Xbox Was Worried It Would Lose Starfield Prior To Bethesda Acquisition

Oh they would have, hands down. Also, following the court today, and my word the FTC lawyer is beyond moronic. Judge seems to be getting annoyed with him too. Also the email has been mentioned more than once which is good. But yeah, this is a bad look for FTC, and it's obvious Sony would have taken Starfield.

What's worse is due to Sonys hold, Xbox has to drop to a 80/20 revenue, and is explained acquisitions are cheaper and provide security. Basically Sony doing what they always do, trying to turn Xbox into Dreamcast

That is a very impressive way to combat Sony's aggressive exclusivity push.

I'm glad they dumped money into the game after the sale and gave them as much time as they desired to make the best game possible.

I actually forgot all about the rumored starfield exclusivity until the emergence of these articles.
Didn't think much of it at the time because it seemed unattainable at the time but I could've seen it happening now.

I have to say fair play, I can't say I blame them from buying them to make sure they get these games day one and also as a middle finger to Sony for them paying for exclusivity. My only gripe with them is the whole honouring existing contracts baloney but I won't get into that again. Also I wonder if Sony didn't pay for Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo exclusivity would Microsoft still have bought them.

Judging by phils comments today though it seems some Bethesda games will be coming to playstation in the future, most likely ones that are already established franchises on playstation like Fallout, Doom and Elders Scrolls, which the latter he refused to comment if it was still coming to playstation or not when asked by the FTC.

Take the monotonous whining of Jim Ryan aside, the case is really interesting with all the disclosures coming out.

This is all very complex and Xbox deserve some blame for the position they are in but the fact is Sony have been using their dominant position in the market to stay there. Which is great business but could also be seen as unfair market practice. Depends how you look at it, I think both.

I have no doubts they were going to buy Starfield exclusivity.

At this point Nintendo and maybe Sega should look into sueing Sony over these predatory business practices. Who knows how long and how many companies might be involved in this mess.

LOL. I think the FTC should just drop the case at this point. They are going to lose badly.

FTC: Will you put Diablo on PlayStation?
Phil: Sure
FTC: ARE YOU REALLY SURE
👀

@Fenbops do you have good source for that nugget?

Microsoft doesn't want to spend millions on third party exclusive. So "okay I'm just going to buy you up. Just name your price and we have deal".

@Belkan it’s because they’re asking for more millions from microsoft then of Sony. If you sit down and really think from the business perspective, you would see what Microsoft is doing, which it’s literally the only thing they can do to compete with Sony.

@Zoidpilot4 I was certain that sony originally claimed that they were releasing there ps2 on a certain date

Which made the dreamcast rush there console to compete with sony so both consoles will be out near the same time

which was why dreamcast had such a bad launch because they rushed there console to compete with sony ps2 release date

But once the dreamcast released there console
Sony turned around and said actually we're are not going to be ready to release are console any time soon we need alot more time

Which I understood that was one of many ways for sony to screw up there competition

I'm certain I read this near the time of the dreamcast release or even after they released there console but I can't be certain it's true

And ok the dreamcast didn't have to release there console at that time but they wanted to compete with the ps2 and if the dreamcast waited another year and half just like sony turned around and said that's how long they needed on the same week the dreamcast came out

The dreamcast may of actually been a decent console

but sony have played dirty for soooo long and they always will

@Deshalu MS strategies now is to buy Studios to put them on game pass. Sony's strategy is still the same.

@Belkan yeah, Sony’s is to not have a competition.

Microsoft has still been releasing quite a few other games on PlayStation and PlayStation Plus. Trust me, I wish Microsoft would stop playing nice and just without the middle finger.

@Kaloudz that's the thing if sony weren't so aggressive, MS wouldn't need to buy them up. Because of this and after hearing Starfield will be PS exclusive (prior to zenimax) Xbox cannot lose this one. And so "MS goes alright you asked for it"

@UltimateOtaku91

Judging by phils comments today though it seems some Bethesda games will be coming to playstation in the future, most likely ones that are already established franchises on playstation like Fallout, Doom and Elders Scrolls, which the latter he refused to comment if it was still coming to playstation or not when asked by the FTC.

I would not interpret it that way. I do expect the Quake 2 remaster to come to PS5, but the statement i read was worded in such a way that basically meant they would only keep games that are as internationally large as CoD and Minecraft are. His reluctance to talk about ES6 is simply because that game is likely 10 or 15 years away, and who knows if by that point there would be a PS7 or an XBox Series X3, or if consoles have become irrelevant. He specifically said he didnt want to make a call because who has a clue how the market looks once that game comes out.

@Kaloudz
Sony doesn't have deep pockets to keep games off Xbox. That strategy will catch up to them soon and they won't be able to recover. No other dept in Sony is doing as well as Playstation and their open cash flow is a fraction of Microsoft's

@Deshalu trust me, Microsoft will be enemy here if they will not put games like eso, fallout 76, Minecraft to Sony.

@Tharsman "consoles have become irrelevant". You gave me thought there, if Cloud gaming today became so successful. What will happen to the consoles? I've seen xcloud working fine in a Samsung tv. This might put Sony consoles out of business I guess.

@Belkan depends who's cloud. xCloud relies on Xbox hardware, it does not run on Windows or PCs, so xboxes would continue to be a thing.

Similarly with Sony's service, it simply runs on console hardware/OS.

Other services would likely result in consoles becoming irrelevant.

I do think both, MS and Sony expect consoles to eventually die off, reason both are working very hard on having a PC presence. Sooner or later, expect Sony to enter the PC market with a Steam competitor, similar to what Epic is doing.

@mousieone These are all the points made in today's courtroom.

https://www.theverge.com/23768244/ftc-microsoft-activision-blizzard-case-news-announcements/archives/2

Theres nothing about Sony's current contract with Activision meaning they can't release COD on the switch.

@Tharsman I guess your right. Also smart tvs, Android tvs, smartphones you name it, can't handle the raw awesome power of a consoles and PC when it comes to gaming.

@UltimateOtaku91 see that was what I thought. That kind of seems silly. Then why allow Xbox?

I was waiting for Phil Spencer's dad to abruptly enter the court room and say, "Are ya winnin, son?"

Where is everyone watching the show? I'd like to see some courtroom drama haha.

I don't see anything saying they don't either, but after today's testimony, I think the reason CoD games are not on the Switch is because Nintendo told ABK to accept their standard rev share or go [bleep], and ABK [bleeped].

ABK bothered making Wii versions of Modern Warfare 3, if they really wanted to have a version on the Switch, they would have one. Hell, there was a Nintendo DS version of Modern Warfare 3!

@Tharsman That's a good point. There was an example used that ABK didn't put CoD on Switch now because they believed it wouldn't be profitable. If Nintendo told them to take their split and sit on it, I'm sure that negotiation ended there.

@SplooshDmg I can almost understand doubt on the platofrm's long term viability year one, but after that, the success of the Switch became unquestionable. Even ABK has decided it was worth it to port Overwatch and Diablo to the platform. Apex Legends and Fortnite seem to feel the platform is critical, but the Activision side of ABK seems to think if they cant have a sweetheart deal for CoD, then you cant have CoD.

@Tharsman Yeah, it's interesting to know that MS will agree to the split if they believe the game is critical to the platform. Which lends to me that this isn't the only time this has happened. One has to wonder if perhaps some Japanese publishers want a higher split on Xbox, maybe just due to a possible lower volume of sales. Which would of course create a lower risk situation for the publisher. This has all been pretty illuminating, but next week is surely going to be wild. Kotick is a sleeze, but can you even imagine what he's going to say sitting in that seat? I'd imagine he might have some of the biggest bombshells of them all.

I remember people laughing off this when it was rumored.... Dang, Sony really did dig this hole with their own shovel. They thought they could kick Xbox while they're down and just tighten the hatches to starve them out for good and somehow never thought theyd just pay off the mercenaries forming the blockade...

@Fenbops whoa what's that bit about Sony blocking cod on switch???

@Kaloudz " swore on oath in a federal court that he would continue to release CoD for PlayStation."

Of course he did. Why not swear an oath on something you already put into a contract that was refused and was so obviously going to happen anyway even Jim could figure it out? 😆

I get the impression ftc jumped into this just thinking ms was an evil company gobbling the industry and never understood just how slimy Sony and this whole industry is. They thought they were stopping big tech only to find out big tech was the only one with pockets deep enough to take on a mob run industry!

@SplooshDmg kotick is a vile snake, slippery as an eel, but a shrewd negotiator beyond compare. That will be very interesting to see.

@Fenbops really?

@old-dad ARE YOY SURE ABOUT THAT?

@NEStalgia "They thought they could kick Xbox while they're down and just tighten the hatches to starve them out for good and somehow never thought theyd just pay off the mercenaries forming the blockade..." - Everyone has a writer in them. You just revealed yours =)

@mousieone I’ve had a little look and can’t see anything. I was reading through a massive thread so I rechecked. From what I understand during the hearing Microsoft insinuated that Sonys current COD contract with Activision may have kept the game off of the Switch. Wether that was based on some sort of inside knowledge or pure conjecture I have no idea.

Either way I worded my original comment badly, I’ll delete it it was stupid 😂

@Kaloudz Given how the day went I think it's just professional face saving at this point. They can't back down and admit they did no research and had absolutely no idea what they were even stepping into and may or may not have been abetting a company now bordering on obstruction in their own argument. So they just have to go full steam ahead with conviction so itlooks like they tried but big money always wins despite our noble protectors. Plays better during election debates.

I can't imagine they actually think the judge is going in their direction given the tone of the day and the fact that Sony managed to somehow deliver the first Digital Direct of federal hearing history in a case their company is supposed to be doomed if it proceeds doesn't help them.

I do wish ms toned down the dramatized "cloud is a failure, our consoles are failure, nobody even plays or games", surely the judge saw through that act and rolled his eyes, but once the discussion turned to real business and Sony market power abuse to control the market, things got a lot better.

@UltimateOtaku91 I'd say even if Sony hadn't payed for for exclusivity they'd still would have acquired them. As I don't think Microsoft would want history to repeat itself as loosing Bioware to EA hit them hard. So loosing Bethesda to another rival who could potentially be closer to Sony or level the playing field would hurt Microsoft.

@NEStalgia Really, the craziest part to me is that I'm not sure if the FTC ever even used the word consumer. They said Sony and PS5 a lot, but never consumer. I really can't tell if this merger is to protect the consumer, or just Lina Khan's own personal vendetta to fight big tech, even if it means her client is the mob.

@Fenbops agreed. The thing is the roles could have easily been reversed. Neither party has our best interests at heart no matter how people play it in their heads. Both want to dominate and as gamers we need to make sure all parties are relevant for the sake of quality, fairness and to stop any of the parties from getting complacent. We just want good games and I don’t care who owns the IP as long as they release quality and allow as many people as possible to play. Nobody is sitting pretty in this court case and both have historically used scummy practices to shaft the other.

@Kaloudz it’s never what the company gets - it’s the players that suffer on both sides of the fence. Both companies have bags of money and this deal whether it goes through or not doesn’t make either side irrelevant but it does affect the players who typically don’t have as much disposal income to keep up.

@Tharsman they have a stake in Epic so I would have thought they might do something together? Can’t see it with the Sony greed but it will be interesting to see what would happen there.

@UltimateOtaku91 I’m still laughing at the FTC referring the Xbox ecosystem as an echo-system 🤣

FTC is getting completely destroyed in this case. I honestly wonder if their lawyers even believe in their case. It's supposed to be about competition and consumers but absolutely everything has been about Sony. I don't know if I've heard them mention a customer once (i haven't listened to the whole trial to be honest).

I don't know if this will even require that last day of testimony, we might actually have a verdict in June on this.

Question now is....will Diablo be in gamepass before summer is finished?

@Kaloudz yeah and that’s fine and that’s great for you but there are a lot of gamers that are non toxic and don’t sit on these sites ***** on the opposition successes and failures that just want to play games on their chosen platform so it’s a big shame. I am rooting for the little guy not the poor giant corporations.

The whole trial is a joke. The FTC are making fools of themselves with their incoherent questioning, cowardly Jim Ryan couldn’t bear to stand in court and Phil Spencer is trying to play the sympathy card.

If MS were so worried about Sony blocking games but we’re really trying not to take games away then they should have purchased Bethesda and said all games will be on Xbox day one and other platforms after a year of exclusivity. That would have allowed them to stop Sony from being greedy but also retain this “pro consumer” approach that everyone seems to think they have. Both companies only care about their bottom line - you just have to choose your poison.

@Kaloudz hahahaha do you know what I hadn’t actually noticed! 😂 it’s hard not to agree Sony is playing hardball and it is just as much their fault why we are where we are. I just wish they would both just focus on making quality on their own without shafting gamers. My suggestion was purely on the basis of that being the moral high ground discounting the fact that yes Microsoft do need to stay relevant.

@SplooshDmg we knew it was the latter from say one! The fact they didn't even use Sonys arguments logically in their filing kind of proved it!

@Kaloudz @Alpha_Pulse haha careful now the trend of online rivals having a cage fight is picking up.

@Kaloudz 100% agree. I like THE exclusives not that they are exclusive. My friends are all split across platforms too so this is going to make things more annoying as time goes on.

@Kaloudz hahaha choked on my dinner reading that crumbles my biscuits reference 😂 yeah you make a good point. It’s all cloak and dagger. I can imagine FF16 and Remake and Rebirth will land on Xbox at some point but they haven’t been forthcoming about it.

@Kaloudz UK. I used Dinner as a universal term for having my tea 😂

I know yet XSX is the only current gen console that can play the FFXIII trilogy. It triggers me so bad that I have all of the FF’s on my PS5 except XIII which I have on Xbox.

@Kaloudz I am partial to a scone or two… 😂 it is indeed sir the whole trilogy through backwards compatibility. It was in gamepass at one point too.

@Kaloudz yep get the reference. I used to watch it with my older brother when we were kids.

Yeah the boss in 13 on a first playthrough was a joke. I was in my first year of university when 13 came out and I remember starting the fight with him early evening and repeatedly fought and lost until I beat him in the early hours. I didn’t grind enough on Gran Pulse before I jumped to the end. Big mistake…

@Kaloudz most of the FF games when it comes to the final boss I’ve never had to grind for. It’s usually for the super bosses that I end up spending an extra 15-20 hours to get everything ready but this guy was just on another level.

7 still and I think always will be my favourite FF game and RPG. It holds so much nostalgia for me that I cannot see anything taking that spot. I get the same feeling when I boot it up each time and I have played it on every platform thus far. I am just waiting for the frenzy if gatekeeping purists who are ***** on 16 to tell me that 7 isn’t an RPG because it doesn’t tick every RPG box 😅

@Kaloudz I’m right there with you buddy!

@Moonglow agreed with game pass now is the main arsenal of this battle they will focused on it. With the rise of handheld and potentially smartphone with high powered processors this will be game pass' favor.