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[Brucey]

Everyone seems to be dunking on MS with these moves but they'll undoubtedly be a stronger and more lucrative business going forward if this is the plan. The dunking should probably instead be focused on the die hard Xbox console warriors who are more interested in gatekeeping games away from other players. The same will happen to Sony die hard warriors years from now when Sony inevitably starts releasing their games day 1 on PC. They're going to start chasing that software money as well, as they already have by testing the water with older titles.

Exclusivity as we know it today will likely be a thing of the past within the next decade or so as it starts making less and less sense economically.

Not sure if you saw the leaked numbers of PS PC sales from Insomniac but those numbers certainly don't support the idea that Playstation is going to do PC day and date. Especially when they are looking at a very solid generation of prob 120 million+ units and only three years in. PS has seen Xbox console sales implode in this generation with no need to have an Xbox series console to play xbox games and I doubt they want to follow them down that path.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

I find it hilarious that people are preaching Microsoft's exit from hardware business.

I mean. I'm sure Good Guy Sony® will make sure that their next console will be priced "competitively" (when there is no competition left) and I'm sure they won't have any reason to raise prices of PlayStation Plus again and prices of their first party games.

Jesus. People are just delusional.

But whatever. It would be funny when people will wait for Xbox first-party games on other platform in same way they are waiting for Microsoft's exit from console hardware business. "Any time now" since 2014
"The year is 2032 and I'm sure this will be year when Indiana Jones will finally come to PS5"

TBH, I always rooted for Microsoft to stay in business. Being for the competition sake and to bring their own spin to the console market, but now, seeing them swallowing the industry, I wouldn't mind them becoming third party, I refuse to buy their box just to play COD. I'm not subscribing to the Game Pass PC until they strike some deal with steam to bring their service to the platform. I don't want to deal with their storefront.

 

[PropellerEar]

I've had the best year last year playing Nintendo Switch and PC / Gamepass and then one good game in Spider Man 2 on my PS5...how can any of this stuff bother any of you/us? It's nothing in the grand scheme of things.

I've had the best decade playing Playstation, Nintendo and PC, but 0 good games on XBox...how can any of this stuff bother you?

Xbox is dead, MSFT will be a "good publisher" for the rest of the platforms.

It's nothing in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Badlucktroll]

Wonder how well this will age:

“Xbox exclusives on ps5!?”

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Wonder how well this will age:

“Xbox exclusives on ps5!?”

Probably about as well as some of the posts in: https://www.neogaf.com/threads/anyb...t-ps3-being-announced-this-week.404210/page-9

 

[BouncyFrag]

Sometimes here I feel like a 38 year old man creeping on 8 years olds on the playground arguing the superiority of the SNES vs. Genesis.

 

[R3claimer117]

This sounds more like a case of folks denying reality. They may not be dropping hardware, but if you really believe there’s no fire where that smoke is coming from, you aren’t paying attention.

Hint: silence can be deafening.

There’s no smoke people just port begging from standard statements Microsoft makes it’s not smoke. They do publish games on Nintendo and Sony platforms currently that’s not a new thing. Doesn’t mean they’re becoming a third party publisher or dropping consoles. This is just wishful console warrior non sense. When they have their direct and from the court documents we know they’re restructuring deals to make things exclusive not the opposite. If none of the games shown today are announced for anything else but the Xbox eco system then what’s the narrative then?

 

[HeWhoWalks]

There’s no smoke people just port begging from standard statements Microsoft makes it’s not smoke. They do publish games on Nintendo and Sony platforms currently that’s not a new thing. Doesn’t mean they’re becoming a third party publisher or dropping consoles. This is just wishful console warrior non sense. When they have their direct and from the court documents we know they’re restructuring deals to make things exclusive not the opposite. If none of the games shown today are announced for anything else but the Xbox eco system then what’s the narrative then?

Really?

What games are people begging for? Who's doing the begging? No, it isn't just "wishful console warrior nonsense", but if that's what you want to tell yourself, you have the floor.

 

[Ar¢tos]

Can you please point where Satya said "some games?"

Here is the full quote for your convenience: "We're very, very excited about everything that's going on in gaming, especially with the close of ABK. We think that now, we have the ability to really do what we've always set out to do, which is to build great games and deliver them to folks on all platforms, right, which is Xbox and consoles, the PCs, and now even including mobile gaming and cloud gaming."

I think the limitation is dev kits.
Bethesda and ATK have ps5 dev kits, but we know Sony won't even give Mojang ps5 dev kits for Minecraft, I don't think they will agree to give dev kits to MS 1st party studios so soon.

 

[adamsapple]

Can you please point where Satya said "some games?"

Here is the full quote for your convenience: "We're very, very excited about everything that's going on in gaming, especially with the close of ABK. We think that now, we have the ability to really do what we've always set out to do, which is to build great games and deliver them to folks on all platforms, right, which is Xbox and consoles, the PCs, and now even including mobile gaming and cloud gaming."

He said this in the same sentence as talking about the Activision Blizzard deal closing, whose game(s) are already coming to PS5.

For a gold journalist, you've omitted quite a big thing here

 

[bitbydeath]

Exactly, I prefer my Xbox over my PlayStation but I don’t give a fuck, put all the Xbox games everywhere!

The main issue will be what they do with the games you purchased once they go full streaming, will they let you still get them or will they point everyone towards GamePass and say this is your library now.

 

[Heisenberg007]

I think the limitation is dev kits.
Bethesda and ATK have ps5 dev kits, but we know Sony won't even give Mojang ps5 dev kits for Minecraft, I don't think they will agree to give dev kits to MS 1st party studios so soon.

Before all these rumors surfaced -- starting from Nate -- the original rumor was that someone spotted PS5 dev kits at Rare. This was a few weeks before all this notion.

This was a very low-key rumor on Reddit, so it may be harder to find.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Shinobi on Microsoft announcing multiplatform ports.

 

[T-0800]

God of War themed ship in Sea of Thieves. Book it.

 

[Negotiator101]

Guys do we have to keep peddling this nonsense? There's one thing bringing certain games to other platforms but quite another going full third party.

 

[Daneel Elijah]

Guys do we have to keep peddling this nonsense? There's one thing bringing certain games to other platforms but quite another going full third party.

The problem with that is that Activision and Bethesda are third party companies. And microsoft are already putting their games on PC. It is easier for them to go full third party or stop putting their activision games on playstation? When games like starfield really would have used the opportunity to have more sales?

 

[Duchess]

Shinobi on Microsoft announcing multiplatform ports.

Hmm, after last night's State of Play, this suggests to me that Xbox fans are in for a rough 2024.

 

[Stooky]

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Shinobi on Microsoft announcing multiplatform ports.

Its only taken them a few years to finally get to this point but all going to plan

 

[Heisenberg007]

Its only taken them a few years to finally get to this point but all going to plan

Honestly, they should have started this generation with this, instead of launching Series X and S in 2020.

Microsoft could have saved up to $3 billion in hardware subsidies and even more on R&D. And could have earned millions more by now.

 

[mckmas8808]

Its only taken them a few years to finally get to this point but all going to plan

Hard to believe that this was the "Plan" the whole time, given what Phil has been saying publically.

 

[GHG]

Its only taken them a few years to finally get to this point but all going to plan

Forgive me for being cynical, but what's the end game then?

 

[analog_future]

Forgive me for being cynical, but what's the end game then?

Make a bunch of money?

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Hard to believe that this was the "Plan" the whole time, given what Phil has been saying publically.

I don't put any stock into what people like him say publicly for interviews

I know Phil approached Sony years ago about MP games and Gamepass being on Playstation

He pushed hard for Halo Infinite MP to launch on PS

Forgive me for being cynical, but what's the end game then?

They wanted Gamepass on PS but Sony said no

Been a lot of open chatter recently of more games heading multiplat so maybe someone changed their stance and we will see more games head to PS

 

[GHG]

Make a bunch of money?

As if that's ever been enough for Microsoft in any business area they've ever participated in.

They are very much an all or nothing company, and in most cases unless they see or sense a clear path towards total industry domination they would rather not bother.

So my question is simple - they go the "third party publishing route" , what's the catch?

 

[analog_future]

As if that's ever been enough for Microsoft in any business area they've ever participated in.

They are very much an all or nothing company, and in most cases unless they see or sense a clear path towards total industry domination they would rather not bother.

I just don't think their broad ambitions are that complex. They want every consumer that's interested in gaming to have a Game Pass subscription or to buy their games. They want Game Pass to be ubiquitous with gaming.

AKA make a bunch of money.

 

[Nonehxc]

Microsoft Confirms Plans To Release Xbox First Party Games "Across All Platforms", Including PlayStation

Microsoft has confirmed its plans to release Xbox first party games "across all platforms", including PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.

twistedvoxel.com

Welcome to the Sony family, Xbros!!!

 

[GHG]

I don't put any stock into what people like him say publicly for interviews

I know Phil approached Sony years ago about MP games and Gamepass being on Playstation

So let's talk about what they've said privately, how does the prospect of them spending Sony out of business (or even turning them into blockbuster) and dreaming about purchasing Nintendo fit in to all of this?

I just don't think their broad ambitions are that complex. They want every consumer that's interested in gaming to have a Game Pass subscription or to buy their games. They want Game Pass to be ubiquitous with gaming.

AKA make a bunch of money.

I think it's naive to believe there's not more than meets the eye with all of this. If that's all they ever wanted then why have they been faffing around with underperforming console hardware for 2 generations straight?

 

[Astray]

So let's talk about what they've said privately, how does the prospect of them spending Sony out of business (or even turning them into blockbuster) and dreaming about purchasing Nintendo fit in to all of this?

Reality came crashing down and they have to make sure the 80bn spent on Bethesda and ABK aren't wasted.

 

[GHG]

Reality came crashing down and they have to make sure the 80bn spent on Bethesda and ABK aren't wasted.

I believe both of those acquisitions directly link to the "spend Sony out of business" strategy.

Hence they were quick to cancel PS5 development of any Bethesda games.

 

[Labadal]

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

So let's talk about what they've said privately, how does the prospect of them spending Sony out of business (or even turning them into blockbuster) and dreaming about purchasing Nintendo fit in to all of this?

I have seen people say they are going full 3rd party and withdrawing from the console making business which I don't see happening, I see more of whats been happening

Reality came crashing down and they have to make sure the 80bn spent on Bethesda and ABK aren't wasted.

The 80b spent did what it was intended to do, increase their revenue

What happens next is what will be interesting

 

[ReBurn]

Hard to believe that this was the "Plan" the whole time, given what Phil has been saying publically.

I think the plan was that people would get really excited about game pass and buy a ton of cheap series s consoles to be able to use the subscription. Fewer people were ready for that than they expected.

 

[VolticArchangel]

Its only taken them a few years to finally get to this point but all going to plan

Next year Nextbox still on the cards or 2026?

 

[Hudo]

Any news on Age of Mythology: Retold?

 

[sendit]

Technically, the games/IPs they acquired were already on all if not most major platforms prior to acquisitions.

 

[TurboSpeed]

Feels like this is going to be one crazy year for the gaming landscape with everything thats going on. Im excited to see where we are headed!

 

[Sanepar]

I believe both of those acquisitions directly link to the "spend Sony out of business" strategy.

Hence they were quick to cancel PS5 development of any Bethesda games.

They are not bringing nothing revelant, the day Halo, Forza Horizon, Gears and Starfield will be on ps5 we can say they are becoming third party.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Next year Nextbox still on the cards or 2026?

As of today I say so if not late '25 but going on a few months old info but haven't heard that changed either

 

[analog_future]

I think it's naive to believe there's not more than meets the eye with all of this. If that's all they ever wanted then why have they been faffing around with underperforming console hardware for 2 generations straight?

Because in a perfect world, everyone would be buying Xbox hardware and subscribing to Game Pass from their TV apps and mobile devices. Because if they would've been able to keep all of their games/subscription services on their platform, they get to keep all of the revenue vs having to give up that 30% cut to another platform holder.


That hasn't happened, and it's become clear that it isn't going to happen, so Microsoft has pivoted to getting their content in the hands of as many consumers as humanly possible by opening up their content to other platforms (and dealing with the lost revenue per sale that comes with that).



In short, their Play Anywhere / xCloud initiative was a failure. And now they have to re-calibrate or they aren't going to survive.

 

[Del_X]

Microsoft being 3rd party easily makes them the largest games company by a huge margin. They're going to be able to dictate a lot of terms on other platforms because the sheer volume of normie shit they're responsible for.

 

[VolticArchangel]

As of today I say so if not late '25 but going on a few months old info but haven't heard that changed either

Still haven't given up the delusions, classic fucking Microsoft. With a 2 year gap (PS6 mostly in 2027), Sony is going to brutally annihilate them, let's not even get to Nintendo, that's a whole another debate altogether.

"Wonder why our console hardware YoY revenue keeps dropping."

 

[Astray]

I believe both of those acquisitions directly link to the "spend Sony out of business" strategy.

Hence they were quick to cancel PS5 development of any Bethesda games.

And this strategy failed miserably after Starfield came and went with zero fanfare.

The bean counters are demanding ROI, and they won't be satiated by the newly purchased ip being made exclusive to a console ecosystem that is trending below what the company have described as a disaster.

I have seen people say they are going full 3rd party and withdrawing from the console making business which I don't see happening, I see more of whats been happening

The problem with doing both is cross-cannibalization. If I know that waiting for a dozen months has a reasonable possibility to get me Indiana Jones on PS5 or even Switch 2 without having to spend an additional 299~499 on an Xbox, then why would I buy an Xbox?

Being a 3rd party and 1st party at the same time creates a LOT of inefficiencies and market cannibalization.

The 80b spent did what it was intended to do, increase their revenue

What happens next is what will be interesting

Yeah I have a feeling this plan will come crashing down at some point.

There's a reason we don't get detailed gaming financials out of Microsoft. And I have a feeling we will discover this reason soon.

 

[IDKFA]

Forgive me for being cynical, but what's the end game then?

 

[GHG]

Microsoft being 3rd party easily makes them the largest games company by a huge margin. They're going to be able to dictate a lot of terms on other platforms because the sheer volume of normie shit they're responsible for.

Finally we're getting somewhere.

 

[Stooky]

Microsoft being 3rd party easily makes them the largest games company by a huge margin. They're going to be able to dictate a lot of terms on other platforms because the sheer volume of normie shit they're responsible for.

with these platforms it doesn't work like that. platforms will make deals but Microsoft will not be dictating shit. if they go full 3rd party. they need the platforms more than the platforms need them.

 

[Raonak]

It's ironic how the ABK purchase has essentially forced their hand.

You can't really buy a publisher as big as that, and then cut their revenue in half by making games exclusive to a failing platform.
You want to maximise the return on investment.

And if 80% of your output is multiplatform... then why not just make it all multiplatform?

 

[laynelane]

I believe both of those acquisitions directly link to the "spend Sony out of business" strategy.

Hence they were quick to cancel PS5 development of any Bethesda games.

From what I can tell, they had some very unrealistic expectations around their recently bought first-party offerings. As an example:

The court documents reveal Microsoft Gaming's CFO Tim Stuart believed the company could see over 10 million Starfield sales on PS5 alone if it had kept Bethesda's RPG on Sony's platform.

Obviously, we know Starfield isn't coming to PS5 anymore. What persuaded Microsoft to ditch these 10 million potential Starfield sales was the belief the company could recuperate these profits by launching Starfield via the Xbox Game Pass subscription service on both Xbox Series X/S and PC, not to mention increased console sales.

Source.

I don't disagree that there's a deeper strategy here, but also believe it's somewhat due to their previous strategy (compel people to your platform by removing their choices) being a failure (Starfield, Redfall, Hi-fi Rush, etc.).

 

[Del_X]

with these platforms it doesn't work like that. platforms will make deals but Microsoft will not be dictating shit. if they go full 3rd party. they need the platforms more than the platforms need them.

Activision dictated a lot of shit lol. The got Sony to cut the royalty on CoD. This is also probably why MSFT will still make consoles - just add a goodie here or there or some early access. If they push crossplay and sell at cost while still putting games on all platforms they'll still retain a specter of being a direct competitor or threat.

 

[Stooky]

Activision dictated a lot of shit lol. The got Sony to cut the royalty on CoD. This is also probably why MSFT will still make consoles - just add a goodie here or there or some early access. If they push crossplay and sell at cost while still putting games on all platforms they'll still retain a specter of being a direct competitor or threat.

thats making a deal. thats not calling the shots.