E3 Console Wager Thread

Anyone want to bet me on how long MS devotes to VR ? I think 15 minutes with no less than 4 games one being Fallout VR

 

So what if MS opens up with Phil Spencer and Drake in Master Chief costumes performing "Controlla" and "Hotline Bling"? Should the stop watch start before or after that opening?

 

Can I get in on this, on DSoup side? IE if DSoup (and me) looses then I will kick in the same amount he donates to B3D, up to 100 USD.

 

Okay, so formalized.

I will match what DSoup pays to B3D, upto 100 USD, so I will follow the same win/lose rules as DSoup.

 

Clock should start after the opening unless the opening includes the aforementioned info the wager is being placed on.

 

This is exactly my point. They will not open with Scorpio. But the modified wager is unworkable in that they'll never be agreement on what constitutes preamble or opening or "meat". In Sony conferences the opening preamble can go on for fifteen minutes where they talk about everything and nothing while everybody falls asleep.

Rangers' wager appealed because it is an incontrovertible test. I'm still happy to take Ranger's wager if he is - or other's are but nothing subjective. I just can't be arsed with all the arguing and whinging that goes with any subjective discussion on these forums.

Already what Rangers wagered is being backtracked as people realise five minutes is not a lot of time and Phil Spencer will likely spend several minutes thanking the audience, asking if they have a good time etc. You know why I know this? Because I looked at previous Xbox conferences before accepting the wager.

 

Except for last year. Phil announced Xbox One S in less than 3 minutes & that was with an opening video.

If they're not going to wait until the end of the conference to announce price, etc then I suspect they will do It the same as the XB1S reveal to get it done & out of the way.

Tommy McClain

 

True, but S was not a product they laboured on. They moved onto Gears immediately after - and yeah, the whole announcement literally was seconds. This won't be the case with Scorpio. Scorpio is likely going to be the climax of the conference. And a climax can go on and on. Just ask Sting.

 

I can understand climax but what's to labor on about? They already got the specs out already. They already got the "fastest console ever" announcement out of the way. They can basically put up a picture of the console with name, price & release date then drop the mic & then continue talking about the games. Like I said before they could do it first or last. However after thinking about it more I'm leaning more to first since the games will be the core message & not the hardware. I'm sure they want everyone to know that they have lots of first party & second party games since the slower hardware narrative can just fade away.

Tommy McClain

 

Firstly DF articles don't result in high traffic on Eurogamer so there will be plenty of people who don't know about the specifications and of those that do, even fewer will understand them. I'm expecting they will be showcasing what Scorpio can do that One can't. I anticipate a good 20-30 minutes on Microsoft's new Xbox.

 

I could see this going both ways.

Firstly, waiting until the last part of the conference could be used as a tactic to keep people watching. But the flip side of that is...if you need to use that to keep people watching your conference, you've got more serious problems than just what price your console is going to be priced at. This, IMO, would be a reflection of a lack of confidence in your overall messaging. Additionally, if you know the price isn't going to be something people want to hear (IE - you want to launch at 700 USD) then you probably want to wait until the end and hope they'll think more kindly of your price position after they see all the amazing things they'll get.

Alternatively, disclosing it at the start of the conference means you get it out of the way. People can stop thinking about it and instead focus on the conference itself. IMO, this would be a reflection of confidence in your overall messaging and wanting people to focus on that instead of the price of a console. However, to stress this again, if you know the price isn't going to be something people want to hear then you might not want it first.

I have no idea or prediction of when I think the Project Scorpio price will be revealed, but IMO, I think they should announce it at the start so that it doesn't pose a potential distraction for the rest of the conference. After all, everyone already knows most of the relevant things about the console and most are expecting a reveal of the price at the conference. Just get it out of the way so you can move onto the messaging you want people to focus on.

Regards,
SB

 

Unless I've missed his posts, Rangers hasn't commented at all.

Um, no. I don't believe that nor said anything like that. Are we reading the same forum?!? :-/

 

I fully agree. If this were Sony, who are fairly predictable, they'd do all the routine stuff, new games coming to the platform, then the final half/third would be focussed on the new hardware. Tailed with a quick recap at the end, game reels etc, then close.

 

They've certainly gotten better with the pacing for their conferences recently, but in the past they've needed to save the good stuff til last to keep people there while they went through the mind numbingly boring stuff at the beginning.

Regards,
SB

 

That's quite a bit of time and focus for what according to you interests only "thin slither of gamers". The first DF Scorpio reveal video has almost 1 Million views, so that's not too bad imo. As far as alienating the userbase. I have this feeling that Scorpio will be welcomed pretty well by the Xbox userbase. I think many will be ready for it. Time wise it will be the same distance from One as X360 was from the original Xbox, and now actually getting the most powerful box should be good news.

 

It is and this is mostly because I don't think Microsoft have much else to show. They don't have a lot of first party studios and there are no killer exclusives known about that are lurking. They probably have a surprise or two but they'll be wanting to fill an hour or more. People complain when nothing new is shown. Scorpio is new.

 

Fair point and the statement requires clarification. I think Microsoft will spend a good time talking about Scorpio and the conference will end on that high but I expect them to *start* talking about Scorpio no earlier than a third in and no later than two thirds in - depending how long the conference is.

I don't think it'll be a brief end of conference announcement similar to how they mentioned it at last year's E3.