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Microsoft Studios (& Partners) Current and Future Landscape
- Thread starter Banjo-Kazooie
- Start date
daTRUballin
Member
We know. Someone already did a summary of all the things Phil talked about in the interview in the last page.
He also talked about them working on PC exclusive games so clearly they're gonna bring back some old PC franchise.
You know what that means....
FLIGHT SIMULATOR 2017 BABY!
How about Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2017. I loved that game back in the day, going on bombing runs in my Messerschmitt on german troop convoys.
We know. Someone already did a summary of all the things Phil talked about in the interview in the last page.
Dohhhh alright, alright
Bits N Pieces
Member
Must refuse to get sucked into the hype, must refuse to believe Phil in that they have new unannounced IP and new games to reveal. Must believe in the forum posters who say that MS have nothing else to show for the rest of this year and 2018.
Nightengale
Member
Nobody is "not believing" Phil. It's E3, obviously there'll be new games to show and announce.
But I would say it's fair to keep expectations tempered.
For one, historically first party MS games announced and released within the same year are never big AAA new games unless it's called Forza.
So it's normal to think it's something in the veins of a remaster, port collection, smaller indie game like Ori, etc instead of say...completely unknown AAA game.
MS also has announced nothing for 2018 yet so obviously there'll be some 2018 announcements like they always have. Halo 6 is the popular guess. Maybe even one or two more unknown second party games. Maybe AA or AAA like ReCore or Crackdown 3 style whatever they have in pipeline.
DriftingSpirit
Member
It is happening!
Samurai G0SU
Member
will we get another lame montage commercial saying these are the greatest games line up in history again? as an xbox owner and player, those commercials did not have any appeal to me.
with assessment, i do not think a non xbox owner felt the urge to pick up an xbox because of that commercial either.
gimmie more commercials like halo wars 2, or something that has me left with questions.
Sea of Thieves, Sate of Decay 2, Crackdown 3, Below*?, Cuphead, and im guessing 2 unannounced games for xbox in 2017. 3 games announced for 2018 and beyond.
with assessment, i do not think a non xbox owner felt the urge to pick up an xbox because of that commercial either.
gimmie more commercials like halo wars 2, or something that has me left with questions.
Sea of Thieves, Sate of Decay 2, Crackdown 3, Below*?, Cuphead, and im guessing 2 unannounced games for xbox in 2017. 3 games announced for 2018 and beyond.
One thing to keep in mind also that Phil stated not long after he took over that he didn't want to announce games too far in advance. Now obviously some games like Scalebound had already been shown/announced prior to him taking over. He's still shown some things a bit too early (Cuphead though that got delayed to add content and Crackdown 3), but for the most part they don't announce games that are 2-3 years out anymore.
Nightengale
Member
Yes, but it's not as if they're doing short Fallout 4 style cycles.
2014 was clearly an anomaly, but 2015/16 shows that when it comes to new AA/AAA announcements, their favoured approach is the 18 month cycle of "announce at conference, go dark for one year, big blowout next year with fall release date."
Halo Wars 2, State of Decay 2, Gears of War 4, Sea of Thieves, ReCore were all games that was "planned" for that 18-ish month cycle. That is the bulk of the non-Forza announcements from MS, and imo, reflective of their preferred approach.
Of course, HW2 and Sea of Thieves failed to meet those dates, but it is reflective of their strategic preference.
Outrun
Member
I got to play Tomb raider, Gears 4, Forza 6, and Halo 5. All are great games. What was the problem? The PR?
Banjo-Kazooie
Member
I'll give the OP some love this weekend and update it with new information 
Steverulez
Member
To be fair Crackdown was 2014 same as Scalebound, Phil took over like 2 months before that E3. I don't think 2014 should be on him when he couldn't exactly come in and completely change their E3 plans at the last minute when they had been planned for months already. 2015 (Sea of Thieves), 2016 and obviously 2017 is on him though.
I hope we don't see Halo 6 this E3. We know it's coming in 2018, there's no point showing it really. Wait until next E3 and show it off properly and release it in October. They can still start up Marketing in around April like HTT, everyone knows it's coming anyways you don't need to formally show it off on stage for that. Look at what Rockstar does (not saying Halo is as big as R* IP's but I think it's big enough to start marketing in certain ways before it's officially shown)
18 months is good for new IP's or returning IP's that were dormant for a long time, but for sequels we get constantly it should be <1 year. Halo, Gears, Forza, Forza Horizon, Ori 2, Killer Instinct, etc. For new IP's or returning IP's, 18 months is good like Sunset Overdrive, HW2, etc.
The beta slipped my mind for a second, honestly that's even more reason to not bother showing it this e3, is it really so hard to just put at the end of Crackdown 3 trailer "Preorder now for access to Halo 6 beta, coming holiday 2017/early 2018" and just leave it at that and let people play it for themselves? Honestly, it's Halo, people know what to expect from it or at least have a general idea.
Showing Halo off this year would be bad imo, all it'll do is feed into the whole "all xbox has is halo gears forza", take up valuable time that could go towards other games and take any spotlight off their new IP's because you know everyone will come out of it talking about Halo and not SOT, CD3, SOD2, any other game.
I know it's probably going to happen but I think they should avoid doing so.
hah, no way. Now, Age Of Empires...
DriftingSpirit
Member
It may depend on what they have to show. I see what you're saying but perhaps they need Halo 6 to fill a spot.
If they show it first and get it out of the way, it could work assuming the other content (Crackdown, etc...) is good.
I think MS' blockbuster this year will be either Crackdown 3 or Sea of Thieves...and i'm more inclined to think Crackdown will be it.
DriftingSpirit
Member
Yeah, it'll be Crackdown.
speedomodel
Member
I 100% believe we'll what the Ori dev is up to with a 2017 release date. Don't know if it'll be Ori 2 though.
Almost certainly the case.
Can you imagine if crackdown online was able to get a fraction of the success GTA: Online has gotten?
I would not be surprised to find out a big reason the game has been under work so long is finding a way to replicate that success in the crackdown formula. I expect customization to be bonkers.
Doubt we get a beta. For Halo 5 it was needed because of some big changes with MP.
il Diavolo
Banned
Who'd develop a Fable IV now that Lionhead is no more?
Sea of Thieves
I think RDR2 Online is going to overshadow Crackdown (assuming they're both gta online-esque ) and I don't think the campaign will be big or good enough to make it their blockbuster.
But it won't. RDR2O will.
Let's say you're right and Crackdown overshadows Halo, what's the point in showing Halo then? All that's going to lead to "Is halo irrelevant? noone cares it was shown at E3." But the chances of that happening are slim, Halo will be the talk of the show if they show it for sure.
At this point all people really want to see is the story, and I see no point showing that 18 months out. E3 2017->2018 can ride off the beta/multiplayer without formally showing it, E3 2018->release can ride on the story hype.
My guesses for E3 announcements...
2017:
- Ori 2
- Forza 7
2018:
- Halo 6
- Mechwarrior 5 also coming to Xbox
- Ruffian's game
I also think there will be a tease for a game that's quite a ways off, perhaps an early teaser for another Rare game like Banjo to generate some good will.
2017:
- Ori 2
- Forza 7
2018:
- Halo 6
- Mechwarrior 5 also coming to Xbox
- Ruffian's game
I also think there will be a tease for a game that's quite a ways off, perhaps an early teaser for another Rare game like Banjo to generate some good will.
I am not expecting Crackdown 3 to do anything significant compared to RDR2, but outside of open-world and multiplayer, the titles have very little overlap in terms of core gameplay to the point I'm not so worried about Crackdown online not having an audience.
dragonelite
Member
Just give cd project red a cheque to make a scorpio patch for the witcher 3.
I don't think Crackdown will be dead, but I don't think it's gonna take off big either.
I get the impression Crackdown Online will be their version of GTA Online, and RDR2 obviously will be aswell. And to me that's a bad thing for Crackdown, people looking for a GTA Online replacement will go to RDR2 because it's R* and it's probably going to be the better one between the two. Sure the core gameplay is different but like RDR and GTA, the fundamental basics are the same and I think that appeals largely the same group of people and I expect Crackdown Online to be heavily influenced by GTA Online with destruction as it's own thing.
If RDR2O wasn't coming out this year I'd be inclined to believe Crackdown Online could take off, but I think going for a similar audience and both releasing the same time is bad.
But this is all assuming it's Crackdown's version of GTA Online and heavily influenced by it, when we really don't know anything about how their online counterpart is going to work.
I was seeing the New IP project of Bethesda and I was thinking..
What are the odds of the New Bethesda IP being banked by Microsoft?
They have a good relationship and the game could be a Play Anywhere title. Would be a bold and also a HUGE move.
They already tested the UWP with Fallout Shelter.. Todd Howard was in the Scorpio 'reveal' video
At least the first entry, Titanfall like.
What do you guys think?
What are the odds of the New Bethesda IP being banked by Microsoft?
They have a good relationship and the game could be a Play Anywhere title. Would be a bold and also a HUGE move.
They already tested the UWP with Fallout Shelter.. Todd Howard was in the Scorpio 'reveal' video
At least the first entry, Titanfall like.
What do you guys think?
DriftingSpirit
Member
I just think Crackdown will align better with the market.
Honestly, I'm just following MS' structure with Halo 5.
They may not have to but they will.I think they should do it at E3 2018 too but yeah.
No, that makes no business sense for Bethesda or Xbox. The smart thing for Xbox to do is to get marketing rights like fallout 4, I assume they will anyway considering the Todd Howard Phil Spencer relationship and Bethesda and Xbox marketing teams being very aligned.
lightskintwin
Banned
Not going to happen. Bethesda is a publisher that's doing well and doesn't need to get their projects funded and relinquish their IP rights. Any exclusives from a Microsoft funded third party will either be from independent developers like Remedy, Insomniac, Obsidian, etc... or from low risk publishers who need the funds like Capcom.
Steverulez
Member
Ruffian may be working on something else for MS, but the job listings were almost certainly for Crackdown 3, which they are working on
You are probably right, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was, with UWP Bethesda would be able to "lock" the mod support to their website (but it would be a huge backslash I think), and also because Sony can't offer the full mod support like the Xbox.. but it's just a wild speculation of my part and you are probably right
.Are you sure you aren't getting Ruffian mixed up with Sumo digital
Steverulez
Member
TheUnsunghero26
Member
I don't think MS will find or have an exclusive Bethesda game, but I could see one of their games being a play any where title.
MeisterLeder
Banned
If it looks as outdated as Halo 5 then the highe resolution wont matter IMO
DriftingSpirit
Member
Easier said than done is what immediately comes to mind. I also think MS should try to find their own place in the market (like Nintendo) but it seems to be a pretty difficult thing to do and maintain for various reasons.
Louis Cyphre
Banned
I'm curious what you guys think of Jason Schreier's tweets from earlier today. Do you agree that Microsoft should be positioning the Xbox brand much differently, rather than trying to compete directly with Sony?
Windows store directly competing with Steam is an even bigger challenge.
SmartWaffles
Member
I'm curious what you guys think of Jason Schreier's tweets from earlier today. Do you agree that Microsoft should be positioning the Xbox brand much differently, rather than trying to compete directly with Sony?
I think that is something pretty obvious since like two years ago.
They are already doing it. Their upcoming slate and games for the past 2 years are already transitioning to a service model. I don't think they are trying to compete with Sony at all. If they were we'd be seeing more scalebounds and stuff like horizon. Here's the thing, what MS is doing isn't sexy or the games aren't going to be lauded as the best thing ever but they are going after a segment that really isn't represented on message boards or your not gonna see Schrier talking about etc. like does anyone talk about H1Z1 or ark or Conan etcI'm curious what you guys think of Jason Schreier's tweets from earlier today. Do you agree that Microsoft should be positioning the Xbox brand much differently, rather than trying to compete directly with Sony?
Nightengale
Member
There's a very easy way to "win" in that space, the living-room PC space, but in a way, that victory in itself is an admission of defeat.
Because the only easy way I can see an living-room PC box being successful is if it's basically Xbox + Steambox. And since I don't see Valve forfeiting ecosystem ownership to Xbox, so that means the success of Xbox as a living-room PC...
Is effectively being the Stephen Elop era Nokia-equivalent of Windows Phone OEM.
What's the point of winning then, when the success there is basically a forfeit of your ecosystem to another partner for the sake of selling more hardware?
Of course, the other path is one where Valve/Xbox has a fairer equity between each other and that Steam + Xbox is more intertwined, but I rationally don't see that happening. Steam is too successful on its own terms that I don't see them waxing unique deals for specific boxes.
Because the only easy way I can see an living-room PC box being successful is if it's basically Xbox + Steambox. And since I don't see Valve forfeiting ecosystem ownership to Xbox, so that means the success of Xbox as a living-room PC...
Is effectively being the Stephen Elop era Nokia-equivalent of Windows Phone OEM.
What's the point of winning then, when the success there is basically a forfeit of your ecosystem to another partner for the sake of selling more hardware?
Of course, the other path is one where Valve/Xbox has a fairer equity between each other and that Steam + Xbox is more intertwined, but I rationally don't see that happening. Steam is too successful on its own terms that I don't see them waxing unique deals for specific boxes.
Forget about positioning, if they want to continue to play ball they need to show more software. Sony is just hitting its stride with multiple AAA and varied titles dropping in the next two years and Nintendo will be showing off more titles this June letting gamers know they have AAA content for the foreseeable future.
It starts and ends with software.