Support NeoGAF

[Roufianos]

What an absolute whimper of a year from Xbox after looking promising. Wish they'd delayed that shitty looking Indiana Jones game instead.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

A small delay mean game is in polish stage like they mentioned before.

Am ok with this.

 

[SJRB]

What an absolute whimper of a year from Xbox after looking promising. Wish they'd delayed that shitty looking Indiana Jones game instead.

There’s still a chance that will also happen. Pretty sure we haven’t seen more than 10 seconds of consecutive uncut gameplay and the game is supposed to come out in what, three months?

But yeah, 2024 kinda sucks on the console front.

 

[Starbuck2907]

Good. Take as long as they need to make it good at launch,

 

[midnightAI]

Indy was originally a 2022 release, that came out in the FTC lawsuit. It's been done for a while.

So the game has been done a while and they arent releasing it? Not even giving a release date? Unusual tactic, why on earth would they do that? Or do you mean the game has been playable from beginning to end and they are just polishing it? (Which means it isn't done)

 

[SimTourist]

Enough time to make a ps5 pro patch

 

[Woopah]

They've got a pretty decent H2 2024 anyway. Makes sense to save something for H1 2025.

 

[VanCityGamer]

They've got a pretty decent H2 2024 anyway. Makes sense to save something for H1 2025.

I don’t count Call of Duty since it has always been multiplatform and still is now. So it’s STALKER 2 (if it doesn’t get delayed a fifth time), Indy (which is supposedly December so who knows), and Microsoft Flight Sim 2024 (one I’m really excited about but is niche). I dunno about this being stacked from an exclusives perspective.

Combined with a disappointing Hellblade 2 being the only game of the first like 9 months, I think this has potential to be yet another disappointing year for Xbox.

 

[GHG]

adamsapple care to tell us how you already knew the delay was until February before it was officially made public?

What else could they possible do by releasing the game from November to say January or even Feb?

 

[Bernardougf]

To be fair its not been the greatest year all round for the "Big 3". I was hoping for the switch 2 this holiday but that's a bust obviously.

MS have had an awful year again upto this point, but look better in the run up to Christmas but they bought most of the shit they will be putting out, so i find that hard to count as a win for them. Sony have had a decent (ish) first half of the year but looking like they are going to crap out with Corcord and not much else for the foreseeable. I've stopped buying Nintendo now until I know what the Switch 2 BC will look like.

Sony year has been shit too I agree wholeheartedly... not in comparison with xbox though.

 

[PeteBull]

Sony year has been shit too I agree wholeheartedly... not in comparison with xbox though.

Bro, sony got ff7rebirth, stellar blade, rise of ronin and in a month astrobot, 4 high quality exclusives. actual exclusives, not on pc.

 

[Team Andromeda]

It sucks big time if the real reason is to make room for the likes of COD and Stalker. I was so looking forward to playing this game over the Christmas holiday

 

[SimTourist]

It sucks big time if the real reason is to make room for the likes of COD and Stalker. I was so looking forward to playing this game over the Christmas holiday

There's no way stalker is coming out this year

 

[Bernardougf]

Bro, sony got ff7rebirth, stellar blade, rise of ronin and in a month astrobot, 4 high quality exclusives. actual exclusives, not on pc.

Im not going to deviate from the thread but its my opinion that this gen sony fucked up their first party output bigtime for multiple reasons ... and first party sony games are the main reason I bought the Ps5. I do not consider any of this first party, outside the soon to launch astrobot that yes probably will be a great game. Ill leave this subject to another thread. Cheers bro.

 

[skit_data]

Diablo: The truth hurts?
Diablo: Destroying bullshit?
Diablo: speaking in tongues?

Diablo IV: SenjutsuSages Rage

Edit: "Diablo: Rage of SenjutsuSage" sounds better

 

[Jesb]

Let’s be real here, the game looks like shit and they know it.

There’s not much they can do that would change a lot for a 3 month delay.

 

[Team Andromeda]

There's no way stalker is coming out this year

If it's just for bug fixing. I would say it make it out more so with Avowed being pushed back to make room

I'm just sad as I was really looking forward to playing Avowed with my Christmas drink

 

[anthony2690]

Is demigod an Ezekiel alt?

 

[KungFucius]

Age of Mythology
Ara: History Untold
Towerborne
Starfield / Diablo / WoW expansions
Flight Sim
Call of Duty
Indiana Jones
STALKER 2*

* not first party.

It's not like people with GP subs don't also have Switches and/or PS5s too. Moving this game makes it more likely to be day 1 by more people which means more buzz and that tends to lead to a marginal sub increase. Fall through holidays are stacked.

Astrobot
Legend of Link
Dragon Age
Ubisofts AC and SW games.

At least 2 of those will take me away from GamePass games. EA games end up there eventually so I may wait there and since I started a GP sub I have avoided Ubisoft games even when I do have a small interest. Actually the real cause of that is Valhalla

 

[Heisenberg007]

So many games coming! As such, we're moving Avowed to Feb 18, 2025 to give players’ backlogs some breathing room.

It was cringe when their shills went with this angle, but this being the official stance is one of the saddest thing ever.

We will string you along on a Game Pass subscription with fake promises and release dates, then delay the game for YOU, and YOU. WILL. FEEL. GRATEFUL!

 

[Three]

adamsapple care to tell us how you already knew the delay was until February before it was officially made public?

I'm guessing the marching orders to make this delay seem like a good thing were coming in mid June/early July when they were close to releasing MW3 on GP.

Common man. Their second half is avowed, Microsoft flight simulator 2024, starfield DLC expansion, Indiana jones and COD(if you count that). Pretty stacked. If they were smart they would delay Indy or avowed to January/feb.

Almost exact same as adam before there was any public talks of the delay. Didn’t stop him trying to use it in "2024 list wars" prior though. Now 2024 is looking pretty normal and disappointing but MS probably don't care cause I'm sure they've met their GP subscription quota. Now it's time to make them pay $20 for a few months until more releases.

I've been seeing this happen for years but never thought to ask - what are the consequences of a delay?

We will string you along on a Game Pass subscription with fake promises and release dates, then delay the game for YOU, and YOU. WILL. FEEL. GRATEFUL!

I've been saying this since the weak launch lineup of the Xbox Series

They delayed games instead of spending more money ramping up development because they were still seeing gamepass growth at the time and that was beneficial to them. Delays meant revenue was coming from the sub every month while they worked on the game. Instead of spending more money for it to go into the sub quicker.

If you believe the delays are unrelated fine but I believe that those delays were aided by the fact that revenue would be incoming for a gamepass release as long as the numbers were increasing and a delay wouldn't be as costly as a studio relying on game sales and getting no revenue but incurring cost during that delay. You may disagree.

They delayed it for 3 months so that those who buy the 3 month GP cards would have a reason to pay again in February. Almost pretty much all xbox games have seen a delay after a delay. people blamed covid 2019 in the past but covid is well past us now.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

A part of me is wondering if a lot of long term Gamepass subscriptions are ending in like December and MS decided to use Avowed as the game to incentivize an extension.

 

[Frwrd]

Maybe Sony should delay concord too. You know to give peoples backlog a gap to breath

More like cancel that shit in its entirety

 

[Ozriel]

I certainly didn’t expect that the people who have been screeching for months that Avowed should be delayed to make it better are now crowing about the delay and clowning in this thread.

 

[Three]

A part of me is wondering if a lot of long term Gamepass subscriptions are ending in like December and MS decided to use Avowed as the game to incentivize an extension.

Yeah, they have incentives to delay games. Most of their studios operate mostly on timed contracts too so they minimise incurring costs from employees while they rake in GP money delaying these games.

I certainly didn’t expect that the people who have been screeching for months that Avowed should be delayed to make it better are now crowing about the delay and clowning in this thread.

Who was screeching it should be delayed and is clowning about a delay now? Don't be shy, call them out. Then you/we can confirm in their history and laugh.

 

[Varteras]

They've got a pretty decent H2 2024 anyway. Makes sense to save something for H1 2025.

I'm begging you. Please. Stop smoking crack! I love you, and it's tearing me apart. I can't stand to see you go down this road.

 

[Ozriel]

A part of me is wondering if a lot of long term Gamepass subscriptions are ending in like December and MS decided to use Avowed as the game to incentivize an extension.

They’re still got Call of Duty, Indiana Jones and Stalker 2 for that.
If people are canceling, it would be because of the price hike.

Yeah, they have incentives to delay games. Most of their studios operate mostly on timed contracts too so they minimise incurring costs from employees while they rake in GP money delaying these games.

Most of their studios don’t operate on timed contracts, and certainly not Obsidian games.

Delaying games delays revenue and keeps devs from moving on to the next thing. Nobody really wants that.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Indiana Jones and Stalker 2 will also get delayed(in stalker 2's case, again). Bet.

 

[Woopah]

I don’t count Call of Duty since it has always been multiplatform and still is now. So it’s STALKER 2 (if it doesn’t get delayed a fifth time), Indy (which is supposedly December so who knows), and Microsoft Flight Sim 2024 (one I’m really excited about but is niche). I dunno about this being stacked from an exclusives perspective.

Combined with a disappointing Hellblade 2 being the only game of the first like 9 months, I think this has potential to be yet another disappointing year for Xbox.

I'm begging you. Please. Stop smoking crack! I love you, and it's tearing me apart. I can't stand to see you go down this road.

Even if we don't count COD, they are still publishing 4 new games, 2 expansions and 1 remake in the final 4 months of the year.

That's decent.

 

[Varteras]

Even if we don't count COD, they are still publishing 4 new games, 2 expansions and 1 remake in the final 4 months of the year.

That's decent.

That's the crack talking.

 

[Three]

Most of their studios don’t operate on timed contracts, and certainly not Obsidian games.

Forza Motorsport Developer Shares 'Exhausting' Experience Making the Game

Microsoft's long-reported insistence on contract hires took its toll on the rebooted racing sim's development, according to one artist.

www.thedrive.com

MS has a reputation for "steady attrition". Watch the video from a former dev on Forza or employees at 343i.



They're known for their excessive use of contractors in place of full time employees. Strung along for possibly years until their contract ends when the project is near completion. No layoffs and no baggage for MS as full time employees. I'm not surprised most of the former employees are joining unions.

Delaying games delays revenue and keeps devs from moving on to the next thing. Nobody really wants that.

Not in a subscription model. In a game sales model certainly.

 

[Woopah]

That's the crack talking.

What do you think is a good amount of games for that time period?

 

[Varteras]

What do you think is a good amount of games for that time period?

Sir, do not assume for one second that this is a serious conversation. I just decided to use you to be silly. How does that make you feel? Knowing I'm using you?

 

[Ozriel]

Forza Motorsport Developer Shares 'Exhausting' Experience Making the Game

Microsoft's long-reported insistence on contract hires took its toll on the rebooted racing sim's development, according to one artist.

www.thedrive.com

MS has a reputation for "steady attrition". Watch the video from a former dev on Forza or employees at 343i.



They're known for their excessive use of contractors in place of full time employees. Strung along for possibly years until their contract ends when the project is near completion. No layoffs and no baggage for MS as full time employees. I'm not surprised most of the former employees are joining unions.

You know it makes zero sense to compare what goes on at long term XGS studios like Turn 10
And 343i (both located in Redmond, Washington) to Obsidian Games that already had a full team setup when acquired?

 

[Varteras]

You know it makes zero sense to compare what goes on at long term XGS studios like Turn 10
And 343i (both located in Redmond, Washington) to Obsidian Games that already had a full team setup when acquired?

They were acquired 6 years ago. You think nothing changed in that time? Because a lot of things changed for a lot of Microsoft's studios in that time.

 

[Woopah]

Sir, do not assume for one second that this is a serious conversation. I just decided to use you to be silly. How does that make you feel? Knowing I'm using you?

Well if you're an adult, I'd feel pretty disappointed in your behaviour.

If you're a child it would be a bit more understandable.

 

[salva]

 

[Varteras]

Well if you're an adult I'd feel pretty disappointed in your behaviour.

You must have all the charm and humor of a funeral. If being an adult means being like you, I'm glad I passed.

 

[SportsFan581]

They're learning I suppose. They don't want a repeat of last year's drought where they had to rely on Redfall of all things to fill a quarter. Release cadence and quality are what they need and a delay can only help that.

Very true. Important to have games out at a reasonable pace, but even more important to have them well received.

 

[Hohenheim]

This was too bad.
Out of all the games they are releasing this year, they decided to delay the only one I was really looking forward to.

 

[twilo99]

Makes you appreciate how good Activision is by pumping out high quality CoDs on a yearly basis like clockwork.

 

[Metnut]

Fall is stacked with RPGs.

Metaphor
Zelda
Kingdom Come
Dragon Age

That’s probably 350-400 hours of content. Plenty to keep everyone busy unless you only rent your stuff through the Gamepass scam.

 

[Varteras]

Makes you appreciate how good Activision is by pumping out high quality CoDs on a yearly basis like clockwork.

To be fair, they use like 6 or 7 studios and several thousand people to pull that off.

 

[Ozriel]

They were acquired 6 years ago. You think nothing changed in that time? Because a lot of things changed for a lot of Microsoft's studios in that time.

Their employee count hasn’t changed massively since acquisition, and all of their open positions are Full time roles.

You guys are grasping at tenuous straws here

Makes you appreciate how good Activision is by pumping out high quality CoDs on a yearly basis like clockwork.

Do you have any idea how many people work to get COD out at that frequency? Three AAA studios on rotation, plus support from multiple other studios and outsourced work.

 

[adamsapple]

So basically two weekends to play through the whole game. Not exactly a "big RPG"

What a weird attempt at a reduction.

adamsapple care to tell us how you already knew the delay was until February before it was officially made public?

 

[Woopah]

You must have all the charm and humor of a funeral. If being an adult means being like you, I'm glad I passed.

It's more that you think you are "using" someone by having a conversation with them.

 

[Varteras]

Their employee count hasn’t changed massively since acquisition, and all of their open positions are Full time roles.

You guys are grasping at tenuous straws here

I think you might be the one grasping here, bud. If you fire 20 people and replace them with 19 contracts, that's gonna look steady without context. I sincerely doubt you have the information to definitively say how their employment situation has fluctuated.

They have full-time positions available. Cool. Two things. One, that doesn't mean they won't be filled with contracts. Two, that doesn't mean a lot of their already filled positions aren't contracts.

Facts are that Obsidian was bought a while ago. Microsoft and Xbox are well known for using contract labor. Many of their studios have been publicly impacted greatly. Obsidian isn't special. There is EVERY reason to suspect or believe that they too are using contracts.

It's more that you think you are "using" someone by having a conversation with them.

I figured you would have noticed how silly it was of me to say that and also identify that as part of the fun. Like I said, funeral.

 

[adamsapple]

Even if we don't count COD, they are still publishing 4 new games, 2 expansions and 1 remake in the final 4 months of the year.

That's decent.

CoD is a first party IP, no reason not to count it.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

CoD is a first party IP, no reason not to count it.

no worries, it's going to get count once MS's mismanagement destroys the IP.

 

[adamsapple]

no worries, it's going to get count once MS's mismanagement destroys the IP.

You're not supposed to say the quiet part of 'I won't count it when it breaks records' out loud