That ship has sailed already lol!
You’re probably right but saying something might only worsen things like it did in 2013. simple statements became a meme remember" We have a console for you".
PS still gets more exclusives as it is (between 1st party and 3rd party deals), giving them some more will tip the scale in a irreversible way. Xbox is already at bare minimum (less pieces than X1, just more than OG 20 years ago in a completely different world, not even market alone) as it is, like I said, it would be another step in killing the console for good, they started in 2013 and every decision went in that direction, outside the initial hype for Series, but it went cold in 2022.
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Hi, 've been a lurker for years but I think this occasion is worth to create an account. There is something that I have not seen discussed in many places that really worries me.
Since Xbox began acquiring studios in 2018, several questions have arisen about the creative independence of those studios (“they’re going to put them to work on GAAS!”). Microsoft has always said that Game Pass needs different experiences to attract the largest number of subscribers possible and that it also allowed studios to experiment because they did not depend as much on traditional game sales as on providing content to GamePass.
Thanks to this, experiences like Pentiment, Grounded or As Dusk Falls have been founded, but it has also given a bit of air to games like Psychonauts 2 or Wasteland 3 that, despite being great games, never had the opportunity to be commercial successes.
Bethesda, before the acquisition, had had some commercial failures, which led them to bet on trends of the moment for their new developments (Fallout 76, Redfall, Deathloop). When Microsoft bought Bethesda, it was said that now Bethesda’s function was no longer to sell games as to provide exclusive content to the platforms where there was Game Pass, so the studios could return to make the games that they have always known for.
I do not believe that this change of direction is to decentralize the hardware (that already happened years ago, when they started launching their games on PC), this change is to look for alternative ways to Game Pass because the service has not been as successful as they expected.
And with this we come to the question: what is going to happen with studios like Double Fine, Inxile or Compulsion? Because yes, Halo is going to sell very well on Playstation, Fable is going to work great on Switch 2, but what about studios that are never going to have commercially successful games or IPs big enough to move the market? What is going to happen with Turn 10? Are they going to compete head to head with Gran Turismo on their own platform? Obsidian has several small teams working on different games, how much a Pentiment 2 can sell on PS or Switch?
That’s what really worries me, the console and Game Pass was the safety net for many of these studios and projects. Once the new plan becomes effective and people stop being interested in both, what will happen to them?
And it is something that we are seeing in the big Third Party publishers. Square Enix has said that they are going to stop funding small games to focus on big experiences (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, etc.). We are seeing the struggle of EA and Ubisoft to release games beyond their established sagas (Fifa, Assassins Creed, Far Cry). We have seen how Activision/Blizzard put all the studios to work on COD and Diablo/WoW because IPs like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro or Tony Hawk are not profitable enought.
Anyone who thinks that Microsoft is not going to go through the same problems and that all of their games are going to be successful on other platforms is very wrong. And seeing who has won the internal battle (the C-Suits), I fear that when some games does not meet sales expectations will mean more layoffs and studio closures in the long term.
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It’s MS communication department that we’re talking about. They’ve never been good. I fully expect them completing ignoring this
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cuz even they dont know what to say lol
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There was two main issues with Steam Machine:
- Steam OS was in it’s infancy, therefore it lacked compatibility with major titles
- Far too many SKUs and configurations which is the exact opposite of what the console audience wants
The Steam Deck solved this by keeping things simple and launching a more matured Steam OS.
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Seem all of this is still just rumors. Hopefully they still make Xbox hardware. I don’t mind them porting to other place to make more money. Just don’t cancel hardware. As long as Xbox console still a thing i will buy the next one, if not? Gonna have to go full PC.
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To be fair, maybe they do have a plan and maybe it doesn’t entirely suck. I have my doubts about that based on some of these rumors, but I do think they should get the chance to explain it to us. The problem for them though is that gamers are a sensitive, fickle bunch and they absolutely do not like change unless it’s perceived as good change.
So yeah, I think the damage is already done regardless. How much that actually affects them going forward remains to be seen. The online community doesn’t always reflect the attitudes of the general public, but I definitely can’t see how this doesn’t hurt them either way. (If you’re going to explain to me in detail what you think/know is going to happen, just know that I’ve probably already read your views on this at least a dozen times. So, it’s ok, you don’t have to tell me. 
)
I’m honestly fascinated to see what they have to say.
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“Hey everyone, thank you for being such amazing legacy fans! We now announce our plan to grow our family even more, getting new fans on PlayStation and Nintendo! When we all play, we all win!”
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https://twitter.com/bethesda/status/1754520353584361571?t=hA4bZdOt3uEd_xoqaHFSHw&s=19
So Bethesda have now posted about Indiana Jones and every single reply is about PS5.
They need to stop social media until they have addressed this.
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ABK was the deal that killed the Xbox brand. They could spend 7B$ on Bethesda, and not get too much scrutiny from the MS overheads and anti-competition regulators, and also were more than able able to get their ROI with just Xbox. But 70B$ was an entirely different beast, and that brought too much scrutiny. It would have taken years (if not decades) for the ROI the way things we’re going. They wouldn’t be able to make the ROI from just their Gaming division. The ABK and cancellation of the unannounced Blizzard game were warning signs, that Xbox had bit way more than it could chew, and MS was gonna take over soon. Not too mention infighting, with many Bethesda heads complaining, ‘‘wait, why does ABK bet to remain multiplatform, and we can’t? This is not fair’’
I always was against it and hoping that it would fall, but ironic how overall the larger Xbox fanbase wanted it. Monkey’s paw I guess.
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Absolutely. For example, I got back into watching Twitch streams over the last few months. During that time I’ve seen ads for a number of games like Avatar, EA FC 24, Suicide Squad, I know there was another but I can’t remember which one, possibly Helldivers 2? I’m not sure if ads are region specific, but I’m in the UK so generally Xbox’s second biggest market.
Every single one of those had the PlayStation branding attached. Meanwhile I don’t think I’ve seen a single Xbox ad. On a platform where people stream video games how is Xbox not putting any marketing into it? That’s what really made me realise how little MS care or at least budget for their marketing these days, their presence is practically non existent in most of the world.
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I remember many being under the impression that if it failed it could spell the end for Xbox go figure . Just think if Bobby had of only ran the company better this would have been avoided.
I think it’s still a little unfair to act in certainty right now, although it looks likely we still need to wait to hear from them first.
All of this information so far has not come from Microsoft.
Because sony doesnt want you to spend less money by going to other regions
These rumours are flying since a month and before recent credible reports I shut them down as fud, but you can’t possibly ignore them for this long if they’re not partly true.
I’m in the same boat with this. At the end of the day I won’t lose sleep if PS players get to play these games, well except for the extremely annoying fanboys.
Just two things I find very important however, will MS provide new porting studios or will the current studios make all versions? I’d really dislike this because it will mean longer development times and it already isn’t exactly short while they could have been working solely on PC and Xbox versions.
And the whole third party support matter, nobody can know what will happen, but it will be very important for me. It’s also going to be weird as hell to see stuff like “Xbox games look and run the best on PS5 Pro.”
And honestly, with the PS5 Pro rumors around I was already keeping the possibility open that I might switch to that for the remainder of the console generation. Who knows, maybe the ecosystem will grow on me and I’ll stick with only PS from there on out. A lot will depend on if Xbox games become day and date releases for PS.
Because having to wait several months for a game or have it day one in Game Pass, that could still be reason enough to get an Xbox, could be.
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I agree. If they deny straight away, Xbox is out of the news media cycle. They could deny it soon after the buzz about MS games talk and just get free prolonged advertising. If this is the case Greenberg is a genius. Glad we have the right folks in charge.
They might not say anything. Stick to the original communication plan and pretend it’s only a few games and that it’s not a big deal because console wars are silly.