Must hit refresh before posting. Sin bin for me
The Annual E3 Microsoft press conference thread, 2018 edition
Billy Idol
Legend
Great conference!
Biggest impressions:
Gears Tactics - Because turn-based strategy is one of my favorite genres and setting one of these in the Gears universe could be amazing.
Dying Light 2 - Having broad consequences to the game world caused by players actions in that world is something I really feel is the way forward for narrative-based games. I think it greatly improves immersion and replayability. This looks like it is going to progress the concept forward and I'm totally on board for it. Having Chris Avellone on the team raises the hype meter even further.
MS buying/forming 5 new studios, making available resources from their other divisions, as well as developing new Xboxes (plural) is a pretty big signal that they are committed to being in the video game industry for the foreseeable future.
Amazingly enough, Phil Spencer was actually aware of the deficiencies in the breadth and depth of their software offerings and has spent his time (once the hardware side was in order) and financial resources on improving the diversity of the library. It's almost like he knows what he's doing.
There were other things I saw that I liked, but a lot of it was "of course they're doing a sequel to that" or "oh another one of those".
Gears Tactics - Because turn-based strategy is one of my favorite genres and setting one of these in the Gears universe could be amazing.
Dying Light 2 - Having broad consequences to the game world caused by players actions in that world is something I really feel is the way forward for narrative-based games. I think it greatly improves immersion and replayability. This looks like it is going to progress the concept forward and I'm totally on board for it. Having Chris Avellone on the team raises the hype meter even further.
MS buying/forming 5 new studios, making available resources from their other divisions, as well as developing new Xboxes (plural) is a pretty big signal that they are committed to being in the video game industry for the foreseeable future.
Amazingly enough, Phil Spencer was actually aware of the deficiencies in the breadth and depth of their software offerings and has spent his time (once the hardware side was in order) and financial resources on improving the diversity of the library. It's almost like he knows what he's doing.
There were other things I saw that I liked, but a lot of it was "of course they're doing a sequel to that" or "oh another one of those".
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Clearly talking about next-gen hardware, IMO. Has nothing to do with what Sony may or may not do and everything to do with Xbox making a commitment to continue to release custom console hardware in order to squash the narrative that Xbox Play Anywhere was a prelude to them abandoning it.
How can you say that after over a month of 22 degrees and wall-to-wall sunshine??Seasons? In the UK? Rain, Slightly different rain. Rain with leaves. Mild snow. Cold rain.
Universe seems a good fit for the genre.
New XBoxes == two tiers at launch? Portable? I think a portable like a small Surface Pro with the Xbox branding might be good. Kinda like nVidia Shield from the MS stables.
As for new studios, effectively operated studios can be very profitable. It's the very basis of all software publishers. Makes sense to capitalise on that and 1) generate more profit for your company from software sales (assuming you can create more wins than losses) and 2) promote your platform over rivals as the only place to play these must-have games. Given MS's angle on BC/FC and game perpetuity, I'd like to see them push that alongside the development of exclusives and really make a point of, "not only do you get these games only on XBox, but they'll be available forever and get better over time to boot." Although GaaS is more proftable and more vulnerable, so we'll have to see where they go with their studios.
It's almost like he listened to the Internet feedback and decided it wasn't just noise from a vocal minority but genuine concerns about the value of the platform.
He said next Xbox. I am sure they will launch same year than Sony 2019 or 2020.
Silent_Buddha
Legend
I don't get the feeling that he listened to the internet and that is what determined his course of actions once he was put in charge of the Xbox division. Not that he didn't listen. Just that he was going to do those things anyway. So the internet gamers were more reinforcement of what he wanted to do, than voices that determined what he was going to do.
I think he was always part of that contingent and likely was at odds with the management team that he replaced (hence why he was put in charge after their initiative failed so miserably).
But the fact that his intentions for the gaming division mirrored that of the gamers on the internet at large certainly helps bolster his position. That likely also makes it easier for him to get funding for the division.
It's amazing to think that he's been with MS since 1988.
It was probably VERY frustrating for him during the dark times when upper management and Xbox management convinced the board to approve getting rid of so many gaming studios (any studio that wasn't developing for console was jettisoned). And it likely killed him when management decided to focus so much on consumer services for XBO rather than focusing only on games.
Again, likely why he was first in line to replacement the outgoing management at the time, rather than also being replaced when XBO failed at launch. Usually when a product fails that badly, the entire management team and anyone associated with it is jettisoned. But not only was he kept on, he was promoted to head of Xbox. Again, to me that indicates that he was part of a rival internal faction that believed gaming should have been the only focus for the platform. And not just that but instead of focusing on games as a service (F2P initiative with previous management), they should be focusing on the traditional game model potentially with experimenting with other formats with additional titles rather than converting core properties into F2P service models.
For example, he was quick to cancel Fable (originally supposed to be F2P) change Sea of Thieves focus (again, originally supposed to be F2P) etc. Remember also that he was one of the key individuals at MS that convinced Bill Gates to acquire and nurture 1st party game studios way back in the 90's.
It's a shame that he wasn't made head of Xbox before XBO released. And I say that despite me personally liking where XBO was going, but most gamer's didn't.
He's basically been pushing for Microsoft to be involved in creating games since the 90's.
Regards,
SB
Biggest megaton for me was the announcement that they bought Ninja Theory.
Gears, Forza and Halo were franchises we were all waiting to get a sequel.
The rest of the impressive titles are multiplatform or timed exclusives so at least they managed to secure a slot for simultaneous release on their console. It was a smart move to make world premier announcements of these titles in their own conference though as it associates them with the XBOX brand.
It was a very strong show regardless, with a strong and proper focus in games. It does give a sign that MS may be back on track.
Gears, Forza and Halo were franchises we were all waiting to get a sequel.
The rest of the impressive titles are multiplatform or timed exclusives so at least they managed to secure a slot for simultaneous release on their console. It was a smart move to make world premier announcements of these titles in their own conference though as it associates them with the XBOX brand.
It was a very strong show regardless, with a strong and proper focus in games. It does give a sign that MS may be back on track.
Silent_Buddha
Legend
I apologize ahead of time for everyone who will happen to run into me driving as a jackass doing donuts and power slides and crashes...
Well, the developers have now said that there is no collision between cars unless you are in the same party with them.
Since the world is shared with strangers they deliberately did this to prevent griefing of strangers. They call it "auto ghost."
Smart move, but kind of disappointing at the same time. But I think it's the right decision. Unavoidable griefing would potentially turn off a lot of people. But at least the collision is still there for people in your own party.
Regards,
SB
Based on his background, as you referenced in the rest of your post, this is likely the case. I suspect that while he obtained a firm financial commitment from MS senior leadership, it wasn't a blank check. So, he chose to use his budget on One S/One X development and launch first and then pivoted to a content acquisition spree.
I don't think it will help most of Japanese game will sold much more on PS4 for example. The most important news are Gears, Halo Infinite, Crackdown 3, Ori2, Forza Horizon 4 and buying/creating 5 studios.
Its not even remotely true (perhaps parts of wales or western scotland) but eg London has fuck all rain per year, its like the english have bad teeth myth compared to ppl from USA, when they have both about the same number of cavities on average
Cool conference.
What I liked :
Microsoft’s new found commitment to gaming. 5 new studios announced, quite impressive with a mix of new stidios(initiative) and well known ones (ninja theory, playground) . Ninja theory will be a good answer to sony’s cinematic games going forward I guess, if they can make hellblade on their own I can’t imagine what they will do with ms money. Announcing a new console , sort of, another sign of their commitment.
Games :
Halo infinity looks next gen to me. Long wait for this.
Gears 5 looked out of this world. I was already a big fan of gears 4 graphics and this blows it always. Seems very ambitious.
Crackdown 3 looked great , colorful with a ton of stuff going on. I don’t get the complaints , for a cell shaded game it looked ace and fun. It also looks different to 99% of the games we are getting these days from a visual standpoint. Seems to be a joy to play too.
Forza Horizon 4, well again great , the season stuff adds more variety to the best looking racing series out there.
Ori beautiful as always.
Gears tactics, don’t like the genre, don’t care about it
Dmc5 , hated its art direction, disappointed
Dying light 2 .....I was blown away by the premise of this. If what they demoed is prelevant in the game then it looks revolutionary to me. Most impressive thing I have seen in video games for a long time , this changing the world with your decisions stuff hasn’t been attempted with such depth ever.
Other than that most games looked good , as any game made for the x/pro/pc looks these days, most games look like cgi quality graphics to me anyway.
What I liked :
Microsoft’s new found commitment to gaming. 5 new studios announced, quite impressive with a mix of new stidios(initiative) and well known ones (ninja theory, playground) . Ninja theory will be a good answer to sony’s cinematic games going forward I guess, if they can make hellblade on their own I can’t imagine what they will do with ms money. Announcing a new console , sort of, another sign of their commitment.
Games :
Halo infinity looks next gen to me. Long wait for this.
Gears 5 looked out of this world. I was already a big fan of gears 4 graphics and this blows it always. Seems very ambitious.
Crackdown 3 looked great , colorful with a ton of stuff going on. I don’t get the complaints , for a cell shaded game it looked ace and fun. It also looks different to 99% of the games we are getting these days from a visual standpoint. Seems to be a joy to play too.
Forza Horizon 4, well again great , the season stuff adds more variety to the best looking racing series out there.
Ori beautiful as always.
Gears tactics, don’t like the genre, don’t care about it
Dmc5 , hated its art direction, disappointed
Dying light 2 .....I was blown away by the premise of this. If what they demoed is prelevant in the game then it looks revolutionary to me. Most impressive thing I have seen in video games for a long time , this changing the world with your decisions stuff hasn’t been attempted with such depth ever.
Other than that most games looked good , as any game made for the x/pro/pc looks these days, most games look like cgi quality graphics to me anyway.
Here's the ID@Xbox Teaser Trailer and the list of games shown.
- Outer Wilds (Console Launch Exclusive)
- Afterparty (Coming to Xbox Game Pass)
- Kingdom Two Crowns
- The Golf Club 2019
- Warhammer Vermintide 2 (Coming to Xbox Game Pass)
- Fringe Wars
- Below (Console Launch Exclusive)
- Conquerer's Blade
- Waking (Console Launch Exclusive)
- Children of Morta
- Raji an Ancient Epic
- Super MeatBoy Forever
- Planet Alpha
- Cuphead The Delicious Last Course (Console Launch Exclusive)
- Tunic (Console Launch Exclusive)
- Session (Console Launch Exclusive)
- Generation Zero
- Sable
- Bomber Crew (Coming to Xbox Game Pass)
- Harold HALIBUT, a Handmade Adventure Game
- The MMORPG Black Desert (Console Launch Exclusive)
- Islands of Nyne, Battle Royale
- The Wind Road
- WarGroove
- Totem Teller
- Dead Cells
- Ashen (Console Launch Exclusive, Coming to Xbox Game Pass)
Until now i've just watched the Forza 4 video on Gamersyde. The game looks so good, i'm really impressed.
Honestly, at least on Xbox one (maybe different on X) Forza Horizon was the only game that impressed me graphically and they continue their incredible work with the next iteration.
Playground is a wizard studio, clearly among the best in the industry : incredible graphics, performances, art and gameplay.
Honestly, at least on Xbox one (maybe different on X) Forza Horizon was the only game that impressed me graphically and they continue their incredible work with the next iteration.
Playground is a wizard studio, clearly among the best in the industry : incredible graphics, performances, art and gameplay.
Gears 5 and Halo Infinie looks very good, Pro 2 too.
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