@themightyant I hear you. One thing I have liked with the purchases so far, though, has been the comfort of time to enhance quality and try new things. Psychonauts 2 is a great example. I loved that game, but they were struggling to stay afloat and only were able to make it great with the additional time and resources. I also like Grounded and am looking forward to Pentiment which never would have existed in the high pressure independent market where you have to be sure you make games that draw attention and sell to stay afloat. For now, I actually see the purchases as beneficial to gamers, bringing us games made with the comfort of polish (at least when done by a competent studio) and some new ideas. I do get the long term potential for issues though. I’m hoping with the Act.-Blizzard deal that some studios will at least be freed up to make other, new types of games instead of just making COD. It’s like an initial plus with long term potential for issues. But I’m taking it like with a wait and see approach.
@themightyant to be fair. A game has never been “taken away” from gamers with all these purchases. We have yet to see an existing game on an ecosystem drop support outside of Xbox consoles. But obviously people are talking about things like Hellblade 2. Starfield is an odd one in that it had never officially been unveiled for any systems and also is a new IP.
Plus, when you bring games to cloud streaming services and are making steps to make them easily accessible through a simple TV, are you really “taking things away” from gamers or just the ones who happened to be stuck on one particular box? After all, it is MS who has led the push for bringing games to PC, including Steam.
Obviously I know I’m playing to one side here, and there are legitimate counters. But it is true that if we get outside of the idea of being stuck to one console box (PS) these new games are reaching farther than ever in the places they are appearing.
Can’t add much more here as others have expressed it well. Three year deals are standard, not “perpetual” deals. The “highest quality” thing is garbage. Effectively it’s okay for him to buy special DLC and timed exclusive modes to make the game highest quality on PS. But MS paying to turn that tide and bring the highest quality (including all DLC) version to Xbox is “not for the gamers”. A buyout which, in this case, guarantees non-exclusivity, is only making him mad because he wouldn’t be able to (cheaply) buy off Activision for extra and timed DLC. He’s whining.
Just put gamepass on PlayStation. Or take the eight years you’ll have, use that new multiplayer shooter company you’re building, innovate, and make a competitor. Or just renegotiate.
He’s not afraid is losing COD. He’s afraid of losing the paid for advantages of COD.
@gpapito ah I was team yellow actually. And then went back and got blue. Still in my favorite gaming experiences of all time. The exploration in that game, with the feeling that behind any rock could be a hidden path, or every area of water could take you somewhere, is still more captivating to me than many modern open world games that may be huge but lack any feel of mystery and exploration.
@Gr81 @Nalverus super Mario bros. 3 was the first game I played, (along with Jaws on the nes) but I never finished it since it was at a cousins house. People always tell me I started at the top because that’s one of the best games ever made.
Interestingly my first game completion is also in my top 3 games of all time STILL, which is Gunstar Heroes on Sega Genesis. It was in co-op but still counts. I still play through it about once every other year or so. I would be there day 1 even today if a long awaited sequel showed what happened to “Green” in that game.
What’s interesting here is this deal was apparently made back in January. Meaning Sony has KNOWN that feature and content parity would be available for several years, and they have STILL went into over dramatic mode trying to undermine the deal when every other publisher has said it’s fine. To me, that means Sony isn’t afraid of losing call of Duty. It’s more that they are afraid of losing ANY marketing advantage in Call of Duty whatsoever. This isn’t about fear of being locked out. It’s about throwing a fit if they lose an advantageous position with timed and content exclusive deals. That to me is shady. I think they realize that the vast majority of gamers don’t buy systems for Exclusive Single Player adventures, but for multiplayer games and their friend lists.
@NeutronBomb not sure if you’ve ever watched South Park, but that reminds me of the episode where it’s the difference between a turd sandwich and I giant d***sh.
800 pounds?? That’s crazy! My heating bill is about 70 USD per month. In the winter it’ll maybe be 150 USD. Electric has gone up here. But we still have several coal based power plants in the middle of the US and states that produce coal. So even going higher I only pay about 250 USD for electric per month. Our current administration is trying to lessen coal production before there is a viable alternative though. So we will probably see drastic increases soon.
@NeutronBomb I heard about that issue! Is it really that bad?? Here in the middle of the US we have a ton of natural gas to get us through. Is it really as bad of an outlook as some are saying in the UK?
@Kaloudz that is very true. Realistically, with the sheer amount of value we will be getting after the AB purchase and when the new games start getting released (Hellblade 2, Starfield, Avowed, the whole list), I wouldn’t be terribly mad at a price increase. I’d imagine maybe 20 for GPU? Everything is a value proposition so a price increase is probable, but not terrible unless it soars too high too fast, or price goes up before we get the increased volume of AAA games.
@Kaloudz I’d imagine it’s at least 200,000,000 a month. They say they have close to 30,000,000 subscribers by now. Not all are paying 15 bucks for gpu. And some are taking that 1 dollar deal (but since that can only be used once per account those situations are much less now than a few years ago). Assuming they’re making an average of 7 bucks per subscription (not unreasonable) that’d be 200,000,000.
Here in the US I understand it was much closer. The last official tally (before MS stopped doing numbers) had the X1 only down from PS4 by 2 million or so. (28 to 26 a few years into the gen). It seems like the Series might be leading here in the US. But Xbox will never capture that worldwide attention that PS has developed through the past few generations. Europe and Asia will always see PS dominance, especially now that brand loyalty has more or less been entrenched.
Ultimately, the plus for me is Xbox has momentum and is investing more. Meaning I get more games at a better deal (Gamepass). That I love!
Both companies are doing this in their own way. But within the context of this situation I think basically MS is presenting this as an argument for why the act-blizzard deal should go through. They’re saying Sony has no room to talk when they participate in gatekeeping themselves. If MS were arguing this outside of the context of trying to finish a purchase it would be more lame and those bringing up MS’s purchases as gatekeeping would be more justified. But here they’re not saying “we don’t do this but Sony does”. They’re saying “Our deal should go through. Sony has no room to talk here”. If we’re going to say both companies do this and it’s “just business” then Sony paying block fees is fine, and so is MS buying Act-blizzard. In the context of this argument; saying “this is just business” means MS’s deal is fine.
A separate discussion can occur for how this will affect gaming in the long run. That’s worth talking about. But for now, MS has the better point. Sony has no room to speak against gatekeeping IF they are gatekeeping themselves. And that seems to be so.
Is buying a publisher different than blocking fees and timed exclusivity deals? Yeah by degree. But when using blocking fees, timed exclusivity deals, and paying to prevent cross play (hopefully y’all didn’t forget that one) leads to increased business for you, and less for your competitor, then your competitor is allowed to bite back with its own position of strength. In this case, not the position of being market leader and controlling deals with third party companies (which is Sony’s position), but being in the position of having deep pockets to gain a larger share of the market. We’re all flailing and reacting. But in the end, MS has made the point that Sony’s arguments against their purchase are hypocritical. Not that Sony shouldn’t be doing the block deals.
Pretty good distribution across the board here. And I like pretty much all of the games getting over 10% except fortnite. My pick is halo infinite and followed by Rocket League and Fall Guys.
@Dezzy70 from what I understand adding campaigns is most definitely the plan. I think there was probably a little shakeup when they brought Staten and shook up the story writing. But As of now my gut tells me the first story expansion will be next fall, and they will come on an every two year cycle.
I’m just ready for the merger already. All of us are like 98% sure it’ll go through, and depending on our preferences we have different reactions to statements like this.
Give me a slower release cycle of COD, put some of those studios to work making mascot games and new IPs, and keep laying the groundwork for a steady variety of games on GP. Having new ownership means less of a need to profit off of COD alone and more of a need for a variety of offerings to sell GP subs. That’s what I’m ready for. Get it done MS!
@UltimateOtaku91 this is the element about these purchases and deals that people are forgetting. When I had my ps3 I didn’t pay close attention to companies but assumed insomniac was a PS studio because they only made exclusives. It made sense for them to merge. They were to PS what Playground was to MS.
Arguably though it’s not that different with Bethesda and MS. The first two console Bethesda games (Elder Scrolls Morrowind and Oblivion) were Xbox exclusive until a PS version of Oblivion released later. Even after that, Bethesda worked more closely with MS when releasing their games. They already had a tight relationship. The shocking thing about the purchase was the purchase of an entire publisher, but “who” it was made sense based on the relationship.
It’s why I totally buy the rumor of Sony acquiring Square Enix. It’s true close, historical relationship. It’s also why I don’t see MS going after Capcom or SEGA beyond some helpful deals. I think sometimes people get caught up in rumors because of the rare exceptions (The surprises like Ninja Theory or Sony buying Bungie, even though that still makes some sense because of recent timed exclusive partnership Sony had with Bungie). But pretty much these companies still operate within their comfort zones and relationships, even during periods of extreme consolidation. It’s why I don’t see anyone buying EA or Ubisoft and making them exclusive (unless one of them are basically bankrupt and we don’t know it).
Like many others have said. I doubt COD will be exclusive. But as a gamepass day 1 release, it will definitely push subscriptions and get more people into the Xbox ecosystem. And every PS game sold is profit to our back into their studios and ecosystem.
A few years ago the “console wars” were interesting because there was potential for a market player to actually bottom out and go under. This was a realistic notion in the early PS3 years, and far more so in the XboxOne years. Now… neither side is going away. So the “console wars” mean less. With profits going up for both, what this means is both will present more and more value. As a guy who mainly goes with Xbox, I don’t care if they sell 50 million less consoles. They’re profiting and growing which means more games and value for me on their service. That’s a win as an Xbox gamer in my book. Getting COD for free might actually make me play it.
Shredders Revenge is my GOTY right now. Not into souls games so Elden Ring wasnt for me, though I appreciate and respect its popularity and I assume it will she GOTY for most. But for me Shredders Revenge has been the most fun.
The thing that will get me the most excited is when we start to see announcements and releases of mascot and lost franchises and/or new mascot or creative franchises. Whether we see Crash and Spyro come back in a big way, or we see studios freed up to create the next Mascot game, I would be pumped. Plus I would LOVE to see A new Tony Hawk Underground type game and the evolution of Guitar Hero.
Here’s my pitch for Guitar Hero. Battle Royale similar to Fall Guys. 60 players are given a random song (maybe of an easier level). The top forty then move on and play the next song. After several rounds there’s a showdown with a challenging, randomly selected song. Winner gets a mini movie celebration with their avatar rocking on stage. You can earn clothes and guitars and stuff through gameplay.
There would also be the standard party modes and campaign, but I think GH as a Royale would be sweet.
Edit: you could also have a “team” mode where there is a guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer and the winning “band” gets a victory video and trophy of some kind. A true online “Battle of the Bands”.
@Gamer83 I’m thinking the same. Fall 2024 is what I’m calling now. The only thing that would change this is if the Coalition pushes out another project before this.
@iplaygamesnstuff I get you. I actually feel optimistic about Halos future more now than after Halo 5 though. The gameplay is a much better blend of the classic formula with modern inspiration. The story was simple but to me actually was a good reboot style setup for more. It’s definitely been annoying waiting for all of this. But honestly I feel like in 2025, it’s gonna be a great ongoing package. Since it’s designed to be like that, with updates over a decade or more, I’ve been okay with waiting for some things here and there. But I do get a lot of the frustration.
Beat em ups like Scott Pilgrim, the turtles games, X-men and Simpsons are some of my favs (especially castle crashes!!!)
@Freakservo totally with you on twisted pixel stuff. And I’m so glad someone else remembers Deathspank! I’m so bummed only one is BC. I loved that trilogy!
Also costume quest for sure. Play them nearly every Halloween!
This is actually pretty much what I want out of coop in an open world environment. I like that all progress carries for all characters, as well as unlocked gear, and the distance zone is bigger than I expected just from the standpoint of thinking how big the world is and the difficulties in rendering separate environments when characters are split up. I’m good with this. It’ll be fun!
@themightyant not that I would use them a ton. But I do kinda miss the days of PlayStation home, Xbox Avatars, Nintendo Miis, etc. If those things were developed now rather than in 2007-09 then I feel like it would be a better fit and they would last longer.
@pip_muzz I’m an American who’s never been to the UK and I 100% agree with your statement. One of the things that made Fable so unique and enjoyable was it’s Britishness. Let the British humor and culture shine in this one.
Black Flag is great (it’s my number 2) but I’m surprised how little love Sea of Thieves got. When playing with friends that’s the best pirate experience I’ve ever had.
As long as some are family friendly games, along with the action adventures like Indiana Jones, Avowed, and Halo Infinite story expansions, then I’m excited!!
@Kaloudz from what I’m seeing they said it should still be plenty. Though I’ll bet there will be moments where people might run into that issue if they’re not really working together and running around in those massive fights.
At first I saw this was a game with Disney characters and thought “my kids might like this”. Then I saw that it’s a life sim so it’s probably too complicated for them (under 5 years old). And after that I saw the selfie with Ursula scene and heard the trailer say “make friends” I thought “yeah this is stupid”. An Epic Mickey 1 adventure done in this setting is what this should have went for. Not Hipster Sims saves the Disney-verse and let’s “selfie” as we do it.
Just fired it up for the first time today. I’m loving it! Got to the final round twice but that’s it. Hopefully will get my first crown sometime soon. It’s a blast though!
@K1LLEGAL I agree about Tony Hawk. The Tony Hawk games (at least 3, 4, Underground 1/2 and American Wasteland) would be amazing to have again, especially after the news about the scrapped 3/4 project.
Literally in my wishlist, the only games that never came to BC were the Tony Hawk games and the Prince of Persia HD trilogy. Xbox did amazing in what they brought overall.
@mousieone this is a fair point. Sure we haven’t gotten FF7R. But we’ve gotten just about every other thing imaginable that is popular, and often on gamepass.
PC will be my go to for some of the non-Xbox games. Although I’m not super excited about FF7. The best non Xbox news for me was Spider-Man PC. I’ll finally get to play the one major PS game I’ve been wanting to play.
Same for Uncharted coming to PC on June 20. I’m glad I can at least play those there.
@NEStalgia respectfully I would disagree. I do think GOW:R will garner gaming media attention because of its cinematic style. Gaming media is obsessed with the third person cinematic adventure and pretends that’s the only “legit” kind of game for some reason. But I think Starfield will sell more/be played more by a larger audience, not only for its more open accessibility on PC and gamepass but also because some of the top, most played games of the last fifteen years are mainline Bethesda games. I would argue, in that sense, that it will be bigger than GOW:R. I would also argue that due to the nature of the type of game of Starfield, it will be talked about far longer than GOW:R too. This is not to say anything against GOW. But I think outside of the gaming media and forum bubble, Starfield will be bigger.
Comments 653
Re: Xbox & PlayStation Stuck In 'Complicated' Call Of Duty Situation, Says Geoff Keighley
@themightyant I hear you. One thing I have liked with the purchases so far, though, has been the comfort of time to enhance quality and try new things. Psychonauts 2 is a great example. I loved that game, but they were struggling to stay afloat and only were able to make it great with the additional time and resources. I also like Grounded and am looking forward to Pentiment which never would have existed in the high pressure independent market where you have to be sure you make games that draw attention and sell to stay afloat. For now, I actually see the purchases as beneficial to gamers, bringing us games made with the comfort of polish (at least when done by a competent studio) and some new ideas. I do get the long term potential for issues though. I’m hoping with the Act.-Blizzard deal that some studios will at least be freed up to make other, new types of games instead of just making COD. It’s like an initial plus with long term potential for issues. But I’m taking it like with a wait and see approach.
Re: Xbox & PlayStation Stuck In 'Complicated' Call Of Duty Situation, Says Geoff Keighley
@themightyant to be fair. A game has never been “taken away” from gamers with all these purchases. We have yet to see an existing game on an ecosystem drop support outside of Xbox consoles. But obviously people are talking about things like Hellblade 2. Starfield is an odd one in that it had never officially been unveiled for any systems and also is a new IP.
Plus, when you bring games to cloud streaming services and are making steps to make them easily accessible through a simple TV, are you really “taking things away” from gamers or just the ones who happened to be stuck on one particular box? After all, it is MS who has led the push for bringing games to PC, including Steam.
Obviously I know I’m playing to one side here, and there are legitimate counters. But it is true that if we get outside of the idea of being stuck to one console box (PS) these new games are reaching farther than ever in the places they are appearing.
Re: PlayStation Boss Heavily Criticises Xbox For 'Inadquate' Call Of Duty Offer
Can’t add much more here as others have expressed it well. Three year deals are standard, not “perpetual” deals. The “highest quality” thing is garbage. Effectively it’s okay for him to buy special DLC and timed exclusive modes to make the game highest quality on PS. But MS paying to turn that tide and bring the highest quality (including all DLC) version to Xbox is “not for the gamers”. A buyout which, in this case, guarantees non-exclusivity, is only making him mad because he wouldn’t be able to (cheaply) buy off Activision for extra and timed DLC. He’s whining.
Just put gamepass on PlayStation. Or take the eight years you’ll have, use that new multiplayer shooter company you’re building, innovate, and make a competitor. Or just renegotiate.
He’s not afraid is losing COD. He’s afraid of losing the paid for advantages of COD.
Re: Talking Point: Can You Remember The First Game You Ever Completed?
@gpapito ah I was team yellow actually. And then went back and got blue. Still in my favorite gaming experiences of all time. The exploration in that game, with the feeling that behind any rock could be a hidden path, or every area of water could take you somewhere, is still more captivating to me than many modern open world games that may be huge but lack any feel of mystery and exploration.
Re: Talking Point: Can You Remember The First Game You Ever Completed?
@Gr81 @Nalverus super Mario bros. 3 was the first game I played, (along with Jaws on the nes) but I never finished it since it was at a cousins house. People always tell me I started at the top because that’s one of the best games ever made.
Interestingly my first game completion is also in my top 3 games of all time STILL, which is Gunstar Heroes on Sega Genesis. It was in co-op but still counts. I still play through it about once every other year or so. I would be there day 1 even today if a long awaited sequel showed what happened to “Green” in that game.
Re: Talking Point: Can You Remember The First Game You Ever Completed?
@belmont Sonic the hedgehog on gamegear is an underrated classic!
Re: Phil Spencer: Xbox Went 'Well Beyond Typical Agreements' To Keep Call Of Duty On PlayStation
What’s interesting here is this deal was apparently made back in January. Meaning Sony has KNOWN that feature and content parity would be available for several years, and they have STILL went into over dramatic mode trying to undermine the deal when every other publisher has said it’s fine. To me, that means Sony isn’t afraid of losing call of Duty. It’s more that they are afraid of losing ANY marketing advantage in Call of Duty whatsoever. This isn’t about fear of being locked out. It’s about throwing a fit if they lose an advantageous position with timed and content exclusive deals. That to me is shady. I think they realize that the vast majority of gamers don’t buy systems for Exclusive Single Player adventures, but for multiplayer games and their friend lists.
Re: Xbox's 'Approach' With Starfield Is Leading To More ActiBlizz Scrutiny
@NeutronBomb not sure if you’ve ever watched South Park, but that reminds me of the episode where it’s the difference between a turd sandwich and I giant d***sh.
800 pounds?? That’s crazy! My heating bill is about 70 USD per month. In the winter it’ll maybe be 150 USD. Electric has gone up here. But we still have several coal based power plants in the middle of the US and states that produce coal. So even going higher I only pay about 250 USD for electric per month. Our current administration is trying to lessen coal production before there is a viable alternative though. So we will probably see drastic increases soon.
Re: Xbox's 'Approach' With Starfield Is Leading To More ActiBlizz Scrutiny
@S1ayeR74 wow! I’m sorry to hear that! Hopefully it’s not a bad winter so you guys can manage! And hopefully something gets sorted out soon!
Re: Xbox's 'Approach' With Starfield Is Leading To More ActiBlizz Scrutiny
@NeutronBomb I heard about that issue! Is it really that bad?? Here in the middle of the US we have a ton of natural gas to get us through. Is it really as bad of an outlook as some are saying in the UK?
Re: Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection - A Radical Bundle Of Beat 'Em Ups
Day 1 purchase!
Re: Pick One: Which Of These 'TBA' Xbox Games Are You Most Excited For?
Indiana Jones getting some love!!
Re: Wait, Did Xbox Pay $600K For Cooking Simulator On Game Pass?
@Kaloudz agreed!!
Re: Wait, Did Xbox Pay $600K For Cooking Simulator On Game Pass?
@Kaloudz that is very true. Realistically, with the sheer amount of value we will be getting after the AB purchase and when the new games start getting released (Hellblade 2, Starfield, Avowed, the whole list), I wouldn’t be terribly mad at a price increase. I’d imagine maybe 20 for GPU? Everything is a value proposition so a price increase is probable, but not terrible unless it soars too high too fast, or price goes up before we get the increased volume of AAA games.
Re: Wait, Did Xbox Pay $600K For Cooking Simulator On Game Pass?
@Kaloudz I’d imagine it’s at least 200,000,000 a month. They say they have close to 30,000,000 subscribers by now. Not all are paying 15 bucks for gpu. And some are taking that 1 dollar deal (but since that can only be used once per account those situations are much less now than a few years ago). Assuming they’re making an average of 7 bucks per subscription (not unreasonable) that’d be 200,000,000.
Re: Death Stranding Officially Joins Xbox Game Pass For PC Next Week
Still probably won’t play this. This game disturbed me from the first trailer.
Re: Xbox One Seemingly Sold 50-60 Million Units Last Generation
Here in the US I understand it was much closer. The last official tally (before MS stopped doing numbers) had the X1 only down from PS4 by 2 million or so. (28 to 26 a few years into the gen). It seems like the Series might be leading here in the US. But Xbox will never capture that worldwide attention that PS has developed through the past few generations. Europe and Asia will always see PS dominance, especially now that brand loyalty has more or less been entrenched.
Ultimately, the plus for me is Xbox has momentum and is investing more. Meaning I get more games at a better deal (Gamepass). That I love!
Re: New Lord Of The Rings Game Announced By 2K Publisher Private Division
@XxEvilAshxX I agree. Maybe modernize the combat, but a linear adventure would be entertaining to me.
Re: Xbox Accuses Sony Of 'Paying' To Block Games From Game Pass
Both companies are doing this in their own way. But within the context of this situation I think basically MS is presenting this as an argument for why the act-blizzard deal should go through. They’re saying Sony has no room to talk when they participate in gatekeeping themselves. If MS were arguing this outside of the context of trying to finish a purchase it would be more lame and those bringing up MS’s purchases as gatekeeping would be more justified. But here they’re not saying “we don’t do this but Sony does”. They’re saying “Our deal should go through. Sony has no room to talk here”. If we’re going to say both companies do this and it’s “just business” then Sony paying block fees is fine, and so is MS buying Act-blizzard. In the context of this argument; saying “this is just business” means MS’s deal is fine.
A separate discussion can occur for how this will affect gaming in the long run. That’s worth talking about. But for now, MS has the better point. Sony has no room to speak against gatekeeping IF they are gatekeeping themselves. And that seems to be so.
Is buying a publisher different than blocking fees and timed exclusivity deals? Yeah by degree. But when using blocking fees, timed exclusivity deals, and paying to prevent cross play (hopefully y’all didn’t forget that one) leads to increased business for you, and less for your competitor, then your competitor is allowed to bite back with its own position of strength. In this case, not the position of being market leader and controlling deals with third party companies (which is Sony’s position), but being in the position of having deep pockets to gain a larger share of the market. We’re all flailing and reacting. But in the end, MS has made the point that Sony’s arguments against their purchase are hypocritical. Not that Sony shouldn’t be doing the block deals.
Re: Pick One: What's Your Favourite 'Free' Game On Xbox Right Now?
Pretty good distribution across the board here. And I like pretty much all of the games getting over 10% except fortnite. My pick is halo infinite and followed by Rocket League and Fall Guys.
Re: Halo Infinite's Next Drop Pod Arrives August 9th, Here's What's Included
@Dezzy70 from what I understand adding campaigns is most definitely the plan. I think there was probably a little shakeup when they brought Staten and shook up the story writing. But As of now my gut tells me the first story expansion will be next fall, and they will come on an every two year cycle.
Re: Halo Infinite's Next Drop Pod Arrives August 9th, Here's What's Included
Having the challenges in the pause menu will actually be really helpful. I’m looking forward to that.
Re: Microsoft Defends Activision Blizzard Deal With Eyebrow-Raising Statement
I’m just ready for the merger already. All of us are like 98% sure it’ll go through, and depending on our preferences we have different reactions to statements like this.
Give me a slower release cycle of COD, put some of those studios to work making mascot games and new IPs, and keep laying the groundwork for a steady variety of games on GP. Having new ownership means less of a need to profit off of COD alone and more of a need for a variety of offerings to sell GP subs. That’s what I’m ready for. Get it done MS!
Re: PlayStation Seems Worried About Xbox Owning Call Of Duty
@UltimateOtaku91 this is the element about these purchases and deals that people are forgetting. When I had my ps3 I didn’t pay close attention to companies but assumed insomniac was a PS studio because they only made exclusives. It made sense for them to merge. They were to PS what Playground was to MS.
Arguably though it’s not that different with Bethesda and MS. The first two console Bethesda games (Elder Scrolls Morrowind and Oblivion) were Xbox exclusive until a PS version of Oblivion released later. Even after that, Bethesda worked more closely with MS when releasing their games. They already had a tight relationship. The shocking thing about the purchase was the purchase of an entire publisher, but “who” it was made sense based on the relationship.
It’s why I totally buy the rumor of Sony acquiring Square Enix. It’s true close, historical relationship. It’s also why I don’t see MS going after Capcom or SEGA beyond some helpful deals. I think sometimes people get caught up in rumors because of the rare exceptions (The surprises like Ninja Theory or Sony buying Bungie, even though that still makes some sense because of recent timed exclusive partnership Sony had with Bungie). But pretty much these companies still operate within their comfort zones and relationships, even during periods of extreme consolidation. It’s why I don’t see anyone buying EA or Ubisoft and making them exclusive (unless one of them are basically bankrupt and we don’t know it).
Re: PlayStation Seems Worried About Xbox Owning Call Of Duty
Like many others have said. I doubt COD will be exclusive. But as a gamepass day 1 release, it will definitely push subscriptions and get more people into the Xbox ecosystem. And every PS game sold is profit to our back into their studios and ecosystem.
A few years ago the “console wars” were interesting because there was potential for a market player to actually bottom out and go under. This was a realistic notion in the early PS3 years, and far more so in the XboxOne years. Now… neither side is going away. So the “console wars” mean less. With profits going up for both, what this means is both will present more and more value. As a guy who mainly goes with Xbox, I don’t care if they sell 50 million less consoles. They’re profiting and growing which means more games and value for me on their service. That’s a win as an Xbox gamer in my book. Getting COD for free might actually make me play it.
Re: Aside From Elden Ring, Can You Guess The Highest-Rated 2022 Xbox Game So Far?
@Kaloudz I didn’t know about the multiplayer system. Thanks man! I’ll keep it in mind if I see it on sale in the future.
Re: Aside From Elden Ring, Can You Guess The Highest-Rated 2022 Xbox Game So Far?
Shredders Revenge is my GOTY right now. Not into souls games so Elden Ring wasnt for me, though I appreciate and respect its popularity and I assume it will she GOTY for most. But for me Shredders Revenge has been the most fun.
Re: The Exciting Prospect Of ActiBlizz On Xbox Game Pass Is Starting To Feel Real
The thing that will get me the most excited is when we start to see announcements and releases of mascot and lost franchises and/or new mascot or creative franchises. Whether we see Crash and Spyro come back in a big way, or we see studios freed up to create the next Mascot game, I would be pumped. Plus I would LOVE to see A new Tony Hawk Underground type game and the evolution of Guitar Hero.
Here’s my pitch for Guitar Hero. Battle Royale similar to Fall Guys. 60 players are given a random song (maybe of an easier level). The top forty then move on and play the next song. After several rounds there’s a showdown with a challenging, randomly selected song. Winner gets a mini movie celebration with their avatar rocking on stage. You can earn clothes and guitars and stuff through gameplay.
There would also be the standard party modes and campaign, but I think GH as a Royale would be sweet.
Edit: you could also have a “team” mode where there is a guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer and the winning “band” gets a victory video and trophy of some kind. A true online “Battle of the Bands”.
Re: TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection Brings 13 Classics To Xbox This August
The SNES version of Turtles in Time is in my top three games of all time based on experience at the time of release and popularity.
Re: Gears Of War 6 Campaign Development Is Underway, Suggests Job Post
@Gamer83 I’m thinking the same. Fall 2024 is what I’m calling now. The only thing that would change this is if the Coalition pushes out another project before this.
Re: Is Stray Coming To Xbox? Here's Everything We Know So Far
I just wish it could’ve been any other animal. I really don’t like cats. No offense to any cat owners here.
Re: Halo Infinite's Campaign Network Co-Op Flight Is Now Live
@iplaygamesnstuff I get you. I actually feel optimistic about Halos future more now than after Halo 5 though. The gameplay is a much better blend of the classic formula with modern inspiration. The story was simple but to me actually was a good reboot style setup for more. It’s definitely been annoying waiting for all of this. But honestly I feel like in 2025, it’s gonna be a great ongoing package. Since it’s designed to be like that, with updates over a decade or more, I’ve been okay with waiting for some things here and there. But I do get a lot of the frustration.
Re: Talking Point: What Were Your Favourite Xbox Live Arcade Games On 360?
Beat em ups like Scott Pilgrim, the turtles games, X-men and Simpsons are some of my favs (especially castle crashes!!!)
@Freakservo totally with you on twisted pixel stuff. And I’m so glad someone else remembers Deathspank! I’m so bummed only one is BC. I loved that trilogy!
Also costume quest for sure. Play them nearly every Halloween!
Re: Video: Here's Your First Look At Halo Infinite - Campaign Network Co-Op
This is actually pretty much what I want out of coop in an open world environment. I like that all progress carries for all characters, as well as unlocked gear, and the distance zone is bigger than I expected just from the standpoint of thinking how big the world is and the difficulties in rendering separate environments when characters are split up. I’m good with this. It’ll be fun!
Re: PlayStation Is Adding Its Own Version Of Microsoft Rewards This Year
@themightyant not that I would use them a ton. But I do kinda miss the days of PlayStation home, Xbox Avatars, Nintendo Miis, etc. If those things were developed now rather than in 2007-09 then I feel like it would be a better fit and they would last longer.
Re: Control Writer Becomes Fable's New Narrative Lead
@pip_muzz I’m an American who’s never been to the UK and I 100% agree with your statement. One of the things that made Fable so unique and enjoyable was it’s Britishness. Let the British humor and culture shine in this one.
Re: Pick One: Which Is Your Favourite Pirate Game On Xbox?
Black Flag is great (it’s my number 2) but I’m surprised how little love Sea of Thieves got. When playing with friends that’s the best pirate experience I’ve ever had.
Re: Skull & Bones Extended Gameplay Shows Vast Open Seas To Explore
It seems a lot like sea of thieves except as a single player with an npc crew and slightly different goals of play while on the sea.
Re: Aaron Greenberg Teases 'A Lot More' Unannounced Xbox Games In The Works
As long as some are family friendly games, along with the action adventures like Indiana Jones, Avowed, and Halo Infinite story expansions, then I’m excited!!
Re: Halo Infinite Campaign Co-Op Will Have A Distance Limit Between Players
@Kaloudz from what I’m seeing they said it should still be plenty. Though I’ll bet there will be moments where people might run into that issue if they’re not really working together and running around in those massive fights.
Re: Disney Dreamlight Valley Gameplay Revealed, Hits Xbox Game Pass This September
At first I saw this was a game with Disney characters and thought “my kids might like this”. Then I saw that it’s a life sim so it’s probably too complicated for them (under 5 years old). And after that I saw the selfie with Ursula scene and heard the trailer say “make friends” I thought “yeah this is stupid”. An Epic Mickey 1 adventure done in this setting is what this should have went for. Not Hipster Sims saves the Disney-verse and let’s “selfie” as we do it.
Re: Fall Guys Records 20 Million Players In First 48 Hours Of F2P Release
Just fired it up for the first time today. I’m loving it! Got to the final round twice but that’s it. Hopefully will get my first crown sometime soon. It’s a blast though!
Re: Review: Sonic Origins - A Supersonic Collection That's Lacking TLC
@Carck awesome. Thanks! I was on the fence.
Re: Review: Sonic Origins - A Supersonic Collection That's Lacking TLC
I heard there were a ton of bugs in this. Is that true?
Re: Xbox Exec Talks The Struggles Of Adding Games To Backwards Compatibility
@K1LLEGAL I agree about Tony Hawk. The Tony Hawk games (at least 3, 4, Underground 1/2 and American Wasteland) would be amazing to have again, especially after the news about the scrapped 3/4 project.
Literally in my wishlist, the only games that never came to BC were the Tony Hawk games and the Prince of Persia HD trilogy. Xbox did amazing in what they brought overall.
Re: Forza Motorsport's Ray Tracing Will Be 'On' During Gameplay, Not Just Replays & Photo Mode
We are spoiled if anyone is truly complaining about this.
Re: New Final Fantasy 7 Game Revealed For Xbox, But It's Not 'Remake'
@mousieone this is a fair point. Sure we haven’t gotten FF7R. But we’ve gotten just about every other thing imaginable that is popular, and often on gamepass.
Re: New Final Fantasy 7 Game Revealed For Xbox, But It's Not 'Remake'
PC will be my go to for some of the non-Xbox games. Although I’m not super excited about FF7. The best non Xbox news for me was Spider-Man PC. I’ll finally get to play the one major PS game I’ve been wanting to play.
Same for Uncharted coming to PC on June 20. I’m glad I can at least play those there.
Re: Poll: What Was Your Favourite Moment Of 2022's Xbox Games Showcases?
I almost went with Pentiment. I’m uniquely excited for that. But I stuck with Starfield.
Re: When Is The Xbox Games Showcase Extended 2022?
@NEStalgia respectfully I would disagree. I do think GOW:R will garner gaming media attention because of its cinematic style. Gaming media is obsessed with the third person cinematic adventure and pretends that’s the only “legit” kind of game for some reason. But I think Starfield will sell more/be played more by a larger audience, not only for its more open accessibility on PC and gamepass but also because some of the top, most played games of the last fifteen years are mainline Bethesda games. I would argue, in that sense, that it will be bigger than GOW:R. I would also argue that due to the nature of the type of game of Starfield, it will be talked about far longer than GOW:R too. This is not to say anything against GOW. But I think outside of the gaming media and forum bubble, Starfield will be bigger.