390°

Microsoft Is Finally Ending Its Focus On Big Budget Gaming Nonsense

Back when the Xbox 360 launched, Microsoft pushed the big budget game as a differentiator. Following all the recent layoffs, it’s clear this strategy has run its course.

Einhander197220d ago (Edited 20d ago )

The Microsoft shill take on the Microsoft causing the death of big budget gaming...

The whole driving force for growth in gaming both technologically, creatively and financially was all nonsense, and it was definitely not because Microsoft ran the industry into the ground with obviously bad decisions and creating an unprofitable business model that massively disrupted consumer spending habits. /s

RpgSama20d ago

First, F**** Forbes and their shill take, I hope the money cleared by now.

Second, Which big budget games I might ask? Microsoft has been in a rut for like a decade now, with no big publisher and developers puechases they would have not released anything in the last 5 years but the new Halo and Forza.

Eonjay20d ago

Fortunately for us, since we know this message is basically coming from Microsoft, we can read into their motives. Why are they trying to turn people against big budget games and who would it help.... hmmm.

neutralgamer199220d ago

GP is like any content service it needs new content. AAA games take 100 plus million (low end estimates since most AAA games take double that) and it 4-5 years to develop. That’s why there were 2 god of war games instead of 3 because Cory felt like it would take too long

I am not defending MS. That’s just the reality when you put all your eggs in one basket (gamepass) and now they need content. Sadly that’s what we all said would happen and is happening. GP will be a service for AA games with 1-2 AAA games on yearly basis. And I am all for AA games because to me that’s where developers can take chances on smaller budgets but MS has mismanaged this whole situation from the beginning. Their messaging needs to be clear and it’s not

They own so many studios and IP’s they just need to get everyone on schedule so that there are games releasing every few months on GP. But I don’t even think Phil knows what he wants. It seems his goals change constantly

Game pass is not a sustainable and take two ceo was right when he said that it doesn’t make any business sense to release huge AAA games day one on GP. Just like call of duty shouldn’t be on GP because why give up on 15-20 million sales

Einhander197220d ago

"And I am all for AA games because to me that’s where developers can take chances on smaller budgets"

How'd that work out for Tango?

Do you think less AAA games will increase game pass revenue or decrease it when it has less value? What if they also have to increase the costs?

S2Killinit20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Right on.

Hahaha MS has ended “focus” on games? Lol when? 3 generations ago maybe?

Skuletor19d ago

I noticed it near the end of the 360 era.

notachance19d ago

Man I don’t know what the writer is smoking, anyone with a braincell can see what will happen is the exact opposite, they’re gonna double down on big name IPs and turn them into GaaS and milk them to the extreme with multiple studios focusing on specific IPs instead of creating their own games.

It was so clear with the way they keep 343 despite multiple failures and shutting down Tango even after winning awards, MS is a service provider and not a product creator, they will buy the product from others and turn it into a service.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 19d ago
Hofstaderman20d ago

Ah Forbes. One of the prominent MS mouthpieces....

Luc2020d ago

Microsoft is finally... ahhh I've never heard this one before!

Petebloodyonion20d ago

LOL, this article is a big pile of dog crap...
Spencer has been constantly telling ppl that NO they would not go the route of having games like TLOU, Uncharted, etc because Playstation exists and prefers to focus on a diverse portfolio.

How many years have we seen Xbox as no game and we don't want small games like ORI, Pentiment, Grounded, etc.?

That's the real tragedy and why lots of gamers are mad at MS right now
because they have been championing smaller titles and yet fired the ppl delivering exactly what they were proning about.

So no the only nonsense is that MS seems now to be going BACK to AAA popular titles..sorry, I meant refocusing effort on core established IP where broken GAAS might be rewarded versus praised and rewarded work.

Einhander197220d ago (Edited 20d ago )

https://media1.tenor.com/m/...

You read an article cheerleading the end of big budget games and all the other articles about problems and this is what you have to say? That's what you think "the real tragedy" is?

I thought that xbox fans might finally "get it", but no, it seems they don't even understand what is happening and what is at stake.

Petebloodyonion20d ago

Please tell me what's happening and what is at stake

Since it's not big companies closing small studios, killing innovation while refocusing assets on big ongoing projects and core IP?

Let's See MS Close Tango Studio mentions that they are too thin on key project
Sony Close London Studio and make massive cuts in Firespite will reallocate resources to core project
EA will focus on Core project
Square will focus on big established IP
.....
.....

crazyCoconuts20d ago

Hurray! No more big gam.... wait... what??

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70°

Zotac To Reveal Their Portable Gaming PC At COMPUTEX 2024

This sounds like a very interesting mobile gaming PC. ZOTAC returns to COMPUTEX 2024 to showcase its biggest push yet into brand-new product categories from Handheld Gaming.

smashman981h ago

My last 2 gpus have both been zotac. No issues. I'm interested.

290°

PlayStation VR2 Official PC Adapter by Sony Is Being Certified

An official PlayStation VR2 adapter for PC made by Sony is being certified. It won't be long before the VR headset is officially compatible.

Read Full Story >>
wccftech.com
Profchaos13h ago

one step closer to unlocking the headsets full power.

I'm extremely underwhelmed with how Sony has treated it's psvr2 customers seriously Nintendo treated it's Wii U owners of which the sales were probably equal in the headsets 2bd year v the consoles far better.

This is the least they could do

ravens5210h ago

I agree. I'm a day 1 consumer too. 😢 For my day 1 Vita. I do not like when Sony does that crap.

10h agoReplies(2)
BlackOni9h ago

Agreed, but to your point, those dollars went a lot further back then than they do now. This should have been a consideration from the beginning.

Imagine buying a monitor or tv that could only work with one device. That's basically what this equates to, so they left a LOT of money on the table by not making it PC compatible from the getgo. But to Sony's credit, even they were unaware of how popular their games would be once released on PC.

Babadook76h ago

I doubt there will be foveated rendering implemented on PC. PSVR2 is already a better experience than PCVR. PS5 Pro will unlock the full power.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 6h ago
Neonridr11h ago

so now Sony is going to sell me an adapter I have to buy so I can use the headset on my PC? Gee, how generous of you :P

While it's great that I will be able to use this headset instead of my Index or Q3 for PC only VR titles, it's still a sad realization that Sony is sorta waiving the white flag here. Here's hoping they at least make some of their PSVR2 exclusive content available on PC as well now.

ocelot0711h ago

I don't see it as waving the white flag. PSVR the first one even though modders did get it working on pc it was a awful experience.

PSVR2 one of the best VR headsets available. Requires just one usb c cable. Even though I truly believe exclusives are what sell consoles. When it comes to VR it's very nich among gamers. I'm ecstatic that soon I can imo use the best VR headset on both ps5 and pc. No need for a pc vr headset. I have said it since PSVR2 was announced that I hope they make it pc compatible. With it being a very expensive headset and pc vr being more popular it just makes sense for Sony to do this.

10h ago
Neonridr9h ago

as opposed to a Quest 3 that requires no cables, or a single cable if you want to pair it with your PC right? ;)

While the tech is better in the PSVR2 for the most part (I own an Index, Q3 and PSVR2), I'm still let down by certain things. Headset rumble is a novelty. Eye tracking has only been used well on a couple of titles.

to each their own I guess, but to me this doesn't give me confidence that Sony is fully investing in their own hardware, more like they are stepping back to allow others to fill in the gaps.

ocelot076h ago

@Neonridr not owned a quest 3. Did own a quest 1 and 2 both where fairly good. Have used a quest 3 for a limited time and thought it was fine. But comfort wise not as nice as psvr2.

Tried using quest 2 via wireless streaming to my pc and it was so bad I much rather using a single cable and have a solid connection than streaming the game from pc to headset.

10h agoReplies(2)
ocelot0711h ago

It's most likely just going to be a usb c to usb 3 adapter. Even for modern era a lot of new cases and motherboards don't have a usb c ports.

The budget but still fairly fairly high end pc I recently helped my friend build. He went with a b550 motherboard. Didn't have a usb c port or a on board socket to connect a pc case with a front panel usb c. Had to get a cheap pcie usb c.

1nsomniac7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

They developed the headset/attached usb c cable so that it wasn’t possible to run through any port other than a designated ps5 port. The adapter allows all the data to be passed correctly to a none designated ps5 port.

10h agoReplies(1)
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240°

Avowed Moved to Unreal Engine 5.3

With Support from The Coalition

Read Full Story >>
gamingbolt.com
ThinkThink1d 2h ago

That's great news. Hopefully the Coalition can smooth some of those edges from the last Avowed reveal.

phoenixwing23h ago(Edited 23h ago)

Well I'm annoyed. Especially at all the ppl who said the graphics sucked. It's your fault they probably shifted the game to unreal so it could look more fancy for you. I was ok with it and hoping to actually play it sometime soon. Now it's like 99% chance it's delayed.
Edit: effing graphics whores

Obscure_Observer14h ago

"Well I'm annoyed. Especially at all the ppl who said the graphics sucked. It's your fault they probably shifted the game to unreal so it could look more fancy for you."

What the hell are you talking about dude? Avowed was already in development using the UE5. The Coalition is just helping Obsidian in the transition to its latest version (5.3)

MrBaskerville13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

Probably not even that big of a difference. Coalition might only have helped because they got a deadline to meet.

Unreal isn't nearly as bad as Unity when you update a project. Though it obviously depends on the project. But unity generally gets an aneyurism if you threaten to update, where Ue is usually less stingy.

Reaper22_13h ago

In excited for Avowed and Gears 6.

Fishy Fingers14h ago

It already was Unreal 5, its just moving to the latest build.

CantThinkOfAUsername5h ago

Latest build is 5.4 and it's better than previous iterations, particularly in animation and performance.

Lightning7722h ago

Apparently the latest build looks way better graphically. This rumor from Jez Cordin (who's credible) pretty much confirms it.

Interested in seeing more on Avowed in a few weeks.

Notellin13h ago

UE 5.3 has been out since September of last year. I can't believe this is news or that anyone is hyping this up.

MrNinosan13h ago

As Hellblade failed to set the world on fire, just like Halo Infinite and Starfield before it, it's time to look forward to the next Game of the Decade candidate.
Of course it needs to be hyped up ahead of time 😏

Notellin6h ago

I didn't mean the game itself. I can't believe there is a news article about an Unreal Engine update that launched a year ago.

Reading comprehension is tough for fanboys on N4G.

truthBombs13h ago

I liked the games unique artstyle when It was revealed. I hope they're not making the migration based on criticism. It's only a rumor anyways

MrBaskerville13h ago

I imagine the art style will stay the same. But there'll probably be some visual upgrades here and there.

anast12h ago

This was the only game I was jealous of, but It's a wait and see game now. Plus, I can wait until they release it on PSN.

Miraak82 11h ago

Right!!! Obsidian is like only XB GS that I wanna play there games . Pillars of Eternity is one of my fav game franchises and I'd love to step back into the world of Eora . Their world building and rpg systems are one of the best , I hope XB higher ups don't get in the way of them. If they released it on ps I would definitely buy it day 1

anast9h ago

I bought both Pillars for PC and Console. Good games.

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