back to article Microsoft's Xbox TV studio OBLITERATED

Microsoft's Xbox chief Phil Spencer has confirmed his firm will shutter its ambitious Xbox TV studio, Xbox Entertainment Studios, after only two years. Among the casualties is a remake of the BBC's cardboard-prop classic, Blake's 7. However, two scripted live-action productions based on the Halo game, to be produced by Stephen …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    entertainment console lacking entertainment

    So they build an entertainment console, and then close an entertainment arm which could have produced intial xbox only content, and then if good enough passed onto other content providers... I think this shows just how much creativity has been lost and why they are so poorly behind others in areas outside their comfort zone...

    1. Rob

      Re: entertainment console lacking entertainment

      It was a stupid business model anyway. They should be commissioning content from production houses not building up the infrastructure to make their own, far too many overheads involved that come with too many risks. Content providers the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Xbox should stick with just comissioning gives them more flexibility and less production risk.

    2. Anonymoist Cowyard

      Re: entertainment console lacking entertainment

      Havn't any of the previous 20 about turns taught you anything about how how clueless Microsoft are as to what consumers want.

      Try this, try that, try something else, perhaps some of it might stick.... Looking at sales that are 1/4 of PS4 globally, very little is sticking...

      1. phil dude
        Linux

        Re: entertainment console lacking entertainment

        perhaps it is a symptom when there is no correlation between a companies product quality and its revenue.

        Seriously, M$ has been sooooo successful, they actually believe it was not a fluke of history....

        No troll icon, because I think this might be quite reasonable....

        P.

  2. Darren Barratt

    Not mourning

    The Blake 7 remake/re-imagining/regurgitation would have sucked balls anyway. Best leave well enough alone and make new things.

    (and to sidestep imminent geek-agedon, I love the original, but hate the idea americans recasting it.)

    1. James 51

      Re: Not mourning

      Don't tell me we have the dreaded PCPRO double post bug now.

      A remake well done is possible but I fear you are right.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not mourning

      Has anyone been watching the recent Tomorrow People remake (on whatever rubbish name channel I catch it on when flicking through) recently? A total pile of gloomy-lit, americanised, "re-imagined" for angsty teens with gorgeous looking over-acting cast, drivel!

      1. Mage Silver badge

        Re: Not mourning

        Fortunately I missed it. Thanks for the warning.

      2. Kunari

        Re: Not mourning

        It was also canceled so we don't have to be subjected to anymore.

    3. graeme leggett Silver badge

      Re: Not mourning

      Have a listen of the audio re-imagining (Derek Riddell, Colin Salmon) - it's rather good and like any audio drama, the scenery is better.

      There's also the prequels to the same reimagining.

      Or - though I cannot speak for the quality myself - you can get the original cast inew audios via Big Finish's efforts.

    4. Brewster's Angle Grinder Silver badge

      Re: Not mourning

      It's been remade already. For legal reasons, the remake was released as Farscape.

    5. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Re: Not mourning

      I love the original, but hate the idea americans recasting it

      Nothing could possibly have gone wrong. Remember the terrific US remake of Coupling?

      (How they managed to do almost a shot-for-shot remake of the funeral episode and still manage to lose all the humor is beyond me.)

      This story did inspire me to take a quick look, but it seems B7 still isn't available legally in region 1. Oh well.

    6. Teiwaz

      Re: Not mourning

      Agreed.

      Re-makes almost always suck. Very very few exceptions. Batlestar Galactica comes to mind as a good exception in my view. Real shame about Caprica, that had real potential...

      Blakes 7 I've loved since I was barely old enough to watch it on first broadcast, I was too young to apreciate The original Tomorrow People.

      The audio version of Blakes 7 is good too.

  3. This post has been deleted by its author

  4. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Facepalm

    Blake 7 remake?

    Orac, as anything other than a pissy curmudgeonly sarcastic light-pipe-in-a-Perspex-box?

    Nah!

    1. King Jack

      Orac in a box

      A perspex box with fairy lights and a bad attitude. Don't forget the power switch which was the size of a paperback book.

      1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

        Re: Orac in a box

        A perspex box with fairy lights and a bad attitude.

        I didn't realize Windows Phone was that old.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Blake 7 remake?

      One B7 'remake' worth a look:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWuTeR7xCU4

      "Are we nearly there yet?" - Arf!

  5. MJI Silver badge

    So many redundancies

    This makes you wonder what is going on when they are making so many people redundant?

    Are they preparing for a huge loss?

    Are they expecting core markets to vanish?

    Very strange.

    1. Tom 35

      Re: So many redundancies

      It's the standard easy way to make the stock go up, at least for the short term. Good for an executive bonus at least. See HP.

      1. Kunari

        Re: So many redundancies

        Someone's preparing a golden parachute I think.

  6. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

    Good!

    grumpy_cat.jpg

  7. Ironclad

    Blakes 7 remake/recast = Firefly

    From IMDB:

    "Five hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them."

    Sound familiar?

    and sadly even Joss Whedon couldn't get more than one series of that made.

    1. Kunari

      Re: Blakes 7 remake/recast = Firefly

      That's because of the idiots at FOX not the fault of Joss Whedon.

  8. keithpeter Silver badge
    Windows

    Interesting

    http://minimsft.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/18000-microsoft-jobs-gone-eventually.html?showComment=1405655530509#c531974625331793397

    If this comment is real and a correct perception of events, the Redmond based managers appear to be getting rid of *remote workers*.

    As commenter points out, that is somewhat odd given the 'mobile first, cloud first' mantra.

    The Tramp: Softies should all get reasonable jobs with the skills they have. I wonder what the Finns will be doing?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Interesting

      Remote workers can't eaily be asimilated into the Redmond Borg.

      If you ain't there, you can't be part of the collective.

      An ex colleague of mine is fearful for his job. He moved away from Redmond to live near Laramie, Wyoming about 6 months ago. He's not sure where he'll find work where he lives now. He may have to move again to somewhere like Denver.

      Sad times for a lot of people but his email to me today said a lot about the political infighting that was one of the reasons he became a remote worker.

    2. Captain DaFt

      Re: Interesting

      "As commenter points out, that is somewhat odd given the 'mobile first, cloud first' mantra."

      Look at it as the typical antics of Dilbert's PHB.

      Start with a mantra that is total nonsense, "Which goes first? Both! Seriously, in which direction should we focus the company's assets? BOTH!"

      Then proceed directly to the Wall street idiots guide to corporate profits:

      If it wasn't profitable for the company last quarter, read checklist, choose e.:

      a. Cut back it's funding

      b. Reduce it's workforce,

      c. Outsource it

      d. Sell it

      e. Any combination of above, and give yourself a bonus!

  9. John Tserkezis

    I'm staggered that they're still wondering why piracy is a problem.

    The "free" leg is just one small part of it, availability is above and beyond the most useful aspect. You can pretty much get almost anything be it something that didn't rate enough, axed by some shmuck at the network, or some "obselete" program that was long lost in a carboard box in the garage of one of the cleaners who stole old crap tapes the network was throwing out.

  10. Roj Blake Silver badge

    Blakes 7

    No need for a remake, I'm still here

    1. MrDamage Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Blakes 7

      Well, if you're not going to attempt a remake of the original with your missus, then I guess you wont mind if I try then.

      1. Sir Runcible Spoon

        Re: Blakes 7

        'course he won't mind, Avon is still trapped in the bedroom eh Blake?

  11. Tony Paulazzo

    Satya Nadella announced the cuts with a widely criticised and badly written 3,300 word epic...

    I’ve determined we’ll never make money in tablets or smartphones.

    IMHO, that's because they tried to ape the Apple business ethos, sell high (probably because of their losses in the xbox dept making them skittish). What they should have copied is Googles, get a partner to make it at a low cost - (or buy Nokia) and get them to make reasonably priced tablets / phones, with the Windows eco system on it.

    Also, if the damn things need a keyboard to operate better with, include that in the price, don't try and nickel & dime your customers another £120 when they're already paying over £500 for the base, trying to sell half a laptop was never going to work.

    Customer obsessed my arsehole, I mean, I know it's too early to tell, but I'm not getting the impression he's listening to what his customers want, just closing the most obvious departments that come to his attention, this generally means the best arse lickers will remain safe, and those best at what they do (work wise as opposed to sucking up), will be jobless.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yeah... right

    Yeah that's just what Windows business users want; integration with the underfeatured, overpriced xBox platform....

  13. westlake

    Blakes 7 had limited exposure on PBS in the states --- and that was 35 years ago.

    But, more importantly, I think people have grown more than a little weary of the dark - cynical - SF Blakes 7 pioneered.

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