Seeing that damn Series S ad just now just ... lol
They tried the "release good games, sell consoles" approach Sony and Nintendo have been successful at for years, and it didn't win them the gen. So what did they do? They switched their entire focus to "services" and "value". Not games. Services.
They don't give a damn about advancing the medium we love. That ship seems to have sailed. It does not seem important to them anymore.
Poor studio management, entire calendar years without first party releases. Not investing in new IP, same promises every year, telling us to wait.
They make stupid fucking decisions:
- Money hatting The Mid instead Silent Hill 2 (same devs).
- Turning down Spider-Man as an exclusive on their platform.
- Spending 100 million dollars on 1 year of Tomb Raider exclusivity. Sony bought Insomniac for 200 million. Be smarter.
They show up to a gameshow with 103 million viewers with a Gamepass Ad. Not a single update on a single game. Some of these games were announced in 2019.
They push the Series S (an underpowered budget console that, despite whatever Kool-Aid some Indie Studio head tells you to drink, will be responsible for limiting the potential of multiplat games for an entire generation) more than the Series X.
Phil's strategy is to literally
buy out publishers, then put their most popular games on
every. single. platform. From literal goddamn TV apps, to mobile, to weak machines like the Nintendo Switch.
If it was up to MS, they would buy Take 2, then require all GTA games to release on the Switch moving forward- Scaled down and downgraded to hell. Ambition and fidelity across all platforms would have to be limited. But hey, it sells, and gives gamers "options". Who fucking cares. Make a mindblowing product and sell it to its target audience. If you need to reach a more casual, younger audience... then invest in NEW IP.
Alright, Gamepass.
I'm not even going to mention much about this abomination.
I'm going to let Matt Damon do the talking. Watch this clip.
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Theres a cost for everything. You have to be blind or naive to not see the parallels between what is happening in Hollywood and what will happen with Gamepass.
Just replace those DVD's with games (and people no longer buying them because of Gamepass) and replace those types of movies he's referring to with: Quality AAA titles, new AAA IP, experimental AAA titles, etc. If the "Netflix of Games" becomes a reality, then studios will NOT see the need to, or be brave enough to green light certain games. Point blank. You are already seeing gamers complain about paying $70 for games. It will get worse as the gamepass model contiunes to grow. You can kiss your Hollywood Blockbuster AAA style games goodbye.
It seems Microsoft, especially as of late, has switched their focus entirely. What was once "make great games, sell them, invest in new IP to reach new audiences" approach is now a "make every single game playable everywhere, for free, regardless of quality."
This approach will hold the medium back. It will stagnant creativity, growth. Tech won't stop advancing, but NO ONE will be utilizing said tech to its full potential. Advancements in games will be hard to notice, devs will have to scale back their visions - All to make kids, casual gamers who keep FIFA, Madden and COD #1 for all of eternity happy while you and I play second fiddle and get fed sloppy seconds.
Phil needs to go.
www.cnn.com
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