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Phil Spencer Believes Bethesda Will Be Critical to Xbox’s Progress; Excited About Announced & Unannounced Games

Shmunter

Member
When will people realize that Xbox isn't just the console and it is now an ecosystem. Microsoft isn't competing against PC
Nor PlayStation, just like they said. They are moving to a service model.

Bespoke sales will happen, just like Netflix movies are on DVD and syndicated.
 

x@3f*oo_e!

Member
It's a lot of ,money . Zenimax's estimate $500 revenue doesn't even come close. Profit will be a modest fraction of that.

Even playstation has only $1 billion profit per year - if Xbox is half that it's $500 million per year - so the whole division is unlikely to make the 10 year pay off without substantial growth.
 

Rubik8

Member
How is 7 billion good business when between bethesda ips won't generate anywhere near 7 billion over 10 years, especially if all that shit is on gamepass.
Because that’s how MS operates. They don’t really seek profit in this market in the near term, they want to become the defacto standard for gaming and eventually become the only player. That’s when they make money, all the money. All the chucklefucks that cheer on these big acquisitions by MS and evangelize game pass need to go back and read some history about how MS nearly took over the web and how they have abused every position of influence they’ve ever had in every industry they’ve ever been in.
 

killatopak

Gold Member
I’m basically forced to buy an Xbox because they have Fallout and Elder Scrolls in hostage.

I will buy it and the games no doubt, no question asked but please at least make it a pleasant experience for me. The last two major Bethesda releases have progressively gotten worse.

I mean I’ll still play it like an idiot whatever state it is in but I really hope being part of Xbox is a positive thing for their games.
 

dcmk7

Banned
I’m basically forced to buy an Xbox because they have Fallout and Elder Scrolls in hostage.

I will buy it and the games no doubt, no question asked but please at least make it a pleasant experience for me. The last two major Bethesda releases have progressively gotten worse.

I mean I’ll still play it like an idiot whatever state it is in but I really hope being part of Xbox is a positive thing for their games.

Should be fine.

I've liked Rare's output since being purchased, although realise not everyone does, played the hell out of Sea of Thieves.

They should be allowed to do what they want and be creative with fresh ideas.
 

Loope

Member
An 'incredible addition'?

How can it be any type of 'addition' if the games were already coming to Xbox?

All this deal does is keep games off PlayStation... and after all his talk about being pro consumer, I find it highly hypocritical.

I also find it hilarious that XGS now have at least 3 medieval looking fantasy games in development and 3 or more shooters with muscular men in heavy armor..... there is so much overlap that it just seems like they were buying studios for the sake of it. Very little imagination.
But everyone has a pc and can play all the MS exclusives on those machines. Right?
 

CAB_Life

Member
I didn't say it didn't make business sense. I said that after all of Phils talk about being 'pro-consumer', that it was hypocritical...

But hey, if throwing around the word 'retardation' makes you feel better...


First and primary use: to delay or impede the development or progress of : to slow up especially by preventing or hindering advance or accomplishment

I wasn't calling you a retard. In fact, you were actually talking about Phil Spencer "retarding" console growth and opportunities with the Bethesda purchase.

The more you know.
 

Giles

Member
The main attraction is Obsidian getting their hands on the Fallout IP again. New Vegas’ quest lines were some of the best in any RPG and your decisions genuinely impacted so many things. Obviously they’re working on other titles now so it would be way down the line but sure it only took 18 months to make New Vegas so maybe not! 👏🏻
 

yurinka

Member
He is right. Unlike 343 industries, it is a lot more likely Bethesda will deliver system seller games.
Yes if they keep the main Bethesda/Zenimax IP remain exclusive: mostly Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom and in a secondary tier to build catalog and appeal specific niches Quake, Dishonored, Rage, Wolfenstein, Evil Within, Prey.

Or well, at least if they keep them full console exclusive + included since day one on Gamepass. But if in addition of being on PC their new main games (mostly Elder Scrolls/Fallout/Doom) continue being multi on console or become timed console exclusives I don't think they will have a big impact.

And it's too late for Halo Infinite, but I'd be more hyped seeing the next Halo being developed by ID Software by 343.
 
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D

Deleted member 471617

Unconfirmed Member
Didn't wolf 2 bomb? Gameplay kinda sucked on tnc. Was youngblood any good?
Sales wise, yeah I think so but I don't care about sales numbers for any platform or game because that's not my concern or problem. All I care about is if the game is good or better. Wolfenstein 2 for me was an 8/10 but The New Order was better. Gameplay was great in Wolf 2. Story and some aspects not as good as the first. Youngblood was basically Far Cry New Dawn and can be skipped.

I want Wolfenstein III so Machine Games can wrap up the trilogy and then move on to a new IP or bring back an older IP. I like Wolfenstein but I do want it to conclude.
 

tillbot8

Banned
If done right and Beth cleans up their act....a lot, could be a game changer! Their ip's are MASSIVE.

Edit: I hope uncle Phil throws us PS users a bone and allows Fallout as a multiplat.
 
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iorek21

Member
Doom, TES and Fallout being MS exclusives is fucking huge for Xbox.

The thing is, future games will need to be very good to make it really relevant. No doubt that id Software is very capable of that, Bethesda itself on the other hand...
 

Lister

Banned
I just hope the next Elder scrolls game takes full advantage of PC's in 2024. Lots of ray tracing options, lots of graphics effects only possible there. So far Microsoft hasn't been shied to play up both the Xbox and PC's hardware strengths, so I'm hopeful to see this.
 
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Concern

Member
Besides Wolfenstein and Doom, I'm not really crazy about the acquisition. I hope it does good things but I'd like to see the new Fable more than anything else they got in the works.
 

tillbot8

Banned
Only obsidian fallout. Bethesda fallout is garbage.
Ahhhhhh 4 was good, I know, I prefer 3 and New Vegas but it was good. I mean it's got potential to return to brilliance. 76 is a scummy cash grab but I hope Microsoft slaps the shit out of Hines and Howard to treat the franchise with respect.
 

CatLady

Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
I think Starfield is still up in the air regarding exclusivity since it has already been announced as a multiplat. But The Elder Scrolls VI should be exclusive to Xbox and PC, which may or may not be a problem for people here depending on if they have a gaming PC or not.

Unless there was some ironclad contract promising to release the game on PS4/5 prior to the Xbox acquisition, there is no reason it can't be exclusive to Xbox ecosystem.

Unlike the games that were already in the works from the other studios that had contracts with other companies to publish them, Starfield will be an XGS published game. Xbox gets to decide what platforms it releases it's published games on.
 
One thing I noticed in this video is how Phil Spencer says the xbox team has always had a close relationship with bathesda. He knew many of the people that worked there personally, said they always showed their new hardware to them early on, and obviously worked closely with them on getting the elder scrolls games on the console.

This is contrary to what Sony fans were saying, claiming that Microsoft just randomly bought the company and had no personal involvement with bathesda prior.
 
These are very loose assumptions on what owning them means. People are going to buy Xbox's anyway and if they are giving it away free on gamepass thats no additional revenue except gamepass subscritions and that is not a huge moneymaker for MS.
Wrong.

According to MS themselves, active GP subscribers spend more money buying games than non-subs. I have been subbed since it's inception and I never stopped buying games despite being flooded with them through GP. I laugh at this notion that GP subs are hurting sales.

I have a feeling they will come to PS5 someway or another anyway. Gamepass aint funding all these expensive Bethesda games atm
PC is bigger than both XBOX and PS combined. I think they will be fine.
 
Fallout and Elder Scrolls have become quite stale, it would take a complete reinventing to get me remotely interested. Phil made the same promises for the XB1 in 2014 and nothing came of it.

Sony fans before bathesda announcement: bathesda games are the best. Bar fallout 76, their games have been some of my favourite games of all time

Sony fans after bathesda announcement: whatever, their games have become a bit stale anyway and they really need to reinvent the wheel

Sony fans if they reinvent the wheel: Microsoft ruined bathesda games. They made them reinvent the wheel and its just a completely different game. No one wanted change. They should have just stuck to what we all loved from the beginning.
 
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kyussman

Member
I've been a PlayStation only gamer for the last two gens(PS3 and PS4).....heres a list of Bethesda games I've played and enjoyed just on my PS4 :

The Evil Within
The Evil Within 2
Wolfenstein The New Order
Wolfenstein The Old blood
Wolfenstein The New Colossus
Wolfenstein Youngblood
Doom
Doom Eternal
Prey
Dishonored 2
Dishonored Death of the Outsider
Fallout 4
Rage 2
........so yea,this aquisition has made an Xbox purchase pretty much essential for me now.All I need for a console purchase is enough content on it to justify it....previously Xbox didn't have it....now they do....well played Phil,lol.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Wrong.

According to MS themselves, active GP subscribers spend more money buying games than non-subs. I have been subbed since it's inception and I never stopped buying games despite being flooded with them through GP. I laugh at this notion that GP subs are hurting sales.


PC is bigger than both XBOX and PS combined. I think they will be fine.

Check out the Fallout 4 sales. PS sales are alot.

And if its coming to gamepass on xbox and PC then thats alot of sales lost For them regardless. These are small studio games
 
Check out the Fallout 4 sales. PS sales are alot.

And if its coming to gamepass on xbox and PC then thats alot of sales lost For them regardless. These are small studio games

You don't seem to get it do you? MS would literally give Sony 12$ for every copy sold on their store. Minecraft and other service type games that live on having a healthy userbase I can understand but you NEVER give your direct competitor (who btw has been trying to starve them off of games since the gen started) access to system sellers.

Do you see Halo on PS5? Or Gears? or Fable or Forza? Argue whatever you want but quality notwithstanding, those are system sellers which is why they won't come to PS. TES and Fallout are on another level when it comes to popularity so why would MS let the opportunity to grow their ecosystem slip through their grasp for a one-time hit from PS users?

Someone needs to show me the direction to those tables because since this deal has been announced, I have never heard of this many tables with money left on them.
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
Nor PlayStation, just like they said. They are moving to a service model.

Bespoke sales will happen, just like Netflix movies are on DVD and syndicated.
Who said that? Both the platforms roughly share the same demographic of users who decide which plastic box to shill for the next few years based on their budget and other factors. PC, Nintendo and mobile are a different demographic. They all may overlap a lot but not as much as these two TV addons.
Even playstation has only $1 billion profit per year - if Xbox is half that it's $500 million per year - so the whole division is unlikely to make the 10 year pay off without substantial growth.
The Xbox division makes around 10-12 billion a year.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
You don't seem to get it do you? MS would literally give Sony 12$ for every copy sold on their store. Minecraft and other service type games that live on having a healthy userbase I can understand but you NEVER give your direct competitor (who btw has been trying to starve them off of games since the gen started) access to system sellers.

Do you see Halo on PS5? Or Gears? or Fable or Forza? Argue whatever you want but quality notwithstanding, those are system sellers which is why they won't come to PS. TES and Fallout are on another level when it comes to popularity so why would MS let the opportunity to grow their ecosystem slip through their grasp for a one-time hit from PS users?

Someone needs to show me the direction to those tables because since this deal has been announced, I have never heard of this many tables with money left on them.

I dont think you get it lol. We will see.

Difference is MS has alot more studios and alot more games in production now than just Gears and Halo etc. They cost alot of money. MS has the money to make these games but if they dont makeloads of profit back, shareholders arent gonna be happy With Xbox’s spending spree.
There not just gonna keep spending hundreds of millions for little return.

And alot more people are just using gamepass then before which means alot less sales ( Aaron has already said Gamepass isnt making much profit )... Which doesnt give enough money for multiple massive 100+ million dollar games to be made. There not selling like Switch and PS numbers.

TBH I couldnt care less about Bethesda’s games, believe what you want. No1 wants to spend billions and not gain massive profit back.
Spencer has taken risks we shall see how it pays off. Atm gamepass has fans but not much profit
 
I dont think you get it lol. We will see.

Difference is MS has alot more studios and alot more games in production now than just Gears and Halo etc. They cost alot of money. MS has the money to make these games but if they dont makeloads of profit back, shareholders arent gonna be happy With Xbox’s spending spree.
There not just gonna keep spending hundreds of millions for little return.

And alot more people are just using gamepass then before which means alot less sales ( Aaron has already said Gamepass isnt making much profit )... Which doesnt give enough money for multiple massive 100+ million dollar games to be made. There not selling like Switch and PS numbers.

TBH I couldnt care less about Bethesda’s games, believe what you want. No1 wants to spend billions and not gain massive profit back.
Spencer has taken risks we shall see how it pays off. Atm gamepass has fans but not much profit
They are quite obviously playing the long game. They managed to crack 15M subs a few months back.

That was without a single noteworthy AAA release. Are you going to tell me those numbers are weak when PSNOW has been around forever and can only dream of them? Or that they won't skyrocket once TES releases and the only way to get it is on PC or Xbox?

They quite obviously had a plan and didn't just willy nilly made a 7.5B purchase. I just don't see them going for short term profits here, especially when history has shown otherwise.
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
And alot more people are just using gamepass then before which means alot less sales ( Aaron has already said Gamepass isnt making much profit )... Which doesnt give enough money for multiple massive 100+ million dollar games to be made. There not selling like Switch and PS numbers.
This is blatantly false, Gears 5 sold more than 4. Game Pass actually gives more exposure of a title to a bigger audience.
 
One thing I noticed in this video is how Phil Spencer says the xbox team has always had a close relationship with bathesda. He knew many of the people that worked there personally, said they always showed their new hardware to them early on, and obviously worked closely with them on getting the elder scrolls games on the console.

This is contrary to what Sony fans were saying, claiming that Microsoft just randomly bought the company and had no personal involvement with bathesda prior.
Sony fans are the absolute last people you should listen to when it comes to Xbox info. Why believe anything that comes from Xbox's biggest detractors? Look at the takes from many of them in this very thread. It was simply a positive Xbox news story and you see the result. Sooo much bitterness. You'd think that the PS5 coming out would bring them some joy...
 
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CatLady

Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
One thing I noticed in this video is how Phil Spencer says the xbox team has always had a close relationship with bathesda. He knew many of the people that worked there personally, said they always showed their new hardware to them early on, and obviously worked closely with them on getting the elder scrolls games on the console.

This is contrary to what Sony fans were saying, claiming that Microsoft just randomly bought the company and had no personal involvement with bathesda prior.

This is very true. Morrowind was exclusive to OG Xbox, Oblivion a timed exclusive to X360, the 360 was the lead platform for Skyrim, Mods for FO4 were initially exclusive to X1. From the very beginning Xbox has had a very close relationship with Bethesda Game Studios.
 

KingT731

Member
This is blatantly false, Gears 5 sold more than 4. Game Pass actually gives more exposure of a title to a bigger audience.
Where did you get the numbers from? This was all MS said about Gears 5:

"Gears 5 brought in over three million players in the first weekend, which doubles the same figure for Gears of War 4, and marks Microsoft's most successful first-party launch since Halo 4 on Xbox 360."

They said nothing of actual sales.
 
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Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
Where did you get the numbers from? This was all MS said about Gears 5:

"Gears 5 brought in over three million players in the first weekend, which doubles the same figure for Gears of War 4, and marks Microsoft's most successful first-party launch since Halo 4 on Xbox 360."

They said nothing of actual sales.
Gears 5 sold well for us. It sold better than Gears 4. And we feel good about it. If people want to make the choice of buying Gears, that's an option we want to give them. I'm not trying to funnel everybody who wants to play Gears into the subscription. It's about giving gamers choice. Certain players will make the decision as part of Game Pass that they'll either want to start to subscribe, or they're already a subscriber and they stay subscribed.
 

Kataploom

Gold Member
They will never pay off a 7 billion dollar investment in them. This is a 7 billion dollar purchase to try to make their game studio's look better as they have mismanaged the ones they have and are unable to produce new ones due to lack of creativity.
MS could use Bethesda heads to manage their own studios since it's very obvious that MS game studios are not coordinated nor even managed by someone experienced enough (and if it is, that person should leave the charge to them or someone else more able).
 

assurdum

Banned
I don't know honestly. Spencer has the bad habit to promise, promise and promise. Well sure with Bethesda now finally they have a plethora of exclusives which researched so desperately but MS would be enough able to handle adequately so many studios when in the past screw everything with just a bunch? Will see I guess but I'm not exactly optimistic for the Bethesda future in the MS hands.
 
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assurdum

Banned
All these games will be GamePass exclusive. You won't see them on PS5. This fantasy needs to die.
I imagine it depends how much care Bethesda to publish his games on the ps5. They are still define some terms, maybe they will obtain to release exclusively their games on Xbox just for the first years then later in the other console, but as I already said it depends how much care Bethesda about it.
 
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NullZ3r0

Banned
Because that’s how MS operates. They don’t really seek profit in this market in the near term, they want to become the defacto standard for gaming and eventually become the only player. That’s when they make money, all the money. All the chucklefucks that cheer on these big acquisitions by MS and evangelize game pass need to go back and read some history about how MS nearly took over the web and how they have abused every position of influence they’ve ever had in every industry they’ve ever been in.
Stop crying.
 
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