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IGN: 6 things Microsoft needs to do after PS4

What About Backwards Compatibility?

Sony was honest about the PlayStation 4’s backwards compatibility – or lack thereof out of the gate – and even though one high-level industry executive told IGN that an incredibly small percentage of players ever make use of it, hardcore players nevertheless like the idea of the backwards compatibility security blanket. 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). That could be a big factor for early adopters, and might also serve to soften the blow if the rumor about the new Xbox blocking used games proves correct.

Not surprising but they are less informed then some of the GAF posts I've seen on this matter.

There is no magic system that somehow supports digital games, but not full BC.

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

Going to be pretty much impossible since they are switching architectures as well.

The WiiU is BC with the best selling console of last generation. Doesn't seem to be helping them with their drought or sales.

The Wii U has multiple problems and factors affecting their sales figures. Attributing it to one thing like that is not only a massive fallacy, but just plain wrong.
 
Outside of uncharted and god of war, sony catalog of ips is just as bad as MS and sell much worst. I will wait and see of what they have to offer thank you.

Gran Turismo sells really well. And is well reviewed.

Ughhh. I don't like the sound of that.

I do. I have faith because of the people that are involved. Nancy Tellem is great, and her being in charge means there's more than likely going to be a lot of content exclusive to Xbox that no other console will have access to. Her track record is amazing. And the upside is that her team doesn't divert attention or resources away from the teams making games. It's really OK to have a console with games and movies/TV/music. Doing one thing great doesn't preclude you from doing two or more things great.
 
If they have full backwards compatibility it will be all but over for Sony.

Not in the mind of Sony owners.

They've already got Japan locked down. They're generally more popular in Europe outside of the UK.

And if Sony's online play is still free then they aren't going to give much away.

Microsoft have a lot to lose, backwards compatibility at best will keep current Xbox owners on board. If it hasn't got it then there's really nothing stopping current Xbox owners from to switching to Sony. Not to mention it will make people more wary of spending so much on digital content this time around.

As far as I can see the sales of the two consoles have been pretty even, and looking at things Sony is in a much better position to take some of Microsoft sales than the other way around.

Currently they have Kinect 2, anti-used games and any Windows 8 connection as media poison.
 
Come on, they're not that dumb. The only subscription that will be required is XBL Gold.

I was mainly talking about the gameplay style, I don't think they'll charge a subscription (my FTP thinking meant completely free with microtransactions, not "no subscription"). If they MMO it up, making it like LOTRO or something, it'll do poorly. If they try to keep it like Fable III but with more players (kind of like Diablo III-ish), I could see it doing alright. Either way, I'm not sure it's the right direction for the series, considering Fable III did pretty well.

Hahaha, indeed. This article has bad all over it and the MMO suggestion is terrible. Because the world really needs another MMO right now.

If MS announced the Fable team was making something akin to Skyrim, but with up to 4 player online co op, then people would be excited. MMO announcement would be followed by yawns and indifference.
This is basically what I mean.
 
Hahaha, indeed. This article has bad all over it and this MMO suggestion is terrible. Because the world really needs another MMO right now.

If MS announced the Fable team was making something akin to Skyrim, but with up to 4 player online co op, then people would be excited. MMO announcement would be followed by yawns and indifference.

To be honest the game sounds more like an evolution of the Souls games online structure.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-16-lionhead-making-mmo-like-new-ip-for-next-xbox-report

Fable maker Lionhead is making an MMO-like role-playing game for the next Xbox, a job advertisement suggests.

It has single-player and multiplayer elements with four-player co-op, and is a new IP, according to an ad on LinkedIn (spotted by Superannuation).

"Opportunity to work on MMO like title for next generation consoles. AAA game and budget!" the post reads.

"This is to assist in the development of a major brand new IP that is being targeted for the future generation of platforms and will be an RPG based game with a radical new take on how co-operative and multiplayer gameplay feeds into the experience, while blending online and single-player into one complete experience."

There's mention of a "complex progression system, multiple routes through the campaign, and an MMO like multiplayer experience that will affect the outcome of the player experience, and many other attributes surrounding their profile (such as the environment and the outcome of certain actions)".


A multiplayer level designer is wanted, someone who ideally has worked on four-player co-op games. The development team size is said to be 150+.
 
Sony had blu ray, better graphics, free online, coming off the best selling system of all time, and more exclusives last time and is still in last place. This time around they have better graphics and maybe more exclusives but things will be different...
 
The WiiU is BC with the best selling console of last generation. Doesn't seem to be helping them with their drought or sales.

I don't think you can really compare the situation since the Wii U is basically slightly more powerful than consoles that have been on the market for 8 years. Nintendo has it's own strategy for how to do things and are able to skate by in hopes that their first party support will be good and that hopefully something they make will be a breakout hit.

Not in the mind of Sony owners.

They've already got Japan locked down. They're generally more popular in Europe outside of the UK.

And if Sony's online play is still free then they aren't going to give much away.

Microsoft have a lot to lose, backwards compatibility at best will keep current Xbox owners on board. If it hasn't got it then there's really nothing stopping current Xbox owners from to switching to Sony. Not to mention it will make people more wary of spending so much on digital content this time around.

As far as I can see the sales of the two consoles have been pretty even, and looking at things Sony is in a much better position to take some of Microsoft sales than the other way around.

Currently they have Kinect 2, anti-used games and any Windows 8 connection as media poison.

No, Nintendo has Japan on lockdown. Sales of Ps3 in Japan are not all that great and it seems like Nintendo is hell bent on making sure Japanese studios make exclusive games for the 3ds and Wii U.

But yeah if they both don't have backwards compatibility than Sony will probably be better of than Microsoft.
 
Sony had blu ray, better graphics, free online, coming off the best selling system of all time, and more exclusives last time and is still in last place. This time around they have better graphics and maybe more exclusives but things will be different...

You can also list pluses and advantages the Xbox had and note that it ended up tying the PS3. We'll see what happens in the new gen, everyone starts from zero again.
 
Guild Wars is the new hotness.

Every game wants to be Guild Wars now. I don't mind, though. Guild Wars is pretty sweet.
 
I don't think you can really compare the situation since the Wii U is basically slightly more powerful than consoles that have been on the market for 8 years. Nintendo has it's own strategy for how to do things and are able to skate by in hopes that their first party support will be good and that hopefully something they make will be a breakout hit.



No, Nintendo has Japan on lockdown. Sales of Ps3 in Japan are not all that great and it seems like Nintendo is hell bent on making sure Japanese studios make exclusive games for the 3ds and Wii U.

But yeah if they both don't have backwards compatibility than Sony will probably be better of than Microsoft.

That Wii U sure is locking down Japan fast!
 
I don't think they'll do the first 2 at all. I can easily see them just saying they have 8GB RAM but not admitting it's worse until the spec sheet leaks later on. And we all know they're not going to make games the primary focus.

They have to because for this thing to conquer the living rooms they have to get their first. It's gonna be like with 360, the first couple of years it's a dedicated gaming machine with lots of 1st party games, then only the top selling franchises and a focus on media capabilities. The only difference is that they will obviously build on what they already have, so it's gonna have strong media capabilities from the get-go.
 
I think Kotick will make an appearance and announce CoD (with continuing early map DLC access for Xbots).

And since EA was not present at Sony's event MS might have them in the box too (or they are really just not ready yet, which is doubtful since apparently they already showed BF4 to gamestops).

Still Microsoft will put heavy emphasis on Kinect and Mediacenter functionality. For the gamers they will announce Cod, Madden/BF4 and Halo 5 and that covers more gamers than Sony reached with the games they announced (so far, and obviously everything of these will be on the PS4 except Halo 5).
 
Three reasons backwards-compatibility are an expectation now:

-DVDs and Blu-Ray.
-iOS.
-Android.

It's not the game industry that's taught people to expect backwards-compatibility. It's phones and movies. People expect the crap they bought to work on their new thing, ESPECIALLY when it's their new thing from the company they bought all the crap from.

Does that make a difference as to how they use it? Probably not. The studies are right--as far as actual usage goes, it's a feature that people talk about more than they ever use it. But it still has a major impact on purchasing decisions, and it can be a big ol' spoiler if it's missing where people expect it to be present. Simply put: if the average consumer bought a 360 for Halo/PS3 for Blu-Ray, and bought a bunch of other games for it, and finds out those games don't work for the new Microsoft/Sony console? That's an excuse to jump to the Sony/Microsoft console this time around.

Or to just buy an AppleTV instead, play games on the iPhone, and stream media to their TVs via AirPlay.
 
The next xbox has to allow users to play Halo. MS knows this. If the Halo fanbase is not allowed to play it on the next system they will not buy the system until it comes out. So there will be some form of BC because their initial success will ride on it. I'm not trying to collect multiple systems anymore. I don't have a PS3 so the the PS4 not being BC doesn't bother me. I wish I was interested in Sony's first party games because as of now I'm not.
 
The next xbox has to allow users to play Halo. MS knows this. If the Halo fanbase is not allowed to play it on the next system they will not buy the system until it comes out. So there will be some form of BC because their initial success will ride on it. I'm not trying to collect multiple systems anymore. I don't have a PS3 so the the PS4 not being BC doesn't bother me. I wish I was interested in Sony's first party games because as of now I'm not.

yup. another good reason as to why it will be there.
 
The next xbox has to allow users to play Halo. MS knows this. If the Halo fanbase is not allowed to play it on the next system they will not buy the system until it comes out. So there will be some form of BC because their initial success will ride on it. I'm not trying to collect multiple systems anymore. I don't have a PS3 so the the PS4 not being BC doesn't bother me. I wish I was interested in Sony's first party games because as of now I'm not.

I question if Halo is still a system seller. Many were unhappy with how Halo 4 turned out. Also with cod now what even MS cares about too.
 
Three reasons backwards-compatibility are an expectation now:

-DVDs and Blu-Ray.
-iOS.
-Android.

It's not the game industry that's taught people to expect backwards-compatibility. It's phones and movies. People expect the crap they bought to work on their new thing, ESPECIALLY when it's their new thing from the company they bought all the crap from.

Does that make a difference as to how they use it? Probably not. The studies are right--as far as actual usage goes, it's a feature that people talk about more than they ever use it. But it still has a major impact on purchasing decisions, and it can be a big ol' spoiler if it's missing where people expect it to be present. Simply put: if the average consumer bought a 360 for Halo/PS3 for Blu-Ray, and bought a bunch of other games for it, and finds out those games don't work for the new Microsoft/Sony console? That's an excuse to jump to the Sony/Microsoft console this time around.

Or to just buy an AppleTV instead, play games on the iPhone, and stream media to their TVs via AirPlay.

And PC games.

-PS2
-DS
-Game Boy Advance
-3DS
-PS3
-PSP
-Vita
 
Three reasons backwards-compatibility are an expectation now:

-DVDs and Blu-Ray.
-iOS.
-Android.

It's not the game industry that's taught people to expect backwards-compatibility. It's phones and movies. People expect the crap they bought to work on their new thing, ESPECIALLY when it's their new thing from the company they bought all the crap from.

Pretty sure BC in games consoles was before all of those...with the gameboys and the PS1 to PS2
 
Three reasons backwards-compatibility are an expectation now:

-DVDs and Blu-Ray.
-iOS.
-Android.

It's not the game industry that's taught people to expect backwards-compatibility. It's phones and movies. People expect the crap they bought to work on their new thing, ESPECIALLY when it's their new thing from the company they bought all the crap from.

Does that make a difference as to how they use it? Probably not. The studies are right--as far as actual usage goes, it's a feature that people talk about more than they ever use it. But it still has a major impact on purchasing decisions, and it can be a big ol' spoiler if it's missing where people expect it to be present. Simply put: if the average consumer bought a 360 for Halo/PS3 for Blu-Ray, and bought a bunch of other games for it, and finds out those games don't work for the new Microsoft/Sony console? That's an excuse to jump to the Sony/Microsoft console this time around.

Or to just buy an AppleTV instead, play games on the iPhone, and stream media to their TVs via AirPlay.


I'd actually add steam to that list as well, as well as Origin..
In fact in an age where digital content is more popular than ever, I'd be surprised if publishers wouldn't want to have a significant presence on these new consoles, probably more than most would accept right now..

Put it this way if I was E.A, Ubisoft, Activision I'd be saying, I want my own store on your new console.

Long way away, but I expect a deal with Android and perhaps Apple down the line as well.
 
Some of you guys must walk into walls every time you talk on the phone and walk or something - the concept of appealing to both casual and hardcore seems to escape you.

Nobody can explain to me why it can't be both an entertainment hub and a hardcore games machine. My 360 seemed to do just fine this gen for both...along with my 2 ps3s.

Its as if anything beyond a binary concept does not exist on this forum.
 
Some of you guys must walk into walls every time you talk on the phone and walk or something - the concept of appealing to both casual and hardcore seems to escape you.

Nobody can explain to me why it can't be both an entertainment hub and a hardcore games machine. My 360 seemed to do just fine this gen for both...along with my 2 ps3s.

Its as if anything beyond a binary concept does not exist on this forum.

The main cause of concern is how MS went from providing games like crackdown, viva, banjo, etc, to dropping all of that and making kinect stuff and gears/halo sequels. Some of us hope this is just because they are putting their efforts into next gen sequels or new IP, but many fear that this direction will continue. Defining hardcore as COD and casual as KINECT KINECT is bad, and I hope dearly that will not be the case. The last couple E3s seem filled with nothing but APPS APPS and kinect/cod stuff, and that's a damn shame if it continues.

Bring back those blue dragons, panzer dragoon ortas, and banjos. That's all I want.
 
Some of you guys must walk into walls every time you talk on the phone and walk or something - the concept of appealing to both casual and hardcore seems to escape you.

Nobody can explain to me why it can't be both an entertainment hub and a hardcore games machine. My 360 seemed to do just fine this gen for both...along with my 2 ps3s.

Its as if anything beyond a binary concept does not exist on this forum.

My thoughts exactly. Too many people on GAF see the world in black and white and fail to see that are entertainment content is morphing into less and less devices.
 
I will add two more to this:

-Kill the idea of used game lock out.
-Get rid of "always online" . Let gamers play in offline mode, even if it means missing out on some social / online features.
 
Three reasons backwards-compatibility are an expectation now:

-DVDs and Blu-Ray.
-iOS.
-Android.
I think it's downloadable content that's changed things this time around. I'm more bothered about my XBLA game collection than games on physical media.
 
And PC games.

-PS2
-DS
-Game Boy Advance
-3DS
-PS3
-PSP
-Vita

Pretty sure BC in games consoles was before all of those...with the gameboys and the PS1 to PS2

I'm not saying that gaming hasn't had its share of things that have been backwards-compatible, or that people haven't appreciated those features. I'm saying that, between transitioning from DVD to Blu-Ray and upgrading smartphones every two years, people have come to expect backwards-compatibility as a given in a way that they didn't necessarily expect it before.

I think it's downloadable content that's changed things this time around. I'm more bothered about my XBLA game collection than games on physical media.

Yeah. This. Even if it's not technologically feasible, it *seems* like it should be to someone who's not an expert on this kind of stuff (read: 99% of the market).
 
Pretty sure BC in games consoles was before all of those...with the gameboys and the PS1 to PS2

The Mega Drive/Genesis had it too ( although it was through a small add-on - the Master System/power base converter).

So here's hoping MS can provide full BC as well, even if through a small add-on.
 
We are never going to see another Crackdown after the second one bombed. Microsoft isn't Sony, they know when to stop cranking out IPs that nobody wants to buy.

I am thinking they will have a couple new, very hot looking IPs to launch with, and have enough exclusive stuff with GTA/CoD/Bethesda to make Sony a non-factor this fall, at least in the US.

Finally, nobody gives a shit about BC. Name one console that was at a serious competitive disadvantage because of it.

Well, it's funny you say this as Microsoft are directly responsible for the game 'bombing' themselves, so it doesn't really provide much faith for their upcoming IP's.

Clearly Sony has won on a TKO with their 8GB of GDDR5 RAM.

Jesus christ.
 
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