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    #31
    Originally posted by fishbowlhead View Post
    Then you have the time scale of this, if MS decided to make EVERYTHING exclusive from that publisher theres a lot of current deals in place that have to run out first, wouldn’t start seeing the fruits of that until near end of the next gen PS5/SeriesX etc.
    There are? Which ones are those?

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      #32
      Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
      No, but as I noted in the other thread competing against an Elder Scrolls or a Fallout or a Doom was always a huge challenge. There now might be two out of three platforms where that competition no longer exists. If MS go for exclusivity, they might pave the way for some games hitting big that otherwise would have been swallowed up in Elder Scrolls hype.
      That makes very little sense to me at all - if the industry was in any way worried about games competing in the same genre on the same platforms, there wiouldn't be a dozen looter shooters.

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        #33
        Originally posted by Team Andromeda View Post
        And making MS into a monster.
        Throwing existing games on Game Pass, as well as the odd 120FPS patch here and there, isn't going to be enough to sway that opinion. Microsoft have the current track record for purchasing studios under the sole premise that they can't produce content for the competition.

        I'll feel some more excitement from this deal when we get some exclusive game announcements.

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          #34
          Originally posted by MartyG View Post
          There are? Which ones are those?
          Deathloop & Ghostwise wire both exclusives to PS5 for a time.

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            #35
            Originally posted by dataDave View Post
            . Microsoft have the current track record for purchasing studios under the sole premise that they can't produce content
            All MS is doing is exactly what SONY did and buy a lot of established studios. I think £250 for a next gen console and gamepass is going to sway a lot of gamers to Xbox.

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              #36
              I am pleased, because MS needed a boost to make the Xbox more attractive other than shifting teraflops.

              I am also wary when some giant behemoth gobbles everything up. It's not always a good thing.

              As proven at the start of both The Spy Who Loved me and also Moonraker.

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                #37
                Originally posted by MartyG View Post
                That makes very little sense to me at all - if the industry was in any way worried about games competing in the same genre on the same platforms, there wiouldn't be a dozen looter shooters.
                Well, I can’t make stuff make sense for you, Marty. Competition is a real thing though. And if MS go for exclusivity, there could be notable holes to fill on two systems. That’s an opportunity.

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                  #38
                  Originally posted by nonny View Post
                  The most telling thing from yesterday, one I missed but read this morning is that they didn't announce that Bethesda is part of Xbox Game Studios.
                  I think even a simple scenario where Microsoft wanted to make everything exclusive ASAP it would take a long-time to unwind all the different games and studios given its size and structure. Zenimax Media has a multitude of multiplatform games, a couple of big Live Services games, mobile games and publishing deals.

                  Hence the fairly standard 'we will acknowledge existing contractual deals' statement on PS5 timed exclusives etc. Whether they let Zenimax Media operate with some autonomy long-term will be interesting to watch. It could be bad news for Bethesda Softworks (which is/was the internal publishing team for Zenimax Media - I believe c.70 staff). Microsoft might also amalgamate studios and staff particularly if they concentrate on bigger projects.

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                    #39
                    Originally posted by fishbowlhead View Post
                    Wouldn’t this worry Sony less? Every studio MS buys see a dramatic drop in output.

                    Then you have the time scale of this, if MS decided to make EVERYTHING exclusive from that publisher theres a lot of current deals in place that have to run out first, wouldn’t start seeing the fruits of that until near end of the next gen PS5/SeriesX etc.

                    Most likely MS will keep zenimax largely the same next gen, current deal and franchises will remain same and multi plat, then all the new stuff developed will be exclusive, plus all of it on gamepass.
                    I think in fairness to MS all the studios they have brought have been just that, I don’t think any of them owned any ip’s they worked on. Rare was a similar purchase, whereby they owned several of their own ip’s, I think it’s fair to say they have been rather wasted, though if I remember even at the time they were brought out, many key people from the N64 days had left.

                    Sony will be a little worried, probably not immediately because it’s going to take some time to see the fruits of this purchase and they can still get a good head start in a user base. But MS are playing the long game, if they can keep close to the sales of PS5 they could end up dominating this gen, though probably not in Japan. Gamepass is going to be a massive factor, Series X launches with a huge back catalogue of games, not necessarily new but still, it’s a large and solid library of games for £10 or so a month, the value is outstanding.
                    Last edited by gambit6613; 22-09-2020, 09:05.

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                      #40
                      Originally posted by Team Andromeda View Post
                      I don't think it a minority on Rest or Neo and their constant knocking of MS and it's lack of In-House studios, crap GPU seems to have really hit home. MS now has more In-House studios than any console manufacture ever LOL. Its crazy to think all that content will be on Gamepass, Day 1

                      Really hoping now id is part of MS they make a kick-ass Series X patch for Doom Eternal
                      They already are making a patch but don't expect it at launch.

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                        #41
                        Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
                        Well, I can’t make stuff make sense for you, Marty. Competition is a real thing though. And if MS go for exclusivity, there could be notable holes to fill on two systems. That’s an opportunity.
                        There's no competition if that game isn't going to exist for another six years. Skyrim was released in 2011, there's been 9 years without any competition in the other direction; I find it very difficult to believe the Elder Scrolls existing as a thing is the reason a similar game from a Sony studio hasn't been made.

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                          #42
                          Hogwarts Legacy is our Elder Scrolls now, future PS5 owners. Let's hold hands...

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                            #43
                            Originally posted by dataDave View Post
                            Throwing existing games on Game Pass, as well as the odd 120FPS patch here and there, isn't going to be enough to sway that opinion. Microsoft have the current track record for purchasing studios under the sole premise that they can't produce content for the competition.

                            I'll feel some more excitement from this deal when we get some exclusive game announcements.
                            But I don't think MS are interested in making things exclusive in the truest sense. They're interested in adding value to their game pass service to the point that it's mandatory.

                            If Elder Scrolls 6 released next year (yeah right) and was free on game pass but £70 on PS5 then people are going to question where to play.

                            If they choose option A then Microsoft gets a new subscriber and if they choose B Microsoft gets revenue from the sale.

                            Either way gamers can play where they want to play and Microsoft benefits. That is good business and keeps Sony happy as well.

                            The more I think of this the more I think MS won't exclude titles here... Or at the very least there might be a small timed exclusivity window.

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                              #44
                              Originally posted by MartyG View Post
                              There's no competition if that game isn't going to exist for another six years. Skyrim was released in 2011, there's been 9 years without any competition in the other direction; I find it very difficult to believe the Elder Scrolls existing as a thing is the reason a similar game from a Sony studio hasn't been made.
                              Maybe not. And yet I can almost hear the hammering that Powerpoint has had over the last 24 hours while execs, strategy people and marketing people react to this buyout news. If you think a large player possibly leaving significant chunks of the market isn't going to be viewed as an opportunity by some companies, well, I guess I just disagree. I don't think there isn't any internal reaction to this news.

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                                #45
                                The way Fallout has been and the output by Bethesda make me think Elder Scrolls is going to be a glitchy cluster****, MS owning them won't change that.
                                In fact MS has shown that, even with their own first party game Halo, it had to be delayed because it was still half baked.
                                MS also have a poor track record of using the studios they buy.
                                It's a big deal to buy Zenimax, but honestly, in MS hands it's not a big deal.

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