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How Xbox Is Changing the Nature of Exclusivity - IGN

HeWhoWalks

Gold Member
Personally, I welcome this change if it happens. It's no different than Playstation eventually putting it's games on PC IMO.

Yes, Playstation views Xbox as its main competition, but Xbox is on record saying something completely different.

For them it's Apple and Amazon. For those two, there's no console that coincides with their brand.

It seems Xbox is trying to be something similar and is being proactive in getting their games out to as many people as possible.

They already acknowledged losing the console war in the FTC case, so this is how they pivot.

I hope they are really successful with this strategy.

For one, don't want Apple or Amazon taking over...secondly I hope it brings Playstation a bit closer to doing something similar due to the fact that they still view Xbox as competition.

Nintendo I have little hope for at this point, they are too efficient and have little need to branch out like this.

In the end I would only have to get whatever Nintendo has and be on PC...somewhat similar to what I do now, cept I own an Series X and hope to get a PS5 Pro this holiday
It's definitely different than PlayStation games on PC. They are telling you that you don't need an Xbox, ever, to play their games. In PlayStation's case, you often have to wait months to years and still need a PC if you choose to wait. No other console brand will you find their games.

As for the "pivot", that only happened because the market largely rejected their console. They wouldn't be "getting their games to as many people as possible" as a charity.

Lastly, PlayStation doesn't do what they do and that's a good thing. Their strat works and should remain as it is.
 

BlackTron

Member
I think the complication to a plan like this would be the risk of negatively impacting the Windows side of the business. Xbox basically becoming a Windows gaming PC minus the bullshit of dealing with Windows could potentially crater the Microsoft based desktop and laptop markets. They make a ton of money licensing the OS to manufacturers.

This is stupid enough for me to think there's a chance they will do it
 

//DEVIL//

Member
How did you come to the conclusion of $300 difference when one is being subsidized vs one being sold at a profit?
I dunno ask him. he said according to Phill, they are losing 200$ on a console plus 100$ profit lol.

I was just comparing the tech of an 800$ console vs 500$ would be more than huge.
 

TxKnight7

Member
So the consoles wars are officially over.

Nintendo makes handhelds.

Microsoft bowed out, became multiplat.

Sony has officially won. Slow clap

Who won?
CRxza2h.jpg
 

Calverz

Member
"Conversations with a number of industry analysts have convinced me that 2024 is the year we finally start seeing Xbox's grand ecosystem strategy - and all it entails for exclusivity, multiplatform play, and cloud gaming - finally start to take shape."

Cute of IGN to call Xbox's desperation for profit and survivability as "strategy" LOL! #gamingjournalism
Desperation?
 

Jigsaah

Member
It's definitely different than PlayStation games on PC. They are telling you that you don't need an Xbox, ever, to play their games. In PlayStation's case, you often have to wait months to years and still need a PC if you choose to wait. No other console brand will you find their games.

As for the "pivot", that only happened because the market largely rejected their console. They wouldn't be "getting their games to as many people as possible" as a charity.

Lastly, PlayStation doesn't do what they do and that's a good thing. Their strat works and should remain as it is.
You're not saying anything different than I am really, so I agree?

I think that Xbox would have eventually gone this route even if they were winning the console war. They are simply too ambitious and have too much financial ability not to. Microsoft wants to own the Earth far as I'm concerned.

With ambitions like that, who gives a shit how long a game is exclusive on a platform when there's money to be made everywhere. What you're talking is a very narrow approach.

Sony has actually followed suit very recently. They adopted a form of the Gamepass model. They started putting their games on PC. Do you really think if Xbox is successful with this strategy Sony is just gonna sit there knowing they are the more popular brand and not find some way to get in on that?
 

HeWhoWalks

Gold Member
You're not saying anything different than I am really, so I agree?

I think that Xbox would have eventually gone this route even if they were winning the console war. They are simply too ambitious and have too much financial ability not to. Microsoft wants to own the Earth far as I'm concerned.

With ambitions like that, who gives a shit how long a game is exclusive on a platform when there's money to be made everywhere. What you're talking is a very narrow approach.

Sony has actually followed suit very recently. They adopted a form of the Gamepass model. They started putting their games on PC. Do you really think if Xbox is successful with this strategy Sony is just gonna sit there knowing they are the more popular brand and not find some way to get in on that?
You said Sony games on PC is the same as what Microsoft is doing, so we definitely don't agree.

Either way, much of what you're saying sounds like a hope instead of reality. Sony knows where to apply what works and when to ignore what others are doing. This isn't a goose/gander. Just because Microsoft finds success at something doesn't mean Sony will just follow them because "it works, reasons, etc". PS+ is also a combo of things and one of them (hint: Now) existed before Game Pass.

As for Microsoft being "ambitious", give me a rundown of how. Their main success is in a field where they have little competition (as they want it). Most of everything else they've tried (gaming, phones, etc) they are either very small in or have been soundly beaten in. Their gaming moves are not a result of ambition. If it works out, great, but let's stop pretending that they have some well thought out plan that others should (or will eventually) follow. They are, in fact, behind their competitors to such a degree for multitude of well documented reasons that said competitors have wisely not followed.
 
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Jigsaah

Member
You said Sony games on PC is the same as what Microsoft is doing, so we definitely don't agree.

Either way, much of what you're saying sounds like a hope instead of reality. Sony knows where to apply what works and when to ignore what others are doing. This isn't a goose/gander. Just because Microsoft finds success at something doesn't mean Sony will just follow them because "it works, reasons, etc". PS+ is also a combo of things and one of them (hint: Now) existed before Game Pass.

As for Microsoft being "ambitious", give me a rundown of how. Their main success is in a field where they have little competition (as they want it). Most of everything else they've tried (gaming, phones, etc) they are either very small in or have been soundly beaten in. Their gaming moves are not a result of ambition. If it works out, great, but let's stop pretending that they have some well thought out plan that others should (or will eventually) follow. They are, in fact, behind their competitors to such a degree for multitude of well documented reasons that said competitors have wisely not followed.
They are porting them months to a year later right? Hi Fi Rush came out when? Last year about this time...I mean until we see exactly what they are planning...looks pretty damn similar to me.

I'm saying Microsoft's ambition mainly lives in their acquisitions. How many studios have bought in the past 5 years?
 
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HeWhoWalks

Gold Member
They are porting them months to a year later right? Hi Fi Rush came out when? Last year about this time...I mean until we see exactly what they are planning...looks pretty damn similar to me.
When Sony even begins to put their games on PC day-and-date, we can revisit this discussion. Until then, no, they aren't similar and that's just one reason why one of them sees the enormous success that it does.
 
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Jigsaah

Member
When Sony even begins to put their games on PC day-and-date, we can revisit this discussion. Until then, no, they aren't similar and that's part of the reasons one of them sees the enormous success that it does.
Xbox is Windows, it only makes sense for them to put their games day and date on PC. With that, if they are going to port at all...what other choices do they have. They already do Steam. So It's Playstation and Nintendo.

What I'm saying is Xbox porting to Playstation and Nintendo is akin to Playstation porting to PC. Xbox isn't doing day and date to Playstation and Nintendo far as we know, but that could change. Playstation isn't doing day and date to PC yet either, least not for first party games. That could also change. I think if Playstation developed their own launcher for Windows, they would start launching day and date. Hell, that might not even be necessary if they get a fair enough shake from Steam or maybe more likely Epic given their relationship.
 
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HeWhoWalks

Gold Member
Xbox is Windows, it only makes sense for them to put their games day and date on PC. With that, if they are going to port at all...what other choices do they have. They already do Steam. So It's Playstation and Nintendo.

What I'm saying is Xbox porting to Playstation and Nintendo is akin to Playstation porting to PC. Xbox isn't doing day and date to Playstation and Nintendo far as we know, but that could change. Playstation isn't doing day and date to PC yet either, least not for first party games. That could also change. I think if Playstation developed their own launcher for Windows, they would start launching day and date. Hell, that might not even be necessary if they get a fair enough shake from Steam or maybe more likely Epic given their relationship.
As long as console sales are central to PlayStation, they will not be putting their games on PC day 1. What they're doing is working. Microsoft does the opposite because what they were doing was not working. That's why their strats will remain different.
 

yurinka

Member
Minecraft released on PS4 before MS bought Mojang.
Yes. And Minecraft Story Mode, Minecraft Story Mode Season 2, Minecraft Dungeons nd Minecraft Legends, all the Minecraft games they released after the acquisition, were released on PS day one after acquiring Mojang.

Same goes with the Minecraft content updates, all available on PS day one.
 
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Ar¢tos

Member
Man I hope Sony doesn't decide to "change the nature of exclusivity" - there would be mass suicides and social unrest.
Insomniac leaks showed us there is little audience for Sony games on PC already and I really doubt Xbox users want slow walking ultra emotional over the shoulder view games.
Sony has very little motivation to release their games on Xbox.
Potentially day one on PC, but that would reduce the appeal of Playstation consoles.
 
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yurinka

Member
Yep, due to contracts.
No. Minecraft was bought in 2014 and Minecraft Legends was released in 2023.

Sony wasn't going to pay for a multiplatform game to be released 10 years in the future with a studio who was a 1 hit wonder.
 
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You really have to wonder how much Microsoft is paying IGN these days, it was only a few weeks ago they were trying to argue that the Xbox series has been the most successful console this gen, it's just getting ridiculous
Gaming "journalists" ignored the biggest selling game of the year for political reasons, so they are more dependent than ever on paychecks from MS to write corporate propaganda
 

bitbydeath

Member
No. Minecraft was bought in 2014 and Minecraft Legends was released in 2023.

Sony wasn't going to pay for a multiplatform game to be released 10 years in the future with a studio who was a 1 hit wonder.
Minecraft Legends didn’t release on PS5 despite coming out in 2023. Sounds like it only released on PS4 due to contracts.
 

ProtoByte

Weeb Underling
They're not changing exclusivity, they've gotten rid of it almost entirely as the games media play linguistic gaslighting on their behalf.

True exclusivity matters and is good. While the value proposition of a machine literally goes down as previous exclusive make it to others, it's not the back catalog or the list wars that's the real problem.

The real problem is how the development approach will change for future first party games.

1st party exclusives benefit from 2 things:
  1. 100% revenue takeaway
  2. The lack of necessity to be directly hugely profitable
Looking at the margins from the Insomniac leak, you can see why, beyond the quality of the studios, PlayStation has published 3 Spider-Man games of their quality and Square Enix published The Avengers. Accounting for the cut that Marvel is taking from their licensed games (which does change the math, but not so much), you can apply this to other 3rd party vs 1st party games.

Yes, it's more to do with Gamepass, but I definitely noticed an immediate decline in quality the second Microsoft committed to putting their shit on PC day one. It's not by chance that between gamepass and their grasping attempts to create a multiplatform ecosystem, that their titles are just becoming cheaper and less significant. Sorry guys, but almost everything from that Xbox direct looked and sounded embarrassing from a publisher like Microsoft, with development houses of that pedigree.

Similarly, it's not by chance that Sony's desperate attempt at live service building came along with a drive towards PC and mobile.

Being cheap and available to every platform doesn't help anyone if the games are crap.
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
Third party make more money from their game than the platform holder does. Is this guy the new Pachter?
Shit, not offense to you L LakeOf9 but I have been accoustumed by other OP to have either bait or the full article. That article is pretty big and have fascinating parts by Circana analyst Mat Piscatella and should be read in full.
Really? How hard is it for you to see that this strategy could expose more people to Xbox games and get them to think that maybe they want to play them day one on Gamepass instead of Day 600 on PS/Switch? MS benefits by direct sales and by incentivizing people to get a platform that has Gamepass. It is not a guarantee, it is just something that might help.

Gamepass is great on PC too. If you have a PS and always thought about maybe getting a PC getting more exposure to MS games might nudge you further in that direction.

The article also mentions how much value they can extract for a given title. If a title doesn't do as well on GP only and they think they can make money with it on another platform why shouldn't they try?

There are many variables here and looking at the thing as platform vs 3rd party only instead of a strategy is kind of obnoxious.
 

Astray

Member
Really? How hard is it for you to see that this strategy could expose more people to Xbox games and get them to think that maybe they want to play them day one on Gamepass instead of Day 600 on PS/Switch? MS benefits by direct sales and by incentivizing people to get a platform that has Gamepass. It is not a guarantee, it is just something that might help.

Gamepass is great on PC too. If you have a PS and always thought about maybe getting a PC getting more exposure to MS games might nudge you further in that direction.

The article also mentions how much value they can extract for a given title. If a title doesn't do as well on GP only and they think they can make money with it on another platform why shouldn't they try?

There are many variables here and looking at the thing as platform vs 3rd party only instead of a strategy is kind of obnoxious.
If I spend $60 to play Hi-Fi Rush on my PS5, this would only get me more entrenched and invested in PS platform, it would be nonsensical to suggest that any significant number of customers would choose to pay $300-400 more just to play Hi-Fi Rush 2 on Xbox.

The value proposition of the Xbox brand just doesn't resonate in the average consumer's mind anymore, and that's the real problem that's facing the Microsoft leadership, do they stick with the brand or just pivot into the Satya model of expanding reach into everything (my money is on the latter, dude already nailed his colors to the mast in public on this).
 

Killjoy-NL

Gold Member
If I spend $60 to play Hi-Fi Rush on my PS5, this would only get me more entrenched and invested in PS platform, it would be nonsensical to suggest that any significant number of customers would choose to pay $300-400 more just to play Hi-Fi Rush 2 on Xbox.

The value proposition of the Xbox brand just doesn't resonate in the average consumer's mind anymore, and that's the real problem that's facing the Microsoft leadership, do they stick with the brand or just pivot into the Satya model of expanding reach into everything (my money is on the latter, dude already nailed his colors to the mast in public on this).
Pretty much.

The only "but" is that it depends on whether or not Xbox will remain a platform-holder.
As long as they are one, I can't see Sony allowing MS to release too many games on their platform.
 

Astray

Member
I can't see Sony allowing MS to release too many games on their platform.
Why not? It's entirely free money for them, whether those games sell or bomb.

Also MS takes far less from selling a XGS/ABK/Bethesda game on PS vs selling it on Xbox.
 

Killjoy-NL

Gold Member
Why not? It's entirely free money for them, whether those games sell or bomb.

Also MS takes far less from selling a XGS/ABK/Bethesda game on PS vs selling it on Xbox.
Because it's like you being a drugdealer and allowing another drugdealer to sell his stuff to your clients every now and then.

If you don't pay attention, people are going to move over.
 
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Astray

Member
Because it's like you being a drugdealer and allowing another drugdealer to sell his stuff to your clients every now and then.

If you don't pay attention, people are going to move over.
Depends a lot on what the terms are and how they see this fight unfolding.

Drug dealing is not applicable here as an example because all drug dealers sell the exact same product. This isn't the case here at all.
 

Killjoy-NL

Gold Member
Depends a lot on what the terms are and how they see this fight unfolding.
True, but that should be a given.
Ultimately, MS is the one that's in trouble.
Drug dealing is not applicable here as an example because all drug dealers sell the exact same product. This isn't the case here at all.
Yes, it is.
Because both Sony and MS offer games.

So, drugs or games, both cases similar products between competitors.
One case is about more attractive/better games, another case about better quality coke/weer/crack/whatever.

Just used drugs because it's easier for people to understand.
Could've used toiletpaper as well.
 
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Really? How hard is it for you to see that this strategy could expose more people to Xbox games and get them to think that maybe they want to play them day one on Gamepass instead of Day 600 on PS/Switch? MS benefits by direct sales and by incentivizing people to get a platform that has Gamepass. It is not a guarantee, it is just something that might help.

Gamepass is great on PC too. If you have a PS and always thought about maybe getting a PC getting more exposure to MS games might nudge you further in that direction.

The article also mentions how much value they can extract for a given title. If a title doesn't do as well on GP only and they think they can make money with it on another platform why shouldn't they try?

There are many variables here and looking at the thing as platform vs 3rd party only instead of a strategy is kind of obnoxious.
My post was more about how stupid the quote was when taken outside context than rebutal of this strategy. That was why I talked more about the OP than the article itself, because I was under the belief that it was a small and pretty stupid one at first. So I jumped to the conclusions because saying that Xbox gain more than Sony and Nintendo when Xbox games go to their platforms is a dumb thing to say. If they had no interest in doing so they would simply not do it. I hope that you will understand that at least. I read the article after finding out that what was on the OP was only a small part of it.

I am not really against it, by the way. IF I have to choose between letting Bloodborne or MGS4 rot in their consoles (PS3 and PS4) or allow them to go in other platforms, I would want for them to go to more players. And GAAS have little reason to be exclusives. But if that was true all thing equal, then Sony and Nintendo would do the same. But they are not doing it, and for good reasons too. This thread should not be read as a stand alone but one among many that in the last few weeks have been about Xbox supposed putting games on PS5/Switch or even going third party. I think that my posts have not been that anti-Microsoft as a whole, but I may be wrong.

Going back to this strategy. All Xbox published games are on PC day one. They also go on Gamepass day one too. When we learned that maybe some games would go to the Switch/PS5 we talked a lot about it. You may have missed it but some of Xbox influencers like Klobrille have made posts on Twitter/RE against the idea, with good arguments about in Klobrille case how it would dilute the brand. I can't talk for Xbox fans. I can say that what I want in a console is having games made for it, games that I like and experiences that I can share with friends. If I can get Xbox games, it will only make my console even more attractive to me. On top of GOW Ragnarok or Spiderman 2, I may have one day Gears of War collection, Hi Fi rush or Starfield. Good for me. But this will not make me closer to Xbox, because I was already able to do it with my PC. And it had been possible to do so for quite a few years. 2016 maybe? I understand that some people will be. But it is clear that outside of the US Xbox don't have a good brand compared to their competitors, did not make the efforts needed to change that and are as a result well behind. This won't change in a day. And making their console even less needed than before will not help them in the short term. Will this work out long term? Maybe. Time will tell.
 

SHA

Member
Cause mobile happened and changed everything, devs, when they see shitty mobile games sell like hot cakes, they start comparing and make an excuse for making console games as good as mobile, this is serious shit, comparing will kill the console industry cause it's a win win on the mobile side.
 
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tr1p1ex

Member
It's just timed exclusivity. Something that has been around for awhile from 3rd parties.

Also they have done this sort of thing in the tv business. You see it right now with HBO etc going back to licensing content to Netflix after it has/had run on their own networks/streaming services.

It's also not much different from what they do with movie releases as well. They release to theatre. Milk all they can. Then it's too home video. BR/DVD/digital rental/purchases. Then it's to the streaming services or in the past it was the premium cable channels. Then it's to cable channels. Now that step might be free tv like FreeVee or PlutoTV. And then it was network tv.
 
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