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[DaGwaphics]

My question though is how strong is the value proposition for GamePass to draw in enough new customers and long-term customers/subscribers, if a lot of the biggest content is still available in other ecosystems? There aren't a lot of film/television streaming equivalents to compare to, but it'd probably be like if Disney agreed to put The Simpsons on Netflix after acquiring Fox, or future Alien films for that matter onto other services, especially with release parity.

Could the case be argued that Disney+'s sub numbers would be weaker taking that path? Well there's no way we can say for sure, it'll only remain a hypothetical. But it's going to be pretty interesting to see how this all shakes out. IMO it's still too early for Microsoft to really rely on GamePass's value proposition as the main selling factor to lure in most customers to the service, but if their plans have shifted somewhat from pushing GamePass at all costs and towards generating maximum revenue and profits sooner, then business-wise keeping the status quo makes sense.

It's just a bit unfortunate this is going to inevitably reinforce a lot of perceptions that Xbox isn't "allowed" to have exclusive games (or to better say, exclusives people outside the ecosystem would genuinely care about) unless they're in-house from the ground-up, even when it takes literal years to get new studios up and running. Like they're being punished for having too much money or something, despite earning that money in a capitalist market that was designed to foster competition in the first place. Meanwhile I'm almost hoping Sony actually do acquire a massive publisher just to see if the same energy is kept in that case as well, because that's ultimately what I care about: people being consistent about their stances no matter the company.

When I see people jumping through hoops to slam one company for doing a thing, but jump through even more hoops to justify another company doing essentially the same type of stuff, it's beyond grating and phony.

I completely agree. You see people say, "well Sony paid for SFV" it's like who do you think is going to be paying for the development of CoD? What's good for the goose and all that. I think they have to maintain a certain amount of exclusive content and it can't just be Halo, Gears and Forza, both for their console business and the subscription business like you said. They should be trying to have huge exclusives equal in the minds of customers as what Sony has to offer, somehow many think that is against the rules in some way.

The big positive for GP is that they can put this software over there without paying huge fees and still sell the games on PS for $70. Might be a good thing during the buildup phase, they can always start to pull things away piece by piece later on. The big draw for GP is the day one gets, even if it is sudo third-party or true third-party like MLB.

If it's up to me, I'd take it all for myself because I would be the most competitive manager ever and be trying to get every last customer subscribed to my service I thought humanly possible, but that might not be realistic with the scrutiny that comes with a deal this size. Though I personally just think that blocking this deal would be a case of government overreach and meddling, I can see the ARM deal but not this one.

 

[kingfey]

Good thing about this argument, made me do my college work peaceful. Its nice to have something outside of forum argument.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Wait, what do you mean separate mode? I'm not really referring to graphics, more so about the CPU and SSD I/O requirements.

Can you cite source for what you're saying so I can read up on it?

I was talking about the graphics. PC users will probably need a SSD and decent CPU as well, you shouldn't need the best GPU in the world to match XSS settings.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

It's total bs. It doesn't really state what they will continue past current agreements, it's intentionally vague, could easily just mean keeping existing catalog of old games on playstation.

Plus if any of this bs was true, they would have announced Bethesda mutiplatform at the sane time.

Sorry, yet another misinterpretation thread with a crap title of misinformation.

Let it go dude. Watch this interview from Brad Smith (Phil’s boss) and tell us how vague they really are….




It’s like some of you all are just putting on blinders and being Intentionally delusional right now

 

[ChiefDada]

I actually don’t find it too weird. COD sells boatloads and Activision or Bobby probably knows people are willing to pay money for COD games. That’s why I would still be surprised if or when COD goes on Gamepass because so many people are willing to pay good money for it.

This is the conundrum Microsoft faces with the GP strategy. If they were to apply traditional pricing for certain games such as a new CoD, they run the risk of current and potential subscribers altering their perception of the service as a hub for sub-par games, regardless if it's true or not.

 

[Hendrick's]

This is the conundrum Microsoft faces with the GP strategy. If they were to apply traditional pricing for certain games such as a new CoD, they run the risk of current and potential subscribers altering their perception of the service as a hub for sub-par games, regardless if it's true or not.

If they break the 1st party day one rule, they will be essentially killing Game Pass. That wont happen under Phil.

As for AB, Microsoft has essentially killed exclusives and we should all thank them.

 

[Tutomos]

This decision is beyond Phil Spencer's pay grade when you have the President of Microsoft making clarifications out there.

 

[THE DUCK]

Let it go dude. Watch this interview from Brad Smith (Phil’s boss) and tell us how vague they really are….




It’s like some of you all are just putting on blinders and being Intentionally delusional right now

Watched it, he made zero comment on bringing new cod games to sony and Nintendo. Of course he's going to say this to get the sale approved its not rocket science.
If you truly believe that ms wants to be truely multiplatform with its software, why can't you answer the simple question - why not Bethesda right now? And the other ms studios?

 

[ChiefDada]

Lol, poor Tom Warren. It's truly mind boggling how anyone can interpret their words as anything other than CoD will remain multi platform indefinitely.

 

[GigaBowser]

Watched it, he made zero comment on bringing new cod games to sony and Nintendo. Of course he's going to say this to get the sale approved its not rocket science.
If you truly believe that ms wants to be truely multiplatform with its software, why can't you answer the simple question - why not Bethesda right now? And the other ms studios?

That's exactly what he said. Obviously they're going to bring new COD games to Playstation because he just said they're also going to bring it to Nintendo and Switch has no COD games.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

 

[Tutomos]

Watched it, he made zero comment on bringing new cod games to sony and Nintendo. Of course he's going to say this to get the sale approved its not rocket science.
If you truly believe that ms wants to be truely multiplatform with its software, why can't you answer the simple question - why not Bethesda right now? And the other ms studios?

So he is going to bring games to the Switch but take them away from Playstation?

 

[THE DUCK]

That's exactly what he said. Obviously they're going to bring new COD games to Playstation because he just said they're also going to bring it to Nintendo and Switch has no COD games.

Still conveniently avoided my question.

Big deal, they will port Cod war zone to switch.

 

[THE DUCK]

So he is going to bring games to the Switch but take them away from Playstation?

No, he'll bring an old game or 2 and war zone to switch, and leave the old stuff on playstation.

 

[SupremeHoodie]

If the roles were reversed Sony would never do this btw.

 

[Tutomos]

No, he'll bring an old game or 2 and war zone to switch, and leave the old stuff on playstation.

How does that fit in what MS wants to do strategically with Xbox? Spend money to port old stuff to the Switch then pull the rug from under the fanbase?

 

[FrankWza]

If the roles were reversed Sony would never do this btw.

They just did it with Destiny and Bungie

 

[pratyush]

Good decision by MS.

Online MP games should be available everywhere. Its a shame Microsoft first party and Sony First party MP wont be. But any acquisition of current 3rd party should ensure this.

For now i will take Microsoft word that they intend to this.

 

[Zok310]

Thanks for linking this. This is great, there’s a lot here. A bit of gas lighting on some of these questions, the media never ceases to amaze me in how they are constantly representing some special interest group.

As I go through it the more and more I believe that MS is trying to consolidate big time ahead of distribution platforms like iOS being blown wide open.

I wonder… FTC might actually make something good with this woman at the helm.

Nope, corruption in the USA is normal now, this person will prolly make it worse because they are funded and in a way owned by big corps.

 

[yewles1]

console wars are really dying. one day ill tell my grandchildren. how great these times were.

 

[Shmunter]

This decision is beyond Phil Spencer's pay grade when you have the President of Microsoft making clarifications out there.

Holy Toledo Batman!

"This commitment will even extend to Nintendo, in what looks like a move to position Microsoft as a game publisher across Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch, beyond Minecraft and existing Bethesda games."


It's looking like PS5 will be the only plastic box one needs under the TV in the future.

 

[Fredrik]

Let it go dude. Watch this interview from Brad Smith (Phil’s boss) and tell us how vague they really are….




It’s like some of you all are just putting on blinders and being Intentionally delusional right now

Yeah they’re 100% multiplat on this. Bad for console warriors who wanted something that can pull people into the Xbox ecosystem, great for everyone else. Minecraft is awesome and the most sold game in history. Microsoft want more of that.
Gamepass subscribers will stay winning, that’s about it when it comes to having some sort of Xbox advantage.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Holy Toledo Batman!

"This commitment will even extend to Nintendo, in what looks like a move to position Microsoft as a game publisher across Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch, beyond Minecraft and existing Bethesda games."


It's looking like PS5 will be the only plastic box one needs under the TV in the future.

Interesting, but not completely surprising. This will eventually happen.

Notice how Xbox has been saying for a long time now how they want to move beyond the Xbox console? This is the way. Especially if Gamepass doesn't grow at the rate they want it to grow.

And now that Xbox has spend almost $100 billion on the gaming division, it would take decades and decades for Gamepass alone to recover that amount and make it profitable for the division. They need those retail sales in addition to Gamepass subscription money.

Bethesda titles will come next, after serving a year or two as timed exclusives as an incentive for new buyers to pick Xbox this gen.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Yeah they’re 100% multiplat on this. Bad for console warriors who wanted something that can pull people into the Xbox ecosystem, great for everyone else. Minecraft is awesome and the most sold game in history. Microsoft want more of that.
Gamepass subscribers will stay winning, that’s about it when it comes to having some sort of Xbox advantage.

Yes, and I think Sony wants that too now. Jimbo's and Microsoft's tone in this regard is very similar. There will be a lot of cross-pollination of games across platforms now.

 

[jhjfss]

Holy Toledo Batman!

"This commitment will even extend to Nintendo, in what looks like a move to position Microsoft as a game publisher across Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch, beyond Minecraft and existing Bethesda games."


It's looking like PS5 will be the only plastic box one needs under the TV in the future.

starfield says hi!

 

[Barakov]

 

[Menzies]

Interesting, but not completely surprising. This will eventually happen.

Notice how Xbox has been saying for a long time now how they want to move beyond the Xbox console? This is the way. Especially if Gamepass doesn't grow at the rate they want it to grow.

And now that Xbox has spend almost $100 billion on the gaming division, it would take decades and decades for Gamepass alone to recover that amount and make it profitable for the division. They need those retail sales in addition to Gamepass subscription money.

Bethesda titles will come next, after serving a year or two as timed exclusives as an incentive for new buyers to pick Xbox this gen.

Why do we keep reading this? The acquisitions are assets that they can sell off if they choose. This isn't a debt to recover from.

 

[Hendrick's]

They just did it with Destiny and Bungie

Exactly. The dynamic has shifted. The war is over.

 

[Fredrik]

Yes, and I think Sony wants that too now. Jimbo's and Microsoft's tone in this regard is very similar. There will be a lot of cross-pollination of games across platforms now.

Yeah. I don’t know what to feel about that tbh, maybe investing in both platforms was dumb? I’ve payed about $1200 for the consoles to play how many must-have exclusives? 10?

 

[Heisenberg007]

Why do we keep reading this? The acquisitions are assets that they can sell off if they choose. This isn't a debt to recover from.

Because they didn't buy it to flip it. The purpose was different -- to grow the revenue and profits of the Microsoft gaming division. ROI is always a factor.

 

[Hobbygaming]

Playstation will keep COD but you'll pay $80 for it and you'll like it! Us PC and Xbox gamers on the other hand.....

If it's good then most of the time us PlayStation guys will buy it

 

[Heisenberg007]

Yeah. I don’t know what to feel about that tbh, maybe investing in both platforms was dumb? I’ve payed about $1200 for the consoles to play how many must-have exclusives? 10?

I'm in a similar-ish boat, to be honest. I wanted to buy an XSX but didn't because it didn't have any must-play games for me, and Q1-Q3 2022 seemed packed for PlayStation.

Then I thought I'd buy in Q4 2022 when Starfield drops (assuming it is actually good and I want to play it), but then Sony will drop PSVR 2 in Q4, and that seems way more interesting to me than one game. Perhaps 2023 then? By then, the Activision deal would be closing, and we might get even more clarity about how Xbox might port its XGS games to other platforms. Lol, then I might just skip the system altogether.

 

[Hendrick's]

Yeah. I don’t know what to feel about that tbh, maybe investing in both platforms was dumb? I’ve payed about $1200 for the consoles to play how many must-have exclusives? 10?

Less than that.

 

[Hobbygaming]

I don't know how clearer Microsoft could've said that COD and some other games will still be on PlayStation

Yet you still have people here in denial refusing to listen or believe

 

[Menzies]

Because they didn't buy it to flip it. The purpose was different -- to grow the revenue and profits of the Microsoft gaming division. ROI is always a factor.

Sure - but lets not pretend this is a "debt they need to spend decades to recover from"

 

[SupremeHoodie]

They just did it with Destiny and Bungie

Only because Microsoft has a shotgun barrel to Sony’s head since they own so many franchises now. Sony would be committing suicide by trying fight xbox through aqcuistions and putting them exclusive.

 

[Ozriel]

So Destiny then? You do realize that Bungie has only made Halo and Destiny? And that Halo is a Microsoft franchise and that there’s no previous record of Bungie doing anything else and that Sony paid 3.6 billion for one game and that because of it they can’t make Bungie focus on anything else because they would loose money?

Bungie has long since announced they’re working on new IP. I believe they’ve got a 2026 release target or something.

 

[Fredrik]

I'm in a similar-ish boat, to be honest. I wanted to buy an XSX but didn't because it didn't have any must-play games for me, and Q1-Q3 2022 seemed packed for PlayStation.

Then I thought I'd buy in Q4 2022 when Starfield drops (assuming it is actually good and I want to play it), but then Sony will drop PSVR 2 in Q4, and that seems way more interesting to me than one game. Perhaps 2023 then? By then, the Activision deal would be closing, and we might get even more clarity about how Xbox might port its XGS games to other platforms. Lol, then I might just skip the system altogether.

My XSX is my living room Gamepass box and my PS5 is my Sony 1st party box. I have a PC too though, capable enough to outshine the consoles but in an awkward spot, if I could have an easy-to-use-and-no-hassle solution to bring PC gaming to the living room I’m not sure I would need anything else.

 

[ChiefDada]

Yeah they’re 100% multiplat on this. Bad for console warriors who wanted something that can pull people into the Xbox ecosystem, great for everyone else. Minecraft is awesome and the most sold game in history. Microsoft want more of that.
Gamepass subscribers will stay winning, that’s about it when it comes to having some sort of Xbox advantage.

Theoretically, future xbox exclusives should be better off for with higher dev budget allocation.

 

[Heisenberg007]

My XSX is my living room Gamepass box and my PS5 is my Sony 1st party box. I have a PC too though, capable enough to outshine the consoles but in an awkward spot, if I could have an easy-to-use-and-no-hassle solution to bring PC gaming to the living room I’m not sure I would need anything else.

That is a very beautiful "awkward" spot!

If you have a powerful enough PC, you should definitely move it to a more accessible solution. The best of both worlds + mod support.

 

[Vognerful]

Isn't it weird how Bobby Kotick never put the old CODs on Game Pass? Is there any Activision game on GP? He probably doesn't believe in that model (like Zelnick from T2) but now his company is stuck with it because of MS.

I'm sure he will jump at the chance to extend the contract with Sony after 2024 now that he got the okay from MS. No CODs on GP even after 2025

Microsoft tries to win over regulators for massive Activision Blizzard deal with new app store commitments

Microsoft is trying to persuade regulators to approve its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard with a series of new app store commitments that it says will put the company "on the right side of history" as policymakers worldwide debate new laws to force competition open in digital...

amp.cnn.com

From Microsoft employee talking to CNN:

Based on earlier leaks for resident evil marketing deal with Sony, the deal limit the publisher from putting it on a competitor subScription service.

 

[Fredrik]

Theoretically, future xbox exclusives should be better off for with higher dev budget allocation.

Honestly I don’t think money has ever been a problem for MS 1st party devs. This strategy will generate a huge amount of money for MS as a company though. I bought stocks

 

[Craig of War]

What im getting from this is GAAS like COD and Overwatch will stay multiplatform wile single player games and new IP games will be exclusive to Xbox eco system we already seen this when they announce Starfield a single player game exclusive to Xbox Eco system

 

[Heisenberg007]

Sure - but lets not pretend this is a "debt they need to spend decades to recover from"

It's not a debt, but definitely an expense that they do need to recover from if they want to meet their primary business goal, i.e., to make a profit.

 

[Anos Voldigoad]

How hot is this news on a scale of 1 - 10? I don't care about COD but good news for future titles

 

[bender]

The dream for Diablo 4 on Switch or Switch 2 is alive.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

Based on earlier leaks for resident evil marketing deal with Sony, the deal limit the publisher from putting it on a competitor subScription service.

I know but that's only for the new releases. MS used to have the marketing for COD before.

What's stopping Activision to support GP? They have other series too.

Crash, Black Ops 3 and 4, MW remastered, WWII etc were all on PS+ years ago.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Exactly. The dynamic has shifted. The war is over.

As a consumer, I'm not sure how that could benefit me. When companies stop competing for you there are no good outcomes.

 

[Menzies]

It's not a debt, but definitely an expense that they do need to recover from if they want to meet their primary business goal, i.e., to make a profit.

This isn't correct at all.

They have transferred liquid assets to intangible assets. They are collecting more revenue now than just sitting on cash, job done.

 

[ChiefDada]

This isn't correct at all.

They have transferred liquid assets to intangible assets. They are collecting more revenue now than just sitting on cash, job done.

No, job not done.