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Microsoft Studios (& Partners) Current and Future Landscape

I'm not sure Brute Force and Blinx could ever be popular.

possibly. Blinx is more aimed at kids and XB could always use more kid friendly games. I loved it when i was younger.

Brute force however could be. It was the original Gears of war kinda. a squad based TPS campaign. Add in co-op a horde mode and some PvP and I think it could be huge. Not sure if they would want an IP competing with gears though but i think it can.
 
MS has a ton of IPs not being used that could be popular
Mechassualt
Perfect Dark
Conker
Battletoads
Brute Force
Blinx
Age of empires
Banjo Kazooie
Fable

according to wikipedia they own 107 IPs for gaming. They just need to use them

Shadowrun , with Fable and Scalebound deqd Microsoft is missing a nice juicy RPG to round out its line up.
 

thats a trademark, not the IP which means (quoted from the thread)

That means anyone else can make a game called Blinx, but they cannot use the intellectual property of Blinx.

personally I think MS should open a studio called Retro or MS classic or something and have them focus on reviving some of these old IPs as AA games (like recore a mid range 40 dollar game) Blinx, battletoads, conker etc

and maybe 1 more larger studio to revive bigger IPS into big AAA games like brute force, perfect dark, mechassault etc

The nostaglia effect would be huge and it would be good PR as well
 
Shadowrun , with Fable and Scalebound deqd Microsoft is missing a nice juicy RPG to round out its line up.

They sure could use a good RPG. we know hat have Racing, FPS, and TPS covered and even RTS with halo wars, Sandbox with Crackdown and SoT, But they lack an RPG, and action adventure for sure. I think a game like Sea of theives cold cover the RPG space. If only i could get a dam invite into the beta lol i always get emails saying they are adding more people but i'm never picked lol
 
MS's biggest problems are budgeting and profiling. They have great IPs sitting around but the problem with them is that MS positions them as the AAA of their respective genres when they shouldn't have for certain IPs. Here's a list (that if possible) where I think these IPs fit in.

ReCore: AA/Hybrid AAA
Banjo: AA
Perfect Dark: AAA without the nonsense
Tao Feng: AA
Blinx: AA
Battle Toads: AA
Conker: AA with a lot of wacky and fun multi-player modes
Fable: AAA but AA for side games
Gears of War: AAA but AA for side games
Halo: AAA but AA for side games
Brute Force: AA
Kameco: AA
Project Gotham: AA for side games but AAA for mainline
Jetpac: A
Jet Force G: A for side games but AA for mainline
KI: AA
Saberman games: A
Age of Empires: AAA when XBPC can stand on its own
 
thats a trademark, not the IP which means (quoted from the thread)



personally I think MS should open a studio called Retro or MS classic or something and have them focus on reviving some of these old IPs as AA games (like recore a mid range 40 dollar game) Blinx, battletoads, conker etc

and maybe 1 more larger studio to revive bigger IPS into big AAA games like brute force, perfect dark, mechassault etc

The nostaglia effect would be huge and it would be good PR as well
I don't even think they should re-make them as AA new games. Just port them over to XB1 and maybe even STEAM/GOG if titles allow. With he whole "your library caries with you for the future now" this would be awesome fan service.

They don't even need to do much to them IMO. Maybe Tidy up the resolution; frame rate, and add achievements and people would be happy
 
MS's biggest problems are budgeting and profiling. They have great IPs sitting around but the problem with them is that MS positions them as the AAA of their respective genres when they shouldn't have for certain IPs. Here's a list (that if possible) where I think these IPs fit in.

ReCore: AA/Hybrid AAA
Banjo: AA
Perfect Dark: AAA without the nonsense
Tao Feng: AA
Blinx: AA
Battle Toads: AA
Conker: AA with a lot of wacky and fun multi-player modes
Fable: AAA but AA for side games
Gears of War: AAA but AA for side games
Halo: AAA but AA for side games
Brute Force: AA
Kameco: AA
Project Gotham: AA for side games but AAA for mainline
Jetpac: A
Jet Force G: A for side games but AA for mainline
KI: AA
Saberman games: A
Age of Empires: AAA when XBPC can stand on its own

I sorta agree with this. It feels like MS threw tons of money at increasing/changing the scope of games that didnt need to be huge

Fable Legends, for example didn't need to be a graphical showcase, for example. It should have been at most a side project to compliment a mainline Fable RPG


They need to revisit some of their old IPs and release them in the form of really focused experiences. Games that arent neccisarily large in scale, but are really good at one thing. KI is the perfect example of that. And everything you listed as AA could be approached in a similar fashion.
 
Disagree on the need of a thread for that particular tweet. It's a nice info update, but it's fluff and doesn't share any real details other than "Scorpio is a functional prototype atm."
 
Disagree on the need of a thread for that particular tweet. It's a nice info update, but it's fluff and doesn't share any real details other than "Scorpio is a functional prototype atm."

I wasn't being serious.
 
Looks like State Of Decay 2 will have farming as one of the new features. Also, Undead Labs will be doing weekly updates about the game on their website. Those will contain new concept art every week too.

Here is the one for this week

greenhouse1080p-871x400.jpg
 
So as far as E3 we aren't expecting any announcements outside of the usual stuff.

I'd love a new Perfect Dark that does back to The setting of the first and make it similar to Mankind Divided or prey 2.
 
So as far as E3 we aren't expecting any announcements outside of the usual stuff.

I'd love a new Perfect Dark that does back to The setting of the first and make it similar to Mankind Divided or prey 2.

I feel like there will have to be something. The expected titles + Scorpio is going to feel very, very flat, and the last thing you want leading into a new hardware launch is the core gamer being down on your platform, since they're the ones who will influence the more casual adopters.
 
More multiplayer games are coming?
Xbox really needs to focus on single player experiences too.

I agree but Quantum Break and ReCore's sales performances don't bode very well for those types of games unless they add extra modes/multiplayer for future new IP's.

I'd welcome them if they legitimately make good use of XBL similar to what they've done with their core franchises.
 
What if they had Insomniac Games make a Blinx game?

That would be great
AND confusing with Ratchet and all

I wouldn't mind Blinx but I really liked the rumored idea of Insomniac doing Conker.

Given Sunset Overdrive/Ratchet & Clank's style and humor it seems right in their wheel house.
 
More multiplayer games are coming?
Xbox really needs to focus on single player experiences too.

Not really. Microsoft's core bread and butter is multiplayer games. They simply need to focus on looking at ways to innovate in that space, rather than chase something that's never been as successful as their mainstays.
 
Sea of Thieves is a good example already imo. That game can be a good game as service. Maybe Crackdown even also.
Think they need to have a look at Ubisoft imo with Siege and probably For Honor also. Keep updating it, improving it, adding stuff. Keep it free also. Even if you dont get huge sales in the beginning it doesnt matter.
 
MS's biggest problems are budgeting and profiling. They have great IPs sitting around but the problem with them is that MS positions them as the AAA of their respective genres when they shouldn't have for certain IPs. Here's a list (that if possible) where I think these IPs fit in.

ReCore: AA/Hybrid AAA
Banjo: AA
Perfect Dark: AAA without the nonsense
Tao Feng: AA
Blinx: AA
Battle Toads: AA
Conker: AA with a lot of wacky and fun multi-player modes
Fable: AAA but AA for side games
Gears of War: AAA but AA for side games
Halo: AAA but AA for side games
Brute Force: AA
Kameco: AA
Project Gotham: AA for side games but AAA for mainline
Jetpac: A
Jet Force G: A for side games but AA for mainline
KI: AA
Saberman games: A
Age of Empires: AAA when XBPC can stand on its own

this isn't how the concept of AA and AAA works...
 
Sea of Thieves is a good example already imo. That game can be a good game as service. Maybe Crackdown even also.
Think they need to have a look at Ubisoft imo with Siege and probably For Honor also. Keep updating it, improving it, adding stuff. Keep it free also. Even if you dont get huge sales in the beginning it doesnt matter.

Agreed. Its totally understandable why Microsoft would want to go on that route. Their biggest success this gen is prob reviving Killer Instinct the way they did, and that works amazingly well. And also, they had a 1B in revenue in the last quarter coming from digital transactions, investing in ''live games'' which have constant updates and good reasons for the player to spend their money constantly is clearly the way to go.

Sea of Thieves and State of Decay 2 could be great games on that model, they sure have quality developers behind it
 
Per Phil Spencer Twitter feed, Phantom Dust HD is launching before E3. Don't know if this was mentioned before, I certainly don't remember.
"@XboxP3 Anything on Phantom Dust HD? Asking for a desperate friend."
"@HollowSchematic Should ship before E3."

https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/825773179138215936

Also says halo wars 2 cross play didn't happen due to engine limitations:

"@KeenS805 I hope so, that's our goal. HW2 doesn't for some longer standing engine reasons but going forward cross-play is a good feature."
https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/825475033938087936
 
So Halo Wars 2 and possibly an Og Xbox port or two. Such a packed first semester for Xbox. The Phil Spencer Effect™ is in full force right now, that guy is really turning things around.
 
So Halo Wars 2 and possibly an Og Xbox port or two. Such a packed first semester for Xbox. The Phil Spencer Effect™ is in full force right now, that guy is really turning things around.

meanwhile on the other side folks are enjoying exclusives games that ain't really exclusive but because good guy Spencer doesn't give a fuck we are stuck waiting for the same 1p games in the fall.
 
Sounds like Sea of Thieves is this year then.

untitledueoy7.png

Awesome.

Here's hoping for a free open beta prior to release. I want to be able to play it with friends before committing to it, so that I know people I hang out with will be able to play with me.

Sea of Thieves and ESO: Morrowind are gonna keep me busy busy busy.
 
I wouldn't mind Blinx but I really liked the rumored idea of Insomniac doing Conker.

Given Sunset Overdrive/Ratchet & Clank's style and humor it seems right in their wheel house.

Are you talking about that one rumor from like two years ago where Insomniac was supposedly going to work on a Conker game but then it got cancelled? Well, that rumor was bullshit. It turned out to be something that was made up for somebody's college homework.

This doesn't mean what you're proposing can't still happen, but it never almost happened, if you know what I mean. :p
 
I really do hope MS has a few games that review and sell well. Halo Wars will only make 1 to 2 million copies in a lifetime but I do hope it reviews well.
 
I really do hope MS has a few games that review and sell well. Halo Wars will only make 1 to 2 million copies in a lifetime but I do hope it reviews well.

2 million copies for RTS is awesome! Played the beta, bliz remind me of a old use map setting from Starcraft I love, I think the game will review well, keep the great games early 2017 train rolling!
 
Spencer feeling good about 1st party this year. From twitter.

@ShayneCollins38 I feel very good about this year. Should have more 1P games than last year, great diversity + launching new IP.  Good year.

New IP? Damn this wait is going to be hard. Not sure if thread worthy, given the vagueness.
 
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