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LoudMouse

Member
Nov 23, 2017
3,540
"There will always be single-player games with maybe 20 to 30 hours of gameplay, we love those kinds of games and there's a place for those, but it's also certainly the case with the focus on watching, streaming, broadcast and esports that it's really important to think about the longevity of a game," Booty explains.

"It's really difficult for anybody to think about making a large scale triple-A game these days without having in mind a content and service plan that goes one to two years into the future out of the gate."

"Games really have become much more social, much more mainstream, much more widespread. We know that the games industry is growing, and that's taking nothing away from what you call the 'single-player, narrative, cinematic game' but we see a lot of interest from our players in more community-driven ongoing franchises. I think that is in alignment with a lot of the trends we see in gaming overall."

"With games being as large as they are, with the move to games as an ongoing service...It is difficult to pivot quickly and try to chase after trends that might happen even on the scale of a year. In business terms a year can be a long time, but development time being three to four years these days, that's the span we need to think about."

"We've got to get our strategic long-term bets, our game development cycles and the things our players like to do in sync. And that will set us up for success".

https://issuu.com/newbayeurope/docs/mcv936_june
 

Kolx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,505
I don't like that. Not that I was expecting something different.
 

Papacheeks

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,620
Watertown, NY
Their strat is going to back fire big time. When you make games based on trends and not let the game be the game it usually fails, or die's quickly. Hope MS is on a path for letting developers make their games organically and not be a check mark on a spread sheet with MT's, twitch being a focus.
 

Katana_Strikes

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Oct 29, 2017
10,752
Well that doesn't sound promising to me for the game types I love vs the games MS have been putting out and indeed will hamper my engagement with the platform and any future ones if it continues.
 

Wrynnax

Member
Oct 29, 2017
126
Meanwhile...God of war, a single player AAA game is on it's way to become the fastest game ever to reach 1 billion views? And sells about 3 million copies in its first week?
 

Deleted member 249

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,828
Sigh. No, I dislike this. Like, it's fine to have some service based games, even Sony and Nintendo offer some of those, but you can never have a full portfolio with only one kind of game, your job as the platform holder is to loss lead with a varied slate of games so customers are compelled to invest in your ecosystem, and spend further when third party titles and the like are out.

This sounds to me like it would be no big change from how things have been for the last few years.
 

THEVOID

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 27, 2017
22,869
Their strat is going to back fire big time. When you make games based on trends and not let the game be the game it usually fails, or die's quickly. Hope MS is on a path for letting developers make their games organically and not be a check mark on a spread sheet with MT's, twitch being a focus.

I don't think it will. Games lasting longer then a year or a few hours just isn't profitable for AAA games. The "trend" isn't going away anytime soon.
 

DMVfan123

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
7,362
Virginia
I don't hate GaaS like most of the Internet does, but when that's all you're making, well, that really turns me off of your platform
 

Astandahl

Member
Oct 28, 2017
9,011
The real question here is :" Do they have the right skills to develop these kind of games"? There are already big GAAS games in the wild so it's not going to be easy to compete against them.
 

Katana_Strikes

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Oct 29, 2017
10,752
And if this is a new boss with these ideas, I think the state of MS 1st party in the near future is going to continue to be bleak. I really feel this E3 is make or break. I need to see some strong showcases of which they can help build on going in to next gen.
 

Y2Kev

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,865
Nothing really surprising here. Though the bit about chasing trends is surprising. Aren't they rebooting fable as a horizoney game?
 

TailorDKS

Member
Apr 18, 2018
402
Its like:
"you know we want to make Single Player games but they are expensive and doesnt bring much money so wont make many Single Player games"
 

Sarobi

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,982
Seems like more of the same, but if it's working for them (or at least in the capacity that it makes them enough money) so be it.
 

Ra

Rap Genius
Moderator
Oct 27, 2017
12,209
Dark Space
Saying this after God of War just blew the world away. Boooooiiiiiii.

Ironically didn't we also get a comment on focus like this immediately after Horizon and a Switch game blew up? Was it Zelda?
 

~Fake

User requested permanent ban
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,966
This is a path I don't across. Forgive me xbox 360.
 

Dorfdad

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
731
Meanwhile...God of war, a single player AAA game is on it's way to become the fastest game ever to reach 1 billion views? And sells about 3 million copies in its first week?

Agree Horizon Zero Dawn, Beyond Human, days gone by, uncharted your right everything should be a game as service. Can't wait for that Halo Battle Royal...
 

Deleted member 249

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,828
Meanwhile...God of war, a single player AAA game is on it's way to become the fastest game ever to reach 1 billion views? And sells about 3 million copies in its first week?
Yup. The success of games like Horizon, Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and God of War (and I'm not naming the smaller 1-3 million selling single player titles here, just the big, multi-million moving ones) has provided ample evidence there is a market for traditional single player games. Microsoft has also indicated it intends to sit out on that market, so I guess that's that.
The amazing thing is it doesn't have to be one or the other. Nintendo makes Zelda and Mario, but also Splatoon and Smash Bros. Sony makes God of War and Horizon, but also Gran Turismo Sport. Why is it only Microsoft who feels it can only be one o the other?
 

Cess007

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,123
B.C., Mexico
I don't understand this logic of MS. They talk as if they were a 3rd party, someone who has no obligation to provide value to a console. Sony and Nintendo understand that as most publisher seems interested in GaaS, is their turn to offer diversity and something different to increase the value of their console.

Then again, I'm sure they know more about business than me, so, who knows.

Just preppin people for a halo announced without a campaign

No way they do that. No way.
 

Deleted member 249

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,828
Saying this after God of War just blew the world away. Boooooiiiiiii.

Ironically didn't we also get a comment on focus like this immediately after Horizon and a Switch game blew up? Was it Zelda?
Yeah, it was Zelda.
Zelda and Mario are at 10 million copies sold. Horizon is at 7.6 million. God of War is already at 5 million.
The idea that single player games don't sell is a false narrative.
 

Kemono

▲ Legend ▲
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
7,669
Oh come on MS. I want to buy a Xbox. Please give me games like you used to do with the first 3 years of the 360.

You're big enough to do both. 2 big Singleplayer games, 2-3 more experimental AA games and as much trending ideas as you want every year but please give us a few big games every year without content plans, microtransactions and the like.

You can do it.
 

Deleted member 1120

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,511
"There will always be single-player games with maybe 20 to 30 hours of gameplay, we love those kinds of games and there's a place for those"
So they're okay with playstation becoming that place?
 

Venom.

Member
Oct 26, 2017
424
London
It sounds like the message is exactly the same one Phil Spencer was talking two years ago; that they do want a single player game/s to add to the Xbox library, but multiplayer is their focus. Fable Legends was cancelled for some reason and Sea of Thieves doesn't look like it has its audience returning - yet Microsoft is still pursuing this strategy. In some ways I understand why - Fortnite, Call of Duty and Overwatch demonstrate what can be achieved by creating a persistent game. This stickiness will keep people on the XBO platform. I think Halo 6 will possibly be one of these persistent games (with a campaign as well).
 

Narpas Sword0

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,087
I don't know why anyone would expect anything else with their gamepass strategy. It's only worth it to them if they can make up for the lost revenue with MTs.

They want to remove the $60 barrier that some people won't go along with and get those people onto the loot crate train.

Having someone pay $10 for one month to beat a single player game and then cancelling does nothing for them.
 

Deleted member 3897

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,638
welp.gif
 

Prime2

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,338
I feel people seem to read the OP and think we won't do any single player games, he doesn't say that. If anything hes saying if a game is 4-5 years in the making they can't just pivot to meet the trends of only MP or only Single player. It's arguably worse with MS as they only have like 4 studios so they can take even less chances with games than others if a game outright fails then there is no cushion to cover for it.
 

Garrett 2U

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,511
Meanwhile...God of war, a single player AAA game is on it's way to become the fastest game ever to reach 1 billion views? And sells about 3 million copies in its first week?

Saying this after God of War just blew the world away. Boooooiiiiiii.

Ironically didn't we also get a comment on focus like this immediately after Horizon and a Switch game blew up? Was it Zelda?

Fortnite is projected to rake in 3.5 billion dollars annually, League of Legends' has a 2.1 billion annual revenue, Overwatch has over 1 billion annual revenue.

So while single player narratives like God of War and Zelda do sell extremely well, successfully multiplayer, service based, community games generate that revenue every single month.

I'm not saying there isn't room or demand for single player narrative games, but to argue about it from a revenue basis, like you are doing, isn't doing it any favors.
 

Wereroku

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,252
His reply doesn't really negate sp games. Even Sony and Nintendo are supporting games after release which is what they mean by content plans. BotW was announced with dlc details and horizon got it's dlc announced a few months after release. Having those kinds of plans don't take away from the games themselves.
 

Soap

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,198
If Microsoft launch a new console with this attitude then they may as well just leave the console race. Consumers have spoken, and they don't want what MS is peddling.
 

get2sammyb

Editor at Push Square
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
3,009
UK
What he's saying makes total sense given the direction Microsoft's going in. I think some people need to accept that all three platform holders have slightly different strategies at the moment, and while they're all generally competing for the same dollars, you're ultimately going to have to pick the direction you like best. (Or you may like them all, variety is the spice of life and all.)
 

jelly

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
33,841
Just make good games. I totally understand the service model but come on, you've got loads of them.
 

Astandahl

Member
Oct 28, 2017
9,011
Fortnite is projected to rake in 3.5 billion dollars annually, League of Legends' has a 2.1 billion annual revenue, Overwatch has over 1 billion annual revenue.

So while single player narratives like God of War and Zelda do sell extremely well, successfully multiplayer, service based, community games generate that revenue every single month.

I'm not saying there isn't room or demand for single player narrative games, but to argue about it from a revenue basis, like you are doing, isn't doing it any favors.

At the same time it's not going to compete against these games especially when you don't have the skills to do it.