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[The Information] Nadella considered winding down Gaming (Xbox) business in 2021; chose to pursue an acquisition-based strategy instead

laynelane

Member
If Sony conditioned their gamers to only play games out of PS+, it would have pushed 3rd parties into a situation where they had to sell their games to Sony and Microsoft for reduced value.

I think you'd see day 1 PC premium sales with console ports coming a year later or so. Either way, it would have resulted in an industry crash that would have involved PC gaming too.

Again, Jim Ryan is an absolute hero for standing his ground. Gaming needs a massive rewrite and apology to him.

I don't think it's possible to condition the majority of people who game to pay for subscription only gaming. If it was, MS would have achieved that milestone on Xbox - they didn't because there's several weaknesses with that model that ensure it just doesn't appeal to the majority of customers. If Sony had tried to such a tactic, they'd be in a similar situation as MS - a stagnating subscriber count for years now and a complete decline of their software sales and hardware too.

I do get what you're saying - a 'what if' scenario and how that would work. There are several ways it could have played out and none them would have been good, for sure.

Also, agreed on Jim Ryan and others like him. We can project outcomes all we want, but I'm really glad we never actually had to find out what would have happened if Sony, Nintendo, etc. tried to follow MS down the gaming subscription rabbit hole.
 

GHG

Member
Meaning GIF




It could be 90%, doesn't change the fact that $20/mo is not the only tier with day 1 games.


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Good thing nobody said it was the only tier with day one games then.
 

HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
That's fine in a vacuum, the post he's replying to is calling out the 100m sub goal, which was never said to be for console only. GP has been on PC about as long as console and would naturally include both in that tally.

Hell, if GP gets on PS or Switch, that would be counted towards the 100m too.
I just meant I don't think Heisenberg007 Heisenberg007 was intentionally trying to mislead, I think he was just talking console

Maybe he was trying to be sneaky I dunno
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
All that revenue gets offset by the amount they pay for 3rd party publishers to put their games on the service. It varies but they have paid up to $300 million for a single game. I remember reading an article where they paid $250 million for Suicide Squad. They paid $12 to $15 million a month for GTA V.

Suicide Squad has never been on GP, it did, however, come to PS+ this month. What I think you're talking about is the valuation slide for estimated launches of any of those games on day 1 on the service.

Also, Rockstar's games have never been on any service, GP or PS+ for more than 3 to 6 months.
 

laynelane

Member
Mentioned that because my two forevery games( gt7 and Helldivers 2) are amazing, I also spend my gaming hours mainly playing them. I have decreased the time I spent playing new games massively in the last two years because the few hours to play games I do get I end up playing games I am already familiar with( mainly gt7) like it is comfort food. And I don't think I am the only one.


lol I keep telling myself I should start any of the unplayed titles sitting in my library yet find myself starting yet another playthrough or challenge run on a few favourite titles. The "comfort food" analogy is so apt.
 
I've never heard "all hands on dick before."

I doubt Microsoft is genuinely looking to get rid of hardware in the future, but I will tell you future hardware is going to be sold at a premium and not subsidized and that it's likely to be pretty much off the shelf PC parts in a small chassis, that let's you virtualize old xbox titles to keep your old game catalog.

Their days in the traditional console space are clearly numbered, which is why it makes no sense not to put games on PlayStation and Switch.

I do wonder how this will work though for the old games. Will virtualizing allow them to bypass the licensing issues? MS can't just give you a PC license for a game without getting approval from the publisher.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Mentioned that because my two forevery games( gt7 and Helldivers 2) are amazing, I also spend my gaming hours mainly playing them. I have decreased the time I spent playing new games massively in the last two years because the few hours to play games I do get I end up playing games I am already familiar with( mainly gt7) like it is comfort food. And I don't think I am the only one.

Somehow I give games like GT7 and Helldivers 2 a pass. And no not because they're Sony games, but because you don't really have to buy the MTX and you get a lot of content simply for playing the games. They aren't annual releases nor are they AS primed to milk consumers.

Couldn't agree more. Cancelling shows is more profitable for Netflix as compared to running them. And personally I think that's a big issue and in an alternate future where gamepass actually took off, I believe it would have been a bleak reality for gaming as a whole.

Netflix is now like comfort food, as long as it doesn't become too expensive, people are happy leaving ,whatever crap show netflix releases, running in the background. People have been trained to mindlessly consume.

Yeah, especially if the current financial crises doesn't improve. People are already having trouble having basic needs fulfilled, can't imagine them subscribing to so many services that only seem to be getting worse while costing more and more.

Most subscription services don't have more than 1 hit show happening at a time. They stagger their releases to keep people subscribed, but I wonder what happens when there is an imbalance of content in favor of specific streaming services and whether Netflix would be immune to that.

Sony and WB are planning major lot expansions in Nevada. The result of this is going to be significantly more content. WB is going to be specifically HBO Max, but Sony's content is going to end up everywhere.

I think the subscription services are going to continue to rise in cost and super subscriptions are going to reign supreme at least initially. This is where Apple has a major head start and so does Amazon.

I think we're going to see continued consolidation in the entertainment space, especially if the FTC is weakened. I think you could see Netflix and Spotify merge for example and that merged entity could very well go after a company like EA or T2.

Gaming is in a very delicate spot right now and people are too distracted/angry to see that.

Yeah, and since Sony is known for its single player( and what I mainly played pre-helldivers 2), it is also optional for around 50% of their playerbase( I recall Sony stating that 59% of their player base only plays single player games a few years back and I think that is true even today).

I think otherwise personally. Hardware is winding down but software seems to be picking up. Xbox executives are now thinking why spend so much money supporting a loss making hardware when we can make far more profit making games for far more successful hardwares. It is a change in priority, currently, rather than decrease in operation

It'll be interesting to see where the Xbox userbase goes moving forward. Do they stick with Microsoft and possibly pay high premiums to stay in the ecosystem with no exclusives? Do they move to PC? Nintendo? PlayStation?

There is going to be a boon somewhere for someone.

I don't think it's possible to condition the majority of people who game to pay for subscription only gaming. If it was, MS would have achieved that milestone on Xbox - they didn't because there's several weaknesses with that model that ensure it just doesn't appeal to the majority of customers. If Sony had tried to such a tactic, they'd be in a similar situation as MS - a stagnating subscriber count for years now and a complete decline of their software sales and hardware too.

I do get what you're saying - a 'what if' scenario and how that would work. There are several ways it could have played out and none them would have been good, for sure.

Also, agreed on Jim Ryan and others like him. We can project outcomes all we want, but I'm really glad we never actually had to find out what would have happened if Sony, Nintendo, etc. tried to follow MS down the gaming subscription rabbit hole.

Don't think you need the majority, just enough to convince publishers that their games need to be on subscriptions, and then the rest of consumers don't really have a choice. Premium game prices go up and you get pushed into the sub model even more.

It was always crazy to me to see the debates on GamePass when it was such a clear and present danger to the gaming community, but I guess it is in people's nature to want that instant gratification of cheap gaming. I subscribed to MoviePass when it first came out, knowing it wasn't going to last, but I never really thought about long term damage. I was glad that AMC A-List found a better path forward that was more sustainable.

I think Sony's subscriber count wouldn't have been as stagnant since they've been able to deliver games more frequently. I think there would have been more downward pressure on costs and pricing though, so it's always about reaching that magic number as fast as possible. If they did Day 1, they could have probably added 20-30 million more subscribers than they have now on the premium tier.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
I do wonder how this will work though for the old games. Will virtualizing allow them to bypass the licensing issues? MS can't just give you a PC license for a game without getting approval from the publisher.

I do believe virtualization could be a way around licensing not that that would 100% prevent lawsuits though. I think some publishers would be displeased and that could in turn result in a lack of future software support. It's dicey no matter how you split it.
 

PJX

Member
Suicide Squad has never been on GP, it did, however, come to PS+ this month. What I think you're talking about is the valuation slide for estimated launches of any of those games on day 1 on the service.

Also, Rockstar's games have never been on any service, GP or PS+ for more than 3 to 6 months.

This was based on the document leak which is what I'm referencing.

 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
This was based on the document leak which is what I'm referencing.



Right, these are Game Pass "Expected Partner Ask".

Around half of those aren't on, and have not been, on GP, and EA games all come to GP as part of EA Play anyway, whenever they get added there.
 
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PJX

Member
Right, these are Game Pass "Expected Partner Ask".

Around half of those aren't on, and have not been, on GP, and EA games all come to GP as part of EA Play anyway, whenever they get added there.
Yes I understand that but these are fees they have paid to publishers like Capcom, Square Enix, etc etc depending on the game.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Yes I understand that but these are fees they have paid to publishers like Capcom, Square Enix, etc etc depending on the game.

I doubt a game like Path of Goddess, as an example, cost in the 3 digit millions range, let alone high 2 digits. Established franchises, sure I can see that. It's why you don't see big franchises launching on any service.
 
The ABK acquisition was a huge mistake. Huge.

I wonder if someone at PlayStation immediately realized it and was laughing under their breath the whole time...
I remember people saying doom and gloom and sony and nintendo were going to go out of buisness, but the end result was they totally shot themselves in the ASS
 
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mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
And like clockwork NeoGaf's Nostradamus turns up to show everyone how right he was, not that anyone gives 2 fucks, but thanks.

Just like a switch 2 leaker if you post enough shite some of it maybe right.

More Mystic Meg than Nostradamus I'd say actually.

Nice work!

Nah, he was spot on here. And his reasons were also spot on. No Mystic Meg going on.
 
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