If this is true... Then... Wow...

[Colt47]

Since when did NeoGaf forum users become credible sources? And why are people acting like it's instantly true? I'm sure they'll try to push their console but I highly doubt they'll attack Sony instead of just improving their own console, even I'm not that stupid. People who work for these corporations are the cleverest business minds around, they wouldn't be stupid enough to use this tactic. NeoGaf posters however...

Well, the buying people off thing is questionable, but the production worries are pretty sound as right now even Intel is having some production issues with commercial Haswell chips. Namely, the chips are running up to fifteen degrees hotter than the sample chips, resulting in a lot of issues with the computer manufacturers who were engineering computer systems around them. Also, even if Microsoft started trying to buy devs and publishers off, they already hit rock bottom with the horrible reveal a few weeks earlier.

Since Microsoft has no idea what "making things up to consumers" means, I doubt E3 is going to save them very much anyway. As Yahtzee put it, the best they can hope for is a hostage situation with really good titles on their system (a joke on his part, but likely true.)

 

[spartandude]

i actually dont get what the big deal is, they're paying publishers to show their multiplatform games on the xbox and not the ps4 at E3? ok fine by me to be honest.

oh c'mon dont look at me like that both sides do it, its just microsoft have more capital to spend on it and as a PC gamer im used to seeing these games demo'd on consoles

 

[Snotnarok]

Hardly new, Nintendo would apparently threaten to pull their stuff from shops if they sold competitors items in their shop. Or if the shop sold those unlicensed games. (NES era)
Sony killed Bleem by telling shops the same thing, if they sold Bleem they don't get any inventory in. (PSOne Era)

..Still a dick move.

 

[hornedcow]

What EA hate got boring? We now have to go with unsubstantiated rumours about Microsoft now?

"EA hate was so last month dude..... We gamer hipsters are all into Microsoft hate now.... Pshhhaaa"

Scroll up. Now scroll down. Virtually everyone that has posted has doubted the legitimacy of this rumour. No one is being a "hipster" here other than the guy acting like he's so much wiser than everyone else because rather than express an actual opinion just mocks others for having one.

OT: As much as I believe MS are assholes enough to do this, I doubt they're really that dumb. As has been pointed out, it wouldn't really accomplish much, and I doubt Sony are so oblivious as too not notice their third party support are just withdrawing from their conference. But I suppose we just have to wait for further info.

 

[Elijin]

Let me paraphrase that for you, in a less villifying light:


"Major company obtains exclusivity rights for promotion and product placement at major media event."

After all, they wont be paying companies to lie about whether the game is available on the PS4/PC. They'll be paying for the rights to have it be their console, the game is shown off on. Its just advertising placement. You saturate a market, make sure your name is the name people associate with certain products.

What, no! As if any business would do that, right guys? I mean, its not like it happens all the time, right? Right?


Whoops sorry, drowned myself out in 'MS does standard business practice and everyone demonizes them' sadness.

Seriously if we're all going to hate on them, at least go back to the things which made sense (Having a terrible reveal event which was vague enough on many things which allows the current batch of horror stories to run rampant, which may or may not later prove to be true)

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

Honestly at this point, all it takes for people here to assume Microsoft to be guilty is for a rumor to exist.

Something tells me that a business that has existed successfully for this long isn't quite that suicidal, guys. Come on.

I think that speaks more of the practices of said business than it actually does people 'over reacting'.

You ever seen a dog that was hit too much by it's owners? It treats every new person as a potential abuser.

We got hit in the snout too often to pretend that every new possibility for Microsoft to screw us over isn't a viable one. Really, how much are we supposed to suspend our paranoia when they gleefully trot out everything that gamers said they didn't want, which were leaked via rumors?

 

[Colt47]

Let me paraphrase that for you, in a less villifying light:


"Major company obtains exclusivity rights for promotion and product placement at major media event."

After all, they wont be paying companies to lie about whether the game is available on the PC. They'll be paying for the rights to have it be their console, the game is shown off on. Its just advertising placement. You saturate a market, make sure your name is the name people associate with certain products.

What, no! As if any business would do that, right guys? I mean, its not like it happens all the time, right? Right?


Whoops sorry, drowned myself out in 'MS does standard business practice and everyone demonizes them' sadness.

Seriously if we're all going to hate on them, at least go back to the things which made sense (Having a terrible reveal event which was vague enough on many things which allows the current batch of horror stories to run rampant, which may or may not later prove to be true)

The reason they are getting demonized for what accounts as standard business practice is because the console in question is so heavily loathed that exclusivity on the console is basically killing options for people to play, since they don't want to buy the Xbox One.

 

[Eggsnham]

"TV, TV, TV, TV, TV-TV, television, sports, TV, TV, Call of Duty, Call of Duty, TV, sports... the next watercooler!"

I typed out a message in the Microsoftians' native tongue, Micronish, to let them know how disappointed the gamer population would be in Microsoft if this turned out to be true.

 

[Whitbane]

By this point, I don't even fucking care. I'll just let myself be Steam's ***** until I've reached my breaking point.

 

[Korolev]

I doubt this is true, and even it if was, it wouldn't work. If a company is releasing a game on both consoles, it is going to want people to know that it is being released on both consoles. Could Microsoft theoretically pay them "hush" money? Sure, but it would have to be a ludicrously large amount for a very small gain. The minute TV and Internet ads come out for multiplatform games, the are GOING to announce what systems they are on. That's just common sense.

I doubt microsoft would be dumb enough to spend a sizeable fortune for such limited gain. Remember, this is the Internet we're talking about here, where self-proclaimed "insiders" said that the new Xbox console was going to be called "The Infinity" and the new PS4 was going to be called the Orbis.

I'd sooner look towards the random looping of the entrails of a sacrificial goat than trust randoms on the internet to provide accurate info.

Actually.... ya know...

I'M a secret Sony worker. Yep. Totally am. Been working on the PS4, or as we in the "biz" like to call, the "station", for about 2 years now. And the PS4 will secret send back data on every thing you do back to Sony through a secret black-channel. If you attempt to adjust the firmware, they'll send your data to the police to come and arrest you! I'm totally legit. Everything I have said is absolutely true. And you know what I've said is true, BECAUSE I JUST TOLD YOU IT WAS! BAAAAM! RIGHT THERE! THAT'S how you know you can trust me. Because I said so. On the internet. The one-stop shop for 100% truth all the time.

 

[rob_simple]

Even if this is true (though I doubt it) MS would be spending a lot of money to (in the end at least) get virtually nothing accomplished while simultaneously putting their already negative image on the line.

Isn't that pretty much Microsoft's mission statement in just about every facet of their business, now?

OT: If this is true, it really does seem pointless. Isn't E3 just for journalists, now? So anything I, as a consumer, see from there will be online where I can instantly confirm what platforms it's going to be released on.

Then again, Microsoft do seem to be in a desperate scramble to recoup some credibility after the Xbone reveal debacle, so I guess it's possible they're just throwing punches in a dark room and hoping something connects.

Maybe next month they'll announce that Mario is an illegal immigrant and buying a WiiU is buying into the communist agenda.

 

[Product Placement]

Thing about Microsoft is that they've been doing a magnificent job running a terrible PR campaign. This whole "dancing around the subject" attitude that we've been experiencing with the Xbox reveal has forced the gaming media to speculate about the kinect and "always on" and "used games" stuff. Speaking of which...

mandatory Kinect (Completely Confirmed)

While it's true that you're gonna get Kinect with your Xbone, the thing will feature an off button, according to this report. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124447-Xbox-Ones-Kinect-Can-Actually-Be-Turned-Off]

But see my point? All these damn "maybes" are still floating around fueling rumors and speculations. And no, I don't care if you've heard the tired mantra "there's no such thing as bad publicity"; of course it's not gonna help you a damn squat if all conversation topics that pop up around your console is how much better the competitor is looking, compared to you.

When the "always on" rumor popped up for the PS4, Sony nipped that nasty hearsay in the bud, within a week. Seriously, Microsoft has to come out and offer clear info about their console. Give out clear info about what you can and cannot do with the Kinect. Confirm or deny the "always on" rumor. Explain your stance on DRM in the Xbone. And for Christ sake, be ready to defend your stance without coming off as a smug asshole [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124268-Microsoft-Exec-If-Youre-Backwards-Compatible-Youre-Really-Backwards] that doesn't care about the common peasants [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123098-Microsoft-Exec-on-Always-Online-Consoles-Deal-With-it].

 

[tardcore]

Wouldn't be surprised. Both companies have been paying off game makers to fuck PC gamers in the ass for years.

 

[Vetta E-dom]

Slightly hilarious to see all the people that will find any reason to complain about microsoft now, as though sony or nintendo has Never, pulled anything like this non issue.

In other news what was that one Microsoft developer that made that one game with the multiplayer, the power armored dudes, spawned a funny series Purple vs Green?? Idk it escapes me, anyways funny how their next Ip is being so heavily advertised for PS4, even to the point of being shown on their conferences? Totally not a similar thing though anyway.

 

[Deathlyphil]

Thing about Microsoft is that they've been doing a magnificent job running a terrible PR campaign. This whole "dancing around the subject" attitude that we've been experiencing with the Xbox reveal has forced the gaming media to speculate about the kinect and "always on" and "used games" stuff. Speaking of which...

mandatory Kinect (Completely Confirmed)

While it's true that you're gonna get Kinect with your Xbone, the thing will feature an off button, according to this report. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124447-Xbox-Ones-Kinect-Can-Actually-Be-Turned-Off]

But see my point? All these damn "maybes" are still floating around fueling rumors and speculations. And no, I don't care if you've heard the tired mantra "there's no such thing as bad publicity"; of course it's not gonna help you a damn squat if all conversation topics that pop up around your console is how much better the competitor is looking, compared to you.

When the "always on" rumor popped up for the PS4, Sony nipped that nasty hearsay in the bud, within a week. Seriously, Microsoft has to come out and offer clear info about their console. Give out clear info about what you can and cannot do with the Kinect. Confirm or deny the "always on" rumor. Explain your stance on DRM in the Xbone. And for Christ sake, be ready to defend your stance without coming off as a smug asshole [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124268-Microsoft-Exec-If-Youre-Backwards-Compatible-Youre-Really-Backwards] that doesn't care about the common peasants [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123098-Microsoft-Exec-on-Always-Online-Consoles-Deal-With-it].

Relevant bit from the article:

"It is not always watching or always listening," the spokesperson explains. "You can turn the system completely off. This would use no power and turn everything off. We'll share more details about how it all works later."

I read that as the only way to turn off the Kinect is to disconnect the Xbox One from the power supply.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Well we already know that the focus of the PS4 is games, unlike the XBone, so I doubt that strategy would have the results MS expects. Also, I doubt MS could pay the devs and publishers enough to go ahead with such a plan.

The stated focus is games; however, there are some things to consider. First, Sony spent a great deal of time talking about features that are, at best tangential to gaming. Also, importantly, Sony has just as much an interest in being the one box you turn on in your living room as Microsoft does and thus will be just as focused on acquiring and delivering services. You see that attempt at parity right now after all. Additionally, it is unlikely that this generation will see a free online gaming service like the last time around, evidenced by Sony's attempt to offer a compelling reason to pay. This last point isn't a qualitative judgement between XBL and PSN, because the services offered value in different ways. Where Microsoft chose to put everything online behind a pay gate, Sony, having offered everything meaningful in this regard for free, was forced to use value added services like free games.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to believe Sony is going to have a consumer friendly used game policy. Indeed their positioning on the subject is, from what is known at this point, largely identical to Microsoft's.

Until we know more, I don't think you could declare which system is really friendlier for gaming. As it stands right now, neither platform seems attractive to me but that could easily change with more information.

 

[barbzilla]

I doubt this one is true.

Microsoft are being morons right now but I highly doubt they'd be this stupid. Plus devs and publishers would be losing money.

I could see MSFT trying something like this, but I highly doubt it is this. Mainly for the reason you stated. It wouldn't be worth it to publishers without a significant chunk of cash, and we all know that MSFT is very stingy when it comes to cash. What they may be doing though, is trying to bribe publishers into using the X1 for the demo hardware. This would allow MSFT to look like they are the stronger console due to it being the Dev's choice in hardware for demonstrations and gameplay footage.

 

[Rob Robson]

Let's all congratulate Microsoft on hitting a new low. "starts slow clap"

How is this any lower than their acquisition of Bungie in 1999 just as they were almost finished with the Mac exclusive Halo?

And people wonder why I've been going out of my way to make sure Microsoft gets no money out of me for 15 years.

Captcha: hoity-toity.