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

[FPAlpha]

I guess Sony also learned a lesson with the PS3 launch and won't offer it for double the price as the 360. However once could argue that the inclusion of the BR drive (at the time not the only HD medium) has let the price skyrocket.

Now all technologies are more or less readily available.. no risky experiments so i guess the price for both consoles will be around the same.

This summer and fall is going to be very interesting when real informations gets released.

 

[ATimson]

Now all technologies are more or less readily available.. no risky experiments so i guess the price for both consoles will be around the same.

The tech is readily available, but the new Xbox is almost certainly going to include the new Kinect. Is Sony's new version of the Eye that they've been showing off going to be a pack-in too? If not, that'll probably let them undercut Microsoft.

Also, Microsoft, if you're listening: let us bring our own hard drive this time.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

^^Very good point on the third party HDD, one of the best features on the PS3 in my view, i have a 320gig HDD in both my PS3's and its been a god send, and they only cost me £49 each a few years ago, talk about bang for your buck.

 

[Kelthaz]

Here's some more evidence suggesting that Durango will require an online connection. I have no idea who this guy is, but Neogaf seems to consider him extremely reliable.

Folks, the next Xbox is going to require an always-on Internet connection. I don’t know the specifics of what that means, but as I explained on this week’s What The Tech podcast, which was recorded on Friday instead of the usual Tuesday because of my travel earlier in this week, this piece of information had been communicated to me, along with some other relevant tidbits, in January. It’s true.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=536091

 

[Jax]

From a parody Twitter account...

Sorry, I couldn’t tweet earlier about Adam Orth’s comments about the XBOX always online rumors. My internet connection was down

If the next XBOX does have always online DRM, it will stop people pirating their games as it will stop people from buying the console

 

[PsychoPere]

Here's some more evidence suggesting that Durango will require an online connection. I have no idea who this guy is, but Neogaf seems to consider him extremely reliable.

Paul Thurrott is definitely credible. You can read a little about him at this Wiki entry, if you're so inclined. The short story is that he's a well-established technology reporter.

 

[Kelthaz]

Paul Thurrott is definitely credible. You can read a little about him at this Wiki entry, if you're so inclined. The short story is that he's a well-established technology reporter.

Okay, then I'm taking his second claim a bit more seriously now.

The new Xbox will cost about 500$ for a normal unit, or 300$ for a subscription model (no details on this) when launched in November. Also, a $99 Xbox 360 codenamed "Stingray" will also be released in November because the Durango will not be backwards compatible with 360 games.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=536163

 

[TheGodBen]

Now we're being told that the Nextbox reveal has been pushed back to May 21st. This is the second time they've pushed back the reveal a month, giving the PS4 three months in the limelight. It kinda gives the impression that MS are struggling to come up with something to compete with what the PS4 is offering, and that lends some credence to the suggestions that the always online rumours are being leaked to lower expectations. At least, I hope that's the case.

 

[Jax]

The new Xbox will cost about 500$ for a normal unit, or 300$ for a subscription model (no details on this) when launched in November. Also, a $99 Xbox 360 codenamed "Stingray" will also be released in November because the Durango will not be backwards compatible with 360 games.

Just when I thought I couldn't lose any more anticipation for the next XBox, WTF is going on at Microsoft

 

[MacLeod]

The problem with the idea for an always on-line console, is that you immediatly exclude a number of potential custimers. i.e those that don't have an internet connection.

 

[Jax]

The problem with the idea for an always on-line console, is that you immediatly exclude a number of potential custimers. i.e those that don't have an internet connection.

And what if our internet is fine but XBL goes down at least when PSN was hacked the other year I still could play offline on the PS3.

 

[FPAlpha]

Now we're being told that the Nextbox reveal has been pushed back to May 21th. This is the second time they've pushed back the reveal a month, giving the PS4 three months in the limelight. It kinda gives the impression that MS are struggling to come up with something to compete with what the PS4 is offering, and that lends some credence to the suggestions that the always online rumours are being leaked to lower expectations. At least, I hope that's the case.

Maybe, just maybe, MS is really worried about the always on feature.. it wouldn't be a big deal at all if Sony had it to but now, especially with the recent PR debacle, it's something that has very negative undertones in the gaming community and maybe MS needs more time to decide if they want to go through with it or do a very last minute redesign.

Wouldn't count on it.. the new XBox will sell very well, that's a given and MS might just think "To hell with this loud minority".. who knows.

 

[TheGodBen]

Wouldn't count on it.. the new XBox will sell very well, that's a given and MS might just think "To hell with this loud minority".. who knows.

I don't know that it necessarily will sell well. Sony dominated the previous two generations, now they're fighting with MS over second place worldwide, and are a distant third place in the US. That's partly because of the Wii phenomenon, partly because Sony acted arrogantly and released an expensive console that pushed their hardware agenda, namely the cell processor and blu-ray. If these rumours are true then MS appears to be making the same mistake next gen, they're releasing an expensive console that pushes an always online connection and Kinect. They'll probably do well enough, but they're risking the gains they made with the 360. Meanwhile, Sony appears to have learned from the mistakes of the PS3 and it seems like they're making a console that caters to everyone's wishes. If this all comes to pass, there's every chance that the PS4 will dominate its generation the way the PS1 and PS2 did.

 

[FPAlpha]

Doing well enough is exactly that.. it will sell well enough to stay in the market successfully. One thing that idiot was right with was that permanent internet connections have become the standard and it won't matter much technically for the core customer. However it is still bad press and they didn't get the chance to break the news on their terms. I'm really looking forward to see how MS tries to spin this.

 

[Jax]

Read some a interesting article on GameSpot UK about always online XBox...

Article

No matter how much Microsoft wants to release an always-on console, it's clear from the internet backlash they don't want such a device: bullying them into it isn't going to work.

Persistent online games are often released to disastrous results, EA's SimCity launched with a string of server problems that meant players couldn't play a game--single-player or otherwise without huge waits or restrictions on content. Diablo III's login server buckled under the pressure at launch, with thousands of paying customers unable to play the game.

If every new Xbox has to be online to play games, there could be potentially millions upon millions of people connecting to its servers at once, which could cause all manner of issues

The latest FCC broadband progress report shows that 37 percent of Americans, 119 million people in all, don't have broadband (defined as 4Mbps down and 1Mbps up) internet. 10 million of that is made up of citizens who don't have access to broadband, while the other 100 million live in areas where broadband is available but do not subscribe.

The latest report from the UK Office for National Statistics puts internet access in the UK at 21 million households, or around 80 percent of the population. Of those 21 million, 93 percent are connected via broadband, leaving the remaining 13 percent languishing on dialup connections.

Clearly then, there's a significant proportion of people across two of the Xbox's biggest markets that don't have an internet connection suitable for an always-online console.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Microsoft exec quits are enraging the interweb.


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/11/twitter_orth_adam/

A high-flying Microsoft creative director has quit after enraging Xbox owners with a widely publicised tweet saying they should get used to consoles being constantly connected to to the internet.
A week ago, Adam Orth provoked the wrath of bedroom-bound gamers and industry experts alike after sharing his thoughts on the always-on future of the Xbox.

Was he pushed or did he jump, and did the bad PR it gained on the whole issue of always on DRM, make MS worried about releasing details on their next xbox.


Intresting indeed.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Probably a combination of releasing such information in an uncontrolled manner and causing them bad PR in the process. It's not uncommon for someone to be forced to resign, either. It looks better than being fired for cause.

 

[BillJ]

I've had broadband for nearly a decade now but there is no way I want an always connected console. I bought the Xbox 360 first last gen followed by the PS3, this time around it may only be a PS4.

 

[Rincewiend]

So the always online and installing games on the hard-drive to play the games things are anti-piracy and used game sales measures...
If they get a BD-drive in the new system, why not use that as a anti-piracy measure?!?
It pretty much worked for Sony and the PS3...
BD-R's and the drives are still very expensive...
Heck, one of the main reasons the XBox360 sold so well was because it could be modded to play pirated games...

 

[Haggis and tatties]

^^Yeah i dont think anybody really believes that always on line is there to stop piracy anymore, it's there to control the softwear you buy and what you do with it, it has no real advantage to the consumer other than possibly a few seconds quicker loading times from a HDD rather than optical media, but in one fell swoop it kills the second hand games market stone dead, and you are basically paying full retail price to rent your games until they decided to turn off the servers.

I gave simcity a go and although the game itself is ok and no doubt with patches will be a good game, the issues i have had of late with losing connection both on their and my end, and my saves game not being avalible, not syncing or having to be rolled back due to connection issues, has made it simply frustrating and i have given up on it.

I dont know if the new xbox will indeed come with a always on line, but i for one will be steering clear in future of anything requiring this kind of drm, i cant be bothered with the hassle of it, and thses days i dont play much online, give me a good single player story anyday, that new tomb raider game there was awesome, and i did not fire up the mutiplayer once and had no desire to do so.