Bonum Certa Men Certa

Another Microsoft Cancellation as Xbox Struggles, Loses Windows Games Compatibility

Stop sign



Summary: Some of the most recent Xbox 360 news, including the realisation that Microsoft is attacking its own customers now

XBOX LOST several billions of dollars, which made it quite a failure from a business perspective. Like PlayStation 3 and unlike the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft plays a losing game, but it can't quit now, only the management can. Yes, managers of Xbox left the company, but there are still signs of life in this division, even if in addition to many dead products we now have this revelation that, according to Joseph Tartakoff [1, 2], "Microsoft cancels its TV-style game show on the Xbox."



Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is canceling 1 vs. 100, the live game show it launched for its Xbox Live online gaming service a year ago, which was a pioneer in bringing TV style entertainment to video game consoles.


This was also covered in [1, 2, 3].

Dead products or dead features are never a good sign and Xbox Live turns out not to be open enough for developers. It's also too expensive, just like the peripherals which Wii buyers get for 'free'. In addition to this, there is a rumour that "Microsoft killed X-platform play because console gamers suck" (this headline was later changed to "HP man slams Microsoft for PC gaming fail"). "Cross Platform" means Microsoft and also Microsoft within this context (Xbox and Windows). Also in the news:



According to this, "Last month there was much excitement as the newly redesigned Xbox 360 seemed to launch a sales Renaissance in Japan. According to the latest numbers the console has dropped from 17,370 units in sales two weeks ago to 7,303 units this past week. Ouch. Unfortunately, it seems that Microsoft may have a hard time ever breaking into the Land of the Rising Sun. [...] This latest info seems to tell us that, barring some sort of major turnaround, Japan just isn't that interested in the Xbox 360."

Microsoft tried to hype it up in Japan while it lasted (very briefly). These are old PR tricks.

“Not so long ago it was revealed that pre-orders of Kinect were too few.”As we noted earlier, peripherals for Xbox 360 are too expensive to be competitive (consider the price of a Wii) and the name "Kinect" is problematic now, due to Kin dying (more on that later in the week). Some say that Kinect does work when sitting down -- a claim that's disputed by Microsoft, obviously.

In an open letter titled "Dis-Kinection: How Microsoft Has Lost Focus," Gamasutra shows its pessimism. In another Web site, Microsoft is accused of using sexual provocation to sell Kinect (and doing it badly). Not so long ago it was revealed that pre-orders of Kinect were too few.

Microsoft's struggle is even described by CNBC ("Can Sony and Microsoft Replicate Wii's Success?"), which is typically sympathetic towards Microsoft, maybe because of MSNBC. Not good, not good at all.

To make matters even worse, Microsoft is insulting the best customers and banning innocent ones. As The Consumerist put it, "Zach's Xbox 360 opted to play for Miami rather than Cleveland, but what he expected to be a routine repair has turned into a standoff. He says Microsoft accuses him of modding his console despite Zach's contention that the unit, which he says is clean, shows no physical signs of being modded."

That's just an overall bad "engagement" with fans. Here is another:

Microsoft – Rare blocks fan site’s documentary project



Microsoft owned studio Rare was once a mighty force in the video game industry, with iconic titles such as GoldenEye 007. The studio had a decent following from the fan community. One fan site will be closing its doors after Rare blocked the fan project.

[...]

Apparently talks between the site and Rare/Microsoft on creating a documentary started going bad. Rare/Microsoft finally put the kibosh on the project by stating that the film wouldn’t be “on message.”


Microsoft has turned hostile even towards the few who still support it. Who does it think it is, Apple? The stigma of arrogance will stick.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Writing and Coding Isn't Always Enough
Last year we had to assume a role we didn't have before: litigants
Autumn Has Come
Autumn should be exciting in all sorts of ways; it'll also mark our anniversary
 
Gemini Links 01/09/2025: News Corp. WSJ and A Month With NixOS
Links for the day
Slopfarms Already Peaked, They Will Die When Slop Companies Run Out of Money to Borrow
slopfarms will lack an actual "engine"
“Sideloading” Never Killed Anybody
There are many online discussions this week about the misnomer "sideloading"
Slopwatch: Google News as FUD Vector Against Linux and Plagiarism Enhancer, Serial Slopper (SS) Uses LLMs to Googlebomb "Linux"
Slop destroys the Web not just by screwing with search engines and helping plagiarists. It's also responsible for de facto DDoS attacks...
Links 01/09/2025: "Attacks on Science" and China's "Soft Power" Grows
Links for the day
Links 01/09/2025: Fresh Backlash Against Slop and "Norway’s Electricity Crisis is About to Hit Britain"
Links for the day
Links 01/09/2025: Catching Up (Mostly via Deutsche Welle), "Windows TCO" Effect in UK
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/09/2025: Linguistic Barriers and "Web 1.0 Hosting"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 31, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, August 31, 2025
The UEFI 9/11 - Part IV - External Interference
They all seem to be playing a role in crushing Software Freedom and self-determination for users
Links 31/08/2025: Baggage Claim Scams, an Insurrectionist’s War on Culture, and a Sudden Robotics Hype
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/08/2025: Reviewing Netsurf and Slightly Less Historic Ada Design
Links for the day
IBM Has Taken Control of GNOME
Don't expect a successor to be found any time soon
Links 31/08/2025: Google Gmail Data Breach and LF Puff Pieces for Pay
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 30, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, August 30, 2025
This is What Google News Has Become
Moments ago
The Slopfarm WebProNews Has Turned Google News Into a Laughing Stock Full of Plagiarism by Slop
If Google News dies of neglect, that's one thing. It's starting to seem like active neglect by Google is a form of participation.
Do What is Moral, as What's Legal Isn't Always Moral
Do what's objectively moral, no matter the costs and the risks
Slopwatch: Google News Assisting Plagiarism and Anti-Linux FUD, Serial Slopper Rips Off Linux-Centric Journalists
This makes the Web a much worse place and lessens the incentive to do journalism
Links 30/08/2025: NVIDIA Fakes Results to Hide a Bubble Already in Implosion Phase, Data Breaches Galore, Important Win for Workers' Union in Canada
Links for the day
Representing and Speaking for Animals
If I ever choose to take this matter to tribunal with animals-centric NGOs on my side, it'll get some press coverage for sure
The UEFI 9/11 - Part II - Campaign of Censorship and Defamation Against Critics
In dictatorships, humour serves an important role. It's tragic.
In Kazakhstan, Yandex Estimated to be 20 Times Bigger Than Microsoft
Bing is measured as down this month
Shutterstock Not Enough? The Register MS Uses Slop Images in Articles (Seemingly More and More Over Time)
Cost-saving trajectory amid office shutdown?
Gemini Links 30/08/2025: Games, PostmarketOS, and Slop
Links for the day
Links 30/08/2025: Imgur Uproar and Many Ukraine Updates (Mediazona Reports Over 200,000 Russians Died for Putin)
Links for the day
How Not to Build Software
code forges that need a Web browser perhaps fill some 'niche' demand
GAFAM and "MATA"
The use of dark humour there hopefully helps illuminate what a lot of "modern" technology became like and how it interacts with human civilisation (to what ends and whose gain)
Birds Are Not "Pests and Vermin", Privacy is Not a Crime, and GNU/Linux is Not 'Hacking Platform'
I could not help but think of Free software analogies
The Sites Should Be Very Fast Again
That issue is now resolved
Flying in 2025
worse than ever before
Activists, Including Technical Activists, Need Not Pursue Affirmation
Techrights doesn't play or participate in a "popularity contest"
The UEFI 9/11 - Part III - Chaos is Scheduled to Happen Second Thursday of September (No Matter What the Microsofters Tell You)
The clock is ticking
Downplaying the Impact of "UEFI 9/11" is a Losing Strategy
we won't publish much whilst on holiday
Government Sites Should Run Free Software
Not proprietary bloatware with buzzwords
LLM Slopfarms Take No Breaks
When people run sites by bots they don't need to worry about "breaks"
GNOME Having a Meltdown Again
Thanks and farewell to Steven Deobald
Gemini Links 30/08/2025: Low Tech and Hunchbin 1.0.6
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 29, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 29, 2025