Thursday, January 20, 2011

Xbox 360's Dirty Secrets: 5 Things Microsoft Doesn't Want You To Know About

NowGamer: Microsoft really doesn’t want you to read this column, or know about these things; it’d much rather you just kept playing COD or something. 

Look away, there’s nothing to see, move along please, do NOT read this...



Xbox Live’s closed network
It’s closed, secure and safe and that’s the way Microsoft wants to keep it - great for Microsoft, not so great for gamers. Having an open platform would put the 360 in line with the PS3 and PC. It would open it up to all sorts of weird and wonderful games currently epitomized on the PS3 with LittleBigPlanet. Cross communication with PC is the only real way the indie scene can thrive and right now Microsoft is throttling its potential. Portal 2 on the PS3 and PC is another great example of two open platforms able to communicate. With the 360 building a fence and sticking its fingers in its ears, the outside industry is simply going to pass it by; and though viruses and hacking are a possibility, the pros far out weigh the cons.

 No more MMOs on 360. Ever.
This is really connected with the strict hold Microsoft has over Live and everything that it grants players access to. Like a possessive father fretting over his daughter, Live is not permitted to fraternize with MMOs. ‘But, what about Final Fantasy XI?’ Yes, one MMO made it through, simply because of Microsoft’s desperation to appeal in Japan. It’s done with that now and MMOs generally result in yet another monthly charge and whole servers full of players obsessively engrossed in one game. How they supposed to buy the latest Halo if they’re happy playing an MMO?

http://www.nowgamer.com/columns/360-magazine/620/xbox-360s-dirty-secrets-5-things-microsoft-doesnt-want-you-to-know-about

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