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[Beermeister]

Comparable specs and focus on core games and gamers. Oh, and kill Kinect with fire, FIRE!

 

[Spongebob]

Be Up Front with the Technical Specifications

I imagine that they'll mention the 8GB of RAM, but won't mention what type of RAM it is. They'll mention that they're using 8 x86 CPU core and claim that they have a powerful GPU.

Focus on the Next Xbox as a Games Machine

They won't do this. The focus on gaming will likely be greatly diminished on nextbox.

Bring the First-Party Thunder

They'll probably show Lionhead's game and PGR5, maybe a Halo 5 teaser.

…And Flex the Third-Party Muscle Too

We'll definitely see quite a few publishers on stage.

Keep Xbox Live Alive

There is no doubt that they will do this.

What About Backwards Compatibility?

Nextbox won't have BC.

 

[Soulflarz]

I dont like this list tbh, it feels like they sat around a room and said "good things to do" as a one sided argument or something

 

[Takuya]

Can you tell me why you think that?

it won't happen, but if the xbox 360 and arcade is fully compatible with the 720, that is an automatic advantage for microsoft by a mile.

You both overestimate the effect that BC will have on actual console sales. The masses will buy into next-gen to play next-gen games, they won't make BC the make-all-break-all in their purchasing decisions.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Can you tell me why you think that?

Because the mass market doesn't realistically give a fuck about BC.

 

[harSon]

I don't think it's too much of a stretch considering the direction Xbox has been heading in the last few years.

The beginning of a generation and the tail end of a generation are two completely different beasts that require completely different game plans to succeed.

 

[-COOLIO-]

Can you tell me why you think that?

they're right that its not a feature that most people care for. i dont know anyone that cared to use the backwards compatibility in the 360 or early ps3.

 

[Izick]

I don't think it's too much of a stretch considering the direction Xbox has been heading in the last few years.

Oh jeez, not this shit again.

1.) The Xbox 360's end-cycle strategy =/= the Nextbox's launch strategy
2.) Microsoft has still been putting stuff out for the 360, with Halo 4, Forza Horizon, and the upcoming Gears of War: Judgement as recent examples; not to mention all the studious they've acquired that have been silent, likely working on next-gen titles

 

[soundahfekz]

If they have full backwards compatibility it will be all but over for Sony.

LOL

Come on man

 

[ari]

I don't think it's too much of a stretch considering the direction Xbox has been heading in the last few years.

like what for example?

it has been confirmed that first party studios have been working on 720 since about two years ago.

 

[Glorified G]

Because the mass market doesn't realistically give a fuck about BC.

Unfortunately, this is correct.

 

[Radec]

If they have full backwards compatibility it will be all but over for Sony.

lol.

Some people here overestimate the effect of BC.

 

[Sapphire Dreams]

What they need to do to win me over is to make Kinect 2.0 optional, but that won't happen

 

[Arrogant Menace]

Because the mass market doesn't realistically give a fuck about BC.

not true, BC is huge for some early adopters especially when launch games are generally generic.

 

[Salvadora]

The beginning of a generation and the tail end of a generation are two completely different beasts that require completely different game plans to succeed.

Considering the success Microsoft has had with Kinect I think it will have changed their approach going forward. The games will be there of course, I just don't think it will be like previous console unveilings.

 

[Derrick01]

I feel this is a short-sighted viewpoint and one that doesn't accurately represent their goals.

It's less about wanting a media box and more about wanting to do everything from playing games to functioning as a media box. This versatility is very important in the current market where convergence is the most important thing.

You can no longer release a device that doesn't offer a wide range of features. It's why even blu ray players have become streaming boxes that allow access to catch up services as well as netflix, etc.

You're free to be upset about this direction, but it's the direction the market has been headed in for quite some time and to criticise a company that needs to follow the market or risk being left behind/see their product become irrelevant is, as I said, short-sighted.

Sony is going to have most if not all of the same things, I'm not bashing them for that. The difference is Sony makes sure everyone knows the focus is still on games and gamers.

If they have full backwards compatibility it will be all but over for Sony.

Yeah because casuals who buy 2 games a year and trade them in for other new games are going to care about not being able to play old games.

 

[Soulflarz]

What they need to do to win me over is to make Kinect 2.0 optional, but that wo't happen

I second this to hell

 

[test_account]

"We believe Microsoft will not offer full Xbox 360 compatibility on their new machine, but it is entirely possible that it could support gamers’ “digital libraries” (read: downloaded games)"

Why would this be any different than disc based games? They're both Xbox 360 games. I could maybe see it with those smaller XNA games though, since those doesnt use much of the Xbox 360 hardware power as far as i know, then maybe it is easier to emulate it.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

People don't buy new machines to play old games.

I remember at the beginning of this gen in 2006 there were quite a few threads on just how important BC was.

I'll have to find some old threads from the time. Should be fun reading.

 

[Izick]

What they need to do to win me over is to make Kinect 2.0 optional, but that wo't happen

What does that even mean? You think it's going to be in every game?

 

[Perkel]

Please please please please please please MS ! GIVE US CORE GAMES. IF you plan to show kinect only games DO NOT DO IT.

 

[Gorillaz]

I think all you'll get from that list is the bits about first party and third party, as well as the obvious Xbox Live part. They're not going to kill their big moneymaker, just enhance it. If they have BC, they'll definitely announce it and take a cheap shot at Sony in doing so. They'll probably also show the console and take another cheap shot at Sony. Don't hold your breath hoping for them to focus on it as first and foremost a game-playing machine.

This also add in entertainment apps and services.

 

[Glorified G]

not true, BC is huge for some early adopters especially when launch games are generally generic.

Early adopters were gonna buy it regardless.

 

[Hoo-doo]

I remember at the beginning of this gen in 2006 there were quite a few threads on just how important BC was.

I'll have to find some old threads from the time. Should be fun reading.

GAF is not indicative of the actual market. You know this.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Because the mass market doesn't realistically give a fuck about BC.

I wonder how true this holds in a post account based environment. People have become accustomed to having their content migrate with them when they upgrade to a new phone, device, so it will be very interesting to see what the reaction will be when Sony and possibly Microsoft don't allow for content migration.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

not true, BC is huge for some early adopters especially when launch games are generally generic.

It is certainly huge for *some* early adopters. The relevant question is "for how many people?"

 

[SolidsnackooFoxhound]

What does that even mean? You think it's going to be in every game?

Current rumors have been that Kinect is built into the console.

 

[Biggzy]

I feel this is a short-sighted viewpoint and one that doesn't accurately represent their goals.

It's less about wanting a media box and more about wanting to do everything from playing games to functioning as a media box. This versatility is very important in the current market where convergence is the most important thing.

You can no longer release a device that doesn't offer a wide range of features. It's why even blu ray players have become streaming boxes that allow access to catch up services as well as netflix, etc.

You're free to be upset about this direction, but it's the direction the market has been headed in for quite some time and to criticise a company that needs to follow the market or risk being left behind/see their product become irrelevant is, as I said, short-sighted.

Honestly, if Microsoft were concerned of only making a media box they would have made a cheap Apple TV like device and be done with it. The real goal for Microsoft is to develop a box that will serve all your entertainment needs, and this is what Durango is shaping up to be.

Current rumors have been that Kinect is built into the console.

It will most probably ship with Durango, not built in.

 

[Piggus]

If they have full backwards compatibility it will be all but over for Sony.

Lol. No it won't. The PS3 had full BC when it launched and the 360 had shoddy selective BC. It had no impact on sales. Your old systems don't suddenly stop working when you buy a new console.

The 720 won't have BC unless it's hardware-based BC.

 

[noobasuar]

they're right that its not a feature that most people care for. i dont know anyone that cared to use the backwards compatibility in the 360 or early ps3.

It's not fucking 2006 anymore. People didn't give as much of a shit because we were all switching over the HDTV's and those games looked like ass on our new tv's.

Since its 2013 now people expect their digital purchases to transfer over when they are buying into the same ecosystem. People wouldn't be buying new Iphones every year if their content didn't carry over.

So in my point of view yeah, I think that the mass market consumer does place a great value on backwards compatibility and you guys are wrong to underestimate it.

 

[ari]

like i said, its not going to happen. But having BC would be huge. How is that even worth arguing over?

 

[Arrogant Menace]

It is certainly huge for *some* early adopters. The relevant question is "for how many people?"

Yea i guess that can be argued with games like TLOU/B2S dropping BC should have been a sony priority IMO

 

[tokkun]

The biggest potential megaton game announcements IGN can think of are Killer Instinct and Alan Wake?

 

[Omega]

I love how people think BC matters at all.

For some people it does.

What about people that play fighting games? So if they want a next gen system they either have to repurchase the digital title, or have multiple systems hooked up.

or what about people that missed out on games and want to replay them and prefer physical copies over digital?

is it a dealbreaker? no, but it is a nice feature to have

 

[Sapphire Dreams]

What does that even mean? You think it's going to be in every game?

If the rumors were to be believed it'll be packed in so it'll be far less risky to invest in the technology since it's available with every console sold, so I am pretty sure a lot of games and especially first party games will utilize it.

Forced gimmicks are a plague on this industry.

 

[Glorified G]

For some people it does.

What about people that play fighting games? So if they want a next gen system they either have to repurchase the digital title, or have multiple systems hooked up.

or what about people that missed out on games and want to replay them and prefer physical copies over digital?

is it a dealbreaker? no, but it is a nice feature to have

That's why it doesn't matter.

 

[rudieboy77]

There have been about 76 million Xbox's sold, there are about 70 million cable subscribers in the US. I do not see why it is such a negative to some folks that Microsoft may want their console to do two things? You don't think they can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time?

 

[Rollo Lawson]

To actually be finished developing the console and all it's features...that's all they need at this point

 

[Flatline]

IGN is going to be disappointed. The first three (especially the first two) are very unlikely.

 

[Izick]

Current rumors have been that Kinect is built into the console.

While that sounds ludicrous, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a mandatory feature. It probably means they're just trying to cut costs any way possible. (Then again it doesn't matter because that's not going to happen because it would limit the device in numerous ways.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

BC was no dealbreaker for the ps3, will not be for ps4.

All this tv/TiVo talk is useless outside the us.

 

[Baconsammy]

Jesus Christ did IGN really say that MS could offer BC for XBLA and not retail titles? Do they think XBLA titles run on different architecture? That's just all different kinds of stupid.

*edit* I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he means they'll support all content from XBL.

 

[Biggzy]

The biggest potential megaton game announcements IGN can think of are Killer Instinct and Alan Wake?

Killer Instinct for the 'core gamer' community probably, but Alan Wake? It seems highly likely that it will be announced this year.

 

[Hoo-doo]

The biggest potential megaton game announcements IGN can think of are Killer Instinct and Alan Wake?

Alan Wake would be awesome.
I don't really think the world needs a new Killer Instinct though, as much as I loved that game on the SNES.

 

[soul creator]

Please send all your staff to a rigorous two week training session where they learn the basics of technology like "If it's not emulating the hardware, and the games aren't written to a special library, it's not going to be any easier (or even different) to port."

I mean seriously it's bad enough when users do this, but at least they're not expected to research this before posting an article on the world's largest gaming site.

lol, was just about to post something like this. I think it's an interesting phenomenon though, where people think digital games are somehow not "real" games, so that will magically make them easier to run compared to retail games or whatever. As if somehow XBLA games run on a different kind of Xbox 360 than a game you buy in a store.

 

[Acquiescence]

If they have full backwards compatibility it will be all but over for Sony.

True. After all, we all know how dropping backwards compatibility from the Playstation 3 Slim model was the final nail in the coffin for the brand this gen. And it was doing so well prior to the redesign.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Sony is going to have most if not all of the same things, I'm not bashing them for that. The difference is Sony makes sure everyone knows the focus is still on games and gamers.

An interesting viewpoint. I don't necessarily disagree, but we can't say with any certainty what Microsoft's direction will be during the early years of the next xbox life. So I feel it's somewhat disingenuous to simply write it off as a media box, or to use it as a criticism, especially when it's patently clear both Sony and Microsoft are aiming to offer the same feature set.

To stay on point, history teaches us they will focus on the core gamer during the early years of their new console, after all, this is the market that helped to elevate them to the current position in the market, so it's reasonable to assume this will be their plan of attack during the early years of the next xbox.

This might change as it did this generation, but I feel it won't due to them not releasing another accessory like Kinect late in the life cycle of the next xbox.

Unless Oculus Rift is a huge success and they decide to introduce a similar device. This would ultimately be focused on both gamers and the mass market, so I feel what we experienced in the latter stages of this generation was an exceptional event and one that won't be replicated during the next generation.

 

[Arrogant Menace]

If the rumors were to be believed it'll be packed in so it'll be far less risky t invest in the technology since it's available with every console sold, so I am pretty sure a lot of games and especially first party games will utilize it.

Forced gimmicks are a plague on this industry.

If its anything like headtracking in forza/GPS system im down for it

 

[vocab]

alan wake 2 as an exclusive? Get real. Also, a fable MMO is so highly unlikely.

 

[Izick]

BS was no dealbreaker for the ps3, will not be for ps3.

All this tv/TiVo talk is useless outside the us.

Yeah, but in the U.S. it's pretty damn kickass. Seriously though, I think now that a lot of these features have kind of grown and services like Netflix grow in popularity, the global parity will be a lot more evident in what Microsoft does with the Nextbox compared to the 360.