[#SaveXboxWP] Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend.

[theefman]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

Funny how non-gamers show up and try and downplay one of the beat features of Xbox gaming, on any platform. If Microsoft tried to get rid of achievements on the Xbox the outcry would be huge so please don't try and put a negative spin on a feature that has been embraced and is valued by millions already.

 

[Chris Sandiford]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

I just came here to understand how big a deal it was and whether it was the reason for moving to WP. If it gives people points for their piggy banks then so be it.

I just don't think as many people are as bothered as you.

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

No one here is claiming that the majority of Windows Phone users care about Xbox achievements. Most of them don't care at all about games, let alone Xbox games. Regardless, there is a sizeable minority who love Xbox games and the fact they could earn achievements on the go was a major factor in pulling them into the Windows Phone community. Moreover, I believe these people are more likely to convince other people to get a Windows Phone because they tend to be more passionate about the platform, thanks to Xbox achievements.

Put it this way, having Xbox on Windows Phone has not detracted anyone from getting a Windows Phone (that would just be really weird if it did), but it has brought some people who adore Xbox to Windows Phone, and it has also brought other people who got Windows Phones for other reasons into the Xbox community (for instance, my entire family now plays Xbox games on their Windows Phones). The Xbox integration on Windows Phone is good for Windows Phone, it's good for Xbox, and it's therefore good for Microsoft.

 

[HeyCori]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

Installed day 1 just to support the developers (plus racing games are cool, lol). Shame it's not a Live title. I'm not really interested in achievements but it's cool when my friends can check out the good mobile games I've been playing.

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

Great job guys with the #SaveXboxWP Twitter campaign. We're getting quite a few tweets with that hashtag, but don't forget to include some of the Microsoft and Gameloft Twitter handles in your tweets otherwise the people that need to hear us won't hear us. Feel free to retweet each other too. Just search for #SaveXboxWP and retweet as many as you can, particularly the ones that call out the relevant accounts in the opening post.

 

[TLRtheory]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

So what exactly complicates the process of making any old WP game into an Xbox Live title? I ask because I'm looking into developing for the platform and it really is highly enticing to have mobile achievements tie into the real bone-i-fied Xbox Live. Does it cost something additional or just lengthen the approval process a couple weeks?

 

[Paul Acevedo]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

So what exactly complicates the process of making any old WP game into an Xbox Live title? I ask because I'm looking into developing for the platform and it really is highly enticing to have mobile achievements tie into the real bone-i-fied Xbox Live. Does it cost something additional or just lengthen the approval process a couple weeks?

You have to have a publisher, for one. It generally can't be Microsoft Studios because they have stopped approving Xbox WP projects.

Then you'll have to go through a certification process that can last 1-3 months. And the cert process for updates is 2 weeks-several months, depending. Plus the publisher has to approve the idea of submittin an update, which sadly Microsoft has refused to do for several of the titles it published in recent months.

It's a big nasty mess. They are basically just letting Xbox WP slowly die while a few big publishers like EA and Rovio trickle titles out.

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

You have to have a publisher, for one. It generally can't be Microsoft Studios because they have stopped approving Xbox WP projects.

Then you'll have to go through a certification process that can last 1-3 months. And the cert process for updates is 2 weeks-several months, depending. Plus the publisher has to approve the idea of submittin an update, which sadly Microsoft has refused to do for several of the titles it published in recent months.

It's a big nasty mess. They are basically just letting Xbox WP slowly die while a few big publishers like EA and Rovio trickle titles out.

Paul, do you have any insight as to why Microsoft Studios has become so put off by Xbox on Windows Phone? Microsoft launched WP7 with such promise on the Xbox front, and Microsoft Studios in particular led the way with dozens of titles. Then they really slowed down their output after Windows Phone 8 launched (but at the same time launched a couple of bigger projects this year such as Halo: Spartan Assault and Skulls of the Shogun, which has just confused me more about their intentions and goals for Xbox on the platform).

I don't quite get what they are doing. I could understand if other developers stopped making Xbox titles but Microsoft Studios continued to pump out Xbox titles to save the platform, but of all the big publishers who have made Xbox games on WP, Microsoft Studios now seems the least interested in supporting the platform. I would think that with the recent explosion in mobile gaming (something that will undoubtedly continue to grow and continue to chip away at traditional console gaming market share, a la the Xbox 360 and Xbox One) they'd want to work hard to build up the Xbox brand on phones and tablets, but they seem to be doing the opposite. What's going on?

 

[theefman]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

You know what's funny, Microsoft is aiming to spend $7 billion on Nokia's devices division yet a key differentiator for future WP devices is being left to rot. It seems we have to pray for Sony to enter the mobile space with purpose as it seems Microsoft only takes a market seriously after its competitors have taken the lead there.

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

You know what's funny, Microsoft is aiming to spend $7 billion on Nokia's devices division yet a key differentiator for future WP devices is being left to rot. It seems we have to pray for Sony to enter the mobile space with purpose as it seems Microsoft only takes a market seriously after its competitors have taken the lead there.

The frustrating part of this is that Sony isn't really their main competitor anymore when it comes to gaming: the iOS App store and Google Play stores are the main competition. Yes, Sony matters in the Xbox One vs PS4 realm, but the market is changing: games are going mobile, but not in the traditional sense: The PS Vita is a dud but smartphone and tablet game sales are ever increasing. Microsoft is in a unique position that none of its other competitors are in: they have the ability to integrate gaming across all platforms.
Console: Xbox One
PC: Windows 8
Tablet: Windows RT
Phone: Windows Phone

Being able to use your Xbox gamertag across all those devices for a unified experience is huge. Meanwhile Microsoft's competitors are stuck:
Apple and Google have no console or PC presence.
Sony has no mobile or PC presence (again, because the Vita is DoA. Very few people are carrying around portable gaming machines anymore because smart phones have caught up).

This is why it's so frustrating watching Microsoft drop the ball on promoting Xbox on Windows Phone and Windows 8/RT. They should be launching commercials showing gamers playing games on their Xbox Ones, then switching over to Xbox on Windows Phone during their bus commute, then playing on their PC on their lunch break, then playing on their Surface in bed. Such a wasted opportunity.

 

[theefman]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

While gaming in ios and android is taking off, I was actually thinking of Sony's certification of certain droid handsets as PS compatible. If they expanded that and included PSN features it would overtake the native gaming platform and I believe if they do only then will the slowpokes at Microsoft take notice. Without that impetus Xbox gaming on WP is heading for a tomb very soon, to join its brothers the Kin and Zune.

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

While gaming in ios and android is taking off, I was actually thinking of Sony's certification of certain droid handsets as PS compatible. If they expanded that and included PSN features it would overtake the native gaming platform and I believe if they do only then will the slowpokes at Microsoft take notice. Without that impetus Xbox gaming on WP is heading for a tomb very soon, to join its brothers the Kin and Zune.

Interesting. I didn't know Sony was doing that. It's a smart move. Maybe it'll be enough to prod Microsoft executives enough to wake the eff up and reinvest in Xbox on Windows Phone and Windows RT.

 

[theefman]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

Just a note, Joe Belfiore is on twitter going on about the release of the "mighty" instagram, good time to tweet him and remind him about Xbox on WP.

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

Just a note, Joe Belfiore is on twitter going on about the release of the "mighty" instagram, good time to tweet him and remind him about Xbox on WP.

I've also added another Windows Phone exec to the list in the original post: @toddbrix (Todd Brix, General Manager of Windows Apps and Store Team)
Keep it going: #SaveXboxWP. Tweet and Retweet.

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

Today Paul wrote that another former Xbox for Windows Phone game has re-launched without Xbox integration. Let's keep the #SaveXboxWP Twitter campaign going so that Microsoft knows we are not happy about this!

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

Today Gameloft released Dungeon Hunter 4 for Windows Phone and Windows 8/RT without Xbox integration--their second consecutive game to do so after Asphalt 8. We need to mobilize to reverse this trend, for the good of Windows Phone, for the good of Xbox, and for the good of consumers. Let's vamp up our #SaveXboxWP Twitter campaign! You have to specifically call out the parties listed in the original post. Use the Twitter handles listed in the original post and include some of them in your tweets. Also, remember, guys, in addition to creating your own tweets, be sure to search Twitter for #SaveXboxWP and then re-tweet others.

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

Today Sam wrote a nice article about the ID@Xbox program for Xbox One, which enables and encourages indie game developers to publish their games more easily on Xbox One. This is a great program and it absolutely needs to be extended to Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8/RT. So, let's continue the #SaveXboxWP Twitter campaign by starting to ding the following relevant accounts (which I'll be editing into the original post as well):

ID@Xbox Program:
@ID_Xbox (Independent Developers Publishing Program for Xbox One) [you can also email them at ID@Xbox.com]
@iocat (Chris Charla, Directof of ID@Xbox at Microsoft)
@albertpenello (Albert Penello, Lead planner for Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Kinect)

 

[TechAbstract]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

People play games more than anything on their smartphones. Windows Phone already has less games than iOS and Android. Don't think it's a good idea to take away Xbox on WP.

 

[coip]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

People play games more than anything on their smartphones. Windows Phone already has less games than iOS and Android. Don't think it's a good idea to take away Xbox on WP.

I agree: Xbox on WP is a great exclusive feature that sets WP apart from iOS and Android. Microsoft letting it slip away is really dropping the ball. Things don't look good as today Paul announced that, Despicable Me: Minion Rush, the third consecutive Gameloft game on Windows Phone without Xbox integration, just launched. The outlook looks bleak based on Paul's comments in another thread, but I for one am not going down without a fight. Help me let Microsoft executives on Twitter know that they royally screwed this one up by not supporting Xbox on WP.

 

[Kyle Stilkey]

Re: Asphalt 8 is NOT an Xbox Title: Let's Mobilize to Reverse the Trend. #SaveXboxWP

I agree: Xbox on WP is a great exclusive feature that sets WP apart from iOS and Android. Microsoft letting it slip away is really dropping the ball. Things don't look good as today Paul announced that, Despicable Me: Minion Rush, the third consecutive Gameloft game on Windows Phone without Xbox integration, just launched. The outlook looks bleak based on Paul's comments in another thread, but I for one am not going down without a fight. Help me let Microsoft executives on Twitter know that they royally screwed this one up by not supporting Xbox on WP.

Don't worry man, I'll keep fighting this everyday! Why not add Ben Rudolph (@BenThePCGuy) since he is also another big player in the WP space?