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"How I'd fix Xbox's first party problem-" ign

OnPoint

Member
Some sort of a summary would be nice...

Edit: Also, rebooting Fable at Rare would take many years. Wouldn't be a quick fix, that's for sure

Edit 2: Nice thanks
 

Ōkami

Member
Reboot Fable at Rare
Make a First-Person Shadowrun RPG
Bring Back Crimson Skies
Alan Wake 2 – Just Make it Happen
Hire Tomonobu Itagaki to Make a Ninja Gaiden Spiritual Successor
Get Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory 2 in Production ASAP
Bring Back Xbox Live Arcade

That's what the piece has.
 

massoluk

Banned
The article is just saying throw money at this guy for this game, which have been always their modus operandi this gen.

Doesn't really fix the root of the first party problem imo
 
Some sort of a summary would be nice...
Give Fable to Rare (lol)
Make a Shadow Run Deus Ex (good luck getting them to fund that)
Bring back Crimson Skies (that will sell dozens!)
Alan Wake 2 (I guess)
Make a Ninja Gaiden sequel (they canceled Scalebound, so have fun with that)
 

kubev

Member
Xbox needs to differentiate itself more, in my opinion. I know it's a controversial opinion to have, but I honestly believe that Xbox One had a more unique and interesting identity during its initial unveil. Had the company made the online-only thing optional and truly leveraged "the cloud" to make the online experience so much better than what people would experience offline without intentionally crippling the offline experience, then I think the rest would've fallen into place. The problem now is that PlayStation is leading, and PlayStation simply offers far more software. The first-party exclusives aren't enough, nor are they the only problem that Xbox has, because even third-party software on PlayStation significantly outnumbers whatever's on Xbox.
 
  1. Reboot Fable at Rare
  2. Make a Shadow Run FPS RPG
  3. Bring Back Crimson Skies
  4. Alan Wake 2
  5. Hire Tomonobu Itagaki to Make a Ninja Gaiden Spiritual Successor
  6. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory 2 (?)
  7. Bring back XBLA

Don't think this fixes the first party issue at MS. In most cases it's just greenlighting a couple games that likely won't do too well.
They need to create new IPs and have people overlooking production to avoid these issues of games not meeting deadlines or getting cancelled
Also don't think Fable is a good use of RARE's talents? Don't know if the IP is strong enough if MS was ok gutting an entire studio dedicated to it.
 

Darklor01

Might need to stop sniffing glue
Fable needed to continue. People loved Crimson Skies. Another Ninja Gaiden might be nice. How about some new Games with comic book tie-in. Another crack at Quantum Break maybe. Work with some PC developers bouncing around steam to bring some content to XBOX. Games don't need to to be XBOX exclusive as long as they're not on PS.
 

Camjo-Z

Member
Of the many franchises Rare should resurrect, Fable is not one of them. Banjo or bust.

No arguments on a Chaos Theory sequel though.
 
So no new games then? Reboots and Sequels. Sure why not. People like things they already know I guess. I like things I know too but I would like new exciting never before seen oh my god I must buy an Xbox to play it type game. I have an xbox but the point stands.
 
A full fledged Fable Reboot with legit AAA productions would do very very well imo.

I also just frankly don't think they have the internal manpower to make that happen at this point.
 

Trago

Member
Personally, I'd love for more collaborations with Japanese developers.

Xbox is straight up missing out on a lot of Japanese console games. So Microsoft should try to make up for that and get people like Itagaki, Sakaguchi, etc.

Obviously Japanese games alone wont save anything, but it would help the platform's appeal.
 

Jetboxx

Member
So no new games then? Reboots and Sequels. Sure why not. People like things they already know I guess. I like things I know too but I would like new exciting never before seen oh my god I must buy an Xbox to play it type game. I have an xbox but the point stands.
Well, a game by Itagaki may be brand-new. Yeah, I like this idea.
 

EmiPrime

Member
Already discussed here.

I think Ryan should stick to what he is good at: interviews. This opinion piece is forum post tier, especially the Splinter Cell fan fiction (what a proposed timed exclusive has to do with fixing first party I don't know either).
 

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
http://m.ign.com/articles/2017/08/17/opinion-how-id-fix-xboxs-first-party-problem

Suggests the following

-Reboot Fable at Rare
-Make a first person Shadowrun RPG
-Bring back Crimson Skies
-Alan Wake 2
-Itagaki for Ninja Gaiden spiritual successor, also recommends ties with Sega for Shinobi Reboot
-Splinter Cell Chaos Theory 2
-Xbox Live Arcade returns



Do you agree with this? What would you do differently?

A bunch of bad ideas or ideas that failed already. Please do not listen to this man.
 
A number of decent ideas, but these things take time.

In the short to medium term, I don't think MS can do much of anything regarding first party. They just have to hope the X takes off and timed exclusives like PUBG are successful with the mainstream console audience.
 

Surface of Me

I'm not an NPC. And neither are we.
Itagaki making a NG spiritual successor and having a first party ARPG(Fable or otherwise) should be priorities 1&2. Hopefully Playground's new studio will be doing the latter.
 

Bsigg12

Member
His list kinda sucks. If you're building a stable of first party, you need devs that can be building on multiple IPs at a time with 1 getting the majority focus while others are in early production and allow those studios to branch outside established IPs.

A quicker, and I believe easier, fix would be to allow The Coalition and 343 to have teams working on new games in between major Gears and Halo releases. Give the studios some creative freedom to really push some new ideas and technology and then come back in the next game with what you learned.
 
I could agree with most of that. I think the idea of XBLA is a bit outdated though. That said, bringing back an indie spotlight equivalent to Summer of Arcade would be a great idea. Crimson Skies sequel would be cool, but sales wise that would be a shot in the dark.
 

Zukkoyaki

Member
Fun article to read and some of the ideas like Itagaki are pretty stellar.

But it reads like an E3 of dreams wishlist more than practical solutions. Their first party issues are systemic and are largely due to having a small number of studios that mostly work on the same things over and over. Making adjustments to that core is where they should start.
 

DxD

Banned
WRPG+open world RPG is so hot right now.

A Fable reboot with TW3/Horizon graphic will sell like hot cake.
 

Jawmuncher

Member
Not a bad list. But he forgot one thing


BRUTE FORCE AND AZURIK! YOU DON'T THINK OF XBOX WITHOUT THINKING OF THESE CLASSICS!

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brute_force_coverartttslb.png

guardians-brute-forcedmsdd.jpg

But in all seriousness MS should be going back to the vault a bit. They do need to start going for that sort of nostalgia bomb on numerous things. Do something with Conker. Even if it's just a rerelease of Live and Reloaded to gauge things. The Itagaki and Ninja Gaiden Successor is a sound idea. Don't gotta fuck with Koei Tecmo and you get an IP you can control in the future. Fable Especially needs to come back as a rebooted RPG. Fable Legends actually had a lot going for it. From the bit I played they almost could have re-purposed it into a SP game. At least in the reusing of assets department.

Xbox Live Arcade even with the ideas here doesn't really need to come back. Too many games this gen and they already treat their stuff special after all.
Then the Chaos Theory 2 is pretty uneeded. Paying MS for a SC doesn't seem like a good idea. Especially when Blacklist didn't do well and that was multi=plat.
Alan Wake 2 kinda falls into a predicament as well. Since MS pushing for that before Quantum Break 2 would be an oddity. Since they still have their hands in that IP while they don't for AW.
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
Great list but forgot

Sign up insomniac for sunset overdrive 2
 

Head.spawn

Junior Member
I mean... I definitely want all of those things except Fable. They fucked up already, just let that be... they could've released Fable Legends and it would've been decent enough; hell, they could've reworked it into an Action/RPG/Dungeon Crawler and it could've been amazing. The damage is done though, the studio is rip, the talent that wanted to create a standard Fable game is long gone now.

Great list but forgot

Sign up insomniac for sunset overdrive 2

+1
 

ethomaz

Banned
Fun article to read and some of the ideas like Itagaki are pretty stellar.

But it reads like an E3 of dreams wishlist more than practical solutions. Their first party issues are systemic and are largely due to having a small number of studios that mostly work on the same things over and over. Making adjustments to that core is where they should start.
No matter you look at MS easy path is to work with some 3rd to delivery 1st party games because creating an 1st party studio is not a easy and fast task.

The big problem is that these 3rd party deals didn't delivery the sales susscess they deserved: SO, QB, etc.

But I think they need to focus more in these deals.
 
WRPG+open world RPG is so hot right now.

A Fable reboot with TW3/Horizon graphic will sell like hot cake.

It really would. RPG's are doing fantastic this gen. Just like I mentioned, I don't think MS have the teams / employees available to actually make that happen. It would take a pretty large team to make a full scale open world AAA Fable, and they just don't have anyone left available for it.

It's a shame though as I think it would be one of the easiest sells MS could do for the platform currently
 
Wish list and quick wins never fixes problems. If anything, it compounds them.

Also, to do all these things also mean that something would likely to be impacted budget-wise.
 

JusDoIt

Member
The first six points are very wish-listy. They're fine recommendations, I suppose.

Focusing energy on XBLA is very important, though. There are a lot of games that are on Steam, PSN, and Switch which could easily be on Xbox One, but they just aren't, and the Xbox One catalog is unnecessarily weaker because of it.

It's so puzzling because XBLA pioneered the modern online marketplace for consoles. It was the best thing about the 360 for me, to the point where I felt summer was a more exciting time for game releases than fall most years.

Microsoft largely gave up on that front.
 
- I agree on getting Itagaki to make a game for them.
- Fable could do with a complete reboot, but I'm not sure about giving it to Rare. It does need to be a British developer though.
- I agree on Alan Wake 2, although bearing in mind it's Remedy's IP.

Aside from that I would:

- Reboot Perfect Dark. Maybe give it to Human Head.
- Get 343 to develop a new IP. Maybe set up two teams within the studio but give it a long break before the next mainline Halo.
- Get someone to develop a Mass Effect-esque Halo RPG. Not Master Chief related; a self contained story set in a single solar system in an outer rim about a disgraced Spartan working with an Elite agent to uncover some conspiracy or something. Maybe give it to Obsidian?
- Develop their own stealth action game. Maybe The Coalition, after Gears 5 is released?
- They could probably earn a shit load of goodwill by making a proper new Banjo Kazooie game. Not sure who I'd give it to though.
- Some new IPs and old franchise reboots. How about a new Starlancer or Age of Empires.
 

Toki767

Member
I'm not sure any of those would actually fix MS first party.

They'd probably have to do some more outside the box thinking to create first party titles that would attract a lot of people.

Maybe something like approach Marvel to license a game that they'd create like what Sony did with Spider-Man.

Assuming Mistwalker would be willing to make another console game, they should also just try to see if they'd be up for doing another JRPG.

I think the thing is, if MS actually wants to "fix" their first party, they have to be willing to risk taking a loss with some games here and there. And it doesn't seem like they really want to do that these days with their GaaS approach.
 

Unity2012

Member
I would just bring some new PC titles--and some classics; that are already out and have a positive reception from gamers and bring them to the console. It will, at least, take less time to adapt since most titles these days work with gamepads.

I spent a lot of time working on my desk; sometimes I wish I could just play some of my favorite pc games on my Xbox away from the PC environment.
 
The first thing i would do to fix their first party problem have a fucking plan which games you gonna put in the pipeline and stick with them instead of throwing money left and right to get some console launch exclusives and pulling support , cancel your own first party games that are not the usual suspects like the Halos.

Great ideas and lineups dont matter if you cant pull through what is MS biggest problem lately.

Too many cooks in the kitchen.
 

VeeP

Member
http://m.ign.com/articles/2017/08/17/opinion-how-id-fix-xboxs-first-party-problem

Suggests the following

-Reboot Fable at Rare
-Make a first person Shadowrun RPG
-Bring back Crimson Skies
-Alan Wake 2
-Itagaki for Ninja Gaiden spiritual successor, also recommends ties with Sega for Shinobi Reboot
-Splinter Cell Chaos Theory 2
-Xbox Live Arcade returns



Do you agree with this? What would you do differently?


What I would do:

Fable - It needs a reboot, and it could sell really well. Look at what people loved about the originals, which I'm guessing was the humor, charm, mystery, etc. Look at Breath of the Wild & Witcher 3 for inspiration. Both of those do open world in a different way, but both are fun. Look at what works best for Fable, don't copy, be inspired. As for the studio, I'd say make a new one.

Rare - New Banjo. A proper Banjo. Sea of Thieves looks fun as well.

Crimson Skies - Bring it back as a "arcade" style game. $20 or so. Test the waters with a remaster if you want. Make sure to include XBL and possible co-op.

Itagaki - bring him on board and ask him to make a new game. Leave Shinobi out of it. Tell him bring a spiritual successor to Ninja Gaiden. No multiplayer, no bullshit. Just a spectacular action game.

Next:

Age of Empires for PC/Xbox One

Hire Obsidian for a Shadowrun RPG - give them free reign to a certain extent and focus purely on a great rpg experience

I personally would love to see a remaster of the Shadowrun FPS for $30, with crossplay, with new maps. But that's just me. Release this on X1, W10, and Steam. I think the competitive focus and balance is something that people would really love.

Give Forza one year off, and in that year release a new, arcade, midnight club/NFS underground title. Maybe reuse the Project Gotham heading, but the series would be more arcadey.

Conker 2

Work with Capcom on a new IP

Work with Insomniac for SO2

If sales for Gears 4 wasn't good have Blacktusk work on something they're passionate about, like that canceled IP.

Perfect Dark 2 - Honestly, I'd say hire Respawn studios but they seem pretty busy. But if you have a good studio, good marketing, etc. etc. this thing would sell IMO.
 
Put in effort to improve and expand the Xbox brand worldwide. You need long term, large scale efforts like that to fix a situation like this. A few wishlist games isn't going to cut it, unfortunately.
 
rebooted fable might genuinely make me consider getting xbox again if it's exclusive to xbox with no PC. But with their new motto of xbox and PC, no need to.
 
I think both 343 and the Coalition have just way too much talent to be sitting there on Gears and Halo. I get it those are important franchises, and I want to see them continue. But I do agree I think they should beef up both studios just a bit more and let them both work on New IP's. Have a smaller 2nd team prototyping / building in between the major Gears and Halo releases.

Its just not going to happen though. I really question how much commitment MS has in spending money on internal studios moving forward.
 
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