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[Welfare]

Nelson just needs to stay away from PR. He's the Director of Programming for Xbox Live.

Also I don't see an issue with Greenberg as of late.

 

[Rymuth]

People still like Nelson?
That guy and Greenberg need to go

This.

 

[Ryng_tolu]

No! Not Major Nelson.

Too bad you guys aren't italian, because you would laught with this video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VQhmu5988Qk

 

[labaronx]

Nelson just needs to stay away from PR. He's the Director of Programming for Xbox Live.

Also I don't see an issue with Greenberg as of late.

Nelson seems cool Greenburg is ok, most of xbones announcements go thru phil anyway

Phil spencer and adam boyes seem like cool guys for each camp

 

[ethomaz]

Consoles have never been "high-end" hardware, they've always been $300-400 worth of hardware inferior to high-end PC's. The IBM cpu's were inferior to the Intel's of the time just like AMD is now. The RSX was an outdated mid-range graphics card compared to PC, relatively worse than the PS4 had at release. The first Xbox was considered one of the most powerful consoles ever and used a Celeron processor much inferior to what gaming PC's had.

I strong disagree.

Compare...
PS1 with what you have in December 1994.
PS2 with what you have in March 2000.
PS3 with what you have in November 2006.

With...
Playstation 4 with what you have in November 2013

You will be surprised.

I think the endgame is just releasing games on PCs

It will be when I stop to play games of go to full handheld/mobile.

People still like Nelson?
That guy and Greenberg need to go

100%

Mainly Greenberg... I don´t know how he even has a position yet.

 

[Stonewall Cornball]

I don't think it's that simple, were getting potential upgrades because of die shrinks (14nm). That isn't happening as often as before, sticking to a wooden 3 year upgrade schedule wouldn't result in much performance benefits at affordable price points going forward. If the PS4k is real then don't expect the PS5 until 7nm chips are available.

Yes, this is how I pretty much understand it.

And from this perspective, PS4K does begin to make sense if it's just a one-off.

 

[labaronx]

Microsofts advertising seems week this gen... a $299 console and a hot exclusive and i only catch it maybe 2-4 times a week

They really need to push the console harder

 

[Stonewall Cornball]

There are MANY clones. The Dragon Quest one is apparently good. I'm partial to Ace Of Spades. But these are the tip of a vast iceberg.

I would like to hear more of this Ace of Spades.

Please provide further details at your convenience.

Who is the developer, publisher, what platforms, etc.

I could Wikipedia it, but I want a more subjective take. Please infuse much hyperbole and opinion.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

I think its pointless to speculate on zero knowledge, but the fact that lazy console ports exist on the PC where visual enhancements and improved performance occur purely due to brute force of the PCs power differential actually says the opposite to what you are saying - that third parties are fine with quick ports to better hardware.

porting to PC (and publishing to steam) will always be easier than console.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

I wouldn't be surprised if they exit after this console. Their investors will want them to focus on office and Windows.

Investors don't give a shit about Xbox

 

[funkystudent]

People still like Nelson?
That guy and Greenberg need to go

I still kind of like Nelson and his old man video games gimmick. Its so cringe I cant hate it.


But yeah. Those 2 are great examples of PR people only having so much goodwill to spend before its all gone and then they just seem like sleezy lying marketing folk thereafter.

They should have gotten new, less front facing positions after the DRM 180 and Spenser took over and Xbox went through its rebrand and newer, still trustworthy people in front of cameras who didnt get tainted with that DRM mess.

Part of the reason people still say Xbox still has a image problem is the same people have been doing the messaging.

When the "its not as easy as flipping a switch" / "order pizza on Xbox using the power fo kinect" guy is suddenly "WE ARE ALL ABOUT THE GAMES" it a weird image.

 

[Stonewall Cornball]

porting to PC (and publishing to steam) will always be easier than console.

Ok, but what about optimization? That doesn't seem to be as straightforward anymore (see Warner Bros).

At least in the case of batman, console ports seem more optimized, even on the underpowered Xbox.

 

[wonderful103]

Ok, but what about optimization? That doesn't seem to be as straightforward anymore (see Warner Bros).

At least in the case of batman, console ports seem more optimized, even on the underpowered Xbox.

The exception is not the rule

 

[DeepEnigma]

Don't diss on Nelson man. What's wrong with you?

You get more and more questionable by the day, el oh el.

No! Not Major Nelson.

One of the many brilliant things to come out of this gen's console announcements. Still cracks me up.

 

[Stonewall Cornball]

The exception is not the rule

Would be an excellent point if batman wasn't merely one of the more recent exceptions.

There seem to be more exceptions on the PC side of things than console side. Perhaps you or someone else can finally explain why it is the exceptions themselves that seem to be the rule?

Would you argue that there are more AAA console devs on PC, or more AAA PC devs on consoles?

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

Ok, but what about optimization? That doesn't seem to be as straightforward anymore (see Warner Bros).

At least in the case of batman, console ports seem more optimized, even on the underpowered Xbox.

If you follow the quote back to the original discussion, thats actually exactly my point.

If Warner wont even take the time to put out a decent port on PC, where there is an established audience for their games, giving the job to throwaway devs with dubious history, who is to say they will give a new Nintendo console the amount of dev time to produce a comptent port, much less an enhanced one taking advantage of any supposed extra power?

And while warner is the most striking example, you can say the same about EA, Activision and even Ubisoft.

On the Japanese side, Sega, Capcom Square and Konami have only really given their ports lip service on Nintendo platforms, with most of their biggest franchises skipping the Wii at its height.

So again, If the NX is a beast of console, more powerful than current gen, who is really going to attempt to take advantage of that power? indies?

 

[MisterR]

An announcement that they're working on some hardware called "NX" in what seemed like a hastily thrown together press conference to stop people panicking about them moving to developing for mobile platforms isn't the same as an actual market announcement though.
I mean, they announced QoL 2 years ago, in what seemed like a hastily thrown together press conference to stop people panicking about them having major losses for the first time in decades.

It just seems... insanely premature to be discussing market impact.

e:
I mean, I don't discount the probability that all three manufacturers are in R&D for upcoming hardware, and given traditional timelines Nintendo are about due a new handheld

You seem pretty far out of the loop on this stuff. It's almost a certainty that the NX console releases this year.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

You seem pretty far out of the loop on this stuff. It's almost a certainty that the NX console releases this year.

Based on what? I also believe that this idea is based on wishful thinking and not enough hard evidence.

All we know is NX as a platform will launch this year. Thats it.

 

[jroc74]

Only the delusional would say that the Xbox One could reach 360 numbers.

But is a rebound out of the question with a revised or new box? No.

If people are holding out hope that NX will help Nintendo rebound from the actual disaster that is the Wii U, why would it be impossible for Microsoft to rebound as well, should they chose to attempt it?

Unless the NX people are more delusional than those who think the xone will surpass the 360 over the life.

Or everyone's delusional. This is probably most likely.

.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Based on what? I also believe that this idea is based on wishful thinking and not enough hard evidence.

All we know is NX as a platform will launch this year. Thats it.

To Mobile Phones, Tablets, Smart TV's, Fire, Chromecast, Apple TV, etc., near you.

 

[The God]

PC is the very last platform they'll treat.

"they"?

 

[Stonewall Cornball]

If Warner wont even take the time to put out a decent port on PC, where there is an established audience for their games, giving the job to throwaway devs with dubious history, who is to say they will give a new Nintendo console the amount of dev time to produce a comptent port, much less an enhanced one taking advantage of any supposed extra power?

So again, If the NX is a beast of console, more powerful than current gen, who is really going to attempt to take advantage of that power? indies?

I appreciate every point you have made, and I'm only reducing the size of your post to avoid creating a wall of text. I do like your whole post though.

Now, I think that porting to consoles already has some inherent optimizations built into that process. So when Warner Bros or anyone else decides to port to NX, the devkit will hold their hand a lot.

Also, since NX is a console and not PC, I don't think anyone else but Rocksteady would be doing that port. Warner Bros, from a business standpoint, would probably see some sense in getting NX devkits directly to Rocksteady, who would then take it upon themselves to complete a competent, well-optimized ports.

But yes, to your latter point, if Nintendo were so inclined, they could choose to leverage the indies for NX the same way that Sony has tried to for PS4. It has helped Sony that PS4 is the home of indies now, and it would be interesting to see how Unity (the engine) can take advantage of extra horsepower.

There were many B-tier games in the SNES, N64, and GameCube generations… so yes, I can indeed see indies making the effort no one else will.

 

[Jack The Nipper]

First-month performance for the entire Ratchet & Clank series, provided by the NPD Group, is as follows:
Ratchet & Clank (November 4, 2002) -- 112,000 units
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (November 11, 2003) -- 125,000 units
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (November 3, 2004) -- 207, 500 units
Ratchet: Deadlocked (October 25, 2005) -- 55,300 units
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (October 30, 2007, though released in most retailers early) -- 74,500 units


r&c ps2 - 1.20m
r&c ftod- 0.65m

Thought their first months woul have been a lot higher with all the commercials and such. Guess they will pass this.

 

[Htown]

All we know is NX as a platform will launch this year. Thats it.

Are we sure?

 

[wonderful103]

I appreciate every point you have made, and I'm only reducing the size of your post to avoid creating a wall of text. I do like your whole post though.

Now, I think that porting to consoles already has some inherent optimizations built into that process. So when Warner Bros or anyone else decides to port to NX, the devkit will hold their hand a lot.

Also, since NX is a console and not PC, I don't think anyone else but Rocksteady would be doing that port. Warner Bros, from a business standpoint, would probably see some sense in getting NX devkits directly to Rocksteady, who would then take it upon themselves to complete a competent, well-optimized ports.

But yes, to your latter point, if Nintendo were so inclined, they could choose to leverage the indies for NX the same way that Sony has tried to for PS4. It has helped Sony that PS4 is the home of indies now, and it would be interesting to see how Unity (the engine) can take advantage of extra horsepower.

There were many B-tier games in the SNES, N64, and GameCube generations… so yes, I can indeed see indies making the effort no one else will.

That isn't how porting works, and the Wii u has been very good to many indie devs. It helps that the policies are just as friendly as sony's.

The mid tier games aren't going to make a massive resurgence anytime soon on consoles. There are an absolute ton of them on the healthier market of PC though

Would be an excellent point if batman wasn't merely one of the more recent exceptions.

There seem to be more exceptions on the PC side of things than console side. Perhaps you or someone else can finally explain why it is the exceptions themselves that seem to be the rule?

Would you argue that there are more AAA console devs on PC, or more AAA PC devs on consoles?

There are hundreds of PC game releases every day. Batman is still an exception. Why only look at one market segment? (Aaa games). There are problems with releases everywhere, aaa or otherwise. I mean how many games release in a sorry state everywhere? People certainly aren't enjoying the frame pacing issues on the console versions of dark souls 3.

 

[Fady K]

I always found Nelson to be slightly weird. Is there any reason why some here don't like him though? I don't follow the major much.

 

[CosmicQueso]

I was wondering when we'd have the monthly new poster show up this month.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

But yes, to your latter point, if Nintendo were so inclined, they could choose to leverage the indies for NX the same way that Sony has tried to for PS4. It has helped Sony that PS4 is the home of indies now, and it would be interesting to see how Unity (the engine) can take advantage of extra horsepower.

There were many B-tier games in the SNES, N64, and GameCube generations… so yes, I can indeed see indies making the effort no one else will.

But Sonys work with indies on the PS4 has centered around tearing down the walls around self-publishing and developer outreach (Things Nintendo are already doing now).

Nothing about power of hardware has anything to do with it, especially as most indie titles are not exactly pushing the bar graphically. Even if we imagine that indies will push the equilvent of SNES B-tier titles on the console, that still doesnt require a jump in power over current gen.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

To Mobile Phones, Tablets, Smart TV's, Fire, Chromecast, Apple TV, etc., near you.

People who do not think NX will not have a mobile element are going to have very rude awakening......

 

[Stonewall Cornball]

That isn't how porting works, and the Wii u has been very good to many indie devs. It helps that the policies are just as friendly as sony's.

The mid tier games aren't going to make a massive resurgence anytime soon on consoles. There are an absolute ton of them on the healthier market of PC though



There are hundreds of PC game releases every day. Batman is still an exception. Why only look at one market segment? (Aaa games). There are problems with releases everywhere, aaa or otherwise. I mean how many games release in a sorry state everywhere? People certainly aren't enjoying the frame pacing issues on the console versions of dark souls 3.

I remember the PS3 ports of the orange box and of bayonetta and realizing that the devkits weren't doing much to force better optimizations like other dev environments do. So I understand that's not how ports always work. But I don't think that NX will have the same problems that PS3 did.

To your point about PC being a healthier market for mid tier games, I will definitely not attempt to dispute that. PC is an open platform, and that's where the indies are able to make the best decisions for themselves.

PC also seems to be the healthier market for getting the same disrespect that PS3 did when it comes AAA games, and that's why I have honed in on that market segment.

 

[Square2015]

*click

 

[Square2015]

LTD:
PS4 13.4m
PS3 7.5m
PS2 16.6m
PS1 8.0m

 

[slavesnyder]

I always found Nelson to be slightly weird. Is there any reason why some here don't like him though? I don't follow the major much.

I find Nelson far less scary than Spencer. At least he seems to have some self irony and is likeable in the way JR Ewing was. You have the impression he doesn't believe everything he says, because PR is just PR in the end. And that's fine. Nelson wants to sell stuff.
Spencer wants to sell stuff through being your buddy. And that's something I don't like too much.
Greenberg has lost all inportance, at least in the spotlight. I don't miss him.

 

[michaelius]

Nelson seems cool Greenburg is ok, most of xbones announcements go thru phil anyway

Phil spencer and adam boyes seem like cool guys for each camp

Spencer is like used car salesman. He will present you tons of amazing arguments why something is great but once you dig through all of it you will find that in reality he told nothing.

Nelson/Greenberg have a lot of baggage from the x360 era when their team was winning.

 

[Swass]

I always found Nelson to be slightly weird. Is there any reason why some here don't like him though? I don't follow the major much.

This really hurt him:

https://youtu.be/6RtSGFryKwo?t=11m30s

Video went viral.. basically he grabbed the Mic from Angry Joe told him you can't just "flip a switch" to remove DRM from the Xbox One.. I believe it was only days later when Microsoft announced they scrapped the DRM idea.

 

[Ryng_tolu]

*click

Why you use Pokkén for Wii U this month when Twilight Princess sold more?

 

[DeepEnigma]

People who do not think NX will not have a mobile element are going to have very rude awakening......

Elaborate?

 

[goomba]

People who do not think NX will not have a mobile element are going to have very rude awakening......

But if they do not think something will not have something, that would mean they think it will have something.

 

[SpotAnime]

People still like Nelson?
That guy and Greenberg need to go

Glad I'm not the only one. Larry did serve a purpose during the early years of the Xbox 360 - I think he was one of the first from a game console company who embraced podcasts early on, and his shows had a lot of cool insights from developers and others behind the scenes.

But now, all it seems he does is recite company droll and dress like Craig Sager with his silly jackets. And his podcasts now just seem like rhetoric, really one sided and deaf-eared in stark contrast to the many issues consumers have with the Xbox One.

Part of me thinks they need to reboot their community presence and give Hyrb a back office job, just to rinse the palette for the consumer base while they attempt to relaunch the Xbox brand. Getting rid of him is a harsh request, as he could probably continue to be effective in planning while someone else steps up to deliver the message. But IMO they need some new blood.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Glad I'm not the only one. Larry did serve a purpose during the early years of the Xbox 360 - I think he was one of the first from a game console company who embraced podcasts early on, and his shows had a lot of cool insights from developers and others behind the scenes.

But now, all it seems he does is recite company droll and dress like Craig Sager with his silly jackets. And his podcasts now just seem like rhetoric, really one sided and deaf-eared in stark contrast to the many issues consumers have with the Xbox One.

Part of me thinks they need to reboot their community presence and give Hyrb a back office job, just to rinse the palette for the consumer base while they attempt to relaunch the Xbox brand. Getting rid of him is a harsh request, as he could probably continue to be effective in planning while someone else steps up to deliver the message. But IMO they need some new blood.

Yeah I agree. I really lost patience with him during the X1 launch when he was saying stuff that was completely incorrect and knowing it was just to elicit some positive feedback for MS and assuming the majority wouldn't realize it.

I really like Spenser though. I know he is just really really good at saying the right things but he also knows a thing or two about games that candidly comes out when he is interviewed and that at the very least makes me like him

 

[Artvanderlay]

Looks like the tipping point has been reached in terms of the playstations stranglehold on the US market. A 90k lead in a quiet month is huge however people may wish to spin it. In the UK you can buy an Xbox and Quantum break on Amazon for 220 which is a firesale level price. Desperate times an all...

 

[Dash_Riprock]

Only 90k?

The gap is closing!

 

[Apt101]

Sony may as well pre-write their #1 press releases for every month they plan to have the console for sell.

 

[Exterminieren]

Are we sure?

Pretty sure, yeah.

Even if you ignore the nature of Nintendo's upcoming lineup, Trev's (rock-solid) leaks have an aspect of it coming out this holiday with Zelda.

 

[darkinstinct]

Xbox selling less this year than last year in their strongest market is worrying. Sony managed to sell more than at the same time last year. As it should be at this point.

 

[Apt101]

Xbox selling less this year than last year in their strongest market is worrying. Sony managed to sell more than at the same time last year. As it should be at this point.

I think whatever steam that was in that train has pretty much run out. The market can only bear but so much when there's three hats in the ring, with one of those hats being like a goofily-large sombrero from a cartoon while the others are too-small trucker hats. God that was the worst analogy probably ever written.

 

[ps3ud0]

So we all know X360 now out sells the XO MOM - do we have a handle when it will surpass LTD? I guessed end of this year a while ago, but really don't have the numbers to back it up and fuzzy exactly when the X360 jumped in sales.

I'm sure salesGaf would have a decent idea on predictions.

Regards R&C vs QB - I just can't see R&C beating it, but I guess at least it's not a silly question. I expect its digital sales will do very well because of the EU delayed release date.

ps3ud0 8)

 

[Bitch Pudding]

Only 90k?

The gap is closing!

And the only ones realizing this were the guys from ars technica...

Speaking of which, why the heck is there a "-5" on the y-axis in the first place??? This really is the dumbest chart ever...

"they"?

Nintendo. If they ever abandon home console hardware, they either focus on mobile gaming (all platforms) or release games on other consoles. PC gaming just is as far away from Nintendo gaming philosophy as it can get.

 

[Artvanderlay]

Sony selling most in all competing software (including COD if you take into account bundles) even with DLC promos (the division) is as much of an issue than being outsold every month as a console.
Pricedrops have no effect anymore as they are the norm. The cost of buying an exclusive is now prohibitive due to WW sales.

 

[Y2Kev]

Wii U2 (the name for NX) will probably be powered by 60 Cray Supercomputers and I hear this

...get this...

...nintendo is working on a new mario kart...