DualShockers: “ The showcase caused what I would call a hasty reaction, with many calling it a redemption for Microsoft following their calamitous few months beforehand. Sure, focusing on more first-party games is a step in the right direction, but if Microsoft truly wants to win over hearts and minds, there's a lot that needs to change.”
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 launched last week to solid reviews from both fans and players. But its playercount? That's another story.
That's awful. This combined with the really low Steam numbers paint a disastrous picture imo. Really bad timing too because Tango was closed down for a similar thing. Great reviewed game, and low sales and/or player count. Hi-Fi Rush reviewed a hell of a lot better and it was widely loved by everyone, Hellblade 2 nowhere near that.
I know the rumor is that the studio has their next game already green-lit, but if I worked at Tango, I would be furious. "Why do they survive while we get binned?" I'd be telling myself.
But the suit woman will have you believe "Oh we have different metrics for the success of one studio compared to another studio. We judge each studio and game on their own set criteria" or something like that, I'm paraphrasing here but you get the idea. But no one who works there knows what the hell that even means. I mean the DLC for Redfall was getting worked on days before they even got the news their studio was getting dumped in the trash. So what are these mysterious metrics to let studios survive and others perish? I bet this is all hogwash, I bet MS don't even really know. They just had to make cuts and certain studios just found their way on the chopping block. Someone had to bite the dust, why not you?
Well I bet all this does nothing for the confidence of other employees in other studios. The truth is you have no idea where your career will be in a year from now working at one of their studios that aren't the mega big ones. MS just have too many studios to manage efficiently. "We'll just throw money at them and buy them and worry about the details later on. I mean we can do it, we're Microsoft."
...have you seen what the top 10 consists of? Its things like fortnite, roblox, CoD, apex... etc. This being a new game that has a niche appeal is actually surprising to see at 23. Its also the 33rd top paid game on the PC through the MS store.
Those are dreadful numbers any way you slice it dude. They hyped this game to hell for the last 4 plus yrs. It was supposed to be xboxs big game this yr. Ninja Theory is probably sweating right now.
And it's already slipped out of the Top 100 on Steam. Meanwhile a port of the 4-year old Ghost of Tsushima is sitting comfortably at #8.
If this game cost more and took longer to develop than Hi-Fi Rush, then I would worry if I were Ninja Theory. Projects may have been greenlit, but the increased scrutiny over at MS may very well put them on the chopping block. The incredible irony here is that it was PlayStation players that pushed the original game passed its 1 million copies sold milestone. With that purchasing power cut out, and the Game Pass effect having trained Xbox players to not purchase games, it seems that the sequel may have been set-up for failure.
And that's exactly what pisses me off about Hellblade 2 not being on PlayStation, Sony promoted the original game and I bought it basically on D1 back in the day because I liked what I saw and ended up really enjoying it!
I really hope Hellblade 2 is next on the porting list because I would buy it in a heartbeat, asshole microsoft robbed me of this game!
Explore 5 horror games that promise unforgettable scares and sleepless nights. Perfect for thrill-seekers!
Xbox Wire: “We're excited to confirm that Game Pass members will be able to jump into Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on day one.”
Here's hoping for a drop of all 19 of the other cod games on gamepass. That would be a wild trip down memory lane.
Rip Xbox 😭 this will be the point when you can say it was Microsoft biggest mistake that cost Phil head to roll when the investors expect to see a billion on sale and get 1/3 only from PS.
Anyway congratulations to all those CoD players that have game pass.
Edit: never mind is black ops 6 but if they do this for the main cod it’s goodbye Phil
I'm not sure how this move will play out but I do think it could devalue the Call of Duty brand Microsoft paid so much for.
Also, if after the release Microsoft compares sales revenue of the game on Xbox compared to last year, and then logically it will be less as Xbox gamers will be able to get it for 'free'. If it then looks to see if Game Pass new subscriber revenue makes up for the loss profits - if it doesn't It could potentially be the nail in the coffin for the Xbox console business and Game Pass.
After being burnt with MW3 (really enjoyed mw2019 and MW2 (2022) as well as cold war). Guess I can give it ago on pc GP for a month. If I like it buy it on PS5 or PC or don't if I don't like it. I may dislike gamepass. But since it's Microsoft who potentially looses out on my money I don't mind.
There is nothing to dislike about Gamepass. People can dislike the company behind it but fundamentally the service is excellent. I truly do not care about the politics behind it... I just like what it offers.
That's fair. I just don't like how it's pretty much killed Xbox as a platform. Because of it and in my honest opinion Xbox is now a service rather than a platform. Say what you will about the Xbox one it didn't do as well as the PS4 but before gamepass at least people where paying for the games. Now it's ill just rent on gamepass and if it ain't on gamepass I'll wait untill it's on gamepass.
It's changed a whole bases buying power. It's not good no matter how you look at it. Sure your looking at it as a consumer but when it goes under, no more consumer
Should probably just buy it on xbox with the 20% gamepass discount otherwise you'll be giving Microsoft more of your money twice.
Nice!
All those rumors were dead wrong and COD fans will be able to play Black Ops 6 day one on Gamepass!
This doesn't prove or disprove anything about the rumors of either a price increase or a new tier.
...true, but those were separate rumors. The one OO is directly referring to was the idea that CoD would be coming to GP as a result of the merger. To which we can put that one to bed now with this news.
@Obscure_Observer There's nothing wrong with being a consumer and being delighted that you be able to play it for free. But like with the many Xbox YouTubers who celebrated the ABK purchase by Microsoft who didn't consider the possible negative consequences for the console platform they enjoy most, I wonder if you have considered this could be a damaging move for the Xbox ecosystem? It might not be, it might turn out to be a genius move! It could be Phil Spener's last hurrah. Come Christmas when it is bundled free with new Xboxs via a Game Pass trial it will definitely shift units - but will it be enough to move PlayStation-exclusive owners to buy it and significantly boost the Xbox Series S/X market share?
@rippermcrip
"This doesn't prove or disprove anything about the rumors of either a price increase or a new tier."
You can ask Geoff Keighley about that:
"Microsoft has confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be playable on Xbox and PC for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass for Console members.
"BTW per Microsoft, the pricing on tiers is:
Game Pass Ultimate - $16.99 USD/month
Game Pass for Console - $10.99 USD/month
PC Game Pass - $9.99 USD/month
Game Pass Core - $9.99 USD/month OR $59.99/year"
https://x.com/geoffkeighley...
So Microsoft is willing to take a financial hit? Could have done that with Tango. This was the correct move. Any other move would have piled on what happened recently whether it be, price increase, new tier, or not releasing it on GP at all.
What happened with Tango, while unfortunate, was done at the discretion of Bethesda. We don't know what the conditions of the MS/Bethesda merger are but can assume there is still some semblance of autonomy where they can make certain decisions without the approval of MS.
On the flip side, its a shame that MS was not inclined to offer TG a place under their own direct management like NT has. As for this CoD deal... that too could be under some special consideration by ABK as part of their merger as well. MS looks to benefit either way due to possible increased subs/sales of GP/XB as well as sales to PC/Ps users.
If they grow gamepass because of COD, have Another paid tier and selling the game on PS5 and last gen consoles.
Especially if this COD is the best one in ages, which equals more sales I have a hard time seeing how this game will take any financial hit. Whatever potential loss would pay itself back 10 fold.
Hmmm, I think they will announce a price hike in between now and BO6 coming out.
Most certainly, tbh I thought they were going to go the 2 tier route, with game pass premium ONLY having cod as part of the subscription and the lower tier you'd have to buy it discounted at like £50
What nonsense is this 😩 if Ms want to win over hearts and minds you want them to stop buying studios and publishers lol what crap is this.
“If Microsoft can stop trying to monopolize gaming and start redirecting that focus into making sure their first-party plans deliver solid games, then we really know they’re back on the right path.“
Agreed but this is Microsoft we’re talking about here. They’ll never change long as the same people that steered Xbox in the position it’s in today are still there. The house needs cleaning.
Xbox has nothing to redeem there already a big gaming brand.
Microsoft have planned years in advance and have a mammoth of teams who are now heavily into there development cycles.
https://www.resetera.com/th...
Its truly exciting to know every year at the "bare minimum" xbox will have 4 first party titles releasing every year.
https://twitter.com/tomwarr...
I dont think people realize what is happening before there eyes and there's so much more to come.
https://twitter.com/tomwarr...
Imo the showcase was alright, nothing jaw-dropping.
I love to game on everything and I think, honestly, everyone should own all three consoles and a PC to be able to play EVERYTHING and unfortunately that's not the case. We talk that competition is good and is the driving force and hats true, but the cost to the consumer is pretty great and, unfortunately, that's how it is. It really shouldn't be who won E3, Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft, WE as the gamers should win everytime. It shouldnt be Sony vs Nintendo vs Microsoft, it should be The Gaming Industry vs The Gamer and we should win every time. Paid DLC and Microtransactions in today's fragile economy isn't right. When a person buys a game, that's what they paid for is the game and they should have the right to everything that game has, until the sequel comes along. Season Passes, DLC, and microtransactions, I believe are anti-consumer (am I using that term right?) Like Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch gives whatever additional content they create to the gamer because, to them, you bought their game and you are thus entitled to whatever content is created for that game. The ONLY thing that I'm aware of they charged for was the PS5 upgrade that was $10, that's it. Everything else Sucker Punch gives you and that's amazing! The digital era is hurting the gamer and that's why. Corporations want us to think it was our idea all along, that we chose that route and that its in our best interests because it "gives you choice". Well, the only choice you have is to say yes to it or no to it, garbage! Wouldn't you like to pay for a game and then never have to pay any money until they give you a new game? Street Fighter 6 for example, they already have some 5 characters sitting on a HDD waiting to be released, maybe 1 a month, but you already bought the game. Why are you having to buy what's already been created, they dissected the game, that's unacceptable and that's how we're being treated. A con man, a swindler, ends up in jail, but the businessman steals from the poor and walks the streets. That ain't right.
So, as far as who won E3 this year? As a PlayStation fan, Microsoft did a better showing than PlayStation's did, this is true. PlayStation just seemed to act as though they didn't care they were pretty much doing a show for Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. Microsoft had some third-party showing as well and even Nintendo had a couple, but both Microsoft and Nintendo had shown: This is why you NEED OUR CONSOLE. This experience is only possible on our platform. PlayStation had shown: This is on our console, but you can play it elsewhere too. PlayStation didn't say: This is why you NEED a PlayStation like Jack Tretton always conveyed when he was CEO of PlayStation. He made it clear. Jim Ryan, Metal Gear is on competing platforms now, it used to be exclusive to PlayStation. Or at least MGS4 has always been, but is in danger of seeing Xbox shores because PlayStation doesn't seem motivated or care anymore. PS2 was flooded with exclusives, not now. MLB The Show is a PlayStation developed game and is on Nintendo and Xbox, and Xbox gives it away for free on Game Pass. Where Microsoft failed was that it was a bunch of trailers, no actual gameplay. Nintendo showed plenty of gameplay.
So there it is. It was a short victory for Xbox. It was a desperate one, but Microsoft AT LEAST conveyed to me as a gamer: This is why you invested in your Xbox Series X. PlayStation didnt make me feel that way. They instead conveyed: You have your PS5, but it doesn't matter if you have an Xbox Series X too, and that was dissapointing to me