I attempted to find 10 IPs that made their debut during the current generation of consoles, with no currently released or announced sequels, that I personally wanted to see more of, and that felt like there was room to expand upon. I failed, and was stuck at 8 until I allowed myself some exceptions. Now, moving on to the list, and why these titles made the cut.
Showing posts with label next-gen gaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label next-gen gaming. Show all posts
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Why Microsoft Still Needs to Lose Mattrick
After the news about the XBox One from this past Tuesday, and picking up from where I left off here, I'm almost stymied at how poorly they played out their hand.
This information came entirely too soon after how forcefully they presented it both at the console reveal, and at E3, yet it still feels like a case of "too little, too late", and even if it weren't, it's definitely coming from the wrong voice, as this is straight out of the mouth of the same person who said "The 360 is an offline product."
So, let's dive right into the update released earlier this week, straight from the desk of everyone's favorite President of Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick himself, translate some of this PR spin, and get to the root of what is really said.
"We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future. " - We had a bunch of great ideas, then you all complained because we tied it into our terrible policies. We deep-sixed all of it, though we stand by it, and may revisit this in the future, when Kansas finally gets off dial-up.
"Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback." - We tried to wait until after E3, but the bitchmob was already too large, and still growing at an alarming rate. We're going to try and turn this ship around, and if we fail, it's your fault as consumers. You can also stop sending death threats now.
"I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One." - We really just don't have a fucking clue what we are doing.
"You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you." - Okay, so you guys know about first sale doctrine, and refuse to go the same route as PC games because our consoles aren't backwards compatible, next gen probably won't be either, and you don't want games to vanish from brick and mortar stores.
"Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world." - We were so looking forward to slamming you with Doritos and Mountain Dew ads during matchmaking, and making you repurchase all of your games every time our servers went down for extended maintenance.
"While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds." - We know we're right, but you're stupid, so we'll let you have your way. You want it both ways, and we'll claim to give you that right here, but we're actually taking away all the interesting things we previously unveiled when we do away with the draconian DRM.
It's pretty clear that this is a thinly-veiled "Fuck you" to everyone who criticized their policies, while attempting to put on a facade of pro-consumerism in a bid for your dollars. While it may work in the short term, the sheer audacity of the situation, and to have it come from Mattrick is a slap in the face to anyone who has followed this story for more than two days.
If it was this easy for Microsoft to just pull an about-face, there's nothing to stop them from doing so again in the near future, with even less functionality, and even less consumer goodwill in mind.
This man has alienated more than half of your intended audience, including all of those serving in the US armed forces, who were huge supporters of the 360. Having him make the announcement is insincere at best, and a sign of things to come at worst. There is very little to gain by having some of your worst PR blunders embodied in one of your highest ranking executive posts, and very little to lose by promoting one of his subordinates, even if in an interim manner, as a show that, even at the corporate level, this man's methods, statements, and policies were not what was expected of someone in that position, are all undergoing review, and may be changed in the future.
Though, if you really want to save face, and possibly the embarrassment of a bad launch with all the pre-instilled distaste for the X1, consider taking this year off the table as far as a release, work on upgrading the hardware further, refine its aesthetic, lower the price, and re-brand it for a summer release next year. I don't want to see you fall flat on your face come release, because the market needs competition, and between the Wii U's current-gen hardware, and your PR calamities, I'm not seeing a lot of that around.
This information came entirely too soon after how forcefully they presented it both at the console reveal, and at E3, yet it still feels like a case of "too little, too late", and even if it weren't, it's definitely coming from the wrong voice, as this is straight out of the mouth of the same person who said "The 360 is an offline product."
So, let's dive right into the update released earlier this week, straight from the desk of everyone's favorite President of Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick himself, translate some of this PR spin, and get to the root of what is really said.
"We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future. " - We had a bunch of great ideas, then you all complained because we tied it into our terrible policies. We deep-sixed all of it, though we stand by it, and may revisit this in the future, when Kansas finally gets off dial-up.
"Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback." - We tried to wait until after E3, but the bitchmob was already too large, and still growing at an alarming rate. We're going to try and turn this ship around, and if we fail, it's your fault as consumers. You can also stop sending death threats now.
"I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One." - We really just don't have a fucking clue what we are doing.
"You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you." - Okay, so you guys know about first sale doctrine, and refuse to go the same route as PC games because our consoles aren't backwards compatible, next gen probably won't be either, and you don't want games to vanish from brick and mortar stores.
"Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world." - We were so looking forward to slamming you with Doritos and Mountain Dew ads during matchmaking, and making you repurchase all of your games every time our servers went down for extended maintenance.
"While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds." - We know we're right, but you're stupid, so we'll let you have your way. You want it both ways, and we'll claim to give you that right here, but we're actually taking away all the interesting things we previously unveiled when we do away with the draconian DRM.
It's pretty clear that this is a thinly-veiled "Fuck you" to everyone who criticized their policies, while attempting to put on a facade of pro-consumerism in a bid for your dollars. While it may work in the short term, the sheer audacity of the situation, and to have it come from Mattrick is a slap in the face to anyone who has followed this story for more than two days.
If it was this easy for Microsoft to just pull an about-face, there's nothing to stop them from doing so again in the near future, with even less functionality, and even less consumer goodwill in mind.
This man has alienated more than half of your intended audience, including all of those serving in the US armed forces, who were huge supporters of the 360. Having him make the announcement is insincere at best, and a sign of things to come at worst. There is very little to gain by having some of your worst PR blunders embodied in one of your highest ranking executive posts, and very little to lose by promoting one of his subordinates, even if in an interim manner, as a show that, even at the corporate level, this man's methods, statements, and policies were not what was expected of someone in that position, are all undergoing review, and may be changed in the future.
Though, if you really want to save face, and possibly the embarrassment of a bad launch with all the pre-instilled distaste for the X1, consider taking this year off the table as far as a release, work on upgrading the hardware further, refine its aesthetic, lower the price, and re-brand it for a summer release next year. I don't want to see you fall flat on your face come release, because the market needs competition, and between the Wii U's current-gen hardware, and your PR calamities, I'm not seeing a lot of that around.
Friday, June 7, 2013
We both said a lot of things you're going to regret...
Okay, so maybe I was a little harsh on the Xbox One yesterday. I was only going off of things that were known as facts at the time, and since Microsoft has been so gracious as to clarify the features and capabilities of the Xbox One, I feel like I should apologize.
For starters, I was misinformed (as were most) as to the ever-watching electric eye of the Kinect 2. Microsoft has clarified by saying that "you are in charge of what Kinect can see and hear" and that when "you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded". I'm inclined to believe them, being that they're a giant money-grubbing corporate whorebag that is releasing a cable box/DVR as a gaming console later this year.
I was also not detailed enough in my rant about Xbox One's online requirement. The console only requires that you have a connection once every 24 hours if it's you playing your own console. If you're playing on a separate console while accessing your own cloud-based library, it will require a connection ONCE EVERY SINGLE HOUR. But don't worry, this won't disrupt your viewing of Blu-ray discs or TV.
I also failed to mention Microsoft's stance on used and borrowed games. Originally, we were told that gamers could purchase used games and would then have to pay an "activation fee" in order to be able to play them. This too is false information. Microsoft came clean by saying: "We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers. Microsoft does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games." They also clarified with this: "Third party publishers may opt in or out of supporting game resale and may set up business terms or transfer fees with retailers." The very same third-party publishers that have been scapegoating second-hand game sales for so many of their recent failures.
In closing, I would like to apologize to Microsoft, as well as my readership (assuming I have one), about my under-informed statements. Thank you, MS. Thank you for clarifying the absolute horror that is your next-gen console.
And Sony, I'm gunning for you next.
*All quotes used here are courtesy of IGN.com. You can find there article here.
For starters, I was misinformed (as were most) as to the ever-watching electric eye of the Kinect 2. Microsoft has clarified by saying that "you are in charge of what Kinect can see and hear" and that when "you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded". I'm inclined to believe them, being that they're a giant money-grubbing corporate whorebag that is releasing a cable box/DVR as a gaming console later this year.
I was also not detailed enough in my rant about Xbox One's online requirement. The console only requires that you have a connection once every 24 hours if it's you playing your own console. If you're playing on a separate console while accessing your own cloud-based library, it will require a connection ONCE EVERY SINGLE HOUR. But don't worry, this won't disrupt your viewing of Blu-ray discs or TV.
I also failed to mention Microsoft's stance on used and borrowed games. Originally, we were told that gamers could purchase used games and would then have to pay an "activation fee" in order to be able to play them. This too is false information. Microsoft came clean by saying: "We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers. Microsoft does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games." They also clarified with this: "Third party publishers may opt in or out of supporting game resale and may set up business terms or transfer fees with retailers." The very same third-party publishers that have been scapegoating second-hand game sales for so many of their recent failures.
In closing, I would like to apologize to Microsoft, as well as my readership (assuming I have one), about my under-informed statements. Thank you, MS. Thank you for clarifying the absolute horror that is your next-gen console.
And Sony, I'm gunning for you next.
*All quotes used here are courtesy of IGN.com. You can find there article here.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Rant: Next-Generation Garbage - Xbone and PS-Bore
This article was originally intended as a comparison between the released information on both the PS4 and Xbone, but honestly, after spending the better portion of a day thinking it over, I just couldn't bring myself to write a post about something I just don't give a fuck about. The Xbone and PS4 just don't interest me, and I think it's partially because I won't be able to afford either but mostly because they're just not needed. What does the next generation bring to the table that we're currently lacking, or would really benefit from? Jack-shit, but lets break it down.
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