Let’s not forget, Final fantasy 16 was supposed to be a 2021 title and is now over a year late. Very possible their entire timeline is dragging.
Anyways all the final fantasy and kotor talk is fear induced, Xbox has not been ruled out for either and there’s a reason for that. If it was fully exclusive it’d have been said, you can count on that.
Xbox wasnt ruled out for ff7r either and are about to be 2 years in … same with ff14 lol.
They really never say it, and sometimes when they do say it comes out on PC, so I wouldn’t put too much stock on what they say or not.
It’s pretty obvious that if you want to play an SE Eastern game, better off owning a PlayStation 5 as opposed to hoping, wishing and praying that it eventually gets ported to Xbox Series.
Case in point FF16 will probably be 2 yrs late. Forspoken was to be a launch title. Playstation also reportedly paying some extra to extend deals. At some point there won’t be a good case for them to pay the hundreds of millions to keep it off Xbox because their sales will be deminishing on PS
FF16 has already been delayed to 2023 as it was previously set for Fall 2022. I don’t remember seeing 2021 anywhere for that game. 2022 sure but not 2021. Forspoken was a launch title? No it wasn’t. No one was expecting that game until 2022 and it’s releasing in May.
Sony will extend the deals if it’s beneficial to them while also keeping the game off Xbox. The longer the exclusive deals are for, the lower the chances the games do anything on Xbox if/when they get released because vast majority of people would have already moved on.
At the risk of sounding redundant, Xbox acquired Zenimax/Bethesda. So, I’m not sure how getting exclusive rights to a KOTOR remake shows how Xbox “Isn’t safe” when Xbox now has some of the biggest IP’s in gaming as exclusives. Sony is going to keep doing this and MS is probably going to continue to be outbid and/or unwilling to outbid Sony. I really hope some of you don’t freak out every time it happens.
Also, I’m not saying this isn’t a good thing for Sony, but I’m not going to pretend that this the megaton deal some of you seem to think it is. It’s ok if we disagree, but I feel like some of you are taking your personal feelings for the game and amplifying it’s significance and using “It’s Star Wars” as some sort of justification for why it will move mountains. I feel like if the roles were reversed and Xbox had nabbed this, most of you would be saying “meh”. 
Eh thats not the sentiment we had here speculating about the game before it got revealed.
I think folks would have been pretty excited if it was Xbox that made that deal.
Honestly, we can’t pretend KOTOR isn’t a big deal because missing out on it at launch is an L for Xbox. Microsoft should really position themselves as the place to play Western RPGs and missing out on one of the biggest licensed WRPG is not a good look. I get Microsoft is all in on gamepass, but can’t allow stuff like KOTOR not being launched on console because I feel they’re leaving sales on the table for Sony by doing that.
So here’s a question: how should Xbox respond to it? An eye for an eye (timed exclusive) or something else?
I feel like Microsoft “should position themselves as the place to play Western RPGs” ignores the fact that they ARE the place to play Western RPGs and this doesn’t change that.
It is a negative, but it’s like if Xbox got timed exclusive for a single JRPG. The JRPG market is not going to flock to Xbox all of a sudden.
KOTOR is in my top 10 games of all time, without it I probably never would have ever bought an OG Xbox, so I love it more than most, but not getting it, even if it ends up being forever, is simply not the catastrophe that it is being portrayed to be. If it was KOTOR 3, it be much worse, but still not the end of the world, but a remake nope. I live for WRPGs and Xbox is very well taken care of on that front so this is a game, despite it’s historical connection to the brand, that shouldn’t be perceived as a devastating loss.
It doesn’t change, but its still pretty big to miss out on that game at launch. Hype wise KOTOR remake is probably one of the most hyped western RPG games. However, I do feel its a blunder to miss out on it at launch and leave money on the table.
Let’s not downplay it, it’s a big deal - and it’s absolutely a signal of intent from Sony that they are purposely targeting IPs connected with the Xbox brand, that no third party game is safe, that they are the market leader and can do this with impunity (backed by their legion of fans, for whom they can do little wrong)
BUT I think MS have known this was coming for some time. The attempts by Sony to lock down Starfield are known to be a catalyst towards the Zenimax acquisition, the straw that broke the camels back.
Where does Xbox go from here? It’s clear that Phil’s strategy is tailored towards building first party studios and investing in Game Pass deals. I don’t see a situation where they shift to fighting fire with fire - and because there’s relatively no negative feedback about Sony literally paying developers to just not let people play games (compare and contrast to the Xbox Tomb Raider deal meltdowns) they will also continue to do so.
Make no mistake, this strategy is successful for PlayStation and has led to many, even here, caving and buying a PS5. Down the line, Xbox will start reaping the benefits of it’s current strategy, but for now we’re losing out and that’s sadly going to keep happening.
Think we’re a little premature here, I don’t expect (and haven’t seen) much hype for this one until they show something. There are also a ton of major WRPGs coming.
You can’t downplay KOTOR I agree, but securing Bethesda is miles more important permanently. Sony will keep doing what they do while Microsoft will focus on growing game pass with their big wallets.
I agree we still have to see gameplay, but I do feel the name carries weight. I do understand Microsoft will be releasing a lot of WRPG games, but still feel can’t let something like this slip when it’s been associated with console.
I dont think MS were ever interested in KOTOR. They are all about growing out thier own IP
I’d imagine the KOTOR remake is at least 2 if not 3 years away. I certainly hope I don’t have to hear about it on here the entire time.