CyberPanda
Banned
Xbox is ‘shifting focus’ away from studio acquisitions | VGC
Next phase is “execution and delivery…
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Xbox is ‘shifting focus’ away from studio acquisitions
- Thread starter CyberPanda
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www.videogameschronicle.com
DunDunDunpachi
Patient MembeR
Makes sense, you can't keep up the appearance of building a long-term plan for the brand forever. 
I kid, but really, this is not something they should be admitting prior to their new console launch. I want them to tirelessly pursue new studios and stick with it for more than a year or two.
I kid, but really, this is not something they should be admitting prior to their new console launch. I want them to tirelessly pursue new studios and stick with it for more than a year or two.
DeltaPolarBear
Member
I mean, they are not lying. But they are also not saying anything we don't already know.
Obviously once you aquire all the studios, the next step is to actually make games with them. The HARD part.
I guess they are just trying to justify why they aren't buying new studios every season.
Obviously once you aquire all the studios, the next step is to actually make games with them. The HARD part.
I guess they are just trying to justify why they aren't buying new studios every season.
FranXico
Member
Arguably, their biggest acquisition is Obsidian
Slings and Arrows
Banned
Hmm.
Strange choice of words "more than we know what to do with", when their first party titles aren't really hitting any milestones or pushing boundaries in their respective fields. Lot's of cookie cutter, streaming focus, multiplayer games that seem generic.
On the other hand, MS are going from strength to strength and i don't know what they haven't announced. If they stick with giving me loads of games on gamepass to keep me entertained between Sony exclusives, then i'll be a happy gamer.
Carry on Microsoft, tread carefully though.
Strange choice of words "more than we know what to do with", when their first party titles aren't really hitting any milestones or pushing boundaries in their respective fields. Lot's of cookie cutter, streaming focus, multiplayer games that seem generic.
On the other hand, MS are going from strength to strength and i don't know what they haven't announced. If they stick with giving me loads of games on gamepass to keep me entertained between Sony exclusives, then i'll be a happy gamer.
Carry on Microsoft, tread carefully though.
GymWolf
Member
Obsidian is their best acqusition, followed by ninja theory.
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Grand Theft Scratchy
Banned
Their X019 game announcements weren't very interesting, in my opinion. I guess they're saving the good stuff for E3 next year.
CeeJay
Member
I dunno, I quite enjoyed the games although a long long way from perfect. I think that a new SOD game built from the ground up with good first party technical support could be really great. SOD2 had some nice ideas but was poorly executed.
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SantaC
Member
Rare
GymWolf
Member
I was talking about fresh blood.
Rare is a shadow of himself since the M acquisition.
Also i'm the only one who misread shifting with shitting for a split second?
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
So, which is it?
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The Cartographer
Member
What a mess.
Jigsaah
Gold Member
Bout fuckin time. I always said they need to slow down a bit. They have some really good ones and I don't wanna see them stretch too thin. Now hopefully focus can be more on bringing all these studios to their full potential and get some great games out of it.
Off-topic cuz I'm pissed:
FIX YOUR FUCKIN CONTROLLER.
Off-topic cuz I'm pissed:
FIX YOUR FUCKIN CONTROLLER.
Psykodad
Banned
Asian studios probably weren't interested.
Shifty
Member
I mean they bought a few already, seeing where that goes doesn't seem like a crazy idea.
Another one? That's two gaffers I've seen say that in as many days
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Jigsaah
Gold Member
Made a thread about it, like to hear it? Here it goAnother one? That's two gaffers I've seen say that in as many days
Xbox Elite 2 controller is having widespread issues
https://www.windowscentral.com/xbox-elite-controller-series-2-buyers-report-widespread-issues I knew this was gonna happen. Come on man why is this so hard? Exactly why I said I would wait a few months. Seems it didnt even take 1 month.
Grinchy
Banned
I guess I don't quite understand why people would want them to slow down on these acquisitions. It's not like they are going around and helping these teams from a creative standpoint. It's Microsoft lol. They are just sending money. They should buy another 10 studios and see what sticks.
Look at what happens when they buy a team and then get involved, like with Rare.
Look at what happens when they buy a team and then get involved, like with Rare.
Torrent of Pork
Banned
I can't speak for anybody else, but I don't want MS to overextend their reach vs the income coming from GP subs. Game studios cost a lot of money to both aquire and run. We all want MS, Sony, and Nintendo to be healthy, thriving companies that will keep each other on their toes. That's the only way consumers themselves get value.
Jigsaah
Gold Member
I'm sure they are doing more than just sending money. They did say they are staying of out the creative process though. Somehow I still believe this is a hefty task bringing studios who at times were on the brink of shutting down. Ninja Theory's is an amazing tale of how they came back with Senua's Sacrifice and as they began that wave Microsoft scooped em right up. Later on, they've been hiring tons of people. I wanna say at last count they about 200 people now....take that then multiply it buy what...15 studios? It's not like Sony where their studios are pretty much set and are churning out hit after hit. Microsoft has to do the due diligence just like Sony did last gen. It's paying off in spades now for Sony. Hopefully Microsoft can see similar success.
Grinchy
Banned
Sure, so for Sony or Nintendo, I'd be on board with caution. But this is Microsoft. Their gaming division never makes money. They're really the only ones who could afford to buy a ton of studios and see what comes of it.
It would be pretty fascinating to see. So, if you're a MS stockholder or board member or something, sure you want them to make smart business moves. But as a consumer of their products, I don't care about that shit. I wanna see them go balls to the wall. If it works, it's great. If it doesn't, they can fish through their couch cushions and find that billion dollars they lost.
CyberPanda
Banned
KyoZz
Tag, you're it.
Good, now focus on games. I think next gen there is gonna be a lot more fighting with Sony. PS5 already have a lot of thing probably coming like God of War II, Last of Us II, Horizon II, GT 6, Ghost of Tsushima etc... And they own some of the best studios out here.
For Microsoft everything is possible and they have a good card to play if the lineup for Scarlett is solid. And as a PC player I'm loving every choice they making so far. Gamepass is a great deal, releasing first party games on steam is awesome. But I need to see games at the next e3.
For Microsoft everything is possible and they have a good card to play if the lineup for Scarlett is solid. And as a PC player I'm loving every choice they making so far. Gamepass is a great deal, releasing first party games on steam is awesome. But I need to see games at the next e3.
Vasto
Member
They are not done yet and are going to focus on Asia.
You have 15 studios now. You've been on an impressive acquisition spree. Are you done now?
Phil Spencer: No!
I do think we can sometimes get a little infatuated with putting a bunch of studio logos on a slide and that becomes the news. They're not trading cards. They're studios. And we want them to build great games. I love the fact we're here announcing three new IP, two from our internal studios. As I look forward, there's not a show I can look at where we're not gonna be announcing new games, just because of the breadth of studios we have. It's not really some kind of PR battle about how many new acquisitions we can put on stage. Because if we're not building great games, the acquisitions don't matter.
But are we done? I don't think so.
What are you looking for?
Phil Spencer: I look at the geographic diversity of our studios. I love the fact we now have three studios here in the UK. You can go back decades... you could argue the UK is as strong as any country in terms of its impact on the history of video games. I love that we're here in such strength. Now we have studios in Canada, studios in other parts of the US. I think we have a hole in Asia. I've said that both to Matt and publicly. I would love to have more of an influence in our own first-party team from Asian creators. There's nothing that's imminent, so it's not a pre-announce of something. But if you just plotted where we are on the map with our first-party, that's a real opportunity for us.
I love the fact we can stand here and announce Yakuza and Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy coming. That's through third-party relationships, which take time. And we've been really focused on that. But I think we could have stronger first-party creation capability there. We have in the past and I think we should again.
www.eurogamer.net
You have 15 studios now. You've been on an impressive acquisition spree. Are you done now?
Phil Spencer: No!
I do think we can sometimes get a little infatuated with putting a bunch of studio logos on a slide and that becomes the news. They're not trading cards. They're studios. And we want them to build great games. I love the fact we're here announcing three new IP, two from our internal studios. As I look forward, there's not a show I can look at where we're not gonna be announcing new games, just because of the breadth of studios we have. It's not really some kind of PR battle about how many new acquisitions we can put on stage. Because if we're not building great games, the acquisitions don't matter.
But are we done? I don't think so.
What are you looking for?
Phil Spencer: I look at the geographic diversity of our studios. I love the fact we now have three studios here in the UK. You can go back decades... you could argue the UK is as strong as any country in terms of its impact on the history of video games. I love that we're here in such strength. Now we have studios in Canada, studios in other parts of the US. I think we have a hole in Asia. I've said that both to Matt and publicly. I would love to have more of an influence in our own first-party team from Asian creators. There's nothing that's imminent, so it's not a pre-announce of something. But if you just plotted where we are on the map with our first-party, that's a real opportunity for us.
I love the fact we can stand here and announce Yakuza and Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy coming. That's through third-party relationships, which take time. And we've been really focused on that. But I think we could have stronger first-party creation capability there. We have in the past and I think we should again.
The big XO19 interview: Xbox boss Phil Spencer on Game Pass, streaming and Project Scarlett
At Microsoft's big XO19 event in London yesterday, Xbox boss Phil Spencer told the gathered press all about Game Pass, …
www.eurogamer.net
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EDMIX
Member
Facts. I think that was a very, very smart choice as the team has a solid history of making great content. They put some AAA money behind them and they can move serious units. I'm open to buying anything they make.
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Bonfires Down
Member
You mean the IP where the first game sold 4,5 million and the sequel topped the NPD chart along with driving Game Pass subscriptions, on what I assume is a relatively low budget? I'm sure they'll drop that IP any day now.
Grinchy
Banned
Oh yeah, tons of people bought gamepass for State of Decay 2. I'm sure lmao.
Next you'll tell me all about how 34 million zombies were headshotted in the first 6 months or some bullshit Microsoft stat.
BusierDonkey
Member
I'm excited that they have both Obsidian and InXile, between the two they have the creators and people that worked on the original Fallout together under one roof again.
Microsoft needs to get these studios working together as much as they can, with staff moving around seeing what the others in the Xbox division are up to. If for instance one of the studios develops some new better way to stream in textures that eliminates pop-in, or figure out how to implement some form of ray-tracing that hogs less resources, every develloper in the Xbox umbrella needs to have that working in their games as fast as possible. Technology and access to those technologies should exist throughout the entire Xbox division with no secrets kept.
Microsoft needs to get these studios working together as much as they can, with staff moving around seeing what the others in the Xbox division are up to. If for instance one of the studios develops some new better way to stream in textures that eliminates pop-in, or figure out how to implement some form of ray-tracing that hogs less resources, every develloper in the Xbox umbrella needs to have that working in their games as fast as possible. Technology and access to those technologies should exist throughout the entire Xbox division with no secrets kept.
IncognitoPanda
Member
As far as renome, I would concur. Size/monetary, I would day Playground Games. Although they were already making Xbox exclusives, they have consistently made award winning AAA games, all the while winning awards being the best place to work. Looking forward to their new studio
Slings and Arrows
Banned
I still think lockhart will be a handheld and scarlett will be the home console.
Think similar to vita and ps4 remote play.
It would fit in to their portfolio for xcloud and streaming.
Think similar to vita and ps4 remote play.
It would fit in to their portfolio for xcloud and streaming.
Dr.brain64
Member
They have infinite money, they can shift focus to anything anytime they want...
jakinov
Member
Instead of buying they should form new ones. They should form a traditional AAA studio in LA, and Tokyo. The Initiative seems like a risky idea to deliberately stay small they should have another flagship studios in LA to poach good employees from all the other California studios. They should do the same for Tokyo. All the ones they bought so far aren't very impressive. They aren't consistent and haven't had that much success.
The Alien
Banned
The Initiative is in Santa Monica (close enough to LA) and they've been poaching top talent since they were announced. Not sure what you mean by 'small'. Their project is considered AAAA (yeah, that's for A's.....lol). A Japanese studio has been rumored for a bit, but honestly am fine with 3rd party agreements.
They just bought like 9 studios in the last 18 months. Not all the fruit of that labor has been plucked. I find Ninja Theory, Obsidian, Playground pretty impressive.
ResilientBanana
Member
You must be an insider. Please tell me more.
jakinov
Member
I know where the Intiative is, my point is that they should form a traditional studio there too instead of just their experimenting with the the Initiative. The studio/company is intentionally designed to be small in hopes that they will get them better results. Whether or not it works out, I don't know as I don't have a crystal ball, but people have been making games a certain way for a while and it's often with much larger teams and a certain structure. They've been poaching people but very small amounts of people from big companies and not necessarily the best. The "AAAA" is what they say because they assume/antipate they are going to create something great, it doesn't mean anything.
Ninja Theory games haven't really been all that successful and same with Obsidian; both have been "dropped" by publishers multiple times in the last whatever years. Playground games has already been making games almost exclusively for Xbox and they've only proved they are good at iterating at the same game. It's the equivalent of Sony buying that studio that makes the MLB games.
Mr Moose
Member
Have you been looking at the "SIMILAR THREADS" thing?
Nov 15, 2019
sublimit
Banned
driqe
Member
I don't like pirates
Banned
The Elder Scroll VI only on Xbox and PC is going to hurt.
They're probably going to keep buying more, but for now make sense to just concentrate in what they've got in hands. They have adquired a very good line up of studios. They just need to start making games. Some bad, some good, some excelent.
And that's how you start dominating.
They're probably going to keep buying more, but for now make sense to just concentrate in what they've got in hands. They have adquired a very good line up of studios. They just need to start making games. Some bad, some good, some excelent.
And that's how you start dominating.
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