Should MS try to beat Sony and Nintendo at single player, or do something else?

Well, they were looking to hire people to make a game like Horizon Zero Dawn.

Not sure if that means it will be SP or MP.

They don't have either anymore.

Halo has been replaced by an RPG version Destiny... and has decreased in relevance over the years.

Gears was NEVER good, this was the uncharted of the Xbox360 generation to me, a shiny tech demo that people butt loved for no reason other than "oo shiny" ... killing off Unreal Tournament which actually had effort put into it.

Forza... good but now on PC.

They don't lead in anything, that is the problem.

Judging from this poll, looks like lemmings are wanting single player, I mean Movie games.

You assume this is lemmings voting?

They need new major IPs, any genre will do at this point.

The only worthwhile IPs they have right now are Minecraft and Forza.

Halo and Gears need major reboots to become relevant again.

@kali-b1rd: To be fair Gears did raise the bar and set the standard for third person cover shooters. Unreal Tournament was dying off anyway due to the declining interest in arena shooters which was then taken over by the modern military shooter trend.

They should start looking at their first party offerings as a way of setting a tone for their platform. Singleplayer, multiplayer, heck anything. They don't make a case for their technology any more, and by that I mean not only just the hardware but also their network. There is a whole lot of work to be done.

Yes I will give it that, but I never felt the MP to be anything close to good.... was very limited. (I was spoiled by the PC Scene in comparison)

Sure, I wouldn’t mind seeing some more stronger single player only games from them. I still thoroughly enjoy the Halo, Gears of War, and Forza games that they put out but I’d also love to see more stuff like Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, and Quantum Break as well.

@kali-b1rd: Well yeah in comparison to the PC scene Gears MP isn't much but for consoles its a pretty big deal just like Halo. Gears is one of the few console games back in its day to have a pretty competitive online scene. Not only that Gears was very multiplayer friendly with not only PvP content but PvE content with you being able to play the entire campaign with a friend and a horde mode with up to 5 people.

I think it's obvious ms are going in a different direction than sony and Nintendo. Multiplayer comes first.

Wondering why MS haters got so much spare time to keep on posting MS bashing threads ........ must be between them long cutscenes.

I want to see more singleplayer games, but I have no idea if they're going to deliver because we've been waiting a long time and whenever they put some new singleplayer IP out, it just doesn't end up being anything that can compete with Sony.

So it probably makes sense for Microsoft to focus on multiplayer. What they should really do is have a strong focus on VR since multiplayer gaming is likely to shift towards VR as time goes on as it's inherently more social and competitive with all kinds of new genres waiting to be made. It's a brand new playing field, so Microsoft can actually get ahead of Sony. Obviously Sony has PSVR but Microsoft do have Windows MR already which is better specs wise and they have the advantage in perusing both AR and VR at the same time.

I think ms will eventually start to release new single player IP but it could be 2 years out. They seem to be restructuring the company the best way to get these single player games out is 3rd party exclusives whilst the studios are hard at work.

Gosh, and here you guys pontificate incessantly about how much more value and time you spend with multiplayer games instead of movie games, but here you be fam. Don't you have an endless ocean of skeletons to kill, bro?

These clown lems always make me laugh. Watch as he goes into hiding.

I think they do. Not like Uncharted or Zelda, since those are games catered to their audience. Zelda is for core Nintendo fans while Uncharted is for core Sony fans. Microsoft needs something similar in that it's a single player game tailored to their audience.

MS, the developer, hasn’t committed to an identity. They’ve made the same calculated choices that Epic, Rockstar, and others have regarding SP-only titles but haven’t managed to find anything to anchor themselves along the industry spectrum.

If I ran MS, I’d look to prioritize GaaS and the competitive games library. But more than anything, I’d look to start building up the stable of 1st party studios. Or, if not feasible within budget constraints, I’d be searching for publishing deals for exclusive games the same way that Sunset Overdrive was arranged.

Do you even have a clue how much MS is investing and have been investing to keep companies like Amazon taking over when the day comes there is no precious piece of plastic under your
TV?

https://www.windowscentral.com/xbox-can-play-long-game-its-exclusive-line-time-running-out

I don't agree a lot with the author (especially on exclusives) but if you follow the investments it holds water.

They are thinking long game not sorry console war BS. If you have not been paying attention since 2014. They are not playing this old Nintendo vs Sega war. When they say Sony is not the competitor they mean it as far as long term. Cloud and streaming is what it is going to be and Sony will not be prepared.

In the meantime spout your fanboyism, and if you prefer what you have be happy and play it.

@the-a-baum: So, basically:

A. "It's the future"

B. Being competitive doesn't mean shit because teh moneez.

Let me ask you. Does gaming or being a gamer mean a damn thing to you? Are you donating money to "the strategy" or do you want some goddamn games that evolve the medium and bring you joy? ...asking for a friend.

Of course you're not too busy with those last gen games in 4K to play defense force though. Time to party like it's 2009 on Xbox!

Whats wrong with Halo Sp? yeah 5 wasn't great but it was still pretty good. I've gotta feelin that they have fixed it with 6 but you're still gonna have to play as Fireteam Osiris for it to work though, How they are Spartans is beyond me though. I think they are trying to extend the universe a lot. Not to mention that Steven Spielberg in directing the new TV show. They are going to try to cash in with Halo. I also hope they will do another ODST or REACH type of game. Halo has a lot of potential. But MS just needs some new IP's or reboot the plenty of games that have disappeared over the years.

They need top notch exclusives, it doesnt matter if they are single or mps. They need to be badass to make people want them.

Ouch. That's gotta hurt.

They should make games that appeal to gamers

@Shewgenja: Absolutely I am a consumer/ gamer first. I want some new great IPs whether SP, MP or preferably a mix of both like Gears. And I have been vocal about not having that great new IP of this gen. It pisses me off! SPs alone are not the answer and great ones like Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break did not sell well, except on the secondary/used market. I just want some new great IPs.

I am simply stating I understand the strategy and they are not making the kind of moves that cater to console war forum measuring sticks such as these. And to be completely honest I do not know if the strategy is something I want to get behind going into next gen. This E3 is going to the final straw for me if they don't show up.

@the-a-baum: it seems now that MS has everything in place to compete/prepare to fight off the big companies like amazon/google with a streaming service with gamepass and its ever growing azure. At E3 i think we'll start seeing the investment with games now. It will be interesting to see if Sony/Nintendo can build up it services/streaming to compete, that article brought up some good points and psn/psnow doesnt seem viable without some major upgrades.

They can't beat Nintendo at single player. Focus on developing their online-gaming and interface.

I've been playing a lot of OG Xbox games with my brother lately, and it's hard to believe that it's from the same company, because there are so many exclusives and standout single player and co-op experiences for it. Even games like Blinx, which is rough around the edges, contains 100X the charm than what the Xbox brand represents today.

MS doesn't have to "beat" Sony and Nintendo, but they sure as hell need to offer more variety than they do now.

That, I respect. I guess it's easy for me to point fingers because I got off that fence a long time ago. Sometimes, it's healthy to hear people out.

I think they should aim to have a diverse & varied lineup, instead of focusing on certain types of games... which is what it sounds like they're doing, according to Phil.

They need "games", that's all there is to it. In all genres!!!

You've triggered the snowflakes Sony Fannies. Well done.

I'd like that to happen, it would be good for Sony to have some REAL competition, I mean, if it's doing what it's been doing without any competition, imagine what it could achieve if the Xbox was a threat.

I'd like to see that.

@the-a-baum: ps now is a game streaming service, you know, so, Sony may not be reporting what's been doing, you never know.

M$ has been trying to change the gaming industry over 10 years now and have ultimately failed, what makes you think they'll eventually succeed? What makes you think Sony is not preparing itself for any of this? AFAIK, it could be, it's just not letting anyone see it.

Xbox studios at their best does games with great campaigns and great multi players that keep you coming back for more. And i have zero complaints with gears 4 or halo 5.

But they need something new, and don't want them to force multi player to sacrifice the main Campaign. I know Fable is coming back but that game never did it for me. Not why I got back into video games.

I still remember when Xbox dumped many of their marketing rights ie Call of Duty, and Phil said he would rather spend the money on 1st party. Have not seen much but AA games since Gears. Where is the money going? Sure as hell is not marketing! (But that's another story) Show us some AAA new IP!

They have been doing this for close to 20 years now. They know how to do this. But WTF?!

And sorry going to go on a little rant here. Too many people say they want new great SP Games and then don't buy them or go and get them used. Give any excuse you want, but if you don't support those games you won't get more. Remember Alan Wake?

@recloud: PSnow proves that Sony knows it's coming. And totally agree it is strange we don't hear of them investing in anything do with the tech required to do it right, or future proofing. And we all know Sony loves to talk numbers! So even if they invested only a billion or made some kind of alliance, something would have leaked one way or another.

Trust me, I am not one of the fanboys that wants to see the competitor leave gaming.

I am loving this actual convo and hope someone starts a thread on the topic.

They would have token offerings for SP, like SO or QB, but Sony and Nintendo set the bar so high that it tough to make waves. Their main thrust should be GaaS stuff like SoT.

Having said that MS allowing SoT to be launched at such bare bones state baffles me. It should be launch 6 months later with more features.

It will be a rough next gen for them if they still clinging on halo and gears. This gen is already decided. I think they should announce something big for the following E3. Maybe an RPG game like Lost Odyssey or Fable would be a good start.

It seem they are trying to do what Sony does.

I mean, they do need more singleplayer exclusives... but I doubt they will be able to match Nintendo in quality of game design or Sony in quality of storytelling.

Well they already are the best place to play online in terms of consoles. A buddy of mine was on Live last night, recently having gotten an X1. He said himself, "the voice chat quality is so nice and clear compared to PSN."

Xbox makes a point of making sure that since they are charging a fee, they attempt to make MP games people not only wish to play continually but have large cash prize tournaments. Also the quality is just better from chat to servers to less down time and security.

I don't think they should aim to compete tit for tat in SP with the others. Just round out your platform for your own sake by making some quality SP games.

Something that doesn't get talked about is Sony have been in the entertainment industry for longer than MS. They have worked in movies and music and games. They have a feel for entertainment culture. MS never did until Xbox. They have a lot to learn Imo about entertainment.