cragis0001

@HwuaiLiang you did. As you said its OK for Sony as the companies made bangers for them before. Which means your OK with Sony acquisitions. Also from your latest comment it seem to include anyone who will still commit to being multiplatform gets your support. So it's just Microsoft then. I bet Tencent has a similar list of possible targets being the biggest investor of acquisitions around the globe before the ABK deal. Embracer has been closing studios, potentially selling studios & paying off large amounts of staff which means if there not profitable most will be closed, stripped or sold off for scrap. So there not safe either.
I understand though as if Sony bought Square Enix I'd have to buy a second PS5 for the house so I'd get to play more of those games. I Play Sony exclusives on my eldest sons PS5.

@HwuaiLiang so what your saying is its OK for Sony to buy up studios but not anyone else including Microsoft. Where's the hate towards Tencent, Embracer & others eating up the industry.

@HwuaiLiang the bulk of Sony's blockbusters were from studios that Sony once acquired though 😂😂😂.

@number1024 if the whole out spending of Sony was written by Phil Spencer then I'd worry...but it wasn't & was confirmed under oath that it was never an option. I'd also bet Sony was aware that Microsoft was wanting Bungie back as well.

@DeathlySW I agree 100%.

@AverageGamer I don't know. Sony seems to be looking for experience in certain types of games which Gearbox has. The publishing part could be spun into something else to help get more games onto PlayStation I guess. But only time will tell I guess.

@number1024 Microsoft helped Bethesda enter the console market with the original Xbox & were close until the start of this current gen. Todd Howard said when Fallout 76 flopped he went straight to Phil Spencer for advice. If I remember correctly he passed him onto Rare who managed to make Sea of Thieves into a success. Square helped make the PS1 a success & have been close to Sony ever since.
I see it as more than just Microsoft buying Bethesda because of Sony was sniffing about. If Microsoft hadn't purchased them it would be a case of history repeating itself as Microsoft was close to Bioware before EA swooped in. It did hurt them. But probably for the best at the time.

@number1024 Starfield isn't for everyone I guess? You either love it or hate it. I guess Bethesda is to Xbox what Square Enix is to PlayStation. I look at both Redfall, Starfields many flaws along with there PlayStation exclusive deals as evidence that Bethesda was in financial trouble before Microsoft purchased them.
I'd still rather see studios from Embracer purchased than closed down? specially if someone like Sony comes along to invest in them.

Everyone keeps bringing up Microsoft. I think Sony would be a good fit for Gearbox.

@themightyant I got the feeling the US prices are higher due to them not getting a PS5 price hike.

@iapaulogise Microsoft don't track compilation rates though. They kill there own completion rates though by offering reward points for playing games. Hi Fi Rush was used numerous times after launch. I watched many podcasts where this was brought up & none mentioned the effect of reward points.

@CallMeDuraSouka the US didn't get a PS5 price increase like most did so I guess this is why they increased it more?

@OneWingedAngel easily done 👍

@OneWingedAngel i guess he meant this info. A quick Google search found it. Between August 2021 and March 2022, Xbox Game Pass went from 15 million to 18 million subscribers. So we can pinpoint a range $2.9 billion revenues generated from 15-18 million subscribers across both PC and consoles.

A simple Google search found Microsofts Q4 2023 results said Games Pass was up 5% & game sales was up 1% over the same period last year.

@rjejr Sony will eventually have to comment. If its real they'll eventually announce it. If its fake or a 3D print of an earlier prototype. Someone with knowledge will confirm it. But if the news continues Sony will need to confirm if a "slim" is in the works.

@rjejr maybe Sony could bundle the disc slot shell with the disc drive I guess. Or you get all the plates for digital & disc set up with the new console. Sure we will find out soon enough.

@theSpectre @Rmg0731 just like the unfortunate employees of Manchester Studio, Japan Studio & Pixel Opus over the last three years. Sony isn't immune either as its buying studios, closing them & making record profits from it now. Unfortunately it's business I'm afraid.
I can't see Microsoft closing Arkane Austin or Machine Games due to Games Pass needing regular content. Redfall was forced to be a live service by Bethesda & is being allowed to be fixed by Microsoft. Plus there next game will be single player they confirmed . If there AAA aren't successful they may be forced to make AA titles instead. But only time will tell as Microsoft also payed off 10,000 staff accross the board.

@Dark_Knight exactly that's why I scratch my head at fellow gamers that whine about Microsoft then say its OK for Embracer, Tencent & Saudi Arabia because they keep games multi platform?

@theSpectre we also had Jim Ryan say that they won't give Activision Blizzard PS6 dev kits. Microsoft also confirmed that Mojang didn't get any PS5 ones either. So looks like both PlayStation & Xbox versions of Minecraft suffer for it. Minecraft Dungeons & Legands were created by two different studios. So I guess the email about Bethesda future games could be the result of a similar problem.

You should be more worried of Tencent. I heard there making a cloud gaming console with Logitech. So how long will it be before they start making there high profile games exclusive to there cloud network.

Its just the Xbox Series S problem all over again. devs don't want to work with weaker hardware so spend less resources on it as they know they can fix it later. So try it again in 6 months time after it's been patched.

@tallythwack I don't use Psygnosis to justify the Activision Blizzard deal. I bring it up as people are happy to ignore it with statements like "Sony have never purchased a publisher" or make up excuses like yourself comparing how much both are worth to riducule it's importance. Yes the size of the industry was smaller but buying a publisher that would go on to have 40% of all sales in the EU for two years puts it in the same league of importance as Activision Blizzard is now. both acquisitions have the power to transform the landscape & make there owner a serious threat to the competition. As for what games that were taken away from the competition. I owned a Sega Saturn & enjoyed playing Wipeout, Destruction Derby, Lemmings, Discworld to name a few which sequels were made PlayStation exclusive after purchase. Others like Adidas Power Soccer were in development before cancellation.

@Sekijo https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=1526&v=QAUyM1EX-2s&feature=youtu.be

@Sekijo Microsoft approached the devs of Valheim & essentially payed for it's console development. Just like how Sony helped finance Final Fantasy 16 but that's OK.

@tallythwack Psygnosis was mentioned as its was a publisher which again everyone claims Sony has never purchased. Secondly it shows that both Microsoft & Sony are exactly the same as Sony had deeper pockets than its rivals & wasn't afraid to use it by buying up talent, 3rd party exclusive etc back in the early PS years.

@UltimateOtaku91 even if the ABK deal goes through & looking at the documents provided by the FTC triaI I'd guess Microsoft will go after or invest in the Asian market.

@tallythwack my point is there both the same in the end as they'll do anything to get to the top.

@SacredPYRO shame as I'd love to play them again 😭

@MattBoothDev Microsoft have said many times they see other companies as competitors like Amazon, Google etc. So Microsoft is reacting to it's competitors as I'd imagine when it comes to acquisition they'd class Tencent, Embracer & others as competitors.
Why don't you start at the beginning of the original PlayStation as it answers two points. Sony on its own started there tale when it came to gaming with buying a publisher. Psygnosis. & Before you complain gaming was different beast then? Yes it was but what they payed then was still a lot of money & it made PlayStation No1 in less than 2 years in the EU/US. Sony did then what Microsoft is doing now which was buy up what it needed to compete which was studios, talent & 3rd party exclusives. Don't believe for one second Sony is any different than Microsoft as they patted themselves on the back very well when Atari collapsed & Sega announced they were finished in consoles. I don't believe Sony is going anywhere but previous management always warned that poking the bear was unwise.

@SacredPYRO exactly. With the popularity of RTS lately you'd think it would be a no brainer to revive the god genre or at least remaster or HD upgrade both Black & White games. I'd buy day one if it was announced.

@MattBoothDev no I agree consumers do suffer. The regulators need to be more tougher on all acquisitions as Microsoft is only reacting to what it's competitors are up to.

@tallythwack look up Psygnosis.

@MattBoothDev you say you don't want to be blackmailed into buying an Xbox. But Xbox & PC users don't want to be blackmailed into buying a Playstation either & Sony has been far more aggressive when it comes to 3rd party exclusivity. It sounds like to me most people's complaints against Microsoft here is that its a larger company that can counter most threats. If this was Sony buying Square Enix or CDPR you'd all be cheering.

@Intr1n5ic & who brought up Cloud gaming concern? Sony, Google & Nvidia. Plus the CMA had to back track that I'd wouldn't effect consoles as they couldn't prove it after a year's worth of searching.

@Intr1n5ic probably the same people that believed Jim Ryan that without COD PlayStation is finished 🤣🤣🤣. Oh I forgot that was the CMA & FTC.

@twitchtvpat I'll clarify. that I was aware Sony didn't own Deviation. What I meant was they recently purchased Firewalk just as there closing PixelOpus & now Deviations game being cancelled

@Falkirk4life I don't think I ever said Sony did own Deviation?

@RonnieL you are correct no one wants passion projects that bad. But I'm sure the team learned a great deal from it's failure which will help improve there next.

@GodofCapcom people think the multiplayer titles will be bad because most are. Also it's not what they want from Sony. You say if Sony release a dud it's ok as they make up with it with others. What others? as so far most studios are making some sort of online title. Last time I seen a publisher force there devs to push online in there titles it didn't work out well. You say cancellation are a sign of quality but then the Last of Us releases on PC as badly as Redfall on Xbox. Unfortunately people are always gonna compare Sony & Xbox as long as they compete a similar strategy regardless of game quality. I find it funny that Sony is pushing all there Devs & acquiring studios solely for online titles which there community don't want but Xbox is slowly adopting a mixture of single player, multiplayer AA/AAA titles. I agree no one has survived two bad generations but Microsoft has deep pockets & so far support from the CEO. I can't see them ditching console yet. Plus Spencer said good games like Starfield won't make people ditch there PlayStation. It will Likely make you buy a second console like you plan Nintendo's next one. I love Nintendo games myself. I always have but don't like the switch even though my son has one.

@twitchtvpat we will probably never know what the full story is. & I agree with everything you've said about it being standard practice games being cancelled & devs closing down. It's still not a good look though for Sony buying up a studio to close another & a game being cancelled. If it was Microsoft doing this it would be more evidence of mismanagement.

@RonnieL the only silver lining is that Bleeding Edge was a low budget passion project like Grounded & Pentiment. Sony's will be AAA budget titles but like I said before there is gonna be hits & misses.

@GodofCapcom why should Xbox users shut there mouth. For all your moaning about games like Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Bleeding Edge & Redfall is that there all popular genres that Sony is now trying to adopt. Like Microsoft there is gonna be hits & misses. What should worry Sony fans is that even though Sony are doing well sale wise they could be slipping down the same path Microsoft did. Closing Studios, canceling games, releasing broken games (PC ports) & if there online service gamble fails they've tarnished there franchises which could take years for them to recover. Another problem is if the cancellation kills Deviation Games then Sony will start getting a reputation like the one you claim Microsoft has that it ruins everything it touches.

@JayJ with words like Monopoly (still smaller than Tencent) & buying a publisher up is bad. (Psygnosis & Bungie come to mind) being thrown about it sounds like there worried of competition. If it fails I'd expect smaller acquisitions & Microsoft to get aggressive with 3rd party exclusives. Which would be worse.

I was loving Horizon: Zero Dawn when Forbidden West first launched. So jumped into Forbidden West once I finished Zero Dawn & was instantly disappointed to the point I stopped playing. I pre ordered Burning Shores so plan to have another go.

I'm sure they'd have seen success maybe launching there new games day one on PS+ like Stray.

All I've heard this year is. Sony is better at managing there first party studios as they invest in them rather than ruin them & close them. It's a shame as Stray & HiFi Rush popularity have shown there is a market for smaller AA titles in which to thrive. The PlayStation community pride themselves on there great games, so this should worry them.

@Art_Vandelay an Xbox console is only one way in which to play there games though. Unlike PlayStation. The PS5 is still the best place to play there's until later this year & next when newer titles hit PC also. So it's understandable PlayStations sales are skyrocketing unlike Xbox's 30% decline year over year.
First party day 1 is Games Pass's main selling point & last year was slim pickings hence a 3% increase in subscriptions which could have been a lot worse. Still nearly $1 billion last quarter though.
As for Xbox users not buying games. There are plenty that do. Add the games being sold on PC with some on Switch, PS5. There recent 10 year deals on other platforms bringing in money. As for 3rd party games they get plenty of choice. Normal sales via retailer/ Xbox store or do a deal with Microsoft that works for them to be put on Games Pass or all the above.
I understand why Microsoft wants ABK but can see positives if it doesn't go through as it forces them to improve & invest across the board, management being badly needed to get games out the door.

Aye the PlayStation showcase will be interesting to see what these 10 services are gameplay wise. I'm interested in the Last of Us & Horizon. Do these studios have enough staff to keep pumping out content once it's live to keep gamers engaged? & If the game fails then what?