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CVG: Microsoft's next-Xbox silence at GDC a "disastrous mistake"

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shinobi602

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Microsoft's maddening Next Xbox silence at GDC

There have always been two groups of people that console companies are beholden to. The first is the paying customer, the other is the game creator. One cannot overestimate the importance of that second faction. Busy and prosperous developer ecosystems have legitimized the App Store as a serious games hub, have boosted the fortunes of the Xbox 360, and have stretched the lifespan of all three PlayStation systems.

Conversely, the graveyard of the games industry is filled with the headstones of systems and platforms that were starved of dev support: N-Gage, Dreamcast, WiiWare, Mega-CD, Atari Jaguar, etcetera.

Right now, as this article is published, the doors have swung open at GDC - easily the most important event of the year for the games development community. But 2013 is a special year in particular for the industry, with the next generation of core systems announced, produced and sold during a frenzied and fascinating twelve months.

But the Xbox team will not be attending. They have for some reason decided against exhibiting at the most important GDC of the past ten years. While Microsoft will be there in some capacity to flaunt the virtues of Windows Phone and Windows 8, there will be no public console discussions. Microsoft's UK team, I'm told, will not be flying over. They will instead be heads-down working hard on something else entirely.

This is a disastrous mistake. While there is of course the chance that some Xbox representatives will be securing deals behind closed doors, the fact that Microsoft still can't spread the word about Next Xbox development will certainly be frustrating to the more astute executives who work at the company.

Last year, when Microsoft announced it had secured the services of Phil Harrison as one of its key executives, my immediate reaction was "well, that's GDC sorted". Phil may have to wear many hats these days, but his skills and experience in working with developers is nearly unmatched.

Can we say that the likes of Heavy Rain and LittleBigPlanet would exist without Harrison's guiding hand? I doubt it. Phil has been working with developers since the early nineties, securing deals for the first PlayStation, and he has a tremendous eye for potential hits as well as platform-defining projects.

If Microsoft really has kept him and his team at home, just so it can hold off announcing its new console, then the normally sharp-minded console manufacturer has had a red-ring moment. Sony, on the other hand, has booked a room at GDC and will publicly flaunt the virtues of developing for PS4.

Source
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The secrets are just so joyous and overwhelming to everyone they don't want to risk any leaks. They want to collectively blow our minds all at once at E3.

In the meantime, we continue to speculate about all the boogeyman rumours.
 
I'm pretty surprised they're a no show at GDC. It's a huge event, with massive appeal and coverage. They really need to blow our minds with the NextBox event and E3 showing.
 
This is a disastrous mistake. While there is of course the chance that some Xbox representatives will be securing deals behind closed doors, the fact that Microsoft still can't spread the word about Next Xbox development will certainly be frustrating to the more astute executives who work at the company.
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That's what a dedicated event is for, CVG.

You know, where you get all the limelight and all of the buzz with nothing else to detract the public eye?
 
Microsoft don't care about no games! They got cable TV and Skype lined up for their next box!
 
I think they have a time frame set, and they is fine.
People really need to relax, Microsoft has no need to bow to anyone and can do things when they feel it is right and ready.
 
I guess they are just waiting to blow their load in either April, May, or at E3.

Also Phil Harrison? It would be a bit funny to me to see him present at Microsoft's E3 conference or such after he was at Sony for so long.

Rubber Duck Durango tech demo anybody?
 
PhatSaqs said:
LMAO. People are really getting upset that MS hasnt revealed yet.
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Mainly cause we are use to leaks. We already have enough reveals and considering the last time ms bombed revealing a console I'm glad they are trying to wait for a moment they feel is better for them.
 
If they announce an event right now it would overshadow GDC with ease

They don't need GDC, give them time instead of doing a rush job *laughs*
 
"There have always been two groups of people that console companies are beholden to. The first is the paying customer, the other is the game creator. One cannot overestimate the importance of that second faction."


Bullshit, publishers are far more important than developers.
 
I think it could work in Microsofts favour to be honest. They wait longer to reveal the console giving them extra time to get some amazing looking shit to show, they then reveal it and blow everyone away and then release the console 3 or 4 months later while the hype is still fresh.
 
PhatSaqs said:
LMAO. People are really getting upset that MS hasnt revealed yet.
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I think a lot of it has to do with some developers coming out and saying they still don't know what Microsoft's next console will be.

Crimson_Gold said:
Crazy part is that they likely do. I see FiOS,tw and Comcast salivating.
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I hope you live in America! I suppose that's bar for the course, though. Xbox Live was practically featureless for a bunch of countries.
 
Takuya said:
Outside of Gaf and Gaming Press... They don't have much mindshare.
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But those are the places you claimed were creating the huge momentum for the PS4. So now not so huge?

Impeccable said:
Yeah, silence in the mainstream and nothing but negative press in the hardcore circles.

They are simply in heaven and making all the right moves at the moment!!@!!~
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Because those 2 years Nintendo talked about the Wii U blasted their sales into the stratosphere, right? How'd that year of talk talk talk help the Vita? 3DS? People care when they can buy something.
 
I HAVE to think that they just aren't ready. I would wager Sony actually surprised them with their show in February and they thought they had more time. I think they are now scrambling a bit. If they show up and show up HARD it wont matter much but if they falter for any reason people are only going to be talking about Sony. Plus I am sure that Sony is working on a second salvo of reveals just in case. This could work out in MS favor because perhaps they would just rather fight them head on at E3.

What I do wonder though is what MS will show that will blow people away. A new Halo and GOW just came out so it is unlikely they will be able to show off a new version of that to build hype.
 
I know it's less true than it used to be, but isn't GDC still a conference for... game developers ? I would think that game developers already know what they need to know about the next Xbox, considering some of them are probably working on the devkits.
 
It's still 7+ months until these things are going to come out. After it's announced nobody will give a shit that it took them as long as it did. Stop being so impatient.
 
Baconsammy said:
But those are the places you claimed were creating the huge momentum for the PS4. So now not so huge?
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I claimed? No, PS4 is out in public, out on TV, out in advertisements for next-gen games (AC4, Thief, [soon Battlefield 4]), on late night TV shows, mass media... Xbox?? is nowhere to be seen in that regard.
 
Yeah, the reveal timing really isn't going to matter that much in eight months, sorry. MS is cutting it closer than has historically been the case in this industry, but they have more than enough time to gain mindshare before launch.
 
Leviathin25 said:
I HAVE to think that they just aren't ready. I would wager Sony actually surprised them with their show in February and they thought they had more time. I think they are now scrambling a bit. If they show up and show up HARD it wont matter much but if they falter for any reason people are only going to be talking about Sony. Plus I am sure that Sony is working on a second salvo of reveals just in case. This could work out in MS favor because perhaps they would just rather fight them head on at E3.

What I do wonder though is what MS will show that will blow people away. A new Halo and GOW just came out so it is unlikely they will be able to show off a new version of that to build hype.
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They are ready,they just had a certain plan.
 
Leviathin25 said:
I HAVE to think that they just aren't ready. I would wager Sony actually surprised them with their show in February and they thought they had more time. I think they are now scrambling a bit. If they show up and show up HARD it wont matter much but if they falter for any reason people are only going to be talking about Sony. Plus I am sure that Sony is working on a second salvo of reveals just in case. This could work out in MS favor because perhaps they would just rather fight them head on at E3.

What I do wonder though is what MS will show that will blow people away. A new Halo and GOW just came out so it is unlikely they will be able to show off a new version of that to build hype.
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I have a feeling it's because the 360 is still so successful. Why risk killing interest in the old box by announcing a new one that won't be out for over half a year?

Takuya said:
I claimed? No, PS4 is out in public, out on TV, out in advertisements for next-gen games (AC4, Thief, [soon Battlefield 4]), on late night TV shows, mass media... Xbox?? is nowhere to be seen in that regard.
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Much like the Vita did? You claim its out in public, but do the public give a damn about hardware that they can't buy (unless it has an Apple logo on it)?
 
Seems like everything that could leak from the developer side already has so it doesn't really hurt them from that standpoint.
 
My honest assumption is that they're just not ready yet. They're probably still tweaking elements of the hardware, OS and Kinect 2.0, which is probably more of a heavy undertaking than we're led to believe. Now that Sony have gone 8GB GDDR5, I'll be surprised if Microsoft stick with the 8GB DDR3, but who knows. Depends on how costly Kinect 2.0 will be to put in the console whilst remaining affordable.
 
So by not formerly announcing the console CVG is implying the development community will not see Microsoft as a viable option because seeing is believing or something. I can't figure out wtf they are talking about here or how it is going to negatively impact a console that won't release till the fall.
 
Actually I disagree, I think it's smart to let the PS4 hype die down a bit over the next month and just blow everyone away at once. No need to run the Xbox announcement right after the PS4 one.
 
Well... many Xbox fans fought with me yesterday because I think the NextBox is not ready yes to be launch this year and you should expect a Q1 2014 window... things like this make me more certain of that...
 
Zefah said:
I hope you live in America! I suppose that's bar for the course, though. Xbox Live was practically featureless for a bunch of countries.
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I do. I don't see myself really sold on a console for services though. I care about the games. There are many that will be more than happy to buy in for the services though. Homogenization ftw???
 
It is baffling. You've got developer after developer praising Sony and their direction yet Microsoft hasn't even officially acknowledged their next console.
 
PhatSaqs said:
LMAO. People are really getting upset that MS hasnt revealed yet.
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Not really surprised, the Xbox 360 released in 2005, everyone thought Microsoft was going to the first to be announced not last, and everyone assumed the Xbox 720 would release in 2011 and Wii2/PS4 as a 2012 release.
 
Deadly Cyclone said:
Actually I disagree, I think it's smart to let the PS4 hype die down a bit over the next month and just blow everyone away at once. No need to run the Xbox announcement right after the PS4 one.
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"Hype die down"... right... with the E3 in a few months and the many answers we need to know yet from Sony... right... "hype die down", what a joke...
 
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