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Interesting Todd Howard Interview that doesn't rule out future games being on other platforms

hmmm. Some would say selling 100 mil over 7 years is phenomenal. But then again, every console sells 100 million or more units, right? Because if you’re a console manufacturer and haven’t, well, it may be time to get out of the console making business. ;)
Poor Nintendo with Switch. Failed to reach 100kk. It is doomed. :messenger_tears_of_joy: Then again it's been 3 years only.
 
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Nintendo has sold 100 mil more than anyone, haven’t they? I’m saying, if you never can do it or have done it, maybe it time to rethink things.
No, Switch hasn't reached 100kk yet. Wii U bombed. Wii though sold a lot more but I don't remember how much.

I’m saying, if you never can do it or have done it, maybe it time to rethink things
With Xbox 360 could have reached that number but it gave in middle / late the gen.

MS has never taken gaming seriously, now they are taking it and making moves. We will see what will happen in the next several years. It is really interesting to see what will happen when MS is taking the game - lol - seriously. Sony has been taking it seriously for a long time because it is one of its pillars so nothing can happen with or Sony will end up like Sega.
 
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FrankWza

Member
No, Switch hasn't reached 100kk yet. Wii U bombed. Wii though sold a lot more but I don't remember how much.


With Xbox 360 could have reached that number but it gave in middle / late the gen.

MS has never taken gaming seriously, now they are taking it and making moves. We will see what will happen in the next several years. It is really interesting to see what will happen when MS is taking the game - lol - seriously. Sony has been taking it seriously for a long time because it is one of its pillars so nothing can happen with or Sony will end up like Sega.
What are you talking about? You said 100 million over 7 years is nothing. So show me the console manufacturers that have done it. Not hypotheticals and predictions
 
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What are you talking about? You said 100 million over 7 years is nothing. So show me the console manufacturers that have done it. Not hypotheticals and predictions
Nintendo and Sony were able to do that with GameBoy (and it happened in a smaller market than today), Wii and Nintendo DS (Nintendo was into something their mobile gaming basically). It would be interesting to compare it with early console generations (like NES or Sega) but the market at that time wasn't that big at all so hard to compare.

It is like comparing the current mobile market with 90s. Or the current PC market with the 90s. Different sizes, not a fair comparison. I believe the modern era NES would be comparable to 150-200 mil as it was solved over 60+ in the early era - after all who doesn't know NES. And Sega Genesis would be around 70-80 for the current market.

Xbox 360 achieved a remarkable result, considering it did not have that big reach at his time.
 
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FrankWza

Member
Nintendo and Sony were able to do that with GameBoy (and it happened in a smaller market than today), Wii and Nintendo DS (Nintendo was into something their mobile gaming basically). It would be interesting to compare it with early console generations (like NES or Sega) but the market at that time wasn't that big at all so hard to compare.

It is like comparing the current mobile market with 90s. Or the current PC market with the 90s. Different sizes, not a fair comparison.

there’s a name missing from this list....hmmm. But 100 mil is no big deal ;)
 
there’s a name missing from this list....hmmm. But 100 mil is no big deal ;)
The biggest portable console is actually...a mobile phone :messenger_tears_of_joy: Also one of the biggest gaming platforms is Microsoft Windows.
100kk means nothing because it doesn't translate into sales - games bomb no matter how much consoles were sold.


Anyways, I stay true to my words - Bethesda's games (that do not have timed exclusivity) won't come to PS without GamePass attached.
 
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wolffy71

Banned
We're gonna be talking about this until they finalize the deal, aren't we?

God Bless Todd Howard but MS bought(buying) Bethesda and he doesn't have the authority to make those decisions anymore.

Not saying MS mislead them or whatever but it will come down to what Spencer wants when the time comes.
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
We're gonna be talking about this until they finalize the deal, aren't we?

God Bless Todd Howard but MS bought(buying) Bethesda and he doesn't have the authority to make those decisions anymore.

Not saying MS mislead them or whatever but it will come down to what Spencer wants when the time comes.
We'll be talking about it until the games are actually announced and for what platforms.. and then if they aren't on Playstation we'll be talking about the possibility of a timed exclusive and a later announcement...

The "Deal" will be for the purchasing of the company and that deal will almost certainly say nothing about what platforms future games will be released on.
 
Guys

remember

BUY SKYRIM AGAIN!
Gimme that Skyrim for my iron :messenger_tears_of_joy:

We're gonna be talking about this until they finalize the deal, aren't we?

God Bless Todd Howard but MS bought(buying) Bethesda and he doesn't have the authority to make those decisions anymore.

Not saying MS mislead them or whatever but it will come down to what Spencer wants when the time comes.
More likely till the next E3 or something where the platforms for the games will be announced.
 
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Mully87

Neo Member
Nintendo has sold 100 mil more than anyone, haven’t they? I’m saying, if you never can do it or have done it, maybe it time to rethink things.

Like spending $7.5b on a major publisher and making all their IPs exclusive to your console.............
 

FrankWza

Member
Like spending $7.5b on a major publisher and making all their IPs exclusive to your console.............
Exclusive After 2021 you mean? It’ll help in 2023. Until then Sony benefits from those exclusives. Tough start to that plan. You spend that kind of money and you want it to pay off immediately or at least pretty soon. But, you’re waiting 3 years AND helping your competitor in the meantime...rough.
 
I can't wait for all the sad faces and broken lives when these PlayStation whining Fanboys realize one day after the acquisition is finished next year that all future Bethesda games will be exclusive to Microsoft Platforms :D
 

Mully87

Neo Member
Exclusive After 2021 you mean? It’ll help in 2023. Until then Sony benefits from those exclusives. Tough start to that plan. You spend that kind of money and you want it to pay off immediately or at least pretty soon. But, you’re waiting 3 years AND helping your competitor in the meantime...rough.

Sometimes you have to give a little to gain a lot.

This is business, and the 2 games releasing on PS have been signed on the dotted line before the acquisition, MS have no say in the release of those games..... But im sure they wont complain too much, lets say both games are a commercial success and create new interest in the IP's, you could say it would be a pretty safe be they get sequels and i wonder what console they would be launching on.....

Or they could flop and just be a couple of one offs and makes zero difference.

We all know the reason they have done this deal. Some of the biggest IPs in gaming, quality studios in their portfolio, and a huge boost to their gamepass subscription. i dont exactly think they are crying over a couple of AA titles that will release on PS before the deal is finalized 🤷‍♂️
 

EDMIX

Member
Sure, but why would they backtrack on their statement that Bethesda would operate semi-autonomously?


Agreed. Also note who self published Minecraft Dungeons


Its starting to sound like they have a solid reason on WHY they are trying to have Bethesda self publish or why their games were not shown under MGS

Sony basically has ~6 months to try and get Bethesda to sign a contract to ensure that they release games on the PS5, after that point, there is nothing that they can do

lol I never really thought of that, very funny. If that does happen, that would make for a very funny reveal. I feel forgetting this deal isn't actually done yet.
 

FrankWza

Member
lets say both games are a commercial success and create new interest in the IP's, you could say it would be a pretty safe be they get sequels and i wonder what console they would be launching on.....

OR, those dollars that come in makes phil say “hmmm, what if every game under the zenimax deal sells anywhere near this on PlayStation too?” See?
 

FrankWza

Member
Those 2 games are TIMED EXCLUSIVES, and with 8 studios (6 if you exclude studios working on those PS5 games), there's not way we'll have to wait until 2022 to have Xbox exclusive games from them.

Probably not, but it won’t be an elderskyfall game though. And the timed part of those PS5 games exclusivity is a pretty crucial time.
 
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I legit feel bad for Todd Howard. He gets shit on by a lot of the gamers but he spent his entire life building Bethesda and for some reason he decided to ignore that MS has a long legacy of buying and destroying studios. MS is called "The Beast from Redmond" for a reason, in the Silicon Valley they assiduously avoid MS like the plague and the common saying is "Microsoft is a vampire". Maybe Todd thinks "this time it will be different" but it won't.

I expect Todd will pull a CliffyB and quit Bethesda shortly after MS announces all future titles will be Xbox exclusive, then he'll vanish off the face of the Earth other than to occasionally tweet "I'm never going to make a video game ever again" because MS is going to destroy his life's work and for Satya Nadella it was Tuesday.

I really enjoyed The Elder Scrolls but I fully expect it will be Halo'd and Gears of War'd by MS and die shortly after the acquisition is completed.
 

ToadMan

Member
but if you have paid attention to what phill said they are not counting on ps audience to grow not at all.

Personally I think Phil is on shakey ground. Once Xsex is a flop he should be gone. Although MS lacks people who care about gaming so maybe he gets to stick around.

Despite that, if an exec decides that a 100+ million customers aren’t a target for his product, he’s a bad exec.

That’s really all there is to it. Growth doesn’t happen by accident - his comments aren’t to us, they’re posturing to Sony in terms of what deal MS want.

But actually right now even that doesn’t matter. The deal MS and Sony make will be decided on how successful PS5 is vs how unsuccessful Xsex is.

I’m gonna bet PS5 outsells Xsex 3:1. With that gets Sony a good amount of leverage.
 
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martino

Member
Personally I think Phil is on shakey ground. Once Xsex is a flop he should be gone. Although MS lacks people who care about gaming so maybe he gets to stick around.

Despite that, if an exec decides that a 100+ million customers aren’t a target for his product, he’s a bad exec.

That’s really all there is to it. Growth doesn’t happen by accident - his comments aren’t to us, they’re posturing to Sony in terms of what deal MS want.

But actually right now even that doesn’t matter. The deal MS and Sony make will be decided on how successful PS5 is vs how unsuccessful Xsex is.

I’m gonna bet PS5 outsells Xsex 3:1. With that gets Sony a good amount of leverage.
he still target a good amount of that 100+M but not as console customer, that's the thing.
And If you're looking at hardware sales only this gen, you will not be using tools giving you a correct picture of the situation.
 
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FrankWza

Member
Despite that, if an exec decides that a 100+ million customers aren’t a target for his product, he’s a bad exec.

it’s ridiculous. I personally don’t care for the core games going over in the deal so maybe it’s easier for me To look at these games and say that none of them “belong” on xbox. It’s not like seeing kratos on an x or seeing master chief on a PSsystem. Buying games to make exclusives and cultivating exclusives are 2 very different things. If he wanted to be vicious he would let the games on PS, make them awesome and make a ton of money from the PS sales and THEN take it away and have gamers switch next gen(PS6)This gen will be half way done before they have aaa exclusives on x. It’s a waste.
 
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Who's betting that after all of this, that when Bathesda games are finally announced as console exclusive.... That the Sony die hards here will react with "no one like bathesda games anyway"
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
And Phil has already answered that question. MS does not need Sony to recoup the costs.

Why the fuck would MS pay so much money just to release the games on PlayStation. They want people to subscribe to Game Pass, that's the whole end goal. It's baffling people don't realise this when the interviews make that damn clear.

Steady on.

Elder Scrolls is a massive franchise on all platforms. Makes business sense to keep it on all platforms. People can play it day one on Gamepass, but if they put it on PS5 and steam then they'll also be making millions in sales from people buying it on those platforms.

When MS paid 4bn for Minecraft, they didn't then lock it onto Xbox. They still continued to make it available on Switch, PS4, Android etc. It was a wise move that has generated god knows how much money in revenue.

Phil talks, but ultimately MS need to keep their shareholders happy and make maximum returns on this large investment.
 
Has the acquisition gone through? If not, then it would explain why both Howard and Spencer are being careful with their wording around exclusivity. Sorta like a wolf can't announce plans to make a sheep his breakfast before he (the wolf) has successfully infiltrated the sheep group.

Once the purchase is done, they won't have to worry about regulators and governing bodies blocking the deal/monopoly. At that point, they'll go all-in on communicating the exclusivity of ZeniMax's stuff on Xbox. In other words, if you want to play Bethesda games, look into a PC or Xbox.
 

Faithless83

Banned
This one is a good thread to bookmark for... you know, "future reference".
I believe we'll see multiplatform games from Bethesda & CO for a long while.
 

Jagz

Member
Did people not read the article?

"Howard reiterates that the details of the deal are still being finalised. When it comes to such releases, he says, "We haven't gone through all of that, to be honest."

"I can't really project where things will be except to say we've done those sort of exercises ourselves as an independent. If you look at every Elder Scrolls game, there has been some exclusivity on Xbox or with Microsoft.'

"We'll decide what makes the best sense for our audience when the time comes, and I can't really project today what that looks like."


Also, Todd never says 'it's hard to imagine Elders Scrolls not being on PS5' in the article.

The interviewer states, 'it's hard to imagine MS would restrict TES VI to its own platforms', to which Howard states, "I would agree that it is hard to imagine" and says no more beyond that.

At the end of day, Phil Spencer has made it clear that they are going to bring their games to as many platforms as possible, but not closed platforms like the Switch and PS5.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
Except he very clearly says in the interview that they will still be publishing their games and working the way they have been. You also don't know what was talked about between Todd and Phil regarding buying them. Todd could've said that they'll agree but if they want to put games other places they still can.
Oh you sweet summer child...
 

Yoboman

Member
Agreed. Also note who self published Minecraft Dungeons


Its starting to sound like they have a solid reason on WHY they are trying to have Bethesda self publish or why their games were not shown under MGS



lol I never really thought of that, very funny. If that does happen, that would make for a very funny reveal. I feel forgetting this deal isn't actually done yet.
Well I took that quote to basically mean Bethesda may run exactly as they are but with MS as overseer, and reaping all the money they make. Plus everything they do needs to be day one Gamepass and Xbox

But otherwise Bethesda acts as developer and publisher as they have before, still working with medium sized devs to publish games as well under the Bethesda label

It won't be that simple though and really depends where they all land when the negotiations are ironed out. And anybody saying MS can just make them 100% exclusive is also right. We just don't know because it's not clear right now
 

splattered

Member
Some of you seem to be missing the bigger picture here. So many posts about how Bethesda games are huge franchises on other platform like Playstation. Welp... time to buy an Xbox. Or play on PC. It really is that simple. This is going to help push hardware and therefor more GPU sales as well.

You can't say "It doesn't make good business sense because they make so much money on Playstation."

Correction - they USED to make so much money on Playstation.

Now these franchises make so much Playstation money on Microsoft platforms.
 
I don't believe anything Todd Howard says, unless what he says aligns with my interests, then I'll die on a hill defending those statements.
 
more like todd whoward
Well I mean he's going to eventually get fed up with MS and quit like CliffyB did and then he's going to spend the rest of his life being rich and retired and tweet many years later "I'm never going to make a video game ever again" while MS runs Bethesda's franchises into the ground like Halo and Gears of War.

If anything we should all be sad that The Elder Scrolls is doomed now and so is DOOM. MS ruins everything they touch.
 

Dabaus

Banned
Ultimately it's hard to imagine that, despite the power Microsoft now has over Bethesda, it could restrict The Elder Scrolls 6, for example, to its own platforms -- especially given the running joke that its forebear Skyrim is available on every device imaginable, including Alexa.

"I would agree that is hard to imagine," Howard smiles, but offers no more on the matter.


I don’t see how this isn’t a hint. Curious it’s at the bottom of the article though. The fact that we’re a month passed the announcement of this deal and there still hasnt been a definitive answer on exclusivity is telling to me. Time will tell.
 
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