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Xbox |OT| Power Your Dreams

Mmnow

Member
It seems the EU accepted the Bethesda acquisition on Friday and just hadn't updated their website so late in the day, as many of us had presumed.


That, combined with the previous shareholders taking it off their website, means the deal probably has gone through.

This could be a very interesting week all round.

Edit: Also, moving this thread was a death sentence. Over at Era, the Xbox thread is getting through like four pages every day. WTF has happened here?
 
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Kimahri

Banned
Yeah, it should be moved back. This is just silly. I'm not an active poster here, but I read it frequently, and now it's just out of sight.
 

Roberts

Member
Yeah, this safe haven is pretty much dead these days. Obviously, the move has done most damage, but also lack of news doesn’t help.
 

Gerdav

Member
Maybe I am looking to much into that tweet and what’s on Friday, but that is screaming out a announcement and media blow out on Thursday to me.
 

DaGwaphics

Member
Yeah, it should be moved back. This is just silly. I'm not an active poster here, but I read it frequently, and now it's just out of sight.

It seems like the general community threads for the big three should be sticky at the top of the gaming section, it's odd that they haven't done that. If they worry about thread size you could just lock the old after x number of posts and move forward with a new one. 🤷‍♂️

Hopefully it's just been slow in Xbox news, this thread has been a great resource for finding all the latest news.
 

Kagey K

Banned
I need help on which game to play next. Deus Ex: Human Revolution or Outer Worlds.

I’ve started them both, but it’s been so long since I played either im going to be restarting them.
 

3liteDragon

Member
Microsoft is reportedly planning a video presentation to clarify future relationship.
Microsoft will reportedly publish a video presentation answering questions about its planned acquisition of Bethesda this week. That’s according to sources cited by GamesBeat, which claims that the video will be published this Thursday, March 11, and explain what the ZeniMax deal means for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

Specifically, it’s claimed that Microsoft will announce several Bethesda games will be coming to Game Pass soon. In addition, it’s claimed that the Xbox firm will reiterate that any future and “contractually eligible” game from under the Zenimax umbrella will hit Game Pass at launch, like Microsoft’s other first-party titles.

According to GamesBeat’s sources, the video presentation is unlikely to detail future Bethesda titles. Instead, it’s claimed that Xbox and Bethesda are planning to hold separate showcases around E3’s planned dates in June to show off the likes of Starfield. The events will be held separately, it’s claimed, but Microsoft could try to present them back-to-back as part of a double bill.


The report states that it’s unclear whether Microsoft and Bethesda will address the question of platform exclusivity.

Bethesda currently has two PS5 timed exclusives planned in Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, which Xbox has said it will honour, while PS5 owners will also be eager to know if Indiana Jones, Starfield and Elder Scrolls V will come to PlayStation.

Earlier today The European Union’s antitrust regulator approved Microsoft’s proposed $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax, it announced. It’s the latest sign that the deal is moving closer to completion after private-equity firm Providence Equity Partners, which owned 25 percent of ZeniMax, removed the company from its website portfolio. Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media will see Xbox Game Studios grow from 15 to 23 development teams.

Employing some 2,300 staff worldwide, Bethesda Softworks studios include Bethesda Game Studios (Fallout, Elder Scrolls), id Software (Doom), ZeniMax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Online), Arkane (Dishonored, Prey), MachineGames (Wolfenstein), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within), Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer recently said he believes that Bethesda’s development teams will be “very, very critical” to the future of the Xbox platform.
Article and video from Jeff Grubb:
 
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Bridges

Member
I need help on which game to play next. Deus Ex: Human Revolution or Outer Worlds.

I’ve started them both, but it’s been so long since I played either im going to be restarting them.
Outer Worlds! It's short and sweet and if you wanted to you can get through the parts you've already played differently by aligning with a different faction.

I also could be wrong, but at this point I imagine Outer Worlds is much more likely to get a sequel in the near future than Deus Ex is
 

Mmnow

Member
I need help on which game to play next. Deus Ex: Human Revolution or Outer Worlds.

I’ve started them both, but it’s been so long since I played either im going to be restarting them.
Outer Worlds is getting a Series X patch sometime, rumoured to be alongside DLC this month.

If that'd impact on you, hold off.
 

nikolino840

Member
zvq4uXE.jpg
 

Mmnow

Member
Is there a source somewhere on the TOW patch this month? I’ve been waiting on buying the DLC because of that.
Sorry, I've taken a look and frustratingly can't see where I've read that. It might have been on the Rumours subreddit at some point perhaps, but can't see evidence of it.

But if DLC is released before April (IE, this month), I guess it makes sense to release it alongside a patch.

I guess my advice would be to wait until the end of the month and if it hasn't appeared by then, make your decision from there on how important it is.
 

Mmnow

Member


This is the point I was trying to make in that other thread yesterday. Xbox has an image problem, and its marketing department seems powerless (even uninterested) to fix it.

Listen, we all know the beauty of the Series X, we know how great FPS boost, Auto-HDR, smart delivery and Gamepass are. We know the plans to bolster Gamepass across multiple devices - Xbox, PC, mobile, TV. Some people are skeptical, and it's on Xbox to prove those people wrong, but the idea is strong enough that it can work.

But they keep making mistakes, and the culmination of those mistakes is that the gaming community can't say with 100 per cent confidence that Microsoft would have paid $7.5b to make their games exclusive. It makes perfect sense, it's daft to doubt it, but nobody can say with absolute certainty. Look at insiders on Twitter who are hedging their bets. Tom Warren's tweets on the matter is full of uncertainty.



This isn't execs saying silly things (although not correcting or clarifying is). It's about confidence. Want an example?

Sony released a decent 7-hour expansion as a launch title on PlayStation 5. They shamelessly pretended it was PlayStation 5 exclusive for six months, charged basically full price for it (tagged along with a remaster at a bonus price) and their fans thanked them for it. It was mentioned as Game of the Year multiple times.

Hivebusters is a decent 7-hour expansion too. It wasn't released at launch, in fact it was basically shadow dropped on Gamepass. It was effectively free for subscribers, alongside a remaster which was also effectively free. I can't see any mention of it in regards to GOTY with a quick search, despite it being excellent.

In their respective genres, neither Miles Morales or Hivebusters is a million miles better than the other, but the gulf between the two is massive. It's not about Sony fanboys or mindshare, it's about how it was presented. The big news from the time Hivebusters was announced was that you'd be able to play as Dave Bautista in Gears 5.

We got a Miles Morales style release that should've controlled the conversation, and it was buried underneath a gimmicky character switch, a gimmicky character switch that was mocked by people who didn't give a shit about the game to start with.

Microsoft can't just expect good work to be rewarded. That's not how the world works. I get it, I've been in these media bubbles where you tut at every negative comment because it's so far from your understanding of a product, but that's not realistic.

Xbox has games now. They have great services and probably the better of the two current gen consoles. Now they need to start controlling the conversation, and they do that by being a lot more confident with their product.
 

TBiddy

Member
I think the issue with the Bethesda messaging is that Microsoft didn't own it, legally, and thus weren't able (allowed?) to make any conclusive statements on the future of the company.

As for the marketing aspect - I agree. But as long as Greenberg is in charge of that, this is what we get.
 

Mmnow

Member
I think the issue with the Bethesda messaging is that Microsoft didn't own it, legally, and thus weren't able (allowed?) to make any conclusive statements on the future of the company.
Would there have been nearly as much doubt if Sony or NIntendo had made this purchase?

Microsoft couldn't come out and make demands that might alter how Bethesda operates pre-purchase and, equally, the size of this acquisition is unprecedented. There would be room for doubt no matter what.

But all these issues have nothing to do with buying Bethesda and everything to do with how Xbox as a brand has put itself forward. Do they like the idea of releasing on third parties? If Steam, why not PS5? If Ori on Nintendo, why not Halo? It doesn't feel sustainable because you'd like Live or Gamepass on Switch to make it work? Does that mean you're stopping, or does that mean you're just waiting until Nintendo let's you publish Gamepass on Switch?

Is today's Xbox a hardware company or a services company? I'd say why not both? But for every ounce of doubt, there are people who decide it's not worth buying an Xbox. For every potential hint that they will be able to buy Fallout 5 for $70 on PlayStation, there's a gamer who will just buy a PlayStation. At scale, that's a huge group that won't improve the Xbox ecosystem but still want to play the games.

I'm presenting these questions as rhetorical, by the way. We can answer them all individually, but when you look at these questions and the many more overall, Xbox seem unsure and unorganised.
 
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With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.

Is that really all the "clarification" we're gonna get? Still pretty vague.
 

Gerdav

Member
Is that really all the "clarification" we're gonna get? Still pretty vague.

It’s a bit baffling why the cloak and daggers, surely 100% clarification is the way to go either way, announcing them as exclusive would not only shift series consoles but additional Gamepass subscriptions too, I don’t think many people would switch console just because the games are day 1 on Gamepass, or even subscribe to a separate Gamepass streaming service similar to stadia.

The explanations I can think of is Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo which we already knew would be honoured as PlayStation exclusives, ESO also would make sense to keep multi platform as it’s essentially it’s own ecosystem with a established player base, or they really are going to pick and choose on a game by game basis.
 

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
Theres a lot still not clear about the future of things like GP taking off on mobile, browsers etc. I think they are simply playing it safe and seeing what happens. If for whatever reason Starfield comes out and doesnt give a significant bump to GP they have to think in the future about what their actions will be in terms of publishing games on different platforms.
 
I don’t think many people would switch console just because the games are day 1 on Gamepass, or even subscribe to a separate Gamepass streaming service similar to stadia.
I think only a minority would. Nearly everyone I've talked to says they'll just stay on Playstation if the Bethesda games continue to come to it, regardless of Game Pass.

Unfortunately I was kind of expecting they'd leave it vague like this, but they really missed an opportunity to give Xbox momentum. Don't see why people are freaking out because we basically know nothing more than we did yesterday.

I think Starfield's exclusivity (or lack thereof) will be the true indicator.
 

dem

Member

Series X in stock @ Walmart Canada
Been up for awhile... must have quite a few.


In stock at Ebgames as well
 
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splattered

Member
I think only a minority would. Nearly everyone I've talked to says they'll just stay on Playstation if the Bethesda games continue to come to it, regardless of Game Pass.

Unfortunately I was kind of expecting they'd leave it vague like this, but they really missed an opportunity to give Xbox momentum. Don't see why people are freaking out because we basically know nothing more than we did yesterday.

I think Starfield's exclusivity (or lack thereof) will be the true indicator.

Sure, a lot of people *say* they would stay on Playstation if Bethesda games become Xbox exclusive, but once those titles are released if they are amazing and score decent you can bet a big part of the die hards will eventually cave and buy an Xbox. None of them WANT to buy an Xbox right now... but if they don't own super high end PCs they really would have no choice.
 

nikolino840

Member
Is that really all the "clarification" we're gonna get? Still pretty vague.
Too soon..what about if there's a game already in development for Playstation unannounced? Phil know more then us... zenimax is a big company that have various devs..i think need a little more time then ninja theory or inxile to adjust the workload/programs/schedules/etc...now is the time of "welcome" blogs...and we know that Microsoft don't have so many new news about their games so maybe they spill some info once on a while to keep internet busy
 
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Sure, a lot of people *say* they would stay on Playstation if Bethesda games become Xbox exclusive, but once those titles are released if they are amazing and score decent you can bet a big part of the die hards will eventually cave and buy an Xbox. None of them WANT to buy an Xbox right now... but if they don't own super high end PCs they really would have no choice.
Think you misread. I'm saying that if the Bethesda games don't become Xbox exclusive, I think most Playstation fans will likely just stay and buy them there despite Game Pass and all the other Xbox "advantages". Sure there may be some that switch over regardless, but I think they will be in the minority.

Now if MS came out with a hardline "Starfield, the next Elder Scrolls/Fallout, Doom, etc. will be Xbox (ecosystem) exclusive, period" then I have no doubt lots of people would be tripping over themselves to buy one. But right now it's just the usual murky MS PR they love so much.
 

Gerdav

Member
Think you misread. I'm saying that if the Bethesda games don't become Xbox exclusive, I think most Playstation fans will likely just stay and buy them there despite Game Pass and all the other Xbox "advantages". Sure there may be some that switch over regardless, but I think they will be in the minority.

Now if MS came out with a hardline "Starfield, the next Elder Scrolls/Fallout, Doom, etc. will be Xbox (ecosystem) exclusive, period" then I have no doubt lots of people would be tripping over themselves to buy one. But right now it's just the usual murky MS PR they love so much.

Exactly, and now at the start of a new generation is the absolute best time to make that statement, when 95% of the market has yet to transition to a new console.
 
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It’s a bit baffling why the cloak and daggers, surely 100% clarification is the way to go either way, announcing them as exclusive would not only shift series consoles but additional Gamepass subscriptions too, I don’t think many people would switch console just because the games are day 1 on Gamepass, or even subscribe to a separate Gamepass streaming service similar to stadia.

The explanations I can think of is Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo which we already knew would be honoured as PlayStation exclusives, ESO also would make sense to keep multi platform as it’s essentially it’s own ecosystem with a established player base, or they really are going to pick and choose on a game by game basis.
I also think they want to leave any exclusivity for the game announcement as well. If they have a great showing of Starfield for example, and then announce it is coming to PC/Xbox/Xcloud only then it will be huge news and keeps people talking about them. This kind of vague statement also keeps people talking about them now. Get that buzz....
 
Exactly, and now at the start of a new generation is the absolute best time to make that statement, when 95% of the market has yet to transition to a new console.
I disagree though. We are still in the period where it is the early adopters and console diehards buying the new consoles. It would make more sense to wait until they have plenty of console availability. This is why I think delaying Halo Infinite was a blessing in disguise. It will be a system seller at a time when they should have more availability
 

Gerdav

Member
I disagree though. We are still in the period where it is the early adopters and console diehards buying the new consoles. It would make more sense to wait until they have plenty of console availability. This is why I think delaying Halo Infinite was a blessing in disguise. It will be a system seller at a time when they should have more availability

That’s a fair point, agree totally with regards Halo it will have a bigger impact the end of this year than at launch, after all they can’t sell system that are not in stock, but going back to Bethesda I also feel announcing them as exclusive would have a impact on the more casual audience, wether they intent to buy this year or two years from now etc, a lot of decisions on consoles of choice are made based on friends and family, and most transition in the same ecosystem, announcing the game’s as exclusive would set conversations among friend/family groups in motion, wait too long and you can lose the whole group for a generation, or at best some pick a Xbox up as a second console towards the end of the generation.
 

splattered

Member
Think you misread. I'm saying that if the Bethesda games don't become Xbox exclusive, I think most Playstation fans will likely just stay and buy them there despite Game Pass and all the other Xbox "advantages". Sure there may be some that switch over regardless, but I think they will be in the minority.

Now if MS came out with a hardline "Starfield, the next Elder Scrolls/Fallout, Doom, etc. will be Xbox (ecosystem) exclusive, period" then I have no doubt lots of people would be tripping over themselves to buy one. But right now it's just the usual murky MS PR they love so much.

Yup sorry misread.. slammed w work but still trying to peep some threads haha

Agree with you 100%
 
Yup sorry misread.. slammed w work but still trying to peep some threads haha

Agree with you 100%
No worries!

Also FWIW, I was just watching ACG's video on this and he said that despite everything, from what he's been hearing (he has sources) Starfield is in fact going to be exclusive. He also points out some of the wording in the article and how it could be referring to streaming and phones as platforms for future Bethesda games rather than Playstation and Switch.



Honestly, the more I think about all this the more I'm inclined to really just wait for Starfield to see how that goes. Today's clarification (or lack thereof) really didn't change anything and I still think it could go either way.
 
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Kagey K

Banned
Looks like Overwatch got a series X enhancement patch today, if anyone cares.

It’s a proper one and requires being in the internal to play.

XBOX UPDATES
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Enhancements

Added “Preferred Mode” graphics option which allows switching between three different presets: “Resolution”, “Balanced”, “Framerate”. These modes adjust video settings to bias towards image quality, resolution, and framerate.

  • “Resolution” : This mode prefers higher-resolution output at the cost of some image-quality (Series X: 4K @ 60Hz, Series S: 1440p @ 60Hz)
  • “Balanced” : This mode prefers image-quality at the cost of resolution (Series X: 1440p @ 60Hz, Series S: 1080p @ 60Hz)
  • “Framerate” : This mode prefers higher frame-rate at 120 frames-per-second at the cost of both image-quality and resolution (Series X: 1440p @ 120Hz, Series S: 1080p @ 120Hz)
  • NOTE: Not you must have a TV that supports 120Hz or VRR (Variable-Refresh-Rate) to fully take advantage of the “Framerate” mode

No PS5 patch, seems to be MIA.
 
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