Assassin's Creed Creator: Microsoft Didn't Need To Mention Internet

[Karloff]

Assassin's Creed Creator: Microsoft Didn't Need To Mention Internet

The problem is the message and how to deliver it, says Patrice Desilets.

"I just think, 'come on, guys, the future is going to be digital,'" says Xbox One problem [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124754-Assassins-Creed-Creator-Sues-Ubisoft]; it didn't need to mention the check-in-every-24-hours deal. The world is going digital whatever the Xbox One ends up doing and, given that, to deliberately invoke a PR disaster by talking up the ways in which the console was apparently locking itself into almost-always online was pointless. "The problem is the message, and how to deliver the message," says Desilets. "They focused on the wrong stuff."

Besides, he says, most hardcore gamers will pick up both consoles anyway. Nor will the content be significantly affected by the brave new digital world. "The blockbuster part will not disappear, even if the way we sell it to the gamer will change," he says. "People will always want that." But physical retail copies will become - in fact, have become - much less important to the business model. "I can't be the only one seeing all of these music and game stores closing," he says. "What's the reason? People aren't going to them anymore." Microsoft was trying something different [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125220-Xbox-Ones-Policy-Reveal-According-To-Microsofts-Whitten], and suffered for it, but that doesn't mean Microsoft was doing the wrong thing. It just means Microsoft was incredibly bad at expressing itself, and lost out as a result.

"In the end," he concludes, "I think people will buy most games on PSN on PlayStation 4 and Xbox Live on Xbox One." That's the way the industry is headed, if it isn't already there.

Source: Games Industry [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-07-01-title-patrice-desilets-we-can-be-pioneers]


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[RicoADF]

Translation: The idiot suggested that Microsoft should have falsely advertised their product to get them out before people realised, regardless of whether the customer could use or wanted to use such a system. Yeah that's a smart choice....


.....Moron.

 

[windlenot]

I can understand people's push for "entering the digital future," but I can't understand how he feels that the way to go about it is force on people without telling them.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

To be fair, the xBone really shouldn't have mentioned anything.

As a matter of a fact, Microsoft should have not announced the console at all.

 

[mdqp]

Translation: The idiot suggested that Microsoft should have falsely advertised their product to get them out before people realised, regardless of whether the customer could use or wanted to use such a system. Yeah that's a smart choice....


.....Moron.

See? You had a problem with the message, and how he delivered it! Clearly, he was right all along! XD XD XD

On a serious note, maybe he is one of those developers that welcome the use of trailers that never represent the final product, and is against demos? You know, the ones that just see you as a walking wallet... The fact that he even suggested that they didn't have to mention it, pretty much says all you need to know about him.

 

[mechalynx]

This again? The only thing that would have caused an even bigger uproar would be Microsoft clamming up on their always online DRM. That'd be bordering on lie by omission. If he's OK with that, I wonder about that Ubisoft dismissal. Looks like they just might be in the right for once.

Besides, he says, most hardcore gamers will pick up both consoles anyway. Nor will the content be significantly affected by the brave new digital world.

Time to abandon the hardcore ship for me then.

 

[Longstreet]

Not mentioning always on = false advertising (since it is not the case with the 360) = illegal.
Is the world moving more digital? probably. But is the world(or rather, companies) READY for always on? Hell to the no.

I'll just stick with my pc.

 

[RJ 17]

"The blockbuster part will not disappear, even if the way we sell license it to the gamer will change,"

There we go, just went ahead and corrected that statement for you.

Look, Patrice...buddy, pal...you made a fun little game that was good for about two installments before it started a rather steep downward spiral into absolute shit, that doesn't suddenly qualify you to make statements about what gamers want. Here's the thing: we already know what we want, we don't need you, Microsoft, or anyone else in the gaming industry to tell us what we want. Ever heard of a game called Diablo III? Or the new SimCity? Remember the absolute shit-storm those games caused with their DRM? Hiding the fact that this console had DRM would not have saved it. Someone would have found out pre-launch and all the rage that followed would still have been inevitable...if not being worse for the fact that they tried to hide it from us.

To make a long story short, my friend, if people want fully digital distribution, they'd get a gaming PC, not a console.

 

[Nowhere Man]

I'm really beginning to hate this guy's guts. "Yeah the world is going digital no matter what yadda yadda fap fap". Doesn't make a ball hair of difference if I have spotty questionable internet with no other options besides a data capped plan that runs counter to this whole new digital only future these out of touch people keep trying to shove down our throats.

Why cant these assholes either wait a bit for the infrastructure to catch up or at least help fund and improve it if they are so hell bent on getting rid of physical media? Fuckkk, he even seems smug that stores are closing! These stores actually employ people Patrice. You know, potential customers for the products you're trying to sell? Dipshit.

 

[Hades]

The man is not entirely wrong. At least half of the Xbones PR problem was Microsoft absolutely refusing to explain themselves competently.

Had MS actually told things to sweeten their bitter message rather then say ''We are going to make things much harder for you and somehow it will work to your benefit '' their problem would not nearly have been as big.

 

[BrotherRool]

An Ubisoft guy suggesting sneaking always online DRM through the backdoor? Surely not!


Anyway the guy is wrong, he doesn't know his history, which is strange because the history is only half a year old. This started with us and the persistent rumours that the next Xbox would be always online and block used games (which all the sensible people were arguing was too stupid to be true). If they hadn't answered we'd have kept asking the question and they'd have had the same wave of bad publicity eventually for deceiving us despite our constant questioning, but it'd be much closer to launch and they wouldn't be able to reverse it

 

[Roander]

Assassin's Creed Creator: Microsoft Didn't Need To Mention Internet Connection


Besides, he says, most hardcore gamers will pick up both consoles anyway. Nor will the content be significantly affected by the brave new digital world. "The blockbuster part will not disappear, even if the way we sell it to the gamer will change," he says. "People will always want that." But physical retail copies will become - in fact, have become - much less important to the business model. "I can't be the only one seeing all of these music and game stores closing," he says. "What's the reason? People aren't going to them anymore." Microsoft was trying something different [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125220-Xbox-Ones-Policy-Reveal-According-To-Microsofts-Whitten], and suffered for it, but that doesn't mean Microsoft was doing the wrong thing. It just means Microsoft was incredibly bad at expressing itself, and lost out as a result.

Source: Games Industry [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-07-01-title-patrice-desilets-we-can-be-pioneers]


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Microsoft wasn't just trying something different, they were trying to force something different. Both current gen consoles already have digital distribution without cramming it down people's throats. The things they announced that ticked people off were things where they removed benefits from the consumer without offering much in return. Consumers don't benefit from not being able to resell their hard copies of games in exchange for the ability to digitally loan them out a limited number of times. They can already loan a physical copy to whomever they want whenever they want and sell their copy to whomever they want. Consumers do not benefit from having the console check in online every 24 hours. If cloud computing was really a factor here an internet connection would have to be present a lot more often than a few seconds a day.

As for announcing these 'features' I don't think they had much choice in the end. There were rumors about these things before the console was even announced; I assume someone in the press would have been asking about them. What they didn't need to do was announce that the dashboard was designed for advertisers (again, as opposed to being designed to actually benefit the consumer). Yes, it's pretty obvious by looking at the thing, but they make it sound like they're proud of this. The overall impression becomes that they're catering to everyone Except for the people who are actually paying for and using the console.

 

[Omegatronacles]

Why are we hearing so much from this guy recently? Seriously, he created Assassins Creed, his contribution to the gaming community at large is now complete, he can bugger off back into irrelevant obscurity.

I actually find it quite sad that the traditional retail market is in decline, for the simple reason that I enjoy browsing the shelves for titles that have slipped past my radar, and I also enjoy chatting with the staff about those games.

Sure, the internet has Metacritic, and forums like these, but it's not the same as talking to someone in person.

And Microsofts biggest problem, at least as far as I can see, was not the always online component, or the Kinect bundling. The biggest problem is when they summarily dismissed that anyone who might want this console would not have the internet connection to support it. Flipping the bird to a substantial potential customer base is terrible business, no matter who pops their head up to try and spin whimsical on it

 

[Legion]

People keep talking about false advertising but that isn't true. It'd be false advertising if they claimed that it didn't have it or if it didn't mention it on the box or in the products description in retailers. Simply not bringing it up at the announcement would not be false advertising, nor would it be lying by omission.

It would still be an absolutely idiotic idea though, because as soon as people discovered that it did have it, people would have reacted even more strongly than they did already.

 

[Nazulu]

Let me make this very simple Patrice, even though I shouldn't have to because it's both common sense and common decency.

"If you feel you shouldn't mention any bits and pieces because you believe it won't sit well with the consumer, then it's a shitty selfish idea."

This 'future' you want to force is just your self absorbed point of view. Nothing more.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

While I get what he is saying, that a lot of gamers log in at least once a day with their consoles anyway in order to play online or browse the console's online store, he's forgetting that the Xbone was going to punish people for not going that every single day, unlike current consoles.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

I guess it's asking a lot but can people from the games industry stop acting like fucking dicks?
Really, you want Microsoft to pull an ACII and sneak DRM in without telling anyone? That worked out so well for your game didn't it?

Cliffy B, this asshole, everything Microsoft has done ect...

If Microsoft had said nothing then it wouldn't have made a difference with it's bad image. Saying nothing was probably their plan but rumours kept coming out and with nobody to officially confirm or deny them those rumours could only grow stronger. Microsoft only "announced" the 24hour check-in because that's what everyone wanted to know.

 

[Scorpid]

This again? The only thing that would have caused an even bigger uproar would be Microsoft clamming up on their always online DRM. That'd be bordering on lie by omission. If he's OK with that, I wonder about that Ubisoft dismissal. Looks like they just might be in the right for once.

Besides, he says, most hardcore gamers will pick up both consoles anyway. Nor will the content be significantly affected by the brave new digital world.

Time to abandon the hardcore ship for me then.

Yeah... Hardcore gamers aren't mountain dew fueled consumer zombies out to buy anything that has game in the description. Xbox One and the fact PS4 is just going to be more of the same has finally convinced me to put down the serious cash for a high end gaming PC (thanks microsoft?). I decided that for certain when I couldn't think of one game that I desperately wanted to play in the past 5 years that was only on consoles and at no time was never ported to the PC.(thanks microsoft?)

 

[Tradjus]

So wait, let me get this straight..
He's claiming that Microsoft could have avoided a P.R. disaster.. by committing a lie of omission.
So, in -his- world.. everyone would have just quietly accepted this detail once the cat was out of the bag, with the knowledge that Microsoft hid the information from them until it leaked out.
*Slow clap* I now present him with the 110% Sarcastic Award for the Illuminated Genius.