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[Tallshortman]

Salty?

No just saddened that someone has to risk their jobs and all the jobs of their colleagues because they feel it is right.

That's not a game, it is people's lives and it is sad it has come to that.

What? How does this risk the jobs of his colleagues? He wants them to change course, he never said he wants MS to continue on course and crash and burn. Boy you must hate all whistleblowers. This sort of bad PR was going to happen one way or another, him leaking things doesn't change the fact that people were going to find out about MS's terrible missteps eventually.

 

[ZERATUL PL]

If the rumor about Microsoft investing more on TV crap instead of game developers is true and they really think of Xbone as an entertainment device I kind of doubt they'll recover this gen and if they do it'll be much later. At this point and after all the crap Microsoft has done I just hope for some new players in the industry.

Pretty sure that's the most important part to all of us

But unfortunately given MS's support history, current 1P studios and mort's recent reveal of more spending on tv studios then game studios, the lineup does not speak for itself

Support history has been great, they dont need 1P when they have money to buy exclusives and there was no reveal... just a rumor

 

[bbalde]

Da faq

Well we had four reviews per year in my department: Q1, H1, Q3, H2... It depends if you are a "vendor" its quite easy to fire you, if you are a FTE thats another story. You are assigned a forecast to meet each year, start looking for another job if in your year most of your scorecard are red. The main problem is the management keep changing role in the way a department works. Its disturbing.

Back to cboat, from the reveal of the console we knew that yusuf and don were up to no good the last few years... maybe, probably, things will turn out better for the xbox one. Damage is done though...

 

[flkraven]

I can't believe I'm saying this right now after the DRM 180s thing from E3, but this has got to be the worst 2 days of PR Microsoft has had for this console.

 

[Poker Face]

really appreciate latest cboat post. any clarification on the current problems with the xbox one is really helpful.

I still don't know whether I'm going to cancel my pre-order or not. :/

 

[Interficium]

But it is not inherently a "bad system".

You are the manager.

You have three reports, all who are amazing.

The system forces you to pick one who is "amazing," one who is "average," and one whom is "below-average."

Would you say that is inherently good?

 

[Yawnier]

Not really. I get where he's coming from.

Nah, that is pretty illogical. To actually 'hate' one plastic box over another when neither of them are even out yet? lol

 

[oconnomiyaki]

As much as I'm looking forward to Nintendo's titles next year (OH MY GOD, X!!!!!!!!!!), Nintendo cannot be "estatic" at their console being withdrawn from ASDA's (Walmart) stores and inventory throughout the UK.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/421340/asda-suspends-wii-u-stock/

It's absolutely fucking dead here in the UK, and the next gen consoles haven't even hit yet. Hell, in the majority of Tesco stores, the Wii U section is literally a "top 5" of mixed Wii, Wii U and 3DS titles, on the bottom shelf of the XBOX 360 bay.

By mid next year, the Wii U will be effectively reduced to online, Toys R Us and GAME chain only here. It's that dire.

Yeah, and there's news that Young Justice was just cancelled due to, in part, a "lack of retailer support".

But how much of that is based on the expectation of the next generation? The Wii U is in exactly the same spot the Dreamcast was: despite being, subjectively, the better platform at present (in part due to actually being released, and in part due to having, again subjectively, the better line-up), people are choosing to wait instead for a future platform they perceive is being a lot better.

But what if the PS2 was an utter dud at launch? Not just "Oh, it's hard to get one and the line-up's a bit crap," but like "Oh, it crashes every 5 minutes and won't play DVDs properly"? We can talk hypothetical, but could the Dreamcast have recovered based on that? Sega did give it a good year or so before they threw in the towel.

So likewise, if the Xbox One completely and utterly bombs, could that change consumer and retailer expectation about the Wii U? Especially in the UK where the Xbox brand was strong? A strong marketing push from Nintendo could still potentially turn things around.

It's done the dash here in New Zealand as well, it seems. And I'm sure that if the Xbox One is terrible then this place will just go back to being PlayStation country again. But right now all I know is that as long as Nintendo can keep delivering quality games like they're starting too, and as long as someone will sell and ship them to me, then it's still a much, much more attractive proposition right now than the Xbox One.

It's kind of sad, in a way. I loved the original Xbox. I remember the day I got it and started playing Halo. I remember the day I got KOTOR, which is still my favourite gaming experience of all time. It was helped in part by it being a magical time in my life, but it really was a great little console and I didn't mind that it didn't have the support the PS2 did.

I was hoping, in a way, that maybe the Xbox One could recapture some of that magic for me. Alas, though, it seems that it was not to be.

 

[Tookay]

Salty?

No just saddened that someone has to risk their jobs and all the jobs of their colleagues because they feel it is right.

That's not a game, it is people's lives and it is sad it has come to that.

You're right; this isn't a game.

We're dealing with consumer's well-earned money. We should be informed.

Do you share similar disgust for whistleblowers? Are employees supposed to tow the company line at all times, even when it's a bad (perhaps even fraudulent) line?

 

[RaikuHebi]

Yeah we are looking at a dominant gen for Sony. Have to hope the others survive and can compete in future though. Competition is the best for all of us.

Sony's domination during PS1 and PS2 was a great time though (some would argue better than HD gen), so it's not necessarily true that competition is the best.

Don't forget the deterioration of quality in games that used to be Sony exclusives.

 

[Tamanon]

It's exaggerated, but not a lie.

Stack ranking is a very real thing a lot of Seattle-area companies, particularly Amazon and MS.

Stack Ranking is a scourge upon the corporate world. Not just that you have to determine the weakest, but many corporations implement it so you can ever truly recognize one or two employees as good employees on your team. It means if you build a strong team, that at the end of the day you'll lose most of them, since you won't be able to do anything for them beyond trying to find them another opening on another team where they can actually stand out. I hated when my old place implemented them.

 

[bigboss370]

I'm bored so I'll translate this:

His vision, his fault.
Don't get to run off without fallout.


These issues come from facts. If you don't want to hear what's presented, I can't help you.

Focus your (eyes?) to the people who made these decisions with regard to hardware. When the messenger is right you'll get mad, but I warn you because I don't like what I've seen over the last 20 months.

Always plan for gamers. Xbox, PS or Wii U. All of us. When (directtv?) or apps are first, power second, this is not for gamers. When questions about DRM/online policy are floating around internally and 3D is disregarded.

Because monetization is job one for execs, not for gamers. When you are lied to directly about features, that's not for gamers, period.

Today, snap is broken. Fact. Maybe (and probably) fixed for launch
Today, Live connection and party is broken. Fact and maybe fixed before launch.
Today, esram is a problem and tools will help down the road. Hardware will always be gimped in comparison. This can never be changed without new hardware. Fact. Get mad at who you should be getting mad at.

Not forums
Not posters
Not people who know whats wrong and want to help gamers

See you after launch!

Edit:Amir0x why are you so fast

perfect translation.

 

[illmatic22]

Always nice to hear from ya Cboat!

 

[todd360]

Sony's domination during PS1 and PS2 was a great time though (some would argue better than HD gen), so it's not necessarily true that competition is the best.

They still had competition then. Just not really good competition.

 

[FranXico]

I can't believe I'm saying this right now after the DRM 180s thing from E3, but this has got to be the worst 2 days of PR Microsoft has had for this console.

No, it's nowhere near as bad.

For some perspective, read this leak from Shinobi:

I'm really not too worried about all of this. Most of the main issues will be ironed out by launch or shortly after. Was talking with a dev that I trust very much who allowed me to pretty much quote him:

"Truthfully...it isn't nearly as bad as is being made out to be.

The OS has shown moments of sluggishness, especially with snap feature. The bigger story is devs finding the tools a bit harder to work with compared to PS4. That's the takeaway from all this. Both systems will have issues with online at launch, guaranteed. XBL will be more noticeable cos of previous reliability. And it is mostly when a user tries o do too much at once. The multitasking will take a while to properly bed in. With time, they will improve the pipeline process that handles the multitasking features in the background (via updates). Essentially, OS computations for that stuff will become more efficient. This will probably mean a reduction in the OS footprint as well, with time."

"With time, they will improve the pipeline process that handles the multitasking features in the background (via updates). Essentially, OS computations for that stuff will become more efficient. This will probably mean a reduction in the OS footprint as well, with time."

 

[simplythebest]

Penollo's last post was at 6:52 est. CBOAT's post was at 6:59 est.

Hmm

 

[ascii42]

Sony's domination during PS1 and PS2 was a great time though (some would argue better than HD gen), so it's not necessarily true that competition is the best.

It's a different era now. With OS updates and services like Live and PS+, there is now room for continuous improvements. With the PS2, that was not really the case. Live certainly pushed Sony to improve PSN.

 

[The Flash]

I think the 180s were a good first step, and stuff like dedicated servers free for devs and whatnot... all really positive. I'm just worried all these changes now - which still had to happen regardless, since the system before was too awful to ever purchase - are now giving us a system that is really just incomplete and should have been pushed back to Spring or something.

Oh I definitely think MS would have been in a better situation if they could delay this until next year. Their problem was that they didn't want to be the last console to launch by a significant amount of time i.e. whole fiscal quarter. I think that a large part of what's happening is because they 180'd on the 24 hour policy. I bet they had all of their ducks in row for launching with that system in mind but when everyone got all mad (rightfully so), they had to basically go back to the drawing board and essentially rebuild all or most of the XB1's software and online systems. With Mattrick gone and Ballmer pretty much waiting to be forced out, the lower tier Xbox execs have been scrambling to put the pieces together. If this is true, then some applause should be given to the people who are in charge now because they've basically been screwed over by their bosses and have been left to pick up the pieces. Whether or not they can successfully put all or most of the pieces together in time to make a good impression on the Xbox faithful and gaming community in general come Nov. 22 remains to be seen. All I'll say is that I am still very much excited for this console. I'm looking forward to hearing early adopter impressions, seeing how Xbox One games (multiplat and exclusives) run, and getting a chance to actually use the darn thing myself since a few friends of mine are still getting it at launch.

 

[kmg90]

Is this a parody account or something?

I don't know but I've definitely found the first candidate to try the ignore function for...

 

[Vizzeh]

This is what makes me feel bad for the current Xbone team really. Mattrick fucked this show right from the start and this box's conception, and this entire year was reacting on the backfoot to Sony's sudden show of absolute strength back in February.

Now he's got to jump out the fucking window a sail over on a parachute to Zynga, and it feels like there still is no definitive head of Xbox anymore. And why would there be? Who wants to own this shitblow to the face as their responsibility?

Its going to be weird having another one console total dominance generation again. I also always get worried when Microsoft starts throwing cash at companies with no long term plans in place. Those companies are often hard up and have to take it, and then when Microsoft chases its next dragon they'll be left without even those lifelines and be in a worse position to garner such loyalty from rival companies.

Really wish Allard had been given almost total autonomy from MS back in the day and got to go all the way games and really strengthen Xbox to be a far healthier long term competitor rather than a diseased dog that now has to shit money out of its butt just to get people to come close and pet it again.



wait what. Underdog fetish?

I dont know how to put this on mattrick, I wish he was thrown into the limelight a little more, he seemed to just leave mutually and everything was fine, him and his cheesy grin, he needs fed to the lions. The problem with the microsoft execs, their all too well trained in marketing and not thinking from a gamers standpoint, they clearly thought they had the plan. Sony just seem to have that grounded approach of honesty, yes they want to make money but there doesnt seem to be much hidden BS with them.

I would have loved if MS continued their 360 path, strengthed it by adding some more First party studios, instead of as you said, moneyhatting publishers/developers to purchase an exclusive for a year, biding time to sell a console with no long-term solution. Do they think we are daft, where are the exclusives coming in years to come? How are they going to deal with this esram conundrum, they cant, as cboat said...only way to change it up is with new hardware.

MS are in a sad state right now and as much as Sony are doing everything right, MS execs where doing everything wrong, leaving their engineers to feel the pressure of their dirty work, I guarantee alot of them are gamers too at heart and not all money-grabbing toe-rags.....

A successful MS and a successful Sony, both learning from their mistakes would have made for a very interesting Next-Gen, whilst im looking forward to next-GEN with Sony, I cant help feel a bit of sadness for guys in the lower echelons of MS. Mattrick etc ...seek help.

 

[ThisWreckage]

I said for months and months that the team behind the Xbox One is not the team that was behind the 360 and OG Xbox. Different philosophy, different focus, different agenda. This team was more interested in controlling paid content, focusing on apps, and strong arming Kinect into living rooms rather pushing interesting software and focusing on decent hardware. Remember the second half of the 360's life span? Expect things to be even barren and worse than those dark years.

 

[Saint Gregory]

Oh, since this lovely gif was made in the other topic ->

THE BUTTOCKS HAS ARRIVED. ASS STORM INCOMING.

Thanks Lovely Salsa for the GIF!

Is it too early to establish this as the finest gif to grace the internet?

It would go perfectly with CBoaT's tag if it isn't.

 

[Feorax]

They still had competition then. Just not really good competition.

I suppose this really applies to PS2 and Nintendo handhelds as well.

I really would rather no-one dropped out of the industry, but I understand the argument of people who would like to see Valve take Microsoft's place. A Steambox would offer much more variety than having another generation of "HD twins".

 

[lightning2k3]

Oh I definitely think MS would have been in a better situation if they could delay this until next year. Their problem was that they didn't want to be the last console to launch by a significant amount of time i.e. whole fiscal quarter. I think that a large part of what's happening is because they 180'd on the 24 hour policy. I bet they had all of their ducks in row for launching with that system in mind but when everyone got all mad (rightfully so), they had to basically go back to the drawing board and essentially rebuild all or most of the XB1's software and online systems. With Mattrick gone and Ballmer pretty much waiting to be forced out, the lower tier Xbox execs have been scrambling to put the pieces together. If this is true, then some applause should be given to the people who are in charge now because they've basically been screwed over by their bosses and have been left to pick up the pieces. Whether or not they can successfully put all or most of the pieces together in time to make a good impression on the Xbox faithful and gaming community in general come Nov. 22 remains to be seen. All I'll say is that I am still very much excited for this console. I'm looking forward to hearing early adopter impressions, seeing how Xbox One games (multiplat and exclusives) run, and getting a chance to actually use the darn thing myself since a few friends of mine are still getting it at launch.

The fact that they even considered always online drm showed that they didn't have their priorities aligned, and they were not focused on gamers first. It was inevitable that they got gamer backlash and sufffered all sorts of problems by trying to tackle the entertainment area while neglecting the gaming aspect.

 

[Zatoichi's Cane]

His visaion, hs faul. tD

Ok, so SNAP and XBL is broken, but it will get fixed (probably) by launch. If it does then it's not a big deal. If it doesn't, then.........


I think the sooner xbone fans come to the realization that eSRAM is gimping the system, the sooner we can move on. But there is this insistence by some to go against math and reason.

The BF4 video to be released today will go on to demonstrate the power difference between the two systems.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

No, it is really illogical. There is no logic in seeing a thread that has bad Xbox news and using it as an excuse to dislike the PS4, even if the PS4's fans - a group of people entirely different from the system or its games - tick you off.

It's very easy for someone to associate a system's fans with the system itself. I can see why threads like this would make someone hate PS4 fans. Bad feeling towards a certain group of fans can just make you have bad feelings for the thing you associate this group of fans. Illogical or not I can see why he would feel that way.

Spoiler

Big PS4 fan here. Not an X1 fan at all. I see where he's coming from. Doesn't mean I agree with it.

 

[xaosslug]

I'm really not too worried about all of this. Most of the main issues will be ironed out by launch or shortly after. Was talking with a dev that I trust very much who allowed me to pretty much quote him:

"Truthfully...it isn't nearly as bad as is being made out to be.

The OS has shown moments of sluggishness, especially with snap feature. The bigger story is devs finding the tools a bit harder to work with compared to PS4. That's the takeaway from all this. Both systems will have issues with online at launch, guaranteed. XBL will be more noticeable cos of previous reliability. And it is mostly when a user tries o do too much at once. The multitasking will take a while to properly bed in. With time, they will improve the pipeline process that handles the multitasking features in the background (via updates). Essentially, OS computations for that stuff will become more efficient. This will probably mean a reduction in the OS footprint as well, with time."

this reads like placating, tbh. It sounds like he's confirming all the mess but in a more flowery, less straightforward/frank manner.

 

[mdtauk]

You are the manager.

You have three reports, all who are amazing.

The system forces you to pick one who is "amazing," one who is "average," and one whom is "below-average."

Would you say that is inherently good?

That is one form of Stack Ranking (or Vitality Curve) and it is one which I disagree with. But Stack Ranking does not have to be approached in that way,

Microsoft has just employed a flawed version of it. But I do not believe ditching it will magically cure all of Microsoft's woes.

 

[Fatal Futanari]

His visaion, hs faul. tD

dontget ttro rrun fof awitjhou t fallout

this isuzses e comes from fascts. ifu wont wantt2 hera what present, cnyt help yu.

f0cus your irea t the people waho made these dcsion w regarrdi!1n harwdawar. whe nmesentger is rigeght uo get mad, but I warn becau zei don't like wht ive sen over last 20 mons.

PLAN nevr not 4 gamers. xbo or ps or wiu. al of us . when direc+ve are aps fest rfisrst, pwoetr s2nond, ths not 34 gamers. whdn questins buot drm/online poicliy are flaote intenraly and disregard 3d

bcuz monetiztn is job one 4e xcs, ths not for game34rs. when u are lid to direct l yy buot featusre, tha n7t for gaemrs. eprderi00d.

today, snap is brkne. Ffac.t. M@aby e (an dpbrobly )() fix fo alaunch
today live conetx andpaty is borknaen. Fac and m..aby e fix bgoror launch.
today

esrm is prbl and tols wil help dwon road. hw wil always be gipm in compsaarson. this w can nev changewtiout new hw. Faact. get mad at whoa ywou shdoul beg etin mad at.

no forusm
no poster$
not pelfoe who kno se what srong and want to haplep gamrs

CU afte !launh.

And just like that, CBOAT just spread his juicy cheeks and sprayed all that #TRUTHFACT goodness all over us.

 

[Amir0x]

Oh I definitely think MS would have been in a better situation if they could delay this until next year. Their problem was that they didn't want to be the last console to launch by a significant amount of time i.e. whole fiscal quarter. I think that a large part of what's happening is because they 180'd on the 24 hour policy. I bet they had all of their ducks in row for launching with that system in mind but when everyone got all mad (rightfully so), they had to basically go back to the drawing board and essentially rebuild all or most of the XB1's software and online systems. With Mattrick gone and Ballmer pretty much waiting to be forced out, the lower tier Xbox execs have been scrambling to put the pieces together. If this is true, then some applause should be given to the people who are in charge now because they've basically been screwed over by their bosses and have been left to pick up the pieces. Whether or not they can successfully put all or most of the pieces together in time to make a good impression on the Xbox faithful and gaming community in general come Nov. 22 remains to be seen. All I'll say is that I am still very much excited for this console. I'm looking forward to hearing early adopter impressions, seeing how Xbox One games (multiplat and exclusives) run, and getting a chance to actually use the darn thing myself since a few friends of mine are still getting it at launch.

If it is true that the Xbox team was shit on like that, I really feel even worse for them. This has to be the worst situation right now.

I understand things will be worked on up until the second these systems launch, but it's still wild how much seems to be fluid with less than 3 weeks for both systems.

Is it too early to establish this as the finest gif to grace the internet?

It would go perfectly with CBoaT's tag if it isn't.

It's definitely one of my all-time favorites. It's just so...so perfect. Lovely Salsa is awesome

 

[NullPointer]

this reads like placating, tbh. It sounds like he's confirming all the mess but in a more flowery, less straightforward/frank manner.

Could be.

When the dust settles, which will have had a better launch, the Xbox One or GTA Online?

 

[Wurdfurd]

Could be.

When the dust settles, which will have had a better launch, the Xbox One or GTA Online?

So, which pile of shit smells slightly less repulsive?

 

[lastflowers]

It pits teams against one another. Short term, it works. Long term, it's disastrous.

Companies should be worker owned to whatever extent they can be. People work harder on anything they own, and they work together better over time. Democratic workplaces are less efficient, but most monarchies are not benign.

Interestingly enough, you make one of the bigger criteria for analysis on 'how you help or enable coworkers to complete their tasks', and it directly eliminates this competition. The staunch teams that took this stackranking to heart abandon it to instead help the previously amicable teams to better the working environment for the entire org. Now, of course you might still get some jockeying--but what I've seen of the process has been very nice for my org.

 

[TAJ]

I said for months and months that the team behind the Xbox One is not the team that was behind the 360 and OG Xbox. Different philosophy, different focus, different agenda. This team was more interested in controlling paid content, focusing on apps, and strong arming Kinect into living rooms rather pushing interesting software and focusing on decent hardware. Remember the second half of the 360's life span? Expect things to be even barren and worse than those dark years.

Well, they'll pretend to care for a year or two, and then they'll make us long for those dark years.

 

[miDnIghtEr20C]

Another day, more FUD I see.

 

[ascii42]

I suppose this really applies to PS2 and Nintendo handhelds as well.

Just look at how long Nintendo milked the original GameBoy hardware. Even the GameBoy color wasn't really beyond what what the Lynx and GameGear were capable of.

 

[FranXico]

That is one form of Stack Ranking (or Vitality Curve) and it is one which I disagree with. But Stack Ranking does not have to be approached in that way,

Microsoft has just employed a flawed version of it. But I do not believe ditching it will magically cure all of Microsoft's woes.

Keeping employees in check through fear of getting fired will get you results short term, but degrade your working environment and discourage creativity long term. I also dislike this type of stack ranking. Which is why I refer to it as "monstrous".

 

[Loudninja]

ah nvm

 

[xxracerxx]

Another day, more FUD I see.

And what if it isn't FUD?

 

[danwarb]

MS want to make some TV shows and Kinect as well as spend billions on huge exclusive new games for their platform. Oh no!


So it turns out there might not be much of a problem with the OS/XBL even now, after all? I think that's good news because I've got XBone on pre-order.

 

[lightning2k3]

Another day, more FUD I see.

did you not see the post by cboat?

 

[Tookay]

I said for months and months that the team behind the Xbox One is not the team that was behind the 360 and OG Xbox. Different philosophy, different focus, different agenda. This team was more interested in controlling paid content, focusing on apps, and strong arming Kinect into living rooms rather pushing interesting software and focusing on decent hardware. Remember the second half of the 360's life span? Expect things to be even barren and worse than those dark years.

Yeah, this isn't anything new. The last 3-4 years of the 360 proved that a different corporate philosophy had taken hold.

 

[Amir0x]

Another day, more FUD I see.

what is being defined as "FUD" here? The 'other' day was the resolution news...are you saying that's FUD too?

Edit: Why am I even responding to this? Such obvious bait lol

 

[Bunta]

edit: Not even gonna.

 

[Myansie]

So, if a game happens to be 900p on the PS4, too, is that also an ESRAM limitation?

The problem is if the cheaper PS4 is 900p than the XBox one is 640p. For anyone on this board that's a stark jump in visual fidelity. It's all relative. If the tech is irrelevant than why jump gens at all?

 

[Fracas]

really appreciate latest cboat post. any clarification on the current problems with the xbox one is really helpful.

I still don't know whether I'm going to cancel my pre-order or not. :/

Is Killer Instinct the dominant reason you're wanting one or does everything interest you?

 

[DeejayKnight]

Oh, since this lovely gif was made in the other topic ->

THE BUTTOCKS HAS ARRIVED. ASS STORM INCOMING.

Thanks Lovely Salsa for the GIF!

It took me a minute to figure out what this gif was, but then?

Good to see cboat dropping bombs. It's gonna be a crazy launch. I've got a horse in both races, so we'll see how this plays out.

 

[shinobi602]

this reads like placating, tbh. It sounds like he's confirming all the mess but in a more flowery, less straightforward/frank manner.

Could be.

When the dust settles, which will have had a better launch, the Xbox One or GTA Online?

Maybe, but he doesn't work for Microsoft and has no reason to lie. It could also be we're just pointing a narrative for ourselves and sticking to it instead of being more open. I'm sure there are issues, the evidence suggests it. I just don't think it's as bad it's made out to be. Certainly not worth the "Xbox is doomed" posts that I've actually seen a couple of lol.

 

[xaosslug]

Could be.

When the dust settles, which will have had a better launch, the Xbox One or GTA Online?

any way you slice it GTA's will come out on top, because it was free/bonus. While Xbone costs $500. u_u

 

[RaikuHebi]

Just look at how long Nintendo milked the original GameBoy hardware. Even the GameBoy color wasn't really beyond what what the Lynx and GameGear were capable of.

I was recently thinking about how insane the GameBoy's tenure was. It came out before my birth and discontinued when I was in secondary school.