Support NeoGAF

[Desprado123]

 

[Dick Jones]

He won't get that Xbox e3 gig with that attitude

 

[drganon]

Great, now I feel old.

 

[GHG]

The more things change, the more they stay the same:

 

[The Tourmaline Gorilla]

I think rather than buy the gaming studios MS should now focus on Management change of Xbox from top to bottom.

It is now the perfect time to to reboot the management from top to bottom like MCU did in 2007, and now WB did with DCU.

IMO this is the lowest point of Xbox era that even exclusives are getting worst rating and the management does not get it what really gamers want.


In short, Money cannot buy the passion and dedication.

Can't argue with anything here!

 

[lmimmfn]

They need to focus on "the tools"

 

[Badlucktroll]

They should rejigger the brand, maybe bring on J Allard as a consultant

 

[yurinka]

I agree. They have now a huge amount of studios, IPs and talented devs.

I think they need a better management to make their teams more productive, also creating a roadmap securing at least a big 1st party per quarter as Phil mentioned time ago (plus maybe a big indie and a big exclusive 3rd party exclusive per quarter) and also creating a workflow to ensure that leads of each division of each studios share knowledge and tech or even workers if needed with the other ones.

Also, instead of investing on acquisitions maybe would be nice investing on growing the studios they already have. First to release their games faster and better, and second to let them work in more games at the same time.

I think they have potential to do it way better with relatively small changes and costs, no big acquisitions are needed. In terms of marketing I think they also have to replace Aaron.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

It depends on what you are into. I grow up with playstation games even though I had Xbox so uncharted means more to me than Halo but Halo 123 we're bigger phenomenon than uncharted. Starfield will have bigger legs and greater legacy than any upcoming PlayStation game and then some. Then there are many other heavy titles incoming that have run into issues of external nature like Stalkar 2. I am more exited to play FF16, The Wolverine and Metal Gear Solid Remake(I have fingers crossed) that doesn't mean xbox is doing shit. Ori and the will of the Wisps, Psychonauts 2, Forza Horizon 5, Scorn and Hi Fi Rush are great games and are more fresh and innovative than playstation ones, there is a new Forza Motosport coming soon too so just because they don't excite you doesn't mean xbox is in rough shape.

It's far better than xbox one era and if coalition can share their unreal optimizations it can end up having better endgame than Playstation, in fact Most game perform better on Xbox now if you go revisit than on Playstation like Control. Playstation is only winning especially at launch because every platform including playstation is loosing, basically developers are using PS fanboys as shield for lazy optimization. Playstation doesn't need to win 2-5 fps battle with Xbox and same goes for xbox. They need to take gaming into different spaces, fresh spaces. How I wish just like Armored Core VI Naughty Dogs revisited Jak and Daxter series or again made something new and different.

Well, that is a hot take. You are saying that Starfield will reach Skyrim levels of cultural phenomenon? That may be the case but, until now, I've seen anything that make me confident they will unless you bank heavily on the fact that it is the same studio who gave us Skyrim and Fallout. Their track record definitely isn't perfect and they have an uphill battle being their first current gen project and not being known by their craftsmanship when it comes down to technology. The time will tell as always.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

That’s not what that means

Yeah, I confused hands on with hands off. Fixed

 

[TheDreadLord]

It doesn’t really matter who is on top. Xbox as we knew is dead. Sony cares more about Xbox than Microsoft nowadays.

 

[64bitmodels]

MS would then be blamed for "not leaving creative freedom" to the Studios or for submitting them.

Creative freedom doesnt always need to be there especially when the studio is in such dire straits.
If they work for it and produce the games that Xbox needs more than ever, that Xbox asks for, and they do well, then they can be afforded creative freedom to make what they want, because they're entrusted that whatever they make will be a hit.

 

[SoloKingRobert]

At this point, I dread it when Microsoft buys a studio I like because they've done nothing but make their output worse. And I have all three major consoles, so I don't care about the exclusivity issue.

Microsoft acquired Zenimax in 2021. You're saying it took Arkane less then 2 years to develop Redfall? That's impossible.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Microsoft acquired Zenimax in 2021. You're saying it took Arkane less then 2 years to develop Redfall? That's impossible.

judging by the outcome, I think is entirely possible.

 

[Darsxx82]

Creative freedom doesnt always need to be there especially when the studio is in such dire straits.
If they work for it and produce the games that Xbox needs more than ever, that Xbox asks for, and they do well, then they can be afforded creative freedom to make what they want, because they're entrusted that whatever they make will be a hit.

You are speaking without assessing the concrete and special situation.

1-Redfall was already in advanced development when MS acquired Bethesda-Zenimax.

2-Imagine acquiring the Studio and the first thing you do is cancel a game that the Studio itself wanted to develop. Imagine the emotional blow to the members of that Studio that was supposed to be well-regarded and valuable.

3-Imagine the negative media impact for MS to announce that it is canceling an Arkane vampire game as its first decision as soon as it buys Zenimax... In an environment in which MS is accused of restricting the creative freedom of its Studios... . In short, it was not an easy situation, it was not a normal situation.

Possibly in the next project MS will already have more decision-making power and those responsible for Arkane will not be able to present their service sheet to answer and ask for creative freedom.

 

[SoloKingRobert]

judging by the outcome, I think is entirely possible.

Then you have no clue how Game Development works.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Then you have no clue how Game Development works.

neither does Xbox.

 

[64bitmodels]

Imagine the emotional blow to the members of that Studio that was supposed to be well-regarded and valuable.

sales and market share don't care about emotions. they either can it & use the extra time on their hands to make a better IP/ work with other studios, or they continue making mediocre games and assist in xbox's freefall by attaching a brick to them.

 

[SoloKingRobert]

neither does Xbox.

?? What has this got to to with Xbox? I was talking to you.

 

[64bitmodels]

3-Imagine the negative media impact for MS to announce that it is canceling an Arkane vampire game as its first decision as soon as it buys Zenimax... In an environment in which MS is accused of restricting the creative freedom of its Studios... . In short, it was not an easy situation, it was not a normal situation.

The good PR they lost will be regained by the better games they produce. Also Phil exists to make Xbox look good like the funny happy wacky meme console brand he pretends it is, PR ain't a problem for them

 

[Kokoloko85]

Yeah no1 should celebrate or root for Microsoft to buy anymore studios, IPs or especially a publisher. Its kinda doom for them.
Only a fanboy wants them to buy things they are gonna run to the ground

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

?? What has this got to to with Xbox? I was talking to you.

i am not in charge of all of these studios, i am not the one saying this fucking bullshit:

He continued: "Starfield and Redfall, which are our first big Xbox games with [Bethesda owner] ZeniMax coming into the team, I just wanted to make sure those teams felt they had the support they could get from Xbox. Maybe feel some of the benefit of being part of a larger organization that has other revenue streams and other things going on that could be helpful."

https://www.ign.com/articles/phil-spencer-confident-in-decision-to-delay-starfield

backed by a triple trillion dollar company, 20+ years in the industry and still they feel like fucking amateurs without the fundamental understanding of how this shit works.

is not just about redfall; is about xbox's pathetic decisions since the second half of the 360 era.... Let that sink in.

 

[Darsxx82]

The good PR they lost will be regained by the better games they produce. Also Phil exists to make Xbox look good like the funny happy wacky meme console brand he pretends it is, PR ain't a problem for them

Sorry, but I disagree. Of course in this case we will never be.

MS bought Bethasda-Zenimax confident in the value of its Studios and projects. And it is necessary to remember that Z-B acts independently of XGS.

P. Spencer would have had more than a bad media image if he had decided to cancel a game that was already on the launch pad and that Zenimax management (Pit Hines) had approved.

It is not the best decision if your desire is to maintain a good relationship of trust and respect with a new partner that you join, presumably because of the confidence you have in their products.

That same decision is different after the failure of Redfall...

 

[SoloKingRobert]

i am not in charge of all of these studios, i am not the one saying this fucking bullshit:

He continued: "Starfield and Redfall, which are our first big Xbox games with [Bethesda owner] ZeniMax coming into the team, I just wanted to make sure those teams felt they had the support they could get from Xbox. Maybe feel some of the benefit of being part of a larger organization that has other revenue streams and other things going on that could be helpful."

https://www.ign.com/articles/phil-spencer-confident-in-decision-to-delay-starfield

backed by a triple trillion dollar company, 20+ years in the industry and still they feel like fucking amateurs without the fundamental understanding of how this shit works.

is not just about redfall; is about xbox's pathetic decisions since the second half of the 360 era.... Let that sink in.

One game out of....?

Gears Tactics - 83
Flight Sim - 92
Psychonauts 2 - 89
Forza Horizon 5 - 92
Halo Infinite - 87
As dusk falls - 78
Grounded - 83
Deathloop - 88 (Bethesda)
Pentiment - 86
Hi-Fi RUSH - 90 (Bethesda)
AOE2 DE - 85
Ghostwire Tokyo - 77 (Bethesda)

Should we say the same about PlayStation when they released Destruction AllStars?

 

[dEvAnGeL]

MIcrosoft is the Chelsea of gaming. Keep buying studios but can’t release anything good.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

One game out of....?

Gears Tactics - 83
Flight Sim - 92
Psychonauts 2 - 89
Forza Horizon 5 - 92
Halo Infinite - 87
As dusk falls - 78
Grounded - 83
Deathloop - 88 (Bethesda)
Pentiment - 86
Hi-Fi RUSH - 90 (Bethesda)
AOE2 DE - 85
Ghostwire Tokyo - 77 (Bethesda)

Should we say the same about PlayStation when they released Destruction AllStars?

hypocrisy much?

Microsoft acquired Zenimax in 2021. You're saying it took Arkane less then 2 years to develop Redfall? That's impossible.

Psychonauts 2 - 89
Grounded - 83
Deathloop - 88 (Bethesda)
Hi-Fi RUSH - 90 (Bethesda)
Ghostwire Tokyo - 77 (Bethesda)
all these games were green-lit before MS's acquisition.

these were second party:
Gears Tactics - 83
Flight Sim - 92
As dusk falls - 78
AOE2 DE - 85



the only first party games were the memes inside the: forza,gears,halo,forza,gears,halo,forza,gears,halo....the same old ass IPs.

Forza Horizon 5 - 92 (acquired in 2018, the co-founder and studio director left the studio in 2022) with MS's track record....playground is poised to be the next 343i.

Halo Infinite - 87 (killed 343i. a total disaster)