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[IGN Interview] Phil Spencer says Xbox Was 'Too Light on Games' in 2022, But a Big 2023 Could Await

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
How many years down the road 1-2-3 maybe never like FF7 remake? That argument became invalid when Sony attempted to money hat every zenimax game. How's Sony’s year looking with out purchased studios *cough* insomniac and money hats? It goes both ways right now.
I know it’s hard for you to stay on topic. But this isn’t about Sony. Xbox selling 50-100 consoles a week in Japan is why those Japan dev deals happen. And Square had no issue turning their nose up to platforms they see zero ROI on.

So yes, all those games Bethesda was making long before they were bought, would have been on every platform they alway have been. Timed or not, which MS has and could have done the same deals with.

Again, where is their legacy studio games?
 

Topher

Gold Member
How many years down the road 1-2-3 maybe never like FF7 remake? That argument became invalid when Sony attempted to money hat every zenimax game. How's Sony’s year looking with out purchased studios *cough* insomniac and money hats? It goes both ways right now.

Even without the money hat games and Insomniac, Sony had a constant supply of first party games. But yeah, money hatting absolutely works both ways. Problem is I don't see anyone ever giving Bethesda shit for their part in supposedly taking money hatted money. If anyone is going to point fingers for that then time to square up on Zenimax.
 

DryvBy

Member
I love the question if Starfield is coming out this year. He basically said "haha no guys. It's delayed but I can't say that yet".
 

Kurimao

Member
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GhostOfTsu

Banned
Content could have started development in 1980...if the content ends up in you eco system exclusively its a net+...the "y'all didnt REALLY develop it" is only effective ammo in console wars, not in reality.
You're also using it for ammo in your console war tho? It goes both ways.

You made a thread calling it an "Xbox passion project" when the game was pitched and approved by Bethesda in 2017. You're obviously trying to score some points for your side.
 

ZehDon

Member
I wondered when we'd get Phil's annual "This year could be the year!" stuff.

At this point in the game, as long as Phil says his catch phrase, then I know it's not the year. Which is disappointing. Hopefully 2024 is the year.
 

ChorizoPicozo

Gold Member
i called this pathetic narrative 2 years ago.
How do you people not feel legitimately stupid saying this?
and i called the opposite pathetic narrative as well.

people given credit to MS/Xbox for things they didn't make. just look at Hi-fi Rush credits at the begging.

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and I ask you the same question. 😆
 
They better hope Starfield isn't a bomba. If that game is anything short of BotW, GOW, or Elden Ring levels of quality its going to be a tough couple years for Phil-Sama.

It's abundantly clear now, at least to me, why and how important the Bethesda acquisition was for them. All of their big blockbuster games going forward are essentially former multiplatform Beth titles/franchises.

Bethesda doesn't miss with their single player RPGs. Starfield, just like their past singleplayer outings, will be an excellent, even legendary, release just like past games that have been played for years. Avowed isn't a Bethesda multi-plat game. And even then none of that stuff matters. Starfield was never announced for Playstation in the first place, neither was Hi-Fi Rush or Elder Scrolls 6. Either it's cause they were next-gen so there was no need, or because Bethesda were actively shopping the games. Deathloop and Ghostwire suggest they potentially were. Sony made a move, and Microsoft made a bigger and better offer.

People only care about the games being good. This weird definition of what counts and doesn't count is all a dumb game that people play. Many games are sold and shopped to publishers just like the studios that eventually get acquired. People often confuse why Sony was and still is buying studios for over 20 years of Playstation, especially in those earlier years. It's how Sony has built its games business, through a combination of acquisitions and strategic public investments in other games companies.

Game console architectures aren't as crazy different today as they use to be back then, which is usually why today you'll see far fewer major third-party exclusives. Sony bought their studios and IP as Microsoft did. That exclusive relationship Sony had with a studio was more to do about what made the most financial/technical sense for the studio at that moment. Sony wanted to lock down not only the IP they personally published (or maybe the studio behind it) but also any future new games and IPs that were being planned by that studio also.

Hi-Fi Rush is an example of that on the Xbox side. It was pitched back in 2017. Avowed was pitched to Microsoft in 2018, well before we ever knew a thing about it. https://www.ign.com/articles/obsidian-xbox-acquisition-strategy-staying-out-way

When Feargus Urquhart walked into a 2018 pitch meeting with then-Xbox senior director of business development Noah Musler, he thought he was pitching Avowed. But what he was really pitching was the entirety of Obsidian Entertainment.

They were having breakfast at that year’s E3, just after Xbox announced it was acquiring Undead Labs, Playground Games, Ninja Theory, and Compulsion Games, as well as establishing The Initiative. At the time, Urquhart wasn’t even aware of the industry-shaking news. He was, as he tells me, “plugged into his own stuff,” focused on making Avowed look as appealing as possible to people like Musler who could potentially help Obsidian get it out the door in a few years. He made the pitch for Avowed. Musler responded by suggesting Urquhart repeat his pitch again…this time in a bigger room, with more Xbox folks listening in.

It wasn’t until the middle of that week that Musler called Urquhart back and told him that what he had really sold Xbox on was acquiring the entirety of Obsidian, the studio he had been at the head of since 2003.

That's how the industry works. Publishers know about games far in advance. Many, many years in advance. A decision to acquire is as much a decision to invest in and potentially fund everything they're currently doing.

Sony went shopping for Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, and likely also Hi-Fi Rush, Starfield, Redfall, and Elder Scrolls 6 also. Sony went shopping for Final Fantasy 16 and Forspoken. They went shopping for Kotor: Remake. These publishers learn things well before the rest of us do. What the two companies do is no different. Microsoft just has a lot more money to spend for bigger IP and more studios in one go than Sony does, but outside of that there isn't a god damn bit of difference.

Content could have started development in 1980...if the content ends up in you eco system exclusively its a net+...the "y'all didnt REALLY develop it" is only effective ammo in console wars, not in reality.

That's really all it is. Do they really think paying to keep games off a platform for up to two years or more without at least buying the studio and IP the way Sony does many times is better than what Microsoft does by going for full ownership? Microsoft is doing it right, and some people don't like it. They won't be able to make their "Xbox has no games" nonsense claims anymore. This year is already off to a pretty bad start where that narrative is concerned.
 
You're also using it for ammo in your console war tho? It goes both ways.

You made a thread calling it an "Xbox passion project" when the game was pitched and approved by Bethesda in 2017. You're obviously trying to score some points for your side.
At the end of the day when MS is avoiding filing taxes, they have to put Bethesda down on there...so technicalities don't matter. It's a silly argument. It's an Xbox exclusive made by an Xbox owned studio funneling content into their Xbox service.
 

quest

Not Banned from OT
I know it’s hard for you to stay on topic. But this isn’t about Sony. Xbox selling 50-100 consoles a week in Japan is why those Japan dev deals happen. And Square had no issue turning their nose up to platforms they see zero ROI on.

So yes, all those games Bethesda was making long before they were bought, would have been on every platform they alway have been. Timed or not, which MS has and could have done the same deals with.

Again, where is their legacy studio games?
And sony could of made the same deal to purchase zenimax if they could lay out 4 billion for bungie. Who says zenimax wanted a money hat from a company that has 30% market share? Legacy studios there is a whopping 4-5 of them and 1 is releasing a game this year.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
And sony could of made the same deal to purchase zenimax if they could lay out 4 billion for bungie. Who says zenimax wanted a money hat from a company that has 30% market share? Legacy studios there is a whopping 4-5 of them and 1 is releasing a game this year.
Ok.
 

YukiOnna

Member
His response regarding Halo is a non-answer. I was hoping for a bit more outside of "Halo will continue" but maybe the fact that he said something non-committal means it doesn't have a future with 343i. I'm hoping the June showcase comes out with a bit more Japanese titles on Game Pass like Wo Long and Persona last year, but I fear they may give up if Wo Long underperforms.
 

j.k.2021

Banned
Bethesda pretty much saving Xbox.Without Bethesda, Xbox would only have Forza Motorsport in 2022-2023.Minecraft legends is multiplatform.
 

ZehDon

Member
Bethesda pretty much saving Xbox. Without Bethesda, Xbox would only have Forza Motorsport in 2022-2023.Minecraft legends is multiplatform.
Yeah - there's a reason they picked them up. If not for Game Pass, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot going on... Hopefully their June showcase delivers some surprises.
 

Fox Mulder

Member
feels like he’s been saying this since the xb1 came out. Bethesda has been a savior as Xbox’s long time pillar franchises of Gears of War and Halo have fallen off massively.
 
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j.k.2021

Banned
Yeah - there's a reason they picked them up. If not for Game Pass, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot going on... Hopefully their June showcase delivers some surprises.
That's the benefit of buying self managed publishers.I also heard that Bethesda was behind production of the show which is a egg on Xbox marketing face.I can see 2024 to be the year XGS dropping stuff.I am expecting Hellblade II and Avowed to be 2024 games.
 

Dr. Claus

Vincit qui se vincit
Sorry Phil, but I will believe it when I see it. You do this every single year and you constantly fail.
 
Ok, I get that it's good console war fodder, and Microsoft has really underperformed since the 360, but you should also keep it in reality.
Microsoft has some top tier studios.
All in all the have around 40 teams developing individual games for Xbox, and have been for a number of years now. They have some of the biggest gaming franchises in the industry. Their Xbox Publishing team is working with around a dozen different studios on exclusive nee gaming IPs. Avalanche, IO, Certain Affinity, Asobo etc.
Do you really think these games arnt going to release? Come on, you know they will.
In 2021 MS was the publisher of the year. 2020 sucked dick big time, but already in 2023 they have out of nowhere dropped a fully fledged game that people are raving about.
This year as a minimum there will be HiFi, Forza, Starfield, Minecraft and Redfall. There is talk that possibly Hellblade 2 might drop at the end of the year as well.
That's a huge year.
To add to that at E3 we will probably get announcements of Compulsions new game, Project Midnight. Inxiles new Steampunk RPG. Avowed gameplay. Zenimax online new AAA game. New details on State of Decay 3.
From 2023 onwards, it's going to be crazy.
 
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