Live data from Hacker News

"Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

pastebin.com

181–190 of 294 posts

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't really work. The game is still supposed to be $60 at launch, that's when games make the most money, they really are worth that much (and more) as evidenced by the many people who pay that much for them, even on DRM-laden platforms like Steam. The point is to let the price fall faster after launch. Xbox can't exactly promise "Our games' prices will fall faster than the other guys" because the market will…

The reality is that nobody cares about the poor schmuck in rural Nebraska. 80% of the US population is urbanized. Most of the ones that aren't still have access to DSL, cable modems, or fixed wireless of at least a few megabits. Of the remaining population, a lot of them don't want to play video games or can't afford them anyway. Some (probably large) portion of those that are viable gaming customers will simply make…

That isn't actually the reality. For example, if nothing else, it's clear that Sony does care about the poor schmuck in rural Nebraska.

But more generally, why are you only talking about the United States? What you are saying might be true of the US, but plenty of places across the wider world are home to people who play video games but don't have an internet connection. Or have a spotty internet connection. Or have a connection with restrictive data caps (meaning digital download only would be impossible).

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't really work. The game is still supposed to be $60 at launch, that's when games make the most money, they really are worth that much (and more) as evidenced by the many people who pay that much for them, even on DRM-laden platforms like Steam. The point is to let the price fall faster after launch. Xbox can't exactly promise "Our games' prices will fall faster than the other guys" because the market will…

The reality is that nobody cares about the poor schmuck in rural Nebraska. 80% of the US population is urbanized. Most of the ones that aren't still have access to DSL, cable modems, or fixed wireless of at least a few megabits. Of the remaining population, a lot of them don't want to play video games or can't afford them anyway. Some (probably large) portion of those that are viable gaming customers will simply make…

Plus, as once a poor schmuck in rural Nebraska, we had decent DSL.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reality is that nobody cares about the poor schmuck in rural Nebraska. 80% of the US population is urbanized. Most of the ones that aren't still have access to DSL, cable modems, or fixed wireless of at least a few megabits. Of the remaining population, a lot of them don't want to play video games or can't afford them anyway. Some (probably large) portion of those that are viable gaming customers will simply make…

That isn't actually the reality. For example, if nothing else, it's clear that Sony does care about the poor schmuck in rural Nebraska. But more generally, why are you only talking about the United States? What you are saying might be true of the US, but plenty of places across the wider world are home to people who play video games but don't have an internet connection. Or have a spotty internet connection. Or have…

Much of the first world is better connected than the US. If you're talking about gamers with both money and poor connections, they're far more likely to be in the US than anywhere else.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#184
post #51

"Some PS4 viral team made them all "U TOOK R DISCS" and they hiveminded." I'm not sure how delusional you have to be to believe that the reason your customers hate your DRM is because your competitors had a "viral team" that persuaded them to be.

The amount of delusion necessary to create this massive of a failure is beyond comprehension:

- "Scratched discs" and my "little brother" messing with my games are two use cases I have never encountered in my entire gaming life. For those who have encountered those issues? Bummer! Life goes on. In fact, props to PS3 for using Blu-Ray, which has extra protection against scratches by design.

- How in the world is GameStop the enemy? Forget the War on Drugs -- this War on Trade-Ins is perhaps the most absurd thing I've ever heard. The fact that publishers, developers, etc. feel entitled to a cut of that $5 most people get for trade-ins says a lot about how up-their-own-asses this industry has become.

- I don't want Microsoft OWNING any part of my house, thank you very much.

- Any "savings" Microsoft will give customers for new games (which will never happen anyway) will be made up with the cost of XBox Live.

- The "phone home" model is shit. Absolute shit. Stop keeping tabs on me.

- Lack of indie dev access? How can a gaming system that's marketing itself as 'ahead of the curve' be so ridiculously out-of-touch with what's successful in the market?

- The ONLY TIME the 100% digital model works for me is when the convenience of information transfer outweighs the cost of the game itself. Steam is great because whenever I have to reinstall Windows, all of my games just automagically re-download. In iOS, I'm purchasing new devices (iPads, new iPhones, etc.) on an almost-yearly cycle. All I have to do is enter my credentials, and all of my apps and data are right there. Not too shabby considering most apps are $10 or less, not freaking $70!

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reality is that nobody cares about the poor schmuck in rural Nebraska. 80% of the US population is urbanized. Most of the ones that aren't still have access to DSL, cable modems, or fixed wireless of at least a few megabits. Of the remaining population, a lot of them don't want to play video games or can't afford them anyway. Some (probably large) portion of those that are viable gaming customers will simply make…

Plus, as once a poor schmuck in rural Nebraska, we had decent DSL.

As once a poor schmuck in not-even-that-rural Alabama, we never could and still cannot get decent anything there. Best I could come up with when I still lived there and what my mother still uses is mobile internet with a small cap.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should probably make a throw-away for this comment but whatever, as much as it hurts to admit it: I kind of like windows 8.

On a tablet or desktop? I have it on a desktop and every affordance it makes for tablets and touch interaction is annoying to me. And its desktop UI is ugly. It is fast though.

to me being fast is a feature. I think it added speed to my ole thinkpad. Getting past metro is 1 click after boot.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#188
"The thing is, the DRM is really really similar to steam... You can login anywhere and play your games, anyone in your house can play with the family xbox. The only diff is steam you have to sign in before playing, and Xbox does it automatically at night for you (once per 24 hours)"

Steam Offline Mode: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-agc...

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah they could have easily reversed their PR mishap as well. "Hey everyone $29.99 (or less) for release day games" No one would be complaining about always-on DRM at that price. Sadly it's very unlikely since they are selling physical discs.

I imagine we will see $29.99 (or even less.. I would say even some as far as free if they were digitally distributed) release day games, but that the proportion of the game that will be included will be significantly reduced.. like you get the demo for free and $5 per level thereafter for example. All sorts of possibilities for pricing and making money in new ways for consoles. I agree the use of discs seems a silly…

Yeah of the traditional consoles Sony will win for the hardcore market. I just wonder if Apple, Google, or Roku have any surprises this Fall as well. In my opinion, those companies are going to cause the most disruption in the video game market. Then there's the Oculus and Omni...

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#190
post #107

The engineer bases his argument on an assumption that is usually erroneous: The price of a product is related to its cost. This is a logical assumption, but almost always false. It is far more commonly true that the price of a product is dictated by what consumers are willing to pay. If the PS4 version of game X sells for $59.99, it is more than likely that the Xbox1 version will sell for the same price, because peop…

  | the price of a product is dictated by what
  | consumers are willing to pay
The value is dictated by consumers, but anyone can set the price unreasonably high, and sit around wondering why no one is buying.
Post reply on HN