Will Microsoft survive to make another console?

[Giantpanda602]

So after all the Microsoft hate after E3, the general dwindling of 360 exclusives, the rising popularity of the PS3/PSP/Vita, and the 3DS/Wii/Wii U games, do you think Microsoft will be able to make a new console or will they die before then? How would their next console do? When do you think it would be released?

Basically, is Microsoft finished or do they still have enough fire power left to start a new generation of consoles (depending on what you consider the Wii U to be since it doesn't seem to have any new tech besides the controller that other consoles already have) and will their new console succeed or fall on its face?

Personally, I think they're going to rush out a new console with built in Kinect and some other crap, maybe Blu-Ray discs, and it'll fall on its face.


EDIT- OBVIOUSLY MICROSOFT WILL NOT DIE. I simply mean that they will cease to make consoles. I didn't think I honestly needed to say that.

 

[Kopikatsu]

I don't think they'll die out...it's extremely difficult for such a large company to collapse.

Their E3 showing was rather uninspiring, though.

...Although, I do kind of wish Xbox Live Gold was free, but hey, pigs will fly, amiright? I wonder if Microsoft would become more popular overall if they did make it a free service.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

Well in my mind, Microsoft have shot themselves in the foot by riding this Kinect thing so hard. When it was just a fun little add-on piece of tech they could still market normal games well, but now their main selling point for a lot of their new stuff is "It uses Kinect. Look, motion sensing!".

It's become or will become a large part of their marketing strategy, and I don't think it will serve them well, since the 'hardcore gamers' (a term I despise with all my soul) came to them originally because they offered the mindless, slob-out-and-twiddle-thumbsticks gameplay that, as an audience, we wanted from them.

Now they're pushing this get-up-and-move-around style of play and while it's probably going pretty well for itself and will most likely continue to do so, it's just not... not what Microsoft used to be. They've fallen into the 'casual' pitfall Nintendo set up for them and covered with dollar bills to disguise it.

My own personal view? I think Nintendo with the Wii-U has put Microsoft, and Sony too but let's focus on Microsoft, in a very difficult and interesting postion in terms of their future. They now have a choice to make. Will they amp up the Kinect, take that shit off the scale, include it pre-set into their next console and push forward with that with all their might, or do they fall back on their baseline hardcore demographic with traditional gameplay but just up the hardware.

You see the problem they're in? If they up the hardware but that's it, they're gonna have issues pricing it competitively. But if they go the Kinect-focused route, they can price it competitively but run the risk of not enough people being ]that interested in the Kinect tech to warrant a new console purchase.

In conclusion... I think they will live to the next generation, but I don't think the journey there or their time in that future generation will be particularly easy for them. They have tough times ahead and to really pull through they need to work harder than they probably ever have before in terms of their gaming products.

 

[Dr. Feelgood]

Yes, they'll survive. But I don't think we'll be seeing another Microsoft console anytime soon. Plus, they have the best online service, and no, their exclusives are not dwindling.

 

[Najos]

Microsoft hate isn't new. Just judging by their success in North America, I doubt they're going anywhere. I didn't really follow E3 all that much, but I highly doubt the success or failure of a company as prosperous as Microsoft would hinge on it. Their next console will most likely release around the same time as the next Sony console and it will probably be just as much of a success as the 360. As of now, Sony and Microsoft console sales are just about identical across the globe and the 360 outsells the PS3 in North America. Nintendo outshines both of them with the Wii, but unless the Wii U ends up with more AAA titles than the Wii, they cater to a different type of gamer.

[http://www.vgchartz.com]

Edit: And look at the GoW3 preorders. That alone shows that they still know how to make an exclusive.

 

[Inkidu]

Yes, they'll survive. But I don't think we'll be seeing another Microsoft console anytime soon. Plus, they have the best online service, and no, their exclusives are not dwindling.

That's okay we don't have to see a new console from either Microsoft or Sony, because, as s fan of Nintendo as you'll ever find, Nintendo is putting a lot of effort into dazzling up the WiiU so people will forget they're trying to play catch up. I see the current generation going for at least another four years. If only because graphical power V. Cost is leveling out on the graph side of things.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Microsoft makes stuff other than consoles, you know.

 

[GodofCider]

The entire premise of this thread is laughable.

Yes, of course they will. Obviously.

 

[harleysq]

Strange how people see these billion-dollar companies as fragile institutions.

 

[Rednog]

Yea I don't see the whole PS3 rising in popularity over microsoft thing, especially considering the whole fiasco behind the PSN and that giant plunge their stock took.

 

[icyneesan]

If the xbox, for whatever reason, does fail incredibly hard and everyone stops buying it (still hasn't happened with the PS2, a 11 year old machine) then Microsoft could always fall back on its side business.

Being the creator of ZUNE.

 

[CrystalShadow]

OK, look. The thing is, Microsoft hasn't actually made any money yet from Xbox so far.

And, you know what's really funny?

According to some rumours, they may not even care.

Why? Because the Xbox isn't about the Xbox.

It's about protecting Microsoft from attacks that could undermine and erode it's core assets. Which is, windows PC's, and their sales to business.

The worst thing for microsoft is losing business sales because people start to see viable alternatives to windows PC's.

That means protecting Windows by any means nessesary.

Notice the Xbox & Xbox 360 both use the same dev tools as windows games do?

Building an Xbox game is at a basic level almost as easy as changing the compiler settings.
It's more complicated in practice, but mostly because of optimization issues.


Anyway, Somehow I'm not sure Xbox even matters to Microsoft one way or the other.
Of course they want it to make money, but if there's one thing that Microsoft has that few others do, it's deep pockets.

This isn't just because they're a big company, but because they literally are totally paranoid about money.

A lot of businesses barely have any cash reserves, and their only easy cash may be entirely from loans.

Microsoft was so concerned about it's survival that a long time ago they instituted a policy where they needed to have enough cash reserves to survive an entire year without having to shut down anything, or fire anyone.

And not just an entire year making a loss. No.

They decided they needed to be able to survive an entire year without making any income.

That means, Microsoft, as a general business strategy, has enough cash lying about to pay ALL their bills for an ENTIRE YEAR, even if NOBODY buys anything at all from them the whole time.

Anyway, what that means, is that amongst other things, for them to shut down Xbox division it would have to be costing them so much money that it's disrupting every other part of their business very badly, and doesn't show any signs of accomplishing anything useful in the future.

That seems... Unlikely.

Remember, Both Microsoft and Sony do other things besides gaming. The success or failure of their respective consoles isn't going to kill them unless they do something colossally stupid.

 

[Mr. Google]

what???? No they aren't dying at all. I don't see how the WiiU is even going to put them in a bad situation. Lets be honest, the WiiU is not going to be mind numbing video games. It is freaking complicated! You have 2 screens to look at, motion controls, and buttons to deal with. The whole point of games now is to make them simpler yet more fun. Not so complicated that no one gets how to use it with out being a hardcore player. And please lets look at Nintendos exclusive games that they announced....Luigi's mansion. Alright that's the only one! The WiiU has nothing to offer thats new or thats better. It's also losing its main demographic via a 1 player console, Party Games. Look at mario kart, SSB, Mario Party. Some of their biggest games and theyre all made for 4 person fun. I think the real question is will Nintendo be able to move on? They have made nothing but casual bullshit and gimmicky games for the past 4 years. Microsoft comes out with Kinect and within a year its already having enough 3rd party support to let that be a console on its own. Microsoft has also just announced Halo 4, I am making up this statistic but i am pretty sure that halo is Microsofts largest grossing exclusive and they just announced 3 more of them. Also did we forget Minecraft? A game that has just recently exploded on the PC is now being brought onto the 360. So please tell me how indeed do you expect Microsoft to fade out when really there are more signs of that happening to Nintendo's consoles. ie. The stock dropping 5% in one day because of this grand WiiU idea. And with that i say Good Day. *rant over*

 

[Giantpanda602]

Strange how people see these billion-dollar companies as fragile institutions.

*Points to edit*
Of course I didn't mean the entire company. Only an idiot would believe I meant that.

 

[hexFrank202]

I am in no way an Xbox fan, but will there be an Xbox 720? Of course.

An Xbox 1080? Well most likely.

And for that matter, will there be a PS4? Well maybe not. Not if all these bad things continue happening to Sony.

Also, "the Wii U to be since it doesn't seem to have any new tech besides the controller". I'm sorry. This is starting to piss me off. It IS a new console! I mean, I can see how it'd be confusing, but why are so many people still spiraling around trying to figure it out? It's well understood by now that it is a full console, and the console itself HAS been shown, if only briefly.

 

[SkinyJim]

Kinect was rather successful with the casual gaming market. In the area where I worked, Kinect absolutely flew off the shelf. So towards the casual gaming market they seem to have a bright and shiny future. But it's fair to question how they will treat the traditional gamers with thier next release. Due to thier success with the Kinect will they just forget about that crowd, or will they acknowledge them seperately and continue treating them as they always have?

I figure only time can tell.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

We're talking about Microsoft here... they aren't in any imminent danger of going bankrupt. Besides, the 360 is still outselling the PS3 as far as I know, at least in North America. It's still a profitable product, why wouldn't they release a new console?

They had an awful E3 this year, but they're still fine.

 

[Giantpanda602]

We're talking about Microsoft here... they aren't in any imminent danger of going bankrupt. Besides, the 360 is still outselling the PS3 as far as I know, at least in North America. It's still a profitable product, why wouldn't they release a new console?

They had an awful E3 this year, but they're still fine.

Look at the future though. Do they really have many new non-Kinect exclusives fan? I don't pretend to know a lot about Xbox, though I do own a 360 (still, a feel a weird sensation to hate them still), but I don't see much else besides Gears of War 3 and the new Halo games. If they want to replace Nintendo as the king of casual gaming, then I could see that. I don't think they'll become completely dominant of the hardcore market anymore.

 

[Omnific One]

Umm.. I sense a fanboy. Microsoft got a hell of a lot less hate than Nintendo did for the Wii U. Their stock dropped below the point it was at pre-Wii, which is insane.

No, MS has a lot more life left. Nintendo is going to fail in the next hardware generation; I'm calling it. Kinect is doing wonders for MS's bottom line.

We're talking about Microsoft here... they aren't in any imminent danger of going bankrupt. Besides, the 360 is still outselling the PS3 as far as I know, at least in North America. It's still a profitable product, why wouldn't they release a new console?

They had an awful E3 this year, but they're still fine.

Look at the future though. Do they really have many new non-Kinect exclusives fan? I don't pretend to know a lot about Xbox, though I do own a 360 (still, a feel a weird sensation to hate them still), but I don't see much else besides Gears of War 3 and the new Halo games. If they want to replace Nintendo as the king of casual gaming, then I could see that. I don't think they'll become completely dominant of the hardcore market anymore.

Wait, they were never dominant. I expect Sony and MS will rule together this generation, with Kinect taking over the Wii's market in 2-3 years.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Even taking the revised question in stride, why not?
Unless the console market collapses, it's a bonafide money-train for Micro$oft.
In all practicality, they don't do shit for PC gamers (and in fact, this creates a Conflict of Interest for them), short of trying to force the Xbox 360 experience onto them when there's better, non-proprietary options available.