How Microsoft plans to make Xbox great again [The Verge]

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Halo 5 was outsold by Need for Speed. Do you realize how sad that is?

Halo 5 has charted for two months so far, not including bundles, and Need for Speed is multiplatform.

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All the negativity toward Xbone...

I now own all 3 current systems (PS4, Xbone, WiiU). PS4 came first, and I loved LOU:R and Second Son, then came WiiU and ended up with many great games, and this week got Xbone and loving it.

At this time, PS4 is my least played console. WiiU and Xbone have more exclusives that appeal to me at this time. The reality is they're all worth owning if you have eclectic tastes and aren't a braindead fanboy (and have the money, which I suspect is at the heart of a lot of negative fanboyism).

Anyway, I'm glad to see Xbone turning a corner. A year ago I didn't really see myself buying one, but the Halo and Forza onslaught made the difference. I'm in love with Halo again for the first time since Halo 2 way back on the OG box.

Hopefully we see many more great exclusives on all the platforms. On Xbox I'm especially eager to see how Scalebound turns out. Bayonetta 2 was a system seller to me on WiiU -- maybe Scalebound will help sell Xbones to Platinum fans (yes, yes I know that's probably not a huge number).
 
All the negativity toward Xbone...

I now own all 3 current systems (PS4, Xbone, WiiU). PS4 came first, and I loved LOU:R and Second Son, then came WiiU and ended up with many great games, and this week got Xbone and loving it.

At this time, PS4 is my least played console. WiiU and Xbone have more exclusives that appeal to me at this time. The reality is they're all worth owning if you have eclectic tastes and aren't a braindead fanboy (and have the money, which I suspect is at the heart of a lot of negative fanboyism).

Anyway, I'm glad to see Xbone turning a corner. A year ago I didn't really see myself buying one, but the Halo and Forza onslaught made the difference. I'm in love with Halo again for the first time since Halo 2 way back on the OG box.

Hopefully we see many more great exclusives on all the platforms. On Xbox I'm especially eager to see how Scalebound turns out. Bayonetta 2 was a system seller to me on WiiU -- maybe Scalebound will help sell Xbones to Platinum fans (yes, yes I know that's probably not a huge number).
Why is the aspect of time never taken into account?

What if you have eclectic tastes, have the money, but you have a limited amount of time? In that case, does it really seem odd that people might lean toward the platform(s) with the most games and the most variety?

Seems like a resurgence of "you're only a true gamer if you own all three" and it's ugly cousin "such-and-such console is crap and I can say that because I own all three"
 
Devs would put up with the more difficult platform is it had a bigger audience (see the PS2). Indies are going to the PS4 because there are more users, which attracts devs who add more to its library of games, ultimately influencing consumer preferences.

That's a market factor for MS that will, over time, continue to put more pressure on them to become more flexible. As long as Sony continues to kick butt and the PC market grows then MS is going to have a hard time enforcing policies that make the jobs of devs and publishers harder.

I sleep perfectly fine as a consumer of Xbox One. It's not my job to act like some white knight in the industry. I'm just here to play the games I want to play and I'd rather not get involved in the drama (read enough of that shit on GAF as it is).
So as I said before, despite your knowledge of the toxic policies, you rationalize your participation in their perpetuation by pretending that your participation doesn't matter, while blithely ignoring the fact that your decision runs contrary to the very market forces you claimed would save us in your second paragraph.

You argue that The Market will eliminate these policies because no one will support them, and then use that assumption to justify your own support of said policies. Doesn't that seem like circular logic? Actually, a circle at least leads you back to where you started… What do you call a circle that goes nowhere? Your decision to support a damaging policy is rational because no rational person would ever make it? Your irrational decision becomes rational by virtue of its irrationality? That's the line of reasoning that helps you sleep?
 
At this time, PS4 is my least played console.

I've been on my PS4 a lot. I probably used my PS3 more because it was a 10 year cycle. This is what I do not understand about this gen.

It's wonderful to see Sony back up at the top. They were up at the top with the PS1 and the PS2. PS3 got them a lot of hate while MS fans were far and wide. People in the industry were buying every single Triple A game on XBox 360. PS3 was just fine for Sony fans.

Now that the winds have died down and you can start hearing things. People want to bash on the PS4. I've loved my PS4 to the point where I want a freaking PS tattoo somewhere on my body.

Now this gets to my point. This exact response is what I expect. I respect what you're saying and I own an XBO too. I just think it's going to get that way. The anti-hero is whatever 2nd place is. It's who you cheer for when the going gets tough.

I think XBO needs games more than it needs a celebrity or a dominating thought to go across someone's mind. Sony has had their place since the late 90's. I've been a fan of them ever since I opened up the PS1 console on Christmas. I've also owned the Xbox since launch too.

I think they need to stop it with this "later" comment and just do it. They need a mindset that shows games. Sony is doing a great job because they're bringing it back and making things come to life. I feel like a stranger on XBO because I don't use it. I played through Rise of the Tomb Raider, finished Halo 5, and I play the Rare collection and KI. I don't do it a lot though.

Years ago Sony had the dominating mindset. They were one of the best CD based game consoles. Yet Xbox did well and they had a great run with the 360. Everyone blasted the PS3. Xbox needs to grab some exclusives or get another project going. I can think of about 20 games I want for PS4 right now and I have maybe 5 I want for XBO.

Xbox could do it, but the games being made are so far and wide. Each console maker are their own empire. they don't need to think about this console war stuff. I'd hate to see a console re-market itself because they can't do what they did again.

People also got on the "getting old train" if you ask me this gen. Lots of people not seeing the magic and the universal appeal isn't there for everyone. Now people want to scream "IT SUCKS!" in the wind somewhere and they hope it bothers someone else. We aren't looking at each other like we're "Brothers until the very end" and none of us want to say "Finish the fight" or "Call of Duty is coming out" without the whole "been there done that" approach. I kinda like it where it's at because I'm a Sony fan, but I'd also like to see MS do something more than turn it into another XBL fan-fare for marketing.

I like games other than "said popular multiplayer" based game. I want to game like a gamer or an enthusiast. I don't want to be caught in another "this console sucks" debate. I just enjoy what I'm getting and I hope MS does more before I'm 100 years old.
 
Why is the aspect of time never taken into account?

What if you have eclectic tastes, have the money, but you have a limited amount of time? In that case, does it really seem odd that people might lean toward the platform(s) with the most games and the most variety?

Seems like a resurgence of "you're only a true gamer if you own all three" and it's ugly cousin "such-and-such console is crap and I can say that because I own all three"

Where did I say that at all?

I specifically targeted negative fanboyism. If the label doesn't fit you, then why take offense? If you're not mindlessly denigrating platforms you don't own then my comments don't apply to you.

As far as not having time -- oh, I do get that. I have silly backlogs TBH. But meh, I'm old, I have money, and I love this hobby. And even after all these years (started with Pong, Tank and Space Invaders) the magic is still there for me. And sometimes you have to make time for something you love and enjoy. Of course, easier for me and my wife since we don't have kids and probably won't.
 
Where did I say that at all?

I specifically targeted negative fanboyism. If the label doesn't fit you, then why take offense? If you're not mindlessly denigrating platforms you don't own then my comments don't apply to you.

As far as not having time -- oh, I do get that. I have silly backlogs TBH. But meh, I'm old, I have money, and I love this hobby. And even after all these years (started with Pong, Tank and Space Invaders) the magic is still there for me. And sometimes you have to make time for something you love and enjoy. Of course, easier for me and my wife since we don't have kids and probably won't.
Wasn't really taking offense. Just seems like an odd absolute statement to make. You said "they're all worth owning if....

- you have the money
- you have eclectic tastes
- aren't a braindead fanboy

I would consider myself and plenty of others to fit that criteria fine, yet I don't think they're all worth owning, because time is a real thing for me.
 
I own both and I like both - competition makes us all win.. If MS rolled over and played dead, you think Sony would actively throw money at their in-house studios? or vice versa?
 
I own both and I like both - competition makes us all win.. If MS rolled over and played dead, you think Sony would actively throw money at their in-house studios? or vice versa?

Well the PS2 era was great, and that didn't have any competition.
 
Not that sales have anything to do with whether Halo 5 is a good game, but show me the receipts.

Didn't it release on at least xb1, ps4, and PC? Not sure about 360 and PS3.

Combined sales, where was H5 in the individual chart vs nfs? It was its second month too without bundles being counted.

Halo 5 charted in October as well.

Halo 5 has charted for two months so far, not including bundles, and Need for Speed is multiplatform.

In October?

Need For Speed Undercover outsold Halo 3 when it released too....

Don't waste good chappelle gifs on stuff like this either.

Thats the real crime here.

oh boy. really dude?

I wouldn't bother with them, they clearly have a grudge against Halo, or maybe Halo set their cat on fire or something:

As someone who's been a fan since CE, which I played on release when I was in the third grade, I can only list my personal problems with Halo 5, for which there are many.

  • A boring, short, uneventful campaign
  • Half-baked squad mechanics, made worse with brain-dead friendly AI
  • Non-comprehensible story, filled with poor dialog and flat voice work
  • Esports focused MP
  • Broken ranking system (I ended up in Diamond, now I keep getting matched up against MLG clans)
  • Small amount of maps, all of which are visually boring
    [*]Worse graphics than its predecessor
  • Warzone is garbage

Of course, these are only my personal gripes, but I definitely see why this one is failing.
 
Forget Xbox, they should focus on Windows as the platform and consider the Xbox hardware as a cheap entry gateway into the infrastructure.

No more "Xbox exclusive"....but "Windows Exclusive".
 
All Microsoft needs to do to win over this forum is dig up some obscure jrpgs and have them for next Xbox release.

Instant GAF approval.
 
Please change the UI for the love of god. I know it's stupid but it's sucking a good bit of the enjoyment out of my X1's experience everytime I need to launch or look for anything that isn't a game I've already pinned.
The store in particular is a fucking disaster, it wasn't perfect before but it was at least ok to navigate, now it's useless.
This is the worst UI there has ever been on Xbox and the first time I find the PS equivalent much better (while not good either).
It's embarrassing how Sony and MS completely botched the user experience and store's frontend in this day and age.

Also, I know sales are what matters the most, but I agree that it needs to be great *again* in the sense that it needs to be *perceived* as great again, because believe it or not the brand suffered a lot of damage, it's seen as a second-rate console, it's a non entity in EU (X360 could not compete with PS3 -bar the UK market of course- but you could definitely see its presence: on the other hand the Xbox One might as well not exist right now anywhere but USA/UK) and that is not good for the health of Xbox.
After a generation of MS published Halo/Forza/Gears you can't put all your eggs in the same basket once again, you need to build a diverse portfolio of 1st party content: seeing how Halo 5/Forza6/GearsUE performed sales wise it's a clear indicator your customers are suffering from (those) franchise fatigue anc the inability to drive sales of 3rd party exclusives like ROTTR is worrying and they need to rectify all those mistakes for the upcoming releases of QB and Scalebound (which is a step in the right direction as far as diversity if concerned).
 
'Our best customers are our Xbox console customers.'

Xbox a greater revenue driver than enterprise confirmed.

What an utterly ridiculous thing to say.
 
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