E3 2013 Schedule

[Malacite]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

Hmm, I may yet get one now - we'll see. As it stands, I got my pre-order for PS4 and Halo 5 is the only thing (maybe Titanfall) I care about that's on XBONE at the moment.

All in all, this is a solid moral victory. It took quite a lot of backlash and public support, but we did it!


Again that said, I'm still going to wait for a price drop, more games than just Halo 5 - I refuse to plop down $600+ (not including Taxes) for just Halo. I like it, but I don't like it that much.

[Icemage]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

Hmm, I may yet get one now - we'll see. As it stands, I got my pre-order for PS4 and Halo 5 is the only thing (maybe Titanfall) I care about that's on XBONE at the moment.

All in all, this is a solid moral victory. It took quite a lot of backlash and public support, but we did it!

Again that said, I'm still going to wait for a price drop, more games than just Halo 5 - I refuse to plop down $600+ (not including Taxes) for just Halo. I like it, but I don't like it that much.

"We"? Did you participate in the twitter campaign that lobbied Sony in the first place?

EDIT: Proof that I'm not just throwing rocks from the peanut gallery.
https://twitter.com/IcemageJT/status/339036680851972096


Icemage

[Malacite]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

I did the whole gamestop twitter battle, as well as talk to pretty much everyone I know who cared - convinced 2 friends of mine who wanted the new Xbox to turn away when I told them about all the anti-consumer policies. I didn't mean "we" in a literal sense of my own participation so much as consumer backlash as a whole; My youtube channel isn't totally up yet either; my intention had been to do a running commentary on it during my Last of Us Playthrough but that fell apart when I discovered my Component port on my PS3 is faulty (wish I'd known that years ago when I first got it...)

Don't go acting like you're the only one with a vested interest. I will argue though that Xbox isn't 100% necessary to be in the market to give Sony competition. Nintendo's out of the running for obvious reasons on that front (nor will they ever go away because they fill such a unique niche) but gaming is becoming more popular on tablets and you can find everything but 1st party stuff on Steam and for cheaper.


Regardless, this is a nice turn of events overall. I've got a few friends who won't be happy because they'd rather see MS drop out entirely, but oh well. My only beef really is that they're continuing to be arrogant even when admitting defeat. Don Mattrick is a smug asshole, never liked him before, don't think I ever will. If there's one thing Sony's got going for them, it's that Tretton is a class act.

[Icemage]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

Nah, Tretton has his moments of utter retardation too. Shuhei Yoshida and Adam Boyes are class acts for Sony, however. And Mark Cerny is a genius.


Icemage

[Malacite]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

Eh, I like Jack.

Mark really is amazing though - have you read the interview with him by gamasutra?


Gamasutra - Features - Inside the PlayStation 4 With Mark Cerny

[Etra]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

So, if Mal still gets one, does that make Icemage's original prediction correct? Or does it not count anymore?

[Icemage]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

So, if Mal still gets one, does that make Icemage's original prediction correct? Or does it not count anymore?

The fact that Mal would reconsider a purchase because of Microsoft temporarily caving to public pressure speaks volumes, does it not?

I'll note for the record that the same sleazeballs who dreamed up that abortion of a DRM scheme in the first place are still at the reins at Microsoft. This wasn't a shift in philosophy, it's a desperation tactic to save the Xbox brand because they finally realized they were about to irrevocably destroy the brand image they've worked for over a decade to build (and throwing billions of dollars away in the process).


Icemage

[cidbahamut]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

Hmm, I may yet get one now

lrn2grudge

The fact that they thought their initial plan was remotely palatable says so damn much and none of it should be forgiven.

[Firewind]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

It's good news and a step in the right direction. Gamers standing up against these practises that treat the consumer as a criminal at best is indeed part of why the u-turn happened.

However, I would hardly call them completely forgiven. Part of me is wondering if they will just bring it back in some other form later. Part of me is also not willing to really forgive Microsoft for being perfectly willing to force its anti-consumer bullshit down our throats. It's a good step in the right direction but Gamers really do need to be vigilant here; I hope that the DRM is gone for good but I don't think that this is the last we have heard of it.

[Malacite]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

lrn2grudge

The fact that they thought their initial plan was remotely palatable says so damn much and none of it should be forgiven.

Oh I haven't forgotten, and I said may not will. I'm well aware the real reason they did this isn't because they actually listened to our bitching (that's just their PR spin) but because PS4 pre-orders were outselling them by nearly 3:1 - it's a purely business decision and nothing more. I still don't like Don Matrick or anyone else at MS for that matter, and like I said, I don't care how good Halo 5 is, there's going to have to be at least 4 other blockbuster exclusives before I even consider it.

And if I do get one, it'll be used - same with any games (unless I intend to stream them but even then, principals before money). I'm sure there will be plenty of used systems after a while. I'll play their new system, but I'll damned if they get 1 more cent from me until they genuinely come off that high horse of theirs like Sony did.


Oh yeah, and it's still 3rd in line - PS4 -> Wii U -> possibly failbox11111111!!!!!one!!


EDIT: Life's too short to hold grudges anyway, grow up. For now, MS is on probation until they F up again.

[Etra]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

EDIT: Life's too short to hold grudges anyway, grow up.

I think you're confusing consumerism with empathy.

[Firewind]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

Oh I haven't forgotten, and I said may not will. I'm well aware the real reason they did this isn't because they actually listened to our bitching (that's just their PR spin) but because PS4 pre-orders were outselling them by nearly 3:1 - it's a purely business decision and nothing more. I still don't like Don Matrick or anyone else at MS for that matter, and like I said, I don't care how good Halo 5 is, there's going to have to be at least 4 other blockbuster exclusives before I even consider it.

And if I do get one, it'll be used - same with any games (unless I intend to stream them but even then, principals before money). I'm sure there will be plenty of used systems after a while. I'll play their new system, but I'll damned if they get 1 more cent from me until they genuinely come off that high horse of theirs like Sony did.


Oh yeah, and it's still 3rd in line - PS4 -> Wii U -> possibly failbox11111111!!!!!one!!


EDIT: Life's too short to hold grudges anyway, grow up. For now, MS is on probation until they F up again.

[Icemage]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

I think you're confusing consumerism with empathy.

Yup. Holding grudges against people is silly unless they've done something heinous. Holding grudges against management teams at corporations, especially ones that have proven themselves to be more interested in profit than respecting their customers? That should be the norm, because history suggests that jackasses will continue to be jackasses.

Make no mistake: Microsoft's about-turn on DRM had everything to do with them seeing disastrous pre-order numbers that spelled doom for the Xbox brand worldwide. As it is, they're probably going to lose Europe, and they've already lost what little toehold they held in Asia since Xbox One won't release there until late 2014 (with no release date at all in sight for Japan).

But the key was the USA. Being behind in pre-orders even in the USA was awful, and the brewing PR disaster with the military going almost completely PS4-only by necessity (probably a million users there alone!) plus the blowback from "patriots"(not using this term in a derogatory manner) in this country who would be upset at corporate greed affecting troops would have caused a perfect storm of negative PR come the holidays.

As it stands, Microsoft has probably salvaged the Xbox brand reputation, but some people won't trust them enough to come back into the fold, and they're still losing the value proposition (weaker hardware, higher price, privacy concerns with Kinect + required Kinect).


Icemage

[cidbahamut]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

Don't forget that all that super cloud processing was actually bullshit weasel speak for "we wanted DRM hardwired into the infrastructure, the consumer be damned".

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and the fact that it still demands internet for the initial setup which to me suggests that it will still destroy an entire library of games when the servers go dark.

[DakAttack]

Re: E3 2013 Schedule

Nerd Rage 2: Electric Boogaloo