The cold hard truth is that none of us, nor anyone in gaming journalism, know the effect of potentially porting some 1st party games well after launch. We’re all guessing, and it’s the same guesses over and over and over and over and over.
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Of course we don’t know what the effects would be, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be conversation about it. If any of us only talked about known facts without any speculation, conversations would dry up real quickly and your podcast would be about 30 minutes long (although I’m sure Nick would find a way to stretch it out to a couple hours). This thread continues to be fairly active and if enough people find it interesting enough to keep engaging in it, as long as it stays civil and doesn’t go overboard, why try to downplay that conversation?
People are allowed to talk about it, and others are allowed to react to said talk.
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It will take years but they are just delaying the inevitable.
That’s fair, but if one’s only contribution to the conversation is complaining about the discussion being had, that isn’t the most constructive either. If you don’t like the conversation, you could just not engage, right? I’m not going to go off topic anymore, but wanted to make the point.
If we go by what Shareholders want they would want everything to be exclusive and the missions would be to drive Sony & Nintendo out of business. 100% is better than 70% the goal is to be #1 and get the MAXIMUM Value this isn’t a charity or welfare for other gaming platforms. Many people mistake PR Statements by Phil Spencer for the reality of what Microsoft’s ambitions are in gaming they want you to not only buy the Hardware from them they want you to buy EVERY 3rd party game and DLC purchase on the Xbox Platform.
Gamepass is a slick way to get reoccurring revenue monthly that also pays for the games they create for it and even pumps money into the game market by covering development cost and other revenue to Indies and 3rd party publishers. Some platforms make cheaper games that are Niche but have beloved characters that are iconic that 15-30 million people go out and purchase every time to the point they don’t even care about 3rd party support. Other platforms go get big licensed games and movie like games that cost 300,000,000 that are used for loss leaders because they mostly never make the money back they spent on them but they more than make up for it by people who use their platform buying 3rd party games and DLC on them.
Microsoft has figured a way to turn their loss leader into a profitable business via subscription which will drive more people to the platform. Next move is to make a combined Mobile/PC/Xbox Store with Gamepass being the catch. This is why we are going to see these Arm-Based custom Chips being made by Microsoft themselves in the near future we will see a Handheld, Tablet, Laptop, Console, Desktop PC, Phone, Cloud streaming Device. That will all be able to use the same technology, games & apps that will scale automatically to whichever of the devices you are using in the Microsoft ecosystem.
This is their Metaverse not no damn VR/AR device although those things might be included into it as well. This isn’t even counting the AI/Azure/365 or the Stacks(tools to make games and other software). There is a reason Call of Duty is only a 10 year deal they are setting a precedent so they can make their next big acquisition they can live with a GTA or a Fortnite being on Sony for 10 years or so they’ll take that revenue while they are setting up for their Metaverse platform.
When Nadella says Gaming is core at Microsoft believe him Xbox & Gamepass (including the mobile tier) are the way Microsoft evolves Windows into the their Metaverse(Hub of everything) and the only way Microsoft can catch up to Google & Apple in the mobile space which will be very important to Microsoft’s survival in the computing space.
As we move closer to a point where a phone will straight up be just as strong as a top tiered Laptop or Dekstop PC. Soonish we will literally just Bluetooth connect to a TV and a controller via our phone and play a game then pull out a wireless keyboard and mouse and do task or work hell Apple is already there just not as polished as it will be over the next decade when it’s mass adopted.
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I have a question for those who may know the answer -
Is there a percentage of market share that a company can get to before being seen as a monopoly?
Reason I ask is because what if Microsoft were to release/port all of their first party games to Sony/Nintendo while also acquiring more publishers? If Microsoft were to do this, there wouldn’t really be any argument against the acquisitions because if the competitors would still be getting what Microsoft is acquiring, what would the argument be? Oh, I don’t like it? That’s not going to fly with regulators.
So let’s say for argument sake that Microsoft does release/port their first party games on Sony/Nintendo platforms while at the same time acquire more publishers.
Think about it, while Microsoft wouldn’t have exclusivity, they would have potentially the biggest publishers under them, the biggest gaming franchises and marketing for all of them due to owning them all.
So let’s say Microsoft acquires EA with Mass Effect, Dragon Age, sports games, etc. Microsoft has it all. Microsoft obviously has the marketing for them all. Maybe Sega along with Persona, Yakuza, Sonic, etc. Now for Sony/Nintendo, every game would cost $70+ to buy but on Xbox consoles, you would get them all day one on Game Pass “console” and even if increased to $20 a month, $240 a year (not ultimate which would be higher), that would only cover 3 games ($70 x 3 = $210) in a year but with everything under Microsoft, would people want to spend more money buying each individual game on Sony/Nintendo platforms instead of buying and owning an Xbox with Game Pass for the year?
Let’s say Microsoft releases 12 games in a year from Activision, Bethesda, EA, Sega, their internal studios like 343, Coalition, etc. and whatever other publishers/studios they own, the value and savings of being on Xbox with Game Pass would make what it is now look like a rip off in comparison.
Since Microsoft wants to make more revenue and profit, they could easily do so by releasing/ports of their first party games to Sony/Nintendo while AT THE SAME TIME making their Xbox console the one you want to own because you basically get all of what Microsoft owns on Game Pass day one.
In other words, Microsoft grows Xbox console sales, platform and eco-system not by exclusivity but by simply having so many games available to everyone day one on Game Pass (which is their business model) every year to where the best and definitive choice would be to buy and own an Xbox console with Game Pass because if you don’t, you’re looking at hundreds of dollars you would have to spend every year as a consumer who only owns a Sony or Nintendo console that wants to play all those games that Microsoft would now own.
Thoughts?
The ‘lessening of competition’ is a much harder story to tell when you’re not taking content away from your competitors. Like how nobody really bat’s an eye when Tencent makes moves.
That said, moves like that could lessen competition in subscription services, which would probably become to new ‘cloud’ in terms of complication of the deal.
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Yeah, I thought the same thing in regards to the Game Pass subscription but by the time it reaches that point, would it matter? Microsoft would already be dominant due to growing and expanding at the speed of light. This is the only aspect that I can think of that would prevent Microsoft from doing what I proposed.
I think its a good move for profits but as someone who loves the brand i wouldnt like it
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https://x.com/CultureCrave/status/1747807372662427963?s=20
They don’t provide a real link, but this can be taken in several ways, just like the other times. Could mean this is only about ABK, and probably not even all of ABK games, while other big releases such as Hellblade 2 only come to Xbox platforms at release and with no words about what happens to these games in the future.
We, the folks that do read stuff, context will get it, but what about those that don’t read, only see a headline? How do you bring the message to them? But that is what could really happen. HFR might come to PS5, but Indiana Jones and TES VI won’t.
Satya last year said “I’ll give you competition.” or something very close to that, you don’t get that by shipping all your games, day and date on competitor platforms, and they won’t.
That is…if Satya even said those exact words at all.
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Microsoft employs so many lawyers it would appear everyone at MS is starting to talk like a lawyer. Or a politician. Everything has double meaning & can be interpreted in many ways, i.e. whatever the outcome they have deniability because they never said xyz categorically.
Personally speaking (this is just me) all the multiplat talk comes directly from the acquisitions & the pre-existing contracts which needed to be respected + the deals they made with other companies for COD. MS is not shipping all the games under their umbrella ‘exclusively’ on Xbox & PC because they’re not legally able to, likewise they’re not shipping all their games on other platforms either.
The waters were muddied by these massive acquisitions & the deals they made with competitors & regulators. So… I think we just have to accept there’s not going to be a definitive answer on this topic for a very long time.
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I say this is incredibly messy when mainstream accounts pick it up . That’s a mainstream account and many people outside of the hardcore bubble will see it
The moment they announced releasing their games on PC is when they started losing Xbox console customers. The moment they start releasing game son other consoles, they’ll lose an even bigger share of their console customer base who will replace Xbox with a PlayStation and now contribute even less to the ecosystem.
I see it as a bad decision no matter how you look at it.
They have this wealth of developers that could make exclusives and turn the tables around. If they have no expectations of that working out for them and don’t even try, I honestly don’t see how releasing your games everywhere will be better. Why would the games sell better elsewhere if they aren’t even interesting enough to bring people to buy an Xbox when everyone says the only reason they buy a PS5 or a Switch is to play Sony or Nintendo games?
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I am new to this board, but since a week the discussion has been circular and no element of substance has been provided. Nadella claims were from december and specific of COD. The only thing I see is that supposedly respected jounalists like Warren and Corden are contributing to the fud, because they have no real element, but engagement rules above all.
I keep seeing it as a malevolent thing to obscure Develope Direct and/or Playstation woes, the timing is incredibly suspect.
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Reading into comments by Phil Spencers has started to feel people doing rorschach inkblot tests - everyone see’s something different and often it says more about their perspective than the comment itself.
Which isn’t to criticise Phil Spencer, when people take your words as being cast in stone for all eternity it is best to be cautious in your words, especially when Xbox’s business plan is ever evolving and they don’t necessarily have a clear plan for each and every game at this stage either.
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But based on what I’ve read in this thread everyone is going to switch because no reason to own an Xbox therefore no game pass. So sounds like they should be golden to keep acquiring as gamepass will be a lower number than playstation plus.
Yesterday I saw some on Twitter trying to claim that the timing of the dev direct is to distract from the news of them going multiplatform. I decided to log off for the rest of the day. The FUD did it’s job perfectly.
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I think age-old console warring (& influencers fishing for clicks) plays a huge role online.
MS basically find themselves in a situation where they literally have to release some of their games on competing platforms, by law (like COD & whatever else is on the signed agreements, to which we’re not privy). So it doesn’t take much for someone who thinks along console warring lines to shape a particularly stereotypical narrative aka “2+2 = Xbox going third party”.
Even looking at the original rumor (Hi-Fi Rush on Switch) isn’t in isolation a big story (it’s an old game now & it was made by a studio acquired in the Bethesda deal), but if someone attaches that rumor to the bigger rumor which makes certain fanboys salivate (i.e. Xbox dropping hardware & going third party), then those clicks flow.