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IGN: 6 things Microsoft needs to do after PS4

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.

Yeah to bad that was 2006 and now it's 2013. Time's change and so do consumer needs.
 
I find it very amusing that people think games being a secondary feature on the next Xbox is somehow a negative. Oh, so the Xbox is going to have good games and several other nice features? Boo.
 
The biggest potential megaton game announcements IGN can think of are Killer Instinct and Alan Wake?

Alan Wake season 2 would have me there at launch.( assuming it would be a launch title) Killer Instict, well i never felt it was a very good fighter back in the day. Especially compared to the likes of Street Fighter , KOF and Samurai Showdown, hell even MK. That said you still seem to get many gamers on forums clamoring for a new one. So announcing KI3 would get some attention.

I find it very amusing that people think games being a secondary feature on the next Xbox is somehow a negative. Oh, so the Xbox is going to have good games and several other nice features? Boo.

Yeah "entertainment machine first" games second i hear a lot around here. Apparently Videogames aren't considered "entertainment" anymore and must be classified separately.
 
No I defiantly can if really the only other thing separating them is First Party support. Your not going to convince anyone with a 360 to purchase a ps4 over a 720 if they can't even play the back catalogue of sony games. On the other hand you may be able to convince some Sony fans to switch over since the 720 will have thousands of games available from the start.

I'm not going to "switch over" to a new Xbox to play old Xbox 360 games. Sony is the one that had full backward-compatibility to start with this generation and it didn't really help them against the Xbox 360. You can easily convince anyone to "switch" over to any console if it has the right amount of good games they can't play elsewhere.

Yeah to bad that was 2006 and now it's 2013. Time's change and so do consumer needs.

Where's your evidence that backward compatibility is such a big deal, such a necessity in "consumer needs" in 2013 compared to 2006?

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.

Oh, here's your attempt at that.

Well you know, PS4 still could technically transfer over people's PSN purchases (if you're taking the "digital" route in your argument) so it's not absolutely decided yet in regards to Sony.

I still don't agree that people will care. The people that have all those digital purchases on their old consoles can just keep their old consoles anyway.
 
1. Make Halo 4 a launch title.

Oh wait too late for that...

I'm fairly certain we'll see a huge focus on multimedia/kinect with EA coming out with the new CoD on new engine/hardware at the end.
 
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.

Absolutely. You simply cannot release a product that doesn't offer a wide range of features any more.

While it's anecdotal, I know a number of people who refuse to be a Wii U as it doesn't offer blu-ray playback nor does it offer the same level of apps and features they've become used to on the PS3 and 360.

A device that does everything or at least the vast majority of what people expect is incredibly important in the current market. To not follow the market is to see your product fail.
 
Didn't Sony get panned somewhat for catering to the hardcore? Why would MS do the same thing if their only goal is mainstream media attention?

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.

Yeah that suggestion was terrible. Retail games won't work but digital ones will with the benefit of pixie magic. Maybe that's the secret sauce in Durango. Enable digital purchases to work while retail games cannot.
 
Yea, KI was not a good fighting game, and I'm not sure I would even consider trusting the current Rare staffing to develop a good one for the first time.

I have good memories of playing KI, but a deep, quality fighter it was not.

1. Make Halo 4 a launch title.

Re-release as Halo 4 "SuperHD" or some shit with enhanced textures, 60fps/1080p. Make it $20. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 
I love how everyone is so sure Microsoft is abandoning hardcore gamers next gen. Are there even enough crows in the world to feed these people after the next-box is revealed?
 
More like "6 things we like to see as 'hardcore' gamers"

Microsoft has different approach with their system next gen. If their gimmicks work, then their system will be the new Wii in terms of sales.
 
After PS4 the #1 thing they need to do is ditch whatever plans they had for blocking used games and always online drm.

I'd also hope that they are able to match their new features like play while downloading and the share button because those are things I didn't expect to see from either console, but especially Sony.
 
Well I know I'm gonna base my purchase of next gen console on which one can play the software I can already play on my current system. Nothing gets me more excited for the new gen than imagining playing the same games I have right now!

I think it's a "neat" feature with almost no buzz appeal. And little practical appeal to most people.

/my opinion
 
I feel BC is a much stronger point this gen than people give it credit for, there is definitely going to be a wtf feeling when you transfer your PSN or XBL account and notice none of your games came with it.
 
That's funny considering the only region that had a console as a DVR was europe (PS3).
Because we have "free" over the air networks over here. It was just a box that could operate with telestrial tv. No legal mumbo jumbo with cable etc companies. And this device is, as much I I can tell, a flop.

Germans pay 14-17€ a month mandatory tv fees, and the paid tv marked is very small. I just think that what MS might be doing in terms of tv functionality is only for the US/Canada market
 
Please explain to me why backwards compatibility wasn't a dealbreaker back in 2006, but is now.

Because consumers now more than ever expect their digital purchases to transfer over when they buy new products in the same ecosystem.

And LOL at all this bullshit about not wanting your old games to transfer over. I honestly think it would be amazing to have all my XBLA games available for me to play whenever I want, all on the same system.

I don't have enough inputs on my t.v. to be able to conviently switch from the 360 and 720 every time I want to go back and play Hydro Thunder or something. Also it gives the consumer confidence in purchasing digital goods if they know that they'll always be around.
 
I think Microsoft needs to nail two things... even if it is not as powerful with its hardware.

Games - has to have a killer launch lineup with quality games.

Price - (outside of GAF) the price matters in a big way.

The perceived value of the games with a lower price would undermine the 'expensive' yet 'graphically similar' Sony console.

This approach also applies to Nintendo as well. :)
 
I'm starting to think there is no way MS puts a no used game feature for the 720 which is where most of the negativity for the 720 came for. Edge is going to have a lot of spalin' to do.

Either way MS has enough momentum from this gen to be potentially the top dog in the West. Its going to be a battle between PS4 and Xbox 720 we haven't seen since SNES v. Genesis.
 
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I love how everyone is so sure Microsoft is abandoning hardcore gamers next gen. Are there even enough crows in the world to feed these people after the next-box is revealed?

They'll just revise their stances and switch goal posts like they usually do when they were wrong about something and don't want to admit it. It's how forums work.
 
I have a sneaky feeling that MS will not cater in the same way Sony did to the core gamer but will concentrate more heavily on secondary features. However they will, as they did with the 360 have a good selection of games.

Then, Gaf will lambaste MS for weeks in a multitude of threads. "Sony wins!" and other rhetoric will be banded around.

But, the "journalists" will lap up what MS has to offer, calling them "revolutionary" and the "the future is here, now!"

In the end, most people will buy similar to what they did last gen and no real change will occur in terms of dominance in regions. MS will still have a stranglehold in the US etc etcc..

But Next Next gen could get really interesting...........
 
How much time could they possibly spend talking about "media functions" anyway? Hey, it's a DVR and you can watch Netflix on it (for $50 a year)!

Show over.
 
Please explain to me why backwards compatibility wasn't a dealbreaker back in 2006, but is now.

Consumer expectations have changed since 2006? Account based systems on console and especially digital content wasn't big in the console market during the last generation switch.

It is now and we're also in a era where lots of other devices offer the ability to migrate your content when you upgrade. People will see the PS4 as an upgrade from PS3, so will find it strange when their account transfers over but their content doesn't. The same will also apply to Microsoft.

If people can't be sure their content will follow them when they upgrade, they will undoubtedly be less inclined to invest in those digital ecosystems that didn't allow them to migrate their content, which could end having a significant negative impact.
 
Pull a e3 2010 and give everyone at the conference an xbox 720.

I think that Microsoft will put the same showing as Sony, the difference is that they will show the console for sure.

They have to after the smack talk from the likes of major nelson. If they didnt it would be epic fail.
 
I also think MS is in a unique, yet familiar position again with their announcement. Sure, they're in a 100% better place than they were coming into the 360's announcement, but they still seem to be dismissed by most of the types of people on forums and the like that don't have any inclination to expect anything unique or exciting.

I also think it's interesting that since their most extremely well-established franchises like Gears or Halo have just released iterations in the series, they're going to have to show off stuff that's really new and creative to win people over, which seemed be a critique of some of the exclusive stuff that Sony showed.

Either way I think I'll be happy, because if the Nextbox is awesome then we'll have two console makers vying for our attention, and if it sucks then I always have the PS4 to fall back on. Win-win for me.

How much time could they possibly spend talking about "media functions" anyway? Hey, it's a DVR and you can watch Netflix on it (for $50 a year)!

Show over.

You'd be the worst marketer ever.
 
Consumer expectations have changed since 2006? Account based systems on console and especially digital content wasn't big in the console market during the last generation switch.

It is now and we're also in a era where lots of other devices offer the ability to migrate your content when you upgrade. People will see the PS4 as an upgrade from PS3, so will find it strange when their account transfers over but their content doesn't. The same will also apply to Microsoft.

If people can't be sure their content will follow them when they upgrade, they will undoubtedly be less inclined to invest in those digital ecosystems that didn't allow them to migrate their content, which could end having a significant negative impact.

I think your over stating the importance of bc, people buy new boxes to play new games.
 
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).

Not this again ... if it's not "fully compatible" with Xbox 360, the downloaded games won't be fully compatible either ...
 
I think ms will show a couple games and won't focus on specs. They will probably mention the 8gb but they won't go technical. Their main focus the last couple years has been replacing your cable box. I don't see that trend changing next gen.
On BC they probably could make it work, but I think they will limit it. This way the can re-release 1080p 60fps versions.
 
Be Up Front with the Technical Specifications

If they can show visuals that are comparable, I don't see what the motivation is for this. Not saying they will or should lie, but why emphasize points of comparison that can be viewed as a deficit when it's likely it will make little difference in the end product to the vast majority of your audience?

MS will have the most success by showing they can go relatively toe-to-toe on visuals and maintain and exceed the services advantage they have held. Calling out teraflops does nothing for them (and I'd argue it does little for Sony as well).
 
I also think MS is in a unique, yet familiar position again with their announcement. Sure, they're in a 100% better place than they were coming into the 360's announcement, but they still seem to be dismissed by most of the types of people on forums and the like that don't have any inclination to expect anything unique or exciting.

I also think it's interesting that since their most extremely well-established franchises like Gears or Halo have just released iterations in the series, they're going to have to show off stuff that's really new and creative to win people over, which seemed be a critique of some of the exclusive stuff that Sony showed.

Either way I think I'll be happy, because if the Nextbox is awesome then we'll have two console makers vying for our attention, and if it sucks then I always have the PS4 to fall back on. Win-win for me.



You'd be the worst marketer ever.

With the confident late release of halo, gears and forza MS has clearly showed that they have something up their sleeves. I think gaf is going to be surprised
 
I think your over stating the importance of bc, people buy new boxes to play new games.

This. Digital or not its the same concept, why do I wanna play geo wars 2 when geo wars 3 is out? It would be nice to have that stuff transfer but its far from expected. No one buys an xbox or playstation game digitally with that expectation in their mind, that they will be able to play it on another device in the future. Never was that promised. On the other hand android and iOS have always been this way, shit comparison.
 
I also think MS is in a unique, yet familiar position again with their announcement. Sure, they're in a 100% better place than they were coming into the 360's announcement, but they still seem to be dismissed by most of the types of people on forums and the like that don't have any inclination to expect anything unique or exciting.

I also think it's interesting that since their most extremely well-established franchises like Gears or Halo have just released iterations in the series, they're going to have to show off stuff that's really new and creative to win people over, which seemed be a critique of some of the exclusive stuff that Sony showed.

Either way I think I'll be happy, because if the Nextbox is awesome then we'll have two console makers vying for our attention, and if it sucks then I always have the PS4 to fall back on. Win-win for me.



You'd be the worst marketer ever.

Yeah i agree with the fatigue, they need to show new thing or things that havent been out for a while like crackdown. Another gears or another halo im not so sure people will care that much its too soon. Look at the media reactions to not another killzone when we have only had two of those this gen to how many gears and halo games.
 
I think your over stating the importance of bc, people buy new boxes to play new games.

I don't dispute this, but we're living in an era where people are accustomed to seeing their content follow them when they upgrade. There will be anger and that will impact the ecosystems of both consoles. They might not want to play those games, but they will be angry they can no longer access them.

BC is also vitally important during the early years of a console as there are invariably long droughts between games. Although this is a personal opinion and one that might be shared by others.

This could be, as you pointed out, overstated, but this is a unique situation and it will be very interesting to see consumer reactions when they realise they can't access their digital games on PS4 or next xbox.
 
I don't dispute this, but we're living in an era where people are accustomed to seeing their content follow them when they upgrade. There will be anger and that will impact the ecosystems of both consoles. They might not want to play those games, but they will be angry they can no longer access them.

BC is also vitally important during the early years of a console as there are invariably long droughts between games. Although this is a personal opinion and one that might be shared by others.

This could be, as you pointed out, overstated, but this is a unique situation and it will be very interesting to see consumer reactions when they realise they can't access their digital games on PS4 or next xbox.

Do the boxes they have stop working?. Id understand if we had a xbox live type turn off situation but these boxes will be around for sometime yet as will live and psn on them.
 
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