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[digoutyoursoul]

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.

Why did John say, on this very forum, that he wished Microsoft had never joined the industry?

 

[Fredrik]

With a ton of good games. They must. We need them. I’ve bought my las 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.

I don’t think MS can give Sony any competition in the console space anymore. Might do some Windows based PC thing but in the end they’ll just be a publisher and can’t dictate any rules. At most they’ll be annoying like Epic and will try to do exclusives on their own PC launcher. Sony is going to dictate all the rules in AAA console gaming from now on. It is what it is.
I’ve jumped to PC now so I just hope Sony don’t pull the plug on ports when no other platform holder are doing it.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Why did John say, on this very forum, that he wished Microsoft had never joined the industry?

John is one person and the best of the crew IMO.
DF is made up of more people.

 

[Oppoi]

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??

Do we want them to crawl out of that hole?

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

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.

Holy fuck

 

[CLW]

the fact DF thought MS had ANY credibility at all before this week tells you everything you need to know

 

[Fredrik]

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.

Once PS5 Pro and Switch 2 comes out it’ll be like this:

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Why did John say, on this very forum, that he wished Microsoft had never joined the industry?

John has always been the only one defending Playstation.

That has always been known.

 

[Oppoi]

Someone proposed the idea of Xbox being run by some rouge AI and I think that is hilarious because the people behind Xbox is clearly as distant as you can be to other fellow human beings.

 

[ShadowkillXNA]

Anyone else think of Pearl Jam when they see Richard's name?

I think "Dick Bedwetter".

 

[digoutyoursoul]

John is one person and the best of the crew IMO.
DF is made up of more people.

For all the talk of them being biased towards Xbox he himself was accused of bias of Xbox on this forum and angrily responded he wished Microsoft never entered the industry but could remain professional. He quickly edited the post.

Are you telling me if someone there admitted something like that about Sony there wouldn’t be a stern response from PlayStation fans?

I doubt they would be saying “it’s just one person “

 

[ChiefDada]

Holy fuck

It's true brother it is such a ridiculous question to ask the guy who just acquired you. But maybe the blame should go towards Double Fine owners who should have coached their staff on potential changes that come with being owned by a large corp like Microsoft.

It's still fuck Xbox though

 

[Topher]

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.



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.

There was nothing wrong with her question. Clearly there was a change in stance on this from Double Fine to Microsoft. Schafer said as much.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

It's true brother it is such a ridiculous question to ask the guy who just acquired you. But maybe the blame should go towards Double Fine owners who should have coached their staff on potential changes that come with being owned by a large corp like Microsoft.

It's still fuck Xbox though

This is how you avoid an argument with me

Just say fuck xbox

 

[ShadowkillXNA]

I also remember people getting banned en masse for buying xbox ones on this forum, since no one could want a xbox one withouth being a shill (yes this was the reasoning.)

But yeah the topic at hand, MS is totaly fumbling it, and they will be out of the console race in 5 years give or take, they will fumble their ips also, american suits cant get it right

This never happened.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

For all the talk of them being biased towards Xbox he himself was accused of bias of Xbox on this forum and angrily responded he wished Microsoft never entered the industry but could remain professional. He quickly edited the post.

Are you telling me if someone there admitted something like that about Sony there wouldn’t be a stern response from PlayStation fans?

I doubt they would be saying “it’s just one guy”

What does that have to do with Alex being busted for being part of that Discord and Spencer confirming it, which is turn confirms DF general bias towards Xbox.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

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.



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.

I agree it wasn't the best question, but if you know about Amnesia Fortnight, you know Double Fine is a bit different than other studios.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

What does that have to do with Alex being busted for being part of that Discord and Spencer confirming it, which is turn confirms DF general bias towards Xbox.

Because I don’t think they all are bias towards Xbox, I think John is Sony .

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Because I don’t think they all are bias towards Xbox, I think John is Sony .

Well yeah, that's true. But he often gets overshadowed by Rich and Alex.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

This never happened.

Fucking Mana infecting people's brains

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

For all the talk of them being biased towards Xbox he himself was accused of bias of Xbox on this forum and angrily responded he wished Microsoft never entered the industry but could remain professional. He quickly edited the post.

Are you telling me if someone there admitted something like that about Sony there wouldn’t be a stern response from PlayStation fans?

I doubt they would be saying “it’s just one person “

Over the years they are blatantly obvious with bias against playstation.

He is a tad bit different than them.
If you watch and listen you would see the differences.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Well yeah, that's true. But he often gets overshadowed by Rich and Alex.

There was a sub Reddit a few years ago, it’s gone now, that had quite a lot of examples of perceived bias from them.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Over the years they are blatantly obvious with bias against playstation.

He is a tad bit different than them.
If you watch and listen you would see the differences.

I did watch and listen for a considerable time, from way back to when it first started. They were accusations back then too even when it was evident the multi platform assessment of a particular title was clearly in favour of Xbox 360.

 

[Nonehxc]

I get paid with horny at the Pride

FTFY my love

 

[Clear]

I've said plenty of negative stuff about DF over a long, long time. But I will say that I do feel that John Linneman has always seemed like an honest dealer to me.
I don't think he's the most knowledgeable commentator out there, but I think he is genuinely enthusiastic about games, retro-games in particular.

Its Leadbetter and Battaglia that I have issues with. The former because in my opinion he's basically the human equivalent of EDGE magazine, a guy who's happened upon a good business angle but is essentially just as uniformed as the average UK media hack. Neither of which would be particular bothersome to me if he was open about it, what I have difficulty with is the entirely unjustified and unearned aura of expertise and insightfulness.

Battaglia is just fairly standard Beyond 3d "expert". A guy with a little knowledge but utterly lacking in the necessary development experience to understand that system performance is more than the components in the box.

DF's rise to prominence in the PS360 era was a direct consequence of leaning hard into the console wars, everything was head to head and "versus" back then, it just gave fanboys fodder to throw insults at each other. Interesting how they reigned in the combative rhetoric once the supposed tech leadership changed was certainly eye-opening, and that they doubled-down on this by allowing themselves to be used as a direct marketing tool by Microsoft for platform launches hammered home the last nails in the coffin of their alleged impartiality for me.

 

[Banjo64]

Listening to this on Podcast now. Probably the best and most level headed take so far (35 mins in). Really comprehensive overview.

I must say whilst listening that I do find it scandalous that studios like 343, Turn 10 and The Initiative have been allowed unlimited time, money and rope.

 

[MAX PAYMENT]

I also remember people getting banned en masse for buying xbox ones on this forum, since no one could want a xbox one withouth being a shill (yes this was the reasoning.)

But yeah the topic at hand, MS is totaly fumbling it, and they will be out of the console race in 5 years give or take, they will fumble their ips also, american suits cant get it right

Neogaf is so sony-bent it can't even pee straight, but i don't remember that. That was real?

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Listening to this on Podcast now. Probably the best and most level headed take so far (35 mins in). Really comprehensive overview.

I must say whilst listening that I do find it scandalous that studios like 343, Turn 10 and The Initiative have been allowed unlimited time, money and rope.

You only have to look at the Halo Infinite reveal. That was deemed fit to show off to get people excited and despite being in lockdown for a mere handful of months, that was blamed for the state the game was in.

Look at Forza now compared to what it was.

And The Initiative might as well be a hotel for illegal immigrants.

 

[rofif]

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

Sounds like usual corporate stuff. You can't work against your company. if Your company produces oil and you start to go on anti-oil activist rallies and sell anti oil products... you get the idea. Even if it's in your own time

Lol. Did Forspoken fuck your brain too?

Fuck You and your selective "you liked this one game so you are stupid" It's 2024 and Stellar blade is the best game now.
Just stop being petty

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).

And that's fine? At least he is straight about it.
it's normal company policy. It's the same everywhere.

 

[Nydius]

Look at Forza now compared to what it was.

The reality for Forza now is that the student (Forza Horizon) has surpassed the master (Forza Motorsport).

Playground Games has taken the mantle from Turn10, especially after the latest bungled Forza Motorsport launch.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

I did watch and listen for a considerable time, from way back to when it first started. They were accusations back then too even when it was evident the multi platform assessment of a particular title was clearly in favour of Xbox 360.

It's been clearly different since they got the Xbox One X scoop.
You keep bringing up the 360 generation where none of us claimed it was a issue then.

 

[Zathalus]

Every single DF thread on this forum. Christ almighty the 360 generation left some deep scars.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

It's been clearly different since they got the Xbox One X scoop.
You keep bringing up the 360 generation where none of us claimed it was a issue then.

They shouldn’t be bias towards anyone and my point is from my own experience they have been accused of bias in some shape or form since they existed.

And during the XB1 gen when John went on his rant on this forum I questioned his ability to remain professional given what he said.

 

[rapid32.5]

Don Mattrick looks pretty good right now. I can’t believe this is happening.

 

[Fredrik]

Do we want them to crawl out of that hole?

Depends what their longterm plan looks like. I’d personally be okay if they scrapped console gaming and focused on just PC from now on. Streamline everything to one version, preferrably on Steam, and if they need more players just push that onto the cloud as well through Geforce Now.

 

[PaintTinJr]

From a completely commercial take, I actually don't think it is scandalous that Tango Works is being shutdown by Microsoft, in that a game they pitched(HiFi Rush) for this gen; despite being well loved could have easily released on a 360, X1, too with that art style. and unlike an Angry birds money maker, the game just did as expected AFAIK from what looks like a title filling a Jet set Radio Future slot in a games line-up.

And that's sort of the bigger question IMO. If they thought HiFi rush as a technological last gen looking game would do amazing and standout when they pitched it, to what extent does that studio have the technological makeup and self awareness to make tent pole games, best in class for this gen, for Microsoft Games Studios to publish?

The game may have been everything Xbox wanted originally from OG Xbox devs with that arcade soul they sought to understand and recreate by originally having arcade units for recreation breaks in their HQ, but without HiFi rush having massive commercial success it seems that doesn't register with Microsoft Games, now. It is harsh, but fair IMO.

 

[Oppoi]

Depends what their longterm plan looks like. I’d personally be okay if they scrapped console gaming and focused on just PC from now on. Streamline everything to one version, preferrably on Steam, and if they need more players just push that onto the cloud as well through Geforce Now.

With MS at the top yes?

 

[bitbydeath]

Said the same thing last week.

Said in another thread, they appear to be setting fires and are not even trying to put them out. They’re not providing any reassurances to their fans and have not only lost a lot of consumers but also most of their influencers have moved on.

It seems intentional.

They should theorise as to why for the real headliner.

 

[Fredrik]

With MS at the top yes?

Steam/Valve at the top, MS as a publisher

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

They shouldn’t be bias towards anyone and my point is from my own experience they have been accused of bias in some shape or form since they existed.

And during the XB1 gen when John went on his rant on this forum I questioned his ability to remain professional given what he said.

But they have shown bias. As I stated John is a little more neutral.

 

[YCoCg]

Why do you guys never mention Ollie or Tom? They're mainly neutral as well but it's always the same complaints about Alex.

 

[Radical_3d]

Why do you guys never mention Ollie or Tom? They're mainly neutral as well but it's always the same complaints about Alex.

I like the Ollie coverage of Apple gaming content.

 

[Oppoi]

Steam/Valve at the top, MS as a publisher

Kinda weird having a top dog like MS forced to funnel their games through a small company like Valve. How long is that going to last?

 

[BattleScar]

Their livelihoods depend on Xbox's existence, that's why.

It's a serious situation for them, what would DF amount to in a world without Xbox?

They would rightfully stop existing. And I can't wait for the day

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Funny how DF was the most respected source here when it was 1080p vs 900p or 720p in the ps4 vs xbone era, but now since they made a few positive comments about ms during the years they are shills of the highest order.

Yeah I wondered what happened with DF and this bizarro idea that they are biased for Xbox. I didn’t follow any of the comparisons the last two gens so was never into DF but there seemed to be a switch four or five years ago.

 

[Oppoi]

Yeah I wondered what happened with DF and this bizarro idea that they are biased for Xbox. I didn’t follow any of the comparisons the last two gens so was never into DF but there seemed to be a switch four or five years ago.

The rest of us, all of us. We all live in your bizarro world.

 

[Topher]

Yeah I wondered what happened with DF and this bizarro idea that they are biased for Xbox. I didn’t follow any of the comparisons the last two gens so was never into DF but there seemed to be a switch four or five years ago.

Same bizarro ideas folks have that there is an "Xbox tax" and Sony's games get some magical score bump in reviews. Lots of bizarro takes in the gaming world. That's nothing new.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Same bizarro ideas folks have that there is an "Xbox tax" and Sony's games get some magical score bump in reviews. Lots of bizarro takes in the gaming world. That's nothing new.

Play Hifi Rush on Xbox

Then Play it on PlayStation

You can litterally feel the tax burden

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Same bizarro ideas folks have that there is an "Xbox tax" and Sony's games get some magical score bump in reviews. Lots of bizarro takes in the gaming world. That's nothing new.

Yeah but I’m talking specifically GAF. Did “Xbox tax” originate here or is it some random YT or twitter nonsense? Genuinely curious. I’ve only ever seen it on GAF brought up sarcastically.

 

[j0hnnix]