320°

The Cornerplay: Xbox One's struggles are traceable to one bad decision

Microsoft made two important announcements recently. The first was about Office 365 becoming a game changer. Today, I'll(Jeffrey Yuwono from Techspot writes) touch on the $50 price drop for the Xbox One. From November 2nd to January 2nd, you can get any Xbox One SKU for $50 off, which makes the entry level version $350. That's cheaper than the Playstation 4 at $400....

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techspot.com
DJ3498d ago

Agreed, GDDR5 meant more room to fit GPU units onto the PS4 APU die. And on top of that, the PS4 gets to perform at twice the speed of Xbox One.

Xbox One's design seems to be the result of infighting amongst various departments.

NextGen24Gamer3498d ago

The biggest reason Sony is ahead in terms of console sales is due to the fact that the Ps4 launched worldwide, while the xbox one launched in just a few countries up until recently. Xbox was never going to out sell the ps4 (world wide)no matter what ram they put in the console.

In regards to the USA, Xbox will likely surpass the Ps4 by the end of the holidays. All data I've seen shows that the Ps4 only has a 1 million console advantage in the USA.

Out of the 80 million xbox 360s that were sold, I would say only 10 million are hardcore gamers. Most gamers care less about the difference in Ram. For most gamers it's about playing the games that they want to play. In the USA xbox 360 & xbox One account for 50 million consoles sold. Ps4 & ps3 account for 30 million. Right now the ps4 has sold 4 million in the US & Xbox One has sold 3 million. There are a heck of a lot of gamers who haven't jumped on board yet. And I would dare to say most of the Hardcore gamers have already made a choice & jumped in to one console or the other or if they are like me they got both.

The doom and gloom is a little premature. The price cut coupled with Halo & COD advanced Warfare should make things really interesting in the USA.

All in all interesting read, though I disagree with his points.

BiggerBoss3498d ago

Do you REALLY believe that?

LamerTamer3498d ago (Edited 3498d ago )

The old worldwide release dodge. Seriously retire that talking point.

I do think the price cut will help, and they do have better exclusives this season than PS4. There are so many multiplats coming that are great this year though that I wont have time for them all. Most of those (except maybe for AC:Parity) will look and/or run better on PS4. When I am playing a game that looks/plays good I don't sit there worrying if it is exclusive or not, but I do enjoy the better graphics plus a good game is a good game.

Vegamyster3498d ago

The Xbox was never that big outside of the US and parts of Europe, the big issue i saw was how Microsoft handled their PR. The DRM & unclear message was a huge issue, you had Adam Orth & Don Mattrick blatantly insulting the consumer "Deal with it" "Don't have internet? Get a 360" ect, it doesn't surprise me at all that the PS4 is doing so well because Sony had the clear message. Out of the 3 consoles last gen i enjoyed my 360 the most but what they did turned me away from their product immediately, that being said Phil Spencer has done a good job cleaning the image up and I'm considering one for the Halo Collection.

TFJWM3498d ago

So the biggest reason PS4 is ahead is that they launched in more countries but than why is the Xbox behind in the US(and every territory they are both in).

I find it very hard to believe that during the holiday season even with a huge price cut that Xbox1 will sell more than 1,000,000 PS4s...

All in all your post is an interesting read, though I disagree because it makes no sense.

IGiveHugs2NakedWomen3498d ago (Edited 3498d ago )

@nextgen24gamer

"The biggest reason Sony is ahead in terms of console sales is due to the fact that the Ps4 launched worldwide, while the xbox one launched in just a few countries up until recently."

That's not exactly true. The "more markets" argument is pretty much irrelevant because in every market where both the PS4 and Xbox One have been released, the Xbox One has been outsold in every one, including North America. The article is right, first impressions and perceptions are everything. Even with all the negative attention that PSN and DriveClub have received over the past few weeks, the PlayStation 4 will still outsell the Xbox1 in North America for 2 reasons: 1- PlayStation 4 is perceived to be and has been proven to be the better machine; and 2- Microsoft left a bad taste in the mouths of consumers at E3 2013 and they sure haven't helped their cause by making ridiculous comments like the one Phil Spencer made claiming that the Xbox1 parity clause was in place to benefit Xbox One gamers. (FICTION)

You don't build a reputation in the gaming community by being leeches, parasites, and con-men, you build trust by asking for feedback and compromising with your customers. Yes i'm biased towards Microsoft for a reason, they are very well known for using double-speak, word games, and nickel&dime schemes to milk customers to death and increase their profits. Sure they've put another guy in charge of the Xbox division, but Microsoft will always be "Microsoft."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

http://gearnuke.com/microso...

http://www.buzztubeonline.c...

http://www.pcworld.com/arti...

Just because a snake sheds it's skin doesn't mean that it will stop being a snake.

mikeslemonade3498d ago (Edited 3498d ago )

"Perception is reality"

That's certainly one of the key elements of why PS4 is winning. PS4 is perceived to be the stronger console by a bigger margin than it actually is. The way casual gamers talk about the PS4 they make it seem like it's about twice as fast as the X1 but in reality it's way less than that. But perception is reality and MS chose to ignore the eventual negative PR, and now they are hurting.

However I disagree with ram being the main element. The world is still PlayStation. PlayStation brand still carries more mind share. In fact the PS3 prooved that it can outsell the 360 even at $150 more. So the X1 launching at $100 more you're gonna have the fence sitters choose PlayStation.

PlayStation 1 and PS2 were the main systems when the kids were 10 years old. Now these guys are 24-30 years old. They are deciding who wins the console war because they got the money to buy these systems.

This is how I rank the factors that decide the console war:
1. Brand
2. Price
3. System Specs (ram, resolution etc.)
4. Peer pressure from friends
5. Multiplat superiority
6. Exclusives
7. Online Service

aceitman3498d ago

So now x1 has launched in every territory including China which ps4 is not why is ps4 selling 2-3 times more world wide.

donthate3498d ago (Edited 3498d ago )

Some of the reasons why the PS4 is selling better are due to:

* the biggest reason though is the false information rampant due to the DRM reaction. This propelled the PS4 to so much hype that MS will have to deal with for long long long time.

* selling in almost three times more regions (it helps!)

* the unfortunate memory decision MS had to make, because they targeted a multi-tasked system that required more RAM. It wasn't just sourcing the GDDR5 that would be difficult at that size, but also the unknown cost. This led to some hugely graphically different resolution on the games.

* Playstation brand in Europe and Asia is very strong due to two generations of market dominance. Even when PS3 competed against the Xbox 360, it was these regions that kept the PS3 propped up. In the US/UK, the gap between PS3 and Xbox 360 was wider in favor of Xbox.

As you can see, MS is rapidly trying to fix the three bottom problems. The first one, which is the most difficult one remains lingering.

But it is quite amazing how MS is closing the huge gap every month between the two in the US. The situation has drastically improved, and with the great games and bundles, I think MS might have a chance at breaking even with PS4 this holiday.

Also, I think that as both an Xbox One and PS4 owner, I think this is the golden age for Xbox gamers. MS has never been more aggressive and motivated to win and the result is we have had amazing experiences compared to the PS4 which is just marred in problems after problems and almost no games. Sony doesn't have to try, they just keep selling based on word-of-mouth and the hype.

------------------

As an aside on the memory issue:

DDR3 was pretty much known, but a cascade of decisions had to be done. It was a bet, and Sony won, but imagine what it would be like if Sony lost, and had a 4GB GDDR5 memory console? Remember how Sony lost this exact same bet with the PS3? XDR had a higher bandwidth, but due to dedicated memory and the limited size of the PS3, the Xbox 360 won out and we all saw the result.

So previous generation it worked in MS favor, and in this generation it worked in Sony's favor.

This highlights the philosophical difference between Sony and MS.

The sort of news though is that this difference is in the grand scheme marginal. We have hit the
diminishing point of return.

To the naked eye in a blind test, I doubt the majority will be able to tell difference between 900p and 1080p and that gap keep shrinking.

Trekster_Gamer3498d ago

Look at the disagrees here at news for sony gamers, imagine that. This site breeds fanboys, if they would keep the Xbox One articles seperate from the ps4 rhetoric there might be less infighting.

I bought my Xbox One day one with no regrets. I have a better selection of exclusive games and no real noticeable different in the look of multiplatform. If a few extra pixels bothered me as much as it does the psfanboys here then I would get a pc.

shadyiswin3498d ago

i can agree with you nextgen24gamer, the lead in the u.s.a is very small and xbox one will easily surpass ps4 sometime next year. I have 10 friends who switched to ps4 and 7 who are coming back because of psn. You should see my facebook feed,its me trolling them,them defending sony,then they are slowly giving up and that $50 price cut put them over the edge,knowing they can sell there ps4 and get an xbox one with a game for maybe $75 is a deal,one friend is selling his ps4 and vita,he is totally done.

Yes the ps3 caught up to the xbox 360......but not in america. The xbox 360 has something like a 30 million lead in america,it's really not even close. Granted the xbox one has been out for less than a year with a $500 price point and the bad press and is only behind by a million,by the time halo 5 is here everyone will be singing a different tune while they pray uncharted will be better than tomb raider (which it wont be). Overseas is a diff animal,xbox one will always be number 2,only winning in months of halo gears and forza,but thats fine,all you need to win is america anyways.

Retroman3498d ago (Edited 3498d ago )

"There-are-heck-of-a-lot- gamers-who-haven't-jumped- o n-board-yet"

why-should-we-that-not-hardco re-gamers???-maybe-Sony-haaaas - not-contract-out-more-games-to - Dev. yet-games-we-like.not-every-ga mer-on-the-FPS-open-world-kraz e .
if-every-freakin-new-ip-only- be-open-world-games-and-Zombie - games-im-cool-with-my-ps3-with -VARIETY!!no-game-alike.

if-playstation-four-will-only -offer-fps-and-open-world-type -games-Zombie-games-why-get-of f -the-fence??? ?-we-been-through-this-for-7-y ears-already-why-should-we-gam e rs-go-through-it-again??
played-COD,Battlefield-and-th e-rest--im-tried-same-shit-sam e -format.

spacebar-broke

The93Sting3497d ago (Edited 3497d ago )

@GT67

Holy crap

A real life robot ladies and gentlemen!

W-h-a-t-'-s u-p b-u-d-d-y ?

"why-get-off-the-fence?? ?"

Lmao

PeaSFor3497d ago

your argument is invalid since the XboxOne is outsold weeks after weeks by the PS4 everywhere, yep even where the XboxOne is released.... hell even in its own backyard.

its_JEFF3497d ago

its so interesting seeing someone try to explain something that he can only see. The mind is fascinating, in its numerous ways it twists and turns to keep its own sanity.

It's clear that the PS4 launching in all territories isn't the reason why it's seliing more, you just simply have to look at the numbers by region where both consoles launched at the same time... but the when ones mind cannot cope with that reality so it twists and turns grasping at something that can provide some relief ignoring hard facts.... insanity.

To the ones saying that the X1 will out sell the PS4 in the US by the end of the year.... it's possible, but it's gonna be hard. Just think about what that means. If the PS4 sells 200k in November and 400k in Dec that would mean that X1 would have to sell 1.6 Million consoles from now till the end of Dec.

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 3497d ago
Yetter3498d ago

until I see this 'twice the speed' show up in some kind of actually game I'm very skeptical of this.

USMC_POLICE3498d ago

installing games is a lot quicker as is loading between levels and what not in game, i have both systems for the record.

WickedLester3498d ago

Tomb Raider PS4 60fps. Tomb Raider X1 30fps.

3498d ago Replies(2)
diesoft3498d ago

This will probably be an unpopular opinion but in a way it's not the worst thing for gamers for xbox one specs to be underpowered. That means that Microsoft will have to try harder with the important reason we play games in the first place: FUN.

Just like genesis vs super nintendo, sega had to try hard with great exclusives to win gamers over. If XB1 and PS4 were exactly the same, who would really give a damn which console they got then. It does suck XB is struggling to keep up so early in its life but if you're like me then just have fun with good games.

If you like good games, give me an agree. If you think it's all about tech now, give a disagree.

lelo2play3498d ago (Edited 3498d ago )

I have to agree with this article. Microsoft should fire the people responsibly for designing the Xbox One hardware. They designed a console that costs as much as their main competitor to produce, and yet it's roughly 50% less powerful. For me that's incompetence and a reason to terminate their contracts.

From the start everybody knew the X1 was a badly designed console, and yet Microsoft decided to continue with it's launch. Like the article points out, Microsoft will loose this console generation essentially because multiplatform games will always look better on the PS4. Most gamers will always purchase the PS4 version of a multiplatform game.

Jack of Death3497d ago

You suck @ lelo2play. Just stop.

WilDRangeRfc3497d ago

I have both and I bought COD AW and Fifa 15 on X1 so your talking shit,as shown over time and especially recently Xbox is the better choice for online gaming,voice chat quality and stability is far superior on Xbox,just like you can't argue that PS4 is more powerful (no where near 50%) you can't deny that Live is decades ahead of PSN

TheWatercooler3498d ago

PS4 isn't more power because of the ram. It's more powerful because it's graphics card is more powerful. PS4 is a 1.84 teraflop machine XBone is 1.31 end of.

The ram is just icing on an already tasty cake

sonic9893497d ago

My guess is that this time around both consoles were released at the same time thats why sony is dominating the same thing happened with the ps3 worldwide ps3 surpassed the 360 even though it was cheaper even though it was released earlier even though it had more games in the first 2 years but playstation as a brand is way more powerful than xbox worldwide.
The American market seems to only focus on the price not the brand in the country where I live they mock the xbox for being shooter centered on shooters and ( I know its bad ) for being American.
Btw most people do like Japanese products they have high quality stuff with the exception of apple which seems like they created a country of their own I cant see Microsoft succeeding ESPECIALLY against sony.

Magicite3496d ago

the curse of Mattrick.
dark touch of Mattrick.
damned legacy of Mattrick.
choose whatever...

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3496d ago
Muzikguy3498d ago

He didn't say anything about a power brick in there. I can't believe I read all that. Seems to me that the DDR5 in Sony's console was always the smarter move. It has been one year already, and these articles are still being written. I guess we won't ever move on

Mega243498d ago

People feed from negative news, doesn't matter for which console/machine/corporation.

dcbronco3498d ago

That is the key right there. It is simply people following the views of a few really loud and persistent people. The fifty percent more power has yet to show. 1080 to 900 isn't proof of it. Also as the generation goes on I believe things will the cloud will play a role. Games will need better AI and physics and as they do Xbox will be in a better position to deliver that. That additional demand for GPU compute will show on multiplats. DX12 will also make Xbox more efficient than DX11 is now. I believe that efficiency will make the cloud a larger factor. Microsoft is pushing the cloud for business as well as consoles, you can bet the spring update will be huge for Xbox as the OS is moved to Windows 10. Windows 10 and Azure are made to work together and you can bet DX12 is being made with Azure in mind. And Xbox One was too.

badz1493498d ago

@dcbronco

"The fifty percent more power has yet to show. 1080 to 900 isn't proof of it"

wow! so much ignorance in just that 1 sentence!

"Also as the generation goes on I believe things will the cloud will play a role. Games will need better AI and physics and as they do Xbox will be in a better position to deliver that."

"That additional demand for GPU compute will show on multiplats."

"DX12 will also make Xbox more efficient than DX11 is now."

LOL. talk about being delusional! you blatantly disregarded proof that is already prevalent which is 1080p vs 900p in the PS4's favor, but then took all the PR words from MS that is yet to be proven as "proof" the Xbone is the better-built machine?!

sure, suit yourself MR.X!

larrysdirtydrawss3497d ago

dcbronco + 17h ago
That is the key right there. It is simply people following the views of a few really loud and persistent people. The fifty percent more power has yet to show. 1080 to 900 isn't proof of it. Also as the generation goes on I believe things will the cloud will play a role. Games will need better AI and physics and as they do Xbox will be in a better position to deliver that. That additional demand for GPU compute will show on multiplats. DX12 will also make Xbox more efficient than DX11 is now. I believe that efficiency will make the cloud a larger factor. Microsoft is pushing the cloud for business as well as consoles, you can bet the spring update will be huge for Xbox as the OS is moved to Windows 10. Windows 10 and Azure are made to work together and you can bet DX12 is being made with Azure in mind. And Xbox One was too.
#2.1.1

do you even know the % difference between 900p and 1080p? its quite a bit,then throw in the always better framerate on ps4 and better AA somutions, better shadows, better v-sync ect and you really start to see the %50 difference..... do you think that sony are sitting on their asses when it comes to tools? they make the best in the business and have been for years,,you think sony ice-team havent been making tools that are gonna make(and continue)ps4 even more efficient?

Yetter3498d ago

GDDR5. Great for graphics but a serious bottleneck for the CPU. We will see how this plays out over the next 5 - 10 years

LamerTamer3498d ago

Read the article. It mentions that due to the better speed of the GDDR5 in the PS4 it makes up for that bottleneck.

MasterCornholio3498d ago (Edited 3498d ago )

Let's hop on the garlic and onion bus and see how that solves latency issues with GDDR5.

:)

You do know what garlic and onion are right?

Jack of Death3497d ago

Maybe that's why it takes so long to get apps out and the OS is so shitty compared to xbox1. Wow just got the YouTube app on my PS4... but wait had to deal with my PS4 not coming out of standby mode... wtf. Sony fail!

babadivad3497d ago

@Muzikguy

I hate to be "that guy" but it's GDDR5[modified DDR3 for gpus].DDR5 doesn't exist yet. DDR4 just launched very recently. Probably won't see DDR5 for at least 3-4 years.

Mega243497d ago

Actually, DDR5 SDRAM already exists, slated to be commercially available between 2018-2019.

bmf73643498d ago

Article basically explains the architectuarchitectual flaw in the Xbox ones architecture of including the 32mb eSRAM.

It overall explains that if the eSRAM IS useds properly by developers that the system can be on par to the PS4, if not more powerful. However, it takes extra time to utilize this unique architect to the fullest extent so devs are simply leaving a lot of the X1's power unused.

Ive said it before that the Xbox One is on the same exact road as the Playstation 3 with its marketing and architect. Trying to breeze off of the success of its predecessor and using a complex system nobody understands with a multi-billion dollar investment wasted behind it. The PS3 had the CELL CPU which Sony IBM and a buttload of companies invested in. Microsoft spent billions of their own on Kinect but Sony never decided to remove the CELL CPU from the PS3 because developers complained or consumers never benefitted from it in the early run. However Microsoft unbundled the Kinect after saying over and over that it's part of the Xbox One.

Overall Microsoft has made it's decisions but if they simply stuck to them the Xbox One wouldve succeeded in the long run like the PS3.

MrSec843498d ago

ESRAM doesn't make the XBox One more powerful if developers use it correctly, it doesn't even close the gap between GDDR5 in PS4 and DDR3 in XBox One, you're talking about a tiny pool of memory, 256X smaller than GDDR5 in PS4 and one that is still 22GB/s slower in bandwidth.

In terms of RAW GPU hardware PS4 also has 2X the ROPs and overall 40% more GPU power, but it's also much more efficient because of the extra ACEs and the greater flexibility of GDDR5 because it can both read and write at once, while DDR3 cannot.

It's already been shown by Ubisoft that GPGPU actually pushes PS4 to 2X more performance than XBox, if both are pushed.

PS4 is a much more efficient design and a significantly more powerful one.

Yetter3498d ago

Whenever I see someone talk about the 'tiny pool' of ESRAM it is perfectly clear they don't have a clue what they are talking about.

And then you bring up GPGPU. Those benchmarks were specifically about GPGPU, the reason the PS4 is significantly better at it is because it depends on it, the CPU is gimped by high latency GDDR5 RAM. Thats right GDDR5 RAM has amazing bandwidth and awful latency which is why PCs use GDDR in their graphics cards and DDR for their CPUs.

Cerny specifically touched on how the PS4 is going to become more powerful as devs get better at GPGPU when the PS4 was announced because he was specifically asked about the CPU bottlenecks

Dudebro903498d ago (Edited 3498d ago )

@mrsec
Dont spew nonsense. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

LamerTamer3498d ago (Edited 3498d ago )

@Yetter

32mb IS pretty small. The article also talks about how the GPU in the xbone is much smaller and how the low amount of ROPs and compute units etc. will hurt it.

The CPUs in both are similar and pretty weak honestly. The CPU bottlenecks will plague both systems. What gives the PS4 the advantage is the extra GPU grunt.

The PS4 depends on GPGPU? I doubt many games are using it yet as most are ports, and even those tend to run at higher resolutions and have better lighting shadows etc than xbone.

MrSec843498d ago

@Yetter, 32MBs is tiny compared to 8192MBs, 32MBs is actually 256X smaller than 8192MBs of RAM in PS4 and that just happens to be where PS4's fast memory access is, not to some tiny pool of memory.
It's clear you have no clue what you're talking about if you're arguing against that point.

GDDR5 is actually about the same in terms of latency compared to DDR3, while also being more flexible because it can be both written to and read from simultaneously unlike DDR3.
GDDR5 doesn't limit PS4's CPU, that's a lie.
2133MHz DDR3 has very high latency compared to lower speed DDR3 and about the same level as GDDR5 in PS4.

GPGPU is a bonus, not some part of the design to offset CPU deficiencies, it means PS4 is 2X more capable of any tasks that GPGPU can handle, which includes Physics, AI, Lighting (proven by Q Games).
PS4 didn't just render nothing, it actually rendered higher character counts, because of GPGPU.

@Dudebro90 explain otherwise don't hate.
Educate yourself otherwise you look like a fool.

badz1493498d ago

MS should have gone 4GB DDR3 + 4GB GDDR5 combo from the beginning considering how they have always intended the xbone to work if they were really concerned about the overall cost.

maybe it's just me but this combo will serve both the CPU and GPU just nice for a closed system like the Xbone. DDR3 for the OS and GDDR5 with CPU+DDR3 assist for games. I think skipping GDDR5 for a x86 system that plays games in 2013 has always been the wrong choice from the start!

IGiveHugs2NakedWomen3498d ago

Yetter stop spouting nonsense...

It makes my heard hurt when I try to decipher your mumbo jumbo...

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3498d ago
johndoe112113498d ago

"It overall explains that if the eSRAM IS useds properly by developers that the system can be on par to the PS4, if not more powerful".

The level of crap in that statement is mind boggling. You just keep telling yourself that buddy.

lemoncake3498d ago

X1 seems to be basically built around tiled resources being introduced, that 32mb suddenly becomes very powerful in that environment maybe even more so than the gddr5 and at a much better price point.

MrSec843498d ago

Both systems have tiled resources, it's standard AMD technology and it's called Partially Resident Textures or PRT for short.

eSRAM isn't powerful at all because it's memory and not processing logic.
It should also be stated that 8192MBs of GDDR5 at 172GB/s of real world bandwidth trumps 256X smaller 32MBs of eSRAM at 150GB/s real world speed.

In the case of PS4 GDDR5 is not only faster, it also has substantially larger storage capacity, while being just as flexible because it's ability to read and write simultaneously (unlike DDR3 in Xbox One, which also happens to be over 3X slower, because it's clocked at 55GB/s real world speed), only lacking in latency compared to eSRAM (not DDR3).

RAM isn't powerful, it provides the ability to feed processing logic and temporarily store data need for the hardware to use and PS4 has more of that.

MRMagoo1233497d ago

@MrSec84

It is always refreshing when someone knows what they are talking about, maybe go tell DCbronco up top about all the wrong in his post too please :)

From one MR to another well said bubble.

Crazay3498d ago

Yep. Don Mattrick.

'Nuff said

turdburgler10803498d ago

Looks like this author is a little late to the party. Folks had these articles for a few months after its launch.

Spenok3498d ago

Only a little late. You know, like 12 months or so xD

Show all comments (91)
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.

Read Full Story >>
culturedvultures.com
piroh6d ago (Edited 6d ago )

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

ChasterMies4d ago

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

OtterX5d 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.

RNTody5d ago

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

S2Killinit4d ago (Edited 4d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic4d 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.

rob-GP22h ago

@FinalFantasyFanatic "They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo..."

lol, you mean:

NES, SNES
GameBoy, GameBoy Advanced, GameBoy Colour, GameBoy SP
DS, DSi, DSXL
3DS, 3DS XL, New 3DS, New 3DS XL
Wii, Wii U
Switch, Switch OLED

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 22h ago
Cacabunga5d ago (Edited 5d 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_5d ago

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

Cacabunga5d ago

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

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago (Edited 4d 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.

Rainbowcookie3d ago

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

bunt-custardly4d 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).

Cacabunga4d 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..

S2Killinit4d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic4d 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_5d 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

shinoff21835d ago (Edited 5d 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

ChasterMies4d 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 Fingers9d ago (Edited 9d ago )

F*** AI

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

Einhander19729d 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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darthv728d 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.

Einhander19728d ago (Edited 8d 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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CaptainFaisal9d 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.

MrDead9d 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_Batman9d ago (Edited 9d 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.

Number1TailzFan9d 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

helicoptergirl9d ago

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

BlackDoomAx7d 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
Psychonaut8513d ago

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