Requirement to use internal tools blamed for the state of Halo and Fable's delays

[KiryuRealty]

Not really, they basically forced devs to migrate legacy projects on OpenGL to Metal, its a proprietary to Apple, so another thing to support.
But when that's in place you have access to a lower level API and all the good things that brings.

Most devs find Metal to be far less painful to work with than OpenGL and it provides great performance results.

Take a look at the dev blog for Dolphin, and check out AetherSX2 and the Mac port of PCSX3 and you’ll see some pretty impressive stuff.

An M1 Mac can run those emulators at 4k internal resolution on much lower specs than a PC can, and according to the Dolphin devs, porting to Metal just took a few days to have a better version than what they were producing before.

 

[ethomaz]

I thought the tools came?

They come but didn’t changed the situation so people are trying to find new tools.

Some expected that tools updated to bring better performance across PS5 but forget that PS5’s tools are being updated too.

Overall the delta continue the same as launch.

 

[ethomaz]

No, I'm not an Xbox gamer for the last time!

And I’m not a PlayStation fan either lol

 

[peter42O]

The ones out of that list I'm most interested in are Starfield & Forza but if some speculation is true and going by @Yurinka 's insights on the dev process, both of those games are probably not hitting the H1 2023 release window. I think it's weird no new trailers or release dates more specific weren't put up at the TGAs, and we're supposed to believe MS have some secret event for end-of-year? Why wouldn't they show at the TGAs, where way more people are actually paying attention?

Nah, I think both games are probably getting delayed until H2 2023, if they need the extra time so be it. But I really don't care about the others listed there though. IMO MS's bigger problem is whether those games are good or not, most of them just don't have selling power. Or if they do, MS will probably not do much to actually sell them. And by that I mean really get people as a whole treating them like a big deal; MS just generally suck at marketing & messaging for their games and lump everything into GamePass but that actually hurts the individual appeal of games.

Sony has Spiderman 2 coming, Nintendo BOTW2. Just those two games alone have the power to drown out everything MS has coming next year, never mind all the big 3P releases that where some may be multiplat, but if so Sony have the marketing rights (that MS could've outbid them on if they cared when it mattered, btw) and we already know how 3P sales tend to swing between PS and Xbox.

I don't know why they were a no-show but im certain that it was already determined weeks ago to not have a presence. I do believe that they should have shown Redfall there with a release date but they obviously didn't. I would love a small 30 or so minute Inside Xbox Showcase or whatever in mid-late January because they could showcase updates with their day one Game Pass deals like maybe Stalker 2 or Darktide or Flintlock among others. I'm of the belief that Starfield is November 2023. I have always said that they will give the game the full year delay treatment which in my opinion is a better decision than the first half of 2023. Give Bethesda extra time to ensure the game is up to snuff, has a 60fps performance mode and that it will be worthy of a 90+ overall rating by critics. Not only that but if Avowed and/or Hellblade 2 aren't ready for Fall/Holiday 2023, then no reason to have an empty gap for the this time period. I believe that Avowed and Hellblade 2 are 2024 so Starfield being November 2023 makes the most sense. As for Forza Motorsport, I can see that being Spring 2023 like May or September 2023 at the latest.

I'm not into the other games either but as an Xbox fan, im more interested in what they're giving me day one on Game Pass especially when compared to Sony's strategy of timed console exclusives which while great for filling out the gaps like Final Fantasy XVI, that doesn't do anything for me because im still buying the game for $70 even if it wasn't a timed console exclusive. Thus far, I already have two day one games in Game Pass that im pretty excited for - Monster Hunter Rise and Atomic Heart. These games are $40 (digital only) and $70 respectively. Yeah, you PlayStation guys can have these games and whatever other third party multi-platform games day one if it means I get them in Game Pass. The timed exclusivity is of no benefit to me. If it's a fully funded exclusive like Rise of the Ronin or Contraband, then awesome. But third party timed console exclusive games do nothing for me in regards to seeing them as a benefit but Game Pass day one is a huge benefit for me personally because im getting something that's actually worth a damn.

I agree completely in regards to their marketing/advertising and messaging because it's usually pretty bad. I get the selling power argument but at the same time, that's not Microsoft's focus. If you still want to buy Starfield for example, then the option is there to do so but it's all about Game Pass for them and building up the subscription to where it's consistently worth staying subscribed. Those other games aren't for me but I probably will give Ghostwire Tokyo a shot because im a fan of Tango Gameworks and Mikami took over the game after Ikumi Nakamura left. But if there was no Game Pass, I would never play this game because im not interested in it enough for it to warrant a purchase from me. This is where all those other games come into play. Microsoft knows that the vast majority of gamers are not buying Ara or AOE but in a subscription, these same people may be more interested in trying them to see what they're about.

For Microsoft, their player counts and whatnot are far more important to them than game sales which even during Xbox 360 were minimal outside of the big three. And were even less so during the Xbox One generation. Microsoft knows it has a huge uphill battle to gain market share and all that stuff but going to head to head with the same business strategy as Sony is never ever going to work for them so their entire business strategy revolves around Game Pass which also leads them to making acquisitions because when you have a subscription service, you want to own as much content in it as possible as opposed to having to pay licensing fees and whatnot for content. This is their strategy and it's not changing nor do I want it to change. I don't want Microsoft to do the same as Sony. This is why I see Microsoft as being more competitive than ever because their business strategy and direction is not the same as Sony or Nintendo. All three are completely different which is great because that's how you get them all to strive to be better than before.

BOTW 2 and Spider Man 2 are going to be huge but unlike 2017 BOTW, I don't see the sequel having the impact of the first game and while im hyped for Spider Man 2, im not expecting anything in it to be revolutionary. With Starfield, I do believe that this is where Bethesda Game Studios gets back their RPG crown and releases a game that will be this generation's Skyrim.

I do agree that Microsoft should be more aggressive with marketing deals but I have already accepted the fact that these will be few and far between because even with the marketing for games outside of COD or GTA, the vast majority of gamers are going to buy them on PlayStation anyway so in a way, it's nothing more than a waste of money from Microsoft which could be put towards third party games going into Game Pass day one. The problem is that the vast majority of publishers are not going to accept day one Game Pass deals which is fine. Sony can have the marketing and a clause that prevents the game from going in Game Pass for a duration of time. As long as I get the game (like Crisis Core) that I want to play on Xbox, im happy. Microsoft can eliminate their timed exclusivity completely if it means im getting more games in Game Pass day one because this is actually beneficial to me as a consumer and gamer on Xbox.

We'll see how 2023 plays out. Obviously, the year hasn't even started yet and I already have two Game Pass games day one and excluding Final Fantasy XVI, I have no exclusives on either Xbox or PlayStation that has an actual release date. Hell, Nintendo has more exclusives on Switch with an actual release date for 2023 than both Xbox and PlayStation have combined. lol. It all is what it is.

 

[PropellerEar]

Most devs find Metal to be far less painful to work with than OpenGL and it provides great performance results.

Take a look at the dev blog for Dolphin, and check out AetherSX2 and the Mac port of PCSX3 and you’ll see some pretty impressive stuff.

An M1 Mac can run those emulators at 4k internal resolution on much lower specs than a PC can, and according to the Dolphin devs, porting to Metal just took a few days to have a better version than what they were producing before.

Yes, this is true.

Was commenting that changing graphics API isn't trivial, but ofcourse you will get much better results with a low level API like Metal.

Bit surprised they say the effort was as low as few days. I might look into their Dev blog.

 

[Kokoloko]

But like we both said, it's a matter of preference.


Just hate that some people here can't respect others that don't share the same opinion.

I admit, I dont always show respect and get assholey but its normally against someone being anti my game preference Or console or making a dig. But I mostly keep that for off this board. And I hate on plenty of things but understand people have their preferences. I also critique the platforms I prefer because I expect much more from them

As long as we don’t make it personal here, or make insults, I think its ok explaining why you like/hate a game/platform. Just don’t make it your life like some people do lol

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I don't know why they were a no-show but im certain that it was already determined weeks ago to not have a presence. I do believe that they should have shown Redfall there with a release date but they obviously didn't. I would love a small 30 or so minute Inside Xbox Showcase or whatever in mid-late January because they could showcase updates with their day one Game Pass deals like maybe Stalker 2 or Darktide or Flintlock among others. I'm of the belief that Starfield is November 2023. I have always said that they will give the game the full year delay treatment which in my opinion is a better decision than the first half of 2023. Give Bethesda extra time to ensure the game is up to snuff, has a 60fps performance mode and that it will be worthy of a 90+ overall rating by critics. Not only that but if Avowed and/or Hellblade 2 aren't ready for Fall/Holiday 2023, then no reason to have an empty gap for the this time period. I believe that Avowed and Hellblade 2 are 2024 so Starfield being November 2023 makes the most sense. As for Forza Motorsport, I can see that being Spring 2023 like May or September 2023 at the latest.

If for whatever reason MS decided to be a no-show at the TGAs this year, considering they delayed Starfield & RedFall earlier in the year and had no 1P releases outside of Pentiment & Grounded for the year, then that person (or those individuals) should probably have their roles reevaluated. Because it wasn't a good decision. MS have had something big for the TGAs three years in a row and yet all of the sudden they decide to pull out? Why? Makes no sense.

I agree that Starfield is a H2 2023 release at earliest, probably for Fall as you've said. I've pretty much resigned any thought of Avowed coming this year; where would it even fit in MS's release schedule without being eaten up by Starfield? Hellblade 2 I would give at best a 10% chance of coming 2023; it just seems it's not ready and was revealed WAY too early in hindsight.

I'm not into the other games either but as an Xbox fan, im more interested in what they're giving me day one on Game Pass especially when compared to Sony's strategy of timed console exclusives which while great for filling out the gaps like Final Fantasy XVI, that doesn't do anything for me because im still buying the game for $70 even if it wasn't a timed console exclusive. Thus far, I already have two day one games in Game Pass that im pretty excited for - Monster Hunter Rise and Atomic Heart. These games are $40 (digital only) and $70 respectively. Yeah, you PlayStation guys can have these games and whatever other third party multi-platform games day one if it means I get them in Game Pass. The timed exclusivity is of no benefit to me. If it's a fully funded exclusive like Rise of the Ronin or Contraband, then awesome. But third party timed console exclusive games do nothing for me in regards to seeing them as a benefit but Game Pass day one is a huge benefit for me personally because im getting something that's actually worth a damn.

One thing you have to keep in mind though is part of the reason MS are even able to get those games in GP Day 1 is because PlayStation & Nintendo gamers purchased them (or will purchase them) in droves in the first place! So ironically, even if MS can pay up money for Day 1 releases in GP (which they've scaled back on a lot with bigger releases), the other thing they don't mention is that they'd have a lower chance getting those games Day 1 if the publishers weren't counting on gamers of other platforms to buy those games.

Something else with some timed console exclusives is that, at least with Sony, they actually do help with co-funding to some degree, or funding for marketing & promotion, or co-development in some ways. MS actually do this with some Day 1 GamePass games before they come to other platforms a few months later, so I don't really see why one is okay and the other isn't outside of the fact you have to pay money for the game itself as the customer in one example. Which ultimately, is just the traditional model that's always worked, and if it needs changes those can be done without having games lose their individuality by merging like a singular thing into a subscription service (where branding for the service supersedes brand identity & marketing of the games themselves).

I agree completely in regards to their marketing/advertising and messaging because it's usually pretty bad. I get the selling power argument but at the same time, that's not Microsoft's focus. If you still want to buy Starfield for example, then the option is there to do so but it's all about Game Pass for them and building up the subscription to where it's consistently worth staying subscribed. Those other games aren't for me but I probably will give Ghostwire Tokyo a shot because im a fan of Tango Gameworks and Mikami took over the game after Ikumi Nakamura left. But if there was no Game Pass, I would never play this game because im not interested in it enough for it to warrant a purchase from me. This is where all those other games come into play. Microsoft knows that the vast majority of gamers are not buying Ara or AOE but in a subscription, these same people may be more interested in trying them to see what they're about.

Pushing the service means nothing if people aren't made aware of or to care for specific games within the service, IMO. MS want to consolidate all marketing efforts to just the service because that's cheaper for them to do, but when dealing with games that have no fanbase cache, that doesn't work as well as they probably think it does.

Just look at High on Life's release; stealth drop, no marketing or hype or celebration leading up to launch. It gives the impression MS only views games as products off a factory line, and not individual works of artistry. Games can form a culture around them, but it requires investing in the marketing and branding of individual games. The service & platform should always be secondary IMO.

Look at the promotional rollout of Street Fighter VI, FF XVI, pretty much any of Sony's bigger games, etc. It would be nice for a change if Microsoft started regularly doing that with their big 1P games, and just let the games stand on their own. That would get more people interested in the service IMO since the games are there and, more importantly, it might convince more people to pay full-price for the service instead of taking advantage of so many deals that drive down the ARPU.

For Microsoft, their player counts and whatnot are far more important to them than game sales which even during Xbox 360 were minimal outside of the big three. And were even less so during the Xbox One generation. Microsoft knows it has a huge uphill battle to gain market share and all that stuff but going to head to head with the same business strategy as Sony is never ever going to work for them so their entire business strategy revolves around Game Pass which also leads them to making acquisitions because when you have a subscription service, you want to own as much content in it as possible as opposed to having to pay licensing fees and whatnot for content. This is their strategy and it's not changing nor do I want it to change. I don't want Microsoft to do the same as Sony. This is why I see Microsoft as being more competitive than ever because their business strategy and direction is not the same as Sony or Nintendo. All three are completely different which is great because that's how you get them all to strive to be better than before.

Welp regulators might force MS to change that strategy anyway. Plus IMO, MS have enough internal teams to keep GP supplied with content for the long-term. They don't necessarily NEED ABK to suddenly make that happen, and I think the ABK acquisition is primarily to boost games revenue and get a foothold into mobile (and possibly get mobile devs as Azure clients over time). Xbox and GamePass are just beneficiaries of that, not the main reasons they're going for publishers like ABK.

BOTW 2 and Spider Man 2 are going to be huge but unlike 2017 BOTW, I don't see the sequel having the impact of the first game and while im hyped for Spider Man 2, im not expecting anything in it to be revolutionary. With Starfield, I do believe that this is where Bethesda Game Studios gets back their RPG crown and releases a game that will be this generation's Skyrim.

Big claims; personally I don't see it playing out that way. I'd never bet against Nintendo or Zelda, and Spiderman is literally the most popular fictional IP character in the world, with a sequel to two of the best Spiderman games ever made coming next year.

Starfield has to do a LOT in order to have the impact you're thinking it'll have next year. The environment for it is going to be much tougher for Starfield than it was for Skyrim back in 2011, because now open-world games in general are a dime a dozen in the AAA space. That wasn't really the case back when Fallout 3 or Skyrim released, or even in 2016 when Fallout 4 released.

You also realize that Bethesda getting back their RPG crown means they have to outdo not only Witcher 3, but also Elden Ring. And let's be honest, that's probably not going to happen.

I do agree that Microsoft should be more aggressive with marketing deals but I have already accepted the fact that these will be few and far between because even with the marketing for games outside of COD or GTA, the vast majority of gamers are going to buy them on PlayStation anyway so in a way, it's nothing more than a waste of money from Microsoft which could be put towards third party games going into Game Pass day one. The problem is that the vast majority of publishers are not going to accept day one Game Pass deals which is fine. Sony can have the marketing and a clause that prevents the game from going in Game Pass for a duration of time. As long as I get the game (like Crisis Core) that I want to play on Xbox, im happy. Microsoft can eliminate their timed exclusivity completely if it means im getting more games in Game Pass day one because this is actually beneficial to me as a consumer and gamer on Xbox.

We'll see how 2023 plays out. Obviously, the year hasn't even started yet and I already have two Game Pass games day one and excluding Final Fantasy XVI, I have no exclusives on either Xbox or PlayStation that has an actual release date. Hell, Nintendo has more exclusives on Switch with an actual release date for 2023 than both Xbox and PlayStation have combined. lol. It all is what it is.

Well it's been soft-confirmed Spiderman 2 is coming Fall 2023. We know Stellar Blade is coming 2023 as well. I agree something like FF VII Remake Part 2 is more up in the air and likely to slip into 2024. Forespoken's coming next month though, so that aught to count just in general.

 

[KiryuRealty]

Yes, this is true.

Was commenting that changing graphics API isn't trivial, but ofcourse you will get much better results with a low level API like Metal.

Bit surprised they say the effort was as low as few days. I might look into their Dev blog.

It was a very interesting read.

Metal is not too different from OpenGL, but it is more modern and a lot more streamlined, so the transition is honestly almost trivial.

The really interesting part is just how well-engineered the Apple Silicon chips are, and how efficient they are. I can run AetherSX2 playing a game at 4k internal rendering at 60fps on my laptop, which is fairly low-end, and the fans don’t even kick on.

 

[Deleted member 51]

And I’m not a PlayStation fan either lol

Like i said, my last Xbox was a 360. How am I a fan of something I skipped 2 generations, or over a decade of Xbox hardware? Does that even make sense to you? That's like you saying you are a PlayStation fan, but haven't owned one since the very first ps3OG model. Would that make any sense either @ethomaz ?

 

[thelastword]

Remember when the MS shills at DF said that the tools is what was keeping XBOX back. MS created Windows, Direct X, Office, the only publisher to have an AAAA dev in the Initiative, they have the most powerful hardware with Direct ML, Direct Storage, VRR, VRS, Hardware raytracing, a 12 TF monster eater with no variable clocks and Full RDNA 2 features, yet some basic tools is shoryukenning them all over the room....Mystic stuff tbh...

 

[KiryuRealty]

Remember when the MS shills at DF said that the tools is what was keeping XBOX back. MS created Windows, Direct X, Office, the only publisher to have an AAAA dev in the Initiative, they have the most powerful hardware with Direct ML, Direct Storage, VRR, VRS, Hardware raytracing, a 12 TF monster eater with no variable clocks and Full RDNA 2 features, yet some basic tools shoryukenning them all over the room....Mystic stuff tbh...

I loved the idiocy of the shills and fanboys who seemed to think Sony never updates or improves their toolchain, and MS would surpass them, never to be caught up with again!

It really is funny how much of MS' marketing revolves around what they say is coming later, which will TOTALLY destroy what the competition will actually sell you today. Seems to fool a lot of people, considering how often you see Xbox fans saying they bought their system for a game stuck in development hell that may not ever come out, and may just suck if it does.

 

[ethomaz]

Like i said, my last Xbox was a 360. How am I a fan of something I skipped 2 generations, or over a decade of Xbox hardware? Does that even make sense to you? That's like you saying you are a PlayStation fan, but haven't owned one since the very first ps3OG model. Would that make any sense either @ethomaz ?




View attachment 153

Yes… it makes all sense including all your defense control over Xbox and Microsoft

Because if you don’t even own their product then your posts are well let’s end here…

I should not be PlayStation fan without buying PlayStation.

 

[Dr Bass]

And I’m not a PlayStation fan either lol

DT has always clearly been a PC guy.

 

[KiryuRealty]

DT has always clearly been a MS shill.

There. That's more accurate.

 

[Dr Bass]

There. That's more accurate.

what is wrong with you guys lol. Some of the PS only guys around here aren't acting any better than they are accusing others of being.

 

[ethomaz]

what is wrong with you guys lol. Some of the PS only guys around here aren't acting any better than they are accusing others of being.

I’m a PlayStation fan and have no issue with that… his posts are like mine instead for Xbox… so why you want us to believe he is a PC guy when he clearly is a Xbox fan even if have not owned any Xbox console.

For the benefice of being wrong I checked his post history in GAF and he is definitely a MS/Xbox fan.

What exactly is wrong to be what he is?

 

[KiryuRealty]

what is wrong with you guys lol. Some of the PS only guys around here aren't acting any better than they are accusing others of being.

You haven't been around for the last few days, have you?

 

[Dr Bass]

I’m a PlayStation fan and have no issue with that… his posts are like mine instead for Xbox… so why you want us to believe he is a PC guy when he clearly is a Xbox fan even if have not owned any Xbox console.

For the benefice of being wrong I checked his post history in GAF and he is definitely a MS/Xbox fan.

What exactly is wrong to be what he is?

Because I don't think he is an "Xbox fan." If you engaged with the dude outside of fighting with him, it's pretty obvious he plays on PC and only really cares about PC. He can talk about stuff he doesn't own if he wants to voice an opinion on it. Yeah there is some relation there since MS owns Windows and Xbox, but I've never seen him care about Xbox at all. He likes PCs. It's really, really simple.

You haven't been around for the last few days, have you?

Well I don't live on the board, but I have read through this thread. And I don't think DT is an MS Shill, just because he doesn't really like Playstation and prefers PC. Wouldn't that make a bunch of people here "Sony shills?" It's just a dumb way of thinking that it's "us vs them" no matter how you're breaking down the factions.

I have made no secret that I think The Xbox only fandom is by far the most ridiculous one out there, but some Sony guys that act like it's "just Sony and everything else is garbage," give them a run for their money.

So no, I don't really think DT should have stirred things up with the "circle jerk" comment, but it was in response to this board being fairly Sony focused and dog piling on Xbox. Which is why I came in and said, well ... what is the alternative right now? Microsoft is sucking at what they are supposed to be doing. So what is there to talk about in the industry? Anyway, I just think if you're like "Sony is the only good place to play games!" then you go around calling someone an "MS shill," or anything similar, it's a bit funny.

 

[peter42O]

If for whatever reason MS decided to be a no-show at the TGAs this year, considering they delayed Starfield & RedFall earlier in the year and had no 1P releases outside of Pentiment & Grounded for the year, then that person (or those individuals) should probably have their roles reevaluated. Because it wasn't a good decision. MS have had something big for the TGAs three years in a row and yet all of the sudden they decide to pull out? Why? Makes no sense.

I agree that Starfield is a H2 2023 release at earliest, probably for Fall as you've said. I've pretty much resigned any thought of Avowed coming this year; where would it even fit in MS's release schedule without being eaten up by Starfield? Hellblade 2 I would give at best a 10% chance of coming 2023; it just seems it's not ready and was revealed WAY too early in hindsight.

I agree completely in regards to no showing TGA but at the same time, none of us can do anything about it. I was disappointed but at the same time, im willing to wait (which im used to anyway, lol) through January and see if they have an actual showcase or at the very least, just announce the release date for Redfall with a trailer which to be honest, is all I really need for the first half of 2023 from Microsoft. I'm hoping and believe that Starfield is November. One game for the first half and one game for second half will satisfy me.

As for Hellblade 2, I don't believe that it was revealed early because it was before Covid and due to that, Ninja Theory couldn't do any motion capture or really anything major so I can't get mad at them for showing it early especially since it was along side the Series X reveal. I believe that it's a November 2024 release. I see Avowed being Spring 2024. Contraband maybe early or summer 2024. Slim chance of 2023 but I'll play it safe and go with 2024.

One thing you have to keep in mind though is part of the reason MS are even able to get those games in GP Day 1 is because PlayStation & Nintendo gamers purchased them (or will purchase them) in droves in the first place! So ironically, even if MS can pay up money for Day 1 releases in GP (which they've scaled back on a lot with bigger releases), the other thing they don't mention is that they'd have a lower chance getting those games Day 1 if the publishers weren't counting on gamers of other platforms to buy those games.

Something else with some timed console exclusives is that, at least with Sony, they actually do help with co-funding to some degree, or funding for marketing & promotion, or co-development in some ways. MS actually do this with some Day 1 GamePass games before they come to other platforms a few months later, so I don't really see why one is okay and the other isn't outside of the fact you have to pay money for the game itself as the customer in one example. Which ultimately, is just the traditional model that's always worked, and if it needs changes those can be done without having games lose their individuality by merging like a singular thing into a subscription service (where branding for the service supersedes brand identity & marketing of the games themselves).

I agree. It's just that I don't expect third party AAA titles in Game Pass day one so whenever I do get one, it's an added bonus. They do give me a good amount of AA titles which is great because a lot of them, I probably wouldn't buy especially if they're $50+. Just nah.

The traditional business model is great and all as an option but in 2022, it simply shouldn't be the only option and for Microsoft especially, that business model hasn't worked for a long time and I want them to be competitive and going with a subscription based model is what's going to help them accomplish that. When I see so many people against Microsoft's business model, it just makes me believe that these people truly don't want Microsoft to compete and just want to see them "hang around" and that's it.

Pushing the service means nothing if people aren't made aware of or to care for specific games within the service, IMO. MS want to consolidate all marketing efforts to just the service because that's cheaper for them to do, but when dealing with games that have no fanbase cache, that doesn't work as well as they probably think it does.

Just look at High on Life's release; stealth drop, no marketing or hype or celebration leading up to launch. It gives the impression MS only views games as products off a factory line, and not individual works of artistry. Games can form a culture around them, but it requires investing in the marketing and branding of individual games. The service & platform should always be secondary IMO.

Look at the promotional rollout of Street Fighter VI, FF XVI, pretty much any of Sony's bigger games, etc. It would be nice for a change if Microsoft started regularly doing that with their big 1P games, and just let the games stand on their own. That would get more people interested in the service IMO since the games are there and, more importantly, it might convince more people to pay full-price for the service instead of taking advantage of so many deals that drive down the ARPU.

High on Life wasn't a stealth drop. It was announced for December 13th months ago and they've been advertising it on social media almost daily for weeks. Microsoft advertised the shit out of Persona 5 which to be honest, is far more valuable to Microsoft, Xbox and Game Pass than what High on Life is or will be. They also advertised Requiem pretty well too. Not every game is going to get the same amount of advertising and marketing. Some simply aren't worth as much as others. It's that simple. I disagree in regards to the service and platform being secondary because while games are great and all that, none of them are forever but a platform and eco-system can be especially if it has a successful subscription service that drives consumers to it.

Microsoft will market and advertise their first party games but what's the point in doing it months in advance when they're not 100% certain of when they're releasing? Not to mention the fact that they obviously didn't really have anything "big" for 2022 in the first place.

As for pushing the service meaning nothing, when people sign up to a subscription service, they're going to scroll through what the service has to offer. This is where every game gets highlighted. It's the same as Netflix or Disney or any other subscription service. You sign up and the first thing that the vast majority do is browse through the catalog of available content.

Welp regulators might force MS to change that strategy anyway. Plus IMO, MS have enough internal teams to keep GP supplied with content for the long-term. They don't necessarily NEED ABK to suddenly make that happen, and I think the ABK acquisition is primarily to boost games revenue and get a foothold into mobile (and possibly get mobile devs as Azure clients over time). Xbox and GamePass are just beneficiaries of that, not the main reasons they're going for publishers like ABK.

ABK is first and foremost to break into the mobile market because how else would they do it? Having King along with Diablo Immortal and COD mobile game is going to be huge for them as they want to grow and expand as opposed to just staying with the plastic box that so many can't seem to let go of as if it's the only thing out there when it's not. Needing and wanting are two very different things. Does Microsoft need AB? No. Does Microsoft need King? Yes. Because they're not going to break into the mobile market without them. They're just not. Just like they're never going to sell 100m+ consoles or billions of copies of their games. They just aren't. And because of that, they need to do other things in order to be successful.

Big claims; personally I don't see it playing out that way. I'd never bet against Nintendo or Zelda, and Spiderman is literally the most popular fictional IP character in the world, with a sequel to two of the best Spiderman games ever made coming next year.

Starfield has to do a LOT in order to have the impact you're thinking it'll have next year. The environment for it is going to be much tougher for Starfield than it was for Skyrim back in 2011, because now open-world games in general are a dime a dozen in the AAA space. That wasn't really the case back when Fallout 3 or Skyrim released, or even in 2016 when Fallout 4 released.

You also realize that Bethesda getting back their RPG crown means they have to outdo not only Witcher 3, but also Elden Ring. And let's be honest, that's probably not going to happen.

Spider Man is massive and all that but is it going to win hundreds of GOTY awards? Nope. Not even close. It will win 20 or so and be largely forgotten if the template and formula is exactly the same as 2018 and Miles which let's be honest, is exactly what im expecting it to be. Zelda would be the closer one but like Elden Ring this year against a sequel in GOWR, majority will go with the new IP especially if Starfield ends up being like the first BOTW or Elden Ring where it's doing something different.

I agree that open world games are a dime a dozen but if Starfield has a "hook" like BOTW 2017 and Elden Ring had, then it's going to end up being a 95+ rated game and end up sweeping everything.

As for BGS getting back their RPG crown, Elden Ring won because it's similar to BOTW. Not much story or characters, clunky gameplay and combat but the freedom in regards to exploration and discovery like BOTW is what got the game the GOTY award. As for The Witcher 3 which was my PS4/XBO game of the generation, it's not that it does anything truly unique or original or innovative. It's just what it offers is simply far superior level than the vast majority of games released last generation and since then. Gorgeous open world, excellent music and sound, top tier voice acting, some great side quests but most of all, superb story, characters, writing, dialogue and performances. Combat and gameplay was the weakest aspect of the game but even then, it's still good to great depending on the individual. If Starfield can nail the story elements and everything associated with it while also giving you freedom of exploration and discovery, yeah, it's going to win. And im saying this as someone who's only played a few hours of Fallout 4 and has never ever given two shits about Bethesda Game Studios.

Well it's been soft-confirmed Spiderman 2 is coming Fall 2023. We know Stellar Blade is coming 2023 as well. I agree something like FF VII Remake Part 2 is more up in the air and likely to slip into 2024. Forespoken's coming next month though, so that aught to count just in general.

I do believe that Spider Man 2 will be September or November 2023. I can see Stellar Blade being a summer game. FFVIIR will definitely be 2024. I don't see Square Enix releasing both FFXVI and Rebirth in the same calendar year. Forspoken is out in like six weeks and yeah, I guess you could count it. Of course, I don't see it scoring higher than low to mid 70's because after playing the demo, I don't even know what Sony saw in the game to pay for it to be a timed exclusive and for two years no less. Personally, I believe that the game is going to bomb. Between MH Rise a few days earlier, Dead Space a few days later and Hogwarts Legacy two weeks later, I don't see Forspoken doing anything. I can already see SE coming out saying it failed to meet their expectations. lol

 

[Gods&Monsters]

DT has always clearly been a PC guy.

Yes but they always side with the Xbox fans so in the end they are the same.

All of them.