Yeah Zhuge missed the point entirely.
He thinks that publishers won’t skip Xbox, but that has happened and is still happening now.
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Sure. I’m just gonna play FF VII Remake and Persona 5 on Xbox right now. And I’m so looking forward to FF XVI on launch on Xbox!
Oh wait…
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This basically confirms Xbox is looking at a much, much bigger install base then 100m consoles.
500m -1Billion for this gen.
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Well, they’ve been talking about reaching 3 billion players for a time now.
They won’t stop investing hard so soon.
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Yeah that would make sense. What I meant was not just game pass games.
MS want to be a juggernaut in gaming so they’ll do some big moves no one can afford. It seems like madness right now, but looking at the money they already make on a yearly basis, the only thing they really need is growth. Steady growth. Going for the 12% is assuring everyone is on board and publishers won’t miss your platform unless they are paid a premium by other platforms.
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I would expect Xcloud to eventually be standardized. 1080p for standard and 4K for Ultimate.
I’m with you. Timed exclusivity is unnecessary and doesn’t benefit me one bit. Either full exclusivity to raise the value of the overall platform which leads to better games etc. or don’t bother. Give me day 1 Xbox Game Pass instead.
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It actually makes sense when we consider xbox is focusing on the subscription model. This could mean more 3rd party games coming to gamepass, because they dont need to sell as many games to get the same amount of profit.
No surprises here. I always find it funny when Xbox fans complain about what Sony does despite the fact that Microsoft does the exact same shit. In fact, all three hardware manufacturers do the exact same shit which is why I never get mad or upset or even annoyed. If I want to play the game that releases first on PlayStation 5, I will do so (like with Forspoken because im not waiting two years for the Xbox version and that’s if it even gets ported to Xbox) or I will just wait for it to hit my primary gaming console which is Xbox like im currently doing with Godfall and most likely Kena since as far as I know, it’s only a six month timed console exclusive for PlayStation 4/5.
In general looking at it from a Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo perspective, I don’t like timed console exclusives for one simple reason - I see it as a total and complete waste of money for the hardware manufacturer because your competition is going to get the game eventually anyway. Also, if im paying money for timed exclusivity, I would never pay for less than two years and at that point, I would much rather pay for the game to be a full console exclusive period.
As a gamer/consumer, I would prefer third party multi-platform games being on both consoles day one with the Xbox version being on Game Pass which is what I would prefer to see Microsoft do over any timed console exclusivity. Would also love to see Sony pay for games to be on PS Plus day one but that’s very rare and even more so for games that I actually want to play.
With that all said, as someone who owns both Xbox Series X (primary) and PlayStation 5 (secondary, full exclusives only), every game that’s on my list (which is around 45 total excluding games with a confirmed release date and Halo Infinite) will most likely be played day one unless the timed exclusivity is short. If I only owned a PlayStation 5 and I wanted to play Stalker 2, I would obviously just wait for the PS5 version. If the game is mediocre ala Godfall then I will wait to see if it goes on Game Pass before 2021 ends. If it does, I give it a shot but if not, game will never be played.
Kena for me is the temptation because while im willing to wait six months, depends on what else releases in late August/early September. If I don’t have any new games for a month or so and Kena is available, chances are im probably not going to be waiting for the Xbox version. Thankfully, my gut feeling tells me that The Ascent is going to be August which is what im hoping for as I will have a new game to play and can’t wait out Kena to see if it hits Game Pass day one in 2022.
Basically, it all depends on the game itself, how long the timed console exclusivity is for and how hyped and interested I am to playing it. One thing is certain, if it’s a game that I want to play 100% like Kena, then it will be played one way or the other.
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Some people don’t see the full picture
Microsoft lower the cut to 12% in ( Xbox - Win store ) Will make companies like apple - steam under high pressure to change their policy specially steam , Because Microsoft is the largest publisher in steam and they own huge games that sell over 5 -10 million copies . This pressure will serve Microsoft in the long run, especially if they continue with acquisitions
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There is a little missing element here. MS plans on lowering their cut to 12% to allow for the games to be streamed. This will likely be their base contract, 12/88 cut and the game goes on all of the services, Game Pass, XCloud, PC, Xbox. Developers will still probably be able to opt for an Xbox only route at the standard 30/70 cut.
This is definitely a move for streaming where there is no easy way to compensate developers for the game. I’d imagine there will be some engagement bonuses mixed in there somewhere also.
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These type of deals with Indies are just a case of make our version first and we will give you money. The three of them do it. I’ve never really had an issue with it.
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Same. I dont know what the problem with Stalker 2 is lol.
Me neither when it comes to smaller developers since it has traditionally taken a lot of the financial risk away from the studio.
Sometimes they work great as well, Sony picked up Rocket League and Fall Guys for example. No issue for me. Tomb Raider, Deathloop, FF I have an issue with as they are moneyhats, publishers can handle multiple versions at once.
I doubt that Stalker is hitting PS5 as soon as 3 months later, it will take longer than that.
Remember as well, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has never been on Console before. This is a smaller dev. In all likelihood, if it came out on one platform that is not PC, it probably would have been PS5 as Sony got many defacto Indie console exclusives last gen due to adoption rate. MS is helping in the promotion of the game and is not taking it away from the core audience for the game. They are adding here, not subtracting.
Same goes for Nintendo with Among Us.
Timed Exclusivity is not something I love, but lets be real, there is a substantial difference between STALKER 2 and Final Fantasy XVI.
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lol relax. easy on the extreme takes.
This. I find it strange that so many people are glossing over this.
Everyone assumes this is just to get games on Xbox, but it’s most likely a way to get over that hurdle that GeForce now faced when devs decided to not allow their games to be streamed without some compensation.
Also, if this is the case, there’s no guarantee that devs/publishers will be on board. We’re kind of in uncharted waters with all this stuff.
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Nice essay. You do realize that with MS’s support STALKER wouldn’t be on any console, right? Like the previous STALKER. This is additive, while Sony exclusive deals lead to games being on less platforms.
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