@nessisonett I agree, but one of the things absolutely nobody on here is even talking about, or considering, is that actually Sony were more concerned about Nintendo acquiring Japanese exclusives and studios. They are genuinely concerned the big N are sniffing around a number of teams / studios Sony currently enjoy a healthy relationship with. Level-5, Atlus and Koei Tecmo are all supposedly on Nintendo's radar along with Platinum Games. So Sony are sort of trapped with a pincer movement here. I think there might be more acquisitions from them, but it'll be piecemeal and not a big splash like buying Capcom or Konami, which just isn't feasible for Sony in my opinion.
@phil_j I'm the same. I have quite a high end computer which I play a few games on (mainly staretgy) but I prefer to play most games with a controller on my couch. lol. I don't really care aboout Framerates or anything like that cause I rarely play FPS. And coming from the dawn of time, I'm used to graphics being pants so everything now seems amazing quality.
@SirAngry I never even thought of Nintendo buying any of those, but each would make sense in their own right. Again though, for anybody simping for capitalism, if Nintendo bought out Platinum, that would impact on a potential Nier 3 or Vanquish 2 coming to PS5 or probably even being made. If Sony bought Platinum, Bayonetta would be negatively impacted due to the rights situation. For many developers, freedom to work with different publishers results in a net gain for us, the consumers.
@nessisonett I made a conscious decision early in my career to move on from Rare, who I loved, to Free Radical Design because I felt Nintendo were far to restrictive creatively. I moved on from Bizarre because they also got too close to one specific platform holder. The truth is though that I just don't think there are truly many independent studios out there anymore. Most are tied to a big publisher or first party, and are in the position of doing what they're told. I just don't think if you're an IO Interactive or a Remedy from my list say, that the environment is conducive to your continued independence / existence. Studio heads at these places are responsible for hundreds of staff and their livelihoods, and with the way things are going that'd be a stress / responsibility I would not want. I fear a serious round of consolidation incoming... and people really shouldn't discount Nintendo buying studios, they are on the prowl because everyone is currently fearful of Google, Facebook and even Apple trying to muscle in on the platform turf.
@SirAngry Just going to quietly have a fangasm since Timesplitters and the sequels were a huge part of my childhood. Now that’s a series I would love to see come back and IIRC it was one of the IPs picked up by THQ Nordic.
@nessisonett yeah it was sad to see what happened to FRD, Doak, Norgate and Ellis were top peeps, but I think FRD provides an example of what I mean. EA ruined TS3 with their insistence on certain "things" and Ubishaft just wouldn't leave well enough alone or properly support Haze. Basically the big publishers killed them. It was a sad day when they ceased to be and became Crytek Nottingham, and then Dambuster. Sigh. But that's the fate that faces most of these independent studios, you're one wrong decision away from becoming a support team to one of the mega-franchises.
I hope buying studios doesn’t become the norm and also hope that MS have Bethesda to push Game Pass without making games exclusive.
I doubt Sony will respond particularly as they may see it as MS needing to do something to close the gap this gen but resting on their laurels isn’t a good move.
Either way, I will still be waiting at least six months, if not a year, before taking the step to next gen.
@JJ2 You can't buy a company if they don't want it. You can force your way into buying it by buying up shares, i.e. a hostile takeover, but the talent can easily move to another studio if they don't want to be bought. Bluepoint already makes games exclusively for Sony, so there's no reason to buy them either. We need some independent studios left in this industry...
@JohnnyShoulder Yeah, and that should be encouraged IMO! A bigger presence in Europe and Japan/Asie wouldn't hurt either, since most of their games are US made. MM is an incredibly creative team, but they're so busy with Dreams (is that getting a PS5 patch??), I hope they're able to release other stuff this gen as well. Dreams is cool, but it would be a shame to see all that talent wasted if Dreams doesn't take off.
@Octane
Oh I didnt mean hostile take over. Of course only if they want duh.
I mean what I said. That would HELP them get going with original IP they actually would like to .
The crowd, accepting this immediately, assumed the anti-Eurasian posters and banners everywhere were the result of acts of sabotage by agents of Goldstein and ripped them from the walls.
Unless I spend a LOT of time trying to find the 'size' of each company - in terms of their studio count, Ubisoft are probably the biggest - even after this deal with Microsoft and Bethesda - not that it matters as it really comes down to whether or not the games you want to play are accessible on the platform(s) you want to play them on. It doesn't matter if Nintendo has more studio's than Sony for example if Sony is outputting more games a year you actually want to play.
The main difference between Sony/Nintendo and Microsoft - certainly since MS have appointed Phil Spencer - is that if you want to play Sony/Nintendo games, you also have to buy the hardware - but with MS, you don't need a 'Console', you just need a Microsoft account. I know some games you may not even need that, but if you don't want an Xbox, you can still play the games on PC and on Mobile. Xbox isn't the Console, its the entire Microsoft gaming division and as such, some Xbox Studio games may not actually come to the Console at all. Gears Pop is a Mobile game and I am sure that Alpha Dog (one of the new studios in the Bethesda deal) has only made Mobile games.
Many thought Playground were already a Microsoft Studio - if they even had heard of them as it seems a lot think Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon are the same as you often hear MS has relied on 'Forza' (as well as Halo and Gears despite Halo Wars being a very different Genre let alone the couple of 'arcade' twin stick shooters in the Halo franchise and now Gears too has Tactics and Pop which are different games to Gears 1-5 and Judgement. So that acquisition would be like Sony acquiring Kojima or Housemarque - its not a 'loss' to the other side because they weren't (or haven't) made games for them anyway. It just looks 'better' on the portfolio. Its the same with Undead Labs (State of Decay series) as they have only made games for Xbox - these to me are portfolio studio's - add to the number of studios without really having an impact on the fans of the other - unless they had some 'hope' that one day, these studio's may make a game on their platform of choice.
I do wonder though if Sony were to purchase a group of studio's known for multiplatform releases, whether they too would consider releasing games on Xbox for example on a 'game by game' basis. I am not talking about honouring contracts - like Deathloop or Ghostwire, but unannounced games - Like Wolfenstein '3', a Sequel to Doom Eternal, Fallout 5 or even Elder Scrolls 6. Starfield is slightly different as it is a 'new' IP - but even if you don't want an Xbox, you could still play on other platforms in the MS ecosystem. Mojang have continued to support Minecraft and even the spin-off, Minecraft Dungeons as released on Playstation and Switch.
I don't agree with exclusivity - timed or otherwise regardless. I know 'why' it exists and I know that many people want exclusives - even though it only matters to the Platform maker in reality. It doesn't really matter if Xbox gamers could also play Uncharted or Horizon for example as it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of playing that game. You could argue that the quality 'could' be compromised by introducing more platforms to the development but you could also argue that the extra revenue potential could well be put to good use to ensure that the game still meets, if not exceeds the same level we saw. It shouldn't matter that a sector of other gamers you don't know also get to play and enjoy the same games as you can on your platform of choice. If ALL games released on ALL hardware that can run it at an acceptable standard, it benefits ALL gamers and can significantly increase the revenue from sales making the development less of a risk. Of course, if you don't have 'confidence' in your platform, that you may lose some sales to the competition and of course, some of the profits sales of that game going to the competition (no more than EA, Ubisoft, Activision etc lose to Sony/MS - but you still get the profit as a publisher on those platforms), then you can understand why they make Exclusives to 'force' you to buy their hardware and any other games/peripherals too. It doesn't 'really' benefit gamers and actually divides them, ends up being another area that fanboys can use to sling at the other fanboys but really, it doesn't matte that as a gamer, you and every other gamer gets to enjoy the same games on the platform they prefer.
None of us yet know what this deal will mean in the long term - especially for those established franchises. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if these studios do make 'exclusives' - much like Grounded and Avowed by Obsidian, but those are 'new' IP's built specifically for MS. Whether Obsidian make another Outer Worlds and release on PS or not, we really don't know. We can say the same about another Wastelands (4) and, it seems, it made sense for MS to release Minecraft Dungeons on PS too. Its difficult to assess whether 'history' will play a part in the decision or what control/say Bethesda has as well. Maybe Game Pass too will be a factor - if the vast majority of Xbox owners use Game Pass to play these games, then 'selling' them on other platforms may make sense. If you are investing $100m+ on a new Elder Scrolls for example and not getting much back in terms of sale revenue (although would be getting a BIG monthly income from Game Pass Subscriptions) then selling games on PS5 will help. Again this goes back to my argument about exclusives and that they only really benefit the Manufacturer and whether or not its financially better in the long term to entice people to buy into your ecosystem or get the 'extra' revenue from selling to a much larger install base and MS will no doubt factor that in on a 'game by game' basis.
Sony will be publishing games on PC - Horizon: Zero Dawn is perhaps a 'test' to see whether or not it generates enough of an income to counter the cost of porting and supporting the title. Its too late in its cycle to have much impact on hardware sales as the game wasn't really selling much on console and people were not going to buy a PS4 to play it if they hadn't already. That does also throw up some hypocrisy I see a lot, MS has 'NO' exclusives because they are all on PC, yet when a LOT of Sony's exclusives also on PC, that doesn't matter because they are 'Console' exclusives. Admittedly, there are a lot fewer first party exclusive from Sony on PC but a lot of the 'exclusives' are Microsoft exclusives (only available through MS on the Windows store - not Steam or Epic or battlenet or EA Access...) and the hypocrisy about MS releasing games on both gens - even though Nintendo did with Zelda and now Sony are with Spider-Man.
I am not criticising either side - I don't care as long as I get to play the games I want to play and at the best level that suits my gaming preference (ie on Console). I would prefer to be able to get away with just 1 console and play ALL games at the best level - although with the design differences this time around, the best level is likely to be split between preferences and game design. Some game that requires massive data throughput for certain aspects, those aspects should be better on PS5 but maybe lack in aspects that require sheer GPU power - Not saying GPU is 'weak on PS5 at all but it does have far fewer cores and therefore Shaders and Texture Mapping Units. With Cores being used for Ray Tracing, what 'could' mean is that Xbox can allocate more cores for more RT applications (like reflections, shadows/Ambient Occlusion, Global Illumination etc so Xbox could have more of these or just a greater number of rays) and because Sony's GPU has a faster clock speed it has more bounces maybe 10 bounces versus 8/9 for example. The 'feedback' through the controller too could enhance the experience more on PS5 than just rumble triggers. Point is, the different approach will lead to a more 'complicated' choice as to which is the 'best' platform to buy a game for. Its not going to be as easy as XB1S vs PS4 or Pro vs X because it was more obvious which had the more strengths.
Anyway, getting back to the topic I started talking about, we really don't know what this Zenimax deal means for Playstation, whether Sony should look at expanding their portfolio - even if its just a 'portfolio' addition etc. Even if the worst case scenario does happen and all those big Franchises do become Microsoft exclusives (I say MS exclusives to avoid the confusion between Xbox the Console and Xbox - MS's entire gaming ecosystem), you are not forced into buying an Xbox console if you already have or would prefer to have a PC or maybe have an Android tablet/phone to play on as both will also work with your PS4/5 controllers too. If owning an Xbox isn't a big issue to you, the £250 Series S (which could well be cheaper by the time any 'Exclusive' from these studio's release) and a Game Pass Ultimate subscription so you don't have to buy ANY games and get Games with Gold free as well, and can play games from the OG and 360 Xbox era if you wanted as well for a '2nd' or even 3rd choice if you have a switch, is an attractive option. With just Game Pass, you could just play all of them on your Android phone and your PS4/5 controller too so I don't think its 'bad' for gamers even if its not 'ideal' for Playstation.
I am looking forward to the future but purely as a Gamer and (will be) owner of both the PS5 and Series X so it wouldn't matter to me IF Sony does retaliate and buy up more studios (not that they need to just because MS has) or MS does decide that the vast majority of games long term are MS exclusives because I will have the option to play if I want to. If its exclusive on MS, I just play on my Series X, if its exclusive to Sony, play on my PS5 and with any Multi-platform releases, I have the difficult job of trying to decide which platform to buy for based on the comparison between both - Graphical presentation, Frame Rate consistency, bonus/timed content, controller feedback/latency, which friends on which platform owns it etc etc...
I really don't think its worth worrying about just yet and it could be years before we see anything that releases exclusively for MS and will see more releases for Playstation - the same games that were in place to release first before (ie Deathloop and Ghostwire - neither were on my radar personally). The one thing it has made me do is really think about the value in purchasing Game Pass now - especially with game prices appearing to be higher at launch...
The fact that Sony fanboys can potentially see the value in Xbox (the entire ecosystem) and potentially opting to add Game Pass or purchase an S/X as a 2nd Console isn't a bad thing either - I doubt many would be willing to give up their PS libraries and Trophy score and jump across with both feet, foregoing access to any Sony exclusives and from my perspective, I hope we get to see a LOT of great games from both publishers as they 'compete; against each other to win Game of the Year. Sony hasn't had much (if any) from Xbox studio's in the past few years and the last thing any of us want is complacency. If you don't have much competition, then there isn't much to push against...
I would rather see a celebration of gaming and gamers than constant bickering about what the competition has or doesn't have, what the competition can or cannot offer and why one is 'better/worse' when a lot of it is just preference..
Anyway, I know this is an Essay - lets ALL look forward to the next generation and its games. If you can't play the games you want because of the platform they are on, surely its better to find a way to get one and then to express your joy in playing those games rather than waste your time dwelling on it, becoming bitter and angry. And yes I would say the same on Pure Xbox too btw...
A pessimist is just an optimist with experience!
Why can't life be like gaming? Why can't I restart from an earlier checkpoint??
Feel free to add me but please send a message so I know where you know me from...
@KidBoruto
I guess it depends on where you are but you need keep an eye on twitter. Could be any time.
The crowd, accepting this immediately, assumed the anti-Eurasian posters and banners everywhere were the result of acts of sabotage by agents of Goldstein and ripped them from the walls.
@KidBoruto If are in the USA and on Twitter follow Wario64 as he seems to know all the deals and thus when sites have stock again. Also if there is a stock checker website in the States sign up to their push/email notifications. I'm using https://www.stockinformer.co.uk/ but it only uk based as far as I know. Good luck!
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@BAMozzy AAA game development does resemble a spiders web at times. Multiple studios working on a single game. Single a Studios working on multiple games. Studios working on patches and DLC is the game for that already released. Studio sizes vary. Number of man hours needed to complete a game varies. Ratio of publisher employed staff to contractors also varies.
The number of games are published produces a year and the revenues also fluctuate wildly from year to year. Some games are funded by independent developers and the publisher only provides a small amount of support. Others are bought by publishers from developers. Some studios are owned out right by their publishers.
All the contracts are commercially confidential so an outsider will probably never get to the bottom of who’s owns what.
@KidBoruto
I know it sucks but if I were you I'd keep tabs like Amazon or others I have an account with open on the console.
The crowd, accepting this immediately, assumed the anti-Eurasian posters and banners everywhere were the result of acts of sabotage by agents of Goldstein and ripped them from the walls.
The crowd, accepting this immediately, assumed the anti-Eurasian posters and banners everywhere were the result of acts of sabotage by agents of Goldstein and ripped them from the walls.
@MightyDemon82
Demon's Souls s available to pre order on Amazon UK. I just pre ordered it.
The crowd, accepting this immediately, assumed the anti-Eurasian posters and banners everywhere were the result of acts of sabotage by agents of Goldstein and ripped them from the walls.
Also, exclusives are important and I don't want to see the likes of God of War and The Last of Us Part II on Xbox, heck the latter wouldn't have even been made by an Xbox studio.
Why can't Xbox make their own equivalents of these games? They have the studios and the money. They either can't or don't want to, far far easier to moan and make out that Sony are withholding these types of games from Xbox owners when the truth is if Xbox gamers wanted to play these games they wouldn't have purchased an Xbox in the first place.
@BAMozzy I completely agree about exclusives, it’s bizarre to argue that exclusives are suddenly better than multiplat games and many get ported to other consoles in later generations anyway. It feeds into the mentality of ‘please let me have made the right purchase’ as people have to justify that their chosen platform is better or risk admitting that they’ve spent £450 on a ‘worse’ console. It’s also tribe mentality where people just like to argue. Bizarre.
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