Xbox CFO Talks Bethesda Exclusivity; “We Want Bethesda Content to be First or Better or Best on Xbox Platforms”

[GucciGaropp]

They won’t get playstasion users if they do this. A lot of people who changed from ps to xbox did it bc of this deal. lol…

[GucciGaropp]

@Hindle

Sonys attitude towards Xbox, cross play, the future of the industry is very hostile and is stopping progress from being made. If MS puts Zenimax games on PS, then they reward Sonys approach and directly harm thier vision

Well Phil said case to case…this guy said timed exclusives at best. It matches.

[Staffy]

@TavishHill

No that doesn’t make any sense actually. Nobody wants to play these games on a mobile screen as their primary way to experience them, and if they can get them streamed to a large screen they have no incentive whatsoever to give up all their month long progress and drop $70 for the same experience they’d get for free on the platform with the superior version. lol

This quote

"What we’ll do in the long run is we don’t have intentions of just pulling all of Bethesda content out of Sony or Nintendo or otherwise. But what we want is we want that content, in the long run, to be either first or better or best or pick your differentiated experience, on our platforms. We will want Bethesda content to show up the best as – on our platforms.

Yes. That’s not a point about being exclusive. That’s not a point about we’re being – adjusting timing or content or road map. But if you think about something like Game Pass, if it shows up best in Game Pass, that’s what we want to see, and we want to drive our Game Pass subscriber base through that Bethesda pipeline.

So again, I’m not announcing pulling content from platforms one way or the other. But I suspect you’ll continue to see us shift towards a first or better or best approach on our platforms."

I’m not too sure he only means the existing games like Fallout 76, TESO, and all the other already Bethesda released games like TeW games, Dishonored, Prey etc. Because why would a" better, best or first "approach matter for these games? To me it seems he’s really talking about upcoming, future content. They want that for the content in the long run.

He then proceeds to say it’s not about being exclusive. Well he sure is being vague as hell in my opinion. They want to drive their GP subscriber base through that Bethesda pipeline, that absolutely makes sense. And then again he goes on about how it’s not about pulling content from other platforms and that we’ll continue to see them shift towards that first, better or best approach.

I can absolutely understand how that website also clearly thinks what many of us take from this. Some say he’s basically saying exactly what Phil said but I don’t see it like that. He specifically mentions this “first, better or best” approach, that sounds like a clear plan, while Phil in recent interviews clearly spoke about their ecosystem only, about reaching many players with that ecosystem. How it would take a full Xbox ecosystem on other platforms before they’d consider bringing Game Pass there.

This CFO in my opinion gave a much more clearer and almost definitive answer. It’s just crazy. Soon they own all of Zenimax and this guy starts talking about a “first, better or beat” approach. Smh, you buy a company for that?

[JAMIE_ODST]

A suprising amount of people here seem to think Xbox is going third party over this and in all honesty Jez seems like he has been low on Xbox for the past month.

Worst comes to worst Xbox stops making consoles and we all have to either go with Playstation or PC.

[Hindle]

Think how Sea of thieves, the Ori games, have not come to PS platforms and then ask yourself why? MS know they won’t sell XGP if they bring anything to the PS5 which is why it won’t happen

[Louay]

@Staffy

Yeah it’s kinda crazy how he has turned around so fast and I doubt he knows more, regarding this.

Had MS not cared about exclusives they would have let all the newly acquired studios make games for all platforms, hell they would have brought all their exclusives to other systems.

Phil has been saying the exact opposite of that when the subject was ecosystems.

I don’t think he trust MS Because he knows MS Made a lot of stupid decisions in the past.

I’m personally expect SP Games to be exclusives as for MP Games we have to wait and see

[Louay]

@Hindle

Think how Sea of thieves, the Ori games, have not come to PS platforms and then ask yourself why? MS know they won’t sell XGP if they bring anything to the PS5 which is why it won’t happen

If Sony allowed GP on PS5 then kiss goodbye to halo exclusivity and not only Bethesda

[JAMIE_ODST]

@Louay

If Sony allowed GP on PS5 then kiss goodbye to halo exclusivity and not only Bethesda

Not going to happen.

[Louay]

@JAMIE_ODST

Not going to happen.

Yeah i know this, MS want GP everywhere while they still remain as platform holder meaning they also want that sweet 30% Cut

[JAMIE_ODST]

@Louay

Yeah i know this, MS want GP everywhere while they still remain as platform holder meaning they also want that sweet 30% Cut

Sorry if that felt blunt I honestly thought you was being a Troll.

Fair play mate

[Hindle]

@Louay

If Sony allowed GP on PS5 then kiss goodbye to halo exclusivity and not only Bethesda

Sony won’t allow XGP into thier ecosystem and neither will Nintendo which means MS software will never be on thier consoles going forward. Phil said recently he is distancing himself from Nintendo or it was a quote similar to this

[Hindle]

Everything Phil said about Nintendo recently can be applied to the Zenimax purchase and PS. And it will be stated once the deal goes through

[Louay]

@Hindle

Sony won’t allow XGP into thier ecosystem and neither will Nintendo which means MS software will never be on thier consoles going forward. Phil said recently he is distancing himself from Nintendo or it was a quote similar to this

Yeah GP Is a threat for Sony and Nintendo sweet 30% Cut, the landscape would be different when xcloud finally get XSX Hardware and starfield and Halo released on Xcloud,PC and XSX/XSS all of that in 2021

[Fiendflag]

@Ruthwik_Rao

Feels like Jez of all should know better than parroting these tired old talking points.

If this is true then:

1. Why did they invest so much money to buy studios and strengthen their 1st party portfolio?
2. Why isn’t there (even legacy) Halo, Gears, Fable, Forza games on (at least) the Switch? and I am saying Switch because they’ve already published some games on that system.
3. Why release not one but two consoles if you just want to be a 3rd party publisher?
4. Why even have 3rd party full/timed exclusivity with games like Stalker 2 and many indies?

This doesn’t make any sense at all IMO.

[Staffy]

@Hindle

Everything Phil said about Nintendo recently can be applied to the Zenimax purchase and PS. And it will be stated once the deal goes through

But what about the CFO’s words? From what I understand is that Phil isn’t above this man either. And his answer is absolutely more detailed and specific than what Phil said. It would be their biggest mistake for sure if it’s what Jez seems to think and many of us. Jez in the past has been in the know about things, but in this case it seems he’s out of the loop like us.

[LucasTaves]

@TavishHill

… exclusivity and that adjusting timelines for new releases is not what he was saying. He also said this, which OP left out: “When we think about Bethesda, it’s going to be the continuing to allow – I’ll say allow, but continue to sell their games on the platforms that they exist today, and we’ll determine what that looks over time and will change over time. I’m not making any announcements about exclusivity or something like that. But that model will change.” I think all he means is that existing multiplatform titles like Fallout 76 and TESO (and those 2 PS5 exclusives) will stay aligned with the status quo but just be better on XSX/GP, and that other games already on those platforms will remain for sale there indefinitely. He doesn’t suggest anything about future titles as far as I can see.

He does mention that in the future it will change, but not to what.

But overall, yes its obvious that he is talking about current titles and that Ms won’t just pull them off existing consoles. I dunno why (actually I do) his quotes are being spread out of context to spun a narrative.

[Coda]

@JAMIE_ODST

A suprising amount of people here seem to think Xbox is going third party over this and in all honesty Jez seems like he has been low on Xbox for the past month.

Worst comes to worst Xbox stops making consoles and we all have to either go with Playstation or PC.

It’s on Xbox and Phil to correct false/confusing statements made by their execs. If journalists are running wild with this and no one refutes it, I’m just going to assume it’s true.

Makes no sense considering Phils earlier statements about the ecosystem but this is their CFO saying they want some differentiator between Xbox and other platforms. That in itself + the comments about “first or better” means they will be multiplatform. Which is just a massive kick in the balls after all the timed exclusive shenanigans Sony pulled lately.

[Staffy]

@LucasTaves

He does mention that in the future it will change, but not to what.

But overall, yes its obvious that he is talking about current titles and that Ms won’t just pull them off existing consoles. I dunno why (actually I do) his quotes are being spread out of context to spun a narrative.

But in the same part where he talks about current existing games he mentions the “first, better, best” approach. But why would that approach be relevant for existing games at all? My take is that he means the games in general.

[supercommodore]

@Staffy

But what about the CFO’s words? From what I understand is that Phil isn’t above this man either. And his answer is absolutely more detailed and specific than what Phil said. It would be their biggest mistake for sure if it’s what Jez seems to think and many of us. Jez in the past has been in the know about things, but in this case it seems he’s out of the loop like us.

Tim Stuart, who gave the interview, is the Xbox CFO, it wasn’t Amy Hood, Microsoft CFO. I imagine he reports to Phil.

[Capybara]

I wouldn’t take a cfo comments over Phil’s when it comes to the future. They are getting hammered by these questions and they can’t even really comment on them. I guess we will see q1 of 2021. Also this reads like they are honoring the timed exclusives and leaving the current Bethesda games on other platforms