830°

Could Microsoft Outsource Xbox 720 to Samsung?

Gadgehit writes: "It is no secret that the original Xbox 360 contained many “off-the-shelf” electronic components, from disc drives down to chips. This was probably a factor that caused the dreaded “red ring of death,” which Microsoft found so difficult to overcome. So, it would make sense to outsource most of the production of the device, and create a contract which applies all electronic failure blame to the manufacturer of that device."

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gadgehit.com
THC CELL4565d ago

Won't happen why would ms give half of the money to them

bumnut4564d ago

Because they are one the biggest electronics manufacturers in the world.

saladthieves4564d ago

Yes, and given Microsoft's past experiences in hardware development for their Xbox 360 *cough*RRoD*cough* compared to how excellent Samsung is with their hardware, it would make sense.

blumatt4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

Both MS and Sony (to a lesser degree) need to make for damn sure these next gen consoles are more reliable than this generation has been. People have had to deal with too much BS this gen regarding quality. There's been the RRoD and the YLoD. I myself got the YLoD on my 40GB phat PS3. It pissed me off to no end. We shouldn't have to worry about these consoles breaking down so much when they cost upwards of $400 at launch. It's asinine!!!!

We shouldn't stand for sub-par build quality and hardware design from any game company.

Boody-Bandit4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

Great article! /s
MS already outsources their hardware.
Samsung are giants in the electronic industry. That would be an excellent choice. Doubt it would happen. If it did it would be the smartest moves MS ever made.

Army_of_Darkness4564d ago

Not gonna happen... Isn't samsung in partnership with Sony already anyways?!

JRobes4564d ago

I thought that in the past whenever Microsoft would demo a 360 game for a crowd or for tradeshows they used Samsung televisions.... I could be mistaken though. It's a possible partnership by I doubt it as well.

RememberThe3574564d ago

Yeah because leaving the price of your hardware in the hands of an other company is a great idea. That didn't bite them in the ass last gen.

/s

MS is going to make their own console. They got screwed over by Nvidia last gen and they don't want their fate in the hands of someone else again. They'll keep it as in house as they can and they've already improved the 360's failure rate astronomically with the new design.

MS will make the nest Xbox themselves.

Captain Qwark 94564d ago

sam makes some of the best electronics imo, i only trust my electronics to them or sony, simple as that. if there going to outsource there in no better choice, other than sony obviously lol but that would clearly never happen ( i cant even imagine the awesomeness that would happen if they combined though, sonys hardware capabilities with ms programmers, a fusion of psn and xbl and a fusion of the controllers, too good to ever be true.... )

darthv724564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

it means there is a possibility of expansion from even more makers as well. 3DO was the first (that i can recall) to go multi mfg for units that were 3DO compatible. Ranging from PC boards (via Creative Labs) and Goldstar, Sanyo and of course Panasonic (Originator of the 3DO).

MS could make the next xbox like they did windows. Build the platform and license it to be used by other makers to build systems compatible with the games and the OS.

This would be a kick to Sony as what happened with the days of Beta (a better video format I must say) not licensing the tech to other video player companies. Then JVS made VHS and licensed it out and all sorts of companies that wanted to build VCR's.

This is in theory but with more companies building compatible units they could effectively spread the xbox platform further than they have currently. Samsung could be the first with the potential of others to follow.

Cicinho4563d ago

"MS could make the next xbox like they did windows. Build the platform and license it to be used by other makers to build systems compatible with the games and the OS"

Yeah its called Windows Games, if you missed it.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 4563d ago
PCRockStar4564d ago

I think you guys need a lesson in how electronics are made. You think MS is making consoles? You think Apple makes iPads? Ummm, no! They are outsourced. You have components from different sources and they are put together by another company.

JhawkFootball064564d ago

@PCRockStar

Well said. Hoping MS invests in well made components, even if it does mean having to increase the price of the console. They certainly cannot afford to have another 3 red ring fiasco.

whitesoxfalife19764564d ago

exactly everybody has their hands on everything... and if this does happen this will be the first in console history!!!

AzaziL4564d ago

Put together by Foxconn employees that work in such bad conditions, they put nets around the buildings they work to deter suicides. And we wonder why these chinese products are so shoddy, I'd build em like crap too if I was getting paid pennies a day and my home was the size of a storage closet...

BitbyDeath4564d ago

They are talking about who will control the design of the next Xbox. Which parts get used, what goes where, etc.

The document uses the Microsoft Surface 2.0 as the example stating that MS outsourced it to Samsung, meaning MS did not have control over the manufacturing process.

gamingdroid4564d ago

MS owns the technology (or rather has licenses) for the major components of the Xbox 360 i.e. MS can choose the chip manufacturer for the graphics chips for instance.

However, the Xbox 360 itself originally composed of more than 1700 components from various manufacturers. These are then assembled in factories.

One of the main assembler/providers are Foxconn, whom you might recognize as maker of a vast majority of PC components such as motherboards, graphics card and so on for companies like Asus, XFX and eVGA.

So in essence, it is already outsourced. The design is in house in conjunction with MS' partners that MS retains the "license" for.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4564d ago
Shackdaddy8364564d ago

Microsooft makes most their money off software so it really wouldn't matter too much.

Plus, MS has never been really good with hardware(mostly because they are a software company). First Xbox basically just had PC parts in it and it ended up costing MS a fortune. 360 had all those red ring of death problems at the start.

Boody-Bandit4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

I would wager MS gathers their largest profits off of XBL. That has to be their biggest profit margin per money invested.

Mickbelfast4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

@brutallyhonest

I think you'll find that the money Xbox live or the whole Microsoft entertainment department of Microsoft makes doesn't take in even close to what their software department does.
Here's a link below of the income from various departments within Microsoft, the entertainment (Xbox etc) doesn't come close to the operating system & software side of things, this is from 2008 but I doubt the gap has shortened

http://www.tannerhelland.co...

EDIT: here's the 2010 version instead, big improvement on income but still nowere near as close to other departments
http://www.tannerhelland.co...

Boody-Bandit4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

Mickbelfast
Oh my bad. I thought this was "news for gamers" so I was "assuming" we would stick to the "gaming" part of their business. Now again, what I am alluding to, is MS more than likely makes more profit off of XBL (gaming division) per dollar invested than anything else in gaming.

I mean they spend a ton of cash on marketing their console and hardware but I dont recall any advertising for XBL but I see a ton of advertising "on" XBL. Which makes them even more money per $$$ invested. XBL for MS in "gaming" makes them a ton of cash. I would wager it's one of the most profitable things going in gaming today per $ invest to $ gained.

gamingdroid4564d ago

True, but that is just because MS makes gobs and gobs of money in their software business.

The E&D division from your link made $700 million, which is nothing to scoff at. Most company's don't make that much, let alone from one division.

Mickbelfast4564d ago

@brutallyhonest

We both know that's not what you ment & now your just talking shit, you were just schooled on 100% fact & figures

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4564d ago
dark-hollow4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

Wow so many misinformed people here!

Do you really think that ms,sony or any freaking company makes their own hardware? And i mean all of it???
The xbox 360 have hardware bits that was not made by microsoft and actually being made by another company..
And yeah, so does the ps3, wii, and possibly EVERY ELECTRONICS IN THE WORLD!

So when samsung will make parts for the next box they will not have ANY control about the console itself and thats up to the buyer which is ms.

Imagine like you are buying wood from a store to make a door.
Yes the door is built by you, but you took the resources from the store itself and they have no control over how you use their wood!!
Even enemies like samsung and apple are still buying and selling parts from each other. It is business...

skrug4564d ago

I think Samsung makes their own parts for their products at least some of them ;)

ATi_Elite4564d ago

that Microsoft is a SOFTWARE company and not a HARDWARE company. Microsoft makes their cash from licensing their SOFTWARE.

MS could have their next box built in a factory run by Samsung thus ensuring a higher level of manufactured quality. The design and stuff would still be Microsoft's.

MS would NOT be splitting profit with Samsung cause MS has to pay the "Labor Fee" to whatever factory built the 360. same rule applies to the next box and MS would have to pay Samsung for the labor.

Samsung would only be insuring manufacturing quality and that's it. MS would still get all the profit from each "Box" sold.

when you make some thing you have to account for the cost of PARTS and the cost of LABOR. Since the hardware sales money is NOT AS important in video game industry as the SOFTWARE money MS can survive selling the Next Box at a slight lost until they can figure out how to get cheaper parts cause the labor price is gonna stay the same.

having Samsung build it will ensure a higher level of manufacturing thus MS will not lose a Billion dollars on warranties this time around if this RUMOR is true. Also the parts MS chose just could of been cheap ass parts or just a bad design like the heat issues.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4563d ago
Pandamobile4564d ago

Would be an interesting partnership. Let Samsung focus on the hardware and Microsoft the software

qwertyz4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

This article FAILS.

MS designed xbox1 hardware AND software and there was NO RROD like incident(because MS actually took their time to design xbox1 but rushed the 360) so what makes you think MS can't get it right with their nextbox.

The jaspers model 360s do not suffer from rrod and the slims are also very good so MS has corrected the design mistakes they made with the launch 360 models so what makes you think they can't get it right day 1 with the nextbox ? they aren't rushing this time the way they where in 2005 to get the 360 out because they're actually making alot of money each gen with good 360 console sales as well as game and kinect sales.

mcstorm4564d ago

I agree with you here ms make alot of pc hardware and its all very well made and very reliable but the 360 was rushed and thats why they had the problem at the start and the orignal xbox was the most reliable of last gen.

IRetrouk4564d ago

jasper units do still fail, i had the resident evil 360, it started doing the whole disk read error thing, traded that sucker in. got the gears slim, very pleased so far.

dcortz20274564d ago

Microsoft fails in the software department, that is, unless you like Kinect, lol.

boommuffin4564d ago

i think you got it backwards there......

CrimsonEngage4564d ago

I don't want Samsung logo anywhere on my damn Xbox. Stick to making TV's. That's what you guys do best.

bumnut4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

Why not? They make lots of things like RAM and hard drives. I don't care who makes it as long as it is more reliable than 360.

There would not be a samsung logo on it just because they make it.

kneon4564d ago

They make everything from ships to semiconductors and whole lot in between. Samsung is huge.

Felinox4564d ago

I'm a huge Samsung fan as they fixed my 3 1/2 year old tv which was completly out of warranty for free. The paid for a local company to come fix the capacitor issue. Id have no prob with them if they made the next box.

WetN00dle694564d ago

Agreed! I wouldnt mind a small Samsung Logo under or above the Xbox logo. Manufactured by Samsung with pride!

Perjoss4564d ago

If its reliable hardware then who cares. As long as its clear that its a Microsoft product it will do really well no matter who actually makes it.

Shackdaddy8364564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

They make way more than TVs. I just ordered a couple of Samsung ICs off of digikey.

Horny4564d ago

Imagine if they brought out a console to compete with sony.

Bolts4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

Sony's TV display pannels are made by Samsung. Apple's retina screens are made my Samsung.

Logo or not you're already a fan. You just don't know it yet.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4564d ago
arnyftw4564d ago

This is never going to happen.

Baka-akaB4564d ago

"create a contract which applies all electronic failure blame to the manufacturer of that device"

That kind of statement makes it seems as if Microsoft cared about such negative stigma on the 360 to begin with . Or at least enough to waste valuable profits on providing perfect hardware .

True or not , they dont care and dont have to , as it didnt negatively affected their sales (just like ps2 did fine with faulty hardware)

videoxgamexfanboy4564d ago

If ms didnt care as u put it then they would n ot have extended the warrenty for a yr or so for free to anyone with rrod. They lost a lot of money buy doing that. Imo that was excellent customer service. True they shouldnt of rushed the 360 but they did the best they could do...ill be first in line to buy all next gen consoles...

YodaCracker4564d ago

The first step was admitting there was a problem. At first, they denied the scope of these hardware failures, but once they admitted there was a huge problem, they took all the right steps. They had the 3 year warranty on all Xbox 360 consoles and today, the new 360 models have a hardware failure equal to or lower than current PS3 models. Now let's see what happens next gen.

skrug4564d ago

They extended the warranty because there was class action lawsuit if they didn't they would have to do a mass recall

Baka-akaB4564d ago

The point is they compensated without losing much money nor hardware sales .

So why suddenly split your share of the benefits if you can still handle it on your own ? That's my actual point .

IRetrouk4564d ago

a billion isnt much to you? wanna go out?

Tuxedo_Mask4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

It's a pretty big stretch to compare the number of faulty Xbox 360s to the number of faulty PS2s. I never had a PS2 that didn't work right, but I know a lot of people who have had RROD.

I'm not trying to bash MS in saying this though because the fact of the matter is that consoles do a lot more these days than they have before, which is probably why an NES from the 80s still runs but 360s and PS3s have a risk of overheating and becoming useless.

My 60GB PS3 still works, and I'm happy it does, but I do my best to take care of it in an attempt to prevent anything from breaking. My NES still works too, but that's only because my dad fixed it when it broke when I was a kid. It's a simpler system and while he was able to fix it I doubt if he'd even know where to start if I showed him the inside of a PS3 or 360.

Baka-akaB4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

It's hardly a stretch . Many ps2 suffered from lens issues after some time .. issues further increased by use of burned discs back then . Heck even the ps1 did a bit too .

From all account it was as widespread as rrod , only less mediatized online and way easier and cheaper to fix . I used to repair those for like 20-30$ when those console were kings

Tuxedo_Mask4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

@Baka-akaB

If you say so. I've never heard many complaints about the reliability of the PS2, but the internet does seem to bring the roaches out into the light.

Even so, $20-30 to repair compared to today. The PS2/Xbox/GC generation may not have been too long ago, but the components in those systems were simpler than what we have now. While I'd like to have systems that are 100% reliable I just don't see it happening with all of the things new systems are expected to do now.

WitWolfy4564d ago (Edited 4564d ago )

Every single person I know who owned a first gen Xbox 360 had to experience thee "RROD" fiasco. Took me long after that to convince them to get the slims seeing that their 10X more reliable then the first consoles shipped

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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.

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culturedvultures.com
piroh9d ago (Edited 9d ago )

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

ChasterMies8d ago

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

OtterX9d 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.

RNTody9d ago

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

S2Killinit8d ago (Edited 8d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic8d 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-GP4d 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 4d ago
Cacabunga9d ago (Edited 9d 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_8d ago

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

Cacabunga8d ago

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

FinalFantasyFanatic8d ago (Edited 8d 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.

Rainbowcookie7d ago

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

bunt-custardly8d 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).

Cacabunga8d 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..

S2Killinit8d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic8d 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_9d 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

shinoff21838d ago (Edited 8d 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

ChasterMies8d 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 Fingers13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

F*** AI

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

Einhander197213d 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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darthv7212d 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.

Einhander197212d ago (Edited 12d 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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CaptainFaisal13d 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.

MrDead13d 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_Batman13d ago (Edited 13d 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.

Number1TailzFan13d 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

helicoptergirl13d ago

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

BlackDoomAx11d 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
Psychonaut8516d ago

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