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[three_muffins]

I would prefer Microsoft buying the Silent Hill franchise but i'll take Metal Gear.

<- Still salty the way Konami handled P.T. and Silent Hills.

 

[Interfectum]

Theyre not steam rolling anything. Games pass is almost 4 years old. 22 Million in 4 years isnt that great. As far as first party goes Halo isnt going to move the needle, assuming it even lives up to the hype. What halo fan or die hard xbox fan doesnt either already have an xbox or gamepass?

22 million subs isn’t great? A brand new Halo won’t move the needle? wtf am I reading here?

 

[onesvenus]

Theyre not steam rolling anything. Games pass is almost 4 years old. 22 Million in 4 years isnt that great. As far as first party goes Halo isnt going to move the needle, assuming it even lives up to the hype. What halo fan or die hard xbox fan doesnt either already have an xbox or gamepass?

More than a million new users per month, and accelerating, is what I'd consider steam rolling.
It's even more impressive when you compare it to what Sony have done. They have less than 3 millions users of no PSNow if I'm not wrong.

 

[Dabaus]

More than a million new users per month, and accelerating, is what I'd consider steam rolling.
It's even more impressive when you compare it to what Sony have done. They have less than 3 millions users of no PSNow if I'm not wrong.

Microsoft isnt selling consoles at any rapid rate so theyre not expanding gamespass to a new audience unless its on PC, just making the true believers feel justified buying an xbox. We havent heard a thing about Seris S/X sales except that it was tracking worse than the xbox one at this point its life times. Microsoft is trying to sell one thing: Gamepass. Sony is trying to sell consoles, software, and ps plus subs. PSNow isnt a priority for them yet.

 

[onesvenus]

Microsoft isnt selling consoles at any rapid rate so theyre not expanding gamespass to a new audience unless its on PC, just making the true believers feel justified buying an xbox. We havent heard a thing about Seris S/X sales except that it was tracking worse than the xbox one at this point its life times. Microsoft is trying to sell one thing: Gamepass. Sony is trying to sell consoles, software, and ps plus subs. PSNow isnt a priority for them yet.

Let's ignore that iOS/PC Gamepass just released and it's still in beta in Android. Can you explain how are they supposed to expand Gamepass to a new audience?
But don't, please, get your trolling out of this thread

 

[Dabaus]

Let's ignore that iOS/PC Gamepass just released and it's still in beta in Android. Can you explain how are they supposed to expand Gamepass to a new audience?
But don't, please, get your trolling out of this thread

Wasnt that essentially stadia' pitch? Nobody wanted that or asked for it. I think youre vastly, vastly overestimating people caring or wanting to stream gamepass on an internet browser on their iphone. If someone wanted to game, theyd buy a console. This 3 billion gamers thing is nonesense and i feel bad for the developers who got sucked up into microsofts orbit if that is what they were sold.

 

[Reality Czar]

Gamepass is definitely the part of Metal Gear I can't wait to see remade. Yall remember that long cutscene where Snake talks about what a great value GamePass is and how it is steamrolling the competition. So good.

 

[onesvenus]

Wasnt that essentially stadia' pitch? Nobody wanted that or asked for it. I think youre vastly, vastly overestimating people caring or wanting to stream gamepass on an internet browser on their iphone. If someone wanted to game, theyd buy a console. This 3 billion gamers thing is nonesense and i feel bad for the developers who got sucked up into microsofts orbit if that is what they were sold.

No, it doesn't.
But again, there's a Gamepass thread if you want to talk about that. This is the Metal Gear rumour thread.

 

[MMaRsu]

Why would Kojima want to worl on another MGS..

 

[JLB]

Wasnt that essentially stadia' pitch? Nobody wanted that or asked for it. I think youre vastly, vastly overestimating people caring or wanting to stream gamepass on an internet browser on their iphone. If someone wanted to game, theyd buy a console. This 3 billion gamers thing is nonesense and i feel bad for the developers who got sucked up into microsofts orbit if that is what they were sold.

I asume you live in a developed country where the decision to buy a console is like buying a coffee.

Average income around the world

A comparison of the average income per capita over 92 countries worldwide

www.worlddata.info

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

I think that this rumour might be true. ACG sounded pretty sure of it and implied multiple times that MS offered Konami a lot of money to do that. He even drew parallel with when somebody gave you 1 mil. $ and asked to sell you house. The more interesting question is regarding MGS remake and whether it is really happening and to which platforms it will come.

Games pass is almost 4 years old. 22 Million in 4 years isnt that great.

12 mil. since the last march for you.

 

[Dabaus]

I think that this rumour might be true. ACG sounded pretty sure of it and implied multiple times that MS offered Konami a lot of money to do that. He even drew parallel with when somebody gave you 1 mil. $ and asked to sell you house.

The more interesting question is regarding MGS remake and whether it is really happening and to which platforms it will come.

I think hes absolutely full of it. We've heard for almost 2 years sony and konami have something planned in regards to old IP. First the original 4chan rumor, shortly after that KatharisT and the other guy (horror website writer that leaks RE stuff) both claimed sony was working with Konami for silent hill, KatharisT says sony and blue point are remaking MGS, Amazon Studio head lets the cat out of that sony is making tv shows out of games anf MGS is one of them.

Then this guy ACG Contradicts 2 years worth of rumors and pretty solid evidence for some wide eyed 11th Hour Microsoft ultimate money hat about IP that was never popular on their platform with a company they probably dont have a good relationship with, but he just can talk about it yet in detail. ACG was vague enough so that if/when its ps5 game or its never announced he can just say "Well i heard konami was shopping around i just didnt hear from who." Maybe MS secured a metal gear rising remake or remaster, i could believe that.

 

[reksveks]

Microsoft isnt selling consoles at any rapid rate so theyre not expanding gamespass to a new audience unless its on PC, just making the true believers feel justified buying an xbox. We havent heard a thing about Seris S/X sales except that it was tracking worse than the xbox one at this point its life times. Microsoft is trying to sell one thing: Gamepass. Sony is trying to sell consoles, software, and ps plus subs. PSNow isnt a priority for them yet.

Why does Microsoft at the moment care where their users are on coming from to use gamepass? Does apple care where its apple music users are coming from?

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

I think hes absolutely full of it. We've heard for almost 2 years sony and konami have something planned in regards to old IP. First the original 4chan rumor, shortly after that KatharisT and the other guy (horror website writer that leaks RE stuff) both claimed sony was working with Konami for silent hill, KatharisT says sony and blue point are remaking MGS, Amazon Studio head lets the cat out of that sony is making tv shows out of games anf MGS is one of them.

KatharisT is unreliable as it gets. Did she ever get something right? I recall she got banned twice or something for the fake inside. 4cham rumours are also 98% false most of the time. In fact I remember only 1 4ch rumour that was true. Regarding movies - as we know with Spider-man TV/Gaming licenses are the entirely different beasts and like WB for example - sometimes it is even a gordian knot.

Then this guy ACG Contradicts 2 years worth of rumors

There are a lot of wet dream rumours across the Internet and for example purchase of Sega even has become a running joke. There was even a rumour of Sony' purchasing Bethesda and nobody believed that because no way Bethesda would have sold, but yet it happened but to the entirely different platform

company they probably dont have a good relationship with

On what basis? Believe it or not, MS is in a good relations with a lot of companies out there.

 

[Badlucktroll]

I remember reading sometime in the past that Microsoft tried to do this before, but Konami had no interest in cash, they wanted Microsoft stock. So yes, they wanted to own a part of Microsoft. Didn’t work out.

 

[Perrott]

KatharisT is unreliable as it gets. Did she ever get something right? I recall she got banned twice or something for the fake inside. 4cham rumours are also 98% false most of the time. In fact I remember only 1 4ch rumour that was true. Regarding movies - as we know with Spider-man TV/Gaming licenses are the entirely different beasts and like WB for example - sometimes it is even a gordian knot.

She leaked Ghost of Tsushima Legends, a couple of PS Plus monthly games and has been vetted in regards to her informations on Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid leaks. More than four independent sources have backed her up on the MGS remake stuff, while around six other sources backed her claims on the Silent Hill rumors. I wouldn't want to go into detail about each one of the sources because I would have to write a wall of text examining their track records and stuff, but trust my word when I tell you that Katharsis and all these other individuals are reliable, as I have a pretty good perception of what "the whole picture" of all these rumors look like.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

She leaked Ghost of Tsushima Legends, a couple of PS Plus monthly games and has been vetted in regards to her informations on Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid leaks. More than four independent sources have backed her up on the MGS remake stuff, while around six other sources backed her claims on the Silent Hill rumors. I wouldn't want to go into detail about each one of the sources because I would have to write a wall of text examining their track records and stuff, but trust my word when I tell you that Katharsis and all these other individuals are reliable, as I have a pretty good perception of what "the whole picture" of all these rumors look like.

She basically leaked stuff that other people leaked.

 

[Clear]

KatharisT is unreliable as it gets. Did she ever get something right? I recall she got banned twice or something for the fake inside. 4cham rumours are also 98% false most of the time. In fact I remember only 1 4ch rumour that was true. Regarding movies - as we know with Spider-man TV/Gaming licenses are the entirely different beasts and like WB for example - sometimes it is even a gordian knot.


There are a lot of wet dream rumours across the Internet and for example purchase of Sega even has become a running joke. There was even a rumour of Sony' purchasing Bethesda and nobody believed that because no way Bethesda would have sold, but yet it happened but to the entirely different platform


On what basis? Believe it or not, MS is in a good relations with a lot of companies out there.

Actually its known that Zenimax management were looking to sell since a couple of years ago, so had Sony been interested they could have pursued a deal.

The important thing to note is that every acquisition MS has made has been friendly. Everyone they have bought either already had a preferential working relationship with them (e.g. Playground) or was struggling, if not to keep the lights on, but, to get reliable funding.

Its why all the rumours about acquiring Japanese companies and/or their IP are so unlikely. Konami has no reason to sell, because they aren't hurting for money, and have been ambivalent about console dev for the last few years.

The truth is MS are buying stuff mainly to feed GamePass, and that's not a particularly exciting proposition for devs who care to do more than simply survive. The health/success of the service is always going to come first, its signing up to be used as cannon-fodder.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Its why all the rumours about acquiring Japanese companies and/or their IP are so unlikely. Konami has no reason to sell, because they aren't hurting for money, and have been ambivalent about console dev for the last few years.

Nobody (on gaming side) is gonna purchase Konami on the whole because it probably gets more revenue from medical devices than from gaming (or whatever remaining there). But they own IP, that they use for pachinko that are dying business anyway.

Its why all the rumours about acquiring Japanese companies and/or their IP are so unlikely. Konami has no reason to sell, because they aren't hurting for money, and have been ambivalent about console dev for the last few years.

MS is friendly with a lot of companies in Japan. Just because Xbox is not popular there, it does not mean that companies there are hostile to Xbox. In fact a lot of companies - like Sega - get more money on the west rather than in Japan at all.

I stick to MS buying out Konami's IP. Also a lot of things point to some deal with Nintendo that starts in autumn so there will be a lot of spice. I fully expect some huge cooperation between Nintendo and MS + some other companies to be honest. MS fully invested in the gaming is incredibly attractive to a lot of japanese companies as it can bring a lot to the table.

I also one of those guys who think that Sony won't purchase any publisher, but we will see.

 

[Dabaus]

She leaked Ghost of Tsushima Legends, a couple of PS Plus monthly games and has been vetted in regards to her informations on Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid leaks. More than four independent sources have backed her up on the MGS remake stuff, while around six other sources backed her claims on the Silent Hill rumors. I wouldn't want to go into detail about each one of the sources because I would have to write a wall of text examining their track records and stuff, but trust my word when I tell you that Katharsis and all these other individuals are reliable, as I have a pretty good perception of what "the whole picture" of all these rumors look like.

Do you know things or are you just well read on internet rumors and whatnot?

 

[ShaikhCroft]

Just two more days till the next Wednesday. Yay

 

[Clear]

Nobody (on gaming side) is gonna purchase Konami on the whole because it probably gets more revenue from medical devices than from gaming (or whatever remaining there). But they own IP, that they use for pachinko that are dying business anyway.


MS is friendly with a lot of companies in Japan. Just because Xbox is not popular there, it does not mean that companies there are hostile to Xbox. In fact a lot of companies - like Sega - get more money on the west rather than in Japan at all.

I stick to MS buying out Konami's IP. Also a lot of things point to some deal with Nintendo that starts in autumn so there will be a lot of spice. I fully expect some huge cooperation between Nintendo and MS + some other companies to be honest. MS fully invested in the gaming is incredibly attractive to a lot of japanese companies as it can bring a lot to the table.

I also one of those guys who think that Sony won't purchase any publisher, but we will see.

Konami might sub-license IP, but I really doubt they'd sell under any circumstances. Its just never going to be worth it to them to divest a zero-maintenance cost investment. They get a one-time payout and lose all opportunity for long term profit cross all forms of media.

 

[Dabaus]

Nobody (on gaming side) is gonna purchase Konami on the whole because it probably gets more revenue from medical devices than from gaming (or whatever remaining there). But they own IP, that they use for pachinko that are dying business anyway.


MS is friendly with a lot of companies in Japan. Just because Xbox is not popular there, it does not mean that companies there are hostile to Xbox. In fact a lot of companies - like Sega - get more money on the west rather than in Japan at all.

I stick to MS buying out Konami's IP. Also a lot of things point to some deal with Nintendo that starts in autumn so there will be a lot of spice. I fully expect some huge cooperation between Nintendo and MS + some other companies to be honest. MS fully invested in the gaming is incredibly attractive to a lot of japanese companies as it can bring a lot to the table.

I also one of those guys who think that Sony won't purchase any publisher, but we will see.

Microsoft was always fully invested in gaming. The idea that they werent is revisionist histroy. If they werent fully invested they wouldnt have burned through billions of dollars in losses and who knows how much in money hats and exclusive timed dlc. MS has been in the industry for 20 years and every Japanese game be it exclusive or otherwise has spectacularly bombed, never took off, or almost killed the franchise. Japanese devs have been down that road before and they know where it ends.

 

[supernova8]

Seems like if people put out enough random theories, at least one of them is bound to happen and then they take the credit.

 

[The Gorby Congressmanz]

Microsoft isnt selling consoles at any rapid rate so theyre not expanding gamespass to a new audience unless its on PC, just making the true believers feel justified buying an xbox. We havent heard a thing about Seris S/X sales except that it was tracking worse than the xbox one at this point its life times. Microsoft is trying to sell one thing: Gamepass. Sony is trying to sell consoles, software, and ps plus subs. PSNow isnt a priority for them yet.

You mean you "heard" a rumored estimate with no verified source saying the XSX is tracking below the Xbox One, while at the same time thinking XSX isn't selling at a rapid rate, yet each one made is sold and almost no one can get one just like the PS5.

huh?

 

[The Gorby Congressmanz]

Also people are forgetting about Splinter Cell for some reason.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

On what basis? Believe it or not, MS is in a good relations with a lot of companies out there.

They're even on very good terms with Sony but don't tell the console warrior fanboy extremists this, they will swear to Hell and back it's not real.

Anyway I also think there's some truth to this rumor. I wouldn't be surprised if MS are doing something with both MGS and Silent Hill if the Kojima rumors turn out to be true (and there's indication those are pointing to something). It'll be funny if this turns out true because the only other MGS/Silent Hill rumors we've heard have been from Moore's Law Is Dead who has insisted on rumors of a MGS remake by Bluepoint and something Silent Hill related, both tied to Sony.

Granted, when it comes to console-related stuff I don't trust MLID all that much as he seems to be a bit of a fanboy himself (those leaked DMs between him and RGT showed a bit more of that IMO), and some of his earlier rumors surrounding PS5 features kind of backfired when the APU x-ray die shots leaked. That plus, there isn't too much circumstantial evidence pointing to either of those rumors being true (or he might've confused some things; maybe instead of MGS, Bluepoint could be working on a SOCOM remake?).

Eh, we'll find out in like 45 days anyway...maybe.

Microsoft was always fully invested in gaming. The idea that they werent is revisionist histroy. If they werent fully invested they wouldnt have burned through billions of dollars in losses and who knows how much in money hats and exclusive timed dlc. MS has been in the industry for 20 years and every Japanese game be it exclusive or otherwise has spectacularly bombed, never took off, or almost killed the franchise. Japanese devs have been down that road before and they know where it ends.

This post of yours is what reads like some revisionist history. There's making investments and then there's making investments; Xbox as a division was never necessarily a priority for Microsoft at large, even during the 360 era. They poured money into it, surely, but they never viewed the division as anything having a use or impact upon the other sides of the company. During the Xbox One era, particularly post-2015 and up until 2018, they were clearly cutting back allocated budgets (which not only affected rate of system production manufacture and allocation of costs for QA testing of certain games) and cancelling games outright.

What they're doing with the Xbox division today is quite different compared to the other three generations, because now the main sides of the company are looking to both support and benefit from developments within the Xbox division. Even though Xbox as a division is still rather small compared to the rest of the company, they are starting to treat it with a sense of importance similar to how Sony has treated the PlayStation division for the past decade. The only difference is that unlike Sony, the lifeblood of Microsoft is not dependent on the success or failure of the Xbox division...that doesn't mean they aren't giving it a strong play this time around, however.

Your take on their relation with Japanese studios makes absolutely no sense considering almost all of the major Japanese publishers have strengthened their ties with Microsoft thanks in part to the GamePass platform. Various Japanese games are seeing a lot more success on the platform, such as the Yakuza series, and you would think if Japanese companies as a whole had such a derision to Microsoft then companies like Tango Gameworks would've tried their hardest to get out of Zenimax to avoid being acquired by Microsoft, and notable devs like Shinji Mikami would've left upon said acquisition.

Neither of these things happened. Your post is a fantasy that has no basis in reality.

 

[Dabaus]

You mean you "heard" a rumored estimate with no verified source saying the XSX is tracking below the Xbox One, while at the same time thinking XSX isn't selling at a rapid rate, yet each one made is sold and almost no one can get one just like the PS5.

huh?

Pretty sure Zhuge H doesnt do rumors bro. Hes the one who said as much.

 

[Roni]

Microsoft isnt selling consoles at any rapid rate so theyre not expanding gamespass to a new audience unless its on PC, just making the true believers feel justified buying an xbox. We havent heard a thing about Seris S/X sales except that it was tracking worse than the xbox one at this point its life times. Microsoft is trying to sell one thing: Gamepass. Sony is trying to sell consoles, software, and ps plus subs. PSNow isnt a priority for them yet.

Which is the checkmate move Microsoft is aiming for: have Game Pass positioned as the de facto game streaming service by the time xCloud is feasible for wide release.

 

[Dabaus]

They're even on very good terms with Sony but don't tell the console warrior fanboy extremists this, they will swear to Hell and back it's not real.

Anyway I also think there's some truth to this rumor. I wouldn't be surprised if MS are doing something with both MGS and Silent Hill if the Kojima rumors turn out to be true (and there's indication those are pointing to something). It'll be funny if this turns out true because the only other MGS/Silent Hill rumors we've heard have been from Moore's Law Is Dead who has insisted on rumors of a MGS remake by Bluepoint and something Silent Hill related, both tied to Sony.

Granted, when it comes to console-related stuff I don't trust MLID all that much as he seems to be a bit of a fanboy himself (those leaked DMs between him and RGT showed a bit more of that IMO), and some of his earlier rumors surrounding PS5 features kind of backfired when the APU x-ray die shots leaked. That plus, there isn't too much circumstantial evidence pointing to either of those rumors being true (or he might've confused some things; maybe instead of MGS, Bluepoint could be working on a SOCOM remake?).

Eh, we'll find out in like 45 days anyway...maybe.



This post of yours is what reads like some revisionist history. There's making investments and then there's making investments; Xbox as a division was never necessarily a priority for Microsoft at large, even during the 360 era. They poured money into it, surely, but they never viewed the division as anything having a use or impact upon the other sides of the company. During the Xbox One era, particularly post-2015 and up until 2018, they were clearly cutting back allocated budgets (which not only affected rate of system production manufacture and allocation of costs for QA testing of certain games) and cancelling games outright.

What they're doing with the Xbox division today is quite different compared to the other three generations, because now the main sides of the company are looking to both support and benefit from developments within the Xbox division. Even though Xbox as a division is still rather small compared to the rest of the company, they are starting to treat it with a sense of importance similar to how Sony has treated the PlayStation division for the past decade. The only difference is that unlike Sony, the lifeblood of Microsoft is not dependent on the success or failure of the Xbox division...that doesn't mean they aren't giving it a strong play this time around, however.

Your take on their relation with Japanese studios makes absolutely no sense considering almost all of the major Japanese publishers have strengthened their ties with Microsoft thanks in part to the GamePass platform. Various Japanese games are seeing a lot more success on the platform, such as the Yakuza series, and you would think if Japanese companies as a whole had such a derision to Microsoft then companies like Tango Gameworks would've tried their hardest to get out of Zenimax to avoid being acquired by Microsoft, and notable devs like Shinji Mikami would've left upon said acquisition.

Neither of these things happened. Your post is a fantasy that has no basis in reality.

Japanese developers take the check MS gives them to port their game to gamepass and unless MS pays up they're not going out of their way to support it. Yakuza 7 or whatever the most recent one was was a timed xbox exclusive and it performed so bad it wasnt in the top 40 its debut week in the UK nor the top 20 npd for all games sold. The idea that gamepass helps Japanese games is Pure phil spencer spin and you seem smart enough not to fall for it.

 

[Jigsaah]

Eh, I'll hold my excitement until MS makes an announcement here. I hope so...I just want another MGS. As long as Kojima is involved, I will buy into whatever platform the game launches on.

 

[Roufianos]

I think that this rumour might be true. ACG sounded pretty sure of it and implied multiple times that MS offered Konami a lot of money to do that. He even drew parallel with when somebody gave you 1 mil. $ and asked to sell you house. The more interesting question is regarding MGS remake and whether it is really happening and to which platforms it will come.


12 mil. since the last march for you.

He was certain that the IP was up for grabs; he didn't say much in terms of MS being the buyer.

 

[Dabaus]

He was certain that the IP was up for grabs; he didn't say much in terms of MS being the buyer.

This is the crux of this whole thread and issue. ACG says Konami IPs are up for grabs, whatever the means. Jives well with other rumors that weve heard (sony is interested in reviving older IP), who he could be referring to as well. "Lots of money is being spent" makes certain people automatically assume Microsoft because they have money and sony is broke apparently. Konami, one of the most stingy, uptight, proud companies in the entire games industry is going to turn sony's offer down with id say guaranteed success to come for Microsoft because their check was bigger. IDK man, if youre trying to revive your franchises youre going to go with whats worked in the past and where your main audience is. I think konami is smart enough to know which way that is, even if there's a big check allegedly in front of them.

Doesnt ACG post on Gaf? He could easily come here and explain what he meant, I think it says alot that he hasnt though.

 

[heringer]

Makes more sense for it to go to Sony imo........especially with them doing a MGS movie. Also, I think most of the series fans probably are PlayStation owners.

Right. But isn't that also kind of the point? The idea would be for Microsoft to expand it's audience.

 

[Max_Po]

Anyone who sells their successful IP is an idiot... Konami can easily make $$$ by sitting on it and just licensing it.

 

[Zeroing]

 

[Keltarest]

I'm actually excited for E3 :]

 

[FatKingBallman]

Almost Wednesday

 

[The Gorby Congressmanz]

Pretty sure Zhuge H doesnt do rumors bro. Hes the one who said as much.

He didn't have any info anybody else didn't have, and the fact people still cling to him now is baffling, there was no actual figures released those were "estimates" from another party.

 

[The Gorby Congressmanz]

Japanese developers take the check MS gives them to port their game to gamepass and unless MS pays up they're not going out of their way to support it. Yakuza 7 or whatever the most recent one was was a timed xbox exclusive and it performed so bad it wasnt in the top 40 its debut week in the UK nor the top 20 npd for all games sold. The idea that gamepass helps Japanese games is Pure phil spencer spin and you seem smart enough not to fall for it.

The recent Yakuza wasn't even on gamepass at first wtf are you smoking? (heck I don't think it still is.)

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

I don't mind if it means Kojima Production crafting another Masterpiece. I'll play on PC.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

They get a one-time payout and lose all opportunity for long term profit cross all forms of media.

That is more the question of whether they can profit to the point where they don't want to sell their IPs. I mean, if you have a house that cost 500k, and somebody comes to you and say that they are willing to buy it for 1kk. Will you think about whether you can profit 1kk in the future or will you decide to cash out?

Microsoft was always fully invested in gaming.

No, Xbox has never - ok only in the beginning I think when they started with buying Rare (also Halo? I recall they was a feud between Apple and Ms) and put Pentium 3 in Xbox - they tried. But effectively Xbox has been a hobby for MS for a long long time (like a rich guy owning a baseball team). If they were truly invested in gaming they would spend on Xbox more. But they even threw Xbox under Windows division with Myerson (era of warlords). If there were truly invested in gaming they would not have lost Bioware to EA and Double Helix to Amazon. I recall even SF5 they turned down too. Just an example. It would not have happen under Phil, that's for sure.

Also when people say about MS burning cash, I always say that the scale of MS is much bigger than you can imagine. Since 80s (?) MS main way to work was to burn the cash in one division by using the profits from another division. In 2021 they are so big that their whole yearly revenue in 2020 was rivaling the whole gaming industry revenue for the whole world. Basically from all the markets. It wasl like 140+ bil (MS) vs 170+ bil (world gaming)

They're even on very good terms with Sony but don't tell the console warrior fanboy extremists this, they will swear to Hell and back it's not real.

I think it will be fascinating when Sony will move PS Now & PSN to Azure and MS will profit from that

Eh, we'll find out in like 45 days anyway...maybe.

Yeah, we will find a lot at E3 and I am really curious what's up with that Nintendo and MS partnership too. Too much smoke in the end to be Banjo-Kazooe made by some Nintendo's team.

Right. But isn't that also kind of the point? The idea would be for Microsoft to expand it's audience.

True. Add to that the console market is relatively small in a comparison to a bigger mobile market. Potential of cloud gaming is huge and much bigger than the whole console market. I am pretty sure a lot of companies are interested to enter that mobile market without risking too much on making mobile games and then flop.

 

[Perrott]

Do you know things or are you just well read on internet rumors and whatnot?

I know stuff on some announced and unannounced titles, but on the Silent Hill/Metal Gear front I'm just very well read into the internet rumors except for one tiny bit of information that has come my way regarding Silent Hill, although it isn't worth talking about in the context of this conversation.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Yeah, we will find a lot at E3 and I am really curious what's up with that Nintendo and MS partnership too. Too much smoke in the end to be Banjo-Kazooe made by some Nintendo's team.

It's either that or Master Chief in Smash (which is probably the safer bet). Or it could be both

The recent Yakuza wasn't even on gamepass at first wtf are you smoking? (heck I don't think it still is.)

All of the Yakuza games should be there now IIRC and Judgement is coming 1st week of May.

 

[RoadHazard]

If MGS should be exclusive to ANYTHING it should be PlayStation. Xbox feels wrong, the series doesn't have the same connection to that brand.

But I also don't really care about MGS anymore, so I guess it's whatever. Although if it's about developing a new entry in the series in-house, I certainly have more faith in Sony's 1st party for that kind of game.

 

[Spacefish]

If MGS should be exclusive to ANYTHING it should be PlayStation. Xbox feels wrong, the series doesn't have the same connection to that brand.

But I also don't really care about MGS anymore, so I guess it's whatever. Although if it's about developing a new entry in the series in-house, I certainly have more faith in Sony's 1st party for that kind of game.

Depends what iteration you're talking about. Modern MGS (modern Kojima in general) weirdly seems to connect best with pc gamers, they love all that systemic open world stuff. The legacy on PlayStation actually became a weight around MGS V's neck. Even if you gave it to Kojima I don't think we are ever getting an MGS 2 style game again, beyond that I don't know of any first party studio that's capable.

 

[Dr Bass]

22 million subs isn’t great? A brand new Halo won’t move the needle? wtf am I reading here?

I don't think it's that great considering how many sign up for a buck, or do the 1 dollar trick to convert their Xbox Live over to years of free Game Pass Ultimate or however that works. But that really doesn't even matter.

Let's look at the numbers real quick, to maybe try and emphasize why I think this is just such a losing proposition for MS long term.

They have 22mil subs.

Nintendo has sold 31.8 mil copies of Animal Crossing as of February of this year.

Everyone keeps saying MS now has 23 studios, and those games will all go on Game Pass because they are now Microsoft Studios. Soooo think about that. 23 studios, people getting the games as a part of Game Pass instead of buying them (MS games don't ever leave GP, correct?). But now those 22 million subs have to cover the costs of the 23 Studios, with people signed up to GP to not really have any incentive whatsoever to spend money to support those studios. So now you are spending the equivalent of 2 games a year (at MOST if you are not using discounts), while getting theoretically several games a year from those two dozen studios. How is that paltry money split among all of those people it has to support? On top of that MS is paying 3rd parties for deals. I'm about to buy my 3rd and 4th PS5 exclusive since I got the system about two months ago or so. So I've already spent 2x what a yearly sub for GP would be, on just four games. And I'm loving it. Don't you think MS would rather get that kind of money for their offerings if they could? Again, why is MS happy about making less money while spending more? The whole thing smells like a Hail Mary pass.

Meanwhile, Nintendo can sell one game, made by "one studio" to the tune of 32 million copies sold, for almost 2 billion in revenue. One game. And they have many, MANY games selling in the dozens of millions on Switch. Sony is in a similar position. Why in the heck, would any game publisher in a winning position, all of a sudden think it's a good idea to give away all of your product for less money?

Sure it's a "win" for people who want to spend less on their hobby, but I just don't see how it works long term unless Microsoft is genuinely happy to forever subsidize gaming. Which they won't be.

How would you rather support your business long term?

 

[On Demand]

MGS is so associated with PlayStation in both mindshare and sales that I can’t see Konami selling it or making it exclusive to Xbox. Multiplatform would make more sense.

It would be a big deal for MS, but bad for the franchise. See Tomb Raider.

All this goes against what KatharsisT has been saying anyway.

 

[OldBoyGamer]

I called this about two years ago. I was laughed out of the room.

 

[massivekettle]

I don't think it's that great considering how many sign up for a buck, or do the 1 dollar trick to convert their Xbox Live over to years of free Game Pass Ultimate or however that works. But that really doesn't even matter.

Let's look at the numbers real quick, to maybe try and emphasize why I think this is just such a losing proposition for MS long term.

They have 22mil subs.

Nintendo has sold 31.8 mil copies of Animal Crossing as of February of this year.

Everyone keeps saying MS now has 23 studios, and those games will all go on Game Pass because they are now Microsoft Studios. Soooo think about that. 23 studios, people getting the games as a part of Game Pass instead of buying them (MS games don't ever leave GP, correct?). But now those 22 million subs have to cover the costs of the 23 Studios, with people signed up to GP to not really have any incentive whatsoever to spend money to support those studios. So now you are spending the equivalent of 2 games a year (at MOST if you are not using discounts), while getting theoretically several games a year from those two dozen studios. How is that paltry money split among all of those people it has to support? On top of that MS is paying 3rd parties for deals. I'm about to buy my 3rd and 4th PS5 exclusive since I got the system about two months ago or so. So I've already spent 2x what a yearly sub for GP would be, on just four games. And I'm loving it. Don't you think MS would rather get that kind of money for their offerings if they could? Again, why is MS happy about making less money while spending more? The whole thing smells like a Hail Mary pass.

Meanwhile, Nintendo can sell one game, made by "one studio" to the tune of 32 million copies sold, for almost 2 billion in revenue. One game. And they have many, MANY games selling in the dozens of millions on Switch. Sony is in a similar position. Why in the heck, would any game publisher in a winning position, all of a sudden think it's a good idea to give away all of your product for less money?

Sure it's a "win" for people who want to spend less on their hobby, but I just don't see how it works long term unless Microsoft is genuinely happy to forever subsidize gaming. Which they won't be.

How would you rather support your business long term?

The $1 dollar trick is anecdotal evidence at best (until someone can show receipts), so agree that it shouldn't matter in the analysis.

Your comparison is not apples-to-apples unless you've bought your PS5 exclusives from PSN (as other retailers do get a cut of the total sale price).

As for monetising Gamepass, the business model is about maximising userbase involvement which inevitably will lead to enhanced monetisation (buying DLCs, MTXs, etc.). Also, when games leave GamePass, GPU users can purchase games at a discount through Microsoft's store (meaning it gets its cut from the sale).

As an aside, it might be hard to comprehend but somehow free-to-play is actually very profitable (Warzone, Apex, Fortnite, etc.), by lowering the barriers to entry for players and offering them the opportunity to spend on content they like/want and offering perception of "value" by getting the game for free.

It wouldn't surprise me if GPU was a loss leader for Microsoft at the moment, but it also wouldn't surprise me to see before a profit generator in a few years once the XSX is firmly established and more XGS games are out. They did the same thing for their traditional bread and butter (i.e., Office) and the experiment has been more or less a success. Companies are known to trade off "spike-y" profits for recurring and more predictable revenue streams which is what the subscription model offers. As such, the subscription model is here to stay and will become an integral part of the future of entertainment consumption, for better or worse.