Achievement Unlocked 06.25.09: The New Xbox Rumors, Live Downtime, More

Posted by Jacob Lopez on 06.25.2009

With Rod Oracheski busy with other commitments, 411's Jacob (JLo) Lopez takes a crack at Achievement Unlocked, talking about this week's 'on again, off again' news about a new 360 console plus recent Xbox Live downtime.

Your usual host for Achievement Unlocked, Mr. Rod Oracheski, can't be here today [But since I have to format it, I get to make comments about JLo's thoughts.]. That's why he had me take over his column, just this once. [Also welcome to the new day that Achievement Unlocked will be going up on from now on.]

New Xbox (Not) Coming?

The ongoing back and forth rumors and speculation throughout the gaming press has been the rumored launch of a new Xbox system with the release of Project Natal in 2010.

It all started when Shane Kim, Microsoft's head of long-term Xbox 360 strategy, spoke with Kotaku and at E3 and said, "the launch of Natal will be like the launch of the Xbox 360. It's going to be that big."

Birthing pains

Natal joke...get it?

Kim likened the launch of the new device to that of a brand-new console, "We're not just going to ship it when the hardware and software are ready. We have to make sure that there are enough content experiences that are really good. That's similar to how you would think of the launch of a new console. It's got to have a great launch line-up. That's the same thing here."

That is when the rumors began flying.

1UP was one of the first sites to speculate on those comments by posting a rumor saying that a totally new Xbox model may be created in time for launch alongside Natal. Other sites soon followed suit, and it didn't take long for analysts and "sources" to begin downplaying these rumors - saying that Microsoft does not need a new machine at this time. Smooth sailing from there, right? Wrong.

A few days later, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke at The Executive's Club of Chicago and reports from TG Daily indicate that there was mention by Ballmer of a new Xbox. Aside from that, nothing was officially announced. Then, within hours, Microsoft's Director of Product Management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Aaron Greenberg spoke with Kotaku and once again squashed the rumors of a new console by saying, "We're barely halfway through this generation. We're happy with the Xbox 360, so there are no changes from that standpoint."

That was all in the span of seven days. Why all the confusion? I can't speak for Rod when I say this, and I honestly don't know how he feels about it. [Tell you in a minute.] But I will give you my two cents:

The most likely scenario is that Microsoft is so confident in Natal's tech, that they believe the experience is similar to playing on a whole new gaming platform. We saw it with the new Xbox Experience, and if Microsoft plays their cards right, we may just see it on an even grander scale with their motion-based system.

Perhaps when Ballmer mentioned a new Xbox, he was referring to a new way for players to enjoy the console.

[I think that's probably pretty close to what this will all end up being. The farthest towards a 'new' 360 that I think it'll go is if there's a bundle that includes whatever they end up calling Natal, along with a 360. That new SKU (short for Stock Keeping Unit, if you've ever wondered) could be what Ballmer was referencing. Or he just misspoke...he is the 'developers, developers, developers' guy after all.]


A Day in LIVE Preparation

Earlier this week, Xbox LIVE had some scheduled maintenance. According to Major Nelson's blog, the maintenance was in preparation "for recently announced features that will be available later this year."

"New features," was, of course, in reference to Microsoft's E3 announcements: streaming 1080p video, virtual movie parties with LIVE friends and Facebook and Twitter connectivity—to name a few.

These are the sorts of features that help define our generation of gaming, and directly implementing social networking sites just goes to show how big a part of videogame culture the social aspect has become. Nintendo reinforced that with their direct integration to Twitter on the DSi.

There were a slew of other features mentioned, but one of the most notable, and the one that is getting the most press right now seems to be Games on Demand. A feature that according to Microsoft will allow 360 owners to download full-retail games on their console. The first batch of titles will include such games as Mass Effect, BioShock and Assassin's Creed, along with some more family oriented games like LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Sonic the Hedgehog. We should be seeing 360 Games on Demand implemented in December.


Only one video this week due to time constraints, but expect to see a number next week. Here's Tyson wreaking havoc in Fight Night Round 4. Those who disliked the controls in the demo will be happy to hear the final game feels a bit more precise, though I'm still not a huge fan of the slow haymaker animations.

Just Say No?

Boycotters are undead sympathizers

Jacob didn't talk about what he's been playing this week, so I'll jump back in and talk about something we were discussing on AIM - the growing sense of entitlement gamers feel about the games they play.

Whether it's gamers attacking Valve for announcing Left 4 Dead 2, or declaring they're going to boycott all Activision's games after Kotick questioned whether it was worth supporting the PS3 with software, gamer's attitudes have changed in recent years. We've got a nasty case of overinflated self-entitlement going on, and it's time to give our heads a shake.

I mean honestly, complaining because one of the best games in the past few years is getting a sequel that promises to fix a lot of the issues the first game had? We're boycotting that now? The reasons people have given to explain - and notice I didn't, and won't, say 'justify' just then - their boycott protests are laughable, ranging from 'not enough DLC' to 'they just shouldn't' - a real winner of an argument.

In the weeks leading up to E3, did you see anyone complaining about a lack of DLC for Left 4 Dead? No, they were too busy still having fun months later. Flip forward to post-E3 and you'd think the game shipped with one level, one gun, and six bullets.

The Activision thing is even worse. Okay, Sony fans, I get it - you don't like the idea that Activison might pull support. I also get that you don't seem to grasp how unlikely that notion actually is, but whatever. Even so, your reaction is to scream boycott?

A company says they may not be selling enough games on the PS3 to make continued support worthwhile and your reaction is to stop buying their games entirely. Think about that...

Activision: You're not buying many of our games and that's making it tough to keep greenlighting PS3 ports.
Sony fans: We're not going to buy ANY of your games then.

Doesn't that kind of make their decision easier? A more reasoned response, though perhaps not rational in today's economy, would be to run out and pick up that Activision game you've been putting off for later, hoping a surge of support would keep them bringing games out on the platform you own.

And that's the crux of it - ownership versus entitlement. People used to feel a sense of ownership about the franchises they liked. You wanted to get the next game in the series because you were directly invested in that character and the things that they'd been through.

Now it seems more like people believe franchises should be catering to their every whim, a greedy and self-centered view that's more about wanting to get their own way. It's switched from being about feeling a sense of ownership to demanding a level of control.

Frankly it's a level of control we really don't need - or probably deserve - to have. Game designers make enough foolish decisions on their own, they don't need today's 'mob rule' attitude messing things up even more.

Until next week, when I'll apparently be switching to Thursdays, I - and JLo - are both out.