Microsoft: 'We have no intention of shooting the Core'

Who in their right mind can justify the idea that Microsoft would all of sudden forget the hundreds of millions of dollars generated from core games like Halo, Gears, Fable, CoD (indirectly)? Halo and CoD in particular are well-known drivers of Live subscriptions and DLC. Why on Earth would they decide they don't want that money any more?

I cannot believe that Microsoft even had to respond to such a ludicrous idea. I guess they are paying attention to all the whining.
 
"Attention Xbox citizens, we will not abandon those of you who made us who we are. We at Microsoft believe in providing continued support for our most valued of customers...

What's that? PC Gamers you say? Don't listen to their mindless rabble, you guys mean the world to us, honest!"
 
Are you guys not playing all these fresh XBLA or Indie Games on 360? That's where the innovative action is on both platforms.

The big disc based releases are 95% sequels and multiplats on every console.

But, let's use this topic to FUD the platform pre-E3 like we do every year.
 
Blueblur1 said:
Different strokes for different folks. Totally understandable that you feel that way. It's a good game but if it didn't grab you then it's not surprising that you didn't find it to be impactful or compelling.
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I think my biggest gripe with the game's length was that not only was it too short (IMO obviously), but there were several parts in the main game where it forced you to complete X number of side quests to continue. The whole game felt unfinished. If it had been 5-10 hours longer and had more substantial side content I would have adored it.
 
MoFuzz said:
What's that? PC Gamers you say? Don't listen to their mindless rabble, you guys mean the world to us, honest!"
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Yeah, because Microsoft is Microsoft thanks to pc gamers.

Same goes for its entertainment division: it's making billions of dollars thanks to pc gaming.
 
Paco said:
Who in their right mind can justify the idea that Microsoft would all of sudden forget the hundreds of millions of dollars generated from core games like Halo, Gears, Fable, CoD, Mass Effect? Halo and CoD in particular are well-known drivers of Live subscriptions. Why on Earth would they decide they don't want that money any more?

I cannot believe that Microsoft even had to respond to such a ludicrous idea. I guess they are paying attention to all the whining.
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I don't think most people here doubt MS would make installments to things like Halo and Gears. I think a lot of are worried that we wont get new ips or sequels to less successful games, especially with kinect taking a lot of resources.
 
GhaleonEB said:
True. Their internal studio strategy has been an odd one, but I think it will be many years before we see the impact. Right now they're firing on all cylinders. But come the next platform launch, I think the degree to which the 1st party studios were gutted will bite, hard.
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It won't bite them because they closed only studios that repeatedly failed to deliver hits (on console front). If they find the right partners they can repeat successes they had with 3rd (2nd) party developers in PGR, Fable, Gears, Crackdown, Mass Effect etc.
 
Don't they have that Crytek game coming this year too? I'm sure there is stuff unannounced. Moar Halo for Xbox 360? Hmmmm
 
ScOULaris said:
Core gamer = Halo and Gears of War... etc.
Casual gamer = motion controls, dance and fitness games... etc.

Where the fuck do I fit in?
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:lol Weren't you complaining a while back about how much you hated this gen? About how games this gen are, overall, horrible and uninspired?



Dr. Zoidberg said:
But, let's use this topic to FUD the platform pre-E3 like we do every year.
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Every year is right.
 
What's with the deal with whether a game is exclusive or not? As long the big titles are still coming out, why give a fuck where it's coming from. I can understand if you are a new HC buyer you might be hesitant, but after X360 has been out 5 years and just now you are looking at the X360, you are way late into the game.

All this talk about X360 have no games coming out, no exclusives and so on, hasn't stop me from having about 10 games already pre-ordered for 2011 and I believe only Gears of War 3 is an exclusive. As long as games continue to come out, I don't give a fuck what it is or where it's coming from.
 
Rahxephon91 said:
I don't think most people here doubt MS would make installments to things like Halo and Gears. I think a lot of are worried that we wont get new ips or sequels to less successful games, especially with kinect taking a lot of resources.
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So some people believe that Microsoft thinks they can satisfy core gamers with two franchises till the end of time? That's also ridiculous.

I still can't rationalize the idea that Microsoft is going to let up on the core in any way. They have mountains of cash to keep investing in both core and casual portfolios to reap the rewards of both.
 
szaromir said:
It won't bite them because they closed only studios that repeatedly failed to deliver hits (on console front). If they find the right partners they can repeat successes they had with 3rd (2nd) party developers in PGR, Fable, Gears, Crackdown, Mass Effect etc.
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That seems to be the strategy. I'm dubious - but we'll see. The tent pole of their internal studios was Bungie, replaced with 343. And it seems clear they're going to use that model, given they're not building up the internal studios otherwise. But they'll need to build those "2nd party" partnerships all over again. And the kind of studios that could put out those kind of games are quickly getting gobbled up or folding.
 
I'm more concerned now that someone has come out and re-assured us that they are, indeed, supporting the "core".

I just assumed they were, and we would learn more at E3. But once you have to come out and say it, then I'm more concerned.
 
GhaleonEB said:
True. Their internal studio strategy has been an odd one, but I think it will be many years before we see the impact. Right now they're firing on all cylinders. But come the next platform launch, I think the degree to which the 1st party studios were gutted will bite, hard.

For now, they're in the phase where the platform is established enough that 3rd party support and the franchise staples can and will sustain it. Which is why the change in direction doesn't bother me - most of the games I look forward to don't come from MS, whereas early in the life cycle that wasn't the case (during the Halo 3, Gears 1, Crackdown, Fable 2 era).
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How much longer do you expect this generation to last? Sitting here in Sonyland, I don't feel like it's slowing down. I'd be surprised to see PS4 before 2013.
 
Jexhius said:
I'm more concerned now that someone has come out and re-assured us that they are, indeed, supporting the "core".

I just assumed they were, and we would learn more at E3. But once you have to come out and say it, then I'm more concerned.
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If they keep quiet, then people freak out as is evident in the 'All about the Kinect' thread. If they do say something to alleviate the concerns that people are voicing then other people are concerned that they had to do that. Where's the happy medium in all of this?
 
theBishop said:
How much longer do you expect this generation to last? Sitting here in Sonyland, I don't feel like it's slowing down. I'd be surprised to see PS4 before 2013.
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I have no idea. I hope it goes on that long or longer, for entirely selfish reasons. (Namely, this will be the last gen without motion controls made a part of the core system, so I can avoid it.)

Microsoft has really doubled down on this generation, so I don't see them transitioning to a new platform in the next 2-3 years at least.
 
If the first page is any indication then gaming side is going to be a bitter place for the next few years. Just chill out and buy a PC or a PS3 if you guys need to satisfy that "hardcore" itch so badly.

:lol
 
SolarPowered said:
If the first page is any indication then gaming side is going to be a bitter place for the next few years. Just chill out and buy a PC or a PS3 if you guys need to satisfy that "hardcore" itch so badly.

:lol
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I do own a PC and PS3. I just wish my 360 wasn't a gloified paper weight at this point.
 
Dabanton said:
It seems that MS just can't satisfy some of you guys no matter what they do.
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I think that goes for anything around here for the most part, LOL


I don't know, I was one of those XBox owners that didn't buy into 360. I almost bought a 360 instead of a PS3, just to play Oblivion, then they announced the game for both platforms and I thought FFXIII was gonna be on PS3 only (boy was I wrong, LOL), so that made up my mind. Gears of War was the only new franchise they had for the 360 that really interested me at that time, and I'm not too into 3PS's. There still hasn't been a 360 exclusive for me to run out and buy a system like I did when the XBox dropped and I saw Morrowind and Halo. I kinda see what they are saying earlier in the thread with the Nintendo comparisons in regards to Franchises more and more now......
 
metareferential said:
Yeah, because Microsoft is Microsoft thanks to pc gamers.

Same goes for its entertainment division: it's making billions of dollars thanks to pc gaming.
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Except that we aren't debating who makes more money for Microsoft are we?

The fact of the matter is that they were exclusively a software company for many years, including its infancy. Talk is cheap. They can say whatever they want, but judging from previous actions, I'm not holding my breath. The analogy made was that as soon as they find a new market that has more money, they won't hesitate even a moment to drop it's supposed core fans.

It used to be PC gamers who supported them through OS and games, but since they've all but extinguished the games aspect, don't expect continuing praise when all they have to offer their previously core base is the cancer that is Games for Windows Live.
 
GhaleonEB said:
That seems to be the strategy. I'm dubious - but we'll see. The tent pole of their internal studios was Bungie, replaced with 343. And it seems clear they're going to use that model, given they're not building up the internal studios otherwise. But they'll need to build those "2nd party" partnerships all over again. And the kind of studios that could put out those kind of games are quickly getting gobbled up or folding.
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The trouble is see with this is the well of great PC-exclusive teams is kind of dry. Microsoft was instrumental in bringing Bioware, Valve, Epic, etc to consoles, but that ship has now sailed. There's a few european pc devs like CD Projekt and GSC Game World doing good work, but I can't see them reaching the heights of Bioware.
 
Paco said:
So some people believe that Microsoft thinks they can satisfy core gamers with two franchises till the end of time? That's also ridiculous.

I still can't rationalize the idea that Microsoft is going to let up on the core in any way. They have mountains of cash to keep investing in both core and casual portfolios to reap the rewards of both.
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How is it ridiculous? MS didn't seem too interested in supporting other IPs. Alan Wake was just kind of thrown out there. Lost Odyssey has yet to receive a sequel. Fable 3 also seemed kind of thrown out there, yeah we will get another one, but it just seems kind of like "yeah whatever here's the money". Perfect Dark sequel seems to be canceled? Rare franchises in general seem to be up in the air. Yeah there is also Froza, but other then that I don't really think the idea is that ridiculous. Obviously a bit exaggerated and there's no doubt that MS will make more ips, but still there's enough there that can cause some to worry. MS dosen't really seem to be interested in building up there games. Studios have been closed for example. You have seen the MS machine move from audience to audience as well. Case in point Japan. You just can't launch a few ips there and expect them to become the next DQ or FF. No ,but LO and BD had solid starts. It would have been wise to make sequels to them and see if they could lead to something big, but MS seems to have just moved on from that. Sure they could still come, but I doubt it.

Now obviously what I'm saying isn't completely true and sense I'm no Business man I don't see the whole picture. And it's obvious that MS will launch new things. Still, from my perspective and maybe a few others it dosen't really look like MS is expanding it's core games portfolio a lot.
 
They won't abandon Halo, Gears and Fable. Doesn't make any sense to abandon games that combined do 15m a release.

Now, if they are going to invest into new IP - that's the true question. Kingdom game seems cool, but aside from that, we'll have to see a bit more to judge this.
 
The amount of sequels we've had in the HD market has kind of put me off. I never finished Bioshock and the second one is out. We got a sequel for L4D in about a year and we're right on track for the third installment of Mass effect after the second Fable game in this generation. This does not even include Gears of War 3 and the fact that we got THREE different Halo titles along with four major installments in the call of duty franchise.

I'm all burnt out on the sequels...
Billychu said:
I do own a PC and PS3. I just wish my 360 wasn't a gloified paper weight at this point.
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I only wish I had enough time to play games like you do. If that is your situation then I can understand the frustration.

Not much else to say really.
 
So this is how video gaming has devolved into? Picking up terms and assign stuff like "core" gaming?

Remember when games are just called games?
 
Ookami-kun said:
So this is how video gaming has devolved into? Picking up terms and assign stuff like "core" gaming?

Remember when games are just called games?
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Uhh, pre-PSX, maybe. But since then, that's what it's been. Hardcore, casual monikers have undoubtedly existed from that point.
 
metareferential said:
No.

Their leadership in the OS market has very little to do with gaming. That is all I am saying.
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Yeah, but it's one huge reason not to buy a Mac (which many people would like to do). With so much of our computing time now taking place in a web browser, the underlying system is less and less important. Standards-focused web apps took a huge bite out of Window's monopoly on app support.

As an Ubuntu user (which i realize is atypical), I can say games are the only reason I keep a Windows partition at all.
 
theBishop said:
As an Ubuntu user (which i realize is atypical), I can say games are the only reason I keep a Windows partition at all.
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Aside from some of the stuff I'm doing in college being Windows only I am in the same situation.
 
I think the direction of this thread is taking a wrong turn. It isn't so much about comparing exclusives on each system. I think it is more of a concern that gamers don't want MS to turn into Nintendo. Where there are only a handful of decent core games each year with a bunch of casual garbage around it.

Regarding indie games, there seems to be a couple gems but it is hard to take that service seriously when I see fart games, massage games, or even a how to deliver a baby game in the top sellers list.
 
Ookami-kun said:
So this is how video gaming has devolved into? Picking up terms and assign stuff like "core" gaming?

Remember when games are just called games?
Click to expand...

It was silly last generation when GTA and Madden were the posterchildren for "casual gaming". But now I think there is a meaningful distinction between Rockband, DJ Hero, Wii Sports, etc and everything else.
 
metareferential said:
No.

Their leadership in the OS market has very little to do with gaming. That is all I am saying.
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I'm done refuting your straw man arguments. That is all I am saying.
 
TheOddOne said:
CES: Microsoft on Kinect, the 360, and the future of Xbox Live

Eurogamer seems to have forgotten the Crytek thing.
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Did everyone just ignore the REAL quote from the article that TheOddOne pointed out? Because even he pointed it out many of you guys continued on with "Great two games, Halo and Gears forever"

On Kinect vs. the Hardcore

"Obviously we're very excited by the success of Kinect," Dennis said. "But we have no intention of abandoning the Xbox 360 audience that bought in originally. We're very aware of the key role the enthusiastic core audience played in making the Xbox 360 what it is, and we'll continue to support and develop (titles) like Halo and Gears of War." Crytek's exclusive Codename: Kingdoms was mentioned and Dennis stressed that there are a number of core-focused titles in development that have not been announced.
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"
 
PhatSaqs said:
I think it's crazy that they even have to ackowledge this at all. Is there anyone that seriously thinks they'll stop making, backing and supporting non Kinect games? :lol:
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With how well Kinect has done so far I can see how some might be scared now that MS is getting a taste of the kind of success Nintendo has had with the Wii.
 
Mrbob said:
I think the direction of this thread is taking a wrong turn. It isn't so much about comparing exclusives on each system. I think it is more of a concern that gamers don't want MS to turn into Nintendo. Where there are only a handful of decent core games each year with a bunch of casual garbage around it.

Regarding indie games, there seems to be a couple gems but it is hard to take that service seriously when I see fart games, massage games, or even a how to deliver a baby game in the top sellers list.
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I find this to be an unfair comparison. Outside of Nintendo's excellent efforts on the hardcore front(most "fans" of Nintendo's games would agree) any "casual" efforts they've been involved in have been excellent(outside of Wii music if you ask around here). The Wii ____ games were done pretty well too. Most of the "casual" garbage has come from third parties and it's evidenced by the fact that Nintendo games still huge amounts on the Wii system while third parties continue to lose the ground and marketshare they first had at the system's launch. If you've got a bone to pick regarding the "casual" garbage it certainly has very little(but some!) to do with Nintendo.

Just my opinion, but I'd rather not get into this Nintendo talk again. This is a thread involving Microsoft's approach in regards to THE CORE.
 
theBishop said:
Yeah, but it's one huge reason not to buy a Mac (which many people would like to do). With so much of our computing time now taking place in a web browser, the underlying system is less and less important. Standards-focused web apps took a huge bite out of Window's monopoly on app support.

As an Ubuntu user (which i realize is atypical), I can say games are the only reason I keep a Windows partition at all.
Click to expand...

Yes I understand that; and I myself also am a Linux and other OS user (iphone, for instance) that keeps windows for gaming and little less. But I think we were discussing the problem historically. And I don't think that kind of parallel between how Ms treated pc gaming can be done with console gaming.

Mofuzz said:
I'm done refuting your straw man arguments. That is all I am saying.
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You basically are saying that when a company realizes that a market segment isn't financially viable anymore, they'll abandon it.

It is true, and it has nothing to do with the core audience of the 360.
 
Mrbob said:
I think it is more of a concern that gamers don't want MS to turn into Nintendo. Where there are only a handful of decent core games each year with a bunch of casual garbage around it. .
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It's almost like all the great 3rd party games don't exist. :lol
 
Mrbob said:
I think the direction of this thread is taking a wrong turn. It isn't so much about comparing exclusives on each system. I think it is more of a concern that gamers don't want MS to turn into Nintendo. Where there are only a handful of decent core games each year with a bunch of casual garbage around it.

Regarding indie games, there seems to be a couple gems but it is hard to take that service seriously when I see fart games, massage games, or even a how to deliver a baby game in the top sellers list.
Click to expand...

If you carry through that scenario, though, I don't really follow the problem. If you are a 360 owner, there will never be a scenario where there's only a "handful of decent core games each year with a bunch of casual garbage around it." Bulletstorm, Mass Effect 3, SSX Tricksy, CoD, whatever, is still coming out. No 360 owner is going to go hungry for games anytime before 2013, I'd imagine.

But if you're a multiplatform owner and don't want to play those games on it, if it really is becoming a "glorified paperweight," I don't see why one hasn't sold it already. For Halo and Fable 3 and Gears? Pretty much the gaming franchises that they've just confirmed they'll be supporting?

The circles this argument always runs through have never made sense to me.
 
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