Microsoft preps for 'tough times' in 2009 [update]
Update: Clarified Kim's remarks to Reuters on Microsoft cost savings.
Chatting with Reuters, Microsoft's big man Shane Kim is optimistic about holiday sales but warns that next year, the Xbox and the games industry as a whole may experience "tough times."
Chatting with Reuters, Microsoft's big man Shane Kim is optimistic about holiday sales but warns that next year, the Xbox and the games industry as a whole may experience "tough times."
"While they [consumers] may cut back on large purchases like automobiles or appliances, they're still looking for entertainment," admitted Kim, but acknowledged unpredictable economic conditions going into 2009 may affect the industry. So, to be safe, Reuters reports that Kim and company will be "assessing where costs could be saved due to the economic uncertainty." Sounds like something we're all doing.
[Via CVG]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dadidito @ Dec 4th 2008 11:09AM
This is sad to me, though I am well aware of the difficulties in the economy (working in midtown Manhattan) I enjoyed seeing the oasis that is the game industry. Hopefully it will continue to buck the trend but reality is reality.
gjl2009 @ Dec 4th 2008 11:09AM
games are a fairly cheap form of entertainment though. $60 for a new game, or $60 to go out for an evening to dinner or movies with a she devil who will end up cheating on you or lie anyway.
Perno @ Dec 4th 2008 11:26AM
Wow someone's been burned!
Personally I think $60 is a little steep for a game. I hate how they just jacked up the prices on this latest generation of consoles. You can tell they charge the stores the same as the previous generation of games since stores are more than willing to either drop $10 (back to the $50 price point) or offer a $10 gift card.
Maybe I'm just cheap but it takes a lot to get me to drop $65 with tax on a game.
Drachen77 @ Dec 4th 2008 12:07PM
I don't want to make judgments about you based on age because I don't know how old you are but games used to be more expensive. I bought Final Fantasy III back in the early 90's for $72. SNES were routinely over $50 and considering the depth of games now, that's a good deal.
bobomcgee @ Dec 4th 2008 2:53PM
don't talk about my mom like that
Sagar @ Dec 4th 2008 5:34PM
Gjl, I agree with your statement itself that games are a cheap form of entertainment, but WTF? Lol, you'd rather be in playing games than be out on a date?
Merk @ Dec 5th 2008 7:57AM
Drachen is right I had playstation and bought parasite eve a 2 disc game that cost $60 a PLAYSTATION game that cost $60 and now for that much I have fallout 3 whole new generation so I seriously don't know why people bitch about the price when it has barely changed.
Vader582 @ Dec 4th 2008 11:20AM
He's basically prepping everyone for the lack of 2009 new releases...next Xbox announced by the end of 2009.
Jcarpio @ Dec 4th 2008 11:40AM
I thought that about 2008 as well. And well, we got another good crop of games again.
Arnon @ Dec 4th 2008 3:07PM
That's what they said about 2008.. and look how that turned out. MS usually announces their games the year they come out. The ones that are coming in '09 are usually games that have been delayed.
2009:
Alan Wake
APB
F.E.A.R. 2
Final Fantasy XIII
Forza Motorsport 3 (maybe)
Halo 3: Recon
Halo Wars
Huxley
Ninja Blade
Project Offset (Maybe)
Resident Evil 5
Splinter Cell: ConViction
Star Ocean 4
Tekken 6
The Crossing (Maybe)
Theseis (Maybe)
Velvet Assassin
Expect a lot more my friend.. The reason I list multi-platform titles as well, is because Microsoft usually sells 2(sometimes 3):1 against it's competitors. (lol lists)
Arnon @ Dec 4th 2008 3:12PM
Oh.. to add a couple more games:
Mass Effect 2 (360 exclusive most likely, as the series is published by MS)
BioShock 2
NOOK @ Dec 4th 2008 5:07PM
Race Pro!
Efeez1986 @ Dec 4th 2008 7:04PM
@Arnon
You didn't multiplatforms because they sell more on the 360, you listed them because the 360 exclusive lineup isn't very impressive for '09 to be honest. Let's be realistic, 2008 was unimpressive as well when it comes to exclusive titles for the 360 with Gears 2 being the only one classified as "great". Plus your speaking from MS's point of view instead of the consumers POV. MS will make money but will these exclusives actually be good and fun to play?
joeybeast @ Dec 4th 2008 11:31AM
MS has two halo games they'll be just fine.
ithilis @ Dec 4th 2008 11:40AM
The PS3 has it's strongest line-up to date in 2009, with a price cut coming in March, and MS knows this. Other than Halo Wars, which doesn't appeal to the Halo crowd as a whole, and Halo 3: ODST, which is little more than an expansion, what does MS have in 2009? Alan Wake will arrive, finally, but is it enough?
Forgive me if I have forgotten some titles, but this could finally be "the year of the PS3" that we've been hearing about for years. ;)
Jcarpio @ Dec 4th 2008 11:56AM
To continue on that theme.. their lineup does look good. And so does nintendo's "hardcore" lineup.
I'm curious as to what the xbox has in store for us. Maybe that rumored Ken Levine version of X-Com or Forza3. But i haven't heard anything that's mainstream.
Mazrael @ Dec 4th 2008 11:57AM
like what? I'm an avid gamer & all I saw was Heavy Rain (I would turn of any tilt rubbish).. nothing else has caught my attention..
that "Year of the PS3" thing sounds so optimistic.. it sounds like your telling your terminally ill kid that he's going to live, just to make them feel better.. to me anyway
If MS are to be working to cut costs etc.. does this mean they're going to really get behind getting the 360 hardware to what it should of been in the first place, & on the shelves, instead of using up the old stocks first (maybe even being they make less component stock, so they never have an excess)..
If they are to announce the next Xbox, they'll not rush it this time, & get a lot more RAM in there & a processor that can do things out of sequence, and get Toshiba to do a HD-DVD revision that will only be in the xbox 360, that way, no money to Sony, and should hopefully cut back the piracy..
Vcize @ Dec 4th 2008 12:06PM
This is how we go into every year. Sony announces their games uber early, and then delays some, while MS holds off on their announcements until very late. Every year Sony's future looks brighter because they announce their stuff sooner, and every year it evens out in the end in terms of actual releases.
We heard about KZ2 being a 2008 release years ago, meanwhile Gears 2 hadn't even been announced until late summer of 2008, and guess which one actually came out in 2008?
Some of Sony's big hitters will slip into 2010 (GoW3 most likely), and some of MS's big hitters haven't even been announced yet but will still release in 2009 (Mass Effect 2 most likely).
ithilis @ Dec 4th 2008 12:08PM
Well, the PS3 is believed to have the following releases in 2009: Killzone 2, Uncharted 2, God of War 3, White Knight Story, Yakuza 3, Heavy Rain, InFamous, another Ratchet & Clank: Future, a game by Team ICO (ICO, Shadow of the Colossus) and MAG (Massive Action Game).
Not all of these are guaranteed, but this is the line-up that Sony has put forth.
Now don't get me wrong, I own both consoles, but spend most of the time on my 360. This could change in 2009, however, if MS cannot contend with this line-up.
P.S. Mass Effect 2 would be awesome.
useedems @ Dec 4th 2008 12:49PM
I wouldn't bet on Alan Wake. Their website hasn't been updated since January 2008 and nothing much has leaked all year long.
Either they're really, really busy working on it, or it's dead in the water.
Deck @ Dec 4th 2008 1:25PM
Mass Effect 2 is being made. They confirmed that it will be a trilogy back during interviews when Mass Effect came out. They also said that they were planning on having the entire trilogy on the 360. And considering they already have the engine made (granted they need to do some tweaking of it) the production time of ME2 doesn't necessarily have to be as long. So it would only make sense that it will be coming out in '09 with a two year gap between them.
Rick @ Dec 4th 2008 11:53AM
Can anybody tell me where Don is? I grew to like Moore then he cashed out and didn't Don Mattrick take his place?
I like seeing Shane Kim get face time, he's a cool guy, as well as Larry Hyrb. Just wondering where the Don is at
Elite Wing Zero @ Dec 4th 2008 11:55AM
I am confused ithilis what killer AA titles has Sony got coming out or did I miss the press realse on those. And please don't just say killzone 2.
Jcarpio @ Dec 4th 2008 12:07PM
Heavy Rain, Infamous and GT5?
ryan @ Dec 4th 2008 12:54PM
GoW3, Uncharted 2, White Knight Story, Team ICO game?
It's still a hell of alot more to look forward to than 2 Halo titles, Star Ocean 4, Splinter Cell Conviction and Alan Wake (The latter you'll find on PC).
If MS doesn't speak of Mass Effect 2, than I can see myself buying a PS3 to look for exclusive games.
KineticOnline @ Dec 4th 2008 12:02PM
Maybe if they got off their asses and got the video market place sorted out outside the US they might find a new revenue stream. It might mean MS would have to treat all their customer equally so we might have a problem there but it shouldnt be too much to expect
Invisible Robot Meat @ Dec 4th 2008 12:24PM
Hmmm... where could MS cut costs to save money...? I know, maybe stop putting fans in the console, eliminate heat sinks, use cheaper optical drives.... how about making xboxes out of pudding? LOL
NOOK @ Dec 4th 2008 12:48PM
Jcarpio:
GT5 is now planned for christmas'09, so I'm pretty sure it's not coming out before 2010.
SadisticHam @ Dec 4th 2008 1:16PM
Lol @ everyone going on about the PS3.
People went into 2007 thinking MS had nothing, then they went into 2008 thinking the same. When are people going to realize every year except launch year the 360 has had a packed line up? It wont be any different there just not announcing games 3 years early like the competition.
£10 says GT5 wont be out till 2010, GOW3 wont be till 2010 either not seen a single bit of gameplay footage once again, enjoy the 3 year wait on that one.
Doubt you'll see MAG till 2010 either and it'll suck anyway cause Sony online hasn't been able to make a MMOG in years.
Don't want to sound like a rabid fanboy but this happens yearly, it's annoying.
Jcarpio @ Dec 4th 2008 1:44PM
With the exception of Alan Wake, MS has been very good at saying they have games coming out and it'll be the same year or early in the following year.
GDC will, hopefully, be the start of their 09 reveals.
avada kadavra 9 @ Dec 4th 2008 2:13PM
An extension of Microsoft worried about saving money, are you shitting me? Please Microsoft had billions of dollars left over that they needed to spend or be taxed on it so they bought back a lot of their stock. Microsoft, or Microsoft Game Studio's, is no where near trouble when it comes to money. Sony and Nintendo think they can compete with a giant when they are nothing more than an ant comparatively speaking. HA!
GotEmRunnin @ Dec 4th 2008 5:53PM
I don't understand how people say the ps3 has this uber lineup of games in 09 simply from looking at trailers.
Uncharted 2 has no release date
GOW 3 has no release date
WKC has no NA release date to my knowledge
Heavy Rain information has been very slim that may slip past 09
Team ICO game? what's the name of it? oh that's right we don't know because we don't have any information on it so I doubt we'll see it in 09.
so that leaves kz2, and gt5 that I will be playing on my ps3.
I'm sorry but ps3 fans; you are the very reason why sony hasn't changed their strategy. You get over excited for trailers thinking the game will be coming soon when the game could very well be 1 to 2 years down the line. This has been going on since the birth of the ps2.
Joe @ Dec 4th 2008 11:14PM
This just means that less money will probably go towards R&D for a sequel system. They're prepping for the fact the 360 will probably live a bit longer than originally planned. If the downward trend of the economy continues then less purchasing of expensive and unnecessary items (such as overly expensive game systems) will occur. Thus forcing game companies like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo to focus on lowering the price of their hardware and shove a more expensive one later down the line at a lower initial cost than in the past. (i.e: in line of Wii initial pricing) Probably leaving this generation of consoles to last past 2011, and maybe 2012 before any traction away from this generation will really occur.