Support NeoGAF

[Kthulhu]

Damn, those were good times on GAF. Might as well have lit the message board on fire

Anyone got a link to those threads?

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

Actually he doesn't have to take any risks.He should just follow what Sony has been doing and prey on people's nostalgia. Bring back some old beloved franchises and watch the internet explode. Perfect Dark, Banjo, Conker. PGR, Jet Grind Radio, etc.. They don't even have to show gameplay just make the announcement along with a CG trailer and you win E3

I'm super hyped they are bringing back Horizon from my childhood. Time to relive those memories!

 

[BeforeU]

Very little reason to keep my XBOS now. As soon as I get my Oppo 4K player this thing is going out the window.

Would you be willing to send it to me for free? I will pay for the shipping. Instead of throwing it out of the window, just throw it in a box and send it. Thanks bro in advance.

 

[CCIE]

Did Kamiya say anything about what happened?

If not, that's a bit odd for someone who is outspoken. Especially if he's been slighted in any way.

RedRum, it's called NDA. MS specializes in them

 

[Papacheeks]

It doesn't seem to matter much if they have a ton of exclusive software. I don't even think that's honestly the reason the Xbox sold worse, I think it was the whole hardware debacle, and yes probably the launch titles. Outside of that, it hasn't played nearly as large a factor as you would think. It's about features and hardware now and Microsoft is moving more towards PC/Xbox as one platform anyway. They need to sort their shit out with UWP, but beyond that, if they can integrate that Xbox experience/simplicity into the PC with some kind of Xbox mode. Maybe even the future Xbox's are like the Alienware Alpha's and double as PC's they have effectively captured the largest core gaming audience in existence.

Their focus is just on other things right now, and I think potentially, if they get their shit together it could really pay off for them.

The hardware debacle was a end result of MS and other figure heads turning the division into what they wanted it to be and not leaving it as a gaming division. Which is my whole point. Over the course of it's life span the xbox brand has had more and more outside people make changes that were getting approved by higher ups because they saw dollar signs in those changes rather than concentrating on gaming.

 

[The Last Wizard]

Gen is almost over dude, you gonna have to stop blowing hot air. I'm gonna need exclusives out definitively before I buy another Xbox console.

 

[_Ryo_]

I'm really glad Microsoft said no to backing Shenmue III or Shenmue remake in anyway. Probably would have created an amazing CGI trailer, done without YSnet or Yu Suzuki's knowledge, and then promptly canceled.

 

[Fat4all]

Would you be willing to send it to me for free? I will pay for the shipping. Instead of throwing it out of the window, just throw it in a box and send it. Thanks bro in advance.

Just ask for his address and wait outside his window with a fireman's trampoline.

 

[Clear]

Fable?
Too Human?
Brute Force?

Try something released in the last decade!

Oh, and MS only picked up the rights to Too Human in 2005, 3 years prior to its release.


Fable's a funny one to bring up though, because that franchise is the one most symptomatic of MS sacrificing a series creative identity in order to further prosecute corporate strategy. I mean The Journey was sacrificed to the altar of Kinect, and Legends got hammered into the whole "game as a service" template until it broke.

My point about Sony and TLG is that despite 7 years and a platform shift in development they had sufficient confidence to release it as originally conceived, no modifications or bolt-ons to accommodate contemporary expectations in 2016.

That's creative commitment, the fucking opposite of what Spencer's Xbox is showing right now.

The sad part is that OG Xbox had a lot of creative juice, it just seems to me that it all started to get horribly corporate and complacent at some point during the 360's life-span, and its just gotten worse and worse since then.

 

[Wedzi]

I wish Phil would just let twitter go. I understand he has his legions of fans, but every thing he says will be dissected to the nth degree. It would probably be good for both him and the community.

In the age of constant connections, people wanna here something even if it's drivel. I applaud him for facing the music and not going silent but I see where you're coming from.

Man it would be something if this man could have his Vince McMahon walk out to E3 knowing he's about to blow the roof off the place. Not gonna happen but I want my Xbox friends to have their E3 of dreams too

 

[Duxxy3]

The sad thing is MS is sitting on a treasure trove of IP's that aren't even that risky. All of Rare's IP's come to mind.

I gave a little more thought to my previous post.

How great would it be to see a new RC Pro AM? A new Battletoads? A new Blast Corps?

Those aren't exactly big games. They could be handled my smaller studios. There have been a good amount of overhead racing games this generation. A good amount of beat em ups in the the past couple generations. There's been nothing like blast corps since blast corps.

They're not going to sell much, but they diversify the exclusives.

 

[Bits N Pieces]

The knives are out for Phil, lol.

 

[AnthonypUK]

If I recall correctly, that infamous Xbox leader nktrnl (I think that was it?) leaked Scalebound as 'Project Nagano' in very early 2014 when they were in full damage control mode, so I assumed the game had actually been greenlit some months beforehand.

Yeah Phil was head of Xbox March 2014, do you just think he didn't know until March and then suddenly he was head of Xbox? this was probably coming since Don's leaving in 2013. It was probably him and ballmer who signed those games in late 2013.

 

[Cess007]

Phil just says what he thinks people want to hear. I miss Don Mattrick saying terrible but true things like "We have a product for people who can't get online, it's called Xbox 360" That guy kept it real.

I mean, Phil Spencer said the same too:

"The 360 ecosystem is a great ecosystem for somebody that's in a purely disconnected state for long periods of time. We have built a natively connected device with Xbox One and we think the experiences are moving in that direction."

http://kotaku.com/indeed-i-had-a-360-last-gen-and-really-like-the-system-512797076

He just said it a little bit prettier

 

[Aztechnology]

But "in the eyes of the public" is wrong. The market has a pretty easy way to show if they have confidence in a product...they buy it or they don't. If it had bad word of mouth, the market shows it. We had the data to prove that in the eyes of the public the PS3 was fine from the start. It didn't have to turn anything around.

Where's the Xbox One lol?

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

Very little reason to keep my XBOS now. As soon as I get my Oppo 4K player this thing is going out the window.

Please let me know your address when you do so I can be outside to catch it and add a second Xbox One to my household.

 

[Momentary]

Depends on what was risky about it. Sounds like there's only rumor and speculation, and if there was something truly shitty about MS then we would have heard that direct from PG by now.

Not if some sort of crazy NDA was signed.

 

[CCIE]

God, I loved RC Pro Am

 

[Crayon]

Would you be willing to send it to me for free? I will pay for the shipping. Instead of throwing it out of the window, just throw it in a box and send it. Thanks bro in advance.

Just wait outside the window.

Edit: beaten by fat4all and their avatar is still cuter than mine, too. Damn you, fat4all.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Pretty much. Microsoft lost me. I was so hyped for Scorpio but they've lost me. Maybe next-next-gen when something is worth buying...

 

[Electret]

Daniel Ahmad ‏@ZhugeEX
My take on all this, and I've been seeing this for a while, is that Microsoft is transitioning all their games to the 'live service' model.

Daniel Ahmad ‏@ZhugeEX
Basically Microsoft want to have their games emulate what Minecraft has been able to do.
Long lifecycle, large user base, Increased spend.

Daniel Ahmad ‏@ZhugeEX
Microsoft's future direction is about being able to offer the Xbox games and live services on multiple devices that run Windows 10.

Yeah, that matches my own observations.

Exactly what I and some devs I spoken to feel.

They're notably canceling or discontinuing everything that isn't a service game.

I think they don't want the type of game they signed a bunch of developers up for at the start of the generation.

The things that keep going on are stuff like State of Decay or Gears of War, where they're long lasting multiplayer heavy titles with microtransaction potential.

Depends on what you think a 'ton' is, and whether you truly consider games like Forza 7 & Halo 6 to be unannounced. Outside of those two.... yeah, don't hold your breath in terms of volume.

Forgive me if I don't believe you, Phil. Insider information and a service-based mandate coming from the top of MS paints a very different picture in which internally developed games are geared toward GaaS, with a smattering of third party deals to round out the lineup. Non-GaaS games, let alone those that are also new or risky IPs don't seem compatible with this directive. Not to mention the downward trend with the closing of multiple first party studios. Phil deserves some blame but I just don't think he has all that much power or budget.

If you want us to believe, show us the goods.

 

[onemanasylum]

The knives are out for Phil, lol.

Someone has to be the sacrificial Lamb, Mattrick had his turn is this Phil's?

 

[Papacheeks]

We'll find out this year like we always do? I mean, this is the same stuff people here were saying back in 2014 before ntkrnl dropped bombs, this is the same cycle that takes place every year about this time, i understand Xbox fans (i say that deliberately, fans) lost a game but lots are using it to push toxic dishonest view of the system (just look at the Sea of Thieves threads when some posters were accusing MS of damage controlling by releasing a video). There will be games, there will be announcements, there always is.

We just haven't lost one game dude we've lost a bunch in past couple years where it's almost becoming a trend. Especially with not getting sequels to games that deserve them and could help grow xbox's library and franchises.

That's why people are kind of upset.

 

[Jumeira]

I agree with everything you said except the bolded. Anyone expecting the Scorpio to change the fact that Sony is doing doughnuts around everyone else is going to be disappointed. It'll be a more powerful PS4 Pro at best.

It's a niche system. Actual graphics snobs are all on PC and will never be swayed. Consoles have one thing PCs never had, convenience. That's changing. As PC digital stores have gotten more competitive and hardware is more standardized, it's been easier to get into PC gaming now more than ever. Yet MS and Sony are hell bent on trying to grab an audience they'll never have, resulting in the failure to retain their own, because they keep trying to make something they can't at the cost of giving up the one benefit they've had.

Yeah that sounds possible but theres a portion of Xbox fans that were confident with the brand because it represented power, this was lost with X1 and imo made people lose faith with their product, i see Scorpio trying to recoup that and then build upon it. I did not expect Pro to sell so 'moderately', so you make a good point.

We just haven't lost one game dude we've lost a bunch in past couple years where it's almost becoming a trend. Especially with not getting sequels to games that deserve them and could help grow xbox's library and franchises.

That's why people are kind of upset.

Indeed and i get that, im particularly upset with the loss of a Kamiya AAA game - but a new console is on the horizon I dont think MS would push to make the most powerful console without planning a bunch of games that take advantage of it, that defies reason. If they've made this unrecoverable blunder, then Phil will go, thats just a catastrophic error in judgement which is unacceptable at that level, i mean your employed to have that type of foresight.

 

[RedRum]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1332666

Thanks. Sounded absolutely reasonable.

 

[The Salt Life]

Sea of Thieves is a risk no? Isn't that F2P?

It can either generate money or just be hot for a month.

Cup head seemed like a risk at first (only boss battles) but whomever is making that seemed to finally realize people want more than that.

I still think Crackdown is most anticipated, but I think that's more of a March 2018 Scorprio game.

I trust Microsoft, I know that's not a popular opinion but, I'm invested in the dream.

 

[Apathy]

Where's the Xbox One lol?

it's from here, http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=227828094&postcount=1167 if you got a problem with it bring it up there

 

[Salty Rice]

What if Don Mattrick was the real savior all the time and we just didnt saw it?

Maybe he wanted to save us from Phils evil Halo/Forza world and instead we helped the evil to get to power?

 

[Pathfinder]

The Xbox team since Phill Spence took the lead gave us backward compatibility, a game previews access program and support for unrestricted mods.

How are those not risks?

They are steering in the right direction. Obviously, mistakes will be made, but overall things are positive. Why do people want to act like there is nothing positive?

People want new and inventive games. And this far into the generation, we should have them.

 

[WordsintheWater]

Hasn't he been saying that for years?

Yeah, it's getting a bit old hearing that and seeing really not that much push towards it

 

[Patryn]

The problem with all this is that modern game development of AAA titles takes like 3-5 years, so if they're course correcting now we won't start to see the fruits of that effort until 2020.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

Someone has to be the sacrificial Lamb, Mattrick had his turn is this Phil's?

At this point being the head of Xbox is turning out to be like being the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Actually he doesn't have to take any risks.He should just follow what Sony has been doing and prey on people's nostalgia. Bring back some old beloved franchises and watch the internet explode. Perfect Dark, Banjo, Conker. PGR, Jet Grind Radio, etc.. They don't even have to show gameplay just make the announcement along with a CG trailer and you win E3

You mean exactly like they did with the Scalebound, Phantom Dust and Crackdown announcements?!

 

[Milijango]

Where's the Xbox One lol?

Microsoft stopped publishing X1 sales years ago.

 

[Fat4all]

The problem with all this is that modern game development of AAA titles takes like 3-5 years, so if they're course correcting now we won't start to see the fruits of that effort until 2020.

I'm sure they've been getting some ducks in a row for the Scorpio launch.

We'll see how that pans out for now.

 

[What A Time To Be Alive]

IF YOU WANNA TAKE RISKS BRING BACK BLINX AND JET SET RADIO

STOP PLAYIN PHIL

 

[icespide]

man I still can't believe Scalebound got freaking canceled

 

[Jmille99]

Actually he doesn't have to take any risks.He should just follow what Sony has been doing and prey on people's nostalgia. Bring back some old beloved franchises and watch the internet explode. Perfect Dark, Banjo, Conker. PGR, Jet Grind Radio, etc.. They don't even have to show gameplay just make the announcement along with a CG trailer and you win E3

You mean like Killer Instinct, Rare Replay, Voodoo Vince, and Phantom Dust while continuing to release Halo games?

 

[R3TRODYCE]

What if Don Mattrick was the real savior all the time and we just didnt saw it?

Maybe he wanted to save us from Phils evil Halo/Forza world and instead we helped the evil to get to power?

Certainly feels that way.

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

Sea of Thieves is a risk no? Isn't that F2P?

It can either generate money or just be hot for a month.

Cup head seemed like a risk at first (only boss battles) but whomever is making that seemed to finally realize people want more than that.

I still think Crackdown is most anticipated, but I think that's more of a March 2018 Scorprio game.

I trust Microsoft, I know that's not a popular opinion but, I'm invested in the dream.

SoT is definitely a risk for them. We've seen lots of F2P MMOs flounder and a game like SoT will probably need constant attention maintaining the servers like an MMO and adding new content and quests like an MMO.

 

[Acquiescence]

What if Don Mattrick was the real savior all the time and we just didnt saw it?

Maybe he wanted to save us from Phils evil Halo/Forza world and instead we helped the evil to get to power?

A twist worthy of M Night Shamalamadingdong himself.

 

[oti]

IF YOU WANNA TAKE RISKS BRING BACK BLINX

STOP PLAYIN PHIL

We as a species are not prepared for so much risk at once.

 

[CCIE]

Sea of Thieves is the "risk" he is talking about. Much riskier for Rare, though. They are probably canned if it doesn't live up to that ever-moving target.

 

[longdi]

Echoes my thoughts as well.

I really like Spencer but sometimes I feel like he'll say something everyone wants to hear and then Microsoft just does the opposite.

That's my impression of him. Very much a 'coporate' gamer mouthpiece despite all his friendly tweeting and appearing in gamer T-shirts..

Call it sceptical old age, but i can sense a faker when i sense it.

 

[Neff]

come on phil

Scalebound was the one big budget non-vanilla flavour of ice cream Xbox One had. It was the primary reason I bought one. I'll stress that I don't regret buying one, since I got Rare Replay and Killer Instinct out of it, in addition to a great BC lineup with improved performance to boot. But now that Scalebound is gone, and because I can enjoy superior third party on PS4, there really isn't much else to look forward to on the machine except for future BC titles. To me it's a console -and without the kind of big budget risks like Scalebound, a brand- without a future.

 

[WaterAstro]

Sea of Thieves is a risk no? Isn't that F2P?

It can either generate money or just be hot for a month.

Cup head seemed like a risk at first (only boss battles) but whomever is making that seemed to finally realize people want more than that.

I still think Crackdown is most anticipated, but I think that's more of a March 2018 Scorprio game.

I trust Microsoft, I know that's not a popular opinion but, I'm invested in the dream.

I don't think it's f2p unless they changed it. I googled and see it's not f2p.

 

[Kremzeek]

i don't know why MS can't greenlight something that is a known property that is still appealing, that is outside their stable of Gears/Halo/Forza, like a fresh take on

VIVA PINATA 3

??

they could totally microtransaction the heck out of that too. doesn't seem that "risky".

 

[Jumeira]

Sea of Thieves is the "risk" he is talking about. Much riskier for Rare, though. They are probably canned if it doesn't live up to that ever-moving target.

I think they knew that when they made the decision. Phil unshackled them from Kinect and said, guys what do you want to do? Rare said they wanted to do their dream game.

What if Don Mattrick was the real savior all the time and we just didnt saw it?

Maybe he wanted to save us from Phils evil Halo/Forza world and instead we helped the evil to get to power?

With Kinect and NFL deals? Power of the cloud? Bungled launch in EU due to TV/Cable negotiations? No thanks, the guy was cancer and his rot (under powered X1) has done enough damage.

 

[Crayon]

Sea of Thieves is the "risk" he is talking about. Much riskier for Rare, though. They are probably canned if it doesn't live up to that ever-moving target.

If Rare gets shuttered, that thread will be something. Like, Jesus came back and he's a GAF thread now.

 

[borges]

♥ Phil.
You made so much good for Xbox. I wont crucify you for one or two missteps. House Xbox remembers, the north remembers what it was before you