If you've been in touch with your Gamer side, you'll know that Sunday marked the start of the Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3 as it is called. If you were even more in touch with said side, you'd know that the big thing everyone was looking forward to was the release of the new consoles from Sony and Microsoft.
Sony had kept a huge shroud of mystery over their brand new PlayStation 4, from simply releasing the controller to that really mean teaser for the PS4.
Microsoft on the other hand, has been a rather brutal entity these last few months. When I typed brutal, you could choose to read it as blunt, the story stays the same. Microsoft released it's new console, the Xbox One to huge fanfare and eager anticipation (read nerds screaming like little girls)
It's been pretty much a downhill for Microsoft since then.
The Xbox One's predecessor, the Xbox 360 was an amazingly successful console, for a few simple reasons. Microsoft pumped up the fact that it was a family console. It was meant to dominate the living room and that meant that the family had to like it. For gamers, the 360 came with some pretty epic exclusive titles like Gears of War and of course Halo (sorry, I'm an FPS gamer and i'm not familiar with the other exclusives). Sony on the other hand, came into the game with a console that was really expensive, close to $500 USD while the xbox was much cheaper. The plus side, that the PS3 would have free online gaming. Other than that, Sony started off the console life of the PS3 on a rather bad footing.
So what's different? These two guys are competitors so of course they're going to be compared like this to one another.
Ah, but the thing that is important is what these companies have learned from their experiences. Sony has learned, it's learned a lot. It's learned to listen to consumers and understand them, playing on their demands rather than the demands of a company/industry. Microsoft, has made the assumption that people will buy the console because it's the next-generation Xbox.
This assumption is where Microsoft is failing badly. They're not really giving a damn about the consumers thoughts and outrage. Whether it be the 'Always On' Kinect or the 'Always online' the DRM policy, Microsoft is trying to bulldoze through the consumer protests by adding on more exclusives. However, this is exactly the ploy that Sony is thriving off. Sony is getting a huge fan following, not because people love the PS4 or that they have new exciting exclusives, it's just cause a huge number of gamers are hating, I'll repeat for emphasis, hating the Xbox One.
Sony is riding the wave and Microsoft is sitting like a stubborn kid on the beach getting drowned by the wave all the while thinking, 'No!'
A lot of critics point out that Microsoft has been a leader when it comes to gaming innovations; take Xbox Live for example, the development of this system has been monumental to the Original Xbox and Xbox 360's success. Being able to play games with friends that lived in other parts of the world was a huge crowd puller. However that system has been mastered, and everyone's working on it now.
Last year, Microsoft released it's newest OS, Windows 8, an OS that was described as being more for a touch interface than the regular keyboard-mouse configuration. This OS has been used in the latest series of Lumia phones from Nokia as well, and it got amazing praise.
So here's what I think, I think that Microsoft is not trying to win the market, it's trying to create a sort of interlink between the various Microsoft products that exist. Apple has a visual link between it's products but that's about it. Microsoft is pushing all the limits to ensure that your entertainment experience, never has to end.
Now take a look back at the new Xbox One console. It's been said that it's got to do a lot with TV and using non-gaming software without having to switch channels and modes. You take that, and then see how Microsoft rebranded games on phones under the Xbox title and suddenly you start to see a connection.
Microsoft is doing something different, in the sense that they're trying to create a platform that is interconnected and everpresent. I presume that in an ideal circumstance, you'd have a Windows 8 Tablet in your room, a Windows Phone in your pocket and an Xbox One in your living room, all devices (like apple products) connected together with the availability of internet.
If this was, in fact, the intention of the Xbox One and the game plan of Microsoft, well then someone in marketing needs to be fired cause it's been implemented horribly. Microsoft has come across as uncouth and unappreciative to fans when they might actually be kickstarting the next big thing in technology.
I mean it's not like they've never done it before!
Sony had kept a huge shroud of mystery over their brand new PlayStation 4, from simply releasing the controller to that really mean teaser for the PS4.
Microsoft on the other hand, has been a rather brutal entity these last few months. When I typed brutal, you could choose to read it as blunt, the story stays the same. Microsoft released it's new console, the Xbox One to huge fanfare and eager anticipation (read nerds screaming like little girls)
It's been pretty much a downhill for Microsoft since then.
The Xbox One's predecessor, the Xbox 360 was an amazingly successful console, for a few simple reasons. Microsoft pumped up the fact that it was a family console. It was meant to dominate the living room and that meant that the family had to like it. For gamers, the 360 came with some pretty epic exclusive titles like Gears of War and of course Halo (sorry, I'm an FPS gamer and i'm not familiar with the other exclusives). Sony on the other hand, came into the game with a console that was really expensive, close to $500 USD while the xbox was much cheaper. The plus side, that the PS3 would have free online gaming. Other than that, Sony started off the console life of the PS3 on a rather bad footing.
So what's different? These two guys are competitors so of course they're going to be compared like this to one another.
Ah, but the thing that is important is what these companies have learned from their experiences. Sony has learned, it's learned a lot. It's learned to listen to consumers and understand them, playing on their demands rather than the demands of a company/industry. Microsoft, has made the assumption that people will buy the console because it's the next-generation Xbox.
This assumption is where Microsoft is failing badly. They're not really giving a damn about the consumers thoughts and outrage. Whether it be the 'Always On' Kinect or the 'Always online' the DRM policy, Microsoft is trying to bulldoze through the consumer protests by adding on more exclusives. However, this is exactly the ploy that Sony is thriving off. Sony is getting a huge fan following, not because people love the PS4 or that they have new exciting exclusives, it's just cause a huge number of gamers are hating, I'll repeat for emphasis, hating the Xbox One.
Sony is riding the wave and Microsoft is sitting like a stubborn kid on the beach getting drowned by the wave all the while thinking, 'No!'
A lot of critics point out that Microsoft has been a leader when it comes to gaming innovations; take Xbox Live for example, the development of this system has been monumental to the Original Xbox and Xbox 360's success. Being able to play games with friends that lived in other parts of the world was a huge crowd puller. However that system has been mastered, and everyone's working on it now.
Last year, Microsoft released it's newest OS, Windows 8, an OS that was described as being more for a touch interface than the regular keyboard-mouse configuration. This OS has been used in the latest series of Lumia phones from Nokia as well, and it got amazing praise.
So here's what I think, I think that Microsoft is not trying to win the market, it's trying to create a sort of interlink between the various Microsoft products that exist. Apple has a visual link between it's products but that's about it. Microsoft is pushing all the limits to ensure that your entertainment experience, never has to end.
Now take a look back at the new Xbox One console. It's been said that it's got to do a lot with TV and using non-gaming software without having to switch channels and modes. You take that, and then see how Microsoft rebranded games on phones under the Xbox title and suddenly you start to see a connection.
Microsoft is doing something different, in the sense that they're trying to create a platform that is interconnected and everpresent. I presume that in an ideal circumstance, you'd have a Windows 8 Tablet in your room, a Windows Phone in your pocket and an Xbox One in your living room, all devices (like apple products) connected together with the availability of internet.
If this was, in fact, the intention of the Xbox One and the game plan of Microsoft, well then someone in marketing needs to be fired cause it's been implemented horribly. Microsoft has come across as uncouth and unappreciative to fans when they might actually be kickstarting the next big thing in technology.
I mean it's not like they've never done it before!
