508285567

When did Sony try their hand at a wRPG? I can only think of Demon's Souls/Bloodborne which are Eastern developed but more in line with a niche within the wRPG genre.

And I'm not sure MS has a "killer" wRPG series either. Definitely not in-line with third party offerings.




Get your Portable ID!

McDonaldsGuy on 19 January 2015
Scoobes said:
McDonaldsGuy said:


Oh yeah no doubt about it. Mario, GT and FF are definitely innovative, but let's face it, for the last 10 years which genre has been king? First person shooter. Like it, or hate it, can't deny the facts. And Halo is more than just "one game" when you think about it. It saved the Xbox from complete failure and paved the way for shooters to become the dominate genre.

PS2's hard drive was optional, the original Xbox had a standard hard drive however.

Bioware and Bethesda deserve tons of credit but so does Microsoft. Their system really made it easier to port/create WRPGs, which is why games like Jade Empire, Star Wars: Kotor, Morrowind, and Mass Effect were on Xbox/Xbox 360 and not the PS2/PS3. Now WRPGs are bigger on consoles than JRPGs and the Xbox is a HUGE reason for this. In fact Sony still doesn't have a killer first party first person shooter franchise or WRPG franchise despite many attempts. It's not as easy as it looks.

Here is a good article on this subject: http://cimeas.kinja.com/did-the-xbox-save-the-western-rpg-508285567

When did Sony try their hand at a wRPG? I can only think of Demon's Souls/Bloodborne which are Eastern developed but more in line with a niche within the wRPG genre.

And I'm not sure MS has a "killer" wRPG series either. Definitely not in-line with third party offerings.

Microsoft had Morrowind, Fable, KOTOR, etc. etc. which were console exclusive. Read that article it's surprisingly very good.

Sony actually has with Untold Legends and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (though not developed by Sony it was a PS2 exclusive for like a year).

WRPGs and FPS are some of the biggest genres today thanks to Microsoft.



CDiablo on 19 January 2015
Ka-pi96 said:
Hard drives - Another incredibly important one, although considering the PS3 and Wii (I think) also had hard drives and were only a year later that may well have happened even without Microsoft.

Original XBOX had the HDD as a standard component. PS2 had it optional for quite a few games as well. I do agree it was part of the natural progression though.



Getting an XBOX One for me is like being in a bad relationship but staying together because we have kids. XBone we have 20000+ achievement points, 2+ years of XBL Gold and 20000+ MS points. I think its best we stay together if only for the MS points.

Nintendo Treehouse is what happens when a publisher is confident and proud of its games and doesn't need to show CGI lies for five minutes.

-Jim Sterling

McDonaldsGuy on 19 January 2015
CDiablo said:
Ka-pi96 said:
Hard drives - Another incredibly important one, although considering the PS3 and Wii (I think) also had hard drives and were only a year later that may well have happened even without Microsoft.

Original XBOX had the HDD as a standard component. PS2 had it optional for quite a few games as well. I do agree it was part of the natural progression though.


I don't know. Nintendo still is allergic to hard drives, and Sony released the PS2 without an ethernet port (or even dialup) or 4 controller ports. It's tough to say.