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[In Cold Blood]

Which studios are you talking about?

Turn 10? They've been excellent. To date their only mistake was Forza 7, and even then it was a fantastic release.

343? Every game they've released is a top selling, very well critically received game. They are slower than expected on their first Halo that's a service as a game and also happened to be the most ambitious Halo campaign ever designed with tons of new, never before seen additions, including an actual open world in the campaign?

DoubleFine? They just delivered a multiple GOTY awarded and winning game in Psychonauts 2 that everybody at the studio said was made better thanks to Microsoft's acquisition.

Undead Labs has given amazing support to State of Decay 2 over the years. Them having development challenges with their most ambitious game yet, a big move towards a AAA title, also isn't anything that spells trouble or doom for them either. Every team is known to have its issues.

Rare? You may not be a fan of what they've made, but Sea of Thieves is their most successful game ever, and is a huge hit for them on Xbox and PC in places like steam. So they possibly rebooted Everwild. Stuff happens, doesn't mean it can't still be a great game from them.

Playgrounds? They've been firing on all cylinders since they first worked with Microsoft and delivered their biggest hit yet with Forza Horizon 5. They're making Fable. They've never made an RPG before, so of course that would be a challenge. I don't see the issue here.

InXile? They delivered an incredible game in Wasteland 3, a highly well received game that the studio said they were able to make way better thanks to being acquired by Microsoft.

Coalition? Come on, they've been as excellent for Microsoft as a studio can be.

Obsidian? Grounded has been a great title for them, very popular, very loved, they've released top tier DLC for The Outer Worlds since being with Microsoft, they're making Avowed, they're making The Outer Worlds 2. They've been a very efficient dev for Microsoft.

So what's really left to criticize? The newest studio that has never made a game before and needed to build up a studio operation? Aka The Initiative? I don't see a problem. They had creative differences with some of the team on the direction they wanted to go, and now they have a AAA development partner in Crystal Dynamics to make the game with.

They got compulsion games, they're making something new, remains to be seen what.

Age of Empires was a critical and commercial success.

Flight Sim was received very well.

Gears Tactics was received well.

Ninja Theory - looks like they could be putting together something very special over there with Hellblade 2. Can't wait to see it. When you take a step back from the console wars, you realize that there is nothing remotely alarming coming from Xbox Game Studios other than all studios are busy on lots of projects and had to make adjustments to their creative process during a global pandemic. A work from home policy couldn't have been easy for many of them, so of course it impacted a number of things. Xbox Game Studios weren't the only ones who have been affected.

Everything from WB games has seen delays from Gotham Knights, to Hogwarts Legacy to Suicide Squad. God of War was originally announced as a 2021 game and still has no release date for this year. I mean, we can do this all day. Games take time, there's nothing to worry about anywhere. 343i on the Halo side of things are working on their game and will deliver the content as they can deliver it. If people can't wait for them to do so, they can move on to other things. Xbox Game Studios is being held to an absurd standard considering they just came off a year where they were the best publisher of the year with the highest ever recorded average score.

There's quite literally nothing to worry about unless people think studios needing time to develop ambitious titles is a problem.

I really see it that same way.
Coming from where Xbox has come, it's amazing to see what they have put together since what, 2018?
Sure, 343 isn't the most amazing studio when it comes to graphics. They have had their trials and tribulations but Halo Infinate was an excellent game. Make no bones about it, the gaming media were wanting to smash Halo in their reviews. I think alot of them wanted it to be a dud. But it wasn't a dud. It was a really good game. It reclaimed that Halo gameplay and feel better than I thought they would.
The Initiative was always going to be a hard graft. To set up a brand new studio, from scratch, is ridiculous hard. To do that during Covid is even harder.
Many have said, and I agree with them, that there was too many chiefs and not enough Indians. They poached some of the best talent in the industry and brought them together. They would have all had their own views and ideas, and then you have Gallagher who at the end if the day is the boss. He obviously pulled rank and did what he thought he had to do which was to bring CD into the mix. The talent that came across to The Initiative felt that their ideas wernt getting heard and so they went to other companies. The idea of poaching the best in the industry and forming one super studio sounds amazing, until you have to deal with all the egos and different cultures.
The same thing would have happened if any other company had of done the same thing.
So, the Initiative move on, the game will get made, Crystal Dynamics is an excellent studio, and the industry is screaming out for talent so the guys who left will get snapped up by other companies and will also move on.
There is a reason that MS is buying studios now as opposed to setting more up from scratch. You don't see Sony setting up many AAA studios from scratch nowadays, they are also buying existing companies.

 

[sol_bad]

Neither did Sony.

eh?

 

[Banjo64]

And then there are serious people who dare to make concern threads about PS Studios.

I’d probably say that Nintendo are the most consistent at putting out quality games, and with unmatched regularity. However, Sony are great too.

 

[sol_bad]

Which studios are you talking about?

Turn 10? They've been excellent. To date their only mistake was Forza 7, and even then it was a fantastic release.

343? Every game they've released is a top selling, very well critically received game. They are slower than expected on their first Halo that's a service as a game and also happened to be the most ambitious Halo campaign ever designed with tons of new, never before seen additions, including an actual open world in the campaign?

DoubleFine? They just delivered a multiple GOTY awarded and winning game in Psychonauts 2 that everybody at the studio said was made better thanks to Microsoft's acquisition.

Undead Labs has given amazing support to State of Decay 2 over the years. Them having development challenges with their most ambitious game yet, a big move towards a AAA title, also isn't anything that spells trouble or doom for them either. Every team is known to have its issues.

Rare? You may not be a fan of what they've made, but Sea of Thieves is their most successful game ever, and is a huge hit for them on Xbox and PC in places like steam. So they possibly rebooted Everwild. Stuff happens, doesn't mean it can't still be a great game from them.

Playgrounds? They've been firing on all cylinders since they first worked with Microsoft and delivered their biggest hit yet with Forza Horizon 5. They're making Fable. They've never made an RPG before, so of course that would be a challenge. I don't see the issue here.

InXile? They delivered an incredible game in Wasteland 3, a highly well received game that the studio said they were able to make way better thanks to being acquired by Microsoft.

Coalition? Come on, they've been as excellent for Microsoft as a studio can be.

Obsidian? Grounded has been a great title for them, very popular, very loved, they've released top tier DLC for The Outer Worlds since being with Microsoft, they're making Avowed, they're making The Outer Worlds 2. They've been a very efficient dev for Microsoft.

So what's really left to criticize? The newest studio that has never made a game before and needed to build up a studio operation? Aka The Initiative? I don't see a problem. They had creative differences with some of the team on the direction they wanted to go, and now they have a AAA development partner in Crystal Dynamics to make the game with.

They got compulsion games, they're making something new, remains to be seen what.

Age of Empires was a critical and commercial success.

Flight Sim was received very well.

Gears Tactics was received well.

Ninja Theory - looks like they could be putting together something very special over there with Hellblade 2. Can't wait to see it. When you take a step back from the console wars, you realize that there is nothing remotely alarming coming from Xbox Game Studios other than all studios are busy on lots of projects and had to make adjustments to their creative process during a global pandemic. A work from home policy couldn't have been easy for many of them, so of course it impacted a number of things. Xbox Game Studios weren't the only ones who have been affected.

Everything from WB games has seen delays from Gotham Knights, to Hogwarts Legacy to Suicide Squad. God of War was originally announced as a 2021 game and still has no release date for this year. I mean, we can do this all day. Games take time, there's nothing to worry about anywhere. 343i on the Halo side of things are working on their game and will deliver the content as they can deliver it. If people can't wait for them to do so, they can move on to other things. Xbox Game Studios is being held to an absurd standard considering they just came off a year where they were the best publisher of the year with the highest ever recorded average score.

There's quite literally nothing to worry about unless people think studios needing time to develop ambitious titles is a problem.

And you'd be happy to spend $60-$70 on each of these games?

 

[bushwookie]

The metacritic score is the only thing they can hold on to now, after all. But apart from that, 2 games were developed for PC and PS5 and had nothing to do with Xbox Game Studios. Then we have Halo which in my opinion got way too high scores for what generic shooter you got in return. Only Forza Horizon 5 could be seen as a great game, but it too is nothing more than Horizon 4 with a different map and a graphical update to many.

It's just a fucking joke. And then there are serious people who dare to make concern threads about PS Studios. They are the only ones who are consistent and don't shout too high from the rooftops like Xbox mostly did before and during the xbox launch. After that they were pretty quiet when they saw that the practice proved to be different.

Well to be honest, I don't really see it that way. Metacritic was the only thing that mattered before. Of course you're downplaying it now. It no longer really supports your narrative.

A joke would be pretending Demons Souls isn't a decade old game, and is actually a brand new exclusive.

A joke would be pretending that Rift Apart is some sort of masterpiece that's only possible due to PS5's unique setup.

A joke would be pretending Returnal is exceptional in any way.

A joke would be pretending GT7 isn't engaging in shady MTX practices, while also pretending it hasn't been surpassed in quality by several competitors.

A joke would be pretending PSNow is now a resounding success by simply adding another subs userbase count to it.

A longtime running joke would be pretending early last gen, that power was all that mattered... Up until the XBOX released, and then power no longer mattered because it was about the exclusives... Up until MS acquired studios and had more than Sony, and began releasing games with decent Metacritic scores, and then it was about... well... whatever tiny detail they could manage to grasp onto. Mostly it's subjective opinions, and desperate pleas that come off as "can we just please talk about the past as if it were today?"

I guess people see things differently. Ah well, guess that's what makes the world go round.

 

[bushwookie]

And you'd be happy to spend $60-$70 on each of these games?

Well fortunately for Xbox players, they don't have to, so it's a moot point.

But compared to a decades old Demons Souls, Another subpar MTX focused GT7, or Returnal? Yeah, easily.

 

[Topher]

Wow.....this thread has devolved into full-fledge console warrior mode. Nice job guys.

 

[dcmk7]

Well fortunately for Xbox players, they don't have to, so it's a moot point.

But compared to a decades old Demons Souls, Another subpar MTX focused GT7, or Returnal? Yeah, easily.

Not much of a gamer huh? Each of those are three critically acclaimed games. Returnal is on many GOTY lists, since it's a great new IP. It's good to see first party studios taking a risk like that.

 

[Dolodolo]

Not much of a gamer huh? Each of those are three critically acclaimed games. Returnal is on many GOTY lists, since it's a great new IP. It's good to see first party studios taking a risk like that.

Why are you telling him this?
The man just came to extrapolate his opinion to others, as something objective

 

[Dolodolo]

Well to be honest, I don't really see it that way. Metacritic was the only thing that mattered before. Of course you're downplaying it now. It no longer really supports your narrative.

A joke would be pretending Demons Souls isn't a decade old game, and is actually a brand new exclusive.

A joke would be pretending that Rift Apart is some sort of masterpiece that's only possible due to PS5's unique setup.

A joke would be pretending Returnal is exceptional in any way.

A joke would be pretending GT7 isn't engaging in shady MTX practices, while also pretending it hasn't been surpassed in quality by several competitors.

A joke would be pretending PSNow is now a resounding success by simply adding another subs userbase count to it.

A longtime running joke would be pretending early last gen, that power was all that mattered... Up until the XBOX released, and then power no longer mattered because it was about the exclusives... Up until MS acquired studios and had more than Sony, and began releasing games with decent Metacritic scores, and then it was about... well... whatever tiny detail they could manage to grasp onto. Mostly it's subjective opinions, and desperate pleas that come off as "can we just please talk about the past as if it were today?"

I guess people see things differently. Ah well, guess that's what makes the world go round.

God. And some people write such garbage in all seriousness ...

 

[alabtrosMyster]

i dunno if it was the narrator voice or how they written the dialogue but my brain froze. They didn’t seem critical of anything, just a video telling the “epic” tale of how MS went from rags to riches! Basically a Disney tale! Princess brought things and lived happily!

I’m kinda exaggerating but…

It's OK MS has a giant marketing budget to ensure their social media coverage is both wide and positive.

 

[phil_t98]

The metacritic score is the only thing they can hold on to now, after all. But apart from that, 2 games were developed for PC and PS5 and had nothing to do with Xbox Game Studios. Then we have Halo which in my opinion got way too high scores for what generic shooter you got in return. Only Forza Horizon 5 could be seen as a great game, but it too is nothing more than Horizon 4 with a different map and a graphical update to many.

It's just a fucking joke. And then there are serious people who dare to make concern threads about PS Studios. They are the only ones who are consistent and don't shout too high from the rooftops like Xbox mostly did before and during the xbox launch. After that they were pretty quiet when they saw that the practice proved to be different.

wasn't Spiderman MM just the same as Spiderman just slightly changed graphics? I do know because I own them both. its virtually the same map.

a lot of games are just new maps with updated graphics and a lot of people love that. hell the Gran truism and Forza games are mostly just updated graphics but we all love them

 

[adamsapple]

Personally, I have been more than happy with what Microsoft has given me this generation simply because while several games aren't for me, the quality has been consistently high with only Ghostwire Tokyo being under an 80 on OC. Gears Tactics, Flight Simulator, Psychonauts 2, Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite in the first 14 months is already leagues better than the first 14 months of Xbox One. Add in Age of Empires IV on PC which is in the low 80's and Deathloop which is in the high 80's and both of which will release on Xbox Series this Fall along with Starfield and the return of Forza Motorsport as a platform for the generation, the quality is better than it's ever been for Xbox and the vast majority of studios haven't even released a game yet for this generation.

Ninja Theory has Hellblade 2 which will be an improvement over the first game in every aspect. Playground's second studio working on the Fable reboot could easily be their massive breakout outside of racing even though it's a separate studio and team that has nothing to do with Forza Horizon outside of the Forza Tech that is being used for the game. The Coalition is one of the best studios in gaming when it comes visual fidelity and arguably the best studio when it comes to getting the most out of the Unreal Engine. Gears 6 is a guarantee and they have a smaller new IP that they're working on.

Obsidian has Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 plus Josh Sawyer's AA title that is said to be similar to Disco Elysium. Obsidian releases quality games and rarely misses. InXile is working on a first person steampunk RPG and coming off the success of Wasteland 3, both of these two studios will end up being steals for Microsoft as this generation progresses. Compulsion Games has been mediocre up to this point but they're rumored to be working on an AAA third person action adventure game so they can only improve. Undead Labs has had great support for SOD 2 and SOD 3 getting a massive budget and running on UE 5, game could finally be what it should have been with SOD 2.

Rare has a very successful Sea of Thieves and Everwild seems to have been rebooted but not every studio is going to be perfect. Double Fine just released a highly rated and critically acclaimed Psychonuats 2 and while their games aren't for me, Tim Schaffer rarely misses. The Initiative had problems but thankfully, they all left and Crystal Dynamics came in to take over development with Gallagher overseeing Perfect Dark and im super hyped to see what they do as im way more confident in Crystal Dynamics and Gallagher than I was with the "so called amazing talent" from The Initiative which if anything was simply "too many chefs in the kitchen" and thankfully, they're all gone except for Gallagher who I have far more confidence in than all of those people who left combined.

Arkane is working on Redfall and they simply don't miss. Every game release has been at least an 80+. Id Software released Doom Eternal two years ago and is said to be working on a Quake reboot. While not for me, they resurrected Doom and will probably do the same for Quake. Machine Games has Indiana Jones which im super hyped for and an unannounced game which I believe will be Wolfenstein III which will conclude the series. Tango Gameworks is basically the underrated studio and while I wish they would give me The Evil Within 3, I am interested in seeing what Mikami's dream game ends up being and John Johanas has his own game in development.

And of course, you have Bethesda Game Studios with Starfield. If Starfield ends up being "Skyrim in Space", then they will get back their RPG crown that they lost to CDPR in 2015. None of this includes future content for Halo Infinite from 343 Industries, Roundhouse Studios, Zenimax Online Studios, the several third party AAA exclusive games that they have contracts for or the pending acquisition of Activision.

This generation is going to be the best ever for Xbox and more than likely surpass all three previous generations combined with more studios, games than ever before and the overall highest quality level that they've ever had before. Best of all, we're only 18 months into the generation with a very long ways to go. Hyped!!!!!

This is probably the most level headed post this topic has seen and more people need to read it.

Rather than perpetuate the doom-o-clock, it's better for all gamers involved to have MS striving to get better and improve their image after the (mostly) abysmal XBO generation. MS giving it their all makes Sony want to do more which in-turn benefits gamers in that eco system.

 

[Banjo64]

Well to be honest, I don't really see it that way. Metacritic was the only thing that mattered before. Of course you're downplaying it now. It no longer really supports your narrative.

A joke would be pretending Demons Souls isn't a decade old game, and is actually a brand new exclusive.

A joke would be pretending that Rift Apart is some sort of masterpiece that's only possible due to PS5's unique setup.

A joke would be pretending Returnal is exceptional in any way.

A joke would be pretending GT7 isn't engaging in shady MTX practices, while also pretending it hasn't been surpassed in quality by several competitors.

A joke would be pretending PSNow is now a resounding success by simply adding another subs userbase count to it.

A longtime running joke would be pretending early last gen, that power was all that mattered... Up until the XBOX released, and then power no longer mattered because it was about the exclusives... Up until MS acquired studios and had more than Sony, and began releasing games with decent Metacritic scores, and then it was about... well... whatever tiny detail they could manage to grasp onto. Mostly it's subjective opinions, and desperate pleas that come off as "can we just please talk about the past as if it were today?"

I guess people see things differently. Ah well, guess that's what makes the world go round.

 

[bushwookie]

Not much of a gamer huh? Each of those are three critically acclaimed games. Returnal is on many GOTY lists, since it's a great new IP. It's good to see first party studios taking a risk like that.

Returnal just isn't my type of game to be honest. So to be fair to it, it could be a well made game, that just wasn't for me.

As for the other two? One was also critically acclaimed back over a decade ago. The other recently put itself in the record books for having the lowest user score for a Sony game in history.

 

[Y0ssarian]

343 should be canned

 

[bushwookie]

God. And some people write such garbage in all seriousness ...

The word "joke" is in there 6 times. Garbage only begets more garbage it seems.

And to think you could've broken the cycle at merely two.

 

[Darth_Ghandi]

This gen is the first one I’ve bought a MS console since the 360. My one issue is how Halo isn’t what I hoped it would be but other then that people should let other online get their goat.
It’s fine.

 

[Hezekiah]

Well fortunately for Xbox players, they don't have to, so it's a moot point.

But compared to a decades old Demons Souls, Another subpar MTX focused GT7, or Returnal? Yeah, easily.

And unfortunately for those of us waiting, 2022 has been bare so far, with still no date for Redfall, and Forza Motorsport only a maybe at this point.

They need to increase their efficiency, and 343i needs an overhaul.

 

[PropellerEar]

Well to be honest, I don't really see it that way. Metacritic was the only thing that mattered before. Of course you're downplaying it now. It no longer really supports your narrative.

A joke would be pretending Demons Souls isn't a decade old game, and is actually a brand new exclusive.

A joke would be pretending that Rift Apart is some sort of masterpiece that's only possible due to PS5's unique setup.

A joke would be pretending Returnal is exceptional in any way.

A joke would be pretending GT7 isn't engaging in shady MTX practices, while also pretending it hasn't been surpassed in quality by several competitors.

A joke would be pretending PSNow is now a resounding success by simply adding another subs userbase count to it.

A longtime running joke would be pretending early last gen, that power was all that mattered... Up until the XBOX released, and then power no longer mattered because it was about the exclusives... Up until MS acquired studios and had more than Sony, and began releasing games with decent Metacritic scores, and then it was about... well... whatever tiny detail they could manage to grasp onto. Mostly it's subjective opinions, and desperate pleas that come off as "can we just please talk about the past as if it were today?"

I guess people see things differently. Ah well, guess that's what makes the world go round.

You're a joke.

 

[PropellerEar]

And unfortunately for those of us waiting, 2022 has been bare so far, with still no date for Redfall, and Forza Motorsport only a maybe at this point.

They need to increase their efficiency, and 343i needs an overhaul.

This sounds like a joke, but it's definitely real.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

What's this obsession with "AAA GOTY" lmao?

Is not an obsession. It's about been catgoric/higly specific when pointing out the struggle that MS has had creating new First party AAA IP GOTY contenders.

Why yall expecting "Sony-like cinematic over-shoulder blockbuster" experiences from Xbox?

Wrong. Been GOTY contender has nothing to do with 'sony games'. You can thing that due to Playstation dominating what they do best. But 'GOTY Contender' is a phrase than of course encompass, storytelling, but also quality benchmark in game production and the zeitgeist that a game has in the conversation culture/discourse of video games. In other words: been 'GOTY contender' is more that just a game focused on story. Forza Horizon/Flight sims are a GOTY contender games. Issue? Not a new IPs.

They are having their own thing.
But most importantly: Who asked?

We love Xbox for Gears Tactics - TPS title
We love Xbox for Age of Empires and Halo Wars - RTS titles
We love Xbox for Flight Sim 2020 - Simulator title
We love Xbox for Sea of Thieves - MMO title
We love Xbox for Forza Horizon - Arcade open world racing title
We love Xbox for Ori - Metroidvania title

Xbox offers unique genres as flagships for their lineups. They continue investing in so many niche genres, others wouldn't even bother.

Every each one of this games I mentioned are amazing in what they do for their genres. But Boutique journal outlets never make games like Forza or Flight Sim GOTY.
Yet this does not downplay how phenomenal those games are for their genre.

Again, because that is not the issue MS has had over the years. It wouldn't been fair to generalized it.

That's why I keep buying their games - variety. They got balls to experiment and release flagship games that are not targeted to sell 15 million copies.

Again, this is not the point. This is not the issue MS has had over the years. To be even more explicit, clear.

Microsoft Game Studios is a publisher, a publisher....publishes games. What kind of games? Well, that's going to depend of the size and resources that publishers has. Microsoft Game Studiosn(because of it's nature of been First Party..and because is from MS, one of the most rich companies in the world) is expected to be the very best, or at least to compete in the upper echelon of videogame production.

So, they have their:
1. Big Established franchises (Forza, Gears, Halo)

2. Smaller, risky, niche, experimental or artist games too.

3. They have struggling creating New First Party AAA IP GOTY contenders. (They need those too).

 

[PropellerEar]

343 should be canned

Are you joking?
If not, I understand!

 

[PropellerEar]

3. They have struggling creating New First Party AAA IP GOTY contenders. (They need those too).

They had The Initiative, but quess what... Just a joke.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

In a thread about the future of Microsoft’s first party studios, Why are you piping up to tell us what we already know, that Xbox had a mediocre first party lineup in the past generation?

Because the past informs the future.

Will you also extensively discuss the color of the skies too? Perhaps also talk about how fish swim in water?

We need to be highly categorical/specific because is a slippery slope to be general when we are talking about something very specific and punctual.

No, the issues of the past aren’t really a thing anymore.

When videogames take such a long time to make (espepecially AAA new IPs). Those past mistakes are definitely having repercussions to this very day.

The past you seem eager to cite as an analogue is a period where Xbox had about 7 studios in total for first party (Rare, Mojang, 343, Undead Labs, Turn 10, Playground and the Coalition) and had limited funding and power within Microsoft. Trying to use that as an analogue for a period where they’ve got 30 studios (soon to increase post Activision), where Microsoft Gaming is now a fundamental pillar of Microsoft and has access to orders of magnitude more funding makes zero sense.

Is not an analog of anything. Is how things have happened over the years and the negative effects of those bad decisions have had over the Microsost game Studios Fisrt-Party videogame production output. (Especially the creation of AAA New IPs. GOTY contenders).

The fact that '[Xbox] has access to orders of magnitude more funding' and still they haven't overcome their main issue (First Part AAA New IP GOTY contenders) just makes it even more clear and puts into contexts how bad their state has been.

 

[PropellerEar]

Because the past informs the future.



We need to be highly categorical/specific because is a slippery slope to be general when we are talking about something very specific and punctual.

When videogames take such a long time to make (espepecially AAA new IPs). Those past mistakes are definitely having repercussions to this very day.


Is not an analog of anything. Is how things have happened over the years and the negative effects of those bad decisions have had over the Microsost game Studios Fisrt-Party videogame production output. (Especially the creation of AAA New IPs. GOTY contenders).

The fact that '[Xbox] has access to orders of magnitude more funding' and still they haven't overcome their main issue (First Part AAA New IP GOTY contenders) just makes it even more clear and puts into contexts how bad their state has been.

This post is no joke!

 

[Clear]

The fact that '[Xbox] has access to orders of magnitude more funding' and still they haven't overcome their main issue (First Part AAA New IP GOTY contenders) just makes it even more clear and puts into contexts how bad their state has been.

Exactly. 343i was charged with handling Xbox' crown jewel franchise. No doubt they would have been given the full weight of funding and resources in order to accomplish this task, but its hardly been smooth sailing over the past 15(!) years.

The plain fact is that this cannot be blamed on external forces.

 

[PropellerEar]

Exactly. 343i was charged with handling Xbox' crown jewel franchise. No doubt they would have been given the full weight of funding and resources in order to accomplish this task, but its hardly been smooth sailing over the past 15(!) years.

The plain fact is that this cannot be blamed on external forces.

When they said $500M budget, they weren't joking.

 

[Topher]

Alas as the great @Concern said

 

[dcmk7]

PM me and fight me.

 

[Papacheeks]

wasn't Spiderman MM just the same as Spiderman just slightly changed graphics? I do know because I own them both. its virtually the same map.

a lot of games are just new maps with updated graphics and a lot of people love that. hell the Gran truism and Forza games are mostly just updated graphics but we all love them

Newer version of the engine, newer animations system for miles since he is faster, and the miles literally has mostly abilities based combat instead of gadgets like original. Same world map but this takes place in harlem mostly. Which was not part of original Map in terms of traversal area.

Miles morales still had more unique locations, and more combat options on top of a more updated engine. They went back and redid Spiderman 2018 with all the updates in the engine for fast loading, ray tracing, farther draw distances ect.

But Miles Morales was built mostly with a lot of the new workflows in their engine that uses PS5/ Specifically how it renders city, and how it handles assets for instant loading.

 

[Topher]

PM me and fight me.

 

[Lognor]

And unfortunately for those of us waiting, 2022 has been bare so far, with still no date for Redfall, and Forza Motorsport only a maybe at this point.

They need to increase their efficiency, and 343i needs an overhaul.

Yes, they need to increase their efficiency. Is 2022 an outlier or is this what we have to look forward to with Microsoft? I would guess the latter.

No one is expecting Sony's pitiful output from 2021 to continue. And it hasn't. They had an off year. I'm guessing the same is true for Microsoft this year.

I think some of these inefficiencies for Sony and Microsoft is due to the pandemic. Cut them some slack.

 

[phil_t98]

Newer version of the engine, newer animations system for miles since he is faster, and the miles literally has mostly abilities based combat instead of gadgets like original. Same world map but this takes place in harlem mostly. Which was not part of original Map in terms of traversal area.

Miles morales still had more unique locations, and more combat options on top of a more updated engine. They went back and redid Spiderman 2018 with all the updates in the engine for fast loading, ray tracing, farther draw distances ect.

But Miles Morales was built mostly with a lot of the new workflows in their engine that uses PS5/ Specifically how it renders city, and how it handles assets for instant loading.

I own them both. both on ps4 not ps5 as I haven't got one as of yet. I would say Spiderman looks better than MM in my opinion. I love the first one but not MM but I haven't finished MM yet. but same map practically

but the point I was getting at is most games are newer maps of the same system. MM isn't a million milers away from the first one.

Gran turismo 7 insta a million miles away from GT-sport but uses better physics and a newer version on the engine same with Forza games. all have little differences but can be seen to be similar to

 

[Topher]

Yes, they need to increase their efficiency. Is 2022 an outlier or is this what we have to look forward to with Microsoft? I would guess the latter.

No one is expecting Sony's pitiful output from 2021 to continue. And it hasn't. They had an off year. I'm guessing the same is true for Microsoft this year.

I think some of these inefficiencies for Sony and Microsoft is due to the pandemic. Cut them some slack.

I would not call having two first party games winning multiple GOTY awards as having a "pitiful year".

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

I have justifiably very little faith in MS managing studios, there's just a terrible track record of mismanagement that spans years and years at this point (with Phil Spencer being in charge for ages).

You can buy all the studios and publishers you want but if you fail get the most out of them it doesn't really work.

Of all MS studios and IPs Forza with Turn 10/Playground seem like the only success story since the 360 days (and they even milked that IP as much as possible).

Exactly^

People are acting like Xbox just got into the console space. Since most of the new acquisitions happened in 2018, I guess we have to pretend the Xbox 360 and Xbox one eras didn't happened and give them a clean slate.

Game pass hands down has been one of the best ideas they have created but when you factor in the games they launched the Xbox series X/S and the output since then it has not been good and I don't think anything is wrong with calling them out on that.

Just think if they didn't buy Bethesda, what games would people be looking forward to this year? Most of the games people are hyped about are big question marks with barely any gameplay shown.

I think its foolish to not be skeptical about what to expect from Xbox at this point, but of course everyone wants to be wrong and get great games from them at the end of the day.

I still don't get it how this threads attract so many people that won't never buy a console of them. It's just mind boggling that you enter a thread on purpose to shit on fucking thing you will never buy. I know many of those are just useful idiots, but still...

Comments like this are stupid, that's the point of a message board. Some people are not going to have the same opinions. Would you prefer a echo chamber of people that think just like you about everything?

Also how would you know they don't plan to or have not purchased a Xbox? lol

 

[Lognor]

I would not call having two first party games winning multiple GOTY awards as having a "pitiful year".

You're right. Maybe a bit hyperbolic. But you're talking about Returnal and Ratchet and Clank, I presume? Two games that released in the first half of the year and not the type of AAA narrative driven games that Sony is known for (TLOU, Uncharted, GoT).

I assume Sony considers them AAA, but they are nowhere on the same level as the other games I mentioned. So you're right. It wasn't pitiful. But it was definitely a down year compared to their past years. This year is already better, and more in line with their past releases.

Microsoft is having a down year this year. Sony had a down year last year. I would say for both they were one offs and not indicative of what we can expect going forward.

 

[Loope]

Exactly^

People are acting like Xbox just got into the console space. Since most of the new acquisitions happened in 2018, I guess we have to pretend the Xbox 360 and Xbox one eras didn't happened and give them a clean slate.

Game pass hands down has been one of the best ideas they have created but when you factor in the games they launched the Xbox series X/S and the output since then it has not been good and I don't think anything is wrong with calling them out on that.

Just think if they didn't buy Bethesda, what games would people be looking forward to this year? Most of the games people are hyped about are big question marks with barely any gameplay shown.

I think its foolish to not be skeptical about what to expect from Xbox at this point, but of course everyone wants to be wrong and get great games from them at the end of the day.



Comments like this are stupid, that's the point of a message board. Some people are not going to have the same opinions. Would you prefer a echo chamber of people that think just like you about everything?

Also how would you know they don't plan to or have not purchased a Xbox? lol

I know who i'm talking about. Discuss whatever you want, i just find it childish to go into a thread with the single purpose of shitting on something you don't want. "lol"

 

[adamsapple]

I would not call having two first party games winning multiple GOTY awards as having a "pitiful year".

Yes, unfortunately more often than not, it gets forgotten that both the big consoles had 2 first party games which won multiple GoTY awards in 2021.


We need to