MS have said they need E rated games. They currently possess little in the way of studios who have the time to do this. Based off this, I think Embracer group will be the next publisher MS buy. Staff all these studios up, and they have enough to make family friendly software of all kinds
I will take slightly less performing games-until devs wrap their head around the GDK, rather than god awful coil whine and £70 1st party games.
8 Likes
That wasn’t my point, my point was that everyone “waits”.
Oh, okay. I misunderstood. My mistake.
Sooo what I find interesting is that the Initiative game has something in common with a specific Netflix show (Black Mirror) This show has no long running story or anything.
What if this is what they are going for? Short tight experiences with a ending in the same universe. I feel this is where they going for.
I think it’s odd xbox era specifically described this show. I’m intrigued by this concept. This hasn’t been done yet.
This sounds right up my street. They could tackle lots of different styles and genres but have them as great smaller experiences. Say 4-5 hours.
1 Like
I don’t believe the Initiatives game will be traditional episodic. My gut is they’re going for the gaming equivalent of Black Mirror based on hints. The content will be able to stand alone. Either way, The Initiative has attracted some of the top talent in the industry. Whatever it is thats drawing these devs, I want to see it given a chance. Should trust the talent. They obviously aren’t coming over to make a typical AAA paint by numbers action adventure game. There’s a lot of studios. Give some a chance to do something different.
6 Likes
Hardware ? this next gen console underperforming, games? if we are talking about small games then sure but i’m pretty sure people are waiting for AAA Games and they didn’t deliver this year for console. value ? yeah i agree it’s great for game pass.
basically more waiting
it’s rough it’s not the best but definitely not the worst or disaster level
what they need is another show with real gameplay to show the hardware
After what happened with Halo and Gears, you know, each installment always annoying different parts of the fanbase, I could see why MS are in favour of more anthology type franchises in the future
Maybe and maybe not, remember These are original devs for games and not like The Coalition or 343I both of them didn’t make halo IP or gears IP
2 Likes
hmmmm having no launch games is simply bad management by Phil Spencer and Matt Booty nothing more nothing less. they could have made a deal to create well made 8-12 hour game in 2018 or even a remake to be alongside Halo or moving gears 5 from 2019 to 2020 launch window.
well it does not matter now what matter is when the next show for hardware showcase gameplay of next gen game ?
Yeah, one way to not annoy existing fan bases is to stop relying hard on long established game IPs and rather create more IPs along the way, that way you won’t get rabid fanbases like halo or last of us.
SoT and Ori were great in that sense.
But the days of Halo Gears Forza should be behind with enough studios to help them churn out that fresh IP.
1 Like
I think it’s less about Halo and Gears and more about trying something new. Game Pass affords Microsoft an opportunity to take chances. Do things outside the norm. Just like there is a certain type of show that could be successful on Netflix or HBO yet would not be possible on network TV or in theatres, there should be a content type that works on a subscription but nowhere else.
The issue is that people tend to associate episodic with AA level production values. This format could be a developer playground and without risking a 4 year AAA dev cycle, all types of chances could be taken.
4 Likes
Funding towards Xbox from Microsoft came in 2018 and nobody planned on a pandemic. Even large DLCs (like Miles Morales) take 2 years to make. In February, they thought they had Halo Infinite, Cyberpunk’s next gen upgrade (remember it was supposed to release mid year), Destiny’s next gen upgrade (which is their Game Pass star), Medium, and The Ascent.
A massive 1st party exclusive, marketing deal to the biggest game of the year, their biggest Day 1 3rd party Game Pass game and 2 smaller exclusives, one of which was only possible on next gen. In February, they had a nice launch lined up. The pandemic happened during a time they were already cutting it close with a new GDK.
I’m not one to make excuses for mega-corporations but as someone who works in tech and has to deal with teams and projects, I don’t look at these things as excuses. They’re valid circumstances and the decisions as a result are to either rush less polished games to meet a console launch or delay to compensate for the losses in efficiency. All devs who delayed made the right choice IMO. On the other end, we’re seeing the issues with the games pushed out launch day.
13 Likes
Pin for any further concerns 
1 Like
I think my post was worded wrong, I meant that if the box is underperforming and yet ACV looks so damn good, I can’t wait until the box is performing as it should - as in it’ll be even better!
2 Likes
I don’t care about launch no launch games, i just answered him with reality for xbox launch titles it’s simply bad management, they relied on single game to be the face of their next gen console and that it the problem is here. i’m not insulting phil or matt it’s just bad management on their part
AAA Episodic game ? depends how the game being played if it’s liner then there would be problem with gameplay and how much gameplay mechanic they can fit in single 2H episode but open world or open level can work very well with more gameplay mechanic.
then you have another problem how much the waiting between episodes, on TV Series waiting time is week so what we should expect from AAA Game ? 3 weeks or 2 months imo if it’s 2 months might as well just finish the game release it as full package.
As I stated, they didn’t rely on a single launch game. There would’ve been a robust launch if the entire industry didn’t get crushed. I don’t know how you manage towards a pandemic the world hasn’t seen before. Many of their dependencies are external. In the end, we’re not left twiddling our thumbs.
2 Likes