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Do you believe in Xbox Game Studios ability to sort out their first party?
- Thread starter vivftp
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But they bought Obsidian, they are starting a new studio that should be making a new big franchise and expanding Playground in a bid to have them make a game rumored to be Fable.
Microsoft has Turn 10, Playground Games, The Coalition, 343i, Obsidian, The Initiative. That is six AAA development studios and some like Obsidian and Playground have multiple teams.
I think that they will be okay with what they have right now. Ninja Theory will be a good pick up if they continue making quality games even though the scope may be smaller. Rare has eventually got it right with Sea of Thieves.
What remains to be seen is whether some of their other studios can make that jump.
wonder if this question could have happened with one comment in the xbox first party thread. lol
yup i believe, i enjoyed their content so far so i only see better stuff in the coming years. nothing but positive things coming from where im sitting.
yup i believe, i enjoyed their content so far so i only see better stuff in the coming years. nothing but positive things coming from where im sitting.
I do. The original vision for the console really messed things up. Crackdown just came out and I think it's the last part before MS moved in the new direction.
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True. But at least going by critical reviews and the results of the poll it looks like most believe Microsoft is currently not providing that level of quality.
The Coalition, Sucker Punch, and Bend are all capable of releasing solid games. Each have continued to demonstrate a high level of competency with their tittles in development.
Not hopeful. I feel like many MS games feel as if they're designed by committee and I've never liked their main franchises other than halo and even that's lost me. I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but their record doesn't inspire confidence at this point. That said, I'm willing to just wait and see.
I think it's kind of the wrong question. Microsoft isn't going full third party, but I think their goals with the Xbox console isn't to own the market, but to guide the market in a direction that their service won't struggle in. Game pass is how Microsoft pivots into netflix for video games- that's where their real money is going to come from more than direct sales or licensing fees, and the console is a self sufficient guarantee that a good system is available that runs their service.
MS's first party is indeed going to get better, and while it probably won't beat Sony, I think it will look respectable. I predict they are trying for a Switch-like first year push with Halo, Forza, and Fable all releasing year 1, creating buzz around all things Xbox. Old school paradigm means it will compete well with Sony. New netflix paradigm means they will have enough mindshare to get a big head start on google and amazon's coming attempts to be the netflix of video games.
MS's first party is indeed going to get better, and while it probably won't beat Sony, I think it will look respectable. I predict they are trying for a Switch-like first year push with Halo, Forza, and Fable all releasing year 1, creating buzz around all things Xbox. Old school paradigm means it will compete well with Sony. New netflix paradigm means they will have enough mindshare to get a big head start on google and amazon's coming attempts to be the netflix of video games.
MS sure got the money but what makes sony's 1st party standout imo is the variety and also the risk. Risk in terms of rebooting a franchise while taking it into new directions or just risky concepts in general. It was clear to me that many people would love TLOU and Horizon:ZD but I never was sure if they'd become a success.
They got the ability to make their games look good, not just in the graphical sense of course. I don't care about comic characters, I still thought what they've shown of Spider man looks good, I'm not a fan of Horizon:Zero Dawn's concept, I'd still rather try that out than some 3rd party open world game.
I don't own a Xb1 but they got 3 franchises that I've had a small interest in due to having played the predecessors of 2 of them. Crackdown and GoW and I think Forza looks like a good exclusive franchise besides them.
They got the ability to make their games look good, not just in the graphical sense of course. I don't care about comic characters, I still thought what they've shown of Spider man looks good, I'm not a fan of Horizon:Zero Dawn's concept, I'd still rather try that out than some 3rd party open world game.
I don't own a Xb1 but they got 3 franchises that I've had a small interest in due to having played the predecessors of 2 of them. Crackdown and GoW and I think Forza looks like a good exclusive franchise besides them.
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I still have to say no. Seeing their acquisitions of Obsidian, Ninja Theory, inXile, etc. gives me hope that they will—though it seems Microsoft is pushing their platform more on PC as well now, so it doesn't really affect me wanting an Xbox (unless they do a 180 and stop supporting PC). With the pedigree of those developers, I want to say yes, but it's completely possible that they'll put out mixed or unexciting games.
I believe that they are going to be doing amazing things in the future and going forward. I totally understand the other side though because its time to put up or shut up with first party.
HOLY CURSE WORSD!GOTY incoming.
Haven't seen this. How much melee are they adding? If it's on the fly...
I think the one that gets little talk is The Initiative. We don't lot and we have very little to go on but I have to imagine they are doing exciting things. Excited to see it in 2021 and play it in 2022.
And their first party efforts are still lacking. They need another.
Yeah you're right, I misunderstood it. That's what I get for reading the OP while working. Nevermind me.
Truthfully, outside of Halo, Gears, and Forza...
No. Not really. While I hope that I'm wrong the muddled messaging, direction (GaaS) and streaming lead me to believe XB is stuck in a specific stance while the rest of the industry has pivoted.
No. Not really. While I hope that I'm wrong the muddled messaging, direction (GaaS) and streaming lead me to believe XB is stuck in a specific stance while the rest of the industry has pivoted.
And they're changing that....did you think that the day after Satya became CEO that he was going to hand Phil a blank check and tell him to go wild? It took years to prove to him that Xbox can be a core pillar of Microsoft
Time, Resources & Creative Freedom.
Xbox has realized this and we see it starting with Halo that they realized pumping out a AAA Halo game every 3 years was not working, they have given them the time to make a true Halo FPS Game of the highest level.
Even a game like CD3, they could have just got it out during the launch of Xbox One X but realized it needed more time, we see it.
Xbox has realized this and we see it starting with Halo that they realized pumping out a AAA Halo game every 3 years was not working, they have given them the time to make a true Halo FPS Game of the highest level.
Even a game like CD3, they could have just got it out during the launch of Xbox One X but realized it needed more time, we see it.
I think they will get better but not as good as Sony or Nintendo.
At the same look at Netflix: are you happy with the quality of Netflix originals? most of them are just meh or mediocre, some are good though, and yet the service is incredibly successful.
If the future of Xbox is relying on Game Pass and xCloud they don't need the best exclusives to get you on board.
At the same look at Netflix: are you happy with the quality of Netflix originals? most of them are just meh or mediocre, some are good though, and yet the service is incredibly successful.
If the future of Xbox is relying on Game Pass and xCloud they don't need the best exclusives to get you on board.
I'm not confident they made the right acquisitions at all. Not one bit, Obsidian will make a good game, yes but the rest doesn't make a difference to XBOX consumers. Compulsion haven't produced any high quality titles, and now face a battle to prove that they can after the lukewarm reception of We Happy Few, and the same is true for Undead labs.
Playground games makes sense, but doesn't make a difference to XBOX one consumers... it's up in the air whether we see anything good out of The Initiative, and Ninja Theory are hit and miss. 'More games like Hellblade' are what they want to create, and more games like that, really aren't going to make a big impact.
The wildcard really is The Initiative. I think a big new IP from that studio could change consumer attitudes quite significantly, but we'll have to wait and see how that comes along. In any case, it's a long time off.
A first party turnaround for MS is in no way guaranteed IMO. And if gamepass really takes off and becomes a driving initiative for MS, that changes their incentive structure as far as what kinds of games to make and how much to spend on them. Like, you don't make a single player game comparable to God of War or Horizon in terms of budget and quality if you aren't confident you will sell millions of them at traditional retail prices. Putting them on gamepass is a great deal for the consumer, but it virtually guarantees a poorer return on investment per AAA blockbuster. Again, this is IF gamepass becomes a dominant paradigm and I'm talking several years down the road.
Now, for the consumer who is primarily interested in multiplayer or GaaS style games, if MS does go that way in this hypothetical future, I'm sure that consumer would consider it a positive turn for MS first party.
Now, for the consumer who is primarily interested in multiplayer or GaaS style games, if MS does go that way in this hypothetical future, I'm sure that consumer would consider it a positive turn for MS first party.
I think it will take them years to get to top notch quality output. Other than Forza they haven't really produced anything like that.
Sure Gears and Halo studios show promise, they got Obsidian and more. But we still have to see prove of them consistently putting out hits. I think they will get there but it will take a while.
Sure Gears and Halo studios show promise, they got Obsidian and more. But we still have to see prove of them consistently putting out hits. I think they will get there but it will take a while.
I do.There are no guarantees but it will certainly be interesting to see what will become of all their investments. Most of all I'm hoping for diversity. Not just more shooters and action games. I'm hoping for strong story telling and bold experiments. The PS4 has been amazing in this regard, the variety is just so impressive. One day I'm playing Uncharted, the next Tearaway Unfolded and the third The Last Guardian. Xbox has been lacking in this department from the start, although Xbox 360 was a huge step in the right direction mostly thanks to great third party support.
While this is true, according to Spencer the first party games they've put on Game Pass has sold better than expected. Now, we don't know their projections, but still.
The list of first party games launching at retail and on gamepass concurrently is still quite short, and I believe (please correct me!) the only AAA ones are Forza 4 and Sea of Thieves (and I'm hesistant to put Sea of Thieves in that category). And Crackdown 3 is nowhere close to modern AAA level. Am I missing a big game? My only exposure to gamepass has been free trials on PC so I'm not fully knowledgeable about the library.
Also, "better than expected" can mean a lot of things. It could mean they knew the games weren't going to review very highly (like crackdown and sea of thieves) or it could mean they expected lowered sales despite high quality (i.e. Forza 4) because of the game's availability on gamepass.
It's an interested question and I doubt we're ever going to be given the numbers necessary to work it out ourselves, unfortunately.
It's not just the acquisitions tho, they've also invested in their existing studios. Rare has doubled in size within 2 years and is now a two team studio, Playground Games is working on an open world RPG as well as Forza Horizon, The Coalition has grown to a 350+ people studio. There is growth all down the line. Even Mojang is making a new game (Minecraft Dungeons).
While I don't think they'll be constantly putting out 80+ metacritic games all of a sudden, they'll vastly improve for sure. (Can it really get worse?)
I believe in some of the studios they acquired, I'm not sure I trust their ability to not meddle.
I know they've taken "steps" but other steps they've taken do point to a GAAS style future for them, I mean, they've actually stated that's the direction they're going in. The whole "XBL on Switch" rumour... Are they going to continue to manufacture hardware, or are they effectively going to be a dev/publisher/service provider, the message isn't very clear. I don't think this "netflix for games" thing is sustainable given how much games cost to develop.
I know they've taken "steps" but other steps they've taken do point to a GAAS style future for them, I mean, they've actually stated that's the direction they're going in. The whole "XBL on Switch" rumour... Are they going to continue to manufacture hardware, or are they effectively going to be a dev/publisher/service provider, the message isn't very clear. I don't think this "netflix for games" thing is sustainable given how much games cost to develop.
Not really, at least not in the long term. During the first half of the 360 generation, MS had a studio stable that rivaled Sony's...then Kinect happened. Quite frankly I don't really trust MS not to completely change course for the worst. I also don't trust they'll have the patience to build up studios to get where they need to be.
Their first party was already getting bad in the latter half of last generation and since they refused to fix it, things got even worse this generation and they lost a ton of mindshare, which will take a long time to get back, but it seems like they're on the right track. They need to make sure their developers aren't only following trends, larger agendas or end up becoming endless franchise factories, but actually start acting with the advantages being a first party should bring. Consider this: They haven't announced a single player only AAA game this entire generation. An entire generation! Last time that happened was with Quantum Break at E3 2013 before the generation began. That's not good enough if they want to appeal to everyone.
Their line-up this year is already pretty good, though. I love Crackdown 3 and think Gears 5 and the new Ori wil be great. Imagine in the years to come a line-up like that, but with the added titles from studios like Obsidian, The Initiative, Playground team two and more. It's looking really good.
If only they could find a way to let their franchise factories take a break from time to time to do something different, using the same technology, it would be perfect. What would people be more excited about the next time Turn 10 announces something? Forza 8 or Forza Watersport? Or maybe an open world Forza game using motorcycles or a similar project, perhaps not even attached to the Forza franchise, but using the technology from those games. Skip an installment now and then to keep players surprised and excitement up.
Their line-up this year is already pretty good, though. I love Crackdown 3 and think Gears 5 and the new Ori wil be great. Imagine in the years to come a line-up like that, but with the added titles from studios like Obsidian, The Initiative, Playground team two and more. It's looking really good.
If only they could find a way to let their franchise factories take a break from time to time to do something different, using the same technology, it would be perfect. What would people be more excited about the next time Turn 10 announces something? Forza 8 or Forza Watersport? Or maybe an open world Forza game using motorcycles or a similar project, perhaps not even attached to the Forza franchise, but using the technology from those games. Skip an installment now and then to keep players surprised and excitement up.
Coupled with the rumors of Game Pass on Switch, Microsoft is doing some really interesting power-plays. They're acquiring quality studios left and right to help beef up their first-party library for next-gen and using Game Pass to broaden their audience. I have a feeling they're going to start the next decade swinging, Xbox One was a huge lesson for them it seems.
I think the biggest problem with Xbox division is lack of commitment with anything. They change the course all the time...
Like you said they were getting to the sweet spot for the first years from xbox360 then kinect was launched and they lost their focus again... With XboxONE launch was another focus again. Now they are buying a bunch of studios and with gamepass, streaming they send a confuse message. They are going full focus on GAAS?
They are becoming a publisher only with services? They are commited with hardware for the long run? What is the focus of their studios? Gaas games for gamepass?
Their whole message is really confuse. they are pointing the gun to everywhere.
Guerrilla Games had done nothing of note when Sony bought them. Killzone 2, Killzone 3 are all fantastic games, Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the best games out this generation. So what changed for Guerrilla from when they were making Shelshock: Nam 67, games like Killzone on the Playstation 2 and Killzone: Liberation to their improved output not only last generation, but also this generation?
It might have more to do with more money, more time to make games and expanding their teams to a position where they were able to accomplish all of this. That is something that takes a lot of publisher support. How long has it taken for Naughty Dog to essentially develop The Last of Us II and Uncharted 4? These are timelines that Microsoft's studios have rarely had.
This is something that is often lost in this debate.
I also happen to think that Ninja Theory has been one of the better independent studios out there. They did not do great with Heavenly sword, but they got it right with Enslaved, and then took risks with DMC that were mainly for the better. What they accomplished with Hellblade is something that is not taken as seriously considering the budget they had and how many people they had developing the game. I do not think that handling so many small projects in that vein is the way that they have to go to try and gain success; maybe split the studio to two teams and see where that takes them. But the talent is there.
Turn 10, Playground Games, 343i, Obsidian are proven. The Coalition had a good outing first time so it will be interesting to see what happens with Gears 5 later this year and The Initiative is still some ways off when it comes to putting a game out.
Ninja Theory is a developer that has done well. I feared for Rare, but they have eventually got it right with Sea of Thieves and they continue to expand the experience. So all people might be complaining about is InXile who make good cRPG's but have been limited by lack of funds, Undead labs who might simply need more money and more time, and Compulsion is the wild card that is hard to grade because none of their games have been well reviewed.
It is hardly doom and gloom as someone pointed out in an earlier post. The only thing that Microsoft has missed this generation the third person action adventure. They have dominated the racers, and they are still king when it comes to exclusive shooters with Gears and Halo. Get some adventure games out next generation and the whole outlook changes.
Five years is a long time, and yet their first party efforts are worse than they were during the early days of the Xbox 360.
I think it's possible the drought they're in is due to their learning the lesson that quality takes time. I hope to see them build with a new found level of patience. Crackdown took forever but that development cycle was marred with bad history.
If Halo: Infinite comes out, and it isn't a home run success, I'm going to be worried. I think that will be the make or break scenario for whether or not Microsoft Games Studios is capable of publishing high caliber games.
If Halo: Infinite comes out, and it isn't a home run success, I'm going to be worried. I think that will be the make or break scenario for whether or not Microsoft Games Studios is capable of publishing high caliber games.
They totally have a chance for redemption, the fact that they are acquiring studios seems like a good step and makes me think Microsoft is committed to the next iteration of their console. Sadly it will probably 3 or 4 years to see it pay off.
I feel Microsoft is at a low-point with their first-party offerings so they can only really improve with their recent studio acquisitions. I don't see them botching another generation. I cannot fathom them going through another round of game cancellations, and studio shutdowns without a lot of negative feedback.
There first party last gen consisted of Halo, Fable and Forza. Gears was made by Epic, Mass Effect by Bioware
This is the first time we've ever seen MS first party studio lineup so stacked.
He also talked in general about the effect Game Pass har on customer's willingness to play more games and also buy more so I saw it as a general statement, not just about Forza and SoT. And no, were certainly not getting any numbers. Ever.
343i / Coalition / Compulsion / Obsidian / Undead Labs / Playground Games / Ninja Theory / InXile / Turn 10 / Initiative / Rare
Yeah .. I'd say it's looking pretty good to me. New studios, concurrent expansion and new management. Doing everything right for a change.
Yeah .. I'd say it's looking pretty good to me. New studios, concurrent expansion and new management. Doing everything right for a change.
Stacked with...Halo, Gears, and Forza. There is nothing Microsoft has released recently or that is upcoming that is even in the same ballpark as Nintendo or Sony's top tier efforts.
Rare was 80-110 during all the SoT development. They are 200+ now that are splits in two teams. Not all Sumo digital was making Crackdown 3 campaign, they were and are still working on at least 2 other projects (Sega Racing Game and Dead Island)