Support NeoGAF

[Draugoth]

According to former Zenimax employee, Sarah Bond (Xbox Director), will speak in Spring to explain the change in Xbox's strategy regarding Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, and other games going multi-platform.

“Wait for springtime, Sarah Bond will say something, you guys will be fine.”

Summary of the employees other remarks:

• Metrics driven
• Internet discourse isn't 'considered', but concerns are valid
• re: 'considered' discourse, if looked at from a different angle there is missing information that you may not see
• Allusions to a very concise explanation by Xbox about the situation
• A secondary speaker mentions that other people 'who were concerned previously' are now saying we 'shouldn't be as concerned as we are'
• The 'Big 3' platform holders have the liberty of paving the road and laying the brick at the same time
• A lot of conversations around this kind of stuff, it's ongoing, everything discussed has been covered and/or has a clause around it

 

[DenchDeckard]

It will be exactly what Phil said. It will be a game by game basis and ones that make sense.

Hi Fi Rush. Sea of thieves. Minecraft. Grounded maybe

 

[Pelta88]

Phil Spencer: What the fuck did you expect?

The usual suspects: Let me explain why having zero exclusives is now a good thing.

 

[March Climber]

It will be exactly what Phil said. It will be a game by game basis and ones that make sense.

Wait, when and where did he say this?

 

[jroc74]

"When everyone plays, we all win."

They have been saying this for a long time.

It will be exactly what Phil said. It will be a game by game basis and ones that make sense.

Hi Fi Rush. Sea of thieves. Minecraft. Grounded maybe

I keep seeing some ppl say this, but SoT would be the odd one out...since Rare was acquired waaay before Bethesda. And Minecraft was already multi platform.

That would absolutely be a change in strategy.

Wait, when and where did he say this?

He said that to a question about....Bethesda games... AFAIK he never said games that makes sense.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Until you see games like Starfield, Blade, Forza, Flight Sim, Fable, Avowed, or Indiana Jones on Playstation, there is nothing for Xbox console warriors to worry about.

 

[Badlucktroll]

 

[March Climber]

He said that to a question about....Bethesda games...

Was it about Elder Scrolls and Starfield? And was this months/years ago?

I’m looking for something more recent and concrete.

 

[jroc74]

Was it about Elder Scrolls and Starfield? And was this months/years ago?

I’m looking for something more recent and concrete.

I think he said that soon after they acquired Bethesda. So it was a few years ago. Some ppl are just trying to make the rumors make sense and fit something that makes them feel better about it.

 

[ManaByte]

I keep seeing some ppl say this, but SoT would be the odd one out...since Rare was acquired waaay before Bethesda. And Minecraft was already multi platform.

That would absolutely be a change in strategy.

SoT is a GaaS MMO with a big in-game shop and it's already on Steam. They could hit 100M players if they put it on PS and then there will be meltdowns like you've never seen.

 

[MrRibeye]

Wait, when and where did he say this?

In this interview Phil Spencer was asked about Elder Scrolls 6 exclusivity and he responded with:
“We look at it on a case-by-case basis with the games that we build"

 

[Moriarty1889]

I am very surprised that we have not heard any thing from Phil Spencer. He ALWAYS has something to say after any type of show or negative xbox related news. With all the stuff we have been hearing about recently I am really wondering why he hasn‘t come out and said anything. Now it’s ‘WAIT TIL SPRING FOR SARAH BOND TO SPEAK’.

 

[cireza]

We are going Adorably Third Party.

 

[Dr_Ifto]

Bethesda games only having a 1 year exclusivity window on Xbox moving forward?

 

[reinking]

It will be exactly what Phil said. It will be a game by game basis and ones that make sense.

Hi Fi Rush. Sea of thieves. Minecraft. Grounded maybe

I expect this as long as MS feels they need a console/hybrid approach. They are leaving a lot of money on the table trying to win the console race. Even with the Game Pass push it has become clear that it is not happening.

 

[twilo99]

It will be exactly what Phil said. It will be a game by game basis and ones that make sense.

Hi Fi Rush. Sea of thieves. Minecraft. Grounded maybe

Anything that is "live service" should be available on all platforms, including Halo multiplayer.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

xbox:
We are going third party

Xbox influencers with tears in their eyes:
Please Xbox be clear about your intentions, we deserved clear communication and respect.

Xbox:
We are going third party

Xbox influencers still in denial:
You should be really clear about your strategy. What are you saying? We deserve to be told, we who stand by your side in the most difficult times

 

[Heisenberg007]

Wait, when and where did he say this?

He didn't say this about Xbox games. He said the "case by case" thing about Bethesda games BEFORE the acquisition closed, just to get regulators' approvals.

Just 2 days after the acquisition closed, here is what Phil said publicly:

"If you're an Xbox customer, the thing I want you to know is this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists."

We also have internal conversations that confirm the exclusivity of ALL Bethesda titles.

If anyone implies that this case-by-case basis applies to Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves, they are lying, pretending as if this is par for the course and not a massive shift in strategy.

 

[intbal]

Where are all my new BC additions, Sarah?

 

[Spitfire098]

It will be exactly what Phil said. It will be a game by game basis and ones that make sense.

Hi Fi Rush. Sea of thieves. Minecraft. Grounded maybe

 

[reinking]

If anyone implies that this case-by-case basis applies to Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves, they are lying, pretending as if this is par for the course and not a massive shift in strategy.

I definitely think it is a shift in strategy. I think it started when they could not keep COD away from Sony. I still think it will be case-by-case as long as they push a console/hybrid.

 

[RoboFu]

I don't get what the big surprise is suppose to be?

MS wants to build up their games and this is a good way to do it. Of course it's happening as they would have outright denied it to start with. But they see the consoless future and it makes sense in that context after buying two big companies for billions of dollars their long game goes way past our life spans.

 

[Bonfires Down]

The interview sounds like they think they can have their cookie and eat it too. That making games multiplat won’t affect their hardware sales in a significant way. I disagree.

It’s something Sony would be able to get away with because of their huge momentum. Xbox has the opposite of momentum right now.

Here is the video. Starts around fifty minutes in.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Wait, when and where did he say this?

He said it after the bethesda acquisition.

"When everyone plays, we all win."

They have been saying this for a long time.


I keep seeing some ppl say this, but SoT would be the odd one out...since Rare was acquired waaay before Bethesda. And Minecraft was already multi platform.

That would absolutely be a change in strategy.


He said that to a question about....Bethesda games... AFAIK he never said games that makes sense.

Sea of thieves is a massively successful gaas title. It would be huge on playstation and switch. It's the most obvious out of all of them to me.

Anything that is "live service" should be available on all platforms, including Halo multiplayer.

Yeah I could see that.

Microsoft will use games that require an Xbox live log in for cross platform play and then titles like hi fi rush that make sense for them.

I really can't see them giving up single player platform driving games until every other option has been completely exhausted.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

I expect Sea of Thieves, Flight Sim, Age of Empires (maybe), HF Rush now we know...I wonder what else.

Anything that is "live service" should be available on all platforms, including Halo multiplayer.

Case by case.

It would be huge on playstation and switch

Not sure about that. I mean how many GaaS succeeded by coming much later? Those who wanted to play the game bought the console or played on PC. The game is old. We saw with time exclusives - if the game launches day 1, it sells well. Time exclusive 1 - 3 months? It does not even sell on PC. I mean even in that video they mentioned something like 69% are buying the game on the launch date.

 

[Horseganador]

They are going to port some first-party Xbox games to PS5 and Switch and in a few months everything will be released at the same time, that is Xbox's new third-party strategy.

 

[Heisenberg007]

I definitely think it is a shift in strategy. I think it started when they could not keep COD away from Sony. I still think it will be case-by-case as long as they push a console/hybrid.

It will be case by case only until they are easing into it. People like S SneakersSO who first reported this (way before all these rumors started surfacing online) have already said that NONE of their future games are being made as exclusives. They all have PlayStation ports in development.

As far as the console strategy goes, Xbox may think that there console sales won't be affected, but they are living in a fool's paradise if they believe that. Why would anyone buy an Xbox over a PlayStation once Xbox games are releasing on PS?

Game Pass? They'd be grossly overestimating its importance once again. We should recall that Game Pass has been stagnant and has missed internal growth targets 3 years in a row.

 

[jroc74]

He said it after the bethesda acquisition.

Sea of thieves is a massively successful gaas title. It would be huge on playstation and switch. It's the most obvious out of all of them to me.

Yeah I could see that.

Microsoft will use games that require an Xbox live log in for cross platform play and then titles like hi fi rush that make sense for them.

I really can't see them giving up single player platform driving games until every other option has been completely exhausted.

While thats true....SoT is definitely the odd one out based on what Phil said. Specifically because of who made it and when they were acquired.

 

[Spitfire098]

Step 1: green rats cheered on the Activision acquisition as their life dependent on it.
Step 2: MS buys Activision
Step 3: MS executive's see how much money Activision games are being made on PS.
Step 4: MS excs push for multiplatform strategy because no one buying xboxes.
Step 5:

 

[Heisenberg007]

He said it after the bethesda acquisition.

Wrong.

Phil said that in September 2020, BEFORE the Bethesda acquisition closed in March 2021.

https://www.polygon.com/2020/9/21/2...sive-ps5-switch-xbox-pc-microsoft-acquisition

After the acquisition closed, he said in March 2021: "If you're an Xbox customer, the thing I want you to know is this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists."

 

[DenchDeckard]

While thats true....SoT is definitely the odd one out based on what Phil said. Specifically because of who made it and when they were acquired.

This isn't about when someone was acquired it's what games make sense. This is to drive sales and xbox account sign ups. A game like sea od thieves allows them a back door into requiring an xbox account for cross platform play.

It just makes sense. Same for forza horizon imo.

 

[tommib]

Hi-fi Rush and Pentiment on PS5 and I’ll be there day one.

 

[Jerm411]

They’re really sending Sarah Bond to the wolves huh….

Gutless.

 

[jroc74]

He didn't say this about Xbox games. He said the "case by case" thing about Bethesda games BEFORE the acquisition closed, just to get regulators' approvals.

Just 2 days after the acquisition closed, here is what Phil said publicly:

"If you're an Xbox customer, the thing I want you to know is this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists."

We also have internal conversations that confirm the exclusivity of ALL Bethesda titles.

If anyone implies that this case-by-case basis applies to Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves, they are lying, pretending as if this is par for the course and not a massive shift in strategy.

The best thing about the leaks from the trial is you making that amazing thread, so many receipts.

This isn't about when someone was acquired it's what games make sense. This is to drive sales and xbox account sign ups. A game like sea od thieves allows them a back door into requiring an xbox account for cross platform play.

It just makes sense. Same for forza horizon imo.

Forza Horizon too huh? Alrighty then. I didnt know you were on board for this new MS. Lets keep it real....SoT would absolutely make this a shift in strategy....because MS could have been made that game for PS or Nintendo.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

 

[Gambit2483]

Please don't whip the Green rats into even more of a frenzy

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

People like to live on the edge

 

[analog_future]

They've been leading up to this for years.

Cool to see it start to come to fruition.

 

[jroc74]

Looks like the meltdowns are starting across the internet. That was fast.

Welp.

 

[Mr Moose]

They've been leading up to this for years.

Cool to see it start to come to fruition.

Phil was the one who cancelled the PS5 versions. He's full of shit.

 

[SenkiDala]

"When everyone plays, we all win."

They have been saying this for a long time.

Enough of this PR bullshit.

What about Starfield, Forza, Redfall, etc etc ? That sentence was pure PR bullshit. How many times did Spencer say exclusives were very important blablabla. In fact he says everything and its contrary, and that's basic PR language.

When you answer a question with "Yes, no, maybe", then afterward the fanboys (aka braindead) will always say "oh you see he said it ! he said yes !" and if he says no "oh you see he said it ! he said no" and if he says maybe "oh you see, he said it, he said maybe"...

Why they bring those games on other platforms is ONLY for money, not "also" for money but ONLY for money. Those games don't sell, they aren't played, nobody gives a fuck about the fucking pirate game from Rare (even forgot its name) so of course they have EVERYTHING to win by bringing it to PlayStation, a console that actually sells. And same goes with all their other games, little by little, at a different pace (first GaaS, then indie games, then AAA exclusives).

And it's not to shit on Xbox (they shit on themselves pretty well) because Sony is doing that too, at a smaller scale, by bringing more and more exclusives to PC, (Helldivers 2 on day one on Steam, yeah GaaS need as many players as possible)
Only that PS don't bring their game on Xbox because... Well, they don't care selling those 100K units sold that Xbox could give them.

 

[nial]

Bethesda games only having a 1 year exclusivity window on Xbox moving forward?

This could be the case, I now realize that Zenimax games didn't become console exclusives to Xbox until 2023.

 

[deriks]

Xbox confirms what Microsoft has been doing since ever

Sonyboys: ha ha Microsoft didn't want to fight
*A few moments later, looking at Steam*
Uncharted, God of War, Last of Us...

"exclusives"

 

[jroc74]

Enough of this PR bullshit.

What about Starfield, Forza, Redfall, etc etc ? That sentence was pure PR bullshit. How many times did Spencer say exclusives were very important blablabla. In fact he says everything and its contrary, and that's basic PR language.

When you answer a question with "Yes, no, maybe", then afterward the fanboys (aka braindead) will always say "oh you see he said it ! he said yes !" and if he says no "oh you see he said it ! he said no" and if he says maybe "oh you see, he said it, he said maybe"...

Why they bring those games on other platforms is ONLY for money, not "also" for money but ONLY for money. Those games don't sell, they aren't played, nobody gives a fuck about the fucking pirate game from Rare (even forgot its name) so of course they have EVERYTHING to win by bringing it to PlayStation, a console that actually sells. And same goes with all their other games, little by little, at a different pace (first GaaS, then indie games, then AAA exclusives).

And it's not to shit on Xbox (they shit on themselves pretty well) because Sony is doing that too, at a smaller scale, by bringing more and more exclusives to PC, (Helldivers 2 on day one on Steam, yeah GaaS need as many players as possible)
Only that PS don't bring their game on Xbox because... Well, they don't care selling those 100K units sold that Xbox could give them.

Make no mistake....if Series consoles sales were as good as PS5 or Switch.....we wouldn't be having this conversation.

MS were against cross play....until they needed it as a selling point.

Xbox confirms what Microsoft has been doing since ever

Sonyboys: ha ha Microsoft didn't want to fight
*A few moments later, looking at Steam*
Uncharted, God of War, Last of Us...

"exclusives"

?

What games has Sony put on Xbox or Nintendo not named MLB The Show....since that was more forced by MLB.

 

[Jerm411]

Xbox confirms what Microsoft has been doing since ever

Sonyboys: ha ha Microsoft didn't want to fight
*A few moments later, looking at Steam*
Uncharted, God of War, Last of Us...

"exclusives"

Should probably delete this and save it for when Spider Man, GoW, Zelda, or Mario ever come to XBox…

Oh that’s right….it’ll never fucking happen.

Trying to equate direct competing platforms to PC is disingenuous…

 

[deriks]

Make no mistake....if Series consoles sales were as good as PS5 or Switch.....we wouldn't be having this conversation.

MS were against cross play....until they needed it as a selling point.


?

What games has Sony put on Xbox or Nintendo not named MLB The Show....since that was more forced by MLB.

Should probably delete this and save it for when Spider Man, GoW, Zelda, or Mario ever come to XBox…

Oh that’s right….it’ll never fucking happen.

Trying to equate direct competing platforms to PC is disingenuous…

What if I told you that Microsoft still wins when a game goes to PC?

 

[SplunkyMunkey]

You know what's going happen all the big hitter games like elder scrolls for instance is gonna stay exclusive and games that doesn't do or sell well will get the third party treatment

 

[IAmNotFromDelaware]

It will be exactly what Phil said. It will be a game by game basis and ones that make sense.

Hi Fi Rush. Sea of thieves. Minecraft. Grounded maybe

Which makes absolute sense.

As a person who really doesn't care what platform I use, why would I mind if others get to experience some of the games currently only i have access to.

This whole fanboy tribalism is absurd in my humble opinion.

 

[reinking]

Phil was the one who cancelled the PS5 versions. He's full of shit.

It appears that he will reap what he has sown.

 

[reinking]

What if I told you that Microsoft still wins when a game goes to PC?

MS does. Xbox does not.