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

[batman14]

@Scottx2

I think the point is, Xbox is unlikely to shift hardware in that region, it never has and probably never will, so investing specifically in that region is unlikely to yield results. However, more success in the west means Japanese developers will want to bring their games to Xbox so their games have a bigger audience in the west.

I think Microsoft could do with strengthening their poisition in the east, mainly through exclusive content if possible but realistically, Microsoft’s play in Japan (and Asia in general) is through xCloud.

I get that but they want to sell gamepass having one or two studios over their would not be a waste imo

[Scottx2]

@batman14

I get that but they want to sell gamepass having one or two studios over their would not be a waste imo

I agree, I was just trying to elaborate on @Marduk’s point.

[batman14]

@Marduk

Because they didn’t succeed in Japan since the original Xbox, so why keep wasting money on Japanese market and Japanese games?

People like me like Japanese games and you need those type of games for gamepass

[Romeo]

• Asobo
• Bloober
• Studio MDHR
• IOI (love Hitman, but Phil would allow this to be multi-plat)

xCloud will get into markets where perhaps consoles aren’t a thing and most play on their phones. South Asia, Middle East, Africa, etc.

[Marduk]

@batman14

People like me like Japanese games and you need those type of games for gamepass

Trust me if Xbox dominated the western market especially US, no Japanese game will skip Xbox unless if it published by Sony or Nintendo.

[2015_Mustang]

@peter42O

My top 3 -

1. WB Games

They are still for sale. The restructuring has literally nothing to do with WB Interactive. It’s everything else that’s being restructured. Go get them Microsoft!!!

2. Techland

Rumors about possible development issues and potential monetary issues regarding Dying Light 2 makes this a very likely possibility. They are a great AAA studio and getting Dying Light 2 to be Xbox Series X/S and PC exclusive for 2021 would be a great move.

3. The Astronauts

AA development studio currently working on FPS horror looter shooter Witchfire which looks pretty good but they’re a small team. Could be a very good pickup in my opinion.

They literally mention WB Interactive in their statement, so yes it does have something to do with them.

[batman14]

@Marduk

Trust me if Xbox dominated the western market especially US, no Japanese game will skip Xbox unless if it published by Sony or Nintendo.

I still think getting one or two would not be a waste or a bad thing

[PianoBlack]

@Marduk

Trust me if Xbox dominated the western market especially US, no Japanese game will skip Xbox unless if it published by Sony or Nintendo.

They had Japanese games skipping them when the 360 sold 85 million, and they have Japanese games skipping them now with ~55 million Xbox Ones. How many sales do they have to get before Japanese games stop skipping Xbox?

Anyway as others have said, the reason to invest in studios in Japan is because they have a great talent pool and add to the diversity of titles on offer via Game Pass. And that’s a really good reason. Of course it’s not unique to Japan, but Japan stands out on both counts.

[OneBadMutha]

@Marduk

Japan is a waste of money and time, they should focus on the western market (North America & Europe) and the rest of the world will come.

If we were just talking console sales in Japan, sure. We’re not though. Japan is a viable market through 5G streaming. The Japanese games have also regained popularity in the West after some down years. Japan is important to the longtime gaming enthusiast therefore cannot be ignored.

[Swanlee]

They NEED to buy Asobo and Bloober. I know Bloober is public and they do not usually buy those but both these studios are perfect for Xbox

[Dreams]

@McMasters

…crosoft is well known for doing MP right, moreso than any of the Big 3. Rockstar is great at SP open world games. They ain’t Microsoft though. And having more than competent MP component to your game doesn’t hurt the SP in the slightest. Gears 4 and and especially 5 proved that, huge! I believe that’s why Gears and Halo in particular are always bashed. Its not fatigue in my opinion. No ones making gamers play these games every release. Gamers make their own choice and there are a plethora of other franchises that are on, like, their twentieth install, FFS. Its because Sony and Nintendo have no answers to them and have failed when they attempted to do so. Both Gears and Halo have solid SP and MP. Both components are blockbusters and iconic. That’s hard to ape. Just ask Sony and Nintendo.

I agree completely with everything you’re saying. Continue to package mp with games like gears and halo. That’s fine. My argument is that this treatment shouldn’t be mandatory for every one of their franchises

[Yuzupon]

I hope they get a JRPG studio down the road. They are great on every other genre I enjoy.

[Knottian (Daniel)]

@Swanlee

They NEED to buy Asobo and Bloober. I know Bloober is public and they do not usually buy those but both these studios are perfect for Xbox

Absolutely agree, and they’ve shown just how much they improve from project to project even with a small budget increase.

On a side note, I disagree with the takes that feel the need to skip the investment in Japanese games. Even if the console market is a dud there for Xbox, the potential for XCloud could be massive given their mobile play style and fantastic networks. Additionally, Japanese citizens aren’t the only ones that play Japanese-made titles, and as someone who’s been sinking the COVID hours into the Yakuza series on Game Pass, I appreciate every title we can get.

[BlackheartVinyl]

@2015_Mustang

AT&T has publicly stated that they’re not looking to sell WB Interactive so that won’t be happening

This is not true. EuroGamer got it very wrong.

Despite Reports, WB Games Is Still Very Much For Sale (VL281)

[Daniel]

@Wake_Lestat360

…images (16)728×421 21.6 KB Nuff said

Microsoft buying Japan and making it a Xbox exclusive!

[Knottian (Daniel)]

@BlackheartVinyl

This is not true. EuroGamer got it very wrong.

Eurogamer got something wrong… color me surprised. In all seriousness, there anti-MS bias was already enough reason to ignore most of their reporting, but over the past year or so with their late reporting, false claims, and omission of important stories have convinced me to swear off pretty much all of their content save for Digital Foundry.

[TheSlickTony (Marcus Pierce)]

What’s Iron Galaxy up to as of late? I haven’t heard anything about them for a while.

[NekuWitTheDraco]

@Marduk

Because they didn’t succeed in Japan since the original Xbox, so why keep wasting money on Japanese market and Japanese games?

…because the western market likes their games too, maybe? You know japans market for consoles isn’t that big anymore and alot of sale on Japanese games more than likely come from the west. Saying only focusing on the west is what ms did the later half of the 360 and majority of the one generation, and those games didn’t come. Getting Japanese games is to help eastern markets more than gettin into japan

[Hubi]

Daedalic for Adventures, Japanese Companies for variety, Playful, PLaytonic because I want old Rare IPs renewed.

[Knottian (Daniel)]

@Knottian

… sure if someone already posted this, and if so please delete mods, but Klobrille highlighted a rather important point from the annual report from Microsoft.

Sounds like meat’s back on the menu lads/ladies! What studios do we think are viable options or at least worthwhile pursuits? Personally, I’m fond of the following:

Asobo Frontier Bloober IOI Remedy 11-bit Studios 4A Games WB Games - obviously, there are mixed signals on this one but I think the pedigree of the majority of the studios is too good to pass on, even without most of the IP

What do you all think? As an aside - I’m a total noob on Discours, like @Sikamikanico, I’m a bit of a dinosaur and still getting used to this new fangled forum tech… so if someone could let me know how to upload an image banner… that would be awesome

Embracer Group acquires Metro developer 4A Games and several other studios

Well unfortunately one of my wishes is out at least. Not sure how I feel given THQ Nordic’s checkered history, but if it means 4A isn’t having to scrounge for funds then I’m happy. Here’s hoping that MS sees the market as it is and starts being aggressive in their pursuits (which I think we can assume given the SEC statement).