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[Trup1aya]

All the games mentioned have single player parts that feel like an after thought compared to the online portion.

Which is why they seem to be doubling down more on online games, and game services. Is because their first party single player focused games haven't done well. Ori, Ryse are the only ones I can think of that sold really well.

They are making these changes because of the parent company's outlook for services, and because their first party efforts for single player campaign type games have fell pretty flat.

Feel like afterthoughts? So you've played these games then?

What changes have been made to their output?

They released Ryse (which had MTs in the MP)
They released Forza 5, H2, 6, H3 which had SP and MP with optional MTs and standard DLC
They released Dead Rising which was SP primarily, w/ co-op and standard DLC
They released Halo with SP, standard MP, and MT MP
They released Gears with SP, standard MP, and MT horde mode
They released Quantum Break with SP only
They released Ori with SP only
Edit: They released Halo Wars 2 with standard DLC and MTs

They will release Crackdown which HISTORICALLY has had SP, MP co-op, and VS MP
They will release State of Decay which is adding co-op to a previously SP only game.
They will release SoT, we have no info on monetization
They cancelled fable legends

The only game that is any different from what MS has BEEN doing is Sea of Theives. Everything else is inline with industry trends THAT EVERY OTHER PUBLISHER IS DOING- adding MP to SP games, making some online only games, and adding MTs.
Every conceivable business model is represented in their portfolio.

MS been doubling down on online games since 2002.

 

[Bits N Pieces]

All the games mentioned have single player parts that feel like an after thought compared to the online portion.

Which is why they seem to be doubling down more on online games, and game services. Is because their first party single player focused games haven't done well. Ori, Ryse are the only ones I can think of that sold really well.

They are making these changes because of the parent company's outlook for services, and because their first party efforts for single player campaign type games have fell pretty flat.

re the bolded, how do you know this exactly?

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

Feel like afterthoughts? So you've played these games then?

What changes have been made to their output?

They released Ryse (which had MTs in the MP)
They released Forza 5, H2, 6, H3 which had SP and MT
They released Dead Rising which was SP primarily, w/ co-op and standard DLC
They released Halo with SP, standard MP, and MT MP
They released Gears with SP, standard MP, and MT horde mode
They released Quantum Break with SP only
They released Ori with SP only

They will release Crackdown which HISTORICALLY has had SP, MP co-op, and VS MP
They will release State of Decay which is adding co-op to a previously SP only game.
They will release SoT, we have no info on monetization
They cancelled fable legends

The only game that is any different from what MS has BEEN doing is Sea of Theives. Everything else is inline with industry trends THAT EVERY OTHER PUBLISHER IS DOING- adding MP to SP games, making some online only games, and adding MTs

I never really realized it but you have a great point here. Basically MS is sticking to what they have been doing for most of Xbox One's life cycle now. With the exception that there likely won't be a QB anymore in that it's SP only. The new game from Moon Studios, yeah I doubt it will contain any GaaS stuff.

In other words, SP really isn't dead at all we just won't be seeing AAA SP only games anymore. Unless MS has a different kind of idea about GaaS for the future and every title will be F2P or MP only. It'll be fine!

 

[m23]

All the games mentioned have single player parts that feel like an after thought compared to the online portion.

Which is why they seem to be doubling down more on online games, and game services. Is because their first party single player focused games haven't done well. Ori, Ryse are the only ones I can think of that sold really well.

They are making these changes because of the parent company's outlook for services, and because their first party efforts for single player campaign type games have fell pretty flat.

How do you come to that conclusion lol. We've barely seen Crackdown or State of Decay but you think the single player is an afterthought?

 

[Prototype Viktor]

That last chart...a whole segment with "loyalty" written next to it...WTF does that even mean?

Less PowerPoint, more games please. And nail the Scorpio release and support.

Until then, you can keep your MAUs.

Microtransactions Whales

 

[Chris1]

All the games mentioned have single player parts that feel like an after thought compared to the online portion.

lol

We've seen virtually nothing of both Crackdown and State of Decay. How you came to that conclusion baffles me

 

[Pocky4Th3Win]

From what I get from reading this is they keep talking like Xbox is a brand and service rather than hardware. I can see them phasing out the Xbox hardware and tying it to PC's more, maybe have a Surface PC with Xbox Devices. With the Surface Laptops push with Windows 10 S being a closed ecosystem it would make sense to try to unifie the brand better.

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

lol

We've seen virtually nothing of both Crackdown and State of Decay. How you came to that conclusion baffles me

Yup, pretty crazy. How can you conclude that about State of Decay 2 when the game is probably still very much like the first one but this one also has co-op? It has a story mode and hopefully has interesting missions. And the same goes for Crackdown. I believe the MP has been finished for a while now and my guess is that all this time since then they've been working on the SP mode.

There's no way one can say it will be an afterthought. If my assumption is true about Crackdown it will be a quite worthwhile SP. Let's wait for E3 before jumping to any crazy conclusions.

 

[Papacheeks]

Feel like afterthoughts? So you've played these games then?

What changes have been made to their output?

They released Ryse (which had MTs in the MP)
They released Forza 5, H2, 6, H3 which had SP and MP with optional MTs and standard DLC
They released Dead Rising which was SP primarily, w/ co-op and standard DLC
They released Halo with SP, standard MP, and MT MP
They released Gears with SP, standard MP, and MT horde mode
They released Quantum Break with SP only
They released Ori with SP only
Edit: They released Halo Wars 2 with standard DLC and MTs

They will release Crackdown which HISTORICALLY has had SP, MP co-op, and VS MP
They will release State of Decay which is adding co-op to a previously SP only game.
They will release SoT, we have no info on monetization
They cancelled fable legends

The only game that is any different from what MS has BEEN doing is Sea of Theives. Everything else is inline with industry trends THAT EVERY OTHER PUBLISHER IS DOING- adding MP to SP games, making some online only games, and adding MTs.
Every conceivable business model is represented in their portfolio.

MS been doubling down on online games since 2002.

I own RYSE, I own Gears of war 4, I'v played halo 5, I played Halo wars 2(which was actually good, just too short and not enough pay off for characters's introduced) I played QB and was bored after couple hours.

Crackdown had always garnered more attention in it's infancy because of online. The campaign is pretty generic in crackdown.

lol

We've seen virtually nothing of both Crackdown and State of Decay. How you came to that conclusion baffles me

Sorry I should have said games that have been released currently.

 

[BleedOrange]

I want to enter the metaverse!

 

[Andronicus]

This ''Metaverse'' thing and their whole stance with Mixed Reality in this Win10 ecosystem is very very smart approach. MS has a good chance to create a thriving MR community that embraces gaming and non gaming activities.

thousand dollar hololense, i wouldn't say thriving within this console generation

 

[Wagram]

Did you miss the best line up in Xbox history?

We all did.

Looking forward to what they show this year though.

 

[jaybe00]

Demographics, high-value consumers, monthly active users... too many accounts and marketing types making the decisions at Microsoft. These guys have no heart, soul and creativity to innovate on content that drives the medium forward. I don't think they will ever have a hit developed organically in-house again.

 

[Trup1aya]

I own RYSE, I own Gears of war 4, I'v played halo 5, I played Halo wars 2(which was actually good, just too short and not enough pay off for characters's introduced) I played QB and was bored after couple hours.

Crackdown had always garnered more attention in it's infancy because of online. The campaign is pretty generic in crackdown.

Sorry I should have said games that have been released currently.

What does this post prove?

Your reception of these games doesn't change the fact that MS isn't designing games around GaaS any more than any other publisher.

I mean you are using Crackdown3 evidence that they are recently doubling down on online games, but Crackdown has been an online game with a 'generic' SP campain since 2007 when it was created. Keep in mind, we have seen NOTHING of Crackdown 3s SP.

You are using SoD as evidence due to the addition of Co-op, when MS has been big on online co-op since 2002.

Other than that MS has been adding MTs to everything, and creating shared worlds just like every other major publisher.

 

[blakep267]

thousand dollar hololense, i wouldn't say thriving within this console generation

Did you miss the thread announcing $399 vr headsets and controllers. This likely has nothing to with hololens

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

Crackdown SP is considered generic? Damn, at the time I had loads of fun with it and if they have made some changes and improvements for 3 it could turn out surprisingly fun again. My hope is that the developer has come up with some interesting new ideas.

 

[EdgeXL]

Maybe people will finally shut up about "do you think Microsoft will give up on the Xbox after Scorpio" questions.

Nadella clearly believes in it.

I do wish MS were better at FP exclusives, tho.

The people who think Microsoft is leaving the console market have been saying it will happen since at least 2011. They've been at it for years; why would they stop now?

If anything, the fact that Xbox is profitable and Nadella supports will cause them dpto double down on their belief that MS is leaving the console market.

 

[m23]

Crackdown SP is considered generic? Damn, at the time I had loads of fun with it and if they have made some changes and improvements for 3 it could turn out surprisingly fun again. My hope is that the developer has come up with some interesting new ideas.

Yeah I don't know how crackdown became generic. Completely different from other open world games at the time.

 

[enemy2k]

Pretty cool stats and breakdown. I know Xbox is supported and will continue to be for a very long time after this. I'm giving MS a chance at this E3, we need to see these first party investments for sure. Since Xbox is profitable as Nadella says, they need to take big risks and invest. Blow us away.

I am invested in the ecosystem and love how much work has been done on the backwards compatibility front. Looking forward to Scorpio.

 

[Papacheeks]

What does this post prove?

Your reception of these games doesn't change the fact that MS isn't designing games around GaaS any more than any other publisher.

I mean you are using Crackdown3 evidence that they are recently doubling down on online games, but Crackdown has been an online game with a generic SP campain since 2007 when it was created.

You are using SoD as evidence due to the addition of Co-op, when MS has been big on online co-op since 2002.

Other than that MS has been adding MTs to everything, and creating shared worlds just like every other major publisher.

Game pass is games as a service, Gears of war started out with couch/online co-op for campaign and had a decent community for it's online which was followed up with gears 2 and 3. But the campaigns were a good chunk of the game, and the total package felt a lot more well rounded.

The fact they doubled down with card packs in gears of war 4 and reg packs shows, and what ever forza has shows you where they want to head.

I don't understand how it's not clearer? Look at how their financials are all about xbox live subs, and activity.

It's all pointing towards service and online games. If crackdown has a campaign that is of gears of war or something along those lines of quality I'll eat crow.

But when E3 comes around and they use it to showcase scorpio it wouldn't surprise me if what they show is multiplayer.

Same goes for state of decay.

 

[Trup1aya]

Game pass is games as a service, Gears of war started out with couch/online co-op for campaign and had a decent community for it's online which was followed up with gears 2 and 3. But the campaigns were a good chunk of the game, and the total package felt a lot more well rounded.

The fact they doubled down with card packs in gears of war 4 and reg packs shows, and what ever forza has shows you where they want to head.

I don't understand how it's not clearer? Look at how their financials are all about xbox live subs, and activity.

It's all pointing towards service and online games. If crackdown has a campaign that is of gears of war or something along those lines of quality I'll eat crow.

But when E3 comes around and they use it to showcase scorpio it wouldn't surprise me if what they show is multiplayer.

Same goes for state of decay.

I mean game pass is a new service of theirs But it's not an example of designing games around being services themselves. That's what GaaS is.

All companies are adding MTs into their games, as has been mentioned time and time in this thread. Just because you don't like the SP components of MS' recent games doesn't mean they put less effort into them. I think Gears and Forza are great as SP games and always have been.

They are talking about services revenues in their financials because that's where their money is coming from. Every company does this.

From a operations standpoint, the only thing MS is doing differently is gamepass... which will likely no effect on their ability to create content.

 

[Hidden One]

Doesn't Sony have a bigger player base?

 

[Zedox]

From what I get from reading this is they keep talking like Xbox is a brand and service rather than hardware. I can see them phasing out the Xbox hardware and tying it to PC's more, maybe have a Surface PC with Xbox Devices. With the Surface Laptops push with Windows 10 S being a closed ecosystem it would make sense to try to unifie the brand better.

There will be a console, and there will be traditional PCs. We won't see that type of change for quite some time.

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

Yeah I don't know how crackdown became generic. Completely different from other open world games at the time.

Exactly. The character upgrading and the vehicles, it really was quite special. I wonder if the developer wanted to basically improve on that in all ways or actually bring some fresh new ideas to the table. Shit I want to see the game.

Game pass is games as a service, Gears of war started out with couch/online co-op for campaign and had a decent community for it's online which was followed up with gears 2 and 3. But the campaigns were a good chunk of the game, and the total package felt a lot more well rounded.

The fact they doubled down with card packs in gears of war 4 and reg packs shows, and what ever forza has shows you where they want to head.

I don't understand how it's not clearer? Look at how their financials are all about xbox live subs, and activity.

It's all pointing towards service and online games. If crackdown has a campaign that is of gears of war or something along those lines of quality I'll eat crow.

But when E3 comes around and they use it to showcase scorpio it wouldn't surprise me if what they show is multiplayer.

Same goes for state of decay.

Don't forget how long Crackdown has been in development for and how the MP portion had been finished for a while now. They must have been doing something when it comes to the SP in all this time don't you think? Id be really disappointed if they don't bring a worthwhile SP. Can't see that happening. Can't see the game having the most focus on online, that can't be enough.

There's indeed a big chance they will show MP at E3 because of the destruction they are bringing to MP thanks to cloud, but surely they will show SP too. I don't understand you about State of Decay 2 though. That's going to have a story mode but with the addition of co-op.

 

[Mandoric]

Wait, if the proportion of XBL users on non-console endpoints is increasing faster than the number of XBL users, doesn't this imply a dropoff in Gold subs?

 

[Zedox]

Wait, if the proportion of XBL users on non-console endpoints is increasing faster than the number of XBL users, doesn't this imply a dropoff in Gold subs?

No. Those other endpoints don't require gold for multiplayer, which is the main reason why Gold is used.

 

[Rembrandt]

Crackdown had always garnered more attention in it's infancy because of online. The campaign is pretty generic in crackdown.

Not the Halo 3 beta, not it essentially being a superhero game, etc? I remember praise around the campaign and its openness.

It came out before Saints Row introduced superpowers, prototype, incredible hulk, infamous, etc. How exactly was it generic?

 

[Papacheeks]

Not the Halo 3 beta, not it essentially being a superhero game, etc? I remember praise around the campaign and its openness.

It came out before Saints Row introduced superpowers, prototype, incredible hulk, infamous, etc. How exactly was it generic?

Generic in it's story. Didn't say the gameplay was bad, just that the setup of the open world was kind of whatever.

 

[m23]

Generic in it's story. Didn't say the gameplay was bad, just that the setup of the open world was kind of whatever.

So now you're saying it's story is generic? That's fine and all, I don't know anyone who cared about the story itself but the single player mode is anything but generic.

 

[JlNX]

Exactly. The character upgrading and the vehicles, it really was quite special. I wonder if the developer wanted to basically improve on that in all ways or actually bring some fresh new ideas to the table. Shit I want to see the game.

Here is a developer podcast they did that talks about some of the stuff they are doing with the game, it's only 16 minutes long and they talk more around the games design towards the middle: https://soundcloud.com/crackdowngame/developer-podcast-agility-in-crackdown-3

 

[Papacheeks]

So now you're saying it's story is generic? That's fine and all, I don't know anyone who cared about the story itself but the single player mode is anything but generic.

Main character seemed pretty whatever when I played it 10 years ago. I was too much at the time on a gears high, and enjoying mass effect.

But from what I hear it had a decent following and the sequel was kind of meh. I just don't look back at a game that get's as much praise to similar titles like Infamous, and later editions of saints row.

 

[Synth]

Generic in it's story.

This is getting a little bit ridiculous now.

 

[Waldo Lydecker]

Microsoft can talk what they want but their performance this generation is an enormous clusterfuck and they'll have to do more than talking to resurrect Xbox like Kaz did with their gigantic mess of a PS3 launch.

But that will be insanely difficult as I find it very difficult to sense any form of passion and dedication at Microsoft for gaming and Xbox, passion they had in the days of Allard and Moore.

 

[jaybe00]

But that will be insanely difficult as I find it very difficult to sense any form of passion and dedication at Microsoft for gaming and Xbox, passion they had in the days of Allard and Moore.

This. It's just a business for them. No desire to tell great stories or achieve greatness. Bungie got them in and kept them in the game, but then MS let them walk.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

Microsoft can talk what they want but their performance this generation is an enormous clusterfuck and they'll have to do more than talking to resurrect Xbox like Kaz did with their gigantic mess of a PS3 launch.

But that will be insanely difficult as I find it very difficult to sense any form of passion and dedication at Microsoft for gaming and Xbox, passion they had in the days of Allard and Moore.

This for me as well. All this talk about MAU and revenue is cool for MS but as a gamer it doesn't excite me. We need to know they are committed and passionate about delivering in the games department. I don't sense any of that from this briefing. I'll be watching them closely this E3.

 

[Welfare]

It was just recently in another thread where certain users were trying to push that Xbox was not profitable, but good to hear it is indeed turning a profit.

 

[EvB]

Xbox plan is not anything new as well. Their plan is easy, get people hooked into your ecosystem and profit off its usage. Use 1st party games to get people hooked into it

Indeed
And it's not even unique to Microsoft, despite what some may think.
$$$

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

This. It's just a business for them. No desire to tell great stories or achieve greatness. Bungie got them in and kept them in the game, but then MS let them walk.

Yeah... about that.... I could be wrong but at the end of the day they are a business and in it for the money. And the same goes for Sony and Nintendo. Just as much. Let's wait and see in what ways they are going to improve first party.

 

[Rembrandt]

Generic in it's story. Didn't say the gameplay was bad, just that the setup of the open world was kind of whatever.

People were excited for the twist at the end. Other than that, what story?

 

[Jeff Freecss]

Demographics, high-value consumers, monthly active users... too many accounts and marketing types making the decisions at Microsoft. These guys have no heart, soul and creativity to innovate on content that drives the medium forward. I don't think they will ever have a hit developed organically in-house again.

It's a financial briefing. What do you expect?

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

Here is a developer podcast they did that talks about some of the stuff they are doing with the game, it's only 16 minutes long and they talk more around the games design towards the middle: https://soundcloud.com/crackdowngame/developer-podcast-agility-in-crackdown-3

Hey man,

Thanks for this. This was great to listen to and sure gave me new information too. That game world is starting to sound damn good to me, sounds like they've really thought of the little details. Surprisingly they spoke very little about actual missions and what they will consist of but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

I bet that after their E3 showing they will be updating us much more regularly from there on because no way is a gameplay demonstration at the Xbox show going to be enough. When they explained what the new city looks like I was picturing it in my mind how amazing it's probably going to look and all that in 4K on Scorpio too. I do hope we get some of that destruction in the campaign as well.

How old is this podcast and is there more?

 

[Exploratory]

That last chart...a whole segment with "loyalty" written next to it...WTF does that even mean?

Less PowerPoint, more games please. And nail the Scorpio release and support.

Until then, you can keep your MAUs.

They should definitely have less powerpoint presentations when talking to INVESTORS. They should show up and just say WII WOULD LIKE TO PLAY.

 

[Papacheeks]

This is getting a little bit ridiculous now.

Here's what's ridiculous is that you and others talk super highly of a game that sold 1.5 million copies.

And the sequel didn't fair much better. So you and others keep bringing up crackdown like it was an amazing series when really crackdown was received well but crackdown 2 was kind of a train-wreck and very mediocre.

Unless Microsoft pulled the lead out and got some of the hottest top tier developers working on CRACKDOWN 3, outside of maybe a good multiplayer following. I don't see it making waves when there will be other games to play.

And that falls on it not being a super strong series to begin with.

 

[CalamityPixel]

Here's what's ridiculous is that you and others talk super highly of a game that sold 1.5 million copies.

And the sequel didn't fair much better. So you and others keep bringing up crackdown like it was an amazing series when really crackdown was received well but crackdown 2 was kind of a train-wreck and very mediocre.

Unless Microsoft pulled the lead out and got some of the hottest top tier developers working on CRACKDOWN 3, outside of maybe a good multiplayer following. I don't see it making waves when there will be other games to play.

And that falls on it not being a super strong series to begin with.

Microsoft got some of the hottest top tier developers working on Crackdown 3 and they are damn good, I can promise you that personally.

 

[JaggedSac]

Microsoft got some of the hottest top tier developers working on Crackdown 3 and they are damn good, I can promise you that personally.

Nice

 

[Papacheeks]

Microsoft got some of the hottest top tier developers working on Crackdown 3 and they are damn good, I can promise you that personally.

Alright then I await for E3.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Microsoft got some of the hottest top tier developers working on Crackdown 3 and they are damn good, I can promise you that personally.

Who are they?

 

[spannicus]

Gonna be real fun in here come Scorpio release. Real fun

 

[CalamityPixel]

Who are they?

Development is split between Sumo Digital, Cloudgine and Reagent games. I know nothing about reagent games, but the talent at Sumo and Cloudgine are bretty gud. The artists at Sumo make me moist.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Development is split between Sumo Digital, Cloudgine and Reagent games. I know nothing about reagent games, but the talent at Sumo and Cloudgine are bretty gud. The artists at Sumo make me moist.

Hope it's a good game. I was very disappointed in Crackdown 2.