Welcoming the Talented Teams and Beloved Game Franchises of Bethesda to Xbox

[DaivRules]

Link directly to the article with the interview:

https://www.cnet.com/news/how-microsofts-ceo-xbox-head-say-they-wont-screw-up-bethesda/

6 minutes ago, Cryogenicide_X said:

Imagine if Microsoft bought Square Enix or Capcom. I'm quite surprised they haven't tried to buy a Japanese studio because even Phil Spencer himself has admitted many times it's an area they need to improve upon. With there recent purchase though they do have Tango Gameworks which I believe that's a Japanese studio in Tokyo Japan. 

Look up Japan's restrictions for buying Japanese companies for your answer.

[Rozalia1]

Outside Doom which has kept going high, the rest of those games... yeah, are at low points and just don't interest me personally though obviously they will for a number.

 

I've heard somewhere that Sony failed in buying up some properties for 1 billion and 2 billion I think it was. Considering the timeframe these deals take to get made that means Sony might possibly have at least 3 billion to make a big purchase... but then they're done while Microsoft has some 150 billion in liquid cash I've heard though of course most of that can't be used. This sort of money getting thrown around was always why Microsoft went hard on pushing the whole "all in one" thing. A gaming box? Head office cares little. Gaming netflix and suddenly head office is seeing those money signs. 

 

We'll see how it shakes out. I certainly wouldn't gamble on calling if this strategy from them will pay off. I personally think the console releases are going to be vital. When a narrative forms around something it becomes very hard to shake off so Xbox getting massacred by the PS5 would really damage it's long term health.

[TrophyChief]

If they keep pumping out quality, critically acclaimed and commercially successful games within their existing studios, growth can happen internally without having to look outside. Spin off studios with talented staff working on other IP can happen too.

[LoveInHell]

18 hours ago, bikeman223 said:

The Outer Worlds DLC is available on PS4, there's even an expansion pass.

Ohhhhh ???

[Taihou]

I dunno, I'm not a big Bethesda head so not having their games on PS5 really isn't a big deal to me. I just hope this isn't the precedent going forward. I know there is the Spider-Man exclusive in Marvel Avengers and Final Fantasy XVI but this is bigger than those imo. In the long run if Microsoft start putting Fallout and TES as exclusives then it would just be pointing themselves out as hypocrites in a way as they have been going on about how players should be connected no matter console etc. 

We'll just have to see what happen's in the future

[MidnightDragon]

Apparently EA almost got them first. Not sure who would’ve been worse.

 

https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2020/09/26/ea-bethesda-parent-company/

[scemopagliaccioh]

Microsoft is the one that made online not free common practice,  so they got that spot covered for worse.

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by scemopagliaccioh

[AJ_Radio]

4 hours ago, scemopagliaccioh said:

Microsoft is the one that made online not free common practice,  so they got that spot covered for worse.

 

They’re also on board with live service, making everything online only, and making the console a rather bad investment seeing that you can pretty much get access to their games on the PC. 
 

Their once proud IPs Halo, Gears of War and Forza have been suffering for a long time. 
 

Not surprisingly, they pick up a company that had been under fire the past couple years with Fallout 76 and Elder Scrolls. 
 

It is simply big business doing shit as usual. All that matters is the money and acquisitions. 
 

Just ask 2K Games how they make their money. This is the future of gaming. 
 

I might just stick to old games and indie titles before too long.

[RadiantFlamberge]

On 9/23/2020 at 11:01 AM, Cryogenicide_X said:

Imagine if Microsoft bought Square Enix or Capcom.

I think I'd rather not. And thankfully the chances of it are near zero.

 

On 9/26/2020 at 5:31 PM, MidnightDragon said:

Apparently EA almost got them first. Not sure who would’ve been worse.

EA would be even worse. If EA bought them, then we'd all be placing bets on when EA would shut down the Bethesda studios. On PC you'd have people balk about needing an Origin account to play future Bethesda titles. These franchises would probably be ruined by EA's meddling. For example, there has been a lot of justified complaining about what happened with The Sims 4. An independent Maxis would likely have done it better.

[its_ArchroniX]

Let's not pretend Bethesda's games in the last decade have been any good or improving overall. Yeah Skyrim is a huge seller but if you get down to it, it's a pretty trashy game and that's coming from someone who bought the game three times and played the living hell out of it. The game is extremely buggy and has forgettable quests and npc compared to every other RPG out there.

 

Then there was the Fallout 4 fiasco were the game was a 'shooter in an open-world' than an actual continuation of Fallout 3 and/ or New Vegas with very little options to choose from to create 'your own character' (meaning every dialogue option leads to the same answer instead of becoming the bad guy all of the sudden like you could do in the previos titles). And let's not talk abou the huge mistake they made by implementing the building mechanics in this game.

 

And of course the final nail in the coffin, Fallout 76. Not only did it face the same problem as Fallout 4 in that it's a 'shooter in an open-world' (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just a horrible attempt at it), it's lack of content, insane pay to win/ play factor and the ridiculous excuses Bethesda gives us for the decisions they made to this makes it one of the biggest game fails of the last decade as well. I've never seen a game getting more hate than Fallout 76 and to be absolutely fair I think they deserve it. This game is a disgrace to every other Fallout game ever made.

 

If Bethesda is going to make their games exclusive for Xbox so be it. If they continue to create games without showing improvement then I won't care for the exclusivity. The hope for Elder Scrolls 6 to be a 'good' game is definitely gone. Bethesda hasn't been the Bethesda of the Morrowind and Oblivion days for years, when they actually cared about their customers instead of being the greedy nitpickers they are nowadays.

 

As for what studio Sony should buy to 'compete' with Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda, I think it would be pretty sweet to see Sony purchase Square Enix, Ubisoft, Capcom or even CD Project Red (likely, though it would be cool to see Cyberpunk become a PS exclusive, imagine all those Xbox and PC fanboys....). There are some pretty solid games under the roofs of these developers and making them Playstation exclusives would not only benefit Sony in its console war against Microsoft, it will also expand their exclusivity roster by a huge amount. Having games like Final Fantasy, Assassin's Creed and Monster Hunter as exclusives will surely benefit Sony.

 

Edit: I'm talking about the studio behind Elder Scrolls and Fallout with Todd Howard . Developers that are under their name like Arkane, ID Software and Zenimax all showed us they do actually care about their games (Dishonored, Prey, Doom and Elder Scrolls Online are actually doing really well and are receiving frequent updates to improve the game). Oh, and I'm not hating on Bethesda, I'm just stating facts here. I used to be a massive Elder Scrolls and Fallout fanboy but Bethesda has kind of ruined things for themsleves with all of their horrible decisions in the past years. Paid mods is one of them as well.....

Edited October 14, 2020 by its_ArchroniX
Typos

[MidnightDragon]

Phil Spencer claims Bethesda games don’t have to be multiplatform to recoup their money, but stopped short of actually saying that would be the case. I know chances are good Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI aren’t coming to PS, but until they say so, hold out faint hope. If not, upgrading my PC. Not gonna buy a XBox just for that.

[GT__Jedi]

Worst news I've heard in the past 5 years.  So ESO will now be under MS.  Us PS4 players will probably be hung out to dry next year when this is finalized.  I love ESO but they can take their XBOX and shove it where the sun don't shine.

[BlackTorito]

37 minutes ago, MidnightDragon said:

Phil Spencer claims Bethesda games don’t have to be multiplatform to recoup their money, but stopped short of actually saying that would be the case. I know chances are good Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI aren’t coming to PS, but until they say so, hold out faint hope. If not, upgrading my PC. Not gonna buy a XBox just for that.

That’s just a bluff.

 

First he says “case by case” and then this. If Xbox wanted to capitalize on ESO/Starfield being exclusive they would have already said so, there is no better time than this one to drop that bomb for people to switch to Xbox.

 

I’ll still stand for those franchises to come to PS this gen.

[ziggypossum]

 

Quote

 

“Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?” I asked.

 

“Yes” Spencer quickly replied.

 

 

[Rozalia1]

On 23/09/2020 at 9:29 AM, LoveInHell said:

I love Bethesda. I don’t know what to think of this. People say Microsoft didn’t pay 7.5 billion without a reason and there is a very high chance big future exclusives were taken away from Sony. All we can do now is wait for more information and hope we will still get to play (big) Bethesda games on Playstation. I would dislike it a lot if the next Fallout would be an XBOX exclusive.

 

To see that the newest Life Is Strange and the Outer Worlds DLC is XBOX only (and PC?) was saddening but this news is huge.

 

Was reading through the thread and saw this. Can't find anything on Life is Strange now being exclusive, but did come across the below:

"During an interview with GameSpot, Raoul Barbet and Michel Koch both expressed interest in the future of the franchise, including a potential Life is Strange 3, but explained that the rights belong to Square Enix and that decisions on the future of the franchise lay with them."

 

So if there is a Life is Strange 3 then it would be unlikely to be exclusive. 

[communistwookiee]

On 9/23/2020 at 2:29 AM, LoveInHell said:

To see that the newest Life Is Strange and the Outer Worlds DLC is XBOX only (and PC?) was saddening but this news is huge.

 

3 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

Was reading through the thread and saw this. Can't find anything on Life is Strange now being exclusive, but did come across the below:

Do you mean Dontnod's Tell Me Why? Separate from Life is Strange.

[Rozalia1]

17 hours ago, communistwookiee said:

 

Do you mean Dontnod's Tell Me Why? Separate from Life is Strange.

 

Not me, but the person I responded too. Perhaps that is what they meant by Life is Strange 3 yeah. 

[RadiantFlamberge]

Am I going to buy an Xbox for the next Doom or Wolfenstein? NO. I'll go strictly PC on these games if they turn out to be Xbox exclusive. Hopefully they'll release the PC versions on Steam and not use that UWP garbage.

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

I'm still taking this acquisition with a grain of salt. It boils down to MS investing in a bunch of studios that frankly, haven't put out enough material to be justified. So this big sale is a way to say look whats mine now, without having to actually work for it. GamePass and their cloud service are great services, but honestly, the Xbox ecosystem in general just doesn't interest me at all. Fable and state of decay were the two new games that I was even slightly interested in, but I can't justify buying a console just for that. 

 

If future Bethesda games are exclusive then hey, MS earned it I guess, and that's how its gonna be. But I won't buy an Xbox to play Bethesda games, thats not a console seller to me. I also won't buy a PS5 to play Bethesda games, I want a PS5 to play the new horizon, spiderman, ratchet and Clank, etc. As much as I loved fallout 3, NV and 4, and even a bit of 76 at times, as well as ES Skyrim, it isn't a deal breaker to me to lose future ones. I've been leaning heavily more towards JRPGs anyways, and that's more on the Sony side anyways, so for me the games I want to play are still where they belong

[JoesusHCrust]

Slightly old news now but Microsoft have recently purchased ZeniMax media for about 7.5 billion dollars! Bargain! 

This is a major bummer for people like me who would sell their own grandmother to play Elder Scrolls 6 or the next (offline, not shit) Fallout game. It seems very unlikely that these would be released on a rival console now (although they may well be available on Steam). 

It gets worse too because obviously future Dishonoured, Doom, Quake, Prey, Rage, and...others, I'm sure I've missed some won't be on PS5 either and neither will the new Starfield IP (is that what it's called) that I was really looking forward to playing. 

I can't afford multiple consoles or a PC and I really want to play all my games on the same platform because I love going for the trophies and leveling up my profile. 

Microsoft has a bazillion dollars in the bank and the Xbox One did pretty poorly against the PS4 so will this set a precedent of them buying up well known (or less well known) publishers/developers and starving PS5 players of desirable IPs? Are we really happy with more God Of War games in exchange for not being able to play TES 6 or the next Fallout? I hope that the PS5 will remain a viable console and not be starved of good games. I really don't want to switch to Xbox! 

[griffin123456789]

If it makes Sony more competitive then I'm all for it. I think the PS4 had a pretty samey and repetitive library of games honestly. I'm not interested in Xbox but I am looking to improve my PC for next gen and might wait and see on the PS5 a few years into its life. Too many games felt like the Last of Us or borrowed the Ubisoft open world formula.

 

As for the purchase itself though, I don't know if it's as incredible as some are suggesting. I'm obviously bummed about Doom and other id properties (though Wolfenstein kinda sucks ass at the moment sadly), but everything else is drawing concern. Fallout has been butchered hard by Bethesda and people are now skeptical of everything they make. As for Dishonored and Prey? I mean, I love those games, immersive sims are great, but they don't sell well. I honestly don't think this will hurt Playstation as much as people think it will.

 

This could potentially end up being the next Rare Software deal for Microsoft... which means it's bad for them if you don't know how that went down.

Edited October 20, 2020 by griffin123456789

[Venocide]

Not for me, I don't like any of the games you listed. 

[PeachXHime]

Personally, I'd rather play TES or Fallout on PC. 

 

8 minutes ago, griffin123456789 said:

Fallout has been butchered hard by Bethesda

How so? I couldn't contain my enthusiasm when Fallout 3 was announced. It had been 10 years since the last, and even when Bethesda's games might not top the originals, it's something to appreciate no matter what - the franchise would still have been dead and buried, if not for Bethesda. At the end of the day, we still got more of what we loved, unless of course you don't consider yourself a fan of the franchise.

[griffin123456789]

3 minutes ago, PeachXHime said:

Personally, I'd rather play TES or Fallout on PC. 

 

How so? I couldn't contain my enthusiasm when Fallout 3 was announced. It had been 10 years since the last, and even when Bethesda's games might not top the originals, it's something to appreciate no matter what - the franchise would still have been dead and buried, if not for Bethesda. At the end of the day, we still got more of what we loved, unless of course you don't consider yourself a fan of the franchise.

You do know Fallout 76 was a thing right? Not trying to sound like a dick, but that game had perhaps the most universal critical panning of any AAA game in decades. Plus most fans I talk to weren't as enthusiastic with Fallout 4 as they were with New Vegas. Small complaint, sure, but when their next game in the series is 76, it's absolutely understandable why many are doubtful of them now.

Edited October 20, 2020 by griffin123456789

[HuntingFever]

Considering how Bethesda have utterly destroyed the lore and mythos of the Fallout universe, thanks to numerous pointless retcons and a flagrant disregard for canon, as far I'm concerned, Microsoft can keep them and their broken, near unplayable games. If you want to play any Bugthesda game in anywhere near a playable state, buy it for the PC then mod the hell out of it.