Sure two years from now Madden, FiFA, Call of Duty, Uncharted 4,… these big games retail discs will still outsell the digital copies overall, I can believe that and would be surprised if otherwise. What I’m saying is that has to be an healthy digital market that in two years should be bigger or similar to retail on the console, there as to be State of Decay sales game on the digital market almost every month, and more games that sell like Minecraft on the store, all these games are well below 10GB, if there isn’t I don’t think console market will be in a good situation in two years.
Reemul
2968
I bought state of decay in a store on a card though, it was cheaper than buying the points.
Sure there will be some digital only stuff but dont they say over 50% of sales are from retailers, you just cant dump that sized market.
dytexx
2969
You are misunderestimating the importance the retail market will still have for the next 10 years. There are not that many people in the world who would gladly want to download 10 or more gigabytes for many reasons. First, high bandwidth is really not that common. Second, even when people do have the bandwidth and are prepared to buy a download, the concept of buying something and then only being able to play it a day later (when it’s a big game) needs to be explained first to most console gamers.
Xbone might include a headset according to EG.
Seems Microsoft is continuing with the 180.
At that rate we will have a free blowjob included in November…
Edit: Other sites report this is a listing mistake and there is no headset confirmed.
What a mess…
I know, I just think they’re lying about that.
JMR
2972
Going to have some competition from Samsung on the blowjob front.
Editer
2974
No inside knowledge, but given that Sony’s patent on blocking used games was what got the forum discussions started in the first place, I find it extremely hard to believe that it wasn’t considered.
RickH
2975
That patent used embedded RFID in the disc communicating an RFID reader in the device (clever, actually). If it got considered, it was tossed in the design stage, well before production started.
I.E., they weren’t waiting to see how the MS E3 conference worked out.
Well, I’m sure it was considered but ultimately only the Xbox One moved ahead.
Think of it this way - I’m sure both Sony and Microsoft considered all sorts of ideas and dropped many along the way. I’m not going to judge the PS4 based on what was left on the cutting room floor. That would be like someone saying: “Well the PS4 was once going to be so powerful that all games would display in 4K resolution. Doesn’t that count for anything?” Of course not, because it’s not a true factor in our buying decision.
In that same vein, I’m not going to hold a grudge against Microsoft now that it has reversed its DRM stance; that once bothered me - but it’s gone now, so I’ve moved on to comparing the consoles on other fronts.
That said, I do think that not everyone feels that way. For better or worse, the myth of the logical consumer is just that. I think Microsoft has taken some smart steps to reverse the harm caused by the DRM decision - the smartest being to reverse that policy quickly, clearly and cleanly.
But I think there’s another problem that emerged from E3 that Microsoft has not deftly dealt with: the narrative that Sony cares about gamers and Microsoft cares about the business of gaming. Sony is leaning into that narrative, hard. That narrative is why the whole headset issue has taken off.
In sum Denny, if Microsoft were a candidate, I would say: last cycle, you were the figure of positive change against an entrenched, seemingly-out-of-touch incumbent. Now the roles have reversed. Election day is now a few mere months and within your headquarters you need to identify a gameplan that reminds “voters” of why they voted for you last cycle. You need a core message that is supported by a constant drumbeat of announcements, commitments and reveals that underscore that you not only get the business of gaming but the passion behind it, both for the players and the developers.
Nesrie
2977
This is not the same. Their DRM was not left on the drawing room floor as a bad idea with the real costs outweighing the benefits. Their DRM became a decision they made and was publicly rejected.
Well said Jake. I personally think what can help them the most is to publish lots of new interesting IP. If they don’t have internal studios to do it anymore, then fine, publish others’ games, like they did with Epic’s Gears of War last generation. That’s a 3rd party studio that had their game published by Microsoft.
Project Spark is a good start. That looks like it could be really cool. But they need to show more things like that and get gamers excited about their exclusives.
The DRM is no longer there. It’s not part of the system. It was announced yes, but then dropped. It’s on the cutting room floor. Think of it this way: when the PS3 launched it was backwards compatible with the PS2. Sony decided to kill that feature after it was announced AND after it shipped units. If you are buying a PS3 today, that is not a factor in your decision making.
But, to be clear, I get why you pointed that out. As I said in the rest of my post, that one decision left a bad taste in the mouths of gamers. I do think Microsoft needs to do more to show that they are committed to the gaming community.
Does anyone know if they’re making kinectimals 2 and new kinect sports games?
For all those who have kids (or nephews and nieces), I hope so. Those are fun family games.
They’ve announced a new kinect sports.
Canuck
2983
Sounds like the new Xbox one is going to be just as bad for spamming ads as the current xbox is.
Xbox One built with advertising in mind, Kinect integral to next gen adverts
Remember, with the new kinect, they can tell when you’re looking at the screen. They can measure user engagement. That may explain why they pushed through the livetv integration, even though consumers don’t want it-- because it is attractive to advertisers.
That could lead to all kinds of awesome little screwing with you moments. Like they notice your eyes wandering and flash a half second picture of a girl in a bikini. You’d be all, hey, was that …? And they’d be all, ok we got him back. Roll the McDonald’s ad.
Zylon
2986
The fourth Xbox will be a twonky. Calling it now.
