Microsoft Grubb: Sea of Thieves may come to Switch and Playstation

[SaysWho?]

"Sea of Thieves, right---I'll say I've heard that is one that might be coming to other platforms. When I first started hearing these rumors, I was like, 'Oh this is probably about Sea of Thieves, because I've heard that could come to Switch and PlayStation.' And maybe that might be the kind of thing where like, actually all of this stuff is happening, and Microsoft is kind of trying to rejigger its strategy."

 

10:44

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I simply cannot even imagine Sea of Thieves running on the Switch, even using a cloud-based version.

[Keyser_Soze]

In before @stepee hates on him.

[stepee]

Well the rumor they are referring to is that a previous GOTY Xbox exclusive is coming to other platforms, so he’s at least wrong about this being about that, if that were to be true. The rumor from NateDrake, who actually had a good track record, is likely about The Pentiment or Hi Fi Rush (I’d guess the former).

[crispy4000]

I'm happy for people who didn't have PCs and Xbox's to play it.  But this is still absolutely bonkers to me from a business perspective, for what it implies about future ports.

 

They're struggling to gain ground with their hardware, and Games Pass subscriptions are plateauing on console.  It makes no sense to take away more of the reasons why you might buy an Xbox.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

12 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

They're struggling to gain ground with their hardware, and Games Pass subscriptions are plateauing on console.  It makes no sense to take away more of the reasons why you might buy an Xbox.

 

If this does come to fruition, it kinda/sorta makes it seem that MS has quietly thrown in the proverbial towel when it comes hardware

[crispy4000]

Maybe they think with more fans of their games on other hardware, Games Pass will look more attractive?

 

It could work for CoD.  The rest of their library?  That's a tougher sell.

[gamer.tv]

1 hour ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

If this does come to fruition, it kinda/sorta makes it seem that MS has quietly thrown in the proverbial towel when it comes hardware

I was interested when I bought my new TV and on the Home Screen it heavily promotes playing Rocket League on it via steaming and all I could think was, “if this as X-Cloud and not shit, I’d give it a go.”

[TwinIon]

3 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

I'm happy for people who didn't have PCs and Xbox's to play it.  But this is still absolutely bonkers to me from a business perspective, for what it implies about future ports.

 

They're struggling to gain ground with their hardware, and Games Pass subscriptions are plateauing on console.  It makes no sense to take away more of the reasons why you might buy an Xbox.

I don't see how this is that different from Sony putting their games on PC. I really doubt Sea of Thieves' ability to sell Xbox consoles at this point. Especially for a live service game, cross platform makes sense to expand the potential player base.

 

I can also imagine the business case for this if it's a demographic issue. I don't know if the demographics are that different for Xbox vs Playstation beyond just regionality, but they're certainly different for the Switch. In that way it's not much different from the way that TV networks might develop shows to air on other networks because they might fit in better with that audience.

 

I also think that it makes good sense for MS to have more multi-platform games that are part of game pass. They've been running Minecraft that way for a long time, and it's only going to be more common for them as they absorb Activision Blizzard. Maybe they're hoping that players might find themselves playing a couple game-pass games on their Playstations and that an Xbox + Gamepass might actually make sense for them.

 

It's also a good play for anti-trust reasons. The more they can show regulators a willingness to put their games on competing platforms, the more likely a regulator might accept MS buying another developer/publisher.

[crispy4000]

16 hours ago, TwinIon said:

I don't see how this is that different from Sony putting their games on PC.

In theory it’s not.  PC is a gaming platform as valid as any other, and if they think releasing games (late) on PC helps their cause, great.

 

In practice, Sony sells many more consoles than Microsoft because of their first party line-up in prior years.  When the consoles are vying so closely for the same space, it becomes the difference maker. More than cost or value.  I believe Microsoft signaling that they’ll port more of their games to other consoles doubles down on a competitive approach that doesn’t work.

 

The only way this even remotely makes sense is if Sony is willing to do the same.

 

16 hours ago, TwinIon said:

I can also imagine the business case for this if it's a demographic issue. I don't know if the demographics are that different for Xbox vs Playstation beyond just regionality, but they're certainly different for the Switch. In that way it's not much different from the way that TV networks might develop shows to air on other networks because they might fit in better with that audience.

 

I could see them wanting to port games to the Switch that appeal to a broader demographic.  But there's nothing different enough between Xbox and Playstation audiences that Microsoft is targeting at the moment.  Maybe if they bought miHoYo or something.  But that also wouldn't be so different than their strategy with CoD and Minecraft, where they keep appeasing the established base.  (in contrast to Bethesda, Ninja Theory, etc)

 

16 hours ago, TwinIon said:

It's also a good play for anti-trust reasons. The more they can show regulators a willingness to put their games on competing platforms, the more likely a regulator might accept MS buying another developer/publisher.

They already won Activision, the biggest prize.  Any future plays will feel smaller.

 

And again, not as big of a concern today.  M&A-wise, they’re doing more than fine.  The bigger problem is managing their empire of development staff.