GADG3Tx87

I don't like this direction of the games industry and I weep for a simpler time as many here have probably already seen me say.

That being said if this is to continue then if anyone gets Sega I'd rather it be Nintendo.
They would respect Sega's heritage and it just 'feels right'.

I think Microsoft in particular would ruin them, I wouldn't trust them with any Japanese developer/publisher. I feel they just don't understand them.

If anyone else is on the cards right now it's highly likely Square Enix. PlayStation feels like the natural home for them. Tomb Raider was one of PlayStation's original icons. And Final Fantasy has long had a home on PlayStation.

I doubt Microsoft are buying anyone else anytime soon. The FTC are looking into the Activision acquisition and if they buy anymore big publishers so soon during or after the acquisition that would definitely trigger anti-trust legislation.

@Rural-Bandit
As I've said before if it's to help the core industry as a whole then don't lock each other out of games that were previously accessable to each other. Especially if the consoles themselves don't make much money from sales.
If Microsoft bought Sega I wouldn't want to lose Yakuza. If Sony bought Capcom I wouldn't want Xbox to lose Resident Evil.

Owning more than one platform isn't always viable to everyone. They might not be able to financially do it. Or in my case, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, I can't handle having too many platforms to choose from mentally.

Sony and Microsoft would stand to make more money by tapping into each others customer base than alone.

Have GamePass on Xbox to benefit their primary customers and charge playStation gamers full price, win-win.
Same for Sony.

Ah, here we go. Another industry acquisition. See what you're causing Microsoft? An acquisition war.

Whether Sony does it or Microsoft it's bad to split the industry between these big companies. And I say this objectively because I'm not a hypocrite since I was and am against Activision and Zenimax.

Anything else Sony? Like a statement on how you don't plan on sitting complacently on your butts while the industry gets slowly bought out around you?

Any dormant or new IP's to bring in?

@kyleforrester87
Maybe. I'm not saying I'm in favour of acquisitions and it's just my opinion as I said but I don't think Activision games are that important, some people might think otherwise. Some people might hold their games in high regard. That is just a personal breakdown of some of Activision's popular games.

You say Sony might be affected but Nintendo seem to do ok with mostly their first parties alone. And those are few and far between.

That being said I don't want one company owning everything I'm just looking at these two major acquisitions from my own point of view on a case by case scenario.

In my case, acquisitions of Atlus/Sega, Konami, Capcom among other would affect me, other people might think different.

@JJ2
Yup, that's my thinking also. Zenimax was worrying because it was so sudden and a huge purchase. Playing through the Mass Effect trilogy has reminded me how good BioWare is/was. If they stay in the game along with CDPR, Square Enix, Sega and Guerilla (they did great with horizon, could make new RPG IP's in future) I think we'll be ok.

Fallout 76 and ESO we're ok but not great like the real RPG's. With the path Bethesda are on and Microsoft's track record of acquired games being a shadow of their former self can we assume any Bethesda games will be as good as their legacy as FO3 and Oblivion/Skyrim?

Time will tell.

I've been thinking a lot over the last week since the Activision acquisition and asked a question "what has Activision made that has been any good in years?" and came to the conclusion.

The best Spyro games were the original trilogy, all that followed were not good. The original trilogy has already been remade so we're good

The original Crash Bandicoot trilogy was the best, all that followed were also not good. We got a remake, we're good.

Tony Hawk's 1+2 were better than the rest. We got a remake, we're good.

Don't care about WoW, don't care about CoD. Battlefield is better. There are more shooters being developed for competition.

So what has Activision got that we're missing out on? All of this is my opinion and there is nothing to miss. CoD will attract casuals and that's about it.

PlayStation gamers have nothing to worry about in my opinion.

I suppose everyone is forgetting that they had a free upgrade path to FF7R that was given away on PS+?
And they gave away Oddworld SoulStorm day one for the PS5 version?

People here are way overreacting. Complaining over what is a bonus to an online play paywall. And then saying "they're pushing me away from their platform?"
The entitlement of gamers never ceases to amaze me. Stop paying for PS+ then, because what you're paying for isn't the games, it's the online play.

Which by the way was Microsoft who started that for everyone saying "they're pushing me to Xbox."

@Spanky
It's not that simple. The CellBE CPU was unique and the first of its kind when the PS3 launched. It's an entirely different architecture from the AMD chips we use now that run on Vulcan.

As for the PC emulation it has taken 10 years of development to get it working, and not that well. Less than 50% of the library runs and some very buggy. You need a pretty high end PC to have any hope in running it.

MS' emulation is much more strait forward. The CPU's in the Xbox One/Series are very similar to their original counterparts.

@NEStalgia
I'd definitely support and buy a Sega console if they ever released a new one. It's certain to never happen though. Then again who would have thought we'd ever see Sonic on a Nintendo platform after the early 90's?

I certainly hope it doesn't end up a dark period for them, I wouldn't like to see them get bought out, would much rather they remain independent.

Yakuza 0 was amazing and out of the Kiryu Saga that was my favourite. The cabaret clubs in Kiwami 2 were bigger and really fun running them. I loved the story in Yakuza 6 too.In LAD you get a holdings business later in the game and when you finally complete it you can replay it over and over to net you 3million yen about every 5 minutes, a good way to get some quick cash.

@NEStalgia
You know I've never actually played a Dragon Quest game and there's a friend of mine who keeps badgering me to try. I'll probably give one a go when my backlog gets smaller. It seems never ending though as I'm a trophy whore and it keeps me playing them for ages lol.

I have the same stance with him though having never played a Metal Gear Solid game.

I also liked the story of Judgement but the game felt like its development had been rushed a bit.
I love Sega games and while the Dreamcast didn't do well there has been a part of me that, maybe out of nostalgia, wished they would try again with a platform of their own.

I'm currently playing the Mass Effect LE and after that I'll be finally moving on to Catherine Full Body. Which I bought day one and it's still sealed. This backlog will get smaller eventually. I've got about another 25 games to go. 😆

How far into LAD are you?

@NEStalgia
Well that sucks. I mean as the example I gave earlier sometimes it works out when a new studio is formed. The talent is in the people, not the name. But acquisitions are becoming far more common place and I mostly blame the rise of mobile games for it. Since they became popular everyone thinks they can make quick mobile crap with MTX in them for huge money from compulsive spenders. How many 'run' games do we need?

As for Yakuza I was worried I wouldn't like LAD for the changes to the formula but I actually really enjoyed it. It felt 'fresh' and the story was great. I thought I wouldn't like the move away from Kiryu but Ichiban was a very likable character and I liked the new combat system, very Persona-esque.

I got the platinum on it a couple of days ago making that my 104th. Now I've got the platinum on the whole series, was really chuffed with that.

Feels longer honestly. I loved the game though and it felt like they were/are going back to their survival horror routes with this and Village.

But for me, nothing has beaten Silent Hill 2 as the best horror game ever made. (My opinion of course).

Does this mean that China now control them, or 'aquired' them? What does that mean for us console gamers?

I really don't like acquisitions and the way things have been going the last couple of years it's turning into a 'who has the most money' industry.

However what I do like to see is the creation of new independent studios. Sometimes that works out well. Like when the employees or RARE left Microsoft to create PlayTonic Games. I loved Yooka-Laylee and was even a Kickstarter backer for it.

@Alan_cartridge_
I don't disagree with you on anything that you have said but it is very safe to say we will not see any Xbox published game on PlayStation. Phil Spencer has been very clear that they will "release only where GamePass exists" and Sony, atleast apparently for now, will not accept GamePass on PlayStation.

GamePass is a subscription and therefore a paywall. No different as a paywall to access online play via XBLG or PS+.

I also strongly agree that Jim Ryan is a bad fit to run PlayStation. I also am cynical to the belief that Sony simply cannot match GamePass. I just don't see it.

If Microsoft continue to eat up publishers there will be nothing left for the rest of us eventually and I doubt PS first parties will be enough to sustain Sony. Given that few of them release each gen and are quite far apart. Nintendo is an exception however but I think third parties going exclusive to Xbox will affect them too at some point.

I think the gaming industry is long overdue some actual governmental regualtions that prevent massive publisher purchases in one swoop.

I'm not saying no one can buy anything but it needs a fair playing field. Smaller purchases at a time is not unreasonable.

I feel two massive publisher buyouts in less than two years is a little outrageous and unfair to the rest of the industry.

I don't know why anyone would cheer for the possibility of gaming to be controlled by one body. I don't like to use this word, but you'd have to be a 'fanboy' for that, and I say that regarding all of the platform holders, not just MS. We all like games and competition is necessary. Without it who knows what we'd have to pay and accept without any choice left.

It's a very worrying time.

12-15. So close.

I nearly spat my coffee out over that headline. It sounded like Sony were putting games on EAPlay.

And while people say EA is a scummy company, and they are. I'd say Microsoft are heading in a direction that are no better. Or maybe even worse.

EA buys up lots of studios and releases games full of microtransaction. But atleast they release everywhere.

Microsoft are buying up lots of studios. Releasing them behind a paywall. Taking them away from two other major platforms and filling games with microtransactions.

This service will do nothing for me though from EA. I'm currently playing Mass Effect Legendary Edition on disc and I already have Dragon Age and Star Wars Fallen Order. Because EA releases everywhere. On disc (and digital). Unlike Microsoft.

@Mezzer
I know Konami has pretty much vanished for the sake on Pachinko machines but I would love to see Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill rebooted with love and care.

Resident Evil after 7 and Village have started to pick up again and I would love a Dino Crisis reboot.

Sega. I couldn't bear losing Persona and Yakuza. Two of my most favourite franchises ever.

And Square Enix. It's just that FF has a lot of love in the industry in general and attracts a lot of people. Particularly from Japan

That's why I personally, care most for them. And TBH while EA is pretty much scum of the earth for MTX and buyouts, MS is slowly heading in that direction.
That being said I'd love a Mercenaries reboot. And keep BioWare competing with Bethesda.

Personally I don't want the future to be GaaS, GamePass or fully controlled by Microsoft. At the moment while I'm worried who MS will buy next they don't currently have anything I am scared to lose.

Sitting here right now playing Mass Effect LE reminds me of how good BioWare is/was. ME, Dragon Age and SW KotOR. Better imo than anything Bethesda have produced and today reminded me of that.

Sega, Capcom, Konami and Square Enix on the other hand. If we lose them to MS then I think it'll be all over for Sony and they will have no choice but to bow to MS' future 'vision'.

As it stands though IF and that's a big if GP arrives on PS4/5 the only way I see Sony allowing it is if it was first parties only. Leave third parties to be bought as normal on PS for their profit margin.

Playing Halo on PS though would be kind of funny ngl.

@Pixelated
Yeah, I quit Xbox and moved to playStation when they started showing that they want to control everything you buy, force you into their way of thinking and when people were against it MS be like.
"I know, let's buy everything then they will have no choice".
People think MS are friends with Sony, Nintendo and every other social platform? When they slowly eliminate the competition by leaving nothing for anyone what happens then?
We're either forced into Xbox and Windows, whatever social media they come up with. They control everything we say, buy, how long for and what price we pay, because there is no other choice.

The alternative? Don't like it, no internet for you. Bye-bye.

I left Xbox, refuse to support MS. I just can't believe people can't see them for what they are. Xbox fanboys go on about Disney, Sony, Tencent, Google etc. I'm sorry, how is MS saving the world by controlling everything? censoring everything? The thing Xbox fans accuse Sony and all the others of? MS want to do it on a worldwide scale! How are people so damn blind! Because it's MS and their precious Xbox?

Xbox is just the stepping stone to MS world domination, because gaming is more popular than ever. Nowadays everyone has a computer in there pocket than MS can wiggle their way into with their 'services'.

This is why my games collection from now to the past continues to grow. Physically. I won't conform to their future. And I'll laugh when everyone is under their control because they kept saying 'but, but, but, GamePass! It's consumer friendly!"

Yep. For now.

@Pixelated
Yep, he said that alright. And no one is even calling him out on it. Because it's 'My Nice Guy, Phil!'

How can no one see through him.

Here, read for yourself.
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/01/phil-spencer-wants-the-gaming-industry-to-implement-cross-platform-bans1

@Pixelated
YES! EXACTLY! someone who gets it! I don't like a future where I don't own my games. I will not give up my rights to a corporation on what I can play or buy and how long for. Which is why I collect a huge library of past and present games.

As for the whole politically correct stuff. Remember it was Phil who wants a world where if you break the Xbox code of conduct he will have the right to ban you across every platform and social media there is.
PS, Nintendo, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch. He has full control of your accounts and if he doesn't like the things you're saying can banish you from the internet?

This is 'Mr Nice Guy?'
WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS?!? the power is going to his head. And that's a scary thought.

@Pixelated
Yeah, agreed. I will never accept a GaaS model. I don't even accept digital. I refuse to give up my rights to a service which will dictate what and when I can play.
I will continue to buy physical as long as I can, services can shove it.

Over on PX I can't fathom how they say Sony are the bad guys for the odd timed game here and there which they get to play anyway. But MS are the good guys for permanently taking games previously available to all forever from two major platforms. And they don't even realise that MS were the ones who started that idea.

And what about paying for Indiana Jones exclusivity? Hypocrites much?

Where's the logic?
There isn't one unless you're a fan of a logo. As an industry, it is damaging, and MS have the audacity to say "please don't damage the industry, Sony."

..."because we need to get there first and take everything because we suck and can't win fairly".

@MEGAMAN_D
And if I was Microsoft I'd do the exact opposite of what you just said because you fail to see one huge advantage they would get by still including PlayStation and still giving their own users the best position.

GamePass - For users who want a cheap means of playing these games. Their own player base get this great deal. And preferable treatment.

PlayStation - For absolutely stubborn users who refuse the GaaS model, make them pay full price at £70 and tap into Sony's own player base that would never have left.

It's a win-win for MS. Because there are some or a lot of users that will never buy an Xbox. So charge them anyway. Sony has a very large user base, make money off of them.
Sony will always have customers either way. Might as well get money from them and even slightly humiliate Sony in the process by having the 'Xbox Game Studios' logo show up in a game on PS.

@Rural-Bandit
That's very kind of you to say. Some people think I'm crazy to be so protective of my games. They think that once you finish it, it's done. But not for me. Heck, I've been playing KotOR once every year since the original PC release came out in 2003. I go back to games a lot.
My brother says I think too much into things too, but he doesn't care as much as I do, I'm much older than him and didn't really move on from the old ways of just putting a disc in. And even though I have a backup plan, I despise the day the internet arrived on consoles.

I'm always on the lookout for little hidden gems in serving hand and charity shops for old games to buy and look after.
And one day, when old and wrinkley I'll be able to show my gran kids and say "you don't know what this little round thing is. It's from before your time, when games were in their prime".

Some people try to scare monger by saying games and consoles don't last forever. I disagree, I've got games from the PS1 releases over 25 years ago, and some further back than that. There are no signs of wear, no disc rot as they call it. They still look brand new. The trick is LOOK AFTER THEM. All my consoles work just as the day I got them too.

Just the other day I was playing Dino Crisis 2 on my PS1. Good times.

I'm not sure I see any of those other companies as a threat myself. Netflix wouldn't know how to run a games company in my opinion, and if they tried they would be no better than mobile games.

Amazon and Apple already have mobile stores so I don't see them as anything big that can affect mainstream gaming.
And Google Stadia failed, proving no matter how much money you have, that doesn't mean you'll be successful.
That's my take anyway. I just wish people, and I mean everyone, Sony MS, Nintendo, etc will just leave gaming as it is. If it ain't broke, y'know.

@Rural-Bandit
Thanks for that, I'll have a look shortly.

I get the convenience of digital, I just, just.. can't do it. I just don't trust these companies at all not to take away that which I bought and loved so much.

True, a lot of discs have day one downloads. Some don't though. Persona 5 for example is still on v1.0 and I re-bought Spyro with all the data and patches on the disc. It was quietly redistributed after the initial launch. I have several games like that.

For the ones that do require downloads, I'm covered for that. I have a website bookmarked with a catalogue of ever piece of patch data and data needed to complete a disc copy of a game. I spent a whole day downloading and backing up the latest data to every game I own.
In the future when the servers shut down I can use a USB to manually reinstall that missing data and continue to play them forever. Of course if it comes to that I may have to use a homebrew method, but by then they won't care because they will be offline anyway.

I'm very protective over what I pay for and enjoy. And I don't trust any company to be my friend. I suppose you could say I'm cynical and a bit obsessive, maybe a little.. crazy?
I do have severe mental health issues so that could have something to do with it.

@Rural-Bandit
That must have escaped me as I never heard anything about it. Do you happen to have any articles I can read? I'm not trying to be that 'got a source' kind of guy, I'm interested in reading it.

As for Zenimax I also can't remember if they put themselves out there either. I guess if these companies are actively seeking a buyer then it's not so bad. But if MS are simply swooping in and saying 'here's money, join us' then I think that's unfair.

As for the change in the industry, I hate it. Not because it's Microsoft but because I'm a collector. I never buy digital, I don't like subscriptions. I still buy all my media physically. So I can play what I want when I want without a corporation telling me what I can or can't play and when I can play them (licences). Plus internet dropouts means I can't play anything during that time.

What I'm most afraid of is Microsoft gobbles everything up. There are no or not many games and studios left for anyone else. It's all locked behind a subscription. And I can't buy any more games to keep forever. Even digital games are not forever due to licencing constraints.

And even when GamePass evolves into a full cloud based service I think even digital distribution will go away and become nothing more than a TV app streaming games where all you need is a controller. Because everyone has TV's in some form.

People talk about preserving games. Personally I don't trust any corporation to preserve anything or offer a way to access very old games forever as time goes on. So, I do my own preservation, by keeping them forever. I don't want that taken away from me. And I hope some people can understand that.
Corporations are like politicians, they talk a lot but can't be trusted.

It's scary to think about. Third parties should stay as third parties. Untouched to create their usual stuff and put them where they please.

On the other hand. How do we know how long third parties will stay third party? If Microsoft are left unchallenged will they just gobble everything up from under the industry's nose and leave nothing for everyone else laughing because they listened to the 'we're protecting the industry' nonsense?

There should be an agreement that third parties are to be left alone unless they outright ask to be acquired and create a fair situation for bidding.

What's wrong with both Sony and Microsoft creating brand new studios and brand new IP's Instead of eating what's already there? How does that help the industry?

How many more studios is Microsoft going to take from everyone else before there's nothing left to play for anyone else?

@Rural-Bandit
I don't recall Activision announcing they were for sale. Just a controversy happened and next thing you know Xbox bought them.
My imagination is "sell to us and our lawyers will protect you from this scandal".

I'm probably being cynical but I didn't see any prior news that they were for sale. 'stolen' may not be the right word there, but they definitely took a huge advantage and despite Phil's claims that they are 'inclusive' PS and Nintendo will never be included unless they bow to his 'vision'.

@TheCollector316
IKR, they were still manufacturing PS2's three years into PS3's lifecycle and the same with PS3 and PS4 generation. This is the same strategy they have always followed. But hey, what do we know, Sony are desperate and damaged, the xbots told us so.

I must be dumb not to understand that Microsoft are the best thing that ever happened to gaming. Xbox fanboys over on PureXbox are right now saying that Sony is the most damaging company in gaming because;

Sony: gets one timed exclusive here and there during a generation that everyone can still play at some point. Pure Evil.

Microsoft: Buys two huge publishers of over 35 developers, 50 IP's and locks them behind a paywall and excludes two massive platform holders.

Right now they're giving @UltimateOtaku91 a very hard time trying to explain how Sony are the bad guys and Microsoft are our saviours. I just can't bring myself to comment because I think my brain would melt trying to show them this comparison.

Especially that guy over there called Banjo. Literally every comment section he brings up Sony, even when the article has nothing to do with them and spreads pure hatred, the guy is totally obsessed with them. And the comparison I made above, he truly believes that too.

I mean, WHAT?! how are Sony the bad guys for obtaining one game here and there Vs Microsoft who in less than two years have stolen more developers and games than Sony have ever had in nearly 30 years in the industry? Educate me guys, how am I not seeing this? 🤯

@Pixelated
I was thinking the same thing this morning about quitting the industry. I don't want an all online service industry controlled and dictated by Microsoft. It'll end up with MTX filled mediocre crap to fill with games on the monthly for quick money

I feared this sort of thing might happen one day and I haven't embraced digital let alone services. I went into my loft to look at my large collection of physical games from this and back to past generations and said
"screw 'em. If Microsoft want the Industry let 'em have it. I've got enough games here to last a lifetime of better quality than the future is looking."

I've been reading over on Reddit and it's a cess pit over there right now. The Xbox community are outraged over this and are saying "we demand GoW, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man and Final Fantasy" and that's plastered on almost every comment. Among "just let Sony die".

This is one of my biggest gripes with this industry, the fanboys. They think they have the entitlement to have everything while the rest of the industry gets nothing.

I fear for this industry. Yes CoD might still be available, even though I personally don't play it. But if MS keeps gobbling up publishers it's just plain unfair to leave no games for the rest of us.

There has to be regulations set in place to prevent publisher biyout for a gap of three years imo. They've bought 2 major ones in less than two years of over 20 developers, that's unfair business. And now they have double the studio's that Sony does and over on PureXbox they're still demanding more while calling Sony evil, WHAT?!

I'm afraid of the future. This is not competition anymore, it's a takeover. One publisher at a time. I just prey they don't get Sega.

@gollumb82
I tried PSVR and I can't handle it. 30 minutes and I was sick, I have motion sickness.
I tried resistance once and couldn't 'click' with it initially. But I was picking up some obscure/rare PS2 games today (yes, you heard that correctly lol) to add to my old collection and saw Resistance FoM for £1 and considered giving it another try.

@gollumb82
I don't like the direction this is all going. I'm not unreasonable and I get companies primary goal is to make money but would it really hurt Phil and MS to try and make new studios and IP's rather than eat the existing ones that we can all already play?

Wouldn't that be better and help the industry? I'd have more respect for him.

As for my health the situation is bad but what's worse is the mean and disgusting comments from people on both sides insulting and bashing or praising over a damn logo. The people themselves are the worst thing about it, more so than the situation itself.

I have had two fits today already over the disgusting and toxic behaviour from the gaming community in general.
Gaming is my only escape from the sh**ty life I have, so I shouldn't even be on the internet with how people can be.
Watching my only means of enjoyment go down this corporate dark hole and with my mental health and seizures the way they are it could, no exaggeration, could end up killing me.
Yeah Phil has a job to do, but he's hurting people more than he knows.

@gollumb82
Uh-huh. And how does that benefit anyone not on Xbox? This still damages the industry because he is keeping it behind a paywall. How is that different or better than FB, Apple etc?
You say people would be praising Sony and that's bad, but it works both ways, praising MS is bad because this is a bad situation.

Third parties are needed and before long they will be all gone. It's becoming a 'who has the most money' war and it's an unfair and unhealthy market.

Some folks can't afford multiple consoles. Or, in my case doesn't have the mental ability to cope with a multiple choice of what to play because I suffer with severe mental health issues.

Phil is not helping the industry, he is damaging it and is a hypocrite. As are Xbox fans who praise this since all say the same about Sony and PS fans. No one can say one is good and the other is bad if the outcome is the same.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like this is going to stop. According to a new rumour as of today Phil now has his sights set on EA. The man isn't going to stop until he has the whole industry under his subscription. He's trying to prevent anyone from muscling in with his 'nice guy' act.

Before long there will be nothing left for the rest of the industry. He/MS are a much bigger threat than TenCent and they've got to be stopped. At this point there must be some legislation that would call this an unfair competition? I damn hope so, gaming is going to be destroyed if he is allowed to continue.

@Col_McCafferty
I am on medication for Autism, Neurological Disorders, Epilepsy and Depression. But hell, I want some of what Phil is taking, it must be a frigin' incredible mental release.

@UltimateOtaku91
As I said before the man is a puppet master. He is throwing that out there so Sony doesn't consider a retaliation by sublty suggesting they are not each others' competitors.

Sounds more like he's afraid while he works at gobbling up everything for GamePass right under the industry's nose.

I mean, Apple is more in the mobile ballpark, Google Stadia failed and Tencent is not as big a threat as Microsoft at this point. Gurantee though the Xbox fans will think he is good ol' good guy Phil trying to help everyone. What a damn hypocrite.

Fortunately the CoD/Activision buyout might not affect Sony at all in the end. Turns out Deviation games has been working on an online shooter for Sony for over a year. And they are made up of the founders of TreyArch, the developers of the CoD Black Ops games.

EXCUSE ME?!
SONY NOT DAMAGE THE INDUSTRY!?!.

Do you want to take a look in the damn mirror Phil? The audacity of that smug, smirking clown never ceases to amaze me. Un-bleeping-believable!

The problem is where does it end? What will MS buy next? Capcom? SquareEnix? Ubisoft? Sega? All of the above?

A games industry fully controlled by Microsoft is not a good thing and even Xbox fanboys should be worried. When competition ceases to exist because there isn't enough games to go around MS can make the rules however they want.
Know what that means? Charge you whatever they damn well like for access, because, what other choice do you have? And don't think they won't, XBLG double price anyone? Yeah they backtracked, but why would they have to without competition?

And that's the optimum word there, choice? That thing that Xbox fans loved to throw around last generation.

Remember when Phil said 'exclusives are bad?' remember when he said 'when we all play, we all win? (Inclusion)' remember when he was hell bent on cross play?
Funny how what he is doing is the opposite of all of that. A lot of gamers have short memories it seems.
This is plain and simple anti-consumer and anti-competitive and it's certainly an unfair market. And yet it's being praised and Xbox fanboys are calling for more acquisitions?

What would they say if this was Sony? We all know so why is it ok when it's Microsoft? To exclude two major platforms despite Phil's crap line of being 'inclusive'. What a load of b***ocks.

Well that's hardly a response it is wishful thinking. When those contracts have passed what then Sony?

You'll have to do better than that if you don't want to lose customers. Less talk, more action.

I still say this is completely unfair and unjust. How does buying up two major publishers of over 20 developers in less than one year compare to the odd timed exclusive Sony gets?

If Xbox fanboys don't see Microsoft as being anti-consumer and anti-competitive here by locking out two other major platforms when they (Xbox) would have gotten these games anyway is nothing more than a hypocrite. How are MS the good guys here? It's not inclusion as Phil says, it's exclusion. It's not pro-consumer it's anti-consumer. Yet MS gets a free pass while PS get called the worst company ever for timed exclusivity?
Forcing people into a subscription future is pro-consumer?

Am I just crazy here or what? When and if Sony gets another timed exclusive, or even unlikely a publisher, guess what will happen? The internet will foam at the mouth because.. Sony.

@Martsmall
You say I'm putting all the blame on MS and yet you're trying to cast blame on Sony who are not at fault in this instance, and re-read your comment, you did agree with me by saying 'streaming is the future' and that future as I said will change and destroy traditional gaming.

BTW, you can both download and stream in PSNow too. And did you miss the part where I said I don't like that either? You're cherry picking my comments to suit your brand loyalty, and in our comments you're the one who brought Sony in to this, not me.

Again, you're not seeing the point to any of this down the line. MS are being anti-consumer by buying up huge third parties and taking them away from other platforms who don't conform to their vision and that is undeniable. You want to ignore that and be an MS apologist be my guest, it doesn't change what they are doing.

Bye-bye.

@Martsmall
Because unlike Microsoft Sony are not buying up massive publishers and attempting to force the industry into their 'vision'. Not that I agree with it either way.

And you've just agreed to everything I've already said by stating that 'it's the future'. So, basically, Microsoft are anti-competitive and anti-consumer for slowly buying up and changing an industry that didn't need to change so drastically in order to force people towards services even if they don't want it.

We're going around in circles here so I won't bother with you anymore. Respectively, PureXbox is that way. 👉

@Martsmall
Again. How would you stop them when competition no longer exists? If they stay on this track and end up buying out all the competition they can make the rules as they see fit. In the end you won't need a console, why bother to produce it when all you'll need is a TV, and App and a controller? Guess what, no downloads, streaming only, just like everything else. Bye-bye options. You know that will happen with them investing heavily in cloud computing, it's inevitable.

@Martsmall
You think it'll be that way forever? Highly doubtful. It's a slow transition to control everything under a subscription. And I never said Sony were my friends either.

As for people not paying it, what choice will they have when everything else is gone because MS bought practically the whole industry? It'll happen. And it's when I'll stop gaming. Glad I collected a massive library to go back to while everyone else will enter the next dark age of gaming. Just like the pre 90's crash.

@Martsmall
Of course the price hasn't increased. Yet. Until they get the mass numbers they want. The company that tried to get away with doubling the price of XBLG? You think they are your friends? They did that to try and force people to GP and they won't keep the price low forever. You don't make back 70bn overnight. With their current numbers it would take 10 years of continuous subscribers to get that back at full price. They confirmed yesterday GP subscribers sit at 25m. Four years after it launched, available on four platforms at present.

And some of us don't want services, yet MS will force us kicking and screaming. Slowly damaging what didn't need to change. Netflix is in massive debt of 3bn with over 8x more subscribers than MS and can't make a profit when movies are more accessed than games and cheaper to produce.
Inevitably, games will have to become MTX mediocre rubbish in order to churn them out quickly for profit in the future.
Gaming will, eventually, never be the same again. I'm sure of it. imo.

@Col_McCafferty
That's because they do. Apparently, PlayStation fanboys are toxic and Xbox fanboys are not according to them. But did you see all the toxic comments on PureXbox yesterday? Unbelievable.

Third parties are necessary, without them we all lose but Microsoft are intent to gobble them all up for maximum profit and change gaming to be a (more) soulless corporate cess Pitt.

Phil Spencer: "exclusives are anti-consumer, when we all play, we all win".

Also Phil Spencer: "no, no, you can't have that, but we want yours".
And he'll make some PR speech next time Sony gets a game to make them look bad and goad them to his ideology, he's a damn puppet master.

@Col_McCafferty
Guaranteed when Sony gets yet another timed exclusive that will appear everywhere in due time everyone will call them the most anti-consumer company in the world while conveniently forgetting that Microsoft are deliberately leaving out two platforms who won't conform to their 'vision'.

And yet they are the inclusive, pro-consumer ones apparently. 🤷‍♂️

Like you said, they can do no wrong because everyone has been blinded by GamePass.
No ownership, always online, no lending DRM. sound familiar? How can people be so blind?
And when the price inevitably increases will people still feel the same for not voting with their wallets?
Paying forever for access as opposed to a one off fee to play at your own leisure?