Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has predicted that the best is still to come from Xbox 360, as developers learn to take full advantage of the system's hardware.
When asked how long he thought the current 360 lifecycle would last, Molyneux replied:
"I'm not party to any decision on the hardware side - just to be clear. There's two bits of me that think about this. One side is the teccy bloke who loves new gadgets [and wants to see new consoles], and the other side is the practical voice. One thing's for absolutely sure - I think there's still amazing things to be gained out of the current Xbox 360 generation that's just going to completely blow us all away. It's going to get even better.
"That's true of every generation and I really think it's true with 360. As you get through the lifecycle of these machines, stuff just keeps getting better and better. And now we've got stuff like Kinect, it's going to be even more different.
"I can't predict how long these lifecycles will be, but I know that all of us in the industry we actually don't like it very much when the hardware changes. It's a very unsettling time. You're just gnashing your teeth.
"There's always the same thing, when the hardware people may or may not make the machine that may or may not make your life insanely hard or insanely easy. It's a big messy time. It will be very interesting which one out of Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony will break ranks first."
Check out our interview with Peter on his 27 years in the gaming industry through here.
Comments
52 comments so far...
Tazadoobii on 19 Mar '11 said:
Erm.. I won't comment on this article.. Load of bull!
justforkicks101 on 19 Mar '11 said:
its peaked then.. shush pete
yourmumwasfun on 19 Mar '11 said:
LOL!!!
BenThomasFoster on 19 Mar '11 said:
so it begins the greatest s**tstorm of our time
gmcb007 on 19 Mar '11 said:
Yes I think hes right. I think the same applies for the PS3 as well. Well better leave before the self-loving fanboys come in here to slag the xbox off and use the rolling eyes smiley.
yourmumwasfun on 19 Mar '11 said:
KINECT FTW!
ffcoppolla on 19 Mar '11 said:
You just did...
ste hicky on 19 Mar '11 said:
ms employee backing an ms product?
a guy who is prone to the er,odd over exuberant outburst that very,very seldomly gets seen through in the final reckoning when his games are released?
sure pete. whatever you say fella.
metallicorphan on 19 Mar '11 said:
looks like CVG have gotten hold of Peter Molyneux profile pic from datingdirect.com
JFC2294 on 19 Mar '11 said:
I will believe when he make a game as good as he claims for the xbox 360
aawells07 on 19 Mar '11 said:
lol most of the comments are from TROLLS just about like everyother article on here.....unfortunatly.....poor guys
TOKEN on 19 Mar '11 said:
Hush little petie dont say a word you are starting to sound obsurd last game i played fable 1 was turd.
Save your comments for the super nerd.
alan666 on 19 Mar '11 said:
well that's it then, the end has arrived for the xbox 360
suppose i had better get saving for the xbox 720 & the inevitable launch game Fable 4 where the Kinect-V2 will transport you into the actual Fable 4 world, how much is this going to cost, it's madness to release this in the current financial climate, i'm going to have to sell a kidney or something
you had to go & spoil everything didn't you Pete
ste hicky on 19 Mar '11 said:
^^
yourmumwasfun on 19 Mar '11 said:
KINECT will prove he's right! You'll see trolls. And dvd's small capacity is not an issue.
XBOX LIVE FTW!
humanhand on 19 Mar '11 said:
OOOOOOOHHH DEE VEE, I WISH YOU WERE MY SON !
anytime on 19 Mar '11 said:
craiglackenby on 19 Mar '11 said:
Instead of talking about it, take action and make an exclusive to add to the list... I mean Gear of War 3, I bet it's lonely all on it's own... lol If wasn't for the high quality multi plat sequels out this year it would be a very bad year for us core gamers on 360.
Paradaz - UK on 19 Mar '11 said:
Crikey, you go to some depths to hide your Sony bias! I take it your post in here and the LIVE ID on your profile is a transparent attempt to 'prove' that you're not balls deeps in Sony's arse even though you've obviously posted in here for one reason only - a little snipe at 360 exclusives. You're rapidly becoming the forum's biggest PS3 fanboy and it's there for everyone to see.
What's the big deal with exclusives anyway? MS doesn't have any pressure to rush them out when the multiplats are consistently better on 360. Only biased fanboys are going to buy an inferior version of the same game surely? Remind me which system you bought Black Ops for and why the disappointment and constant whinging about the PS3 version of Crysis 2 when you have a 360 to play it on
MattyR95 on 19 Mar '11 said:
''Microsoft studios boss Molyneux said that he had no inside knowledge of MS's plans'' I don't really see how this is news worthy then. It's just an opinion.
Unlike you, who makes no effort to hide your 360 biases. I really don't see how that was a fanboy comment. He is right. Gears of war 3 IS the only big exclusive for 360 we know about, so far. And your comment saying ''what's the big deal with exclusives anyway'' just sounds like sour grapes, when it's the biggest factor for any console and then you come up with a load of bull saying most multi-plats are better on 360, which just isn't true anymore. Even if they are it's a minuscule difference. I've made myself look like a fanboy now but you're comment was just pathetic.
stewpot79 on 19 Mar '11 said:
Peter does waffle dont he!!! the 360 aint got much left in it at all,the only decent game it can shout about this year is Gears 3. Kinect is a waste of time its just a better eyetoy from like 10years ago and the sooner people accept that the better. Microsoft was clever bringing it out at christmas and get the party season sales but once it hit the 1st of january they started getting traded in by the ton load. I know cos i work in a certain game shop chain and i predicted it would happen and it did we have a huge draw full of them that no one wants. I have both 360 and PS3 and the PS3 is the far more updatable of the 2 u just got to look at the ondemand tv and film services,online saving,blu-ray and proper 3D function
Paradaz - UK on 19 Mar '11 said:
I'm not in the slightest big biased regarding 360, it's my least used console (discounting the Wii of course)
Exclusives are only good for bragging rights for people who only own one console, but even then if you only have one console then you lose out on other system's exclusives too.
How can my comment be sour grapes when I own all consoles and a gaming PC? It's just a convenience that I could do without really. You say it's not true that multiplats are consistently better on 360 yet that's not an opinion, it's a matter of fact.
What are the biggest multiplat releases of the last 6 months? Black Ops without a doubt and look what happened to the PS3 version of that! Crysis 2 in the next couple of weeks and its looking more and more likely that the 360 version has the edge! Like I said, anyone is nuts not to buy a multiplat on the system that it proves to be better on, regardless of brand name.....and 360 is consistently edging the large majority of games.
You then go on to say its usually a tiny difference, even so unless there is an overriding factor you're still going to buy it on the system that is slightly better. If the games are that close anyway then surely the 360 would edge it due to LIVE being many times more stable and reliable than PSN together with the additional functionality....unless you want to dispute that too?
As for MOVE and Kinnect I still don't understand why it's a big issue for the majority of gamers on these forums, we all know they are aimed at the casual audience so it shouldn't be anything that people on these forums are beating their chest about on either system.
humanhand on 19 Mar '11 said:
I agree with Matty...
In terms of game developers, undoubtedly the best games can be made for PC, but the demand for console games is greater. Then you have the hoards of people who own a 360, coupled with that fact that it's easier to develop for than PS3. (I do think that is slowly changing though.) It will consistently be the case that the 360 has an advantage over the PS3 in terms of production meeting demand. Nothing helps the cause more than when the majority of online gamers are all XBL'ers. There's barely a reason to jump ship. PS3 has some great exclusives, and that's what’s really been helping them. All that said, I think the PS3 is a superior system, and I prefer it.
Also take Gabe Newell for example, he's totally come around to the advatages of the PS3 over the 360.
Padua on 19 Mar '11 said:
I keep hearing "incredible", "better" and other superlatives of what is coming for the 360 (without concrete examples) when I think the best move Microsoft could make is to get their next next-gen console out as many years before the next Sony console as possible - with the current Kinect being backward compatible to encourage early adoption.
The ten year life-cycle perfectly suits the PS3 - not the 360.
kirankara on 19 Mar '11 said:
Never in history of man , has one person uttered as much bulls**te as this man. He makes ok games but goes on and On like he's Changingthe world. What more can 360realistocally do now?? Make dinner ? Look after ur kids? Any advances now will be minor . It's great machine but they can only squeeze so much out 5 ur old hardware. He'd the king of hype
Paradaz - UK on 19 Mar '11 said:
I used to think that too, because M$'s next console could ultimately batter the existing PS3 and make it look very outdated.....but the more I see of Kinnect outselling MOVE and bolstering the profits of M$ the more I think they'll wait.
To be honest, I think M$ will be quietly confident that their next console will outperform Sony's next attempt based on this generation alone and will be more than happy to release at a similar time and pull out all the stops to trump the PS4.
Considering that M$ always said the original XBox was just to get a foothold on the ladder and they knew they'd make a loss, they probably never realised they'd have the percentage of market share as they do now with the 360.
wasted-again on 19 Mar '11 said:
Good ideas don't require new hardware, games don't evolve purely through hardware advances, they evolve through new features and gameplay ideas. The 360 is head and shoulders above the PS3 as a games machine, and should do well for a couple more years till it gets replaced/superceded.
djreplay on 19 Mar '11 said:
Exclusive's are the only reason to choose between 360 and PS3 as the console's are so similar, if the 360 has only one this year (Gear's 3) why would I go out and spend £200 on a console for one game.
Exclusive's are what's used to sell the console's (360 & PS3) because apart from that both console's are identical.
g_marrs on 19 Mar '11 said:
I think this reeks a little of MS pushing out spokespeople to cover the recent suggestions that they are about to move on. Clearly, any suggestion that the current 360 is about to be discontinued or replaced would impact hardware sales significantly.
Could be genuine, however, I'm calling misdirection on this one.
GlynCR on 19 Mar '11 said:
he must like the sound of his own voice
Paradaz - UK on 19 Mar '11 said:
We obviously see it very differently......I don't see exclusives as a reason to make a choice. I see it as an inconvenience which forces me to buy all the different consoles. If the consoles are so similar and I had to make a choice I would take 360 simply because on top of exclusive games it consistently gets better ports/versions of multiplats and has a much better online portal....but ultimately no-one would select a 360 that prefers PS3 exclusives over the 360 exclusives. If it came down to selecting just one console I would select the one with better overall library and if that is made of multiplats then so be it.......multiplat games don't make a console crappy, just like exclusives don't make a console great on their own.......but fanboys in either side will try and say different........just like you did in your post. You are insinuating you only have to make a choice now and Gears 3 is the only exclusive on 360 but some people have been having to make the same choice over the last 4 years.
It's the same reason I asked about your profile earlier, I was simply confirming my first impressions of you. I originally bought a PS3 only for GT5......before the announcement of many slips and delays......and look what a waste of money that turned out to be. I have since bought a lot of games for it but not once have I been blown away.
Saying that I play my PS3 a lot more than my 360 these days, but half that reason is that I'm questioning the value of LIVE when I also have a top end PC and most games feature on both systems.
Fr33Kye on 19 Mar '11 said:
Paradaz if i had to choose between the two now i'd pick ps3. Live isnt worth it for me, rarely into multiplayer and i dont want to pay for access to demos and games to buy. I cant comment on whether multiplatform games look bad on ps3, i've never owned the same game for both. Enslaved was pretty sketchy, and i hear bayonetta is bad but Vanquish is f**king awesome. I really dont like to switch between consoles, even though i have alan wake, havent bothered to setup my 360.If i judged on library, i'd pick ps3, if i judged on everything else, i'd still choose ps3 just because psn is free. I love the ps3 exclusives, there are not only a lot of them, but they are good and diverse. Multiplatforms may be not as good as their 360 counterparts, which is why i havent played bayonetta, but its still the console for me! I'm suddenly really into downloadable games and i would hate to only have a 360 without Live. I do play multiplatform games, and i've been really impressed by exclusives(inFamous, Folklore, and MGS4!). There are quite a few lesser known games only found on 360, that are.worth having, but i prefer to focus on one console, and i choose ps3. Some of my greatest gaming experiences were on 360(mirror's edge and lost planet), so i'd welcome a reason to turn it on, despite prefering my ps3.
theXtReMe1 on 19 Mar '11 said:
If Molyneux says so, we know there is no more life left in the 360.
Has the man learned nothing from his trail of broken dreams? 
Hahaha
Barca Azul on 20 Mar '11 said:
I can see this gen out lasting any previous ones.
Ali_ on 20 Mar '11 said:
STOP PRESS: Man funded by Microsoft says plenty of life left in Microsoft product.
g_marrs on 20 Mar '11 said:
Woah, when did you have to take out gold membership for demos and downloading games? Isn't this available under the free service.
Fr33Kye on 20 Mar '11 said:
Oh yea silver, which i no longer have the option to use without buying a wireless router :p
Jimmy Luxury on 20 Mar '11 said:
His arm must be aching from constantly towing the company line.
g_marrs on 20 Mar '11 said:
Ah, that's okay then.
solamon77 on 20 Mar '11 said:
Personally, I LOVE the games that come out late in a console's life. This is the time when games start getting really creative with the hardware. Some of the best games EVER came out in the last years of many consoles life (God of War 2 on the PS2, Super Mario World 2 & Kirby Super Star on the SNES are a couple that spring to mind). What's cool this time around is that the PS3 and 360 are going to break the 5 year console release cycle so developers are going to really get a chance to push these systems to their limits.
i like jam donut on 20 Mar '11 said:
Are you all forgetting about KINECT? This is the future. KINECT FTW!
Ninja Wolfman on 20 Mar '11 said:
The xbox is dead, its maxed our per Crysis 2 & Halo Reach for graphics, everything else sucks, 99% games are s**t, take crap ops for an example, mine goes tomorrow for store credit, getting a new rig in the summer for BF3 & Skyrim, f**k Microsoft & Sony.
verynaughtyboy on 20 Mar '11 said:
"The 360 is head and shoulders above the PS3 as a games machine" - WHAT? I own both consoles and I'm very fond of my 360 but it is absolutely not "head and shoulders above the PS3." I've been playing Infamous, Uncharted 1 & 2, Metal Gear Solid 4 and a few other exlusives lately and I am greatly looking forward to some very impressive looking exclusives that are on the way e.g. Infamous 2 and The Last Guardian. The 360 hosts nothing that is superior at all. Both consoles are on a par, I love both, and if anything, PS3 exclusives achieve standards SLIGHTLY beyond the 360's capabilities. Gears 3 might pee all over that statement but as of this moment I see no solid reason to accept the above quote.
djreplay on 20 Mar '11 said:
What I meant was for someone like me who doesn't own a 360 why would I buy one this year, I wouldn't buy it to play exclusive's from last year on or buy multiplat's on it as I've been collecting trophy's for a couple of year's and that's more important to me than 5 frames per second and a couple of thousand pixel's.
I rarely play online so Live wouldn't be a deciding factor it would be exclusive games coming out this year, there's no denying that the 360 has an extensive back catalog but it would need a couple more games like Codename Kingdom's and XCOM to peak my interest because I wouldn't buy it to play the first 2 Gear's games and Alan Wake.
Paradaz - UK on 20 Mar '11 said:
So you're now saying that exclusive games don't count if they are deemed 'old'? Why wouldn't you want to play slightly older games just because they are 6 or 12 months old?....they don't suddenly become crap!
If the same was said about the PS3 back catalogue, taking UC2, MGS4 and KZ2 out of the equation only leaves GT5 and KZ3 worth mentioning......and neither of those exactly set the world alight. Do people looking at buying the PS3 now not have the same problem as you do if they use the same set of rules?......or are you going to tell me that Motorstorm, Resistance etc etc excel in pedigree?
And no, a list of exclusives really isn't required.
My point is simply that if you deny yourself a particular console, you deny yourself a whole catalogue of games and not just future exclusives like you seem to be doing here.
themozabeast on 20 Mar '11 said:
^I am surrounded by imbeciles
gmcb007 on 20 Mar '11 said:
It amazes me that people buy both consoles to play exclusives. I personally couldn't care about exclusives and I couldn't see me splashing out an extra £250 just to play a game that will last probably just a week and then i'll move on to the next one.
jtthegame on 20 Mar '11 said:
get better and better is something the 360 has been doing through out its lifecycle
Metagen on 20 Mar '11 said:
Having seen and played a number of 360 exclusives the only one that really made me feel like I was missing something special was Mass Effect but the second one came to PS3 anyway. However I feel like I need to play it so much I've decided to put off buying ME2 on PS3 so I can finish getting the money together for and building my new gaming rig just so I can buy 1+2 on PC and transfer my character and get the full in depth story. I think I'm making the right decision, and besides ME it means I'll be fully prepared for Skyrim, Diablo3 and all the other sweet games coming out for PC soon.
Exclusives are generally what convinces me to choose one console over the other but 360 hasn't shown me much I'm overly interested in throughout it's entire lifecycle. This doesn't mean I hate the 360 as I play the one sitting downstairs every once in a while, it just means I don't think it's worth the money for the console then having to go out and buy a back catalogue of games. As far as exclusives go, as long as I have a PC and a PS3 i don't think i'll ever feel like I'm missing out on anything.
TOKEN on 20 Mar '11 said:
Peter mockingyou
PS3UberTool on 20 Mar '11 said:
No different to the Killzone or Uncharted developers praising Sony then.
Rise_ofthe_Mike on 21 Mar '11 said:
He say's a lot of things. Let me point out that MS has lost a ton of exclusives and unless they really start to kick it into gear, they'll continue to lose exclusives and not gain any. Gun Loco just got canceled. Gears developers are talking about how they'd love to bring Gears to the PS3. Valve is putting the definitive version of Portal 2 on the PS3, which is to say that it's possible that L4D may see a release on the PS3 as well with how friendly Valve is getting with Sony. All of this and the PS3 is continuing to put out exclusive after exclusive...Not all great, but many of them are. I have complete faith that MS will start to get themselves back into shape with their exclusive line-up but it's not been a good year for them in that regard.
On the kinect side of things...I like Kinect, I think it's fun. It's not capable of hardcore gaming...At least not yet and not in a way that would make a hardcore gamer happy, but it's fun. Dance Central is a blast. Kinect Sports is cool, though there are some games on there that I like better on the Wii...Granted Bowling is amazing with kinect. I think it has a few games that look great...I would choose Move over Kinect mostly because i'm a hardcore gamer. KZ3 is amazing with Move...Socom 4, Sorcery, etc. Hardcore games that are cool with Move. I'm glad I own both though.
Needless to say, I think MS has some hurdles to jump before they're clear of danger. THey need to gather up some great developers and buy them out, making them first party. Rare hasn't done crap. Lionhead studios has put out Fable 1 (amazing), Fable 2(complete crap), fable 3(better than Fable 2, but still not great.)..With so many games that they could go back to from the original X-box...They should start bringing us Sudeki 2, Nightcaster 3, and my personal favorite...Azurik...Meanwhile they start buying a bunch of dev's and have them make fresh IP's. That's why Sony's so successful in regards to the exclusive games they have coming out.
Needless to say, Ms isn't in any real danger...But if this gen ends without them putting out some real good exclusives that stay exclusive...and next gen continues this trend..They won't be around much longer. The stock holders are already calling for them to stop making consoles, and this addition of losing tons of exclusives can't be helping the stock holders see a reason to keep this up. Sony has been biting at their heels for a while now and is closing in on the second spot in sales..and while both have sold more than enough to go on to the next gen...i'm sure neither did as well as they had hoped they would. Sony in particular, with it's terrible start.