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Re: Xbox Chat - Rumour: 1st pics of adorable upcoming White, All-Digital Xbox Series X.
Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:42 pm
by Peter Crisp
I'm massively more interested in the prospect for an Xbox handheld than a PS5 Pro.
I wonder how close to XSX in terms of hardware they can get if they decide to release next year?
Re: Xbox Chat - Rumour: 1st pics of adorable upcoming White, All-Digital Xbox Series X.
Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2024 8:33 pm
by Monkey Man
EXCLUSIVE: Xbox CVP Kareem Choudhry is leaving Microsoft, and Xbox growth plans accelerate
Microsoft's gaming org has grown to be one of the biggest contributors to Microsoft's overall revenue pie, with Xbox now outstripping Windows itself as one of the biggest drivers of income. That's in no small part thanks to the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, which counts Candy Crush Saga, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty among various billion-dollar verticals for the gaming org.
To that end, Microsoft has been rapidly evolving how it thinks of gaming today, and for Xbox's future. That also means some leadership changes.
After 26 years of Microsoft tenure, our sources indicate that Kareem Choudhry is exiting the company. Choudhry might be known best to Xbox fans for the quote "it eats monsters for breakfast," in reference to the Xbox Series X, and "it's a monster" in reference to the Xbox One X. Indeed, Kareem was responsible for working on some of Microsoft's most cutting-edge projects, including developing the Xbox backwards compatibility layer, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Microsoft's new gaming AI division, known internally as XEmTech or Xbox's Emerging Tech team. Today is Choudhry's last day at Microsoft.
The XEmTech org will move into the general Xbox hardware org, which is led by Roanne Sones. Sones is famed for her tenure as an OEM expert on the Windows division, helping companies like Dell and HP get the most out of Windows for their PC manufacturing efforts. I spoke to Sones last year at Gamescom, where she made no secret of Microsoft's interest in gaming handhelds. Also while I'm here, Jason Ronald remains as a Tech Advisor within the Xbox hardware umbrella, since I've seen some reports in certain places that he was no longer leading the charge for Xbox hardware.
In an internal memo described to us, Microsoft noted that moving the AI team underneath the hardware ecosystem will accelerate innovation in that space. Microsoft is known to be working on machine learning tech for improving graphics with DirectSR, as well as an Xbox AI chatbot tool to help users solve support queries both externally and internally.
Ashley McKissick and Kevin Gammill are heading up a newly-created org named the Xbox Experiences and Platforms teams, which I understand will re-energize investment in polishing the overall Xbox experience across Windows and Xbox consoles. Catherine Gluckstein will now lead the Xbox Strategy and Regulatory team, owing to her expertise and success in helping Microsoft navigate the regulatory nightmare that was the Activision-Blizzard acquisition across the EU, UK CMA, and U.S. FTC. Additionally, Jennifer Creegan is moving across from Microsoft's wider Advertising org to lead analytics and business planning for the Microsoft Gaming team.
Losing Kareem Choudhry is an incredible shame, given Choudhry's remarkable contributions to Xbox and innovations within gaming. Choudhry contributed to the Xbox backward compatibility program, which remains among the best gaming preservation programs in all of gaming this side of Windows itself. He was also instrumental in building Xbox Cloud Gaming, which has been a big growth vector for Microsoft in certain markets, and will help Microsoft stake a claim in the growing market. Kareem also helped shaped Microsoft's growing AI efforts, which have a big focus on accelerating game development, with am equally big focus on how to guarantee some ethical guardrails.
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/x ... p-shake-up
Re: Xbox Chat - Rumour: 1st pics of adorable upcoming White, All-Digital Xbox Series X.
Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2024 8:35 pm
by Monkey Man
Peter Crisp wrote:I'm massively more interested in the prospect for an Xbox handheld than a PS5 Pro.
I wonder how close to XSX in terms of hardware they can get if they decide to release next year?
I think the best you can hope for is a XSS level handheld.
Re: Xbox Chat - Rumour: 1st pics of adorable upcoming White, All-Digital Xbox Series X.
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2024 12:39 am
by Peter Crisp
Monkey Man wrote:Peter Crisp wrote:I'm massively more interested in the prospect for an Xbox handheld than a PS5 Pro.
I wonder how close to XSX in terms of hardware they can get if they decide to release next year?
I think the best you can hope for is a XSS level handheld.
How does something like the ROG Ally compare?
I'm assuming all the hardware manufacturers have access to the same stuff so what are the top tier pc handhelds like?
Re: Xbox Chat - Xbox CVP Kareem Choudhry is leaving Microsoft & other org changes.
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2024 12:45 am
by rinks
I’d settle for a Game Pass branded Steam Deck if it ran PC GP games natively.
Re: Xbox Chat - Rumour: 1st pics of adorable upcoming White, All-Digital Xbox Series X.
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2024 11:05 am
by Rex Kramer
Peter Crisp wrote:Monkey Man wrote:Peter Crisp wrote:I'm massively more interested in the prospect for an Xbox handheld than a PS5 Pro.
I wonder how close to XSX in terms of hardware they can get if they decide to release next year?
I think the best you can hope for is a XSS level handheld.
How does something like the ROG Ally compare?
I'm assuming all the hardware manufacturers have access to the same stuff so what are the top tier pc handhelds like?
I bought a Rog Ally the other week. I'll try and get round to playing something more technically challenging than LOTRO and let you know.
Re: Xbox Chat - Rumour: 1st pics of adorable upcoming White, All-Digital Xbox Series X.
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2024 4:54 pm
by Peter Crisp
Rex Kramer wrote:I bought a Rog Ally the other week. I'll try and get round to playing something more technically challenging than LOTRO and let you know.
How good is windows on a handheld or are you mainly just using the machines OS?
Re: Xbox Chat - Rumour: 1st pics of adorable upcoming White, All-Digital Xbox Series X.
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2024 5:45 pm
by Rex Kramer
Peter Crisp wrote:Rex Kramer wrote:I bought a Rog Ally the other week. I'll try and get round to playing something more technically challenging than LOTRO and let you know.
How good is windows on a handheld or are you mainly just using the machines OS?
I haven't done PC gaming in an absolute age so I'm still feeling my way around it. Primarily I use the Steam and XBox apps at the moment but I need to tinker more.
Re: Xbox Chat - Xbox CVP Kareem Choudhry is leaving Microsoft & other org changes.
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2024 7:44 pm
by Monkey Man
EXCLUSIVE: Xbox President Sarah Bond has set up a new team dedicated to game preservation and forward compatibility
The backward compatibility program will continue to future Xbox hardware.
What you need to know
Per emails received by Windows Central, confirmed by Microsoft as genuine, Xbox President Sarah Bond recently briefed her team on various topics.
In the emails, Sarah Bond reiterated Microsoft's plans to build new Xbox hardware focused on delivering "the biggest technical leap ever in a generation."
Sarah Bond also revealed that Microsoft has set up a dedicated team to future-proof our digital Xbox game libraries across future hardware
paradigms to further "build on [Xbox's] strong history of delivering backward compatibility."
Additionally, it was revealed that Xbox has become Diablo 4's most prominent platform since the game's inclusion into Xbox Game Pass.
The complexity of the Xbox business is doubtless a huge challenge, but there are similarly huge opportunities ahead of the firm. To that end, Sarah Bond recently sent out an email to rally her troops, while also sharing some interesting bits of news in the process. Microsoft has confirmed to us that the correspondence is genuine.
"It’s been nearly six months since we came together as an organization. Our collective achievements in that timeframe are tremendous. Everyone should feel incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved and excited about the opportunities ahead," Sarah said, "We are moving full speed ahead on our next generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation."Sarah also touched upon Microsoft's innovations in gaming AI, understood to be a big part of Microsoft's vision for the future of Xbox. We were recently told that departing XEmTech lead and AI innovator Kareem Choudhry was known within the org for putting players and developers first. It seems that influence will continue driving Microsoft's thought processes on the tech, "We are innovating in Gaming AI, focused on delivering player-first, developer-first value for discovery, engagement, and creator velocity."
Further in, Sarah describes how Microsoft is continuing its work to integrate Activision-Blizzard games and Battle.net into Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. Microsoft brought Diablo 4 to Xbox Game Pass a short while ago in collaboration with the Microsoft Store platform team on the Windows side. Bond revealed that due to Diablo hitting Game Pass, Xbox has now become the #1 platform for the game. "We are integrating Activision Blizzard King titles into our services — we launched Diablo IV into Game Pass, and Xbox has quickly become the #1 platform for D4 players," Bond reiterated some of the other games on the horizon for Xbox, "we are integrating with Battle.net, all while launching CoD: Warzone Mobile and preparing for the upcoming Hellblade II, Avowed, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle."
Xbox builds a new team for game preservation, and the future
As part of the emails to her team, Sarah Bond revealed that Microsoft has now set up a dedicated team to ensure the future-proofing of the current Xbox game library against future hardware paradigm shifts, ensuring that our games remain accessible long into the future. "We have formed a new team dedicated to game preservation, important to all of us at Xbox and the industry itself," Bond said. "We are building on our strong history of delivering backwards compatibility to our players, and we remain committed to bringing forward the amazing library of Xbox games for future generations of players to enjoy."
Sources tell us that Microsoft may have more to share publicly in this area around the annual Xbox Showcase, which is expected to take place on June 9th, 2024 (per The Verge).
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/x ... patibility
Re: Xbox Chat - Xbox President Sarah Bond has set up a new team dedicated to game preservation and forward compatibility
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2024 9:45 pm
by Peter Crisp
This is how it always should be.
Future generations should be able to easilly play games from any era as otherwise they'll be hugely missing out.
Gamers now may want to play games they played with their children and that should be easy.
It's no different than reading old books or watching old films.
Re: Xbox Chat - Xbox President Sarah Bond has set up a new team dedicated to game preservation and forward compatibility
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2024 9:57 pm
by SEP
It's a very smart move, and should be the standard going forward for all platforms.
Re: Xbox Chat - Xbox President Sarah Bond has set up a new team dedicated to game preservation and forward compatibility
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2024 2:40 am
by Peter Crisp
With the xbox team already talking about the next gen surely it must be out next Christmas or the year after at the latest?
That's a rather short gen for the xsx and games must already be in progress for it.
Re: Xbox Chat - Xbox President Sarah Bond has set up a new team dedicated to game preservation and forward compatibility
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2024 9:27 am
by Victor Mildew
Good stuff. The BC of the series x was a big factor in me buying one, and it's great to be able to play stuff I bought back on the 360, or even pick up older titles I missed out on at the time without having to buy some shitty 'remaster'.
Re: Xbox Chat - Rumour: 1st pics of adorable upcoming White, All-Digital Xbox Series X.
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2024 9:45 am
by Rex Kramer
Rex Kramer wrote:Peter Crisp wrote:Rex Kramer wrote:I bought a Rog Ally the other week. I'll try and get round to playing something more technically challenging than LOTRO and let you know.
How good is windows on a handheld or are you mainly just using the machines OS?
I haven't done PC gaming in an absolute age so I'm still feeling my way around it. Primarily I use the Steam and XBox apps at the moment but I need to tinker more.
OK, I installed Gears Tactics last night and it's running in handheld at 1920x1080 at a pretty steady 70fps with the the suggested settings. Looks pretty good.
Re: Xbox Chat - Xbox President Sarah Bond has set up a new team dedicated to game preservation and forward compatibility
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2024 1:54 pm
by Monkey Man
Rumour -
twitter.com/Sino_Market/status/1777543100640190932
Re: Xbox Chat - Xbox President Sarah Bond has set up a new team dedicated to game preservation and forward compatibility
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:24 pm
by Monkey Man
twitter.com/Blizzard_Ent/status/1777864429364744583
Separately, Microsoft Gaming and NetEase have also entered into an agreement to explore bringing new NetEase titles to Xbox consoles and other platforms.