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[gokurho]

Phil Spencer really wants you to know that native Call of Duty will stay on PlayStation

Candy Crush sweetens the deal for Microsoft as it tries to acquire Activision.

www.theverge.com

---You just made some big decisions. You delayed some big games that were supposed to come out for the holiday, Starfield and Redfall. Those would have been the hits. Talk through making that decision to delay the hits. Then I want to talk about this shift in the industry from being an “all hits all the time” model to this more recurring-revenue subscription model.

Phil: For any game, but definitely for our games Starfield and Redfall — which are our first big Xbox games with ZeniMax coming into the team — I just wanted to make sure those teams felt they had all the support they could get from Xbox, and to maybe feel some of the benefit of being part of a larger organization that has other revenue streams and other helpful things going on. In the end, I believe the quality of the games will be better and customers will find the experience to be more interesting, which will hopefully feel like the right decision in hindsight.

Great works Phil

 

[Hot5pur]

Really weird turn of events. I guess having gamepass just makes it ok to release very mid games. Was really hoping for this to be good. Not sure I'll even bother with it on gamepass.

Also hoping M$ doesn't buy more studios and then turn their games into gamepass shovelware.

 

[Jaybe]

I remember when Arkane's head proudly said that Redfall's vampires was an allegory on rich. Guess they went "eat the rich" before "finish the game"

Arkane put into practice what they preached. They basically siphoned off years of development money from the richest company in the world and gave them nothing in return. A grand heist in all but name.

 

[DragonNCM]

I'm sure they played it before it released. They knew

After playing it this morning....I'm not sure about that....

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Not sure where the Starfield concern is coming from other than fanboy warring tbh.

Two separate members on Gaf with contacts in the industry (and proven credible records) have said it's in a hot mess and presumably far from being ready for September.

Funnily enough they also leaked Redfall was in a state several months back.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Arkane put into practice what they preached. They basically siphoned off years of development money from the richest company in the world and gave them nothing in return. A grand heist in all but name.

Now the question is in what state the game was last year if even with 1 year it still launched in FO76 state

 

[DenchDeckard]

I just played for like 30 minutes and got to the Firestation.

This game is horrific!

I am absolutely baffled...this cant be the same studio that made Dishonored and Prey....WTF is this?

 

[Represent.]

Mid ass game from a mid ass publisher. But hey, it’s on gamepass. Right Phil?

If this is what we have to look forward to from Xbox First Party then I’m glad the deal failed. It’s like they ruin almost everything they touch. It becomes gamepass fodder.

How could Arkane produce such a shit product?

The bare minimum standards these devs have is very apparent the second you see gameplay. It looks like a game I’ve played in 2010 both in gameplay and graphics.

Shame.

 

[TLZ]

 

[Arumat]

Despite the inevitable bugs, thanks to sheer scale and ambition, you and I both know that Starfield will not launch in a state like....this.

For xbox's sake it better not, cause as of right now that's all they have left...

 

[Thirty7ven]

It's ok, XBox Era say it's a 8.5 and they really know their stuff

General reaction over there is “if this is how shit tastes and smells then give me a full bowl”

 

[F0rneus]

General reaction over there is “if this is how shit tastes and smells then give me a full bowl”

Grief is a process

 

[Astray]

Perhaps that is also why Sony got timed-exclusivity deals for Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo but not for Redfall and ... Starfield.

They were reportedly in talks for Starfield timed exclusivity at some point in time, so I don't think it would be as bad as Redfall in terms of what it's trying to achieve.

 

[DevilMayFlyForAWhiteGuy]

I have said it here before Xbox sends gifts in the form of game pass cards and SSDs to people like this to put Xbox in a favorable light

And yes I have the receipts and have shared them with mods here

Yo where do I get the hook up for this? I wouldn’t advertise or do anything gay but maybe I’d eat out Sarah Bond if I could at least get a free expansion SSD card.

 

[SJRB]

Cohh is streaming this on Twitch and it is hilarious.

The insta-kill elbow is the dumbest fucking thing. They couldn't even be bothered to add an actual takedown animation, it just bonks the enemy and it collapses.

 

[SmokedMeat]

But Greedfall is a good game?

Very good.

 

[Simpkin92]

I’m beyond disappointed with this release. Been with Xbox since 2009. This generation has been nothing but one huge screw up for me. From the botched game quality and quantity, to the botched acquisitions (waste of time and resources) Starfield had better come through.

 

[The Cockatrice]

But Greedfall is a good game?

Nah.

 

[SmokedMeat]

I am absolutely baffled...this cant be the same studio that made Dishonored and Prey....WTF is this?

It’s not. Just like Volition, Arkane is just a name now.
Wolfeye Studio is the new Arkane.

 

[PectacularOz]

Didn't @SenjutsuSage say this game going to surprise us? Or was that colt? Hard to keep track of the shills. I guess it did surprise people in a bad way.

I beleive Colt has since deleted those tweets

 

[Warnen]

Tried a bit more and uninstalled it. It’s the definition of meh. Everything the game does 20+ other games do it better. I kinda liked the feel of the shooting but the ai is so stupid what’s the point?

Back to destiny for my shooting needs and waiting for star wars patch…. At least this game ran better for me but still not worth it(it being free).

Once my never ending gamepass subs stops (think up to Xmas 2024 at this point) I doubt I’ll will continue any more. So few games are worth it for me. And when these big game suck so much what is left? Last game I like was halo and I bought it in steam :/

 

[drganon]

Despite the inevitable bugs, thanks to sheer scale and ambition, you and I both know that Starfield will not launch in a state like....this.

I hope so. Starfield is the only thing that makes me interested in getting an Xbox.

 

[ungalo]

Starfield could launch like redfall and it'll still score high because it's Bethesda... Seems certain studios get a pass on shit, while others are held to a way higher accountability.

That's because Redfall score is not because of its rough shape, it just didn't help.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Is the bolded actually true though?

Yes? Do you think GamePass is a big enough success that more people play games through it than buy games? But all we hear on GAF is the numbers are dwindling and theres no growth. MS says it’s 10-15% of revenue.

Your argument falls apart because all of these games are available to buy without ever subscribing.

 

[DenchDeckard]

It genuinely feels like one of those mid tier developers that are ambitious but don't land the execution..something like a home front or something...I never played it but it's like Haze I imagine.

This is all kinda of bad.

Like really bad. Shite shooting, terrible AI. Flat bland graphics. It feels like a student groups first unreal engine 4 project.. I appreciate its a full game but I turned it off after the first vampire.

Such a shame...

I pray for starfield. ...

 

[Reficul]

I found this quote from gamer.no quite amusing:

Redfall is the story of a group of power-hungry individuals who suck the life force out of something innocent and creative, leaving behind a hollowed out and pale copy of what once was.
But we're not here to talk about what Bethesda has done with Arkane.

The game received a solid 4/10 in their review.

 

[SJRB]

I found this quote from gamer.no quite amusing:


The game received a solid 4/10 in their review.

Yup, pouring one out to the homies at Arkane. They must've not slept very well last night.

 

[fart town usa]

this is a good one

 

[Kacho]

What a disaster for Arkane and Microsoft.

Remember, this was the big reveal at the Xbox showcase a couple years ago. They gave it a generous 10 minute reveal and it looked questionable then. Shitty characters, shitty dialogue, unappealing concept, always online, 30fps on console, bugs, half-assed design decisions, crummy animations and so on. Just a colossal failure across the board.

It's clear that Phil is so desperate for software that he's willing to trot out anything. Just like they did with Bleeding Edge years ago, which was another trend chasing turd.

The insta-kill elbow is the dumbest fucking thing. They couldn't even be bothered to add an actual takedown animation, it just bonks the enemy and it collapses.

It looks so out of place in a modern game. Screams cutting corners.

 

[nemiroff]

I found this quote from gamer.no quite amusing:

Sounds interesting. So what specifically are they saying Bethesda did to Arkane ("sucking creativity out of them" is funny but not specific enough for my taste), what's the actual story here, did they actually do some investigative journalism to dig out some details or is it just projected urinalism as per usual?

 

[SJRB]

 

[Emedan]

Bethesda as developers do send out buggy games for sure, but I am certain that we can all agree that ES6 won't be a complete mess like this. Or Starfield for that matter. Buggy? Oh yeah. Bad? No way.

Yeah no way in hell TES6 would be bad. It's their flagship franchise with decades of experience making, I mean Todd is still at the helm. Just gotta get that shit released before the generation end, we're like mid gen now and there haven't been anything from Xbox honestly

 

[sankt-Antonio]

And people on Gaf did not believe me when I said that GP will lead to lesser quality content filler games becoming more and more common. It’s the logical conclusion of an all you can play business model.

 

[Nigel]

Apparently the PC port is dire. Dreading to try it later. Thank God there’s a refund policy. But considering all recent major releases have been dire on PC I’m just sticking with Elden Ring for the next 5 years it seems.

 

[diffusionx]

Okay, so this game sucks, even after almost a year of delay and six years of development. It's a disaster, to be sure, but what is really damning is that MS leadership put this game in the forefront of their marketing, to the point where Nadella mentioned it in his conference call with investors LAST WEEK! Now, I know Nadella isn't out there playing these games. My only conclusion here is that Xbox leadership really thought this was a prime Xbox title and had no idea about the state of the game, which is incredibly, incredibly worrying for the future of Xbox. To put up a crappy 5/10 game (at best) as a major flagship release just shows total ignorance about what is going on in your building and not something I would ever see Nintendo, Sony, Capcom, etc. do. This isn't even the first time I thought this - remember they headlined that Craig trailer and seemed shocked and surprised at the reception it got.

 

[Camreezie]

Thar she blows , RIP Arkane

 

[fred420170]

Why not just delay the game instead of releasing it like this?

I don't think any delay would have fixed it. After playing it for about 5 hours it is just very mid and just not very exciting..

 

[Bulletbrain]

"I can do this forever"

Slidy vampire has perfect comedic timing.

 

[adamsapple]

 

[Nigel]

DAMN, so i wake up today to this mess, Redfall has become Redfail, as i expected from the last few footages shown the game is a total dumpsterfire, its a shame because Arkane is a great and talented developer, or maybe they used to be? since we follow studio names, we dont actually know how makes these games, so they either had a bad day or the staff has changed with poor devs, idk, it could be either way, Deathloop and now this, if the third game fails we can safely say Arkane is done.
Next Arkane game is go big or go bust. Hope to see them go back to their roots, there's already too much co-op junk on the market, in contrast to the few good immersive sim games out there.
KNOW YOUR PRIORITES ARKANE!!


Its fine when developers be political imo, they just go with the most basic bitch and safe positions lol.
That moment when you think you are a badass resistance fighter with based politics but then every major big corporation and media outlet agree with everything you say, it won't stop being ironic to me what this kind of people do.
When the first Deus Ex came and presented its themes, it was daring, the new games with political themes dont even compare, they are safe, bland and predictable junk in comparison. Mayne there is few exceptions but im talking generally.

Pretty sure Arkaine’s staff has changed dramatically. They’re not the same guys that made Dishonoured or even Prey.

 

[Shubh_C63]

I always used to say Arkane is cursed because they make good game that people genuinely do not want to play.

This time its not even good, so...

 

[DeepEnigma]

25 pages without any actual reviews.

Gaf's interest in this game is unprecedented. This will easily end up being Arkane's most successful game till date.

 

[manfestival]

And people on Gaf did not believe me when I said that GP will lead to lesser quality content filler games becoming more and more common. It’s the logical conclusion of an all you can play business model.

What are the other titles you are basing this train of thought on? You aren't the only one pounding your chest proclaiming you were "right" but I am curious. To me this is more of a bad game since the beginning.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Pretty sure Arkaine’s staff has changed dramatically. They’re not the same guys that made Dishonoured or even Prey.

It’s funny that people believe these studios stayed the same even though their games were financial failures. Zenimax was a sinking ship.

 

[Reficul]

Sounds interesting. So what specifically are they saying Bethesda did to Arkane ("sucking creativity out of them" is funny but not specific enough for my taste), what's the actual story here, did they actually do some investigative journalism to dig out some details or is it just projected urinalism as per usual?

Of course they didn't dig out any details. They are journalists after all.
I just found the quote funny. I'm sorry if you didn't.

 

[DeepEnigma]

This is the "race to the bottom" mentality and conditioning we were all talking about and wanted to not happen with these types of rental services. Yet, here we are.

 

[ToadMan]

So i knew someone at Arkane Lyon that told me about the state of the dev and the pessimism surrounding it at Austin a few years ago.

But besides that i read on twitter someone who apparently also knows people in the Lyon studio who said that Microsoft themselves didn't believe in Redfall either and wanted to release it as soon as possible to be done with it. I'm not sure if it's legit but it seems believable.

So i guess it really was a cursed project if nobody believed in it.

Why not just delay the game instead of releasing it like this?

Gamepass.

Those 25 million GP subscribers have already paid for this. Improving it just costs more and gains little - maybe it moves it from a 6 to a 7/10, not enough to draw a subscriber and certainly not enough to keep anyone subscribing.

This is an example of a game which would have been better if it had stayed multiplat. If this had to actually sell against other games, rather than just be a scroll-by title in a sub, there may have been an idea that making better was worth the effort and money or indeed cancelling it and spending the time on something better.

 

[adamsapple]

This is the "race to the bottom" mentality and conditioning we were all talking about and wanted to not happen with these types of rental services. Yet, here we are.

Some folks swear this game was already in development long before the acquisition or any prospect of it being on game pass.

I don't see the correlation of a rental service being the problem if this was always how the game was designed.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Cohh is streaming this on Twitch and it is hilarious.

The insta-kill elbow is the dumbest fucking thing. They couldn't even be bothered to add an actual takedown animation, it just bonks the enemy and it collapses.

I wonder if all the characters needing animations not only that looked good in first person but also in multiplayer for other players is the reason for this. It's not a good excuse, of course.

 

[Arun1910]

What are the other titles you are basing this train of thought on? You aren't the only one pounding your chest proclaiming you were "right" but I am curious. To me this is more of a bad game since the beginning.

Redfall, Scorn, State of Decay, Crackdown 3, Crossfire X, Sea of Thieves.

These are what I can remember having a pretty big buzz or marketing push and then just became mid/downright awful.

The list may be bigger than this but I don't really tend to get too wrapped up in MS exclusives anymore as they generally let me down.