Xbox One

[Blumpkin]

Halo 5 will be cloud based. In other words, when the servers go down, so does Halo 5. 

[TSOLfan]

c-c-c-c-o-o-m-b-o breaker (of negativity  )

KILLER INSTINCT

Damnit ... now i have to get one (just not at launch)

Relevant

http://www.thecoverproject.net/forums/index.php?topic=4680.msg109738#msg109738

[wiggy]

I cannot fathom the thought of giving a retailer $500 of my dollars to hold onto for 4 or 5, or 6 months.  The Idea of 100% pre-paying for something MONTHS in advance, and at that price, is insane to me. I can't believe retailers get away with that.

[TSOLfan]

I cannot fathom the thought of giving a retailer $500 of my dollars to hold onto for 4 or 5, or 6 months.  The Idea of 100% pre-paying for something MONTHS in advance, and at that price, is insane to me. I can't believe retailers get away with that.

Neither can I, I'd rather that cash be sitting in my accounts earning interest than theirs.  Which is why I picked it up through Amazon, who doesn't charge until your order actually ships.

[wiggy]

Good thinking

[Blumpkin]

I think that yesterday's press conferences confirm that Sony will have a huge running start in the next generation of consoles.

Unless Microsoft makes some huge changes they're going to lose all the hardcore gamers. But maybe they're okay with that. Maybe they can sell enough Xbox One units to soccer moms that they just won't care.

[shenske]

c-c-c-c-o-o-m-b-o breaker (of negativity  )

KILLER INSTINCT

Damnit ... now i have to get one (just not at launch)

Relevant

http://www.thecoverproject.net/forums/index.php?topic=4680.msg109738#msg109738

Well this sucks. Looks like Killer Instinct is a digital only free-to-play micro-transaction based game.  Hopefully by the time i get a XboxOne (this may be a long time) it'll be available on disc in full. 

[TSOLfan]

I'll add this note, which is a copy/paste of a few posts I made in regards to the XO (what my friends and I call it) on a private forum, that some might find an interesting read, or mindless drivel.  I'm not out to defend any particular company (it's not like we are talking about a Sega console here , we were just trying to make heads or tales of what Microsoft was thinking (and where they may be going, or at least should):

There is no doubt that Sony and Microsoft have switched positions in this next generation (whereas the 360 was advertised strictly as a gaming device at launch, and the PS3 was marketed by Bishop from Aliens as being everything including a BluRay player and worth the premium because of it, with the Playstation boss even commenting that people would get an extra job to pay for it).

Since the PS4 has been confirmed as having no licensing model for games (though, I still assume some sort of DRM where the disc is required to play even after installed, unlike the XO, in order to prevent people from just simply sharing discs), and Microsoft does, they have to do something at the 3rd party cross platform game level to compete, especially with a higher priced console package (having access to your games and saves from anywhere isn't enough, since most people probably play on the same console).

Game prices listed on Amazon aren't final, that's for sure (unless Thief 4 really is going to be $100).  I think their best place to compete is on game price, since they have a system in place to guarantee revenue to publishers on second hand sales, whereas the PS4 does not.  It would make sense that they could lower their initial price, since they can recoup any difference on subsequent sales of the same disc.  If the priced it at $40 instead of $60 ($10 less than PC versions, banking on the fact they can recoup secondary sales), it would be a buy 2 get 1 free sale every day (and in my proposed digital releases, that are all day and date, at $30, that would be a buy 2 get 1 free sale every day).  Publishers already have tiered pricing in that PC releases are generally $10 cheaper across the board, so it's not like there isn't a precedent.

For gamers, 5 game sales in, the package cost would balance out (and with the XO, you'd have the camera already to go with it, which is no longer a PS4 pack in).

That, and pull a Steam from time to time of drastically reduced prices and/or package deals on licenses.

Also, I don't see console specific features for 3rd party games being what they can compete on, as that puts the risk on the 3rd party to invest additional R&D to help console manufacturers sell their hardware (unless there is a financial incentive from a console manufacturer to produce exclusive features for their particular SKU), not necessarily their game (console specific features if anything, I don't see as increasing 3rd party sales overall, just changes the distribution).

Lastly, the 360 and PS3's launched before the iPhone even existed, which I see as the device that brought about the "smartphone" gaming market that is a huge market these days.  Entirely digital, and your games are tied to your brand, in that, you can't switch between iOS and Android and expect to keep your games.  People seem to be okay with that (I'm sure a big factor is cost, mobile games don't run $60 a piece).

I think Microsoft simply tried to stand back and see where things were going, and up and went there, even if the consumer wasn't ready for it yet, or the infrastructure wasn't all there yet (we don't all have access to Google Fiber, yet).  I think because of that infrastructure point is why they are even bothering to release discs in the first place at all.

And with the XO, since discs are now just a distribution method for the install, nothing more (since all releases have been confirmed to have day and date digital versions).  What Microsoft should do here as well, is pull a Neo Geo.  In that, inside every Neo Geo cart is every region of the game, as well as the home and arcade versions.  For the Neo Geo, what plays is dependent upon what it's plugged into.  So, every developer had to develop support for arcade and home.  Some were lazy, in that, once you hit Start, you got an almost text menu on a background to select modes and whatnot for the home version, and the arcade just skipped that screen and when straight in.

Take that same idea and force all developers to at a minimum build demos versions into their games.  So that way, if I was to pass a disc to a friend, they could install it, and it would at least play as a demo (for some, a demo is more than enough), and if they liked it, they could buy/license it directly from their XO (or take a trip to a store if they really wanted a case and a backup install disc).  So a game plays based upon how it's licensed, akin to the Neo Geo in how it places based upon the hardware it's plugged into.  Could also possibly allow devs to piecemeal games, such as a separate license for single player and/or multiplayer.  If you could care less about the single player portion of a game, why pay for it?  Maybe it's $30 for COD: Ghosts multiplayer, and if I ever want to play the campaign, I can chalk up an extra $30 (or something like that).

[Nacho3]

I absolutely love playing my 360 way, way more than my PS3 this generation and a few months ago assumed it would be the same with the next gen. However, I'm starting to hate everything I hear about XB1 (including the stupid ass name). Sony is doing everything right: price is cheaper, no DRM, used games etc. I have never been a Playstation guy but unless Microsoft does a complete 180 and says "just kidding" I may have to become one.

[TSOLfan]

Well this sucks. Looks like Killer Instinct is a digital only free-to-play micro-transaction based game.  Hopefully by the time i get a XboxOne (this may be a long time) it'll be available on disc in full. 

I was a bit taken aback by that as well, until I read this:

http://kotaku.com/killer-instinct-on-xbox-one-is-free-for-your-first-cha-512655221

Ken Lobb is involved, who was on the original KI team (did game design, character design, as well as voice work), and the man after which the Klobb in Goldeneye was named after.  So, it sounds like it's getting the attention it needs.

Jago was my main back in arcades on KI2 anyways, so I'm glad he's the main character (and the gameplay video I saw, his sword move animation looks nigh identical to KI2).

I'm not too upset about having to pay for additional characters, as they are right, most people just play a few.  KI1, I stuck with Orchid, KI2, Jago, MK1 Sub Zero, MK2 Kitana, MK3 Sindel, etc.

I consider them being true to the arcade, if friends want to play, they can throw down 50 cents to play a round and pick whomever they want.  Though, in this instance, buy their character and play as many rounds as they want.

I mean, if Capcom gave me a free copy of say, Street Fighter V, and I could fight every opponent, but could only select Akuma/Gouki, I wouldn't complain too much, other than the fact I'd still like to have a box and manual I could scan

[MaSHoe]

I chuckled at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yC8FbgGnd0

[Megatron]

I cannot fathom the thought of giving a retailer $500 of my dollars to hold onto for 4 or 5, or 6 months.  The Idea of 100% pre-paying for something MONTHS in advance, and at that price, is insane to me. I can't believe retailers get away with that.

While I am not 100% about this with the XB1 and PS4, I preorder things from Best Buy all the time.  I don't pay a dime/my card isn't charged until the product is in store.  Sometimes there is a $5 fee for reserving a game that is refunded, but not when I order online, just in store.

[wiggy]

Well this sucks. Looks like Killer Instinct is a digital only free-to-play micro-transaction based game.  Hopefully by the time i get a XboxOne (this may be a long time) it'll be available on disc in full. 

Ah, all the more reason I'm ok with never owning it.  Sounds like they're going the iOS game route.  I.e. most everything is "free", but ends up costing an arm and a leg if you really want the most from the game via a zillion micro-transactions.  I'm sure there will be charges for characters, costumes, levels, extra moves, the ability to pause the game, use of the X button, ability to customize the controller setup, removal of super annoying ads, etc.  No thanks.

[Beastman1975]

  LOL   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOwA46785pk

[FritzWhite]

I chuckled at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yC8FbgGnd0

It's almost unbelievable to me that he actually said that, but I'm getting numb to MS and their antics at this point.