Xbox Acquisition |OT| - So We’re Back to Making Lists, Huh?

[anon28208215]

I’m going to bet that will at least get 1-2 acquisitions before the end of 2020.

[Resist]

@OneBadMutha

…ause of the agility to scale up and down production. For the other studios using UE4/5, there will likely be an easier time getting contractors to hit the ground running opposed to 343’s rebuilt proprietary engine which I’m willing to bet is the source of the headaches they’re dealing with. It’s imperative for Microsoft to perfect their efficiency using contractors with what they are doing though. Getting it down will allow them to partner with a lot more creators all over the world and increase scope outside of what studios are currently staffed for. I really don’t buy contracting as an excuse. It’s about having a good system to bring in the right ones and how you manage them. It also creates opportunities to find talent to hire permanently. You can hire poor full time employees too.

I’ve said it before, but Microsoft needs to invest in their own support studios to support the other devs. I think the two studios working with Bungie right now would be excellent purchases. And yeah, the contract length (18) really screwed over the development for Halo Infinite it looks like.

[uouit_iyyur]

@Resist

I’ve said it before, but Microsoft needs to invest in their own support studios to support the other devs. I think the two studios working with Bungie right now would be excellent purchases. And yeah, the contract length (18) really screwed over the development for Halo Infinite it looks like.

I think Microsoft don’t need to buy support studio. The problem with support studios for Halo Infinite is the Slipspace, when you have to learn a brand new engine (maybe not that easy to use), you waste time. The majority of Xbox Games Studios use Unreal Engine, I think this is easier for support studio because they know how to use it

[Resist]

@uouit_iyyur

I think Microsoft don’t need to buy support studio. The problem with support studios for Halo Infinite is the Slipspace, when you have to learn a brand new engine (maybe not that easy to use), you waste time. The majority of Xbox Games Studios use Unreal Engine, I think this is easier for support studio because they know how to use it

That learning process is much more difficult when you have to fire contractors who have been working with the engine for 18 months and hire new workers who don’t have any experience with the engine.

[uouit_iyyur]

@Resist

That learning process is much more difficult when you have to fire contractors who have been working with the engine for 18 months and hire new workers who don’t have any experience with the engine.

Yeah, Halo should have use Unreal Engine. You can’t create a new engine when you don’t keep devs more than 18 months

[pg2g]

Support studios exist because you don’t need the same level of staffing all the time. If they are going to buy something, why not buy studios capable of making their own IP?

[Resist]

@pg2g

Support studios exist because you don’t need the same level of staffing all the time. If they are going to buy something, why not buy studios capable of making their own IP?

Who says they can’t make their own games? Monolith soft acts as a support studio for Nintendo and they still make their own games.

[CryOn]

@Svcae

I’m not expecting any acquisition anytime soon.

Even if nothing happens it’s still nice to speculate. 2-3 years ago we questioned Microsoft gaming commitment and now we roll the dice for a new acquisition.

[YBI]

@10k

Xbox is lacking in third person action adventure games akin to Sony’s output.

Asobo and Bloober are putting those out right now. They’d make the most sense. WB Games would be a huge acquisition for studio talent alone, forget about the licensed IP.

New Perfect Dark is rumored to be 3rd person.

[KingHenrik]

Asobo and bloober are so fucking obvious, dont let these slip MS!

[BlackheartVinyl]

@checkitout

You have repeated your dislike for Remedy over and over. Quit hating. I love their games and a lot of others here do too and I personally think Sam Lake is the most interesting high profile creative in the medium. No need to go so negative. It ruins the fun for others.

Yeah, I haven’t even played Control (or now that I think about it… any Remedy games since Max Payne), but that over-the-too negativity for any dev is quite off-putting. Making games is hard, yo. We are a terrible audience to try to entertain.

[AllianceOfficer]

I think Level 5 is an independent studio still, maybe they would make sense to get into the Japanese market. They don’t have a history with Xbox, but there aren’t a ton of studios there that do. The studio size would make sense, they would have room to grow them. Thoughts?

[Brandon]

@AllianceOfficer

I think Level 5 is an independent studio still, maybe they would make sense to get into the Japanese market. They don’t have a history with Xbox, but there aren’t a ton of studios there that do. The studio size would make sense, they would have room to grow them. Thoughts?

Level 5 hasnt really made a super high quality game in years, and the studio had 300 employees in 2019

[AllianceOfficer]

@Brandon

Level 5 hasnt really made a super high quality game in years, and the studio had 300 employees in 2019

I mean they made Ni No Kuni 2 that released I think in 2018 and were the main studio for the YoKai series which was huge in Japan.

[Brandon]

@AllianceOfficer

I mean they made Ni No Kuni 2 that released I think in 2018 and were the main studio for the YoKai series which was huge in Japan.

And, compared to ni no kuni 1, the 2nd one was garbage. ( i put 42 hours into it, regrettably) And the most recent yokai game sold fairly poorly and hasnt even been localized yet

[AllianceOfficer]

@Brandon

And, compared to ni no kuni 1, the 2nd one was garbage. ( i put 42 hours into it, regrettably) And the most recent yokai game sold fairly poorly and hasnt even been localized yet

Yeah I agree the second one wasn’t as good, but it still was a good game, got an 84 on metacritic and I made it through the whole game. Either way though, Level 5 definitely has name brand there and I think could be a good start in terms of studios there. They build the type of game that would be needed for that market. I hadn’t really heard anyone bring them up so I thought it could be good discussion.

[nrXic]

@AllianceOfficer

Yeah I agree the second one wasn’t as good, but it still was a good game, got an 84 on metacritic and I made it through the whole game. Either way though, Level 5 definitely has name brand there and I think could be a good start in terms of studios there. They build the type of game that would be needed for that market. I hadn’t really heard anyone bring them up so I thought it could be good discussion.

Well, beyond critical acclaim things like sales, market mindshare, and popularity says a lot as well. All that said, I think if they go after Japanese devs they should definitely look to them for helping to get into the Japanese market but also should look at their Western appeal as well. If you look at From Software they definitely have international appeal as well.

From Software would be a huge pickup, but likely unattainable. It’ll cost a lot of money but IMO make MGS far more comparable to Sony as a first party publisher. Every single E3 would have a huge, possibly system-selling game from these folks. For the folks that would consider cancelling Gamepass as the years go by, this dev would give them a reason to renew every time.

Level 5 would be far more affordable though, and that’s a decent part of the equation, I’m sure.

[AllianceOfficer]

@nrXic

…like sales, market mindshare, and popularity says a lot as well. All that said, I think if they go after Japanese devs they should definitely look to them for helping to get into the Japanese market but also should look at their Western appeal as well. If you look at From Software they definitely have international appeal as well. From Software would be a huge pickup, but likely unattainable. It’ll cost a lot of money but IMO make MGS far more comparable to Sony as a first party publisher. Every single E3 would have a huge, possibly system-selling game from these folks. For the folks that would consider cancelling Gamepass as the years go by, this dev would give them a reason to renew every time. Level 5 would be far more affordable though, and that’s a decent part of the equation, I’m sure.

From Software would be a great addition!

[The_Xboxer (Adam)]

@nrXic

…like sales, market mindshare, and popularity says a lot as well. All that said, I think if they go after Japanese devs they should definitely look to them for helping to get into the Japanese market but also should look at their Western appeal as well. If you look at From Software they definitely have international appeal as well. From Software would be a huge pickup, but likely unattainable. It’ll cost a lot of money but IMO make MGS far more comparable to Sony as a first party publisher. Every single E3 would have a huge, possibly system-selling game from these folks. For the folks that would consider cancelling Gamepass as the years go by, this dev would give them a reason to renew every time. Level 5 would be far more affordable though, and that’s a decent part of the equation, I’m sure.

Fromsoftware is a must get at all cost but is already owned by Kadokawa a big japanese publisher who makes barrage unfortunately.

Unless MS can negotiate their buyout with a big check…

[anon28208215]

After some consideration I’ve decided that I’m going to give Remedy another chance. I’ve been pretty vocal about them however I’ve decided that I will play again, Alan Wake and QB which are both on GP and play Control which I got for 10 bucks from Walmart (as a Canadian I’m shocked on how cheap games can be here compared to Vancouver)

I will give these games another chance because I really DO want to like Remedy and have a different opinion on them. We shall see though.