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Phil Spencer further clarifies the nature of Bethesda exclusivity

There is absolutely zero evidence here that big games won’t come to PlayStation, despite the echo chamber effect here. It’s all corporate, parsed-language, which is fine and expected. All that’s being said here is that he doesn’t have to put big games on PlayStation to have the deal “make sense”. This is not the same as saying “These games will never come to other platforms”.
What evidence would you need? What exactly does Microsoft have to gain by buying Bethesda if they’d be going to both platforms regardless? They coulda just let things be. I mean the situation is so obvious it’s pretty ridiculous people won’t accept it for what it is. Unless gamepass is allowed on PS5 there will be no big Bethesda games on there. The upside is that it’s very very easy to play them for the cost of like 3 ps5 exclusives.
 

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
What evidence would you need? What exactly does Microsoft have to gain by buying Bethesda if they’d be going to both platforms regardless? They coulda just let things be. I mean the situation is so obvious it’s pretty ridiculous people won’t accept it for what it is. Unless gamepass is allowed on PS5 there will be no big Bethesda games on there. The upside is that it’s very very easy to play them for the cost of like 3 ps5 exclusives.
What about Minecraft coming to PS4? Minecraft on Switch? Didn’t that acquisition cost them 2 billion dollars? What do they gain? HOW COULD THIS BE!?

Answer: Profit. Microsoft are a business first, they don’t give a fuck about your fanboy tantrums. And no, they won’t bring smaller games like Hellblade 2 to PS5, but it’s extremely likely games like Fallout and Skyrim will land on those platforms — whether that’s day 1, or a year later.
 

Bankai

Member
95e67b35ad67aa897fb2a362383eb56b.jpg
 

Raven117

Gold Member
How any of you can draw those sweeping conclusions on that statement is beyond me.

No question that Microsoft controls the Bethesda IP, if they don't want to sell the games on Sony platform they don't have to. That much is clear according to their projections at least.

That said, absolutely nothing in there said NEVER. There is a number out there (probably after some timed exclusivity), where they would consider selling the games on Sony's platform. Now, whether Sony wants to spend the money on it is another matter. Same in reverse.

If it makes financial and strategic sense for any company to do it, they will do it. Period. (Doubt the deal gets done however).
 
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What about Minecraft coming to PS4? Minecraft on Switch? Didn’t that acquisition cost them 2 billion dollars? What do they gain? HOW COULD THIS BE!?

Answer: Profit. Microsoft are a business first, they don’t give a fuck about your fanboy tantrums. And no, they won’t bring smaller games like Hellblade 2 to PS5, but it’s extremely likely games like Fallout and Skyrim will land on those platforms — whether that’s day 1, or a year later.
Fanboy tantrums? Jesus Christ look at my post history. I’m not a fanboy of anything I’m just telling you like it is. Yes they are in the business of profit and they profit more by keeping it gamepass exclusive/end of.

EDIT: now IF ps5 allows gamepass I think it’ll be another story. This was definitely a move by them though.
 
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Krappadizzle

Gold Member
How any of you can draw those sweeping conclusions on that statement is beyond me.

No question that Microsoft controls the Bethesda IP, if they don't want to sell the games on Sony platform they don't have to. That much is clear according to their projections at least.

That said, absolutely nothing in there said NEVER. There is a number out there (probably after some timed exclusivity), where they would consider selling the games on Sony's platform. Now, whether Sony wants to spend the money on it is another matter. Same in reverse.

If it makes financial and strategic sense for any company to do it, they will do it. Period. (Doubt the deal gets done however).
Sure, you never want to put an absolute closed and sealed door on anything. But he's saying what we all know. People just don't want to see it. Fanboys can argue all day until they are blue in the face. Deep down in their heart they know the truth.

Could ES6/Starfield/Doom in some way/format land on PS5? Sure....Stranger things and anything's possible and all that..

But it won't.
 
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Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
Fanboy tantrums? Jesus Christ look at my post history. I’m not a fanboy of anything I’m just telling you like it is. Yes they are in the business of profit and they profit more by keeping it gamepass exclusive/end of.
Sorry, didn’t mean to imply *you* were a fanboy, I should’ve been more clear. Your posts don’t strike me as such. I was speaking in general terms; I just meant that businesses don’t care about what people think on Internet forums — they focus on profit.
 

Mobilemofo

Member
Sony forgot that it is dealing with Microsoft, not with Sega :messenger_fire: Wanted to use the same tactic, but too bad - MS has a warchest bigger than the whole Sony Corp.:messenger_tears_of_joy:


Ooohhh..sick burn..bro. 😅 clearly alot of people clearly hurt by the loss of Bethesda..I don't know about you, but I'll miss their clunky ass ai, the glitchy floors, the unfixed bugs..gonna stop before I get emotional. .

/S
 
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Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
Minecraft was an already released, by that point mobile game, that is as ubiquitous as solitaire or chess.
What about Minecraft Dungeons? A spin-off of the most profitable/popular franchise in gaming history. Why would they release that on PS4?
 

sainraja

Member
I think it all really depends on how well Microsoft's current strategy pays off for them. If it works and GamePass grows, they are not going to give away that advantage. They could put their content on competing platforms to show the difference but can't say for sure (what I mean is, pointing out the difference in access and pricing, but I kinda doubt it.)
 
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What about Minecraft coming to PS4? Minecraft on Switch? Didn’t that acquisition cost them 2 billion dollars? What do they gain? HOW COULD THIS BE!?

Answer: Profit. Microsoft are a business first, they don’t give a fuck about your fanboy tantrums. And no, they won’t bring smaller games like Hellblade 2 to PS5, but it’s extremely likely games like Fallout and Skyrim will land on those platforms — whether that’s day 1, or a year later.

Ah Minecraft, the game they announced on day one of the Mojang acquisition would remain multiplatform, including spin-offs, indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Microsoft, Bethesda and multiple industry insiders have been saying for weeks that Zenimax IPs will be Xbox console exclusive. You just haven't been listening.
 
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Kokoloko85

Member
Still doubt they can keep those studios making the same games with gamepass and xbox money, maybe even PC. Gamepass doesnt make money as it is, now its gonna have those support these others studios

Bethesda games arent cheap to make plus all the other studios

No Loss for me anyway
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
Wow, so MS didn't spend 7.5 Billion just to put games out on competitors platforms?

Shocking

Well, a big part of Sonygaf actually thought(hoped?) they would.

But there wasn't really any reason for Microsoft to buy them if it went multi platform anyway.

What about Minecraft coming to PS4? Minecraft on Switch? Didn’t that acquisition cost them 2 billion dollars? What do they gain? HOW COULD THIS BE!?



Answer: Profit. Microsoft are a business first, they don’t give a fuck about your fanboy tantrums. And no, they won’t bring smaller games like Hellblade 2 to PS5, but it’s extremely likely games like Fallout and Skyrim will land on those platforms — whether that’s day 1, or a year later.



Sony loves profit as well, and I don't see their games on Xbox One.



It is only logical one way but not the other?
 
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Sorry, didn’t mean to imply *you* were a fanboy, I should’ve been more clear. Your posts don’t strike me as such. I was speaking in general terms; I just meant that businesses don’t care about what people think on Internet forums — they focus on profit.

Ok I misunderstood then. I get called fanboy by like everyone on this site from every side by who I assume are actual fanboys of other Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo etc so I’m getting kinda used to being called that. It’s kinda funny to me at this point.

I obviously don’t think they care what anybody “thinks”. I just think from a business perspective - what they’re trying hardest to sell and build is gamepass. That’s their strategy - and by buying bethesda they give people a lot of incentive to buy into that in some way. So I believe the way they’re current trajectory is they will definitely try to keep things on that. They seem to be going a “Netflix for games” way. Which if anyone doesn’t know, also didn’t turn a profit for quite some time.
 
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Raven117

Gold Member
Sure, you never want to put an absolute closed and sealed door on anything. But he's saying what we all know. People just don't want to see it. Fanboys can argue all day until they are blue in the face. Deep down in their heart they know the truth.

Could ES6/Starfield/Doom in some way/format land on PS5? Sure....Stranger things and anything's possible and all that..

But it won't.
Pretty much this. I think its good for gaming as Sony may have to shake up their formula a little bit to keep things fresh.
 

Mr.ODST

Member
“Xbox has no games”

whips out exclusive Fallout, Doom, Elder Scrolls, Wolfenstein, Prey, starfield and Dishonored and that’s before Halo, Forza, Fable etc

unfortunatelyXbox gamers will have to wait to get any of these as next gen titles but I think a few years MS will have a great platform (it is already hit in terms of exclusives to the Xbox ecosystem).

And let’s not forget people downplayed the Bethesda acquisition because PS is the “be all and end all”

fair play
 

darthpaxton

Neo Member
The quote about the Switch is way more telling:

Where does that leave the prospect of more Xbox games coming to non-Xbox consoles? Spencer told me that “it doesn’t feel sustainable” to consider Xbox games on a case by case basis for Switch and said, “In order to really support it, I would want a full Xbox ecosystem somewhere. And that probably means things like Live and Game Pass and stuff.”

I think it’s pretty clear they’ll only consider supporting other platforms if they’re willing to play ball in terms of Xbox Live and GamePass. If not, they’re going to force people to xCloud, which you’ll theoretically be able to play on any device with a browser, including the PS5.
 

Ogbert

Member
What about Minecraft Dungeons? A spin-off of the most profitable/popular franchise in gaming history. Why would they release that on PS4?

Again, because, as you say, it's a spin-off of the most popular franchise in gaming history but, just that - a spin off. It's a small scale, side project that lasts a couple of hours and would never bring people to the Xbox platform as an exclusive. And you can already play Minecraft on a toaster. There's no element of excitement in the game - it's like getting excited about the board game monopoly.

In contrast, Elder Scrolls and Starfield are likely to be the some of the biggest games of next gen. They *will* make people think about investing in some sort of MS owned device or a Gamepass subscription.
 
But it's obvious by the nature of their new business model will make the playstation version ,or whatever other platforms besides sony and Microsoft, less convenient , it's like indirectly saying come to our platform you'll find the best deal from us .
 
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Ogbert

Member
The quote about the Switch is way more telling:



I think it’s pretty clear they’ll only consider supporting other platforms if they’re willing to play ball in terms of Xbox Live and GamePass. If not, they’re going to force people to xCloud, which you’ll theoretically be able to play on any device with a browser, including the PS5.

Could you imagine if Nintendo cut a deal to let MS do their online infrastructure.

One can but hope.
 

Krappadizzle

Gold Member
“Xbox has no games”

whips out exclusive Fallout, Doom, Elder Scrolls, Wolfenstein, Prey, starfield and Dishonored and that’s before Halo, Forza, Fable etc

unfortunatelyXbox gamers will have to wait to get any of these as next gen titles but I think a few years MS will have a great platform (it is already hit in terms of exclusives to the Xbox ecosystem).

And let’s not forget people downplayed the Bethesda acquisition because PS is the “be all and end all”

fair play


Anyone would be kidding themselves to not think that both Microsoft AND Sony are gonna have absolutely fucking MONSTER ASS LIBRARIES in 2 years time. It's gonna be awesome to own either one and they gonna both be filled with bad ass games.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
Even after what he said there's still some delusional people here, do you really think ms, a trillion dollar company NEEDS to sell games on ps because if they don't theyre making a bad deal?

By the look on some replies, sadly yes.

Some even think Microsoft are going bankrupt because they are competing with Sony and are forced to go multiplat later down the line lol.

With a player base of both PC and Xbox, Microsoft doesn't have to give a shit about PlayStation.

And now every PlayStation gamer suddenly have a gamer pc again. Sounds expensive to sell and buy that platform depending on the narrative.
 
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yurinka

Member
Kotaku: are Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 going to be console exclusive?
Phi: I don't know, ask these guys of the ad posted above

image.png


The point is, by the time Starfield releases, Sony won't have nearly the influence on the market they have the last four or five years.

Bethesda was never going to release on PS5.
With PS4 they have been breaking all kind of sales records. PS5 produced more units for their first fiscal years than the ones they had for PS4. And PS4 had the best selling first fiscal year for any console ever. PS5 also broke several social media records for gaming industry companies, and many of the most viewed videos in the PS YouTube channel are between the most viewed ones even if they are pretty new. And these numbers are way above than the equivalent for the Series X|S ones. Then we have the big difference in big AAA exclusives during at least the first year or so.

By any metric we can analyze, PS5 wll have the best year for any console in gaming history. And not Xbox, since MS is more focused on GamePass and a long term plan than in the next couple of years.

So I'd say the opposite than you, by the time Starfield releases (I bet 2023 or 2024), the difference between PS5 and Series X will be bigger than at that point PS4 and XBO had (PS selling over 2x), so PS5 will be more important for 3rd party publishers than last gen. So it will be more likely that MS will decide to release Starfield, Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 in PS5 even if after a timed exclusive (in the same way that MS decided to continue selling/allowing to sell Minecraft or other games like Ori or Cuphead on PS4 or Switch).
 
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Skifi28

Member
Gotta be one of the best PR non-answers ever. Now the people that want the games on a PS5 are convinved they are coming, while the others are convinced they're not. Meanwhile the man said absolutely nothing of value.
 
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Jadsey

Member
I don’t know what all the fuss is about.

I wouldn’t buy any Bethesda games even if they were on PlayStation.
 


You are so full of absolute shit. Skyrim is still one of the best selling games of ALL time. Not just it's generational release, ALL time. On top of the crazy long legs that Oblivion, Fallout 3, NV, 4 have. They are swimming in money. Just a brief glimpse of your history shows how much FUD you like to spread about MSFT. It's really sad and pathetic. I foresee you not lasting long here on GAF.

I challenge you to provide a modicum of evidence. Just a smidge.


Thank you. You just proved my point by just mentioning Skyrim and Fallout 3 as your claims of why they bought Bethesda.

They are only swimming in money because of their software company.
 
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