Board 8 > Microsoft and Nintendo sign 10 year agreement to bring Xbox games* to Nintendo

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://twitter.com/BradSmi/status/1627926790172811264?s=20

Obviously a major play to get the Activision Blizzard acquisition over the line.

*The tweet says Xbox games but the statement in the image only mentions CoD so make of that what you will.

I am clueless about this sort of thing so please help me - why does this needs a agreement?
Can't they just...I dunno, publish xbox Games on Nintendo consoles like every other company is doing?
When a new indie dev want to publish his game on Switch, he needs to sign the same agreement?

Nanis23 posted...

When a new indie dev want to publish his game on Switch, he needs to sign the same agreement?

how do you think the game gets.... published?

Yeah every publisher needs a signed agreement. The reason theyre making a big deal out if this one is because of the Activision Blizzard purchase.

Steiner posted...

how do you think the game gets.... published?

I have no idea which is why I admitted being clueless

Nanis23 posted...

I have no idea which is why I admitted being clueless

sorry i didn't mean to come off like i particularly knew any better, it's just that reading your post this seemed incongruous - especially in the age of digital games, how would you release a game at all without some sort of a relationship with a console maker?

I didn't think Nintendo gamers cared about COD. They've tried putting it on their platforms before and it flopped. Nintendo just doesn't really care for hardcore gaming.

shane15 posted...

Nintendo just doesn't really care for hardcore gaming.

huh? what does COD, the ultimate casual game, have to do with hardcore gaming?

COD about as hardcore as Mountain Dew

WOW that reads like a post from 2009.

I mean, there hasnt been a CoD game on Nintendo since Ghosts on Wii U a decade ago. Obviously a very different time. My understanding is that the Wii versions of CoD actually did alright for what they were despite not being at feature/content parity with the PS3/360/PC versions. That would be why they bothered with the Wii U at all. I feel looking at how well games like Fortnite have done on Switch, and how well third party AAA games in general have done on Switch, it is obviously a very different situation for Nintendo now. I feel the main reason CoD didnt come to Switch was that Activision literally could not free up the resources to port it.

a decade ago if you bought the AAA title on a Nintendo platform you were getting the same title but worse, now you're getting the same title but portable

The CMA counter offer:

Activision drop CoD from the deal so Sony can buy it
Microsoft must make a $500 billion USD investment in Sony
Microsoft must hand over Azure infrastructure to Sony

Some sort of contract signature is always done but they don't always advertise the action in a tweet like this

Yeah, like EA's never talked about its contracts to bring FIFA to Xbox and PS. This is clearly a PR announcement, especially considering that it doesn't mention any specific games.

Wonder if the games will start after the Switch 2 comes out? Starfield as a Switch 2 launch game? Rare Replay is the one I'd most actually want...

Steiner posted...

a decade ago if you bought the AAA title on a Nintendo platform you were getting the same title but worse, now you're getting the same title but portable

what

i mean i'm lying but current perception is closer to that

bring me perfect dark

....Hasn't the Activision merger not actually gone through yet?

In fact, last I heard, the last thing the regulators said was they would only allow the merger to go through if Microsoft DIDN'T get CoD exclusivity.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

....Hasn't the Activision merger not actually gone through yet?

In fact, last I heard, the last thing the regulators said was they would only allow the merger to go through if Microsoft DIDN'T get CoD exclusivity.

It said they have to divest COD as a structural remedy or if they could provide behavioral remedies that were satisfactory to them. This is an attempt to provide behavioral remedies.

But they don't actually have the license yet, so how can they sign this agreement?

Or am I misunderstanding the situation and the merger has already happened, but all the talk from the SCC has been around whether it has to be dissolved? I thought they hadn't actually finalized yet.

Well the merger hasnt happened yet but both parties have signalled their agreement. We dont know without seeing the contract but its easy to imagine a situation where this contract is just conditional on the merger going through. The only reason to publicise this is to help the deal. Just PR to get it through.

Microsoft has nobody but themselves to blame. When they bought Zenimax they gave verbal assurances that their catalog were not going to be made exclusive to Xbox ecosystem and then immediately reneged on this by making their shitty Starfield game exclusive. Now they are paying the price of that.

GranzonEx posted...

Microsoft has nobody but themselves to blame. When they bought Zenimax they gave verbal assurances that their catalog were not going to be made exclusive to Xbox ecosystem and then immediately reneged on this by making their shitty Starfield game exclusive. Now they are paying the price of that.

lol

Does this mean we could get Hi-Fi Rush on Switch in less than a year?

GranzonEx posted...

Microsoft has nobody but themselves to blame. When they bought Zenimax they gave verbal assurances that their catalog were not going to be made exclusive to Xbox ecosystem and then immediately reneged on this by making their shitty Starfield game exclusive. Now they are paying the price of that.

Not true. They said current games wouldn't be made exclusive or games with current ecosystems (aka eso) and they would honor all contracts and that it would be a case by case scenario going forward.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

But they don't actually have the license yet, so how can they sign this agreement?

Or am I misunderstanding the situation and the merger has already happened, but all the talk from the SCC has been around whether it has to be dissolved? I thought they hadn't actually finalized yet.

It's conditional on the merger going through.

GranzonEx posted...

Microsoft has nobody but themselves to blame. When they bought Zenimax they gave verbal assurances that their catalog were not going to be made exclusive to Xbox ecosystem and then immediately reneged on this by making their shitty Starfield game exclusive. Now they are paying the price of that.

To actually respond, what they actually said was anything with Game Pass or an established playerbase would keep access to the games.

Pretty sure Phil even said something casually to the effect of well yeah, of course were gonna prioritize new games on our own platform.

Also bringing Xbox games to GeForce Now.

https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1628096694939156486

Steiner posted...

huh? what does COD, the ultimate casual game, have to do with hardcore gaming?

CoD has a reputation for being a game that gamers play all day, every day, to an unhealthy point.

The first 2 definitions that popped up from a simple search:

"A hardcore gamer is somebody who, essentially, eats, breathes and sleeps video games."

And

"A hardcore gamer, putting it simply, is someone who desires to challenge themselves with a game, instead of simply just relaxing casually with one."

Both of those very strongly fit with CoD.

shane15 posted...

I didn't think Nintendo gamers cared about COD. They've tried putting it on their platforms before and it flopped. Nintendo just doesn't really care for hardcore gaming.

I'm not sure about every game, but Modern Warfare came out two years later on Wii. PS3 and 360 owners were already playing MW2. Why would a Wii owner be excited to get a game two years late? They probably could have sold more on Nintendo systems if they made any attempt to give them equal treatment.

Psycho_Kensou posted...

I'm not sure about every game, but Modern Warfare came out two years later on Wii. PS3 and 360 owners were already playing MW2. Why would a Wii owner be excited to get a game two years late? They probably could have sold more on Nintendo systems if they made any attempt to give them equal treatment.

While i agree, Nintendo has always had awful online features. Why buy a COD game on a Nintendo system when you can play it with better online, friend lobbies and voice chat on other systems.

COD is the unstoppable force that it is because of the fact that it appeals casuals AND hardcore gamers

shane15 posted...

While i agree, Nintendo has always had awful online features. Why buy a COD game on a Nintendo system when you can play it with better online, friend lobbies and voice chat on other systems.

Is the online in Fortnite that bad on the Switch? I was under the impression it worked quite well, and had most of those features.

Can't say i know anything about how Fortnite plays on Switch. But last time i checked you needed some stupid phone app to use voice chat on a Switch.

shane15 posted...

Can't say i know anything about how Fortnite plays on Switch. But last time i checked you needed some stupid phone app to use voice chat on a Switch.

My son voice chats via headphones.