Microsoft's Harrison: It's Not The Gigaflops, It's The Games

[Drummodino]

Um what games Microsoft? Seriously what games. I have no idea what you're talking about. Besides Titanfall (which is on PC) what exclusive games can you offer that can compete for my attention with the likes of Infamous: Second Son? Generic Brown Shooter #373 won't cut it.

 

[CriticalMiss]

That is being unfair. My toaster has better games.

What you say? "A toaster cant play games? How could it possibly be better then the Xbone, which can?"

Why I'm glad you asked, because you see, a toaster cannot play games, it also cant however, play terrible games. Therefore, the Xbone is on the back foot, it only has terrible games to play! Therefore it is in the negatives, and therefore my toaster is the superior gaming console.

I'm guessing your toaster doesn't come with a mandatory $100 spy camera either. Plus it makes delicious, delicious toast.

Toaster 3 - Microsoft 0

I would have thought that with less than two months until launch Microsoft might actually be, you know, making Xbones rather than flapping around Redmond and releasing bullshit statements to assure people that even though the proverbial ship is on fire, sinking and crawling with radioactive living poo the shuffleboard tournament will make it all okay. All whilst a sleek Japanese yacht sails past with it's crew mooning them.

I do however applaud him for not mentioning Titanfall by name. But we all know he wanted to.

 

[Covarr]

"It's all about having the best games and having the most impressive experiences, and clearly Xbox One has the best games."

What, like Call of Duty and Battlefield and all those other games that are also coming to PS4 (and some of them to PC and in some cases even Wii U)? Or maybe you mean Ryse, the exclusive that has already been laughed out of the competition months before release? Pretty much the only game that the Xbox One has coming that its competitors don't is Titanfall, which looks good, but not groin-grabbingly [http://memecrunch.com/meme/6ID8/a-groin-grabbingly-good-team/image.png] system-sellingly good. The fact is, when a company relies so heavily on multiplatform games for a console launch, only three things matter:

• 
  [li]Power[/li]
  [li]Price[/li]
  [li]Perception[/li]

Let's see how Microsoft is doing with each of these.

Power: When almost every launch game is coming to both consoles, power absolutely matters because the more powerful console is going to give the better experience (even if just marginally). Early reports are that the PS4 is generally more powerful. There may be time to change that (though not much, November is right around the corner at this point), but developer statements that the Xbox One is weaker have already made their way around the internet.

Price: The Xbox One costs $500 and the PS4 costs $400. That's $100 more. For many, especially teens with part-time jobs (a significant chunk of your target audience), that's the difference between buying it now and buying it next paycheck. When parents are buying Christmas presents, that's a particularly big difference, because they can put that extra $100 toward other gifts (maybe even a console-subsidizing game).

Perception: A large portion of the gaming community perceives Microsoft as tremendous dicks. The general population doesn't to quite the same extent, but they do still see Microsoft as slightly more of a big faceless corporation than Sony. It doesn't help that many consumers are already immensely dissatisfied with Windows 8, which plays against the company as a whole.

When it comes right down to it, Microsoft's biggest advantage over Sony right now is the Kinect. Unfortunately, the original Kinect kind of stank, and MS has done an exceptionally poor job of showing why the new one is better. As such, I have a special message for Phil Harrison?even though he'll probably never read it? about what will actually all the difference:

Focus your advertising on what makes the Xbox One unique. Not what makes it bro-worthy, not what makes it good in all the ways the PS4 is good, and not what makes it like Windows 8. Begin every TV spot with "Xbox On," (maybe write that on the screen, and then have the "e" come out at the end for Xbox One). Show people launching games using Kinect before they play them. Show how the Xbox One's exclusive complements games (even multiplatform games, when applicable). Show the Xbox One running multiple apps at once. If the new Kinect can manage it, show some sign language (I certainly hope you'll have something with sign language support at launch or soon). Your games are largely the same as the PS4, so you absolutely must emphasize feature-oriented advertising. Do this, and the Xbox One's launch could beat the PS4's. Advertise Call of Duty and ESPN and the Xbox One's launch will lag behind.

P.S. Thanks

P.P.S. I really can't wait to see how Microsoft fucks up this launch. I'm sure it'll be something new and innovative and far stupider than anything I could think of.

 

[Callate]

I've seen the launch lists, Microsoft. Right now, Sony has the advantage in both- and given how you keep flogging Titanfall, it's hard to escape the suspicion that you know this.

 

[Milanezi]

It's just a console... You buy one now, the other a couple years from now, you upgrade the PC and then you get back to bed because none of that really changed your life...

 

[Akytalusia]

have some dignity, microsoft. your desperation's showing. your exhibition's just pathetic. if you weren't so irredeemably unlikable, it would be sad to watch. of course, you are, so it's not, but i maintain a neutral position and offer you this advice. just stop flailing around accept your fate. you're only embarrassing yourself.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Yes, games are everything. And they tend to behave and look better on a better hardware. At the end of the day, the more powerful hardware can do more than the less powerful one. And in this case the more powerful hardware is also cheaper and tends to have a history of amazing exclusives. Microsoft can scream that games are everything all they want, but they don't even have better games. Where is the actual argument?

 

[BarkBarker]

Better specs, better capacity for amazing games, better sales, OH SHIT MICROSOFT HIRE ME I GOT AN AMAZING PERSPECTIVE!

 

[jericu]

I'm pretty sure he's only saying power doesn't matter because the Xbox One isn't as technically powerful as the PS4. If the Xbox One had better specs, they'd be all over how that makes them better than the PS4.

He is correct, though. The winner should (and hopefully will) be determined by which system has better games. Whether or not the Xbox One will have better games... that remains to be seen, but I'm in the PS4 camp because of their focus on independent games and other smaller titles.

 

[KazeAizen]

So...They're not sure if they're going to ship out with their current specs then why are devs making shit for them if, y'know, shit's changing? Also, why can't they decide on what they want the Xbone to DO? First it's TV BOX you pay 500 bucks for that also sort of plays games and can be talked too. Next it was the Death of Ownership. Followed by "Oh we were just jokes, haha..." and it's continued on towards this...mess. I know it was called months ago, but seriously, don't forget the shit they tried pulling at the beginning. They tried to screw everyone over at the beginning, their trying to make amends for it now that it's near launch. /sigh

It seems to MS just lacks proper leadership. They don't have fixed marketing scheme and don't know how to sell their products plus they greatly underestimated intelligence of their consumers, thinking they could get away with online checks every 24h and that crappy camera watching your every move and transferring all that data to NSA

Heck you gotta give Nintendo a lot of respect when compared to the current Microsoft. Nintendo is pretty damn consistent and really just doing their own thing because they know it works for them. "Hey we are making consoles with unique control schemes but hey at least its all about the games." I mean seriously Nintendo is off in their own world and keeping their eyes squarely on games and it seems to be working for them. though it looks like Valve is looking to take Microsofts place in the console wars lately.

 

[KazeAizen]

Yes, games are everything. And they tend to behave and look better on a better hardware. At the end of the day, the more powerful hardware can do more than the less powerful one. And in this case the more powerful hardware is also cheaper and tends to have a history of amazing exclusives. Microsoft can scream that games are everything all they want, but they don't even have better games. Where is the actual argument?

So is it pretty safe to say that everyone is done hating Nintendo and have refocused that furry on Microsoft now? I mean the only thing Nintendo has done wrong so far was a lack luster launch for the 8th gen. Which lets be honest happens more often then we like to admit for new consoles and such. e.g. Vita and 3DS

 

[KazeAizen]

I'm pretty sure he's only saying power doesn't matter because the Xbox One isn't as technically powerful as the PS4. If the Xbox One had better specs, they'd be all over how that makes them better than the PS4.

He is correct, though. The winner should (and hopefully will) be determined by which system has better games. Whether or not the Xbox One will have better games... that remains to be seen, but I'm in the PS4 camp because of their focus on independent games and other smaller titles.

Nintendo is finally heading that direction too God bless them. Plus they might've finally replaced Rare with Platinum. I say M$ is getting left in the dust by both of them. This is gonna sound mean but to me it would be like the fat boy running the 100 meter dash against Yusai Bolt (I know I spelled that wrong). You can't win. That's what its looking like to me at least.

 

[Bad Jim]

He is correct, though. The winner should (and hopefully will) be determined by which system has better games.

He is not correct. The best library of games will be determined by which system is the most popular. Whatever system we collectively decide is best will end up with the best games, so there is no reason to speculate on the matter.

Specs and prices, on the other hand, are more tangible. Low prices are obviously good, while better specs mean the game will run more smoothly.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

My PC has more teragigazetafloppybytes AND better games.

Worry not about how sea-worthy our vessel is. Only concern yourself with the wonderful view you will have on your voyage.

GLUG! GLUG! GLUG!

That is being unfair. My toaster has better games.

What you say? "A toaster cant play games? How could it possibly be better then the Xbone, which can?"

Why I'm glad you asked, because you see, a toaster cannot play games, it also cant however, play terrible games. Therefore, the Xbone is on the back foot, it only has terrible games to play! Therefore it is in the negatives, and therefore my toaster is the superior gaming console.

Better specs, better capacity for amazing games, better sales, OH SHIT MICROSOFT HIRE ME I GOT AN AMAZING PERSPECTIVE!

OK, this is almost grounds for low content. Every I time I go into a Microsoft thread, this crap's always happening. And I'm getting really sick of it. You don't like the Xbox? Fine. Did you need to take a dump in this thread? No. Some of you have hardly done any research before automatically assuming the PS4 will be the second coming of Christ. One guy here seriously asked what exclusives the Xbox One had. About at least 10?

You know, a lot of people said that the original Xbox was going to fail too. Was spiraling down to that place where the Sega Saturn is. But then Halo showed up and freaking saved it. Then came more games, and then people found out it was actually a pretty good console. And with the intro of Live, that changed everything.

Does the Xbox One have a doubtful future? Yeah. Can it change? YES. Could the PS4 all of a sudden get the equivalent of the RRoD? Definitely. The obvious moral here is, wait before you doom something to oblivion.

 

[Tanakh]

OK, this is almost grounds for low content. Every I time I go into a Microsoft thread, this crap's always happening.

I think low content is measured more by the number of words and not by how much is expressed or how informative is the post. Probably because one is objective and the second one very tricky to measure.

Also... lol, get used to it. The crowd round here will keep bashing on M$ till they prove them wrong beyond doubt with an actual product or fade completely away from the industry.

 

[runic knight]

Dear Microsoft,
You've routinely shown you are out of touch with customers and have no shame in blaming others for your own mistakes or bad business decisions. Of late you have shown alarmingly greedy behavior that not only is unneeded, but could actively harms customers and certainly does them no benefit. While you have finally largely pulled away from that madness, the behavior left a sour taste in my mouth.
It is not because sony is more powerful. It is not because of the games on their or your system. It is not because of the small post-launch library. Those were all minor issues that would have affected decisions normally. No, instead it is the very aura of anti-consumers that seems to be built into the xbone from the start. If it takes as much public outcry in order to convince you to stop practices, I can not help but worry there may be a time when the outcry is not loud enough to stop you. Already I assume that the system is anti-customer from the start and every time you blame someone else for your screw ups or pull a possibly good feature because we did not want all the DRM with it like a kid taking their ball home, it only adds to that image. If you want people to invest in your console, stop trying to sell us on it like a desperate used car salesman. Show the unique aspects of the system, show the benefit for the consumer in getting it. Not just the games, though they help a lot, but give people a reason why they would want to upgrade now instead of waiting. This is even more true for your system then normal, as your own past actions have cost a lot of customer respect and trust. This is not sony's fault, nor nintendo's nor internet trolls. This is your fault. You made this mess, now you have to deal with it. Trying to blame someone else for it or argue that it is not as big a mess as it could be or as we may think it is, well, that is not the way to handle this.

 

[Lightknight]

In stating that it's not about gigaflops, Microsoft is admitting its weakness and failure to compare. So, that's a closed book now as far as I'm concerned.

I will say that it likely won't matter for any cross platform game. The developers will make the game playable on the weakest link anyways but any optimisations will suit the ps4 better. I wonder how noticeable the gap in power will be towards the end of the generation. 50% shouldn't mean a terribly large difference right now, but in a couple years when developers have had their hands on the tech and engines have been made we could see striking differences.

But at the end of the day, you're talking about two systems that have comparable titles. Frankly, I far preferred my ps3 exclusives to my 360 exclusives. Games like Journey, Infamous, Heavy Rain, Demon's Souls, Little Big Planet, Uncharted, The Last of Us and even Tokyo Jungle have really stuck with me. Halo became more and more boring though I think Halo 4 was a strong entry. But mostly the 360 thrived at generic FPS titles that eventually became available on the ps3 (COD, Killzone and such) and sports games that I've never had a taste for. I've had trouble enjoying Gears of War since the first one.

Many of the games they have exclusively on the 360 end up being just timed exclusives or only console exclusives. Fable 2 was an odd exception.

Can translate that a lot quicker.

Titanfallllllllll

I was actually disappointed that I wouldn't be getting to play titanfall. It looks awesome. But the moment I found out that it will be coming out on PC as well I lost interest in the XBO.

I have also since learned that this game will be a free to play EA title. I am particularly concerned about that. EA could ruin Christmas if we gave them a chance.

 

[Something Amyss]

Gigaglops is gaming, just like polygons is emotions.

But seriously, "it's the games" from the guys who keep forgetting to market their games. And when they do, Titanfall is all that comes up.

If the pattern holds, though, they will stop caring about the games in a year or two.

You know, a lot of people said that the original Xbox was going to fail too.

It kind of did, actually. Halo may have saved it from being the end of the line, but it wasn't a profitable system, and it struggled with content.

It's also worth noting that even with a head start, the 360 ended up in last place of this gen.

Can it change? YES.

That doesn't mean much. It can change. And? That doesn't make it any better here and now or in the near future. PS4 could get the RROD? And? PS2 had a similar error and is remembered as one of the best consoles yet, so hardware failures don't necessarily hurt, either.

The people you quoted mostly have legit points. Even if you disagree with their phrasing, your response doesn't actually counter them.

 

[BarkBarker]

When I stated what I did, it was in reference to the fact he seems to be dodging the concept of his console will ship more if they have great games, and a LOT of games that could be great are bogged down by the hardware limitations, get your console as much as you can, and you will have a boat that floats, don't immediately respond to people complaining about memory and insist it's the "games" that ship a console, and you'll crash into that Iceberg up ahead.

 

[tdylan]

Mr. Harrison says:

"it's about having the best games and having the most immersive experiences."

In effect a backhanded way of saying:

"the PS4's advantage in power isn't really an advantage because it's about the games, not the power."

Then he adds:

"We can increase CPU and GPU capability on Xbox One."

If it's about having the best games, why bother mentioning that it's well within your ability to increase the power? It's not about that, right?