Microsoft X018: The Official Thread

[RedSoxFan9]

42 minutes ago, DPCyric said:

 

Advent Rising is in my top 10 list of games I want a sequel for alongside Too Human 

 

The Halo studio should make Advent Rising 2

[crispy4000]

2 hours ago, mikechorney said:

they keep buying 2nd tier developers 

 

 

These are good gets though.  Almost as good as Ninja Theory, IMO.  No need to diminish that.

 

They probably didn't cost a lot of money either.  So good on Microsoft reading the landscape and taking initiative.

[AbsolutSurgen]

9 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

These are good gets though.  Almost as good as Ninja Theory, IMO.  No need to diminish that.

 

They probably didn't cost a lot of money either.  So good on Microsoft reading the landscape and taking initiative.

My comment included Ninja Theory. 

 

The only dev they have bought recently that has developed a top tier game is Playground Games. 

[SaysWho?]

10 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

These are good gets though.  Almost as good as Ninja Theory, IMO.  No need to diminish that.

 

They probably didn't cost a lot of money either.  So good on Microsoft reading the landscape and taking initiative.

 

Let's hope they can nurture them as Sony did with Naughty Dog/Guerrilla/Sucker Punch. It's amazing how small those studios used to be and what they're doing now. Heck, their internal Santa Monica studio started with Kinetica before starting the God of War franchise, and Media Molecule's Dreams continues to look like one of the most ambitious games I've ever seen.

[crispy4000]

2 hours ago, mikechorney said:

My comment included Ninja Theory. 

 

The only dev they have bought recently that has developed a top tier game is Playground Games. 

You say that like it's a shortcoming.  The only other top shelf acquisition I can think of this gen is Respawn.  Perhaps Mojang, in terms of dollar signs.

 

The norm is always going to be the mid-range teams getting scooped up.  I see Ninja Theory as a minor exception, as it already was to the rest of the industry.  Like Double Fine, they were one of the few 'soft AAA' houses that shifted away from $60 retail.  If Microsoft chooses to ramp them up, its back to operations as they previously knew it.

[Pikachu]

Kotaku: Microsoft’s New Studio Acquisitions Show How Much Xbox Has Changed

[crispy4000]

27 minutes ago, Pikachu said:

Kotaku: Microsoft’s New Studio Acquisitions Show How Much Xbox Has Changed

Good article.
 

Quote

Instead of licking its wounds and trying to fight Sony yet again next generation, the Xbox division under Phil Spencer has taken a drastically different approach. What Microsoft wants most today is studios that will help boost its impressive Game Pass subscription service, its upcoming streaming platform, and its continued stabs at PC gaming. Developing big Xbox exclusives is no longer a priority for Microsoft, and in fact, the company decided in 2016 that it would release future games on both Xbox and PC. Soon enough, Game Pass will also be available on PC, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Microsoft embrace Steam—or overhaul the Windows store—as it tries to reach the hundreds of millions of people who play video games on computers.

It makes total sense for them for them to invest in smaller-than-blockbuster projects.  They'll need a lot of original content if they want their subscription services to catch on in a bigger way.  That's the new reality.

[number305]

10 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Good article.
 

It makes total sense for them for them to invest in smaller-than-blockbuster projects.  They'll need a lot of original content if they want their subscription services to catch on in a bigger way.  That's the new reality.

Spot on and exactly what MS is doing.  They will have a handful of AAA content and a whole lot of pretty good filler for people to play between AAA releases.  For the farther out future I don't think MS will care what device you are playing on as long as you have a Game Pass sub.

[AbsolutSurgen]

If they want to bring people to their "streaming" and/or "subscription platform, they need to have compelling content that appeals to a large amount of people.

 

Niche RPGs won't achieve this...

 

Particularly since their "AAA" content now largely consists of Forza games...  (With a Halo or GoW game every few years.)

 

(And while I love Forza Horizon, it doesn't offer broad-based appeal.)

[TwinIon]

11 minutes ago, mikechorney said:

If they want to bring people to their "streaming" platform, they need to have compelling content that appeals to a large amount of people.

 

Niche RPGs won't achieve this...

 

Particularly since their "AAA" content now largely consists of Forza games...  (With a Halo or GoW game every few years.)

I think you're partially right, but I think there's some good strategy here.

 

Netflix has been very clear that the more time customers spend on their platform, the more indispensable their subscription is. They want to keep you hooked in as long as possible. Hence autoplay, the focus on TV over film, etc. If Microsoft wants to maximize customer gameplay hours per MS dollar spent, I think relatively cheap RPGs are a good investment.

 

They still need some "hero" properties to bring people in, but I think they can get their money's worth out of these devs.

 

There's also the question as to how well MS can really compete against what Sony is doing. Sony's recent slate of AAA single player games has just been incredible, and maybe MS is unwilling or unable to fight it out on similar turf. Picking different genres might be a better bet (though given the sales figures for HZD, GoW, Spider-Man, that doesn't feel right).

[crispy4000]

I've said it before, but the largest concern for Microsoft should be 3rd parties doing their own competing services.  We know they're interested, and investing.

It might actually make the most sense for them just to wall out stuff like EA Access in their next console.  Either that or relegate it to a secondary subscription tier.  Wouldn't follow the Netflix model, but it could be the best way to play their hand from a business perspective.

[The def star]

Man this brought back that one D1Pcast me, @SFLUFAN and @Mr.Vic20 did in 2015 about how MS is focused on creating a platform for people to subscribe to. This was way before Game pass was even announced. It's all coming true 

[skillzdadirecta]

6 minutes ago, The def star said:

Man this brought back that one D1Pcast me, @SFLUFAN and @Mr.Vic20 did in 2015 about how MS is focused on creating a platform for people to subscribe to. This was way before Game pass was even announced. It's all coming true 

 

I think MS has been pretty clear on this since LIVE.

[Dodger]

I'm pretty excited to see what the future holds for the Xbox brand. Sony did have an amazing 2018, but it didn't happen over night. No one would have guessed the Killzone guys would come up with something like HZD, and no one would expect GoW to be remade the way it was. No would expect Bend to come out with Days Gone a few years ago, and now you got the Sucker Punch guys going from Infamous to Ghosts. 

 

I think MS will eventually have similar success. I think you will see big blockbusters coming out some of these studios you never expected. 

 

I think going forward MS has the better platform going forward. Live has always been better than PSN. You know you're going to get BC with MS. Games Pass could be huge, and is already a pretty damn good deal if you are a "hardcore" gamer. Stuff like X enchanced games are nice. We'll have to see how Xcloud works. If you could have Games Pass and then play those games anywhere could be a big boost for a lot of people. 

 

Sony has the games advantage for now, but I think just about everything else the Xbox platform is the place to be. I'm getting excited for next gen. 

[Dodger]

2 hours ago, TwinIon said:

I think you're partially right, but I think there's some good strategy here.

 

Netflix has been very clear that the more time customers spend on their platform, the more indispensable their subscription is. They want to keep you hooked in as long as possible. Hence autoplay, the focus on TV over film, etc. If Microsoft wants to maximize customer gameplay hours per MS dollar spent, I think relatively cheap RPGs are a good investment.

 

They still need some "hero" properties to bring people in, but I think they can get their money's worth out of these devs.

 

There's also the question as to how well MS can really compete against what Sony is doing. Sony's recent slate of AAA single player games has just been incredible, and maybe MS is unwilling or unable to fight it out on similar turf. Picking different genres might be a better bet (though given the sales figures for HZD, GoW, Spider-Man, that doesn't feel right).

If you're looking at MS's acquisitions and saying well that's nice and they'll make some nice little games but there isn't any HZD, GOW, Spiderman, UC4, Days Gone etc etc potential there, well if you would have looked at these studios even 5 years ago, sans ND you wouldn't have seen these games coming from Sony either. I'm not going to predict that they will have the same success as Sony's historic recent run, but don't surprised if some of these studios step up and create successful "AAA" games that you never saw coming. Because outside of ND that's what Sony has done. 

[TwinIon]

6 minutes ago, Dodger said:

If you're looking at MS's acquisitions and saying well that's nice and they'll make some nice little games but there isn't any HZD, GOW, Spiderman, UC4, Days Gone etc etc potential there, well if you would have looked at these studios even 5 years ago, sans ND you wouldn't have seen these games coming from Sony either. I'm not going to predict that they will have the same success as Sony's historic recent run, but don't surprised if some of these studios step up and create successful "AAA" games that you never saw coming. Because outside of ND that's what Sony has done. 

That's a good point. It's entirely possible that some of these studios would have loved to make a HZD, but just didn't have the funding or support needed. MS hasn't had that kind of success with their first/second parties in a long long time, but I'd love to see it happen. If nothing else the number of acquisitions here suggests that they're investing heavily in making quality content.

 

 

[crispy4000]

20 minutes ago, Dodger said:

If you're looking at MS's acquisitions and saying well that's nice and they'll make some nice little games but there isn't any HZD, GOW, Spiderman, UC4, Days Gone etc etc potential there, well if you would have looked at these studios even 5 years ago, sans ND you wouldn't have seen these games coming from Sony either. I'm not going to predict that they will have the same success as Sony's historic recent run, but don't surprised if some of these studios step up and create successful "AAA" games that you never saw coming. Because outside of ND that's what Sony has done. 

Good points.  But I think Guerilla, Santa Monica, and Insomniac (though not 1st party) were in a pretty good place at the end of last gen.  There was a proven track record there, just some stagnating properties that needed to be rebooted or dropped, which is what happened.

I'm excited to see what Microsoft's studios can do.  Many of them still have things to prove, or are similar spots as as those Sony studios were.  It's going to be a way better time if Microsoft doesn't struggle as much to manage their output as this gen.

[Brian]

When SE dumps Eidos, Microsoft should definitely swoop them up. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

Sony's western 1st party studios have consistently been providing great games for about 3 generations.  Anyone who suggests that  they were struggling 5-years ago just hasn't been paying attention.  The only studio that has "come out of nowhere" to some extent is Guerilla, which has upped their "game design" chops -- they were always a top developer in the technical aspects.

[crispy4000]

4 hours ago, mikechorney said:

Sony's western 1st party studios have consistently been providing great games for about 3 generations.  Anyone who suggests that  they were struggling 5-years ago just hasn't been paying attention.  The only studio that has "come out of nowhere" to some extent is Guerilla, which has upped their "game design" chops -- they were always a top developer in the technical aspects.

 

It's not that they weren't making good games.  It's that franchises like Resistance, Ratchet and Killzone weren't the headliners they once were.  Even Infamous Second Son had a pretty quiet public reception apart from the tech.  God of War was likewise overdue for reinvention. 

 

We probably wouldn't be talking about their devs the same way if they only stuck to their same guns this whole gen.  That's something Microsoft should be concerned about too.

[Duderino]

18 hours ago, Dodger said:

If you're looking at MS's acquisitions and saying well that's nice and they'll make some nice little games but there isn't any HZD, GOW, Spiderman, UC4, Days Gone etc etc potential there, well if you would have looked at these studios even 5 years ago, sans ND you wouldn't have seen these games coming from Sony either. I'm not going to predict that they will have the same success as Sony's historic recent run, but don't surprised if some of these studios step up and create successful "AAA" games that you never saw coming. Because outside of ND that's what Sony has done. 

 

The biggest challenge for Microsoft to expand their AAA portfolio will be having the patience to see it develop.  Playground needs time to build their character pipeline for the rumored Fable title.  The Initiative has to hire a new team, develop their process, and find their identity.    Undead Labs, InExile, Obsidian, etc require investment and time to make the visual, performance, and presentation leap into modern AAA territory.  Even Ninja Theory, while arguably in the best position of these new acquisitions, has historically relied on outside studios to fill in their manpower gaps.

 

Just like Sony’s internal studios, it will take years to see the same kind of leap forward.  

I agree with others that “AAA” is not the goal for many of their new partners.  Content is.

[ARZ]

On 11/10/2018 at 4:40 PM, skillzdadirecta said:

Guess I'm gonna finally get Game Pass.

 

100 more games to add to your backlog? :P

 

[skillzdadirecta]

5 minutes ago, ARZ said:

 

100 more games to add to your backlog? :P

 

 

Hey I cleared at least three games from my backlog this year good sir 

[ARZ]

I LOVE me some Alpha Protocol....but would prefer Obsidian work on the next Fable