aliadiere25
Member
First-party?
It's funny how these types of claims are always being made here on this forum and others. Just because a game has cinematic sequences to it doesn't mean the whole game is one giant 'simulator'. GOW Ragnarok is very cinematic, yes, but there is so much gameplay beyond what the trailers show, what the youtuber streams, etc. The same could be said of other big PS exclusives as well. I find it humorous that you think pentiment and psychonauts has more gameplay than some of those games.Psychonauts 2 + Grounded + Pentiment have more gameplay in their little finger than the cINEmatIC eXpeRIencE this forum seems to deem as success (which I'll never understand).
God I hope they don't chase that boring market for peoples that want white/yellow paintings to tell them where to jump/grab. Or nonstop talking to explain puzzles
Oh yeah, a medieval storybook with good writing is the same as nonstop talking protagonist that explain to you brainlets what to do next. It's the same.
Oh yeah, a medieval storybook with good writing is the same as nonstop talking protagonist that explain to you brainlets what to do next. It's the same.
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Who ever saw Doublefine's Psychonauts as that description. The delusion is incredible.
Salt salt salt cope cope copeMaybe you should try playing Psychonauts 2, oh my god basic gameplay with good art design and humor. Pentiment is a storybook with good writing how incredible, such dense gameplay.
Fuck outta here, if MS hadn't purchased them you wouldn't be trying to make them into what they aren't. Go play Baldurs Gate 3.
Maybe you should try playing Psychonauts 2, oh my god basic gameplay with good art design and humor. Pentiment is a storybook with good writing how incredible, such dense gameplay.
Fuck outta here, if MS hadn't purchased them you wouldn't be trying to make them into what they aren't. Go play Baldurs Gate 3.
It's funny that people are expecting a new Crash or Spyro.......they bough Rare 20 years ago and still no new Conker or Banjo games. So.....no....it aint happening, other than some remasters
You and others have gone full "look at the sales, it means this is what people want, it means it's quality" real hard all of a sudden. Wonder if you have the same perspective when it comes to other games and how do the goal posts move when it comes to hardware?
Thing is, there's nothing wrong with those MS games. They're perfectly fine for what they are. Just like HFR, they are smaller scale titles. Sony has them via exclusives or partnerships/funding too with things like Kena, Stray, and SiFu.
But they are nowhere near what people expect to be the crowning achievements that are the bread and butter of the platform that keep people wanting to stay engaged with their ecosystem. The more the Xbox fanbase tries to deflect against games like GOW or TLOU for being "walking simulators" (or whatever such nonsense), the more they are going to be left behind. Just because these games have phenomenal presentation doesn't mean they are bereft of gameplay.
It's a weak talking point to deflect the cold, hard truth and sad reality that Microsoft Games studios is FAR behind on aspects of production that make games universally and broadly appealing. Starfield is literally generations behind in comparison and it really shows. Hell, in starfield literally all you do is walk from one empty soulless location and loading screen to the next, trying to fetch some stupid quest item while interacting with some boring ass cornball NPC and MAYBE you get into some janky combat on the way. It is comically bad. But some people think this is actual gameplay/charm? Okay. Whatever floats your boat. Starfield is a far bigger offender of the "walking simulator" than any game I've played on Sony's side, including a literal walking simulator with Death Stranding that has far more meaningful depth in the mechanics it offers that have an influence on the world they created.
You're spouting off a bunch of hypotheticals and "whatif's" my guy. You may not think box games have had any significant cultural mindshare but that doesn't account as fact. It counts as your opinion. You state CoD is creatively dead. That doesnt equate to the numbers we see in sales every year. Its still the top selling IP EVERY. SINGLE,. YEAR.People have been pretending Microsoft are new to the games industry as a reason to justify the ABK acquisition, and we all know that isn't true. If you include PC gaming, MS have been in the industry since the early '80s.
Who gives a crap about most of the Microsoft games when it comes to cultural mindshare? Very few people are big upping games like Flight Sim, Gears Tactics, As Dusk Falls (lol), RedFall (LOL), Age of Empires. Forza just launched and peak CCU on Steam was something like 3.5K, doesn't seem like a lot of people care about the game.
Microsoft's problem is, and has been for a long time, that very little of their games have big cultural mindshare and what few do, aren't even associated with them by the masses. Minecraft is big, but no one thinks of Microsoft when they talk about or play Minecraft. Microsoft's own brand image in entertainment is not a great one, they aren't seen as "cool" or "fun" the way Sony and Nintendo are.
They may have just bought COD but it'll be many years before the IP is strongly associated with MS, if ever. Same with games like Diablo 4 (which is effectively dead in its own right), Overwatch (same), Tony Hawk, even Crash Bandicoot and Spyro. Yes the Xbox sycophants will hype and cheer Phil Spencer's name (now) with those games and so will the AI bots that get made for astroturfing, but the vast majority of real people won't.
COD is creatively dying. It also won't have the selling power it did anymore once Sony withdraws marketing support. Candy Crush has seen declining revenue, and is also arguably creatively stagnant. Not that mobile games need to do much creatively to earn lots of money.
Who's this nerd? Doesn't look like the kind of bro that would miss real man games like Call of Duty or Crash Bandicoot.
Toys for Bob is no more. They are a COD support studio. And MS dictates what games get worked on. Rare of 2001 is not Rare of 2023. Even if the studio wanted to make a new Conker game it would be up to MS not Rare.What's the link between Rare's choice not to revisit their old IP and what Beenox and Toys For Bob would like to do?
I don't recall claiming sales were a good analogue for quality. Saying Call of Duty games sell well despite mixed reviews doesn't translate to "sales means quality".
I'll leave the warring over hardware sales to you. I've never participated in that mess![]()
I would. When I go to Vegas, I bet it always on green.Imagine going back in time few years and posting on NeoGAF that one day Fallout, Doom, Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Call of Duty etc. will be Microsoft's first party franchises. Nobody would believe you.
It's funny how these types of claims are always being made here on this forum and others. Just because a game has cinematic sequences to it doesn't mean the whole game is one giant 'simulator'. GOW Ragnarok is very cinematic, yes, but there is so much gameplay beyond what the trailers show, what the youtuber streams, etc. The same could be said of other big PS exclusives as well. I find it humorous that you think pentiment and psychonauts has more gameplay than some of those games.
Tell me you've never taken the time to play an actual ps game without telling me you've taken the actual time to play a ps game.
Thing is, there's nothing wrong with those MS games. They're perfectly fine for what they are. Just like HFR, they are smaller scale titles. Sony has them via exclusives or partnerships/funding too with things like Kena, Stray, and SiFu.
But they are nowhere near what people expect to be the crowning achievements that are the bread and butter of the platform that keep people wanting to stay engaged with their ecosystem. The more the Xbox fanbase tries to deflect against games like GOW or TLOU for being "walking simulators" (or whatever such nonsense), the more they are going to be left behind. Just because these games have phenomenal presentation doesn't mean they are bereft of gameplay.
It's a weak talking point to deflect the cold, hard truth and sad reality that Microsoft Games studios is FAR behind on aspects of production that make games universally and broadly appealing. Starfield is literally generations behind in comparison and it really shows. Hell, in starfield literally all you do is walk from one empty soulless location and loading screen to the next, trying to fetch some stupid quest item while interacting with some boring ass cornball NPC and MAYBE you get into some janky combat on the way. It is comically bad. But some people think this is actual gameplay/charm? Okay. Whatever floats your boat. Starfield is a far bigger offender of the "walking simulator" than any game I've played on Sony's side, including a literal walking simulator with Death Stranding that has far more meaningful depth in the mechanics it offers that have an influence on the world they created.
Thank you for detailing precisely why Microsoft has chosen to build out and flesh out their first party studios. AAA tentpole games, right?
Looking forward to more games from studios that are yet to drop their output post acquisition.
You're spouting off a bunch of hypotheticals and "whatif's" my guy. You may not think box games have had any significant cultural mindshare but that doesn't account as fact. It counts as your opinion. You state CoD is creatively dead. That doesnt equate to the numbers we see in sales every year. Its still the top selling IP EVERY. SINGLE,. YEAR.
Candy Crush is still raking in hundreds of million to billions every year and is the 3rd biggest mobile IP on the planet. Again, you come off like what you're stating is fact when it reality its just your opinion. That only stretches about as far as your car lot -- maybe?
Its hilarious how when any publisher gets published, suddenly they've been on the decline and their IP power is dwindling into an abyss with gamers. Kind of convenient, no?
Who gives a crap about most of the Microsoft games when it comes to cultural mindshare? Very few people are big upping games like Flight Sim, Gears Tactics, As Dusk Falls (lol), RedFall (LOL), Age of Empires. Forza just launched and peak CCU on Steam was something like 3.5K, doesn't seem like a lot of people care about the game.
Microsoft's problem is, and has been for a long time, that very little of their games have big cultural mindshare and what few do, aren't even associated with them by the masses. Minecraft is big, but no one thinks of Microsoft when they talk about or play Minecraft. Microsoft's own brand image in entertainment is not a great one, they aren't seen as "cool" or "fun" the way Sony and Nintendo are.
They may have just bought COD but it'll be many years before the IP is strongly associated with MS, if ever. Same with games like Diablo 4 (which is effectively dead in its own right), Overwatch (same), Tony Hawk, even Crash Bandicoot and Spyro. Yes the Xbox sycophants will hype and cheer Phil Spencer's name (now) with those games and so will the AI bots that get made for astroturfing, but the vast majority of real people won't.
"Build out" no cut the cap. They didn't build any of this. They purchased Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Obsidia, inXile, Bethesda, iD, Tango Gameworks, Playground, Blizzard, Toys for Bob, King and countless others.
You want to see the extent of what studio culture Microsoft can build in-house? Look at Turn 10, with a racing game that despite coming a full year after GT7 looks worst in several areas and has gimped its own gameplay loop for GaaS monetization and heavy grinding. Look at 343i, who are a laughing stock alongside Halo and have killed that IP more than any competitors ever could. Look at the studio they made to do Perfect Dark reboot, a studio so terribly managed I already forgot their name and like 70% of the people jettisoned out ASAP.
That's what happens when Xbox, under current leadership, try building something out from within. And if you can't build right, you can't manage right. So them ousting Kotick is ironically one of the worst moves for ABK because there isn't anyone currently at Microsoft Gaming who can manage that load nearly as successfully.
Zenimax were struggling both financially and in critical market successes when Microsoft bought them. ABK were hit with damning scandals and stagnation in some of their games with Microsoft bought them.
Hate to break it to you, but Microsoft's MO has been to buy publishers when they're on the decline and struggling. That's how they do things. Whether that decline is long-term or just a temporary issue, it doesn't matter. Microsoft wait to pounce when their prey is weak, and sweep in.
If Sony had the same M.O I'd be saying similar, but they don't. They bought Bungie as they were revitalized and doing well with Destiny 2. They bought Psygnosis when they were still growing into a powerhouse. Sony aren't predatory with buying 3P game publishers the way Microsoft has exhibited.
Maybe you should try playing Psychonauts 2
oh my god basic gameplay with good art design and humor (and if you don't think the game is cinematic… maybe you dont know what cinematic means)
Pentiment is a storybook with good writing how incredible, such dense gameplay.
Fuck outta here, if MS hadn't purchased them you wouldn't be trying to make them into what they aren't.
Go play Baldurs Gate 3.
I struggle to understand the point you're making. It's now a bad thing for them to buy studios when the price is most advantageous? And you say it's 'predatory'?![]()
The smart companies wait until the price is most expensive before buying them, obviously
The scandals are irrelevant. Gots nothing to do with the numbers....I bet you they're the same type who hyped up As Dusk Falls & Plague Tale: Requiem, and are big-upping Hellblade 2.
The latter of which has outright shown NOTHING but walking and scripted spear-chucking you've seen in a million games already. It's an actual definition of a walking simulator but I've seen plenty who otherwise try crapping on Sony's games as walking sim, hyping Hellblade 2 as the second coming of Christ.
One of the few things I can give MS credit for is that they do have a number of AA games being worked on in-house that seem like traditional games. It's something I feel Sony really need to bring back, especially if they are trying to be less reliant on 3P and need content to fill out their release schedule. Sony arguably had the best roster of AA-type games of any platform holder ever during the PS3 generation, but they started slowly scaling back. And now, the majority of that from them when it comes to console exclusives, is through 3P partnerships.
However, Microsoft's biggest problem, more evident than ever, is quality control and delivering a product that actually lives up to expectations. They simply can't do it. And because they can't do it, they fall behind in cultural mindshare.
"Build out" no cut the cap. They didn't build any of this. They purchased Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Obsidia, inXile, Bethesda, iD, Tango Gameworks, Playground, Blizzard, Toys for Bob, King and countless others.
You want to see the extent of what studio culture Microsoft can build in-house? Look at Turn 10, with a racing game that despite coming a full year after GT7 looks worst in several areas and has gimped its own gameplay loop for GaaS monetization and heavy grinding. Look at 343i, who are a laughing stock alongside Halo and have killed that IP more than any competitors ever could. Look at the studio they made to do Perfect Dark reboot, a studio so terribly managed I already forgot their name and like 70% of the people jettisoned out ASAP.
That's what happens when Xbox, under current leadership, try building something out from within. And if you can't build right, you can't manage right. So them ousting Kotick is ironically one of the worst moves for ABK because there isn't anyone currently at Microsoft Gaming who can manage that load nearly as successfully.
...who cares? I'm a hobbyist of the industry, friend. Sales numbers only mean so much. I wouldn't be playing games if they didn't creatively stimulate me. So I'm not gonna be a bean-counting cheerleader for these companies pretending them buying stuff somehow makes me richer, when it doesn't.
When it comes to games which push the industry forward one way or another creatively, modern-day Microsoft are at the bottom of the pail, and that is an actual fact. Games like Halo used to lead the FPS genre, now they're also-rans. COD might still be the top-selling FPS game on the market but it's resorted to remaking older games to do so because the team's ran out of new ideas.
Like I said, I'm not a bean-counting cheerleader, so how much money Candy Crush brings in doesn't suddenly make it a quality gaming experience or a cornerstone of the industry creatively. Otherwise any number of casino games could be in this same conversation.
The only thing stuff like CC highlights is the danger in a mega-conglomerate like Microsoft having ownership over that type of IP and chunk of gaming market revenue. Because if (or better to say, when) Microsoft screws everything up, those games can see massive drops in revenue and that will negatively impact the financial growth and stability of the entire industry.
Zenimax were struggling both financially and in critical market successes when Microsoft bought them. ABK were hit with damning scandals and stagnation in some of their games with Microsoft bought them.
Hate to break it to you, but Microsoft's MO has been to buy publishers when they're on the decline and struggling. That's how they do things. Whether that decline is long-term or just a temporary issue, it doesn't matter. Microsoft wait to pounce when their prey is weak, and sweep in.
If Sony had the same M.O I'd be saying similar, but they don't. They bought Bungie as they were revitalized and doing well with Destiny 2. They bought Psygnosis when they were still growing into a powerhouse. Sony aren't predatory with buying 3P game publishers the way Microsoft has exhibited.
As a gamer, why should I care at all about "cultural mindshare"?
There are games I love that very few care about (Battleblock theater, Quantum Break, Super T.I.M.E Force, etc. etc.) and games I love that tons of people love (Skyrim, GTA V, Witcher 3, etc. etc. etc.) When I'm playing a game I don't really care if it's popular or rated high on metacritic, or what anybody else thinks of the game.
As long as they're not failing financially to affect the games, if they're making games that I enjoy, that's really all that matters as far as I'm concerned.
I say this as somebody who owns all 3 systems (and a PC) and has multiple games I love from each console basically every gen. I won't deny that I have a preference (bias if you want to call it that) towards Xbox but I play the games I want to play and I don't think cultural mindshare should ever be a factor in determining the quality of a game
'build out' in this case clearly refers to increasing their first party count.
Whether it's Setting up from scratch or purchasing already acquired studios, it all ends up in the same thing. They had a handful of studios before, now they have a lot more.
Turn 10 has made lots of successful racing games in the past, with top notch efficiency. They've made missteps in their newest release, but it's utterly daft to say that defines them.
They've tried something new and different with the GaaS approach that hasn't clicked as well as it should have. But you're literally attacking them over an 85% MC rated game. Was it a black mark against Sony when GT Sport landed at 75% Metacritic rating?
The Initiative's teething pains even helps make the case for MS strategy of acquiring existing, well established studios.
But this is a cherry picked list, anyway. For obvious reasons you've shied away from adding Playground games to this list. New studio affiliated with MS from the start, and they're making the most popular racing games in the market. Or even Coalition who are perhaps the industry's premier UE devs.
I struggle to understand the point you're making. It's now a bad thing for them to buy studios when the price is most advantageous? And you say it's 'predatory'?![]()
Fixed.Thank you for detailing precisely why Microsoft has chosen tobuild out and flesh out their first party studiosacquire an obscene amount of historical IP and studios, making their ecosystem the only way to play them. AAA tentpole games, right?
Looking forward to more games from studios that are yet to drop their output post acquisition.
Not if they force it on Gamepass Day 1 and eviscerate it's revenue base
Bobby himself took the stand at that FTC trial and testified that he didn't like Gamepass and it was bad for ABK properties and their revenue models
People have been pretending Microsoft are new to the games industry as a reason to justify the ABK acquisition, and we all know that isn't true. If you include PC gaming, MS have been in the industry since the early '80s.
Who gives a crap about most of the Microsoft games when it comes to cultural mindshare? Very few people are big upping games like Flight Sim, Gears Tactics, As Dusk Falls (lol), RedFall (LOL), Age of Empires. Forza just launched and peak CCU on Steam was something like 3.5K, doesn't seem like a lot of people care about the game.
Microsoft's problem is, and has been for a long time, that very little of their games have big cultural mindshare and what few do, aren't even associated with them by the masses. Minecraft is big, but no one thinks of Microsoft when they talk about or play Minecraft. Microsoft's own brand image in entertainment is not a great one, they aren't seen as "cool" or "fun" the way Sony and Nintendo are.
They may have just bought COD but it'll be many years before the IP is strongly associated with MS, if ever. Same with games like Diablo 4 (which is effectively dead in its own right), Overwatch (same), Tony Hawk, even Crash Bandicoot and Spyro. Yes the Xbox sycophants will hype and cheer Phil Spencer's name (now) with those games and so will the AI bots that get made for astroturfing, but the vast majority of real people won't.
COD is creatively dying. It also won't have the selling power it did anymore once Sony withdraws marketing support. Candy Crush has seen declining revenue, and is also arguably creatively stagnant. Not that mobile games need to do much creatively to earn lots of money.
you can rent games now. no need to wait. doom eternal is awful and an insult to the franchise.People crying and bitching here while I'm all excited for the next doom on gamepass
Doom is where it's at
Doom eternal is the goat of single player FPS games
You do realise that if it does come to Gamepass day one then those customers are paying Microsoft for access?Not if they force it on Gamepass Day 1 and eviscerate it's revenue base
Bobby himself took the stand at that FTC trial and testified that he didn't like Gamepass and it was bad for ABK properties and their revenue models
Don't you know, every single one of the 30 million some odd GamePass subscribers is still creating a new MS account every single month to take advantage of the $1 trial period that doesn't exist anymore.You do realise that if it does come to Gamepass day one then those customers are paying Microsoft for access?
I know it's blindingly obvious but some people seem to be missing it.
He's the legendary matchmaking kid teabagging your face while fucking your mum loading the next lobby. Show some respect.Who's this nerd? Doesn't look like the kind of bro that would miss real man games like Call of Duty or Crash Bandicoot.
Jimmy Thompson?He's the legendary matchmaking kid teabagging your face while fucking your mum loading the next lobby. Show some respect.
My reaction was mind blown at how much talent and potential can be wasted.It's not mind blowing considering it's Microsoft who owns them.
This is just blatant straw manning.
Never did I say "Money is everything". But to act like money isn't super f***ing helpful, especially in an industry as expensive as this, is just foolish.
Why do they need all this to compete with Competitors with a fraction of this number of First-Party studios?That's what is needed to compete.
No, no, according to Financial Times they need to buy Nintendo, so they can compete or show up Japan or something. Would be career defining moment for sure!I see a big lot of names, but numbers mean nothing from them lol. Their management is beyond fetid.
They should learn from Nintendo.
First-party?
What's mind boggling is people wanting a company with lots of mismanagement and zero creativity to control more developers.
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This is all I see from OP.
To be fair, gay porn is pretty good these days indeed.![]()
This is all I see from OP.
I know. But they're not Xbox first-party studios regardless of what people claim.Yes, like Activision and Bethesda. First party studios.