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[Xplainin]

With the push for subscription services like Game Pass and PS Now, what do people think both companies will do with regards to the number of in-house studios?

Netflix, Amazon, Apple etc are doing alot more in house productions than I thought they would. Exclusive content is now king, and all streaming services are trying to get as many movies and series as they can.
With talks of Sony looking at buying Leyou Technologies, and it coming to light that both Bloober Team and The Farm 51 are looking to be acquired, do people see both Sony and MS first party studios to get alot more studios, or will they keep it niche?

With games taking longer and longer to make, we can really only expect each company to put out 3-4 first party titles a year with the number of studios they currently have?
Is that enough for them to keep people in their subscription services long term?
Is That enough for people who already have say a PS sub, to then be persuaded to also have a MS one?
Most people now dont just have Netflix, they also have Amazon Prime or Stan, or HBO etc as well.
In my eyes the exclusive content for both companies needs to increase to get to that point.
I would think one new exclusive a month is where they would want to be.
And in that case, they would need to both have alot more studios than they do now.

What's the vibe GAF?

 

[Cert.in.Death]

PS will aim to space out releases, putting out 2-3 major 1st party games per year. Granted, that will fall apart as games fall behind in production, but in an ideal world that is how Sony would like to operate. They are all about cashing in on major AAA grade titles, since it is there the margins are the strongest (hence why they moved away from in-house indie initiatives after PS3).

Xbox is all about GaaS. They likely won’t be releasing as many games but will be supporting most of them over a longer period. I wouldn’t be stunned to see them have a tight rotation of SP title studios, limited in number (Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Playground, The Initiative, etc.) but they need to stick to their identity of offering co-op centric, MP experiences. It’s what gave them an identity in this space and what they should be patterning their games after.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

PlayStation is not going gamepass route.

Gamepass will work only if you have backwards compatible consoles with extensive library from all generations.

Since PlayStation has said they believe in generations, by extension it means, you will get PS4 backward compatibility due to similar architecture. But no further than that. Which means if they launch gamepass like service, they won't have expansive libraries of legacy consoles. Which would be important for gamepass like service.

 

[PresetError]

Sony shoud really try to make a deal with AT&T for the Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment gaming studios. They are asking for $4 billion. It's been published Take Two, EA and Actiision Blizzard are interested. Sony can blew all of them out of the water in terms of making the highest bid.

With WB studios you get:

-Rocksteady
-NetherRealm
-Monolith
-Avalanche
-TT Games
-And a bunch of WB studios in Montreal, Boston, San Francisco, New York and San Diego.

The problem is AT&T wants to keep a piece of the pie and probably they prefer to sell to a third party publisher because it means more platforms to collect form. And also Sony spending so much in acquisitions while launching a next generation console could be too risky.

 

[Kagey K]

Sony shoud really try to make a deal with AT&T for the Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment gaming studios. They are asking for $4 billion. It's been published Take Two, EA and Actiision Blizzard are interested. Sony can blew all of them out of the water in terms of making the highest bid.

With WB studios you get:

-Rocksteady
-NetherRealm
-Monolith
-Avalanche
-TT Games
-And a bunch of WB studios in Montreal, Boston, San Francisco, New York and San Diego.

The problem is AT&T wants to keep a piece of the pie and probably they prefer to sell to a third party publisher because it means more platforms to collect form. And also Sony spending so much in acquisitions while launching a next generation console could be too risky.

So you want to make more games available to less people, just because?

How would you feel if it was MIcrosoft that bought WB? Should be good according to your plan. Right?

Or maybe they should stay 3rd party multiplat which is what they excel at.

 

[PresetError]

PS will aim to space out releases, putting out 2-3 major 1st party games per year. Granted, that will fall apart as games fall behind in production, but in an ideal world that is how Sony would like to operate. They are all about cashing in on major AAA grade titles, since it is there the margins are the strongest (hence why they moved away from in-house indie initiatives after PS3).

Xbox is all about GaaS. They likely won’t be releasing as many games but will be supporting most of them over a longer period. I wouldn’t be stunned to see them have a tight rotation of SP title studios, limited in number (Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Playground, The Initiative, etc.) but they need to stick to their identity of offering co-op centric, MP experiences. It’s what gave them an identity in this space and what they should be patterning their games after.

You are referencing statements made by Shawn Layden before he was let go as CEO of SIE Worldwide Studios. Nobody knows exactly why but it seems pretty obvious there were disagreements inside Sony with his strategy of less games but bigger.

Also, the main focus of the PS5 design seems to be reducing development time and making it easier and faster to develop for. And on top of it if you look at the titles that were presented back in june there were a lot of smaller games. Seems to me the strategy with Jim Ryan has changed quite a bit, for better or worse.

 

[PresetError]

So you want to make more games available to less people, just because?

How would you feel if it was MIcrosoft that bought WB? Should be good according to your plan. Right?

Or maybe they should stay 3rd party multiplat which is what they excel at.

I think those studios would benefit immensely from the Sony backing in terms of producing great quality games with less bullshit in them.

Also, I've never been against exclusivity deals in the console space but Sony seem to be opening up to releasing their games on PC as demonsrated with MLB The Show, Death Stranding and Horizon Zero Dawn.

If Microsoft acquired Warner Bros gaming studios I would say well done and hope they also came out on PC.

 

[Stilton Disco]

Somy will obviously keep doing what they're doing currently that's led them to be the 'winner' 3/4 generations. The subscription services are nice extra earners but they could all fail tomorrow and it would barely effect them

MS meanwhile are still throwing as much shit at the wall as they can in the hope it will stick, so I expect part of the reason they bought so many studios was to get as much content out there as they can in the hopes something will end up being the next big thing, which also plays into providing content for Gamepass and Xcloud, which they seem to have bet heavily on to change their fortunes.

Whether that gamble pays off or just results in a load of average quality shovelware remains to be seen.

Not that I don't expect any AAA blockbusters from MS mind. The odds of them not trying to copy Sony and Nintendo's approach is very unlikely. Like I said, they're clearly trying everything they can right now.

 

[Kagey K]

I think those studios would benefit immensely from the Sony backing in terms of producing great quality games with less bullshit in them.

Also, I've never been against exclusivity deals in the console space but Sony seem to be opening up to releasing their games on PC as demonsrated with MLB The Show, Death Stranding and Horizon Zero Dawn.

If Microsoft acquired Warner Bros gaming studios I would say well done and hope they also came out on PC.

Bookmarked. For future reference.

 

[Xplainin]

PlayStation is not going gamepass route.

Gamepass will work only if you have backwards compatible consoles with extensive library from all generations.

Since PlayStation has said they believe in generations, by extension it means, you will get PS4 backward compatibility due to similar architecture. But no further than that. Which means if they launch gamepass like service, they won't have expansive libraries of legacy consoles. Which would be important for gamepass like service.

They already have one, albeit not as good as Game Pass.
Sony might be behind MS with rolling it out, but they have their toes in the water well and truly.
Game Pass only has just over 100 games in it, do Sony could well and truly match that with its PS4 catalogue.
With Sony also starting to release games on PC, the opportunities for them to have a full GP competitor is on the rise.
And for the record there is no way MS is doing Game Pass to lose money. They know what it costs them, and how to make money from it.
If MS grows Game Pass to 20 million over both console and PC, they will be pulling in 200 million every month. Thats 2.4 Billion a year.
Those are serious numbers.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

What makes you think Xbox aren't going to match Sony first party output next gen and gamepass?

 

[PresetError]

They already have one, albeit not as good as Game Pass.
Sony might be behind MS with rolling it out, but they have their toes in the water well and truly.
Game Pass only has just over 100 games in it, do Sony could well and truly match that with its PS4 catalogue.
With Sony also starting to release games on PC, the opportunities for them to have a full GP competitor is on the rise.
And for the record there is no way MS is doing Game Pass to lose money. They know what it costs them, and how to make money from it.
If MS grows Game Pass to 20 million over both console and PC, they will be pulling in 200 million every month. Thats 2.4 Billion a year.
Those are serious numbers.

But do people really pay for Game Pass? In my country they have been giving it for free or almost for free since forever.

 

[ZywyPL]

I think Sony will rely on buying 3rd party timed exclusivity until their 1st party studios are ready to release their big titles, which take 5-7 years to make, whereas MS will want to release smaller games but more frequently, as soon as the generation starts, to support GP.

 

[Kagey K]

But do people really pay for Game Pass? In my country they have been giving it for free or almost for free since forever.

Even if 10 million people tried it for 1.00 that’s 10 million in one month.

They are paying for it and MS is reaping some money, even if people want to pretend it’s free.

 

[Optimistic Gamer]

Wasn't there a statement/leak/rumor that Microsoft would target to release an AAA title every 2 or 3 months? I seem to remember something like that. Given the amount of studios they bought, this might be feasible.

 

[ZehDon]

I suspect PlayStation will continue its trend of pushing Cinematic Third Person games as their big heavy hitters, and load up on smaller indie titles for timed or paid exclusivity to ensure there's at least variation in content. These will be the draw cards for the hardware platform, and they'll likely be kept OFF their streaming services initially.

However, Microsoft are changing the game - they can't compete directly with Sony in the usual arena, so they're wisely changing the rules. Gamepass really is the Netflix of video games, and as the library grows, and consumer confidence in the service with it. Their first party titles are promise to get you into the service, and then the third party content will keep you there. We've already seen Devs praising the bump in Sales it provides, and provides a LOT of value. Xbox hardware is now basically a gaming PC for people who can't be bothered with gaming PCs, whereas Xbox games are available on Microsoft platforms - be it Xbox or Windows. There's real merit in that approach, I think, and I think it'll work out very well for Microsoft. They don't care how you consume their product, so long as you're consuming.

Microsoft are at 10 million users, and with the Series X and Series S to come, that'll grow quickly as they continue to push it hard. I think Sony'll eventually be forced to start putting their first party stuff directly onto their own PSNow service, because their customers will want their own Gamepass equivalent as Microsoft's service continues.

 

[Xplainin]

But do people really pay for Game Pass? In my country they have been giving it for free or almost for free since forever.

Same thing happened with Netflix. They are banking on once you get it, download all the games you like, the only real option is to keep paying for it.
I mean, its only $10 a month. It has all of MSs first party games, and some real quality third party games like Red Dead even.
Now I personally dont have it because I would rather own each game I like outright. But I can see the value for sure.
Also, Sony arnt stupid. If Game Pass takes off, and in some way helps the XSX take some sales away from PS5, Sony wont just sit back.

If Sony did PS Now hardcore, and released all their games on PC, the potential to earn some massive coin is real.
And before you say it just cant happen, I saw Sega release all their top games onto PlayStation. Something I could just never think of.

 

[Xplainin]

I suspect PlayStation will continue its trend of pushing Cinematic Third Person games as their big heavy hitters, and load up on smaller indie titles for timed or paid exclusivity to ensure there's at least variation in content. These will be the draw cards for the hardware platform, and they'll likely be kept OFF their streaming services initially.

However, Microsoft are changing the game - they can't compete directly with Sony in the usual arena, so they're wisely changing the rules. Gamepass really is the Netflix of video games, and as the library grows, and consumer confidence in the service with it. Their first party titles are promise to get you into the service, and then the third party content will keep you there. We've already seen Devs praising the bump in Sales it provides, and provides a LOT of value. Xbox hardware is now basically a gaming PC for people who can't be bothered with gaming PCs, whereas Xbox games are available on Microsoft platforms - be it Xbox or Windows. There's real merit in that approach, I think, and I think it'll work out very well for Microsoft. They don't care how you consume their product, so long as you're consuming.

Microsoft are at 10 million users, and with the Series X and Series S to come, that'll grow quickly as they continue to push it hard. I think Sony'll eventually be forced to start putting their first party stuff directly onto their own PSNow service, because their customers will want their own Gamepass equivalent as Microsoft's service continues.

PlayStation is also more controlled by Sony USA than Sony Japan nowadays, and the streaming industry in the US is massive compared to Japan, so I expect Sony USA to be more on the ball with streaming.

 

[ZehDon]

PlayStation is also more controlled by Sony USA than Sony Japan nowadays, and the streaming industry in the US is massive compared to Japan, so I expect Sony USA to be more on the ball with streaming.

That's certainly a possibility. But, I think it comes down to: Sony wants their games to be "special", and they look down their nose at what Microsoft's doing. I think they'll resist streaming in the same way that major movie studios resisted Netflix... until Netflix ate their lunch and transformed the way people wanted to consume their media.

 

[12Dannu123]

That's certainly a possibility. But, I think it comes down to: Sony wants their games to be "special", and they look down their nose at what Microsoft's doing. I think they'll resist streaming in the same way that major movie studios resisted Netflix... until Netflix ate their lunch and transformed the way people wanted to consume their media.

Sony still doesn't have its own service for Netflix, so I doubt that Sony will want to go down the Netflix route with games.

 

[ZehDon]

Sony still doesn't have its own service for Netflix, so I doubt that Sony will want to go down the Netflix route with games.

They won't - until the customers force them to. Just like the big players avoided movie streaming until they couldn't ignore that Netflix had turned into an 800 pound gorilla. Now everyone wants their own streaming service.

 

[ZywyPL]

That's certainly a possibility. But, I think it comes down to: Sony wants their games to be "special", and they look down their nose at what Microsoft's doing. I think they'll resist streaming in the same way that major movie studios resisted Netflix... until Netflix ate their lunch and transformed the way people wanted to consume their media.

Yeah, at the end of the day it's the end consumers who dictate the market trends, for example, people wanted at least 5" smartphones and even Apple had to join the party after forcing tiny 3.5-4" iPhones for so many years So if the consumers decide they don't want to be tied to a specific hardware but be able to play games on basically everything that has a display, the companies won't have a choice but to offer it to them.

Sony still doesn't have its own service for Netflix, so I doubt that Sony will want to go down the Netflix route with games.

They did partner with MS about a year ago tho to prepare for cloud-based gaming future. They know it's coming and is inevitable, they will obviously want to stretch current gaming model for as long as possible, but nevertheless, they need to start taking actions now, because it's not something that can be done overnight, we saw so many companies failed hard on delivering cloud gaming services, even such a giant like Google recently, so Sony is learning from other's mistakes and takes their time to make it right.

 

[Psykodad]

Sony will release less high profile AAA singleplayer games and put more focus on multiplayer games, which would also release on PC depending on the title.
Either Shawn Layden or Jim Ryan already said it.

Think that would be their best strategy going forward, as well as expanding the VR-support with the more powerful PS5 hardware (compared to PS4).

MS will probably do something similar, but focused more on GamePass and GaaS.

 

[FacelessSamurai]

They already have one, albeit not as good as Game Pass.
Sony might be behind MS with rolling it out, but they have their toes in the water well and truly.
Game Pass only has just over 100 games in it, do Sony could well and truly match that with its PS4 catalogue.
With Sony also starting to release games on PC, the opportunities for them to have a full GP competitor is on the rise.
And for the record there is no way MS is doing Game Pass to lose money. They know what it costs them, and how to make money from it.
If MS grows Game Pass to 20 million over both console and PC, they will be pulling in 200 million every month. Thats 2.4 Billion a year.
Those are serious numbers.

Game Pass on PC has more than 100 games in it, Game Pass on Xbox has more than 250 games in it (counting BC titles). MS just markets it as 100+ games but there are a lot more than that.

As for the thread, I somehow doubt we will see any major acquisitions this upcoming gen. I think both are where they need to be right now in terms of studios and Sony seems content just writing checks trying to steal games and make them timed exclusive to bolster their lineup. MS has been supporting Game Pass well with their first party offerings and keeping people in their service so once games start getting announced this month at their July event I think that’ll just solidify people’s subscription in the service and most likely interest more people. Once Halo and the big Obsodian stuff starts hitting Gamepass I think subscription numbers will explose past that 10 million number Phil gave a few weeks ago.

 

[The Hamburglar]

Sony is going to carry on releasing games.

Xbox is going to keep tweeting about games.

 

[Bryank75]

They already have one, albeit not as good as Game Pass.
Sony might be behind MS with rolling it out, but they have their toes in the water well and truly.
Game Pass only has just over 100 games in it, do Sony could well and truly match that with its PS4 catalogue.
With Sony also starting to release games on PC, the opportunities for them to have a full GP competitor is on the rise.
And for the record there is no way MS is doing Game Pass to lose money. They know what it costs them, and how to make money from it.
If MS grows Game Pass to 20 million over both console and PC, they will be pulling in 200 million every month. Thats 2.4 Billion a year.
Those are serious numbers.

Peanuts, PlayStation (G&NS) has revenue of over 20 Billion every year....

How many subscription do you need for that?
What is the expense of running Game Pass?

 

[Vawn]

PlayStation is not going gamepass route.

Gamepass will work only if you have backwards compatible consoles with extensive library from all generations.

They could if they wanted. PS Now on PS4 already has PS2 games which you can download and play directly on PS4. PS3 is different, as you can only stream it (of course, that's an option too and streaming works very good on PS Now). But PS1, PS2, PS4 and PS5 all can easily be playable on PS5 if Sony wants to go this route.

I still hope they don't, but who knows what will happen in the future.

 

[Aion002]

Easy.

Just take a look at 2013 and 2020: Sony will keep pushing a strong lineup of exclusives, while MS will keep hyping things up and selling services.

Phil will travel many more times to Japan and other places promissing exclusives.... While releasing games like Bleeding Edge (GAAS), smaller games like Hellblade and the triple AAA Xbox trifecta Gears, Halo and Forza.

Xbox fans will be happy and PS fans will be happy... Nothing will change.... Probably.

 

[Rolla]

Sony is going to carry on releasing games.

Xbox is going to keep tweeting about games.

Easy.

Just take a look at 2013 and 2020: Sony will keep pushing a strong lineup of exclusives, while MS will keep hyping things up and selling services.

Phil will travel many more times to Japan and other places promissing exclusives.... While releasing games like Bleeding Edge (GAAS), smaller games like Hellblade and the triple AAA Xbox trifecta Gears, Halo and Forza.

Xbox fans will be happy and PS fans will be happy... Nothing will change.... Probably.

This shit made me laugh out loud.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

They could if they wanted. PS Now on PS4 already has PS2 games which you can download and play directly on PS4. PS3 is different, as you can only stream it (of course, that's an option too and streaming works very good on PS Now). But PS1, PS2, PS4 and PS5 all can easily be playable on PS5 if Sony wants to go this route.

I still hope they don't, but who knows what will happen in the future.

They could do it.

But what is plan currently?

Of course it can change. There is nothing that stops ps5 from playing every game ever released on a sony console.

But their clear message is "we believe in generations". While ms is like "no more generations. We will compete with Google Stadia (lol)/ Amazon to give best service".

MS has understood well that streaming is not a service people are interested in. So gamepass.

 

[Birdo]

Exclusive content is now king

Not really. Of the top 20 selling games last year. Only one was a console exclusive game. And it was down near the bottom.

 

[Vawn]

MS has understood well that streaming is not a service people are interested in. So gamepass.

What? Xbox is heavily investing in streaming as the future of Xbox. Looks like streaming and streaming will be linked together similar to how PS Now is, now that you can either stream or download PS Now games.

 

[MisterBrimstone]

Long term? Well for Microsoft it's Halo Infinite.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

Sony is laying down the groundwork for the next gaming revolution; VR

Microsoft are laying down the groundwork to be the next netflix

 

[Xplainin]

Not really. Of the top 20 selling games last year. Only one was a console exclusive game. And it was down near the bottom.

It's king for subscription services.

 

[REE Machine]

Sony will focus on sequels to successful franchises while i also wouldnt be surprised at some third party money hats as filler until the big hitters start flooding out, and tech thats smart as hell.