What Microsoft needs to do to come out on top at E3 2017

If Microsoft wants to take Sony's crown, here's what it needs to do.

[PhoenixUp]

Even if Microsoft were to "win" E3, that's not going to change their positioning in the "console war"

[ninsigma]

For consumer perception it would be great for them though because the competition have beaten them at every E3 this gen. If they can pullbthis one out of the bag to take the W then it could signal to consumers that they're on the up now.

Hopefully they do show some decent new games. Sea of thieves And crackdown 3 just aren't interesting so I'd like to see some better announcements than those. Fingers crossed it's not TOO much about Scorpio. Obviously we need price + actual reveal of the console but after that just show games! Can't really tell how it's gonna go for them this year but usually the ones who shout the loudest are the ones with the least to say.

[LordJamar]

how are they not interesting and you have seen really nothing of one and barely of the other

[candystop]

Crackdown 3 not interesting.....lol. Gtfo

[Why o why]

Not too fond of the term 'not interested/interesting' I've heard it used so many times as a downplay it immediately brings out the cynicism in me. I'll leave it at that. . . .They know who they are

[0Day]

Interesting...

[CoinOrc]

@candystop
The only reason people bought Crackdown was because of the Halo 3 beta. Crackdown 2 was mediocre. The only interesting thing about Crackdown 3 is "the cloud", which hasn't shown any promise. You would understand why people are skeptical about that game.

[candystop]

Coinorc....oh please lol!

I played the original Crackdown so of course myself and many others are excited about it. The original creator is making part 3 as well and even though part 2 wasn't anywhere near as good as 1 it's understandle given the they were given to create it.

Cloud is another reason to get excited for it. Seems some of you want to talk it down but this will be one of the most talked about games to watch for at E3.

"The only reason people bought Crackdown was because of the Halo 3 beta." It doesn't matter why people purchased the game. Crackdown 1 was better than Halo 3 in my opinion.

"The only interesting thing about Crackdown 3 is "the cloud", which hasn't shown any promise."

You mean the promise that shut PlayStation fanboys up for almost a week of silence lol. There's tons of promise and if it meets any of it prepare for more silence.

[ninsigma]

@Lord @candy
The first crackdown didn't interest me in the slightest (I played it) so why would I be interested in the 3rd. It's not like it was ever a massive franchise either. Sea of thieves just looks crap. I've watched the videos as they've been coming out and it is not looking good at all.

@why
Well It's the word I'm using because that's how I feel about them. They are ridiculously uninteresting. Games like Ori and the blind forest, sunset overdrive, master chief collection and gears of war were what made me get an xbox in 2015. Those were interesting and exciting games. In comparison, sea of thieves and crackdown are just poor offerings.

[candystop]

@ninja

And who gives a f*@ck what you didnt like lmao. It still doesn't take away the fact that there are many actual gamers like myself that loved the game and are extremly excited for a proper sequel. Just admit you guys are simply trying to downplay this game or aka hating. I mean there are games that don't interest others (myself included) but I'm not going out of my way to try to downplay and sabotage any excitement. You guys should feel ashamed for having no class at all! This will be a game to watch for and I'm almost positive you will be keeping a close eye out for it yourself!

[Why o why]

Calm down fellas. . It's only games and opinions on games. . .

Ninja. I've heard the term used against the variety of games Sony have. . .You could list 15 games and some will say only 1 or 2 interest them yet these same 'hard to please' people are enamoured by 90 percent of the games their console of choice have to offer.

So I say interesting vs don't interest as in an individual.

Candy. . . Lol , stay calm bro. .

[ninsigma]

@candy
So your opinion of you're excited for crackdown 3 is fine but I can't say it's not interesting?? I'm not trying to downplay anything. As I said in my comment above, 2015 Xbox one offerings plus promises really interested me so I got one. They are released and done now and everything else announced so far is uninteresting to me. Hence why I said I hope there's more than just those for this E3. No need to go off on one.

@why
I get what you're saying but literally I'm just talking about how Xbox looks for me not for anyone else. It's just not interesting atm because crackdown franchise I don't like and sea of thieves just looks plain terrible. I do have a Playstation preference (that much is obvious) but I'll praise what I think is good and criticize what I don't think is good no matter the platform.

[rainslacker]

@Candy

We wouldn't know. MS hasn't actually shown the game once since it was announced. Quite literally, everyone excited for it is hyped for the cloud destruction, and one comment from the dev saying they did something with SP.

Sometimes, not having seen the game yet, it's possible to know what to expect, but with CD3, no one knows how it will play, how it will perform, if the cloud destruction works, or if that cloud destruction is actually a good game play mechanic.

So, maybe he should stay, because right now, it's not that interesting. The cloud compute stuff is interesting by itself, but that does not make an interesting game anymore than a procedurally generated universe did in No Man's Sky.

[CoinOrc]

@candy
"You mean the promise that shut PlayStation fanboys up for almost a week of silence lol."
Huh, what? Do you seriously think "the cloud" can save Xbox One? We are three and a half years into this console generation and "the cloud" has not shown any promise whatsoever. Remember when Microsoft said your Xbox One will be four times more powerful with "the cloud"? Yeah... haven't seen that yet. As for as the promise of "the cloud" silencing PlayStation fans, Sony has been silencing Xbox fans with exclusives after exclusives.
"There's tons of promise and if it meets any of it prepare for more silence."
The key word is "if". After all the broken promises, I have lost faith in Microsoft. I haven't turned on my Xbox One since last year when I played Quantum Break. They would have do something spectacular to pull me back in.

[PhoenixUp]

Microsoft have had great E3s in the past and that still didn't change their positioning, why would this year be any different?

[Why o why]

Show more compelling things than the competition

[PhoenixUp]

The competition is still going to show compelling things

[343_Guilty_Spark]

So they should quit is what you are saying?

Despite "losing" they are still making a ton of money.

[PhoenixUp]

I'm not saying they should quit, I'm saying that even great E3 presence isn't going to cause a major dramatic shift that hasn't occurred with their past 3 E3 conferences

[SlappingOysters]

If they don't reveal Scorpio as the next Xbox (the Xbox 4 but with a better name) then they are idiots. They need a full brand reboot as the Xbox One is a slowly sinking ship.

[Shadowsteal]

They won't do that. They already stated the Scorpio and the X1 will share libraries. If they spin the Scorpio to a new generation, it's going to crash and burn them for doing another 180 like the Kinect/DRM thing.

[Rude-ro]

I agree with your statement, BUT...
They spent the last year talking about the console and not games, outside of the fall push that did not make a splash.
Their focus has been the Scorpio.
They need to sell the Scorpio because the Xbox one is now third on the list next to Nintendo and ps4.
In order to wow, and by the thought process that "power" is what sells a console, they will need a game with the power of the Scorpio.
The Xbox one is just not powerful enough to make a game that will draw the crowd. Sure, they can hopefully get great patches for third party games for 4k, but that will not be enough. Sony can use dynamic 4k to get just as stable gameplay as the Scorpio and the differences to the average consumer will not be noticeable.
The leap in power also makes it clear that this is Microsofts next gen console. You do not go from 1.3tflops to 6 and say, same thing just in 4k. Why? The same thing is not selling their brand now.
Microsoft is not adding something nice to a current success, they are trying to rescue their lost market.

[Godmars290]

@Rude-ro:
"In order to wow, and by the thought process that "power" is what sells a console, they will need a game with the power of the Scorpio."

The issue with that one in particular is that MS is in no shape to deliver such a game within a reasonable amount of time. By focusing on system power they've necessitated long dev time in order to get the best result from the hardware.

[VforVideogames]

Everybody here its wrong, scorpio is not going after ps4, its going and it will beat the $h!t out of ps4 pro hands down.

[Shadowsteal]

Can't do that without the games man. 1.8 more Tflops over the PS4 Pro won't do shit for anyone.

[The_Sage]

VforVideogames,

People with PlayStation 4 Pros probably won't even notice when it launches. Not only that, but the main consumer base won't care either. They're not going to be seeing adds for most of the big 3rd party developers saying anything about being better on Scorpio as Sony has marketing deals with most of them. Forza looks awesome on Scorpio!.. You can still get it on Xbox One, and you can pay it on PC, but buy this new $500 machine cause.... It looks really nice? Is that going to be their marketing campaign?

[Rude-ro]

5 million.
That is the initial diehards of Microsofts core.
After that... it will all come down to software to start swaying the consumers.
That gives Microsoft about 4/5 months to provide... and this is going against sonys stacked library of exclusives and third party deals.
The Microsoft shills spent the last 3 years trying to convince people that "you can not see the difference"... no one cares anymore when we are talking about dynamic 4k vs 4k.
One version is less taxing on the hardware, one has to be proven AND prove they can even make games in the first place.

[LordJamar]

the xbox one is not 3rd

[Ristul]

They are if you look at weakly charts, and they are already third place in Japan, behind both PS4 and *gasp* the Switch. My bet is that Switch will overtake it in Europe within a year or two, and PS4 will keep crushing it worldwide.

[LordJamar]

did you really say japan just stop any way it not 3rd the switch is

highly doubt switch will overtake it any time soon

[super_cuddles]

They secretly are without burning the current userbase, currently looking in to an ambassador like apology

[rainslacker]

I doubt they could get away with that, which is why they're doing it as a mid-gen upgrade. If they manage to follow through with no generations though, then it shouldn't be a bad thing going forward.

[jay2]

won't happen, and sony have an extra yrs ps5s dev time.

[Dan_scruggs]

Everyone's an expert...

[The_Sage]

I know I am. 😀

[jznrpg]

I dont see how they can win. Most important part of E3 is games and they can not compete with Sony on that front. They shouldn't focus on winning and focus on being a good 2nd option, and they should do that with games. Not just multiplayer shooter/racer games. Give us some variety of games that make us feel like it would be good to have an xbox next to our PS4s. They would need a lot of games to do that but they have to start somewhere. Crackdown 3 and Sea of Thieves isnt going to do it .

[Yohshida]

Games didn't help them in 2013. They had 100% games in that E3, yet Sony won somehow with 2 launch exclusives vs MS having 6 and a killer Year 1 ahead.

I see it like this -> We haven't heard anything about what MS has in store. They literally didn't talk about upcoming games for a whole year now. Sony will show us a lot of games we already know about this E3 (which isn't bad at all). MS has to potential to blow people away with reveals of 1. and 3. Party games we don't know about. Bioware, Bethesda and Ubisoft will each show NEW games we haven't seen before on their stage. Sony will show more of COD, FIFA, Far Cry, Battlefront and Destiny. While those are awesome games, we already saw them and it would be a waste to spend a lot of time on them at the show.

[Yohshida]

Did they? Agent? Deep Down?

Games get cancelled. Sure it was sht, but if the devs don't hit goals, thing like that happen.

[DigitalRaptor]

In 2013, MS made huge mistakes of their own that you are well aware of.

Sony won because gamers saw through MS's smoke and mirrors, and had visibility on Sony's long-term platform and first-party support that most Xbox fanboys are too blind to recognise. They saw that Sony was way more focused on commendable games and developer support than Xbox - the guys that built a console around (and were more concerned with) TV, sports, non-gaming BS and self-professed "broad-entertainment" ; ; ;. Xbox fanboys on the other hand are too focused on the front-loaded announcements of a generation, and don't care that MS near-abandoned the Xbox 360 of quality exclusive games from 2010 onwards in favour of the bullshit Kinect, while Sony did what they should have done and provided long-term exclusive support for the PS3 all the way to the start of a new generation, where their lineup was remarkable and kept their momentum going into the new generation.

If you're smart enough, you know that PlayStation consoles are a slow burn until they hit an unstoppable stride, and Xbox always starts strong and fizzles out due to them always chasing short-term trends. Xbox closed and canceled a HUGE chunk of their first-party in 2016, canceled big upcoming games that were staple of their proclaimed "best lineup in history", have cut ties with the studios that made their brand and their E3 floor plan is TINY compared to both Sony and Nintendo and their very own booth space last year: https://www.youtube.com/wat... - this doesn't reflect a company with much to show that isn't unexpected, and you can't retroactively add more booth space when it's pre-designated.

They didn't talk about upcoming games for the whole year because they don't have them like you seem to think they do. They are starving their fanbase of new games for the vast majority of the year so that the Scorpio has more content to launch with in the holidays. Why do you think they are trying to deliver that mid-gen refresh hardware with the same impact of a new console, tweeting picture of motherboards and chips, rather than focus on releasing exclusive content? MS has the potential to announce known entities like Forza 7, Ori 2, something Halo, something Minecraft, some indies and maybe a new IP and third-party timed exclusive. MS has the potential to maybe blow away the dedicated fanboys like you. Sony will show us a lot of games that we already know about and they will still show enough new stuff from 1st and 3rd party to blow people away. It's hilarious that you think they won't.

[Yohshida]

Thanks for not talking about E3 but instead about the reveal. You should really watch both conferences again. Sony had nothing for the whole first year.

[LordJamar]

to you crack down or sea of thieves wont or state of decay 2 or forza or cup head and the many othe rsmalelr games xbox has but to others it will those are all good games in there own right i dont see anything wrong with em just because you dont like the dont mean others dont have some perspective and stop pushing a console war good games are good games F*** what platform it comes from you should want good games to do good

[XXanderXX]

Go berserk , Bloodlust hungry and aim for the Jugular and seriously Develop a Fk the competition mentality.

[Razzer]

This is E3. Not UFC.

[XXanderXX]

Article asked a question , may have gone asked a bit much but if they must . Will settle for a FK the competition mentality and do what needs to be done no matter what .

[DreadGara]

They can't do nothing, they have rented very small floor display anyway.
Perhaps they will try to sell Lumia during the show to compensate for the rented space 😂

[Prince_TFK]

Oh yeah. The mentality of small space=less thing and bigger space=more thing.

What's next? Who has the bigger toilet?

[Brazz]

In short... a miracle... not just because sony, but alson Nintendo.

[LordJamar]

overrating nintendo tbh

[stonecold3]

i stop reading when it said that would be the death sentenced for ps4 pro man these articles need to stop 25 million xbox compared to 63 million ps4 sold there no way microsoft going to catch that they better off been second

[Yohshida]

Every time someone buys a Xbox One, a Angel loses its wings. Also new fun fact, every Xbox One sold is declining the number. Soon to be 10 million.

[phoenixwing]

The only way Microsoft could win would be for them to open that check book and announce a bunch of games and studio buyouts. Which tbh would make me consider a Microsoft console the next time around. Even then, they would have to be buying many Japanese developers or making a lot of Japanese games with their division in Japan.

[Kiwi66]

But if they brought out studios people would then complain about that

[phoenixwing]

Oh sure i'd be the first to complain but i'd still consider the console. Not saying it will make everyone love them but it will turn some opinions on what console to buy.

[Kiwi66]

Guess some people have forgotten the comments from people that say that ms ruins any studio that they buy and then those same people will then complain about it which is the point i'm making so disagree all you like that won't change the truth

[DrumBeat]

They need to announce games. Can't just be Scorpio. They gotta bring the games. Anyone who would argue against this is insane. Microsoft needs new IPs, and we all know it.

[Why o why]

You'd think that but trust me. , I've seen some argue against that. . Be it via deflection or lofty hopes . . Apparently ms have no deficiencies in the output department. . . . Telling ya

[LordJamar]

they will have games

[Why o why]

Just a question. . How many games do you think they'll have?

[Armyntt]

They need to show titles side by side from an og X1 and a Scorpio on both 1080s and 4Ks. Show everyone a reason to purchase a Scorpio. If its not that simple and can't be done Scorpio is dead before it's even released.

[Godmars290]

Find a balance between multi and single player games. Not make exaggerated claims then under deliver on them - if at all.

Offer up actual first party support and allow studios freedom.

[Bobafret]

They can't, they may as well give up on e3 and consoles altogether.

[LAWSON72]

It is hard to believe they will. I always am the most excited for Xbox at E3, and they have not done a good job since probably 08. This year I want to be shocked by the arrival of a next gen Xbox with exclusives (W10 aswell is fine) and IMO that is the only way Scorpio will carry any weight, but that is so unlikely.

Their floor space is a joke, compared to Nintendo and Sony. They are going to probably reveal a niche market 4K Xbox One, which for a 30M unit owner base is not a particular huge space for a niche market. They will jump on the power hype when that battle has come and gone. PS4 is a cheap (getting cheaper) system that has power and runs all the biggest games at 1080p, and offers a subpar (not bad but def not great) 4k option for a little bit higher cost.

[Saijahn]

Just announce some top tier exclusives. Not timed exclusives, actual exclusives.

Scorpio is going to sel itself to those that want it. We've already made up our minds no matter the price tag 399-499. So there's no need to spend much time on that unless you break the standard and say all multiplat games will have the benefit of 4K 60 if the devs want that. Rather than there needing to be symmetry.

I think that alone would win e3 and make Scorpio a must buy.

Like hey Destiny 2 will run at native 4K /60 fps on scorpio ...that cripples the competition who owns the exclusive content rights.

But in the end, just have some killer games launching this year and early next year. No more Recore type exclusives.

Sony is dropping God of war, the last of us etc MS can't afford to come with casual mediocre games any more. I know hey have heir place but it's time for killer ip

[LordJamar]

they will have exclusives we already know this

[Saijahn]

Of course they will have exclusives like hey do every year. I just want them to be good and on the same level as Sony or better. Not Ori and he blind forest compared to The Ladt of Us 2...nothing against hose kind of games but I want something more substantial.

[LordJamar]

no one is compareing those games maybe worry about how good the games are instead of a budget to compare egos with sony if you want sony go play sony console

[showtimefolks]

nothing unless all of the sudden they own the IP's sony has, it's amazing how little money MS has spent on in house development besides the same 3 IP's

now sony is in position to simply dominate and don't give me that old tired line well there is nothing for me on ps4 because ps4 has diversity something xbox brand has lacked since day one

so here is the thing this isn't an angry rant or hate on xbox brand or it's fans, i for one hope that phil's trip to japan brings with him some support from those publishers. It's time xbox brand grows mature and looks for a wider audience instead of the same old same old

ms can't win e3 but they can surly have a great present and show a lot of games and a system which is powerful and has a gamer friendly price point (i never understood what you actually win at E3 maybe momentum is the right word)

so yes i do expect ms to really have a great conference it's just that sony has way too much and that's because for long long time they have been investing in studios and IP's

[II__BONE__II]

I have no intention on even watching Microsoft's press conference.
Until Microsoft produces games that I cannot play on my PS4 Pro or Gaming PC I could not care less what hardware they put out.
MS. needs diversity and exclusives like Uncharted,Horizon,God of War,Death Stranding,Days Gone,The Last of Us,Spider-Man,BloodBorne, The Show, Detroit B.H.,Ace Combat,Niho,Until Dawn.....and on and on. Not to mention what other exclusives that will be revealed at this years E3.
MS. keeps re-hashing the same 3 tired retreads Gears,Halo and Forza.
So with a PS4 Pro and a pretty decent gaming PC I cannot see why I would want to shell out 4 to $500 for a Scorpio or what ever the hell they end Up calling it.
Enlighten me.

[LordJamar]

you are not there target audience for there console so yeah good bye good ridden also rehashing the same games? your either stupid or blind hate all you want give credit when its due

[DialgaMarine]

They're not going to "come out on top". I don't know why these attention-whore sites keep making these stupid lists. The best MS can hope for is that Scorpio doesn't get totally ignored, and enough devs are willing to put effort into it. God knows this gen has already shown their exclusives front to be hopeless.

[super_cuddles]

They need to do that Kinect e3 thing again,, that will win it tsk tsk

[TheSaint]

A bunch of great (truly great) exclusives.

[Einhander1971]

Keep dreaming that's what Microsoft need to do lol. Oh and Crackdown is fucking one game, that won't save em.

[LordJamar]

good thing they have more then one also zelda was just 1 game some times thats all it could take

[CrazedFiend]

Limit Scorpio coverage. Show lots of games that are NOT Halo, Forza, Gears.

[BIGBOSS08]

Microsoft can have a strong e3 but they have no chance of coming out on top with Sony and Nintendo around. There's more excitement for sony and Nintendo because the have killer software like mario odyssey and god of war that people are really hyped for. What game does microsoft have that everyone is excited for? Do they think scorpio is gonna take the focus off them having no software?

[mochachino]

What MS needs to do to come out on top is go back in time to when they decided to push Kinect instead of exclusives and charge to access netflix and IE and say, "now way, we have the best games right now and are leading this console race. If it ain't broke, don't fix it and obscene nickel and dimming may destroy our fragile consumer good will with RROD an all" .