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Microsoft fires the first shot in the "NEXT" generation.... - Page 131

post #3901 of 6070
12/24/12 at 3:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pcweber111 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by bd2003 View Post

I don't mean fail in the business sense, I mean in this "this is lame" sense. I don't need xbox music and video, I have iTunes, Netflix and vudu. I don't need bing, I have google. Windows phone will probably never get off the ground. There's nothing about windows 8 that interests me as a desktop user, and Id much rather have an iPad than a windows tablet.
What I still need is a really awesome game console, but one that isn't bogged down by the need to push the rest of MS's services and hardware on me. The 360 has been getting worse and worse each year, my dashboard is basically a front for Xbox video at this point. And Im paying for it! It's already out of control, the last thing I want to hear is that they want to push further in this direction.

Yeah I can see your side of it. I'm interested and invested in the MS ecosystem though so maybe that's coloring my opinion somewhat. Still, I think they can integrate their whole product line and make it work. I do agree that the dashboard has been turned into the storefront. There's no two ways around it. Yes it's still easy to go see what you need to see or do but yeah aside from what's actually labelled as a advertisement just about everything is in one form or fashion. I still like the layout better than PSN but all these platforms are getting to the point where their UI is a hindrance to the game playing aspect (what the system should be about in the first place).

All I really want is the ability to opt out. I can control the windows 8 start menu...but I have zero control over the Xbox dash. I can use any mouse, hard drive or headset I want with my PC or PS3, but everything on the Xbox needs to be MS brand.

I'm shocked they allowed the smartglass app on iOS so maybe there's a little hope, but we'll see. The last time a new console abused their userbase to push their own services/hardware was Sony/blu ray - and that was a disaster for a solid 2-3 years. Fortunes can turn on a dime in this biz, and they can go from loved to hated almost immediately...so I think they should be careful how far they tread with this.
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post #3902 of 6070
12/29/12 at 4:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by onlysublime View Post

to me, I'll use every ecosystem to its fullest. I'm not so ingrained in my ways that I don't try things outs. Even though I have Dropbox, I still use Skydrive. Even though I love Google, there's the occasional need for Bing (sometimes I'll get a result that I want on the second page in Bing that I don't see until page 10 of Google).
It's the reason I have a Kindle Fire, an Android tablet with ICS, a Windows 8 laptop with a touch screen, and an iPad 2. I have a Gmail account, a Hotmail account, and 2 Yahoo accounts.
here's my squadron of tablets, each with pros and cons:

I am mostly jacked to the Apple ecosystem, outside of a Kindle (non-Fire) for books. I have a Prime account but I don't use AIV that much. We mostly just rent movies from the FIOS menus.

I see why these companies are trying to compete but it's hard if you're not the first mover. The problem for MS is that they were the last mover for most. It's the Internet Explorer/Netscape debacle all over again, except MS can't apply their size and influence to crush the competition like they did back then.
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post #3903 of 6070
12/31/12 at 5:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by number1laing View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by onlysublime View Post

to me, I'll use every ecosystem to its fullest. I'm not so ingrained in my ways that I don't try things outs. Even though I have Dropbox, I still use Skydrive. Even though I love Google, there's the occasional need for Bing (sometimes I'll get a result that I want on the second page in Bing that I don't see until page 10 of Google).
It's the reason I have a Kindle Fire, an Android tablet with ICS, a Windows 8 laptop with a touch screen, and an iPad 2. I have a Gmail account, a Hotmail account, and 2 Yahoo accounts.
here's my squadron of tablets, each with pros and cons:

I am mostly jacked to the Apple ecosystem, outside of a Kindle (non-Fire) for books. I have a Prime account but I don't use AIV that much. We mostly just rent movies from the FIOS menus.

I see why these companies are trying to compete but it's hard if you're not the first mover. The problem for MS is that they were the last mover for most. It's the Internet Explorer/Netscape debacle all over again, except MS can't apply their size and influence to crush the competition like they did back then.

Yup. They end up being a middling competitor in all these areas, and its as if its their destiny to be nothing but mediocre in everything. Theyre even selling out desktops/laptops to tablets with windows 8. They were blowing Sony away in 06-10, and then they got Nintendo envy and chased them with the kinect, got Apple envy over media and rejiggered their dashboard to be about everything but games....and they ended up diluting the core product of the 360. Their goal is for every platform to be everything for everybody....and I'm just not getting in line with them. I want the best product in each category, not a single one that's a little ****** at everything.

The nextbox may very well come packed in with kinect 2, and play core games as an aside to all the media and fluff.....if Sony doesnt follow suit, and goes back to their roots and skips all the gimmicks, they can be top dog in console gaming once again.
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post #3904 of 6070
12/31/12 at 5:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pcweber111 View Post

Win8 has been out for what, a month and a half? I could agree with you on Windows Phone but even then I think a year would be a good time frame to judge whether it's a failure or not so I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that "most people" (I hate it when people make qualitative remarks like that) aren't buying into MS's ecosystem. What are you basing that on? I will say that I don't necessarily agree with putting on their eggs in one basket but then again the 360 is a different enough product where I don't think a potential Win8 or WP8 disaster will hurt it that much. They'll adapt and move on. Hell of all 3 major players MS is the one I'm worried about the least when it comes to future viability.

Windows Phone 7/8 has around 1% of the marketplace.......1%. Trust me, if it was going to catch on, it would have by now. By all criteria, it is a complete failure. Microsoft seems hell bent on forcing us to use products that simply aren't successful or trying to tie in their products that nobody cares about, with the products they make that ARE successful. Is it too much to ask that they simply make the best gaming console possible and provide that experience to their customers?
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post #3905 of 6070
12/31/12 at 6:27am
I enjoy using Windows phones. I know many people that do. The interface is different from iOS and Android, and the phones themselves are sleek and fast.

The reason why it only has a small percentage of the market share is marketing. Most people don't even think about Windows 7.5 phones. It's as if they don't even exist to the masses. It's either Iphones or Android phones, nothing else. There are a good bit of commercials for the new Win 8 phones, but to most people it probably just seems like an entirely new device and OS.

The Windows phone itself isn't a failure. It's actually a pretty nice OS and the phones that use it are easy to use, while also fast and reliable. What is a failure is their success rate. Hardly being in the phone market is a failure for 7.5 phones. 8 phones still have a chance, as they are just now coming into the picture more. But it is pretty saddening to see the Windows phones not do better. I think the smartphone industry needs a good third OS party.
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post #3906 of 6070
12/31/12 at 6:42am
No, the reason they aren't used is because they just aren't as good and don't have nearly the apps. I had an HTC Surround WP7 and hated it...HATED IT! I literally couldn't wait to replace it and move off of the Windows Phone system. I moved to a Samsung Galaxy S III with Jellybean and it's not comparable. I've had a Blackberry, a WP, an iPhone, and now an Android, and there is no contest, Windows Phones are just inferior to the iOS and Android. People aren't stupid, they see what people can do with the other phones and that is why Apple and the Androids rule.

You can call it whatever you want, sugarcoat it, but my friend, if you built the greatest widget in history, and after two years, your widget has only garnered 1% market share, I am sorry, that means it is failing. Even Steve Ballmer called WP7 a failure and with the public not exactly gobbling up Windows 8 OS, I think the prospects for WP8 are rather bleak. I admire your optimism for the product you support, but Blackberry has a better chance at becoming the legitimate "third choice" again, than Windows does. Hey, who knows though, competition is a good thing, so at the end of the day more choice is always better. smile.gif
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post #3907 of 6070
12/31/12 at 6:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Louquid View Post

I enjoy using Windows phones. I know many people that do. The interface is different from iOS and Android, and the phones themselves are sleek and fast.

The reason why it only has a small percentage of the market share is marketing. Most people don't even think about Windows 7.5 phones. It's as if they don't even exist to the masses. It's either Iphones or Android phones, nothing else. There are a good bit of commercials for the new Win 8 phones, but to most people it probably just seems like an entirely new device and OS.

The Windows phone itself isn't a failure. It's actually a pretty nice OS and the phones that use it are easy to use, while also fast and reliable. What is a failure is their success rate. Hardly being in the phone market is a failure for 7.5 phones. 8 phones still have a chance, as they are just now coming into the picture more. But it is pretty saddening to see the Windows phones not do better. I think the smartphone industry needs a good third OS party.

Well, they're late to the party, so they need to be amazing, significantly better than what we already have. They're decent phones, but there's nothing special about them. Kind of the same with their media marketplaces. They're good...but why switch when the others are just as good?

The iPhone was amazing, made other smartphones look like a joke at the time. Xbox live was amazing, everyone else is still playing catchup. It's still their trump card, but they are squeezing it for everything its worth and diluting it....PSN has caught up and surpassed in some ways. MS has a lot of inertia on their side with friends lists, achievements, XBLA....but the start of a new cycle gives me the chance to reevaluate. They can go from top dog to whipping boy in an instant if they put out a product that's undesirable in order to push their other services. Sony did that with blu ray, the PS3 was $200 more expensive at first just cause of that drive, and it really, really hurt them.

So imagine this scenario.

Xbox 720. Kinect 2 bundled in. $399 + $60 a year for live get you multiplayer. Dashboard filled with ads for movies, games and music. Very wide streaming media support (if you have XBL gold), plays blu ray too.

PS4, 30% more powerful than 720, since no money wasted on kinect. $399, and PSN Free. $50 a year sub gets you free games and discounts. Clean dashboard, focused on gaming. Thinner support for streaming media, but it has the big ones like netflix, hulu and vudu. And its the best at blu ray.

Which would you buy? And if the answer is both....which would you buy multiplatform games for?
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post #3908 of 6070
12/31/12 at 7:08am
Good post BD.

I'm of the camp that will buy them both, but I will ALWAYS buy games like CoD on the XBOX platform. I also prefer Microsoft's Achievements to Sony's Trophies, but for most of my sports games, I always buy them on the PS3 because I like Sony's controller better for Madden, etc.

I just want to be able to have a clean interface/dashboard, especially when I am paying for it. I just want to tell Microsoft, "I'm tired of paying to see your ****!" Enough! Let people that pay, opt out of things like Bing and Windows ads, and all the other crap that I don't want to pay to see. This is why I would love an option to go back to the original XBOX 360 dashboard. It was so easy to navigate, infinitely easier than this convoluted and cluttered thing we have today.
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post #3909 of 6070
12/31/12 at 7:29am
Very true bd2003. They were late with their recent line of smartphones. I'd say they're good, not just decent, but I agree they aren't anything special. I feel the only truly innovative smartphone company now is Samsung with Android. As for the Zune marketplace though, it completely trumps itunes. Your music is your music if you purchase it from the Zune marketplace.

About consoles, I completely agree. I have never paid for Xbox live and I don't ever plan to. If there is a multiplatform game now that I'd like to play online, I'll get it for PS3. I'll do the same for the next Playstation.

I already have multiple devices that can stream media content, so I don't need another one. My TV's Netflix and Amazon Prime apps are the most used for streaming on any of my devices. It's literally two buttons and I'm looking for something to watch. So for me, I couldn't care less about the streaming capabilities of the new Xbox.

As for ads on the next Xbox, it makes me sick. Since when did we have to pay for a product that shoved ads down our throats? Originally, paid cable was to allow people to watch TV without ads. Now, a 30 minute show lasts about 20 minutes and the rest is consumerism brainwashing at it's finest.
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post #3910 of 6070
12/31/12 at 7:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bd2003 View Post

Yup. They end up being a middling competitor in all these areas, and its as if its their destiny to be nothing but mediocre in everything. Theyre even selling out desktops/laptops to tablets with windows 8. They were blowing Sony away in 06-10, and then they got Nintendo envy and chased them with the kinect, got Apple envy over media and rejiggered their dashboard to be about everything but games....and they ended up diluting the core product of the 360. Their goal is for every platform to be everything for everybody....and I'm just not getting in line with them. I want the best product in each category, not a single one that's a little ****** at everything.
The nextbox may very well come packed in with kinect 2, and play core games as an aside to all the media and fluff.....if Sony doesnt follow suit, and goes back to their roots and skips all the gimmicks, they can be top dog in console gaming once again.
I

I agree, though you forgot about MS' Google envy with SkyDrive, Office 365, etc. They are fighting on every front and losing every single one.

I don't think social/casual gaming has panned out the way everyone thought it would, a console focused on gaming with light "other stuff" would be very appealing. Right now I look at how MS is peddling XBL as $50 gets me stuff like Netflix, ESPN3, and HBO Go (stuff that is free on a web browser) while on PS3, my $50 a year gets me games on a regular basis. Hmm, which would I rather spend money on?
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post #3911 of 6070
12/31/12 at 8:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by number1laing View Post

I
I agree, though you forgot about MS' Google envy with SkyDrive, Office 365, etc. They are fighting on every front and losing every single one.
I don't think social/casual gaming has panned out the way everyone thought it would, a console focused on gaming with light "other stuff" would be very appealing. Right now I look at how MS is peddling XBL as $50 gets me stuff like Netflix, ESPN3, and HBO Go (stuff that is free on a web browser) while on PS3, my $50 a year gets me games on a regular basis. Hmm, which would I rather spend money on?

Exactly.

And at this point, you can pay $50 once that gets you a roku that arguably does the streaming even better....if its not already built into your TV!

The nextbox will live or die based on its ability to play games. Everything else is secondary and can be fulfilled by something that isn't an expensive console. Anything that actively detracts from that (like the current dash and XBL gold) is dangerous territory. And if they're not going to put out a box that's capable enough, and priced accordingly....they should just give up now.
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post #3912 of 6070
12/31/12 at 8:27am
Consoles are going to have an increasingly difficult time justifying their existence going forward. They're already fighting a battle on multiple fronts (PC, mobile, and console). The 360 in particular is increasingly targeting the HTPC, but many of us already have one. I don't know what they'll bring next gen (other than a few exclusives) that will justify buying yet another console.
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post #3913 of 6070
12/31/12 at 8:28am
I totally agree with bd2003. All this "war for the living room" stuff is a distraction. I'm sure they ran an analysis in 2008 or something and figured that a lot of people using Netflix is better for them than less people using XBL to play games. But that Netflix audience doesn't have the 'lock-in' that gamers on XBL have. You can put Netflix anywhere. It's built into my TV and I don't care about it. Nobody is buying a 360 to play Netflix. Just because a lot of people use it today doesn't mean it won't be replaced with another device tomorrow. But Apple or Panasonic or Google can't make a box that hooks me up to Xbox Live games. People are buying a 360 to play Call of Duty, Halo 4, Forza, Bayonetta, etc. That's what MS needs to focus on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by confidenceman View Post

Consoles are going to have an increasingly difficult time justifying their existence going forward. They're already fighting a battle on multiple fronts (PC, mobile, and console). The 360 in particular is increasingly targeting the HTPC, but many of us already have one. I don't know what they'll bring next gen (other than a few exclusives) that will justify buying yet another console.

HTPCs are expensive, they will never have mass appeal. PC gaming is for nerds who are willing to pay for the extra stuff most people aren't. That's fine, I am one of those nerds. I love my HTPC but I do not expect 90% of people to make that investment.

Consoles have a place, but not as stripped down service boxes with annual cost-of-entry fees. Their place is as solid game playing devices.
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post #3914 of 6070
12/31/12 at 8:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by confidenceman View Post

Consoles are going to have an increasingly difficult time justifying their existence going forward. They're already fighting a battle on multiple fronts (PC, mobile, and console). The 360 in particular is increasingly targeting the HTPC, but many of us already have one. I don't know what they'll bring next gen (other than a few exclusives) that will justify buying yet another console.

It's a battle of their choosing though. Take all that other stuff away, and people still want a box that has incredible looking, playing games, easy to link up with friends, relatively inexpensive, and it just works. Mobile will always be behind on the tech and controls, PC will always be behind on the inexpensive and easy part.

If the Xbox 360 was a smartphone, it'd be one where its becoming increasingly difficult to make calls and text, the main reason people have one in the first place. It's insanity.
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post #3915 of 6070
12/31/12 at 3:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jblank74 View Post

Windows Phone 7/8 has around 1% of the marketplace.......1%. Trust me, if it was going to catch on, it would have by now. By all criteria, it is a complete failure. Microsoft seems hell bent on forcing us to use products that simply aren't successful or trying to tie in their products that nobody cares about, with the products they make that ARE successful. Is it too much to ask that they simply make the best gaming console possible and provide that experience to their customers?

Yes I do think that's too much to ask. It's why as many people use the system for things other than games. It's simply not enough to just have a gaming system. I'm not saying they should focus on other areas at the expense of gaming but we're past the days of a gaming console just being a gaming console. I could ask why Sony feels the need to force me to subsidize their blu-ray player just to play some games but it's what it is and I can understand why they did it. I can even appreciate it. They did it with the PS2 as well so it's not like they're new to this either. Heck even Nintendo understands the need for non-gaming services on their system.

Now, that's a bit separate from asking if they can make the gaming portion of their system as smooth running as they can but are they not already? What about playing a game on the 360 has really changed in the years since it came out? You pretty much still do the same thing to get games going and because the blades experience was ported over to the guide button you really don't have to mess with the extraneous stuff much at all. Just boot to game from start and if you need anything done bring up the guide to do it. It's why in most games even accessing extra content (dlc, etc.) can still be done from the guide button. It's streamlined and meant to provide immediate access without the clutter of the dashboard. Of course you'll never really be able to get rid of their dash and it's advertisement based setup but you can greatly minimize it and have a great game playing experience. That's my view on it anyway.

As for WP, eh I'll just disagree with you on this. It can take hold, just depends on what they view as an acceptable penetration rate.
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post #3916 of 6070
12/31/12 at 4:05pm
It's arguably as easy as its ever been....but it's never been that easy. XBLA games have always been buried under too many menus, both to play and buy them.

Really, all they need to do is allow me to reorganize the dash as I please - I can do it in windows, I can do it on the phone, but I can't do it on my console. That space could be better used by me to pin whatever the hell I please on it, in whatever order I want. They shouldn't get a pass on this - there would be an outcry unlike anything ever seen if they didnt let you organize your own start menu in Win 8.

As long as they've decided that's their space to sell and not mine to use, it'll remain a really ****** interface. They should leave the promotion to the storefronts. If there was a what's new on XBLA in gaming tile, I'd prob keep it front and center. I just want it on my terms.

And come on now, XBL needs to be free, or we need to start getting free content like PS plus. Paying for this is ridiculous.
Edited by bd2003 - 12/31/12 at 4:12pm
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post #3917 of 6070
12/31/12 at 4:36pm
Well and that's why I said you can't ever totally leave the dash. There could definitely be improvements, for sure. As for Live, yeah I really agree with you on this. Their profits though probably disagree with us and I doubt we'll see a change unless they feel it warrants it. Too many people pay for them to give up that revenue stream. Maybe we'll get more for our money with Durango.
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post #3918 of 6070
1/1/13 at 12:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bd2003 View Post

It's a battle of their choosing though. Take all that other stuff away, and people still want a box that has incredible looking, playing games, easy to link up with friends, relatively inexpensive, and it just works. Mobile will always be behind on the tech and controls, PC will always be behind on the inexpensive and easy part.
Mobile will quickly catch up to consoles. They can do subsidized hardware refreshes on an annual basis, so they have (and will continue to) come out with cheaper, faster hardware revisions. They're already nipping at consoles' heels. As for PCs, prices are coming down for entry-level rigs that pretty much match the cost of consoles (without all the excess costs of console networks, subscriptions, and games). And if Valve launches a Linux-based console-like PC, that could really change things. Unless the manufacturers change tactics, consoles could very well be caught in the crossfire between things like Ouya (from the mobile side) and Steambox (from the PC side).

And you're totally right. It is a battle of their choosing. My hope is that in the next gen, they choose a different battle. I'd rather see the consoles stake out their own unique territory. I'd like to see them remind everyone that gaming on consoles is its own thing, completely distinct from mobile and PC gaming. For all of the issues with the Wii and Wii U, at least Nintendo is taking risks and attempting to say to the world, "Consoles are not hobbled PCs or souped-up mobile devices." I'd like to see MS and Sony have a similar attitude (though not the same strategy).
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post #3919 of 6070
1/2/13 at 7:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by confidenceman View Post

Mobile will quickly catch up to consoles. They can do subsidized hardware refreshes on an annual basis, so they have (and will continue to) come out with cheaper, faster hardware revisions. They're already nipping at consoles' heels. As for PCs, prices are coming down for entry-level rigs that pretty much match the cost of consoles (without all the excess costs of console networks, subscriptions, and games). And if Valve launches a Linux-based console-like PC, that could really change things. Unless the manufacturers change tactics, consoles could very well be caught in the crossfire between things like Ouya (from the mobile side) and Steambox (from the PC side).

Mobile tech is somewhere around GeForce 3-4 today. It's advancing quickly but it's not really anywhere near what a Xbox 360 can do, and it won't be anywhere near what a 720/PS4 can do for a long time. And in the end, it's still a tiny device with no buttons in your hand, there are plenty of users who will not be satisfied with that.

Regarding the "SteamBox", it will still be more expensive than a subsidized console (unless Valve decides to subsidize it too) and it will still play games that are designed for moving hardware. It's not the same thing as a console and never will be. A PC game released in 2012 needs more hardware to than a PC game released in 2007 and no SteamBox will change that.

Entry-level PCs are not satisfying, I remember spending $500 or $600 on a PC back in 2006 and had to turn down lots of settings immediately, and had to invest more in hardware within the year.
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post #3920 of 6070
1/2/13 at 9:21am
I normally try to keep from posting in this thread, but I think it is telling that Major Nelson just put up a countdown clock to E3 on January 2nd.

http://majornelson.com/2013/01/02/countdown-to-e3-2013/
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post #3921 of 6070
1/2/13 at 11:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by spid View Post

I normally try to keep from posting in this thread, but I think it is telling that Major Nelson just put up a countdown clock to E3 on January 2nd.
http://majornelson.com/2013/01/02/countdown-to-e3-2013/

Awesome!
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post #3922 of 6070
1/2/13 at 1:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spid View Post

I normally try to keep from posting in this thread, but I think it is telling that Major Nelson just put up a countdown clock to E3 on January 2nd.
http://majornelson.com/2013/01/02/countdown-to-e3-2013/

Alright! Now if only Sony would blow the lid on the PS4 and kick off the race between Sony and Microsoft and try to one up each other as much as possible. Let the war get into full swing! Nintendo has a roughly 3 million head start already, they need the hype machine rolling and fast.
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post #3923 of 6070
1/2/13 at 4:58pm
if anyone subscribes to the WSJ, would love to see the article:

http://gizmodo.com/5972695/microsoft-just-bought-a-company-thatll-help-the-xbox-win-your-living-room

Microsoft just bought R2 Studios, a company that Apple and Google were both after, to help the Xbox continue its assault on living rooms across the world. R2 Studios, which was founded by Blake Krikorian (the guy who also made the Slingbox), apparently "works on" technology related to distributing and displaying digital media on televisions.


a slingbox like setup for the next Xbox? sounds awesome...
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post #3924 of 6070
1/3/13 at 9:52am
if true, i will buy fewer video games... one of the reasons i buy games is because they are only 30 dollars after i beat them and trade them in...
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/03/report-new-sony-patent-blocks-second-hand-games
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post #3925 of 6070
1/3/13 at 10:01am
Just because Sony patented it doesn't mean they will use it. I am 100% positive that MS has researched that too.

Anyway, yea, less people will buy games at $60 if it gets enacted. Look at what has happened on the PC. People wait until games are $7.50 before they buy them.

Is that what Sony and MS want? They should think carefully.
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post #3926 of 6070
1/3/13 at 10:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by number1laing View Post

Just because Sony patented it doesn't mean they will use it. I am 100% positive that MS has researched that too.
Anyway, yea, less people will buy games at $60 if it gets enacted. Look at what has happened on the PC. People wait until games are $7.50 before they buy them.
Is that what Sony and MS want? They should think carefully.

yup.. because that is what i would do... wait for the price drops!!
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post #3927 of 6070
1/3/13 at 10:45am
I'm not worried about pricing....it'll sort itself out. If people cant afford the games the system will die. I want the price of console games to stay relatively high anyway.
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post #3928 of 6070
1/3/13 at 12:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bd2003 View Post

I'm not worried about pricing....it'll sort itself out. If people cant afford the games the system will die. I want the price of console games to stay relatively high anyway.
Almost nobody wins from high game prices. Developers lose. Consumers lose. Console manufacturers lose. There's already too much bloat in the industry as it is, and we've already seen the fallout from the high cost of games and development: studio closure after studio closure.

We've already seen a huge growth from the bottom up in terms of development and price. I hope that trend continues into the next hardware cycle.
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post #3929 of 6070
1/3/13 at 1:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pcweber111 View Post

Yes I do think that's too much to ask. It's why as many people use the system for things other than games. It's simply not enough to just have a gaming system. I'm not saying they should focus on other areas at the expense of gaming but we're past the days of a gaming console just being a gaming console. I could ask why Sony feels the need to force me to subsidize their blu-ray player just to play some games but it's what it is and I can understand why they did it. I can even appreciate it. They did it with the PS2 as well so it's not like they're new to this either. Heck even Nintendo understands the need for non-gaming services on their system.
Now, that's a bit separate from asking if they can make the gaming portion of their system as smooth running as they can but are they not already? What about playing a game on the 360 has really changed in the years since it came out? You pretty much still do the same thing to get games going and because the blades experience was ported over to the guide button you really don't have to mess with the extraneous stuff much at all. Just boot to game from start and if you need anything done bring up the guide to do it. It's why in most games even accessing extra content (dlc, etc.) can still be done from the guide button. It's streamlined and meant to provide immediate access without the clutter of the dashboard. Of course you'll never really be able to get rid of their dash and it's advertisement based setup but you can greatly minimize it and have a great game playing experience. That's my view on it anyway.
As for WP, eh I'll just disagree with you on this. It can take hold, just depends on what they view as an acceptable penetration rate.

The PS3 as a Blu-Ray player is different....very different. You don't see them pimping that aspect of it, on the systems dashboard, you know what it can do before you buy it. Netflix and Amazon is fine, but do we need 400 freakin' apps? Twitter? Facebook? All this other superfluous stuff? I mean my God, we pay for this service and we get ads after ads after ads and the clutter is often very intrusive and confusing.

Sorry buddy, Windows Phone is a dead end and is not going to come close to Android or Apple. It's not the alternative people want it to be and having owned one before my current Android phone, I can't see why anyone would choose the Windows Phone platform over anything Google or Apple offers, unless you're so locked into the Microsoft Windows world/ecosystem that you never want out.
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post #3930 of 6070
1/3/13 at 1:42pm
High prices mean better games. We saw it with XBLA, when games went up to $15 the quality got so much better. Studios aren't closing because the price of games are too high, they're closing because they're not making good enough games to justify paying $60. And then theyre quickly forgotten. At this point the quality bar is so high.

Ultimately my time is just as precious a resource as my money. I want to spend that time playing the best games possible. If that means I need to pay more money, so be it. Digital marketplaces have plenty of room for lower-priced games, where they belong. I hope to see some $20 games and DLC next gen. With some occasional sales, gamers wont have a hard time finding the games they want to play at a decent price.
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