First, there wasn’t going to be a headset included with the Xbox One. But now, Microsoft says that feedback from gamers is the reason that every one of their next-gen consoles will include the communications peripheral.
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First, there wasn’t going to be a headset included with the Xbox One. But now, Microsoft says that feedback from gamers is the reason that every one of their next-gen consoles will include the communications peripheral.
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The pure dread of not selling enough of these consoles continues to weigh heavily on the shoulders of Microsoft.
But they already sold out pre orders in some places, they need to grow some balls. I think people would have come around anyways without all these back flips…..but hey wont say no to an extra headset
That’s what I’m implying, all these back flips are making them look worse….but…better…but worse….
How do they look worse?
I think you overestimate how negative the perception is for Xbox One. The vocal minority i.e. brats who spend all day on forums, don’t represent the entire market for the Xbox One.
the casual audiences opinion of the xbox one is pretty low.
Don’t you remember all the news shows reporting massive amounts of negative information about it, and occasionally what i see on popular viral video’s on facebook is a meme or two dissing the xbox one and it gets mass upvoted by the casuals =|
It illustrates the fact that they should’ve been smart enough to not make these decisions in the first place. For the majority, how could they think people would generally be happy with the decision to include always on Internet connection, not including a headset etc? And so the backlash forced them to backflip and that’s a good thing, it makes people happy and ‘like’ them again. But it also makes them look a bit silly. “Wow, what a surprise MS!? Really!?”. I own both systems currently and probably will again. However, if MS continues to force feed me Halo Mountain Dew ads and staturate my dashboard with crap, that will be the single biggest reason I won’t buy one.
Im glad they added it personally. I’m already pissed that my nice 7.1 turtle beach headset wont work until an “adapter” is made. There was no way I was going to fork out for a headset to tide me over.
A lot of retailers may have sold out for pre-orders, but I haven’t seen any details of how many units each company was allocated… It’s one thing to say they’re sold out of pre-orders, but if they only got 5 units allocated to begin with, it’s not such a massive statement to make…
It was said that Xbox had 3 times the initial pre order quantity according to some games outlets…..but that dosnt speak for the whole I guess.
u guess there’s no real telling what damage these flips will do but I imagine the headset inclusion would be a good one
If the same function was going to be fulfilled by Kinect (though maybe people are self-conscious about trash-talking and hearing people rage at them without the comfort of a headset), it is a bit redundant — especially for how cheap they are, it’s not like using a good quality third-party headset.
While MS are bending over backwards to please people, they should have demanded something useful.
bored now with all the hype and bashing going on. Just give me a date that I can pick up my PS4 and I’ll be happy. I’ve made my decision of which console I’m going to buy and a cheap headset isn’t going to change that. At least those buying a XBone will get something extra which is great for them
Yeah I am sticking to the machine that gave its customers what we wanted (ps4). MS can back pedallall they want but that is no reason to stick it to Sony who listened before hand.
Good for you. At least you can move on from Sony’s many mistakes in the past, and that’s good. Of course they listened – they spent years with their heads up their own… you know
If UK dates are to be believed its the 12th of Dec……..i agree enough with the bashing, I made my decision few days after the consoles went on pre-order….both systems are almost identical, get over it.
Does anyone else notice the mentality difference in the community?
If Sony came out and said they’re including a headset with the PS4, it’d be “How great is Sony, they truly care about the gamers” otherwise Microsoft does it and it’s a “Hmm backflips, no confidence in product, can’t seem to get it right.”
from memory there already is a “headset” coming with the ps4?
i say it like that because its just an earbud with a mic… but still… they’re already including it… so your argument seems kinda pointless?
Things Sony have changed since original announcement: 0 ? correct me if i’m wrong
Things Microsoft have changed since original announcement: ALL THE THINGS!
See my point?
Actually no. Sony lost me when it became clear there would be no backwards compatibility.
backwards compatibility with what? ps3 games?
the same issue was with the ps3 for ps2 games
get over it
if you wanna play ps3 games, get a ps3. Theyre cheap now
Stop idealising a world where a company would inflate the cost of production just so you can have backwards compatibility
so sick of having to see them deal with the lowest common denominator.
Ask for progress!
And forced obsolescence (al la Apple, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc) is progress?
Stop idealising a world where a company would inflate the cost of production just so you can have backwards compatibility
Given the inflated price of gaming products these days, they can easily afford the functionality.
You are overlooking that big companies need customers, not the other way around.
get over it
This isn’t a high school play yard. Either grow up or keep your posts to yourself.
You know the ps3 was sold at a loss so as to reduce barrier of entry right?
they took years to break even and then finally be able to reduce the price due to economies of scale
Given the inflated price of gaming products these days,
gaming products? im talking console units specifically.
The original 60gb ps3 which included backwards compability was discontinued because they had to add an extra chip to be ps2 compatible. for the majority of users who already owned a ps2, or didnt giving flying duck about ps2 nostalgia shouldnt have to subsidise your desires.
And forced obsolescence (al la Apple, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc) is progress?
Nobody is forcing you to buy anything. If you dont want to upgrade then respond with your wallet. Just like you say, big companies need customers. But at the same time, without people spending money and buying new releases, where is the money going to come from for future improvement RnD?
Just because Apple has 100bn$ cash in the bank not being fully utilised, doesnt mean this is a representation of the rest of the industry.
And “overpriced” gaming peripherals are how they can break even on the console they sold to you at a loss and not everyone is affected. if you can afford 4 controllers, then you wouldnt be crying over the cost anyway. Consoles are a luxury after all
And if price was really that big of an issue for you, even after discounts during sales, bundles and grey imports, then maybe you should reconsider gaming since you cant afford it.
Prices are set based on what the market is willing to pay. Basic supply/demand economics. If everyone else is willing to pay even australian prices or at the least grey import prices, but you still seem to be whinging, then maybe you have simply been priced out of the market and not as wealthy as you thought.
and as for software prices, its mostly the distributors, publishers and retailers that take the biggest chunk. Developer and Sony/MS take a pretty much fixed royalty
And they have every right to do so given the millions of dollars of marketing, RnD and risk they put into developing each console.
Gaming is a privilege not a right. But it seems these days most people feel self entitled and forget companies are also in it to maximise the return on the risk for their shareholders
Well since the vocal majority seem to be the people who hated the drm, it’s not like they’ll go “YAY MS! Good move on including that!”. Quietly X1 supporters are sitting there thinking exactly that, but everyone knows what reactions you’d get right away, so it’s better not to say anything. 😛
And by backflip, you mean giving the people what they ask for… Haha… What a shit company, listening to what people want.
They are only half listening. There is a difference.
For example, we didn’t want the DRM. So what does Microsoft do? They take away the DRM and the new features.
Over all, the XBone (at this point) in time can be described as the Hindenberg crashing into the Titanic. One disaster after another.
And the worse part is the console hasn’t even hit the market yet. This could not get more of a train wreak even if the Kardashian’s had a hand in it.
From a business perspective, this was a silly move. Including a headset isn’t suddenyl going ot get them ordering an Xbox One in droves and those who HAVE pre-ordered were basically all goign to buy one with their console.
But this is great for us. I think MS should have really made the Day One edition irresistable by including the headset, play n charge and a year of Live.
Sony gave me what I asked for. So I’ll stick with them. As a PC gamer with PC looking to be the actual future platform (open not ckosed, mods, oculus rift, true streaming) my days of getting all consoles are over.
Hold on. How can PC be open? Most games require Steam or (urk!) Origin which are forms of DRM.
DRM seeks to keep a platform closed so who can you consider PC gaming open?
At the moment, the only open platform is Ouya (despite the buggy OS on it and the limited hardware).
Indeed — the vast majority of companies (publishers and devs) are trying to hold onto their property with a vice-like grip and so it really starts to transcend the whole console vs. master race debate. So while PC games can be a little more flexible, but they’re hardly open… and you still see games (like Dark Souls, like GTA V) where people will need to shout and scream to have a chance of ’em show up on PC.
Steam is DRM as much as entering a CD key is.
At the moment, it’s not the platform which isn’t open as much as the major publishers. Whose content, you’ll note, isn’t available on the Ouya.
If your choice is between AAA one-time-on-install authentication check, like entering a CD key, and dealing with Android-based shovelware (edit: Which apparently no-one is buying), you’re still probably better off with the AAA.
I actually prefer shovelware over AAA. At least the shovelware is cheap whereas AAA I’m paying 60-100 bucks for something that is even worse.
Seriously, as it stands I get more fun out of the hidden object games from Big Fish Games and games like Monocle Man and No Brakes Valet on Ouya.
Of late, the only AAA games I liked are Tomb Raider (despite me wishing Lara would shut up!) and BioShock Infinite (only complaint is fights are getting tedious and annoying).
As for the hidden object games, Stray Souls and the Empress of the Deep trilogy are prime examples on how to make the Where’s Wally approach in games work.
Thing about the shovelware is that you can ALSO get it on PC. And, depending on your morality, anywhere from cheap to ‘free’. One of the only benefits of a platform actually being open, right? Otherwise, what do you need from an open platform? Given how much is on flash, it seems that just about anything Android can do, PC can do better/just as well. Whether you’re getting your stuff from indiedb, gog.com, desura, newgrounds, legal/illegal emulators with huge ROM databases, you have just as much access to the indie gaming scene as the Ouya does, AND access to the walled-up AAA space.
It’s basically more in every respect.
…Sidenote, I’m not big into the ‘hidden object’ games but I didn’t mind Discovery, launched on Steam a few years ago. It had a neat little gameshow metagame laid over the top of it. I think there’s a free demo.
Because steam does not make the entire platform closed. PC is still open. Some games use things like steam but that does not stop the open aspect like being able to modify games with mods. Connect to custom servers. Use any peripheral without a MS branding or license etc etc.
Drm does not stop an open platform.
Further more if a publisher wants to add something they can without a console manufacturer authorisation. It is up to the content creater HENCE open platform. Drm a closed platform does not make.
Agreed, Wisehacker doesn’t know what he’s talking about
I love my xbox 360, I will only by an xbox one if it has a 360 VM in it. If not I will move to Steam only.
You didn’t need to do that Microsoft, but thank you I appreciate it 🙂 The fewer accessories I have to worry about buying the better!
That thing will stay in its plastic wrapper cause I’ll be getting an after market headset.
I wonder if this isn’t a prelude to them announcing at Gamescom that the Kinect is no longer going to be required to be on all the time.
It may still be in every box, and it may still be required for starting the console up… but I wonder if they aren’t going to make it so you can turn it off after startup?
Wow, I didn’t realise it had to be ‘on’ all the time. I thought it merely had to be connected to the console. Shows how naive I am, I suppose…
I thought they announced that it wasn’t required anymore. I wonder if I can leave the plug connected then just cut the cable.
I’m pretty satisfied with how the PS4 and XB1 are looking now. For me the clincher is the exclusives which means that out of personal taste I will be going with the XBox, but even so I have no intention of paying launch price for any console , least of all in Australia, and then having to pay launch price for all the games. I’ll be investing in a decent spec gaming laptop to hold me over and then buying a new console at least a year after they drop. By then they’ll be cheaper, and so will the games and peripherals. As for PC gaming, I like Steam ok but goddamn I am sick of every other publisher trying to copy Valve with shit like Uplay and Origin, so anything that comes with them I will just buy on console. To each their own though, MS definitely screwed up the reveal, but the Xbox One simply isn’t going to “fail”. They’ll sell plenty of units and make plenty of money and plenty of people will end up buying both consoles eventually. Sony are probably going to have a better first year though.
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