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Microsoft sells Mediaroom, Xbox to be their TV strategy going forward

Same with just about any modern entertainment device, if you lose internet with a Roku it's just a useless box hooked up to your TV.
Just want to point out that you can still play games on Roku when the internet's down, you can also stream content from your PC. Infact, most modern entertainment devices can be used offline even if they lose some of their feature set. It's not really the same situation as a online only xbox, where you wouldn't be able to access anything offline.

You'd obviously expect to lose access to streaming services when the internet goes down, that goes without saying. Services that aren't dependant on an internet connection shouldn't be disabled if I lose an internet connection though. That's just being inconvenient.
 
DILUTION OF THE PRODUCT. Even further than just adding Netflix or some proprietary service like a VOD.

How is that an explanation? I asked you why the console acting as a TV hub is bad for gaming, you still haven't provided a valid answer.

The always-online I understand, that's a legitimate complaint.
 

FordGTGuy

Banned
This may surprise you but Sony is also a media and entertainment brand.

Dude I've been trying to say this for a long time, no one listens.

Just want to point out that you can still play games on Roku when the internet's down, you can also stream content from your PC. It's not really the same situation as a online only xbox.

You'd obviously expect to love access to streaming services when the internet goes down, that goes without saying. Services that aren't dependant on an internet connection shouldn't be disabled if I lose an internet connection.

I'm referring to both the PS4 and X720(either they are both going to work offline or one of them at least.), do you honestly play the games on your Roku when your internet goes down?
 

Tobor

Member
To be fair it says xbox when I turn on desktop computer. It says xbox when you are listening to music, watching video, or playing games on one of their new tablets.

That's because it's the only brand they haven't shit the bed with in over a decade. Every brand they've tried to introduce since 2000 has been a failure except for Xbox.

Now that the eye of Sauron is trained on it, they'll find a way to destroy the brand.
 

Derrick01

Banned
Sony's latest announcement was a deal with Epix. I guess we're down to relying on Nintendo.

Wow you're really stretching there, focusing on just the latest announcement instead of the company's overall focus in the past few years.
 

Bgamer90

Banned
They don't need a new console to comment on gamers being their focus. But they don't do it because it flies in the face of their actions with the 360 this year and the past few.

Yes, even though they released their most expensive core game in terms of budget during the previous year, gamers aren't their focus at all.

If you are not interested in what they give then that's fine but statements like that are just not true at all.

Sony and MS are going for the exact same areas. The differences will be in services and the way that both advertise.

When a good portion of the major games for both of the consoles will be the same, I honestly don't get how one could say that one will be much more gaming oriented than the other.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
How is that an explanation? I asked you why the console acting as a TV hub is bad for gaming, you still haven't provided a valid answer.

The always-online I understand, that's a legitimate complaint.

What makes it good to you? I'm not drawing it in crayon for you. It dilutes the purpose of the console and puts their own corporate agenda and shoveling it in our faces just like the crappy Kinect.

You're asking me the same question you should be asking yourself if you ideally believe the approach that MSFT will be taking is somehow good for the gaming industry.

I say once more, it will hurt gaming in the long run and that's why we need players like Sony and Nintendo in the fray since MSFT wants control of the living room and they will push for it with their resources. I'm not too pleased by their last few years in the console space and neither should you but I don't speak but on my behalf.

Dude I've been trying to say this for a long time, no one listens

:)
 

Usobuko

Banned
The way they've been building up their studios however, rather than tearing them down suggests they will focus on games just as much. I think the first few years we're gonna get some awesome IP from them as they realise they have their work cut out enticing the hardcore.

Of course they have to, it is in their interests to get people on-board early and make xbox the primary ( choice of multiplatform games ) console for consumers. Whatever profitable ventures they would pull will come in the mid cycle when everyone and their friends are entrenched on the system. Whether it's raising the price of Live by $10 or putting more Ads on your dashboard.

This is not say Sony won't follow the same strategy next generation.
 

Dysun

Member
It's cool I'll take my business elsewhere. Guess I'll just have to buy all my games for one system instead of 60/40 or whatever split I ended up with this time
 
I'm referring to both the PS4 and X720(either they are both going to work offline or one of them at least.), do you honestly play the games on your Roku when your internet goes down?
No, the games are on it are shit.

I'm just saying that most modern electronic devices don't become useless if you lose internet connection, you can still access your downloaded content and games. They're obviously a lot more useful with internet, but the device doesn't purposely restrict you from stuff that doesn't need internet to work in the first place.
 
While people love to believe that MS has infinite resources, they do not. This means that XBL and Interface related options are going to be heavily influenced (as it is now) with decisions based around the functionality of television, not games.

Imagine if your favorite restaurant changed its atmosphere to everything "reality TV". It's still the same food, but you are surrounded in something you are completely disinterested in. That's what worries me and the slow acclimation of gaming space towards 'media' on XBL as-is has been worrisome but tolerable. I have a feeling that will change.

It is my understanding that Nintendo and Sony are also implementing non-gaming content into their environment more and more. Why is Microsoft being singled out for it, other than the admittedly shady always-online thing?
 

Orca

Member
This may surprise you but Sony is also a media and entertainment brand.

And? Apparently that can't ever mix into the GAME console business. Unless we're going to bring common sense into the thread, which would be a nice change of pace.

Honestly, people act like no other console has ever tried to expand its userbase as it ages or no other console manufacturer has ever pushed entertainment capabilities of their machine. Sony's major Christmas title last year was Wonderbook, for crying out loud.

Can we all try to tone down the ridiculous rhetoric over a console that hasn't even been announced yet?
 

Dabanton

Member
I don't see the problem here. It's an PR blurb about it's TV division it doesn't say anywhere that MS is not making games in fact it understands that people's needs for entertainment across interconnected devices has grown.

With the sale of Mediaroom, Microsoft is dedicating all TV resources to Xbox in a continued mission to make it the premium entertainment service that delivers all the games and entertainment consumers want – whether on a console, phone, PC or tablet. And with 76 million Xbox 360 consoles around the world with 46 million Xbox LIVE members, it is a mission that gets us out of bed in the morning.

It's reads pretty straightforward. Are people this crazy or has it reached a point where this strange line of thinking automatically pollutes these threads? If people seriously think that MS is "giving up" on games then that's wishful thinking from a certain type of gamer.

Sony will be doing the same thing making sure it's media content from itself and partners is prepped and built into the PS4 eco system so it's users don't want to go anywhere else for any of their media or game needs. Will it be their main focus? I suspect not. Neither will it be MS's but it will form a major part of both their strategies for next gen. The company that cracks it will be laughing.
 

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened
It will get better with Ericsson. That company is crazy serious about TV and pushing it into new unexplored territory.

Better?

I perceive MediaRoom as the hottest tv tech going

If anything, its likely going to get worse - I assume Microsoft was running into roadblocks anyways.... Media companies probably holding back (which would hurt technology adoption)
 
tumblr_mhynq4xtIc1s5o3aso10_400.gif


I still do not
want
believe they are going ahead with this.
 
That's the point of this entire thing, it's to become the one device you go to(that includes both Playstation and Xbox.). You might have a Smart TV but if you've had any experience like me the UI is usually a pain and services offered usually quite limited.
I have a Panasonic GT50 and even if it's far from fantastic, it's way ahead of anything French XBL has to offer, while the STB my ISP offers buries both.

That was my point: I get the feeling that outside America (and UK to an extent), XBL services have been very bare and barring a complete shift, I don't see them succeeding on markets where they're suffering from an ailing mindshare in the first place.

Then again, all the rumors seem to lead to MS being willing to take a hit on the size of their user base to increase their ARPU (at least) proportionately.
 

Bgamer90

Banned
I say once more, it will hurt gaming in the long run and that's why we need players like Sony and Nintendo in the fray since MSFT wants control of the living room and they will push for it with their resources.

And Sony doesn't want control of the living room?

Heh, I can't wait to see all of the statements in 2016+ about Sony "losing their way" when people see that they are going neck and neck with MS for the same goals.

People thinking that the PS4 will be primarily a gaming console throughout the whole next gen and nothing more are setting themselves up for disappointment.

To be honest, the only console that will be the closest to just "a pure gaming console" next gen is more than likely the Wii U but no one wants to pay for a $300+ underpowered console right?
 

FordGTGuy

Banned
No, the games are on it are shit.

I'm just saying that most modern electronic devices don't become useless if you lose internet connection, you can still access your downloaded content and games. They're obviously a lot more useful with internet, but the device doesn't purposely restrict you from stuff that doesn't need internet to work in the first place.

If you have shared content on your network(good for you because most people don't) and you enjoy Roku games than maybe it doesn't become useless....

However for the most part it doesn't in fact become useless...

It's like saying a car without gas doesn't become useless because you can still listen to the radio.

I have a Panasonic GT50 and even if it's far from fantastic, it's way ahead of anything French XBL has to offer, while the STB my ISP offers buries both.

That was my point: I get the feeling that outside America (and UK to an extent), XBL services have been very bare and barring a complete shift, I don't see them succeeding on markets where they're suffering from an ailing mindshare in the first place.

Then again, all the rumors seem to lead to MS being willing to take a hit on the size of their user base to increase their ARPU (at least) proportionately.

This has less to do with Microsoft and more to do with restrictions from content providers and the regions themselves. I wish this would go away but it's just not going to happen anytime soon.
 

JaggedSac

Member
MS won't care if ultimately Stingray is the success.
The problem comes that their focus is elsewhere than games, their strategy is not to sell games content - it is more focused on a wider market of TV/Film/Music etc.

The focus of Durango is not selling the games software; its just another part of the strategy to get devices into homes and sell content. Stingray or Durango does not matter.

Nothing like having 20 or so 1st party studios and not wanting to sell their software.
 
I don't see the problem here. It's an PR blurb about it's TV division it doesn't say anywhere that MS is not making games. Are people this crazy or has it reached a point where this strange line of thinking automatically pollutes these threads? If people seriously think that MS is "giving up" on games then that's wishful thinking from a certain type of gamer.

Sony will be doing the same thing making sure it's media content from itself and partners is prepped and built into the PS4 eco system so it's users don't want to go anywhere else for any of their media or game needs. Will it be their main focus? I suspect not. Neither will it be MS's but it will form a major part of both their strategies for next gen. The company that cracks it will be laughing.
I think it has more to do with all the bad rumours surrounding MS lately. Everyone's expecting the worst.

It'll seem like a long time till the end of May, that's for sure.

If you have shared content on your network(good for you because most people don't) and you enjoy Roku games than maybe it doesn't become useless....

However for the most part it doesn't in fact become useless...

It's like saying a car without gas doesn't become useless because you can still listen to the radio.
Well, using your analogy, it would be like if the car ran out of gas and I had a can of gasoline sitting in my trunk as spare then continued on driving as if nothing had happened.
 
Just let me pick what specific channels I want to subscribe to a la carte and I'm in.

The cable service monopoly has gone on for too long... we shouldn't have to pay for channels we don't want.
 

shandy706

Member
I'm curious as to what the reaction will be if Microsoft shows off 15-20 games at their early reveal. Those studios they pulled off early and their new Studios they created have to of been doing something the last couple years. I hope.
 

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened
Why are people even freaking out? Xbox 360 has 3 distinct ways of accessing TV content (windows media center, mediaroom and apps) as it is and was already essentially the center of their strategy

Dropping MediaRoom means there isn't going to be tuners or STBs like people originally thought as its their IPTV platform
 
It is my understanding that Nintendo and Sony are also implementing non-gaming content into their environment more and more. Why is Microsoft being singled out for it, other than the admittedly shady always-online thing?

Because you're going to have to pay $60/year to get these entertainment things, plus virtually all of them will not be available outside of the US, UK and Canada.
 

FordGTGuy

Banned
Well, using your analogy, it would be like if the car ran out of gas and I had a can of gasoline sitting in my trunk as spare then continued on driving as if nothing had happened.

My analogy works fine, if I have no internet at the moment my Roku is pretty useless to me. If my car has no fuel at the moment it is equally useless no matter if it can still provide limited uses without gas.

Because that reveal is just gonna be games, games, and games right?

I hate to say it but the PS4 reveal wasn't just games, games and games either. They are going to talk about hardware, console features, media partners and games just like the PS4 did.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
And? Apparently that can't ever mix into the GAME console business. Unless we're going to bring common sense into the thread, which would be a nice change of pace.

Honestly, people act like no other console has ever tried to expand its userbase as it ages or no other console manufacturer has ever pushed entertainment capabilities of their machine. Sony's major Christmas title last year was Wonderbook, for crying out loud.

Can we all try to tone down the ridiculous rhetoric over a console that hasn't even been announced yet?
We are discussing things we are hearing and reading so far. It's all we have to go on. That does not change the fact that it sounds terrible so far. We just have to be adults about this and not try to get too emotional about things.

And Sony doesn't want control of the living room?

Heh, I can't wait to see all of the statements in 2016+ about Sony "losing their way" when people see that they are going neck and neck with MS for the same goals.

People thinking that the PS4 will be primarily a gaming console throughout the whole next gen and nothing more are setting themselves up for disappointment.

To be honest, the only console that will be the closest to just "a pure gaming console" next gen is more than likely the Wii U but no one wants to pay for a $300+ underpowered console right?

Games speak to me more really. Of course you and I know that Sony wants their box in every living room. The main difference is their message with PS4 and their message the last few years compared to MSFT. That alone is worrying (regarding Xbox).

It's like Derrick said already. MSFT has been going down this path slowly for the last few years so why would that sort of direction be attractive to us? If they simply would say something more positive instead of always online and pushing their own agenda on top of their Xbox device then I think you would be hearing a little more praise.

Right now, it looks bad for them.
 

Monocle

Member
This might be OK depending on how well Microsoft streamlines game access and content browsing. If I have to blunder through another horribly clunky Metro-style interface just to download a demo or look at Live Arcade games, I won't be happy. If alternative media like TV or whatever else Microsoft is pushing gets forced on me when all I want to do is play a game, count me out.

I don't want to be treated like a roly poly moo-moo money cow. Leave it up to me to decide if I want to look at all the superfluous stuff.
 
That's the point of this entire thing, it's to become the one device you go to(that includes both Playstation and Xbox.). You might have a Smart TV but if you've had any experience like me the UI is usually a pain and services offered usually quite limited.

You're talking about the gesture control crap that's on Samsung smart TVs? Yeah, it's crap.
 
It is my understanding that Nintendo and Sony are also implementing non-gaming content into their environment more and more. Why is Microsoft being singled out for it, other than the admittedly shady always-online thing?

I'm single them out because they are the unknown and this is all speculation based on previous rumors. I've always known the Xbox was their shoe-in to the living room, they've never been secretive about this but their extreme LACK of gaming focus the past couple years is really worrisome for a person like me who still really enjoyed their gaming output.

Nintendo and Sony still seem to have a focus on games while adding additional media content as supplementary. MS seems to be the opposite. Touting Kinect interface options and new media services over the gaming side of things.

It's like an inevitable 'break-up' I saw coming.

Nintendo may have some options, but it's not covered and inundated with tiles and such, same with PSN and the new PS4 interface (for what we've seen).

There's a difference between offering options and what MS is doing and has been the past year or so with the XBL interface.

I've just finally (very recently) come to the point of where XBL isn't exactly what I want from my games' interface and my gaming options. And I'm over paying for XBL. It was worth it on the OG Xbox and for a majority of this generation, but I do not find value in it anymore. I'm not sure what they can add in the next iteration.

Again, this is all speculation since the damned box hasn't even been announced yet but all the rumors and speculation have been extremely negative for what I want out of a next gen games machine.
 
My analogy works fine, if I have no internet at the moment my Roku is pretty useless to me. If my car has no fuel at the moment it is equally useless no matter if it can still provide limited uses without gas.
I fixed your analogy for you, if I have fuel in a can (media on my PC), then I can continue driving (streaming movies).

Anyway, you said it was useless and I've proven it has a use so there goes your arguement. It doesn't even have to be Roku, pretty much all electronic devices that have online have offline uses. If they support purely online streaming, then they're usually a lot cheaper to accommodate.
 

JohngPR

Member
It is my understanding that Nintendo and Sony are also implementing non-gaming content into their environment more and more. Why is Microsoft being singled out for it, other than the admittedly shady always-online thing?

I think there is a difference between adding that functionality to keep up with the Jones' and adding that functionality as a basis for your console to exist.

Not saying this is 100% the case since we don't have all the information, but there's been very little that's been speculated that proves the point otherwise.

:)

It doesn't help that MS has been very quiet on the matter, so people have kind of been connecting their own dots.
 

Derrick01

Banned
And Sony doesn't want control of the living room?

Heh, I can't wait to see all of the statements in 2016+ about Sony "losing their way" when people see that they are going neck and neck with MS for the same goals.

People thinking that the PS4 will be primarily a gaming console throughout the whole next gen and nothing more are setting themselves up for disappointment.

To be honest, the only console that will be the closest to just "a pure gaming console" next gen is more than likely the Wii U but no one wants to pay for a $300+ underpowered console right?

Sony tries to satisfy all areas, many times to the detriment of their financial status. You can't say "PS4 will drop the gaming focus several years in" because it's never happened on a Sony console before. They have 3 consoles of trying to keep gamers and casuals happy (to varying degrees of success, but that's not the topic here). However you can say that with MS because with their first console they pulled the plug on it early, leaving everyone behind, and now with 360 they dropped gamers like a bad habit as soon as they caught a whiff of that casual money.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
Outside of first party, it will have every single game the ps4 does

That's true. It's their message and other policies which are the obvious disdain. No one is saying they won't have their own IP's and multiplatform games.
 
This has less to do with Microsoft and more to do with restrictions from content providers and the regions themselves. I wish this world go away but it's just not going to happen anytime soon.
Sure but at the end of the day, the why doesn't really matter if it means your product will be unattractive in a number of territories.
 

surly

Banned
As a member of the most prominent enthusiast gaming forum in the world, I kind of take gaming as a first priority over the message MSFT has conveyed the last few years.
I could say the same about the PS3's first few years. It was a barren landscape of shit ports and mediocre exclusives with a god-awful online system to play them on. Ironically, Sony sold a bunch of PS3s solely because it was a good media player. But I'm sure when the PS4 launches and they focus solely on gaming - no way will they show off media functions at E3 where you can control playback with gestures/voice using the PS4 camera (copying MS would be crazy right!?) - and all of the "aspirational" features are there day one, it'll be wonderful.

Derrick01 said:
Sony tries to satisfy all areas, many times to the detriment of their financial status.
They do what they think will make them money. They're just not very good at it, as evidenced by their financial reports of recent years.
 

Alx

Member
MS won't care if ultimately Stingray is the success.
The problem comes that their focus is elsewhere than games, their strategy is not to sell games content - it is more focused on a wider market of TV/Film/Music etc.

The focus of Durango is not selling the games software; its just another part of the strategy to get devices into homes and sell content. Stingray or Durango does not matter.

Well, yes, and games are part of that content, and that's where Durango comes in. I still don't see the problem here, you can't blame MS (nor Sony) for trying to sell different kinds of media content, because that's what people are expecting from such device. And you can't accuse them of ignoring the games market, when they designed expensive consoles specifically for that purpose.
 

DEADEVIL

Member
Thats a by product though, no one is going to buy the next xbox as a streaming media box for $500.

Who said they are buying the Nextbox solely because it also streams media. At the beginning of this gen, people spent even more to get a PS3 on the strength of its Blu-Ray.

MS is simply building on the success they have had all gen. They aren't the first or the last console to take the 'It does everything' approach when trying to promote their hardware.

The $499 dollar console isn't confirmed, but if it is and MS makes a great case at E3, then we will see who actually buys what when the consoles go on sale.
 
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