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[bishoptl]

The internal hardware isn't going to change. Xbox is not going out of business. Let's not go down that road.

Instead let's have a real discussion about how to turn around the public perception of the XBOX ONE. I'm especially interested in hearing from those of you who have committed to sitting things out until the end of the generation when it comes to Microsoft's console. Don't just throw out a one-liner like "$199 and 10 free games" - provide a couple of sentences explaining your position.

* Is it an outright apology that you're looking for?
* Acknowledgement that their first take wasn't just something that we weren't ready for, but actually did not want?
* Additional exclusive partnerships similar to Tomb Raider?
* More money committed to 1st party development?
* Significant price cuts?
* Specific genre development?
* Removal of the indie parity clause?

If you're already an owner, what do you think will help bring gamers around? Again, pithy one-liners won't fly here. If you want your console to succeed, throw some ideas out there and let's see what sticks.

Everything's on the table for discussion. Consider it a safe haven - heavily moderated - to get issues off your collective bosoms and maybe provide some fresh ideas.

 

[djblackice]

Bad joke

 

[bishoptl]

Arthur Gies owes me $10.

You may want to try that post again.

 

[KINGofCRA5H]

For me, all the 180s they did were enough. Now, it's just a matter of games.

I've gone on record here saying I am buying an Xbox One for the Halo Master Chief collection.

 

[djblackice]

.

 

[NichM]

I think it would help a lot for them to unequivocally repudiate their earlier stance on locking disc-based games to an account, without constantly lapsing into defensive "the time just wasn't right" justifications. The fact that they did eventually back away from that scheme was a step forward, but the execs seem too eager to remind everyone that they'd go back to it given half a chance.

 

[KAOS]

Love this thread title!

 

[Captain Zyrain]

Good OP.

I think more new and innovative IP's would help, but they can't sacrifice the existing AAA titles either.

They need titles with big buzz and (somewhat) self-generated hype. If the hardware ain't changing, the software needs to be their boots on the ground.

 

[The Lamonster]

MS putting Phil in the captain's chair did a lot for my perception of the brand, and releasing a white X1 without Kinect and with a free game is what pushed me over the edge to purchase.

However, I would have preferred the headset adapter and media remote to be included in the box.

343 Industries has also done a lot to increase my confidence in the Halo franchise, especially with the Master Chief Collection and its amazing value for just $60. For now, it's just a Halo box to me, and as a hardcore gamer, I'm fine with that.


also - "what a thread" was epic.

 

[The Flash]

I think first party development and removal of the indie clause would help a lot.

The Xbox Feedback site is also a good step in the right direction.

 

[bidguy]

show the os. show suspend resume. show the damn features.

the os is magnificent right now i can play some games, press the guide button, netflix a movie while eating and switch to my game right were i left off.

its getting dlna and media support soon. even mkv and gifs. give us the option to send gifs as messages to noobs we owned in mp games (gif opening without clicking on message)

i can put my collection of games on my external drive and drive to my buddy tom, plug it in his xbox and play my games with him right off the bat.

outsource some rare ips to third party devs. yager was in trouble once. make a deal and let them work on perfect dark for you. and another dev on banjo and another dev on conker. they are sitting on a pile of amazing games without using them

my 2 cents

 

[THEF3AR]

They've had me from day one. I like Playstation but I love Xbox.

I believe Xbox Live is on another level compared to PSN.

 

[RoboPlato]

I personally want to see them allow their first party studios more autonomy and creative control. Right now they have a studio that was created for the sole purpose of continuing Halo, a new studio that got an IP cancelled to continue Gears, a Fable team, two Forza teams, and the studio that made Lococycle. Let these studios loose to make something new and exciting that will be associated only with the Xbox brand and doesn't feel like it was cynically decided on in a board room. They have a lot of talent that they're wasting and will eventually lose if they don't branch out.

 

[anexanhume]

Honestly, I think Phil Spencer has put them on the right path. If he had been in charge from the beginning, things could be WAY different this time. Besides all of the policy gaffes they made, I think their admission that "we purposely didn't target the highest end graphics" was a huge mistake.

Whether they wanted to acknowledge it or not, they are competing in a power war with sony. The original Xbox was head and shoulders the most powerful of its generation. The Xbox 360 made huge strides forward with unified memory and unified shaders in its graphics architecture. The Xbox One has a middle of the road GPU solution with whats looking to be band-aid for memory bandwidth.

I think some of their digital ideas could have succeeded if they had just removed the check-in requirement to make it more steam-like to the end user.

That being said, for me it will take a mainline Halo game, which is coming, and another price drop to the $300 range. Or, they could pile up some other compelling exclusives and force me to budge on the $400 pricepoint. It's looking like I won't bite before holiday next year, though. I really need some compelling single player experiences, or if they somehow managed to get L4D3 exclusive, that may cause me to bite.

 

[Menome]

The example I use as an Xbox 360 owner last generation is this:

I buy apples from Store A. I've been buying apples there for years. One week, I bite into an apple and it's full of worms. The next week, I cautiously buy another apple and it has worms in too.

Store B announces they have certified worm-free apples in stock, that also taste a little bit nicer. Not much, but noticeable. Now that I'm eating nicer worm-free apples, I'm incredibly reluctant to eat apples any more from Store A, even though they have a sign in their window saying that all the worms are gone.

Microsoft have gotten rid of the worms that scared me off, now they need to convince me why their apple is still worth eating alongside my new ones. I need a decent amount of exclusives that aren't just first and third-person shooters 'with a twist' like Titanfall and Quantum Break. An exclusive game like D4 is what makes me consider an Xbox One now and they need to make their gaming side of things stand out.

 

[TeRey09]

Current Xbox One owner.

More first party studios pumping out games. Create great original games that make me fiend for more!!!! I love Halo but stuff like Quantum Break and Sunset Overdrive make me a lot more excited. More deals like Tomb Raider won't hurt.

 

[dugdug]

I actually really like my Xbox One, even though I know it's probably destined for 2nd place at this moment. Since TLoU:R came out, I haven't really turned my XB1 on much, but, I'm psyched for Halo and FH2. It's a decent machine, just outclassed by it's competitor, in just about every facet.

At this point, I really don't know what else they can do, but, stay the course. It feels like the race is already over. I doubt MS will take the top spot back at any point in the gen. But, as long as they keep pumping out decent games, and, supporting the console, I'll be happy with my purchase.

Basically, much like how the PS3 really never got out of the black cloud that was it's reveal, I see the same fate for Xbox One. Now, they just have to ride it out and keep customers as happy as possible, with some good new games.

 

[SFenton]

I'll probably get e-hazed for this, but if Xbox wants a larger community, then two things need to happen:

1) More first-party titles
2) More exclusive third-party arrangements through both games and DLC.

PR-wise, people dislike the latter, sure. But it helps bring people to the platform who haven't bought in yet, and that's what Xbox needs right now. I should note that deals like Titanfall are more preferred than something akin to Tomb Raider, but whatever works.

They've done pretty good so far in getting good mindshare with system updates, the media player, and all things OS-related, and they've got a good/great selection of games going. They just need more games and to keep hitting hard in updates.

As an addendum, I can't wait to see some games actually use Azure to its full potential; Crackdown 3 and whatever that one dev was posting a gif of a day or two ago are likely our best bets at the moment, and those could do wonders for PR.

 

[Stare-Bear]

I want them to be different compared to the PS4. That's why I can't understand why they abandoned Kinect so fast. If it really is such a great piece of hardware, make games that show it off. Show us that you believe, Microsoft, believe it's a great way to play (certain) games. Don't tell us. There should've been at least 2 or 3 first party games using the kinect in a fun and intuitive way. Right now, people are more impressed with The Playroom on the PS4.

And I want them to innovate. Sony is constantly experimenting with new stuff (P.T. demo last night as an example). Where is your remote play, or VR. Or are you looking into a PSnow type of service?

 

[Squishy3]

Microsoft's lineup is vastly more appealing to me both currently and future lineup wise. I want Scalebound, Phantom Dust and Crackdown. I want Halo 5. (and those early details about the beta sound super promising)

The Master Chief collection is a much more appealing rerelease and stopgap than The Last of Us Remastered to me simply because it's not a rerelease of something that came out a year ago and is 4 games in one even if one of those 4 games is a dud.

Forza is a more appealing racing game to me than Drive Club. Sunset Overdrive looks great and that change they just announced with the boost and slowdown on the rails is great. Killer Instinct will satisfy my fighting game itch on the Xbox One. (Especially with the fact Guilty Gear is going to be available on PS3 and no reason it won't be 60 FPS on it)

Microsoft is better at OS and feature development than Sony, as well.

I don't give a shit about Tomb Raider, though, I'll say that much. I wouldn't have bought it regardless of what platforms it was coming out on at launch.

If I'm going to buy one in the near future, it's likely going to be around when Sunset Overdrive comes out but I'll at least own one by the end of 2015.

 

[LQX]

I want genuine first party games, not timed exclusives of third party games like Tomb Raider. Use all that money you are paying them and put some talented devs to work on something fresh and new. I just so fucking hate that about MS. I could maybe get past it if they churned out a good number of great exclusives but they do not.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

Honestly, I don't see it happening for me. They killed their relationship with me with the red ring fiasco, that cost me my 360; when it came out that they knew about it all along and pushed ahead anyway, I realized that this was fundamentally not an honest company.

All the stuff that's happened over the years - and I don't just mean Xbone DRM and dumb paywalls, I mean them not patching bugs in Windows for US intelligence to exploit, and the NSA scandal - have only underlined that fact.

Honestly, as moral democratic actors we should probably be coming up with ways to marginalize them further, not push their already ubiquitous consumer products for them from some misguided sense of fairness. This goes way beyond video games, though their corporate culture pervades there as well.

 

[AmethystEnd]

It's pretty much just games at this point. For example, if Silent Hills was announced as an Xbox exclusive, you can bet your sweet ass I'd own one instantly.

Fuck. I'm so hard up for Silent Hill I'd probably buy an Xbox even if it was just a timed exclusive.

 

[Banjo-Kazooie]

Disclosure: Own the system and I am pretty pleased with it overall but acknowledge there is a lot that needs to be worked on.

Here is some things I can say without making my post too long:

The parity clause needs to officially go. It doesn't feel like there is one anyways since the last few months a lot of games have been releasing on PS4 but not XB1 even though XB1 versions have been rated for release. Still needs to disappear though.

PR Speak needs to improve - no more of this "exclusive" talk when the thing is timed exclusive.

1st party studios need to expand. Stop putting band aids on things by signing things like Tomb Raider, start investing money in yourself yesterday so that in a year or two time YOUR portfolio will be more fleshed out

Let Rare make a new game, get them the hell away from Kinect.

Shop out some of their old IPs to some devs to work on (or let internal teams like Twisted Pixel and Press Play have a crack at them). Banjo, Conker, Crimson Skies, ect. Important historic IP that will bring back old fans and excite current fans.

Why not port over some of your older games? It can't cost much(?). Bring over all of Rare's old games, heck bundle them all together in a "Rare Pack" for $60 and watch it sell gangbusters.

Start delivering on promises made ages ago - every system as a dev kit, shared code between all systems, ect. Start enabling cross buy, start having more competitive digital pricing, ect

 

[SwiftDeath]

I don't need an apology and have always intended to own the console for when halo 5 launches.

From now until then though I have been looking for a good reason to get it early and just haven't been convinced yet. The strongest pull is easily that White XB1 with SO included at $400. If I wasn't broke I'd be all over it I'm sure

I suppose a price cut to $300 would get me in the door quicker considering but I'll get it eventually

-------

As per the general market, price cuts might help? I don't know if it would lead people to believe waiting on it might result in more though. They seem to have a real mindshare problem and I'm not sure how they turn that around

 

[Tobor]

PS4 and PC has me covered for third party games and exclusives this gen, so it's a tall order.

MS would need to provide so many exclusives that I overlook the cost of buying yet another machine and paying yet another yearly subscription. Currently, they don't have any exclusives I feel like I have to play, let alone enough to tip the scale.

It's not looking good for me and Redmond this gen.

 

[amar212]

Nobody is looking for an apology.

I am European customer. Unfortunately, I am also a part of the fourth-tier countries that never had official Xbox support.

I had both Xbox and Xbox360. I was paying for Live. I was buying games. I was buying peripherals. I wanted to buy XboxOne.

Problem is how Xbox is too expensive in Europe for what it does - when compared to the US.

Mainland Europe - and especially countries that are not first-tier countries - simply can't use majority of XboxOne functionalities EVER - while we are still expected to pay the same price as first-tier EU countries.

And that price is also more expensive than price for the console in the US.

Same goes for Live. Europe pays for more expensive Live services, but they do not provide even the fraction of the added value as US service. And outside the first-tier EU countries, deal is even worse.

There is no easy service of consoles. There is no normal customer support outside officially supported countries. I have to outright lie my card-details if I want to purchase something from the Live. And it is still more expensive.

Price itself is not a problem. VALUE IS THE PROBLEM.

Oh, and yes - invest into first-party titles. Create added-value from new things.

Be the one that adds and expands to the gaming and all gamers, not the one that selfishly takes away to benefit only at your team.

 

[Sande]

* Additional exclusive partnerships similar to Tomb Raider?

Sure as hell not similar to TR. Moneyhats that actively take games away from others is not the way to go. But yeah, good exclusives is the only thing that could make me buy one. That and ending up in a financial situation where buying it was possible in the first place.

 

[clockpunk]

Microsoft are *very* close to convincing me to buy an XBox One over a PS4 - all I need to sway me are a few more indie games (to my taste), and perhaps a couple of third party soft exclusives.

I loved Bully: Scholarship Edition, Overlord, Test Drive Unlimited, Bioshock, Dear Rising 1, and so forth for the 360 - one of which has an equivalency (DR3) - all of which convinced me that was the console to get (they did not appear on the PS3 until much later, if at all). Follow that strategy again, and the power difference is negligible - as none of the Sony exclusive triple-A titles currently announced appeal to me in the slightest. Like the Tomb Raider move - I hated the way Sony moneyhatted Ubi and Arkham titles throughout the last gen for 'additional content', take all or nothing, as far as I am concerned.

 

[JCizzle]

Games. That's what turned around ps3 and is what will work for Microsoft. The Halo collection for a very reasonable price point is a great start, but they need to keep pushing forward with diverse experiences like Sony has with Uncharted and TLOU. I don't think Sony publicly held their head in shame and begged for forgiveness after the ps3 launch, so Microsoft shouldn't expect that to solve anything

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

I like the special edition bundles they've got prepped. Sunset Overdrive and CoD AW consoles look damn sexy. I pre-ordered the Sunset Overdrive one yesterday.

More bundles with more value at a good price, I'd say.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

I'd buy one in time for the MCC if the price reflected the hardware. They already dropped Kinect for a cheaper price, drop the TV stuff for an even better price per performance.

 

[Parapraxis]

I'll most likely own PS4, XBOX One and WiiU within another 6 months to a year. (PS4 Destiny bundle is very tempting)

Right now The XBOX One is 3rd in line for purchase intent.

This is partially in regards to specs, the types of games I play and being very glad I stuck it out with Sony last gen.

Currently I feel Sony holds an edge on the games front, when I have $ for purchasing a PS4/XBOX One that may have changed.
Their handling of issues last year certainly didn't help my sentiment towards the brand either, though Spencer I feel is representing XBOX much much better than his predecessors.

EDIT: Oh and I think MS and Sony should both invest in more new IPs and titles, instead of paying for "timed" exclusives.

 

[Nonentity]

I own both consoles, but I'm primarily a PC gamer.

The thing that drives me to either console is games. It's clear that there is a perception problem with the Xbox One, but the ultimate issue is just to keep getting quality games on the platform in whatever exclusive or first-party way they can, and I'm pretty sure the perception will right itself.

It did with the PS3, and it will with the Xbox One.

 

[Captain Zyrain]

Yeah, forgot to mention current Xbox One owner (Day 1 Edition.. whewwww)

I think they do need to make a bigger deal out of the improvements they've made to the OS, though how do you do this without everyone just pointing out how many features were missing at launch?

We live in the now, and we game in the now, but the past is great for bringing up nitpick points.

I suppose for them, to find a way to KEEP the existing Xbox 360 userbase would be a priority.

 

[vypek]

I wouldn't mind a price cut because thats always nice but I understand that they probably cannot do that right now.

I think what I really want is some transparency and honesty. Like the thread where its mentioned RoTR has a duration. Why can't they just tell us? I don't understand. I know timed exclusives exist. Just let us know what the duration is. Would letting us know really hurt them that much? If exclusive partnerships are going to be so mired in mystery, I don't want them. I'm still going to buy a game like Garden Warfare but I really wish I could have had it earlier or known it was coming from the start instead of just waiting for news. I certainly wouldn't mind them investing more in their first party titles. Cast the net wide and develop for any genre. Indie/arcade games are pretty cool as well. PSN/XBLA games last gen were fantastic to have.

 

[Hystzen]

If situation is MS fund game from start instead poaching games in development people be less pissed. That and they still awful with PR and getting clear message to people. Not saying what going on soon as possible and acting coy winds up people more

 

[pokeystaples]

I think the best way to turn around public perception is to prove that you aren't the Big Bad people thing you are. I won't be buying the system as I bought a 360 and didn't play it much at all, but I think many people could be swayed by transparency and games that aren't Halo, Gears, Forza and Fable.

 

[Illusive_Juan]

I honestly enjoy the whole "Best place to play multiplayer" spiel they got going on. The "all in one entertainment system" needs to go and the brand's identity needs to be associated with the community behind Xbox's games.

That's what I always loved most about the Xbox; it really is the best place to play games. Yes, you can sit here and say that it's full of little kids talking about your mother, but you know that's hyperbole and you know you can mute them in less than 2 seconds.

Microsoft needs more exclusives, even if it is timed like Tomb Raider. Myself and the typical casual gamer needs a reason to pick up this gaming system. No, Titanfall or any Halo game is going to do that on its own. It needs a stronger Indie support, because that's what's hot right now, and it needs to embrace it. Bring back Summer of Arcade.

The Xbox's system updates are really cool and it is getting a lot of people talking about their system. If they keep that up, that would be great. When I use my XBO, I feel like I'm using this badass multimedia device that can do multiple things at once and switch on the fly. The COOLEST shit about this system is I could be playing a game, turn off my system, and come back three days later after my family was using it to watch TV in between and pick up EXACTLY where I left off.

The system has a lot of things going for it, and I feel as though restructuring and resonating the brand identity as something communal would be a step in the right direction.

 

[BronsonLee]

Hrm. This one's tricky, I suppose.

Price/Kinect being forced on me were a big issue at launch. I definitely wanted to play Killer Instinct, but didn't think that was worth taking a 500$ plunge on, though I did love it when I played it at their pre-release stuff. I also felt their launch stuff was quite alright, in particular Dead Rising 3 and Forza.

I think perception wise, they've been taking an absolute bath lately, and that's really their main problem in everything. I feel this generation is a bit of a mirror of how the last one launched, where Sony was getting it from all sides while Microsoft was just sitting, doing their thing. They need to do that.

That being said (and I've said this before) Microsoft is far more nimble in terms of making changes than Sony was back then, and I think that'll help them a lot in the long run. I just wonder if it'll end the same as last gen, with a virtual tie.

If I had to pin one thing down, they need to change the way they do PR in a big way. They've done it that way for a long time, but they need a shake-up there. The rest (price, games, etc) will just fall into place as this generation goes on.

 

[braves01]

Honestly, more exclusives like Tomb Raider and more first party stuff I'm interested in is all they need to do to get me to buy an Xbox One. I don't really care about an apology PR campaign.

 

[Viruz]

I can't take the smell, can't take the noise
Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat

This is MS right now, as I see it.

300€ or die.

 

[quickwhips]

Just need to see solid crackdown 3 footage, gears 4 footage and halo 5 and I'll buy a xbox one.

 

[Portugeezer]

Well in fact the hardware does matter to me, because I don't look to buy an XB1 for multiplatform games, I have a PS4 for those, it would have to be exclusives only.

In which case the price and selection of games is not there yet to justify another £350 console + games + possible subscription to play online.

I can wait a few years for more exclusive games and a cheaper price, I may not buy a XB1 at all. For reference, I had a 360 as my main console last gen, no PS3.

 

[Hawk269]

I think MS has done the right things since the cluster fuck of the announcement. From the monthly OS updates to looking back at old titles and bringing them back. For some, there is NOTHING they can do. There are some people that will stick to the PS family and never waver, no matter how many exclusives MS has, some people just wont do it.

For those on the fence, I think MS has provided enough announcements and uniqueness to tempt people on the fence to purchase one. How many people have made comments like "White Xbox One and Sunset Overdrive and I am in"? Plenty.

We know there is a power difference, but looking at games like Forza Horizon 2 vs. Drive Club, yeah one is an open world while the other sticks to not going out of the bounds of the track, but just taking those two games as an example, the tech specs don't matter as they both look pretty incredible and you cant watch direct feed of each game and say "oh yeah, one is definitely 40% or whatever better because of a better GPU and faster memory".

The power difference is real and we all know it, but it is what they do with that and how they use each system. In my example above, we have two games made exclusively for each platform and no one can say with true honesty that one is really visually that much better than the other. Fanboys can and will and then an argument of open world vs. closed circuits will ensue, but in the end, they are both damn good looking racers and both show how powerful each system really is.

As I said when I started my response, there are some gamers that no matter what they wont buy a Xbox One, just like there are some Xbox owners that wont buy a PS4. Since MS is not selling as many consoles as their main competition, they just need to continue to show what they can do on their own system and keep providing fresh games, fresh content and continued improvement of the OS.

 

[_Ryo_]

They need to advertise the media capabilities. XBOX ONE Media Player, plays audio and lots of video formats, including mkv, and there's also plex.

I dunno?

 

[Abstruse Moose]

They need to move a step ahead of Sony.
Make XB1 cheaper than PS4.
Make Live cheaper than PS+
Expand games with Gold
Invest in original IP's
Stop with the lawyer talk. Speak honestly and transparently

 

[curb]

I feel like Microsoft has taken their lumps for their "missteps" so I don't expect much more out of them than they've already done. Every platform holder makes mistakes at times and it seems like MS is getting their act together.

So that being said, I'm a mostly PlayStation guy without a lot of gaming time on my hands these days but I'm also not opposed to owning an Xbox One at some point. For me, there just isn't enough content that really jives with my taste that I can't get elsewhere so for me, it's just time. At some point, the price of the system will be down to a place where I can feel justified in spending $250 on a system with 5 or 6 games I can't get anywhere else which will likely happen late in the system's life cycle. Also, the system is a bit big and I don't have a lot of space in my entertainment center so a smaller hardware revision at some point would be a plus.

 

[Durante]

I think it makes sense to look at how Sony did it over the life of PS3, as it faced similar image issues in the beginning. Two components to that are (1) lots of first party development and (2) free online play. I think both would help MS more than buying up timed exclusives. MS will never do (2), but I believe it's highly relevant. It seems like (sadly) most people are fine with paying one console subscription. But if you are in the position of the underdog, asking them to pay another for your system is likely to be too much for most.

 

[Kano on the Phone]

For me, as someone that's pretty casual, Sony is actually making me excited about the games they have coming. The initial reveals made me sure that if I bought a next gen console, it was going to be a PS4, but since then, they re-released a great game I missed (TLOU), they gave me free games on PSN (I know MS does this now, but it isn't a switching point), and they have some games like Bloodbourne down the pipeline. Additionally, the Silent Hills reveal was something that solidified the fact that I own a PS4 (though I know it may not be exclusive).

The fact is, it isn't so much that Sony has done a lot of extraordinary things with PS4, but they haven't dropped the ball on anything so far, and it's going to take that, plus some really fantastic reasons for me to buy a One, and MS hasn't provided those. MS dropped the ball so hard on the reveal that they have to really pull something out to steer me away from a console that has nearly every game I can think of that I'm excited about. Even a new Halo isn't exciting to me at this point.

No one could tell me why Xbox is the way to go at this point without using the word "Halo" and that isn't enough for me.