280°

Microsoft – Power of the cloud (but don’t tell anyone)

Power of the cloud - Opinion piece on Microsoft's new PR strategy, what they're actually delivering, and whether the 2 align.

Read Full Story >>
gameondaily.com
Gazondaily3249d ago

I'm surprised they didn't use the word 'cloud' when describing what they are doing with Halo 5's Warzone mp. Like Titanfall, that's a really good example of them using dedis rather well.

"Every multiplayer game, Warzone or otherwise, takes place on dedicated servers."

So glad that this is becoming the norm now, especially with MS titles. THAT for me is what cloud is all about even if it is simply just more comprehensive use of dedicated servers.

Still waiting on that Crackdown demo using clowd. If that works...boy will there be crow to be swallowed. Similar if not..

StrayaKNT3249d ago

Can't wait for Crackdown man

christocolus3249d ago

We will be seeing gameplay very soon..at Gamescom.

3249d ago
Erik73573249d ago

Man there are some salty disagrees on these crackdown comments lol

Khajiit863249d ago (Edited 3249d ago )

@Fries

I disagree because Crackdown 2 was a HUGE disappointment for me.
Crackdown 1 is one of the greatest games I played but 2 wasnt even half as good. So I am not sure what to expect with 3.

GameNameFame3249d ago

Ahahha. This magic cloud nonsense again.

Let's stop desperately grasp straws. All their games showed that cloud is just all talk.

Dee_913249d ago

What if I told you the Xbone was completely empty on the inside and that in fact it is indeed the cloud doing all the computing...

You didn't hear that from me though

*walks away whistling with hands in pockets.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 3249d ago
Volkama3249d ago (Edited 3249d ago )

I think they're slowly starting to deliver some benefits on first party games now, but they're massively failing at getting 3rd parties to make use of it.

COD is the measure. Every time COD releases with shoddy peer to peer play on all platforms, Microsoft have failed imo. Even if the blame for the problem lies with Activision that doesn't really make a difference.

ScorpiusX3249d ago

So u want MS to man up to Activision cheapness , if anything MS is doing it right u want the great feature pay up or deal.

Volkama3249d ago

I want MS to work with their major content partners and encourage them to take advantage of the feature set available.

As a user I don't really care how MS and Activision split the bill. I've paid £55 for the game and a have a subscription for the online service.

Or at least that's how I'd feel if I bought COD.

kneon3249d ago

I can't speak for game developers but I know amongst non-game developers the go to cloud platform is Amazon. Microsoft and Google just don't have the reliability.

Baka-akaB3249d ago

I kinda understand what he means ... you have that amazing tech you promised everyone would take advantage of , and we're still far from that .

Even if major props gotta be given to a title like Titan Fall on the matter

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3249d ago
remixx1163249d ago

Why do I get the feeling this comment section is going to catch fire.......regardless I like what MS is doing with the future, hololens and cloudsounds iinteresting.

Not quite sold yet but my attention is definitely caught.

MasterCornholio3249d ago

Just a question.

Did Microsoft change the definition of what the cloud is supposed to do?

I remember that with Mattrick he made the claim that it would boost the XB1 graphical capabilities and now it appears that it's just dedicated servers.

Anyways I'm happy that they are being quite clear with this.

Volkama3249d ago

Even if the servers were boosting the graphics in some unrealistic or impractical way, they could still be termed as dedicated servers. That just means they have a specific purpose and the resource is committed to it really.

I could say I'm dedicated to my wife, it doesn't mean I have to host a 64player deathmatch. I know I'm not technically a server, but you take my meaning :)

Volkama3249d ago

Urgh 3 disagrees, but that is literally what "dedicated server" means. A server dedicated to a specific task, as opposed to a multi-purpose server that shares resource across several functions. It isn't a term created to describe hosting computer games.

Crazay3249d ago (Edited 3249d ago )

I wouldn't be shocked if the Backwards compatibility was mostly reliant on the cloud services. When I load my game it says connecting to Xbox 360 and was kinda grinding it out. I figure it took as long as it did due to my slower internet. Once it was up it was rock solid.

@Neogamer - I haven't looked in that great a detail but rocking out a VM on a few of the available cores makes sense.

@Bluzone - I'll see what happens the next time I have a game i need to download for Backwards compatibility and will not run the game unless the system is disconnected.

NeoGamer2323249d ago

The 360 connecting is because this is not an emulator.

It is a virtual machine starting up on your console. You will notice a file that is 250 MB for each X360 game you download. It is probably a VM configured for that game to run in.

bluzone3249d ago

@Crazay I'm curious about what your saying. Do you mind checking if what your seeing is true.
Would you mind disconnecting internet access while using the backward compatibility to see if it has any effect?
Thanks

bluzone3249d ago

@Crazay Thanks
Should prove interesting no matter how it goes.

IamTylerDurden13249d ago (Edited 3249d ago )

The cloud is essentially dedicated servers we've been saying this since titanfall. What do you mean if it works with Crackdown? How will we know "it's working", does this mean that Crackdown is going to be the best looking game with the best ai ever? Shaders and ai will be offloaded to the cloud?

Crackdown is typically a very fun but very shallow and somewhat smallish and simplistic sandbox with no cutscenes and virtually no story. I enjoyed both Crackdown games (the 1st a little more) but they aren't technically demanding games when compared to bigger sandbox games with stories and more complexity ie Just Cause, GTA, AC ect. With this in mind i'd expect Crackdown to be visually impressive considering they aren't tethered with the same memory consuming elements that most sandboxgames are. I still do not expect the game to be as visually stunning as Second Son.

So what exactly justifies a victory for Crackdown and the cloud? If it looks amazing and the gameplay is spectacular (like Horizon) in the demo? I fail to see how that would prove the cloud is going to make xbone 3x more powerful.

So if Crackdown simply looks good then crow is on the menu for dinner? I think not.

To everyone who says you need the consoles to be an extremely close race for "excellence" to happen ect, i would offer PS2 as a shining example of this falsehood. PS2 was ridiculously dominant during it's reign selling 150 million units and dwarfing the competition yet we were given a golden age of games and innovation. The God of Wars, ico and SotC, Final Fantasy, MGS and so much more. Ps i'm not saying ff & MGS were created during PS2, but perhaps perfected.

Gazondaily3249d ago

Huh?

No you don't get it. Crackdown is supposed to use cloud compute to simulate massive destruction. Read the article. MS showed off a tech demo showing how the cloud was being utilised to simulate stuff nigh on impossible with the tech specs of the local machine. Crackdown is purported to use this tech.

Volkama3249d ago

Wait, are you saying that cutscenes and story consume RAM, and therefore compromise visual fidelity?

Like, maybe Witcher 3 would be 1080p on the Xbox One if they only missed chapter 4 of the story or something?

Dragonking0073249d ago

Cloud aint a bad thing either thats how sony backwards compatibility works via cloud through ps now

Baka-akaB3249d ago

Cloud was never really a bad thing and less than an advantage , they just had to tone down the silly hyperboles and claims .

It's current usage is perfect in titles like Forza and Titan Fall , it needs to be more present on most xb1 mp and online titles

_-EDMIX-_3249d ago

?? PS Now isn't BC. Its a streaming service for older PS games that works on many devices. You have to pay for it.

PS Now isn't BC, its merely a streaming service to play older games, you must pay for it regardless if yow own the game or not and its not only for PS4, thus...its not simply for BC of titles prior to PS4. That is like saying a port of Xenogears on PSN on PS3 is a form of "backwards compatibility" when your merely buying it again to have it.

That isn't BC. That is merely buying it again through a different distribution format.

porkChop3249d ago

Dedicated servers aren't "cloud" though. They're just dedicated servers, which are certainly great to have but aren't exclusive to Xbox One.

When Microsoft talks about cloud, they're talking about cloud processing or computing. Totally different thing from dedicated servers. And as far as proper cloud processing goes, Microsoft hasn't really done all that much yet. That's why they're not using the word "cloud" very often anymore.

gosukyomomma3249d ago (Edited 3249d ago )

Most multiplayer games run on dedicated servers nowadays p2p is very rarely used in online gaming from what ive seen.

All dedicated servers are are computers that have the game stored multiple times in order to 'serve' multiple clients that connect. cloud computing is completely different.

Edit - just saw porkchop beat me to it lol at least someone else knows a tad about networking devices and jargon lol

christian hour3249d ago

Not hyping up the cloud as some sort of magical fairy dust that will improve cpu processing and graphics immensely is another great move by MS; less smoke and mirrors, more honesty and more stuff in action like Hololens.

Complete turn around of the MS we've seen at the last few big gaming events. Between this and BC and some nice new exclusive IPs, they're finally turning things around. Here's hoping they NEVER repeat the crap they pulled on us in 2013 ever again.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 3249d ago
JJShredder3249d ago

Microsoft has really changed their strategies around for the better and hopefully people can feel better about jumping on.

I love my PS4 but I don't want Sony to get so far ahead that they get complacent.

Competition breeds excellence and gamers benefit all around.

christian hour3249d ago

Shocked at the disagrees, what you said was 100% true and extremely level headed and fair.

I too do not want Sony to grow complacent, I even had fears going in to this years e3 that, having dominated the last two years, they might have phoned it in this year.

Instead we got a great show from both MS and Sony.

Personally what impressed me on the MS side was how much they'd changed their strategy and started building bridges with the gaming community, as well as some great games coming to the platform (specifically rares pirate game and that 1930's cartoon style indie game, cuplad? cupman? cuphead? i dont care what its called, I WANT!)

What impressed me on the Sony side was... MY GOD EVERYTHING! Horizon/SHenmue/LasGuardian/DR EAMS!!!/NoMansGWANTHEIRISHSky/F irewatch/UC4/etc etc.

AN unforgettable e3, one for the history books. Kudos to MS and Sony, and kudos to Bethesda for their first big e3 event!

And I guess, fair play to EA for letting an honest, compassionate and very nervous man come on stage and show us Unravel, was a nice break from all the shark smiles in suits that came before and after :P

JJShredder3249d ago

Unfortunately, trying to take a level-headed approach and trying to recognize flaws on all sides only results in the crazies on both sides spamming the disagree button.

With that said, Cuphead looks simply stunning and fun as hell. Doesn't look like it will make it this year tho....*sadness*

Spid3r63249d ago

Phil has been distancing him self from Don Matrix....You have to know that they are taking advantage of all these technologies. Take Forza againts Driveclub hell even Project there is a big difference in experience between them thanks to the X factor the driveatars. I like the fact that we will play Halo Warzone with multiple factions while fighting human enemy fighters. I would have like to see No Mans Sky starting with Microsoft and adding a proper multiplayer system.

christian hour3249d ago

Did you really just use the term "x factor"? Please, no marketing buzzword bullcrap when discussing videogames unless you are a soulless marketer, in which case, leave us humans alone.

No Mans Sky does have a "proper" multiplayer system. The game started without a platform, whoever they went with first, it would still be the same game we're getting. Every aspect of that game wasnt designed with paltform in mind, but with the lead designers specific vision in mind. Unless, by "proper multiplayer" you mean PVP arenas and K/D ratios? In which case, you fail to understand waht No Mans Sky is supposed to be.

The coding behind driveatars is nothing new, and didnt need cloud computing to be pulled off, they just chose to do it that way and then market it that way.

I'm not dissing MS here, just, you seem to live in a strange world where you confuse things or misunderstand them.

Spid3r63248d ago

I would like for you to explain to me the driveatar system and how it works because it seems that you have some insight on the mechanics. All I know is that the Drivetars do simulate how my friends drive down to the T. At first while I was playing my friend Avatar I thought it was a little off since my friends Driveatar kept crashing into me very aggressively. We were hanging out his house having a beer and wanted to see who would have a better lap on a circuit. I found out that he crashes into cars at full speed on purpose to go around corners. I knew know why his driveatar was so aggressive while I was playing single player this is were Xbox has an edge. Driveclub cant do that. Its simple static coding. And yes in regards to No Mans Sky yes I would like to meet up with friends and explorer and claim new territories together.

christian hour3246d ago (Edited 3246d ago )

It works similar to ghost drivers in older games, but it analyses the playstyles of various ghost runs and then just emulates the most common repetitions among the various ghosts, updating as it gains more data.

It's a pretty simple "self learning" algorithm that easily could be done console side and then uploaded to a server. In actuality, that is whats happening, its compiling your playthroughs through an algorithm, uploading them to a server, then when a friend connects to the network the server feeds them the info of their friends. It's not being calculated in real time as some people seem to expect (though the info is being sent to you and stored in real time, as with any data you are recieving from the internet), the "cloud" doesnt really work like that.

THe cloud is just a netwrok infrastructure, the technology has been around since the 70's, just its become more feasible for more people to connect simultaneously to a vast network of servers, and marketers just revived a term coined in the 70's to repackage it as something new and exciting, aka "The Cloud".

Thats a real laymen way of putting it, theres a little more to it than that on the technical side but thats basically the jist of what "the cloud" is.

If you've been on the internet most your life, then you've been on "the cloud" most your life.

It's also prefectly feasible for games like project cars and drive club to do the same thing, but the problem there is that the forza team have patented the feature so nobody else can until the patent runs out (patenting game mechanics is actually a common practice in the industry, so if youve ever wondered why one fps doesnt have that cool new fps mechanic another game has, or whatever genre you can think of, thats usually the reason why)

pandehz3249d ago

Ms has been furthering the tech world for gamers benefits.

Not saying that we have to buy into everything they do but appreciate and citizen normally not hate everything for the sake of it

dcbronco3249d ago

I think the only thing that has changed is the way Phil handles the public. He is a lot more patient and calm under scrutiny. Don didn't have the patience for 12 year olds that have no understanding of the direction technology is moving. If you read gaming websites or comment sections you will mostly see people questioning the possibility that the cloud computing could ever add to gaming. But if you read the business section or watch Bloomberg you will see the exact opposite.

The largest, richest companies in the world are all moving to cloud computing. Storage and compute. All of the major technology companies are building devices for it or building a cloud of their own to sell to others. Look at Microsoft's cloud division on their financial reports. It has grown immensely and will quickly become it's most profitable sections.

Phil is going to let the games do the talking. Halo will have more than large maps. It will have destruction. We will get more of the cloud this year. Gamers need to learn if you aiming for success, it's a moving target. You have to lead it. Just doing what everyone else is doing doesn't guarantee anything.

Show all comments (42)
200°

More Job Losses At Xbox, “There’s More To Come”: Paul Thurrott

Paul Thurrott in a recent episode commented on the on-going Microsoft fiasco hinting at more job losses and that "there's more to come".

Read Full Story >>
spieltimes.com
Sonic18816h ago(Edited 6h ago)

There won't be no more acquiring game publishers from Microsoft in the future . Xbox has to pay Microsoft back. It might take two decades to do that.

sagapo3h ago(Edited 3h ago)

I don’t understand what you’re saying. Xbox IS microsoft so there’s no “paying back “.
And MS gross profit in 2023 was over 140 billion dollars so forget your 2 decades.

Unless you mean the money MS invested in Xbox (acquisitions included) and the time it will take for xbox as a brand to gain that money back on it’s own, then yeah, that could take a while.

SonyStyled2h ago

“There won't be no more acquiring game publishers from Microsoft in the future”

No bro, there do be is for Microsoft not acquiring for what is now if not what it be is 😂

Ms3tjt44m ago

“ Xbox has to pay Microsoft back. ”

Aka

“I don’t know how business works”

jwillj2k46h ago

There really needs to be a class action lawsuit here. You buy these companies just to put people out of jobs. And it’s not like something happened to derail their plans this WAS the plan. Microsoft has no business in this space at all.

franwex5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

Microsoft has been doing this for years. They simply want the IPs. Look at Nokia. Look at Skype. This time it simply expanded to games. Gaming is not as important to Microsoft’s executives as it was to the founders too. Bill Gates was willing to sell the og Xbox at a loss. Steve Balmer approved the red ring of death fiasco. This CEO isn’t really a gamer.

-Foxtrot5h ago

Maybe it's time though to put a stop to it and use a big giant like Microsoft as a huge example to the rest of these big companies.

There has to be a line drawn somewhere.

People like the FTC and the like went against Microsoft yet their Actvision deal was still allowed to go through yet look what's happened...it's not even Acitivisions studios aswell, it's Bethesdas.

RNTody5h ago

Ninja Theory, Perfect Dark, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Wolfenstein 3, Dishonored, Prey, Doom, Quake... something tells me that bad things are going to happen to these entities under Microsoft.

anast5h ago

Good thing the bosses of all those small studios made their money.

glenn19794h ago

they cant do it right now they will get burned

Show all comments (16)
90°

Microsoft Opening Xbox Mobile Game Store in July

The Xbox brand is expanding, as an Xbox mobile game store is opening this coming July where Microsoft will brings its "first-party portfolio."

Jin_Sakai1d 20h ago (Edited 1d 20h ago )

“Bond adds that they will start on the web”

This will go nowhere.

Nice knowing you Xbox. This is what happens when the house never gets cleaned.

MrDead1d 19h ago

The only this MS is expanding is the amount of feculence it sprays on everyone who just want to enjoy gaming and make games.

The best thing MS can do for the gaming industry is leave and never return.

XiNatsuDragnel1d 18h ago

Good luck with this even it might not succeed.

Show all comments (7)
210°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

Read Full Story >>
eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel2d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga1d 7h ago (Edited 1d 7h ago )

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow2d ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo1821d 6h ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie20h ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow19h ago(Edited 19h ago)

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

15h ago
Hereandthere11h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Bond revealed that MLB The Show “always came up” in conversations between Microsoft and the Major League Baseball organization. “We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox.'” she recalled. However, when Microsoft’s efforts materialized, it put the company in an awkward situation where it had to send in pre-release consoles to a rival company.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 11h ago
Notellin17h ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

15h ago
Hereandthere11h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Hereandthere11h ago

They were too cheap/inept/lazy to develop their own mlb game, so they port begged for years and bribed the mlb to make the show multiplatform. Like i said many times, xbox brought nothing to the table their 24 years, ZERO.

OtterX1d 9h ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

RNTody1d 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h ago )

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno1d 8h ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Sheppard7t31d 6h ago

How did Sony kill the series?

Inverno1d 6h ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

15h ago
fsfsxii16h ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno15h ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

Show all comments (26)