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[Ol No Bones]

This thread is now a new tomb raider thread. Great. I guess until the game comes out on PS4 everyone is gonna beat this one to death.

 

[boredandlazy]

Never been a TR fan but if folks really are upset about this and rightfully so, well, the only thing to do is make UC4 last 6 months until the PS4 version of TR. Shouldn' be that hard.

I'm bothered by the way it happened, but in the end there'll be plenty to play during the delay so it's not that much of a hassle.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

I still don't get the reference!

According to Miles, Phil Spencer words are hollow hence why he is the hollow man.

Bingo.

Guy only says what people want to hear, he still hasn't delivered on anything yet.

He's basically an echo chamber.

 

[Abdiel]

This thread is now a new tomb raider thread. Great. I guess until the game comes out on PS4 everyone is gonna beat this one to death.

I like how you act like this is somehow not related to Phil Spencer - And that it is purely PS4 owners who are annoyed by the timed exclusivity. To be frank, I don't have any intention of buying the game in the first place, I've never bought a game in the TR series, ever. I'm not 'upset' or 'invested' in the agitation, I frankly find it strange that people are so willing to make up such blatantly BS excuses or defenses for a corporation or executive for screwing over consumers for no reason except that they paid to do so.

Phil Spencer is not new to the Xbox team. I think he's made some very smart moves in terms of damage control and revising the direction the XB1 is going in, but at the same time, the TR timed exclusivity and the continued existence of the parity clause for indies makes me hesitant to give the guy much credit. These are still similar tactics that they've been using for ages, that aren't consumer, or in the clause case, even developer friendly.

 

[BriGuy]

Did I ever tell you about the time Phil Spencer took me out to go get a drink with him? We go off looking for a bar and we can't find one. Finally, Spencer takes me into a vacant lot and says, 'Here we are.' Well, we sat there for a year and a half. Sure enough, someone constructed a bar around us. Well, the day they opened it, we ordered a shot, drank it, and then burnt the place to the ground. Spencer yelled over the roar of the flames, 'Always leave things the way you found them!'

And then there was this other time I went camping with him ... I'm in the back of a pickup with Phil Spencer and a live deer. Well, Spencer, he grabs the deer by the antlers, looks at it and says, 'I'm Phil Spencer! Say it!' Then he squeezes the deer in such a way that a sound comes out of its mouth -- "Phillspencer!" It wasn't exactly it, but it was pretty good for a deer.

 

[Prine]

Bingo.

Guy only says what people want to hear, he still hasn't delivered on anything yet.

He's basically an echo chamber.

Come on, it was him that rocked Crackdown shirts and hinted at Phantom Dust. 2 games that Xbox gamers wanted and he delivered. I think its the lack of screenshots that's messing with your mind

 

[jelly]

Bingo.

Guy only says what people want to hear, he still hasn't delivered on anything yet.

He's basically an echo chamber.

Early days of course, some things take time. Still wrong on parity release clause which could be fixed now. Black Tusk IP bring sidelined was very disappointing.

Would you give him apps being removed from the paywall, Gears IP, Kinect removal, Rare trying something non Kinect, Phantom Dust, Crackdown to name a few?

I know he says what people like to hear usually but can't judge him entirely after six months or so. If he is still under delivering on the talk in a year or two then fire all guns.

 

[Abdiel]

Early days of course, some things take time. Still wrong on parity release clause which could be fixed now. Black Tusk IP bring sidelined was very disappointing.

Would you give him apps being removed from the paywall, Gears IP, Kinect removal, Rare trying something non Kinect, Phantom Dust, Crackdown to name a few?

I know he says what people like to hear usually but can't judge him entirely after six months or so. If he is still under delivering on the talk in a year or two then fire all guns.

To be fair on the Rare thing, he's said stuff about Rare for ages, and he's been the one shooting down their various ideas and attempts.

 

[Phreakuency]

Did I ever tell you about the time Phil Spencer took me out to go get a drink with him? ...

I saw him in a good movie.

 

[boredandlazy]

I saw him in a good movie.

How long have you been cooking that one up for?

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

Phil Spencer! You don't belong in this world!
It was not by my hand that I am once again given power. I was called here by Xbox fans who wish to pay me tribute.
Tribute!?! You steal multiplatform games and make them timed exclusives!
Perhaps the same could be said of all platform holders...
Your words are as empty as your soul! Gaming ill needs a savior such as you!
What is a game? A miserable little pile of code! But enough talk... Shenmue 3!

 

[abadguy]

Sony too™?
Sony too™

And what about us PC gamers?

Sony Too is basically the new "persecution complex". People like to throw it out when they get called on their bullshit or when someone reminds them that the Corporation they worship isn't as squeeky clean as they would have people believe. Sorry that i have been playing games long enough to realize that MS is hardly the first or only ones to pull that shit.

 

[Dr_LucienSanchez]

Sony Too is basically the new "persecution complex". People like to throw it out when they get called on their bullshit or when someone reminds them that the Corporation they worship isn't as squeeky clean as they would have people believe. Sorry that i have been playing games long enough to realize that MS is hardly the first or only ones to pull that shit.

Yes, well, you seem to be the least biased user here, so I'll take your word for it.

But again, what do deals that were made 20 or 10 years ago have to do with this Tomb Raider situation? I'm sure people were upset then also. And even if Sony were to hypothetically make one of these deals now for the PS4, I would imagine that the community would be rightfully pissed off (like what's happened with TR). 'Sony too' is just such an immature and irrelevant retort, especially when masked behind supposed video game seniority.

 

[Prine]

So you won't accept the simple and most logical conclusion, but instead rely on your own narrative that Microsoft now demands a higher quality title with a bigger personnel investment.

That's not how it works. As far as we know, Microsoft bought exclusive time. That's it.
A few months is not going to substantially shift PS4 team staff over to X1 development all of a sudden. It wouldn't make sense. Especially not when both teams set out to reach their targets before holiday 2015 and their current development roadmap would suffice perfectly.

I honestly don't think Microsoft cares that much about potentially making the X1 version a smidge more polished when there won't be anything to compare it to for months.
They made the investment to be able to prop up a semi-exclusive AAA title during the holidays. That's what they paid money for and it's probably a business-savvy move, albeit a very anti-consumer one.

Simple conclusion yes, not the most logical, its fueled by bitterness. Its rejected on that basis.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

Sony Too is basically the new "persecution complex". People like to throw it out when they get called on their bullshit or when someone reminds them that the Corporation they worship isn't as squeeky clean as they would have people believe. Sorry that i have been playing games long enough to realize that MS is hardly the first or only ones to pull that shit.

Please read my comment in response to the TRPS1 issue.

All the games were on PC and, while TR1 was on Saturn, the sequels weren't until The Last Revelation which was on Dreamcast. I don't even see how the situations are comparable. The Saturn was hardly the best selling console of the generation.

 

[levyjl1988]

Ryan mentioned a ton of great questions. Phil felt honest and true to his passion. He admits to his mistakes and he's human. Don Mattrick really fucked up with the Xbox brand and Phil is here to clean it up. Don was a faceless suit, but I feel that Phil is truly a gamer.

I really like how he explains the thought process which is essential to understand the direction and goals of Xbox. These types or transparent acts is absolutely necessary to garner a fan base and reduce the internet rage.

I like how he emphasized his position and he's doing what he can. Hardware is fixed, everything is being done software side.

I like how he addressed the question of "Shut up and take my money" aspect.

If Microsoft did release a Halo Reach statue type for Masterchief collection I would have bought it and implanted in my room. Sigh, too bad that didn't happen though.

Ryan's idea is less is more is good advice. The Advance Warfare bundle looks like shit. I wouldn't buy that bundle. The design of it isn't something that would last the decade of having an Xbox One. I would prefer a platinum or silver Xbox One though or even a controller.

Excellent podcast nonetheless.
Major community Xbox should listen to is Neogaf and Reddit, the voices are there.

 

[Mononoke]

I like how you act like this is somehow not related to Phil Spencer - And that it is purely PS4 owners who are annoyed by the timed exclusivity. To be frank, I don't have any intention of buying the game in the first place, I've never bought a game in the TR series, ever. I'm not 'upset' or 'invested' in the agitation, I frankly find it strange that people are so willing to make up such blatantly BS excuses or defenses for a corporation or executive for screwing over consumers for no reason except that they paid to do so.

Phil Spencer is not new to the Xbox team. I think he's made some very smart moves in terms of damage control and revising the direction the XB1 is going in, but at the same time, the TR timed exclusivity and the continued existence of the parity clause for indies makes me hesitant to give the guy much credit. These are still similar tactics that they've been using for ages, that aren't consumer, or in the clause case, even developer friendly.

Yeah I'm an X1 owner and I was not happy by this decision. Spencer has tried really hard to put a new face on the Xbox brand after they damaged it with business practices and decisions a lot of gamers/consumers did not like. A lot of the goodwill I had for Spencer and them changing how they do things went away with that Tom Raider deal and his response to if after the fact.

 

[Jomjom]

Fun fact, Phil Spencer WAS in the team that delevoped XBoxOne.

Maybe not the head of the project, but WAS heavily involved.

Don Mattrick was not on the 360 team and had nothing to do with that console right?

 

[Biker19]

The cult of personality surrounding him reminds me of Obama circa 2008. "Change change change" is "games games games". Five years later Guantanamo Bay is still open. I'm largely apolitical, I just see parallels in how people went apeshit back in 2008 and today have regrets.

If MS gets out of the underdog slot let's see then how he acts. MS is great at giving 200% when they're down but follow up by slacking off or overdoing the hubris when competition is no longer a concern (Sony too).

I definitely agree. I just wish that more people would wake up.

I don't understand people. You lay the blame of every misstep at Mattrick's feet like he was some unstoppable dictator enforcing his every whim on the lowly serfs of the entire Xbox team. And you lay every success at Spencer's feet like he's the knight who beheaded the tyrannical ruler and took his throne, handing out puppies to his new subjects.

Spencer isn't some breath of fresh air that's completely untouched from the stink of his predecessor. He was there too. A lot of people are involved in every decision that's made. The Xbox team as a whole realized they needed to turn the ship around before it was too late. Spencer is every bit an executive and salesman that Mattrick was. His job's just easier because the message he has to sell isn't as offensive. He's not a not a nicer guy than Mattrick. He just got handed a better script.

I don't think most people are upset. It's just a shitty tactic to cover up one of MS biggest flaws: they don't have the first party muscle Sony has, and has been developing for the past 8-9 years when they really, really had too (cause exclusives cost a shit ton that sony doesn't have). Sony doesn't need to have TR first because they have Uncharted, and will have TR after anyways.

This is a bad tactic, it's like a band aid in a shotgun wound. They're simply delaying a game's release without actually owning it, just to try and compete with the genre's heavy weight and fill a gap in their release schedule, all the while spending a truckload of cash that could fund a new game/concept. Sony could have payed for GTA IV dlc, they chose to use their money in other, more interesting ways. 20 million for exclusive dlc would be enough to fund Uncharted 1, and probably that's what they did. You can either get a time exclusive or inject that money into Heavy Rain.

Different mentalities from different companies. MS thinks in the now, Sony is trying to think ahead (creating studios and franchises, taking the long way around), a far cry from their ps1-ps2 days where they could do this shit and buy whatever they wanted (even though most studios would just gravitate towards them anyway since they we're selling 6 or 7:1). MS thinks that just by securing a big game for some months and cock blocking PS and PC they will get more sales. It will just make less people interested in the game by the time it hits.

And I'm saying this as someone who bought and finished TR ps4 and wasn't exactly wowed with the game, so it's not even bothering me.

I fully agree with these paragraphs.