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[Jez Corden] Hotly anticipated 'Black Myth: Wukong' is delayed on Xbox for 'optimizations' — and now, Microsoft has responded

Why can Microsoft never just give a straight answer.

Either there is an exclusivity deal in place, and they did just comment on it, or there isn't, and they are just trying to make Sony look like the bad guy.
You're upset at the wrong company. Microsoft isn't the hold up here. And it's not on them to make announcements based on other company's marketing and confidential business deals.
 
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Darsxx82

Member
Every legal contract I’ve been involved in at a corporation has explicitly stated the contents/terms are confidential for all parties.
Of course, but that has never stopped the media, websites and gaming community from putting strong pressure on those involved to express all the terms..... At least with MS there are no qualms and that pressure always bears fruit.🤷 🏻
 

GHG

Member
Buuuuut not everyone does. That's precisely the point that you're missing. Just because things don't matter to you or don't personally impact you, doesn't mean they don't impact others. Not every thread is tailored specifically to your needs.

The game was scheduled to come to Xbox Series at launch, and now it's being delayed to an unknown date in the future. Not everyone owns a PS5 or a gaming PC.

We had a poll here, just the other day:


~1.5% of the active userbase here only have access to an Xbox to game on. Those are the only people this sort of thing should concern (along with the 0.9% who only have a switch + Xbox, so a total of 2.4%).

To make matters worse, when these games do land on Xbox the sales splits are pitiful.

So again, why all the crying? I'd like someone to explain this phenomenon to me.
 
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Topher

Identifies as young
If they had some kind of deal with Sony it's the first one I've seen where Sony didn't advertise it as console exclusive etc.

There hasn't even been an article about the game on the PlayStation Blog.

huZg9aL.png


 
We had a poll here, just the other day:


~1.5% of the active userbase here only have access to an Xbox to game on. Those are the only people this sort of thing should concern.

To make matters worse, when these games do land on Xbox the sales splits are pitiful.

So again, why all the crying? I'd like someone to explain this phenomenon to me.
Ah. A Neogaf-specific poll off one thread. Very scientific! :messenger_winking:

Key data point you're ignoring:
Black Myth Wukong isn't coming to every platform (no Switch). So the percentage is skewed.

And even if it was only 1.5%, that's 1.5% less people who would be able to purchase the game at launch. Again, you're in agreement then that those people do exist, you're just not one of them. Yet you felt compelled to post a whiny complaint saying something doesn't specifically apply to you.
 
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GHG

Member
Ah. A Neogaf-specific poll off one thread. Very scientific! :messenger_winking:

If it makes you feel any better, there was an identical poll in 2018 and the outcome was similar.

Then there are also the game platform sales splits along with information like this:



But I'm proud of people like Jez, he's really standing up for the 1%.
 
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StereoVsn

Gold Member
I have a series S, but Microsoft really need to drop this parity clause bullshit, that way they could at least get the Series X version out of the door while trying to get the Series S version optimised enough for release
They can’t do that. Half their user base (maybe even more than half) this gen is on XSS.

If they drop the parity clause they will majorly piss off these folks and they could mean dropping GamePass revenue. So it will never happen.
 
They can’t do that. Half their user base (maybe even more than half) this gen is on XSS.

If they drop the parity clause they will majorly piss off these folks and they could mean dropping GamePass revenue. So it will never happen.
Agreed. For all reasons, they literally cannot make anything this generation X exclusive. But I am hoping next-gen they don't begin with a splintered userbase.
 
So, why did they make this comment in the first place?

Q: "Is the series S delaying this game"
A: "We can't comment on exclusivity deals"

They could have just answered the question.
No, in fact they likely couldn't. Being it is a business deal involving other companies that they have no involvement with. So legally and practically, no they wouldn't have been able to disclose all of that, even if they'd been leaked all of the information.
 

GHG

Member
Key data point you're ignoring:
Black Myth Wukong isn't coming to every platform (no Switch). So the percentage is skewed.

Percentage of people here who can't play this at launch based on the current platforms they have at their disposal is ~2.4%.

And even if it was only 1.5%, that's 1.5% less people who would be able to purchase the game at launch. Again, you're in agreement then that those people do exist, you're just not one of them. Yet you felt compelled to post a whiny complaint saying something doesn't specifically apply to you.

I'm not the one whining, far from it. I actually find it a tad amusing, it's very reminiscent of the behaviour exhibited by loud minorities that have become prevalent elsewhere in modern culture.

What I'm asking is why every time a game skips Xbox (or looks like it might be) there is this huge uproar as if there's this huge amount of people who purchase games who are going to be excluded. The bottom line is that publishers will respond in accordance to consumer behaviour and trends, no amount of entitled begging from what represents the small percentage of people that this sort of thing actually affects will change that.

You're still yet to give me a logical answer other than "those people exist" (which isn't a logical answer by the way, especially not from a business perspective when it concerns smaller studios).
 
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Creating an underperforming platform (again) that teaches your userbase not purchase games makes the desire to be on that platform less attractive and makes the acceptance of other marketing deals from other platform holders easier to accept.
Yes I fully understand how the economics of the console business works, thanks 🤦‍♂️. I owned a Wii U.

Again, bringing this back to the context, you're making an argument that Microsoft should disclose another company's business arrangement, which occured after the game had previously been announced as multiplatform at launch. I pointed out that isn't correct, and it's not how things like that work, and that whatever agreement PS and the publisher of Black Myth Wukong have worked out is not something Microsoft could disclose, even if they wanted to or knew the specifics. That is the only point I was making.
 
You're upset at the wrong company. Microsoft isn't the hold up here. And it's not on them to make announcements based on other company's marketing and confidential business deals.

The other company has already explained why the game isn't coming out day 1 for Xbox. Are you telling me that you are going to believe them if they tell you a second time why it's not day 1 on Xbox?
 
I'm not the one whining, far from it. I actually find it a tad amusing, it's very reminiscent of the behaviour exhibited by loud minorities that have become prevalent elsewhere in modern culture.

What I'm asking is why every time a game skips Xbox (or looks like it might be) there is this huge uproar as if there's this huge amount of people who purchase games who are going to be excluded. The bottom line is that publishers will respond in accordance to consumer behaviour and trends, no amount of entitled begging from what represents the small percentage of people that this sort of thing actually affects will change that.

You're still yet to give me a logical answer other than "those people exist" (which isn't a logical answer by the way, especially not from a business perspective when it concerns smaller studios).
Yes, my bad for giving you a logical answer. Heaven forbid! How you have mind-pretzeled into making that a bad thing is classic internet forum nonsense. it's very tiring, tbh. And of course your above is just cherry-picking. It happens every time something for just one platform out of many gets delayed but the rest ship on time. Regardless of platform.
 
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TrippleA345

Member
Timestamped for laughter


Also at 7:20:
"we wanted to make the development process as easy as possible for developers... to build their games for both consoles"
Another example of why the entire leadership is a complete clown show. He really thinks that way. This is not PR, the entire video pure amateurish laughable ingineur loose arguments and statements. All on the same lvl with booty, spencer and and and. It can't be said enough, the complete lack of technical knowledge and education is the reason for their incredible failure.
 

GHG

Member
Yes, my bad for giving you a logical answer. Heaven forbid! How you have mind-pretzeled into making that a bad thing is classic internet forum nonsense. it's very tiring, tbh. And of course your above is just cherry-picking. It happens every time something for just one platform out of many gets delayed but the rest ship on time. Regardless of platform.

Not everyone has a Jez Corden and a Windows Central willing to go to war for them my friend. This is twice now, in the matter of days.

But what I think you'll find is that it would be far less likely that this sort of thing would happen if people on Xbox were more inclined to purchase more games. That is the thing that is of most concern for the people who are responsible for creating and selling these games. If not, you'll just see more and more of them withholding games with a view of later being able to leverage the situation for some sort of gamepass deal.
 
You're upset at the wrong company. Microsoft isn't the hold up here. And it's not on them to make announcements based on other company's marketing and confidential business deals.
There is no business deal, I bet they asked about "rumors" of moneyhatting along with the optimizations at the same time and then just put that out as the answer. When was the last time you saw a game Sony paid for and didn't market online like crazy? I haven't seen any marketing from sony for this game at all other than the trailers that come out on both consoles.
 

Three

Gold Member
So, why did they make this comment in the first place?

Q: "Is the series S delaying this game"
A: "We can't comment on exclusivity deals"

They could have just answered the question.
If Game Science made some kind of deal after already delaying the xbox version because of optimisation issues then they're genius. It's a win win for them. MS confirmed in their response they're "working with game science to bring it to their platforms" when asked about the delay and that corroborates the statement by Game Science that its been delayed due to optimisation issues on xbox. MS just tried to get smart to kick up some ambiguous outrage. Game Science would be smart to try and win some deal too in this scenario.
 
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Dick Jones

Gold Member
So, why did they make this comment in the first place?

Q: "Is the series S delaying this game"
A: "We can't comment on exclusivity deals"

They could have just answered the question.
Confirming the Series S is a mistake would be interesting. Throwing third parties under the bus is a disaster that Xbox haven't realised yet. Better to ask the paid shills not to ask damaging questions ahead of the interview. This is another own goal.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Not everyone has a Jez Corden and a Windows Central willing to go to war for them my friend. This is twice now, in the matter of days.

But what I think you'll find is that it would be far less likely that this sort of thing would happen if people on Xbox were more inclined to purchase more games. That is the thing that is of most concern for the people who are responsible for creating and selling these games. If not, you'll just see more and more of them withholding games with a view of later being able to leverage the situation for some sort of gamepass deal.

I'm not seeing the relevance to the topic at hand. They announced a simultaneous release on consoles not too long ago, delaying it on one platform just 2 months before release is poor form on their part. You'd think they would be far enough in development to know they won't be able to get one SKU ready in time much earlier

EnBgW6a.png




Comparatively, Larian didn't even announce an Xbox version when they first announced the console release for BG3
 

Klayzer

Member
There is no business deal, I bet they asked about "rumors" of moneyhatting along with the optimizations at the same time and then just put that out as the answer. When was the last time you saw a game Sony paid for and didn't market online like crazy? I haven't seen any marketing from sony for this game at all other than the trailers that come out on both consoles.
This is what a lot of the Xbox fanbase does here. Crazy conspiracy maybes, over the logical Series S stuff.
 

GHG

Member
I'm not seeing the relevance to the topic at hand. They announced a simultaneous release on consoles not too long ago, delaying it on one platform just 2 months before release is poor form on their part. You'd think they would be far enough in development to know they won't be able to get one SKU ready in time much earlier

EnBgW6a.png




Comparatively, Larian didn't even announce an Xbox version when they first announced the console release for BG3

There's a quote from Sarah Bond in this very thread on this topic:

I found this:
Don't know who the fuck KingDavid is.


"the devs wanted more money from Xbox to launch same day as the other platforms"

Now why would they do such a thing? Think Adam, think.
 
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bender

What time is it?
I'm not seeing the relevance to the topic at hand. They announced a simultaneous release on consoles not too long ago, delaying it on one platform just 2 months before release is poor form on their part. You'd think they would be far enough in development to know they won't be able to get one SKU ready in time much earlier

EnBgW6a.png




Comparatively, Larian didn't even announce an Xbox version when they first announced the console release for BG3

Aspirations can die to the reality of a given situation, especially with the inexperience of Game Science. If they are struggling with optimizations across all platforms, it's probably best to focus on the platforms where you think your game will have the most success and delay the rest.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
"the devs wanted more money from Xbox to launch same day as the other platforms"

Now why would they do such a thing? Think Adam, think.

I actually listened the segment in the podcast, even posted about it. He only paraphrased the 3 words from Sarah, the rest is his own commentary and opinion.

I wouldn't trust this source, personally. Not that I knew who King David is in the first place before these tweets.

Even if you want to believe that tweet is true, if the publisher is holding the release date hostage over more money, after announcing a simultaneous release date beforehand, that's, to use a popular word these days .. slimy
 
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Skifi28

Member
Sony has a history of money-hatting games but let's believe Microsoft is lying in instead.
Both companies have a history of that. When was the last time Sony made a deal at the last second after the release date and other platforms were already announced which led to a delay announcement and then never bothered to advertise/feature the game themselves? It just doesn't sound like their usual tactics, only Sweeney does that.
 
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salva

Member
I haven't looked at footage of this game for years. Is it still a souls like game? If so, keep optimising it till it's not... then release it on gamepass
 
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