Xbox Game Studios should be the "Anti-PlayStation"

Jubenhimer said:
Well to be fair to Sony, they have recognized that as a weakpoint, which is why they're betting big on Destruction AllStars as its big first party multiplayer game.
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Betting big?

A generic looking, free to play looking, indie looking multiplayer is "betting big"?

God, I hope Sony doesn't consider a smaller title from Lucid Games is a big bet. Not with Microsoft out and about.
 
I feel like any MS players that wanted single player story driven games they would PS players already. The truth is most xbox players i know have no interest in non mp games. When they talk about halo it isnt for the campaign its the competition of mp. Two different sets of fans imo.
 
Harry Tung said:
I prefer it when the big three are carving out their own path. It's redundant to have three companies doing the same thing and fighting over the same audience. And this time, it seems that all three are headed In different directions.

Microsoft: Services/ Cloud gaming/ Streaming/ MP-centric games/ BC/ Gamepass/ focus on PC and Windows

Sony: AAA-singleplayer games/ dedicated hardware tailor made for their studios / first party focus/ audio and sound/ VR/ third party relations

Nintendo: Hybrid gaming on the go/ family centric games and image/ strong first party IP/ indies/ quality of life/ innovation and various quirks

At least, that's how I see it.
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Agree, all three can be successful and are already diverging. You can see many people buy PlayStation and Nintendo every generation..... I could certainly add an Xbox if I saw that they had things I wanted to play.

Likewise I would like if PlayStation focused on what they are good at and stopped chasing cloud gaming and services (apart from PS+). I also want Sony to invest in more diverse studios... in China, Japan and eastern europe.
 
Microsoft Studios can discover the cure for Corona and Cancer and give it for free and that won't be enough. The established narrative will always be the same.
 
Vawn said:
But it's hard to microtransaction to hell the single-player crowd. We must demand more Games As A Service!!!
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Tell me ONE Microsoft game that has more multiplayer micro-transactions than NaughtyDog's multiplayer titles.

Tell me ANY Microsoft game that has a pay to win multiplayer DLC mechanic like ND titles and not just cosmetic like SoT.

Stop shit posting a Microsoft thread for once in your life.
 
wolffy71 said:
Idk. MS is more multiplayer focused which some people prefer. Most of their big titles have extensive multiplayer and i think they should keep it that way. Let sony, for the most part, tell the single player stories.
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That is understandable, but I don't think some gamers including myself would mind if Microsoft ventured out of their comfort zone with more high production value single player experiences as well to go with the multiplayer. They stated they picked up a lot of new studios, so we'll see what they are working on.
 
Men_in_Boxes said:
Lean into multiplayer. Sony looks flat footed on what has become a revalation over the last two-three years. Social, multiplayer gaming has insane growth potential.

Meanwhile Sony like "Demons Souls..."
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I see what you are saying, but based on the majority of Sony system sales, it seems like their single player focused strategy is working pretty well for them.
 
Let Sony carry on with their niche, we all sorta know what to expect from them by now. Same with Nintendo.

XGS are in a much more interesting position.: Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Rare all under one banner. Then you've got the GamePass and xCloud services.

All this powered by the more powerful console, pound for pound.

They have a lot to prove, and I hold complete faith in them at this point. Let's see what those developers can do with some impenetrable cash flow behind them.
 
They have 2 dedicated RPG studios and obsidian entertainment that will also be making a few RPGs. I would say that will be a good start at differentiating themselves from Sony and still having single player games. Yes i don't want to see them make clones of god of war, the last of us ect. Do different things like RPGs.
 
Rhazer Fusion said:
I see what you are saying, but based on the majority of Sony system sales, it seems like their single player focused strategy is working pretty well for them.
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I wonder (think) if the industry hasn't tipped in favor of multiplayer over the last few years though. While Sony's style of single player game is going to be hugely profitable for a while, I tend to believe multiplayer, social, cooperative games have begun to only recently skyrocket.

I look at Fortnite (20+ million players engaged in their season ending event a few days ago) and think it's still leaving a ton of players off the table. Someone in the industry will figure out what made Fortnite so engaging, and fix what's preventing even more players from playing.

It would be interesting to see some data on single player engagement vs multiplayer engagement through the years.
 
Is this another concern thread where the OP pretends to be giving advice to a company they don't like and even in that altered reality if said company was to follow the advice it would do nothing but help the company of their choice?

Jesus man you guys are so transparent.

Vawn Vawn had the better thread. At least it provided some form of entertainment.
 
They kind of are. Sony is big on single player, MS has been big on GaaS type games. That's as anti-Sony as you can get. As a person that prefers GaaS games it's music to my ears. I haven't played a single player game since Mario Odyssey like...3 years ago?
 
jakinov said:
I don't know if Sony explicitly pushed single-player games more than that was what their devs happen to want to make single-player games. In the past they seemed to push on the online aspect of games. I think they even said at one point they wanted all their games to have an online component. Which was what I think lead to the user-generated content in Infamous 2, Uncharted multiplayer, God of War multiplayer, and Ratchet and Clank multiplayer. It was at a time that many publishers believed that multiplayer was how you get more new game sales which was further enforced by online passes that Sony took a part of. There was a rumor around that time that the reason Socom was having so many problem was that Sony kept pushing them to try to be more like COD. Future/maybe-present, the last head said they want to do more multiplayer. So maybe that's why Horizon is rumored to have co-op.
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The problem for Sony and other publishers was that second hand sales meant people played the games online which they were offering for free yet paying others for the servers. This introduced the 'online pass' which meant that you can still play the game online for free if you buy new or have to pay the 'online pass' if you bought a preowned/second hand game.

It was a way of covering the cost of those playing online for free using a preowned game who they got no revenue from. It wasn't related to trying to increase game sales, just covering the cost of those already sold. Sony had interest in online multiplayer but at some point left that to other publishers (near PS4 launch) and sold SOE (Sony Online Entertainment) their biggest and best studio for multiplayer online games.
 
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Men_in_Boxes said:
I wonder (think) if the industry hasn't tipped in favor of multiplayer over the last few years though. While Sony's style of single player game is going to be hugely profitable for a while, I tend to believe multiplayer, social, cooperative games have begun to only recently skyrocket.

I look at Fortnite (20+ million players engaged in their season ending event a few days ago) and think it's still leaving a ton of players off the table. Someone in the industry will figure out what made Fortnite so engaging, and fix what's preventing even more players from playing.

It would be interesting to see some data on single player engagement vs multiplayer engagement through the years.
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The thing is, the big multiplayer hits like Fortnite are all multiplatform so Sony gets them anyway.

Sony focusing on the single player gamer is smart and makes them much more valuable IMO
 
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Men_in_Boxes said:
Lean into multiplayer. Sony looks flat footed on what has become a revalation over the last two-three years. Social, multiplayer gaming has insane growth potential.
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There's a reason all of the super successful multiplayer titles are on both consoles. You won't get Fortnite/Apex/Warzone levels of success from an Xbox/PC exclusive.
 
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I get where you're coming from but Microsoft already kind of are doing this and it's not working out for them.

Halo
Forza Horizon
Killer Instinct
Sea of Thieves
Bleeding Edge

All of these games offer a genre that isn't currently covered by Sony first party studio games. Doesn't seem to be working for MS really.
 
I agree, but who the fuck are you argueing against? I've yet to see a single user here demanding MS to mimic Sony's first party output. Personally, I'm hoping for a serious 60fps push from MS. Fuck "cinematic" experiences, give me games.
 
I would love to see more games like halo wars, aoe - RTS on consoles, gears real time strategy game could be fun. Some good action RPGs (I am expecting at least couple to be shown in July) and some other fps beyond halo would be nice. Another racing game - revived PGR would be cool (fm8 and fh5 will make some sort of appearance.

imo. Xbox got better variety of games than playstation, all of the heavy hitters on Sony platform are sort of similar 3rd party story games.
 
M1chl said:
They should create more memorable single-player only AA games.
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Agreed. To add to this, MS's biggest problem is that none of their singleplayer-games feature likeable, human characters. you either "full-badasses" or "full-whimsical cuties". Nintendo has a lot of likeable heroes, see Link, Shulk, Ike and Marth, Samus Aran, and so on. Ofc, Nintendo isn't the direct competitor, but even Sony has more "human" characters with Ellie, Joel, Nathan Drake and such. MS has ... nothing. The Masterchief is an unapproachable almost-robot, Senua is a psycho, and that's it. MS should really focus to create 2-3 persistent singleplayer franchises that tell exciting, serious stories that feature human characters. It's a bummer they lost the Mass Effect-franchise.
 
In an ideal world they need to do everything to please/attract the broader possible audience
And this is true for all of them
But sadly reality is more complicated than that.
 
I'm hoping they will be. I never really thought much of Sony exclusives outside of Gran Turismo, god of war PS4 and Bloodborne ( I did enjoy the order and drive club quite a bit as well).

I'm not a fan of the tryhard Nintendo-like kid game stuff from the Ps5 unveil. Having weaker hardware and an underwhelming software showcase (as well as the worst console design ever) kinda put the ball in MS's court for me.
 
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I agree. Sony makes good games but they aren't games for me. The only PS4 exclusives I finished are Horizon and Spider-Man. I didn't love either of them I just am a sucker for those types of open world collect a thon games. I guess if The Order counts as a Sony game I did plat that in like four hours but that game was doodoo.

I enjoy some of the games MS offers and Sony doesn't really have any alternatives. They don't have a Forza Horizon or a Bleeding Edge or an Ori or a Cuphead. They don't have a Halo.

I hope they don't try to mimic what Sony does. But I don't think we have to worry about that, GAF says MS will be focused on making cheap GamePass filler that Netbooks can run. We're good.
 
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The Hamburglar said:
Subverting expectations 😂.

if they release some half decent games they're already subverted most expectations. They've set the bar so low this gen.
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ny:
Huh? How so? According to Metacritic they actually released better games in 2019 compared to Sony

#7: Xbox Game Studios [fka Microsoft Studios]

www.metacritic.com

Metacritic's 10th Annual Game Publisher Rankings

We reveal the past year's best and worst videogame publishers (based on their 2019 releases) in our 10th annual Game Publisher Rankings.
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com

and Sony is at 22.

We will see in the coming years how it will turn out.
 
HushiMushi said:
ny:
Huh? How so? According to Metacritic they actually released better games in 2019 compared to Sony

#7: Xbox Game Studios [fka Microsoft Studios]

www.metacritic.com

Metacritic's 10th Annual Game Publisher Rankings

We reveal the past year's best and worst videogame publishers (based on their 2019 releases) in our 10th annual Game Publisher Rankings.
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com

and Sony is at 22.

We will see in the coming years how it will turn out.
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can we do and aggregate all the passing years ?
why focus on 2019 ?
 
Bumblebeetuna said:
I agree. Sony makes good games but they aren't games for me. The only PS4 exclusives I finished are Horizon and Spider-Man. I didn't love either of them I just am a sucker for those types of open world collect a thon games. I guess if The Order counts as a Sony game I did plat that in like four hours but that game was doodoo.

I enjoy some of the games MS offers and Sony doesn't really have any alternatives. They don't have a Forza Horizon or a Bleeding Edge or an Ori or a Cuphead. They don't have a Halo.

I hope they don't try to mimic what Sony does. But I don't think we have to worry about that, GAF says MS will be focused on making cheap GamePass filler that Netbooks can run. We're good.
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Your going to have both you think playground is going to be making gamepass filler? You will get a mix like ninja theory and obsidian entertainment. Big games like hell blade 2 and the sky rim like action rpg to go with the small passion projects like grounded and bleeding edge. I love the direction they are going right now because they are letting teams and studios make games they want to make how they see fit. That is were the old management went wrong forcing teams into games they really did not want and it showed in the final product
 
Nintendo usually has the games I'm seeking. Spider-Man notwithstanding. I put hours into BOTW, Three Houses, and yes Pokemon Sword.
But their platformers lately have been uneven.
 
Hobbygaming said:
Both of them having great SP titles with great gameplay, stories, etc. that get critically acclaimed is good for us all
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I'd rather have really good co-op story driven campaigns. Give me a AAAA version of "a way out". I don't need a bunch of single player cinematic experiences. Now if you can give me a cinematic experience that is built from the ground up as co-op and not just "add player 2 but this game is really meant for one player" THENNNNN you have my attention.

edit: ah I see you edited your comment to not sound like a tool lol.
 
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HushiMushi said:
ny:
Huh? How so? According to Metacritic they actually released better games in 2019 compared to Sony

#7: Xbox Game Studios [fka Microsoft Studios]

www.metacritic.com

Metacritic's 10th Annual Game Publisher Rankings

We reveal the past year's best and worst videogame publishers (based on their 2019 releases) in our 10th annual Game Publisher Rankings.
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com

and Sony is at 22.

We will see in the coming years how it will turn out.
Click to expand...

Yeah, problem is MC also counts multiplatform releases like Cuphead and Ori for Switch in 2019
 
LoLwut. It's like saying that MS should be opposite of successes. MS should be more like Sony. Oh, and bring back Viva Pinata ffs.
 
I'd say they should focus on giving each studio the time and money to complete big projects that capture the vision and style of the studio. Then, combine that with smaller teams that create AA projects on shorter timetables. They have a variety of studios, this would lend itself to a variety of games. They should do single player big and small, along with multi-player. There's room for everyone to do everything.
 
Usually companies try to build on their strengths. Imo for MS, that strength is multiplayer games. They should try to add a diverse line that has a few single player stories but stay focused on mp. They arent gonna steal sp fans from sony either way. And im pretty sure that neither Sony, MS, or Nintendo are lacking enough customers to be successful. In an industry as large as gaming, theres room for all 3.
 
I suggest they just continue to pump out games (of actual quality), instead of always giving up halfway through the gen. Either because they aren't happy with sales or to chase a motion control gimmick.
 
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HushiMushi said:
ny:
Huh? How so? According to Metacritic they actually released better games in 2019 compared to Sony

#7: Xbox Game Studios [fka Microsoft Studios]

www.metacritic.com

Metacritic's 10th Annual Game Publisher Rankings

We reveal the past year's best and worst videogame publishers (based on their 2019 releases) in our 10th annual Game Publisher Rankings.
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com

and Sony is at 22.

We will see in the coming years how it will turn out.
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Now compare 2020 so far
 
Microsoft should focus on WRPGs. TES6 won't be released on a long time so they could release a Skyrim killer with modding support.
Also some AA experiences would not hurt. I'd love a car combat game and fixed camera survival horror.

Regarding multiplayer. They should make halo and gears F2P multiplayer standalone games. Also work in a F2P car combat Battle Royale game.

If they want recognition and higher metacritic scores, they need to bribe the press like Sony does.
 
Jubenhimer said:
What some people suggest is that Xbox mimic Sony in focusing on AAA action-adventure, cinematic games with a focus on set-pieces.
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More games to avoid !

Agree with OP, don't go this route Microsoft. Make proper games instead. More single player games would be nice too. Not everything needs to be AAA.
 
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