Xbox CEO just gives up

[EDGES]

they gave up when they decided it was ok to launch a new console with no games

[Rozalia1]

26 minutes ago, The Investigator said:

they gave up when they decided it was ok to launch a new console with no games

 

Well that is where you're wrong. They launched with the greatest exclusive of all, gamepass, the best deal in gaming - Xbox shill.

 

Ordinarily you'd be right. Alright, their first parties all seem to go overbudget, are late, and are largely of suspect quality (not just referring to Redfall, referring to all the games in development hell too), but they couldn't spend some money and grab some third party exclusives so they had something? Did they just give up? No. The reality is they believed that through the power of gamepass they had no need to launch with exclusives as people would see gamepass as the greatest exclusive of all due to their mass astroturfing campaign. They were also running a massive FUD campaign against PlayStation at the time (it got to the point that they were spreading talk that the Series S was going to be outperforming the PS5, so just imagine what the Series X was going to do) as they apparently got their hands on (outdated) plans of the PS5 that made them believe that they were going to easily overpower the PS5 and we know how much value the Xbox team puts on RAW POWER (the world's most powerful console don't you know), hence why they're getting outperformed by the 200 bucks cheaper to make PS5 that someone (Mark Cerny and team) actually put some actual effort into designing.

 

They truly believe that services >>> games, which ultimately was the same mistake (TV TV TV) the Xbox One management made, but at least those guys put out exclusives at launch. Both cases result from their arrogance and disrespect for their competitors.

[Oberlin1694]

Part of me feels bad for the general Xbox player as god damn they are getting shafted so badly in terms of quality content, but then you read posts on Xbox forums and they promote the ABK merger etc. because it will ‘destroy Sony’ and you realise it’s just karma.

 

This is all deserved honestly. Microsoft buying out Bethesda and making games that we’re going to be multiplatform (Starfield, Redfall etc) exclusives was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen a company do in my life. And the argument Sony ‘buys exclusives’ has no fucking weight, the majority are by their owned studios they’ve owned for over a decade now. And the other exclusives are from Japanese companies (Square, From, Konami) who wouldn’t give exclusivity to Xbox as the games would flop if they did. And the games will hardly sell on Xbox anyways as the console is a total flop.

 

Im looking forward to this ABK merger further being shafted tomorrow when the EU inevitably rejects it.

[Herwest299]

9 hours ago, Oberlin1694 said:

Part of me feels bad for the general Xbox player as god damn they are getting shafted so badly in terms of quality content, but then you read posts on Xbox forums and they promote the ABK merger etc. because it will ‘destroy Sony’ and you realise it’s just karma.

 

This is all deserved honestly. Microsoft buying out Bethesda and making games that we’re going to be multiplatform (Starfield, Redfall etc) exclusives was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen a company do in my life. And the argument Sony ‘buys exclusives’ has no fucking weight, the majority are by their owned studios they’ve owned for over a decade now. And the other exclusives are from Japanese companies (Square, From, Konami) who wouldn’t give exclusivity to Xbox as the games would flop if they did. And the games will hardly sell on Xbox anyways as the console is a total flop.

 

Im looking forward to this ABK merger further being shafted tomorrow when the EU inevitably rejects it.

 

I've legit heard many Xbox fans say that Sony are hypocrites for being angry at the ABK deal because Sony bought studios like Naughty Dog. They are seriously comparing the two as if it's equal. Any time I go onto a non-PlayStation focused site, like Twitter or another forum etc. it is always filled with Xbox "fans" (though I wouldn't be surprised if it's just Microsoft astroturfing) doing nothing but talking about how much PlayStation sucks and that Sony fans will get "owned", while posting some of the most god-awful takes and arguments I've ever seen.

[Oberlin1694]

3 hours ago, Herwest299 said:

 

I've legit heard many Xbox fans say that Sony are hypocrites for being angry at the ABK deal because Sony bought studios like Naughty Dog. They are seriously comparing the two as if it's equal. Any time I go onto a non-PlayStation focused site, like Twitter or another forum etc. it is always filled with Xbox "fans" (though I wouldn't be surprised if it's just Microsoft astroturfing) doing nothing but talking about how much PlayStation sucks and that Sony fans will get "owned", while posting some of the most god-awful takes and arguments I've ever seen.

Aye the argument is honestly ridiculously frustrating.

 

The majority of the big Sony exclusives are from studio’s they’ve nurtured and grown into what they are today. Hell, I’d honestly argue that even with games like Bloodborne, Silent Hill 2 and Final Fantasy that Sony isn’t doing anything under-handed as those franchises have always primarily been associated with both Sony and Nintendo, never Xbox.

 

Hell, we wouldn’t even have SoulsBorne as a fucking genre, would not have Dark Souls or Elden Ring if Sony hadn’t footed the bill and had Demon’s Souls created. 
 

All Xbox does is buy pre-existing studios and make games meant for all platforms, Xbox-exclusive. I can’t believer they seem to be accepted for it too.

 

Starfield, Outer Worlds 2, Redfall were all meant to be on PlayStation, until Xbox got their grubby hands in the jar.

 

I think the entire market would be better if Xbox died honestly; they’re not bringing anything to the table anyways, their console is weaker than the PS5, they have no decent games, everything about Xbox Series X/S is a mammoth flop. Just stick to Game Pass and license it to Sony and Nintendo at this point as their attempts at standing toe-to-toe with those two at this point are just pathetic.

 

Says it all when Xbox’s big exclusive, first one in YEARS, is fucking Redfall, whilst Sony and Nintendo pump out GoW, Horizon, TLOU, Returnal, TloZ.

 

Just laughable at this point.

 

The EU need to do the right thing and block the ABK merger at this point. Nothing healthy or positive is going to come from the merger of it’s allowed to go through. The UK is being slated for blocking it but they seem to have looked at every possibility and realised that Microsoft is trying to create a monopoly and dominate the market by removing the option of choice when it comes to the console market. There’s no chance and ABK game stays on Nintendo or Sony, if that deal goes through all of those games go Xbox exclusive no matter what Microsoft say as they’ve already lied and broken their promises before in regards to their disgusting Bethesda buyout. 
 

The CMA is honestly smart as fuck for blocking the deal, and the EU needs to be smart too and not just hand Xbox the keys to the car.

 

 

Id imagine if somehow this ABK deal goes down Sony will start doubling down on its connections and will start snapping up exclusivity deals and contracts with Japanese studios as a ‘fuck you’ to Microsoft, at which point Xbox is even more ducked as we all know Konami, Capcom, Sega and Square Enix aren’t ever going to go Microsoft Exclusive but without a doubt would go PlayStation Exclusive due to their home countries’ markets. And sure, CoD, OW AND Diablo are big games but I’d hazard a guess that blocking RE, Street Fightwr, MH, Yakuza, Sonic, Final Fantasy, SH, MGS etc from releasing on Xbox would harm it a hell of a lot more. You’d have your Xbox purely for CoD and the PS for everything else, as it should be. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Oberlin1694

[Rozalia1]

7 hours ago, Herwest299 said:

I've legit heard many Xbox fans say that Sony are hypocrites for being angry at the ABK deal because Sony bought studios like Naughty Dog. They are seriously comparing the two as if it's equal. Any time I go onto a non-PlayStation focused site, like Twitter or another forum etc. it is always filled with Xbox "fans" (though I wouldn't be surprised if it's just Microsoft astroturfing) doing nothing but talking about how much PlayStation sucks and that Sony fans will get "owned", while posting some of the most god-awful takes and arguments I've ever seen.

 

I've seen the argument that PlayStation is bad for paying for exclusivity as it adds nothing (Sony is known to send people to studios to aid them in actuality) but Microsoft buying whole studios is fine because it means studios such as Arkane/Double Fine/those types will get the freedom and funding to do whatever they like over being forced to chase profits. Now granted, people do say stupid things, but when it comes to these things its Microsoft astroturfing yeah.

 

Exclusivity contracts have been a part of gaming for a long time, heck Xbox I've seen credited for starting the process as up to that point exclusivity wasn't due to money changing hands, yet suddenly out of nowhere its now some great evil? Ummm, Sony does a bunch and Microsoft due to their stupid gamepass stipulation can't do them as good, how interesting. 

Buyouts up to this point have largely been seen as negatives, only Sony/Nintendo not getting hammered due to their positive track record and how they work with studios and invest in them first before they snap them up. The likes of EA meanwhile doing buyouts built up a reputation as being a great evil. Now suddenly, with Microsoft doing big buy outs, buy outs are actually good and buyouts in the vein of what EA did are no different to the ones Sony/Nintendo do.

Heck, remember Teraflops before they suddenly became a big deal? I don't remember that ever being a point raised until the day Microsoft needed to spread about PlayStation and promote their "most powerful console ever". All manner of things recently have suddenly become big deals out of nowhere and they curiously seem to always be in Microsoft's favour.

 

What makes this even better is that at the same time Microsoft is carrying out their "buyouts good, exclusivity contracts bad" campaign, they're not just doing their own exclusivity contracts no, too low level that, Microsoft is going beyond that and through their contacts in politics they're trying to get PlayStation restricted from doing any exclusivity contracts at all because "the market leader should not be allowed to sign such anti-competitive contracts". Microsoft is so aggressive that not only do they think they should be able to buy out everybody, but the competition should also not even be allowed to do anything that could fight back against them.

 

3 hours ago, Oberlin1694 said:

All Xbox does is buy pre-existing studios and make games meant for all platforms, Xbox-exclusive. I can’t believer they seem to be accepted for it too.

 

Starfield, Outer Worlds 2, Redfall were all meant to be on PlayStation, until Xbox got their grubby hands in the jar.

 

That bit was really funny to me. Xbox is hands off and lets developers do whatever they want, and yet the first thing Xbox apparently did was order them to halt PS5 versions of their games. Xbox management can do that, but they can't manage actually overseeing and aiding in development. Heck, one of the stories being spread about, if by Microsoft itself or actually their real fans, is that Redfall was actually a PS5 exclusive and so when the order came down from Xbox they had to start developing it as a Xbox game part way through.

 

4 hours ago, Oberlin1694 said:

I think the entire market would be better if Xbox died honestly; they’re not bringing anything to the table anyways, their console is weaker than the PS5, they have no decent games, everything about Xbox Series X/S is a mammoth flop. Just stick to Game Pass and license it to Sony and Nintendo at this point as their attempts at standing toe-to-toe with those two at this point are just pathetic.

 

Completely agree. I know there is this view that such a thing is mean and "console wars" and we should want Xbox to continue and all that, but no. Twice now they're tried to destroy gaming as it is to transition it to some hellscape where they can crush all their competitors and make fortunes while putting out subpar games because what else are you going to play. No one needs such a company around trying to do such things.

 

If they're just a third party publisher then at least we don't have to worry about them trying to destroy the market, though honestly I wouldn't even want them in such a state. Their gaming 1st party management to be any good needs to be allowed to have a different culture to Microsoft and be more independent, something that is doubtful Microsoft would ever allow, so them keeping all those studios under them would just be hurting those studios.

 

3 hours ago, Oberlin1694 said:

Id imagine if somehow this ABK deal goes down Sony will start doubling down on its connections and will start snapping up exclusivity deals and contracts with Japanese studios as a ‘fuck you’ to Microsoft, at which point Xbox is even more ducked as we all know Konami, Capcom, Sega and Square Enix aren’t ever going to go Microsoft Exclusive but without a doubt would go PlayStation Exclusive due to their home countries’ markets. And sure, CoD, OW AND Diablo are big games but I’d hazard a guess that blocking RE, Street Fightwr, MH, Yakuza, Sonic, Final Fantasy, SH, MGS etc from releasing on Xbox would harm it a hell of a lot more. You’d have your Xbox purely for CoD and the PS for everything else, as it should be. 

 

The CMA's block has 99% killed this deal so we shouldn't have to worry about this sort of scenario, but if what you're saying comes to pass here then it will get real ugly. The 1st thing Microsoft will do is increase their efforts to use the US government against Japan to essentially force those companies to release Xbox versions, which is greatly helped if the Republicans win the presidency (though Trump can be a wildcard as it isn't impossible he appoints anti-big tech loyalists of his to deal with this stuff that wouldn't help Microsoft). If that fails then you better believe that we'll see a return of that disgusting "Japanese games are all outdated trash" narrative that used to be all the rage when western games like Mass Effect, Skyrim, and the like got a taste of success and Japanese developers were struggling. Microsoft has already shown that they have no issue doing an us vs them thing with the east considering the attacks they've made while attempting to get this deal through, so I can certainly believe they will use their massive astroturfing apparatus to attempt to convince people that Japanese games are bad and not worth your time if Microsoft can't have them.

[Oberlin1694]

1 hour ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

I've seen the argument that PlayStation is bad for paying for exclusivity as it adds nothing (Sony is known to send people to studios to aid them in actuality) but Microsoft buying whole studios is fine because it means studios such as Arkane/Double Fine/those types will get the freedom and funding to do whatever they like over being forced to chase profits. Now granted, people do say stupid things, but when it comes to these things its Microsoft astroturfing yeah.

 

Exclusivity contracts have been a part of gaming for a long time, heck Xbox I've seen credited for starting the process as up to that point exclusivity wasn't due to money changing hands, yet suddenly out of nowhere its now some great evil? Ummm, Sony does a bunch and Microsoft due to their stupid gamepass stipulation can't do them as good, how interesting. 

Buyouts up to this point have largely been seen as negatives, only Sony/Nintendo not getting hammered due to their positive track record and how they work with studios and invest in them first before they snap them up. The likes of EA meanwhile doing buyouts built up a reputation as being a great evil. Now suddenly, with Microsoft doing big buy outs, buy outs are actually good and buyouts in the vein of what EA did are no different to the ones Sony/Nintendo do.

Heck, remember Teraflops before they suddenly became a big deal? I don't remember that ever being a point raised until the day Microsoft needed to spread about PlayStation and promote their "most powerful console ever". All manner of things recently have suddenly become big deals out of nowhere and they curiously seem to always be in Microsoft's favour.

 

What makes this even better is that at the same time Microsoft is carrying out their "buyouts good, exclusivity contracts bad" campaign, they're not just doing their own exclusivity contracts no, too low level that, Microsoft is going beyond that and through their contacts in politics they're trying to get PlayStation restricted from doing any exclusivity contracts at all because "the market leader should not be allowed to sign such anti-competitive contracts". Microsoft is so aggressive that not only do they think they should be able to buy out everybody, but the competition should also not even be allowed to do anything that could fight back against them.

 

 

That bit was really funny to me. Xbox is hands off and lets developers do whatever they want, and yet the first thing Xbox apparently did was order them to halt PS5 versions of their games. Xbox management can do that, but they can't manage actually overseeing and aiding in development. Heck, one of the stories being spread about, if by Microsoft itself or actually their real fans, is that Redfall was actually a PS5 exclusive and so when the order came down from Xbox they had to start developing it as a Xbox game part way through.

 

 

Completely agree. I know there is this view that such a thing is mean and "console wars" and we should want Xbox to continue and all that, but no. Twice now they're tried to destroy gaming as it is to transition it to some hellscape where they can crush all their competitors and make fortunes while putting out subpar games because what else are you going to play. No one needs such a company around trying to do such things.

 

If they're just a third party publisher then at least we don't have to worry about them trying to destroy the market, though honestly I wouldn't even want them in such a state. Their gaming 1st party management to be any good needs to be allowed to have a different culture to Microsoft and be more independent, something that is doubtful Microsoft would ever allow, so them keeping all those studios under them would just be hurting those studios.

 

 

The CMA's block has 99% killed this deal so we shouldn't have to worry about this sort of scenario, but if what you're saying comes to pass here then it will get real ugly. The 1st thing Microsoft will do is increase their efforts to use the US government against Japan to essentially force those companies to release Xbox versions, which is greatly helped if the Republicans win the presidency (though Trump can be a wildcard as it isn't impossible he appoints anti-big tech loyalists of his to deal with this stuff that wouldn't help Microsoft). If that fails then you better believe that we'll see a return of that disgusting "Japanese games are all outdated trash" narrative that used to be all the rage when western games like Mass Effect, Skyrim, and the like got a taste of success and Japanese developers were struggling. Microsoft has already shown that they have no issue doing an us vs them thing with the east considering the attacks they've made while attempting to get this deal through, so I can certainly believe they will use their massive astroturfing apparatus to attempt to convince people that Japanese games are bad and not worth your time if Microsoft can't have them.

A very interesting read. I think Sony honestly needs to start pre-emotive my acting now.

 

We all know that if they try to partner with Square, Konami and Capcom those companies would do so in a heartbeat as all of their games sell way more on PlayStation consoles.

 

Sony just needs to outright partner with and make those 3 developers’ games exclusive at this point, then they’re safe.

 

Sure losing Activision games would be a blow but let’s be real; if Xbox lost all access to Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, MGS etc tbe chances of them shopping any consoles is slim.

 

The CMA just approved the deal, it’s super worrying. I just don’t get it and how Xbox players can celebrate it. It’s like they need some sort of validation owing to the fact the console they paid for turned out to be a flop that has absolutely no reason to buy it.

 

Ah well, we’ll see but I’m looking forward to the Sony reveal at Summer Games Fest as I think they’ll have some reveals in their pocket rhat will shake the entire industry over this underhanded takeover.

 

There’s already the rumours that an MGS3 remake is PS exclusive, but I think all of the 4 revealed SH games will also be revealed as exclusive and it wouldn’t surprise me if Sony reveals Bloodborne 2 as a trump card and the rumoured RE: Outbreak Remake as a PS exclusive too. 

[Rozalia1]

2 minutes ago, Oberlin1694 said:

A very interesting read. I think Sony honestly needs to start pre-emotive my acting now.

 

We all know that if they try to partner with Square, Konami and Capcom those companies would do so in a heartbeat as all of their games sell way more on PlayStation consoles.

 

Sony just needs to outright partner with and make those 3 developers’ games exclusive at this point, then they’re safe.

 

Sure losing Activision games would be a blow but let’s be real; if Xbox lost all access to Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, MGS etc tbe chances of them shopping any consoles is slim.

 

The CMA just approved the deal, it’s super worrying. I just don’t get it and how Xbox players can celebrate it. It’s like they need some sort of validation owing to the fact the console they paid for turned out to be a flop that has absolutely no reason to buy it.

 

Ah well, we’ll see but I’m looking forward to the Sony reveal at Summer Games Fest as I think they’ll have some reveals in their pocket rhat will shake the entire industry over this underhanded takeover.

 

There’s already the rumours that an MGS3 remake is PS exclusive, but I think all of the 4 revealed SH games will also be revealed as exclusive and it wouldn’t surprise me if Sony reveals Bloodborne 2 as a trump card and the rumoured RE: Outbreak Remake as a PS exclusive too. 

 

The EU approved the deal, not the CMA don't worry. 

 

https://twitter.com/CMAgovUK/status/1658131200181952516

 

The CMA has already put out a response that they're standing their ground and disagree with the EU. As long as that continues then it doesn't matter what Microsoft does, the deal is finished. Them continuing to try to get it through for another year to have it fail anyway will only further hurt Xbox. Xbox fans celebration comes from the belief that Microsoft is rich and because of that they can bully regulators and so the CMA will eventually surrender to mighty Microsoft. 

 

As for the exclusive thing. Games like FF7 Remake are no longer under the contract terms and are still not on Xbox. That is certainly not the only game in such a situation. The majority of sales for those games are not on Xbox, and Xbox fans interested know this and so if the game comes to PlayStation/Switch they'll likely get the game there (or on PC) and not wait in hope of it coming to Xbox. As a result in some cases Sony signing a 1 year contract with these companies functionally makes it go forever in Xbox's case, unless of course Microsoft pays those companies to do the port plus some extra. Companies like Square Enix know this so they await the bags of money from Microsoft and if they don't come then oh well, they'd more than likely lose money if they ported the game to Xbox for free anyway so they're not losing anything.

 

On the matter of partnering. Nothing confirmed obviously, but I have certainly heard talk that it'll be like that with Konami. That PlayStation will undertake the building of the games while Konami allows them to use the IPs that they have but do nothing with (well, except in their Pachinko empire). If the case then that should certainly give PlayStation enough influence to make sure those games don't show up on Xbox. Stuff like Meat Gear, Silent Hill, and so forth being PlayStation exclusives would be a big deal as those games were key ones that Xbox at the very start of their business targeted to get on their platform (most famous of course being Final Fantasy, which they've already lost), and now they'll have completely lost them.

[Ashande]

43 minutes ago, Oberlin1694 said:

A very interesting read. I think Sony honestly needs to start pre-emotive my acting now.

 

We all know that if they try to partner with Square, Konami and Capcom those companies would do so in a heartbeat as all of their games sell way more on PlayStation consoles.

 

Sony just needs to outright partner with and make those 3 developers’ games exclusive at this point, then they’re safe.

 

Sure losing Activision games would be a blow but let’s be real; if Xbox lost all access to Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, MGS etc tbe chances of them shopping any consoles is slim.

 

The CMA just approved the deal, it’s super worrying. I just don’t get it and how Xbox players can celebrate it. It’s like they need some sort of validation owing to the fact the console they paid for turned out to be a flop that has absolutely no reason to buy it.

 

Ah well, we’ll see but I’m looking forward to the Sony reveal at Summer Games Fest as I think they’ll have some reveals in their pocket rhat will shake the entire industry over this underhanded takeover.

 

There’s already the rumours that an MGS3 remake is PS exclusive, but I think all of the 4 revealed SH games will also be revealed as exclusive and it wouldn’t surprise me if Sony reveals Bloodborne 2 as a trump card and the rumoured RE: Outbreak Remake as a PS exclusive too. 

 

You hit the nail on the head regarding the validation thing. The really nanners Xbox fans - the ones who are currently bashing Sony because Tears of the Kingdom got good review scores and runs at 30 FPS (allegedly…) and therefore Sony sucks - neglecting that Redfall would suck almost as much even if it ran at 120 FPS, and that Zelda’s reviews beating anything on PlayStation in recent memory means it stomps anything Microsoft has put out twenty feet belowground - but they’re huffing the copium, as the kids say these days. Sunk cost fallacy turned to 11 and powered by Mountain Dew.

 

I won’t be shocked to see some Metal Gear exclusive - be it Solid 1, Solid 3, or Rising - but I’m not holding my breath, either; there’s been rumors of a Metal Gear remake of one flavor or another since the PS3 era, and it always seems to come to nothing. So far as Silent Hill goes, I thought Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill f were already confirmed PS5 exclusive… but I may very well be wrong about that. Townfall I’m not even sure is a game, as far as “disc/download you put on your console/PC and play” but maybe they’re just holding some tidbits back.

 

28 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

The EU approved the deal, not the CMA don't worry. 

 

https://twitter.com/CMAgovUK/status/1658131200181952516

 

The CMA has already put out a response that they're standing their ground and disagree with the EU. As long as that continues then it doesn't matter what Microsoft does, the deal is finished. Them continuing to try to get it through for another year to have it fail anyway will only further hurt Xbox. Xbox fans celebration comes from the belief that Microsoft is rich and because of that they can bully regulators and so the CMA will eventually surrender to mighty Microsoft. 

 

As for the exclusive thing. Games like FF7 Remake are no longer under the contract terms and are still not on Xbox. That is certainly not the only game in such a situation. The majority of sales for those games are not on Xbox, and Xbox fans interested know this and so if the game comes to PlayStation/Switch they'll likely get the game there (or on PC) and not wait in hope of it coming to Xbox. As a result in some cases Sony signing a 1 year contract with these companies functionally makes it go forever in Xbox's case, unless of course Microsoft pays those companies to do the port plus some extra. Companies like Square Enix know this so they await the bags of money from Microsoft and if they don't come then oh well, they'd more than likely lose money if they ported the game to Xbox for free anyway so they're not losing anything.

 

On the matter of partnering. Nothing confirmed obviously, but I have certainly heard talk that it'll be like that with Konami. That PlayStation will undertake the building of the games while Konami allows them to use the IPs that they have but do nothing with (well, except in their Pachinko empire). If the case then that should certainly give PlayStation enough influence to make sure those games don't show up on Xbox. Stuff like Meat Gear, Silent Hill, and so forth being PlayStation exclusives would be a big deal as those games were key ones that Xbox at the very start of their business targeted to get on their platform (most famous of course being Final Fantasy, which they've already lost), and now they'll have completely lost them.

 

I suspect, with or without Sony support or money, a lot of the traditional “PlayStation Franchises” - things like Final Fantasy (which started on Nintendo, true, but jumped ship come the PS1 era) Resident Evil, Yakuza/Like A Dragon, Metal Gear or Silent Hill would either go exclusive or put out an Xbox port as an afterthought. It’s simple business; if the cost of porting to Xbox is more than they are likely to earn in sales from Xbox copies, there’s no reason to do it… and all the attempts they’ve made (such as porting over most of the Yakuza franchise, or the release of Persona 3, 4, and 5) float about as far as lead balloon. Then there’s having to retool the game to run acceptably and maintain parity with the big boys on the Series S, something several developers are already struggling with and grumbling about. (On that note, I think it’s hilarious how many Xbot-types like to claim PS4 is “holding back gaming,” when they have a “next-gen” console that’s barely better than the Pro/One X and that Microsoft demands developers support…)

 

I could see PlayStation partnering with Konami, though I don’t necessarily think it’s likely. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

[Rozalia1]

16 minutes ago, Ashande said:

I suspect, with or without Sony support or money, a lot of the traditional “PlayStation Franchises” - things like Final Fantasy (which started on Nintendo, true, but jumped ship come the PS1 era) Resident Evil, Yakuza/Like A Dragon, Metal Gear or Silent Hill would either go exclusive or put out an Xbox port as an afterthought. It’s simple business; if the cost of porting to Xbox is more than they are likely to earn in sales from Xbox copies, there’s no reason to do it… and all the attempts they’ve made (such as porting over most of the Yakuza franchise, or the release of Persona 3, 4, and 5) float about as far as lead balloon. Then there’s having to retool the game to run acceptably and maintain parity with the big boys on the Series S, something several developers are already struggling with and grumbling about. (On that note, I think it’s hilarious how many Xbot-types like to claim PS4 is “holding back gaming,” when they have a “next-gen” console that’s barely better than the Pro/One X and that Microsoft demands developers support…)

 

I could see PlayStation partnering with Konami, though I don’t necessarily think it’s likely. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

 

Remember. Porting games to Series S is as easy as pushing a button to degrade all the textures down a level and boom, job done. That is how easy Microsoft has made it compared to PlayStation. Laughable stuff I know, all part of Microsoft's FUD against PlayStation but it'll work on some people who'll start believing it.

 

Series S is such a chain around Xbox's neck and in more ways than one. I've heard a reason that Microsoft puts out so many Series Ss when demand for it doesn't match the amount is because their process for the, the name is escaping me now, makes them for the Series S and X at the same time, 1 X and a number of Ss. As such to produce more Xs that there is some demand for, they have to at the same time make a bunch of Ss that people don't want. If so then they'll never fix their production issue unless they either redesign the console or the demand for the Series S suddenly takes off. They already reportedly lose 200 bucks on each X they make so adding the making of loads of Series Ss that people don't want on top of that... those hardware costs are going to be massive.

 

The developer issue was one I'm sure Microsoft thought wouldn't be one. The idea would have been that yes, obviously the Series S will need extra work to optimise, but that would be extra time for developers they'd add on top of the time spent working on the Series X. Instead developers have seemingly just cut out Series X time and used it for the Series S which means that the PS5 which already was going to have more time, has even more when compared to the Series X. Going back on the mandate that companies need to put out Series S versions would certainly help things, but would 100% put them in court, they'd lose big time, and their reputation in gaming would only further decrease.

[Ashande]

1 hour ago, Rozalia1 said:

[…]

 

The developer issue was one I'm sure Microsoft thought wouldn't be one. The idea would have been that yes, obviously the Series S will need extra work to optimise, but that would be extra time for developers they'd add on top of the time spent working on the Series X. Instead developers have seemingly just cut out Series X time and used it for the Series S which means that the PS5 which already was going to have more time, has even more when compared to the Series X. Going back on the mandate that companies need to put out Series S versions would certainly help things, but would 100% put them in court, they'd lose big time, and their reputation in gaming would only further decrease.

 

Going back on the Series S requirements might well result in a court date, a class action, a settlement or contract buyout of some kind, or any combination of all of the above… but Microsoft has the cash, and I legitimately feel it would cost them a little now to course correct but it’s not likely to be the amount they’re hemorrhaging or not seeing at all due to the Series S being a can around not only their tail, but the console generation as a whole.

 

Of course, that’s just speculation - I don’t work for Microsoft or any major developer, so I have no idea what costs are involved or what features/graphics/content may or may not be put under the knife to maintain parity or simplicity - but in the long ago and far away when I used to code and actually sold a few programs, you always had to tailor the code to the lowest possible system it was going to run on. Having tiered system requirements and blocking or adding functionality based on hardware could quickly turn into a logistic nightmare, and thus it was usually a better idea to raise the system requirements and target that “low point.” The problem is that, unlike the long ago days where I programmed on PC and Mac, devs can’t “raise the bar” for minimum requirements, and users can’t upgrade their Series S to keep up. Those factors are locked in, and they have to work within those constraints, regardless of how many teraflops the Series X supposedly can handle (as the “most powerful console”) or the features available on PS5 that just aren’t on Xbox at all.

 

So far as their reputation… what reputation? I don’t know it could get much worse. Though, to be fair, I thought so during the Xbox One as well, and Microsoft said “Hold my beer…” ?

 

I feel like the best possible option for Microsoft at this point is to head back to the drawing board and just flat out nuke the Xbox Series entirely, starting fresh. That would take at least a year of hard crunch development, but with their bottomless coffers and enough will, they could get it done. Don’t launch the damn thing until they have some exclusive games that actually harness the system’s specs and are worth playing, which again could be done with enough investment. Slam the book shut on the whole bloody affair. They’ll get some hate for it, but they have the cash to weather the storm, and regardless of what Spencer says, if they have the games, people will come. It also wouldn’t be the first time Microsoft made big promises for a piece of hardware, then chopped off all support with little to no warning; anybody remember Zune?

[Rozalia1]

34 minutes ago, Ashande said:

Going back on the Series S requirements might well result in a court date, a class action, a settlement or contract buyout of some kind, or any combination of all of the above… but Microsoft has the cash, and I legitimately feel it would cost them a little now to course correct but it’s not likely to be the amount they’re hemorrhaging or not seeing at all due to the Series S being a can around not only their tail, but the console generation as a whole.

 

Of course, that’s just speculation - I don’t work for Microsoft or any major developer, so I have no idea what costs are involved or what features/graphics/content may or may not be put under the knife to maintain parity or simplicity - but in the long ago and far away when I used to code and actually sold a few programs, you always had to tailor the code to the lowest possible system it was going to run on. Having tiered system requirements and blocking or adding functionality based on hardware could quickly turn into a logistic nightmare, and thus it was usually a better idea to raise the system requirements and target that “low point.” The problem is that, unlike the long ago days where I programmed on PC and Mac, devs can’t “raise the bar” for minimum requirements, and users can’t upgrade their Series S to keep up. Those factors are locked in, and they have to work within those constraints, regardless of how many teraflops the Series X supposedly can handle (as the “most powerful console”) or the features available on PS5 that just aren’t on Xbox at all.

 

So far as their reputation… what reputation? I don’t know it could get much worse. Though, to be fair, I thought so during the Xbox One as well, and Microsoft said “Hold my beer…” ?

 

I feel like the best possible option for Microsoft at this point is to head back to the drawing board and just flat out nuke the Xbox Series entirely, starting fresh. That would take at least a year of hard crunch development, but with their bottomless coffers and enough will, they could get it done. Don’t launch the damn thing until they have some exclusive games that actually harness the system’s specs and are worth playing, which again could be done with enough investment. Slam the book shut on the whole bloody affair. They’ll get some hate for it, but they have the cash to weather the storm, and regardless of what Spencer says, if they have the games, people will come. It also wouldn’t be the first time Microsoft made big promises for a piece of hardware, then chopped off all support with little to no warning; anybody remember Zune?

 

I've heard that as an option from some people. Microsoft has so severely botched the Series line of consoles who are a bigger failure than the Xbox One which itself did terribly that the best course of action at this point is to kill the Series line of consoles and release a new and more powerful console. Which isn't a new thing as Nintendo has done it successfully and Sega not so successfully (some of the older console brands I think might have also). There are a number of problems with this however. For a start the Xbox brand is mud compared to Nintendo so people won't have faith for their new console like they did for the Switch. Secondly with mid-gen refreshes having been a thing last generation, funnily enough due to Microsoft as they wanted the "power crown" and PlayStation had to counteract them, it means PlayStation can counter such a move easily enough by releasing a stronger version of the PS5.

 

Not that all of this would be instant either as they'd have to design the new console (granted should take less time for Xbox as they're such poor and basic designers), sign the paperwork to get production set up, likely pay large premiums on the powerful parts they'll want to stick in the console, and then on top of those massive costs they'll have to pay for all the Xbox Series consoles at retailers if they want retailers to trust them on the new console because otherwise retailers likely won't stock them (Nintendo did this with the Wii U). On the development side they'll either have to release their games in development for the new console and in no real way take advantage of the stronger hardware outside some higher framerates, or they'll need to make already troubled development take even longer to have them take advantage of the new hardware in a bigger way.

 

Finally there is the biggest issue of all. Gamepass. Microsoft allows Xbox to continue because of the idea that if gamepass takes off then they'll eventually get a monopoly and make lots of money. Scrapping their current console, which has already lost plenty of money, and incurring even larger losses to put out another one (which if also not successful means even more large losses) doesn't change a single thing when it comes to gamepass. Microsoft of course certainly has the money to waste on all of this if they wanted, but surely someone at some point will ask just what are they doing wasting fortune after fortune on a part of the company that has been a net negative for them since it began and only more so as time passes.

[Zeep_Xanflorp92]

As someone who’s been primarily ps5 this gen, and I just bought the series X in January for game pass and hopes that the ABK merger would’ve brought game pass another huge “W”, game pass isn’t as valuable as Xbox claims it to be. In my opinion at least. At least not to the hardcore fan base, I’ve already played 85% of the worthy games on game pass from last gen, the other 15% are mid or just not worth the time. Xbox is taking so long to roll out the exclusives for this gen and game pass is pointing this out.. if you look at the “games coming soon”. It’s laughable, has 2 niche titles: railway empire 2 and exoprimal (dinosaur version of EDF). The “just released” is just as bad, Redfall being the most recent example. Xbox even changed the adverts from “play Redfall” to “play prey”. I shit you not. Took like 3 days for them to stop promoting Redfall on their adverts/Home Screen. 

This gen has been embarrassing for Microsoft. Phil tried to come off as genuine and truthful but he went too far into it, basically coming across as throwing in the towel and excusing poor performance games since “they won’t matter anyway” to move the needle of players in other ecosystems moving to Xbox. Well what about the current players? They sure aren’t getting what they expected. Maybe they should focus on pleasing their existing fan base instead of saying “beating Sony/Nintendo is impossible so why try.”

 

Not to mention it feels like catering to the Series S base to have every game come to them as well I think holds back the series x from maximizing its potential. It doesn’t feel truly next gen. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Zeep_Xanflorp92

[MidnightDragon]

Though I doubt much will stop the diehards, this article makes a good point.

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/starfield-feels-like-xboxs-last-chance-at-redemption

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by MidnightDragon

[LorenzoLame]

47 minutes ago, MidnightDragon said:

Though I doubt much will stop the diehards, this article makes a good point.

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/starfield-feels-like-xboxs-last-chance-at-redemption

 

Can't wait for the new Internet Historian video "Starfail". 

 

Jokes a side, I hope Xbox succeds. Competition is always great and they definitely could make great games with the money they have if they wanted.

[Rozalia1]

5 hours ago, MidnightDragon said:

Though I doubt much will stop the diehards, this article makes a good point.

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/starfield-feels-like-xboxs-last-chance-at-redemption

 

That was written by a diehard also for those unaware. Though, that itself makes me hard to trust the guy... these guys when they have their negative moments usually quickly flop right back to being fanatics in their own reality. There is also the tactic of attacking Xbox in such a manner to both lower the acceptable standards (this is better than Redfall) and then if Starfield is good then it'll be trumpeted even louder because it was the "last chance" and they pulled it off.

 

With that said, the idea that it is their last roll of the dice is accurate enough. Not that Xbox dies 100% if it fails as Microsoft has been willing to make losses on Xbox for 20+ years and it'd be an embarrassment for Nadella to cut it (not so much for a future boss man though, so once Nadella goes...), but it certainly is their last hope in stopping their constant loss of momentum. 

 

5 hours ago, LorenzoLame said:

Jokes a side, I hope Xbox succeds. Competition is always great and they definitely could make great games with the money they have if they wanted.

 

If Microsoft separates out Xbox, allows it to have its own culture free from Microsoft, and allocates reasonable budgets treating it as a normal company (no more money pit) that needs to innovate to compete and not simply be backed up by infinite money? Sure, I can see good flowing from that. Will that ever happen? Obviously not, so nah. As I said in my last posts on this matter with more detail, we don't need a tasteless monopoliser like Microsoft in gaming. It'll also greatly improve things among gamers of different platforms as so much of that wars stuff is a result of Microsoft's massive amounts of disgusting astroturfing. Be it them doing it towards others, or others reacting to it.

[LorenzoLame]

13 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

If Microsoft separates out Xbox, allows it to have its own culture free from Microsoft, and allocates reasonable budgets treating it as a normal company (no more money pit) that needs to innovate to compete and not simply be backed up by infinite money? Sure, I can see good flowing from that. Will that ever happen? Obviously not, so nah. As I said in my last posts on this matter with more detail, we don't need a tasteless monopoliser like Microsoft in gaming. It'll also greatly improve things among gamers of different platforms as so much of that wars stuff is a result of Microsoft's massive amounts of disgusting astroturfing. Be it them doing it towards others, or others reacting to it.

Agree. The monopoly thing is kinda scary actually. They realized that they don't need to make good games when they could buy every single developer team, no matter how big, and just print more money for Microsoft that way. Then, when they call them out, they act as an injured puppy, saying how they could never beat Nintendo and Sony.

 

Still, I would like them to become a proper company that puts out good stuff (without the monopoly thing of course)

Edited May 20, 2023 by LorenzoLame

[Rozalia1]

13 hours ago, LorenzoLame said:

Agree. The monopoly thing is kinda scary actually. They realized that they don't need to make good games when they could buy every single developer team, no matter how big, and just print more money for Microsoft that way. Then, when they call them out, they act as an injured puppy, saying how they could never beat Nintendo and Sony.

 

Still, I would like them to become a proper company that puts out good stuff (without the monopoly thing of course)

 

It is the typical play you'll see from aggressive actors be it in business, countries, or whatever else. Attack aggressively and if anyone dares fight back even a little feign it as being an outrage and unacceptable. Take note of their astroturfing that saw Brad Smith's comments towards the CMA as acceptable, yet are outraged that the CMA dared to respond to questions to them where they said they respected the EU's view but they disagree with their decision.

 

It indeed is scary that Microsoft has the power to attempt such a thing but thankfully we have once again been fortunate that Microsoft has blundered on their timing of things, with my guess being they were too focused on Azure. For those unaware, due to having the fear of god put in them due to almost getting broken up back in the day, Microsoft was slow to act on many things, the most important being the internet and mobile, which allowed other big companies we know of today to rise up. If Microsoft hadn't been fearful and allowed to continue their aggression then today we might not have a Google, Apple would at the very least be heavily diminished, and other effects. Whatever you think of those companies, things would not be better as all their wealth and power would be with Microsoft instead. Gaming of course saw some benefit from this fear too as Microsoft never put its all into it (as they are attempting now) and that was a time when Sony was certainly far more vulnerable than they are today.

 

If Microsoft had attempted all of this some years back they likely would have been successful. American regulation is a joke (not the current FTC's fault) and would allow them to keep buying all the big publishers. Some years back you could argue the EU regulation was less corrupt (their new system is hilariously corrupt) but it was still an overhyped threat as they'd still pass things they knew were bad, but knew they'd be able to collect some sweet fine money when the company broke the remedies set out for them to abide by. The CMA meanwhile is a new organisation (fusion of two old ones) and only has the greater ascendency it has today due to the recent Brexit, which had the UK leave the EU.

[ElektrickRage]

On 19/05/2023 at 11:58 PM, Rozalia1 said:

 

That was written by a diehard also for those unaware. Though, that itself makes me hard to trust the guy... these guys when they have their negative moments usually quickly flop right back to being fanatics in their own reality. There is also the tactic of attacking Xbox in such a manner to both lower the acceptable standards (this is better than Redfall) and then if Starfield is good then it'll be trumpeted even louder because it was the "last chance" and they pulled it off.

 

With that said, the idea that it is their last roll of the dice is accurate enough. Not that Xbox dies 100% if it fails as Microsoft has been willing to make losses on Xbox for 20+ years and it'd be an embarrassment for Nadella to cut it (not so much for a future boss man though, so once Nadella goes...), but it certainly is their last hope in stopping their constant loss of momentum. 

 

 

If Microsoft separates out Xbox, allows it to have its own culture free from Microsoft, and allocates reasonable budgets treating it as a normal company (no more money pit) that needs to innovate to compete and not simply be backed up by infinite money? Sure, I can see good flowing from that. Will that ever happen? Obviously not, so nah. As I said in my last posts on this matter with more detail, we don't need a tasteless monopoliser like Microsoft in gaming. It'll also greatly improve things among gamers of different platforms as so much of that wars stuff is a result of Microsoft's massive amounts of disgusting astroturfing. Be it them doing it towards others, or others reacting to it.

You should write a book or something. I had to scroll down those paragraphs sorry. Itza lot of them. Lol.

[automechtech1]

On 5/9/2023 at 2:32 PM, AJ_-_808 said:

snip

Considering you replied to brief snippets out of context I've really got no reply beyond this. And it's not like I even disagree with things you said, but it just has very little bearing on the context of the conversation.

 

On 5/9/2023 at 4:15 PM, Rozalia1 said:

How is it sensationalist? The guy was a broken man who you could feel/see/hear the hopelessness of and got to stating that he might be close to being fired, was way overpaid considering the work he does, and that Xbox is basically doomed in the "console race" as he put it no matter what they do. Two wrongs certainly don't make a right no, but this ain't that. Spencer at no point had to even bring up Sony and console war rhetoric, yet he did, and you're going to admonish us for engaging with what he said? Come now. When PlayStation/Nintendo have their management running console wars against Microsoft and using massive astroturfing to aid its efforts do get back to us.

 

Why does Xbox have to leap PlayStation soon? Why can't they put in the work and like with the PS3 and slowly gain back credibility? Obviously one good game isn't suddenly going to fix everything, you need many good games over a period of time so people can start trusting you. I've stated the answer before and you know full well. It is because Microsoft is not interested in that and seeks a monopoly where they can squeeze everyone for the maximum money possible. If Xbox can't "carve out" its own market which involves destroying the current then everyone should be pleased that they're failing again and again. Their plan if successful will only degrade game quality, punish smaller creators, and in the end for all of the talk of saving money it'll lead to higher prices. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it.

 

@AJ_-_808 has already answered but I will repeat just in case in my own way. Sony and Nintendo work with companies and when they get them on board the gaming market doesn't lose anything as the games those companies were making were exclusives anyway. On top of that Sony and Nintendo both are known for great assistance to the teams they work with which leads to those companies later putting out even better games. Microsoft by comparison buys companies that are already established to do multi platform games and then is "hands off" which they actually even pat themselves on the back for as we saw with this interview, and so we have a situation where as Microsoft doesn't provide assistance and their buyouts often cause some of the best staff to leave, that Microsoft buying these companies actually makes them worse. There are exceptions in all of this of course, but that is the difference. Sony and Nintendo add value, while Microsoft detracts it.

 

Things could of course be so much better. Xbox has never been ran all that well granted, but were certainly at their best when they were more limited (but didn't have a guillotine above their head as they do today) and couldn't count on unlimited support from Microsoft. Even Spencer himself when he took over had to shutter numerous studios as they had become unsalvageable, which while a negative would have given them a reset to allow them to slowly build themselves back up the right way (PlayStation literally showed them the blueprint), which if they had I am sure Xbox would be in a better place. Then the gamepass dream shows up and Microsoft gives them unlimited funds and the buyouts start flowing with no care taken to be smart about it as who cares if the studios are unprofitable and put out bad games, just keep buying and you'll win in the end through sheer financial might alone. In the end Xbox isn't collapsing because of "big bad Sony", they're in that state via their own making, or to be even more accurate, via the making of their tasteless Microsoft master.

At the end of the day you are allowed to have your own interpretation of the events, I suppose. I never got the impression of Phil Spencer being a broken man, but more someone who was frustrated at his own failings and ready to move forward. I seriously don't think the lines about pay and replacement were meant to be taken literally, as it was self-deprecation based on his mindset at the time. I've been in that position before, albeit not as a CEO, but that's just my two cents.

 

It really seems like you have a bone to pick with Microsoft and Xbox as a whole, and no matter what anyone says you'll find them abhorrent. I don't want to go much deeper because you are very...passionate about the topic, and unnecessary things get dragged into the conversation as talking points against Xbox when I'm not even debating them. I only ever wanted to point out the way you constructed your points in the first post as seemingly disingenuous and that you were wildly misinterpreting Phil Spencer's take on the necessity of good games. Beyond that any discussion seems fruitless.

[AJ_-_808]

Nevermind, not worth the time

Edited May 21, 2023 by AJ_-_808

[Valyrious]

12: Xbox isn't about "one game to rule them all", it is about diversity.

Right. Xbox currently doesn't have a single game that they can really brag about. I really, REALLY hope, for their own sakes, that that will change during their showcase. 

I honestly do not see Starfield changing things much at all. But it has to be a big win at this point.

On 5/19/2023 at 5:15 AM, LorenzoLame said:

Can't wait for the new Internet Historian video "Starfail". 

 

Jokes a side, I hope Xbox succeds. Competition is always great and they definitely could make great games with the money they have if they wanted.

Competition isn't just "always great". I would argue that it's necessary. Sony needs to feel like there's someone challenging them for console supremacy. If they are left unchecked, they won't feel the need to improve. That would be catastrophic for their own growth.

[Slava]

37 minutes ago, Valyrious said:

Xbox currently doesn't have a single game that they can really brag about.

 

They can brag about Forza, and they do.

[Rozalia1]

13 hours ago, automechtech1 said:

At the end of the day you are allowed to have your own interpretation of the events, I suppose. I never got the impression of Phil Spencer being a broken man, but more someone who was frustrated at his own failings and ready to move forward. I seriously don't think the lines about pay and replacement were meant to be taken literally, as it was self-deprecation based on his mindset at the time. I've been in that position before, albeit not as a CEO, but that's just my two cents.

 

It really seems like you have a bone to pick with Microsoft and Xbox as a whole, and no matter what anyone says you'll find them abhorrent. I don't want to go much deeper because you are very...passionate about the topic, and unnecessary things get dragged into the conversation as talking points against Xbox when I'm not even debating them. I only ever wanted to point out the way you constructed your points in the first post as seemingly disingenuous and that you were wildly misinterpreting Phil Spencer's take on the necessity of good games. Beyond that any discussion seems fruitless.

 

It was on his face, in his voice, in the very things he was saying. I'm hardly alone in having taken him like that. As for failings. Xbox has been failing the whole time it has been under Spencer and yet we've never seen him like this. Granted most of that time Xbox's mess ups are swept under the rug and the media pretends everything is fine, but stuff like Halo and the like have been out in the open and he didn't become like this.

 

I'm not someone invested in console war stuff constantly. After the Xbox One failure Xbox basically stopped existing for me. Gamepass was an eyebrow raiser as I could instantly see the potential damage it would cause to gaming if it were successful (thankfully it has failed thus far). Them buying up studios wasn't the biggest deal to me at first as I'd always said that Xbox were fools for not building up their first party, though obviously my suggestion there would also involve doing the buying competently which Xbox did not do (I've learned to not underestimate Xbox incompetence). The Bethesda buyout was alarm bells and then the Activision buyout with the arrogant boasting that they will only continue to buy out companies afterwards was the air raid siren. All this by the way while anyone who pays attention can see the high levels of pathetic astroturfing Microsoft has been doing.

 

On the matter of the construction of the points. You are free to go through the video and explain why I'm wrong in how I've summarised it.

 

On the other matter the truth is you have it backwards. It isn't that I have a bone to pick with Microsoft/Xbox, it is they have a bone to pick with me. I'm simply responding to what they've been doing which I'm fully justified in doing. With all that said... why am I the one you think is deserving of admonishment here? We have a company like Microsoft that wants to buyout the industry, destroy the traditional gaming market and replace it with subscription gaming which is terrible, and all while employing a record amount astroturfing to spread misinformation. All of this also has had an effect on their real fans, who having become a smaller group all while surrounded by Microsoft's massive amounts of astroturfing, has only grown more crazed.

 

 

57 seconds onward. This isn't even something that is suddenly happening now. Before the CMA killed this they (not just referring to the guy's in the video) were all smug and fantasising about who Microsoft was going to buyout next and how Sony was going to pay for all their crimes of... putting out good games that people want to play. This sort of thing is happening on their enthusiast sites, it is happening on social media, it is happening on forums where the green team is allowed to run wild with their console warring, and it has all been supported by Xbox's very management (directly or with their astroturfing) who at times start console warring themselves.

 

So do let me know why I and others who have highlighted/spoken out against Xbox's attacks, are the ones worthy of admonishment here. Of course you've already said you don't want to go deeper because of your perception of me, and that is fine.

 

9 hours ago, Valyrious said:

12: Xbox isn't about "one game to rule them all", it is about diversity.

Right. Xbox currently doesn't have a single game that they can really brag about. I really, REALLY hope, for their own sakes, that that will change during their showcase. 

I honestly do not see Starfield changing things much at all. But it has to be a big win at this point.

Competition isn't just "always great". I would argue that it's necessary. Sony needs to feel like there's someone challenging them for console supremacy. If they are left unchecked, they won't feel the need to improve. That would be catastrophic for their own growth.

 

Yes and no. Hi-Fi Rush was the only game they ever talked about for a time even though by all accounts being the insider's comment on it, or what Spencer alluded to in this interview, it has been a failure that Xbox fans have not cared about and only pretend to because it reviewed well. Pentiment gets much the same treatment. The problem comes when someone asks 'You are comparing Pentiment to God of War Ragnarok?' that they get tripped up as it is obviously absurd to do that. Forza as @Slava tends to be what gets bought up as the shining diamond in the crown, though even they are starting to get worried considering the time the next one in taking.

 

Well, if the video above is telling of the future narrative that Microsoft will be astroturfing then Starfield not getting 9s or 10s will be a result of a worldwide conspiracy to hurt Xbox. Jim Ryan being behind it all I'm sure.

 

As I've said, I don't agree. The dominant PlayStation 1 and 2 only lowered prices. PlayStation 3 which is often said as a show of "arrogant Sony" had the Cell processor which was exotic hardware trying to push things further. For 4 and 5 the Xbox consoles have basically been no competition at all as the Xbox One was so bad Microsoft had to stop showing their numbers and the Series line of consoles found a way to do even worse than the Xbox One, all while PlayStation only grows stronger. Nintendo when they were on top you could argue that their insistence on carts over discs was a result of not wanting to improve, but I wouldn't agree there. Now granted, if Xbox ever found its way on top then it would certainly coast as we already have evidence of them doing so even while dead last, but it would not be fair to paint Sony and Nintendo with the same brush as Microsoft. Beyond there being differences between American and Japanese companies, Microsoft is also a particularly bad case.

[dimonemt]

On 5/14/2023 at 4:45 PM, Oberlin1694 said:

Im looking forward to this ABK merger further being shafted tomorrow when the EU inevitably rejects it.

Say what now?

I can't predict whether or not the ABK deal will go through eventually, but the recent UK's CMA decision made me scratch my head a lot. The merger was blocked on the grounds that Microsoft would have an unfair advantage in cloud gaming? Lol, what? I can't even tell how dumb this is. Who even plays like that? People who like to enjoy their games on consoles on a big tv screen, and with descent  sound system will ALWAYS prefer local play over cloud gaming. That's the reason why PlayStation Now streaming service failed the way it did. I think Microsoft will have this ruling overturned on appeal because it's just bonkers.