Hiroki Totoki is taking over today as interim chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment, filling the role of former head Jim Ryan.
Twisted Voxel writes: "We've almost reached the end of the 1st half of 2024, and Xbox has had more studio closures than first party game releases in the year so far."
Hellblade 2, Indiana Jones, Avowed, Towerborne, and Call of Duty are still to be released this year. Marcus Fenix collection to be added to the list with the Xbox showcase, hopefully.
Sony doesn't have to bother fighting the next Microsoft acquisition. The massive layoff by themselves should be enough to get the next big buy blocked.
Vindicates Jim Ryan. Don't know who didnt see this coming except those frothing pro acquisition fanboys who are not commenting here for some reason....
So if MS hadn't spent $80 billion consolidating the industry just think of all the games and jobs that would have saved.
MS is a drain on gaming and have been nothing but a negative.
The former president of Blizzard Mike Ybarra in a statement on Twitter says Microsoft Gaming CEO is hurting just as much as anyone else following the closure of three studios under Bethesda - Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog Studios. Roundhouse Games is also joining ZeniMax Online Studios.
Yeahhh I doubt it's hurting a millionaire as much as it's hurting fans and people who lost their jobs
This is all coming from the executive who thinks we should have the option to tip devs... apparently so publishers can pay devs minimum wage. Will someone think of the C-suite executives!!!
Yeah, the guy making $10m a year is hurting as much as those who have lost their jobs and are worrying about their future and supporting their family. /s
It takes a real lack of shame to even try put the Good Guy Phil™ spin on this. It's not going to work this time.
He's sitting around feeling sorry when he should of been doing everything in his power to get people jobs in other studios you're telling me after toys for Bob split from Activision there wasn't a opening in the call of duty mines for arkane it's just woah is me.
The Outerhaven writes: With multiple gaming studios, including Tango Gameworks, closing, the editor-in-chief of The Outerhaven shares his thoughts on the matter.
Honestly I was looking back and at the launch of the Xbox 1. With Don Matrick at the helm I was disappointed but therevwas something else. That fighting spirit of Xbox at its inception was lost. They stopped innovating, I lost excitement on what the next big new surprise was, because their weren’t any. Not like Halo 2 and Gears launch. You couldn’t really brag about it anymore.
So here we are and corporate MS has ruined what was a beautiful renegade project.
Xbox do not give a crap about developers they want publishers to make money for them that is all.
Well without developers there's nothing to publish so if that's their plan it's a pretty bad one.
For everything that Xbox did, I was hopeful it would turn stuff around. Game Pass was a start, and the release of its upcoming titles was a nice way to return. I mean, I'm not going to say it was perfect, just like I wouldn't say PlayStation is perfect. Neither company is, but when Xbox goes and does this, it makes zero sense. The message of Xbox's plan had already had me frustrated, but I was like, "Maybe they'll fix this mess."
Now... yeah. Not so confident anymore.
That's how you know this is clickbait garbage. If you write about games for a living and didn't know Microsoft is a cancer on the industry until now than you are awful at your job.
"Right now"?
But not 11 years ago with the disastrous Xbox One reveal which they NEVER recovered from?
Man are you slow on the uptake.
No, Xbox never recovered, but Game Pass (which you're a fool if you deny the success of it), Xbox Cloud, the acquisitions, the reboot of Perfect Dark (which seems to be in the gutter now), the success of Forza Horizon, Sea of Thieves, and yes, Hi-Fi Rush (FFS).
Denying any sort of improvement only goes to show you don't pay any attention to the entire picture.
I think you missed the part where these things were spread years apart. Theres no consistency
Bullshit.
Perfect Dark IP was purchased along with many other games like Halo, Gears, etc. Perfect Dark needs help with Crystal Dynamics just to finish the game. That's pathetic. HiFi Rush was purchased and was probably already coming to PlayStation before the purchase.
If Game Pass was a success, these developers wouldn't be closing their doors. We told gamers it isn't profitable. It does make revenue. But revenue isn't profit. It hasn't changed Microsoft's position in the industry or increased hardware sales. If it did, they would be shouting from the rooftops like their arrogant asses always do.
Anyone can have a cloud service. And Sony's is more successful. It took buying major publishers just to increase their spreadsheet. But Xbox continues to fail even then. By having to place games on their competitors platform while still trying to compete. You don't see Nintendo putting their games on Xbox. And Sony was only forced because they don't own the MLB license. Which was forced behind the scenes by Microsoft to take away Sony's successful game and throw it on game pass to use it against gamers buying it on PlayStation. How is the acquisitions a success if they have to close companies they just bought and make many developers jobless? Are you serious? Unless you call it a success by taking away games from other platforms that made those developers more money. That's ridiculous.
Sea of Thieves took years to fix. How is that a success that you have an unfinished game for years that needs fixing? Games should be complete at launch. Just like Halo was an incomplete game that needed fixing. Forza Horizon is a good game but even that game hasn't improved Microsoft's standing at all.
Denying all that shows that you're not paying attention.
Success? They missed their own targets 3 years straight, stopped announcing numbers because they're so terrible and it's not profitable. Hence the closing 4 studios. There will be more consolidation too. Just watch the by the books garbage yearly releases too followed by more season passes and shorter games come out
I have been paying attention for past 11 years. That's why I made my fully accurate above post.
You're the one who hasn't, thus you made that completely worthless post.
- I don't care about a rental service for mid-tier (or any tier) games.
- I don't care about streaming services, I play on actual hardware.
- What is Perfect Dark at this point? Its just a name trying to have an easy win with nostalgia. The original developers and talent has long been gone once MS bought Rare in 2001. ITS JUST A NAME, nothing more.
-Don't care about Forza Horizon.
- Don't care about Sea of Thieves.
- I am interested in Hi-Fi Rush, but MS killing off Tango has pissed me off, so I don't want to reward them for their B.S. and now its guaranteed that the hard working devs won't see any benefit from me supporting them.
MS has done squat over the past 11 years. Nothing but the embarrassing stink of failure. I know this because I have been paying attention.
I never played hi-fi rush, even though I would have loved it from all I can see, but as it never came to playstation... Now it comes to playstation and I have no intention to buy it because they closed the developer and the money will only go to poor phil and his poor suits. Well I mean, what else is there to say.
Gamepass brought them into this position so you would be a fool to see it as a success lol
It's also foolish to deny the negatives gamepass is having on the industry as that is part of the entire picture as well.
I imagine smaller ABK studios like toys for bob and beenox are now feeling uncertain about their futures
Thankfully Toys for Bob managed to safely separate from Xbox and are independent now.
Beenox has been in danger for years now with Activision. Microsoft may act more ruthlessly to them unfortunately.
Hopefully lesser focus on live service games
A bit worried.
As long as it's truly short term... Maybe it's fine...? But a CFO taking the reins is likely how creative passion goes to die.
He needs to bring back Japan Studios and re-hire all that incredible talent that they lost. PlayStation needs to focus more on what made them incredible from PS1 to PS3 eras.
Okie dokie Hiroki Totoki. Get someone in there that loves the brand and listens to gamers. I kind of miss that reaction in the past.
Don't fuck it up