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The Microsoft XBox One Launch Thread

takao said:
well "bombing" is always relative...

The first xbox was successfull first entry in the market for Microsoft and because of this the 4 billion they lost were the entry price

the 360 istheir big success and yet untill now they are about to break even (they had 3 billion of losses from 2005 to 2009)
despite the fact that they launched a full year ahead of the PS3

Microsoft (and it's shareholders) want to make money at a point and they still have to recoup those losses of the first Xbox, that's why they stopped subsiding console sales with game sales

(i assume Sony has reduced their susbsiding as well, sicne they also blew a lot of moeny on the PS3)

the "subsiding expensive consoles with game sales" tactic doesn't work long term...

look at Nintendo:
Nintendo only has their game business they don't have Windows/Office like Microsoft or all the electronics like Sony to compensate for losses
because of that they always sold their consoles for a small profit or at least breaking even, which means even the Gamecube made them money despite bad sales

Because of those points Microsoft is in a tight spot:
-they want to make money, so they hardly can reduce the price early
-they launch simultaneously with Sony, against which they had a 1 year headstart last time
- they pissed off some markets abroad seriously, by focusing on the US/UK market so extreme, they even had to throw in Fifa for the european pre-orders to get some good-will back
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"bombing" is relative, but I doubt in any sense that the Xbone will bomb... It's not the launch, but the lifetime of a console that determines it's success. Look at the PS3, it had a horrible launch and took forever gain momentum. But since then it has done very well and even at one point over took Xbox in worldwide sales numbers.

Even with all the goofs made by MS, the Xbone will be fine. PS4 might be hot out the gate, but Xbone will hold it's own. Again, I pre-ordered a PS4 and have found all the MS/Xbone snafus laughable.
 
jedolley said:
"bombing" is relative, but I doubt in any sense that the Xbone will bomb... It's not the launch, but the lifetime of a console that determines it's success. Look at the PS3, it had a horrible launch and took forever gain momentum. But since then it has done very well and even at one point over took Xbox in worldwide sales numbers.

Even with all the goofs made by MS, the Xbone will be fine. PS4 might be hot out the gate, but Xbone will hold it's own. Again, I pre-ordered a PS4 and have found all the MS/Xbone snafus laughable.
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Agreed, i feel with the lackluster sales and third party support of the Wii U, The Xbox one at it's worst will sit behind the PS4 but still be in a healthy position sales wise. Its numerous IP's and xbox live will prevent it from falling too far wayside.

Still you got to hand it to Microsoft, even with the PS3's launch, i don't think there's another company as effective at sabotaging themselves. It seems the business practice they've adopted over the last few years is to try and expand their user base, which in itself is fine and dandy but at the expense of alienating their core existing one.

I'm not looking to go next-gen this year but the console i choose will be the one that has the better games library and has the more interesting and diverse type of games in development.
 
In recent XB1 news...

XB1 Hardware Engineers met w/ Digital Foundry to talk about the hardware and why performance can't be concluded off a cutsheet. Biggest takeway from this I think is that high performance ESRAM is just a natural evolution of XBox360 eDRAM which shouldn't be hard to code for since eDRAM wasn't. That and the fact you can simultaneously read and write to the ESRAM. Other than that, I've taken a grad level computer architecture class and I'm not even gonna pretend I understand the implications of half of what they said here.

Microsoft is duplicating Sony's Gaikai SaaS with their own streaming service called Rio - no clue how well it'll work. Gaikai's primary value to Sony, besides the handful of datacenters it had, was it's compression IP and the fact they partnered with nVidia to use GPU clusters. I would think MS would have to convert parts of Azure to running GPU clusters to reach feature parity.

XBox Fitness leaked - I think this is a potential killer app for both the XB1 and Kinect. This is a fitness app that's gonna be free for a year for XBL Gold subscribers and then convert to a sub. MS got THE top fitness brands together - Insanity, P90X, Jillian Michaels, etc - and integrated Kinect with the workouts. Since Kinect can measure your heart rate and juxtapose your movement to a physics model, the app will know how hard you're working out and be able to issue feedback accordingly. On top of that they added an achievement system. If they execute this well, I could easily see this replacing living room workout DVD's because of the higher level of interaction and dynamic nature.
 
Microsoft is messing up.

They should have kept the kinect but also kept the price at 400 to match Sony.


100 bucks more for a system that is 50% slower/less powerful than another is just wrong no matter how you spin it.


If anything, ps4 is the one that could have been 500 bucks since it's packing more punch.


Microsoft should have learned from Sony's mistake at the beginning of the 7th generation, don't price a console over 400!

Now Microsoft is going into the 8th generation with a 500 dollar console that isn't as powerful as the 400 dollar one, bad move!
 
Liquorpuki said:
For the 1-2 people on this board who are excited for XB1

Penello confirms on Gaf that Azure is free for XB1 developers - Dedicated servers, cloud compute, etc all free to devs. This is huge

Machinima app - cool use of W8 snap. You can't get through a level, you snap the Machinima app next to the game, and use the Wingman feature to show you how to beat the level.

Video of launch to dashboard - pretty slick IMO
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Thanks for the links! Love the Metro Interface!

thehustleman said:
Microsoft is messing up.

They should have kept the kinect but also kept the price at 400 to match Sony.


100 bucks more for a system that is 50% slower/less powerful than another is just wrong no matter how you spin it.


If anything, ps4 is the one that could have been 500 bucks since it's packing more punch.


Microsoft should have learned from Sony's mistake at the beginning of the 7th generation, don't price a console over 400!

Now Microsoft is going into the 8th generation with a 500 dollar console that isn't as powerful as the 400 dollar one, bad move!
Click to expand...


People generally know that you are getting the $100 Kinect as part of the bundle and are willing to pay and see if the developers take advantage of it knowing that one is sold with each console.
 
BF4 Kinect settings

WP_20131025_035.jpg
 
jedolley said:
"bombing" is relative, but I doubt in any sense that the Xbone will bomb... It's not the launch, but the lifetime of a console that determines it's success. Look at the PS3, it had a horrible launch and took forever gain momentum. But since then it has done very well and even at one point over took Xbox in worldwide sales numbers.
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I thought that up until this week. I now think that the XB1 may well be in some trouble.

They were right to backtrack on the stuff people didn't like, but it looks like they will be launching with hardware that doesn't seem to be able to match Sony's, and that can't be changed.

I heard the same rumour about rendering on CODG, and BF4 renders at 900p on PS4, but only 720p on XB1 (and the PS4 manages a better framerate).

I'm not the only one who thinks it's odd that most of the next gen gameplay demos have been on the PS4. I've also heard that MS has embargoed XB1 reviews to a later date, and that this is due to the XB1 versions being technically inferior to the PS4 versions.

Now IGN is reviewing ACIV on every platform but the XB1.

I'm a Sony guy, but this is stupid. I hope that it is wrong or that the problems can be fixed.
 
50% slower???? Please provide some real data on this claim. I have yet to see anyone say it is supposedly that big of a difference.




thehustleman said:
Microsoft is messing up.

They should have kept the kinect but also kept the price at 400 to match Sony.


100 bucks more for a system that is 50% slower/less powerful than another is just wrong no matter how you spin it.


If anything, ps4 is the one that could have been 500 bucks since it's packing more punch.


Microsoft should have learned from Sony's mistake at the beginning of the 7th generation, don't price a console over 400!

Now Microsoft is going into the 8th generation with a 500 dollar console that isn't as powerful as the 400 dollar one, bad move!
Click to expand...
 
poe diddley said:
50% slower???? Please provide some real data on this claim. I have yet to see anyone say it is supposedly that big of a difference.
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The old 50% more power was from an article thrown around on Gaf and it only holds if you ignore stuff like bottlenecks and system balance.

There's another 50% more powerful rumor going around now because BF4 for PS4 is rendered in 900p and the XB1 version is rendered in 720p. You do the math, the 900p render has 50% more pixels.

But both are upscaled anyway to 1020p and it looks like the XB1 has the better upscaler. Anyway I've looked at all the BF4 comparisons and here's what I think
- PS4 version looks better in general and has a better frame rate, but the AA on the upscaler makes a lot of it look like watercolors
- XB1 upscaler makes textures pop better than the PS4 but sometimes it's too aliased
- Quality is fairly close, yet they both suck compared to PC's. So if you were expecting the PS4 to rival PC's in performance, it's not gonna happen.
- The fact the XB1 has a lower framerate with a lower pixel output shows it's underpowered. I'm sure people will buy the XB1 anyway when Titanfall comes out
 
What I saw online that people were saying the next gen consoles weren't going to be a whole heck of alot better.

This is because MS and Sony needed to introduce them at affordable price-point (remember the $499 and $599 PS3's?).

I guess PC video cards that can easily handle 1080p graphics at a decent framerate are around $400 alone... :eek:

I really don't understand what is wrong with running a game at 1080p/24 or 30, why 60?
 
gkarris said:
I really don't understand what is wrong with running a game at 1080p/24 or 30, why 60?
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It's the golden figure. Silky smooth gameplay, easier to see what's going on in heavy action, more immersive. 30 is fine for film-like games. 24 is appalling, it's trying to mimic films but current gen consoles (at least) can't handle the other side of the coin; lots of motion blur!
 
for shooters and racing games 60p should be the standard
but for adventure games like AC4, roleplaying games, etc. 30p is fine as lone as there are no drops

with launch games like call of duty only running 720p on the xbox and 1080p on the ps4 with the same frame rate it sure will be interesting how the xbox will handle over the longer time frame of 3-4 years
 
Scrub175 said:
The XB1 issues have me second guessing the purchase.
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It's a worry. I mean it's obviously worth investing in one if your friends are on Xbox Live or if you like the exclusives (e.g. I absolutely have to have all the Naughty Dog games, so that means I have to go Sony), and it may well be just that developers need to get used to coding for the ESRAM in the XB1.

What worries me is that they're making gamers pay for a Kinect peripheral that most of them don't want, and the TV stuff is of limited use outside of North America. I live in NZ, and that stuff appears to be basically useless here.

Who are they supposed to be selling this to? Gamers?
 
Agathon said:
It's a worry. I mean it's obviously worth investing in one if your friends are on Xbox Live or if you like the exclusives (e.g. I absolutely have to have all the Naughty Dog games, so that means I have to go Sony), and it may well be just that developers need to get used to coding for the ESRAM in the XB1.

What worries me is that they're making gamers pay for a Kinect peripheral that most of them don't want, and the TV stuff is of limited use outside of North America. I live in NZ, and that stuff appears to be basically useless here.

Who are they supposed to be selling this to? Gamers?
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What's worse is MS had hardware that would be disabled if the kinect was not used. Unreal to me.
 
Scrub175 said:
What's worse is MS had hardware that would be disabled if the kinect was not used. Unreal to me.
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Forcing the bundle is one of the few mistakes MS has not back tracked on...

I remember when MS first demo'd the Kinect and I thought it was cool (just like most people thought the Wii was cool). Then after using it I quickly realized it was still cool, but mostly a gimmick. It was neat in some games and especially fitness/sports type games, but after while found myself not using it.

They haven't shown anything from the new Kinect that makes me want to have it. They have increased the amount of "cool" things you can do, but in the end it's not necessary or doesn't really add much to the gaming experience.

Kinect reminds me of the "air gestures" on the Galaxy phones or the voice stuff like Siri. They have the cool affect and in some cases make stuff easier to do, but it wears off. You find yourself playing with those features the first week, but after that you go back to what you know unless it has improved the experience to the point you can't live without that feature... And none of that stuff is there yet.
 
In all the talks & worries about the Xbox One, there's a constant dead horse being flailed at, and it's the power/graphics issue. Ultimately it's moot, get over it.

This Forbes article pretty well covers why...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/11/03/call-of-duty-ghosts-launches-at-the-center-of-xbox-one-controversy/

Remember back at the initial Xbox One reveal? The one where Microsoft seemed to show absolutely zero concern about gamers. The one where crap about switching from TV to game, where the NFL is going to be prominent, and etc. That one? Microsoft clearly put it up front, they think they've got this video gaming thing down pat, and want to move onto the next step. They want to focus on the person who buys a console years into it's life, wondering what's all the fuss about Playstation & Xbox. That person isn't concerned with the processing power, speed, or memory of either system, ...you are.

You're going to buy either system anyway, and some of you will even buy both. You're going to buy a system. Yes, both companies would like to have all early adopters lean one way or another, but the real money is in the supposed 'casual' gamer. The one that's going to throw that box in the living room for the whole family. Yes, the kids will probably be more informed than the parent, but they won't be spending the money. Convince dad, that gaming system is going to help him enjoy the NFL more, or help mom & dad stay in shape, ...and play games? Hopefully sold.

The real issue will be the extra $100 for the Kinect that most gamers don't want, but may appeal to a casual buyer. Microsoft explained their logic for force feeding it down throats, it's a crappy way to convince publishers there will be a base for Kinect games, but it's a result of what Microsoft learned from the first Kinect. Will there be a Kinect less Xbox one? I'm sure there will be if marketing gets back to Microsoft heads, that that is what is hindering sales. For now though, if you want a next gen Xbox we gotta deal. Yes, it's $#itty.

As far as everything else, getting hung up on numbers & specs is just dipping your toes into the ocean of fanboyism. Don't go there. If you're a gamer, you know you're going to buy your system based on what game you want to play in the future.

For me it's Titanfall, so the xBox One became my choice. Simple.

I initially pre ordered a PS4 out of a knee jerk reaction to all the stumblings Microsoft made, but PS3 reminded me of how much I hate their online when I downloaded Uncharted 3 for what seemed like forever. Sony claims they are improving their online with the next gen, and I'm counting on my fellow gamers ( I'm still feeling burned by the whole 'Party chat is coming/ Oh wait, we can't deliver it this gen after all' business ) to tell me it's true, and I'll get a PS4 so I can go back to the Infamous series.

It's about the games. Those of you getting a PS4 in a short bit, probably saw the FAQ that Sony released, and don't care. You're still getting PS4. You should, and I know you'll enjoy it. I myself am waiting for the Microsoft FAQ on what the Xbox One will really do as well. Still won't stop me from getting it, downloading Killer Instinct, playing a few blu ray movies for the first time on a Xbox, and having a good time. I'll also be going back to my Xbox 360, you know, the one with less processing power & speed. Why? Cause it plays Batman Arkham Origins, GTA, and Borderlands 2. It's why we buy systems, ...for the games.
 
JayMysterio said:
Remember back at the initial Xbox One reveal? The one where Microsoft seemed to show absolutely zero concern about gamers. The one where crap about switching from TV to game, where the NFL is going to be prominent, and etc. That one? Microsoft clearly put it up front, they think they've got this video gaming thing down pat, and want to move onto the next step. They want to focus on the person who buys a console years into it's life, wondering what's all the fuss about Playstation & Xbox. That person isn't concerned with the processing power, speed, or memory of either system, ...you are.
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I don't think that person exists in sufficient numbers to make a difference. The people who buy early on are the dedicated gamers, and they are the people who provide momentum for a system. The WiiU is a case in point: people aren't adopting it and by the time those people who are buying a console years into its life start to think about one, they won't be thinking about a WiiU because it will likely not be on sale or widely perceived as a failure.

You're going to buy either system anyway, and some of you will even buy both. You're going to buy a system. Yes, both companies would like to have all early adopters lean one way or another, but the real money is in the supposed 'casual' gamer. The one that's going to throw that box in the living room for the whole family.
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I don't think that person really exists in great numbers either. There just isn't enough of an overlap between people who want a TV Box and those who want a gaming system. I occasionally teach in media studies and people who play games tend not to watch TV. The devices are cheap enough for most people to have their own.

I spent a lot of time looking at houses with a friend, and in every case where there was an Xbox, it was in the kids' room, not the main living room.

In any case, the TV stuff just won't ever work here in NZ (we suffer from a monopoly in pay TV), and probably in many other places outside the US.

For me it's Titanfall, so the xBox One became my choice. Simple.
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Fair enough.
 
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