650°

Microsoft unveils stellar line-up Gamescom 2011

Opening Wednesday, August 17, 2011, Microsoft’s presence on the gamescom show floor will reaffirm Xbox 360 as the platform to play this holiday’s top games and promises to thrill core gamers with blockbuster titles and content available exclusively on Xbox 360, including the multi-million selling “Gears of War” franchise playable in Germany for the very first time.

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itfgaming.com
fluffydelusions4665d ago (Edited 4665d ago )

I'm betting they will be announcing a price cut tomorrow too! If you're going to disagree at least leave a comment as to why lol. Seems pretty obvious it's going to happen.

4665d ago Replies(8)
saladthieves4665d ago

It would be too weird if they suddenly made a price cut or change strategies because Sony cut prices. They will stick to their plan. If there is a price cut, it probably won't be due to Sony, this would have been planned.

EVILDEAD3604665d ago

The bottomline is Micrsoft is coming strong this holiday.

Gears in September is going to be a beast at retail

Forza 4 looks like the title has a chance to do big numbers worldwide..and only time will tell if it can break into mainstream with the Kinect features.

October they are also releasing sequels to to of the biggest selling Kinect games from last year..Both Kinect Sports 2 and Dance Central 2 are no brainers if you own Kinect

The end of October and the beginning of November mark what will be the showdown of the gaming industry in Battlefield and Call of Duty: MW3..both will be HUGE..but as every year proves COD seems to help the 360 sell hardware as well.

Not only that bringing up the anchor is Halo Anniversary which is a Halo fan's dream..I know it's mine.

Not too mention all of the big multi's from Batman to Skyrim to Assasin's Creed..which I hope do big numbers on both systems.

At the end of the day, Kinect could be a huge factor if Micrsoft continues to push the brand. Especially the fact the Kinect Disney and Sesame Street have HUGE potential for parents with young kids. But advertising will be make or break for those titles (Disney Channel, Nickelodeon etc.)

The 'X' factor is if Micrsoft plays hardball and goes for the price drop as well. It'll be interesting to see what decision is made.

Great times to be a gamer..best holiday & holiday ever

Evil

4665d ago
darthv724665d ago

I would expect it to be not so obvious on the 360 but on the kinect. $99.99 for the stand alone kinect would sell quite well this holiday.

There are plenty of people out there that probably want one but the $150 price is a bit standoffish. Like nintendo is seeing sales increase exponentially with the 3ds MS could see a strong sales on a $99 kinect.

Lowering the price on the main console when it is still selling is not usually what somebody does. That is when sales are dropping below margins that cost cutting comes into play.

saladthieves4665d ago

I don't think that there will be a price cut announced tomorrow. Microsoft's Xbox 360 has been selling very well. My guess is they are going to wait and see if the PS3's price cut has any impact on market sales. THEN they'll respond accordingly, likely with a price cut of their own.

joab7774664d ago

It us a great time to b a gamer although it would b nice if I could clone myself so I had time to play everything. Honestly though id rank the ps3 first, pc second and xbox 3rd. But as this article pointed out, that doesn't mean it is a bad holiday season for xbox. It will b interesting to see how sales r for the consoles and the games as money is tight and the level.of competition is at an all time high. Honestly xbox shouldn't simply cut its consoles price but also the kinnect or a bundle. U know it may b the best gaming year ever when im pretty sure I wont b playing gears 3 or uncharted 3 on day 1. Ill buy them but im sure ill b playing deus ex or resistance 3 in september and rage, batman and battlefield when uncharted releases. Also though for xbox is the release of the witcher 2. Man, ill be playing skyrim when it releases....wtf...what do I do? Lol. It is great time. If no games released until may next year, I would still hav something to play til then. Unfortunately Q1, is just as packed as this fall.

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4665d ago
gamingdroid4665d ago

Because MS is likely to take a wait and see approach. You don't drop the price without evidence your sales are hurting.

A $50 price drop, on 10 million unit is half a billion dollars and that is a low end estimate.

That is a lot of dough and you don't do that unless you feel you have to or need market share (i.e. to get support), something neither does.

beastgamer4665d ago

xbox price just makes me believe MS is thinking and following sony steps

-LUKE_SKYWALKER-4664d ago (Edited 4664d ago )

Let me ask you something - Say you have been selling lemonade on your block for a $1 for years with no competition and then I come along and open a lemonade stand and sell my lemonade for for 50 cents are you going to continue to sell your lemonade for $1?

PJF_Josh4664d ago

@luke_skywalker:
I will if I'm selling my lemonade in Gears and Halo cups because people are still gonna buy it either way ;-)

--Onilink--4664d ago

@-lukeskywalker-

here is an example as to why i might keep selling lemonades at $1.

Say i was selling 100 lemonades per month, then you come and start selling and my sales drop to 75 per month. Im still making $75.

Now if i drop to 50 cents just to keep my 100 sales per month, i would only be making $50 per month...

This is just a very simple scenario obviously, but maybe it can show you that a price drop is not something thats done without some heavy research 1st

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xAlmostPro4665d ago

Gears playable for the first time? i guess the beta didn't count as playable :s

Shepherd 2144665d ago

Gears playable for the first time in Germany, derp.

badz1494665d ago

really? no one in Germany downloaded the leaked version? doubt it!

NewZealander4665d ago

same stuff we already know about, and screw a price cut, i already have the console, i just want some decent games, not kinect BS.

PRHB HYBRiiD4665d ago

Lol look at all the trolls on the comments.

chriski3334664d ago

Wow stellar is not a word that should be used wit xbox line up

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NYC_Gamer4665d ago

I'd buy a 360s if the drop happens and get rid of my fat 20gb

Spitfire_Riggz4665d ago

Yeah I've actually been waiting for this. If the 4 gig goes down to 150 im getting it. Then ill get the best of both consoles!

-LUKE_SKYWALKER-4664d ago

Your name says allot about you and if you ever need someone to talk to remember that I am her.

No joke

silkrevolver4665d ago

Not that I don’t want it to happen, on the contrary, I’d be thrilled if Microsoft announced some real games... but what developers would they be coming from? Just saying.

Tilian4665d ago

Reads like a PR piece. Plus many of the titles in this "stellar line-up" are Kinect titles.

Megaton4665d ago

Was gonna say the same thing. It sounds like this was literally copied off a press sheet.

MrBeatdown4665d ago

I got a paragraph in and started wondering what the hell I was reading. It sounds exactly like a press release, yet it has the author's name on it.

4665d ago Replies(3)
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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 Fingers4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

F*** AI

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

Einhander19724d 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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darthv723d 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.

Einhander19723d ago (Edited 3d 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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CaptainFaisal3d 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.

MrDead3d 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_Batman3d ago (Edited 3d 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.

Number1TailzFan3d 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

helicoptergirl3d ago

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

BlackDoomAx2d 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
Psychonaut857d ago

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

380°

Microsoft's quest for short-term $$$ is doing long-term damage to Windows, Surface, Xbox, and beyond

Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation, and it all revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood's plans to increase every department's margins.

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windowscentral.com
Brazz9d ago

"The plan to move Xbox games to other platforms is codenamed "Latitude" internally, and I know there's debate and unease at Microsoft about whether or not this is a good idea. More upcoming Microsoft-owned games slated for PlayStation are already being developed. At least for now, they're potentially obvious games you'd most likely expect. And yes, while it's true Microsoft is a prolific publisher on PlayStation already, it has typically revolved around specific franchises like Minecraft. From what I've heard, Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation, and it all revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood's mandate to increase every department's margins. "

Yeah, they are going to kill Xbox hardware.

Xeofate9d ago

"Yeah, they are going to kill Xbox hardware."

It's for the best.

Quit stringing along xbox fans and screwing over PlayStation owners.

crazyCoconuts9d ago

Take good care of those Xboxes if you have 'em ...

outsider16249d ago

An Xbox game on a Playstation. Never in my years of gaming did i ever thought this was gonna happen.

jznrpg9d ago

It is dying anyway so doesn’t make much of a difference

VersusDMC9d ago

No way can they get rid of the hardware as probably 90% of game pass subscribers are hardware users.

Highly doubtful those users will move to PC or Cloud to subscribe there and the competition (Sony and Nin) will never have gamepass on their system.

If they want to keep the current subscribers, they need to keep releasing new hardware.

PSPSA8d ago

I'm not convinced, why then announce that they're actually working on the next-generation Xbox with “the largest technical leap”, and also looking into handhelds now?

Rols8d ago

Not like MS don’t drop things a hot potato if it is not performing. Look at MS history to see products or platforms discontinued. Xbox is not a charity for MS, it needs to make money and the ABK was the last roll of the dice for Xbox.

purple1018d ago

Xbox hardware team members have been incorporated into surface team

This perhaps shows they are not expecting big things from Xbox as a separate entity

Abear218d ago

Seems like they are planning to win next gen. All the acquisitions were this generation and nobody except Xbox fans expect games from the acquisitions any time soon.

I’m sure Microsoft can afford to lose money on the short term, pretty sure they do risk assessment when acquiring many companies and spending billions, they’ll be fine lol.

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gold_drake9d ago

i think it will kill off the xbox brand. windows will be fine.

but there is and would be a chance that xbox might be killed off in the future. if they fail to make the money they put in. imo.

S2Killinit9d ago

They wont kill it, but they will go fully PC while keeping xbox as a brand, and go multiplatform for the most part. They will also work tirelessly to diminish console gaming’s importance.

PRIMORDUS9d ago

It would be best if Xbox goes the way of Sega, just make and publish games. I know I myself will not support them at all with buying games from them, you all can. 🙃

ChasterMies9d ago

The Xbox brand will live for the games. I don’t expect Microsoft to entirely drop out of gaming hardware. They make Surface tablets and laptops. They’ll make Xbox branded hardware for those that want it.

shadowT9d ago

"Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation"

Forza and Starfield next?

Skuletor9d ago

Starfield would be no surprise and there's the rumor that it will come to Playstation after the Shattered Space DLC, Forza (along with Halo and Gears of War) I find less likely but I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually end up on PlayStation too, especially if Xbox give up on hardware and go the Sega route.

shinoff21839d ago

Not to worried about forza. I'd rather see others like what inxile and obsidian are working on. Starfield sounds like it needs more time in the oven so let it cook first imo. If starfield and it's a small if does release on ps it'll be in the fall around the time for dlc or right at the dlc and come packaged with it.

-Foxtrot9d ago

In the words of Phil Spencer when he was talking about Nintendo last year

“It's just taking a long time for Microsoft to see that their future exists off of their own hardware"

S2Killinit9d ago

Yup. MS are a cancer to console gaming.

Aloymetal9d ago

100%!!
I wonder what happened to that dude that was always here posting those court articles with cartoons about MS spending all those billions in studios. He suddenly disappeared, I guess he doesn't like bad news when the green brand is in trouble. No new articles from him as of late...

PRIMORDUS9d ago

Yup, and it's only going to keep spreading.

Outside_ofthe_Box9d ago

Phil Spencer's words always comes back to bite him lol

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