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Microsoft Is Facing Its Biggest Challenge Since The Launch of XB1 (XboxAchievements)

My predictions:

- Halo 6
- Forza 7
- Gears 2 Ultimate Edition
- Random 3rd party multiplatform (Tekken 7, etc)
- Indie Reel
- One timed exclusivity new reveal (but it'll be worded in a way to make us think full exclusive)
- One new IP (CGI, no gameplay)

I also wouldn't surprise to see another a non-gaming segment ala Holo-Lens.


If that's accurate then they won't have anything to show at e3... and that's not likely.

I think this time, with Scorpio being around the corner and Sony not only (finally) starting to deliver on the 1st party front AND having extremely powerful exclusive marketing rights this fall they'll probably show everything they have in their pipeline, no matter when the games are actually supposed to launch.

Right now, they can't afford to play it safe, they just have to show everyone what they're up to and what buyers of Scorpio can look forward to in the next three years or so.
 
well i can say this much

Phantom dust is actively being worked on and played


The reboot HD version



I am assuming that is going to be a test to see if they should release a newer one.
 

Bsigg12

Member
Serious question:

What are the odds they show off a spin-off game?

Like an ODST 2.

I just don't think 343 has been working on Halo 6 only since the release of Halo 5. We know that they are a big studio, and while a lot of their staff isn't all in game development, they have to have quite a lot of devs there.

Now previously I would have assumed that there was a small team focused on Halo 6 right around the time Halo 5 released that got ramped up as the DLC for 5 winded down mid 2016, but I'm kinda split on that. Mainly because while the DLC for 5 was great, the monthly release schedule and actual content of the releases make me think that there were not many devs dedicated to Halo 5 DLC. Just a few small dedicated teams like the forge team.

Then there's Halo Wars 2, which while bearing the Halo name, I am guessing isn't taking up a lot of devs on 343's side given Creative Affinity's involvement in the project. Its possible CA is doing most of the the game dev side and the 343 staff on the project are there for story and art design related reasons.

This all being taken into account (along with a grain of salt) paints a messy picture, but I just get the feeling 343 has a team that's working on something entirely separate from Halo 6.

This is what I'm thinking as well.

Considering Halo Wars 2 was originally planned for Fall 2016, I could absolutely see them having an additional project for Fall 2017 that isn't Halo 6.

Now if the project is internal or in partnership with someone else is another question. Like you mentioned with Halo Wars 2, Creative Assembly is handling development with 343, specifically Dan Ayoub, over seeing the project. I could see this being the case with Halo: Title this year.
 

watership

Member
Is it possible that there are games being made that we don't know about. MS doesn't tell us everything about every game in early development.
 

Elixist

Member
Is it possible that there are games being made that we don't know about. MS doesn't tell us everything about every game in early development.

i think this is for sure.

while i agree that MS isnt having the most massive success right now, i'll wait till e3 to cast the doom and gloom.
 

SamNW

Member
Is it possible that there are games being made that we don't know about. MS doesn't tell us everything about every game in early development.
I see people say this and my next question is always, "Where?" I certainly believe that Microsoft could have other projects in early development, but I'm just not sure which studio(s) would be working on them.
 

Mandoric

Banned
This would be a lot better, it's annoying to see games two years away being headliners at big events, same with announcements of announcements of a game in early development in a press release.

I look at it the other way around. If I'm spending $400 on a system I might buy 20 games for lifetime, probably FEWER if it's the undisputable technical loss that Xbone was (or that, to be honest, any console will be as long as they're screenless gaming laptops with a custom OS), I'm a lot happier knowing about ten of them at launch and calling the console a $40/game fee than knowing about three of them and calling it a $130/game fee.

The only risk is if you don't deliver.

As for pinning hopes on the Scorpio, well. Especially now that MS exclusives are on Win10, it's extremely unlikely to even be your best value at making the same games look and run better. And I'm sure you noticed what happened the last time someone launched a $499+ box with the promise of HD movies, better backwards compatibility, and superior performance in exclusives.
 
State of Decay 2 should be excellent.
Halo Wars 2 should be excellent.
Sea of Thieves looks good but it probably won't sell much but who knows.
Crackdown 3 is the real wild card.
Ori 2 is probably gonna get announced and might make it out by the end of the year.
Phantum Dust is a HD port as far as we know but that's another solid title.
This year is Halo 3's 10 year anniversary. You know what that means.
Forza is always good.

No question they'll announce new games for 2018 like always.

I'm really not seeing the big challenge of 2017 on a games front. The biggest challenge for Microsoft is turning the Win 10 store into something that isn't a dumpster fire and making Gears 4 the standard and not the exception.
 

UraMallas

Member
If they have few that is new then that would be a disaster. I highly doubt that they're walking into E3 with the same palette of software that they've been relying on for a decade -- especially since they have Scorpio coming out this year.

I mean, I was totally in your boat until the insiders seemed to corroborate each other and were pretty adamant about it. We'll see. I would imagine there will be a Halo 3: Anniversary for Scorpio announcement at minimum.
 

Rembrandt

Banned
State of Decay 2 should be excellent.
Halo Wars 2 should be excellent.
Sea of Thieves looks good but it probably won't sell much but who knows.
Crackdown 3 is the real wild card.
Ori 2 is probably gonna get announced and might make it out by the end of the year.
Phantum Dust is a HD port as far as we know but that's another solid title.
This year is Halo 3's 10 year anniversary. You know what that means.
Forza is always good.

No question they'll announce new games for 2018 like always.

I'm really not seeing the big challenge of 2017 on a games front. The biggest challenge for Microsoft is turning the Win 10 store into something that isn't a dumpster fire and making Gears 4 the standard and not the exception.

No Halo 3 anniversary supposedly.
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
Just an example of something that once was and is isn't a thing anymore.

Jesus Christ
HGT7tlc.gif


State of Decay 2 should be excellent.
Halo Wars 2 should be excellent.
Sea of Thieves looks good but it probably won't sell much but who knows.
Crackdown 3 is the real wild card.
Ori 2 is probably gonna get announced and might make it out by the end of the year.
Phantum Dust is a HD port as far as we know but that's another solid title.
This year is Halo 3's 10 year anniversary. You know what that means.
Forza is always good.

No question they'll announce new games for 2018 like always.

I'm really not seeing the big challenge of 2017 on a games front. The biggest challenge for Microsoft is turning the Win 10 store into something that isn't a dumpster fire and making Gears 4 the standard and not the exception.

Yeah like Steam, Origin and uPlay before them, the store needs a real overhaul to be accepted.
With time and as long as they keep being invested in a unified Windows 10, I'm sure there will come a lot of improvements to the Store itself.
 

Delpij

Member
When did we hear Phil doesn't like Scorpio? When did we hear they went back on forward compatibility? When did we hear Phil wants Scorpio, the system he doesn't want, to start a new generation instead of playing this gens games with better visuals? When did they announce they'd make Scorpio first titles?

I shouldn't have to tell you that "look like" and "maybe" tend to indicate an hypothesis on my part.

But since you are pushing for this, I'm going to do your homework in your stead... You are asking a lot of pseudo-rethorical questions. But it's been said again and again that Spencer is "not a big fan of Xbox One and a half" which is exactly what Scorpio is going to be, as a mid-generation hardware refresh, just like the PS4 Pro. Phil Spencer wants to "move forward in big numbers".

The fact that he had to backtrack on this statement, read here, shows that Microsoft's key executives are not aligned on the right strategy to adopt, or the proper way to communicate around the Scorpio and its objectives.

In business language, it basically means they are being pressured by Sony's performance with the Playstation brand.

My two, speculative, cents.
 

Head.spawn

Junior Member
Funny seeing all the reaction on GAF after scalebound cancellation.

People outside of GAF dont even know what is scalebound.

I was excited for that game because of Platinum games and dragons but every reveal looked bad.

U5jYR8k.gif


I hate to admit it, but yeah. In that e3 demo thread I remember someone saying something along the lines of "scalebound is kamiyas Too Human" and shit. It probably wasn't far off and maybe releasing it would have spoiled a reputation just the same.
 
One thing i don't understand is why some people keep saying Scorpio need a good "launch line up", when i look back PS4Pro launch and find out there was no "launch line up", only games that comes with Pro patch and that's good enough for an upgrade model.
 

Anticol

Banned
I always look at this statement and think...can't the same be said of Nintendo? People still buy the games of their franchises (granted they do bring new to the table and that's something I always admire about nintendo...but because of their lack of 3rd party support their last two systems fluttered away). Mario/Zelda/Metroid are their big three.

Nintendo have way more than three franchises they have pikmin, smash, fzero, donkey kong, splatoon, and when you say Mario trying to dismiss it as just one game when they make a bunch of games like mario kart, golf, party and all that. The output of first party from Nintendo and MS are not comparable in fact Nintendo laughs at Ms in this regard, and this is not including the fact that. Intendo are more than capable to create first successful first party games unlike MS who needs to buy them.
 

theWB27

Member
I shouldn't have to tell you that "look like" and "maybe" tend to indicate an hypothesis on my part.

But since you are pushing for this, I'm going to do your homework in your stead... You are asking a lot of pseudo-rethorical questions. But it's been said again and again that Spencer is "not a big fan of Xbox One and a half" which is exactly what Scorpio is going to be, as a mid-generation hardware refresh, just like the PS4 Pro. Phil Spencer wants to "move forward in big numbers".

The fact that he had to backtrack on this statement, read here, shows that Microsoft's key executives are not aligned on the right strategy to adopt, or the proper way to communicate around the Scorpio and its objectives.

In business language, it basically means they are being pressured by Sony's performance with the Playstation brand.

My two, speculative, cents.

You wanted to sound very smug. You ended up just sounding like you didn't grasp the message.

That statement doesn't say anything about Scorpio. In fact...Scorpio is doing EXACTLY what he wanted. It is a significant enough jump over the One to justify releasing the console.

You don't know what you're talking about.
 

Hwoar

Member
One thing i don't understand is why some people keep saying Scorpio need a good "launch line up", when i look back PS4Pro launch and find out there was no "launch line up", only games that comes with Pro patch and that's good enough for an upgrade model.

Yes, same here. I guess they don't see it as xbone family.
 

wapplew

Member
Why everyone overlook Halo wars 2? Could be huge on PC.
Sea of thieves too, have all the ingredients to become a smash hit. MS will find successful titles outside the big three.
 
A handful? Nope. Heck, Scorpio is being unveiled AT E3, not before it.
I've been thinking about how much time Scorpio may take up at E3 and I feel it will be on the longer side.

Sony had an event for Pro. MS will need a decent amount of time too. It will also help fill in holes from last year (Hololens segment, X1S announcement, Scoprio announcement).
 
Why everyone overlook Halo wars 2? Could be huge on PC.
Sea of thieves too, have all the ingredients to become a smash hit. MS will find successful titles outside the big three.

Cause Halo Wars 2 is on the windows store on PC, and competitive RTS in the vein that Halo Was is doing hasn't been seen as competitive in almost a decade. SC2 barely thrived, and ultimately lost out to LoL & Dota, which are the RTS' that rule the roost on PC. Halo Wars 2 will be a blip, and almost entirely on console
 
I expect some crazy Minecraft related thing at E3.

Minecraft 2? Maybe, Minecraft something or other?

Minecraft is still a golden goose for them. Potentially cannibalizing sales with an unneeded sequel is way too risky imo. What could they do in a sequel they can't do now? I expect we'd only see a sequel if the game ever started to seriously slow down in sales, and even then with the super mod-able nature of Minecraft I don't know what they would do in a Minecraft 2 that couldn't be done now with mods.
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
One thing i don't understand is why some people keep saying Scorpio need a good "launch line up", when i look back PS4Pro launch and find out there was no "launch line up", only games that comes with Pro patch and that's good enough for an upgrade model.
Somehow Microsoft is set to different standards than others right now.
Why everyone overlook Halo wars 2? Could be huge on PC.
Sea of thieves too, have all the ingredients to become a smash hit. MS will find successful titles outside the big three.

I hope HW2 does great, as it does have potential there. PC space have a lot of RTS games in competition but RTS game locked to the Windows Store might put many off and RTS games are not as huge as they used to be.

Here's hoping because I do love the first and the sequel have a lot of potential :)

As for Sea of Thieves I hope I can get some people who play it regularly to make a crew with and fool around, thats how I enjoy these games the most.

Ton of customization, lots of content and the addition of PvP as well could be great, even if its turns out to be niche.
 

patapuf

Member
Why everyone overlook Halo wars 2? Could be huge on PC.
Sea of thieves too, have all the ingredients to become a smash hit. MS will find successful titles outside the big three.

Without a Version outside of the windows store Halo Wars 2 is dead on PC, just like all other Windows store games.
 
Even though Scorpio is just aupgraded Xbox, it should provide a significant upgrade. Hopeful for more than just the games at 4k and nothing else.Halo 5 has some horrific textures. Hopefully they use that power to boost the basura you see on Meridan and other levels.
 

Kodiak

Not an asshole.
That video is a painful reminder right off the bat... RIP Phantom Dust, Scalebound, and Crackdown 3 is still MIA...
 

Hwoar

Member
Somehow Microsoft is set to different standards than others right now

I don't think it's that. People seem to forget that MS can't just go completely omg guys forget everything else this Scorpio is the next big thing. Instead it will be 'anddd on Scorpio this game will be in 4K!*' (MS employees will go wild in the crow). Right? I have the idea that most ppl expect a lot more though. I don't think that's realistic unless they want to drop the xbone s but we'll see.

*4K can be replaced with anything (more NPC, better GFX other then resolution etc)
 
They can try to reposition Xbox as the best place to play 3rd party multiplatform games with the Scorpio release. But the success or failure of that strategy will depend on the price of the Scorpio.
 

JusDoIt

Member
They can try to reposition Xbox as the best place to play 3rd party multiplatform games with the Scorpio release. But the success or failure of that strategy will depend on the price of the Scorpio.

That's not enough...unless they can start bribing 3rd party devs to make their PS4 versions broken.

There will be almost 70 million PS4s in the wild by the time Scorpio is released (if sales continue on trend). It's too late to win just off better versions.

What they need is a variety of great games that aren't on PlayStation. It doesn't matter if they're first party, third party, or games already on PC. A more competitive library will move units after the shiny new box hype dies down. Hopefully at E3 they show us that's what's on the way.
 
The over reaction following the scalebound cancellation is unreal on here.

This is the console that brought us:

-Forza 5&6
-Forza horizon 2&3
-Halo 5 and MCC (poor launch but a great fan service idea)
-Titanfall
-Sunset OD
-Dead rising 3&4
-Ori & the blind forest
-Rise of the tomb raider (timed exclusivity)
-Quantum Break
-Gears 4

They've had a really strong lineup to this point, and owning both consoles I think they've had the better lineup. One cancelled game doesn't change that. They have an uphill road ahead this year, but I'm sure there are things to be announced at E3, and they have new hardware that will be a substantial generational type leap in power.

I keep seeing people rag on halo, gears, Forza, but they are really fucking good games! I don't often see the same thing about ninty with Zelda, Mario over and over. Even Sony has their go to franchises that they tap the well with, uncharted included. When you nail a game you deliver sequels, people want more.

Personally Forza 2&3 and just so damn phenomenal and there is nothing like them on other platforms (we are ignoring the play anywhere aspect right now). There is also no exclusives comparison to Halo in terms of SP and MP. Then Gears is a really unique franchise in itself.

They have had risky, unique games like sunset od and Ori. I think they've done a nice job with a variety of games.

I'm trusting them to come with some stuff in the near future. The doom and gloom on here is absurd. It's one cancelled game that looked meh.

Let's see what they do, but these threads just seem nuts to me. Click bait article.
 

Delpij

Member
You wanted to sound very smug. You ended up just sounding like you didn't grasp the message.

That statement doesn't say anything about Scorpio. In fact...Scorpio is doing EXACTLY what he wanted. It is a significant enough jump over the One to justify releasing the console.

You don't know what you're talking about.

No it's just that I don't naively trust PR.
My point is that MS has no clear strategy for the future of its Xbox brand. No games in 2017. And a mid-gen refresh they're trying to sell as "more than a Xbox One and a half".

But whatever, I can tell we won't agree on this.
 

labaronx

Member
Halo 3 A or an ODST 2 type of game will happen IMO. No way there isn't a Halo or Gears this year. Halo Wars 2 doesn't count cause it was supposed to be out last year.






I don't think Halo 6 will be shown but I don't have any real reasoning just a hunch.

Whats the point of a halo 3 anniversary edition if they just released a "enhanced" port with master cheif collection?
 

Wagram

Member
My predictions:

- Halo 6
- Forza 7
- Gears 2 Ultimate Edition
- Random 3rd party multiplatform (Tekken 7, etc)
- Indie Reel
- One timed exclusivity new reveal (but it'll be worded in a way to make us think full exclusive)
- One new IP (CGI, no gameplay)

I also wouldn't surprise to see another a non-gaming segment ala Holo-Lens.

This is just disappointing to me as a lapsed Halo and Gears fan. I really want them to do new things. They have super talented people stuck in the same endless cycle.
 
That's not enough...unless they can start bribing 3rd party devs to make their PS4 versions broken.

There will be almost 70 million PS4s in the wild by the time Scorpio is released (if sales continue on trend). It's too late to win just off better versions.

What they need is a variety of great games that aren't on PlayStation. It doesn't matter if they're first party, third party, or games already on PC. A more competitive library will move units after the shiny new box hype dies down. Hopefully at E3 they show us that's what's on the way.

“Winning” is out of the question. That ship sailed a long time ago.

The question is how much good will and mindshare they can rally back in the three years between the launch of Scorpio and the start of next-gen/PS5 (likely 2020).
 
I always look at this statement and think...can't the same be said of Nintendo? People still buy the games of their franchises (granted they do bring new to the table and that's something I always admire about nintendo...but because of their lack of 3rd party support their last two systems fluttered away). Mario/Zelda/Metroid are their big three.

Yes, and look how that's working out for them...

Of course, Nintendo also has a much larger stable of games they can go back to than Microsoft, so that at least helps them in the variety front. They are also a lot more willing to shake up the formulas in their games or branch out (prime example: Breath of the Wild).

Truth. I look at donkey Kong, starfox, and smash as their second tier games.

I don't think so. Smash 4 sold over 10 million copies. It's a top-tier franchise.

Hell, Uncharted sold very well. Assassin's Creed is a huge franchise. We have a new Mass Effect coming in a few months. Halo and Gears still get a lot of emphasis on their single player. Horizon: Zero Dawn is coming soon. DOOM sold and reviewed well because it's incredible single player. Hitman has blown up as an episodic single player game.

SP games are thriving. Not everything is turning into Destiny.

Not sure if "thriving" is the word I'd use. We have several, notable SP games that underperformed in 2016 including Quantum Break, Deus Ex, and Dishonored.

Now that doesn't mean SP games are doomed (ha!) or anything, but we are definitely seeing a shift, especially when it comes to linear, story-driven games like the 3 I mentioned. Nirolak made several posts about it. Maybe I can find them.
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
I don't think it's that. People seem to forget that MS can't just go completely omg guys forget everything else this Scorpio is the next big thing. Instead it will be 'anddd on Scorpio this game will be in 4K!*' (MS employees will go wild in the crow). Right? I have the idea that most ppl expect a lot more though. I don't think that's realistic unless they want to drop the xbone s but we'll see.

*4K can be replaced with anything (more NPC, better GFX other then resolution etc)
Sounds very much like the Pro announcement to me.

I'm not sure I'm getting your point.
The over reaction following the scalebound cancellation is unreal on here.

This is the console that brought us:

-Forza 5&6
-Forza horizon 2&3
-Halo 5 and MCC (poor launch but a great fan service idea)
-Titanfall
-Sunset OD
-Dead rising 3&4
-Ori & the blind forest
-Rise of the tomb raider (timed exclusivity)
-Quantum Break
-Gears 4

They've had a really strong lineup to this point, and owning both consoles I think they've had the better lineup. One cancelled game doesn't change that. They have an uphill road ahead this year, but I'm sure there are things to be announced at E3, and they have new hardware that will be a substantial generational type leap in power.

I keep seeing people rag on halo, gears, Forza, but they are really fucking good games! I don't often see the same thing about ninty with Zelda, Mario over and over. Even Sony has their go to franchises that they tap the well with, uncharted included. When you nail a game you deliver sequels, people want more.

Personally Forza 2&3 and just so damn phenomenal and there is nothing like them on other platforms (we are ignoring the play anywhere aspect right now). There is also no exclusives comparison to Halo in terms of SP and MP. Then Gears is a really unique franchise in itself.

They have had risky, unique games like sunset od and Ori. I think they've done a nice job with a variety of games.

I'm trusting them to come with some stuff in the near future. The doom and gloom on here is absurd. It's one cancelled game that looked meh.

Let's see what they do, but these threads just seem nuts to me. Click bait article.

Rather slow news but in a month or two its all forgotten as games are coming out by the buttload but even then, with the releases they have and whats upcoming I see no issue outside missing JRPGs which honestly, I never see anyone outside of the more enthusiast sites talk about too.

It's not like non-bundled exclusives are the biggest game sellers on the consoles either so it's mostly down to multiplats where I also think the Microsoft games have a longer life span comparatively to their competitors due to their MP focus.

Not sure if "thriving" is the word I'd use. We have several, notable SP games that underperformed in 2016 including Quantum Break, Deus Ex, and Dishonored.

Now that doesn't mean SP games are doomed (ha!) or anything, but we are definitely seeing a shift, especially when it comes to linear, story-driven games like the 3 I mentioned. Nirolak made several posts about it. Maybe I can find them.

UK chart was pretty revealing for me. 4 exclusives on the top 20.
Screen_Shot_2017-01-12_at_10.15.34.png

I feel Theorry's chart above does a good job illustrating my feelings.

It's also worth noting that counts bundled copies, which helped push Uncharted and Forza Horizon up the list quite a bit even if they would have made the Top 20 anyway.

I think that's only three exclusives as well since Minecraft is multiplatform.

That's not to say Horizon and GTS won't move units, but the motivational factors to buying a console appear to be third party games.

Like, if we pretend it won't get delayed, I have to imagine RDR2 would represent the vast majority of game driven PS4/XB1 console purchases this year.
 

theWB27

Member
No it's just that I don't naively trust PR.
My point is that MS has no clear strategy for the future of its Xbox brand. No games in 2017. And a mid-gen refresh they're trying to sell as "more than a Xbox One and a half".

But whatever, I can tell we won't agree on this.

Because you're making up a narrative out of thin air with no substance to back it up other than the tired not trusting PR shtick.

Play anywhere. Forward compatibility. UWP. No games in 2017 is your opinion. Mid gen refresh they're marketing as a machine that can play current gen games in 4k or however the dev wants to use the extra power. Making Xbox a family of devices instead of relying soley on one machine.

It's crystal clear what they're doing.

We don't agree because you don't know what you're talking about. Instead...you'd rather jump on the negativity train instead of understand what's going on.
 
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