the-pi-guy said:
Thye have undergone some pretty massive changes. (1) I'm a bit confused by this line because it seems like you're agreeing with what has been said, and disagreeing at the same time. As suggested, their intention is not to stay in the gaming market. So you seem to be agreeing with that, by calling it asinine to suggest that MS's intention is to stay in the market while cutting their studios. Yet you seem to want to disagree with everything else. MS seemingly wants to focus less on making "crops" and focus more on their "cash crops." Games like Halo and Forza, are worth having around because they bring in money. They're not focusing so much on making a platform as much as they used to. (2) The major flaw with generational hardware, Spencer explained, is that “Hardware locks our software and our platforms together at the beginning of the generation.” For about a decade, these machines allow software innovation while restricting hardware innovation “while other platforms get better, faster, stronger.” That could change with Xbox One, particularly as it draws more and more from PC initiatives -- whether it’s Early Access, user interface options, business models, and more. Spencer believes “we will see more innovation in the console hardware space than we’ve ever seen. We’ll see us come out with new hardware capability during the generation, and allow us to run the same games forward and backward compatible.” With Microsoft’s drive to marry its ecosystems -- with “Universal Windows Applications” running on the “Universal Windows Platform” -- Microsoft can “focus more on hardware innovations without invalidating the games that run on that platform.” http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/01/microsoft-has-a-lot-to-prove-with-pc-gaming (3) I don't agree that's the case. Windows doesn't need increased consumer appeal. People are going to buy windows, just because. It has that much power. Everyone is going to buy windows, for office, for web browsing. Bringing MS's games to windows is so inconsequential for making it more appealing, it's smaller than miniscule. Windows has enough appeal to sell literally hundreds of millions just by being windows and doing what it's supposed to be doing. Whereas those Xbox games would be lucky to push 3 million and to people that are already appealed to windows already. (4) What does need that help though is the Xbox One. In an environment where the Xbox One pretty much needs every exclusive it can get, in an environment where certain people will decide to cancel their preorders just because a game is now also coming to PC, it's ridiculous of MS to bring them to PC if they're planning to continue to push Xbox One.
It's not what MS is saying, it's what they're doing that is so telling. |
(1) My mistake. I should have worded that better or went into a bit more detail on that. I was talking about if MS' true intention was to remain in the console market then cutting games studios is asinine. If it plans to focus on it's cash cows then that's also asinine if they want to stay in the market because it's hurts them in the long run because they'll have less exclusive games to lure people to xbox with. If it plans to leave though then closing studios is a preemptive move and I'm wrong. I disagree with the idea that they are leaving the console market this gen or the next, though. I think MS is too prideful/stubborn to leave especially when xbox 360 did well.
(2) To me, Phil wasn't talking about what they're gonna do or where xbox is headed in definite terms but more about possibilities within the gaming market/xbox or about some of the things they're checking into it for their brand. I think people are taking that too seriously when he's talking about what "could happen"versus they're taking xbox.
(3) MS definitely cares more about it's OS than the xbox brand. There's a lot of people getting wins 10 but I think MS wants everyone to get it or more at least. Gamers might more reluctant about getting it because from what I understand, (dont know how true this is) gamers can't mod games on it which is one of the big incentives to being a PC gamer. So maybe adding a few xbox one games might draw some gamers to it.
(4) This I more or less agree with. MS should build more studios to make new IP and more exclusives overall starting next gen. I doubt if they could get a game out this gen if they built a studio today and started on a game. Games are is what the xbox brand and xbox one really needs to get people to buy it.
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