Like sands through the hourglass, so are the console generations of our lives. While Playstation won me over with the first and second generations of the modern console era, over the last eight years, I’ve unashamedly felt that Xbox had the best console this generation. Even though when it came to exclusive games, it had about as many of those as Star Trek had good sequels. Time to change all that then, as Microsoft has something up its sleeve for the upcoming future.
E3 is just around the corner, and seeing as how this carnival of hype is where everything new is debuted, it looks like Microsoft this year will be less about turning the Xbox 360 and its successor into a media hub, and more “all about the games” according to Aaron Greenberg on the latest Major Nelson podcast.
“We’re really going to tell one story across two events,” Greenberg said via VideoGamer.
So we’re going to start on the 21st and really that’s about revealing the next Xbox platform, really our vision for the future of games, the future of entertainment. We definitely have a lot of surprises planned.
I know everyone knows the Infinity Ward team is hard at work on world premiering the next Call of Duty: Ghosts, so we’re going to see what that looks like for the first time. People are going to get a great inside look at really the making of the new platform and the team that’s brought it to life.
I mean, to be honest, it’s really about the team, the people here, that’s why we’re inviting people to campus, we’re going to bring them behind the scenes a little bit. We’ve never done this before and so it’s really exciting to be able to do that. But I think it’s a lot of laying the foundation, probably the best way to describe it, and then just a couple of weeks later we go to E3.
And it’s about damn time. I love the Xbox 360, honestly I do, but Microsoft has no idea how hard it is for me to walk into a games shop and have the Sony fanboys rub copies of Uncharted and posters for The Last of Us in my face. And trust me, a Black Ops 2 DLC pack first month exclusive only affords about a +5 boost to defense.
But it’s a big time for Microsoft. The new Xbox console is expected to be unveiled tomorrow, and with an eye on a more solid line-up of games for once, instead of the usual three suspects, it should be interesting to see how the rest of the industry reacts.
Last Updated: May 20, 2013
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 20, 2013 at 07:53
Better with mandatory Kinect 2. 🙁
Brady miaau
May 20, 2013 at 09:19
Um, yes. Of course it is.
And Kinect 2 is better with direct credit card access
and direct credit card access is better with automatic limit raising
and so on.
If the Kinect 2 can look at my fridge and kitchen cupboards and order what is needed, I will buy, first in line.
Trevor Davies
May 20, 2013 at 08:51
How about you stop telling stories & give us some facts? If I was desperate enough to get a console I’d be turned off by MS wanting me to buy their console based on a story.
And everyone already knows what the new CoD looks like, it’ll be predominantly brown & there’ll be a gun in front of you, just like every other military shooter.
umar bastra
May 20, 2013 at 08:52
cool, new Forza,Gears and Halo. Can’t wait to play Vampire Rain 2
fred
May 20, 2013 at 09:05
When their reveal and new console is going to rely on a new COD for attention and success, that says a lot.
Trevor Davies
May 20, 2013 at 09:20
Good point. “Don’t buy our console because it’s great, buy it because it can play CoD!”
Rince an repeat
May 20, 2013 at 10:06
Shut up and take my money! Wait, what?
Brady miaau
May 20, 2013 at 09:16
“but Microsoft has no idea how hard it is for me to walk into a games shop and have the Sony fanboys rub copies of Uncharted and posters for The Last of Us in my face.”
That is the reason I am considering a PS4. I feel you.
Well, not you exactly
fred
May 20, 2013 at 09:44
I would not resort to rubbing game boxes in anybody’s face , but just politely mention Beyond 2 Souls as well.
Brady miaau
May 20, 2013 at 09:53
thanks! 🙂
Zubayr Bhyat
May 20, 2013 at 10:17
Heh, the only reason I’d want a third-gen Xbox is Forza 5. GT6 looks awesome but since FM3 the all-round game has trumped the GT series (at least not in terms of physics). Other than that I’d go PS4.
Brady miaau
May 20, 2013 at 09:17
Tetris, snake and digger all rebooted as exclusives?
SojournZA
May 20, 2013 at 09:51
I smell the fear of PS fanbois
lets see what tomorrow brings shall we, its a win win for all
CaptainNemo42
May 20, 2013 at 09:59
Reading the comments, I get the impression people doesn’t have a lot of faith in Microsoft’s reveal tomorrow. 😐
What time is it by the way? And where can we get it live, if need be?
Trevor Davies
May 20, 2013 at 10:14
I’m just being snarky for my own amusement, actually quite keen to see what they have to say. Then I can go bananas over that 😀
CaptainNemo42
May 20, 2013 at 10:24
Fair enough, but I get the impression everywhere.
I personally am in the purple corner of Sony, and the biggest reason is that some of their exclusives are some of my favourite games. That said, I really hope that Microsoft doesn’t disappoint. I believe the only way we as consumers will benefit is if there’s good competition.
FoxOneZA - X-Therminator
May 20, 2013 at 10:34
Event starts at 7pm local time. But I think it’s going to be more about hardware than actual games.
You’re right with consumers benefiting. Market competition lead to the PS3 Slim intro and I snapped one up at a sale for half the price of the Fat.
Exclusives are good but I wonder if Sony can churn out 3 or 4 exclusives every year with their restricted cash flow.
And then there’s the question of distribution. How many regions at once does either MS or Sony launch in at day one and which region particularly?
CaptainNemo42
May 20, 2013 at 10:59
Thanks for the info.
And yes, I don’t think Sony can do 3 or 4 exclusive a year. maybe one or two? But then again, they do have a few 1st party developers, and they all make good quality games, so you really don’t know. Granted, some are getting a bit stale, like God of War, and the last Uncharted was a bit…meh.
But the point I was trying to make, was that it’s one of the reason why I like Sony. They have good exclusives, and it doesn’t really matter to me how often they release.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
May 20, 2013 at 23:28
Have to agree with you, if it wasn’t for stiff competition from Microsoft, Sony wouldn’t have finished so strongly. Instead they would have rested in their laurels, and this gen would have been pitiful due to hubris.
As for tomorrow’s reveal, I don’t know, my expectations are low, so who knows I might just be surprised. But I’m surprised how across twitter and even on the web, the mood is generally “meh towards the reveal”.
Trevor Davies
May 20, 2013 at 10:38
Exactly right, competition leads to us getting better products.
Trevor Davies
May 20, 2013 at 10:38
Exactly right, competition leads to us getting better products.
Brady miaau
May 20, 2013 at 11:37
yeah, me too. I actually expect a good, solid product. With problems
CaptainNemo42
May 20, 2013 at 09:59
Reading the comments, I get the impression people doesn’t have a lot of faith in Microsoft’s reveal tomorrow. 😐
What time is it by the way? And where can we get it live, if need be?
Zubayr Bhyat
May 20, 2013 at 10:14
Exclusives mean lost money for developers. More work and time spent into multiple platforms means better profits and more people enjoying the games.
Aussious
May 20, 2013 at 16:11
Microsoft’s idea of exclusive is a bunch of timed exclusives and better with features that are utterely useless, I am curious as to what they will announce tomorrow but consumer trust has been broken and remotely interested in buying.