Kevw2006

@__jamiie The CMA have proven to be absolutely clueless during this entire process. They know nothing about the games industry and were clearly swayed by Microsoft's "plucky underdog" rhetoric.

@dogtanian69 There's only one thing that has made the deal possible and that is daddy Microsoft's endless sums of money. If Xbox was its own identity and had to fund these deals through its own means it wouldn't be remotely able to make such a large purchase.

@GrimReaper If creating a CoD competitor was so easy it would have been done by now. Nothing has ever come remotely close. It's like the numerous GTA clones that have come along and we all know how well that has gone too.

@BAMozzy Microsoft releasing day and date on PC is a no brainer really as it's pretty straightforward to port and it's highly likely that PC gamers will play the games on a device running Windows OS so they are essentially just releasing the games on their own platform and they stand to benefit from it. Cloud gaming is just giving the illusion of giving people more options when realistically are you going to play a game with the scale of Starfield on a mobile device? Highly unlikely but the choice is there so that makes them look good. Cloud gaming does have its place on some areas but it's definitely nowhere close to being a viable option for full time gaming at the moment.

Technically you can make any statement you want correct when you set the parameters yourself.

"She was told"!? By who? Did she do any investigation to find out if what she had been told was even true before she went out and commented on it? Even if it is accurate Sony haven't gone out and bought two of the largest Japanese publishers to get to that point (so far anyway 🤣).

@Martsmall Psygnosis is an interesting example as they actually retained a degree of semi-independence after Sony bought them and did still develop games for other platforms for a number of years, including the Saturn. I can't find anything that directly links the cancellation of Adidas power soccer to Sony though, it just says it was cancelled for an unknown reason. Medieval is also an interesting one as the devs were desperate for cash and it looks like Sony stepped in and bailed them out because they liked what they saw, it doesn't appear it was ever in full development for any particular platform at that point. Other platforms were just under consideration.

@__jamiie You're right, Minecraft Legends is an example and Microsoft had no obligation for it to be released on PS, especially on PS plus too. Although I do think that despite Minecraft Legends itself not having a community on PS, Minecraft itself does have a community there so I can see why they would choose to release it.

@Martsmall Do you have a link to an article where it says Sony bought the Stellar blade developer? I can't find anything anywhere

@__jamiie Since you've just 100% agreed with the point I was making I'm going to assume you've misunderstood what I was saying lol

@__jamiie what one of Microsoft's OWN IPs that they have created THEMSELVES and not ones that they have acquired that were already available on other consoles at the time of acquisition have Microsoft made available on PlayStation? At least make the comparison fair. And to answer your question, Sony acquired Bungie and they remained multiplat with Destiny 2 still being updated with new releases on Xbox.

@Total_Weirdo In over 20 years the only time I've ever considered buying an Xbox was back when they secured the exclusive rights to GTA IV dlc. In that time not a single one of Microsoft's own IPs has remotely interested me and any multiplat third party games I wanted to play I can play on my PlayStation. I would have bought both Redfall and Starfield if they had released on PS but neither one interests me enough to make me buy an Xbox. I don't really have any problems with them making either exclusive as they are perfectly entitled to and it makes sense business wise. What I don't like is the fact that they are saying things like they don't want to take games away from gamers and they are giving gamers more options when that is inherently false. I didn't spend £1500 on a large screen tv to play games that I would previously have been able to otherwise only to then be told that my choice for playing games is to either buy a different console, buy a gaming PC or play it on a mobile device. If anything that is a step backwards in consumer friendliness.

@Clankylad You can have all three consoles and still not agree with certain practices. I have a PS5 and I certainly don't agree with everything that Sony does at times.

@BeerIsAwesome Sunset Overdrive is an interesting one as I believe there was an interest from Insomniac in doing a sequel and I assume that them being bought by Sony ended any chances of that happening. I agree on the irony of Spyro and especially Crash Bandicoot possibly becoming Xbox exclusives when they were so closely tied to PS in the past.

@Brue Probably when one of the console manufacturers started buying up large publishers with a history of multiplatform releases and making comments about not wanting to take anything away from gamers and wanting to make games available to as many gamers as possible, all while simultaneously denying access to a large number of gamers on a specific platform.

@BeerIsAwesome I was aware of all that information but it doesn't answer my question. I asked them to name an example of where Sony had bought a dev that was currently developing a game for Xbox and then Sony ceased development for the Xbox version. I'm not saying it hasn't happened but I can't think of any cases of it happening.

@JayJ Name one single example of where Sony has bought a dev where a game has been in development for Xbox and Sony have put a stop to that happening, all while claiming they don't want to take anything away from anyone?

I'm absolutely loving it so far. I hope that it does well enough to make them think about releasing the first one on PlayStation at some point.

Better late than never I guess. I really need to go back to this now it's getting a bit of support.

I was blown away by how good it was when I finally got round to trying it. I did feel a bit queasy after about a race and a half but I think I just need to get used to it.

Looks like Wo Long was a big contributor to those figures.

The DualSense comment could actually be a legitimate concern as Microsoft have gone on record in stating that they want to ensure feature parity so any 'enhancements' that the DualSense may provide over the Xbox controller may be blocked in future releases. It would hardly be grounds to stop anything but they could argue that their customers are suddenly getting an 'inferior' experience.

It usually becomes fairly common knowledge how long a game will take to complete before, or soon after a game releases so if the playtime is being tracked on the console or save file then you would have a rough idea how far through you are anyway. Although everyone does go through at their own pace. Plus going by my GoW:R and HFW progress both being 100% it seems to only be tracking main story progression so even though you may think you're near the end there may still be a lot of things you still need to do

@mwatcher Xbox versions are having similar problems too.

A solid 9 for me. I bought a PSVR2 and I've barely touched it because I've been so hooked on Octopath 2.

Hogwarts Legacy and Octopath 2 for me. Also, not a new game but GT7 on PSVR2 is incredible.

@BAMozzy since I was specifically referring to exclusive content within games and not full games I'm going to ignore Final Fantasy and Deathloop etc. Yes it is significantly less damaging having exclusive content within a game that releases on all platforms in comparison to whole franchises suddenly being made exclusive. And if the pretty negligible additional exclusive content that does come to a specific platform does matter that much to you that you feel you need to buy that platform then it's doing its job. Also with timed exclusive deals exeryone still gets to experience the game eventually, albeit not at the same time so that still isn't as bad as buying them up and making them exclusive. Also Microsoft still do this too but, yep, it's only Sony that are the bad guys for doing it. I can honestly say that I've never once played any of the exclusive game modes that have been on PS for CoD and I doubt many Xbox players have either once they finally become available. You're still not acknowledging the fact that despite what they say now Microsoft have also been guilty of doing this in the past too, and back when they had exclusive rights it was for something that actually mattered like additional maps. Plus you still seem to be solely focusing on CoD, yes there is a deal being offered for that but what about the many other IP's that they are away to acquire. CoD is being used as a carrot to push the deal through and then they have no obligations on anything else. The sole game that Microsoft have said they would be crazy to make exclusive is their only concession. As for Final Fantasy, I still fully expect XVI and VII remake to come to Xbox at some point unless Sony went ahead and bought Square Enix obviously.

@BAMozzy I have no problem with what Microsoft are doing and they are entitled to make exclusive whatever games they like. I'm very aware that if it was Sony in that scenario they would make whatever they can exclusive too. I also fully expect Indiana Jones to be an exclusive too and won't lose any sleep if it is. What I don't like is that Microsoft are somehow now being portrayed as some sort of consumer champion and the good guys for engaging in such practices but then Sony are the bad guys for doing significantly less damaging deals and trying to give their customers something a little bit extra. Something that Microsoft have also done in the past but seems to be overlooked. I noticed you diverted attention back to CoD when talking about playing on mobile, I specifically avoided using that as an example because of the proposed ten year deal. So much focus has been on CoD for this deal where for me it's the many other IPs that seem to be slipping under the radar that I'm more concerned about.

@BAMozzy with the exception of Bungie, who immediately after the acquisition was announced stated that they will continue to work in an independent manner and will release on whatever platform they want, name one single developer that Sony have bought that was synonymous with multiplatform games that released on other platforms that are no longer available on those platforms? Granted you can say the same about Microsoft at the moment as to my knowledge that hasn't happened so far but statements from Phil Spencer and co have certainly suggested games such as Elder Scrolls or Fallout will be exclusive in some capacity. I don't have any problems with them making games exclusive as such, but they really need to be honest about what they are doing and saying that they are trying to be the good guys and not taking things away from people. Yes they are making games available on more platforms but you still need to purchase it from Microsoft is some capacity, either outright or as part of a subscription and does anyone really want to play through the whole of Elder Scrolls 6 from start to finish cloud streamed on a mobile phone? No, so you then either need to buy an Xbox, PC (which also benefits Microsoft) or some other streaming device that Microsoft will release. They are just giving the illusion of choice but let's face it, if you want to play any of those games that have previously been freely available you will need to be locked in to Microsoft's service and that is what their end game is.

@BAMozzy and Microsoft could have used that 70 billion to invest in their own studios, build their own and invest in new IPs but instead they took the shortcut and are buying up large publishers with a whole host of already well established and popular IPs. See it works both ways. And did you seriously suggest that Spiderman is a bigger IP than CoD? Perhaps in movies etc but certainly not in the gaming landscape.

@Friendly funnily enough Spiderman was also offered to Xbox as an exclusive before they approached Sony too and they turned it down because they wanted to prioritise their existing IP's. Sony were then approached and they jumped at the chance. If Microsoft took up that offer do you think we would have seen Spiderman on PS? No chance.

@Friendly I mean the original article is all about Microsoft wanting to do away with exclusive content in games so in the context of the article the GTA dlc is relevant as an example of Microsoft having paid for exclusive content in the past. Neither company are innocent when it comes to such practices but at least Sony do admit to it and say that they want PlayStation to be the best place for people to want to play games. It's Microsoft suddenly trying to act like they are holier than thou that isn't sitting well with people.

@Friendly Insomniac's Spiderman games are their own IP and not related to any series that went before. Just because the character has been in games that have released on other platforms before has no relevance to the exclusivity of Insomniac's games as they aren't even related. Now you may have a point on him being excluded from Xbox in the Avengers game but there's a massive difference between a character and whole games or franchises being excluded.

@Friendly well yes, it's absolutely their fault. They rejected the game so take two were forced to turn to Sony. It's highly likely that the money that Sony paid for that exclusivity helped to fund the game being made. Without it GTA 3 may never have happend.

@Friendly I must have missed the Hellblade 2 PS5 announcement. Looking forward to that now.

@Friendly Microsoft had the opportunity to have GTA 3 as an exclusive and rejected it due to adult content and poor sales of previous titles. They shot themselves in the foot there.

GTA IV dlc says hi

@thefourfoldroot1 I think off the back of this deal Microsoft will have a hard time pushing through another large scale acquisition anytime soon.

As someone who pre-ordered it religiously every year I sincerely hope that in 10 years time the CoD bubble has finally burst and it's no longer a talking point.

@thefourfoldroot1 Sony's business practices aren't what's on trial though. Sony are arguing that the acquisition will have a detrimental effect on their business and Microsoft are attempting to counter that and say that it will merely close the gap. I'd expect that while they have been granted access to the documents there will be some pretty strict restrictions on what they are permitted to bring up and use as evidence as only details that are relative to the respective arguments would be allowed.

@AdamNovice while I agree that Microsoft should be put under the same scrutiny for their deals I believe in this instance it is because Sony are the ones contesting the deal the burden of proof is on them. Whether they can subsequently request similar details from Microsoft I don't know.

@LiamCroft I'm not sure I even know how to find the playtime tracker 😂 Although that could be another complaint of its own!

Don't have AirPods and never will, but I need that!

@Rob_230 Using purely downloads would be a terrible metric as many people may download a game to have a look at as a glorified demo and then decide it's trash and delete it after 5 minutes. It's why I don't buy into a lot of the stats where they say x amount of people have played the game on game pass as without any significant info on how long they actually played the game for it's meaningless. It would need to be x amount of people have played the game for over y amount of time to have any merit.

Activision/Blizzard games going straight into game pass would surely have an effect on revenue from them so it would not be a case of just adding the Activision/blizzard revenue to the Xbox revenue, unless the subscriber count, or sub fees, went up proportionately to counter this.

@Dezzy70 I'm not sure which figures are correct, but the ones you posted add to 110% so there's definitely a mistake in there somewhere.

Koudelka, I lost my copy of it and it's still a game I regret never completing to this day

A solid 8 from me. The gameplay is great but I feel the GT cafe was too easy/short to complete the menus and gave cars out at a ridiculous rate. Needs more longer events/championships for my liking and some of the menus aren't very well though out.

@eagletrippin from my experience gamers will repeatedly run the piece of content that gives the best rewards for the least effort when a grind is required, no matter how much variety there is. There was a clear imbalance in the credits being rewarded for the time taken in some events so this was adjusted, and data will have shown that these events were being spammed repeatedly. I'm genuinely curious if people would have been okay with the grind amd the changes that were made if there were no MTX in the game. The most expensive cars in GT games have always been long term goals and I've felt like I've been earning credits at a steady rate and never once felt like MTX have been imposed on me or thrown in my face.

@Integrity I pre ordered, I'm one of the people you speak about, I genuinely don't see the problem