So now that the day of the big reveal is less than 3 weeks away I thought I would share a few thoughts about how I think things will go down.
Lets talk about the show itself and our expectations of the console first. Many of you, like me, I’m sure are a little bit worried about Microsoft’s talk of wanting the next XBox to be your whole media centre and the most important part of your living room. This for many has generated the feeling that Microsoft may be moving away from gaming albeit however slightly and focusing more on other areas such as on demand TV and other apps (I’m looking at you Pizza Hut).
After Sony’s PS4 reveal it seems they are giving the players what they want: more social connections, more features, improving on existing things and making games and gamers the main focus of the console. The concern here is that if Microsoft doesn’t meet or exceed the features shown by the PS4 or makes the games less important than the other stuff then many gamers could emmigrate to a place they feel more wanted and cared for. Peter Molyneux in a recent interview with IGN said “I think, for me, it’s very simple with the Xbox; I just want the ultimate gaming console. Okay, there’s a lot of things they could shove in that box which are kind of about the living room, Netflix and about Facebook, Twittering and stuff like that. Well, I don’t want any of that. I just want the ultimate gamer’s device.” I think he has hit the nail on the head here, gamers want the best gaming cosole they can get and everything else is just a bonus after that.
We cant talk about this and not mention Kinect of course. It’s all but confirmed Kinect 2.0 will launch with the next XBox the question is how Microsoft handles it. I feel they were a little too pushy with it this generation. I’m more than happy for it to exist and for dev’s to make games for it but please don’t force companies to shoehorn features in just to promote it. Good examples of this are the voice commands in Halo: CE Anniversary or Gunsmith in Tom Clancy’s future soldier. They do not belong in those sort of games.
Next we have possibly the main make or break rumour. Always Online. I think this is a distinct possibility for the generation after the PS4 and next XBox but for now I dont think broadband internet has advanced far enough or is widespread enough to support this and I would hope Microsoft realise this. By making an always online console they would be forcing those people who do not have broadband away and into the waiting arms of Sony. I personally know a few people who cannot get broadband in their houses because they live in rural areas.
Of course there are many things Microsoft can do that would blow Sony out of the water. The first being that they are going to have the world exclusive for Call of Duty: Ghosts, this alone will generate a huge amount of hype around the console. There is also the much rumoured MMO FPS exclusive from Respawn Entertainment the ex heads of Call of Duty Developer Infinity Ward. On the topic of MMO’s there is the heavily rumoured Fable MMO expected to make an appearance along with strong hope for Alan Wake 2. Bungie’s follow up to the halo universe; Destiny my also make an appearance as could Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs. Then there’s this. If Microsoft and 343 Industries were to announce a new Halo, be it Halo 5, Halo 2 Anniversary or even an ODST follow up you would have to believe people will buy it no matter what the console is like.
Some of the most important things that hopefully we get from the reveal are a price, release date and to see the box itself. Sony only gave us a Fall or Holiday 2013 date which could mean that they don’t have an exact date themselves or they’re just holding out to keep hype up when they revel it. They also never gave us a price though that wasn’t really expected and will hopefully be shown at E3. Lastly is the box, this was the strangest thing about Sony’s reveal. But again they probably just wanted to hold stuff back to show later which is understandable. If Microsoft were to show all or even one of these (preferably the box please) you would have to think it would help tip the scales strongly in their favour.
You also cant forget Microsoft’s master stroke of having the reveal only 3 or so weeks before E3. The new Xbox will be far fresher in people’s minds going into the Expo than the PS4 and this could potentially have a positive effect on things for Microsoft.
But all of this is of course only speculation until May 21st and so like the rest of the world I’ll be sitting on my couch glued to my TV at 6:00pm (GMT) and we’ll see how Microsoft is going to change the face of gaming, or not, we shall see.
The Writing Irishman 