Xbox One Discussion

[Patticus]

The latest delicious grindings from the rumor mill:

 

 

Wuh-oh!

[AdventChild]

The latest delicious grindings from the rumor mill:

 

 

Wuh-oh!

 

Now that XBONE store news thing from earlier is starting to make sense...

[Wraith]

So basically Microsoft is literally pulling away from one of the most popular gaming store chains to create their own store, thereby decreasing anyone's chances of giving a damn about the Xone.

 

 

I think they want this thing to die.

[Patticus]

If you're referencing the GAME Xbox store to open in London, that's just one branch of one chain. Unless there is a rumor suggesting a whole chain of US Xbox stores that I am unaware of.

[Solkia]

http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-one

 

It's still on their website. When it comes to retail, every Gamestop is inconsistent.

 

I'll check tomorrow if they can still be pre-ordered at the Gamestop I use.

[Linkabel]

Just last day they told me if I wanted to preorder this or the PS4.

[Tornado]

If I had to guess, I'd say that was a specific Gamestop being worried that there will be massive shortages because of it and hedging their bets against it to not piss off customers with how they had to cancel preorders. Really doubt it is an edict from on high.

 

 

Pretty sure Gamestop locations have a pecking order in regards to which store is guaranteed the most items, so that would factor in as well.

[RK64]

I doubt that GameStop is not going to have the Xbone; they are going to be one of the few retailers with the ability to "allow" us to trade in games, and its a brand new system, they going to want to have a lot of them in stock. 

 

Just the other day, the GameStop clerks made the PS4 a better sell for people wanting a Xbone, stating its cheaper, PS Plus giving you DriveClub, and pointing out its ability to play/trade used games.  I would not be surprised if the Ps4 becomes "the" system GameStop sells.

[Indigo Rush]

One of two realistic things need to happen now. Either way, it will begin with Microsoft failing BADLY.

 

1) Microsoft needs to fail BADLY, followed by a revamp of the Xbox One, or a new console that gets everything right.

I am by no means an Xbox fanatic, nor am I a hater, but if there's anything that I've learned from living with my room mate and playing their Xbox 360, it's that Microsoft has some dang good potential within itself to make a great game system. 360 was fantastic. I love it mainly for XBLA, and I'm sure many people love it for its exclusives. I bought several games (boxed and downloadable) for a console I don't even own. The same can't be said for the PS3 on my part. I don't want to see MS fail, because they have a great legacy behind them.

 

Despite fanboyish attitudes seen around the Internet, console wars help keep the industry alive and kicking. For Microsoft to drop out would mean that it's just Sony and Nintendo sparring out. Instead of 3 big dogs making fantastic, industry changing games to try and sell their system, it's one less. The impact may not be as tremendous as a singular monopolistic game publisher, but it is still one more reason for developers to slack off. Don't say it won't happen, either. Atari had no competition, and look what happened to the industry before Mario showed up. A triumphant return for Xbox would be the ideal situation, where we see a consumer friendly console oozing with must-have exclusives and a fantastic back catalog of Xbox and Xbox 360 games to choose from. That would be the best, and I personally favor Nintendo consoles. It's just what's best for the industry. But if things don't turn out this way, then...

 

 

2) Microsoft needs to fail BADLY, followed by a withdrawal from console production, and selling of their IPs to other publishers.

If MS shows no sign of changing their mindset on anti-consumer nonsense, it's best for the industry as a whole for them to drop out. It's truly the most unique kind of failure I've seen in the industry. Even looking back on SEGA's switch to third-party development, they left on a rather sad, nostalgic note. The Dreamcast was great, and much like Microsoft, SEGA has a legacy of great IPs (besides Sonic) that have made a great deal of an impact on the industry. But unlike the Dreamcast, the Xbox One is almost universally hated, and it hasn't even been released. It is an absolute nightmare of a console. This isn't the same thing as a misstep or a mistake, this is a deliberate thrust into a future of gaming that nobody ever wanted.

 

It actually creeps me out. Even factoring out the Kinect being able to be switched off, (because one of the greediest corporations ever can always be unquestionably trusted, right?) they still want absolute control over your video games, as well as your home entertainment system. This isn't the same thing as Steam. These are physical objects that you paid money for, and they want to tell you what to do with them. That's very untrusting and unfair to the gamer. This DRM drama is not even a simple matter of losing a neat extra feature of video game consoles that we can live without, this is a basic principal of economics. The consumer has the right of first sale. I bought a product, and due to the physical nature of said product, I am free to use it responsibly or irresponsibly to my choosing, and I'll reap the rewards or consequences duly just.

 

Now for PC platforms such as Steam, this is understandable, as most of the time it is a downloaded digital object that isn't exactly capable of being shared to another person. And even then, they're possibly working on a way to make that work! Microsoft is either absolutely insane, or they know exactly what they're doing, and are seeking to have an absolute monopoly over the industry, as well as its consumers. Spare me the conspiracy theory jabs, but I do not trust Microsoft one iota with my personal information after this plethora of bad news report after bad news report about how they managed to drop the ball on basic consumer rights. If this is their attitude, they really do need to stop making consoles and games and leave a spot open for another console developer to fill the gap. Maybe it's Ouya's time to shine, after all.

 

And let's hope Sony and Nintendo never jump on board with their nonsense. I'd rather buy and play the SEGA Game Gear and Virtual Boy combined than support the Xbox One. I don't want to give any more money to a company that has the ability to spy on you wherever you go.

 

...

 

 

... Bing, you're not welcome here.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Indigo Rush

[Indigo Rush]

Ah, fair enough, I admittedly did not do much research on that great console crash before posting. But I still think my main point still stands, at least in principle. Less consoles means less competition, and less competition could very well lead to less effort. Imagine if Nintendo was the only game developer, publisher and console producer in the market. No underdogs or rivals to challenge them. You think New Super Mario Bros is getting stale now? 

 

...and on that note, I neeeeeed to go to bed. I'll check in sometime tomorrow. Peace.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Indigo Rush

[Urban Flow]

Great post Indigo!

 

I however am still confused/anxious about Xbox One being sold by Gamestop. I mean the whole used games/DRM deal....ehehe I dunno. I mean if the CEO of Gamestop said he was looking forward to Xbox One pretty sure already knowing the DRM policies beforehand. Every part of microsoft is saying something different when it comes to DRM. I mean I am getting the system, because I personally like Xbox and have a good time on Xbox Live especially, but they need to set the record straight. Because its all mixed messages to me at this point.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Urban Flow

[Lady Soniko]

I can understand people bashing the console who are actual frequent, competitive or casual gamers, but everywhere I go, I literally over hear someone talking about E3, the Xone and PS4 and it always results in the same answer. "I'm getting a PS4, fuck the new Xbox is a piece of shit"

 

The people of the public are clearly not being fooled by Microsoft in the slightest, at least around here, it's shockingly bad how well the Xone's reputation is around here, even dudebro gamers and total CoD meat heads are giving the finger to the Xone right now in favour of the PS4.

 

It's actually leaving me speechless, I literally don't think Microsoft are going to get away lightly with this one.

[Gabz Girl]

I think the Xbone is going to have a great launch, but after that the sales will dwindle considerably. I doubt a console this hated is going to sell well, despite the exclusives it has over the PS4. I've never seen so much hate for a console even before launch. It's going to very interesting to see just how well it does once it's actually released though.

[EuroMIX]

It was banned for repeated use of the word "faggot" in the second verse, which is frequently removed entirely from radio airplay (but not always). The problem being that the entire song was satirical (and when combined with the context presented in the music video, obviously so), so banning the song for simply using the word at all because it is "extremely offensive to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people" (the Canadian government's words) is like banning The Producers because it glorifies Hitler.

 

 

Plus it was apparently fine for 25 years, but one day some guy in Newfoundland got offended so they flipped ALL the tables.

 

I think it was only supposed to be public radio anyway IIRC, and as a gay man, I appreciate it. The lyrics did seem in poor taste given the rest of the (fantastic) song, despite what their original intent might have been. The only version I've ever known was the censored one, which I prefer given what I recall the lyrics to be. It's also really hard to tell anything was removed because there's a nice musical bridge now which emphasizes the lovely guitar work.

 

The Producers is a bit different given that, perhaps due to pop-culture osmosis, everyone knows it's meant to mock Hitler. Considering that my own mother, who has probably heard Dire Straits songs all her life has never heard of the uncensored version when I mentioned it, I suppose that shows that it's not quite the same case here. The fact that the Dire Straits seem to have happily sold the censored version since then probably means that they don't feel like it ever trod on their creative freedom.

[SuperLink]

I'm still convinced that it'll sell amazingly.

 

Microsoft have been in the entertainment and electronics industries for so long and they're convinced, they're buying exclusivity and would-be exclusives from other systems left and right, they're using their massive moneybanks in a way Nintendo should be using it, by buying enough support to silence the naysayers and I think they intend to go through this long-term, until people have "just let it happen" and allowed the Xbox One to invade their homes.

 

With enough exclusives and support hype, the average consumer could assume the blissful ignorance stance and let themselves get it, saying "I'm just one person"

 

But then everyone buys it.

 

All this is proving is that no matter how bad you fuck up, if you have money and power in the modern industry everyone will forgive you.

[EuroMIX]

Be any combination of rich/famous/attractive and people will probably let you get away with anything. Bonus point if you're all of those things.

 

I would be genuinely surprised if the Xbone doesn't sell, against all the odds we are putting up against it. People are too selfish to not support it even if it has incredibly anti-consumer practices.

[Candescence]

I wouldn't be so quick to claim it would sell gangbusters, look what happened to Windows 8. Consumers don't tolerate Microsoft's bad decisions nearly as much anymore.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Shirou Emiya

[EuroMIX]

Thing is MS can make the Xbone desirable with the likes of Halo and good advertising. Richer and uncaring people may be willing to support it because it purports to have have snazzy games and feature they might want. I think Windows 8 is also struggling against the fact that it was coming years after the (by MS standards) fantastic Windows 7 and 8 doesn't seem like much of an upgrade or wouldn't be explicitly desired by people unless they happened to get it with a new system.

 

The Xbone has the advantage of being a clear new system with potentially new and attractive games that people might want. For the sake of the industry though, I hope this blows up in MS's face.

[Your Vest Friend]

I'm imagining that it won't go down as well in the UK as the 360 might have done in the past. 

[SuperLink]

I wouldn't be so quick to claim it would sell gangbusters, look what happened to Windows 8. Consumers don't tolerate Microsoft's bad decisions nearly as much anymore.

Windows 8 didn't exactly do badly I think. People just didn't like it much.

 

It's as EuroMIX said, people will support it anyway with enough marketing, and it's very obviously a new console, their advertising is already everywhere, they've definitely bought ads for across the web, ordered big banners for Amazon and ShopTo, their TV marketing is obviously gonna be massive too, far far bigger than Nintendo or Sony's.

 

Microsoft have the size or power to have far bigger marketing campaigning than any of their competitors.

 

 

I'm imagining that it won't go down as well in the UK as the 360 might have done in the past. 

UK is where it's frequently topping sales charts and breaking records, so I kinda doubt it.

Edited June 19, 2013 by SuperLink

[EuroMIX]

It's as EuroMX said

 

This is the second time someone has gotten my name wrong, sigh...

 

 

UK is where it's frequently topping sales charts and breaking records, so I kinda doubt it.

 

I despair for my country sometimes, though perhaps it's mostly riding on the success of the 360.

[SuperLink]

This is the second time someone has gotten my name wrong, sigh...

Whoops blame the fact I haven't eaten anything today.

[EuroMIX]

I wouldn't care so much but I think it's happened twice now and it's always the "I".

 

Maybe I should just call myself Xboned since nobody could forget that...

[Chaos Warp]

Good post Indigo. I sorely hope one of those things happen, I don't want the Xboned to ruin gaming forever. 

[Sami]

I'm sure it'll have a decent launch, but you also have to remember something else - the PS4 is coming out at around the same time, with far better public perception, and at $100 less. This isn't a PS3/Wii situation either, since these two consoles are competing for the same audience this time around. Pre-orders are vastly in the PS4's favor right now (on Amazon, five PS4 SKUs are in the top 25 best sellers list, alongside several PS4 games and controllers.

To put that into perspective, on Amazon, one of the most popular online shopping websites on the entire Internet, the Xbox can just barely make the number one spot past five different PS4 models. If you want a more accurate comparison, add the sales of all those models together. We don't know the full numbers yet, but the fact that several fifths of the sales are still able to even compete is astounding.

On top of that, Sony days demand is far higher than they expected, and that they're expecting the best launch in Playstation history (which is stunning considering one of those launches is the PS2). Microsoft will make some money, but Sony is going to completely destroy them this holiday season.