Thursday, August 29, 2013

Software : EA: Xbox exclusives aren't about playing favorites with Microsoft

Software : EA: Xbox exclusives aren't about playing favorites with Microsoft

EA: Xbox exclusives aren't about playing favorites with Microsoft

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EA: Xbox exclusives aren't about playing favorites with Microsoft

PlayStation fans have been pouting over the number of Xbox exclusives coming out of EA for months, but the game publisher says maybe they're just not being patient enough.

EuroGamer.net today reported that game giant Electronic Arts (EA) denies showing favoritism toward Microsoft, despite the sheer number of Xbox exclusives announced at key industry events this year.

Between last June's E3 2013 announcement of a PC and Xbox-only Titanfall and last week's Gamescom deal from Microsoft that bundles a free copy of EA's FIFA 14 with all European Xbox One preorders, Sony fans have been left feeling downright neglected.

But the head of EA's sports division denies that's the case, instead praising the company's longtime partnerships with both hardware manufacturers.

Long-term relations

"We have relationships with both companies that go back many many years, so I think that what you saw [from Microsoft at Gamescom] was, just from a phasing perspective, you saw a little bit more of the Microsoft stuff," EA Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore, a former Microsoft executive, told Gamesindustry International this week.

Moore claims Microsoft is likely using such exclusives as a way to "catch up" with Sony in Europe, where the Xbox platform still plays second fiddle to PlayStation.

"I don't think that we're favoring one over the other, we love them both dearly. It's important to the publishing community that both are very successful and I think they will be very successful."

The EA executive also suggested PlayStation 4-specific "partnership opportunities" could be forthcoming in the near future, confirming both Sony and Microsoft have aggressively pursued content from the publisher.

Windows Start menu makes Mac return in Parallels Desktop 9

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Windows Start menu makes Mac return in Parallels Desktop 9

Parallels has launched the latest version of its virtualisation software for Macs, bringing integration with cloud storage services and support for OS X Mavericks.

As with previous versions, Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac primarily lets you use Windows and OS X applications simultaneously without needing to reboot into a different OS through Boot Camp.

Mac users running Windows 8 in a virtual machine will now get Parallel's own version of the much missed 'Start' menu. That's ahead of actual PC users running Windows 8 that will see its return when Windows 8.1 lands next month.

Performance boost

The company is claiming "up to" 40% improvement in disk performance with version nine, a 25% speed boost when starting up and shutting down virtual machines, and a 20% reduction in the time needed to suspend them.

Other features include Power Nap support on Retina MacBook Pro or MacBook Air models to resume quickly when coming out of Sleep mode, Mac gestures such as Dictionary lookup in Windows applications, Thunderbolt and Firewire storage device support, and a new Security Center that hunts down security software subscriptions to keep protect virtual machines from viruses.

Parallels Desktop 9 also includes support for syncing up to cloud services like iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, and SkyDrive.

Going live

Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac is available from today as an upgrade for current Parallels Desktop for Mac users. The full version can be downloaded from Parallels' website from September 5, and packaged versions of the software will hit the shelves at Apple retail stores on the same day for £64.95 (US$79.99, or AU$90).

For a limited time, Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac customers will get a six-month trial to Parallels Access for iPad, which the company released yesterday.

Access is a remote desktop solution that shrinks legacy Windows and OS X desktop programs to make them fit the iPad's screen, allowing them to be used like native apps on Apple's slate with full gesture support.

Analysis: Skype turns 10: did Microsoft's bet pay off?

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Analysis: Skype turns 10: did Microsoft's bet pay off?

Skype's users like it a lot, and when the Microsoft deal was announced in 2011 they had three key concerns.

One, that Microsoft would cut off support for non-Microsoft platforms; two, that Microsoft would shove it into every conceivable Microsoft product whether it fit or not; and three, that Microsoft would find some way to screw it up.

They needn't have worried. Rather than absorb Skype into its Borg-like embrace, Microsoft decided to keep Skype as a separate division - and that perhaps prevented Skype from doubling down on Windows to the exclusion of all other platforms.

In addition to Windows platforms there are clients for Macs and Linux, iOS, Android and BlackBerry, compatible home entertainment devices and phones and even the PlayStation Vita. Windows does appear to get the most attention, but other platforms are still being actively supported: the Mac client was updated in March and the Linux one in November, with the iOS app getting an update this month.

Skype's user numbers have grown from 170 million at the time of the acquisition to 300 million earlier this year. Windows Live Messenger, which Skype was bought to replace, had dropped from a peak of 300 million to around 100 million in 2011.

Did Microsoft pay too much?

Skype's users spend 2 billion minutes per day on the service, and according to research from market analysts TeleGeography, Skype usage is equivalent to one-third of all the world's telephone traffic. That research was prior to Skype's replacement of Windows Live Messenger earlier this year, so those numbers should be considerably higher now.

As for shoving it into Microsoft's own products, Skype was acquired to replace the aged and ailing Windows Live Messenger, and it's largely gone where you would expect: it connects with the Microsoft Lync enterprise messaging platform, is available in Outlook.com, is installed by default in Windows 8.1 and takes advantage of the Xbox One's Kinect camera - although you won't be able to Skype on the Xbox One unless you pay for an Xbox Live Gold account.

Skype vs Hangouts

The big question is whether Microsoft overpaid, and the answer is simple: of course it did. $8.5 billion - 32 times Skype's operating profit - was much, much more than Skype was worth, with Steve Ballmer betting that Skype's long-term growth would justify paying what most analysts agreed was four times Skype's value. The numbers are improving - the Skype division's revenues (not profits) are up to $2 billion compared to Skype's $800 million in 2011, although the newer numbers also include Lync - but it'll be a while before Microsoft gets its money back.

However, the acquisition wasn't just about monetising Skype's users. Buying Skype was also a defensive move, designed to fend off competition from Google and Cisco in the enterprise markets, and to give Microsoft a key player in the mobile Voice over IP market - a market that's still very much in its infancy, and one where Microsoft has been taking baby steps.

The long term vision is for Microsoft to be the hub of your voice and video communications, no matter what device you happen to be using, and Skype is a crucial part of that.

A new video messaging feature was added in June. It's like voicemail, but with video

What's next for Skype?

There may be a cloud on the horizon, however. In July, Steve Ballmer announced a major reorganisation: "we are rallying behind a single strategy as one company - not a collection of divisional strategies," he wrote.

Skype will become part of a new Applications Group alongside Office and Bing, and Skype president Tony Bates is off to take charge of developer relationships and evangelism. If Skype owes its current success to its arms-length relationship with Microsoft, then the One Microsoft policy could prove to be its undoing.
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