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[DF] “Microsoft seems to be helping on destroying its own credibility” Richard Leadbetter on the latest DF Direct

Darsxx82

Member
There is no merit in expressing the general feeling that MS's latest actions have generated.
Anyone who moves in this industry, works in it or enjoys it as a user will have the same feeling.

MS's actions are incomprehensible and the effects on the XBOX brand and the trust of its users are devastating.

PS. Then, putting the finger on DF's honesty.... ahem... Usual suspects🤗
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Hilarious and sad if true. I love Xbox as a brand, but even I can see how badly the people behind said platform are fumbling the ball. A complete change in leadership is desperately needed, no ifs and or buts about it.


I would take a look in the mirror on that one, friend.
No need I'm looking at 🤡s saying crazy things like you.
We aren't friends.
 
Wtf lol. He's a pc gaymer through and through. PC bros disliked MS before it was cool
Well aware of him being a PC guy, but he has been defending Xbox non-stop and giving excuses for them on these directs like his life depended on it, and from looking at some of his posts on Resetera the last few weeks, he seems to be aware of how stupid he was for defending them.
 
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feynoob

Member
It would be the most gamer thing to do to praise them for their upcoming event, if they show couple of good games.
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Well aware of him being a PC guy, but he has been defending Xbox non-stop and giving excuses for them on these directs like his life depended on it. And from looking at some of his posts on Resetera the last few weeks, he seems to be aware of how stupid he was for defending them.
He plays a blind eye to this.
 
Wow.....John really laid into Matt Booty. Basically called him clueless and pointed out how he couldn't even get the names of the studios right. Said that was "pathetic". He's not wrong.
I think it's in reaction to that Double Fine video going around too.
 

Nydius

Member
Toward the end of the segment when Richard asks what the way forward is and he mentions they have a slate of games coming… what slate? There’s Hellblade, Avowed, and Indiana Jones. Almost everything else coming from studios they own this year will be multiplatform.

They admitted Hellblade is a niche AA title earlier in the discussion. Avowed and Indiana Jones looked extremely rough the last time we saw either of them. Let’s be honest with ourselves: Indiana Jones is a dying franchise with two movie flops in two different decades. Who does this property appeal to? Certainly not the coveted, younger, “disposable income gamer” demographic; Indiana Jones are their “parents’ movies”. Unless the game launches as a technical masterpiece, it’s going to have a hard time gaining traction outside of Game Pass engagement. Even if it’s a masterpiece, it has a high bar to clear with the video game spawn-offs Indiana Jones led to (Tomb Raider, Uncharted).
 
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For those who been paying attention that's around when it started.
Bizarre is the blindness some choose to have on this.
It started way before that, remember when they platformed that MS con artist Albert Penello to spread FUD during the Xbone launch. Also, the Xbone games launched with messed up gamma curves and black crush, which they claimed as secret sauce resulting in more perceived detail on Xbone inspite of lower resolution. In their defence, they eventually identified the gamma issue and rectified those talking points, but their fanboy goggles blinded them to this issue during the launch.
 

Topher

Gold Member


Matthew Broderick GIF
 
Toward the end of the segment when Richard asks what the way forward is and he mentions they have a slate of games coming… what slate? There’s Hellblade, Avowed, and Indiana Jones. Almost everything else coming from studios they own this year will be multiplatform.

They admitted Hellblade is a niche AA title earlier in the discussion. Avowed and Indiana Jones looked extremely rough the last time we saw either of them. Let’s be honest with ourselves: Indiana Jones is a dying franchise with two movie flops in two different decades. Who does this property appeal to? Certainly not the coveted, younger, “disposable income gamer” demographic; Indiana Jones are their “parents’ movies”. Unless the game launches as a technical masterpiece, it’s going to have a hard time gaining traction outside of Game Pass engagement. Even if it’s a masterpiece, it has a high bar to clear with the video game spawn-offs Indiana Jones led to (Tomb Raider, Uncharted).
They might release a new Doom game with a short marketing/hype cycle. Though that might just be wishful thinking on my part. It might help turn around the perception and rally the XSX/S sales.
 

Fredrik

Member
Good talks. Brutal. And they question it this is a bigger failure than Xbox One online DRM, and I think it is. As they say there is just no positivity at all among core fans now, no counter arguments, no defense speechs, not even among those on X assumed being shills. It’s just anger, shock, frustration, sadness and disappointment.
How can MS and especially the Xbox division crawl out of that hole??
 

Radical_3d

Member
Good talks. Brutal. And they question it this is a bigger failure than Xbox One online DRM, and I think it is. As they say there is just no positivity at all among core fans now, no counter arguments, no defense speechs, not even among those on X assumed being shills. It’s just anger, shock, frustration, sadness and disappointment.
How can MS and especially the Xbox division crawl out of that hole??
With a ton of good games. They must. We need them. I’ve bought my last MS console for sure (Halo 3 60fps 4K HDR? There is no topping that), but I don’t want to be raped by a Sony without competence.
 
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diffusionx

Gold Member
MS shutting down Tango has pissed people off in a way I haven't seen in a long time. The condemnation has been universal.

If their 2024 games disappoint the way their 2023 did, it's going to be brutal. Total put up or shut up time, even for the shills.
 
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MS shutting down Tango has pissed people off in a way I haven't seen in a long time. The condemnation has been universal.

If their 2024 games disappoint the way their 2023 did, it's going to be brutal. Total put up or shut up time, even for the shills.

The shills are preparing for Hellblade 2 reviews and the June Showcase. Any positivity elevated to more than it is. Just you wait .
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
The shills are preparing for Hellblade 2 reviews and the June Showcase. Any positivity elevated to more than it is. Just you wait .
I think Hellblade 2 will be perfectly fine for what it is, which is an 8 hour walking sim/crazy woman simulator. It will also look amazing graphically. But most people will be finished with it by Memorial Day and it's not going to move the needle. The shills can shout it from the rooftop but nobody will care.

If Avowed and Indy stink, then it is going to be really bad.
 

Daneel Elijah

Gold Member
Good talks. Brutal. And they question it this is a bigger failure than Xbox One online DRM, and I think it is. As they say there is just no positivity at all among core fans now, no counter arguments, no defense speechs, not even among those on X assumed being shills. It’s just anger, shock, frustration, sadness and disappointment.
How can MS and especially the Xbox division crawl out of that hole??
The question is are they at the bottom yet? For me the PS5 Pro and the Switch 2 will put them in a really weird position. How to stay competitive with no new hardware, having their bigger games being multiplatform by default, Gamepass promises to fulfill AND paying back MS for the 70 billions they just invested in the brand? Xbox marketing need a masterclass and they are far from it at the moment. Of course if Sony and Nintendo find a way to fuck themselves it may help them but it would need to be huge.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
Wtf lol. He's a pc gaymer through and through. PC bros disliked MS before it was cool
Wasn't he part of the secret Xbox discord that came up with the "12Tflops vs 9Tflops" FUD campaign?

Even Phil Spencer confirmed he discussed it with DF (most likely Alex) in that leaked internal email he sent to Nadella from the FTC case irt the ABK acquisition.
 
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Good talks. Brutal. And they question it this is a bigger failure than Xbox One online DRM, and I think it is. As they say there is just no positivity at all among core fans now, no counter arguments, no defense speechs, not even among those on X assumed being shills. It’s just anger, shock, frustration, sadness and disappointment.
How can MS and especially the Xbox division crawl out of that hole??
by deciding whether or not xbox &/or game pass've have run their course, what, if any, adjustments need be made, committing to those decisions, & acting accordingly?...

ms appears to be sorta frozen in a holding pattern right now. there're some major decisions that need to be made, but there's simply an inability on the part of whoever they are who will eventually make them to do so? hence, the current constant, endless lack of clarity & self-contradiction...

ps: people who said that starfield would decide the future of game pass? they weren't wrong...
 
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What's the issue here?
The lady asks if they make some game on their own in the studio, if it's ok.
Bitch of course it's not ok. You are an employee working to create a game you are told to.
What's the problem ?
As I wrote earlier, I don't think the policy is an issue. That's how this stuff goes. It's more in the delivery from Matt Booty, seeming like the corporate overlord.

"So, if you really wanna go and run a startup. Quit, and run a startup."

It's so blunt and poorly delivered if you're trying to reassure employees that Double Fine can stay Double Fine. It's also something that should have been discussed early in acquisitions talk considering Double Fine's history (Amnesia Fortnight).
 
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Topher

Gold Member
As I wrote earlier, I don't think the policy is an issue. That's how this stuff goes. It's more in the delivery from Matt Booty, seeming like the corporate overlord.

"So, if you really wanna go and run a startup. Quit, and run a startup."

It's so blunt and poorly delivered if you're trying to reassure employees that Double Fine can stay Double Fine. It's all something that should have been discussed early in acquisitions considering Double Fine's history (Amnesia Fortnight).

Sounds like Tim Schafer assumed it wasn't going to be an issue. He was arguing on the employee's behalf, but it is too late now. MS already owns your ass. Booty knows this so he can be a dick about it.
 
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Sounds Tim Schafer assumed it wasn't going to be an issue. He was arguing on the employee's behalf, but it is too late now. MS already owns your ass. Booty knows this so he can be a dick about it.
I don't think he was trying to be a dick about it. His delivery was definitely that of someone who is socially challenged, though. He seemed cool when I met him at Fanfest in 2019, though he must have been on drink 6 or 7 by that time. He was also very excited to find out my name was the same as his middle name.
 

clarky

Banned
This is the end as a slow motion car crash, except we are all routing for the occupants to horribly crash and burn.

How long before a major franchise cuts Xbox support?

Never seen anything quite like this in my 45 years of gaming.
 

ChiefDada

Gold Member
No, they are talking about stuff they do "on their own time and on their own computers". That's a quote from the video.

And Booty had a reasonable response, which was it would only be an issue if what they were working on comes in direct competition with what they do at Xbox, i.e. making games. They don't care if you're moonlighting as a go-go dancer, culinary chef, etc. But as an employer if you're making games outside of work as a full time employee, I will be concerned that you are not offering your best ideas and saving them for yourself, leveraging the knowledge from my other employees and proprietary tech i invested money and other resources to build so you can jumpstart your game development, etc. all while collecting a check from me. Of course working on one's own project or startup as a ft employee building a competitive product happens all the time. But being stupid comfortable enough to share and discuss what you're up to with your employer is mental.

As I wrote earlier, I don't think the policy is an issue. That's how this stuff goes. It's more in the delivery from Matt Booty, seeming like the corporate overlord.

"So, if you really wanna go and run a startup. Quit, and run a startup."

It's so blunt and poorly delivered if you're trying to reassure employees that Double Fine can stay Double Fine. It's all something that should have been discussed early in acquisitions considering Double Fine's history (Amnesia Fortnight).

The young lady's question was ridiculous and she should be embarrassed as a professional. I really hope she isn't older than 21 because there really is no legitimate excuse otherwise.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
I remember screenshots floating around of him being part of said Discord.

We do have the leaked email from Spencer, so that pretty much confirms it.
Spencer literally stated they discussed Road to PS5 and Cerny with DF and how they still had the 12Tflop adventage.
DF ran with the narrative as well.

They've always been biased towards Xbox.
 
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