'Sole Food: Microsoft's Future - DVDfile.com forum for DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD

Ruined · 04-14-2004, 04:46 AM

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/505/505921p1.html

Interesting article.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I wrote my last column about Microsoft, but there's just so much going on with the company that I couldn't help but take another look at it. Don't worry, it won't be as upbeat and flowery as last week's XNA rant (perhaps I'm just in a bad mood from packing and moving). There's been a bunch of interesting activities coming out of Redmond over the last few months, and it definitely shows that Microsoft's Xbox team is changing directions … but is it for better of for worse?

Bye Bye Creativity?

When Microsoft first announced Xbox, it positioned the console as the game creator's system. It was going to be the machine that let developers bring life to their wildest dreams. Part of the positioning of XNA fits in with that ideal, but some of Microsoft's recent actions suggest otherwise.

Psychonauts

Over the last few months, Microsoft has dropped Psychonaut's and Stranger from its first-party lineup. The former, developed by Double Fine (Tim Schafer), is shaping up to be one of the most unique platform games in years. The latter, developed by Oddworld Inhabitants (Lorne Lanning), is the latest tale from a developer renowned for serving up wacky adventures featuring wackier characters. These are two of the most distinct games being created by two of the most distinct developers. Yet Microsoft chose to drop them.

The common thinking behind the move is that the Xbox executive team is very different from the team that first launched the console. People like Ed Fries and Seamus Blackley were champions of creative and offbeat games like Stranger and Psychonauts. To them, it was just as important to have the games-as-art titles as it was to have the selling-like-pancakes titles. It seems the current powers behind Xbox aren't as interested in taking these kinds of risks.

If this is true and the company is focusing more strictly on the numbers, this marks a very interesting turning point for Microsoft first-party publishing. If this is the direction the team is going in then don't expect to see as many creative or experimental titles like the two aforementioned games or Voodoo Vince or Azurik (you just don't see a lot of games with blue people that aren't Smurfs). Instead, you'll see the successful brand of "sequelitous" that's been immensely successful for companies like EA and Activision. So long Psychonauts and hello Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, Brute Force 5, Crimson Skies 6, and Blinx 9 (made just for our very own Ben Turner).

Whether or not Microsoft first-party publishing is going in this direction remains to be seen. But if you smell what The Rock is cooking, it sure seems that way.

Sports Night Night

ESPN Baseball

Microsoft recently announced that it's pulling a 989 and taking a sabbatical from publishing sports titles. In an interview with our brothers from IGN, XSN Sports Studio Manager Kevin Browne said the reason behind the move was that, "The market and the direct feedback that we have shows us that we fall short in a couple of areas to our competition, and we think it's the best thing we can do, to take this year off, and to close that quality gap that we have in respect to the EA Sports and ESPN sports titles." It was a refreshingly honest answer in a business dominated by spinmeisters, but perhaps there's something more here than meets the eye.

In another interview, Visual Concepts President Greg Thomas (brother to Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's) mentioned that Microsoft is opening up its protocols for Xbox Live and allowing third parties to run their own servers and create their own formatting. This will allow Sega to release its ESPN titles for Xbox Live and all signs point to EA Sports doing the same.

Is XSN really taking a break though? Or is opening up the network an experiment for the company? Several theorists have speculated that Microsoft intends to purchase Visual Concepts from Sega. On paper, it makes a ton of sense. Sports titles don't seem to fit in with Sega's global goals and purchasing Visual Concepts would make it much easier for Microsoft to compete with EA Sports -- even easier than taking a year off to make sure future games are more competitive.

Would I be surprised if Microsoft made the move? Of course I wouldn't. Even though Bill Gates has been supplanted by that Ikea guy as the richest man in the world (who knew modular furniture was that profitable?), there's still a ridiculous amount of money in Microsoft's coffers. Plus, it seems like a great move. Only time will tell if Microsoft and Sega can come to an agreement. Right now I'd say there's a 50/50 chance of it happening."

Enzian · 04-14-2004, 05:53 AM

Ruined - I love your article posts, but I have trouble identifying where the article ends and your commentary begins. I know that IGN/Gamespy editors usually add their own "analysis" at the end of their articles, so what I've been seeing as your commentary might not even be yours! See? I'm all goofed up!

Could you figure out a way to let readers know what is article and what is you? That would rock even more.

As for the article: I don't follow MS' various genre studios at all, but from what the article states, the commentary (whoever it was) was right on the nose.

Ruined · 04-14-2004, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enzian

Ruined - I love your article posts, but I have trouble identifying where the article ends and your commentary begins. I know that IGN/Gamespy editors usually add their own "analysis" at the end of their articles, so what I've been seeing as your commentary might not even be yours! See? I'm all goofed up!

Could you figure out a way to let readers know what is article and what is you? That would rock even more.

When I post an article I don't comment on it, except maybe a brief one-liner at the top. Commentary is generally in successive posts

Quote:

As for the article: I don't follow MS' various genre studios at all, but from what the article states, the commentary (whoever it was) was right on the nose.

Gamespy commentary

04-14-2004, 04:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
Ruined It's Good to Play Together Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: NJ, USA	'Sole Food: Microsoft's Future http://www.gamespy.com/articles/505/505921p1.html Interesting article. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I wrote my last column about Microsoft, but there's just so much going on with the company that I couldn't help but take another look at it. Don't worry, it won't be as upbeat and flowery as last week's XNA rant (perhaps I'm just in a bad mood from packing and moving). There's been a bunch of interesting activities coming out of Redmond over the last few months, and it definitely shows that Microsoft's Xbox team is changing directions … but is it for better of for worse? Bye Bye Creativity? When Microsoft first announced Xbox, it positioned the console as the game creator's system. It was going to be the machine that let developers bring life to their wildest dreams. Part of the positioning of XNA fits in with that ideal, but some of Microsoft's recent actions suggest otherwise. Psychonauts Over the last few months, Microsoft has dropped Psychonaut's and Stranger from its first-party lineup. The former, developed by Double Fine (Tim Schafer), is shaping up to be one of the most unique platform games in years. The latter, developed by Oddworld Inhabitants (Lorne Lanning), is the latest tale from a developer renowned for serving up wacky adventures featuring wackier characters. These are two of the most distinct games being created by two of the most distinct developers. Yet Microsoft chose to drop them. The common thinking behind the move is that the Xbox executive team is very different from the team that first launched the console. People like Ed Fries and Seamus Blackley were champions of creative and offbeat games like Stranger and Psychonauts. To them, it was just as important to have the games-as-art titles as it was to have the selling-like-pancakes titles. It seems the current powers behind Xbox aren't as interested in taking these kinds of risks. If this is true and the company is focusing more strictly on the numbers, this marks a very interesting turning point for Microsoft first-party publishing. If this is the direction the team is going in then don't expect to see as many creative or experimental titles like the two aforementioned games or Voodoo Vince or Azurik (you just don't see a lot of games with blue people that aren't Smurfs). Instead, you'll see the successful brand of "sequelitous" that's been immensely successful for companies like EA and Activision. So long Psychonauts and hello Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, Brute Force 5, Crimson Skies 6, and Blinx 9 (made just for our very own Ben Turner). Whether or not Microsoft first-party publishing is going in this direction remains to be seen. But if you smell what The Rock is cooking, it sure seems that way. Sports Night Night ESPN Baseball Microsoft recently announced that it's pulling a 989 and taking a sabbatical from publishing sports titles. In an interview with our brothers from IGN, XSN Sports Studio Manager Kevin Browne said the reason behind the move was that, "The market and the direct feedback that we have shows us that we fall short in a couple of areas to our competition, and we think it's the best thing we can do, to take this year off, and to close that quality gap that we have in respect to the EA Sports and ESPN sports titles." It was a refreshingly honest answer in a business dominated by spinmeisters, but perhaps there's something more here than meets the eye. In another interview, Visual Concepts President Greg Thomas (brother to Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's) mentioned that Microsoft is opening up its protocols for Xbox Live and allowing third parties to run their own servers and create their own formatting. This will allow Sega to release its ESPN titles for Xbox Live and all signs point to EA Sports doing the same. Is XSN really taking a break though? Or is opening up the network an experiment for the company? Several theorists have speculated that Microsoft intends to purchase Visual Concepts from Sega. On paper, it makes a ton of sense. Sports titles don't seem to fit in with Sega's global goals and purchasing Visual Concepts would make it much easier for Microsoft to compete with EA Sports -- even easier than taking a year off to make sure future games are more competitive. Would I be surprised if Microsoft made the move? Of course I wouldn't. Even though Bill Gates has been supplanted by that Ikea guy as the richest man in the world (who knew modular furniture was that profitable?), there's still a ridiculous amount of money in Microsoft's coffers. Plus, it seems like a great move. Only time will tell if Microsoft and Sega can come to an agreement. Right now I'd say there's a 50/50 chance of it happening." __________________ For every shadow, no matter how deep, is threatened by morning light.

04-14-2004, 05:53 AM	#2 (permalink)
Enzian Producer/Admin Emeritus Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Fort Phoenix	Ruined - I love your article posts, but I have trouble identifying where the article ends and your commentary begins. I know that IGN/Gamespy editors usually add their own "analysis" at the end of their articles, so what I've been seeing as your commentary might not even be yours! See? I'm all goofed up! Could you figure out a way to let readers know what is article and what is you? That would rock even more. As for the article: I don't follow MS' various genre studios at all, but from what the article states, the commentary (whoever it was) was right on the nose. __________________ Ficht nicht mit Der Raketemensch! XBox Gamertag: Enzian 00001 Elitism is ok, so long as you keep it in your pants...or something like that.

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