Uh-Oh!! Is Microsoft setting up to answer Sony?

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by AlphaMan, Feb 22, 2013.

  1. Robert Maxwell

    Robert Maxwell memelord Premium Member

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    Apples and oranges. This is akin to having your computer online all the time, not a specific game, as is the case with SimCity.
     
  2. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm not sure why you think that this is different from the Sim City fiasco. If the Durango is always online than that means you need to be connected to their servers to use the console. If the servers go down (or Microsoft cuts support for the console) then you're screwed. It's the exact same thing.

    Although, I still think that this is a moot point. Microsoft isn't going to release an online only console or prevent used games. Without a monopoly on the industry (like the PS2 or NES) it would be suicide.
     
  3. AlphaMan

    AlphaMan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Well...

    I certainly expected Microsoft to have answered Sony at this point. The amount of buzz over the PS4 is overwhelming. News of the PS4 is dominating interest at IGN, Kotaku and Game Spot. GameStop reports significant interest in PS4 and 900,000 preorders already. All this and Microsoft only registered a domain as a response. I'm starting to wonder if Sony's little fake out in January (Sony was going to let Microsoft announce first) worked and Microsoft was caught totally off guard.
     
  4. FPAlpha

    FPAlpha Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    I doubt it.. they know the 720 (or whatever its name will be) will garner enough interest.

    The videogame market is split in half and i guess it won't move much.. capabilities will be about the same and i don't believe MS will suffer any long lasting effects just because Sony went first in the announcement and that presentation was lukewarm at best, i.e. no real detail and merely a picture of the controller.

    E3 will start the battle in earnest and i guess both companies will open up fully then. Until then everything that comes before are mere skirmishes.
     
  5. Haggis and tatties

    Haggis and tatties Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Last edited: Apr 5, 2013
  6. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Oh, Microsoft, don't be going all stupid on us now.
     
  7. doubleohfive

    doubleohfive Fleet Admiral

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  8. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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  9. AlphaMan

    AlphaMan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Microsoft just released a statement distancing themselves from the personal view of their employee.

    I wonder if the always online feature is much like the PS4 always on feature for fast start up and play... It's not required for gameplay, but it just maintains a low power standby mode for convenience. If Microsoft does this, they have to realize it would be big trouble for them... Which makes me think they won't do it.
     
  10. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    What a dick! :lol:
     
  11. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Kotaku is getting their information from an unnamed source (yeah, that's 100% trustworthy), but they do seem pretty confident that the Durango will Require an Internet Connection to start games. I just hope Microsoft announces the damn thing soon and puts all the rumours to rest.
     
  12. Caretaker

    Caretaker Commodore Premium Member

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    Interesting take. I would have assumed people would have gone directly to that Hitler film that is the go-to for pent-up Internet rage. But The Dark Knight Rises also works.
     
  13. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Downfall parodies? That is so 2010!
     
  14. FPAlpha

    FPAlpha Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    Damn.. if MS really goes the Always on route and Sony doesn't it might actually be a big factor in this console race.

    As i said before both consoles are pretty much on par technology wise.. similar design concepts and similar power on average (one does maybe win in certain areas but the other makes up for it by being better in others). So it all comes down to features, personal preference and some exclusive titles.

    I'm an XBox man myself but i'm not hardcore locked into one company.. whoever provides me the best gaming experience (that's very subjective of course) gets my money. I also live in an area with very stable internet connection ( i can count the times of disconnect by the ISP on one hand in more than 10 years.. that's a pretty good service) so Always on DRM wouldn't be a factor for me but it's about principle.

    There is absolutely no technical reason whatsoever to have an always on device or game other than DRM and every company can suck it if it tries to imposes it on me. It's something different with purely multiplayer games like Diablo 3 but a single player game requiring this feature? Gimme a break..

    If MS really wants to shoot itself in the foot go ahead.. come launch day expect the 720 to be unusable for days or even weeks while PS4 are laughing their ass off (only if current rumors remain true of course).

    If it turns out to be like this consider me heavily leaning to the PS4 this fall/winter when they are released.
     
  15. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    Sony must be loving this, and of course at the start Xbox will sell out on launch but after that I believe Sony will open up a huge lead in both hardware and software. We all thought Sony scored an own goal with the launch of PS3, well Microsoft are about to take it to the next level :lol:
     
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2013
  16. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm not into Microsoft's consoles (I'm not into Western games or FPS), so this doesn't affect me very much. Although I do own an Xbox and I plan to buy a 360 in the next few years. I'm way more into Nintendo and to a slightly lesser degree Sony.

    This just isn't a direction that I want to see console gaming headed in. I can go put in Space Invaders (2600), Super Mario Bros, Streets of Rage, Ocarina of Time, Crazy Taxi, or Halo 1 whenever I want. Those games will always be available to play. If the Durango is online only then that means at some point, after about 8-10 years when support of the console is discontinued, every single game released for the system will be unplayable. Could you imagine if all movies or songs or books ceased to exist after a decade? That's a fucking nightmare.
     
  17. TheGodBen

    TheGodBen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I've been seeing rumours about the always online requirement for the past year, and at first I thought it was absolutely absurd and in no way true, but more and more insider sources are confirming it and I'm beginning to believe it may be true. It's just hard to believe that MS could be so pigheaded in pushing for this and believing it's viable while there's going to an an offline competitor. The only way it could work is if MS is willing to radically undersell the PS4 the way the 360 did the PS3, but considering that both consoles are supposed to be using similar hardware, it's difficult to see how MS could manage that again.

    I have a 360, but I'm really temped to jump back to the PS4 next gen because of Microsoft's greed in charging for most services on Xbox Live. An always online requirement would guarantee me making the switch.
     
  18. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't mind Microsoft charging (PS3 doesn't, but PS3's offering is missing features too) for online play. Always on... might be a deal breaker, or at least a deal delayer.

    I'm not going to jump to the PS4 instead, though. Their interesting exclusives (mainly Uncharted and a bunch of PS2 rereleases) aren't enough to justify launch price for a console. :techman:
     
  19. AlphaMan

    AlphaMan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    That's an excellent point. What they are hoping will likely happen is that they could sell you your favorite game again on a future console.
     
  20. TheGodBen

    TheGodBen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm not talking about multiplayer, I accepted that they were going to charge for that when I purchased. But since then pretty much every new service they've added to Xbox Live has required a Gold account. There's no reason why I should pay Microsoft to access services from third parties, such as Youtube, Netflix, or the fricking web browser. So if I'm going to get a console next gen, I may as well get one that wont try to fleece me.

    I'm not going to purchase at launch, it's always best to wait a few months to a year and see where things stand before purchasing a console. As for price, we don't know how much they're going to cost, so we don't know if the PS4 will be more expensive than the next Xbox.