By now, most of us are aware of the seemingly insane number (it grows daily) of eyebrow-raising, facepalm-inducing, meme self-writing policies that Microsoft has tried to introduce along with its newest console. It has left many to wonder if microsoft has gone insane. I seriously doubt it. If the last gen has taught me anything its that Microsoft has applied some well-researched psychology to their consumers. Its impressive really, but I'll leave that discussion for another time.
But they have not gone mad. Instead, what we are in fact witnessing is the art of negotiation. Hidden within the mountain of policies are a few things that they are really serious about. Don't ask me which ones..your guess is as good as mine.
But one does not simply....ask for exactly what you want.
No, Microsoft has entered into a negotiation with its fan base that will play out during the next few months. During this time, as the E3 buzz dies out, they will, one policy at a time, withdraw from their position. At each step, they will seem to be responding to their consumers. Seem to ask for forgiveness. Apologize even.
This does two things. It keeps them in the news for the next few months constantly, and it paints a picture of a company gone wrong that now seeks redemption. They will gather buzz and be left with whatever policies they really do want and maybe a few more. See, whatever they really want is in itself unconscionable. However, by painting a much worse reality and then gradually bringing consumers to where you want them to be, you make your stance much more tolerable.
So, what will we be left with? It all depends on how you negotiate.
Microsoft announced its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2026, including an update on its gaming Xbox business and more.
Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.
To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.
The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.
Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.
15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.
These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse
The charity event will be streamed live from Gamescom in August.
Thanks to the slip-up of an artist working on the title, we now have more evidence that a new Injustice game is in the works.
The latest quotes coming straight from MS shows that your absolutely wrong 100%. There is no negotiation. Microsoft has been re-iterating it's stance even further on the issues that we all hate about the Xbox One.
http://n4g.com/news/1279263...
and another n4g article where Microsoft recently said that they don't care what the PS4 is doing, they are still gonna stay the coarse.
http://n4g.com/news/1283247...
The second article is even more damning, as it just came out yesterday. That means they are STILL going through with anti-used games, daily DRM, and Kinect being on just to play. Also the xbox is 50% less powerful. What is there left that MS can do to negotiate?
All MS can do is ride this out, and learn through failure--as they are determined to believe that their way is the right way. There is no negotiation anymore. MS should have thought about that back when all this DRM crap was a rumor. MS is set in it's ways.
Your DELUSIONAL if u think MS is reasonable. They have no idea what people want. Look at the restrictions and fee's they put on Windows 8. Your way off if u think they will change.
"it paints a picture of a company gone wrong that now seeks redemption."
What...?
"seeks redemption." What?!
If anything all I've seen is a company in denial. They're forcing customers to adhere to a certain standard, and only telling them that they have to adhere.
A real look at MS DRM policies and methods shouts that they've literally built DRM into the console. There is absolutely no bargaining on that front because they fully and wholly intended for their console to need to be online whether it be 24 hours, six months to a year, or whenever a new game is installed.
Why are Xbox fans like this. I know that there are Sony fanboys just as bad, but the vast majority of MS followers seem to readily drink the cool-aid and accept whatever PR BS Major Nelson dolls out.