Sony 30% of PS5s monthly active users have never used a PS4 and market share in the US is increasing significantly

[AbsolutSurgen]

11 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

 

Here's what they've shown:  They bought Activision-Blizzard, Bethesda, Obsidian, Double-Fine, Ninja Theory, Playground Games, etc.
They're likely bigger than Sony in development resources now.  Perhaps even Sony and Nintendo combined.  They'll practically monopolize entire genres:  All the biggest FPS franchises that aren't Far Cry, Apex, Destiny and Battlefield.  All CRPG devs of note outside of Larian Studios.  Maybe after Activision they'll lock that one up for completionist sake.

 

Within the next 10 years?  They'll absolutely be a strong competitor, even more when going into the next Xbox launch.  The only thing stopping them is tripping over themselves.  Or sorely misjudging what they can afford to support under their revenue model.  Or the FTC blocking their latest $68.7 billion purchase.

Development resources don't matter if you keep pumping out games that don't sell.  They don't monopolize any genres.

CRPGs aren't a huge selling genre -- but you're also excluding CDPR, Bioware, ZA/UM and dozens of others.  The thing about CRPGs is there are TONS of them, and many CRPGs are cheap to make.  [Also, the distinction between CRPGs and RPGS is bizarre to me).

 

What keeps blocking them is their failure to make great games and to sell large amounts of consoles (particularly outside of English-speaking countries).  Potential doesn't mean shit when they continue to squander their assets.

[crispy4000]

33 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Development resources don't matter if you keep pumping out games that don't sell.

 

That's either tongue and cheek (Games Pass) or not fully taking into account the cash cow franchises they're buying.

 

33 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

They don't monopolize any genres.

 

I said practically.  Owning Activision-Blizzard and Bethesda corners a hugely significant amount of the FPS market.  Plenty to leverage an advantage over Sony, be that through Games Pass, (timed) exclusive DLC, outright 'console' exclusivity, or all of the above.

 

33 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

CRPGs aren't a huge selling genre -- but you're also excluding CDPR, Bioware, ZA/UM and dozens of others.  The thing about CRPGs is there are TONS of them, and many CRPGs are cheap to make.  [Also, the distinction between CRPGs and RPGS is bizarre to me).

 

Fair, if you truly consider CDPR and Bioware CRPG companies these days.  (And ZA/UM not essentially dead)  I see this more as Microsoft pressing an advantage they saw a relatively cheap opportunity in, even if it's for a select crowd.  It gets more PC gamers on board with Games Pass, if little else.

 

Quote

What keeps blocking them is their failure to make great games and to sell large amounts of consoles (particularly outside of English-speaking countries).  Potential doesn't mean shit when they continue to squander their assets.

 

They haven't owned these studios long enough for us to know if they're squandering anything with them.  And they could never succeed without the potential to. 

Potential was once a very real problem for Microsoft, so it's undoubtedly a positive change.

[AbsolutSurgen]

19 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

 

That's either tongue and cheek (Games Pass) or not fully taking into account the cash cow franchises they're buying.

 

That's what they have been doing for the last 10 years.

19 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

I said practically.  Owning Activision-Blizzard and Bethesda corners a hugely significant amount of the FPS market.  Plenty to leverage an advantage over Sony, be that through Games Pass, (timed) exclusive DLC, outright 'console' exclusivity, or all of the above.

 

They dominate shooters If you exclude Fortnite, Far Cry, Rainbow Six, PUBG, Counterstrike, Apex Legends/Titanfall, Battelfield, Battlefront, and Destiny. [And whatever other FTP shooter that is popular with the kids nowadays]. 

19 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Fair, if you truly consider CDPR and Bioware CRPG companies these days.  (And ZA/UM not essentially dead)  I see this more as Microsoft pressing an advantage they saw opportunity in, even if it's for a select crowd.

A CRPG is a "Computer Role Playing Game" -- and I struggle to understand how that is even a relevant term to classify games in 2023.

 

19 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Fair, if you truly consider CDPR and Bioware CRPG companies these days.  (And ZA/UM not essentially dead)  I see this more as Microsoft pressing an advantage they saw opportunity in, even if it's for a select crowd.

 

 

They haven't owned these studios long enough for us to know if they're squandering anything.  Moreover, they could never succeed without the potential to.

They've squandered all of their biggest franchises like Gears of War, Halo, Fable and Forza Motorsports.  Why are you expecting the same management team to have different results with the new ones?

[crispy4000]

The past 10 years of not owning ActivisionBlizzard and Bethesda (for most of it) hardly means anything towards a future where they do.  Sure, there's a chance Microsoft could bungle it, goodness knows AB needs a clean sweep.  But it's waaaay too premature to insist that they'll waste these companies.  If anything, Minecraft says otherwise.

 

Call of Duty is still going to sell.  Diablo IV is still going to sell.  Even Starfield is still going to sell plenty if chalk full of bugs.

 

2 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

They dominate shooters If you exclude Fortnite, Far Cry, Rainbow Six, PUBG, Counterstrike, Apex Legends/Titanfall, Battelfield, Battlefront, and Destiny. 

 

We're including 3rd person shooters now?  I said FPSs.

 

Those other games might be bigger than some of Microsoft's individual FPS franchises, but in the totality of things, they've got several of them in addition to the biggest fish in the pond.  (and the rest of the ocean for that matter)

 

 

I'm not looking to debate what a CRPG is.  I'll just say they now own most of the major players in a branch of it.  The one that also happens to be most typically associated with the term itself.  Again, this is likely Microsoft making a play for PC gamers.

[AbsolutSurgen]

On 2/4/2023 at 4:20 PM, crispy4000 said:

  Again, this is likely Microsoft making a play for PC gamers.

In what way?  Their

 

On 2/4/2023 at 4:20 PM, crispy4000 said:

The past 10 years of not owning ActivisionBlizzard and Bethesda (for most of it) hardly means anything towards a future where they do.  Sure, there's a chance Microsoft could bungle it, goodness knows AB needs a clean sweep.  But it's waaaay too premature to insist that they'll waste these companies.  If anything, Minecraft says otherwise.

 

If they have the same leadership, they will probably act in the same way they have for the last 10 years.

[crispy4000]

3 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

In what way?

Trying to get more PC gamers interested in Games Pass.

 

3 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

If they have the same leadership, they will probably act in the same way they have for the last 10 years.

 

The operating model of their games division has shifted dramatically in the past 5 years.  So has their big wallet energy.

 

If you were even remotely surprised when they bought Activision or Bethesda, you shouldn’t be suggesting you know their future.

[AbsolutSurgen]

12 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

Trying to get more PC gamers interested in Games Pass.

 

 

The operating model of their games division has shifted dramatically in the past 5 years.  So has their big wallet energy.

 

If you were even remotely surprised when they bought Activision or Bethesda, you shouldn’t be suggesting you know their future.

You will have to explain the term "big wallet energy" -- I've never heard anyone use that before.

 

No one knows their future.  I do know that their current management team has them in a distant 3rd in console sales.  Like all big tech companies, I expect them to spend huge money on acquisitions, which they then proceed to destroy all their potential value through incompetence.  This will be followed by huge layoffs in the acquired companies after several years.  I could be wrong.