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[TheInfamousKira]

I've been thinking about this between big puffs of a doob and watching JRE clips, but hear me out guys. What if the men in black at Microsoft have this huge plan to intentionally sabotage the entire industry into a second great depression?

If the playing field is completely leveled to 0, it'll be perfect groundwork for them to make a shitty little sandcastle with cat turds in it on top of the smoldering wreckage and say without irony that they are the Microgods and own gaming. Buying up all the studios and fucking closing them is a spite move, when nobody games, we (in a scheduled time frame) (we, as in MS) win!

Thoughts? Questions? AMA? TBH? PS3? Counters? Parries?

 

[Katatonic]

I've been thinking about this between big puffs of a doob and watching JRE clips, but hear me out guys. What if the men in black at Microsoft have this huge plan to intentionally sabotage the entire industry into a second great depression?

If the playing field is completely leveled to 0, it'll be perfect groundwork for them to make a shitty little sandcastle with cat turds in it on top of the smoldering wreckage and say without irony that they are the Microgods and own gaming. Buying up all the studios and fucking closing them is a spite move, when nobody games, we (in a scheduled time frame) (we, as in MS) win!

Thoughts? Questions? AMA? TBH? PS3? Counters? Parries?

Anything's possible.

 

[feynoob]

Nope. MS got the golden goose from activision and is now ditching Xbox. They have no use for the platform anymore, since Activision+bethesda IPs would bring them more money, even if they are 3rd party devs.

The mobile avenue would also bring them alot of money.

We are now witnessing the dying moment of xbox platform and the birth of MS gaming.

 

[Loomy]

I read the thread title and thought "what kind of dumb rationale is that?" Then I saw this

I've been thinking about this between big puffs of a doob and watching JRE clips

And I get it now.

To answer your question though. Microsoft has no way of completely clearing the board. Nintendo couldn't give 2 shits what Microsoft or anyone else does. Mobile and PC gaming will always be a thing as long as those devices exist, and there are enough 3rd party publishers(plus PlayStation) that will continue to exist even after Microsoft completes their self immolation act.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

they absolutely tried to do it with Playstation, but Sony didn't give in.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

 

[Pelao]

You are giving too much credit to Microsoft execs.

 

[Skifi28]

Parries?

I've been getting pretty good at parrying in Elden Ring lately.

 

[Robb]

What if the men in black at Microsoft have this huge plan to intentionally sabotage the entire industry into a second great depression?

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I kind of had a similar thought to this.

Plan is to Gobble up massive publishers, lay a shitload of people off, and then have the industry so narrowly focused that there's very little competition for games anymore in the long term. They just won't get made. So you're basically left playing the CoDs of the world and don't have many other options.

 

[Akuji]

Unironicly the best way to reason what Microsoft is doing for the last decade.

 

[T-0800]

Yes and Trump is a master at 4D Chess.

Sorry the real answer is that these people are really that stupid and bad at what they do.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Shareholders wouldn't approve, so no.

 

[bitbydeath]

Said in another thread, they appear to be setting fires and are not even trying to put them out. They’re not providing any reassurances to their fans and have not only lost a lot of consumers but also most of their influencers have moved on.

It seems intentional.

 

[LordBlodgett]

 

[Three]

Pepe Silvia is an alliterative name of Phil Spencer

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Nope. MS got the golden goose from activision and is now ditching Xbox. They have no use for the platform anymore, since Activision+bethesda IPs would bring them more money, even if they are 3rd party devs.

The mobile avenue would also bring them alot of money.

We are now witnessing the dying moment of xbox platform and the birth of MS gaming.

You must not know MS. See what is happening with Bethesda already? Watch what they do to Activision.

Just remember I said it.

 

[Soodanim]

I've been thinking about this between big puffs of a doob and watching JRE clips, but hear me out guys. What if the men in black at Microsoft have this huge plan to intentionally sabotage the entire industry into a second great depression?

If the playing field is completely leveled to 0, it'll be perfect groundwork for them to make a shitty little sandcastle with cat turds in it on top of the smoldering wreckage and say without irony that they are the Microgods and own gaming. Buying up all the studios and fucking closing them is a spite move, when nobody games, we (in a scheduled time frame) (we, as in MS) win!

Thoughts? Questions? AMA? TBH? PS3? Counters? Parries?

The Vault-Tec stuff in the Fallout TV series affected, didn't it

 

[MayauMiao]

I've been thinking about this between big puffs of a doob and watching JRE clips, but hear me out guys. What if the men in black at Microsoft have this huge plan to intentionally sabotage the entire industry into a second great depression?

If the playing field is completely leveled to 0, it'll be perfect groundwork for them to make a shitty little sandcastle with cat turds in it on top of the smoldering wreckage and say without irony that they are the Microgods and own gaming. Buying up all the studios and fucking closing them is a spite move, when nobody games, we (in a scheduled time frame) (we, as in MS) win!

Thoughts? Questions? AMA? TBH? PS3? Counters? Parries?

Even if everyone starts at 0, MS will still fail because they have no soul.

 

[MrRibeye]

You are giving too much credit to Microsoft execs.

Agreed. In my experience execs are impulsive people who follow ideals, which they previously received applause and affirmation for from people in power, who eventually handed power to those execs and because affirmation was given to those ideals over a period of several years it has now solidified and the execs are insecure about anything that they cannot apply their own ideals on, leading them to make impulsive decisions in situations they are unfamiliar with, and attacking any proposals that go contrary to the ideals they used to receive applause for back in the day.

 

[DenchDeckard]

How does Microsoft sabotage an entire industry and not just themselves?

If the industry needs call of duty and the studios MS has bought, or the platform to survive then that's a fault of the industry and not MS.

We often hear how studios don't need Xbox and will just pass the platform up. So if there is healthy competition from Sony then MS will only self sabotage themselves and their studios.

Nintendo is good all day, so they will not be affected.

As long as Sony don't fuck up and PC keeps growing. MS and Xbox can't do shit.

 

[Mokus]

While in the 80's the gaming industry crashed for a few years in North America, the rest of the world carried on with out being affected. Today this industry globally is much-much larger . Microsoft has only a good number of AAA studios (some of those dying for some time), and not making good games on purpose can't affect the global market as you imagine.

This is not like the movie industry where you need skilled people from one end to the other to make something decent, so by destroying sections in it could damage the industry for a long time until it can be restructured. For a good game you need a programmer with a good idea and a computer, and there are millions around the world who are trying their luck in the gaming industry every day. Only fanboys care if Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo is doing okay or not, most gamers will move on really fast if these companies fail because the next good game is just around corner.

 

[RCU005]

We are now witnessing the dying moment of xbox platform and the birth of MS gaming.

I believe this is correct. They know their console business is dead. They have had 2 generations with piss poor sales, and with absolutely no sign of ever recover. They came up with Game Pass because they might've thought that they could capitalize of a Netflix-like model (Netflix became so successful because they were first and used to have practically most of the content available).

The GamePass business is actually a great idea in paper. People loved the idea of playing any game they wanted for a subscription plan just like Netflix. The biggest problem with it, is that gaming is not "static" content. Movies and TV shows are just a file which you can just upload, but games require updates, DLCs, etc. This models doesn't work as well in this model as music and movies/tv shows.

I also said before that they could've bought Activision to prepare for a third party transition. Having that many studios would make them as big as Ubisoft and EA. The biggest issue with this, is that Xbox needs a complete management overhaul, because what good are those studios if there's no one that can organize and take advantage of them? With the closure of Tango and Arkane, reflects that so much.

What people need to understand, is that for Microsoft, the console business is not possible for them anymore. Could they announce something great and unique that becomes a huge success overnight and sells millions (like what happened with the Wii)? It might, and everyone would be in shock, but it doesn't seem likely at all. It would be fun to watch though.

My prediction is the following:
By the time next generation is highly rumored, because it's closer to get announced, Microsoft will announce that they will become Publishers. I would imagine at least Matt Booty and/or Sarah Bond will resign (Phil Spencer should, but he has a huge ego). They will say it is a new era for Xbox, or even start Microsoft Gaming (while maybe not disappearing Xbox brand in some form). If they release a console, it could probably more of a PC-like hardware. GamePass would probably be announced for Nintendo and PlayStation (because they wouldn't be making a competing console) but it would happen later, not at launch.

 

[The Pleasure]

Phil Spender, unhand that game!

 

[TwiztidElf]

How on Earth are they going to drag Sony, Nintendo and Valve with them?

 

[crackajack]

You forgot to throw in CCP, Tencent and Taiwan to make this conspiracy more plausible.

 

[DoctorEkkoUK]

"Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence."

 

[midnightAI]

While in the 80's the gaming industry crashed for a few years in North America, the rest of the world carried on with out being affected. Today this industry globally is much-much larger . Microsoft has only a good number of AAA studios (some of those dying for some time), and not making good games on purpose can't affect the global market as you imagine.

This is not like the movie industry where you need skilled people from one end to the other to make something decent, so by destroying sections in it could damage the industry for a long time until it can be restructured. For a good game you need a programmer with a good idea and a computer, and there are millions around the world who are trying their luck in the gaming industry every day. Only fanboys care if Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo is doing okay or not, most gamers will move on really fast if these companies fail because the next good game is just around corner.

 

[phaedrus]

Even if everyone starts at 0, MS will still fail because they have no soul taste.

FTFY

Spoiler

 

[SJRB]

You think Microsoft can tank the entire videogame industry when there's Sony, Nintendo, a ton of third party publishers and an overwhelming amount of indie devs out there?

People will just stop using their products and if that goes on long enough the division will tank. But the industry will survive all the same. Survival of the fittest least retarded. And in this case Microsoft is overwhelmingly retarded.

 

[RoboFu]

MS is just shifting to a platform app on all devices. They see the emergence of these high powered mobile chips and want to get in now. They will have an Xbox app on iOS and android in the 2-3 years.

 

[FunkMiller]

I've been thinking about this between big puffs of a doob and watching JRE clips, but hear me out guys. What if the men in black at Microsoft have this huge plan to intentionally sabotage the entire industry into a second great depression?

If the playing field is completely leveled to 0, it'll be perfect groundwork for them to make a shitty little sandcastle with cat turds in it on top of the smoldering wreckage and say without irony that they are the Microgods and own gaming. Buying up all the studios and fucking closing them is a spite move, when nobody games, we (in a scheduled time frame) (we, as in MS) win!

Thoughts? Questions? AMA? TBH? PS3? Counters? Parries?

It's often more comforting and easier to believe that there is method in madness. This is how conspiracies get going.

Better to believe people are clever and Machiavellian, rather than dumb and incompetent.

No, OP. This isn't some grand master plan.

They really are that fucking bad.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

They have tried to lower standards and to some extent, they got their fanbase to not buy games. However, there are too many good games/studios out there for people not to see through their bullshit.

Since their project was 100% destructive and short-sighted, as soon as the others called their bluff, they quit the game.

We don't need to second-guess, this is what Disney and DC have done to the Western comic book industry, sabotaging themselves. The result has been the rise of manga.

 

[leizzra]

I'll play Nostradamus.

M$ is now in the vegetation state were they are looking for their next "big thing". Xbox studios will be getting smaller and focused on big IP's, but because of Game Pass killing their sales they will act more and more as a 3rd party publisher. They will want to launch GP on Playstation and Nintendo, but (if those companies are smart) they won't because M$ service is a competition product (it could cripple sales of games on Playstation and Switch).

Their next "big thing" will be probably mobile games. This where they can have much bigger player base and GP may work here. They'll try to focus most of their studios (at least those who remain through the vegetation period) around this type of games. Some big IP's (like COD) will be still in production for consoles and PC's. This may lead them to streaming future, if they hold long enough or be even interested in it.

As for Xbox itself - for now they will still make one but it'll be more like a PC suited for games (like Steam Machine). It'll be cheaper and easier to make so they can give players more options - low, mid, high specs, handheld, ect. Probably it won't last too long and then the Xbox as a "box" will disappear.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

They want to be Unicron but instead they are barely a StarScream

 

[EnergyStar]

No.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

How does Microsoft sabotage an entire industry and not just themselves?

If the industry needs call of duty and the studios MS has bought, or the platform to survive then that's a fault of the industry and not MS.

We often hear how studios don't need Xbox and will just pass the platform up. So if there is healthy competition from Sony then MS will only self sabotage themselves and their studios.

Nintendo is good all day, so they will not be affected.

As long as Sony don't fuck up and PC keeps growing. MS and Xbox can't do shit.

You could literally swap Nintendo for PlayStation and say the same thing. “As long as they don’t fuck up”. Fortunately, they are the two who actually know how to weather a fuck-up, so both of them will be fine.

 

[Queso de Grande]

This is all symptoms of a larger problem. It is in no way isolated to video games. I am watching similar events happening in my industry.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

If this was true they wouldn't have timed it to completely take the heat off of Sony. The HD2 row has legs even after the walk back and MS completely sucked up all of the negative attention.

 

[BlackTron]

I've been thinking about this between big puffs of a doob and watching JRE clips, but hear me out guys. What if the men in black at Microsoft have this huge plan to intentionally sabotage the entire industry into a second great depression?

If the playing field is completely leveled to 0, it'll be perfect groundwork for them to make a shitty little sandcastle with cat turds in it on top of the smoldering wreckage and say without irony that they are the Microgods and own gaming. Buying up all the studios and fucking closing them is a spite move, when nobody games, we (in a scheduled time frame) (we, as in MS) win!

Thoughts? Questions? AMA? TBH? PS3? Counters? Parries?

They don't have the power to do this. They may have been trying to bait Sony and Nintendo into playing the same expensive game that they were, but Sony and Nintendo just allowed them to fail alone.

Even if Microsoft purchased and disbanded every studio out there. The people who made up those studios would still exist, could form new ones, and make games on Nintendo Sony and PC. Also they cannot touch their first-party studios. The platform holders will always have the means to lead a charge that other developers will want to tag along to.

 

[CLW]

But no I think XBox is simply dying due to incompetence at the top. They will be a third party publisher on Sony Nintendo and PC I don’t even see them coming out with a new box. They will ride this gen out and then fade from the scene

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

I read JRE as java runtime environment and was wondering why would someone chose to watch clips detailing the inner workings of java while high on weed.

But turns out it stands for the Joe Rogan Experience.

 

[wvnative]

I've been thinking about this between big puffs of a doob and watching JRE clips, but hear me out guys. What if the men in black at Microsoft have this huge plan to intentionally sabotage the entire industry into a second great depression?

If the playing field is completely leveled to 0, it'll be perfect groundwork for them to make a shitty little sandcastle with cat turds in it on top of the smoldering wreckage and say without irony that they are the Microgods and own gaming. Buying up all the studios and fucking closing them is a spite move, when nobody games, we (in a scheduled time frame) (we, as in MS) win!

Thoughts? Questions? AMA? TBH? PS3? Counters? Parries?

Microsoft executives aren't that smart my guy.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Microsoft needed content so they bought one of the oldest publishers in the industry. With that purchase they solidified digital entertainment revenue as a sizable portion (but not a major portion) of their revenue statements but also captured a metric boatload of users.

Physical games, and the hardware required to use them, are a relic to a digital product* company like Microsoft. What you are seeing now is a process much akin to Gold Panning (wikipedia).

Microsoft has purchased a mountain in the form of Activision/Blizzard/King. Now they are sifting through that giant mountain to find the gold. This process will continue until they have all the gold (IP/Content) they want and all the bi-product (development studios) will be washed away.

 

[adamsapple]

It's not even Friday night yet, folks. Ease up on the alcohol.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I've been thinking about this between big puffs of a doob and watching JRE clips, but hear me out guys. What if the men in black at Microsoft have this huge plan to intentionally sabotage the entire industry into a second great depression?

If the playing field is completely leveled to 0, it'll be perfect groundwork for them to make a shitty little sandcastle with cat turds in it on top of the smoldering wreckage and say without irony that they are the Microgods and own gaming. Buying up all the studios and fucking closing them is a spite move, when nobody games, we (in a scheduled time frame) (we, as in MS) win!

Thoughts? Questions? AMA? TBH? PS3? Counters? Parries?

That Vault-Tec ARG is getting out of hand.

 

[*Nightwing]

Reality is often more centered and less sexy in the headlines.


If you invest more than the norm in acquiring additional software companies, when the shit hits the fan and everyone in the tech industry starts cutting and trimming all the fat gained in previous times of feast, you are going to feel it more than everyone else in times of famine.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Drugs

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Drugs

It would make sense, but most of these guys seem pretty high functio- oh, you meant me.

 

[Raven77]

Although this is written like a drunk five-year-old, there is some deep level of potential truth here.

If you're in third place in the game you're playing and you don't think you can win - your best strategy maybe to force a restart of the game. Now you're no longer in third place.