Microsoft Flattered By Xbox Live Copycats

[Ben-Nice]

http://microsoft.controllerfreaks.com/fullnews.asp?NewsID=7063


Microsofts European Boss Chris Lewis has a little something to say about his rivals plans to " Copy " Xbox Live.

“It’s certainly flattering to see that our competition rates aspects of Xbox 360 and Xbox Live so highly that they’re integrating these features into their own product,â€￾ he blasted.Further dismissing the rhetoric from Sony and Nintendo, he added: “But we’ll wait and see what actually makes it to market. I’ve been in the industry long enough to know that initial claims don’t always match reality. We are concentrating on our business.â€￾
With Xbox 360 already on the market, Microsoft had a lower profile at GDC than both of its rivals. But one significant announcement made by the games giant was the very matter which third parties, retail and consumers have been waiting for: a step-up in the manufacturing of 360 hardware.

“We’re now in a position to be shipping a significantly increased quantity of consoles to retail on a weekly basis,â€￾ Lewis explained to MCV. “With component supplies in full production and three manufacturing partners now up and running, we’re producing more Xbox 360 consoles than ever. Consumers in Europe will very soon be able to walk into retail and come home with a console. Demand has been incredible and we have been consistently selling out as we replenish each week. But, as I have said, the stock position is now even more plentiful and this is true across all of our existing European countries.â€￾
Source: MVC

 

[hey69]

why is this considered copying? cant we say microsft copyd online gaming from ps2 but addes extras? (and ps2 from DC etc..)
Does the fact that you create something equal (that already exists on other platform) make it a copy?
Just thinking here

 

[kyetech]

why is this considered copying? cant we say microsft copyd online gaming from ps2 but addes extras? (and ps2 from DC etc..)

Well not in my opinion. MS arnt saying they are copying by 'being online' They are saying that they are replicating the business model, and service stratagy, which by all intents and purposes has been pioneering for the game console market. (and proven to work).

As MS has said in the past, they put a pretty big bet on this service, and no doubt spent an aweful lot of money building the infra structure. Not something most companies can afford to do unless proven.

 

[Tap In]

why is this considered copying? cant we say microsft copyd online gaming from ps2 but addes extras? (and ps2 from DC etc..)
Does the fact that you create something equal (that already exists on other platform) make it a copy?
Just thinking here

well DC had online first AFAIK, but MS absolutely has added ideas and featutres that took it to a new level.

sony is now imitating *those features* to an extent; that much is obvious.

 

[darkblu]

cut them some slack, i can see their reason for pride. it's a first ever for MS to come up with anything sufficiently good that anybody would copy it. as you know who usually does the copying around : )

 

[leechan25]

Whatever Mircosoft

Oh, so who was Microsoft copying when they want to build Xbox? Now they are thinking about a portable console. Who copying who here? Sony doesn't not want to copy them, they want to make it better than Microsoft's live service!

 

[rumaki]

i didn't see that staement as such a big deal, why must every thing be scrutinized to the point where people fall into "camps" all the time?

 

[c0_re]

Agreed I think the article author is the one pushing the "copy" terminology in order to create contraversy. I mean thats like Nintendo saying Sony copied them with the PSP becasue it's portable, just stupid.



edit: The only thing really "unique" to Xbox live is the Achievments and "Gamer Points" I do think this is a very cool feature especailly for those of us that don't play multiplayer games but still like to have "online faetures" and extra stuff.

 

[Qroach]

Well to be frank, Sony essentially is going to copy live by offering a number of the features they didn't previously offer. If it's better or not, only time will tell. I don't know where anyone would get the idea that MS copied sony with regards to online gaming. That wasn't the case at all.

leechan25, you are really overreacting.

 

[blakjedi]

Uh... it is copying considering PS2's online strategy was nothing like what they are suggesting for PS3. Meanwhile Live 360 is a major evolution of Xbox Live functionality.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Of course it's copying. Same as MS copying EyeToy. If someone has a good idea that makes their product more appealing than you, you make changes/additions to your product to compensate. That's why many many cars share features. How naff would it be if you could only have air-con or ABS because no car companies copied those ideas off the originator? And that's also why we have patents, to limit the adverse affect of copying on investments (in theory).

Live! has good features Sony didn't think of. They've seen that, realised Live! is a better system, and are fixing theirs up to remain competitive. Kudos to MS for coming up with a good online system. Kudos to Sony for not sticking with a rubbish system but making an effort to improve service. Anyone that wants to complain about either party's behaviour in this matter is a grade 'A' nimrod who ought to appreciate that progress is a combinations of innovators and building on other people's ideas.

 

[mckmas8808]

The author must have pushed this "copying" nonsense in the article because it wouldn't make sense if he didn't.

 

[drpepper]

Ironic, MS finally gets to use this line towards its competitors!

 

[rabidrabbit]

The ideas of "Live" hardly were such that naturally wouldn't come with an advanced online service, which PS2 "service" really wasn't.
They were services that are expected from a working online gameing infrastructure (which the PS2 infrastructure really wasn't), and that have been in PC games for ages, just not centralized as in "Live".

The PS3 online does have one distinguishing difference when compared with "Live" I think (correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't claim to be 100% sure of this), and it's that their service is "open" in a way the "live" isn't (someone please explain better how it is more "open", if it is, as I'm currently not capable of going that deep )

Had Sony gone for a similar underlying infrastructure in their online service, then I think we could talk abóut copying, but as it is now, I think they're just putting the standard online gaming features that have been established (at least as an idea) before MS and Live, into their first true online service. It's still more a copy of what has been in PC world, just with stricter standards so that the services are more consistent across the games.

MS certainly was first to come with a working online service for console gamers, but I just don't see them inventing much, just putting exsisting features central under one service, controlled by one copany as opposed to what had been on PC's before with every game having their own services.

I guess it's just how you look at it, and where your preferences are, as always.

 

[expletive]

The PS3 online does have one distinguishing difference when compared with "Live" I think (correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't claim to be 100% sure of this), and it's that their service is "open" in a way the "live" isn't (someone please explain better how it is more "open", if it is, as I'm currently not capable of going that deep ).

Had Sony gone for a similar underlying infrastructure in their online service, then I think we could talk abóut copying, but as it is now, I think they're just putting the standard online gaming features that have been established (at least as an idea) before MS and Live, into their first true online service. It's still more a copy of what has been in PC world, just with stricter standards so that the services are more consistent across the games.

MS has recently announced that they've 'opened' their Live infrastructure to allow more flexibility to developers. Which is to say that the old 'closed' model wasnt intrinsic to the service and its fundamental design. That said, i dont think you can use the idea that one being more or less 'open' than another as a determining factor in this discussion because it seems either platform can be as 'open' as it wants to be.

As far as features go, when every PC game has awareness of a universal friends list built in then i'd tend to agree, but they dont. Add on to that visibility into what your friends are playing, achievements, voice/video chat, etc then i think Live quickly distinguishes itself. I know xfire can do some of these things but IIRC Live has been around a bit longer.

EDIT: I wouldnt be entirely surprised, however, if MS builds this type of functionality into the XNA tools and implements it on the PC side. This might allow 360 and PC gamers to all enjoy the current live feature set between platforms, with the possible (and probable) exception of playing games against each other.

 

[Gen-X]

why is this considered copying? cant we say microsft copyd online gaming from ps2 but addes extras? (and ps2 from DC etc..)
Does the fact that you create something equal (that already exists on other platform) make it a copy?
Just thinking here

PS2 had no online gamming before the XBOX. That was an add on that they did after XBOX live. Same thing goes for the hard drive.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Either way it's a pretty retarded statement. First of all, they are providing a free service, that's a fairly huge distinction not exactly copying. Secondly, 95% of the features on XBLive are natural features than any group of people, brainstorming for 2 hours would come up with, it's basic stuff. Thirdly, Sony's proposed plan has many more revenue streams than XBLive including media of all types.

I have about 0% faith in Sony to pull all this off, right now these are all promises, but that's beside the point.

 

[Edge]

Just one guy at MS giving his opinion. Don't get too worked up over it.

I wish I had a dollar everytime someone from a company said something, and someone gets upset by it.

 

[DigitalSoul]

PS2 had no online gamming before the XBOX. That was an add on that they did after XBOX live. Same thing goes for the hard drive.

Actually the hard drive was announced even before Xbox came out. They were just late on the delivery(in North America atleast).

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I wish I had a dollar everytime someone from a company says something, and everyone gets all upset by it.

I wish I had a dollar every time someone pressed a letter E on a keyboard...