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Microsoft Finally Selling Xbox One Without Kinect

DroidJason1 writes: "Microsoft has unbundled the Kinect from the Xbox One. The unbundled system's price now matches the PlayStation 4. Microsoft is touting 'your feedback' as the reason for this move. Any Xbox One functionality that relies on voice, video, gestures, etc, will not work without a Kinect, and users will be able to purchase a standalone Kinect later this year."

227 comments

  1. LOL by sexconker · · Score: 5, Funny

    The 180s never cease.

    1. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We may get our xbone720 yet

    2. Re:LOL by NotDrWho · · Score: 5, Informative

      With the Xbox One, MS has been backpedaling faster than Lance Armstrong approaching a drug-test checkpoint. Suddenly all those bad ideas that were so "essential" are turning into what they were all along: just fucking bad ideas.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    3. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      And it should still be at least $100 cheaper than the PS4, considering it is inferior (slower GPU, slower RAM, less RAM, no secondary CPU).

    4. Re:LOL by nine-times · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Not just that, but they're putting the start menu back in Windows. I'm starting to like this new CEO.

    5. Re:LOL by Spy+Handler · · Score: 0

      mod parent up for knowing the difference between pedal and peddle. I do believe this is the first time I've seen it spelled correctly on Slashdot; everyone else thinks it's "backpeddling".

    6. Re:LOL by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

      mod parent up for knowing the difference between pedal and peddle. I do believe this is the first time I've seen it spelled correctly on Slashdot; everyone else thinks it's "backpeddling".

      It's a comon error; nothing too loose your shit over...

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    7. Re:LOL by Billy+the+Mountain · · Score: 2

      Yeah but I would think that unbundling would be a form of backpeddling.

      --
      That was the turning point of my life--I went from negative zero to positive zero.
    8. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bad analogy. Backpedaling that bike doesn't change your forward momentum.

    9. Re:LOL by JohnNemesh · · Score: 1

      Nor will it change Microsoft's downward spiral....

    10. Re:LOL by Ravaldy · · Score: 2

      You could be naïve and think that their original strategy to launch the product as a bundle had deeper rooted issues. Issues that would now have been weeded out. What I mean is that it could have been viewed as a good strategy to have a full package but when the public showed disapproval it was already too late to turn around. Months of code had already been written around the Kinect so to release on time they needed to keep it as is. Only later does the team manage to re-write the critical code and allow for a non-Kinect experience.

    11. Re:LOL by Megane · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's a comon error; nothing too loose your shit over...

      Your right, their's alot of things worse then that.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    12. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Now that Bill Gates is back at the helm, I have more hope for Microsoft. Good riddance to Baldmer the sweaty blob.

    13. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The worst part was the dual-edged bait and switch they did at E3 and the eventual result that launched.

      The whole "good and bad" situation where they actually had some really good features, but awful features too. Everyone moaned. THEN THEY REMOVED ALL OF THE FEATURES.
      Even Sony aren't that bad/stupid. They only removed Linux, which upset like 5 people that actually used it since it was worthless even if you were good at Linux. I think literally the only good use it had was as a boot-to-browser so you never had to use that piece of crap Netfront browser. WHICH THEY STILL USE. WHY?!

      I somewhat wonder if Don wanted to destroy the Xbox division on purpose. Even though he got fired, he already had another job waiting for him with no effort.
      I wonder if he was paid to do it. That would be hilarious. Is that legal actually? Can you pay a competing companies employees to deliberately worsen a product? I assume that is probably illegal. Even though it is only morally wrong, offering another companies employees more money than the company is paying them isn't as far as I know. Eh, not a lawyer, etc.

    14. Re:LOL by FuegoFuerte · · Score: 1

      It sure as hell did on my first bike...

    15. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The issue in forcing the kinect onto everyone was to force adoption, ideally every game that was released could have kinect functionality without having to worry about support for those without kinects. If developers knew everyone had a kinect they would be more inclined to put resources towards developing for it. The 360 had some niche games for the kinect but nothing really game changing, some believe this is because the large publishers didn't want to put resources into developing for kinect since there would always be more money to be made with a 360 only title vs a 360 title that requires kinects.

    16. Re:LOL by wallsg · · Score: 1

      Don't you mean, "loose you're shit"?

    17. Re:LOL by NeverVotedBush · · Score: 1

      Coaster brake?

    18. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It has the same amount of RAM, slightly faster (higher clocked CPU) and the RAM while slower has less latency. The GPU though is definitely slower and the ps4 doesn't have a secondary CPU either so no idea what the hell you are talking about there. still probably should be 30-50 bucks cheaper than the ps4, they missed an opportunity here to undercut them and simply claim it was just part of the kinnect cost, now if they need to drop price again it will look like desperation.

    19. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are posting from facebook DIAF...

    20. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Xbone
      2x AMD "Jaguar" APU quad core module @ 1.75GHz w/Radeon GCN (768 cores)
      8GB DDR3 @ 2133MHz (68 GB/s)
      32MB eSRAM (109GB/s)

      PS4
      2x AMD "Jaguar" APU quad core module @ 1.6GHz w/Radeon GCN (1152 cores)
      8GB GDDR5 @ 5500MHz (176 GB/s)
      ARM secondary CPU for handling background tasks, downloads, video encoding/streaming
      265MB secondary DDR3 for background tasks, OS (68 GB/s)

      Let it be known that the Xbone's original CPU speed was the same as the PS4, but when they learned of PS4's vastly superior GPU, they bumped it up by 10% in a pathetic attempt to try to bridge the gap. All games are GPU bound, so it was futile.

    21. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah, the SoCs actually cost about the same (MS chose eSRAM, Sony chose a 50% bigger CPU), clocking costs absolutely no money whatsoever (they're all dynclocked by firmware with a dynamic fan, because the APUs are mobile processors! Nothing stops Sony from doing the same, except it'd be louder/hotter and there's little point as the Jaguar CPU cores kind of suck anyway and a tiny speed bump on that process makes a lot of extra heat), the RAM is cheaper but I think they had to use higher-tolerance DDR3 because they perhaps injudiciously put the RAM under the same giant heatsink of doom where the CPU can heat it up (!?).

      The real reason is the inside of the thing. Have you seen it? The PS4 is very clean and incredibly well-designed; the Xbox One is... um... busy.
      Xbox One (Durango): http://img1.lesnumeriques.com/news/29/29587/wired-xbox-one.jpg
      PS4 (Orbis): http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ps4-system-board-wired-640x428.jpg

      For saying they're essentially the same thing, it's a big difference in there. It's clear Sony have much better industrial designers who were involved at the early phase of the process as the layout is incredibly clear with a minimum of fuss; conversely, I'm guessing MS told their designers at a comparatively later phase in the project where everything needs to be, make the board to jam it in please, and the result is a bit of a trace traffic jam with discrete components liberally sprinkled all over. Build, assembly and discrete components cost more for the Xbox One. And both companies were unwilling to sell at a loss this time.

      They both have secondary SoCs, by the way. MS just don't advertise theirs, because they use all of theirs for basically Kinect and DRM, whereas Sony also do secondary video codec (H.264) offloading and could do really low-power tasks like background downloading with the APU turned off (but don't, yet, but they may well change that in a future firmware update), and ... DRM. (Well, they ARE both consoles.) If you want to investigate the DRM, look at the ARM chips. Oh, Marvell...

      They could drastically simplify the board design in a hardware revision, and I expect that both vendors will jump at the chance to do a die shrink on a smaller process (20nm TSMC? Maybe 14nm FinFET TSMC?), and the result will likely be cleaner on both ends with less noise and heat, smaller heatsinks/fans and maybe smaller cases! And, I would guess, price cuts, if they want to.

    22. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can I ask why anyone cares? These things are not exactly flying off the shelves as it is.

    23. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Three major advantages that the PS4 has over Xbone:

      1) 3 times faster RAM
      2) 50% more GPU cores
      3) Secondary CPU with dedicated RAM

    24. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your right, their's alot of things worse then that.

      This is painful to read.

    25. Re: LOL by loufoque · · Score: 1

      This is literally the first time I hear of 'backpeddling', so your statement appears unfounded.

    26. Re:LOL by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It's a comon error; nothing too loose your shit over...

      In this case both lose and loose seem equally applicable. I'm going to assume a deliberate mistake, but maybe I'm not meta enough...

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    27. Re:LOL by Salgat · · Score: 1

      The only dramatic difference is the GPU, where the PS4 has 33% more streaming processors. That alone makes all other performance factors moot. It's a big deal.

    28. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since when was "mod parent up" the same as "losing your shit"?

    29. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem isn't that the kinect was a bad idea so much as the fact that they failed to demonstrate it's value by having good launch titles that used it. It's a sweet piece of technology with lots of potential. But now we'll never get to see it since not being packaged with the xbox relagates it once again to the status of a novelty item that developpers won't bother making any games for.

    30. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      50% more streaming processors. You measure from the baseline, not the upper end.

      You're also forgetting about GDDR5 vs DDR3, which gives the PlayStation 4 about three times the memory bandwidth of the Xbox One.

    31. Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So they price-drop again and it looks like desperation. Those who hate them will scoff, those who love them will buy into the "We're listening to our users again and gosh we're getting good at it!" marketing. Meanwhile, they've scalped an extra 30-50 bucks off the fans who still prefer an inferior system from Microsoft.

    32. Re: LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Last time I checked they're selling pretty well. Xbox without a kinect? I'd have to say the kinect is one of its strongest features.

    33. Re: LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      4. Catches fire
      Yup, definitely better.

    34. Re: LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Citation needed. The only thing I have seen proof of is the Xbone overheating. It's RROD all over again, as expected.

  2. Correction / FTFY by brunes69 · · Score: 5, Funny

    s/Your feedback/A massive lack of sales

    1. Re:Correction / FTFY by rsborg · · Score: 5, Informative

      s/Your feedback/A massive lack of sales

      In Capitalist USA, where dollars = votes, this is the best form of feedback.

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    2. Re:Correction / FTFY by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Well, technically it's feedback. Not only that, but it's also the only feedback they care about.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Correction / FTFY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "s/Your feedback/A massive lack of sales"

      There's no difference. Sadly if only people would vote with their wallets all the time we'd all have the things we actually wanted available from the get go.

    4. Re:Correction / FTFY by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      It totally is a different experiene! It's called Mavericks!

    5. Re:Correction / FTFY by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      *experience*

      Turning spellcheck back on...

    6. Re:Correction / FTFY by sandytaru · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually, it is working, because many big companies are reluctant to switch to Win 8 from Win 7 and are still ordering systems with the older OS on it when they can. MS probably hasn't sold as many Windows 8 enterprise volume licenses as they had hoped. And that's why they keep frantically trying to rescue the tainted brand while dribbling in fixes for the things people complained about. Now it's Windows 8.1! Look, we added your start button back. Wait wait now it's 8.1 UPDATE and we finally let you launch to desktop again!

      That's just making it more confusing and frustrating for any company who had considered an upgrade to Windows 8, and so they're sitting on their hands waiting for Windows 8.x Super Final We Really Mean It Update.

      --
      Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
    7. Re:Correction / FTFY by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2

      The picture is probably worse than MS will admit. Considering that most enterprises Win 8 licenses allow you to install Win 7, I wonder how many true Win 8 licenses are being installed and how many are companies buying Win 8 volume licenses (since MS is offering them cheaper than Win 7) and installing Win 7.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    8. Re:Correction / FTFY by scott9693 · · Score: 1

      Yes, and Corporate users holding back on Windows 7 may create another Windows XP extended support nightmare for Microsoft. I'm guessing this is something they do not want a repeat of.

    9. Re:Correction / FTFY by scott9693 · · Score: 1

      Clarification: Windows XP like extended support nightmare.

  3. This is what happens by nwaack · · Score: 2

    when you treat optional peripherals as though they were as integral as the controller itself. I'd say that hopefully MS learned their lesson but we all know they haven't.

    1. Re:This is what happens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And am I the only one creeped out about having an always-on camera connected directly to microsoft in my bedroom?

    2. Re:This is what happens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No you are not, however too many people are ok with it even though they should be concerned with this.

    3. Re:This is what happens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remember when they bought Mosaic and turned it into IE. Then suddenly IE became an integral part of the operating system that couldn't be removed? Ah, those crazy 90's!

    4. Re:This is what happens by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      Yes, because that's why they u-turned on the kinect always connected and console always online lines, and now this, they did that because too many people were happy with it.

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
    5. Re:This is what happens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Remember when they bought Mosaic and turned it into IE. Then suddenly IE became an integral part of the operating system that couldn't be removed? Ah, those crazy 90's!

      All the while apple bundle safari/qt/itunes with everything and no one gives a shit?

    6. Re:This is what happens by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

      IE6 can't be removed, it is part of the OS!

  4. Live membership requirement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft also announced they are dropping the requirement to have an XBox Live membership to access third-party services like Hulu, Netflix, and HBO To Go. I couldn't understand why that was a requirement to begin with.

    1. Re:Live membership requirement by NotDrWho · · Score: 1

      Because they got away with it on the 360 and figured that they were so fucking awesome that everyone was going to put up with the same shit this generation too.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  5. Too little, too late by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Starting from when they said there would be an always-on internet requirement (and then there wasn't), and then the whole "no selling of used games policy" (and then there wasn't), Microsoft has more or less annoyed. confused and alienated their potential user base.

    Sure, some people will buy it no matter what.

    But, for some of us, give us a gaming platform which doesn't need an internet connection, isn't providing an always on internet connected camera, and doesn't handcuff us to how you think we want to use it.

    I don't want a gaming platform for Netflix, Hulu, Bing, Dong, Boing, or anything else. I'd also like to be able to play motion controlled games without an internet connection, because I'm not playing on-line games. Ever.

    And, if you can't provide that to me, I don't want your product.

    At this point, I see more value in buying a spare XBox 360 than even considering the XBone.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Too little, too late by Drethon · · Score: 1

      Well what this article says they had planned is about as annoying to me as a no used game policy: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tec...

    2. Re:Too little, too late by rsborg · · Score: 2

      You should learn how to read. There was never a "no selling of used games policy" and there was never an "always-on internet requirement". The Xbox One would check in with servers once a day to verify software licenses. If you wanted to sell used games, you'd have to use a mechanism to de-list the game from your Xbox One to make that license available for the person who bought it.

      If read past the headlines you'd know this. I can't blame you for being confused, having never read the actual articles.

      You might want to actually read it yourself: http://www.cnet.com/news/micro...

      Parse the words all you like, but MSFT actually wanted to inactivate your console if it didn't phone home every 24 hours - despite the craziness of this idea, the practicality of it was insane - if I took it with me to another state and the trip took > 24h then I couldn't play it. If my internet died for 24+h I couldn't play it. Stupid.

      Whoever is heading the Xbox division recently (or is pulling their strings on-high) is a complete moron, or they think you're the product that they're selling to the game manufacturers (or spy agencies).

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    3. Re:Too little, too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I had only ever owned a Xbox and 360 since I was a kid. But I bought a ps4 this time. They've been pissing me off for a while now. But that E3 show was the last straw.

    4. Re:Too little, too late by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Informative

      You should learn how to read. There was never a "no selling of used games policy" and there was never an "always-on internet requirement".

      Perhaps you should learn how to use Google?

      Because at various times, Microsoft has announced those were (or would be) requirements.

      I can't blame you for being confused, having never read the actual articles.

      And I can't blame you for being a tool who hasn't really been following this saga. But, nonetheless, I will.

      Because you're clearly ill-informed about all of the things Microsoft has said, and then retracted about this console. And, I can assure you, BOTH of those things had been announced and then changed by them.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    5. Re:Too little, too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And how exactly is it supposed to phone home every 24 hours without a connection that's available at least every 24 hours? Dumbass.

    6. Re:Too little, too late by Graymalkin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Microsoft has more or less annoyed. confused and alienated their potential user base.

      Microsoft's big problem with their policies and backpedaling is that people like me simply cannot trust anything they say. Rational buyers aren't now going to run out and buy XBones because there's no guarantee Microsoft won't go back to their original policies once sales improve.

      If anything they need to abandon disliked policies and declare publicly with some manner of legal obligation that they will never go back to them. Until then I won't even consider buying an XBone or any subsequent Microsoft console.

      --
      I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
    7. Re:Too little, too late by NotDrWho · · Score: 1

      Magic!!

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    8. Re:Too little, too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I actually love my XB1 , more then my kids anyway. Dead Rising 3 is one of my favorite games , sure it's not perfect but I like it. I think the Amazon and Hulu apps work alot better then on my 360.

    9. Re:Too little, too late by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 4, Interesting

      For the past two console generations (since the original Xbox came out), I've owned every major console brand, but have generally preferred the Xbox. As such, all my games, except for console exclusives, were for Xbox. I found the original Xbox controllers to be superior to Nintendo's or Sony's consoles, and this trend continued until now. MS's "gamer score" was also rather addictive, and was one of their more brilliant ideas of the last generation of consoles. I've also been maintaining a gold account for many years, since most of my friends are on Live, and let's face it, the service was *vastly* superior to the offerings of any other company - of course, for a paid service, it damn well better be.

      I may eventually purchase an Xbone, but it might very well come after a PS4, which surprised me. For every Wii or PS3 game, I probably have seven or eight Xbox/Xbox 360 games. I'm thinking about cancelling my Live account (although I recently signed up for another year, so it will be a while), as I rarely seem to play online with my friends these days, preferring solo play.

      How did Microsoft lose me as a customer, at least so far?

      1) No backward compatibility. I've got a pretty big Xbox 360 library, with a number of games I haven't started/finished or would like to perhaps play again. Backward compatibility would have virtually assured a purchase of an Xbone device, since I know that eventually there will be games on it that I'd like to play. However, I've got to decide now which console in my entertainment center will be displaced by a new console (I've currently got four - all three last gen plus a PS2), and that's my current limit of the switching box I have installed. Microsoft should have stuck with an x86 architecture for the 360, and we'd be able to play all three versions of Xbox games on the latest console with few issues. People argue that compatibility isn't critical (which is admittedly true), since I obviously already have a 360, but I'm literally at the point where I don't have any more room to plug in another console. So now that's just one more device I need to keep connected indefinitely as long as there exists a possibility of wanting to play a 360 game. There's also another message that no backward compatibility sends: we don't care about your loyalty as a customer.

      2) Xbox as an advertising billboard. Microsoft decided to heavily monetize their console's connectivity with ads, even for those of us with Gold Live accounts. Either/or, Microsoft. I don't appreciate you double-dipping like that, and every time I see the massive wall of advertisements on every single page of my Xbox One, I get annoyed when I realized that I'm also paying for that service. At this point, I'm largely paying for Microsoft to simply serve me advertisements on my gaming console. Fuck that. Why should I pay hundreds of dollars for another platform that can assault me with non-stop ads between gaming sessions.

      3) Disappointing "next-gen" experience. In general, the next-gen experience hasn't really wowed me. Games can barely even render at a full 1080p, for heaven's sake, which I certainly didn't expect of a "next-gen" console at this point. The hard drives are pathetically small, and the Xbone's, of all the idiotic things, is not user-upgradeable (unlike the PS4). It won't take too many installs or downloads before that's all used up, and then you're playing the shuffling game with your drive space.

      4) Consumer-unfriendly arrogance. Phone home once per day or your Xbox bricks? Ok, I actually like the idea of being able to install your games and not having to put the disc in for validation. The only practical way to do this is to have an online check to make sure more than one person isn't using the same disc, but this could have been an optional setting, and the way they decided to ram this down people's throat was ridiculous. There was also the specter of killing the used-game market, and frankly, MS didn't have a lot of trust to spare at

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    10. Re:Too little, too late by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Informative

      You should learn how to read. There was never a "no selling of used games policy"

      People in glass houses shouldn't call the kettle black. When Microsoft first spelled out how the One would work, they made it pretty clear (well, as clear as Microsoft legalese can be) that gamers couldn't sell their games to just anyone. Rather, gamers would only be able to sell their games to participating retailers, and even then, only if the game's publisher had opted-in to allowing resales for copies of that game (and then the publisher could optionally tack a fee onto the transaction too, thus decreasing how much money you get to take home).

      Similarly, you couldn't sell it to friends or online folks. The only option would be to give it away to them, and, once again, you could only do so if the publisher had opted-in to allowing game trades between individuals. Oh, and an additional restriction was that each game could only ever be given away one time, and even then, only to people who had been on your friends list for at least 30 days. They also outright prohibited renting of games or loaning of physical copies of games to friends.

      Given all of those ridiculous terms and conditions, I can see how you might have been confused and failed to realize that the One had those policies in place when it was first announced. Even so, since you read the actual articles, I'd have hoped for better.

      As for the always-on requirement, sure, you can play the pedant by pointing out it only needed to phone home once a day rather than constantly, but that's pointless, since it does nothing to address why the requirement was such a source of contention. The reason it was annoying was because it immediately eliminated a number of valid and legitimate use cases in which gamers wouldn't have a regular connection to the Internet. In the armed forces? Too bad. Internet down for a few days? Too bad. Just moved? Too bad. Traveling? Too bad. Out at sea? Too bad. Vacationing in your summer cabin? Too bad. Don't want to connect devices that have no practical need to be online? Too bad. Don't think a company has any business tracking what you're doing with offline, disc-based, single-player games? Too bad.

      And the OP was being kind, since he skipped over all of the indie developer controversies that were around early on after the One's announcement, such as requiring that they work with a major publisher. I also noticed that you didn't address his issues with the always-on camera and that they've since flip-flopped on that requirement as well.

      The fact that Microsoft managed to make Sony look good, despite the fact that Sony was in the doghouse with virtually every gamer after all of the PSN stuff a few years back, just goes to show you how badly they messed up with the One's launch.

      Disclaimer: I own all three consoles of the last gen, and none of the current gen consoles.

    11. Re:Too little, too late by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As for the always-on requirement, sure, you can play the pedant by pointing out it only needed to phone home once a day rather than constantly, but that's pointless, since it does nothing to address why the requirement was such a source of contention. The reason it was annoying was because it immediately eliminated a number of valid and legitimate use cases in which gamers wouldn't have a regular connection to the Internet. In the armed forces? Too bad. Internet down for a few days? Too bad. Just moved? Too bad. Traveling? Too bad. Out at sea? Too bad. Vacationing in your summer cabin? Too bad. Don't want to connect devices that have no practical need to be online? Too bad. Don't think a company has any business tracking what you're doing with offline, disc-based, single-player games? Too bad.

      Well said. I think a lot of folks (apparently including MS execs) tend to fall into a bubble of sorts where they assume that since *they* have ubiquitous access to extremely fast, always-on internet, then *everyone* has access to extremely fast, always-on internet. It's certainly true that *most* people do at this point, but the fact that MS execs basically flipped the bird at anyone who didn't certainly didn't endear them to potential consumers. One more example: my brother works on a tug in Alaska - they currently have a 360 console in their boat, and the original Xbone plan would have ensured that they couldn't use it.

      Interestingly, this seems to be in midst of Microsoft's "arrogant" phase (well, more arrogant than usual) - the same time period in which they also dismissed customer feedback about Windows 8 usability. Having seen MS from the inside several times in the past, Adam Orth's comments don't seem out of line for an exec, except that most MS execs have the brains not to post things like that publicly. From his twitter history, Mr Orth obviously enjoyed trolling the internet, yet somehow seemed surprised when the internet eventually raged back. It seems that MS as a company finally figured out that even *they* can't afford to ignore so much consumer feedback or openly mock their customers, and seem to be taking a slightly more humble approach, at least in public. As bad as they are, could you imagine what MS would be like without competition from Sony? Oh, yeah, I can. Just think of the cable companies.

      I'm like you - own all three last gen consoles (and all three before that), and none of the current gen. For the first time, my first console might be a Playstation rather than an Xbox, but it will probably depend on who gets the first must-have game.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    12. Re:Too little, too late by kimvette · · Score: 1

      It's amazing how "Microsoft has more or less annoyed" Microsoft has been lately.

      Zune
      Vista
      Windows Mobile
      Windows 8.0
      Windows Phone
      Surface
      XBox One

      . . . and yet they still have problems listening to customers. See: Windows 8.1

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    13. Re:Too little, too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When trolling through all the flotsam and jetsam here, every now and then you come across a well-crafted bitch-slapping of some dumb shit. Thank you, this made it worth my while today.

    14. Re:Too little, too late by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      Happy to oblige. :)

    15. Re:Too little, too late by donaldm · · Score: 1

      And how exactly is it supposed to phone home every 24 hours without a connection that's available at least every 24 hours? Dumbass.

      Ah but they did tell you how, it was called an XBox360 :)

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
    16. Re:Too little, too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      However, I've got to decide now which console in my entertainment center will be displaced by a new console (I've currently got four - all three last gen plus a PS2), and that's my current limit of the switching box I have installed.

      Oh no! What a horrible problem to have!

      This whole post reads like satire.

      Ok, I actually like the idea of being able to install your games and not having to put the disc in for validation.

      If only there was a gaming platform with decades worth of backwards compatible games to play! For $5-$600 you can get a better experience than the X360 or PS3. That includes the Windows tax, though that won't be much of an excuse once SteamOS matures. You pay just one online fee, too! (Your internet).

      I'm honestly not trying to start a PC/console flame war. My point is really you're whining that they're not selling you the thing you could have if you weren't too busy being annoyed about them not selling it to you and built one yourself. BUT GOD DAMMIT SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD DO THAT FOR ME! I EARNED IT!!!

      I can understand the hardcores a bit more. They're really into Halo, or whatever exclusive PS games are on that level. But you're really just whining about how you have too many options but still not the one you want. And it's sitting there waiting for you to take it.

    17. Re:Too little, too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh and if you're not into the Steam thing: http://www.gog.com/

      I mean you did say you'd like to install them w/o having to validate a disk. LOOK THERE IT IS.

    18. Re:Too little, too late by PhilHibbs · · Score: 1

      You should learn how to read.

      No. Microsoft should learn how to communicate with their customers. It's their fault that everyone remembers a mythical ban on used game sales.

    19. Re:Too little, too late by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Don't feed the trolls, dude.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  6. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by MozeeToby · · Score: 5, Informative

    The very same announcement also announced that a Gold membership will no longer be required for streaming services.

  7. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Ralph+Wiggam · · Score: 1

    The PS4 gives you Netflix without PlayStation points, but you need XBox Live Gold to get get Netflix.

    Microsoft announced yesterday that starting in June you will not need Gold to use Netflix and other apps.

    http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/13/5712696/microsoft-dropping-xbox-live-gold-requirement-netflix-rumor

  8. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by LoneTech · · Score: 2

    But the fact you can access internet services such as Netflix without having to pay a monthly fee, to access data you are already paying for.

    Funny you should mention this.. that's another thing they just did a reversal on.

  9. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The other announcement was that Neflix, Hulu, etc. would be available w/o a Gold subscription.

  10. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Desler · · Score: 1

    Even if true, a rumor is not an announcement from Microsoft. Just sayin...

  11. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They're dropping the XBL requirement to get these services too.

  12. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Desler · · Score: 1

    Never mind, the did make an announcement to affirm the rumor.

  13. Gamers no Likey by puddingebola · · Score: 1

    Gamers don't like to Kinect, maybe because when the One was released, they were told they would always have to connect. Then when MS said developers could remove the ability to play used games, the gamers began to connect the dots. MS seems to have connected with their customers and made a connection between things they don't like about the new console and their sales numbers relative to their biggest competitor. Has this connected?

    1. Re:Gamers no Likey by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      Kinnect does show promise with voice activation and skype which is cool. I wanted one for this reason. The xboxONE had a promise of being more than just a gamer system like the Sony is.

        That is until I found out I needed a gold account with a monthly payment. No thanks I will just use my pc for this thank you very much.

    2. Re:Gamers no Likey by NotDrWho · · Score: 1

      You needed a Gold account to do ANYTHING on a Xbox One. That's something else they just backpedaled on too.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  14. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And that is why (if you RTFA), Microsoft will be allowing access to all of it's entertainment apps, like Netflix, without the need for XBox Live Gold this June.

  15. Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

    I know this is an anti MS tech site but I was favoring an xbox over a PS4.

    The reason being is I am not a heavy gamer. I wanted a nice OS platform that was more a media center with a dvr, netflix, skype ready, voice activated system that could play games too but did a little of everything.

    Sony fanboys have been saying it is sooo much faster thinking it is 2007 all over again. But in reality the performance differences have been similiar. They are almost the same hardware with the xbox slightly slower but with faster shared ram for more multitasking stuff.

    Unless you are talking exclusives I see no reason to chose a ps4 for my needs. ... however I did not bother purchasing one as I did not want to pay twice for Hulu and Netflix with a gold account. It wasn't the $100 difference up front of the kinect. It was the greed.

    I think MS is making a mistake as many developers wont focus on the kinect now as systems wont have it.

    1. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by JStyle · · Score: 1

      You're in luck. They just got rid of the gold account requirement for streaming media (netflix and others): http://www.engadget.com/2014/0...

    2. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      I am going to get an Amazon fire and keep my pc for skype and gaming. Too little too late. Maybe with IWndows 9 the app store might be usefull with cross platform desktop/xbox/mobile apps. But not in its current form.

    3. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The built in gpu is something like 50% faster and the xbox dedicates 3 cores to the O/S, kinnect etc, so it only has 5 available for games, those are rather significant differences.

    4. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Tridus · · Score: 2

      They did that just recently as well.

      Also, developers weren't focusing on Kinect anyway. Kinect sucks for AAA and core games. It doesn't work for the genres that are the most popular on the system (aka: shooters). Most of the time a game was made for Kinect, it was some other type of game, or something like the attempted Fable game that was a total on-rails disaster.

      --
      -- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
    5. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      The built in gpu is something like 50% faster and the xbox dedicates 3 cores to the O/S, kinnect etc, so it only has 5 available for games, those are rather significant differences.

      Have a citation for this?

    6. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      The reason being is I am not a heavy gamer. I wanted a nice OS platform that was more a media center with a dvr, netflix, skype ready, voice activated system that could play games too but did a little of everything.

      this is the exact point why i got a ps4. i already have an apple tv. what i wanted was a game system so I could play games. not be a new destination for all my multimedia needs. sony gets this - ps4 is a great game system but doesn't try to be much more.

    7. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      The PS4 also has first party devs that MS can only dream about. You are right its not just about the hardware, but when it is about the hardware, the Sony machine is going to curbstomp the MS machine in fidelity. MS fucked up their design, its weaker than it should be. Sony bet big on GDDR5 and won.

      --
      Good-bye
    8. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by JohnNemesh · · Score: 2

      If you are indeed a "heavy gamer" you should pass on the XB1. ALL multiplatform games are going to run better on the PS4! DVR? Xbox One is NOT a DVR (except for recording and uploading game clips). The voice controls work...about 80% of the time...be prepared to repeat yourself constantly. FOR GAMING, the PS4 is the one to get. If you are impressed by GIMMICKS, by all means, get an Xbox.

    9. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's announced right on the main Xbox 360 page that gold is no longer going to be required for apps.

    10. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ALL multiplatform games are going to run better on the PS4!

      I think you spelled PC wrong.

      Xbox One is NOT a DVR (except for recording and uploading game clips)

      What is the HDMI input used for? I might be wrong (don't own one), but I thought that's what it was for.

    11. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The blind fanboys are always out in full force when it comes to BS console "wars".

    12. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by Atomic+Fro · · Score: 1

      What is the HDMI input used for? I might be wrong (don't own one), but I thought that's what it was for.

      I believe its just a pass through. Lets say your TV only has one HDMI input, you can plug your xbone into the tv, and then your homebrew steam machine into the xbone HDMI port and not have to swap cables or get a switch box.

      --

      ==================
      Hippie Logger Jock
      ==================
    13. Re:Get rid of gold acct for Netflix by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      Please name a MS first party dev that has anywhere near the chops of Naughty Dog. or Polyphony Digital, or Sucker Punch, Santa Monica, That Game Company, Guerilla, Insomniac...

      --
      Good-bye
  16. Why didn't they leave the mic in? by Daniel+Hoffmann · · Score: 2

    I personally hate using voice command with eletronics because they can't talk back to me but some people like it, couldn't they have left the mic in? How expensive even is the mic?

    1. Re:Why didn't they leave the mic in? by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      People didn't not want Kinect over cost. They didn't want Orwell's nightmare in their living room. Half of Orwell's nightmare is still nightmarish.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Why didn't they leave the mic in? by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      I personally hate using voice command with eletronics because they can't talk back to me but some people like it, couldn't they have left the mic in? How expensive even is the mic?

      Because the mic hardware was originally part of Kinnect. MS would have to create and manufacture a dedicated peripheral device with only a mic instead of the cameras + mic, and then include that or sell it separately. And since all current software was assuming that having a Kinnect meant both the mic and cameras were there, that would have meant rewriting many assumptions that the software is probably currently making, so there's even more cost.

      In short, it's not at all practical or cost-effective, especially not for the likely few people who wanted a mic but NOT a camera. The entire point of this move is to shave off costs for those that want nothing to do with the Kinnect. Given the fact that the Kinnect has already proven to be rather unpopular, this sort of investment would simply be throwing good money after bad. If you want voice control (and I mean that in a generic sense, as you've acknowledged that you personally wouldn't even want that feature), get a Kinnect.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    3. Re:Why didn't they leave the mic in? by m00sh · · Score: 1

      I personally hate using voice command with eletronics because they can't talk back to me but some people like it, couldn't they have left the mic in? How expensive even is the mic?

      Because the mic hardware was originally part of Kinnect. MS would have to create and manufacture a dedicated peripheral device with only a mic instead of the cameras + mic, and then include that or sell it separately. And since all current software was assuming that having a Kinnect meant both the mic and cameras were there, that would have meant rewriting many assumptions that the software is probably currently making, so there's even more cost.

      In short, it's not at all practical or cost-effective, especially not for the likely few people who wanted a mic but NOT a camera. The entire point of this move is to shave off costs for those that want nothing to do with the Kinnect. Given the fact that the Kinnect has already proven to be rather unpopular, this sort of investment would simply be throwing good money after bad. If you want voice control (and I mean that in a generic sense, as you've acknowledged that you personally wouldn't even want that feature), get a Kinnect.

      Or, or they could just allow USB mics like the Guitar Hero/Rock Band type of mics.

    4. Re:Why didn't they leave the mic in? by Ksevio · · Score: 2

      Maybe for some, but probably 90%+ was the cost issue since the PS4 was a cheaper and more powerful alternative.

    5. Re:Why didn't they leave the mic in? by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      Or, or they could just allow USB mics like the Guitar Hero/Rock Band type of mics.

      Rock Band isn't even available on the newest consoles, is it? And I'm pretty sure you can't just plug in a generic USB mic or probably even a 360 version of a mic into your Xbox One. Even if USB mics could be hooked up and used, that's still a lot of work for a very minor feature. I have a hard time faulting MS for not supporting what I'd consider to be an edge case at best. The console will work just fine without voice support, after all.

      There's plenty else they've botched - this is actually something they've finally done right. If people want voice support, they can *choose* to purchase a Kinnect now. If not, they don't have to. Isn't that what everyone was asking for from nearly day one?

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    6. Re:Why didn't they leave the mic in? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should know two things:
      - It's not a mic but a mic array. The Kinect API lets you know not only that there's sound but also what angle that sound is coming from, which lets you differentiate between speakers. That is also used for noise reduction, speech recognition and other technologies you get for free with their API.
      - The kinect camera can identify people and it's facing the same way as the mic array, so internally the API can tell there are different people and which one is talking (I understand it looks at whose lips are moving and so on, plus the directional mic data). That's transparent to you when using the API.

      I looked at the API for the old XBox for windows kit and I was surprised at the sound API. The one from the XBone should be much more advanced.

    7. Re:Why didn't they leave the mic in? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Kinect is a feature of the 180. If you don't want Kinect, then there's no point to buying the new Xbox at this point anyway, because the two most hotly anticipated games are available for the 360. You either stick with your 360 (if you're going to buy an xbone, odds are good you already have a 360) or you buy a PS4 just on the basis that it's more powerful.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  17. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by necronom426 · · Score: 1

    I'd also say the fact that PS4 games are usually in 1080p and XBone games are lower res is a factor, plus all the restrictions they were planning on that everyone hated. The whole thing was a PR nightmare.

    So now they are the same price, but the PS4 is still more powerful.

    If two things are the same price and one is more powerful, then I would expect people to buy the better, more powerful one.

  18. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

    That my friend is why I did not bother to purchase one. MS got greedy here.

    Now with the Amazon Fire I see no reason to buy such a device unless I want to game occasionally. I prefer PC anyway and I am rather busy these days

  19. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by gstoddart · · Score: 1

    Well, given their track record of circulating rumors, then making announcements to deny the rumor, then making a contradictory announcement denying the previous announcement denying the rumor, then having more rumors, then having an announcement to confirm the rumor followed by an announcement to deny the previous announcement ... you'll forgive us if we don't actually put any stock in what Microsoft says on the topic anymore.

    Microsoft has changed their messaging on this product so many times as to make anything they say in the future something you have to assume is completely false.

    Sorry, but no. They've been floundering on this all along, and mostly doing it in such a way that people aren't willing to invest in the game.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  20. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not only that, but the PS4 actually out performs the Xbox one by a decent margin despite them having very similary specifications in certain areas.

  21. Live Gold changes too by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    Also streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu will no longer require Live Gold subscriptions which is $60/year. It would have been one thing if the Live Gold subscriptions included Netflix and Hulu fees but they don't. No other devices like Blu-ray players, Roku, AppleTV, etc charges a monthly fee to use apps. There will still be some apps that require Live Gold but these mainly have to do with the gaming aspects of Xbox.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    1. Re:Live Gold changes too by Missing.Matter · · Score: 1, Informative

      No other devices like Blu-ray players, Roku, AppleTV, etc charges a monthly fee to use apps

      No other devise offer actual value beyond access to app contents.

      Live Gold subscriptions which is $60/year

      Yearly subscriptions go on sale regularly for around $35 on Amazon and other sites. Even with Netflix and Hulu going free, I'm still going to keep mine due to the monthly free games (which you get to keep playing if your subscription expires, unlike with PSN). Just do the math:

      Monthly Xbox Gold Cost: $2.92
      June Free Game 1: Halo Spartan Assault: $9.99
      June Free Game 2: Max - The Curse of Brotherhood: $14.99
      June Free Game 3: Dark Souls: $19.99
      June Free Game 4: Charlie Murder: $9.99
      June Free Game 5: Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition: $29.99

      June Xbox Gold Value = $84.95 - $2.92 = $82.03

      Even if you want just *one* of the free games, the value for gold is still more than you're paying.

    2. Re:Live Gold changes too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "which you get to keep playing if your subscription expires, unlike with PSN"

      The recent announcement also noted a change of this policy. Neither system will let you keep the "free" games in the future.

    3. Re:Live Gold changes too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No other devise offer actual value beyond access to app contents.

      Non-response to Microsoft's double-dipping. To charging a fee to access services you've already paid for.

      Even if you want just *one* of the free games, the value for gold is still more than you're paying.

      Even if you like some of that crapware, the actual cost to download one of those games is pennies for the publisher.

    4. Re:Live Gold changes too by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      No other devise offer actual value beyond access to app contents.

      Please explain what "value" to a Netflix or Hulu customer that would justify $60/year on top of their fees. I have no issue that MS wanted to charge a subscription for Live Gold to use the gaming network which MS created. Again, Blu-ray players with these apps doesn't charge. Sony doesn't charge on their consoles. Roku doesn't charge. Apple doesn't charge. Amazon doesn't charge.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    5. Re:Live Gold changes too by Missing.Matter · · Score: 1

      Again, Blu-ray players with these apps doesn't charge. Sony doesn't charge on their consoles. Roku doesn't charge. Apple doesn't charge. Amazon doesn't charge.

      And neither does MS. What's your point?

      Please explain what "value" to a Netflix or Hulu customer that would justify $60/year on top of their fees.

      This question is a red herring. No one buys a $400 console and a $60 (or in my case $35) Gold subscription just to play Netflix/Hulu. The whole point of putting Netflix behind the Gold pay wall was to add more value to a gold subscription. Back in the day, there weren't too many devices which played Netflix. Now, as you point out, even the kitchen toaster has a Netflix app, so as Microsoft clearly realizes it's not worth having it behind a pay wall anymore. These days the Gold network is well established, there are more benefits to joining Gold, and it's no longer competing with a free Playstation Network.

    6. Re:Live Gold changes too by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      And neither does MS. What's your point?

      It will not starting in June. It used to charge to access Netflix and Hulu. You said that MS added "value". I asked for what "value" was provided that would justify the fee, and you refused to answer the question.

      This question is a red herring. No one buys a $400 console and a $60 (or in my case $35) Gold subscription just to play Netflix/Hulu.

      Really? So no one in the whole world looking to buy a PS4 or an Xbox One would look at features and costs in determining whether to buy one console or the other? Are you smoking something? In this case, one provides a feature for free while one charges. Not everyone is interested in getting on either gaming network, but not everyone will actually use Netflix or Hulu but there exist people today that want Netflix without having to pay for it again.

      The whole point of putting Netflix behind the Gold pay wall was to add more value to a gold subscription. Back in the day, there weren't too many devices which played Netflix.

      So what? First of all, the Roku was the first device to stream Netflix in 2008 and didn't charge for the service. Other devices that came later STILL DIDN"T CHARGE to use it.

      Now, as you point out, even the kitchen toaster has a Netflix app, so as Microsoft clearly realizes it's not worth having it behind a pay wall anymore. These days the Gold network is well established, there are more benefits to joining Gold, and it's no longer competing with a free Playstation Network.

      It would be one thing if MS charge initially for logistical reasons as they didn't have the infrastructure to support it but after a few years they didn't change that aspect until now when it appears that the Xbox One is not doing as well as the PS4. I think this is the only reason.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    7. Re:Live Gold changes too by Missing.Matter · · Score: 1

      It will not starting in June. It used to charge to access Netflix and Hulu.

      So then the complaint is moot. There's no point in crying about the fact they used to be behind a paywall.

      You said that MS added "value". I asked for what "value" was provided that would justify the fee

      Microsoft added voice control capabilities and the ability to control the TV from the Xbox via voice commands. Before the Amazon box that was recently released no other device had this capability (and still no other devise can also act as an IR blaster). This is the main reason I use my Xbox to watch Netflix over my Roku, blu ray player, or integrated TV app. That, and it's much faster, achieves HD quality streams faster than the others, and can be snapped side by side with other apps.

      Now do these features justify "the fee"? I don't know, it depends on what the fee is. You want to pretend it is $60 per year. But we both know that $60 per year buys access to other features as well free games. From my perspective, I was paying $60 per year for access to a multiplayer network, got 2 free games every month, and some top notch apps as well. From your perspective, you're being blocked from using apps that are standard on other platforms. I understand that too, to some degree, although I don't really understand the point of an Xbox without a Gold sub.

      So no one in the whole world looking to buy a PS4 or an Xbox One would look at features and costs in determining whether to buy one console or the other? Are you smoking something?

      That is not at all what I said. If ALL you want to do is watch Netflix, you don't buy a $400 PS4 *OR* a $400 Xbox. You buy a $60 Roku. The situation you posed was "please explain what "value" to a Netflix or Hulu customer that would justify $60/year on top of their fees." This is a red herring. MS was not charging $60 a year for a Netflix app. MS was charging $60 a year for access to a network without which you couldn't use a Netflix app.

      Not everyone is interested in getting on either gaming network, but not everyone will actually use Netflix or Hulu but there exist people today that want Netflix without having to pay for it again.

      Without paying for it again? So how exactly did they get their Roku player? Did they steal it or did they pay for it? Oh, but Netflix came free* with their $1000 Smart TV. Or did it come free* with their blu ray player that they paid for? Sorry, anyone watching Netflix on a device connected to their TV has "paid twice". Before I had an Xbox I paid $100 for my first Roku, and I paid $100 again when they added 1090 HD support. That's more than 5 years worth of Gold for the price I pay, and that's attributing 100% of the Gold sub to the Netflix app.

      In this case, one provides a feature for free while one charges.

      Again, in this case one provides a feature for free while the other... also provides a feature for free.

      So what? First of all, the Roku was the first device to stream Netflix in 2008 and didn't charge for the service.

      But they did charge ~$100 for the device itself, didn't they? 99% of the utility of the original Roku was the Netflix streaming app. The rest of their channels were, and still are garbage. Most people who bought a Roku, bought it specifically *for* Netflix. Back when Netflix players were scarce, if you already had an Xbox, joining Gold and getting a Netflix app was a better deal than buying a Roku outright.

    8. Re:Live Gold changes too by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      So then the complaint is moot. There's no point in crying about the fact they used to be behind a paywall.

      The whole point was that they did charge and they will no longer charge. That's a difference that people might be interested in knowing.

      Microsoft added voice control capabilities and the ability to control the TV from the Xbox via voice commands. Before the Amazon box that was recently released no other device had this capability (and still no other devise can also act as an IR blaster). This is the main reason I use my Xbox to watch Netflix over my Roku, blu ray player, or integrated TV app. That, and it's much faster, achieves HD quality streams faster than the others, and can be snapped side by side with other apps.

      Seriously you're grasping at straws. You can use voice commands to do what you can do with a controller? For some people that's not an added value.

      You want to pretend it is $60 per year. But we both know that $60 per year buys access to other features as well free games. From my perspective, I was paying $60 per year for access to a multiplayer network, got 2 free games every month, and some top notch apps as well. From your perspective, you're being blocked from using apps that are standard on other platforms. I understand that too, to some degree, although I don't really understand the point of an Xbox without a Gold sub.

      I think this is perspective you don't understand. Some people don't care about the gaming network at all. Some people do not want to play networked games.

      There are also scenarios where having Netflix behind a paywall was a hindrance. Many people I know bought the console for their children; however, they did not always pay for XBL. That was up to their children if they wanted to spend their own money. If XBL was not paid up then no access could be granted to a service they paid separately.

      That is not at all what I said. If ALL you want to do is watch Netflix, you don't buy a $400 PS4 *OR* a $400 Xbox. You buy a $60 Roku. The situation you posed was "please explain what "value" to a Netflix or Hulu customer that would justify $60/year on top of their fees." This is a red herring. MS was not charging $60 a year for a Netflix app. MS was charging $60 a year for access to a network without which you couldn't use a Netflix app.

      That is not even remotely the premise of the thread. The premise was previously you had to pay MS extra to gain access to Netflix and Hulu even if you paid separately for these services. This was also on top of the price you paid for the console. NO OTHER DEVICE charged you to do so.

      Without paying for it again? So how exactly did they get their Roku player? Did they steal it or did they pay for it? Oh, but Netflix came free* with their $1000 Smart TV. Or did it come free* with their blu ray player that they paid for? Sorry, anyone watching Netflix on a device connected to their TV has "paid twice". Before I had an Xbox I paid $100 for my first Roku, and I paid $100 again when they added 1090 HD support. That's more than 5 years worth of Gold for the price I pay, and that's attributing 100% of the Gold sub to the Netflix app.

      First of all, what are you smoking? You had to pay XBL AND a Netflix fee AND the cost of an Xbox to access Netflix on the Xbox . NO OTHER DEVICE charges this additional charge. You buy TV and get a Netflix subscription. That's it. You don't have to pay Sony, Samsung, whoever, to use Netflix.

      Second, you buy an electronic device which had newer models that were more advanced. You chose to replace it. That's your problem.

      Again, in this case one provides a feature for free while the other... also provides a feature for free.

      No, it doesn't. Even if it wasn't $60/year. XBL was more than $0. There fore it was not free.

      But they did charge ~$100 for the dev

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    9. Re:Live Gold changes too by Missing.Matter · · Score: 1

      I think this is perspective you don't understand. Some people don't care about the gaming network at all. Some people do not want to play networked games.

      No I understand. I just don't think it was as big of a deal as you make it out to be. I don't play many networked games either. But Gold gives me at least 2 (and now it seems like 4) free games per month, most of which are not networked. I've gotten a total of 23 free games this year via Gold, which together are worth well more than the $35 I spent for my sub. Gold is a service in which even single player gamers should find value.

      You had to pay XBL AND a Netflix fee AND the cost of an Xbox to access Netflix on the Xbox.

      So I paid $500 + $35/year + $7.99/month. But how much of that is really *for* netflix. I spent $500 for the Xbox to play *games*, and spend most of my time with it doing just that. So is it fair to say the entire cost of the Xbox goes into watching netflix? I spent $100 on a Roku and all I do is watch netflix with it, so in that case I spent $100 to watch netflix on my TV. With my Xbox, not so much. And that $35/year for a Gold sub, most of that goes toward accessing the Gold network and downloading Games for Gold. So how much of that do we slice out for watching Netflix? I dunno.

      You buy TV and get a Netflix subscription. That's it. You don't have to pay Sony, Samsung, whoever, to use Netflix.

      But that smart TV with netflix access costs more than a TV without netflix access. You bought a TV and then you paid extra for Netflix access included. Of course they "don't charge you again" because they already charged you when you bought the thing. The only difference with Netflix on the Xbox is the cost wasn't built into the device, it was built into the network subscription. Now all they're doing is associating the cost of Netflix with the Xbox itself.

      Second, you buy an electronic device which had newer models that were more advanced. You chose to replace it. That's your problem.

      It wasn't my problem, it was my choice. That's not the point. The point was I had no problem spending $100 to watch netflix on my TV, and I had no problem spending $100 again to watch higher res Netflix on my TV. That's kind of the point... people don't mind spending money to gain access to netflix on their TV.

      No, it doesn't. Even if it wasn't $60/year. XBL was more than $0. There fore it was not free.

      I didn't say "was", I mean now. As in the point is moot. They're both free *now*.

      What? $100 onetime fee vs $60/yr ($35/yr as you claim) + cost of Xbox ($199 min for Xbox 360 slim). I don't see how this math works.

      Reading comprehension. I said back when Netflix players were scarce, if you already had an Xbox, then a Gold sub was a better deal than a Roku. In 2009 there were already millions of people with an Xbox.sitting under their TVs. For these people, it was a choice of a $100 Roku or a $60/$35 Gold sub. Which is the better deal? For many of them, then already had a Gold sub, so it was no choice at all.

      Look, after this back and forth I think it's clear what are difference of opinion is. I have an Xbox for games, I have a Gold subscription for games, and the fact that Netflix was behind a paywal didn't bother me because I was already paying for the Gold sub anyway. I think Gold is cheap, and adds value to my console. So I don't attribute the $35 I pay for Gold to the Netflix app. You, on the other hand, don't seem to value a Gold sub (do you even own an Xbox?) and seem to attribute every penny of the Gold sub to the Netflix app ("Please explain what "value" to a Netflix or Hulu customer that would justify $60/year on top of their fees."). For me, those fees are justified before I even consider the Netflix app. For you, they are not.

      The bottom line though, as I've already stated, is that this whole discussion doesn't matter! The point is moot. The app is out from behin

    10. Re:Live Gold changes too by Missing.Matter · · Score: 1

      Seriously you're grasping at straws. You can use voice commands to do what you can do with a controller?

      Voice commands are awesome. Have you never used them? They work flawlessly (for me at least, I know how to annunciate. In my experience, people who claim voice recognition sucks are people who typically mumble and slur words) and are more convenient than a controller. What if the controller is out of reach? What if you are in another room? What if someone other than the remote holder wants to pause the show? What if the cat is sitting in front of the IR receiver? What if you can't find your controller? What if you are sick and laid up on the couch? What if you have a cat sitting on your lap and the controller is just out of reach? Voice also lets you enter text faster than spelling one letter at a time, like I have to do with my Roku. Also with the XB1 voice controls the volume as well, so it's sort of like a universal remote.

      You also ignored some of my other points, like how the app can be snapped side by side with others, such as skype. This let me watch a movie with my wife while she was away. My Roku doesn't do that. As I was thinking about it, I came up with another reason as well: the Xbox netflix app stays up to date with current Netflix features. My roku still doesn't support different user profiles, which has been a feature forever. My Roku also has terrible browsing capabilities. It has a maximum of 10 - 15 rows of movies, which are categories like "because you watched...." There is no ability to browse "Sci-Fi" or "Drama" categories.

      All these things together cause me to use my Xbox instead of every other device I own that supports Netflix, and I didn't mind for single second that it was behind a paywall.

    11. Re:Live Gold changes too by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      No I understand. I just don't think it was as big of a deal as you make it out to be.

      It's not the end of the world that Netflix was behind a paywall. It was still a negative. There's no amount of spin changes that.

      I don't play many networked games either. But Gold gives me at least 2 (and now it seems like 4) free games per month, most of which are not networked. I've gotten a total of 23 free games this year via Gold, which together are worth well more than the $35 I spent for my sub. Gold is a service in which even single player gamers should find value.

      The main point is you chose to get Gold. Therefore you got Netflix. If you didn't get XBL Gold (and some people don't) then you didn't it or other services. XBL Silver wasn't enough.

      So I paid $500 + $35/year + $7.99/month. But how much of that is really *for* netflix. I spent $500 for the Xbox to play *games*, and spend most of my time with it doing just that. So is it fair to say the entire cost of the Xbox goes into watching netflix? I spent $100 on a Roku and all I do is watch netflix with it, so in that case I spent $100 to watch netflix on my TV. With my Xbox, not so much. And that $35/year for a Gold sub, most of that goes toward accessing the Gold network and downloading Games for Gold. So how much of that do we slice out for watching Netflix? I dunno.

      Again missing the point. It's a negative as you need to spend $35 on an Xbox to get a service others gave for free. As a gamer you wanted to pay for Gold. That's your choice. MS made it the only choice to get Netflix on the Xbox.

      But that smart TV with netflix access costs more than a TV without netflix access. You bought a TV and then you paid extra for Netflix access included. Of course they "don't charge you again" because they already charged you when you bought the thing. The only difference with Netflix on the Xbox is the cost wasn't built into the device, it was built into the network subscription. Now all they're doing is associating the cost of Netflix with the Xbox itself.

      Again presuppositions. You assume that people didn't have to buy Xbox in the first place. The only scenario where this works is that someone already has an Xbox and all the electronics that they would ever buy. It doesn't work if someone wanted/needed to buy a Bluray player, smart TV, whatever. And your scenario doesn't work if they wanted to get second/third units for the house.

      You keep coming back to the point that Netflix is included in Gold. That's not the point. The point is you have to get Gold to get Netflix. If someone wanted Netflix they have to get Gold even if they had no interest in other aspects of Gold.

      It wasn't my problem, it was my choice. That's not the point. The point was I had no problem spending $100 to watch netflix on my TV, and I had no problem spending $100 again to watch higher res Netflix on my TV. That's kind of the point... people don't mind spending money to gain access to netflix on their TV.

      And some people don't want to spend any more money to get Netflix than they have to even if it means they watch lower res Netflix.

      Reading comprehension. I said back when Netflix players were scarce, if you already had an Xbox, then a Gold sub was a better deal than a Roku. In 2009 there were already millions of people with an Xbox.sitting under their TVs. For these people, it was a choice of a $100 Roku or a $60/$35 Gold sub. Which is the better deal? For many of them, then already had a Gold sub, so it was no choice at all.

      Um no, that's your use of false equivalence. You are adding the cost of a Roku to the cost of getting Netflix but not adding the cost of a Xbox. There's two flaws in that thinking. First you are assuming that everyone had an Xbox and wanted Netflix in 2009. While millions did, may more millions did not. Obtaining Netflix would require g

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    12. Re:Live Gold changes too by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Voice commands are awesome. Have you never used them?

      For owners of an Xbox 360 that would require a Kinect module. That's an additional fee just to get a feature I don't find useful.

      You also ignored some of my other points, like how the app can be snapped side by side with others, such as skype. This let me watch a movie with my wife while she was away. My Roku doesn't do that. As I was thinking about it, I came up with another reason as well: the Xbox netflix app stays up to date with current Netflix features. My roku still doesn't support different user profiles, which has been a feature forever. My Roku also has terrible browsing capabilities. It has a maximum of 10 - 15 rows of movies, which are categories like "because you watched...." There is no ability to browse "Sci-Fi" or "Drama" categories.

      Again you find some aspects of Xbox nice. So what? It's a red herring to the point. As to updates, so your Roku doesn't update as often. Others do and don't. And Roku does a terrible job at the UI. Then get another device like an AppleTV which I heard is much nicer and is about the same price. Or would getting an Apple device kill you?

      All these things together cause me to use my Xbox instead of every other device I own that supports Netflix, and I didn't mind for single second that it was behind a paywall.

      Your preference and choice. Not everyone's.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  22. Textbook MS Play by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It wouldn't be Microsoft unless they doubled down on a bad foundation concept, and pulled the plug on it after the cost has been incurred but before it could actually pan out.

  23. Microsoft to allow netflix streaming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    2009 called, and 2010-2013, they all would like to provide feedback on this joke of a press release where Microsoft shrugs off the 500mil a year it made locking people into gold and forcing ps3 owners to use discs for netflix due to M$' exclusive deal with netflix.

    I will never use MS for an entertainment hub.

  24. Re:Considering the video camera and mic... by Tridus · · Score: 1

    As opposed to the Democrats, which also don't respect our privacy.

    You seem to be ill-informed about what's actually going on in the realm of privacy and who the bad guys are. It's not a party issue. The leadership in both parties are pretty suspect, and both parties have people in favor of better privacy.

    --
    -- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
  25. Seriously . . . by Kimomaru · · Score: 1

    Who messed up worse, Microsoft with Xbox One or George Lucas with the Star Wars prequels? Blows my mind that they couldn't figure out people would have a problem with a camera staring out into people's living rooms.

    1. Re:Seriously . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Jar Jar thinka microsoft is muy muy poo poo.

    2. Re:Seriously . . . by slapout · · Score: 1

      Which is worse, Jar Jar blinks or Windows 8?

      --
      Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
    3. Re:Seriously . . . by Kimomaru · · Score: 1

      Jar Jar Binks. Not even close. Not too many thinks are worse than Jar Jar Binks. Maybe Xbox One is worse.

    4. Re:Seriously . . . by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

      Episodes 2 and 3 gave us Mace Windu.

      We also got the death of Mace Windu, so it's kind of a wash, still, purple light saber > "UI formerly known as metro"

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
  26. Popups by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anybody else really pissed off at the "text only" popup at the top of slashdot?

  27. Wha...? Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I didn't think Microsoft would ever do it. Kinect made the XBox One unique at least. Now, it's just a weaker version of the PS4.

  28. Terrible Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Removing the Kinnect is a terrible idea. While some of you think that the Kinnect is all about arm waving and jumping about there was a lot of opportunity for other (optional) gameplay.

    Subtle things like a slight lean for your in-game character as you go round a corner in a racing game as you yourself lean into it (we all do it)
    Battlefield has an option for head tracking when in a vehicle or on a corner so those times you fruitlessly try to look round a corner wont seem so silly.

    None of this will now be implemented because I can easily see a cheaper console being a more popular option for parents buying consoles for kids. I can see developers wanting to 'not waste time' on content that 'not everyone can use' which is exactly what happened with the XBox 360's Kinnect. We'll be left with a bunch of gimmicky games that get played once when you have friends round.

    1. Re:Terrible Idea by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The Kinect has been mandatory for a while now (including all of initial pre-launch development), yet still most of what we see are horrible, gimmicky Kinect games trying to turn an interesting piece of technology into a game controller, and outside of very specialized types of games (dancing games, exercise trainers, rail shooters, etc), it doesn't work half as good as a standard controller. Developers have been trying for years now to overcome the difficulties with lag and imprecision, and even with much improved hardware in its latest iteration, the Xbone still has significant problems in those areas. In the end, controlling your console with your body is still very much a gimmick, and doesn't justify 1/5th the price of the entire console.

      I own a Wii, and I became so sick of having to waggle a stick around during gameplay that I stopped buying Wii titles largely out of fear of how much unnecessary motion-control would be shoved into an otherwise excellent title. What's the point of waggling a stick back and forth when pressing a button accomplishes the same task faster, more reliably, and without straining your wrist? Motion control is a cute gimmick that, despite excellent sales of the Wii, ultimately proved to be more of a hindrance to most games than a help, as evidenced by the fact that no current gen consoles rely on motion control as a core component of their controller functionality.

      Motion control is now largely considered to be an ancillary function for game controllers, only used sparingly or judiciously as demanded by the gameplay. I think Kinect should fall into this same category - cool tech, but really not appropriate for most titles. If game developers want to add a few extra features here and there to optionally support the Kinect, or build a specialty title around Kinect since lots of people will still have them, nothing is stopping them from doing so.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
  29. Dumbest Marketing Campain Ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They way Microsoft showed their arrogance at the launch of Xbox One and tried to dictate the terms to the customer, I said in my mind - I will never buy this garbage DRM console...

    I don't give a crap what they do now - its too late... I refuse to support the nasty management of Microsoft, who are selfish butt wipes...

    In fact, I'm now in the camp that believe consoles are a total rip off - the price of titles is extortionate... PC on Linux seems the only real future now.

  30. Almost there by jtmach · · Score: 1

    They've reversed on almost every bad decision at this point. If they can just get around to reversing on backwards compatibility, I won't have any more reasons not to buy one. Don't do it Microsoft. I've been so productive lately.

    1. Re:Almost there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The milkman stopped almost completely fucking my wife at this point. If he can just clean the cum from her face when he does, I won't have any more reasons not to buy his milk. Don't to it milkman. I've stopped farting lately. And I'm so fucking stupid.

    2. Re:Almost there by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      They've reversed on almost every bad decision at this point. If they can just get around to reversing on backwards compatibility, I won't have any more reasons not to buy one. Don't do it Microsoft. I've been so productive lately.

      Sorry, they're considering that as an option, too.

      It's a lot harder though, and it'll probably be like the Xbox360 in terms of compatibility because the architectures are completely different (PowerPC vs. x86, and Apple has shown PowerPC emulation on x86 is slow). Granted, the Xbone has more powerful hardware than a Core 2 Duo, but there are fundamental limits on how fast you can emulate it.

      The PS3 did it by embedding a PS2 into it.

    3. Re:Almost there by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      Maybe they could make the XBox One backward compatible with the XBox 1. They are both x86.

  31. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    Now that Ballmer has left, hopefully MS will learn from its past mistakes. I understand that the strategy was to make Xbox One the centerpiece of a consumer's entertainment room. However the integral pieces of that strategy, the DRM, Kinect, phone-home, etc.has been a PR nightmare for them. At least MS seems to be listening to their fans and critics.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  32. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    And I bet if people who care about that didn't have a PS4 already, that could actually be beneficial for sales.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  33. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anubis+IV · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You'll pardon me for not being thrilled that they've finally stopped charging a fee to use services which we already pay for. That they've finally stopped doing something they never should have done is good news, to be sure, but not exactly something to get excited about, given that all of their competitors (e.g. Nintendo, Sony, Apple, Google, Amazon, Roku, etc.) have been doing it the right way from the beginning with their boxes that connect to TVs.

  34. Smart move on their part, but... by realmolo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's too little, too late. Sony has probably won this generation already. The Xbox One isn't a failure, but it is going to be relegated to second place.

    If Microsoft REALLY wanted to sell some systems and possibly win the war, they would do away with "Gold" Live! subscriptions, and make the full online experience free-to-all.

    1. Re:Smart move on their part, but... by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      It's too little, too late. Sony has probably won this generation already. The Xbox One isn't a failure, but it is going to be relegated to second place.

      Is that a bad thing?

      The good thing is the Xbone is viable. Because if it was just Sony, things would be even worse than it is. (Think PS3 launch - extra cost, etc. etc. that's something only done by someone cocky enough to "win").

      And hey, the Xbox360 won last time, and Microsoft got cocky.

      But second is still good, and it means neither can really screw you over - you can bet had the PS3 been the killer and the Xbox360 the has-been, all of Microsoft's announcements (always on DRM, no used games, etc) would come straight from Sony, instead.

      Instead, the PS3 was In the position the Xbone is in now - viable, but not in first. Sony took a bitchslap then, Microsoft is now.

      And that's a GOOD thing.

      Though, I don't get this whole emphasis on "no used game sales" thing. I mean, you can't really re-sell Steam games. Nor sell those "digital download" games you bought. And given how both Sony and Microsoft are pushing digital downloads, well, it seems we're giving up used game sales anyways since every game is now available as a day-1 download.

      Now, the interesting thing is - in Canada, this could make the Xbone cheaper than the PS4. The PS4 went UP in price to $450, while the Xbone stayed at $500. So if it's now $400 for the Xbone... (Sony's hurting for money - selling the PS4 at CAD$400 was costing them way too much money).

    2. Re:Smart move on their part, but... by gameboyhippo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And hey, the Xbox360 won last time

      The underpowered Wii won last time.

    3. Re:Smart move on their part, but... by avandesande · · Score: 1

      Running a network is expensive and a security/liability nightmare (as Sony found out) I don't have a problem with them charging for a service where identity is important.

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    4. Re:Smart move on their part, but... by donaldm · · Score: 1

      And hey, the Xbox360 won last time

      The underpowered Wii won last time.

      In terms of High Definition consoles there were only two last generation consoles, the PS3 and the XBox360, so basically it was a two horse race of which the PS3 is currently winning in world wide sales. The Wii was only Standard Definition which sort of put it in the PS2, XBox and Game Cube camp.

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
    5. Re:Smart move on their part, but... by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      And hey, the Xbox360 won last time

      The underpowered Wii won last time.

      I wonder if Nintendo is now paying the price for the Wii with sluggish Wii U sales?

      Speaking for myself, I was rather disappointed with the Wii, and ultimately purchased only a handful of titles for it, especially compared to my Xbox 360. You'll notice that even with high console sales numbers, Nintendo couldn't really relate that into significant game sales for anything except their first party titles. Now, with both gamers and publishers burned by Nintendo's last console, is it any wonder that their newest offering is seriously sagging in sales, possibly because of the lack of 3rd party developer interest?

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    6. Re:Smart move on their part, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PS4 ain't got a game.

    7. Re:Smart move on their part, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And hey, the Xbox360 won last time,

      The XBox 360 ended up third behind the Wii and the PS3, even though both the Wii and PS3 launched about a year later. See VGChartz last generation global hardware sales chart (use the selector in the bottom lefthand corner of the chart).

    8. Re:Smart move on their part, but... by __aaaipu5720 · · Score: 1

      The WiiU was screwed because Japanese audiences are moving away from consoles altogether, and so none of the big Japanese game companies are making games for it.

  35. Oh I dunno by goldcd · · Score: 3, Informative

    In this context "peddle" seems pretty appropriate.
    We tried to peddle something, nobody wanted.
    We reversed our unpopular stance by back-pedalling, and now we're back peddling.


    Just whilst I'm on the topic, I'm most narked (and I accept alone), in actually *liking* the original "always-on-in-the-cloud" original XBone pitch.
    The kinect can just wither and die though - voice was great. Camera...oh I'm sure it looked great in the pitch.
    Media stuff looked pretty damn good when I was convinced they were going to sell it as a cable/ADSL streaming trojan Tivo+ box. I've now no idea wtf they were thinking.
    Sell an XBone+ with 1080 games and you can refurb the millions you've sold as leased cable boxes.

  36. Don't forget.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    While the Prequels and spinoffs may have alienated the long time fans, unlike Microsoft with the XBOne, the Prequels and their related merchandising was actually hugely successful. While it may have been moral/artististic/etc bankruptcy, it was commercial gold.

    Microsoft on the other hand would've been like the movie whose sequels flopped and whose merchandising sales were extremely slow, neither of which Lucas had a problem with. (And you'll note, successfully positioned him into Disney in a similiar manner to Jobs with Pixar.)

    Also: Slashdot needs to fix the fucking post system here.

  37. The most conservative machine leads. by Kalren · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think it goes to show that the market for consoles has become more conservative. When you compare the PS4, XBone and the WII U(yes the Wii U is a part of the market), the PS4 is probably the most simple in its configuration. It doesn't have extraneous gimmicks like a Kinect camera or Wii U tablet that increase the cost of the system. Sure the controller has a LED and a touchpad,but it's not a huge new way of gaming that leads to more casually focused games.With the PS4, you only really get a box and a controller.

    The casual market that Microsoft and Nintendo built their machine to appeal to is already satisfied with their phones and tablets for their day to day fix. And for the majority of gamer in the market for a PS4 or XBone, they also have phones and tablets with a great selection of casual games. So when the choice is given between the different consoles, they choose the one with a more enthusiast focus. Their itch for casual games is already sated. And it doesn't hurt that the PS4 GPU is 30-50% more capable and at the same price as an XBone(Kinect-less SKU).

    1. Re:The most conservative machine leads. by sandytaru · · Score: 1

      And for those that DO want the add-on experience, you can get a PS Vita and do a live stream for some games from the PS4 to it. (The combo is suddenly hugely popular among the FFXIV crowd since they can play an MMO on a hand held that way.) And play stand alone games on it too. You can't do that with the Wii U controller.

      --
      Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
    2. Re:The most conservative machine leads. by trytoguess · · Score: 1

      Not always. Nintendo played things safe with the N64, giving us another iteration of their family friendly cartridge using console and came in second. Sony did to the PS3 what they did to the PS2, and gave us a machine that was hard to program but (supposedly) powerful, and they did.. poorly.

      All in all, I think the most important factor in the gaming market is simply price. PS1 was cheaper than the N64, PS3 was the most expensive console in it's generation etc.

    3. Re:The most conservative machine leads. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To be fair, the GP said the market *has become* more conservative. i.e. in the latest generation.

      It makes sense too. The GameCube tried the conservative thing when computing power was still fundamentally changing the types of games you could build as well as what they looked like.

      Nowadays, increments in console power are less relevant. Compare GTA V on last-generation consoles with some of the new games coming out for next-generation. Sure the next-gen games look better and maybe you can do some things which weren't possible before but for the most part the differences are marginal.

      As for the peripherals, I believe the Wii's success was a pyrrhic victory for Nintendo: they sold like hell because they had a mass appeal like no console before and were also cheap enough.
      However, the promise of the controllers never fully materialized and that turned into crappy sales for everybody whose name was not Nintendo. In fact, they may have poisoned the well for every peripheral which came after it including the Kinnect - people grew tired of unresponsive controllers and bad games shoehorning stupid gestures just for the sake of the gimmick.

  38. I'll reconsider buying an XBone... by the_scoots · · Score: 1

    ... when these announcements start coming with an apology and resignation of whichever C-suite mandated the "feature".

    1. Re:I'll reconsider buying an XBone... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the guy already stepped down, actually. No apology, so far as I know of.

  39. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by MozeeToby · · Score: 1

    Oh, I'm not defending it, merely pointing out that the parent's concern has been addressed. I don't have any particular side in this generation's fight, haven't yet found the time to play through more than a couple games from last generation. If I did have a preference it would reluctantly be for the PS4 because they managed to have reasonable policies from day one; reluctant because of all the crap Sony has pulled over the years.

  40. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anubis+IV · · Score: 2

    Fair enough.

    And yeah, I don't have a horse in this race yet either, though I have all three from the last generation. Even so, I distinctly remember the sour taste in my mouth when I got my 360 and discovered I'd have to pay them for the privilege of viewing Netflix, and then being thankful that I already had my Wii, PS3, and Apple TV hooked up and ready to go.

  41. No. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe if they were buying the unit back from you, that would be "backpeddling."

    As it is, they are just providing a new offering.

  42. Re:I'm watching you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He's a loser Marge, dump him!
    I travelled the world and the seven seas...
    I AM WATCHING YOU THROUGH A CAMERA!

  43. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    For my part, the lack of free online gaming disqualifies any console which doesn't have it. I already went down that road with the Xbox 360, and I won't go down it again.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  44. Re:Both lost by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

    The PC is making a comeback with gaming again.

    The consoles become popular as gaming pcs were thousands of dollars in 2000. It was a rich kids thing and 3d graphics started arriving on consoles. The DIYS market is heating up where for about the same price you can build a moderate pc with a moderate gaming card and be stuck with a controller. The PC market is shrinking but enthusiast and gamers are taking a large slice of that recently.

    Game makers who abandoned the pc 10 years ago because of the lack of DRM are returning too as they are making as much money on the pc now as the marketshare increases.

  45. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by David_Hart · · Score: 2

    Fair enough.

    And yeah, I don't have a horse in this race yet either, though I have all three from the last generation. Even so, I distinctly remember the sour taste in my mouth when I got my 360 and discovered I'd have to pay them for the privilege of viewing Netflix, and then being thankful that I already had my Wii, PS3, and Apple TV hooked up and ready to go.

    Well, I have a horse in this race and it's already won, been given the ribbon, watered down, fed some oats, and released into a nice pasture to frolic with the mares. It's called a PC and you don't have to worry about bundling, Kinect, being locked out of DLCs (aka Skyrim), etc.

  46. Maverick Meerkat to Trusty Taur by tepples · · Score: 0

    Mavericks are so 2010. We're on Trusties now.

    1. Re:Maverick Meerkat to Trusty Taur by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2
  47. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

    PCs are great, I have one too, and I wouldn't dare get rid of it. Even so, as general purpose machines, PCs generally come at a greater expense, need to be replaced/upgraded more regularly, are more fiddly than consoles, and come with other headaches all their own. Again, I wouldn't trade mine in for a console, but I'd prefer a world in which we have both great PCs and great consoles, rather than just one or the other. I've never viewed it as a "for one to win, the other must lose" situation. Rather, consoles are better at some things, PCs are better at others, and I prefer to use each for what they're best at.

  48. Offline multiplayer on PCs by tepples · · Score: 1

    Well, I have a horse in this race and it's already won [...] It's called a PC

    On an Internet-connected PC, you have to worry about antivirus and other security issues. Or on an Internet-disconnected PC, you have to worry about reconnecting it to the Internet every few weeks so that Steam can renew its receipts. That and the PC doesn't have quite as many games designed to be played with multiple controllers. Sure, you can use an Xbox 360 Controller and use a TV as a monitor, but publishers aren't necessarily willing to accommodate this setup. On the whole, PC multiplayer games tend to be designed around the assumption of one player per machine so that the publisher can sell multiple licenses to a single household.

    1. Re:Offline multiplayer on PCs by vux984 · · Score: 1

      On an Internet-connected PC, you have to worry about antivirus and other security issues.

      Behind a NAT not really, unless you use a web browser.

      Or on an Internet-disconnected PC, you have to worry about reconnecting it to the Internet every few weeks so that Steam can renew its receipts.

      a) Steam is not the only store out there.

      b) If connecting the PC to the internet now and then was a problem for you, you probably aren't shopping at steam in the first place.

      That and the PC doesn't have quite as many games designed to be played with multiple controllers.

      This is true. This is also changing.

      PC multiplayer games tend to be designed around the assumption of one player per machine so that the publisher can sell multiple licenses to a single household.

      It was never a conspiracy to sell more copies.

      The reason PC games are historically "single-user per computer" is that few users had them set up to ergonomically accommodate multiple players in front of one screen anyway. Few households even had controllers, never mind multiple controllers, and sharing a keyboard and mouse was impossible for all but the simplest games.

      Now that PCs are starting to regularly show up in the living room attached to the TV, and can pair easily with xbox controllers we are starting to see support for that type of game. Its already common with indie games etc.

      Much less so with FPS... but FPS or RTS but those are still predominantly keyboard and mouse and that's not really shareable.

    2. Re:Offline multiplayer on PCs by David_Hart · · Score: 1

      Well, I have a horse in this race and it's already won [...] It's called a PC

      On an Internet-connected PC, you have to worry about antivirus and other security issues. Or on an Internet-disconnected PC, you have to worry about reconnecting it to the Internet every few weeks so that Steam can renew its receipts. That and the PC doesn't have quite as many games designed to be played with multiple controllers. Sure, you can use an Xbox 360 Controller and use a TV as a monitor, but publishers aren't necessarily willing to accommodate this setup. On the whole, PC multiplayer games tend to be designed around the assumption of one player per machine so that the publisher can sell multiple licenses to a single household.

      Multiple controllers on the same TV?? Sure, it looks like a lot of fun in the movies but whenever I've sat down with more than one person on a console the lack of screen real estate due to split screen kills it for me. You really need an 80" TV to do it right.

      If you were right that the console makers actually cared about local multi-player, wouldn't you think that they would have built-in multiple TV support by now? Instead, the Xbox has multilink, which requires a separate console per player.

      I do think that Dual Play for 3D TVs will improve two player games. I also think that there will be much more refined support for multi-player and controller on the PC as the Xbox and PS4 are basically PCs. This makes ports much easier to do while retaining full gamepad support. I can't remember a recent game that didn't have it....

  49. How many laws do you have to break to fix it? by tepples · · Score: 1

    Jar Jar Binks is worse. Excising the crap from The Phantom Menace requires breaking the law (The Phantom Edit is copyright infringement). Excising the crap from Windows 8 does not (Classic Shell is freeware).

  50. Motion controllers since last gen by tepples · · Score: 1

    Subtle things like a slight lean for your in-game character as you go round a corner in a racing game as you yourself lean into it (we all do it)

    Controllers have had accelerometers since the Wii Remote and PlayStation 3 SIXAXIS controller.

    Battlefield has an option for head tracking

    How does that work? If you physically turn your head, you face away from the monitor. Does the game amplify the rotation angle before passing it to the camera?

    1. Re:Motion controllers since last gen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you honestly never tried to look round a corner while playing a game? I works a bit like that.

  51. Cheaper multiplayer by tepples · · Score: 1

    I'm now in the camp that believe consoles are a total rip off - the price of titles is extortionate

    If you have four people in one household who want to play a game together, one copy of a $60 console game that supports multiple gamepads is cheaper than four copies of a $30 PC game that doesn't.

  52. Xbox One and Xbox 1 by tepples · · Score: 1

    But why can't the Xbox One (x86) play games for the original 2001 Xbox (also x86)?

    1. Re:Xbox One and Xbox 1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because Microsoft didn't bother putting in any code to authenticate the disks, translate GPU calls, compensate for the faster CPU, and whatever else it is they'd need to do. They don't care because they want you buying NEW games, not playing old games that don't bring in any money for them.

  53. Used games by KingMotley · · Score: 1

    I've never heard Microsoft say that there was a "no selling of used games policy"...ever. What I did hear was they were contemplating not using physical media, which sparked a bunch of people to make wild assumptions. When asked about it, Microsoft responded that you could resell them (based on licensing agreements by 3rd parties), and you would get a code that you could then give to someone else so they could download and activate it. Always seemed reasonable to me, but the wild theories about everything were floating around everywhere that had no actual basis in fact or statements from Microsoft itself.

    1. Re:Used games by Mike+Buddha · · Score: 1

      Yep. And with this system you could use your games on any machine you were signed in on. And you'd be able to trade games to your friends so that they could play them when you weren't. But people read the headlines and didn't read the articles and now we have two piles of crap that are warmed over last gen consoles.

      --
      by Mike Buddha -- Someday the mountain might get him, but the law never will.
  54. Why is everyone complaining? by ianchaos · · Score: 2

    "Always on" issue - gone
    Gold Membership to use streaming apps - gone
    Bundled Kinect - gone

    Almost everything that people have complained about has been removed / improved / fixed. I know there is a long tradition of slamming Microsoft on Slashdot ... almost a sport really, but come on. They are doing exactly what we've been asking them to do and everyone is still bitching about it. I for one commend them for listening to feedback and addressing the issues that we've known were there from the start.

    I don't own an XBOX One, I'm a PC gamer, but I have to say I'm impressed to see a company that's willing admit their mistakes...I'm looking at you Nintendo...get your act together.

    --
    What can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.
    1. Re:Why is everyone complaining? by donaldm · · Score: 1

      I don't own an XBOX One, I'm a PC gamer, but I have to say I'm impressed to see a company that's willing admit their mistakes...I'm looking at you Nintendo...get your act together.

      I think many people are not impressed since a little market research would have informed Microsoft that all their initial requirements for the XBone (sorry they asked for this abbreviation) were not going to be appreciated by most of the people who would purchase a console. Having done all these back-flips they should have called their console XBox180 or XBox540 :)

      As for Nintendo, Sigh! I totally agree.

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
    2. Re:Why is everyone complaining? by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

      Yeah, well, I've seen how MS does shit. Every other update it's a rabid ram-job of shit users will HATE, then back off and apologize, but leave just the tip in. Next time they fuck you a bit harder. Same goes for IE versions, OS versions, Dashboard updates, etc. Just look how much they flopped around with this console since pre-launch. Saying that "everything that people have complained about has been removed / improved / fixed" is like a climate change denier who pick two favorable points in the graph then claim all is well while ignoring the big picture.

      Perhaps read their gargantuan EULA which spells things out: None of that shit has any permanence at all, and they reserve the right to terminate every feature you have, including the ability to play games or even turn on the device. That's the #1 reason I game on a PC: Hardware vendors shouldn't sell OS's, OS vendors shouldn't sell software, Content producers shouldn't be in charge of selling competitor's content (MS Game Studios? The Comcast of gaming). Just look at windows 8 and 8.1. No, I'm not buying into the Facebook model of taking two steps into heinous shit then apologizing and taking one step back.

      If that means my Gaming "PC" runs Linux and Steam, then that's what I'm doing... because it's actually possible to have different hardware, OS, and software vendors now... Bonus, I can install most Humble Indie Bundles, and lots of other indie devs are cross platform too. I put my money where my mouth is and hooked up a Linux media center / gaming PC to my home theater system. Consoles are just neutered AMD / ATI machines anyway (my 6 year old laptop has a gig of shared video memory, so what, no one knows how to utilize it).

      I'm not impressed with MS being "a company that's willing to admit their mistakes", because they're fuckups that wouldn't happen anyway if they actually gave a fuck about their customers -- They don't, they just care about how much they can nickle and dime us... That's why W8 has an app store, so you have to pay MS a portion of every piece of software you buy -- what, you thought us app devs weren't going to pass that 30% MS tax onto you?

      I write cross platform code, but fuck MS. They hate me, so I hate them.

    3. Re:Why is everyone complaining? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because in spite of this, they STILL haven't reached parity with their competitors on value.

  55. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    being locked out of DLCs (aka Skyrim)

    Skyrim's DLC was a "timed exlusive" for the 360, we had to wait on PC too.

    PS3 player had to wait even longer than us because Bethesda had trouble getting the DLC to run on the PS3, not because of any deals with MS.

  56. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Except certain companies charge an arm and a leg to the source company because they can.

  57. Thank $DEITY for competition! by CityZen · · Score: 1

    Competition can suck, but it's usually worse (for consumers) without it.

    In this case, the worst effect of competition is that you might have to buy two game consoles to play every game that you would like to.
    It beats paying 2x for the only game console with no competition.

  58. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by donaldm · · Score: 1

    Well, I have a horse in this race and it's already won, been given the ribbon, watered down, fed some oats, and released into a nice pasture to frolic with the mares. It's called a PC and you don't have to worry about bundling, Kinect, being locked out of DLCs (aka Skyrim), etc.

    I think most people who post here have a PC in one form or another.

    Personally I have a gaming Laptop on which I have exclusively put Fedora 20 (I always keep it updated) which effectively stops me playing "Games for Windows" since I could not be bothered setting up Wine and have no intention of dual booting because I am not very interested in PC games preferring Console (PS3) games instead.

    Are PC games (aka Games for Windows) better than console games? Well that depends on the gamer and what they like.

    --
    There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
  59. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by donaldm · · Score: 1

    The Price isn't what is making people choose the PS4 over the XBox. But the fact you can access internet services such as Netflix without having to pay a monthly fee, to access data you are already paying for.

    I don't have a PS4 since there aren't any games on it that I am interested in (likewise the XBone), although I will at a later date get one. If the PS4 had backwards compatibility I would have got one on first release since I still have PS3 games I have not finished and the difference in graphical output while noticeable is not significant enough to convince me to purchase a PS4 at the moment.

    As for paying for a subscription to Netflix I do have to agree that having to pay a monthly fee (ie Xbox) just to access this is ridicules, however when I purchase a gaming console the last thing on my mind is purchasing and downloading movies.

    --
    There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
  60. Same-screen is not always split-screen by tepples · · Score: 1

    whenever I've sat down with more than one person on a console the lack of screen real estate due to split screen kills it for me.

    True, first-person shooters and racing games need a split screen because their camera angles depend on which way a player character faces. But why would you need to split a screen for something that puts both players' characters in one view? Consider arena combat games like Bomberman or fighting games like Street Fighter or cooperative adventures like Secret of Mana or New Super Mario Bros. Wii or cooperative shoot-em-ups like Contra or Smash TV or Ikaruga. Some other games naturally use a view whose orientation is opposite that of a 16:9 playfield, such as Klax and Dance Dance Revolution. For these, splitting the screen does not annoy because the screen space would otherwise have just been wasted on a background.

  61. IE 360; why so long to set up a living room PC? by tepples · · Score: 1

    Behind a NAT not really, unless you use a web browser.

    And guess what a lot of games embed for matchmaking. Besides, have people managed to break into the Xbox 360 through its Internet Explorer app?

    The reason PC games are historically "single-user per computer" is that few users had them set up to ergonomically accommodate multiple players in front of one screen anyway.

    I'm aware that consoles have historically been connected to physically larger monitors. But it's been easy to set up a PC to accommodate multiple players since 2007, when VGA and HDMI inputs became more-or-less standard features on new TVs. Why has it taken so long for PC users and major developers to realize this? Did it just take that long to replace SDTVs in living rooms?

    1. Re:IE 360; why so long to set up a living room PC? by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Why has it taken so long for PC users and major developers to realize this? Did it just take that long to replace SDTVs in living rooms?

      Everything had to become more or less standard.
      Prior to HDMI you needed VGA or DVI and then had to figure something else out for audio. And even once you got HDMI you needed a computer that had an HDMI card. And for a lot of us the computer we use with the TV is our previous computer - since we primarily set it up for xbmc, music, photos, etc and performance wasn't a real concern.

      So even though the tech was availablearound 07, yes its taken a while for hdmi equipped gaming capable computers to arrive in sizable numbers in the living room organically. And its only recent that that the trend has been accelerated by things like Steam's big picture mode, and developers have really started to target the pc in living room as a platform.

  62. Standalone Kinect? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "users will be able to purchase a standalone Kinect later this year"

    Yes, but....
    will it run on linux?

  63. We told you so MS. by Karmashock · · Score: 2

    Its nice that you've listened... its just too bad that you took this long to actually respond.

    Not a console gamer so I can't gauge how this effects anything. I'm PC gamer. The consoles of any brand are an irrelevance to me.

    But MS's launch of the One has seemed troubled from the beginning. I do wonder why they bother with it. MS could have done much better simply by releasing an actual MS windows PC with a console form factor and a console GUI dropped on top of the windows OS. That would have given the Xbox One cross platform game compatibility, legacy support for lots of things windows is compatible with an the one is not, given additional utility to MS windows systems that would be able to use things initially designed for the Xbox, and generally given the Xbox a big advantage over the Playstation.

    But they decided to go with another divergent incompatible OS with no legacy support even for most older xbox games. Its pathetic.

    Every console should be backward compatible with consoles of the same brand. At least build a reasonable emulator into each. And its deeply foolish for MS not to leverage their command of the desktop environment to gain an advantage over Sony.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  64. Re:Both lost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The PC is making a comeback with gaming again.

    It never went away.

    The consoles become popular as gaming pcs were thousands of dollars in 2000

    No more than consoles required thousands on a sound system and gigantic plasma television.

  65. Why run to trust Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why reward them with your money after they've been jerking around their customers with user-hostile "features" and charging money for "features" you aren't going to ever use?

  66. Terrible Apologia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While some of you think that the Kinnect is all about arm waving and jumping about there was a lot of opportunity for other (optional) gameplay.

    No. There isn't.

    Not any game that depends on the use of the controller....which is pretty much all of them. You want to stand up while playing GTA so the Kinect registers that as an action, or would you rather press a button? Anything use you think you can come up with for the Kinect, you can do better with a motion sensing controller. Because it wont require you to move from your seat or take your hand off the controller.

  67. In other news.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    .. Hitler is finally selling his candy without additivies!

  68. 'your feedback' by aybiss · · Score: 1

    This, in context of MS, means they have been so completely pwned that they've now decided to do ONE THING their customers want.

    This is only to shut you up, not because they give a fuck about you want.

    If they gave a fuck, there would be a new version of Windows 7 coming out and Windows 8 would be dumped.

    --
    It's OK Bender, there's no such thing as 2.
  69. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    Fair enough.

    And yeah, I don't have a horse in this race yet either, though I have all three from the last generation. Even so, I distinctly remember the sour taste in my mouth when I got my 360 and discovered I'd have to pay them for the privilege of viewing Netflix, and then being thankful that I already had my Wii, PS3, and Apple TV hooked up and ready to go.

    Well, I have a horse in this race and it's already won, been given the ribbon, watered down, fed some oats, and released into a nice pasture to frolic with the mares. It's called a PC and you don't have to worry about bundling, Kinect, being locked out of DLCs (aka Skyrim), etc.

    All you have to worry about is drivers, specs, malware, punkbuster, hackers, crackers, mad hatters, not being able to play your games because authentication servers are rammed for weeks, DRM up the wazoo...

    PC gaming probably is the most versatile platform out there and is arguably better than console is almost every way, but that doesn't mean it's the awesome blissful, troublefree experience you suggest. In fact that's one of the very few areas PCs fail next to consoles. Granted, for some PC fans that's the best part but I'd say that's a separate hobby.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  70. Kinect should never have been bundled by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kinect was something that should have always been a option and not bundled into Xbox One. Again, this was Microsoft deciding for you what you wanted to buy.
    Just another way to try and get the margins up because let's face it. XBox is the one bright spot in Microsoft's business model these days. So why not muck it up,right? For one thing when Microsoft realized Sony PS 4 would be $100 cheaper, why did Microsoft not simply drop the Kinect off the bundle and offer a XB 1 by itself? I'm really not sure how many gamers really find the Kinect interaction that important to gaming? It again appears to be another gimicky way of selling more games and hardware. Much like the Rock Band fad and the Nintendo Wii fad which thought everyone would love to get a physical work out while gaming?
    Has anyone seen much of the hard core gaming community? I am not sure a work out is what they are wanting playing a 12 hr stretch of Call Of Duty?

  71. secondary cpu? by mattsqz · · Score: 1

    secondary cpu?

    1. Re:secondary cpu? by IJ+Hull · · Score: 1

      Ignore. it's an ARM core with 256MB RAM. Apart from reducing power draw in semi-standby mode it makes very limited no difference to how well a game will run.

    2. Re:secondary cpu? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      BS. It offloads all background tasks, downloads and realtime encoding/streaming for things like Twitch. You wouldn't be able to do the same on the Xbone without drastically impacting game performance.

  72. Really? by DarthVain · · Score: 1

    "Gold Membership to use streaming apps - gone"

    Does that mean I can use my Netflix on my Xbox 360 without my Gold Membership anymore?

    Citation?

    1. Re:Really? by phorm · · Score: 1

      Create a local account without a Gold membership and see if it works?

  73. QFT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would just like to repeat everything Dutch Gun said in a louder, angrier voice. This is exactly it.

  74. Too little too late by phorm · · Score: 1

    Maybe because most of the people who were concerned with the above have already bought a PS4? Yeah, the changes are great... and many of the reasons to NOT BUY are now gone, but what are the reason TO BUY an XBOne?

  75. Re:Microsoft misses the point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And I bet if people who care about that didn't have a PS4 already, that could actually be beneficial for sales.

    Why would it? It's like they are saying "Hey our box finally works!!"

  76. DVI-D to HDMI cable by tepples · · Score: 1

    Prior to HDMI you needed VGA or DVI and then had to figure something else out for audio. And even once you got HDMI you needed a computer that had an HDMI card.

    Some TVs, such as my Vizio VX32L, have an analog audio input by one of the HDMI video inputs. This is designed for use with DVI-D to HDMI cable, as I mentioned in this table.

    And for a lot of us the computer we use with the TV is our previous computer

    Good point. Adding to my list of counterarguments.

    1. Re:DVI-D to HDMI cable by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Some TVs, such as my Vizio VX32L, have an analog audio input by one of the HDMI video inputs. This is designed for use with DVI-D to HDMI cable, as I mentioned in this table.

      My HTPC setup didn't become simple or satisfactory until I had a PC that output audio over hdmi, and in addition to an HDTV I also had a receiver that did HDMI passthru and switching. So hooking up the PC to the big tv became as simple as plugging it into the receiver; and i got full 1080p resolution without any futzing around and full surround sound support. And I can 'switch to PC' with one button on my remote.

      Working with last generation equipment was a pain. My previous HTPC setup was DVI to the TV + optical out to the receiver; and I'd had to spend considerable effort getting everything to work properly; there were issues with overscan that had to be resolved, getting the audio working was a pain, and I had to put the tv and receiver both on specific settings to get picture and sound each time i switched to it. It worked in 2007 but it was nerd territority, not nearly as user friendly as it is now.

      Good point. Adding to my list of counterarguments.

      Reasons why not? Not sure I follow -- on the one hand yes, it means there is probably a 'weaker' PC hooked up to the TV then the latest and greatest; on the other hand today's weaker PC is no longer gaming obsolete.

      My 'previous pc' for example is a Q6600 with an nvidia 9600 series, and I've yet to run into a game I wanted to play that I couldn't.

  77. Not without some unfortunate consequences... by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

    One advantage of bundling Kinect: it made the development of new kinds of game interaction more appealing. Kinect isn't all that useful for most existing games; dance and fitness games are the exceptions and we had dance games with pads long before Kinect. And perhaps too many gamers are slugs who don't want to move. One problem with the business model for fitness games is that the people who like them seem to be content with continuing to play the same one, so there isn't a lot of repeat business.

    I don't know if we ever would have seen Fantasia: Music Evolved if there had not been a large number of potential customers who already own the hardware. Though Harmonix was able to sell Guitar Hero and Rock Band even though people had to buy instruments to play them, so perhaps they would have risked it anyway.

    Disclosure: I got to play test Fantasia last year. Harmonix has now announced it so I can say that it exists without violating the NDA I had to sign. I think a lot of people are going to enjoy it.

  78. PS3 and 360 held back PC games' LOD by tepples · · Score: 1

    on the one hand yes, it means there is probably a 'weaker' PC hooked up to the TV then the latest and greatest; on the other hand today's weaker PC is no longer gaming obsolete.

    Seventh generation AAA The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 GPUs held back graphical detail in multiplatform games over the last generation. This was long enough for even Intel IGPs to catch up. Eighth generation AAA But once most console games target Xbox One and PlayStation 4, new AAA PC games are probably going to start requiring GPUs comparable to those of the newer consoles. I'm told the only reason Titanfall works on a 360 is because they dropped a lot of the textures down to N64-class detail. In any case, the Intel IGP that runs XBMC smoothly is unlikely to cut it for a PC game with PS4-class detail. Indie Of course, indie games will likely have lower detail due to budgets being a generation or three back. But the commercial failure of OUYA showed that not enough people will buy into a platform just for indie games. This is why a successful video gaming platform needs AAA support.
    1. Re:PS3 and 360 held back PC games' LOD by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Eighth generation AAA

      We're at a cusp right now. You make a good point that as the game development shifts towards ps4 / xbox one that 5+ year old PCs with Intel graphics are going to fall behind again, but the ps4 and xbox one JUST luanched.

      The cycle will repeat, the ps4 and xbox one are already behind current PC graphics, game development will be pinned to them for the next decade.

      My HTPC has been my HTPC for a couple years already, the Q6600 was released in 06 after all. I'll have my i7 3770k with a geforce 660 in my living within the next year or so. Anyone else rolling their main PC over to the living room will be bringing in hardware that will be fine for a decade.

      And we don't really know what's going to happen in the future, right now, the 'home office pc/gaming rig' gets rolled into the HTPC when the gaming rig gets replaced -- but if PC gaming in the living room continues to trend then maybe next new pc will go straight to the living room, and the office will get the older unit. After all the main gaming rig goes where the gamer does... if the gamer moves, so goes the rig.

      We've also got the steambox coming and its going to be a factor of some sort I think given Valve's position in PC gaming.

      But the commercial failure of OUYA showed that not enough people will buy into a platform just for indie games. This is why a successful video gaming platform needs AAA support.

      But perhaps it can be a successful platform with new indie games and support for "last years" AAA games.

    2. Re:PS3 and 360 held back PC games' LOD by Jumunquo · · Score: 1

      Not to mention that if your PC was built in the last 7 years, you can probably just slide in a new $150 graphics card, and you'll be ahead of XB1/PS4 again.

      Also, OUYA's failure doesn't translate to PC. The PC is an existing platform with a huge library and continued developer support. Did you notice how most big Xbox 360/PS3 publishers shunned PC in the early years, citing piracy concerns? We had the exact situation you're describing with indie titles and pretty much no AAA support for many years, and PC gaming just kept growing. I think the success of Steam single-handedly made all the big players turn their heads and realize they were missing out on huge profits by ignoring PC, and the piracy concerns were overblown. Now we see almost every big game get simultaneous Xbox/PS/PC release.

  79. MS Actually Had Some Decent Ideas, But... by Zerohm · · Score: 1

    MS actually had some decent ideas, but totally dorked them up. If you want people to buy digital licenses, you have to make it more appealing than buying physical disks, not just force DRM on people. I thought roaming profiles (buy once, play anywhere) and game lending would have been two big selling points to get people excited about digital sales. They could have implemented these, but also allowed physical disks and offline play at the same time.

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