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Xbox's experimental hardware, or lack there of

Jubenhimer

Member
There's a big difference I've noticed about Microsoft and the Xbox brand is that unlike Sony or Nintendo, Xbox has never had a history of odd-ball experimental peripherals or add-ons. Now, I know a lot of you are going to point out Kinect, and while its true that Kinect was... Different, it was pushed by Microsoft to be the next big thing in gaming, and for a while was a massive phenomenon. But that's not what I'm talking about.

What I'm talking about are silly, more niche peripherals that while not mega popular, have their charm in the games that supported them. Nintendo and PlayStation both have a long history of this. Nintendo's with ROB, Super Scope, GBA-GCN Link-cable, DS Slide controller, DK Bongos, Labo, and the Ring-Fit controller, and Sony wth the PocketStation, Eye Toy, Eye of Judgement, SingStar mic, Playroom, And debatably PS VR.

I think its because unlike Nintendo and Sony, Microsoft's history was primarily a software company, so they don't have the same lineage of experimenting with hardware that Nintendo and Sony have. I think the close have been was that Sidewinder controller they made for the PC in the 90s.

Not saying this is a good or bad thing, just something that's noticeable.
 

Jubenhimer

Member
Having people put on a headset and play online games with a single username in 2002 was insane.
Yeah, but that was the direction gaming was heading anyway. Besides, Microsoft simply perfected online. If you want to talk insane, how about Sega bringing a MMO RPG to a console in 2000.

Xbox Live was simply a logical innovation, rather than some quirky experiment.
 
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oh wait you mean gaming
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
Two different spec hardware tiers is a pretty bold new direction in hardware, first time its ever happened in the industry.
 

Isa

Gold Member
I'm fine with that actually. Knowing where most of MS's budget for games is going is reassuring for me, unlike having part of their budget go to games I won't play. The only two things I'd like would be a haptic feedback controller and some sort of AR gaming thing. That Minecraft AR demo was really neat, and I would kill to see more group real life party games where friends could just meet up and play together. Like you could just slip to the kitchen to grab snacks and come back and you see the table where everyone is sitting and see stats above the table for character sheets and die rolls and monster hp etc for a table top rpg or war game. Seriously dude that could totally reinvigorate the TTRPG scene in a big way.

Man I'm dreamin' here but ffffffffuuuu I'd love to see that one day. In regards to Sony and Nintendo doing more advanced or experimental hardware, that's cool. I like Nintendo's stuff particularly. I think one of MS's strengths in that regard is that even though peripherals exist, like the Adaptive Controller, it doesn't separate the audience like some accessories do, like VR. It just makes it more inclusive which is great.
 

Codes 208

Member
Because psvr was only mildly successful and half of nintendo’s gimmicks absolutely flopped, why take the risk when they didnt need to? Especially after the kinect debacle.
 
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FeldMonster

Member
I imagine that because Microsoft is more "corporate" more of their experimental hardware are kept internal, and stopped before consumer release.

That being said, the chatpad, adaptive controller, Elite Controllers are MS's "weird" hardware attempts.
 
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