230°

Did Microsoft Rip Off Miis? - And Other Hard Questions We Asked At E3

Multiplayer MTV writes: "Want to see some of the E3 coverage we aired on MTV? Check out this piece which aired earlier today and features top guys at Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony answering some of the tougher questions I asked them at E3.

* To Microsoft: Are Xbox Avatars cribbed from the Wii's Miis?
* To Sony: How did you guys feel when Microsoft announced that "FFXIII" was coming to Xbox 360?
* To Nintendo: What do you think of the hardcore fan's complaints about Nintendo's showing at E3?"

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multiplayerblog.mtv.com
BulletToothtony5772d ago

MS should've definitely should've tried to come up with something cool.. some spore type avatar or something.. it wouldn't had looked like the miis and wouldve been cooler to create.

But now it looks like they just copied nintendo..

Boldy5771d ago

then everyone would be sayin it's a knock off of Spore. There's no real way of doing something like this without getting hammered by fanboys. Make the avatars look more realistic: Home knockoff. Make them more cartoony: Mii knockoff. Make them look like they took inspiration from anything: knock off.

Megatron085771d ago

I have to agree with Boldy not only that but avatars have been done to death so there is nothing you can really come up with that someone isnt goin to say its a a rip off of something else.

f7897905771d ago

I doubt anyone cares though.

panasonic235772d ago

did sony copy ms xbl did sony copy ms achievement

PirateThom5772d ago

Microsoft didn't invent online gaming or achievements, even though they try to make people (you) believe they did.

Dreamcast had online play.

Many games have had "awards" for doing tasks.

All Microsoft did was take these things and tweak them and call it new and innovative, when it's not.

Tmac5772d ago

Yeah, educate yourself so Pirate doesnt have to do it for you.

socomnick5772d ago

Segas multiplayer was designed by MS.

ChickeyCantor5771d ago

" Dreamcast had online play. "
Hell even Snes had it ( no really it had online play in japan)

PirateThom5771d ago

Well, doesn't matter SNES had it.

And Microsoft had nothing to do with SegaNet, the Dreamcast ran a version of a Microsoft OS, but SegaNet was entirely Sega.

Xi5771d ago

Microsoft did develop it for sega. It's why they had such a good standing with one another, if you read the book about how the Xbox got started you see a bunch of interesting things.

It's also the reason peter moore got hired for the xbox devision, and why the xbox had sega launch titles like jest set radio future, and other remakes like shenmue, even though much more suited to the ps2.

Many of the members of sega also got jobs working at Xbox Japan.

mistertwoturbo5771d ago

Online gaming? Something millions were doing with PCs in the U.S with games like Counterstrike, Unreal, and Starcraft.

And guess what!?!?!?!?! It was allllllllllllllllll free to play online.

Leathersoup5771d ago

Well if you really wanna be nasty about it. Microsoft was the first company to "standardize" online gaming communications with Directplay being part of Direct X. That was before Dreamcast actually funny thing you should try to use the Dreamcast to "discredit" microsoft. The dreamcast ran on a Microsoft CE OS.
Pray tell... what exactly has Sony done that's been innovative lately? Rip off Second Life? Rip off Nintendo's motion control? Give you trophies?

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 5771d ago
ICUP5772d ago

Is this a trick question?

name5772d ago

Did microsoft rip off singstar with lips?

wicked5772d ago

Karaoke Revolution was on the xbox and PS2 before singstar. I see LIPS as an update to this.

Solid_Snake6665772d ago

where have you been these past days

Show all comments (65)
230°

Why Xbox believes it must cut costs and close studios

Companies, particularly public companies like Microsoft, need to grow.

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eurogamer.net
gold_drake8h ago

i mean its pretty simple, they spent close to 30 billion in acquiring activision, they thought they'd make it bk no problem, and that didnt happen.

its just shit that because of MS's miscalculation alot of people lost their jobs.

Jingsing5h ago

This is exactly what many people said would happen including the CMA and FTC. Lies lies and more lies and they allowed a $69 billion buy out to happen.

gold_drake5h ago

oh yeh it was 70 billion. that was my bad haha even worse.

thesoftware7305h ago(Edited 5h ago)

gold,

You can't be serious, right?

Do you think that MS thought they would make 80bill in a year & Half? They haven't even released titles under MS yet, lol.

But in fact, that A/B revenue is already paying off, look at the last earnings call. That $80 billion is long-term money, my guy, no sane person/company would think they would make that back in any short-term situation, it's a long-term investment.

Let's play silly then. If MS's reason for laying off staff and closing studios was due(which it really was not) to the A/B deal, tell me what Sony's reason was for past studio closures, the recent 900-person layoffs, closing Sony London, shutting down Dreams, and closing Japan Studio? Zipper? Psygnosis? cuts at all their internal studios.

Keep in mind, you are claiming MS's reason is because of the A/B deal; please explain Sony's reason.

Hofstaderman4h ago

You actually still defending them? Sheesh.....

gold_drake4h ago

this is not a sony vs MS debate. dont make it something it isnt.

and of course not, but im pretty sure they thought they'd make more money after the deal. they didnt, and closed off some studios.

its pretty insane to think there is any other reason for the closure of studios in this case.

romulus234h ago(Edited 4h ago)

(It really was) due to the Activision Blizzard deal and the loss of physical sales due to gamepass. You keep bringing up Sony in all your posts about this, stop deflecting and trying to change the topic, this is about MS and what they are doing.

BehindTheRows4h ago

Has nothing to do with Sony. Stay on topic.

notachance4h ago

once in a while you see someone too invested in their make-believe console war that everything happened has to be connected to said war…

a bit of banter between fans is normal, this crusade you’re doing now isn’t.

Chevalier3h ago

Wow idiotic. You bring up very old closures not that there haven't been recent ones from Playstations, but, seriously stop deflecting. This has NOTHING to do with Playstation.

Does Playstation got $3 trillion behind them and daddies wallet? No they don't so stop making a fool of yourself.

Xbox has never been profitable really and they just keep losing money so between their worst hardware sales, terrible 3rd party sales and now terrible 1st party sales.

Gamepass numbers that are no longer being announced shows their numbers after 3 years of missed targets has flatlined. Plus their recent gains up to 34 million were ONLY because they folded Gold members in too. Absolutely take your idiotic rhetoric out of here. Keep on topic without deflecting.

S2Killinit3h ago

Ayayayay with these xbox/MS excuses.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 3h ago
thesoftware7302h ago(Edited 2h ago)

Drake,

"this is not a sony vs MS debate. dont make it something it isnt."

You are correct that it's not an MS Vs Sony Topic, but when exaggeration and imagination mix from a one-sided social group, similar examples are needed to ground radical thoughts; in this instance, the example was that shutting down 3,4,5, even 6 studios during a restructure/ buyout/acquisition is not some anomaly(it can suck) that has to be dissected or spell doom and gloom.

"But I'm pretty sure they thought they'd make more money after the deal. They didn't, and they closed off some studios."

But they did make more money, a lot, actually; the last earnings call showed a huge growth in profit, almost all due to A/B revenue.

"its pretty insane to think there is any other reason for the closure of studios in this case."

The fact that they did make money, kinda throws this out the window, and besides, you don't wake up and say, hey let's close a studio, you look at the output, you look at the dev as a whole, the long term and short term, you weigh it against all other studios and goals, you keep key members, ect..then you close if they are the weakest links...which by MS analysis they were.

Again, I will make a small Sony comparison, just so some of you can understand and see past the bias; Insomniac, ND, and Bungie have made some of the best games ever created, yet Sony saw fit to cut jobs in every of these studios, even tho Insomniac & ND are the biggest producers of PS games, leagues ahead better than Tango and Arkane, yet, they saw cuts, mind you, while being the TOP produces of PS first party. They were told to cut costs, and more jobs may be on the line, and Bungie is being threatened by a hostile Sony takeover. Put that in perspective, as I know that layoffs and dev closures are different, but if the best of the best is getting cut off, it is less than surprising, that lesser studios are closing.

@Cheva,
My response fits well with your comments as well. You even went on to prove that the dev closures are not just due to A/B acquisition. Then you point out Sony has less money than MS, inferring that MS should keep devs open that they see as lesser earners, while Sony having less money makes it okay to close them. lol...it doesn't work that way.

gold_drake2h ago

im not reading all of that. u have ur opinion, i have mine.

thats rly it.

but this aint sony vs ms.

ApocalypseShadow1h ago

You're trying to compare a 100 billion company to a company that has 3 TRILLION worth. SIE has to live or die on their own. And in turn, PlayStation has helped the main company again and again. Sony has to balance out what is working and not working in the company.

While Xbox has Daddy Warbucks footing the bill to keep the platform afloat. They have been bleeding money from Nvidia hardware in the OG Xbox, the RROD fiasco, the attempted 2013 DRM nonsense and the lies about being the most powerful console in the world and the losses of paying out millions to prop up a service hoping it catches on with enough subscribers to justify its existence.

They're not comparable if Xbox isn't allowed to live or die by its actions. It's subsidized. Revenue isn't profit. And if they were profiting on their own, they wouldn't be closing developers. If they were profiting, they wouldn't need Daddy Warbucks spending 80 to 100 billion buying up 3rd party publishers to sustain a loss leading platform.

They stopped announcing game sales, stopped announcing hardware sales, stopped announcing game pass subscribers, they are putting games on their competitors platforms but you're telling us that they are doing great even after killing jobs and closing developers at Xbox.

Stop drinking the Kool aid. You're drunk.

anast5h ago

They are going to use AI for a large portion of the game development process. Upper management need bonuses and the shareholders need more money. So, people will lose their jobs.

Skuletor5h ago

Maybe they were already using AI to make business decisions, which would explain why they closed Hi-Fi Rush's studio, then said they need more games like Hi-Fi Rush not long after that announcement.

Crows904h ago(Edited 4h ago)

They shouldn't have bought any studios. Some is okay...but they went on a shopping spree...stupid

Einhander19724h ago

The better question is why did Microsoft buy publishers for a service they were subsidizing they knew couldn't support.

And why are so many websites trying to make people feel sorry for Microsoft instead of truly criticizing the fact they are closing studios and killing jobs that would have been fine if Microsoft themselves hadn't gotten involved.

Quit feeling sorry for Microsoft and start feeling sorry for the industry and the all the gamers who are actually losing out.

THIS IS MICROSOFTS FAULT.

RNTody4h ago

The first thing that happens after any major acquisition or merger is a consolidation of the whole new portfolio, which includes cutting any excess, bloat or portfolios that don't fit the larger MO of the big boy. So far, it's been par for the course with Microsoft and that's why gamers have been so against this acquisition. Tango Gameworks is the beginning. You think Microsoft wants to pay to keep small timers like Ninja Theory in business?

There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that Microsoft will improve any of these studios, but plenty to suggest that they will get rid of what they don't need and hold onto the IP. The real agenda of the acquisition was always to acquire The Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Fallout, Call of Duty, Candy Crush etc. that will create millions in passive revenue stream for Microsoft regardless of where the games release. Microsoft simply wants their cut.

Because of Games Pass Microsoft has no interest in investing in new IP which is risky and requires creative talent they can neither nurture nor manage. Game Pass has also not grown in the way Microsoft expected it to, even post acquisitions. Therefore the logical thing to do, without serious money makers to release, is to cut as much cost as possible.

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110°

7 Deserving Games That Never Got Backward Compatibility

Backward compatibility works for many games on newer consoles, but titles such as The Simpsons: Hit and Run have been left out.

90°

20 Best Survival Games of All Time

From base building to swinging willies, here are the best survival games around, which include a couple of less than obvious picks.

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culturedvultures.com
Vader821d 8h ago

No 7 days to die is criminal