-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Looking Back At Microsoft's 13 Years of First Party
- Thread starter QaaQer
- Start date
I mean if you want to show the lack of dedication, look no further then Japan. They actually made some headway in Japan with the 360. Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey did well and should have been the foundation of franchisees that diversify you're portfolio. Except they just say screw it and give up.
The begining of the 360 was pretty amazing and MS seemed pretty much dedicated to bringing out a whole bunch of games.
And then I guess kinetic happened and they wanted to chase that money. They were happy with where they were and were content with exclusive map DLC for CoD. They only other bones they would throw for those looking for more were Halo, Forza, and Fable. Which all became very yawn inducing. Halo has been tired and well crap since 3. 4 had a chance to shake things up and then just played it safe like everything MS did in the end with xbox. Fable has never delivered and gave up trying after the 2nd game.
Honestly MS handling of the 360's 2nd half has been disappointing and the system basically had the most uneventful death ever. They just quietly moved on. It's why I simply do not trust the Xbone.
Meanwhile Sony has basically kept momentum on the Playstation home consoles since 2009. Since 09 it's been nothing but quality support. Last year while the 360 died a quiet death, Sony released The Last of Us and Beyond Two Souls. This year the PS3 receives Japanese 3rd party support and will continue to into 2015. Meanwhile PS4 continues to offer actual variety in it's offerings while the xbone plays catch up. It's just so clear how much better Sony has handled things in the end.
The begining of the 360 was pretty amazing and MS seemed pretty much dedicated to bringing out a whole bunch of games.
And then I guess kinetic happened and they wanted to chase that money. They were happy with where they were and were content with exclusive map DLC for CoD. They only other bones they would throw for those looking for more were Halo, Forza, and Fable. Which all became very yawn inducing. Halo has been tired and well crap since 3. 4 had a chance to shake things up and then just played it safe like everything MS did in the end with xbox. Fable has never delivered and gave up trying after the 2nd game.
Honestly MS handling of the 360's 2nd half has been disappointing and the system basically had the most uneventful death ever. They just quietly moved on. It's why I simply do not trust the Xbone.
Meanwhile Sony has basically kept momentum on the Playstation home consoles since 2009. Since 09 it's been nothing but quality support. Last year while the 360 died a quiet death, Sony released The Last of Us and Beyond Two Souls. This year the PS3 receives Japanese 3rd party support and will continue to into 2015. Meanwhile PS4 continues to offer actual variety in it's offerings while the xbone plays catch up. It's just so clear how much better Sony has handled things in the end.
Doctor_Thomas
Member
Microsoft forced Sony to be more honest but their contribution elsewhere is lacking.
Impeccable
Member
You don't see why some gamers would be upset with their same old tactics when it can't even be argued that them investing the same money into their own games would be a huge benefit to the industry as a whole including job creation?
Not to mention if they manage to create another Halo or Forza they would be set for a decade or longer rather than getting their small bump for six months.
Yep the TR incident proves that MS isn't serious about their 1st party efforts. Why invest money in creating studios to put out content when you can just take from others. It's the 360 all over again (bioshock, ME).
They could have gotten 343i working on Halo without making them into a studio for which the only purpose is making Halo games (and Halo TV shows, and special Halo apps, and Halo remakes, and Halo branded underpants, and Halo breakfast cereal). They will run 343i into the ground just like they were trying to run Bungie into the ground, I guarantee it.
Halo isn't even that big a seller any more. The Last of Us, a brand new IP, sold almost double Halo 4 (7+mill to 4+mill).
Coulomb_Barrier
Member
Gamescom highlighted how desperate they are in terms of future software. Not only is there not enough coming, but there is no breadth or diversity in the titles.
I said it earlier, it's like MS is stuck in 2005 with their approach to exclusives. After Gamescom, Sony is starting to wipe the floor with them.
I said it earlier, it's like MS is stuck in 2005 with their approach to exclusives. After Gamescom, Sony is starting to wipe the floor with them.
halo 4 sold 4 million ?
Imru al-Qays
Banned
That was an extremely eloquent op.
But buying off "exclusives" hasn't helped you as an Xbox gamer. It has hurt you. If MS didn't do stuff like the Tomb Raider deal, they could invest more in creating new games. You'd still get stuff like the new Tomb Raider PLUS new MS developed/funded games.
According to Wikipedia.
Banjo-Kazooie
Member
You failed to point out where the NFL deal was paid for by "Xbox" allocated money. From what I've seen, MS developed the NFL app internally at their studio, and the deal seems to be mostly related to ads during games and with their surface tablets used on the sidelines during the game.
It seems like marketing allocated dollars to me, in which case, it wouldn't have been allocated to their studios in the first place.
it sold 3.1 million on its first day
there is no fucking way tlou sold more than halo 4
im guessing it sits at 8-9million now
massivekettle
Member
And... is that an issue. It's just another (legal) way to do business. I can smell the quantity of sodium in the OP.
Black Mantis
Member
I couldn't care less how the games got on Xbox, fact is they're there and keep me entertained, that's all that matters.
Xion_Stellar
People should stop referencing data that makes me feel uncomfortable because games get ported to platforms I don't like
I agree with OT from my perspective Microsoft has never been fully committed of making their own software and seem to content with just injecting money into this particular issue until it's starts making money for them and I sometimes wonder if the Xbox Division would still be around if it wasn't for the financial backing of the rest of the company backing up the the Xbox Division.
Yes Sony has closed studios too but has also open studios too with these closures and before anyone says it yeah Sony was on a long streak of losing money but the roles are reverse here where it was the Sony Computer Entertainment Division making the money while other divisions within Sony were the one's losing money.
Yes Sony has closed studios too but has also open studios too with these closures and before anyone says it yeah Sony was on a long streak of losing money but the roles are reverse here where it was the Sony Computer Entertainment Division making the money while other divisions within Sony were the one's losing money.
Mugatu
Member
How would you add more jobs if you hire someone versus you keep them on after buying their company? The game still requires the same number of resources.
It's also a benefit to the industry for large companies to put their resources behind someone else's vision.
Many people like Forza and Halo and want more - if you don't then you don't have to buy them. There are lots of alternatives. Game creation has fairly low barriers to entry.
ThoughtsOfSpeaking
Banned
Honestly, I don't give Sony the pass that many here do. I think their western first party, especially this past generation has been dominated by games that look amazing but play mediocre but are heralded on their visuals. They have lucked out with Naughty dog and SSM, but the rest are going to struggle this generation if all they can produce is the same thing, prettier.
Japan studio is usually were the true Sony magic happens, but they are laughably mismanaged even now.
That said Sony at least have tried to create a first party worth a shit and I hope that this increased indie push is more to give them time create some amazing gameplay experiences and not just create prettier graphics.
Japan studio is usually were the true Sony magic happens, but they are laughably mismanaged even now.
That said Sony at least have tried to create a first party worth a shit and I hope that this increased indie push is more to give them time create some amazing gameplay experiences and not just create prettier graphics.
Okay, it sold 8-9 million. So it's not as bad a situation as I thought, but it's still not much more than TLOU, a brand new IP.
Winterfang
Banned
They have a lot of big titles coming out this year, Sony big titles are mostly 2015. I'm sure MS will also have big titles in 2015.
They are desperate because they fuck up and ruined their reputation with their shifty policies before the console released, but they are improving the console and bringing the games.
Exploratory
Banned
Who the hell cares how games get there as long as they're great and bring something to the platform? This is the stuff of list wars not actual gaming. I don't care how Halo got to Xbox I just care that it's fun.
tLoU has sold 7 million on PS3 I believe. With the new remaster it's not out of the realm of possibility.
You must have some super hero like senses to be able to smell salt bro!
In all seriousness, your post depresses me
.Them funding/paying for DR3, Titanfall, Ryse, Zoo Tycoon, Killer Instinct, Crimson Dragon, Sunset Overdrive, etc doesn't help with jobs?
8-9 million is standard sales for a halo title (except 3 which sits at over 10 million)
this doesnt say anything about halo, just that tlou is a fantastic new ip with deserved sales
People with a vested interest in the video game medium beyond them simply being toys?
Black Mantis
Member
This is dumb. The whole point of 343 is Halo, nothing else. The employees know that and if they get tired of it, they can move on. Halo 4 sold more than 4 million.
It's probably unrelated. The OP talks of 1st party games and what Microsoft have brought to the industry in terms of 1st party. In those terms, rather Microsoft have brought XBL, party chat, custom soundtracks etc.
It's wrong in the sense that MS could be using that NFL money to fund first party studios.
The major problem is: Since the X-box 180, MS has bought and then promptly killed off numerous "first party" studios that aren't "Turn 10" or (formerly) "Bungie."
OP's list is right to ANYONE that has followed Microsoft since the X-box 180. But if you're still buying X-box since the 360/720 launches, and expecting first party titles that aren't "Halo," or "Forza..." I dunno what to tell you.
Black Mantis said:
And that is fine. I'm in the same boat in regards to "can't give a shit about MS 'first party,' third party is more than enough." But that doesn't mean there isn't valid discussion here when you compare to Nintendo (mostly first-party output since third parties abandoned, basically the pesudo-bizzaro-MS), and Sony (balance of first/third parties [unless you're a handheld in which case fuck you!</western SCE>).
massivekettle
Member
And that's despite bad word of mouth for Halo and GOAT word of mouth for TLOU. Just speaks volumes about 1) TLOU's deserved success and 2) Halo's reach, 11 years on.
Stare-Bear
Banned
I miss the innovation with Xbox. Kinect is dead, they don't have any plans for a service like PlayStation now, they don't have a remote play feature, no plans for VR. The tv stuff is nice but unless you live in the US, a lot of it doesn't work.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
They weren't trying to run Bungie into the ground, Bungie was under a ten year contract that ended with Reach. You're acting like Bungie was oppressed or something. Plus Halo 4 set a new record for the franchise. But no no ignore all that and continue. /s
Thats the problem i have with MS in gaming, if they invested 400 million in the Xbox brand to make 5-10 very good games they would have a good chance in making more money than with a 400 million $ advertising contract + they would have shown that they can make good first party games that are not Halo or Forza.
Sure there is a risk that these games will bomb but the advertising deal doesnt seem to sell much of their Surface tablets or Windows phones.
Impeccable
Member
Did I say it didn't?
Well okay, ignore the sales part. I still think that setting up a company to churn out Halo titles is incredibly short-sighted.
I'm not denying that the point of 343i is to make Halo. That's exactly what I'm saying is the problem! If you don't like Halo, then all you see is MS investing millions specifically into something you don't like. If they gave them free reign to work on anything then people who aren't interested in Halo might have something to attract them to Xbox.
It is just a hugely short-sighted way of spunking millions of dollars up the wall.
I know that this has been sanitised by the bleach of history but at the time the rumblings were that Bungie was very unhappy working under MS, wanted to do their own thing, and were fed up being the Halo mule. Rumours before Bungie broke off from MS said as much.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
You don't HAVE to do it that way, but now the XBone is stuck in a quandary where it doesn't have the leverage the 360 did in siphoning away games from its largest competitor, while also having a near empty pool of original games to draw from.
Dictator93
Member
Canis lupus
Member
MS had more than enough time to create and/or acquire a few solid AAA developing studios. All of Sony's major NA and JPN studios were formed or acquired during the first 5-6 years of SCE. Clearly MS's strategy is different. They've been relying on 2nd/3rd parties and deliberately chose not to strengthen their 1st party portfolio.
FreeMufasa
Junior Member
Meh, ms still make better first party than Sony to me.
Deservedly. 4 was complete trash compared to CE, 2 or 3. Xbox at it's best right there.
massivekettle
Member
tLoU has sold 7 million on PS3 I believe. With the new remaster it's not out of the realm of possibility.
You must have some super hero like senses to be able to smell salt bro!
In all seriousness, your post depresses me
Why? People here are mixing emotions with business. Gaming might make you emotional, but it's a business when all is said and done. It's a way to make money for companies like Sony and Microsoft. All the pandering on Twitter by Yoshida Shuhei is for you to buy his products such that his employer makes more money and creates more value for its shareholders.
People have a lot of trouble trying to see past that for some reason.
They just do it different. Back on the original Xbox and during the early years of 360 Microsoft was releasing a lot of first party exclusives. It's just that they didn't sell well. Microsoft was not happy with having a million seller, they wanted multimillion sellers, games that were predictable successes. Like Halo, Forza, Fable, Gears. Who is to blame for that? We of course. Because we didn't buy Azurik, Brute Force, Cel Damage, Munch's Oddyssey and Stranger's Wrath, Amped, Blinx, Kameo, Conker, Banjo N&B, Mad Dash Racing, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Alan Wake, Lips, Blue Dragon, Full Auto, Crackdown, Lost Odyssey, Voodoo Vince, PGR ... Sony is a lot more artsy in that regard. They are all for variety. But they don't know when to stop. Instead they try again and again to make games that are as successful as the top four Microsoft IPs and fail. Why is there a Littlebigplanet 3? A PS4 Killzone? Three Resistance games? Another Tearaway? Probably because a gamer is in charge at Sony's software department and a suit at Microsoft.
I think both are doing ok. But I have a hard time trying to blame Microsoft for their less than original output of games when they just leaned what games we buy and which we don't. It's not Microsofts fault that we are buying CoD n+1 over original IPs. It's ours.
I think both are doing ok. But I have a hard time trying to blame Microsoft for their less than original output of games when they just leaned what games we buy and which we don't. It's not Microsofts fault that we are buying CoD n+1 over original IPs. It's ours.
MCC?
Impeccable said:
The implication was there that 1st party development is better for industry jobs than funding 3rd development.
Amentallica
Unconfirmed Member
The game was coming out either way.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
This is what irks me the most tbh.
Does MS have zero confidence in their first party? They seem to have very little backing compared to the money MS throws to third parties.
If you look at their exclusives on the XB1, how many are developed by first parties?
Exploratory
Banned
We're on NeoGAF. That describes many of us.
Regardless it seems asinine to ignore IPs like Halo or Gears because they didn't spawn from MS themselves.