cragis0001

@NEStalgia sure I read The Gunk was a passion project that the Dev knew would never do well as a retail title alone like Pentiment.

@uptownsoul Stalker 2 is three months.

@thefourfoldroot1 but Xbox has the best versions of the Final Fantasy 13 games, got Crisis Core: FF7 last year & has older titles in the series. It's only 11, 14, FF7 remake & the pixel remasters that are missing.
I don't get the whole argument that Xbox players don't play JRPGs. Microsoft admitted last year that more JRPGs was on the top of players wish list. There's more JRPGs being released now than ever on Xbox.

@thetraditional Microsoft got Tango Gameworks when they bought Bethesda. Chinese companies Tencent & NetEase are also buying up Japanese devs.

@AdamNovice so by your logic you should be ok Microsoft has bought two publishers. Sony purchased Psygnosis to get a foothold of the EU/US market when launching the PS1 & Bungie is technically a publisher. So both have purchased two.

Makes sense as Microsoft has been allowed access to all documents of Sony's deals with 3rd party for content/ licencensing from 2012 as part of the FTC trail. So this statement basically is saying if regulators heavily scrutinize buying up 3rd party exclusives we'll spend the money instead to make sure we have the best version on day 1 instead. Which Kudos to Sony if they can deliver on that promise.

@Tharsman the end of the 360 era they changed it I think. As Insomniac made Sunset Overdrive & Microsoft published it but Insomniac still own the IP.

@Loftimus don't know why but they did. Same as the argument that the industry is in tiers so they can exclude Nintendo as it proves that a platform can survive but also flourish without Call of Duty.

@Loftimus no they didn't. The FTC said that Microsoft lied to the EU about Bethesda not going exclusive. For which the EU made a statement saying that they didn't offer any guarantees 😂😂 so no they didn't lie.

@TheCollector316 nothing stopping Tencent becoming a platform owner though as they have plenty of exclusive content & have the cash for it. Why would Microsoft gimp Call of Duty on other platforms as that would only hurt sales which hits Microsofts pocket. Microsoft said they'd allow it on PS Plus extra day 1 also but it was Sony that grumbled at that so argue with them as it would be even & it's Microsoft who looses money. Plus Sony does the same through exclusives & buys up advertising rights to market all sorts of products most not even there's to be the leading platform. Look at Hogwarts Legacy. It's not even allowed to acknowledge other versions on other platforms but your fine with that until it hurts your brand of choice.

@PJ5 how will Microsoft be a monopoly in 10 years. Tencent is the biggest game publisher in the world making 17% of all market sales in 2021 & there still buying up Devs. No outcry there.

@Wheatly in the UK The digital entertainment and retail association (ERA) said 89.5% of games sold had been digital downloads and the remaining 10.5% actual physical copies in 2022.

@Ambassador_Kong the regulators don't care the size of an organisation. It's soul purpose is to determine if any purchase would harm competition which both Activision Blizzard & Square Enix would.

@Shepherd_Tallon I could imagine Sony has invested more than Nintendo as they can rely on being the market leader to have some sway. But Nintendo definitely have invested to get Dragon Quest.

@JustPlainLoco the last I heard Banjo & Conker don't get a shot as the original devs left & there last attempts didn't do well on the 360. The fact that Activision Blizzard are absorbing those teams to make COD is more worrying. I agree the size difference between Activision Blizzard & SquareEnix are huge but there impact in there home territories aren't as look at the hype Final Fantasy 16 is getting.

@KaijuKaiser the fact it's been out for a while on PlayStation 5 & is on PS plus also doesn't help. I guess people who wanted to play it already have.

@Shepherd_Tallon I agree to a certain degree as Square Enix & Sony would make a ton of money making games on PC & Nintendo Switch as well. I'm sure Sony would be happy if they dropped Xbox which has already happened by the look at the 2023 roster. I think Sony & Nintendo have already invested in parts of the business & wonder if there statement was more of a hint for the likes of Microsoft, Tencent & Embracer.

@Constable_What I hope this deal breaks the camels back & has opened the eyes of regulators scrutinize the industry a lot tougher than they have. I don't see Call of Duty going exclusive to be fair & wouldn't wish it to either. I don't play it but if it stops exclusive content then it's a win for consumers who do.

@CWill97 true the size difference is way off but it's importance to different regions isn't as Activision Blizzard titles sell well in the EU/US & Square Enix titles sells well in Japan.

@Would_you_kindly premium is still part of PS Plus though. Games Pass is a subscription service though & you were adamant its bad as it kill sales. So PS Plus services are no different as it will kill sales also.

To be fair if you look at the titles that go day 1 on Games Pass apart from Microsoft's owns titles & the odd exclusive. You'll find there mostly indie & multi platform AA & AAA so they'll be cheaper for Microsoft to compensate than say what Sony is paying for the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy & Final Fantasy 16 to be exclusive.

@Would_you_kindly thought you'd be happy PS Plus is crap. You were complaining last week that subscriptions were unsustainable.

I found a good interview from 2020.

Speaking to the Verge Xbox boss Phil Spencer said Microsoft makes all different types of deals with developers, depending on their unique situations.

"Our deals are, I'll say, all over the place. That sounds unmanaged, but it's really based on the developer's need," Spencer explained. "One of the things that's been cool to see is a developer, usually a smaller to mid-sized developer, might be starting a game and say, 'Hey, we're willing to put this in Game Pass on our launch day if you guys will give us X dollars now.' What we can go do is, we'll create a floor for them in terms of the success of their game. They know they're going to get this return."

In some other cases, Microsoft will completely fund the production cost of a game. In this situation, the developer can make money from retail sales, while Microsoft may also allow these games to release on PlayStation, Switch, and PC, with the developers taking in that revenue, too. Microsoft uniquely benefits in these types of situations by having a game launch day-and-date on Xbox Game Pass.

"For them, they've protected themselves from any downside risk. The game is going to get made. Then they have all the retail upside, we have the opportunity for day and date," Spencer said. "That would be a flat fee payment to a developer. Sometimes the developer's more done with the game and it's more just a transaction of, 'Hey, we'll put it in Game Pass if you'll pay us this amount of money."

Other agreements are different. Developers have come to Microsoft asking for deals based on "usage and monetization."

@Would_you_kindly how is it more dlc & micro transactions. Until Microsoft provide details on deals we have little to go on. As most third party games release on other platforms so if Microsoft pays full price to get it ported then any sales on xbox is pure profit.

Microsoft do deals to compensate studios/publishers that add titles to Games Pass in a way they wish. Just like Sony does with studios/publishers that will loose sales on other platforms if they become PlayStation exclusive.

@Constable_What another issue Sony will have is if the deal goes through or not is. If Sony does go on later to buy SquareEnix. The regulators will have a better picture of Sony's working practices, there position within the industry & will be less sympathetic. As they'd need to argue why they claimed a distant third competitor buying is bad but the market leader buying is good.

@KaijuKaiser even if Microsoft manages to get the ABK deal through. Sony's determination to stop the deal could cause a headache if they do buy SquareEnix as the regulators will have a better picture of Sony's business model, exclusive behaviour & could deem Final Fantasy & Dragon Quest as being to big to be exclusive. I'd expect Nintendo to get involved.

@Bionic-Spencer you do know that Sony purchased a UK publisher called Psygnosis to help the PS1 in the EU & US.

Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO said when speaking to investors during the fiscal year 2023 call. "We saw new highs for Game Pass subscriptions, game streaming hours, and monthly active devices. And monthly active users surpassed a record 120 million during the last quarter.

@Fight_Teza_Fight I don't buy it. You say Games Pass doesn't drive sales but there have had been many Devs that have said differently on social media or in interviews. Sega even praised Games Pass for helping franchises like Yakuza & the Two Point titles grow. I myself have bought many titles after playing them first on Games Pass & many more that have not.

@Fight_Teza_Fight I agree with EVIL-C as the thing is you don't know if it is sustainable or not? As I suspect your basing your 80% PS5 sales on physical. Which in places like the UK only make up 10% of sales.