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Microsoft Game Studio and XB360 Rep Here Taking Questions
- Thread starter Marty Chinn
- Start date
- Status
Bigfonzie said:
Trust me guys, I'm trying to get answers from some of the great questions/discussions on here and I'll share what I can. Me and the folks I can ask questions to have our "real" jobs to do too, so I can't come up with everything immediately. But I'm working on the payoff, I would be totally excited to come back with some great answers.
While I personally like the artistic approach to marketing taken in the "Jump In" 360 commercials, I can't see it selling a lot of consoles. Microsoft isn't the market leader...not yet anyway. And these commercials seem like teasers you would run months before launch, a taster to let the public know that the new Xbox would be coming. But launch is now less than two weeks away, and TV viewers still haven't seen any gameplay footage (let's forget about that MTV thing).
Are you guys just so confident that the system is gonna sell out to the hardcore, and you don't need to reach out to the casual gamers? Is this the strategy? Ballsy, if true. Also, do you know if more game-centered commercials will hit before launch?
Also, what's your personal favorite 360 game?
Thanks and good luck with launch.
Are you guys just so confident that the system is gonna sell out to the hardcore, and you don't need to reach out to the casual gamers? Is this the strategy? Ballsy, if true. Also, do you know if more game-centered commercials will hit before launch?
Also, what's your personal favorite 360 game?
Thanks and good luck with launch.
Mr. Lemming
Member
I thought of some more stuff I was wondering about.
Can I make a Silver Live account for say... each of my family and friends who play frequently. I heard you can have 10 accounts or so stored on the system so I would think yes but...
Related to that, can I use those accounts playing games that feature guest play (Like I imagine PDZero will have). So like... if Halo 2 was a 360 game for instance I could have my Gold level Gamertag (Sicher) and my brothers Silver gamertag (Whatever dumb name he would come up with) instead of Sicher and Sicher1 like it is now.
Can I make a Silver Live account for say... each of my family and friends who play frequently. I heard you can have 10 accounts or so stored on the system so I would think yes but...
Related to that, can I use those accounts playing games that feature guest play (Like I imagine PDZero will have). So like... if Halo 2 was a 360 game for instance I could have my Gold level Gamertag (Sicher) and my brothers Silver gamertag (Whatever dumb name he would come up with) instead of Sicher and Sicher1 like it is now.
WrathOfOtaibah
Banned
1) Are SNK Playmore games (Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4 + 5, etc.) going to be backwards compatible with Xbox 360 any time soon?
2) Is there a way to get backwards compatibility on Xbox 360 without Live? As in will Microsoft be shipping out backwards compatibility discs?
2) Is there a way to get backwards compatibility on Xbox 360 without Live? As in will Microsoft be shipping out backwards compatibility discs?
TranceVibrator
Member
arne said:
Don't stress man, most of us here would be patient enough to wait as long as you need to get answers. This is the internet, there are dicks everywhere, just ignore the hate
This is going to sound weird, so bear with me.
Next Thursday, I'm doing a mock sales presentation in my personal selling class. Basically, I'm playing the role of someone who has your job. I will be selling the Xbox 360.
Any general pointers? I think I have enough content. I'm just wondering what sort of attitude you would take into such a presentation.
Next Thursday, I'm doing a mock sales presentation in my personal selling class. Basically, I'm playing the role of someone who has your job. I will be selling the Xbox 360.
Any general pointers? I think I have enough content. I'm just wondering what sort of attitude you would take into such a presentation.
arne said:
I really appreciate Arne coming here to try to correct any misconceptions and answer our questions regarding the 360, but who other than a PR person would refer to their forthcoming replies as "great answers." I don't know who.
Speevy said:
Just carry yourself knowledgeably, and people will be blown away by how much you know about a field they know nothing about.
I got a fucking ovation for my Mac OS X persuasive speech last year.
The Abominable Snowman
Member
I have a few questions if you don't mind:
-What is Microsoft's position on licensing popular franchises and lines? Recently, MS has acquired a license to make a console MMORPG based on X-Men, but aside from that, I haven't read much about their licensing other properties. Do you know anything about that?
-What are our options for storing media on the 360 Hard drive (If I decide to buy one)? What are our options for media playback with the 360? Will we be able to stream video from PC using Samba or something similar (Seamlessly, like Xbox Media Center), or vice versa? Or will we be forced to buy Media Center Edition to do something we would already be able to do (Having MCE which requires a TV out and PVR for the same thing and all)
-Will ALL games require Xbox Live Gold for any kind of inter-user interaction?
-Are there any restrictions on content that is able to be uploaded onto the Xbox Live Arcade sevice? What pricing scheme can those with content there use? Say, if I were Capcom, could I put a version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 on XBLA and charge 25 bucks to buy and 25 cents a play? If I were an indie developer, could I make this huge, beautiful, sprawling multi-user dungeon hacker game like Gauntlet or Diablo that is about 250MB and charge $15, although the quality of the title is enough to go to retail and go for $50 itself?
Thanks fo your time!
-What is Microsoft's position on licensing popular franchises and lines? Recently, MS has acquired a license to make a console MMORPG based on X-Men, but aside from that, I haven't read much about their licensing other properties. Do you know anything about that?
-What are our options for storing media on the 360 Hard drive (If I decide to buy one)? What are our options for media playback with the 360? Will we be able to stream video from PC using Samba or something similar (Seamlessly, like Xbox Media Center), or vice versa? Or will we be forced to buy Media Center Edition to do something we would already be able to do (Having MCE which requires a TV out and PVR for the same thing and all)
-Will ALL games require Xbox Live Gold for any kind of inter-user interaction?
-Are there any restrictions on content that is able to be uploaded onto the Xbox Live Arcade sevice? What pricing scheme can those with content there use? Say, if I were Capcom, could I put a version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 on XBLA and charge 25 bucks to buy and 25 cents a play? If I were an indie developer, could I make this huge, beautiful, sprawling multi-user dungeon hacker game like Gauntlet or Diablo that is about 250MB and charge $15, although the quality of the title is enough to go to retail and go for $50 itself?
Thanks fo your time!
Hello Arne,
One of the things that truly set the XBox apart from the competition, in my opinion, was there being a hard drive out of the box. Now that it's optional, it won't be able to be used for enhancing data access, faster texture streaming, etc. It's quite obvious that the feature really did set the XBox apart from the competiton (PS2, GameCube) before. Furthermore, because XBox 360 games will be on DVD-9 discs, and there is no hard drive, are you concerned about decompression of large and complex game data on a DVD-9 to interfere with overall game performance, or possibly create a bottleneck since next-gen games may require more overall space than a DVD-9 disc (especially in the future, opposed to the first and second generation of games)? With reliable hard drives from manufacturers such as Western Digital on the market for as low as $50 these days, why was one not included with the 360 out of the box for under $300?
Thanks for your time, I appreciate it.
One of the things that truly set the XBox apart from the competition, in my opinion, was there being a hard drive out of the box. Now that it's optional, it won't be able to be used for enhancing data access, faster texture streaming, etc. It's quite obvious that the feature really did set the XBox apart from the competiton (PS2, GameCube) before. Furthermore, because XBox 360 games will be on DVD-9 discs, and there is no hard drive, are you concerned about decompression of large and complex game data on a DVD-9 to interfere with overall game performance, or possibly create a bottleneck since next-gen games may require more overall space than a DVD-9 disc (especially in the future, opposed to the first and second generation of games)? With reliable hard drives from manufacturers such as Western Digital on the market for as low as $50 these days, why was one not included with the 360 out of the box for under $300?
Thanks for your time, I appreciate it.
The Abominable Snowman
Member
It's all about the price margins. Most analysts think the HD part cost MS $25 per unit, but they're selling it to retailers fo about $80 and set the MSRP at $100.Diablos said:
Diablos said:
Uh, where have you been? "It won't be able to be used for enhancing data access, faster texture streaming, etc" is outright BS and you know it. Developers just need to make sure their games work without the HDD. I don't know what Xbox 1 you were playing, but the one I played had only a handful of games that did anything remotely interesting with the HDD. Developers have always aimed for the lowest common denominator, and last gen that was the PS2, which had no HDD. Nothing is really changing now, as developers are still going to aim for the lowest common denominator (the core package). And the same handfull of developers that actually supported the HDD will still do the same this generation. Nothing is really changing.
I'm definitely not asking a rhetorical question. The 360 has great hardware that is capabile of handling large amounts of data; it easily outperforms any PC out there right now. But unlike a PC, it does not have a hard drive to decompress and store game data providing better performance and detail in most cases. PS3 will have Blu-Ray, which will allow 25-50 gigabytes of data per disc, so it's not as much as a problem (though again, a hard drive would still help for the sake of data access speed alone).
Yasaku: Considering the 360's hardware potential, it may very well benefit from storing decompressed data on the hard drive instead of directly from the disc. Also, I asked Arne, not you, as he would have more insight into the matter. Don't take so much offense to a perfectly legitimate question; it was never intended to be offensive in the first place. Thanks.
Yasaku: Considering the 360's hardware potential, it may very well benefit from storing decompressed data on the hard drive instead of directly from the disc. Also, I asked Arne, not you, as he would have more insight into the matter. Don't take so much offense to a perfectly legitimate question; it was never intended to be offensive in the first place. Thanks.
Is it possible in the future that the HD will become standard issue and later gen 360 games will be able to require the HD to get games running? Because really, Hard drive makes everything better.
Also did anyone at MS note the irony in going on and on about the 'HD' era while crippling the 360 on this uissue? Especially in comparision with the original xbox.
Also did anyone at MS note the irony in going on and on about the 'HD' era while crippling the 360 on this uissue? Especially in comparision with the original xbox.
The Abominable Snowman
Member
Yusaku said:
I think most of the worry stems from game features that would be hard to implement or pretty much have to be greatly scaled down to be implemented just so that feature could run in an HD-less X360.
And those games that did, on average, sold quite well. The games that used the HD, on average, were recieved by the media and the public very well, partly because those games had feats that were rare in other games, partially due to the use of HD by masterful designers.
Not for console-specific games. And even then, many, if not most, engines featured small enhancements for a particular platform, or the developers implemented specific features of Hardware. For example, Soul Calibur 2 XB had 720p (And 1080i IIRC), a host of texture touchups, FSAA, and a huge decease in loading time thanks to audio and texture/model data being stoed on the HD (Even faster than the GC version). The scare is the 360 becoming the lowest common denominator next gen, and even then there was not as big of a feature gap in the PS2 and Xbox versus the X360 and PS3.
CarlosX360
Banned
Will Panzer Dragoon Orta, Ninja Gaiden, and Ninja Gaiden Black be playable on Xbox 360 at launch?
Exactly. DVD-9 access and transfer speed is not nearly as fast as a 7200RPM hard drive. Last gen it may have not as mattered so much, as those games are more ideal for a DVD drive's transfer speed to stream data directly from the drive to the rest of the hardware. But even then, in some cases, the hard drive was still used to enhance the game's look and performance. We all know what is expected of the next-gen, and we all know games typically will be moving much more data around, so it is indeed a bit worrysome what DVD-9 directly to hardware will yield performance and graphics-wise in the future.
With the Xbox 360's video streaming functionality, why is it only limited to Windows Media Center? Will we ever see support for standard Windows, or (gasp) OS X or GNU/Linux? It seems at odds with the 360 being open in the sense it is able to access iPods and other USB devices and the comments Allard has made about being "pro-consumer". Or does compatibility only happen when Microsoft can't enforce a monopoly?
WrathOfOtaibah
Banned
element said:
I'm not going to use Live
puebla
Member
1st of all, thanks for taking questions arne.
what i wanted to know is, what is Microsoft doing to get more Japanese developers on board the 360??
i find Japanese developed games (think Shadow of the Colossus) to be more fun & creative compared to Western developed games.
i'm also glad to see that the 360 will have some Japanese rpgs (Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, & hopefully something from Square Enix besides FFXI), but what are the chances of some of these games coming to the States, particularly a game like Enchant Arm, which i read is supposed to come out in Japan soon after the 360 launches there, but hasn't gotten to much press over here.
thanks for ur time
peace.
what i wanted to know is, what is Microsoft doing to get more Japanese developers on board the 360??
i find Japanese developed games (think Shadow of the Colossus) to be more fun & creative compared to Western developed games.
i'm also glad to see that the 360 will have some Japanese rpgs (Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, & hopefully something from Square Enix besides FFXI), but what are the chances of some of these games coming to the States, particularly a game like Enchant Arm, which i read is supposed to come out in Japan soon after the 360 launches there, but hasn't gotten to much press over here.
thanks for ur time
peace.
Demigod Mac
Member
I'm getting a premium pack with the wireless controller, and a Play & Charge kit. Is the cable on the Play & Charge kit USB, and if so, could I also use it to play computer games?
Hello Arne!
Thanks for taking the time to do this!
I don't know if you can answer these questions because they are specific and ask about things MS may want to keep confidential, but I'll ask anyways. I'll bold the topics, so that you know right away if you should bother reading the question...
MGS and brand licenses...
With the news of a Shadowrun game being made...is MGS looking at grabbing some licenses for games? How about some Japanese licenses for some enticing software for that market? Have they considered doing so for movies and such? Obviously it works well in almost all cases. Initial D helped SEGA, Matrix helped Atari/Shiny (and we all know about how well it played, compared to how well it sold) and the Harry Potter and LotR games did well for EA. To me, it seems so painstakingly obvious to do so.
Xbox Live Arcade and small developers/hobbyists...
Is there a plan to get small developers and/or hobbyists to some day create content for Live Arcade?
Xbox Live Arcade and 3rd parties...
Is MS actively in talks with developers about releasing their older games onto Arcade? SEGA, Namco, Data East, Capcom, SNK, etc. who were large players in arcades are obvious choices.
Xbox 360 and Internet Explorer/MSN Messenger...
I used to work with the GeekSquad from Best Buy, and MS trained us on all the Xbox Media Center abilities and such, and when attempting to sell it to customers most were interested in using the Xbox as a cheap internet box that they could use MSN Messenger with and surf the Web. Obviously, the Xbox (and the 360) have all the technical requirements, but MS seems hesitant to do so. Why is this? Now that the 360 supports HD, surfing the net in 1080i is far better than 640 by 480, and the fact that the 360 supports a keyboard...it almost seems like there's no good reason why it doesn't.
Xbox 360 and TiVo like capabilities via ATi's USB TV device...
ATi (MS partner for the 360) has a USB TV capture device that retails for $99. Again, the 360 is technically able to support this but without the proper software it will not work. Will MS ever consider offering consumers the optional ability to turn their 360 into a TiVo-like device? HP Media Center PCs (again, lots of experience with these with the GeekSquad) do this...and with this added hardware, the 360 is just as good as HP's offerings.
If the abilities to surf the net, chat on MSN Messenger, and record/watch TV were added "blades" to the 360 interface, it would truly become an all in one box. It seems though, that MS is quite hesitant to do so. I think that if these feature were implemented (the first 2 features costs next to nothing for MS to implement) the 360 would open itself to the entire market, rather than gamers and users technically proficient enough to set up their Media Center with their 360. If MS wants to push hardware like no tomorrow and eclipse the PS3...offering consumers more (at little added cost to MS) is the way to go.
Heh, it sounds like I'm trying to convince you...and I guess I am.
It's just that with my unique retail experience (where I was more like a solution maker and "friend" of the customer in every step of the way, INCLUDING installation and demonstration) I can see that MS is making a big mistake by not using the full potential of their console hardware and PC software by refusing to combine them.
MS and controller peripherals...
A big mistake MS made with the Xbox was not offering a force feedback racing wheel. This then lead to many great racing games that were great with the controller, but could not compete with PS2 games with the wheel. Does MS plan to release one? Do they plan to add other features such as a clutch and gearbox to "out-do" anything their competitors may make? Forza with such a controller would be the king of sim racers, no matter how much better looking or feature packed PS3 racers would be. Though I understand that it would be extremely expensive...but it would also promote the 360 to car enthusiasts and race car drivers.
Thanks for taking the time to do this!
I don't know if you can answer these questions because they are specific and ask about things MS may want to keep confidential, but I'll ask anyways. I'll bold the topics, so that you know right away if you should bother reading the question...
MGS and brand licenses...
With the news of a Shadowrun game being made...is MGS looking at grabbing some licenses for games? How about some Japanese licenses for some enticing software for that market? Have they considered doing so for movies and such? Obviously it works well in almost all cases. Initial D helped SEGA, Matrix helped Atari/Shiny (and we all know about how well it played, compared to how well it sold) and the Harry Potter and LotR games did well for EA. To me, it seems so painstakingly obvious to do so.
Xbox Live Arcade and small developers/hobbyists...
Is there a plan to get small developers and/or hobbyists to some day create content for Live Arcade?
Xbox Live Arcade and 3rd parties...
Is MS actively in talks with developers about releasing their older games onto Arcade? SEGA, Namco, Data East, Capcom, SNK, etc. who were large players in arcades are obvious choices.
Xbox 360 and Internet Explorer/MSN Messenger...
I used to work with the GeekSquad from Best Buy, and MS trained us on all the Xbox Media Center abilities and such, and when attempting to sell it to customers most were interested in using the Xbox as a cheap internet box that they could use MSN Messenger with and surf the Web. Obviously, the Xbox (and the 360) have all the technical requirements, but MS seems hesitant to do so. Why is this? Now that the 360 supports HD, surfing the net in 1080i is far better than 640 by 480, and the fact that the 360 supports a keyboard...it almost seems like there's no good reason why it doesn't.
Xbox 360 and TiVo like capabilities via ATi's USB TV device...
ATi (MS partner for the 360) has a USB TV capture device that retails for $99. Again, the 360 is technically able to support this but without the proper software it will not work. Will MS ever consider offering consumers the optional ability to turn their 360 into a TiVo-like device? HP Media Center PCs (again, lots of experience with these with the GeekSquad) do this...and with this added hardware, the 360 is just as good as HP's offerings.
If the abilities to surf the net, chat on MSN Messenger, and record/watch TV were added "blades" to the 360 interface, it would truly become an all in one box. It seems though, that MS is quite hesitant to do so. I think that if these feature were implemented (the first 2 features costs next to nothing for MS to implement) the 360 would open itself to the entire market, rather than gamers and users technically proficient enough to set up their Media Center with their 360. If MS wants to push hardware like no tomorrow and eclipse the PS3...offering consumers more (at little added cost to MS) is the way to go.
Heh, it sounds like I'm trying to convince you...and I guess I am.
It's just that with my unique retail experience (where I was more like a solution maker and "friend" of the customer in every step of the way, INCLUDING installation and demonstration) I can see that MS is making a big mistake by not using the full potential of their console hardware and PC software by refusing to combine them.MS and controller peripherals...
A big mistake MS made with the Xbox was not offering a force feedback racing wheel. This then lead to many great racing games that were great with the controller, but could not compete with PS2 games with the wheel. Does MS plan to release one? Do they plan to add other features such as a clutch and gearbox to "out-do" anything their competitors may make? Forza with such a controller would be the king of sim racers, no matter how much better looking or feature packed PS3 racers would be. Though I understand that it would be extremely expensive...but it would also promote the 360 to car enthusiasts and race car drivers.
CarlosX360
Banned
Let me expand on this.....Fight for Freeform said:
Is there going to be a official steering wheel from M$ or a licensed one from big names...
....say........
Logitech?
Being a moderator/writing for a website doesn't mean anything, I've learned. I realized that working for HUGE names such as GCA (now Advanced Media Network), and Xbox Evolved since the beginning, and currently working for them - means nothing to anyone who doesn't know you, nor does it mean you have authority in speeches.Speevy said:
I donno why I'm saying this, but I feel like I should share it.
I want to work for Xbox, but I live in california.
Diablos said:
Yeah, and we already know that 360 games can cache stuff on the HDD just like the Xbox. You're acting like it can't.
Fight for Freeform said:Xbox 360 and TiVo like capabilities via ATi's USB TV device...
ATi (MS partner for the 360) has a USB TV capture device that retails for $99. Again, the 360 is technically able to support this but without the proper software it will not work. Will MS ever consider offering consumers the optional ability to turn their 360 into a TiVo-like device? HP Media Center PCs (again, lots of experience with these with the GeekSquad) do this...and with this added hardware, the 360 is just as good as HP's offerings.
MS doesn't want the 360 to be a TiVo. They want you to buy a MCE PC and use the 360 as an extender.
Community Forum
Member
So, zero questions answered so far...
EDIT: I guess the thread title does say "taking" questions...
EDIT: I guess the thread title does say "taking" questions...
element
Member
like I said, this guy can really only answer questions that fall into public domain, or perhaps 'clear' something up that is public but not that well understood. Things like 'When is Shadowrun coming out?' or 'How many games will B/C support on launch?' he just can't answer.segatavis said:
One thing I am excited about the 360 is the Japanese games that are coming for it but nothing has been announced for US release beside DOA4 and Ridge Racer 6. Games like Dead Rising, N3, Frame City have high chance of coming to the US, but what about games like [eM] or every party, games that seems like it has slight chance of ever coming to US, are they coming?
I am prob one of the few that prefer Japanese games over Western games. I am not a big fan of FPS or racing or sports games, I am looking forward to the japanese line up for 360 but I wonder if they are coming here....I hope you can answer the question for me, and if you dont know, beg MS exec for me to release them stateside...THANKS!!!
I am prob one of the few that prefer Japanese games over Western games. I am not a big fan of FPS or racing or sports games, I am looking forward to the japanese line up for 360 but I wonder if they are coming here....I hope you can answer the question for me, and if you dont know, beg MS exec for me to release them stateside...THANKS!!!
Mr. Lemming
Member
BioFan said:One thing I am excited about the 360 is the Japanese games that are coming for it but nothing has been announced for US release beside DOA4 and Ridge Racer 6. Games like Dead Rising, N3, Frame City have high chance of coming to the US, but what about games like [eM] or every party, games that seems like it has slight chance of ever coming to US, are they coming?
I am prob one of the few that prefer Japanese games over Western games. I am not a big fan of FPS or racing or sports games, I am looking forward to the japanese line up for 360 but I wonder if they are coming here....I hope you can answer the question for me, and if you dont know, beg MS exec for me to release them stateside...THANKS!!!
Rumble Roses has been announced for a US release as well!
http://www.konami.com/gs/newsarticle.php?id=366
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