Microsoft Going into the Entertainment Business?

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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According to ComputerWorld, Microsoft is going forward with plans to begin producing its own original entertainment content for the Xbox and related devices. Microsoft will have the experienced talent of Nancy Tellem, past head of CBS network’s entertainment division to get the production into high gear.

Tellem told the Los Angeles Times that Microsoft will create "premium content" of a high enough quality to compete with cable and network TV shows.
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Its a start and MS tried to get this started back in the late 90's too. This would be pretty cool to get some xbox only shows
 
Neil who? That's like a joke name isn't it, like Bigus Digus or Naughtious Maximus?
 
Of course this is going to work; they're just following up on the smashing success of MSNBC. Oh, wait...
 
What kind of entertainment are we talking? porn maybe? A big sweaty Steve Ballmer oil wrestling in a swimming pool with Bill Gates would certainly rake in a lot of hits.
 
SkribbelKat said:
Neil who? That's like a joke name isn't it, like Bigus Digus or Naughtious Maximus?
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He's the director who was slated to direct the Halo movie. He's the one Peter Jackson supported. Neil directed/wrote District 9. In terms of Sci-fi brilliance in film it's one of the best. It even demonstrates how much of a gamer he is. Very few films show any comprehension of more than Pop SF and little appreciation for 'true future' let alone intelligently use any of the hallmarks that have made the genre so engrossing.

Usually SF in films is just horrible. Go read StarShip Troopers, The Golden Age, even Altered Carbon, and then watch some of the more famous SF films in Hollywood. They come off as cheap imitations, watered down for the drop in the Bell Curve, choosing concepts given passing mention in those stories as the core of their plot and fiction and even then brutally disfiguring what made those concepts so brilliant and worth imitating.

A simple example is this: StarShip Troopers the book is nothing like the movie. The future of warfare detailed by Heinlein which placed it on the USMCs reading list rarely shows itself in any way in film. This applies to the marines in Aliens, and nearly every fighting force in SF films. The core of the Mobile Infantry in Starships Troopers was highly mobile armored infantry units. Basically power armor, that was a tank, with massive amounts of ordinance, with the ability to improve the mobility of existing infantry, as seen in District 9's mech. The mech in District 9 is basically what the Mobile Infantry would be using in Starship Troopers. This infers not only that Bloomkamp understands what future warfare is and would most likely comprise of but has no qualms in taking that realization to film. That sort of mentality, behavior, standard, is what would make a Halo film great and most directors have shown they are lacking in those regards.
 
LastQuestion said:
Neil directed/wrote District 9. In terms of Sci-fi brilliance in film it's one of the best.
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Theres a disconnect there...

District 9 had annoying characters and terrible dialog and actors and a rehashed watery plot. It wasn't exactly one of the good sci fi films, I kept thinking it was an unfunny bigger budget version of "the office" with aliens in. :p
 
LastQuestion said:
He's the director who was slated to direct the Halo movie. He's the one Peter Jackson supported. Neil directed/wrote District 9. In terms of Sci-fi brilliance in film it's one of the best. It even demonstrates how much of a gamer he is. Very few films show any comprehension of more than Pop SF and little appreciation for 'true future' let alone intelligently use any of the hallmarks that have made the genre so engrossing.

Usually SF in films is just horrible. Go read StarShip Troopers, The Golden Age, even Altered Carbon, and then watch some of the more famous SF films in Hollywood. They come off as cheap imitations, watered down for the drop in the Bell Curve, choosing concepts given passing mention in those stories as the core of their plot and fiction and even then brutally disfiguring what made those concepts so brilliant and worth imitating.

A simple example is this: StarShip Troopers the book is nothing like the movie. The future of warfare detailed by Heinlein which placed it on the USMCs reading list rarely shows itself in any way in film. This applies to the marines in Aliens, and nearly every fighting force in SF films. The core of the Mobile Infantry in Starships Troopers was highly mobile armored infantry units. Basically power armor, that was a tank, with massive amounts of ordinance, with the ability to improve the mobility of existing infantry, as seen in District 9's mech. The mech in District 9 is basically what the Mobile Infantry would be using in Starship Troopers. This infers not only that Bloomkamp understands what future warfare is and would most likely comprise of but has no qualms in taking that realization to film. That sort of mentality, behavior, standard, is what would make a Halo film great and most directors have shown they are lacking in those regards.
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I don't know man, we can talk about future war fighters, but you reach a point where the investment per head is too great. If population curves continue, any galactic military, will probably have no problem throwing bodies at a conflict rather than highly mechanized armored single infantry units. I haven't read this literature, but I think cost per body will play a huge part in any development. Not to sound macabre. We love scifi movies with these power armor guys, but in terms of economics of scale, I don't think it's feasible. And still some generals pipe dream.
 
Crotan said:
I don't know man, we can talk about future war fighters, but you reach a point where the investment per head is too great. If population curves continue, any galactic military, will probably have no problem throwing bodies at a conflict rather than highly mechanized armored single infantry units. I haven't read this literature, but I think cost per body will play a huge part in any development. Not to sound macabre. We love scifi movies with these power armor guys, but in terms of economics of scale, I don't think it's feasible. And still some generals pipe dream.
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Plus, if they have the tech to make walking mechs, they could fit them with AI, or a predator drone style remote mechanism. Why shove a human, a point of weakness, needing extra hardware (life support, space), extra services (medical/food) in an armored tank when you don't have to?

On that point, why have humans in armies at all? It would make bad movies, a load of guys sitting in a room fighting a war on a distant planet via office cubes (like spy movies should be). But would be more practical and realistic. :D
 
Crotan said:
I don't know man, we can talk about future war fighters, but you reach a point where the investment per head is too great. If population curves continue, any galactic military, will probably have no problem throwing bodies at a conflict rather than highly mechanized armored single infantry units. I haven't read this literature, but I think cost per body will play a huge part in any development. Not to sound macabre. We love scifi movies with these power armor guys, but in terms of economics of scale, I don't think it's feasible. And still some generals pipe dream.
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You should read it. The way in which the mobile infantry operates address's such things. They work in small groups, highly mobile, with tons of ordinance. Mobile isn't in the sense of traditional warfare, not even armored warfare. Their level of mobility is more in-line with helicopters than armor. Mobile infantry isn't about just replacing infantry. They're armor, command controls, paratroopers, electronic warfare, infantry, integrated in a way that allows capabilities beyond all of the above. As such you reduce your force, the logistics needed to support them. The mobile infantry essentially performs every task needed of a ground force.

From the simple standpoint of an unaugmented humanity this type of warfare is vastly superior to any other. The Bell Curve is a brutal and unyielding fact of biology. When you need fewer soldiers you can have better trained and more intelligent ones in critical roles. As such tactical error is reduced, efficiency improved, and completion of objectives far more consistent. The concept of the mobile infantry is to allow quick deployment to remote areas with the full capabilities of a ground force using as few resources as possible. At the same time you gain advantages otherwise impossible such as in covert deployments.

The investment involved in a mobile infantry is also offset by needing far fewer transports, having less logistical needs, and being able to streamline weapons development and manufacture with greater focus. By having fewer transports one has a more combat effective fleet. This increases the chances of controlling or disputing control of air/orbit which would be key to winning at any ground engagement.
 
Really, I see no way that this could possibly go wrong. No way...
 
Please don't let this happen. I feel bad enough supporting Microsoft through using the Xbox at all. Please don't let their influence extend further.
 
DeathPrincess said:
Theres a disconnect there...

District 9 had annoying characters and terrible dialog and actors and a rehashed watery plot. It wasn't exactly one of the good sci fi films, I kept thinking it was an unfunny bigger budget version of "the office" with aliens in. :p
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Just for the weapons alone, it was amazing.
 
Trimlock said:
Just for the weapons alone, it was amazing.
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I liked those, and some of the tech in it like the mech thing. But that main character was just grrrrr. His horrible voice and shitty acting just made me want to use them on him. :D
 
DeathPrincess said:
I liked those, and some of the tech in it like the mech thing. But that main character was just grrrrr. His horrible voice and shitty acting just made me want to use them on him. :D
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Main character I just ignored, it was fun seeing the weapons and the mech in the end. That bullet storm in the end with the mech vs. the mercenary army was epic.
 
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