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[SneakySneaks]

So they spent 400 Million on a feature that requires people to have cable, love football and love fantasy.

I love football and tolerate fantasy. I have Redzone, it costs 5 dollars a month and comes with all the other sports channels. I have a smart phone app with yahoo fantasy stats, that costs me nothing. Why would this make me want to buy a gaming machine for 500$, all this shit is already done better than what they showed me.

WHAT IN THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING!

 

[Seanspeed]

People saying "this is stupid and they should be doing stuff for europe" etc
Its looking like MS is going to have a struggle even in the US so this is a good decision for them.

Yea, people act like the US market is just a 'given'. They still need to do some serious marketing here to ensure success. Cant just ignore it like most people here seem to want them to do.

 

[BruiserBear]

There is if you look up at the last page. This allows MS to put tablets on the fields during the games and have MS pretty much be the data analysis/center for the NFL.

OK, so shit most people won't care about.

 

[daveo42]

I think it's a good use of their moneyhat money.

Spoiler

lol

 

[Uncle Rupee]

So they spent 400 Million on a feature that requires people to have cable, love football and love fantasy.

I love football and tolerate fantasy. I have Redzone, it costs 5 dollars a month and comes with all the other sports channels. I have a smart phone app with yahoo fantasy stats, that costs me nothing. Why would this make me want to buy a gaming machine for 500$, all this shit is already done better than what they showed me.

WHAT IN THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING!

As has been said, it's not just about fantasy football integration.
It's a huge marketing deal that will have Xbox One banners at the games and other product positioning.

 

[SmokedMeat]

400 Million eh? Looks like that Live Gold membership's about to go up another $10. Cough it up guys.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

So they spent 400 Million on a feature that requires people to have cable, love football and love fantasy.

I love football and tolerate fantasy. I have Redzone, it costs 5 dollars a month and comes with all the other sports channels. I have a smart phone app with yahoo fantasy stats, that costs me nothing. Why would this make me want to buy a gaming machine for 500$, all this shit is already done better than what they showed me.

WHAT IN THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING!

You said yourself this is for people that love fantasy football, you don't, and then you get mad because this feature is not for you? Fantasy football is pretty huge and is constantly growing. It's a billion dollar industry all to itself now.

 

[acksman]

I don't think so. If I want to watch a game with people I'll meet up with local friends in a bar or at someone's house. Us all sitting around staring at each other on Skype while the game plays in a tiny corner of the screen sounds pretty horrible.

Bottom line is the NFL couldn't agree to give MS anything both exclusive and meaningful without pissing off their current broadcast partners and probably violating their agreements.

And that is fine, but not everyone goes out to bars. And I think my screen will be just as big if not bigger plus quieter. Its a choice Also I don't think you read that this extends out to the field and other technologies that apply to on field game play and metrics that MS has their hands in now.

 

[Brinbe]

So they spent 400 Million on a feature that requires people to have cable, love football and love fantasy.

I love football and tolerate fantasy. I have Redzone, it costs 5 dollars a month and comes with all the other sports channels. I have a smart phone app with yahoo fantasy stats, that costs me nothing. Why would this make me want to buy a gaming machine for 500$, all this shit is already done better than what they showed me.

WHAT IN THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING!

Because to them, it's not THE reason for buying the X-Bone, it's just another convenience that when added up with all the other snappy OS features will make for a cohesive entertaining user experience. Again $400 mil ain't nothing to M$.

 

[Futureman]

This might be one of the smartest moves they made. I know so many people obsessed with the NFL and fantasy stuff.

 

[acksman]

OK, so shit most people won't care about.

And can you back up that statement with any statistics? I can show you numbers that people will care due to the popularity of the NFL over gaming (in the US).

 

[Uncle Rupee]

400 Million eh? Looks like that Live Gold membership's about to go up another $10. Cough it up guys.

Not necessarily.
The original Xbox lost Microsoft's gaming division a billion dollars annually.
I honestly get the impression they're not in this to make money, they're in it to own the living room for the mindshare.

 

[VeryGooster]

This, of all things, was actually kind of intriguing to me and $400m feels like chump change for this sort of partnership.

Now people have one more league to add I guess, in addition to their ESPN and Yahoo! ones.

This Facebook comment on the NFL site killed me:

By week 2 teams will cry to Goodell that the other team somehow hacked their system and stole their playbooks, gameplans, monitored everything they did. Plus this is Microsoft, the Xbox is historically a huge piece of junk.By week 4 the tablets and devices will start experiencing red rings of death and they'll have to stop games so coaches can go find other tablets or find their old papers and cameras to take still photos. This is just another pathetic partnership for the NFL to take in a few hundred million dollars for a measely 5 years. Then they can dump this crap when they realize how many problems Microsoft products have especially if it's Windows based. Hackers sitting at home will be able to hack into an individual teams system and wreak havoc.

 

[Dude Abides]

And that is fine, but not everyone goes out to bars. And I think my screen will be just as big if not bigger plus quieter. Its a choice Also I don't think you read that this extends out to the field and other technologies that apply to on field game play and metrics that MS has their hands in now.

I'm sure the cross-promotion is very valuable to the MS brand. But from the perspective of someone considering this console who is an NFL fan and plays in several fantasy leagues, I'm just not seeing much value added based on what we've seen.

Now if they had made it so those Thursday NFL Network games were also available on Xbox....

I will say that people acting like $400m over 5 years is some huge deal are grossly unaware of the financials of these two organizations.

 

[GoofsterStud]

I don't see this being number one in the US.

Sure US loves NFL.

Gamers buy a game console
Sport Fans won't buy an Xbox One just to pay more for this

 

[SneakySneaks]

You said yourself this is for people that love fantasy football, you don't, and then you get mad because this feature is not for you? Fantasy football is pretty huge and is constantly growing. It's a billion dollar industry all to itself now.

Fantasy is free. Redzone has scrolling stats and leaders while they show the most interesting parts of the game.

If this app doesn't include Redzone it's already a major failure for most football watchers as that has become the main channel to watch on Sunday. Additionally it has ESPN (I'm guessing) Fantasy, it's nowhere near as good or as user friendly, or as widely used, as Yahoo's system.

What this is doing can be done cheaper and be done more efficiently already. It serves no purpose for someone who is pretty connected. Most Fantasy people I know don't think is special.

It could be a great app for some people, but it's not worth 400 mil for MS. For it to be worth while it needs to generate at least a billion in revenue. If not it's a failure in my eyes (for a business deal).

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

I watch all my football in stunning HD on an antenna. I think I'm not cool enough.

Can I use the PS4 NFL season ticket and send the hdmi through an Xbox 1 and get the same effect?

 

[acksman]

I'm sure the cross-promotion is valuable to the MS brand. But from the perspective of someone considering this console who is an NFL fan and plays in several fantasy leagues, I'm just not seeing much value added based on what we've seen.

Now if they had made it so those Thursday NFL Network games were also available on Xbox....

I will say that people acting like $400m over 5 years is some huge deal are grossly unaware of the financials of these two organizations.

I don't disagree and we will see where the Xbox part goes. It could grow, or it might be pruned like other services they have done over the years. MS will still come out on top of this either way purely due to the on field rights.

 

[Marleyman]

I don't see this being number one in the US.

Sure US loves NFL.

Gamers buy a game console
Sport Fans won't buy an Xbox One just to pay more for this

I know plenty of folks who ONLY play sports games and use their Xbox for the great ESPN app. They will as they did w/ the 360.

 

[MikeE21286]

Fantasy integration with this is simply a bullet-point on a box.

How is this easier than just watching the game on TV and picking up my phone and just looking at the scores? No need to mess with integrating my lineups into the Xbox and no need to fiddle with any settings or worry about my league platform of choice (ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, etc.) not being compatible.



It creates a solution for where there is no problem.

The integration with fantasy football is practically a throw-away.

It needs to be content. What that could be, who knows. It won't be exclusive games broadcast through Xbox. Will it be behind the scenes interviews and maybe some onfield access or new camera angles (similar to what NBC does with Sunday Night Football now)? Yeah, probably this.

$400M is being spent to be a talking point to try and push the box. I remain very pessimistic that it will turn into meaningful content.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

I don't see this being number one in the US.

Sure US loves NFL.

Gamers buy a game console
Sport Fans won't buy an Xbox One just to pay more for this

But what if said gamer is a sports fan?
its and extra something that could get them to buy it over the PS4.

 

[acksman]

Fantasy is free. Redzone has scrolling stats and leaders while they show the most interesting parts of the game.

If this app doesn't include Redzone it's already a major failure for most football watchers as that has become the main channel to watch on Sunday. Additionally it has ESPN (I'm guessing) Fantasy, it's nowhere near as good or as user friendly, or as widely used, as Yahoo's system.

What this is doing can be done cheaper and be done more efficiently already. It serves no purpose for someone who is pretty connected. Most Fantasy people I know don't think is special.

It could be a great app for some people, but it's not worth 400 mil for MS. For it to be worth while it needs to generate at least a billion in revenue. If not it's a failure in my eyes (for a business deal).

I think you miss the point. Couple of things. It keeps it out of the hands of Sony, it gives MS exclusive on field rights with technology type stuff, which is marketing they would have to pay for with TV ads. This deal stretches beyond just the Xbox console.

Also, if Sony is smart they will snag the MLB which I feel have better integration and penetration in the technology side. It also is a high stats driven sport.

 

[Basileus777]

If this app doesn't include Redzone it's already a major failure for most football watchers as that has become the main channel to watch on Sunday. Additionally it has ESPN (I'm guessing) Fantasy, it's nowhere near as good or as user friendly, or as widely used, as Yahoo's system.

Why would it include Redzone? That would be done through your cable provider.

 

[ari]

I don't see this being number one in the US.

Sure US loves NFL.

Gamers buy a game console
Sport Fans won't buy an Xbox One just to pay more for this

Xbox sells a shit ton of Maddens on the 360. Not saying that they'll cross over to the one. But this does nothing but drum interest for those players.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

It'd be well worth doing for the premier league and champions league. Premier league would not cost as much as you'd think as they're at a point where people are starting to get tired of the league.

Nah, with Mourinho probably coming back to Man City or Chelsea the league will get a new shot of adrenaline.

Also, for the Champions League, Sony are the single largest sponsor of UEFA, Microsoft would have to replace Sony and some extra and do a deal with Sky. The annual rights for that would be over £250m per year for just the 5 countries mentioned.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

This is interesting because it shows the scale of investment microsoft is making in the Xbox one.

Gonna have a fuck ton of exclusive games. I will be buying an xbone!

Idk if you're serious or not but I agree about the exclusives. I think we're gonna be surprised at E3.

Also, this partnership is similar to how companies pay hundreds of millions for stadium branding, like the Staples center in LA, except it'll be more integrated. I don't think it's a bad move. 400 mil isn't a pittance but it's not betting the farm for MS of course, nowhere close, and should help secure NA for them.

 

[eznark]

Can't wait to see what Sunday Ticket on Xbox is going to cost.

Deal isn't with DTV so this won't have Sunday Ticket. I assume it will only be for games available in your market and potentially game replays.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

What a waste of money

 

[Rad-]

I laughed at their NFL announcement because I'm from Europe but if they did the same with football (soccer) then that would be a system seller for me. So I guess I see its worth.

 

[eznark]

I laughed at their NFL announcement because I'm from Europe but if they did the same with football (soccer) then that would be a system seller for me. So I guess I see its worth.

Based on what they have shown, smart TVs and DirecTV boxes have had the exact same functionality. Sonya's deal with DirecTV to become part of Sunday Ticket was infinitely bigger than this, yet no one gave a shit at the time.

 

[LOCK]

Amazing truly amazing.

For 400M you can fund like 400 to 800 Xbox One XBLA titles, you can make like 20 'AAA' exclusives or you can use it that 400M to make better hardware.

This so much. SMH Microsoft.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Fantasy is free. Redzone has scrolling stats and leaders while they show the most interesting parts of the game.

If this app doesn't include Redzone it's already a major failure for most football watchers as that has become the main channel to watch on Sunday. Additionally it has ESPN (I'm guessing) Fantasy, it's nowhere near as good or as user friendly, or as widely used, as Yahoo's system.

What this is doing can be done cheaper and be done more efficiently already. It serves no purpose for someone who is pretty connected. Most Fantasy people I know don't think is special.

It could be a great app for some people, but it's not worth 400 mil for MS. For it to be worth while it needs to generate at least a billion in revenue. If not it's a failure in my eyes (for a business deal).

You are over simplifying it and reaching badly. This isn't about a single app, or fantasy football. This is about aligning themselves with the biggest brand in America, a brand who turns nearly everything they touch into gold, and making Xbox the "official" tech/game box of the NFL. You realize that for that same privelage Anheiser Busche pays $1.2 BILLION over 5 years? That's why you see Bud Light ads plastered over everything and anything tha has to do with the NFL and why they've been able to make the Bud Light brand synonymous with football.

 

[eznark]

You are over simplifying it and reaching badly. This isn't about a single app, or fantasy football. This is about aligning themselves with the biggest brand in America, a brand who turns nearly everything they touch into gold, and making Xbox the "official" tech/game box of the NFL. You realize that for that same privelage Anheiser Busche pays $1.2 BILLION over 5 years? That's why you see Bud Light ads plastered over everything and anything tha has to do with the NFL and why they've been able to make the Bud Light brand synonymous with football.

Yeah, but Sony actually let's you, ya know, watch the games.

 

[Paradicia]

You are over simplifying it and reaching badly. This isn't about a single app, or fantasy football. This is about aligning themselves with the biggest brand in America, a brand who turns nearly everything they touch into gold, and making Xbox the "official" tech/game box of the NFL. You realize that for that same privelage Anheiser Busche pays $1.2 BILLION over 5 years? That's why you see Bud Light ads plastered over everything and anything tha has to do with the NFL and why they've been able to make the Bud Light brand synonymous with football.

When you put it into perspective like it makes sense why they've made the partnership. They need broad advertisement across America, but it still doesn't explain their blatant disregard towards Europe.. their second biggest market.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Yikes, I don't remember this much outrage and anger when Sony and FIFA got that partnership. That was over 300 million, wasn't it? My God, they could have War of the Monster 2, Legends of Dragoon 2, AND maybe finished Last Guardian. As an American PS3 owner who could not give less shits about soccer or FIFA, that deal didn't bother me any. Whatever. Am I wrong about this? I could have swore Sony and FIFA got together. Maybe I am mistaken.

DirectTV has something like this already. You put in your players you want tracked, it pops up on screen when something big happens. It also does it for scores and shit. It is a phenomenal feature if you're into fantasy football, but it's slow and a pain to get players tracked on DirectTV. If this is smoother and easier to use, they'll have a huge hit on their hands. I would love to be able to watch a game or watch Redzone and not have to eye my tablet or phone or watch from the PC to keep track of my fantasy team.

 

[dorkimoe]

Anyone who is not familiar with the NFL or how americans eat up fantasy football might not understand this. Its a huge deal and i think almost everyone who buys madden will be participating in these features

However..i feel like they should have added the NFL sunday ticket thing where you can watch any game, taht would have been HUGE

 

[Iacobellis]

Sony wins!

 

[bryehn]

$400 million for what? Fantasy sports integration?

There has to be more to this. What they showed yesterday had a very limited appeal to this NFL fan. Direct TV already allows you to overlay fantasy info on the screen during games.

They're getting Surface tablets on every sideline to replace paper by 2014. That is the real meat of the deal IMO.

 

[eznark]

However..i feel like they should have added the NFL sunday ticket thing where you can watch any game, taht would have been HUGE

Yeah, if the PS3 had had that it would have steam rolled the 360.

 

[Arkos]

Just a realistic question, but do you use NFL.com for your fantasy football? Since I know that myself and the vast majority of fantasy football players do not.

Cross platform integration (i.e. CBS, ESPN, Yahoo) is most likely not a reality.

I thought from the reveal that this service uses ESPN fantasy. Now that I think about it I guess NFL makes more sense... But are you sure?

 

[DBT85]

It'd be well worth doing for the premier league and champions league. Premier league would not cost as much as you'd think as they're at a point where people are starting to get tired of the league.

That the new TV deal went up 71% from the last one might point people in the other direction.

 

[Brimstone]

An ok deal for both MS and NFL.

MS is going to get a lot of exposure for phones and tablets along with the new console.

 

[Tenumi]

This seems like a lot of money to spend on something that's only relevant for only one market.

I'll be honest, I've done fantasy football the past several years, and this NFL stuff... does absolutely nothing to me. Why do I care when I can easily keep track on my laptop... or my phone... or my iPod Touch. Not only that, but I'd get those just as quick.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

This seems like a lot of money to spend on something that's only relevant for only one market.

I'll be honest, I've done fantasy football the past several years, and this NFL stuff... does absolutely nothing to me. Why do I care when I can easily keep track on my laptop... or my phone... or my iPod Touch. Not only that, but I'd get those just as quick.

That "one market" accounts for nearly $10 billion in revenue every year and is only growing. It's smart to try and latch on to that and carve out a piece of the pie. This is not just fantasy football.

If there wasn't a lot to gain you wouldn't see so many companies lining up to sign multi million dollar partnerships with the NFL.

 

[ari]

Yeah, but Sony actually let's you, ya know, watch the games.

I have directv already, so syncing this will be awesome. Ps3s direct ticket is shit and the feeds are lackluster at best.

 

[GashPrex]

Despite the gamer rage, I think this is exactly the type of partnership that is smart. I think most people are underestimating how popular football is in America. Granted, this does nothing for people who don't care about football but I don't see the downside.

Personally, I love football, fantasy football and video games. No downside for me and would be a nice selling point, especially since I stream games already on Sunday Ticket online on my HTPC/iPad/PS3

 

[eznark]

I have directv already, so syncing this will be awesome. Ps3s direct ticket is shit and the feeds are lackluster at best.

You can already do the fantasy stuff with directv though. What does this give you?

 

[mnannola]

For $400 million dollars I hope it means a lot more than just fantasy football stats on the side of the screen.

 

[ari]

You can already do the fantasy stuff with directv though. What does this give you?

I don't do the fantasy stuff on DirecTV, and that isn't exactly what i saw with what they shown yesterday. Also, playing with my friend list would be fun.

 

[Shinta]

$400 million for what? Fantasy football sidebar?