-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Microsoft Studios |OT3| I thought they were supposed to be sold off by now
- Thread starter Figments
- Start date
- Status
But the reality is that even that's still extremely low compared to Sony's output. This year alone they've published 13 games including Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, Spider-Man, Detroit, Tetris Effect, Astro Bot, Dericine, MLB The Show, PlayLink games etc. People often forget about the smaller stuff and VR games.
Microsoft has a hell of a lot of catching up to do first before they can even think about meeting Phil's E3 promise of becoming the market leading first party. They'll already have 4 first party games in 2019 though, with Crackdown 3, Gears 5, Ori and Battletoads.
They'll continue to work with external developers - 3 out of their 4 announced first party games for 2019 are not coming from their own studios. And, as above, Sony is managing to push out more than 12 games a year and they certainly don't have 20 studios.
Agree. It clear that they're aiming for efficiency. That's why I'd rule out Remedy even though I like the studio. Original purchase price is only part of the equation of buying a studio. Ongoing cost of employees vs their output is a significant factor in the value of the studio.
Initially this is what I thought and is probably realistic but also don't think it's as straight an equation as in the past. SOT for example will be like an entirely new game next year. 5+ years of development without an end in sight. I can see Microsoft having teams that pump out games every 2 years and teams that work on the same game 5, 6 and 7 years. In general, I think it'll get to the point when it'll feel like either a new game or major content addition is right around the corner.
Today Sony is the industries best publisher but I'd argue against counting games like that. List wars numbers don't really tell much of the story when one game can have 10 times the content of another and receive support for years after its release.
GOW, Spiderman and Detroit are the real games. The rest is stuffed.
Disagree. This is the wrong attitude. Should support all varieties and sizes of games. Some of my favorite stuff in Game Pass has been niche stuff from small teams. The expensive blockbuster titles shouldn't be the only things that count. At the same time, playing list wars and giving equal value between Halo, Last of Us, God of War and Gears to smaller games to count numbers doesn't make any kind of sense.
I don't think that is fair to MLB the show, since that has a lot of fans and also astrobot got good critical reception, the problem with that game is the miniscule PSVR install base, so that was never gonna be a big seller.
A lot of what made quantum break take so long to develop was remedy working on their engine and their tech, let's just say that a lot of that wasn't needed for control (not saying they didn't work on that at all) and they could focus on the game this time a lot more, also reusing quantum break assets.
IO Interactive:
Kane and Lynch 2
Mini Ninjas
Hitman Absolution
Hitman S1
Hitman 2
Stretch back a further two years and you have the original Kane and Lynch.
Very impressive turnover and why MS should acquire if the studio is open to joining
Kane and Lynch 2
Mini Ninjas
Hitman Absolution
Hitman S1
Hitman 2
Stretch back a further two years and you have the original Kane and Lynch.
Very impressive turnover and why MS should acquire if the studio is open to joining
It's not because of the size of the game, Astro Bot is a big game, but VR is not right now.
I'm personally hoping for one first party game per quarter. Doesn't matter if it's AAA/AA/A as long as the quality and polish is there for what the game is and meant to be. I don't want to see games rushed or forced out just to fill up Game Pass. This would be a huge disappointment for me.
Outside of what's already been confirmed for Xbox One, im hoping that the future games from all the acquired studios are for next gen. At least two Xbox 4 launch titles in November 2020 and then one first party game every quarter would be great. Even if some of the games end up not interesting or appealing to me, I would hope that the quality would be there.
February itself is packed. I know majority here are waiting for Crackdown 3 but I have zero interest in the game. For me, it's Metro Exodus which is going to be excellent as 4A Games is one of the best and most consistent developers in the industry which each game being better than the one before and Exodus will be no exception. Far Cry New Dawn looks good and fun but it's just more Far Cry 5 and I personally believe that Rage 2 is going to crush it. Anthem looks amazing but im so disappointed that you can participate in the strongholds as a solo player. This makes no sense to me because it's PvE. I would understand it if it was PvP but it isn't. Don't know about the rest of you but before February, it's going to be REmake2 time for me. Woohoo!!! Can't wait.
Outside of what's already been confirmed for Xbox One, im hoping that the future games from all the acquired studios are for next gen. At least two Xbox 4 launch titles in November 2020 and then one first party game every quarter would be great. Even if some of the games end up not interesting or appealing to me, I would hope that the quality would be there.
February itself is packed. I know majority here are waiting for Crackdown 3 but I have zero interest in the game. For me, it's Metro Exodus which is going to be excellent as 4A Games is one of the best and most consistent developers in the industry which each game being better than the one before and Exodus will be no exception. Far Cry New Dawn looks good and fun but it's just more Far Cry 5 and I personally believe that Rage 2 is going to crush it. Anthem looks amazing but im so disappointed that you can participate in the strongholds as a solo player. This makes no sense to me because it's PvE. I would understand it if it was PvP but it isn't. Don't know about the rest of you but before February, it's going to be REmake2 time for me. Woohoo!!! Can't wait.
It will not work, most publisher avoid year end because of annual games, they need the support also, 2 exclusive per year is already good for platform holder. Too many exclusive per yearly will cost 3rd party also.
Yep, it's looking amazing and on par with their previous games with a seemingly smaller team and budget (also a more interesting concept.) They're coming of Quantum Break and upgrading Northlight, so thats most likely helped. I really hope MS has had discussions with them about being acquired or MSGP working with them again on a new game, I hope thats what their lunch at E3 was about.
Remedy joining the team depends on whether MS can be persuaded to get out of thier comfort zone.
Yea with AW, QB and possibly Control not selling well, it just says that Remedy should go back to thier routes.
Would like another gritty cop story from them
Basically the US/UK/Canada area where thier entire first party lineup is based.
They never seem to acquire any devs in Europe when they should
Oh, I don't think that would be an issue. MSGP worked with them for ages from MS HQ, plus MS studios UK would be working with them. So I don't really know what the issue would be for MS, there is nothing to suggest that MS will only acquire studios in US/UK/Canada. Previously they had Press Play (Denmark) and currently own Mojang (Swedish), Finland doesn't seem like a stretch lol.
Last edited:
I agree with that and I don't know why that is so, unfortunately the only studio they have outside of those countries is mojang, let's see if anything changes on that front this year and in 2020.
Microsoft doesn't avoid it when it comes to their big three as they normally release in the Fall/Holiday season. Maybe something like February/May/July/September. Summer is always dead until late August/early September so July would be perfect. February and May is usually 50/50. February is normally more packed than May but at the same time, it could go either way. I'm more on the side of lesser but of higher quality mindset as opposed to the more but of lesser quality mindset. Main reason I even said four games is because of Game Pass. If it wasn't for Game Pass, I would have said three maximum.
I believe that the PS4 version of Control will outsell Alan Wake and Quantum Break individually and possibly combined.
A first-party game every 2nd month is probably the cadence they're after. ~3 AAA/AAAA's, and 3-4 A/AA titles annually.
It'll be very interesting to see whether Turn10 switch to one-game a gen, or continue with the biennial releases, come next-gen. I suspect they'll stay with the status quo, as releasing a new game every other year probably nets more sales, Gamepass subs, and looks better in 'list warz'. However, it would be amazing to see a Forza Ultimate in 2020 as a platform, with continual live updates, and a full-fleshed out $50-$60 retail expansion every two years thereafter (Forza Ultimate: Rallysport in 2022, Forza Ultimate: Project Gotham Racing 2024, or Forza Ultimate: Fast and Furious, etc.).
Last edited:
That would be incredibly depressing... not the sales of Control, but rather showing just how poorly Alan Wake/Quantum Break sold.
Also, it would kind of be a confirmation that a lot of the Xbox audience just doesn't give a shit about single player-focused games, which I don't want to be true.
I may be wrong, but I think Alan Wake sold quite well on PC (1-2 million range.) I doubt that Alan Wake plus Quantum Break is below 4 million combined, so I think it's highly unlikely. Also unfortunately Control seems to be flying under the radar, especially compared to their previous games. Remedy deserves a big win, hopefully between now and release they can grab a lot more attention.
EDIT: Definitely more than 4 million combined then (Flux's post below.)
Last edited:
Huh? Alan Wake sold 4.5 million copies, I doubt Control will sell that much on the PS4 alone.
Motorsport sure, Horizon no. The changes between Motorsport games are within the scope of an expansion, but thats up until they need to make core changes to the game like entirely new physics/upgraded engine/weather simulation etc. Horizon's changes between games are far bigger than an expansion (Season/shared world/new open world), that sort of model would limit the Horizon games. Not only would it limit the design/potential of the franchise, but also it's sales. Horizon should definitely move to a three year schedule though, next gen plus them having to beat the last game will probably require it.
Not to be an asshole but that's how I have looked at the majority of the Xbox audience since the original Xbox. Xbox did after all elevate online play and even more so with Xbox 360. Single player games and Japanese games simply sell better on PlayStation simply because that's what the core audience have been accustomed to since the original PlayStation. I definitely believe that the PlayStation 4 version will get the vast majority of sales and if Control releases around an online multi-player game, im pretty sure that the vast majority of Xbox One owners would go with the online multi-player game.
PC version will sell decent but I do think that PS4 will outsell the Xbox One version. Remedy is good but the one major complaint I do have with them is that all of their games since Max Payne rely and depend on the same gameplay mechanic - bullet time. I would like to see Remedy develop a game that doesn't have any form of this gameplay mechanic just to see what else they could do.
With that said, im not hyped or anything like that for Control but it is on my list and I do plan on purchasing it when it comes out.
Is that Xbox 360 and PC combined? Do you know the individual sales for each platform. I just wouldn't be surprised if Control sold more.
Probably should've noted that you were talking about 360 sales exclusively, yeah it shouldn't be too hard for PS4 Control to outsell Alan Wake on the 360. The latter probably sold just over a million.
Should Microsoft focus solely on their own IP's, that includes games like Ori and Battletoads where they own the IP's.
And just forgot about third party game exclusives all together? Like Sunset Overdrive?
I really hope Microsoft doesn't fund anymore games unless they own the IP. I'd be disappointed if they funded a Sunset Overdrive 2
And just forgot about third party game exclusives all together? Like Sunset Overdrive?
I really hope Microsoft doesn't fund anymore games unless they own the IP. I'd be disappointed if they funded a Sunset Overdrive 2
While it makes sense long-term for the company, that might actually be a negative for gamers in general.
If it wasn't for MS partially funding Titanfall, that IP may have never actually came to fruition (or may have been a much lesser product in the end). Sunset Overdrive is also (arguably) one of the best games on the Xbox One. Cuphead is also outstanding.
This is what Phil Spencer said, they want content that comes in and fill the roster while you wait for the big name games.
Turn 10, Playground, 343i, The Coalition, The Initiative will need that time to put those great games out. I would love Obsidian to join that group too because they could become one of the premier RPG developers in the industry with proper support. Turn 10 and Playground can take an extra year to make games while the same should be the case for 343i and The Coalition getting a 4 year spread on development time as opposed to three or less and then some of the smaller studios or multi team studios that should be able to put games out on a three year cycle.
inXile, Obsidian, Playground, Ninja Theory and Rare (if what I read here is correct) all have multiple projects that they are working on and they have six other studios that it looks like will be focused on single games. That is a lot of projects.
11 studios is a lot, and if they were to add a few more studios next year they would have more teams than any of the other competing platform holders. The appeal is not to say that having the most developers is what they should be bragging about, but the fact that it gives their teams more time to polish games that they will be putting out. And they also have Global Publishing on the side that could get them smaller titles like Ori, Cuphead and Super Lucky's Tale in. Not big name franchises but really fun games that are exclusive to the platform and boost diversity.
That is not what they need to be worrying about. They need to worry about how they can get as many Game Pass subscribers in because the barrier for entry is so low.
Game Pass is a long term bet on where they think the industry is headed and they would rather be a platform holder that gets in the game early than one that comes in late. Apart from this, because the barrier of entry is so low, chances are that there are people who would be sending quite a bit on third party stuff that is really good outside Game Pass while those who do not allocate that much time or money into gaming have enough new content to keep them interested in the service.
But what did they accomplish? Titanfall didn't move consoles, Sunset was a commercial bust and Cuphead, while successful, was partically funded by the developers themselves taking out second mortgages on their homes.
... Three great games that might not have seen the light of day otherwise?
Not every game needs to move consoles. That is what the big games are there for i.e. Mario, Super Smash Brothers, Zelda, God of War, Uncharted, Gran Turismo, Halo, Gears of War, Forza. These are the games that have the biggest appeal that rope people in while smaller games keep people invested and interested.
That is what they are trying to achieve with Game Pass. Get the service to play the biggest games on day one, but as you do that there is still that option available for you to try games that you would never consider playing. Last generation they bundled Hexic onto the 360 when I got it, not a game that I would even bother playing but it was one of the best games I had played that generation. That is what also makes Game Pass so good: you can get the complete catalogue of their biggest titles but there are these smaller games that are quality that would struggle to stand out but are special.
A deep diving game like Abzu? Eh, I need something with more meat on it and Rare hasn't given me enough of that.
I think Horizon could have stand alone expansions. For example, if Forza Horizon 5 took place in Japan, you can buy an expansion to play also in India, but your progression/in game money/vehicles would stay with you. And if you never bought a Forza Horizon, you can begin by India as well.
Doubtful with gears, the way 5 is shaping up to be ( more cinematic) it wouldn't work in that kind of style
It's actually becoming more open, and I think after Gears 6, the series evolves to something more like Halo Infinite
- Status