Microsoft's John Schappert to deliver GDC keynote

i think not

Why are you using a false nickname...?

Impostor.

Well, as you mention, they can't plan hardware for crap.

However, their online strategy has been carried out very, very well. (See PSN for what happens when no planning is put into online).

So, the idea of 'democratizing game development' poses an interesting test for Microsoft.

On the on hand, this plays to their strengths. Mictosoft is far, far more experienced than Sony or Nintendo in delivering and supporting general-purpose development environments.

On the other hand, Microsoft's Achilles Heel has been their Pavlovian tendency to clamp down, close off, and exert complete control over what content can be distributed over XBox Live.

If they want to realize their "YouTube for Games" strategy, someone high up at Microsoft is going to have to loosen their sphincter and be willing to open up their network, allowing creative games to flow from the colons of developers across the world. Wait.. what?

tanya/jack/fernandoimposter: banned

Well they had a plan but it didn't include the HD-DVD, Blu-ray, Rushed consoles or RROD issues. Their actual plan is the same one they had been using since the original XBOX was launched.

"Microsoft Plan for the Xbox:
1-Form Microsoft Gaming Studios
2-Buy Rare
3-????
4-Profit."

*If any mishap occurs add tons of money to it until is resolved or people learn to live with it.

(*Also called the Microsoft Windows strategy)

XNA Arcade sounds better to me. Dont know what your talking about...

@tanya_valdez - I'm not sure about Microsoft's plans, but you sure didn't have any when you wrote that stupid list

To answer your question, I would have to say Sony Arrogance. At least in my case. I'm an old school gamer, who always buys several of each console, every generation. (big family). This will be the first gen I boycot a console, and it was the arrogance that did it for me.

Knight Marquise,
And overpriced hardrives/accessories isn't arrogant? How about charging people for gamer pics and themes? Or saying that they have NO COMPETITION in the online gaming space even though PC online gaming has been around forever and PSN is catching up as well. But the most arrogant thing must be Bill Gates recently saying that the 360 will be the most reliable console when after over 2 years they have not been able to solve the RROD problem, there have even been user reports of the new 65nm falcon 360s getting the RROD.

As bad and arrogant Sony is, Microsoft is 100 times worse. The 360 has many excellent games and had a superb 2007 lineup, but it would be bad for gamers to have sony completely fail. Competition is advantageous to the consumer, and Microsoft is one of the most anticompetitive companies to have ever existed. Just look at the OS market to see what we have to look forward to if MS wins.

Furthor & Figboy,

Hmmm, looks like I struck a note with a couple of people who obviously prefer Sony's console.

I never realized my opinion needed to be substantiated, as it was simply my opinion of why Sony gets hit pretty hard this gen. Regardless, I'll play along.

Furthor:

The honest part of your comments, i.e. overpriced accessories isn't arrogance. It's a business model, and one that revolves around choice while trying to keep the cost of entry at a reasonable price point. You don't have to like it, but historically, it is always more expensive to add options then to buy the "all-in-one" products, because that choice comes with a price. Consumers can accept it or reject it. I don't find that arrogant. Then again, I'm a business oriented individual, and the concept isn't rare, new, or even ingenious. It's been around a very long time.

The rest of your comment seems to loose all coherence, and dive into Sony Fanboyism, IMHO. Such as MS claim of no competition. It is true how they presented that, and that is in the console online gaming space. A little fact you left out. Bill Gates recent comment. As a business owner myself, I hardly find that arrogant, I find that the be responsible, and that should be any business's ambition.
As for the RROD, I've commented on this before, feel free to look through my profile. I have purchased 7 360's as of last December. My house has 360's that include a launch box and a "launch" Elite. I've not had the RROD problems, fortunately. My experience has been steller, although I do believe MS has a hardware issue, I don't believe it is as bad as reading the fanboy blogs would have one to believe, nor have I heard of the new "falcons" having RROD. Of course, I don't spend much time on PS3 fanboy nor the Sony Defence Force, and I also don't lend any credence to anecdotal evidence.

Yes, I believe Sony has been far more arrogant coming into this generation, and rather then waste a substantial amount of bandwidth quoting and linking, just google Ken Kutagari and or sony arrogance. You'll find enough quotes of arrogance to last you a long time. I will mention one, though.

I do own my own company. I make a very comfortable living, and feel that I have been blessed far more then I deserve. I thank God for those blessings every day. Money, at this stage in my life, is not an issue. Never the less, when a company comes out and explains that a product of theirs is so great, that they're going to blow all pricepoints out of the water, and when the question of consumer affordability comes up, their answer is people will want to work a second job to afford it. That, to me, was the height of arrogance. It's not that it effected me personally, because my finances are so that it doesn't. But there was a time in my life when it would have, and I can't begin to describe how offended that statement made me.

Your last paragraph is most telling. You obviously don't like Microsoft, and that's fine. I do like MS products, and I also like Sony Products. God knows I've spent more on their HDTV's and Monitors between my own residence and office, then Game Systems...and I buy ALOT of game systems. I do not wish Sony to fail, as I did not wish for Nintendo to fail last gen. I am a capitalist and do believe competition is good, and with good competition, the consumer wins.


Figboy...I'm 41. Yes, I'm an oldschool gamer. My dad purchased pong, the Atari 400, 800, TRS80, (computers), Atari 2600 and the Magnovox Odyssey. After that I begin purchasing my own systems, the Atari 5200, then Intellivision, Colecovision, Nintendo's, Segas, etc.

Basially, my comments to further should really explain my position in regards to your post as well. The only thing I'll take exception to is your excusal (my opinion) of Sonys arrogance by stating it's every large companys PR departments job to put their companys product in the best light. That much is true. However, it is also true that those PR departments should know the difference between differentiating their product with the competitions WITHOUT alienating and/or downright insulting the consumer. On a side note, I do believe Sony's PR/Advertising company/department should have been let go along time ago or new people brought in, as it is that aspect that has hurt Sony the most, in my opinion.

Bottom line gentlemen. Play and enjoy the system(s) you want. I do.