Xbox One Console Discussion

[Hero-of-Time]

I think buying PES and ploughing money into it would be a fruitless endevour. FIFA is too big of a player with the masses now and any competition will be flattened, just as PES has been over the years. Didn't EA pick up the Champions League license the other week after PES let it go? That's another feather in its cap.  It would cost a fortune to compete and I doubt it would be successful. Plus, Microsoft are quite pally with EA and I doubt they would be pleased if Microsoft tried to take away some of their player base.

[Julius]

1 hour ago, Kaepora_Gaebora said:

Reading that has brought an idea to mind; there were rumours that MS were going to be buying EA...well how about like you say they pick up some of those Konami/dormant licenses, specifically PES, plough money in to it to get licenses and have their own football franchise with an established player base?

Clutching at straws though, but yeah like Sony got with the Shenmue 3 reveal, they need that sort of goodwill big moment to really get them back in the right sphere for the Xbox Two (or whatever it'll be called).

I think they've actually done a lot right, like this accessible controller, building their own streaming service (Mixer) into the console, cross play, game pass...yet they are missing the most crucial aspect, games! 

I think your initial point about being so far behind the PS4 now, they've got these building blocks in place, keep sorting out that side of it and then when the new console comes out save the big games for that.

I don’t think PES would necessarily be what Xbox went after if they chased Konami, as I don’t think that that really boosts their appeal in markets such as Japan when there’s a rival game such as FIFA available on every major console (and especially now that it’s on Switch). I think the biggest problem is that PES lost its foothold a long time ago when it became apparent that, despite being the more mechanically sound game, deals weren’t going to be made for all league and club rights. I agree with everything @Hero-of-Time mentioned too, but I do think that - had this been a few generations ago - a license acquisition/exclusivity such as PES could have been huge. 

Honestly, though, I can’t think of many other major developers that are sitting quietly on a stash of world renowned, AAA games like Konami are. I think Xbox would have to be incredibly aggressive to force a deal through just to use their licenses exclusively, but I think it would be worth them pursuing, especially seeing as they do have the backing to make it possible.

Something like fronting up the costs for a Metal Gear Solid 4K Remake Collection and giving Konami 10% if profits sounds ridiculous at face value, but I imagine having games such as these exclusive to Xbox - with a built-in fan base - could have been the only thing that could have flipped the narrative of this generation on its head. I just don’t think tackling a new AAA IP will work for them, especially considering how few exclusive/first party AAA IPs they have on Xbox as it is right now anyway. 

Do you think that a game such as Star Citizen launching as an Xbox console exclusive could be a way that they could turn the tide? Because, as grand and as advanced as that game appears to be, I don’t think it has the history and fan base of IPs like Metal Gear to make a massive difference.

[Happenstance]

 

[Nolan]

Brutal. 

What’s truly funny is how well Microsoft topped $599, Giant Enemy Crab hit the weak spot Ridge Racer. It wasn’t as quotable or comical maybe but boy were they successful in becoming reviled after than conference. Sony recovered mid generation at least. 

Theres always the following consoles at least. I can’t see MS truly salvaging this with E3 announcements. Their catalog doesn’t have depth to bring out something new in an old IP to generate a lot of buzz and their developers haven’t exactly been hitting it with new IPs.

Paying Konami for something out of their catalog is definitely a possibility but I don’t know. They’re greedy as shit, but also seem content to just let most of their IPs rot in disuse so I don’t know. Especially since at this point any exclusivity automatically means cutting potential consumers by millions unless it’s truly a system seller. 

[Hero-of-Time]

7 hours ago, Nolan said:

Brutal. 

What’s truly funny is how well Microsoft topped $599, Giant Enemy Crab hit the weak spot Ridge Racer. It wasn’t as quotable or comical maybe but boy were they successful in becoming reviled after than conference.

Oh, I dunno about that.

 

[Happenstance]

All I can hear now is Call of Doody

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

With the benefit of hindsight...they really should have gone ahead with their plans of a TV division and stick with it in my opinion.

It would have provided them with a different USP from the PS4 and, with the popularity of streaming services, selling the box as well as the service (or even including it in Gold) would have been great.

Still, whether they would have binned it off like Kinect is another matter (well, technically they did) but I think rolling back on all these features actually did more harm than good, apart from the DRM issue.

[Hero-of-Time]

MCV recently done an interview with the new boss of Microsoft Studios and he had this to say...

Quote

"There will always be single-player games with maybe 20 to 30 hours of gameplay, we love those kinds of games and there’s a place for those, but it’s also certainly the case with the focus on watching, streaming, broadcast and esports that it’s really important to think about the longevity of a game," Booty explains.

"It’s really difficult for anybody to think about making a large scale triple-A game these days without having in mind a content and service plan that goes one to two years into the future out of the gate."

“Games really have become much more social, much more mainstream, much more widespread. We know that the games industry is growing, and that’s taking nothing away from what you call the ‘single-player, narrative, cinematic game’ but we see a lot of interest from our players in more community-driven ongoing franchises. I think that is in alignment with a lot of the trends we see in gaming overall.”

"With games being as large as they are, with the move to games as an ongoing service...It is difficult to pivot quickly and try to chase after trends that might happen even on the scale of a year. In business terms a year can be a long time, but development time being three to four years these days, that's the span we need to think about."

"We've got to get our strategic long-term bets, our game development cycles and the things our players like to do in sync. And that will set us up for success".

It seems instead of doing their own thing that Microsoft seem intent on chasing the trends. It looks like GaaS will be their focus going forward, despite both Nintendo and Sony showing that single player gaming experiences are very much alive and well.

[S.C.G]

*sigh* not more of this "games as a service" talk... and from Microsoft this time as well, the current mantra of the "triple aaayyy" publishers must be sticking.

I feel that the Xbox brand would do better with more single player exclusives, which have a multiplayer element which is well-designed but optional.

If a lot more developers take a leaf out of Capcom's book, with what they have achieved from Monster Hunter Worlds then, things could be a lot better.

Edited June 4, 2018 by S.C.G

[Nolan]

Rumors already of Crackdown 3 being pushed to 2019 now.

https://www.dsogaming.com/news/report-crackdown-3-may-get-delayed-until-2019/

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

On 07/06/2018 at 10:35 PM, Nolan said:

Rumors already of Crackdown 3 being pushed to 2019 now.

https://www.dsogaming.com/news/report-crackdown-3-may-get-delayed-until-2019/

99.9% certain this has now been officially confirmed, Feb 2019 is the date I'm sure I read. 

Can't wait to see more on this tonight for the fourth year in a row...

[Hero-of-Time]

30 minutes ago, Kaepora_Gaebora said:

99.9% certain this has now been officially confirmed, Feb 2019 is the date I'm sure I read. 

Can't wait to see more on this tonight for the fourth year in a row...

Yeah, once Kotaku reported the delay rumour Microsoft went and confirmed it. What's even crazier is that they still haven't got a set release date for the game.

Lets hope some of these are exclusives otherwise the fanbase is going to be rioting.

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

3 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yeah, once Kotaku reported the delay rumour Microsoft went and confirmed it. What's even crazier is that they still haven't got a set release date for the game.

Lets hope some of these are exclusives otherwise the fanbase is going to be rioting.

I'm going for 15 "launch exclusives" 😝

This has to be their best conference ever, and probably with some Unravel Two style immediate drops as well. 

Should be watching this live tonight, if it starts with a Forza game we are in a world of trouble...

[S.C.G]

So the Microsoft Press Conference starts at 9PM GMT I believe.

Where is everyone going to be watching it this year?

Twitch? YouTube? Mixer?

And what might you be hoping for?

Personally, I'm hoping for another Rare revival... if Perfect Dark is there then that would be nice, of course, free update to Sea of Thieves is agiven.

But who knows... Banjo Threeie? Conker's Other Bad Fur Day? Jet Force Gemini DX? Rare Raceway?

Meh, well I can dream

Aside from anything Rare related I'm just struggling to think what Microsoft actually have left aside from tripling down on Gears, doubling down on Forza and Halo 6...

Edited June 10, 2018 by S.C.G

[Fierce_LiNk]

I'll be watching the Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo shows, but I don't really have any wishlists or expectations really. I guess out of curiosity more than anything! Not really getting a huge E3 buzz this year.

[Ike]

1 hour ago, S.C.G said:

Personally, I'm hoping for another Rare revival... if Perfect Dark is there then that would be nice, of course, free update to Sea of Thieves is agiven.

A new Viva Piñata would be nice.

 On PC.

[Hero-of-Time]

I'm thinking we'll see the new Assassins Creed, new Splinter Cell ( coupled with backwards compatible original games ), Crackdown 3, Kingdom Hearts 3, Perfect Dark, Halo: Master Chief Collection major update, new Gears of War spinoff, Forza, new Fable and the glorious return of Banjo Kazooie.

[Fierce_LiNk]

5 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I'm thinking we'll see the new Assassins Creed, new Splinter Cell ( coupled with backwards compatible original games ), Crackdown 3, Kingdom Hearts 3, Perfect Dark, Halo: Master Chief Collection major update, new Gears of War spinoff, Forza, new Fable and the glorious return of Banjo Kazooie.

God, Perfect Dark. Think we're asking a lot there.

[Ganepark32]

There have been some faint Perfect Dark rumours, particularly in relation to The Coalition working on it partly, so it'll be interesting to see of there's any substance to them.

I'd be excited for Banjo Kazooie to come back but I'd be in the minority who wanted it to continue along the Nuts and Bolts line. Or even if they separated that out from BK and made it it's own game.

I'm mainly interested to see Ori and any new IPs they might have in the works. I might have gotten rid of my Xbox One but I've been getting tempted again to pick it up and give it a proper go, I just need a couple of things to look forward to going forward to to make me jump in again. A new Alan Wake would do that but I don't know if Remedy is or will go back to it. I'd be in tomorrow if there was a new one in that series though.

I think Microsoft are in a good position to go forward with the next generation when that comes around because of the tech in the One X so I wonder if we'll hear about any new studios or such planning for that inevitability as Phil Spencer has talked about how they'd love to have quality of first party titles that are on the PS4 but it takes time for the kind of games that Sony and its studios have been producing on the PS4 so I do wonder if they think they can try there hand with that approach. Whether we see anything of that or hear anything is a different matter but it'd be a good place to stake a claim going forward on that front.

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

Yeah they need to start mining some of Rare's back catalogue, even if it's farming the IP out to other developers; a new PD makes a lot of sense, certainly excitement wise, as does a BK.

I'm holding out for Master Chief in Smash Bros to really help get Microsoft back over...

[Hero-of-Time]

The pre conference banter on EZA is great. Huber is very excited about the possibility of a Gears battle royale game. Using the franchise in the RTS genre makes the most sense to me.

[Fierce_LiNk]

2 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The pre conference banter on EZA is great. Huber is very excited about the possibility of a Gears battle royale game. Using the franchise in the RTS genre makes the most sense to me.

How are you watching this? Got a link? Watching Soccer Aid at the same time.

[Hero-of-Time]

 

 

 

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Just now, Fierce_LiNk said:

How are you watching this? Got a link? Watching Soccer Aid at the same time.

Watching their live stream on Twitch. Just search Easy Allies. I'll be switching to just the conference once it starts and then rewatching it later with the EZA guys commentary.

[Happenstance]

I'm just waiting for Giant Bomb to go live for their pre-show for Microsoft.