But Play Anywhere requires devs to make both a Xbox and a PC version and then sell both for 1 price instead of double dipping.
If MS could streamline the process where both Xbox and Pc versions are essentially 1 SKU it might make more sense for devs. If next Xbox consoles are to support PC titles in some fashion then I’m guessing the way games are made will have to change somewhat although devs would still have to support prior series generations for some time.
It’s a hard one to figure out, but my guess is that if MS is talking about it, it’s because they have figured something out or have an idea of how to make it work.
On Apple TV, I think they have something where you have all your media on different services but all put into 1 app so that you can play or stream from different services from their storefront basically. Like Parris said, MS could do the same thing where you see a game but it’s available on different storefronts and all are linked on your console. So if you bought a game on steam, it still appears on your Xbox library, but it has a steam icon on the game to show you where it’s coming from.
The only problem here is how does MS make money this, unless they figure a way to share royalties with Valve and Epic. Or they think that people will still buy Xbox games due to it being what the system actually pushes more, or maybe they just run better, or maybe users new to the ecosystem will realize Gamepass is the shit, or they’ll just give money back to MS through Gamepass Core and accessories.
At this point only MS knows how it could work and financially make sense, but they’re big boy so they should know what they are doing.
What do the optics look like if an “Xbox Game” is the top seller on Playstation/Switch? Does Sony/Nintendo want money from their platform flowing to a rival? Third-party games complete with first-party games sure, but those are from independent publishers not competitors. There has been plenty of talk about it looking bad that MS is releasing games on rival platforms, but no one is really talking about what it would look like if “Xbox games” sell better than “Playstation games” on Playstation. I mean if we are worried about people picking up the PS6 and not a Nextbox to play Xbox games in any significant numbers, isn’t that going to look bad for Playstation games? It being a big deal flows both ways IMO. What does Sony do if MS has another Minecraft/COD/Fortnite level game that becomes a key factor in their platform’s survival?
Remember when MS controlling such an important IP such as COD was a really big deal because of the power MS would have over Sony? How is it today people are like “LOL MS” when more games they control on PS means MORE power over its success?
I seem to recall a developer stating that the cost to develop for additional platforms wasn’t that significant and that the choice to develop for one platform or another was mostly due to deals of some sort. If you really think about it, assuming a developer invested in the dev kits for a platform, I don’t see why they wouldn’t release the game on that platform.
Not everything is going to release on the Xbox, that’s just a fact. Just play the game that are there.
I was thinking about this again the other day and if the long term aim is a cloud ‘app’ on all devices it could be really interesting where this goes in another 10-15 years.
Assuming the current leaders transition we could already have apps for Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo and Steam.
Whats more interesting is will the other big publishers release their own apps too as it could become quite saturated with EA, Take-Two, Epic and Tencent also having viable apps (presumably with their own subscriptions) too.
Removing the hardware element would also allow the other big publishers to compete easier (assuming they also don’t consolidate).
I think it’s still a case of wait and see.
If it’s just big (non staple) multiplayer games and those smaller experimental type games it won’t be an issue IMO.
If they do start expanding it to everything then regardless how powerful their next console is, how cost effective GamePass is or how big their existing customer base is their hardware will continue to dwindle (again IMO).
They will of course still be very successful as they now own many of the best developers and biggest franchises.
In the long run I do wonder if the hardware will even matter (and maybe that’s what they are banking on). If everything will eventually be on a Xbox/Playstation app/browser on Mobile, Tablet, TV & PC (via cloud) then the hardware will only be important for diehards.
Like I say above, everyone including the big publishers might be on apps by that point.
I see a slight risk for Xbox if PlayStation and Steam use their greater brand recognition to corner the market in that scenario - MS would need to push Game Pass hard in order to get people on board with xCloud, but then in a non-hardware world it’s more likely people will have multiple subs on and off (much less risk to use a free trial than buy a console).
Got to say though, in that world with all the publishers doing their own thing I’ll be cheering on more consolidation just like I am in the TV / film world - I know a lot of people hate consolidation but my biggest priority is “how few streaming services can I have in order to have everything?”.
I have Sky, Paramount Plus (free with Sky Cinema), Apple TV, Netflix, Disney Plus, Discovery+ (free with Sky), Prime Video and ITV X (which I keep forgetting to cancel, as it was on offer and wanted to watch the Winter King without ads).
I don’t want that repeated with gaming lol - I have Game Pass Unlimited and Humble Choice, and if I get a Pro I’ll probably get PS Plus Premium, but even I’m not stupid enough to sub to Ubisoft+ for more than a month until they do an offer - and if other publishers had a similarly-priced sub to Ubi+ it would cost probably 3 or 4 times all the TV subs to have the gaming ones, which is insane.
Yes you might save on the console, and you could sub/unsub (but let’s face it who can be bothered with the admin half the time) - but the expenditure each month would be crazy if you wanted a lot of choice, and the whole “gaming provides more hours for your money” doesn’t really hold if it’s a sub rather than a one-off purchase…
I could see this possible if someone (like NVIDIA, Google, etc.) were renting out their infrastructure for this purpose with actual game focused hardware and software. I don’t think the companies will want to invest heavily in their own as it won’t be as competitive and will be very expensive.
I also don’t think that most publishers put out enough content to warrant a subscription service, so that’d likely only happen with a lot more consolidation.
Ha, I feel you there!
For TV I also have Disney+, Prime, Apple and NowTV but also juggle a few more on and off.
So far I’ve managed to escape ITV X but those ads man…
With regards to the app scenario I think Xbox might actually be in a better position than their competitors.
Like you say people won’t need to invest in hardware, therefore more people would be willing to give Xbox a go (especially via free trials).
Now that Xbox is one of the biggest publishers their subscription will offer far greater value than any of the other ‘apps’ (especially when they start advertising CoD).
I agree though I would much rather have less subscriptions!!
Potentially, although in another 10 years we could see these other big publishers build up their own infrastructure in a attempt to retain their profits rather than the usual 70/30 split.
As @Widey85 mentioned there is already a tonne of Film/TV subscriptions so I can still see opportunities for them to compete with Playstation, Nintendo, Xbox & Steam.
I would imagine much like Epic has they would create their own stores where they publish other games rather than just their own (to increase content).
If Epic can do it then I imagine EA and Take-Two can too.
Having certain exclusive first party content can draw you to each ‘app’ (CoD, Fortnite, GTA, EA FC etc).
I think Xbox keystone or cloud powered box will be one that comes with different apps like Nvidia, Amazon, Boosteriod and others and it might even just integrate them straight to Xbox like the way the Xbox app has certain publishers’ platforms like EA and RIOT games integrated then there is also the Amazon luna approach of channels. I think with Cloud Xbox will be counting on many cloud providers to do the heavy lifting. This also drives the idea of monopoly away.
Agreed. Perhaps this is closer to Phil Spencer’s idea when he says exclusive will be less a thing if they become more central to a subscription instead of a box.
Jez should learn to shut his mouth honestly, now there’s going to be more stupid articles with no truth based on nothing that apparently Xbox is full on 3rd party now.
what sucks about this is just not knowing. like im excited for the starfield patch. i was gonna wait till 60 fps was avialable either this gen or next gen to finish it but now since iv switch over to ps as my main console im like should i just wait? I FEEL like what jez said is right. based on how xbox acted I wouldnt be surprised if they had no exclusives soon but we just dont know and thats annoying
Don’t know how they failed when everything was laid out pretty clearly last time, unless the illuminati crowd still thinks there were hidden messages in the PR speak.
I also think people are reading too much in that blue heart to be honest. Could simply be something like COD as it’s Activision made and is indeed coming to PS5 already.
Don’t know, don’t really see what the problem is. You can play the game at 60fps on Xbox and that is a guarantee right now and it can all be done on Gamepass. You have no guarantee to be playing Starfield on PS5 anytime soon though.
