So, New Xbox Reveal In About 14 Hours.

[Lagmonster]

Newsflash, even when publishers do take a risk on untried concepts they do it at arms length with smaller development studios, smaller budgets, and lower expectations.

Not debating that could or couldn't currently be the case at all. I argued that with more confidence that every title sold is sold new, an investor may be able to be convinced to part with more of his money up front, thinking that he's risking less. The idea being to secure more money for big studios looking to put variety and polish on a blockbuster as well as the small studios trying something new.

Jumping up and down on the second hand market would not have lead to innovation, it just would have made it easier for Activision to squeeze Call of Duty every year.

You're arguing that big investors weaken innovation by bribing innovators (with big budgets/revenues) to be less innovative. Am I summarizing you properly?

[Lord Relvenous]

BTW, for anyone mourning the loss of family share: it wasn't unlimited access. When the family member played the game, it was given a 15min-1h timer that they could play before becoming locked. It was a demo system, essentially.

Link: http://www.heyuguysgaming.com/news/1250 ... -must-read

Relevant part:

When your family member accesses any of your games, they’re placed into a special demo mode. This demo mode in most cases would be the full game with a 15-45 minute timer and in some cases an hour. This allowed the person to play the game, get familiar with it then make a purchase if they wanted to. When the time limit was up they would automatically be prompted to the Marketplace so that they may order it if liked the game. We were toying around with a limit on the number of times members could access the shared game (as to discourage gamers from simply beating the game by doing multiple playthroughs). but we had not settled on an appropriate way of handling it.

So... ya. Really nothing of value lost.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

I can't help but think there could have been a happy medium solution where disc games would pop in and play, while downloaded games were share-able and portable, but had to phone-in every 24 hours. That would have facilitated a gradual transition to the always-on, streaming and cloud-based world without attempting to drag 100% of users into it kicking and screaming.

[bilateralrope]

Don Mattrick has left Microsoft to become Zynga's new CEO.

As AllThingsD reported earlier today, Zynga confirmed that it has hired Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment President Don Mattrick as its new CEO.

In a press release, the San Francisco online social gaming company — which has had a turbulent record since its late 2011 IPO — said that current CEO and founder Mark Pincus will continue as Zynga’s chairman and chief product officer.

The 49-year-old Mattrick, who begins next Monday, will also join the company’s board.

The hire is significant for Zynga, which has been hit by a series of problems since its IPO. Pincus has been struggling to move the company into mobile quickly, as its once strong Web and Facebook consumer business has waned. That has included a recent round of layoffs, as well as closures of a number of offices outside of its San Francisco HQ.

This is a major step by Pincus, who has held the top job there since the company’s founding. While it is not unusual for a founder to give up such power, it certainly underscores Pincus’ commitment to reviving Zynga.

In a blog post about the move, Pincus wrote, “if I could find someone who could do a better job as our CEO I’d do all I could to recruit and bring that person in. I’m confident that Don is that leader.”

Pincus’s cooperation was indeed key in the hiring, said sources. It would have to be: He has 61 percent voting control in Zynga, which he founded in 2007. Sources added that Pincus has lately come to the conclusion that the company needed a top manager as CEO, so that he could focus on creating hit games and other products.

Pincus had only half-heartedly tried that before, hiring Electronic Arts exec John Schappert as COO. But he, as well as a number of top execs, stepped down last summer. Pincus has tried a reorg of the company, but the Mattrick hiring is his most dramatic move to date and one that was also pushed by Zynga’s board.

“Don is unique in the game business,” said Pincus in a statement. “He deeply understands the value of a network and the importance of creating lifelong consumer relationships.”

Said Mattrick: “I joined Zynga because I believe that Mark’s pioneering vision and mission to connect the world through games is just getting started. Zynga is a great business that has yet to realize its full potential.”

Mattrick has been at Microsoft for a half-dozen years, after working for 15 year at Electronic Arts, including as president of its worldwide studios. He came to EA after it bought Distinctive Software, which Mattrick founded at 17 years old.

According to his company bio, “since Mattrick began overseeing the Xbox division, the Xbox 360 installed base grew from 10 million to nearly 80 million worldwide while Xbox Live membership increased from 6 million to nearly 50 million.”

But numerous sources said Mattrick has been looking to leave Microsoft for some time, a desire that has deepened as CEO Steve Ballmer has been contemplating a major restructuring that could separate software from hardware across all its businesses. In some configurations, that would have put Mattrick at a disadvantage.

Mattrick has also been on the short list of the top execs being considered to run EA, another gaming giant that has faced a number of challenges and whose former CEO was ousted a few months ago. According to sources, the company is still looking at many candidates and some of its own board members are interested in the job.

Microsoft does not currently appear to have a successor to Mattrick as yet, but that might be moot until Ballmer’s new reorg of the Redmond, Wash., tech giant is complete.

Despite the success of Xbox, Mattrick has presided over some recent high-profile missteps around the flagship device.

As the interactive entertainment boss, Mattrick has been a public presence at both of Microsoft’s recent Xbox One events — the nationally televised unveiling in May and the E3 update in June. Gamers disappointed with the lesser focus on games at the May event blasted execs like Mattrick in numerous online grumblings (and worse over other issues — Francis is really pissed! So is this guy, who is quite verbal about it, too.)

At E3, Sony won the image battle by reaffirming its old DRM policies vs. the Xbox’s new ones, which had angered some gamers by requiring regular online connectivity. After E3, Microsoft abandoned its new digital check-in plans and reverted back to its old DRM policies, too.

While some of the more vocal gamers are now pointing to these issues as part of the reasons for Mattrick’s departure, it does not appear to be the case.

Zynga shares rose about nine percent today, after ATD posted on the Mattrick hire.

Question is, did he leave Microsoft of his own accord, or was he pushed after all the unpopular moves with the Xbox One that happened on his watch ?

Here's his first message to Zynga staff:

Team,

By now, you’ve had a chance to read Mark’s email about my coming aboard. I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself and share with you how excited I am to be here.

I’ve admired Zynga for years. You have redefined entertainment and brought gaming to the mainstream.

Only Zynga combines engineering, industry-leading product management and analytics to deliver products that strike a chord with consumers and add real value in their lives.

More than 1 billion people have installed a Zynga game across web and mobile and popular franchises like FarmVille and Words With Friends are a daily habit for millions of people. It’s a staggering milestone that speaks to the mass market opportunity ahead of all of us.

I joined Zynga because I believe that Mark’s pioneering vision and mission to connect the world through games is just getting started. As Mark was recruiting me to come here, I was impressed by his creativity, drive and the clarity in which he sees the future of games and entertainment as a core consumer experience.

For the last 30 years, I’ve been fortunate to work with smart people on exciting projects. I’ve managed over 100 platform transitions and I’ve never lost my love for seeing products as creative experiences that bring people together.

I’ve had the chance to lead the teams behind brands and franchises like “Need for Speed,” “FIFA” and “The Sims” and networks and consumer services like Xbox and Kinect. I’ve seen firsthand how powerful franchises and networks can work together to deliver breakthrough value for consumers and drive sustainable growth. We too, have all the makings of a successful service and business and we have the opportunity to create lifelong relationships with our customers through our high quality products.

Zynga is a great business that has yet to realize its full potential. I’m really proud to partner with a product focused founder like Mark and work with the executive team to grow the DNA of the company and lead this transition.

I’m looking forward to meeting everyone at our All-Hands tomorrow. Please feel free to submit any questions you have for Mark and me here – see you soon.

Don

If that's what he thinks of Zynga, no wonder he screwed up so badly with the Xbox One.

[InsaneTD]

"But numerous sources said Mattrick has been looking to leave Microsoft for some time..."

I wonder what the reason is if that's true.

[bilateralrope]

An Xbox One developer did an AMA on reddit. Where he said this:

The majority of the masses care only about the console, except that the success of the Kinect carries much more weight to us. The sensor costs almost as much as the console to make.

I doubt many people would be willing to buy a peripheral that costs as much as the console it's intended for. No wonder MS are bundling it.

[Sea Skimmer]

I can believe it, that thing has a very sophisticated infrared camera in it, IIRC much higher resolution and refresh rate then the original design, a non trival laser illuminator that had to be designed with a very long lifespan at a very precise power level, and a considerable amount of onboard processing power requiring a custom board, no way to do that cheaply up front. Two hundred bucks worth of hardware plus assembly costs seems reasonable when you look at what any halfway decent camera or computer board costs, and that would push you towards 'almost half the cost'.

[TheFeniX]

Phil Spenser has some current comments on the XBone. I'll quote a few items I find important, but it's worth a read to see where they really want to go with the system. Also, all the hilarious double-think as they try to convince you DRM is in your best interest.

You may disagree on how much of the Xbox One proposition has changed since Don Mattrick issued that statement and reversed some of the digital concepts …

Which concepts did he reverse?

Well, the idea of daily online authentication, the control and restriction of pre-owned game sales …

Okay, so those two specifically.

Yes. And the idea of being able to share digital games …

We didn't reverse that.

But they're in the background now. I wonder how much of that proposition, which was very Steam-like, will come back?

We're committed to the digital ecosystem that we talked about at the beginning of Xbox One. Absolutely. That's why I wanted to be clear on what you were referring to with the word 'reversal'. Other people have tried to twist this a little bit, but it's important that we remain in a two-way dialogue with gamers and potential customers about what they would like to see. Consoles today are as much a service as they are an individual purchase – our commitment through Xbox Live and updating the software and keeping the games coming is a long-term service commitment. The service gets better through direct feedback with the people who are using it.

This has always been an issue for me. "Consoles" are only so much a service, specifically, because Microsoft wants them to be. And it's splitting hairs because all this "service" is heaped on top with XBLive being a requirement for... pretty much everything besides SP only games, which even of Phil's admission, is a dieing breed a gaming because SP games are riddled with online capabilities they don't need, but are required.

So our plan was to continue to grab a lot of the advantages of a digital system while adding in physical. Now, there are some differences that you need to understand: in a digital world, we know which games are yours – as you purchase them online, the license is associated with your account and that gives us unique capabilities in terms of what we can do with that content. When the DRM is on the disc, we don't know that you own that disc and so the capabilities are different. If you're a digital customer and you're comfortable with that, you should invest in being a digital customer on Xbox One, because those advantages will be coming, some at launch and some later. But we're giving you a choice. It's like movies: I happen to be more of a digital customer, through Netflix and pay-per-view, but you can still go and buy Blu-rays and DVDs.

What they always gloss over is that "digital" DRM (I just said NIC Card, didn't I?) systems are almost always designed around the concept of "gouge the consumer as much as possible." The comparison to movies is pretty specious for a few reasons. I can't lose the ending to Spaceballs because MS shut down the servers. Paid reviews and pre-orders can't save your movie if the bottom drops out after the first group of rubes hated it. And I can always view the entire movie before deciding to purchase.

Now, if MS includes a form of digital game rental (which I've heard nothing about), holy shit: I'm fucking sold. It would have saved me loads of money on blundering into shit-heaps like Brink or Halo 3.

I want to play a game across every screen I have, wherever I am, and have it all matter.

This is hilarious considering I bought Angry Birds: Star Wars for my Windows phone (which kerploded because... quality) and that license isn't transferable to the wife's W8 laptop even though I'm signed into XBLive on it.

We'd all like that shit Spence. Too bad fuckers like you will double-dip at every opportunity and make me pay out the ass for the privilege.

[TheFeniX]

So there's some "Hint-hint-nudge-nudge" concerning the possibility of cross-platform play on the xbone. This comment got a laugh out of me:

Now you have differences in Windows gaming and console gaming around control and input… in fact if you go back to Shadow Run on Xbox 360 — something I worked on — we had PC players playing against Xbox 360 customers. We didn’t have tremendous success with that, but we learnt a lot from it.

I'm sure it had nothing to do with using an RPG license to shit out a mediocre TBO shooter and forcing controller users to play an FPS up against a vastly superior control scheme (for that genre). Also, it's "Shadowrun" you fucking hack. I have to wonder if the addition of KB/M support is something planned for a while or if MS is picking up their game considering valves Steambox becoming a reality.

Also, day 1 patch required for offline play. I can only assume the DRM was so far back in their development process, it's not feasible to retool their software before launch. So, if you want an Xbone for offline play, you'll need Internet to get it to that point. Active military will need to inform their families of this if they plan to send one to them. Otherwise, they get a fancy looking brick.