Bioshock 4.....PS Exclusive???

[HoorayForTyler]

I haven’t been more excited for a game ever. I’m surprised there’s the possibility of it being exclusive to PlayStation though when back in the day BioShock and its sequel were featured more on the Xbox.
 

Also, with current possibilities in the graphics department, there’s no reason why this game can’t return to the freaky, atmospheric vibe the first game created. I have very high hopes!

[mackenzie129]

Weird if true considering the first game at one point was on "Xbox and pc only" 

[Helyx]

On 6/1/2021 at 9:56 AM, the_real_culture said:

Sony should reconsider Resistance and Kill Zone by expanding Insomniac and Guerilla Games studios' to work on these titles or by a new developer? 

 

I have a sneaky suspicion Bluepoint is involved in a Resistance revamp/rebuild/remake/remix, but they need to finish Legend of Dragoon first.

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

this is a live service multiplayer. so I couldn't give a shit about bioshock 4 - dissapointing.

Edited June 7, 2021 by MatThaRiPP3R84

[NxtDoc]

I hope it is true.  And not a timed exclusive.  Either go all the way exclusive or don't bother.  

[DividedByMankind]

Hope also it is true   ps needs more. since ms aquired the bethesda. Like evil within wil problobly not be on ps anymore

[HoorayForTyler]

1 hour ago, MatThaRiPP3R84 said:

this is a live service multiplayer. so I couldn't give a shit about bioshock 4 - dissapointing.

Where exactly did you read that?

[ngreen5556]

If that’s true then BioShock could rival Bethesda’s now Xbox exclusive series. 
 

Although I think what Bethesda said they’re gonna do now that they’re owned by Microsoft is release their titles as Xbox exclusives originally with a delayed PlayStation release, which is what BioShock 4 will likely do if it becomes a PS exclusive.

[MD_91]

Don't like the idea of a game becoming exclusive mid series, timed exclusives are stupid but at least you can just wait and not have to buy a whole new console 

Edited June 8, 2021 by MD_91

[Rozalia1]

Ironic if true considering Bioshock 1 was a Xbox exclusive for a time from what I recall. From some things I've heard though this may just be Take-Two putting the screws to Microsoft to extract a payment from them to not make it exclusive to the PS5. This being exclusive would be incredibly embarrassing for Microsoft and could have future consequences. 

 

On 01/06/2021 at 3:14 PM, Silocia said:

 

 

This. The acquisition of Zenimax was such a monopoly play by Microsoft. They spent 7billion, a value Sony just cant afford. They're (xbox) leaking money like crazy and still find 7billion to spend. I did think at first that it wouldnt affect Fallout and or Elder Scrolls and at worst it would maybe be a timed exclusive. I dont think thats going to happen now, I also think that at E3 we're going to be told Starfield is xbox exclusive. Theyre going to need to keep everything Bethesda close to try and sell units and move people over, after all, (at least in my area) you can go out and buy the new xbox off the shelf and its still being outsold by PS5.

 

At least when Sony have exclusives its from studios they've spent money investing into and built from the ground up and not from going around throwing money at everyone and hoping they release gems otherwise they just give them the EA treatment and can them.

 

Last I looked it up Microsoft has around 140 billion in the bank while Sony has 45 billion. Microsoft are richer yes, but going by some of the talk on the matter from people you'd think Microsoft had x100 the money. The point here is Sony could make such a buy if they wanted, it just ain't in their business strategy as they either form new studios or buy small studios on the cheap and build them up. Microsoft having been a failure on that front has had to make a lot of buys and the infamous Zenimax one to try to catch up by purchasing ready made studios which is the correct move if they want to compete... though you then have Microsoft stating that Sony is not even competition for them so it is annoying when they play that game where they have to create a new reality to just not admit their business has been horribly mismanaged ever since they completely gave up on competing with Sony anywhere that wasn't America and the UK. 

 

On 05/06/2021 at 4:58 PM, scemopagliaccioh said:

They’re definitely one of the richest, yes, but they hardly put any effort into seriously competing with Sony,  and I cannot exactly fault them, as they have a pretty diversified  market, unlike Sony, which has the PlayStation as its number one priority, what they did with Bethesda, Ninja Theory, Obsidian etc, for example, they could have done that  much much earlier, instead of at the dawn of a new generation, where majority of customers didn’t even know if some of those famous series were going to be exclusives or not.

 

This is a common thought but outdated and incorrect. There was a time when Sony was struggling and Playstation was carrying them, but that has passed and they're actually doing very well elsewhere. Additionally Sony has never invested into Playstation what something as lucrative as Playstation has been to them, and the only way that changes is if Microsoft keeps making hefty purchases and then wins the court case Sony would place them in for trying to buy their way towards a monopoly. 

 

As for Microsoft. Yes, they have a lot of money but that in no way means they will stay in this business forever. The current CEO is a money mark Phil Spencer has been able to sweet talk into giving him money no matter how much Xbox loses via it's shrinking market share, game sales, and the cost of Gamepass yes. However, if not for that CEO Xbox would likely already be gone as I do recall hearing about it not being very popular among shareholders and such. Ultimately there will come a time when that CEO will be replaced by someone else and that new CEO might decide that the Xbox division is not worth continuing.

 

Of course, to be clear, the above is ultimately speculation when it comes to if Microsoft is losing money or not as they don't reveal those numbers (they at times reveal certain numbers, but they ain't complete so they're pointless). Note however that Sony and Nintendo do, as do many companies in the industry. After all, they report all their net profits. Beyond that I don't see how their current model would be making money and even if it were, the model is one that any profit and then some would be instantly put right back in the business meaning it currently should be impossible for them to be making any money. 

 

On 05/06/2021 at 4:17 PM, Melachorn said:

Don't count on any exlusivity from Sony going forward as it is pretty much dead. Unless you are playing on Switch you might as well forget the definition of those words.

 

That isn't accurate. There is a big difference between how Sony is looking into the matter compared to Microsoft. 

 

On 05/06/2021 at 8:32 AM, mcnichoj said:

If MS ever dropped out of the console market no one would take their place. They're one of the richest companies in the world, if they can't make a successful console then what company could?

All the third parties making software are pretty content with staying that way.

 

You underestimate Google and Amazon arrogance. According to Microsoft the huge gamepass investment has been not to fight Sony, but to fight Google and Amazon. If Microsoft drops out it may embolden Google/Amazon to make an attempt at trying to claim that marketshare before Sony swallows it up. Of course, Google and Amazon are both hilariously mismanaged when it comes to gaming so I doubt they'd be able to do anything successfully, but they likely would make an attempt.

[mcnichoj]

3 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

You underestimate Google and Amazon arrogance. According to Microsoft the huge gamepass investment has been not to fight Sony, but to fight Google and Amazon. If Microsoft drops out it may embolden Google/Amazon to make an attempt at trying to claim that marketshare before Sony swallows it up. Of course, Google and Amazon are both hilariously mismanaged when it comes to gaming so I doubt they'd be able to do anything successfully, but they likely would make an attempt.

2018 was the year MS announced the Xbox brand had made record profits since it started with the first Xbox.

Since the release of the Switch Nintendo in 2017 has broken many console sales records, both monthly and yearly.

In 2019 Google made more money on the Play Store than either Xbox or Nintendo.

 

Google has no need or reason to go in to the console space. They also closed up all their internal studios for Stadia first party games, one of which was a third party company that got merged in just months before. Having exclusive games would be critical to launching a new console if you can't live off brand recognition like PlayStation and Xbox. Playing Stadia on a ChromeCast is the closest you'll get to a Google console.

 

Amazon on the other hand is a whole thing. Some people from the Crucible dev team have horror stories working on the game. Development had no clear direction or vision. Amazon lost the rights to the Lord of the Rings game. The only game they have in the pipeline is New World which comes out soon and that's already on PC with probable planned Xbox/PS ports. Do they really need their own box for an MMO?

 

The Xbox One team once it got under Phil Spencer was still underrated.

I think most non-Xbox owners don't understand like how much money and work was put into the backwards compatibility program for the Xbox One that MS will never see a return on. Even to this day some of the first games made BC will get the occasional patch. No other company is doing this.

[Rozalia1]

1 hour ago, mcnichoj said:

2018 was the year MS announced the Xbox brand had made record profits since it started with the first Xbox.

Since the release of the Switch Nintendo in 2017 has broken many console sales records, both monthly and yearly.

In 2019 Google made more money on the Play Store than either Xbox or Nintendo.

 

Google has no need or reason to go in to the console space. They also closed up all their internal studios for Stadia first party games, one of which was a third party company that got merged in just months before. Having exclusive games would be critical to launching a new console if you can't live off brand recognition like PlayStation and Xbox. Playing Stadia on a ChromeCast is the closest you'll get to a Google console.

 

Amazon on the other hand is a whole thing. Some people from the Crucible dev team have horror stories working on the game. Development had no clear direction or vision. Amazon lost the rights to the Lord of the Rings game. The only game they have in the pipeline is New World which comes out soon and that's already on PC with probable planned Xbox/PS ports. Do they really need their own box for an MMO?

 

The Xbox One team once it got under Phil Spencer was still underrated.

I think most non-Xbox owners don't understand like how much money and work was put into the backwards compatibility program for the Xbox One that MS will never see a return on. Even to this day some of the first games made BC will get the occasional patch. No other company is doing this.

 

That is what is called cooking the books. Microsoft when it comes to Gamepass only ever wishes to talk about their subscriber count. Never how much it cost and made. As far as I am aware the numbers are not part of the Xbox numbers because if they were then people would be able to work out the specifics regarding Gamepass. 

Not sure why the Switch mention. I suppose because I talked the competition between Microsoft and Sony? Both companies don't compete with Nintendo directly and have no capacity to damage Nintendo. It's not often said by people but yes, Nintendo are the top dogs of gaming certainly. 

You are misunderstanding if you're bringing up the Play store. That is a store front Google runs, not their own gaming effort. Their own gaming effort has gone down horribly. 

 

Stadia was an attempt to get marketshare off the console makers. It failed. However, they can always try again. In the scenario as described Microsoft has left the console space as platform holder but still have a large number of studios on hand, studios that if Microsoft has dumped Xbox they likely won't mind selling to Google if an offer is made. That would cost what? 20 billion maybe (hard to get a sense of how much what Xbox owns is worth in a sale like that. They have 23 studios and while some are worth a bundle, others not so much) depending on how much haggling Microsoft would want to do and how fast they want the money? Boom, Google has a bunch of exclusives right there. Do not take this too seriously though to be clear. I don't believe Google even if they were competent have much hope to quickly manage to conquer the console space, to do that they'd have to invest many years of work and money before making their move and Google is incapable of that as shown with their Stadia efforts where they paid makers of big games massive fortunes rather than paying many small companies all of that many to produce large amounts of exclusives for them.

 

Amazon, like Google, has high ambitions. Amazon has all those servers and so it would be a natural fit to operate a cloud gaming service. They also had Google rush forward first and incinerate themselves so they can learn lessons there... however, I don't think they have much of a chance. Their current model is limiting and likely still losing them money, just not fortunes like Google's effort. Ironically, Google and Amazon may well have more success if they got off the Cloud gaming train. We're told it is the future yes... and yet all 3 companies investing in it are losing money on it. As for Gamepass, most of it's numbers are made up of Xbox owners and I see no strong penetration elsewhere now or in future meaning that Microsoft will be unable to support their current spending and will have to cut back/increase the price/both in future. Of course, again, the above is speculation as the numbers are withheld due to being obviously bad (they'd shout them from the rooftops if they were good).

 

Xbox under Spencer has tried to cultivate a reputation of being a "good guy" to reverse their negative reputation yes which involves doing even things like you've mentioned, things that people like but don't really use/care that much about. It's not only gaming they've done this, in coding and so forth Microsoft has been trying to repair their reputation as an invasive and unfair tactics using company. Of course, you then have them trying to double the price of Gold in a blatant "go buy Gamepass" move (why not scrap Gold entirely if Xbox believes so much in Gamepass?) and it is quite clear that obviously it is a front. 

[mcnichoj]

On 6/8/2021 at 5:25 AM, Rozalia1 said:

That is what is called cooking the books. Microsoft when it comes to Gamepass only ever wishes to talk about their subscriber count. Never how much it cost and made. As far as I am aware the numbers are not part of the Xbox numbers because if they were then people would be able to work out the specifics regarding Gamepass. 

Not sure why the Switch mention. I suppose because I talked the competition between Microsoft and Sony? Both companies don't compete with Nintendo directly and have no capacity to damage Nintendo. It's not often said by people but yes, Nintendo are the top dogs of gaming certainly. 

You are misunderstanding if you're bringing up the Play store. That is a store front Google runs, not their own gaming effort. Their own gaming effort has gone down horribly. 

You've seen the books personally?

I mention Nintendo because we're talking about a company entering the console market. So it makes sense mentioning a company already in the console market which is having some of its best years.

I'm not misunderstanding. Money is money and despite how these two other console makers are doing amazing, Google is making more money than them with minimal effort and probably shitloads more of a profit since they're not losing costs on a console product.

 

On 6/8/2021 at 5:25 AM, Rozalia1 said:

Stadia was an attempt to get marketshare off the console makers. It failed. However, they can always try again. In the scenario as described Microsoft has left the console space as platform holder but still have a large number of studios on hand, studios that if Microsoft has dumped Xbox they likely won't mind selling to Google if an offer is made. That would cost what? 20 billion maybe (hard to get a sense of how much what Xbox owns is worth in a sale like that. They have 23 studios and while some are worth a bundle, others not so much) depending on how much haggling Microsoft would want to do and how fast they want the money? Boom, Google has a bunch of exclusives right there. Do not take this too seriously though to be clear. I don't believe Google even if they were competent have much hope to quickly manage to conquer the console space, to do that they'd have to invest many years of work and money before making their move and Google is incapable of that as shown with their Stadia efforts where they paid makers of big games massive fortunes rather than paying many small companies all of that many to produce large amounts of exclusives for them.

Google could try again but why would they?

If MS did drop out of the console market it's more likely they'll become third party and retain all their current studios. They already were making video games with their own studios before even Nintendo joined the gaming market and now with PC gaming getting its recent surge and their basically no fucks to give about putting their IP on other consoles (predominantly Minecraft), an Elder Scrolls 7 in an alternate timeline would end up on a PlayStation with a Microsoft Game Studios logo on the box.

 

On 6/8/2021 at 5:25 AM, Rozalia1 said:

Xbox under Spencer has tried to cultivate a reputation of being a "good guy" to reverse their negative reputation yes which involves doing even things like you've mentioned, things that people like but don't really use/care that much about. It's not only gaming they've done this, in coding and so forth Microsoft has been trying to repair their reputation as an invasive and unfair tactics using company. Of course, you then have them trying to double the price of Gold in a blatant "go buy Gamepass" move (why not scrap Gold entirely if Xbox believes so much in Gamepass?) and it is quite clear that obviously it is a front. 

The push for GamePass is a bit of a "scam" in a sense. It's similar to drug dealing. They hit you with that first sample for free or close to it so that you come back for more.

Nothing else in the game industry can compete with the value that GP provides which is exactly what they need to trap people in their ecosystem.

Even with all the pro-consumer things MS has going on now, they're so afraid of negative press (like you mentioned) that they revert any controversial decisions in like a day or two. Remember when Sony said they were shutting down the old PSN Stores? Took them three weeks to cancel that decision.

 

Ironically the whole original post that you and me were talking about is someone rooting for MS to leave the console market. A company pro-consumer that has been around for a while now.

Before Stadia even launched people wanted it to fail. Partially because they don't like cloud gaming yes but I'd argue mostly because it's Google. Whole websites exist dedicated to hating on Google. Amazon gets very similar hate to Google. If people aren't going to embrace a company that will let you play AAA games day one for essentially pennies on the dollar, I don't think any other "evil" mega corporation has a chance.

[Floorkiller74]

I thought people here hated exclusives (When MS has them) now you guys are drooling?

[Champ147]

Just throwing it out there but it seems like we falling off topic. This thread about Bioshock 4 and it's potential to be exclusive, not console wars or various sales figures and stuff. Thank you. 

[mcnichoj]

24 minutes ago, Floorkiller74 said:

I thought people here hated exclusives (When MS has them) now you guys are drooling?

Everyone has this double standard. If Sony buys a thirds party multiplat dev you'll see Xbox users that previously lauded MS getting Bethesda throwing a tantrum. So I don't fault anyone in this thread for being happy to play a game from a good franchise on a machine they own or plan to attempt to own in the future.

 

12 minutes ago, Champ147 said:

Just throwing it out there but it seems like we falling off topic. This thread about Bioshock 4 and it's potential to be exclusive, not console wars or various sales figures and stuff. Thank you. 

No one is console warring.

[Champ147]

14 minutes ago, mcnichoj said:

 

No one is console warring.

Ok, maybe wrong terminology. But talk about Gamepass sales figures vs Google. And even talk about Stadia, Amazon doing cloud gaming, and how Sony/MS don't really compete with Nintendo and so on. These are all mentioned in recent posts. None of that is on topic. How companies want to run their business is another topic. Those super long posts don't even mention Bioshock specifically. 

 

And my thoughts on Bioshock timed exclusively on PS. I don't really care either way. Could be good for Sony short term, just like any other timed exclusives. But I understand the business side of it and the needs for exclusive titles.

[punkshepherd]

"I would love to play Bioshock 4 on the console that i own" - Gamers, probably.

[mcnichoj]

35 minutes ago, Champ147 said:

Ok, maybe wrong terminology. But talk about Gamepass sales figures vs Google. And even talk about Stadia, Amazon doing cloud gaming, and how Sony/MS don't really compete with Nintendo and so on. These are all mentioned in recent posts. None of that is on topic. How companies want to run their business is another topic. Those super long posts don't even mention Bioshock specifically. 

 

And my thoughts on Bioshock timed exclusively on PS. I don't really care either way. Could be good for Sony short term, just like any other timed exclusives. But I understand the business side of it and the needs for exclusive titles.

Straight from the get go people were already talking about Xbox. Thread was derailed long before I quoted anyone.

 

What's there really to discuss anyway? This is just a rumor about a game coming out. No screenshots, no announcements of names tied to the project in any capacity. or anything remotely tangible.

Here's your three main possible posts you can make in this thread:

"Wow, I'm excited."

"Boo, I hate moneyhatting exclusives."

"I didn't really like X game in the series, I sure hope it's more like Y and Z." This third option just results in people talking about the first three games and not the forth which this thread is "about".

 

Sorry me and Rozalia1 were having a meaty conversation. These posts about other posts being off-topic are much better though.

[Rozalia1]

13 hours ago, mcnichoj said:

You've seen the books personally?

I mention Nintendo because we're talking about a company entering the console market. So it makes sense mentioning a company already in the console market which is having some of its best years.

I'm not misunderstanding. Money is money and despite how these two other console makers are doing amazing, Google is making more money than them with minimal effort and probably shitloads more of a profit since they're not losing costs on a console product.

 

Google could try again but why would they?

If MS did drop out of the console market it's more likely they'll become third party and retain all their current studios. They already were making video games with their own studios before even Nintendo joined the gaming market and now with PC gaming getting its recent surge and their basically no fucks to give about putting their IP on other consoles (predominantly Minecraft), an Elder Scrolls 7 in an alternate timeline would end up on a PlayStation with a Microsoft Game Studios logo on the box.

 

The push for GamePass is a bit of a "scam" in a sense. It's similar to drug dealing. They hit you with that first sample for free or close to it so that you come back for more.

Nothing else in the game industry can compete with the value that GP provides which is exactly what they need to trap people in their ecosystem.

Even with all the pro-consumer things MS has going on now, they're so afraid of negative press (like you mentioned) that they revert any controversial decisions in like a day or two. Remember when Sony said they were shutting down the old PSN Stores? Took them three weeks to cancel that decision.

 

Ironically the whole original post that you and me were talking about is someone rooting for MS to leave the console market. A company pro-consumer that has been around for a while now.

Before Stadia even launched people wanted it to fail. Partially because they don't like cloud gaming yes but I'd argue mostly because it's Google. Whole websites exist dedicated to hating on Google. Amazon gets very similar hate to Google. If people aren't going to embrace a company that will let you play AAA games day one for essentially pennies on the dollar, I don't think any other "evil" mega corporation has a chance.

 

Going to address something in your post then try to bring it back to Bioshock to address @Champ147's issue.

 

You mentioned Xbox's profits. That is the "book" if you will. Microsoft have "cooked" said book by removing Gamepass related losses from it which for we all know could be far more than Xbox's profits. Considering this type of thing is known as something that requires massive losses for ages and investors know this... it makes me think that the cost of gamepass likely outweighs Xbox's profits, which could well lead to shareholders wanting Xbox cutback. That is all speculation of course as Microsoft hides the numbers we need to know for certain. 

 

The rest I have some minor issues with but I'll let it be to not sidetrack.

 

Back on the matter of Bioshock. I think Final Fantasy 7 Remake and how that goes down is what is going to happen here with Bioshock if it is indeed an exclusive. Square Enix got a payment from Sony to put their game exclusively on Playstation, the place they'd make the bulk of their sales anyway. Once they are able to put it on Xbox it is expected that Microsoft will pay them an even larger sum of money than Sony for it which will dwarf the money they'd make just selling the game outside gamepass on Xbox. In essence an extortion of Microsoft as not putting them in a nice Gamepass deal can mean no game at all on Xbox which would be extremely damaging to Xbox's reputation. Thoughts on this?