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Starfield is the fifth fastest-selling game across Europe this year.

Killjoy-NL

Member
Selling shed loads of copies. Getting great reviews.

Strong concurrent players on all platforms.

Yup, a hot mess for sure.
Starfield review thread:

37.6% expected a 90-95% score.
37.3% expected a 85-90% score.

(Personally, I expected even a 97% score)

Metacritic shows 83%.
Didn't Steam fall to 72%?

User scores are lower.

Then there's a lot of complaints about PC performance, character models being mediocre, exploration being limited, too much menu/loadingscreens, guns with pointless variety, melee combat being trash...

I get that the game might be good overall, but it’s reception is not all rainbows and sunshine.
 
It's okay. No one is judging. Please use lots of lube. We don't want you to be just an ass.
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sainraja

Member
Their messaging has been crystal clear. Bring your own device as long as you’re either in the Xbox ecosystem (native) or a GamePass subscriber. They’ve never signposted that theyd put all their games on another console and go fully third party.

So they’re telling you that you can play all Xbox first party games on the TV you already own via GamePass streaming…



all Macs ship with a compliant web browser you can stream from.
If cloud streaming doesn’t resonate with you, that’s not really a messaging problem.
Read my posts again. You are trying to defend a point I am not really making, and I wasn't saying their messaging (the confusing bit) was that their content would be everywhere or outside of what they consider the "Xbox ecosystem", I even said as much. The confusion around their messaging was what Phil was saying prior to and around the time they started acquiring—we still get threads of people asking what will or won't be exclusive, and not just on this forum, mind you; if you still disagree, then we will just have to agree to disagree there.

Strategy-wise, right now, I understand Game Pass + streaming is how they are pushing the "play anywhere" and "bring your own device" strategies, and my point, to put it simply since I don't want to repeat myself (you can read my post again), is that they can easily do a lot more, which I think would be more disruptive.

Don't worry. I already know you disagree. :D

Try to follow the whole thread, from what I originally said, to what I added in response to someone replying to me. Thanks.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
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twilo99

Member
You obviously know that I'm referring to Xbox console exclusives. Come on...

You are saying that anything that is not on PS and is on Xbox is an xbox exclusive, but you know that's not strictly speaking true since xbox doesn't do "traditional" exclusives like Sony, which makes comparing any kind of metrics rather meaningless.
 
Depends, i think people cheering for a 5th place are idiots as well.
Who's cheering? This is a sales report about one of the biggest releases of the year. Most people are just commenting about its place on the list, and then there are others proclaiming it's an abject failure in every measure because it didn't place at #1 against heavy competition available on more platforms.
 

DrFigs

Member
Who's cheering? This is a sales report about one of the biggest releases of the year. Most people are just commenting about its place on the list, and then there are others proclaiming it's an abject failure in every measure because it didn't place at #1 against heavy competition available on more platforms.
Christopher Dring seems to be cheering. He's been hyping up Starfields huge launch as the biggest of this year*

*if you include gamepass for some reason.
 

Stuart360

Member
Depends, i think people cheering for a 5th place are idiots as well.
Even if Starfield had been on Playstation, too, there is no certainty it would of beaten massive games like Hogwarts, and nerd heavy games like D4. It would of been above Star Wars for sure, but it may of gone up one place as we also know how well Switch exclusives sell too, comapred to almost any other game.

Thats why acting like 5th place on THIS list is somehow bad for any game, but especially a game thats not on PS and is also on Gamepass, looks a little silly.
 
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Pelta88

Member
On socials certain people are taking this news badly because they hyped the game as a game changer. The most significant release from the XB platform in decades, according to some. In reality what they got was just a good game which they equate to mediocrity.

5th best-selling game with 4-5 big games yet to release, to them, is problematic.
 
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I swear, I have never seen a game be defended before like Starfield, except maybe Cyberpunk. The game has been out and there is no buzz, except for how limiting the game is with the controversy of exploration. The fact that you need to play 100 hours or you're unqualified to give a valid opinion on the game is crazy, lol. Thats a new one.

Like a car dealer saying you have to drive this car for 50,000 miles to know if you like it or not....

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DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
On socials certain people are taking this news badly because they hyped the game as a game changer. The most significant release from the XB platform in decades, according to some. In reality what they got was just a good game which they equate to mediocrity.

5th best-selling game with 4-5 big games yet to release, to them, is problematic.
it's far from a problem. It's been a monster year for games and game sales. Those 4 games above it did multi million sales in a few days.

Didn't square report that ffxvi did millions in its first week and its above that.

Starfield has been a monster for a game that'd on gamepass and on pc and xbox. You know, xbox...where no one buys games...
 

Stuart360

Member
On socials certain people are taking this news badly because they hyped the game as a game changer. The most significant release from the XB platform in decades, according to some. In reality what they got was just a good game which they equate to mediocrity.

5th best-selling game with 4-5 big games yet to release, to them, is problematic.
Hogwarts, as far as we understand, has been one of the biggest selling games in recent times. Its also on PS and not on GP.
D4 is Diablo, one of the most legendary gaming franchises of all time, and is a real nerd pleaser. I wouldnt of been surprised if it had been no.1.
Zelda, Switch exclusive (whihc means its probably going to be one of the biggets selling games in recent years), and is not on Gamepass.
Star Wars Jedi, has a lot of probelms with it, and feelings are mixed towards it, but ist still Star Wars, which means its going to sell well. Also on PS and not on GP.

Apart from the SW game (but even then its SW), why should Starfield of beaten any of the other games under those circumstances?, especially when we have no PS and the game is on GP?.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
it's far from a problem. It's been a monster year for games and game sales. Those 4 games above it did multi million sales in a few days.

Didn't square report that ffxvi did millions in its first week and its above that.

Starfield has been a monster for a game that'd on gamepass and on pc and xbox. You know, xbox...where no one buys games...

Why do some of yall keep saying the bolded? I thought being on GamePass was good.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
I just love this bit right at the top of this article



So passive agressive :messenger_grinning_squinting:

If he hadn't started throwing around gamepass numbers alongside sales data he wouldn't have to keep his ass clenched when writing this article.
Imagine if he went hard in the paint for Stray on plus last year?
And that is without PlayStation Plus data

🤭

We would all still be like, da fuq?
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
And tell us how big PS5 user base is in europe for FF16 sales vs Xbox and GP. what's the Europe ratio vs Xbox? Like 5:1? More? In two weeks it already outsold FF16 and probably half the Starfield gamers play on GP. FF16 came out 3 months ago.

Who knows what the PC user base is but going by SteamDB, Starfield has only peaked at 300,000 or so people. So sales arent even that big yet in two weeks.
You're reading the chart all wrong.

This data is only comparing Starfield's 11-day sales on Xbox and PC vs. FF16's 4-day sales on PS5.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
Even if Starfield had been on Playstation, too, there is no certainty it would of beaten massive games like Hogwarts, and nerd heavy games like D4. It would of been above Star Wars for sure, but it may of gone up one place as we also know how well Switch exclusives sell too, comapred to almost any other game.

Thats why acting like 5th place on THIS list is somehow bad for any game, but especially a game thats not on PS and is also on Gamepass, looks a little silly.
With the marketing push that Starfield had?
Didn't it get promoted even more than Hogwarts?

What's to say that a game from the studio behind Skyrim wouldn't compete with Hogwarts if it was released on PS5 as well?
 

Stuart360

Member
With the marketing push that Starfield had?
Didn't it get promoted even more than Hogwarts?

What's to say that a game from the studio behind Skyrim wouldn't compete with Hogwarts if it was released on PS5 as well?
It had no marketing or hype according to a hell of a lot of people on here in the hype thread pre-release.

And what does that matter anyway?, BG3 has been one of the biggest selling Steam games in recently history and its not even in the top 10 of this list.
 

Elios83

Member
And this game would shoot up the charts more if tons of people didn't GP a download.

Starfield already blew by FF16. PS5 has double the console base and came out in June. Starfield has been out for a week and a half. Two weeks if counting early access.

Came in June?
This is just week 1 sales comparison of different games launched in 2023.
It's not life to date although the thread title is a bit misleading.

So no it's basically almost two weeks of sales of Starfield (including early access) vs a few days (launched on a thursday) for FF16. Two platforms (PC + Xbox) vs one.

In any case the reality is under everyone's eyes, Starfield is certainly not a flop but it certainly falled short of every kind of pre-release expectations both critical and commercial.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
It had no marketing or hype according to a hell of a lot of people on here in the hype thread pre-release.
Because most players probably are Playstation-centric, so there was no reason to pay attention to Starfield.

There was even a "hype is growing" thread.

Things would've been drastically different if there was a PS5 release as well.

And what does that matter anyway?, BG3 has been one of the biggest selling Steam games in recently history and its not even in the top 10 of this list.
Can't comment on this, but this list is about Europe. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Can't imagine BG3 being as popular in Europe as it is across the ocean.
 

NickFire

Member
Even if Starfield had been on Playstation, too, there is no certainty it would of beaten massive games like Hogwarts, and nerd heavy games like D4. It would of been above Star Wars for sure, but it may of gone up one place as we also know how well Switch exclusives sell too, comapred to almost any other game.

Thats why acting like 5th place on THIS list is somehow bad for any game, but especially a game thats not on PS and is also on Gamepass, looks a little silly.
I completely agree the game did really well for an individual game. But there is a lot to still digest here, and plenty of reason to speculate regarding actual success (in relation to purchase cost and goals). Don't forget MS paid something like 7.5 Billion to buy this dev / pub. I know they bought more than just Starfield obviously, but new games on those legacy IP's will require massive investments and many years before they can possibly make a splash.

So yeah, the game has been a huge hit, as it would have been regardless. But did MS make more or less money than Bethesda would have had it remained independent? Did the Xbox eco-system materially grow from it? How many GP subs did it move (or cause to be retained)? All of these questions matter for whether or not it was an actual success in relation to a 7.5 Billion dollar acquisition cost IMO.
 

Stuart360

Member
I completely agree the game did really well for an individual game. But there is a lot to still digest here, and plenty of reason to speculate regarding actual success (in relation to purchase cost and goals). Don't forget MS paid something like 7.5 Billion to buy this dev / pub. I know they bought more than just Starfield obviously, but new games on those legacy IP's will require massive investments and many years before they can possibly make a splash.

So yeah, the game has been a huge hit, as it would have been regardless. But did MS make more or less money than Bethesda would have had it remained independent? Did the Xbox eco-system materially grow from it? How many GP subs did it move (or cause to be retained)? All of these questions matter for whether or not it was an actual success in relation to a 7.5 Billion dollar acquisition cost IMO.
Thanks for doing a post that is actually trying to have a discussion.
And yeah we wont know how much of an effect Starfeild has had for Xbox in terms of console sales and Gamepass subs, not for a few months anyway.

I'll tell you one thing though, i still expect like a year from now for Bethesda to announce 20mil sales, and 30+mil sales 5 years from now etc. Games like this are very PC centric, and i expect sales for Starfeild to be very steady for a long time to come.
 
Even if Starfield had been on Playstation, too, there is no certainty it would of beaten massive games like Hogwarts, and nerd heavy games like D4. It would of been above Star Wars for sure, but it may of gone up one place as we also know how well Switch exclusives sell too, comapred to almost any other game.

Thats why acting like 5th place on THIS list is somehow bad for any game, but especially a game thats not on PS and is also on Gamepass, looks a little silly.

It would have done miles better

PS5 release = better reviews (because I won't review bomb it) = better sales
 

Pelta88

Member
Apart from the SW game (but even then its SW), why should Starfield of beaten any of the other games under those circumstances?, especially when we have no PS and the game is on GP?.

I was commenting on the expectations of a large part of the XB community VS the actual reality. As a new IP 5th in the EU or an 82 meta are both great for the game.

Just nowhere near the grandiose expectations placed on the ip.
 

Stuart360

Member
It would have done miles better

PS5 release = better reviews (because I won't review bomb it) = better sales
I wish all fanboys took console warring as a joke, like you do. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
I agree though, it would of got better reviews if it had been on PS too. And there certainly wouldnt of been the ridiculous amount of manufactured nagativity around the game.

Its the reason why i said a while ago that i wished this had launched on PS too as a new BGS game used to be something of an event that the vast majority of gamers would get behind and be excited about.
 
I wish all fanboys took console warring as a joke, like you do. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
I agree though, it would of got better reviews if it had been on PS too. And there certainly wouldnt of been the ridiculous amount of manufactured nagativity around the game.

Its the reason why i said a while ago that i wished this had launched on PS too as a new BGS game used to be something of an event that the vast majority of gamers would get behind and be excited about.
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Topher

Gold Member
I'm not getting the shade thrown at Chris Dring here at all. Wasn't that long ago I distinctly remember arguing with some folks around here claiming he was a PlayStation fanboy. Personally I think he does a pretty good job relaying information, but I think far too much is read INTO what his article says. The fact that he mentions Game Pass isn't controversial considering we know for a fact that Game Pass cannibalizes sales.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
I'm not getting the shade thrown at Chris Dring here at all. Wasn't that long ago I distinctly remember arguing with some folks around here claiming he was a PlayStation fanboy. Personally I think he does a pretty good job relaying information, but I think far too much is read INTO what his article says. The fact that he mentions Game Pass isn't controversial considering we know for a fact that Game Pass cannibalizes sales.
I think he newfound blurring of the lines between engagement and sales as a sales tracker, is what people starting taking issue with. He did not do this with any other game prior that this has happened with, but somehow this one is different to now include that metric... as a sales tracker aggregate?
 
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Kilau

Gold Member
I think he newfound blurring of the lines between engagement and sales as a sales tracker, is what people starting taking issue with. He did not do this with any other game prior that this has happened with, but somehow this one is different to now include that metric... as a sales tracker aggregate?
I can imagine him running the numbers in multiple configurations and the best he could get was 5th place.

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It's fine really, just needs to be consistent.
 

NickFire

Member
I think he newfound blurring of the lines between engagement and sales as a sales tracker, is what people starting taking issue with. He did not do this with any other game prior that this has happened with, but somehow this one is different to now include that metric... as a sales tracker aggregate?
Every so often it seems sales tracking data gets more restricted. But I haven't kept any notes, so no idea who benefits when that happens. All I know is there is no chance sales data could ever get restricted like review copies if someone is mad. Definitely no chance at all.
 

Topher

Gold Member
I think he newfound blurring of the lines between engagement and sales as a sales tracker, is what people starting taking issue with. He did not do this with any other game prior that this has happened with, but somehow this one is different to now include that metric... as a sales tracker aggregate?

Game Pass isn't a metric here though. Dring is pointing that fact out.

Sorry.....I'm just trying to read this and find what people are upset with:

"The data isn't quite like-for-like, as Starfield was technically available a week earlier for those who purchased the premium edition, so had a few extra days of sales. Starfield was also a day one Xbox Game Pass release, and that data isn't included here, either."

He also points out that Starfield had extra days of sales.
 
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