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Microsoft explains where the Xbox falls into CEO Satya Nadella's master plan

As a Steam gamer that won't be buying a console this gen or next I would be happy to pay MS a monthly fee to access a decent catalog of exclusive games. Put titles like Halo in the Win store and give me a couple freebies each month with membership and they will taking money right out of Valve's pocket.

I know most PC gamers don't like the idea of a payed subscription but access to xbox exclusives, 20+ free games a year, and discounts for the price of a single new game is a good deal. I think I spend more than that annually on Steam games I never get around to playing.

im quite happy with the free games from origin and buying humble bundles (that usually are less than a months xbl subscription)
 
What's weird is people like you trying to tell other people what they like and don't.

Hard to believe??

Yeah,Xbox games is what i like right now. Zero on other platforms, problems with that?

I do get out much..right now am in Norway, next week in spain for my company and my new apartment..next will be italy and Belgium. What about you bro? How is your life. You like insulting people behind your pc?

he asked why it was weird, I told him. I'm not telling anyone what they should like.
 
This is simply an opinion that is based of anecdotal experience but I believe you are part of a very, very, small minority of pc gamers.

Perhaps, but there are those who will supplement their PC gaming with a console just for exclusives. That's paying for a console AND a gold or PS+ membership for access to a hanful of games. The cost of entry would be so much less with a real xbox live account on PC. If the free games are decent I think people would warm up to the idea.
 
What's important to CEO Satya Nadella, he's said over and over, is that users love Microsoft.

I think this is a very smart thing to do. One of the things we saw coming out of the Surface Book announcement was the idea that "Microsoft is cool again." The reason they kept failing over and over to break into already established markets when Apple could just waltz in (sometimes even later than them) and just own those markets is because consumers saw Apple and thought "cool", "awesome", "fashion statement." With Microsoft, all they ever saw was "company behind Windows", which, for a lot of people (especially tech illiterate people who take up most of the mainstream consumers) doesn't seem remotely "cool."
 
$600 PS3 says hi.

And the market reacted accordingly.

Fact is, PS1 and PS2 dominance gave us some of the best games and franchises.... and not just on those platforms. The idea that a single, dominant console is bad is completely dismissed on this basis. Too many people are on the "monopoly is bad" idea, but it doesn't pan out like that. Competition is only good if the competition is an alternative. The PS4 and XB1 are, fundamentally, the same.
 
Shadowrun is that family member that gets edited out of the wedding pictures apparently

better than what harebrained schemes does to people who worked on it

TsSK7qF.gif
 
Perhaps, but there are those who will supplement their PC gaming with a console just for exclusives. That's paying for a console AND a gold or PS+ membership for access to a hanful of games. The cost of entry would be so much less with a real xbox live account on PC. If the free games are decent I think people would warm up to the idea.

I understand where you are coming from but is the amount of pc users that would like this service enough to justify it's existance from a business stand point?
 
If Nadella is happy to put the likes of Word and Excel - products that are a real factor in the MS bottom line - on iOS and Android, then I can't see why something as relatively trivial to MS as Halo won't follow (via a subscription-based Xbox app of some sort). It seems to be all about services to him, which is probably smart.
 
I understand where you are coming from but is the amount of pc users that would like this service enough to justify it's existance from a business stand point?

That is the question. If the answer is no it's in MS best interest to sweeten the deal. At this point they need to do something to differenciate themselves from Steam and company if they want to get back into PC gaming.
 
And the market reacted accordingly.

Fact is, PS1 and PS2 dominance gave us some of the best games and franchises.... and not just on those platforms. The idea that a single, dominant console is bad is completely dismissed on this basis. Too many people are on the "monopoly is bad" idea, but it doesn't pan out like that. Competition is only good if the competition is an alternative. The PS4 and XB1 are, fundamentally, the same.

Agreed. That reveal led to me play exclusively on the 360 last gen only to return to Sony this gen with the PS4 reveal...I'm certain I'm not the only one to have gone through this experience.
 
The only way it makes sense is if they're doing something OS level to make xb1/w10 cooperation easy. Generally games handle it on an individual level. Think about online multiplayer where every game codes matchmaking itself versus using Xbox live or psn or steam. That kind of thing, some kind of API that devs could tap into.

Dunno if that's what they're doing but it would make a lot of sense based on how they're talking about it.

A literal reading of his words is that those games are the first to use whatever their new solution is, they're not saying it's the first to do cross platform mp ever.

To my understanding, this is correct. X1 will essentially be running Windows 10 under the hood after the new update, and it should now be a lot easier to enable cross-play due to this, the new Win10 Xbox app integration, and perhaps other things under-the-hood.

They are referring to these games as the first to use this new system, not necessarily as the first to do cross-play.
 
Yes, if at some point they don't require me to buy a console. That of course would be my first choice. Still waiting on Halo 3 btw.

Is the console going to raid your fridge and fuck your dog or something? You can buy an Xbox 360 and a copy of Halo 3 for cheap, if you really wanted to experience the game.

I don't get this mentality, as if buying a console to connect to your TV is such a horrible thing.
 
And the market reacted accordingly.

Fact is, PS1 and PS2 dominance gave us some of the best games and franchises.... and not just on those platforms. The idea that a single, dominant console is bad is completely dismissed on this basis. Too many people are on the "monopoly is bad" idea, but it doesn't pan out like that. Competition is only good if the competition is an alternative. The PS4 and XB1 are, fundamentally, the same.

There is so much wrong here I don't know where to start so lets go slow one at a time.

First of all what happened 2 or 3 generations ago is completely irrelevant. The gaming industry has changed dramatically since then and nothing that happened back then has any bearing on now. These companies aren't even being run by the same people as back then.

Second the PS3 being sold at a loss as some people point out is again irrelevant. It's missing the point. The point is that Sony put out a 600 dollar console a year late and thought that was OK because it was PlayStation. The same can be said for Microsoft and the Xbox One. They had success and then thought they could do whatever the hell they wanted. This happens in every industry there is when a company becomes dominant they take liberties they otherwise wouldn't that negatively impact the consumer. You can say whatever you want but the history and the precedent is there.

Third the PS4 and Xbox One aren't the same or people wouldn't have gotten up in arms over the Xbox One at launch. Even now the exclusives are different and the software is different. That's like saying the iPhone and Galaxy line are the same because they're both smartphones. There is value in having choice.

The only people who really believe that Xbox dropping out wouldn't hurt gaming are fanboys and people who haven't been paying attention. It's really simple if Sony ever did something you didn't like what's your realistic alternative? There isn't one.
 
It's weird because you said there is zero/nothing/nadda outside of the xbox ecosystem that interests you. That is some weird fetishism there. Or maybe you don't get out much?

What the hell is this nonsense? I've read people on this very forum who said that if Sony left the industry, they'd bail. I've seen folk say the same about Nintendo IN REAL LIFE.

SHOCKING NEWS: People have specific preferences
 
Is the console going to raid your fridge and fuck your dog or something? You can buy an Xbox 360 and a copy of Halo 3 for cheap, if you really wanted to experience the game.

I don't get this mentality, as if buying a console to connect to your TV is such a horrible thing.

It's going to cost money. It's simply not worth it to buy a console and sign up for paid service to play the handful of games not available on my pc. Not to me. But a gold sub on PC? Yeah I'll do that. It's basically all the benefits of Xbox One without the hardware cost and 1080p/60 for everthing.
 
The PSX and PS2 generation says hello.

I've owned every major console for every generation going back to the original NES. The PSX/PS2 generation wasn't certainly not what I'd consider an ideal scenario. A lot of people seem to believe it was simply because they grew up on PlayStation (that tends to happen when something dominates that heavily). During the PS2 gen especially, online gaming was almost put on hold for an entire generation because the dominant player didn't see the value in it compared with those that had less market sway (Sega, and then Microsoft).

And the market reacted accordingly.

Fact is, PS1 and PS2 dominance gave us some of the best games and franchises.... and not just on those platforms. The idea that a single, dominant console is bad is completely dismissed on this basis. Too many people are on the "monopoly is bad" idea, but it doesn't pan out like that. Competition is only good if the competition is an alternative. The PS4 and XB1 are, fundamentally, the same.

The bolded isn't fact at all, and again is the result of someone viewing the console they bought dominating as being inherently favourable for gamers as a whole. You're claiming that these great games and franchises are a result of PlayStation dominance?.. You want to back that up?

Tomb Raider was happening regardless. Final Fantasy was already a thing, so was Metal Gear. Tekken and Ridge Racer were a result of Namco's rivalry with Sega in the arcades etc. Just because the PlayStation sold well enough to essentially turn multiplats into exclusives, doesn't mean that it provided up with these game. The developers and publishers of these games did, and they were doing this prior to PlayStation's existence, in a previous generation where neither competitor dominated.

Sure, it's good for some people as in they only need to purchase a single console, and can ignore the others if they're not interested in the smaller libraries those console offered... but for those that actually aren't aligned to a single platform, this can cause some very undesirable scenarios. I never got to play Panzer Dragoon Saga. I paid a ridiculous amount to play a proper port of Xmen vs Street Fighter. I saw games designed around their online functionality die on one platform (Dreamcast) and then exist on the more popular platform without the functionality that justified the game's existence, etc... Dominance doesn't lead to a factually better market... it only leads to a better environment for fans of the dominant companies offerings.

The only people who really believe that Xbox dropping out wouldn't hurt gaming are fanboys and people who haven't been paying attention. It's really simple if Sony ever did something you didn't like what's your realistic alternative? There isn't one.

The funny thing about this is that they usually only believe this to be the case for MS. If you suggested to them that Sony drop out because they're also redundant, and MS can take over for them.. they'll lose their shit.
 
There is so much wrong here I don't know where to start so lets go slow one at a time.

First of all what happened 2 or 3 generations ago is completely irrelevant. The gaming industry has changed dramatically since then and nothing that happened back then has any bearing on now. These companies aren't even being run by the same people as back then.

Second the PS3 being sold at a loss as some people point out is again irrelevant. It's missing the point. The point is that Sony put out a 600 dollar console a year late and thought that was OK because it was PlayStation. The same can be said for Microsoft and the Xbox One. They had success and then thought they could do whatever the hell they wanted. This happens in every industry there is when a company becomes dominant they take liberties they otherwise wouldn't that negatively impact the consumer. You can say whatever you want but the history and the precedent is there.

Third the PS4 and Xbox One aren't the same or people wouldn't have gotten up in arms over the Xbox One at launch. Even now the exclusives are different and the software is different. That's like saying the iPhone and Galaxy line are the same because they're both smartphones. There is value in having choice.

The only people who really believe that Xbox dropping out wouldn't hurt gaming are fanboys and people who haven't been paying attention. It's really simple if Sony ever did something you didn't like what's your realistic alternative? There isn't one.
Firstly, we only have history to work on. Both scenarios are as hypothetical as the other, but I'm basing it on previous observations.

Secondly, and again, the market reacted in both cases. Sony worked hard to turn the image of the PS3 round and then got a lot of goodwill with the PS4 reveal. Microsoft made changes to their plans and are working towards getting goodwill. This isn't because either company is altruistic, it's because the consumer ultimately decides which products live or die at retail.

Thirdly, going.from a less hyperbolic point of view, the consoles aren't exactly the same but there's not a massive amount to differentiate them either. A handful of games and how apps look doesn't change that.

Lastly, I saw the death of Sega and Atari in hardware. It happens. There's a temporary void and an alternative shows up.... or they don't..... it doesn't matter. My argument at the moment is that due to smartphones, the market can't support three consoles indefinitely. That's your market change.

The bolded isn't fact at all, and again is the result of someone viewing the console they bought dominating as being inherently favourable for gamers as a whole. You're claiming that these great games and franchises are a result of PlayStation dominance?.. You want to back that up?

I never said they were, I'm making the point that Sony dominating the market never stopped or hurt game development. Games still got made, still got released but not just on those platforms. Pretty sure the N64, Dreamcast, XBox and GameCube all had healthy libraries.
 
Nope, Final Fantasy XI was on 360 and connected with PS2 and PC users. MS is flat out lying.

Yep. Last year I played on both systems my one account. Been doing that on and off since 2010. I also loved playing the Lost Planet version that PC users could play with us.
 
Great PR article, but statements change over time, and as long as MS can generate some revenue, it'll still be around. Also, brands come and go. Don't know no brand that has stayed around forever just because there CEO has said so. Money talks in the end and the day XBL viewership gpes down, then Nadella support will waver. I'd like to see what Nadella says in 2 or 4 years time and see if he's harping the same tune that Phil Spencer keeps preaching.
 
Should just become a premiere game service and platform for Windows 10. Xboxes should become prebuilt Windows 10 machines made for gaming. PC developers can then still easily optimize and target Xbox hardware, and they can even release hardware more often, boasting improved performance on existing and future games, and developers still have only a few hardware targets to worry about optimizing.
 
And the market reacted accordingly.

Fact is, PS1 and PS2 dominance gave us some of the best games and franchises.... and not just on those platforms. The idea that a single, dominant console is bad is completely dismissed on this basis. Too many people are on the "monopoly is bad" idea, but it doesn't pan out like that. Competition is only good if the competition is an alternative. The PS4 and XB1 are, fundamentally, the same.

the idea isn't that people want both consoles to sell the same, but rather they don't want ms to leave gaming as some more rabid fanboys might clamor for.

Should just become a premiere game service and platform for Windows 10. Xboxes should become prebuilt Windows 10 machines made for gaming. PC developers can then still easily optimize and target Xbox hardware, and they can even release hardware more often, boasting improved performance on existing and future games, and developers still have only a few hardware targets to worry about optimizing.

that sounds really complicated and confusing for consumers, and doesn't give them anything over a dedicated console.
 
And the market reacted accordingly.

Fact is, PS1 and PS2 dominance gave us some of the best games and franchises.... and not just on those platforms. The idea that a single, dominant console is bad is completely dismissed on this basis. Too many people are on the "monopoly is bad" idea, but it doesn't pan out like that. Competition is only good if the competition is an alternative. The PS4 and XB1 are, fundamentally, the same.
I don't mind a console being dominant, the PS4 is dominant right now. But Imagine when the PS3 was released and their was no 360, that would mean console gamers would be stuck with no choice but to go with the PS3. The marketed reacted accordingly because they had another choice.
 
I never said they were, I'm making the point that Sony dominating the market never stopped or hurt game development. Games still got made, still got released but not just on those platforms. Pretty sure the N64, Dreamcast, XBox and GameCube all had healthy libraries.

Well you said that "Playstation dominance gave us those games". Your words imply causation, not simply correlation. Also you'd have absolutely no way to call what games don't exist as a result of that era. At the very least we can assume numerous past and potential Sega IPs don't. If Sony had 95% marketshare today, would Scalebound still exist?... Would it be a PS4 game, or would it simply not get bankrolled because they simply wouldn't need it?.. You can't say for sure what would be better or worse, especially when you're only looking at the history the victor wrote.

I don't mind a console being dominant, the PS4 is dominant right now. But Imagine when the PS3 was released and their was no 360, that would mean console gamers would be stuck with no choice but to go with the PS3. The marketed reacted accordingly because they had another choice.

Another viable choice as well. If the 360 hadn't come out earlier, and as a result it got all the support of a Windows Phone, doing everything else right would make very little difference, and the market still defaults to the other product, even if it's not a great offering.
 
that sounds really complicated and confusing for consumers, and doesn't give them anything over a dedicated console.
Consumers don't even have to know anything has changed.

Just tell them Xboxes will forever have backwards compatibility, their system will be good to play games for the next 6-8 years (but they can upgrade sooner if they wish), and they can plug a mouse and keyboard in and use it as a PC if they want.


Actually, that might lose them sales to Steam if you can just install Steam. Hmm.
 
Consumers don't even have to know anything has changed.

Just tell them Xboxes will forever have backwards compatibility, their system will be good to play games for the next 6-8 years (but they can upgrade sooner if they wish), and they can plug a mouse and keyboard in and use it as a PC if they want.

Actually, that might lose them sales to Steam if you can just install Steam. Hmm.

There's no way the console offering would be able to install Steam. It'd be functionally very similar to an Xbox of today, just with the porting process removed from other Windows devices (which could lead to some rather random games crossing over). It'd be more like a Surface RT than a Surface Pro.
 
Should just become a premiere game service and platform for Windows 10. Xboxes should become prebuilt Windows 10 machines made for gaming. PC developers can then still easily optimize and target Xbox hardware, and they can even release hardware more often, boasting improved performance on existing and future games, and developers still have only a few hardware targets to worry about optimizing.
Pretty much this. Xbox becomes less of a console and more of a platform. Not saying the console would go away, but you wouldn't need it to play the games if you had a pc.this would work well considering hardware doesn't make much money but it would still be there for people that want it.
 
Ignoring the obvious part which is - of course he has to say that to provide confidence in the current product

Why would he say something he doesn't even believe when he doesn't even have to respond to some random tweet from someone on the internets.
 

Uh, yeah, what do you expect him to say?

Phil Harrison said:
Xbox One is Kinect. They are not separate systems. An Xbox One has chips, it has memory, it has Blu-ray, it has Kinect, it has a controller. These are all part of the platform ecosystem.

Albert Penello said:
Kinect is part of the Xbox One. It is part of the experience that we're building. It's as fundamental to the platform as the controller is in many ways. It sounds like I'm making up an excuse, but I think someone [could say], 'What if I shipped Xbox One without a controller, because you would prefer a different controller than the one I'm shipping?'
 
MS/Xbox do not talk about xbox future = Xbox is doom, there will be no more xbox, they see no future.
MS/Xbox talk about xbox future = Xbox is doom, they only say that to give people confidence, they see no future.
 
MS/Xbox do not talk about xbox future = Xbox is doom, there will be no more xbox, they see no future.
MS/Xbox talk about xbox future = Xbox is doom, they only say that to give people confidence, they see no future.
I mean, this is becoming so blatant. What the hell is going on? What has Xbox done to people to generate such feelings of discontent?
Uh, yeah, what do you expect him to say?
C'mon, really?
Hasn't Phil proven himself?
 
the Windows 10 update to Xbox One is going to make it easier for games to enable mutiplayer gaming between the PC and console, which has long been a technical challenge for all the major platforms.

I'm pretty sure Dreamcast did this 15 years ago. It even featured mouse and keyboard support.

Technical challenge my ass. Microsoft obviously didn't care up until now.
 
I mean, this is becoming so blatant. What the hell is going on? What has Xbox done to people to generate such feelings of discontent?

C'mon, really?
Hasn't Phil proven himself?

It's understandable that you would really like to see an Xbox 4.

But, please understand that corporate executives say stuff to promote their own products, and not all of it turns out to be true. See my previous post for a couple of examples.
 
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