Microsoft, change your strategy, or drop out (long read)

84 million!!???!??!!

1 year head start - scratch 10 mill.

Coming off Halo 1 fanbase into new gen - 20-30 mill.

RROD - cut the sales by about half to be genrous 30-40mill.

What does that leaves us with? at about the same rate as you mentions above but the difference? PS4 is more......powerful this times around.

A gamer that wants Sony's main competition to drop out of the console game...great strategy, that would really drive competition and innovation.

The XBOX platform DOES NOT need many convoluted 1st party games/exclusives to stay afloat. Yes they MAY need some newer IPs but only if they feel they're very profitable in the long run and what they already have is all that really matters currently because from a business perspective those current "trifecta" as many of you label them as, are already TOP SELLERS, and have a very strong fan base & attach rate. Added to that "trifecta" is MS' strong relationship with 3rd party developers and signing exclusive DLCs with many 3rd party publishers and developers only makes the XBOX platform more viable and sustainable in this industry. As far as MS leaving the industry, only in a pathetic fanboys' wet dreams. I don't see them going anywhere. ALL 3 consoles are viable and symbiotic to each other because that's what brings in variety and competition in this dog eat dog industry.

Exactly

Tekken - A franchise that started PS1 era. Long before there was an XBox

Ridge Racer - See also Tekken

Ace Combat - See also Ridge Racer and Tekken

Devil May Cry - 2001 game on PS2.. Are you actually mad that a Japanese game wasn't on Xbox at launch? Again, show me evidence of the money hatting and stop playing games.

Katamari Damacy - Literally a game that is the direct result of the PS2s enormous installed fanbase.

Kingdom Hearts - Show me proof of the moneyhatting

Final Fantasy - A game series that started back when Microsoft was a niche tech company... A series that made the jump from N64 to PS1 due to CDs

Silent Hill - See also PS1 era rebuttal

Resistence - Proof of moneyhatting?

R&C - Proof of moneyhatting?

Spyro - PS1 era franchise

Etc etc.. - Still waiting to see proof Sony moneyhatted a franchise. A link, a video documentary. A quote. Something...

Microsoft's biggest issue is that last gen, the were more focused on aping Sony's market (all them JRPGs and former third party exclusives) and then doing the same towards Nintendo with Kinect. It worked out fantastic for the 360, but at the end of the day there really weren't that many franchises actually synonymous with the Xbox. Honestly, as I said in another thread, Halo is the one killer app Microsoft actually has. Fable and Forza have fan bases, but neither drive console sales, and Gears of War lost majority of the steam it used to carry.

Not that Sony is that much stronger, but Uncharted, God of War, and Gran Turismo are still strong enough for them to fallback on.

Of course, Sony is also in the business to make money. That's the whole point of having a business but the difference is Sony doesn't look so evil doing it. Microsoft botched Xbox One and has never fostered a great first party lineup as they coasted along Halo-Forza-Gears success.

Nintendo is essentially a worse version of Sony since all they have is interesting first party games that appeal to little kids and none of the third party support. Oh yeah, their consoles blow too. The Wii U is a console that should have been made in 2006 rather than Wii. That way they could have come out with a modern and up to date console ... like a Wii U 2 two years ago.

Sony's consoles are consistent in quality and craftsmanship. The PS4 is a confirmation of Sony's place in the gaming industry. The best console on the market in terms of price, console craftsmanship and services. PS Plus, PS Now, etc, are optional, unlike Xbox Live that used to put services like Netflix behind a paywall. The PS4 is awesome, it boots up fast, it starts up games fast, it starts apps fast, ... it does everything fast. I am quite nitpicky and having a console that does things fast is a blessing because I despised sitting, looking at the screen .... waiting for menus and games to load. That's virtually gone with PS4.

You see, I care about the quality of the console and the games they offer. So far, Sony has been the best. Microsoft might as well rename Xbox to Halobox because that's the only game people buy a Xbox for.

Implying keeping XBox around is driving competition and innovation in the first place.. Cool story bro. Where would we be without DRM and video image recognition spyware in our living rooms. I've really seen the light. Thank you for your post.

Oh yeah, what were we thinking? An installed fanbase of approximately 5M consoles 9 months into the hardware cycle is really showing us that strong position of your rebuttal.

You said it yourself, it's a DOG EAT DOG industry and every time a dog gets eaten, something bigger and better shows up usually. You guys preach this bullshit about gaming needing Microsoft but it's Microsoft that needed gaming AND SPENT A CONSOLE DEBUT TELLING US TO WATCH MORE TV YOU FUCKING TWITS.

LOL

After 14 years, this is still all that Lems can talk about.

Halo and Gears of War

A couple of linear shooters that have just been rinsing and repeating the same old bullshit for over a decade. XBOX fanboys cling to these two franchises like shit to velcro.

Microsoft is currently the 3rd most valuable corporation in the world, yet they seemingly never release any new IP's.

Sony rarely buys games. But, in it's heyday, it did buy a lot of studios.

Well think about it like this ps2 dominated and pretty much had no competition then they made the ps3. Selling less than the Wii and having a close competition with the 360 arguably made the ps4 as good as it is today . Would you at least agree with that ?

Still 84 Million sold no matter how much you damage control it. Truth hurts sometimes; I know.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-399-xbox-one-out-now-xbox-360-sales-rise-to-84-million/1100-6420231/

Not particularly. The PS1 was very developer friendly in its time. Having this artificially inflated race for online content service delivery seems to have permanently imbedded the annual online fee into core gaming on console. Also, if MS built on the things that made the 360 successful rather than completely abandoning all of it before the XBone was even announced, then I could see some reason for it.

As it stands I can't help but look at the original Xbox One announcement and see where, if left to its own devices, Microsoft would want to take the console gaming industry. That is the eventual end-game to keeping them around and it is a vision for the living room they have pursued since they bought WebTV if we're perfectly honest.

The problem I see with keeping Microsoft around is a little different than what the Cows are mooing about. There is little doubt in my mind that XBox Two will be the natural evolution to the 360 that the XBone was supposed to be and it will be met with much fanfare. It's Xbox Three that you have to worry about. Even to this day, in interviews with a lot of XBox top brass over at MS, they answer questions about DRM with "the market wasn't ready" and "we really failed in the messaging" rather than "Yeah, we really had our heads up our asses and were gigantic fucking pricks for thinking gamers should be treated that way."

..and MS is the only company that can seemingly get away with pissing the entire world off yet keep their consoles on shelves because of their money. In a sense, they are the giant jacked up "Rolling Coal" pick up truck scrunching itself in to a three car parking garage next to a SMART car (Nintendo) and a McLaren 650S (Sony). They showed the world they are a square peg trying to fit a round hole at this point and the Tomb Raider announcement is yet another symptom of the reality. It is far more likely that it is Sony that is keeping Microsoft honest now.. If Sony is keeping someone honest, then holy mother mcfuck have we landed in a bad place here!

What a stupid statement. Seriously? Well I guess if you two would rather the public abandon the console and then watch MS pull out of the industry it's not stupid....but if you want to continue to game on an MS console you should be very concerned with what is going on this gen.

It was terrible when SEGA left the hardware market....one of the most innovative console makers ever. So I can't understand why someone that likes the company thinks they should continue down this path losing sales and everything will be a okay in Xbox land. It won't. It won't exist.

As someone that wants the opportunity to play any and all games available that strike my interest and has multiple consoles connected in my house.....I can tell you that looking objectively over the last several years and the new gen that MS is not a slam dunk this generation. Most of the games I want are multi plats on the Xbox brand. Their big three don't really interest me. Why don't they have variety in first party games? I don't need their console if they can't offer me that. Nintendo has Nintendo games. Can't get them anywhere else. Sony will end up with the same third party games as MS plus DOES have first party games worth playing that are only on Sony. THAT'S how you run your console. Yeah have all the AAA third party games PLUS here's some more you can't get anywhere else.

And the larger the gap becomes between the two the easier it is to ignore the console totally for third parties. Or at least just give them some token game. They tend to ignore Nintendo now and it hasn't hurt them.

Rah rah cheer lead all you want....but at the end of the day it's to the detriment of the brand.

Again, Sony is the one keeping MS honest, now.

SONY keeping someone honest..

SONY.

Que the goddamn Twilight Zone music if you are reading this.

LOL I was a bit irritated at Sony when the PS2 killed my DC.

Competition always does this. Atari were arrogant when they dominated, and they fell to better competion. Nintendo were, and they fell. Sony were, and they fell. MS were, and they fell. Competition is best for the industry. I thank MS when I'm earning trophies in Last Of Us ;)

Halo, Titanfall, Gears: FPS, TPS. Crackdown: RPGish GTAish TPS. Ryse, Dead Rising 3: Action game. Killer Instinct: Arcade fighting game. Forza 5, Horizon: Racing. Dance Central: Casual party game that doesn't suck.

MS has plenty of portfolio variety when competing against the other consoles. What a load of **** you just spit out. I didn't even list Sunset Overdrive or that Remedy game either lol. It all comes down to preference. And guess what? You can't play Halo 1,2,3, and 4 all online at 1080p 60 FPS anywere but Xbox One. That shit was my childhood, yo. This is the greatest thing to come out for me in years! **** a Killzone bro.

Not that I agree or disagree with any of that my only point is that Sony tuff time against Wii and 360 made Sony make the PS4 as good as it is . You even some what make a similar argument when you note that the Xbox 2 will be similar to 360 and get much fanfare. However you feel about MS is fine my only question is do you thing that if there was no 360 do you think the ps4 will be as good as it is now ?

LOL

Could you imagine what state the PS consoles would be in today had MS not entered the market.

MS forced Sony into making the PS3 a great console, because it was pathetic at launch. It seems the shoes have switched this time around. I'm just glad MS are a lot quicker going about it than Sony were.

@jg4xchamp:

Nintendo are the most successful gaming company of all time.

Yea, I always saw passion and drive to fulfill gamers' desires with Phil Spencer years ago before he took his current position. He couldn't be a better guy to head the Xbox brand. Bring back Toy Soldiers damnit!

Eh Atari fell because the video game market crashed. Too many games and not all quality. Had nothing to do with arrogance on Atari's part. Nintendo came in and resurrected video games but they were very iron fisted in what devs could do....and they couldn't put games on other platforms. That ended around the SEGA Genesis era. And SEGA gave them a run for their money. They led for a time and was the edgier console to get. What killed Nintendo was not adapting to the new format for games and wanting to stick with cartridges....well that and pissing Sony off by ending the partnership wherein Sony decided to make their own console. And got some of Nintendo's game due to format. Final Fantasy says hi for one....and that was a huge loss. And that seemed really to be the biggest downfall for Nintendo. The cartridge format. Once Sony entered.....well they dominated. The Saturn never really recovered....too costly and their DC didn't get the sales it should have because the PS2 would be releasing in a year.

Calling it arrogance is just such a simple explanation and other factors were involved. I think Nintendo meant to do the right thing...for themselves and their fans. Is a company really arrogant if they create something that sells? I don't know. I'm not going to assume emotions to business. Sony's problem last gen was expense. They wanted to introduce the Blu Ray format and it cost them. Is that arrogance? Or business? Not everything runs smooth in business. As for MS.....they wanted to take over your living room....and get a slice of the resale business. That was not met well. But their cupboards are bare when you look for games. That needs remedied...and for the love of games...don't accept their tricks. Do not ease up on them...or DRM will be back.

That's not really variety. Crackdown is described as a shooter game by the way. Dead Rising was not an exclusive previously..... you really haven't done much to show variety except make up your own genres.

Wow, this thread got really stupid really quickly.

Absolutely priceless. Thanks for the laughs. You must be the head of the debate team.

Anyway, I can't take anybody serious who claims to be a gamer and doesn't want MS to spend some of their billions on new IPs.

To a consumer choosing between a PS4 and One, these are games that are exclusive. Not everybody owns a $1000 rig like me in the world unfortunately and has lots of disposable income. Yes, IMO that's great variety, especially if you love to blow shit up like me. And rock out with my cock out dancing. Stop making MS to be this really bad guy in the gaming industry. Idc if the PS2 sold 150 million and the original Xbox sold 20 million, I gave at least 10x more hours to my Xbox than PS2 with Mech Assault 1+2, Crimson Skies, Halo 2, and Counter Strike on XBL. PS2 didn't have a community and to this day, I still don't get that sense of communtiy with PS. Only thing to match XBL for me so far is Steam.

Quoting myself because I am still unaware

PS4 is a waste of $400 right now unless you're a huge Killzone fan and like to replay a single player only game like inFamous many times over. lol. I don't think KIillzone fanboys exist though...

Oh for fucks sake. I don't care about your financial situation. I built a gaming PC myself which cost roughly that amount.....I also end up buying all 3 consoles generally. This gen the X1 is still a question to me as I'm waiting to see them support their console with other than multi plats and a narrow genre of games.

MS can only make themselves out to be bad guys. No one can do it for them. I was disgusted with what they attempted to do this gen...and glad all the backlash changed their course. I'm not adverse to picking up their console....IF THEY SHOW ME THE GAMES.

And again....still no variety in your gaming. Not everyone is YOU. Not everyone wants the same games as YOU. I don't think this thread is titled what should MS do for -RocBoy9489- now is it?

Some people would just like to see MS get involved in the actual games. And you are one of the rah rah cheer leaders for them. Congrats I guess.....

I'm sure you can come up with a more intelligent way of expressing yourself rather than resorting to petty personal attacks and name calling - even on System Wars. If you care about anyone ever taking you at all seriously, in life or on the internet, knock that off. It's childish.

SEGA killed your DC, not Sony. SEGA didn't have the money to continue supporting it, so they had to close up shop. Same thing could have to Sony in the near future. You are so concerned about M$ and the XB1. You should be more concerned about Sony. Whether the XB1 is losing money or not Microsoft actually has the funds to continue supporting it. It ain't going anywhere. Sony is already cutting back on "AAA" games, laying off employees at their Top 1st party studios and selling 2 HQ buildings for $1.5 billion, just so they can keep the PS4, Sony Filmand their Music division up and running. You better hope they don't run out of money.

*sigh* You really have a narrow view of life don't you? The DC didn't sell that well. Most gamers were waiting for the PS2 which came out a year later. Since their was a shortage at the time SEGA did get some sales at the PS2 launch...but the damn Sony machine was in huge demand and it did hurt SEGA.

Fast fact......consoles cost money to manufacture. Sales are needed to get to the break even point to begin making profit. If you don't reach the point you bleed money. DC didn't reach that point. EA abandoned the console....why I hate EA to this day. I don't actually hate Sony....just EA. But it definitely was a factor for SEGA.

And we come to Sony....the games division makes them money. They will divest themselves of other interests before they dump games. And MS might have money...but they also have to deal with the economic times as well...and shareholders that aren't going to stand around if the games division isn't successful. They want MS to get out of the games already. Do you not think if they get spanked in the market that might not just be the incentive to do so?

The world doesn't function in a vacuum. FYI....MS has closed some divisions and laid of employees as well. Since you don't pay attention to financial news.

It crashed because Atari allowed all sorts of broken shit on their console, to make money. They didn't care that consumers were being burned on broken, shitty games, they were the kings and still making money. Arrogance.

Nintendo told devs exactly what to do and pissed all over Sony with the original Playstation SNES add on. They assumed they could dictate whatever terms they wanted to everyone else. Arrogance. Your Final Fantasy example proves it. Square Enix said "**** that!" and defected to the "enemy" after 6 Nintendo Final Fantasies.

PS3 was obviously arrogance. 600+ euros, "They'll work another job to afford it", "Next gen begins when we say so", etc. That's clearly arrogance.

Xbox? Always Online? Kinect Inbuilt? You could argue crazy more than arrogant but either way ;)

I see where you're coming from but I must disagree. It seems when a video game company gets successful it goes to their head. They go mad with power and start trying to dictate reality around them. (Atari's lack of any quality standards, Nintendo's draconian rules and insistence on carts, Sony's insane price tag and PR, Microsoft's "always online debacle"). In turn, these were smashed by Nintendo's innovation and quality, Sony's new cheap CD console, Microsoft's core gamer focussed 360, and Sony's humble, gamer focussed PS4.

Well you know someone isn't able to carry on an adult conversation when they resort to insults. PREFERENCE? We weren't talking about preference. We were talking about the problems MS has. Look at their sales numbers compared to the competition and tell me there isn't a problem. I bet you MS knows it. That's why they have been scrambling this gen. Price drops...kinect drop....buying a timed exclusive for a game they were getting anyway.....but bury your head. And you won't have the choice for PREFERENCE soon if MS doesn't right the ship.

I never told you to buy the PS4. I don't give a rat's ass what you buy. But obviously a bigger demographic IS. And that is a problem for MS...whether you want to hear it or not.

The fact is that the gaming community is better off when Sony is doing better than MS.

Proof; Sony forced MS to not do DRM, used game fees, & mandatory kinect which all make gaming better for the consumer.

Sony brought Bluray discs into gaming which both now use and are better for gaming.

MS started this online charging BS which Sony now does in order to compete against MS. Bad for gamers.

Point is when MS is successful at something that's bad for the gamer like charging for online then it becomes standard.

When Sony is successful at something like stopping DRM, used game fees, or mandatory camera then it's good for gamers.

MS sucks for the gamer & Sony is good for the gamer.

You act like you've never done that before

Well no. It wasn't just Atari. They did have competition. And more than what we see now. Arrogance is stretching it. Atari didn't have any quotas per se. But they weren't the only ones.

Square did not say **** that. They said they couldn't create the game they wanted on a cartridge. It was a business decision based on tech. Period. Sony was also not the "enemy". They were just out of the gate in games.

Next gen always begins when someone says so. A new console comes out. Hey...it's next gen now. I doubt Sony ever said someone would work another job to buy it....maybe said find a way...and gamers do. I never buy at launch. Prices come down and games come out. Sony probably assumed the price wouldn't be a problem or that people would consider it a savings because they got a blu ray player with it. Which some people did. Took awhile for games.

When any business gets successful...yes...they think they know what they are doing. And yes...a setback can reel them in. I can agree on that. But arrogance? I don't think I'd use that word. It's a negative. Maybe over confident. I do think the majority of companies want to create a product for consumers. They do realize consumers pay their bills....and sometimes they make a bad decision. The PS3 might actually have sold better if they had games. Same problem this gen. Games should be in the pipeline and coming out regularly for a new gen. Not saying they have to all be out at launch....but a better staggered rate would be nice. Reason I haven't worried about jumping in this gen. No games I really really want. Though I do get the FF games...and the Arkham games so that will change sooner or later I guess.

@blackace

You know why people and I included or not worried about Sony and the playstation?

Because Sony does not put all of their money into one basket. Basic economics and its called having different devision just like MS has them and unlike Nintendo that does not have them.

Sony has profitable devisions like Playstation, Insurance, (Sonys biggest moneymaker) Smartphones etc. and they have unprofitable devision like their TV and PC (Which they sold recently) sectors . So if the worst thing happens they will just cut off unprofitable devision and continue with the profitable ones. Simple logic, right?

On the other hand we have MS with their huge profits coming from company services (servers and the like) and declining Windows and office licences. The xbox devision is unimportant in their eyes but ate and still eats billions in the last 14 years without ever breaking even as far as I know. Just last quarter they lost 400m even with accounting the profits from the 360 and xblg.

So tell me which devision has a better chance of getting cut? The devision that bring in money even if it is not much but contributes to companys overall profit or the devision that is completely unimportant in the eyes of the company while being a moneysink for the past 14 years.

Well I will call an ass an ass if they keep at it. Gj.;

Great post. This Xbox One doomsday bullshit is PS3 2007 all over again. Same shit, different gen. Greatness comes out of adversity, this is going to be a great gen for Xbox AND Sony. Not sure about Nintendo though...

Yeah, uh... I wouldn't bet on that.