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[Zambayoshi]

A bit of a tangent, but it's saddening and revealing that Nadella referred to buying 'Minecraft' rather than buying Mojang. Apparently during the meetings between MS and Mojang there was an occasion where an MS executive said the same thing. To many people, Mojang is just 'the Minecraft company' but I'm sure a lot of people working for Mojang would have loved to branch out. Perhaps that is why Mojang was rumoured to be offering employees $300,000 to stay on for 12 months after the acquisition by MS.

With respect to the Hololens being focused on enterprise users, I think this is more because MS cannot make the device cheap enough to attract people who want to play Minecraft in AR. Let's face it, AR games to date have always been gimmicky or an afterthought added onto a non-AR product. I remember when Vita came out with the AR cards, I played around with the games for a while. They were pretty cool but nothing that captured my attention for long. I used the AR features of Hatsune Miku Project Diva f a few times but I wouldn't pay for it as DLC or a self-contained product.

I think this is the other problem that Microsoft is facing. It would be a massive gamble to go feet-first into developing for AR. Sony is doing it with VR based on market research and the fact that Oculus has been paving the way. Microsoft is all by itself on AR and I would be surprised if market research showed a massive interest in Hololens as a gaming device.

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

You know... if they hadn't actually already announced the HoloLens to huge media coverage, and clarified that it was a standalone computer of its own months before E3, you may have some sort of a point here.

I think my point was pretty straightforward: Microsoft does a lot of bait-and-switching.

They may have shown off Hololens before and perhaps their messaging was clearer then, but they sure didn't reiterate at E3 (i.e. the largest, most-watched showing of the device thus far) that the focus for the thing wasn't games...at a games show...using Minecraft to showcase...during a game conference...for a videogame console, right in the middle of a stage show which was supposedly *ahem* allow me to just quote Microsoft directly here: the "greatest game lineup in the history of Xbox"

Nope. Nothing to see here. Microsoft was explicitly clear that Hololens wasn't related to gaming or Xbox at all, just like Nadella is saying.

I guess if what you're saying is true, then maybe Microsoft didn't "win" E3 in the eyes of gamers? After all, since this device was totally not aimed at gamers and they were crystal-clear about it being the case, then why was Microsoft's game-focused E3 filled with a tech demo for a non-gaming device?

 

[Narroo]

Hah, they're not even calling it "Mojang" anymore.

"I bought Minecraft!"

"You mean Mojang?"

"No, Minecraft."

 

[SPDIF]

I guess you you don't remember illumiroom?

Why should we? It was a research project. They never gave the impression that it was, or ever was going to be, an actual product.

 

[gamechanger87]

You don't see how them "playing" Minecraft on stage at E3 only to later clarify that gaming is not really the purpose of Hololens could be seen as deceptive?

This is textbook Microsoft 101.

Haven't the media and people on their forum actually gone and played the Minecraft demo?

Or were they all paid by M$ to lie because they love to bait and switch. The Minecraft demo was to show an application that is easily understood on stage. Just like the Mars one and others previously.

I really think people just hate Microsoft and feel like they want any reason to complain.

 

[Synth]

I think my point was pretty straightforward: Microsoft does a lot of bait-and-switching.

They may have shown off Hololens before and perhaps their messaging was clearer then, but they sure didn't reiterate at E3 (i.e. the largest, most-watched showing of the device thus far) that the focus for the thing wasn't games...at a games show...using Minecraft to showcase...during a game conference...for a videogame console, a stage show which was supposedly *ahem* allow me to just quote Microsoft directly here: the "greatest game lineup in the history of Xbox"

Nope. Nothing to see here. Microsoft was explicitly clear that Hololens wasn't related to gaming or Xbox at all, just like Nadella is saying.

I guess if what you're saying is true, then maybe Microsoft didn't "win" E3 in the eyes of gamers? After all, since this device was totally not aimed at gamers and they were crystal-clear about it being the case, then why was Microsoft's game-focused E3 filled with a tech demo for a non-gaming device?

Well, your point was was them pulling a "bait and switch", of claiming the device is one thing, and then "clarifying" later that it is something. However in this case the "switch" would have preceded the "bait" because they clarified what the device was long before showing it at E3. They also stated at E3 that is was a standalone device also. They said it was the world's "first untethered holographic computer powered by Windows 10". They were pretty damn clear about it, you just apparently weren't paying much attention.

They're not going to say it's completely unrelated to gaming, because it isn't (and Nadella doesn't say that here either)... gamers just aren't the device's primary market for now, much like with PCs to be honest. Minecraft/Mojang however is part of the Xbox division, regardless of if the device is a console or a PC. I can't believe how ridiculously binary some of you are about what can and can't appear on an E3 stage.

Why should we? It was a research project. They never gave the impression that it was, or ever was going to be, an actual product.

One device isn't exactly a "habit" either. Kinect was a released product, that on a technical level actually did nearly everything that was claimed. It was more a case of nobody (outside of Rare and Harmonix) having any idea of how to make a compelling game out of it.

 

[PanicFreak]

It's smart to send this to enterprise customers first. The games will come but Microsoft has to hit a price point that makes sense to the mass consumer before games would do really well on the device. They can only do that by iterating and they can only support iteration on the backs of the enterprise customer.

Let's not forget that this device will be expensive. For the price of a HoloLens, you'll probably be able to buy a high end gaming PC.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

Nebraska's having a 'mare in here

 

[>-Baron-Spamedi-<]

The only gaming use for Hololens I can think of that would be worth considering is if companies like Fantasy Flight Games licensed virtual board game simulations of things like Eldritch Horror. These games can be time consuming and take up a lot of space. It would also mean you could play with people over the internet I guess. That said, it might not even work well as a format and I doubt enough people would bUy Hololens to play board games to make it worth while.

 

[tuna_love]

I'd buy one for a like final fantasy tactics kinda game.

 

[Jotaka]

AR for enterprise or business is nothing new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rtxz1P2Ogw

 

[Zaph]

AR for enterprise or business is nothing new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rtxz1P2Ogw

Putting translucent information in your vision cone isn't AR. That information has to augment your reality, contextualising itself in your surroundings.

 

[Trup1aya]

I think my point was pretty straightforward: Microsoft does a lot of bait-and-switching.

They may have shown off Hololens before and perhaps their messaging was clearer then, but they sure didn't reiterate at E3 (i.e. the largest, most-watched showing of the device thus far) that the focus for the thing wasn't games...at a games show...using Minecraft to showcase...during a game conference...for a videogame console, right in the middle of a stage show which was supposedly *ahem* allow me to just quote Microsoft directly here: the "greatest game lineup in the history of Xbox"

Nope. Nothing to see here. Microsoft was explicitly clear that Hololens wasn't related to gaming or Xbox at all, just like Nadella is saying.

I guess if what you're saying is true, then maybe Microsoft didn't "win" E3 in the eyes of gamers? After all, since this device was totally not aimed at gamers and they were crystal-clear about it being the case, then why was Microsoft's game-focused E3 filled with a tech demo for a non-gaming device?

Why would they have to reiterate anything at E3... It's always been refered to as a standalone computing device... And like other standalone devices, it's capable of playing games, but gaming isn't its primary focus....

There's no bait and switch here... Just common sense... They've only shown 1 game..

Maybe we shouldn't show PC games at e3, because PCs aren't primarily gaming devices...

 

[Dramos]

Besides Minecraft, I believe that MS is correct by aiming Hololens for the enterprise. The device serves a better purpose presentations, demos and education. Videos found on the MS channel shows great examples in the civil, architectural and medical industry.

 

[jryi]

Why should we? It was a research project. They never gave the impression that it was, or ever was going to be, an actual product.

The point is that Microsoft deliberately blurs the lines between what is real and what is "concept". And their tactics are working, as can be evidenced from media coverage and gaming forums. Even people, who are supposed to be informed fall for these tricks every time.

For example, I have read people posting comments in gaming forums that they are buying an Xbox because Illumiroom looks cool and it's practically already here. Same thing with Hololens. And these both remind me of the excitement for first Kinect.

See, I was at a reveal event, when Microsoft invited some Finnish Xbox enthusiasts to check out the first batch of Kinect games. Bunch of guys there were actually expecting to see rock climbing and lightsaber and whatnot games. Apparently there was "huge potential" to what could be done with Kinect. I'm still waiting for this potential to realize.

Same thing with Xbox One reveal event. Yusuf Mehdi was showing how the voice controls work without a hitch, and the user experience was smooth as butter. CNET (or whichever site it was) got to see the real state of development, and it was not quite there yet.

Yes, it is possible to combine snippets of information from here and there and prove that "see, Microsoft has told everything we need to know to get the whole picture". And if you had to go to court and make a decision if Microsoft has explicitly lied, you would always have to give them the benefit of a doubt.

But when they have a 90 minute conference, they show 40 minutes of Xbox things, then Minecraft on Hololens, and after that 45 minutes of Xbox things, you could be forgiven for believing that Hololens and Xbox have something to do with each other.

 

[Cynn]

While I don't doubt they may have their own VR solution. They are better of sticking to the "Platform" role for VR headset manufactures. That space is going to get crowed very fast because the actual tech involved in a VR headset is already commoditized. I wouldn't be surprised if we see $199 VR headsets come holiday 2016.



Would love some examples.

I agree with you totally. I believe strongly that the right play is to do like Samsung and have Oculus build them a headset for Xbox and keep Windows 10 agnostic.

And AR will become much bigger thing than VR. VR has very limited ways to use it, but of course for us gamers it will be bigger thing. Both are very interesting technologies nevertheless.

It could be sure. It's like comparing a smart phone (AR) to a TV. (VR) Utility vs. Entertainment. A replacement for the smart phone would have a larger market than a replacement for the TV.

 

[mrklaw]

Besides Minecraft, I believe that MS is correct by aiming Hololens for the enterprise. The device serves a better purpose presentations, demos and education. Videos found on the MS channel shows great examples in the civil, architectural and medical industry.

and enterprise are more likely to suck up the initial high cost and limited FoV while MS uses that money and feedback to improve things for future possible consumer launches.

 

[Auto-Reply]

Good thing they aren't showing it at E3 or anything

Exactly, what was the point of that again?

 

[thekiddfran]

good, this will be the competition for Google Glass in enterprise.

With Google Glasses now using Intel chips, it will interesting to see if it can compete with Holo lens

 

[Sintoid]

Well, I sometimes play Minecraft at work... ._.

 

[Caipirinha]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Hololens Minecraft demo didn't include any way for the Hololens wearer to interact with the game?

Do we really think Microsoft is also working on a gaming controller that functions with the Hololens?

Or is it not more likely that the Hololens is absolutely not a gaming device but will have some ability to simply view certain games?

 

[Terrell]

All of this augmented reality stuff from everyone is giving me N64 vibes: Endlessly teased and perpetually delayed until people could afford it, but by then, people had stopped paying attention.

 

[Alx]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Hololens Minecraft demo didn't include any way for the Hololens wearer to interact with the game?

Do we really think Microsoft is also working on a gaming controller that functions with the Hololens?

Or is it not more likely that the Hololens is absolutely not a gaming device but will have some ability to simply view certain games?

They did demo things like using gestures to scroll the world, or voice commands for specific functions. But Hololens being a standard Windows10 PC, it will support natively controllers and mouse/keyboard, so there's no need for a specific controller.

 

[Caipirinha]

They did demo things like using gestures to scroll the world, or voice commands for specific functions. But Hololens being a standard Windows10 PC, it will support natively controllers and mouse/keyboard, so there's no need for a specific controller.

Hmm, using a mouse and keyboard to control a Minecraft instance you are viewing in three dimensions with a motion controlled camera?

It doesn't sound like a reasonable way to play Minecraft.

 

[Hockeymac18]

You don't see how them "playing" Minecraft on stage at E3 only to later clarify that gaming is not really the purpose of Hololens could be seen as deceptive?

This is textbook Microsoft 101.

I don't. Considering how almost all demos related to the device have been about everything but gaming, I'm not sure how one could believe that this device is a gaming-first device. But that being said, if they do demo gaming, what is the big deal?

They're not saying it will never be used for games, just that its main focus for the first iteration will be elsewhere - this doesn't exclude other use cases, such as gaming, which will be secondary focuses. This is exactly what is said in the interview in the OP.

Put another way, the main purpose of a PC for most people is not to play games, but there's certainly nothing wrong with talking about gaming on PCs at a convention.

Other people in this thread (such as Synth's excellent posts) have made good points on why there is no logical disconnect between stating a device is primarily to be aimed at enterprise and recognizing that that device will also have secondary features in gaming, especially in the future. And as such that device can be talked about at gaming-related conferences.

I honestly don't see why you wouldn't talk about hololens if you're MS - it's exciting technology. They'd be stupid to not demo it in some way at some point.

It seems like some of you are hunting for controversy where none exists. Other than the FOV limitations (which their camera setup seems to not be able to document?), nothing about the device is fake or deceptive. I honestly don't see what you guys are going on about.

 

[Chucke1992]

A bit of a tangent, but it's saddening and revealing that Nadella referred to buying 'Minecraft' rather than buying Mojang. Apparently during the meetings between MS and Mojang there was an occasion where an MS executive said the same thing. To many people, Mojang is just 'the Minecraft company' but I'm sure a lot of people working for Mojang would have loved to branch out. Perhaps that is why Mojang was rumoured to be offering employees $300,000 to stay on for 12 months after the acquisition by MS.

The problem is that I believe a lot of people who are playing Minecraft do not know who was a developer. If you ask them - "Hey, what is Minecraft?" - "That's a game!". If you ask - "Who are Mojang?" - "No idea". It is curse of mobile gaming I think - unlike PC gamers, mobile gamers know game titles better than its developers due to huge amount of games.

I think this is the other problem that Microsoft is facing. It would be a massive gamble to go feet-first into developing for AR. Sony is doing it with VR based on market research and the fact that Oculus has been paving the way. Microsoft is all by itself on AR and I would be surprised if market research showed a massive interest in Hololens as a gaming device.

They gain more profit from enterprise side than gaming and of course they'll focus on enterprise.
Unlike Sony, whose profit now are solely based on gaming. Imagine if PS4 failed - Sony would be doomed. If anything happen to Playstation basically Sony will cease to exists.
On the other side if Microsoft put competitive hardware into Xbox it will be basically a Windows Machine (like Steam Machine) and having its compatible with PC will be a huge win.
Sadly some of features are USA bound so for me they are not available.

 

[leeh]

A bit of a tangent, but it's saddening and revealing that Nadella referred to buying 'Minecraft' rather than buying Mojang. Apparently during the meetings between MS and Mojang there was an occasion where an MS executive said the same thing. To many people, Mojang is just 'the Minecraft company' but I'm sure a lot of people working for Mojang would have loved to branch out. Perhaps that is why Mojang was rumoured to be offering employees $300,000 to stay on for 12 months after the acquisition by MS.

With respect to the Hololens being focused on enterprise users, I think this is more because MS cannot make the device cheap enough to attract people who want to play Minecraft in AR. Let's face it, AR games to date have always been gimmicky or an afterthought added onto a non-AR product. I remember when Vita came out with the AR cards, I played around with the games for a while. They were pretty cool but nothing that captured my attention for long. I used the AR features of Hatsune Miku Project Diva f a few times but I wouldn't pay for it as DLC or a self-contained product.

I think this is the other problem that Microsoft is facing. It would be a massive gamble to go feet-first into developing for AR. Sony is doing it with VR based on market research and the fact that Oculus has been paving the way. Microsoft is all by itself on AR and I would be surprised if market research showed a massive interest in Hololens as a gaming device.

Please tell me anything else which Mojang has created which is worth the price tag put on them.

They know their fate, and I don't think they'd be complaining since MS is throwing gold at the developers to stay put.

Just business.

Also, focusing at enterprise makes perfect sense and was bloody obvious from the start. This doesn't mean they're not going to develop gaming applications on the platform. Why does everyone just think one or the other?

To the person who said why did they show it at E3? Why not? It's still going to be used for gaming applications and it's an area of technology which is futuristic and hasn't been shown before.

 

[Trup1aya]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Hololens Minecraft demo didn't include any way for the Hololens wearer to interact with the game?

Do we really think Microsoft is also working on a gaming controller that functions with the Hololens?

Or is it not more likely that the Hololens is absolutely not a gaming device but will have some ability to simply view certain games?

Well...

Hololens is essentially a standalone windows 10 PC... It should work with any number of standard input devices (keyboard, mouse, controller) along with the hand gestures and voice commands.

There's no reason Minecraft would require MS work on a new controller...

 

[Apathy]

Please tell me anything else which Mojang has created which is worth the price tag put on them.

They know their fate, and I don't think they'd be complaining since MS is throwing gold at the developers to stay put.

Just business.

Pretty sure notch cane it said the books was from his pocket

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/everyone-who-stayed-at-mojang-after-microsoft-buyo/1100-6427797/

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1057000

And a company is never going to be known for anything else than their one thing unless they are given room to make something else, which will never happen now since Microsoft seems to like their one studio, one series approach for their big franchises

 

[Alx]

Not directly on-topic, but I stumbled on this summary of Hololens on twitter, which I found interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwY-6sQDYnk
(*edit : it got retweeted recently by Kipman, but apparently the video is from last May, so between build and E3)

There are a few details about the voice commands responsiveness and the readability of text that I didn't know. The display technology still seems a bit mysterious by the way, I always interpreted that "photons bouncing all around" as bad pseudo-tech speak, but maybe there is more to that tech than just displaying a matrix of pixels ?

 

[Trup1aya]

Hmm, using a mouse and keyboard to control a Minecraft instance you are viewing in three dimensions with a motion controlled camera?

It doesn't sound like a reasonable way to play Minecraft.

Maybe Not if your playing in first person... But there's no reason A person couldn't use a kb/m or controller to control what we saw in the e3 demo...

 

[vin-buc]

One device isn't exactly a "habit" either. Kinect was a released product, that on a technical level actually did nearly everything that was claimed. It was more a case of nobody (outside of Rare and Harmonix) having any idea of how to make a compelling game out of it.

This made me laugh. The Milo/Kate video just goes against anything you said.

As someone who used Kinect with a few titles I can say your post is completely wrong - that you can even say this is utterly absurd. If it worked - you would've seen standout games but it didn't. You can check Kinect game review scores or impressions if you don't believe me. Or even the fact that before the xbox one launch xbox gamers DIDN'T EVEN WANT IT IN THE BOX.

There is precedent for "bait and switch" with Microsoft (even though I wouldn't call it that). But showing off this device in one of the largest gaming conventions with the biggest game and not calling it disingenuous as Nadella has said that v1 is NOT aimed at gaming - you're kidding yourself. They even ended the show with that. But they have to have something to offset Morpheus - other than some vague "partnerships" with OR and Vive, right?

 

[slavesnyder]

Hope they are not talking game developers into it as they did with Kinect 2.

 

[Synth]

This made me laugh. The Milo/Kate video just goes against anything you said.

As someone who used Kinect with a few titles I can say your post is completely wrong - that you can even say this is utterly absurd. If it worked - you would've seen standout games but it didn't. You can check Kinect game review scores or impressions if you don't believe me. Or even the fact that before the xbox one launch xbox gamers DIDN'T EVEN WANT IT IN THE BOX.

There is precedent for "bait and switch" with Microsoft (even though I wouldn't call it that). But showing off this device in one of the largest gaming conventions with the biggest game and not calling it disingenuous as Nadella has said that v1 is NOT aimed at gaming - you're kidding yourself. They even ended the show with that. But they have to have something to offset Morpheus - other than some vague "partnerships" with OR and Vive, right?

I said it did "nearly" everything that was claimed. Milo and Kate was typical Molyneux BS in regards to software, not so much the Kinect itself. The main thing that stands out to me as something the Kinect couldn't do from that demo is read in a drawn image seamlessly... but really the game would have likely accepted pretty much anything as a valid image. Scanning in objects is actually something the Kinect could do though, because it's demonstrated in the mini-app Googly Eyes. Milo was a bunch of fabricated AI stuff, not hardware stuff. Not significantly different from the original Fable.

We've been over the "why is a device not focused on games, at E3 running a game" stuff endlessly in this thread. It's just stupid to think that if a device isn't primarily targeting games, that it's not valid to actually game on. E3 is for showing games. Those games can run on whatever device necessaru, whether that be an Xbox, an iPhone, a desktop PC, or an Android tablet. As long as they have a game to show, it's all good. There's no rule that the only stuff that are to be shown must be limited to dedicated gaming consoles, or dedicated gaming handhelds. If there was, PC games wouldn't be there, because PC's sell primarily to non-gamers too.

And they closed with Gears 4.

Hope they are not talking game developers into it as they did with Kinect 2.

They have some new internal studios that are beng tasked with software creation for it. I don't think the device would be an easy sell to third-party publishers for now, considering how it will be marketed initially. It's more likely to see mobile style apps, rather than AAA development (Minecraft just happens to exists somewhere encompassing both).

 

[Zedox]

I encourage you to read this article. Microsoft's HoloLens strategy is more complex and exciting than you think

It basically tells how you Nadella truly sees where Hololens falls in place of everything.

I also replied to that article stating:

The strategy for Microsoft is the same as it has ever been and Nadella stated it. It is a platform company and those platforms are Windows, Azure, and Office. Every device, and every service ties back to those platforms. All of those platforms can be built upon by developers. They make money off of the platform being used (as the platforms are paid for platforms in some way).

Hololens, Surface, Lumia, Band, Hub, Xbox, IoT devices, and any other device that comes in the future are highlights of the Windows, Azure, Office platforms. They are meant to make money but not meant to be the core of Microsoft's business. It's all about the platform, wherever you are. On the phone, exercising, playing, creating, collaborating, etc...the platform is the "mobile experience"

After reading MJF's interview (which was awesome), it made more sense. BUT DAMNIT I NEED A YU-GI-OH GAME FOR HOLOLENS! IT IS THE FUTURE!

 

[Alx]

This made me laugh. The Milo/Kate video just goes against anything you said.

Which part of the Milo and Kate video do you think wasn't feasible ? There's nothing technically outlandish there, sure it's a well scripted scenario, but you can explain everything that happens with simple voice recognition and image processing. If games like Mass Effect or even Eyepet and Seaman could run such features, there's no reason Milo couldn't have. The real issue is that there was no interesting game there.

The main thing that stands out to me as something the Kinect couldn't do from that demo is read in a drawn image seamlessly... but really the game would have likely accepted pretty much anything as a valid image.

Yep if you look closely at the demo video, Milo never really "understands" what's in the picture, the software only recognizes that the player handed a sheet of paper (at a moment when it expected him to do that, I suppose you could hand him anything and it would react the same), so it's just triggering an animation of "Milo looks at a sheet of paper and looks confused/amused/whatever"). Although part of that limitation is also due to Molyneux not wanting users to give Milo dick drawings. Analyzing a drawing on a clean sheet of paper isn't scifi either, Eyepet does it perfectly, and even creates 3D objects based on the outline.
Molyneux said it himself, it's about giving the illusion that Milo understands what's happening, when most of the time he doesn't. Like that other time when the user asks a question, and Milo looks embarrassed, doesn't answer and go pout in a corner. It didn't need to understand the question, you just think he did because he reacted.

 

[vin-buc]

I said it did "nearly" everything that was claimed. Milo and Kate was typical Molyneux BS in regards to software, not so much the Kinect itself. The main thing that stands out to me as something the Kinect couldn't do from that demo is read in a drawn image seamlessly... but really the game would have likely accepted pretty much anything as a valid image. Scanning in objects is actually something the Kinect could do though, because it's demonstrated in the mini-app Googly Eyes. Milo was a bunch of fabricated AI stuff, not hardware stuff. Not significantly different from the original Fable.

We've been over the "why is a device not focused on games, at E3 running a game" stuff endlessly in this thread. It's just stupid to think that if a device isn't primarily targeting games, that it's not valid to actually game on. E3 is for showing games. Those games can run on whatever device necessaru, whether that be an Xbox, an iPhone, a desktop PC, or an Android Tablet. As long as they have a game to show, it's all good. There's no rule that the only stuff that are to be shown must be limited to dedicated gaming consoles, or dedicated gaming handhelds. If there was, PC games wouldn't be there, because PC's sell primarily to non-gamers too.

And they closed with Gears 4.

They ended with Gears yes but Hololens was their "wow" moment NOT Gears 4. For the handful of times that the device has been shown they've shown Minecraft on it (yes, as well as computing applications) but the point is there. And to nullify your point - they showed Minecraft - a two year old game that they bought last year - @E3 2015? Why does Microsoft almost close their 2015 conference with that old game? That game was shown ONLY to show the "gaming prowess" of Hololens. And that's where the issue lies.

Pretty simple to tell actually.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

They ended with Gears yes but Hololens was their "wow" moment NOT Gears 4. For the handful of times that the device has been shown they've shown Minecraft on it (yes, as well as computing applications) but the point is there. And to nullify your point - they showed Minecraft - a two year old game that they bought last year - @E3 2015? Why does Microsoft almost close their 2015 conference with that old game? That game was shown ONLY to show the "gaming prowess" of Hololens. And that's where the issue lies.

Pretty simple to tell actually.

Because it was pretty fucking cool.

 

[Pathfinder]

Good thing they aren't showing it at E3 or anything

E3 is the world's premier trade show for computer and video games and related products.

Seems to me HoloLens falls into that category, so they showed it.

It's not really a mystery.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

E3 is the world's premier trade show for computer and video games and related products.

Seems to me HoloLens falls into that category, so they showed it.

It's not really a mystery.

I remember that time MS debuted the newest version if Excel at E3. Good times.

 

[Synth]

They ended with Gears yes but Hololens was their "wow" moment NOT Gears 4. For the handful of times that the device has been shown they've shown Minecraft on it (yes, as well as computing applications) but the point is there. And to nullify your point - they showed Minecraft - a two year old game that they bought last year - @E3 2015? Why does Microsoft almost close their 2015 conference with that old game? That game was shown ONLY to show the "gaming prowess" of Hololens. And that's where the issue lies.

Pretty simple to tell actually.

So they ended with Gears then. Don't make arguements about people being "disingenuous" and then outright make some shit up about what they closed the show with.

And to nullify your point, they've also showed Halo Anniversary, Fable Anniversary and Halo Master Chief Collection on-stage at E3 too (not to mention Mass Effect 1 in 2015...) They will show old games if they have some current relevance. Minecraft for HoloLens is a new edition of Minecraft, it's a new product. Obviously if the game is big enough for them to shell out $2.5b dollars, you're likely to see it again at E3, and it doesn't necessarily require a Minecraft 2 for that to happen.

Yes, Minecraft on HoloLens was shown as a demonstration of the device's "gaming prowedd", just like whatever LXP, Lift London, Good Science and the rest are working on for the device will. The device will have games, and to show those games E3 (and other gaming conventions) are the right place to do so. I don't get what your problem here is. Are you bothered that the device isn't just a gaming headset or something?

I remember that time MS debuted the newest version if Excel at E3. Good times.

That's because Excel doesn't fall in line with "computer and video games, and related products". Minecraft does. Which is why the other software demonstrations for the HoloLens were absent.

 

[Pathfinder]

I remember that time MS debuted the newest version if Excel at E3. Good times.

Ahh, reductio ad absurdum. Always a fun time.

 

[vin-buc]

Minecraft for Hololens(Version??)

I fixed that for you.

 

[GeordieMark]

It's smart to send this to enterprise customers first. The games will come but Microsoft has to hit a price point that makes sense to the mass consumer before games would do really well on the device. They can only do that by iterating and they can only support iteration on the backs of the enterprise customer.

Let's not forget that this device will be expensive. For the price of a HoloLens, you'll probably be able to buy a high end gaming PC.

Exactly.

 

[Synth]

I fixed that for you.

Oh come the fuck on...

 

[Captain Zyrain]

I fixed that for you.

They literally said, on stage, it's "a new version of Minecraft built specifically for Microsoft HoloLens".

Did you even watch the press conference?

You're treading into some serious troll/shit-posting territory here.

 

[Soi-Fong]

Not surprising but disappointing for us tinkerers.



This is targeted at enterprise. Expect at least $10k per device.

I'm expecting $15k honestly. The tech is impressive, but it can't be cheap..

 

[gmoran]

Even this isn't being wholly truthful: Holelens will be launched as an R&D product for AR, with a big emphasis on the software development tools. At this moment in time it has almost zero utility for anything else.

This has been fairly apparent since the first reveal, and especially since the showing at Build.

The reaction to the E3 showing in the gaming community was unsophisticated and lacked suitable skepticism. Comments along the lines that AR > VR is simply ridiculous at this stage of development, current AR is less sophisticated than 1990's VR was.

Mass-market AR for gaming is at least a decade off.

 

[vin-buc]

The timing of Nadella's announcement is peculiar since Google Glass Enterprise articles have been making the rounds the last couple of days.

I think it's good that Nadella and Co. are positioning this for enterprise. I wonder what inroads Google Glass Enterprise is making. It will be interesting to see what version is adopted by different industries.

 

[vin-buc]

They literally said, on stage, it's "a new version of Minecraft built specifically for Microsoft HoloLens".

Did you even watch the press conference?

You're treading into some serious troll/shit-posting territory here.

Oh really how so? Did I not make my position clear in my first/second post. That is my view and the view of a few other posters. Read my first two posts before calling my last post "troll/shitposting"