Current Events > Microsoft is bad for gaming

(+) Yeah! (+)

• Makes bad games
• Uses money to create exclusives
• Wants to turn the industry into a Netflix style quantity over quality

Today is a sad day.

True, but I'm enjoying the Edge browser after switching yesterday due to Chrome going on the fritz

Imagine simping for a bobby kotic run actibliz

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1483442144618688512

Better than Tencent getting them.

ColonizedMind posted...

Uses money to create exclusives

How else are they going to make them? Hugs and kisses?

I mean buying studios instead of having their own studios make them

Gamepass is the best thing to happen to gaming in the last decade easily.

ColonizedMind posted...

I mean buying studios instead of having their own studios make them

How does one have their own studios?

Punished_Blinx posted...

How does one have their own studios?

by buying them

It seems Microsoft today is with getting a studio and letting them do their stuff.

The Microsoft that bought Rare and wasted them is not nearly as prevalent.

Psychonauts 2 would have been a lesser game without Microsoft. Full stop.

ColonizedMind posted...

I mean buying studios instead of having their own studios make them

Sony has bought many as well but i guess its ok when they do it.

ColonizedMind posted...

I mean buying studios instead of having their own studios make them

The problem is that they buy the studios, either gut them or cause all talent to leave, and then throw the IPs in the trash. They also push a lot of heavy microtransactions that immediately get in the way of building rewards systems.

But, a lot of that was what Activision Blizzard was already doing. So, it's hard to tell if Microsoft will force them to get their shit in order or will just double down on the money grubbing.

ChocoboMog123 posted...

So, it's hard to tell if Microsoft will force them to get their shit in order or will just double down on the money grubbing.

Microsoft already has a track record of not stripping and gutting companies, forcing them to overmonetize their games. Additionally, Phil Spencer has already publicly made statements regarding NFT's and how he is not in favor of them integrating into gaming.

Until they do this, claims that they "may" do this are unwarranted and hold as much weight as Alex Jones saying the moon landing is fake. If we're talking about "what ifs" that Microsoft has given no indication of having no interest in doing, any discussion is meaningless, because we could just make any sort of claim.

ChocoboMog123 posted...

The problem is that they buy the studios, either gut them or cause all talent to leave, and then throw the IPs in the trash. They also push a lot of heavy microtransactions that immediately get in the way of building rewards systems.

But, a lot of that was what Activision Blizzard was already doing. So, it's hard to tell if Microsoft will force them to get their shit in order or will just double down on the money grubbing.

I think Microsoft are more strategic with their acquisitions than people give them credit for.

They're buying up stuff to pad out Game Pass. Subscriptions need a wide variety of content to have broad appeal and succeed. It's not a coincidence that most the stuff they're buying is either smaller in scale or developers who can get games out quickly.

Every developer so far as been told they're overall left to their own devices. Which overall fits the business model of a subscription since every game is just one cog in a giant model. It's also basically how Netflix does it.

As long as the developers aren't pissing away money I think they'll be fine.

pogo_rabid posted...

Microsoft already has a track record of not stripping and gutting companies, forcing them to overmonetize their games. Additionally, Phil Spencer has already publicly made statements regarding NFT's and how he is not in favor of them integrating into gaming.

Until they do this, claims that they "may" do this are unwarranted and hold as much weight as Alex Jones saying the moon landing is fake. If we're talking about "what ifs" that Microsoft has given no indication of having no interest in doing, any discussion is meaningless, because we could just make any sort of claim.

So who fucked up with Halo infinite? Was is 343 upper-management themselves?

ChocoboMog123 posted...

So who fucked up with Halo infinite? Was is 343 upper-management themselves?

Yes

Most likely M$ and 343 fucked up tbh

ChocoboMog123 posted...

So who fucked up with Halo infinite? Was is 343 upper-management themselves?

I think that's just a simple case of a game that had a troubled development cycle and they weren't able to hit the vision they wanted for a whole variety of reasons.

Spencer letting them delay the game a year and Bonnie Ross suggesting that Joseph Staten shape up the game in that final year was a decision that made it into a significantly better game. So yeah Microsoft does deserve credit there.

Was 343 gutted, stripped, and overmontized? Because that's the issue you brought up.

A properly funded and staffed games studio can still churn out a subpar game. It happens all the time and has zero relation to the point.

Yeah while I'm not sure I like the idea of MS getting even bigger...

This will actually be an improvement for Activision's non CoD properties. Probably will see more Crash, THPS stuff, Spyro, and everything else that got dropped for CoD because it didn't turn into a billion dollar franchise, despite being done well and selling pretty good. Honestly MS will probably treat their properties better...

I could easily see MS spinning up stuff to get more of these properties used for their Game Pass.

Oddly enough, I think this move is a positive move for gaming? which is weird?

pogo_rabid posted...

Was 343 gutted, stripped, and overmontized? Because that's the issue you brought up.

Halo Infinite has pretty blatant monetization issues all over the place. And there have been some not-so-subtle hints that it came from on high.

343 already came out and said they're reworking the monetization shit, supposedly for this week even I just haven't logged in yet.

All of these F2P games have horrid cosmetic monetization. That's kinda the monkey's paw consequence of going F2P, but they at least get some credit for making battle passes constant instead of expiring once the season is over.

save us Steam Proton

They're the one that started paid online.