Xbox One

[BluPhoenix]

sonic heroes is also a better game than sonic adventure

the best bait

[Jon]

wow so basically its a tv for your tv that you can order pizza hut on. epic. real epic. cant wait for this epic piece of technology.

[Sheepy]

It's like spending a fortune on a severe headache because you really enjoy relaxing.

[RichChap]

i just don't get why anyone in their right mind would purchase a next-gen console. with that money invested in the console, controllers, $60 titles, subscriptions and what have you, you could get a more powerful and practical pc.

clearly they aren't making the console for you, or anyone else who doesn't play a ton of games and plays PC games when they do. the fact of the matter is that a vast majority of the people they're making this console for are halo and madden bros who are perfectly happy eating doritos and drinking mountain dew while not having to worry about setting up a PC to play their games. they're also clearly trying to market it to a much larger audience, and for a lot of people they're probably gonna avoid the next gen consoles and just stick with PCs. another thing about this next generation that is different from the last generation is that sony and microsoft can no longer afford to lose money with each console sale, and as a result their systems are being made cheaper without very impressive specs. however, people don't really need much better graphics than they have now or higher specs than are already available to play games, sure they can look a little better on pcs, but post people are going to be content with what microsoft and sony are feeding them.

and what sony and microsoft are doing now surely can't hurt the PC market, in fact I think it will help games progress since developers won't have to worry about using game engines and old software that is compatible with the 360 and ps3 and make them so they can upscale to PCs, so multiplatform games will get better across the board, including on PC.

finally, for people who really care about games a lot and want to play all of them, exclusive titles are very important. plenty of "hardcore gamers" are going to buy the xbone and the ps4 just so they can play all the exclusives because that's what they're into.

i feel like this market of halo madden bros is always going to be a good market for sony and microsoft to tap into, but the gamble microsoft is making here seems to be an intelligent and calculated one much like what nintendo did last generation, and if they can pull it off successfully it will pay off big time. also i'd be surprised if they didn't show a ton of games at e3 and reverse this backlash against them that seems to have come with this conference.



at the same time it really doesn't seem like something for me so i doubt i'll ever pick one up, but i'm definitely interested to see how it does.

[rtil]

i guess we'll just have to wait and see what they have to offer at e3.

it's actually at the point now where there is a significant gap between pc's and consoles in terms of graphics, resolution and fps. these next-gen consoles will shorten the gap one more time, but they'll already still be behind what is currently available.

the thing i don't get about it is that to me they are still pulling the whole 'family entertainment system' thing. they're trying to appeal to everyone. i just think that's a mistake. the first problem is that most of the features they've touted will only work for certain people - namely people in the united states. secondly, to think that it's going to work seamlessly all the time or that most of the things they demonstrated are even practical is just a demonstration of ignorance.

microsoft has a bad history of not actually product testing things for their market demo. this is why microsoft games and every studio they've swallowed in the last , oh, 10-15 years has been a complete failure. they start with a good idea, then it gets handed off to people who have no idea what they're doing but have a lot of money and positions of power, and they start fucking with it until it turns into an idea that has shit stuffed in to it from 10-15 people and no coherent goal. and that's what the xbone is. i foresee it having colossal hardware and software issues on release.. their "vision" of what a console is is a pipe dream.

[ZekeySpaceyLizard]

This is going to be a very important E3.

For starters Nintendo has to prove that the WiiU is going to get something worth giving a shit about before the year is over. Pikmin 3 has been delayed so many times now and people are feeling buyer's remorse big time because nothing of value has come out for the system since its initial launch. Nintendo needs to prove that the WiiU isn't going to just be an expensive paperweight for the first year of it's life. That kind of business strategy might work well for something cheap like the DS/3DS but not a console that costs nearly 400 dollars and runs off ancient hardware that they themselves barely understand how to overclock.


Sony needs to prove that the PS4 will be the best system to get for the new generation. Which won't be hard at the moment considering how badly the other two are fucking themselves over. That said, after their embarrassing conference where they made up words to describe the system's power and outright LIED about the 80+ developers who had supposedly pledged their allegiance to the PS3, when it was only about 12, Sony needs to prove that when this piece of shit gets released this holiday season that is has SOMETHING worth playing that isn't another terrible Killzone sequel.
And yeah, I know everyone is looking at the PS4 now because of that nice-looking Killzome trailer. Here's a news update for those of you with a passing interest in that franchise: it sucks.
Killzone hasn't been fun since Killzone2. There have been 6 Killzone games now and 4 of those have been beyond shitty.
Don't let yourself be fooled by the pretty pre-rendered trailer that was undoubtedly running off PC hardware, it's going to be shit.
The new Final Fantasy is going to be shit, just like the last few.
The only hope that Sony has for anything interesting for this console is Knack. And much like Little Big Planet, it's probably going to be 70% tech demo and 30% game.



XboxOne has to prove at E3 that microsoft still cares about the demographic that gave them their money in the first place. And yes I know we love to tell ourselves "it might suck but the BRO GAMERZ will buy it" but that's not true anymore. When the XBOX and the 360 came out, we didn't have the kind of rampant social networking back then as we do now. Places like 4chan and Reddit and SomethingAwful were still relatively obscure. But that's changed since then. Information spreads faster now than ever. And if you really think the majority of the BRO GAMERZ aren't fully aware of the terrible ideas and reception the XBOX ONE has gotten so far and are already feeling leery about the console, then you are a fool. Yeah, some stupid ones WILL buy it. But at this point, with the massive PUBLIC MEDIA BACKLASH, that is all over facebook, twitter, yahoo, reddit, and more you can bet that whatever turnout this system receives at this point is going to be a mere fucking FRACTION of what the 360 did.
This E3 is microsoft's chance to redeem themselves.
After Zune, Windows8, Bing, and now the XboxOne, they need to prove they are at least moderately competent.
Nobody needs an XBOX ONE right now. It's services and features are all being done by devices that are not only cheaper, but far easier to access. It's a plastic box full of old uninteresting features, old uninteresting hardware, and thus far no games that anyone is going to really care about. Microsoft still doesn't realize that TV is dying, they don't realize that nobody likes the way Windows 8 functions and why its bad to use as a console's HUD, and worst of all how massive the used game industry is.
They should have designed the XboxONE around backwards compatibility and INTERNET STREAMING not television.
THAT would have been a logical step forward. Not this thing that has to be connected to the internet once every day so that it can change your channel for you with a voice command and can't even use the nice headphones you use for everything else. Not this thing that can't play Xbox360 games or even games you bought on the Xbox Arcade.
At this moment in time there is literally not one positive thing that can be said about the One outside of superficiality and predictive theories about what it MIGHT end up being like one day. At this moment it is the worst device I've seen a company try and fail to market ever since the N-Gage.

If Microsoft do not show off SOMETHING for it at E3, something that is not a killer AP that is not multiplatform, then it is going to die. No amount of mental gymnastics about casual gamers and what they like is going to shroud that. If I were Microsoft I'd be doing what Nintendo is doing and spending as much money as I could to buy as many IP's as I could right now for exclusivity.

[rtil]

i am shocked to learn that the xbone will not support xbla games or purchases. i can understand no backwards compatibility for a previous generation of physical console titles, it would increase the cost of the console and it might not be worth it. but xbla are downloadable titles that could run in an emulated environment on the new hardware and engine.. what an insult to the customers and the devs.

[sev]

i've almost considered buying both an XBox and an X360 when they launched, but i held off on both and ended up getting the ps2/gamecube and wii/ps3 (in order) instead. at this point i am not interested in any of these consoles, but the XOne definitely holds last place for me.

i'm starting to wonder if i'll bother buying a console, i've been kind of enjoying pc gaming whenever i do play games.

[ZekeySpaceyLizard]

i'm starting to wonder if i'll bother buying a console, i've been kind of enjoying pc gaming whenever i do play games.

At the moment there is very little reason to bother with any consoles outside of the 3DS or Vita.
Most games these days are multiplatform and wind up on steam or gog usually with uncompressed graphics and more features.
Consoles are simply getting too homogenous. You compare the release list of 360 vs Ps3 games and you'll find theres really not alot of difference. And what few really bang up titles are available for them tend to be on steam as well with the exception of a VERY scant few, like Red Dead Redemption.


I think Nintendo realizes this which is why they put such WACKY control schemes on their stuff these days. And it mostly works. Emulating wii games that make heavy use of wiimote is still relatively difficult, and in some cases practically impossible without modding the pc's hardware itself.
It's good because, along with Nintendo's exclusive characters and games that are generally of pretty good quality, they are difficult to emulate.
But the WACKY control schemes also frighten away developers which leads to a whole set of other problems which have plagued Nintendo for ages now.

In short, nobody really wins....in this city.

[ZekeySpaceyLizard]

post 4900

[rtil]

In short, nobody really wins....in this city.

[VaneFox]

XBone4kinect! 1080p with crystal audio and voice recognition. I could try that out. Or maybe I'll just wait for the occulus rift to go commercial and stick with pc.

[Sheepy]

I think a lot of people tend to buy consoles because it's a cheaper alternative to PC's. At least they used to be before both Sony and Microsoft started making these new shit consoles for $900+.

I guess I'll just need to save up a lot of money for a new PC or just get a Wii U since that thing actually plays games and has a nice cool, even artistic community.

[RichChap]

i have a wii u at my house. i dont really understand the backlash against it, but i'm not someone who plays games all the time. i'm really psyched for pikmin 3 and that's about the only game i can see myself playing on a console any time in the future so right now im more interested in the wii u anyway since it actually does stuff differently from my computer. most of the games for the other systems i could if i wanted to just play on a PC.

it's actually at the point now where there is a significant gap between pc's and consoles in terms of graphics, resolution and fps. these next-gen consoles will shorten the gap one more time, but they'll already still be behind what is currently available.

this is 100% true and anyone who really cares will play games on their PCs. however, there are still PLENTY of people happy playing halo 4 and madden on their xbox360s so for them the ps4 and xboxone will be a HUGE leap forward.


i really can't see microsoft coming out with any exclusive titles that are going to appeal to me at all. nintendo definitely will, and sony might, but the ones i really care about (pretty much just starcraft these days) are just coming to PC anyway, so i'm happy with a wii u and PC, even if the only game that comes out for the wii u that i'm gonna play for the next year is pikmin 3.

[Thor]

(I have nothing else useful to add here)

[ZennyPLUS]

[bd648]

So uh... does microsoft even have a QA department for anything? I mean at this point they have only started releasing things that at best are decent and at worst are hilarious. But at the same time the xbox one might turn out to be something like win8 which at first i downright hated but lately i have started to kinda like it in its own strange way (which i highly doubt). Or it could be something like bing and be completely useless as it fills a role already filled by something better. PS4 seems to have the "hardcore" console gamer crowd while the wii u has all the families and the people who just well really like the wii u. I just dont see the potential of the xbox one. Even if it was for the bro crowd or something that hardly seems like a market that can keep a console afloat. I dont doubt that it could but i highly doubt that it has any potential to improve. I expect the xbox one to be a prelude to a dead end.

[rtil]

So uh... does microsoft even have a QA department for anything?

this is a valid question, and i think in most cases, the answer is "no". let's take the microsoft games department, for example. it exists in its own bubble - four fairly new, very nice office buildings not far away from "microsoft city" in redmond, WA where microsoft's hq is. studios like Bungie and Epic Games used to be here, but now it's mostly direct hires from microsoft, or, if you're an artist, you're contracted and have less pay, no job security and no benefits, because microsoft views you as disposable and replaceable.

the guys at the top in microsoft games are mostly comprised of middle-aged men who have no experience in game development, don't play games, and are generally out of touch with technology and society. but they have the money, and they have the final say on everything.

so a game begins its development process. at first, they decide its target demographic is going to be little girls. so what's the first thing they do? they get a room full of - you guessed it - middle aged men together to decide what little girls like and to design the main character of the game. she comes out looking like a bratz doll who just fell out of a hot topic, and boy are they proud of themselves. meanwhile, the all-male team of programmers are working on an engine the other artists never get to see, churning out concept art for a game with misguided direction. eventually, the art director who isn't an artist and doesn't do any work tells the artists below him that they're not working fast enough. their contracts aren't renewed. the producers decide instead to outsource all the art to a foreign studio for cheaper.

chances are a few months down the line when a healthy chunk of the budget has already been spent, someone "important" decides that it's time to change the game's target demo. everything needs to be reworked. even though the game needs to be released in about a year, he's decided it's better to flush all that work down the toilet. now the game is "for boys" and the idea is completely different from what it used to be. but the programmers can't go back to square one, so they try to rework what they have. meanwhile, the art side is a complete mess, communication is poor, and upper management has no idea what is going on because they are sitting in meetings all day patting themselves on the back for all their hard work.

all while this is going on, there is never any QA  being done, they never bring in a sample group of target demos to come in and try the game or ask what they think of the idea. when it's finally time for the game to have been released it was either shelved long before that or is another forgettable kinect title that nobody bought or cared about.

how do i know all this? my wife worked for microsoft games in the 360 department for almost a year and a half. i almost started working there myself. i've met many of the people who either work there now or did work there for a period of time. i've also been to the campus on more than one occasion.

they actually wanted my wife to work there longer, but she refused to renew her contract and wouldn't go back there ever. it's a horrible environment and nothing of use gets done. i'm sure if someone within microsoft who actually cared about and knew how the games industry functioned knew what was going on there and had the power to change it, he or she would fire just about everyone at the top of the chain of command in their games department and restructure the whole thing.

[zwimmy]

omg that post has so many words

[bd648]

my wife worked for microsoft games in the 360 department for almost a year and a half. i almost started working there myself. i've met many of the people who either work there now or did work there for a period of time. i've also been to the campus on more than one occasion.

they actually wanted my wife to work there longer, but she refused to renew her contract and wouldn't go back there ever. it's a horrible environment and nothing of use gets done. i'm sure if someone within microsoft who actually cared about and knew how the games industry functioned knew what was going on there and had the power to change it, he or she would fire just about everyone at the top of the chain of command in their games department and restructure the whole thing.

so... microsoft is evil (which we knew), sony is not quite evil yet and nintendo is halfway good. I just mean this in terms of the companies themselves and not the products. Nintendo has a great QA department and sony at least has one. At this point i think the only future for console gaming is either a two system end (sony and nintendo) or someone else comes into play with a console. The only people i could see doing that would be maybe someone like a large developer with access to the funds to make a console or a misc company like uh... nothing is coming to mind but someone like sony. Apple has the ipad and ipod touch and they really like that shit and google is doing the same thing. Valve is in the PC market and seem to be a strong component of that so they wouldn't want a console.

Really my point is the console market is dying. Its leaning towards either PC games or mobile games like the vita, 3ds, or the ithings.