Current Events > Satya Nadella on the future of Xbox

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.dualshockers.com/xbox-one-x-incredible-response-satya-nadella/

Today, During Microsofts Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella talked about the plans for the gaming business in the future, and the initial performance of the Xbox One X.

Were mobilizing to pursue an expansive opportunity in the 100+ billion gaming market. This means broadening our approach to how we think about gaming end-to-end. About starting with games and how theyre created and distributed, and how theyre played and viewed.

Nadella continued by mentioning that the company will continue to connect its gaming assets across PC, consoles, and mobile, and they will work to grow and engage the over 53 million Xbox Live members more deeply and frequently with new services like Game Pass and Mixer.

Nadella also added that the Xbox One X, which he defined the most technically advanced and most powerful console ever built is seeing incredible response from fans this Holiday season.

Smells like 'Games as a Service' to me.
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imagine buying an Xbox one
imagine buying lootboxes
imagine not playing actual good games like nioh and nier automata

courier_nv posted...

imagine buying an Xbox one
imagine buying lootboxes
imagine not playing actual good games like nioh and nier automata

imagine being an adult and acting like this
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courier_nv posted...

imagine buying an Xbox one
imagine buying lootboxes
imagine not playing actual good games like nioh and nier automata

Imagine being this big of a fanboy
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Darmik posted...

Smells like 'Games as a Service' to me.

of course it does

Darmik posted...

Smells like 'Games as a Service' to me.

how do you get "Games as a Service" from that?
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ChromaticAngel posted...

Darmik posted...

Smells like 'Games as a Service' to me.

how do you get "Games as a Service" from that?

This means broadening our approach to how we think about gaming end-to-end. About starting with games and how theyre created and distributed, and how theyre played and viewed

What do you think that means?
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it's just PR fluff. it doesnt mean anything

AlternativeFAQS posted...

it's just PR fluff. it doesnt mean anything

PR fluff to shareholders?

Pretty much all of the major publishers are already heading in this direction anyway. Of course he's talking about Games as a Service. Sea of Thieves is one and that's their biggest exclusive for next year so far.
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AlternativeFAQS posted...

Darmik posted...

Smells like 'Games as a Service' to me.

of course it does

Fuck games as a service. You spend money buying a game and you don't even own it.

EducatedGuy posted...

AlternativeFAQS posted...

Darmik posted...

Smells like 'Games as a Service' to me.

of course it does

Fuck games as a service. You spend money buying a game and you don't even own it.

so literally every digital game you buy

Darmik posted...

What do you think that means?

Well lets talk about it cherry picked.

how theyre created

This means entrenched visual studio tools for game development. features that only work on windows or only on professional licensed Visual Studio indicating they can get money out of developers for being kind enough to make games for them.

and distributed

More focus on digital titles, play anywhere, game sharing, etc.

how theyre played

straight up screams "we want more first party mobile games"

and viewed

e-sports
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Consoles need to "die". It's more consumer friendly to have something like "Xbox" exist as a platform across multiple devices.
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ChromaticAngel posted...

This means entrenched visual studio tools for game development. features that only work on windows or only on professional licensed Visual Studio indicating they can get money out of developers for being kind enough to make games for them.

I think this is a stretch tbh. He says created and distributed together. Which fits games like Ark and PUBG. Both are games that Microsoft have struck deals with.
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they struck deals with them because they're very popular online

Darmik posted...

I think this is a stretch tbh. He says created and distributed together. Which fits games like Ark and PUBG. Both are games that Microsoft have struck deals with.

Microsoft neither created nor distributed those games. They already had wide player bases at the time contracts were reached with those companies.

Unless you mean to say that "created and distributed" actually means "wait for someone to create and distribute a game then buy their company and all the rights to it"
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AlternativeFAQS posted...

they struck deals with them because they're very popular online

As are Games as a Service in general. It seems pretty obvious this is the direction Microsoft is going with.

ChromaticAngel posted...

Microsoft neither created nor distributed those games. They already had wide player bases at the time contracts were reached with those companies.

Unless you mean to say that "created and distributed" actually means "wait for someone to create and distribute a game then buy their company and all the rights to it"

They struck deals with those games because they like the business model and they think this stuff is the future. Which is gonna be the same thing with their own games.

It's Microsoft. Remember when they tried to follow the F2P trend with Fable Legends?
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Darmik posted...

They struck deals with those games because they like the business model and they think this stuff is the future. Which is gonna be the same thing with their own games.

ok except neither of those two games are games as a service.
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yep. you're right. halo 6 is just gonna be a sandbox online game a la GTAV

ChromaticAngel posted...

Darmik posted...

They struck deals with those games because they like the business model and they think this stuff is the future. Which is gonna be the same thing with their own games.

ok except neither of those two games are games as a service.

Wut? They released as early access games and are constantly updated by their developers. How is it not GaaS?
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I mean Xbox Game Pass has been around for a while now so it's kinda mission accomplished don't you think? We shouldn't be speaking of games as a service as a future possibility.
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Darmik posted...

Wut? They released as early access games and are constantly updated by their developers. How is it not GaaS?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service
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AlternativeFAQS posted...

yep. you're right. halo 6 is just gonna be a sandbox online game a la GTAV

No. But it's gonna have a huge focus on microtransactions/lootboxes and possibly also have multiplayer/F2P versions to play. It's also gonna be on Windows 10. Wouldn't surprise me if it has some Battle Royale mode too.
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weapon_d00d816 posted...

I mean Xbox Game Pass has been around for a while now so it's kinda mission accomplished don't you think? We shouldn't be speaking of games as a service as a future possibility.

Pretty much yeah. I'm pretty sure they have said they think single player games have a future on services like that.

ChromaticAngel posted...

Darmik posted...

Wut? They released as early access games and are constantly updated by their developers. How is it not GaaS?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service

Ctrl + F 'Game'

Not found

Games as a Service is a title that's constantly supported with additional content and updates after release.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIPXGatOifY
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Yeah this was the Game Pass comment about single player games

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-27-xbox-game-pass-subs-can-help-fund-big-budget-single-player-games-microsoft-says

Revenue from subscriptions such as this, Loftis said, "helps us put games like that [which are single-player focused] in the market over time."

"I don't think that it's dead per se," Loftis continued. "I don't think that there is ever going to be a time when there aren't single-player, story-based games.

"I do think the economics of taking a single-player game and telling a very high fidelity multi-hour story get a little more complicated. Gamers want higher fidelity and they want higher resolution graphics."

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Darmik posted...

ChromaticAngel posted...

Darmik posted...

Wut? They released as early access games and are constantly updated by their developers. How is it not GaaS?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service

Ctrl + F 'Game'

Not found

Games as a Service is a title that's constantly supported with additional content and updates after release.

Look, just because you don't know what the fuck you're talking about doesn't mean you get to change the definition of Games as a Service.

1. Games are software, I'd hoped you actually tried to read the page instead of Ctrl+F through it but it seems I expected too much of you.

2. Service is code for Subscription. Free PS+ games are Games as a Service. Pay-to-Play (or Free-to-Play) MMOs are Games as a Service. PSNow (formerly OnLife) is Games as a Service.

Getting free content patches for a released in early access game is not games as a service.

3. Here is nVidia's own GaaS platform: http://www.nvidia.com/object/cloud-gaming.html
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Is it just me, or is the whole point of this that Xbox only exists because PC and mobile gamers are never going to pay for XBL?

ChromaticAngel posted...

2. Service is code for Subscription. Free PS+ games are Games as a Service. Pay-to-Play (or Free-to-Play) MMOs are Games as a Service. PSNow (formerly OnLife) is Games as a Service.

Better let EA and Ubisoft know they're using the term wrong

http://blog.ubi.com/games-service-means-ubisoft/

What exactly does games as a service mean for Ubisoft?

ABJ: Games as a service basically means enhancing and reinforcing the relationship between Ubisoft and gamers. We need to provide players with AAA services that reflect the quality of the AAA games they are playing; thats in terms of customer service and community management, as well as the content, tools and events we are creating for them.

The people playing our games are not just consumers. We see the passion and engagement of our gaming communities, and were doing our best to cater to them. Were not just delivering one final product to players anymore; were providing a whole series of services pre-launch, during launch, and post-launch. Be it new content in the form of DLC and other expansions, special community events, the opportunity to contribute to the development of the game itself during the alpha and beta stages, new tools to create user-generated content, or making improvements to the game based on community feedback, its about providing players with a global experience, and keeping them engaged so they get the most from the gaming world.

http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/eas-cfo-talks-microtransactions-and-games-as-a-live-service-w511755

"What we're really doing is trying to build a live service in which we'll be adding new content constantly to the game and giving people new ways to play the game," Jorgensen said about Battlefront 2. "They can play and earn things, or they can actually pay for things."

No offense but I'll listen to how they use the term.
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Darmik posted...

Ubisoft

ABJ: Live features and content need to be taken into consideration from the very beginning of a games development. Betas and alphas are essential in gauging where the focus needs to be throughout the development process. For example, The Division beta saw a record 6.4 million players participate, it gave the dev team valuable insights, and the game went on to become Ubisofts best-ever day-one seller. For Honors Closed Alpha just had a successful run on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Having seen the anticipation for the game at E3 and Gamescom, I think this will be a huge success, which is great news for the development teams, as they can use that information to deliver the best experience for fans. This model is here to stay, and were determined to do our best to make sure Ubisofts communities are really getting nothing but the very best from our games.

All MMOs and MOBAs AKA online-only services.

Darmik posted...

EA

"People don't talk about playing the game anymore, they talk about playing the live-service,"

Try again.
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When single-player games start demanding a subscription, my backlog will begin to get smaller.

I would've figured they learned that they shouldnt have lost all those 3rd party developers and cancelled the small amount they had in the works (scalebound etc).

They need to move away from their 3 pillars of gaming. (Halo, Gears and Foriza)
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It's not restricted to MMO's and free MOBA's. I'm not sure where you got this impression. For Honor is neither of those.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-10-10-games-as-a-service-has-tripled-the-industrys-value

The report continued: "This does not just apply to free-to-play titles: In 2016, a quarter of all digital revenue from PC games with an upfront cost came from additional content."

Digitalisation has forever changed the economics of the videogame industry, the report says. Consumers are expecting more for less from game developers, an issue which has also plagued indie game developers for some time.

These shifting notions of value in the videogame world have irrevocably altered players' spending habits, the report found.

"Consumers are less willing to pay $60 for a boxed game and instead choose titles with a steady stream of new content," the report said. "Publishers seek to meet these expectations and have adopted a 'games as a service' model, releasing fewer titles over time while keeping players engaged longer with regular updates and add-ons."

This can be via an MMO but it's not restricted to that.

Hitman is a game that is considered to be a Games as a Service title despite being single player.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/19/hitman-creative-director-looks-back-at-hitmans-first-season-and-games-as-a-service/

Look up 'Games as a Service' and read all the articles about it. They're not only talking about MMO's and F2P games.
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Darmik posted...

This can be via an MMO but it's not restricted to that.

Hitman is a game that is considered to be a Games as a Service title despite being single player.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/19/hitman-creative-director-looks-back-at-hitmans-first-season-and-games-as-a-service/

Look up 'Games as a Service' and read all the articles about it. They're not only talking about MMO's and F2P games.

To provide games as a service, you have to actually provide a service. Releasing patches and content for a game is called support, it is not a service.

Hitman is predominantly a single player game but it provides a live service in the form of Elusive targets and other transient missions.

If you disconnect your game from the internet, you lose access to the service portion of the game and can only play the regular base game.
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ChromaticAngel posted...

To provide games as a service, you have to actually provide a service. Releasing patches and content for a game is called support, it is not a service.

I'm not talking about balance/performance patches.

Basically any game that is designed for you to check back in every week or so thanks to content updates/changes is a GaaS title. Games with a lot of post launch support. That's the service.

ChromaticAngel posted...

Hitman is predominantly a single player game but it provides a live service in the form of Elusive targets and other transient missions.

I know. Which doesn't fit what you were talking about in post 27.
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Darmik posted...

Smells like 'Games as a Service' to me.

Yes, Services are what Nadella is all about
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Darmik posted...

I'm not talking about balance patches.

Neither am I.

Darmik posted...

Basically any game that is designed for you to check back on every week or so thanks to content updates/changes is a GaaS title. Games with a lot of post launch support. That's the service.

Games with a lot of post launch support are exactly that, games with a lot of post launch support.

Services are an ongoing business relationship between you and the service provider. Games can have a service portion such as Grand Theft Auto Online without being entirely a service. You can also have non-service games provided as a service through something that is a service, such as Playstation Plus, Playstation NOW, or nVidia GRID.
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ChromaticAngel posted...

Services are an ongoing business relationship between you and the service provider. Games can have a service portion such as Grand Theft Auto Online without being entirely a service.

This is what I've been talking about the entire time. It doesn't matter that GTAV has a portion that is GaaS. It's still a GaaS title. The most profitable one around. Nobody excludes a title as GaaS if it has offline content.

ChromaticAngel posted...

You can also have non-service games provided as a service through something that is a service, such as Playstation Plus, Playstation NOW, or nVidia GRID.

Microsoft already does this.
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