Big Papa Husker
Member
Guess I will be skipping a new console for the first time in a long time.
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Phil Spencer: We're upping our investment with first party and committed to innovate
- Thread starter leeh
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Maintenance
Member
Yeah, it's been disappointing to see, which is why I'm not expecting much out of E3 this year.
nycgamer4ever
Member
So that would mean that the audience for that type of game is out there just waiting for something to buy. Why would you shun that portion of your fan base? The only reason I could think of is like you say they don't want to make that commitment due to the lack of confidence in your first party group and your fear of losing money. The only people who suffer are your customers.
Omnistalgic
Member
Nah, Im not supporting mediocrity. You said it yourself they were solid. Millions and millions of people don't go and buy the same game because it's "solid" it needs to be exceptional, and outside of Sunset Overdrive, not a lot of SP stuff from MS has been exceptional IMO. It's a tough nut to crack for sure, but it can be done.
Yeah it's been obvious to SalesGaf for a good few years now that Xbox is basically all in first party wise on Games as a Service and less single player stuff.
Can't say I blame 'em, the video game audience has been eating that up lately from 3rd party publishers especially.
If you prefer SP and only game on Xbox I wouldn't expect a lot of new investments in that realm (though this kind of Xbox fans seem to barely exist nowadays)
Can't say I blame 'em, the video game audience has been eating that up lately from 3rd party publishers especially.
If you prefer SP and only game on Xbox I wouldn't expect a lot of new investments in that realm (though this kind of Xbox fans seem to barely exist nowadays)
Possumowner
Member
I don't think I've ever been more interested to see what MS has to offer at E3 before,more curious than excited
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
Seems to be working well for Ubisoft.
Is that a bad thing? lol
StereoVsn
Member
What's even funnier they are talking about the new Zelda... which sold more copies then Switches sold. No, no impact at all beyond driving Switch sales to sell every single piece of hardware Nintendo managed to produce.
Uno Venova
Banned
Good for the people who want it, but what they're trying to offer is 100% not what I'm interested in. Seems like they're going the route to 100% maximize profits and minimize any risks.
Still, as long as Nintendo and Sony keep offering what they do I'm happy, they can't all get it right.
Still, as long as Nintendo and Sony keep offering what they do I'm happy, they can't all get it right.
Maintenance
Member
If he just mentioned Horizon: Zero Dawn it could be argued, but the moment he put Zelda there the argument went from "eh..maybe" to "this is absolutely laughable".
Well that pretty much cements Xbox's future with Phil deflating expectations to gamers that big budgeted open world single player games are not going to appear in a MS console anytime soon. I feel sorry for Xbox fans that want more first party offerings. Seems MS is going to just ride the Minecraft hype or pour more money into the XBL. Nintendo seems to have stolen their thunder on Scorpio abit and now rhey're downplaying Sony's first party studios, Yikes.
That's the thing tho, they look at the sales and think "Well shit, people don't want these single player games from us, better pelt them with more MP focused service games".
But I agree, if they upped their game and pumped out single player games that were comparable to Uncharted or Zelda, then more people would notice. Judging from his comments, that won't be the case.
Blackleg-sanji1
Banned
Aye if u like it go nuts lol
If they're upping their investment now we won't see anything in at least 3-5 years so this is borderline non news. They can up investment all they want if they end up cancelling stuff like scalebound or the phantom dust reboot or stormlands by obsidian. Come back when you have games that are releasing, Phil; not when you have investment announcements or fake CGI trailers.
How about actually reading the article? He clearly states that he think there should be room for both.
"As an industry, I want to make sure both narrative-driven single-player games and service-based games have the opportunity to succeed. I think thats critical for us."
Actually a decent interview with Phil Spencer if people took the time to read it before commenting.
"As an industry, I want to make sure both narrative-driven single-player games and service-based games have the opportunity to succeed. I think thats critical for us."
Actually a decent interview with Phil Spencer if people took the time to read it before commenting.
SaucyJack
Member
Always the same with Phil isn't it?
Great at telling people what they want to hear, less great at delivering on it. And people like him (me included) so he doesn't get called out on it.
His actions don't align with his words though. First party capability has only been scaled back on his watch. Studios have closed, games have been cancelled.
Commitment to micro transactions I can believe as it's consistent with actions e.g. Minecraft coins being introduced.
CassidyIzABeast
Member
Story-based games having poor monetization after the initial sale =/= not making story-based games
He literally says they're looking into doing the Hitman 2016/Telltale model for a story-based game through Game Pass.
Also
Releasing a story-based game through Game Pass =/= never doing a traditional release for a story-driven game
He literally says they're looking into doing the Hitman 2016/Telltale model for a story-based game through Game Pass.
Also
Releasing a story-based game through Game Pass =/= never doing a traditional release for a story-driven game
Primethius
Banned
The first party portfolio needs balance. Both single player and multiplayer games. That's what Nintendo does so well. They have Zelda, MK8, ARMS, Xenoblade, Splatoon 2, and Mario announced this year. It's a really great blend of things.
Microsoft used to have this balance in previous gens but seems to have lost interest in it.
Microsoft used to have this balance in previous gens but seems to have lost interest in it.
He said, "There are systems for those who want big budget SP games. They're called the PS4 and Nintendo Switch."
Wow, very troubling indeed.
Yeah, you can't just back mediocrity because then you possibly get more mediocrity unless they see the faults and have confidence to give it another go. Microsoft need to have the passion, creativity and patience to make something great and people will come, no doubt. The audience likes great games, make them. It's tough but people do it time and again.
Reminds me of the time whe an interview stacked the number of Playstation releases vs Xbox releases and if one is more than the other. He flat out said no. The man lives in his own bubble.
GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
To summarise: 'We'll be forcing co-op and multiplayer into every game we can, so expect lots of lovely DLC and micros-transactions.'
StereoVsn
Member
But its not just Uncharted or Zelda, it's also FFXV, P5, Nier, Nioh, Horizon, etc... One common thing among these games is high review score (excepting for FFXV, but that one is a bit of a different animal due to the FF brand). Now, look at MS efforts in that regard. They just haven't delivered any good games, not to mention great ones.
giancarlo123x
Banned
The king of talk has nothing on the true king.PHIL DA REAL MVP!
Lets see if Phil the chosen one can back that up at this year's E3.
But seriously give my Xbox something new please, it hasn't been touched since gears 4 and the next time I will is for my copy of Logan on 4k in a few weeks.
nycgamer4ever
Member
Wait what pretty sure I just press one button on my pc and I just start a game to play. You don't have to tinker with mods or anything else if you don't want to. Not saying people don't want dedicated gaming machines. I have all the consoles and handhelds. It's also kind of ironic because going by Phil's statements it seems they are moving away from the dedicated console platform and more and more like a pc.
Same old spiel he's spun in the past that amounted to nothing, but with added downplaying of the kinds of games MS are the only ones who can't find success with (eg. Zelda, Horizon).
Oops... no one better tell him how far Halo and Gears have fallen I guess
Trying to downplay successful games from competitors is never a smart move, especially when you're demonstrably wrong.
It's not a new console, so I wouldn't worry too much.
Oops... no one better tell him how far Halo and Gears have fallen I guess
Trying to downplay successful games from competitors is never a smart move, especially when you're demonstrably wrong.
It's not a new console, so I wouldn't worry too much.
nycgamer4ever
Member
I'm in the same boat. Can't wait for my copy to arrive.
Chobel
Member
Not mention BoTW probably already outsold the LTD of Skyward Sword, so much for "they dont have the same impact that they used to have"
Okami Haundo
Member
I personally agree with Phil on the topic of single-player games. While I really enjoy games like Zelda, Mario, Horizon, and The Last of Us they don't exactly keep me coming back to a given platform. A game like Zelda is something I might re-play every year or so, but in between I'm generally playing something like Halo or Overwatch on a regular basis.
Sony realized pretty early this gen that their in-house studios are best at narrative-driven games. It's why PS4 relies so heavily on marketing deals for third party service-based games. All in all they struck a really good balance.
Microsoft needs someone to develop single-player experiences that will help fill out their library. As it stands they're pitting their own service-based titles against third party offerings and people feel its all too similar. I don't believe that 343 or the Coalition will magically turn into Naughty Dog, but they could let new and existing teams splinter off into smaller projects.
Sony realized pretty early this gen that their in-house studios are best at narrative-driven games. It's why PS4 relies so heavily on marketing deals for third party service-based games. All in all they struck a really good balance.
Microsoft needs someone to develop single-player experiences that will help fill out their library. As it stands they're pitting their own service-based titles against third party offerings and people feel its all too similar. I don't believe that 343 or the Coalition will magically turn into Naughty Dog, but they could let new and existing teams splinter off into smaller projects.
No he didn't. He actually praises them and saying that outside those exclusive games developers are struggling.
I have to agree. As much as I enjoy the Xbox platform, the experiences on the PS4 and Switch can't be ignored. I'm interested to see what the investment in 1st-party yields. MS needs some NEW experiences to fire up the gaming community.
DriftingSpirit
Member
Well, there is also stuff like cosmetics and what not that aren't nearly as risky as DLC/expansions. I think that risk is there no matter what route you go. GaaS still brings risk too. As such, why not just go for it? We have examples of those SP type games working.
Agreed, and I understand it from a business perspective but from my perspective as a customer, it just dulls my excitement for the brand.
Let's actually see what e3 looks like before discounting anyone. If Microsoft has the next Rocket League up its sleeve, it could still be a really big deal for them.
LukasTaves
Member
McStickenstein
Member
Thing about this approach is that most large, persistently updated multiplayer games tend to be cross platform. So what is MS going to do to entice someone to buy into the Xbox, when they can get both "big budget SP games" and multiplayer games on PC or PS4?
MomoPufflet
Member
Get the fuck out with that single-player answer. Instantly deflated the interest I had in Scorpio.
StereoVsn
Member
Yeah, in between of Gravity Rush 2, Yakuza Zero, Nier, Nioh, Horizon, MEA (well, this one kind of sucks admittedly), P5 and other SP games this quarter (I don't have the Switch otherwise there is Zelda) plus plethora of SP PC games, there is so much time to play boring, same MP Destiny like grindfests.
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
It's not the "sit on the couch" experience with a PC. It's too much work.
Quick point. There isn't a Zelda with every Switch. People bought Zelda twice, and bought Zelda before they could get their hands on a console. Not to downplay the impact, its massive! But just want to fact-check the hyperbole.
Anyway, what's happening is gaming is diversifying! More people are playing. As many are playing big single player games as years ago, but others are playing mobile games, multiplayer games.
What Phil Spencer is saying is ridiculous, and its an extremely ill omen for the future of Xbox, He's completely mis-reading the market.
FairXchange
Member
Upping investment is important but have a established and functioning infrastructure is better.
nycgamer4ever
Member
Don't feel sorry. "There are systems for those who want big budget SP games. They're called the PS4 and Nintendo Switch."
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