130°

Yahoo: “Microsoft Can No Longer Afford To Keep Investing In The Xbox”

The Xbox was never going to make up the slack, and Microsoft can no longer afford to keep investing in it.

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highdetails.com
Hands Up For Games4193d ago

What a strange 'article'.

The fact that MS are rebranding so much of there platforms, technology and hardware to fall in line with the Xbox brand would tend to make me think differently to the author in question.

At least he gave us lots of quotes and references to back up his 'claim'.

NukaCola4193d ago

What investment does MS even make anymore. They put a bunch of money into Kinect, then just kind of stopped trying. There hasn't been a new IP in years. Xbox really just lives on LIVE profit and marketing. Definitely not their line up of exclusives and originality.

Godmars2904193d ago

Currently I think the push is as a media system and replacement for a cable box, but its largely been one-thing-only with them when it comes to promoting the system and brand.

Media system get a half billion in ads, games and Kinect integration get pocket change in terms of support. Kinect gets the push, media potential and games go largely ignored unless those games have something to do with Kinect. When games were the focus then it was just one or two well recognized titles which maybe didn't a massive campaign for a sales push. Like Halo, COD or gears. All the "exclusive" DLC that turned out not to be.

MS kind of has ADD and it tends to be with ideas other people have that they try to make their own.

Intentions4193d ago

Amazing how these articles are even allowed to be published.

turgore4193d ago

Yahoo is a competitor of Microsoft.

I still think Sony and Microsoft should unite to create the x-station. I recommend this because
-Both companies are troubled at the moment
-Over 90% of ps3 and 360 games are multiplatform.
-Having only one next gen console would ensure greater game quality, eg. no longer have to cater to the weaker one
-their library and franchises would be massive. Best games no doubt.
-the consumer is more likely to buy it than buy the ps4 and nextbox both, so they can make it more expensive and more powerful
-their competition is gonna grow to include the Wii U, Ouya, cloud gaming, apple, etc.

Belking4193d ago (Edited 4193d ago )

That article is laughable. MS can pretty much afford to do anything it wants. I don't know where you are getting that both MS and sony are troubled because that is totally false. Maybe sony is a bit troubled but MS is definitely not. As long as any version of windows is still used in PCs they will be fine. people are crazy to think that they will just give up on xbox when they are making crazy profits from it.

Godmars2904193d ago

Thought MS owned Yahoo? That there was either strong talk of merger, or that they combined their online assets to combat Google's domination.

Also not like Sony, the gaming industry in general, isn't going through some problems as well.

rickybadman4193d ago (Edited 4193d ago )

MS is no where as troubled as Sony, no where near. Windows 8 turned out to be another Vista instead of a another Windows 7. And just like when Vista bombed there are these doom and gloom articles about MS. Added to the the bomba with is the Surface RT (aka Zune 2.0)

The OS business is still extremely profitable, Office is still extremely profitable. They have billions in savings.

Xbox/XBL is extremely profitable and next year the "Xbox 720" will be a huge deal.

dubt724193d ago

What the hell was that "article," lol?

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150°

10 Biggest Xbox Mistakes of All Time (So Far)

The Xbox brand has done a lot of good over the years, but their various blunders are pretty wild to look back on in their magnitude.

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culturedvultures.com
piroh4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Ironically number 9 can save them at this point (releasing games on multiple platforms)

ChasterMies2d ago

By “save them” you mean make more profit for Microsoft. Xbox will still be a dying hardware platform.

OtterX3d ago

You could add the naming scheme for the consoles, it just confuses customers. I know they wanted to avoid traditional numbering bc it would always be lower than their competitor, but this whole 360 then One then Series thing is confusing af. Imagine a Soccer Mom trying to figure this stuff out. I still mistakenly call the Series X the One from time to time on accident.

RNTody3d ago

Don't forget about the Xbox One, Xbox One X and Xbox Series X! Good luck to Soccer moms around the world.

S2Killinit2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

They did that on purpose to confuse and direct attention away from the generational numbering.

MS doesn’t like reminding people that they joined the industry after others had already been involved in gaming.

For instance, they called the xbox “360” to combat PlayStation “3” because they wanted to seem like “more” than “3”, so instead of xbox 2, they opted for xbox 360. Also this had the additional benefit of selling consoles to uninformed parents who might purchase a “360” instead of a “3” by mistake, or because they thought 360 was more than 3. Kind of a disingenuous move.

They have been continuing with their confusing naming patterns for pretty much the same reasons. Frankly, it fits with who and what they are as a brand.

FinalFantasyFanatic2d ago

I can understand their reasoning, but whoever came up with that naming scheme should be fired, bad naming schemes have killed consoles (I'm pretty sure it was the major reason for the downfall of the WiiU). They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo and Sega have had for their consoles, far less confusing for the consumer.

Cacabunga3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Phil Spencer is the worst that has happened to Xbox.
They built a respectable brand up to Xbox one. Then this guy took over and things became a joke

Reaper22_3d ago

He still has his job. Something you can't say about Jim Ryan.

Cacabunga3d ago

Both bad execs. One is on job and one thankfully retired.

FinalFantasyFanatic2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I didn't like either person, both people damaged their respective brands and produced worse outcomes, but Phil did save the Xbox brand from being retired by Microsoft. Although in hindsight, he should have just let it die, rather than languish in limbo like it is now.

Rainbowcookie1d 15h ago

Yeah but the one that was "bad" didn't even affect sales.

bunt-custardly2d ago

Phil Spencer was also on the team back when 360 was around, alongside Shane Kim, Peter Moore etc. I think the damage that did the most harm was the Don Mattrick "Always Online" console (ahead of its time basically). They handed Sony and Nintendo a free-pass when that was revealed. It went downhill from there. Then the corporate machine went into full swing to try and recover. They have to a degree as a games company for the masses, and less so for the core gamer. Outside USA, the Xbox brand does not sell as well as Japanese based consoles (citation needed).

Cacabunga2d ago

Want a decision maker. The always online and TV plans was a disaster yes, but they caught up by announcing 1st party games that gamers actually kept the hype going.. until this moron took over and introduced the PC day one release.. e all know where that ended..

S2Killinit2d ago

I dont think they were ever a respectable brand, not since the beginning, when their goal was never to be involved and share in the gaming space. I think the OG xbox was an exception because MS as a brand was still getting its foot in and so the people behind that were people of the gaming industry.

FinalFantasyFanatic2d ago

The 360 was the brand in its prime though, everything went downhill towards the end of that generation. Its staple games like Halo, Forza and Gears are what kept the console relevant and afloat for so long.

MaximusPrime_3d ago

Really good video.

I remember the days with RRoD was big news on here, N4G.

Microsoft had it turbulence number of years.

Looking at the success of Sea of Thieves despite being 6 years old, time to release Halo, Forza horizon 4 & 5 on PS5. It'll help their revenue

shinoff21833d ago (Edited 3d ago )

2 of the 4 games they did already sold really well. So it's definitely going down. Idk about halo or forza but I feel those studios they've bought in the last 5 years, their coming

ChasterMies3d ago

I found this video painful to watch. Can someone list them out?

Top 10 for me from are:
1. 2013 reveal presentation
2. Bundling Kinect 2 with Xbox One
3. RRoD or why rushing to market with hardware is always a bad idea.
4. Buying studios only to close them.
5. Ads on the Home Screen
6. Letting Halo die.
7. Letting Geard of War die.
8. Every console name
9. Charging for Xbox Live on Xbox 360 when Sony let PS3 players play online for free.
10. Cancelling release of OG Xbox games after the Xbox 360 launched.

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150°

Microsoft to Add Copilot AI to Video Games

Microsoft recently revealed its plans to incorporate Copilot directly into video games, with Minecraft being the first showcased example.

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xpgained.co.uk
Fishy Fingers7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

F*** AI

"Hey Copilot, what's a good meme to prove I dislike AI".... https://giphy.com/clips/sou...

Einhander19727d ago

Two trillion dollar company that just can't wait to put as many people possible out of work as fast as possible.

It feels like every single thing they do is making gaming worse and destroying the industry.

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darthv726d ago

....you know it takes people to program the AI.... right? It isnt like it is sentient. We haven't reach skynet level of situation or anywhere close to the matrix just yet.

That's next Thursday.

Einhander19726d ago (Edited 6d ago )

It takes a people to program the AI then that AI is used for who knows how many games eliminating countless jobs which only grows as AI is used for more and more game creation functions.

What you're saying is so ridiculously short sighted and truly larking any kind of understanding and foresight.

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CaptainFaisal7d ago

Why all the hate? Im actually excited about this! Always wanted this kind of immersion, and an AI companion with me all the time helping me out knowing the status of my skills/inventory/progress and giving me tips on the best approach or how to craft something specific is game changing for the industry.

Hate all you want about AI, but this is just the start and I can see the potential already. You wont be complaining in the next 5-10 years about this, but rather complain if a game hasn’t implemented it.

MrDead7d ago

Yes we can't wait for the work of others to be used without the need to pay them so that MS can profit even more from the people they fire.

I_am_Batman7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

There is no chance I'd ever use something like this, especially if it's not part of the core game design, but a layer on top of it. It's way too much handholding. Many games already feel like busy work, because they don't let the player figure things out on their own. Having a real-time interactive guide defeats the purpose of playing the game in the first place in my opinion.

If this were to become the standard like you predict, we'll see more and more video games get away with bad design, because people will just be used to ask for help from the AI companion anyway.

Number1TailzFan7d ago

Well Nintendo don't need this with some of their games these days, with invincible characters, items, easy bosses etc.. they do the hand holding built in

helicoptergirl7d ago

Takes "hand holding" in games to a whole new level.

BlackDoomAx6d ago

Because human nature xD Almost every new technology had these kind of comments.

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70°

Activision team is opening a new game studio in Poland 'Elsewhere Entertainment' to build new AAA IP

Microsoft's Activision subsidiary announced today that it is opening a new game development studio to take advantage of the huge talent pool growing in Poland. It'll be the second Activision studio based in the region, joining Infinity Ward Krakow, although this studio is, in fact, not working on Call of Duty.

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windowscentral.com
Psychonaut8511d ago

They’re not working on Call of Duty? Give it time.