It's been a busy 24 hours on social media for one of the masterminds behind Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps and the upcoming No Rest for the Wicked, following a recent tweet that racked up a bunch of attention.
It all started with a suggestion that the best place to buy the Ori games was on Steam, because it doesn't help the developer Moon Studios (at least not anymore) if players experience it through Xbox Game Pass.
This ended up causing a big fuss, with Mahler eventually explaining that he's obviously happy for fans to buy these games on the Xbox Store, but he simply thinks that "most people don't buy games that they already get on Game Pass".
"Oh, sure, [buying them on Xbox] helps, too
Based on the numbers I'm seeing, most people don't buy games that they already get on Game Pass though, which... kinda makes sense."
He even went on to sing Microsoft and Xbox's praises, as well as Phil Spencer's comments about wanting to see more games across all platforms, but nevertheless he clearly received some backlash from so-called "console warriors".
Here's what the Moon Studios co-founder eventually ended up saying in a follow-up tweet:
"Oh no, I awoke some console warriors with one of my replies. Folks, I never cared what box you have under your TV and I don't care what 'side' you're on. I agree with Phil that all games should ideally be on all platforms."
"Imagine we would've had this craziness with films: "Oh, you can play this DVD on a Sony DVD Player, but this other one only works on some other brand!" It would've been madness. And the same is true for Xbox and PlayStation."
Here's a little tidbit for you: Under the hood, those boxes are pretty much identical. So who cares? Just let people enjoy good games! And yes, I will happily ban all obnoxious platform warriors that try to use me in these senseless arguments about which brand is cooler."
The response pretty much says it all here! Moon Studios obviously won't be profiting from Xbox Game Pass anymore, and therefore it's understandable they'd want players to buy the Ori games instead, with perhaps the only mistake being that Mahler neglected to include the Xbox Store (and Nintendo Store!) links in his initial tweet.
Anyway, the Ori games aren't really Moon Studios' biggest focus right now - instead, it's all hands on-deck for the upcoming release of No Rest for the Wicked, which arrives on PC in early access form this April. The ARPG is also scheduled for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, but there's no release date for it as of yet.
What are your thoughts on the Moon Studios co-founder's comments here? Tell us down below.
Comments 19
I have the luxury of being able to own all three systems. I love video games no matter where they are.
Believe me, I would love to be able to buy one box to play them all!
PC is about as close as one can get, but it's pricey to buy PC that plays everything and there is no real "convenient" couch setup for the PC-space.
Streaming already feels like not being able to watch your DVD on any player.
@GamingFan4Lyf i too am fortunate enough to own all 3 consoles. I would like one place for all my games also. PC has been on my mind for like 2 years now. But i am a 18 year Apple device user. I am so brain dead to windows that i am not sure if i would be able to troubleshoot all the issues that can happen with PC games. There are things i like and dislike about all 3 consoles but the people that just hate on a console they have no intentions of buying is just getting old. No one needs to be reminded every day that PS is the more popular console brand over the Xbox. Makes the industry look bad and takes away from the fun of the hobby in my opinion.
@HonestHick @GamingFan4Lyf Also fortunate enough to have all 3 consoles and a (potato) PC. I did think about maybe getting back into PC gaming, especially with the Steam Deck being so good, but I also remember all the faffing with drivers, no real convenient couch setup as you said and more etc. Console is where i'm at, even all 3 of them is more convenient.
@themightyant I also have all the consoles, but also have a high end PC (£4k 3090), plugged into a 48 inch LG c1 oled. I can't think of a single game Ive completed on PC.
Im a couch player and it simply doesnt suit PCs. Specs are almost irrelevent, nothing beats pressing a button on your controller and just playing the same as everyone else.
I am experimenting with moonlight streaming to my 65 inch couch tv, but its still a faff when windows bugs out or it needs a driver.. I only use it for a forza hit since I dropped GP.
I guess what Im saying is, for anyone considering it, is make sure you definitely want it before dropping a lot of money on it. For me, the grass is definitely not greener on the PC side!
I just checked PSN and the Ori games aren't on there. For someone who doesn't seem to care where you play your games, he seems pretty happy to not put his games where an even larger number of gamers can play them. I dunno man, he sounds almost salty about Gamepass too. Some people should have their tweets veted before blurting out whatever they're thinking.
@ATaco xbox owns the Ori IP I believe and published the games. The Switch versions even have Xbox achievements. But this guy is definitely upset about Gamepass even though it is what funded them in the first place.
Senseless, but sometimes fun.
@K1LLEGAL Microsoft might have helped fund the original Ori but Gamepass certainly didn’t. Ori launched nearly 2 years before gamepass was a thing.
@Titntin @themightyant yall make great points about PC gaming. I could look past the couch thing as i would get a super comfy chair and i like to sit close to the action. So on that front i think im ok. But again i am not a PC user in any sense and haven’t been for almost 2 decades. So any troubleshooting would just be annoying to me. Would feel like time i could have just been playing and not learning how to make the game run or run right. Plus i am not even sure if i know how to build it. Never done it. Always just bought apple laptops and ran them into the ground and then upgraded. However i will throw a wrinkle into all this. I have a LG Oled and i like performance and power, it’s the one thing about PC gaming that i would enjoy. So i am disappointed that there won’t be a mid gen Xbox Pro. I WILL 100% be trading in my PS5 for a PS5 Pro. If Xbox had one coming i would for sure get it. I just hope the PS5 Pro and the next Xbox will be able to hit 60fps on most if not all games. If so i could see myself forgetting about PC’s
@GeeEssEff ah yea you are right my mistake. Maybe he had no say at the point it did enter Gamepass.
@GeeEssEff they didn’t just help fund it. They own it. What’s being missed here is the cut of the games sales per platform. Moon gets nothing from people playing on GP, but again that’s the studios choice for basically selling the IP.
If I hade to guess I bet the Steam cut is the most money for them even from the Nintendo version. But that’s a huge guess with no facts.
Ori games aren't on any Playstation so there's that.
@Utena-mobile Thus isn’t quite true, the Blu-Ray disc association was initially nine electronics companies: Hitachi, LG, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Thomson, Samsung, Sharp and, yes, Sony. All those companies made players and they could all play Blu-ray Discs, it wasn’t just Sony movies on Sony devices.
It’s now over 20 companies including movie studios like WB, Universal, Lionsgate, Disney etc.
Hmm maybe back in the 360/PS3 era when each side actually had compelling exclusives I could see it....
Today? Hell no. It's like arguing over 2 slowly moulding loaves of bread
@HonestHick
Hi mate. Yeah I get you with the comfy chair, I bought a Herman Miller lg gaming chair @ '£silly price' for just such a purpose. Its great, but I like to sit on the Sofa with my misses, so I use it most during the day for my work.
If you use an oled, then I get why 60hz is essential to you - the pixels turn off instantly meaning you can get a sense of 'flicker' with a 30 fps output. I'm happy enough to play a game at 30fps on my main LCD if I need to, cause it doesn't suffer from this. But I can't play the same game at the back of the room on the oled as its effect is clear.
I too would buy the pro consoles in a heartbeat. I might not need 60fps on my larger TV, but its always very welcome!
Says games should be on all platforms yet has never released a game on Playstation lol
@Titntin those Herman Miller chairs are amazing. I would love to have one. But yeah if you have someone playing next to you then i more than understand. Plus thats really cool she enjoys that time with you. Yeah all i have in the house now is LG oleds and one older Sony Led in a spare bedroom. So i really want 60fps if i can get it. So Pro consoles would be a huge welcome to me. Sony will confirm the Pro later in the year is my guess and MS has already said no. So i hope the rumors of a 2026 Next gen Xbox is true. Have to wait and see what comes of that rumor.
Sports teams sure, whether part of your area or just who plays or whatever grew up with.
The DVD/Blu-ray situation comparison/what if is a fair one. I mean the UMD could be almost that. Only PSPs can play them because that's the only place they ended up but if only Mini DVDs were on 1 brand of player or the differences of yes HD DVD, Blu-ray and HD VMD (the less talked about format) or other formats then yeah exclusive players makes it complicated. Many are under the CD/DVD/Blu-ray alliances over the years including movies studios not just tech companies.
Phillips tried different formats alongside the CD many times. So exclusive DVD players is worse. Even if in a way Nuon was for it's games but it was a special type of DVD player too with enhancements to movies and games. I guess like CD-i were. In a way DVD players would have had to be updated with firmware for HD VMD disks before the final machines came out and it's file formats.
Imagine if all 3DOs by Panasonic, Goldstar/LG or Sanyo were different. They technically kind of are and some games don't work on some models but imagine it was intentional of exclusive games to each that way when they are the same console technically or however much 3DO laid out for companies, not just they make it possible for each company to make their own but it's still intended to work with all games like they were, the reverse would be worse.
To me yeah like they said they are almost the same hardware. The audiences also differ. Sure the dev kits/API may be different, different companies, branding, advertising, communities, types of games usually or vibe people can get from them. Preferred controller and more. Granted I'm more third party with both my PS/Xbox consoles these days unless it's retro games I get the first party for those the current first parties don't interest me but if I see a copy of a third party I don't care what platform I get it on. If it's exclusive partnership deals sure I got Valkyrie Elysium on PS4 still. But I got Valkyria Chronicles 4 on Xbox One. I could have bought 1 on Switch/PS4 I got a PS3 copy. I got Demon Turf on Xbox One/Series smart delivery as it was the only physical copy.
I get what I can access and if the platform has circumstances sure, if not I get it on either if it's available. Ori being on Xbox and Switch and whatever their current games are I don't know I haven't followed their games at all that's up to them of Steam and whichever console platform not just if working with Microsoft helped them, same with Cuphead before it went to other platforms.
If it's a copy I see in a store I get it regardless of PS3/360, I just don't see many Xbox One copies of certain third parties (especially if particular Japanese titles then others that do go to Xbox) but I've gotten a few so my Xbox One library is smaller than my largest collection being my PS4 library and I don't like the PS4 at all.
Console UI navigation/folders sure but games and otherwise nah I hate it. I hate the Xbox OS over the years too with it's changes and navigation getting even more confusing for me every time let alone so much advertising my Xbox One X takes a while to load.
If I could customise it it'd run better Microsoft but NOPE put a bunch of advertising, trophy notices and more I have no interest in. Even besides the extra loading screen for the Xbox One X, my PS4 Base model still runs better because it has less garbage on loading up.
I use all 3 for different reasons and many people want deals with Game Pass but it doesn't suit all devs/publishers well not all games can do that and even when people do play them they don't play it for long sometimes. Depending on the deal the dev/publisher makes with Microsoft that is what it is.
Never cared about brand loyalty. I get particular about game design but I still use all 3. Sure I'm used to a PlayStation but I bought a Vita, Wii U, 3DS and Switch from 2017 to 2021 (I had a PS2/OG Xbox sold it for a Wii or PS3, had a DS/PSP, bought a 360 at a point but Xbox One I think at launch so the odd PS3/Xbox One periods of the opposite one doing well first) and still use them every so often. But have my PS4, Xbox One X, PS3 plugged in when I had my Wii U plugged in, and have my Wii, PS2 and 360 plugged in briefly at times.
Not all Indies can always survive on Gamepass if customers/players play it for what a few minutes/hours, whether they get stuck in the game, are busy or not interested in the game anymore because a new game comes along or it wasn't their type of game to begin with. Digital sales and refunds can be a thing sure. Or physical if it's an option, so you can always sell a physical copy on second hand.
Digital eshop sales help Indies. People want value for them and forget what value devs/publishers get. Sure I too want a deal as a customer and get games cheap at the right time but I still understand the business side for them getting more money too.
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