After the Xbox reveal event in Redmond, game enthusiasts believe that Microsoft abandoned the Core gaming audience to focus on TV, Sports and TV… and Sports.
However, speaking to OXM’s Phil Spencer and Don Mattrick revealed that roughly $1 billion will be invested in titles for the upcoming platform; 15 titles will be released within the first year of the console, 8 of which are completely new IPs.
“We’re going to come out with detail on things, and people are going to go, ‘oh my god’. Like, ‘they were focused; they made this a core goal, core activity’. There are great hits, there’s innovation, and there are world class creators plugged in. There’s a lot of hyperbole about things, but I think we’re going to deliver.”
The bulk of games will be supported by core gaming powerhouses like 343 industries, Lionhead and Turn 10. Black Tusk Studios is working on a title to compete with Halo. Microsoft opened a new studio in London called Lift with the objective of creating and incubating Cloud-based games, and new projects are being developed at Microsoft Studios Osaka to reassure their commitment with the Japanese market.
“If I want to play a game for two minutes, or I want to play a game for two hours, or I want to play a game with twenty other people, all of those opportunities are available on the platform we’re putting forward,” – Phil Spencer.
According to Spencer, the new Xbox has been designed to meet the requirements of a fragmented and dynamic industry where new business models and new complementary devices are the norm.
“People are playing games on all kinds of devices, and games with different business models, with different engagement time frames,” he explains. “I think when we started Xbox 360 so many of the games were about ‘I’m going to play it for four or five hours, and then I’m going to play online.'”
After a rather disappointing press conference, they do seem very confident in their capacity to deliver core gaming titles, and $1 billion on games could appease the masses that jumped into the internet to criticize Microsoft for moving towards home entertainment.
After the backlash they received for their contradictory statements regarding used games, the Kinect Privacy concern, Always-Online rumors and the region block, Microsoft NEEDS to show its commitment to core gamers at E3–and they will have to answer a lot of questions regarding their business practices.
Published: May 30, 2013 05:34 pm