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

[Karloff]

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

Developers aren't working with the finished product, Harrison insists.

Developers have been complaining about memory issues in the next console generation, and making unfortunate comparisons between the Harrison has made once before [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127785-Developers-Say-Memory-Is-Faster-on-PS4-Than-Xbox-One] and no doubt will make again.

But is Harrison about to concede the memory argument, with PS4 lording it over the Xbox One? Not quite; it's all very nuanced, says he. The developers aren't getting the full picture because they aren't playing with the finished product. "We can increase CPU and GPU capability on Xbox One," says Harrison, "so I think it's impossible to draw any conclusions from that based on pre-launch unfinished hardware and unfinished operating systems." Even having said that, Harrison continues to beat the Games Games Games drum. Content is king, and as Xbox One has the best content - claims Harrison - it will win out in any consumer contest with the PS4.

Reuters would seem to disagree with that argument - according to record breaking sales [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128266-Reuters-US-Consumers-Prefer-PS4], and pre-orders for the PS4 are extremely high. Sony's Fergal Gara is very pleased with developer feedback so far. "The overwhelming thing is that developers are delighted with PlayStation 4," says he. "There's no glass ceiling in terms of what [developers] want to do, and it's easy to do it." November's looming. It's time to see what this console generation's really made of.

Source: Edge [http://www.edge-online.com/news/xboxs-phil-harrison-and-playstations-fergal-gara-on-the-next-gen-power-struggle/]


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[Exterminas]

Yes. Content is king. Don't buy new consoles on lauch day, since the old version will have more content! Or buy a PC.

 

[Hagi]

Translation:

We're going to throw our weight around to hold games hostage as exclusives so you'll still buy our console even though it's slower and more expensive.

And I do like how, again, they're here claiming that any flaw in the XBox One is not their fault but simply because the consumers, and now developers, don't understand and don't know the full picture. Trust us! We're not evil or incompetent! We're just so amazing that poor uneducated sods like consumers and developers can't possibly understand this bright path to the future we've laid out.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

I love this, because first he's like:

But power doesn't maaatttterrrrr :'(

And then he's like:

But we can upgrade it anywaaaaayyyss :'(

And then he's back to:

But content is kiiiiinnnggg :'(

Jesus M$ make up your mind.

 

[Ninmecu]

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

 

[mysecondlife]

I was really betting on that he was going to mention Titanfall in the most irrelevant way possible.

Not this time I guess.

 

[Commander Obvious]

My PC has more teragigazetafloppybytes AND better games.

 

[Saltyk]

Wait. How can they possibly improve the Xbox One's capabilities at this point? They launch in just under two months. They have to have a few million systems built at this point. Are they going to delay the launch, and effectively concede the market, to upgrade the system's CPU and GPU?

I doubt that can be done with a Day One patch (being hardware). Since that's what they are doing to fix the other huge screw up that was giving the middle finger to consumers. And since they apparently couldn't fix that in the roughly six months they had when that was announced, I'm finding that claim to be bullshit. And I don't think the magically mystery cloud is something to brag about. Because, first, no one really knows what it will do, and, second, Sony has that, too, but isn't acting like it a panacea for everything.

As for the content, that is subjective. Personally, I find the Xbox to have the least varied, more boring, and far less colorful offerings. Seriously, every Xbox One game is black, brown, and grey. In Sony games, I see colors. Blue, orange, pink, red, green, you name it. And the games seem more varied and not all "Super Cereal". Some look to be fun for the sake of fun. I think that is something worth noting.

Also, pretty sure the only Xbox One game that does look good, Titanfall, will come to PS4 within a year. I've read interviews with the developers where they all but said so.

 

[Vivi22]

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

Bahahahahahahahahahaha! Sorry, I just... hahahahahaha!

"We can increase CPU and GPU capability on Xbox One," says Harrison, "so I think it's impossible to draw any conclusions from that based on pre-launch unfinished hardware and unfinished operating systems."

They're releasing in less than two months and he's saying the CPU and GPU specs, as well as the operating system aren't finished and finalized? Is this some sort of joke? Either he's lying to give people false hope or he's admitting that they're totally incompetent.

 

[Velociferocks]

Wait. How can they possibly improve the Xbox One's capabilities at this point? They launch in just under two months. They have to have a few million systems built at this point. Are they going to delay the launch, and effectively concede the market, to upgrade the system's CPU and GPU?

I doubt that can be done with a Day One patch (being hardware). Since that's what they are doing to fix the other huge screw up that was giving the middle finger to consumers. And since they apparently couldn't fix that in the roughly six months they had when that was announced, I'm finding that claim to be bullshit.

It's called overclocking, i can do it on my pc in a few moments without touching the hardware. It's not like increasing CPU/GPU clock would be impossible if they have designed the OS and architecture with these kinds of post launch patches in mind.

 

[tdylan]

I was really betting on that he was going to mention Titanfall in the most irrelevant way possible.

Not this time I guess.

I was honestly waiting for that as well. I was chomping at the bit thinking "wait for it...Titanfall."

It's rather comical to me that microsoft would tout "the power of the cloud quadruples the power of the XBONE,"

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/for...Claims-Cloud-Will-Quadruple-Power-of-Xbox-One,

Trumpet that they've boosted the power of the CPU

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127444-Xbox-One-Gets-Last-Minute-CPU-Boost,

And now turn around and claim that not only were devs given an incomplete playform with which to work (because that seemed like a reasonable thing to do), but that they're "power boosting features" which are now being described as inadequate, don't make a difference because "it's not about power." So why the hell all the bullet points about how powerful your console could and would be? Why boodt your CPU at the last minute if it's not about power, but rather content? Content that is primarily geared toward North America? "Content," not "games."

See, this is the kind of thing that upsets me. THIS is the kind of two-faced jack ass one has to be in order to be successful in business. And by "successful" I mean "these guys get paid a lot more to do their job of spewing bullshit than I do to do my job of being honest with, and trying to help people (I work in IT)." In order to make the kind of money they make, I'd have to spit the same kind of bullshit with equal or greater conviction and verve, and not lose any sleep over outright lying to people. I lose sleep over not getting someone's computer repaired and out the door on time because I know how desperately they depend on it to do their job. I need to win the lottery because I don't have what it takes to be wealthy by any other means.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

The console is launching next month, I would have thought it would be a bit late for any significant hardware changes or upgrades now?

 

[iniudan]

Starting to sound like EA Sports. So game rehash after rehash ?

 

[Nuxxy]

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!

 

[james.sponge]

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

 

[seditary]

Translation:

We're going to throw our weight around to hold games hostage as exclusives so you'll still buy our console even though it's slower and more expensive.

And I do like how, again, they're here claiming that any flaw in the XBox One is not their fault but simply because the consumers, and now developers, don't understand and don't know the full picture. Trust us! We're not evil or incompetent! We're just so amazing that poor uneducated sods like consumers and developers can't possibly understand this bright path to the future we've laid out.

Can translate that a lot quicker.

Titanfallllllllll

But what about the Transistors, mr. Harrison? You need at LEAST five billion of those. I won't buy your silly box unless it has at least five billion ninety-six million seventy-five thousand eight hundred and twenty-three. Any less cannot fuel my erection, and are therefore obsolete.

So you better get to work and add some goddamn TRANSISTORS or I won't be a satisfied consumerwhore.

I only need one transistor.

 

[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.