300°

Sony And Microsoft First Party Match-Up

Eskimo Press: As always when a new generation of consoles is upon us, there is a lot of excitement surrounding every aspect of the next-gen platforms. Everything from hardware specs and controller, to online service and apps, factor into our decision of which console to support. However, being gamers, what will always matter most are the games. System exclusives are one of the biggest selling points for any new console, so let’s take a look at how Sony and Microsoft measure up in regards to first party development studios.

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eskimopress.com
Walker4090d ago (Edited 4090d ago )

Sony Wins . Flawless Victory !

Sako4090d ago

They certainly are looking stronger as of now. Microsoft's going to have a hard time catching up with the massive hype that Sony's got going

b163o14090d ago

It's over before it even begin. Gears,HALO, and ummmmmmm, ummmmmmm oh project Gotham? Vs. GodOfWar, Uncharted, Killzone, GranTurismo, QuanticDream, just to name a few

HarryMasonHerpderp4090d ago

I reckon Microsoft will be announcing some great games for the next Xbox. Some sequels some new IPs. I know right now it's hard to see that happening but Microsoft seem like they're really into giving Sony a hard time. They won't let Sony just walk away with the crown. That would be too easy (of course I could be wrong).
I'll be getting a PS4 first though because I've never been let down by a Playstation console, plus Sony's developers are all brilliant and produced most of my favourite games this current gen.

MikeMyers4090d ago

Well if we look at history Sony winds hands down in this category. I hope Microsoft has been busy these last few years expanding and creating new games otherwise the next Xbox might fall flat since the PS4 seems to abolish a lot of issues the PS3 had.

DOMination-4090d ago

This article is garbage. Just saying "oh it seems MS are just concentrating on kinect apart from 343" is not going to cut it.

MS have 22 studios to Sony's 12. Why not talk about what they are rumoured to be developing? Or is researching too much effort? It would have been a good article if you bothered.

Sony have had this locked down in recent years but MS are coming back strong. Both will have great first parties.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4090d ago
GiggMan4090d ago

I think (hope) @Walker was referring to the thumbnail picture chosen for the article. At least that's the first thing that I though of when I saw it.

4090d ago
AngelicIceDiamond4090d ago

I like how everyone assumes MS lost their core audience. Why, because Sony has about 4 extra hardcore titles per year all of the sudden the PS3 is a hardcore platform?

@B1 Gears, Halo, Project Gotham, Fable Vs Gow, Uncharted Killzone, Grand Turismo and Quantic Dream

Hey genius, Sony's still pumping out a 8 year old franchise (GOW). A 6 year old franchise (Uncharted) a 15 year old franchise (GT) and a 9 year old franchise (Killzone)

And 1 newer Ip. In which allot of those games are just as old as MS's games?

Failed.

b163o14090d ago (Edited 4090d ago )

Journey, LBP, Infamous, Resistance, MGS4(still looks better then any 360 game), and Starhawk.

Approval!!

Sony's known for not watering down franchises, that's why are classic Ip's last so long. Something MS doesn't understand

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4090d ago
PsnGammer214090d ago

Well Sony is for sure going win when Microsoft only has three relevant exsclusives. That being halo, gears, and forza. Thing is though really only two since forza is a knockoff of grand turismo...

Count4090d ago

You can't even spell Gran Turismo properly. Do you even PLAY Gran Turismo?

No, of course not.

Yes, they have 2 exclusives that are relevant to you. This does not mean they won't have other exclusives that will be relevant to other people. So who cares?

A knock off of Gran Turismo, you mean the knock off of a lot of other racing games out there?

Why am I trying to educate you?

Kurt Russell4090d ago

He misspelled Gamer in his own name too, you might as well try digging a new window in the wall with your own head :)

Don't feed the trolls!

Hicken4090d ago

People can't even discern the difference between "off" and "of." They use "of" instead of "have." And you're worried about "gran" versus "grand?" At least those have the same meaning.

And no, he meant a knockoff of Gran Turismo, as that's LITERALLY the reason Forza exists.

Count4090d ago

Oh so, Gran Turismo didn't rip off anything from the racing genre as a whole? ? Is that what you're trying to say? Don't be ridiculous. Of course it did!

Calling Forza a Gran Turismo knock off is the worst argument you could make against the game. It's a double edged sword. It works on Gran Turismo as well.

If you have any PROPER criticism to make against Forza, then I am welcome to hear it. I don't think the game is perfect. Of course it has flaws. However, I don't expect some guy who more than likely has never played it to tell me what they are.

You know, you say it's a knock off of Gran Turismo, but that's all you say. You don't say WHY it's a knock off of Gran Turismo. Do you know why? Either because a) you don't know what you're talking about or b) because it will work against your favor and you know it.

What I meant with the ''you can't even spell Gran Turismo properly'' is: That for a game that he happens to endorse so much, he sure can't bring himself to remember its name.

Dragos754090d ago

The sad part is that is all they need. People may not like those three but they are heavy hitters and sell like crazy. Can't really say the same for all of sony's.

clintagious6504090d ago

Sony has the edge in this department though i believe if ms FOCUSED more on spending money on new IP's they could dish out great games aswell but its sad that they havent tried in the last couple years, kinda hard for me to be excited for their nextbox with the way they been treating the core base.

Sako4090d ago

Totally agree. They've been way too focused on app development/integration into live. They really need to show some exciting games at their reveal if they want people lining up at launch

IK IR Y IP T4090d ago

don't count microsoft out yet the last time i checked just one of microsoft's exclusives (gears of war 3) out sold all of sonys first party exclusives combined that is a fact !

majiebeast4090d ago (Edited 4090d ago )

Fact that came out of your ass?

Let me try
Aliens are real that is a fact! Why? Because i said so!

On topic
Microsoft has some talented studio's like 343 and Lion head studios even though Lionhead lost Molyneux and the guys that now formed Media Molecule. They dont have a developer at the caliber of Naughty dog or Santa monica studio's now thats a fact!

Urusernamesucks4090d ago

Or an opinion, but of course anything like that is considered a"FACT" in this site -_-

Sako4090d ago

It is true that although the Xbox has had fewer high-profile exclusives, they've done quite well in comparison to the Playstation 3's numerous AAA games. But I think that series like Halo and Gears of War are starting to stagnate a bit and need to switch things up to keep fans playing. Halo 4 was a solid game, and certainly took some steps in the right direction regarding storytelling and such, but it still relied heavily on the solid foundation of Bungie's games

BladerunnerZX4090d ago

It looks like the Gears of War franchise has ran out of steam and while Forza is a good game it is no Gran Turismo.

Microsoft really only has Halo as a true AAA system seller.

Fishy Fingers4090d ago

Usually leave the sales talk to others, but I find that incredibly hard to believe, especially with games like GT5 selling 9+ million copies.

But hey, if you say it's a fact, I guess it must be... Eh.

dafegamer4090d ago

gears of war 3 sold the same like uncharted 3, mmaybe even less cause u3 was in the top 10 charts for 2 months. also gears of war 3 doesnt outsell god of war and gran turismo at all

Tontus4090d ago

Exactly, Uncharted is almost as big as Gears of War and Gran Turismo is almost as big as Halo. Of course both UC & GT are heavily bundled series whereas Halo & Gears aren't but they're still comparable to M$'s biggest.

Then Sony has the massive God of War franchise which is bigger than every M$ franchise but Halo, I think people forget that God of War III went on to sell 6 million units with no bundling and awful advertising, it's also in an unpopular genre and had no multiplayer. Word of mouth and fan power alone is why GoW is so huge, I doubt Halo would be much bigger if it weren't for M$'s fantastic marketing team (I guess being a FPS helps too).

Then there is Sony's other big franchises like the 3-5 million (per game) selling LittleBigPlanet, the 2-3m (pg) selling Killzone, 1.5-2.5m (pg) selling inFAMOUS, the 2-4m (pg) selling Resistance. Don't forget Heavenly Sword, Heavy Rain, Motorstorm etc which all manage 1-2 million.

Other notable M$ franchise's are Fable and Forza which are quite big at 3-5m (pg) but like UC & GT they're also heavily bundled and Fable 1 & 3 is available on PC. To be fair even Gears of War isn't first party, if Epic wanted to they could go multiplatform.

In terms of first party games, without question Sony > Microsoft.

clintagious6504090d ago (Edited 4090d ago )

I never counted them out to begin with. MS has shown early in the 360's lifespan that they can dish out great exclusives with, Crackdown, Lost Odyssy, Alan Wake & their main franchises like Forza, Halo, Gears but for the last half of the 360's lifespan its been rather disappointing because other then halo/gears/forza there hasnt been much other then 3rd party games u can also play on other systems. They need to go back to the formula that they started with early in the 360's lifespan if they dont want to lose their core audience because if they keep focusing on kinect games & add 2 or 3 new IP's for their nextbox & think that'll be enough then they will lose MOST of their core base.

Edit: Also forgot to add that State of Decay looks pretty cool for an xbl game. Whats so hard about making new IP's like this forms? I dont give a sh*t how much money kinect brings in for them, I just want NEW GAMES that cater to us core gamers. Is dat so hard for them to do? Smh.

TheEnigma3134090d ago

Uncharted 3 is closing in on 6 million sales fyi.

Drekken4090d ago (Edited 4090d ago )

I haven't been keeping up with game sales totals, but UC3 deserves the sales. Very impressive.

EDIT: I had to look it up - Uncharted (Ps3 games) have totaled almost 16.5 million units sold. Very Nice. By comparison Gears 1-3 sold 18.33 million. Gears 3 has 5.76mil sold and UC3 is 5.67mil. This guy is a troll.

kayoss4090d ago

Looking at sales number can be decieving. Halo and gears are very good game. UC3 and god of war are very good game. But when you look at the sale numbers for UC3 and god of war it may not compare to Halo and Gears. Everyone have to admit though Gears, Halo, UC3, and god of war are better games then Call of duty series. but COD outsold all of them combined, does that make cod a better game? of course not. I prefer to think that most PS3 exclusive games gear towards the more older and mature audience who are not into shooters. Where as xbox 360 games are gear toward the FPS audience. This is true when you look at the sale numbers of Killzone and resistance to games like gran turismo, GOW, Uncharted.

Tito084090d ago (Edited 4090d ago )

@ Drekken, since you're using the other old games to win an argument you already lost, didn't you forget Uncharted sales total is almost 17 million?? that's without counting Golden Abyss, & the first Uncharted sold very well for a game that didn't have online multiplayer.. Of course is a bit less than Gears,but what if Uncharted 1 had multiplayer?? also Uncharted 2 have met a lot of critical praise & lots of awards, something your precious Gears lacked in the first place!!

Karpetburnz4090d ago

Gears of War 2 and 3 cant even outsell Uncharted 2 and 3 let alone every Sony first part exclusive combined LOL

Gran Turismo 5 sold 9 million not including Prologue.
Uncharted 2 sold over 6 million.
Uncharted 3 is close to 6 million.

Gears of War 2 sold 6 million
Gears of war 3 is close to 6 million. (keep in mind that GoW 2 was released before UC2 and GoW 3 was released before UC3)

Please get your facts straight.

calis4090d ago

"last time i checked just one of microsoft's exclusives (gears of war 3) out sold all of sonys first party exclusives combined that is a fact"

lolwat?

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 4090d ago
Jek_Porkins4090d ago

It'll be a lot closer in terms of exclusives this generation because Microsoft has beefed up their studios in house. Instead of going out and buying a ton of studios, they opened their own.

Black Tusk Studios is a name people will need to remember next generation. Microsoft also has around 20 studios now, which is impressive.

Just looking forward to the creativity that they can offer next gen.

InTheLab4090d ago

Most of those are Kinect studios.. They have 3 more studios than Sony but they're just not using them effectively. ....

Jek_Porkins4090d ago

Most are Kinect studios? Get out of here. When was the last first party Kinect game released? Fable The Journey? They haven't even been releasing Kinect first party games.

DigitalSmoke4090d ago

Lol gtfo m8
Sony has more proven development studio's then nintendo
and Microsoft combined.

Show all comments (59)
330°

Report Claims Xbox Is Planning More Cuts Following Studio Closures

"The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn’t finished.

This week, Xbox began offering voluntary severance agreements to producers, quality assurance testers and other staff at ZeniMax, which it purchased in 2020 for $7.5 billion, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Others across the Xbox organization have been told that more cuts are on the way.

Speaking about the closures more broadly, Booty said that the company’s studios had been spread too thin — like “peanut butter on bread” — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed. They decided to close these studios to free up resources elsewhere, he said.

Game Pass has not seen the massive growth that Xbox boss Phil Spencer may have been hoping for."

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purexbox.com
just_looken4h ago

Sense it seems very few remember that human's were around before 2020 the next studio to close will be bethesda based no doubt on the history of.

Fallout 76
Elder scrolls online
elder scrolls blades mobile
fallout mobile
The vr versions of old games

Then you got starfield pissing out cash nothing to cover it.

I doubt tod's team or any sub team is making m$ cash they are no doubt on the chopping block for job cuts

If you can remember before 2020 even fallout 76 was made with over 4 studios.

-Foxtrot6h ago

"Speaking about the closures more broadly, Booty said that the company’s studios had been spread too thin — like “peanut butter on bread” — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed. They decided to close these studios to free up resources elsewhere, he said"

So what you're saying is...you bought all these studios and you guys can't run them.

Jesus.

Inverno5h ago

Spread thin after firing over 2000 employees a few months prior. So basically they created the problem and their solution was to just fire more people. Absolute geniuses over at Xbox, of course can we even believe this to be the reason for the closures?

just_looken4h agoShowReplies(1)
Profchaos4h ago

Leaders can't run them hire more management create new roles don't shutter entire studios cause you can't figure out how to run them.

Unless the reality is this whole consolidation thing was really an excuse for IP harvesting

Eonjay5h ago

Reports are suggesting that Game Pass will be getting a price hike soon and that Call of Duty may not be added to the day one offering. I honestly have a hard time believing this but it does beg the question why exactly did GP fail? I think the answer is that it just didn't get the growth that it anticipated. Jim was right but I wish he wasn't because at the end of the day, its gamers, devs and other front-line workers who have to absorb the blow for Spencer and team's miscalculations.

5h ago
NotoriousWhiz4h ago

And out of the ashes something even better than Xbox will be born.

Eonjay4h ago

Honestly as long as is not a situation where the industry has to contract in order focus wealth on a few people who are already trillionaires..

Tacoboto3h ago

I think 2022 killed the Series X.

2021 was a good year for Xbox though and maybe the best in a long long time, hardware and software and as a publisher. Halo Infinite launched to popularity, Forza Horizon 5 blew everyone away, Psychonauts 2 was so well received, Flight Simulator on console, Deathloop even on PS5 & PC.

But they followed that up with next to nothing. Then 2023 with Redfall, a disappointing Forza, Starfield, and 2024 leads with closures and layoffs. And some tweets reminding us Hellblade is days away.

The only disappointment with the PS5 is not enough Sony games. Xbox followed up no games with disappointing ones.

Scissorman5h ago

For all the armchair executives who were calling for Sony to release its big-budget AAA games on PS+, the same exact thing would have happened at PlayStation. Game Pass has killed Xbox. Congrats.

shinoff21835h ago

There's not many of of us clamoring for Sony to do this because most of us understand it would kill Playstation. I'm sure there's a few but I've not seen alot of it myself.

5h ago
Show all comments (46)
290°

Xbox Has Had More Studio Closures Than First Party Game Releases So Far In 2024

Twisted Voxel writes: "We've almost reached the end of the 1st half of 2024, and Xbox has had more studio closures than first party game releases in the year so far."

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twistedvoxel.com
1d 1h ago
KicksnSnares20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

Hellblade 2, Indiana Jones, Avowed, Towerborne, and Call of Duty are still to be released this year. Marcus Fenix collection to be added to the list with the Xbox showcase, hopefully.

anast17h ago

Those are all coming to PS5 too.

Tech512h ago

"Xbox Has Had More Studio Closures Than First Party Game Releases So Far In 2024"

they kept the IPs though. they'll be making them under the MS brand i'm guessing. like minecraft all those years ago.

solideagle16h ago(Edited 16h ago)

the keyword is so Far...

on topic: Ouch!

Hedstrom14h ago

Kinda missing the forest for all the trees statement!

shinoff218314h ago(Edited 14h ago)

Bet all those don't make it though this year

romulus2314h ago(Edited 14h ago)

If we're going to talk in "still to be's" there still could be more studio closures from Microsoft this year as well.

DOMination-10h ago

How much confidence do people have in these games being good though? I hope they will be (especially Avowed) but from what we know of them so far, it's hardly a guarantee, is it?

And even if they do turn out to be good, how much of that will be down to Xbox and its leadership? Most of these games were either sequels to games made before being acquired or started development before being acquired.

And just a note on Hellblade II - it is out in two weeks and unless I'm missing something, I don't see much in the way of previews or advertising from Microsoft. Not ideal for a niche game that looks like it probably cost a lot of money to make. It genuinely feels like another game being sent out to die and then have the studio shut down.

Elda9h ago(Edited 9h ago)

To me...Avowed graphics look cheap, the game looks generic as well as boring.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 9h ago
anast17h ago

Popcorn is good. Anyone want some?

anast13h ago

I wouldn't mind a caramel and cinnamon mix actually.

dumahim13h ago

That does sound good. I have trouble just finding caramel corn.

anast8h ago

I find it interesting that people have to resort to praising how they were randomly born in a certain location to say they're not weird. But, I'm not sure this kind of stupidity can be generalized over an entire group of people, at least, I'm being optimistic here.

Eonjay17h ago(Edited 17h ago)

Sony doesn't have to bother fighting the next Microsoft acquisition. The massive layoff by themselves should be enough to get the next big buy blocked.

Hofstaderman15h ago

Vindicates Jim Ryan. Don't know who didnt see this coming except those frothing pro acquisition fanboys who are not commenting here for some reason....

Tacoboto14h ago

What did happen to Obscure?

Tody_ZA14h ago

Obscure is working on his thesis on how to spin this.

Elda14h ago

Exactly. Where is the mayor & spokesperson of XB?

badz14913h ago

Obsecure where are you? Don't tell us Phil fired you too

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 13h ago
MatrixxGT12h ago

Let’s not pretend Sony is setting the world on fire with its first party either….it’s been crickets from them as well. In fact they even said not to expect any at all this year.
MS is a dumpster fire and Sony isn’t fighting anymore and it shows. I fail to see how this is a good thing.

Skuletor7h ago

Wasn't it no new existing IP entries? That would still leave room for new IPs, maybe we'll see one or more of those this year.

Sonic188112h ago

I was actually thinking about that. You beat me to it

MrDead16h ago

So if MS hadn't spent $80 billion consolidating the industry just think of all the games and jobs that would have saved.

MS is a drain on gaming and have been nothing but a negative.

MrCrimson15h ago

not exactly like the studios were putting out good games anyway. Industry needs to restart from the ground up; if games like battlebit or manor lords can be made by teams with 10 people - then there's something fundamentally wrong with having 500 man teams put out glitchy overmonetized crap.

shinoff218314h ago

Interesting. Prey was a good game, evil within was dope, and hi fi was the best Xbox game that Xbox has had in so many years. That's according to the base.

romulus2313h ago

HiFi Rush was a really good game actually so that's hardly the reason for shutting down Tango.

Show all comments (53)
960°

Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More

Microsoft has closed a number of Bethesda studios, including Redfall maker Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, and more in devastating cuts at Bethesda, IGN can confirm.

Moegooner1d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

Hi-Fi Rush studio??? Seriously?? Goes to show quality matters lil to MS.

Worst gen ever. All big 3 battling are for who sucks the most. They just keep one upping one another.

-Foxtrot1d 15h ago

This does feel like a “quick Sony is getting shit on for Helldivers, let’s announce it now to minimise impact”

thesoftware7301d 15h ago

That is silly. Let's say there is some weird conspiracy. This announcement would effectively take ALL the attention away from the HD2 situation, especially since there is no longer an HD2 situation. I don't think anything will minimize this impact.

Tacoboto1d 15h ago

... so they announce it on a Tuesday? 36 hours after Sony cleared up everything?

You people care more about the next conspiracy than anything else.

Nevermind that Sony followed the golden rule of minimizing impact by announcing horrible news on a Friday.

Eonjay1d 15h ago

The constant weekly weird Sony drama is part of the industry's problem. Everyone else feels they can get away with murder. Also, what is the point of spending all that money if you just start shutting studios down. And... Redfall wasn't Arkane's fought. Microsoft new the shape the game was in but needed something for GamePass after a whole year of no releases into the service. Them taking it out on Arkane seems really disingenuous and distasteful. And WTF did Tango do? Didn't Todd just release a statement saying how he would never retire. Fire his ass.

romulus231d 14h ago

Well if that was the reason for the timing it didn't work.

darthv721d 14h ago

wow... i did not have them closing Tango and Arkane Austin on my bingo card.

Hofstaderman1d 14h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

Yes it does. Arkane Austin I can understand but Tango Gameworks made an excellent game in Hi Fi Rush.
On review, it want really all on Austin for Redfall and its failure, they were forced to make a multiplayer games when their expertise was always single player driven first person games.

-Foxtrot1d 13h ago

Guys I’m not being all that serious…relax

Outside_ofthe_Box1d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

"I don't think anything will minimize this impact."

It already has. Notice your comment(or lack there of) vs HD2.

On another note, I would like to see Microsoft buy more studios and do more shadows drops on subscription services like they did Hi-Fi Rush. It's great for the industry I was told by people on here.

Zeref1d 11h ago (Edited 1d 11h ago )

I'm pretty sure that's exactly how it works. Same thing with layoffs. All of a sudden everyone has layoffs around the same time

Cacabunga1d 10h ago

MS will always make it to amaze me by showing the worse version of themselves every single time..

peppeaccardo1d 10h ago

MS proving to the world that ttheir leadership cannot drive success from these new acquisitions. They have ran the numbers and they have realized that long term, without a clear direction from the motehrship, these are a loss for the company hence they need to be cut. I might be wrong but I am absolutelly sure that if these developers would have not been purchased by Microsoft they would be still on business. A shame ...

senorfartcushion21h ago

Both things have happened but N4G's commenters (90% Playstation ) will follow suit

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 21h ago
Einhander19721d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

10/10 deflection, the ol' Sony too deflect...

Let's not discuss the fact that PlayStations struggles have largely been caused by the fact that game pass has reshaped how consumers spend causing them to spend less as they play what is on subscriptions and don't buy games as much because they either have become subscription gamers or they fear the game will come to a subscription so they don't buy things.

And it's not just PlayStation, the whole industry has been effected, many big studios are struggling across the board to match sales targets from pre-game pass releases which is especially apparent in things like sequels.

Heck the best example was Microsoft's own Starfield which should have easily blasted past 10m sales by the end of 2023 going by sales of similar Bethesda games yet was only able to achieve 3m which of course was almost entirely on Steam.

Moegooner1d 15h ago

Or maybe it's because Sony hasn't released multiple worthwhile SP games like they normally do each gen and the ones they did released actually sold well.

Layoffs aren't because studios are struggling, but because major publishers want to maximise profit gains.

Profchaos1d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

Absolutely it's a service that's changed the way we view and consume games overall for the worse games have little value when they are part of a sub and become disposable doubly so if they are a day 1 freebie often it's the kiss of death for a game to be day 1 on gamepass as PlayStation players look at it like why do I have to pay 60 dollars for back 4 blood, payday 3 or outriders it'll be on PS plus soon enough and funny enough those games always fail to meet expectations sales are poor and longevity is poor.

When I see a game get a day 1 tag outside of first party my first thought is always something is wrong with it and it can't stand on its own feet so the publisher has made a deal to recoup development cost.

Even first party games have dropped in quality noticeably so since gamepass with gears 5 being the only good release I can think of since gamepass started

Petebloodyonion1d 14h ago

Wasn't aware that Gamepass is available on PlayStation.
Or are you telling us that a service from a console lacking in sales is so great that it affects the morale and buying habits of ppl lacking access to the service?

Also pretty sure that saying all of them competing for who sucks means the whole industry and not just Sony and MS.

Nitrowolf21d 14h ago (Edited 1d 14h ago )

This is what people online want. They just don't know or understand it. So many have warned about consolidation, and exactly what they have fear has been happening

This isn't the end, expect more bought out studios to be closed in the next few years

Hofstaderman1d 14h ago

Spot on. All in the name "growth" to appease investors and shareholders. Can't sustain the lie though...it will always implode as illustrated by these closures. Applies to MS and Embracer.

TiredGamer1d 8h ago (Edited 1d 8h ago )

This. ^

Publishers are slowly mitigating all development risk since every new big/medium budget game has become too big to fail. Games are too expensive to make and the profitability for titles rests on a hair’s edge. When you need to sell 5 million copies of a game to be profitable, you know that we’ve turned a new page in gaming. The real victims here are the smaller studios/games that bring so much character and variety to the industry, like with Hi-Fi Rush.

It looks to me that Hi-Fi Rush did not fulfill financial expectations for moving the GamePass needle, and the sales from the PlayStation port experiment did not measure up either. So it gets the boot.

Sad day and era for gaming.

notachance1d 4h ago

yeah smaller ABK studios like Toys For Bob are now in dangers

notachance1d 14h ago

I just don’t know how the hell a company that can spend $67b to purchase a publisher decided that it’s okay to close the studio that produces their best game last year.

Whoever the higher up there that decides this is completely out of touch of how the game industry works, the damn xbox division as a whole would’ve been closed already if they weren’t sustained by other MS divisions.

shinoff21831d 14h ago

I got in an argument with someone on reddit and they weren't haven't that Xbox isn't propped up by other divisions argument. They swore up and down that Xbox was pulling its own weight. I just stopped after a couple back and forths

TiredGamer1d 8h ago

Didn’t move the GamePass needle and the PlayStation port couldn’t save the return on investment….

SeTTriP1d 7h ago Show
dumahim1d 14h ago

So this is what happens when you're pleased with the sales and investing in the studio? Good guy Phil at it again.

Sonic18811d 13h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

From Aaron Greenburg:

"Hi-Fi RUSH was a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations. We couldn’t be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered with this surprise release."

😂😂😂 🤥🤥

Lightning771d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

Once again MS creates their own problems and they create their own animosity. Idc about their shitty excuse and "reasons" they're a incompetent company, plus all their Xbox fanboy influencers are dwindling I noticed. How many excuses can you make for a company like MS? Consoles are down and they're losing their own fanboy influencers also. That's all they had to cheer lead them now they're leaving them. Pretty nobody will be on MS dude no matter if they (if they ever but I doubt it) get their act together.

Trashy ass ppl and company....

If they go under eventual it's because of their own doing nobody else's.

porkChop1d 10h ago

Yeah overall this gen is pretty shit. Everyone is making horrible decisions, great devs are getting either gutted or entirely shut down regardless of quality or success, very little in the way of innovative games, etc. This industry needs to see some drastic changes.

badz14923h ago

where are all the cheerleaders for MS acquisitions amid all these?? you guys happy now? this will not be the end of it, maybe just the beginning!

OptimusDK15h ago

Maybe it has to do with this:
Hinji Mikami is leaving Tango Gameworks in the coming months.On February 23 it was reported that Mikami would be departing Tango Gameworks. Bethesda has stepped in to confirm the report of Mikami's forthcoming departure from the studio he founded over a decade ago.

Mikami originally founded Tango Gameworks in 2010 after departing Capcom, having lead the development of iconic games like Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 15h ago
shadowT1d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

Tango Gameworks and Arkane?

RaidenBlack1d 15h ago

Arkane Austin (Prey developer)
Not Arkane Lyon ( Dishonored developer)

Crows901d 14h ago

Prey was fantastic. Red fall was shit because they were forced to do shit they didn't want to make.

Atkane Lyon did death loop I believe....I hated that one.

shinoff21831d 14h ago

I personally liked prey more.

RaidenBlack1d 13h ago

@shinoff2183
Because Prey was creative and different
Other than the live service Redfall, all other single-player Arkane projects have been creative and interesting

Tankbusta401d 13h ago

@Crows90

So just because people don't want to do something in life...bad quality is excused? Look what happened over that bad quality? no more studio

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 13h ago
MrDead1d 14h ago

Will be more soon, I've said it before I can't see MS keeping Bethesda. I think they'll strip it's IPs and slowly close everything, it's what they do.

VariantAEC1d 13h ago

No one wants to admit it, but yeah MS has a long history of pillaging other smaller corporations for IP and dispensing with everything else.

Zeref1d 11h ago

That doesn't make any sense lol. How would they make money from these IP'S with no developers?

MrDead1d 10h ago (Edited 1d 10h ago )

@Zeref
"That doesn't make any sense lol. How would they make money from these IP'S with no developers?"

MS don't care about the studios, they want the IP's. They'll keep the big ones in house, the game engines they run on and licence the rest. Stacks of cash to be made from licensing IP's ...or just sit on them so no one else can use them.

blackblades1d 7h ago

@Zeref silly fool, buy them for the IP have there other studios make the games using the IP names to sell them. We all know having a popular franchise name can sell

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 7h ago
Einhander19721d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

Well xbox fans you got what you asked for... and honestly deserved...

It was so easily predictable that game pass was never going to be able to support all these studios.

If Microsoft can't win they are going to burn it all to the ground...

Countdown to Phil Spencer telling us "it's better for the gamers this way" yet again.

Barlos1d 14h ago

Agree but gamers didn't ask for people to be out of work.

VenomUK1d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

@Barlos They indirectly did. Every person who made a wish list of who Microsoft should buy next and were sending tweets to Phil Spencer and Xbox with proposed studios, played a part.

The saddest part is the studios were closed because of the underperformance of their last games, and if they had been given a chance then their next games could’ve been great and succeeded. But it is the same old Phil Spencer Microsoft problem which is not giving them a chance, and that’s why he is not able to manage game studios.

VariantAEC1d 13h ago

Yeah they did. Just because they refused to see what everyone with a brain was telling them doesn't mean they didn't know. They were told, they should've put up a fight and they didn't. This is the result. But who knows even if MS' fans weren't such boot-lickers, MS could've carried this out against their fans wishes anyway. Unfortunately, we have the hardcore MS defense bots running to deflect from any bad news and maybe, just maybe, MS felt empowered to do more damage as a result of their fans cheering this all on.

anast1d 12h ago

They sold themselves out. Once people buy you they can do what they want. None of this should have been a surprise. When companies get bought out, they eventually get dismantled.

shinoff21831d 14h ago

Xbox fans were to busy daydreaming of Ms curbstopping Sony they didn't look at the big picture.

Einhander19721d 13h ago

Not disagreeing at all.

I want to add that from the day Microsoft announced game pass, before they even started buying up studios it was obvious that game pass wasn't going to be able to support itself.

It was so dumb that they doubled down on it by spending 100B on a service they knew only existed through subsidization.

They should have realized there was no way that adding massively more costs on a subscription they were subsidizing was certain to fail. Especially after seeing how it had devastated sales across the platform as a whole.

Heck by the time this generation started during covid when the console sales were similar PlayStation was already outselling xbox on multiplatform games 8:1 yet they still doubled down on it.

1d 13h ago
Relientk771d 15h ago

This is beyond wrong. Like wtf!? Especially Tango Gameworks with Hi-Fi Rush. I've heard nothing but good things about that game. Just because Arkane Austin screwed up one game release doesn't mean you need to close them. It sounds like they were forced to do a multiplayer game when they're a single player studio. They could have made a Prey 2 or some other game next.

Just wow awful news.

Einhander19721d 15h ago

Apparently PlayStation owners didn't buy enough copies of Hi-Fi Rush...

romulus231d 14h ago

"Xbox says Hi-Fi Rush was a success "in all key measurements" amid rumors of poor sales. Following rumors that Tango Gameworks' Hi-Fish Rush didn't meet sales expectations, Xbox marketing VP Aaron Greenburg is defending the "break out hit" as a success by all metrics."

According to Aaron Greenburg it was a success so they shouldn't have even needed PlayStation owners to buy it. That being said, I bought it and really enjoyed it, it's a great game. Shame MS closed them down.

RpgSama1d 14h ago

@Romulus23

All lies by the Green Bug, that just means that a lot of people fired bullets or whatever in the game, that's the key measurements they care to share.

Tango did NOT deserve to be closed down, they have not released a single bad game.

Crows901d 14h ago

That's usually what happens when you don't release it at the same time as other platforms....same thing happened with tomb raider reboot sequel. MS got exclusivity for a year and then when it came to PlayStation it barely sold. Nobody cared anymore.

shinoff21831d 14h ago

Still waiting on the physical release pre order window

VariantAEC1d 13h ago

Well... I did my part. Hi-Fi Rush is a good game, but I don't think its MS' style. We don't really know how well it did or didn't perform by the numbers or whether it broke even. This could just be another MS blunder.

Elda1d 11h ago

Exactly. MS purchasing a 3rd party studio & keeping games off of other platforms probably hurt them in the long run, then finally putting Hi Fi Rush on PS which in turn PS fans probably didn't care to buy & support Hi Fi Rush after a year later of release. Hi Fi Rush was released on Gamepass so it probably never really made any money selling solely.

Eonjay1d 11h ago

@romulus23

Let's hope it didn't sell well because that would make this worse. Also I could have sworn I read an article about their next game in the works.

Seraphim1d 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h ago )

I was wondering if that played any part considering the timing, though, XB claimed the game to be a success last year only on XB & PC. Regardless MS f'd up there too. They shadow dropped HiFi on XB/PC last year at the perfect time. This year when they released on PS not only had the hype died, but there were so many solid games available the first 3 months of this year to play.

I almost bought it on PC last year, but now that it dropped on PS I just have far too many games to play to bother...

If MS needs PS and even Switch sales they need a better strategy. At the very least a release date where players are more inticed to buy said game. The problem is always going to be that if they want exclusives the hype for these games will be dead a year later. The exceptions might be some of their heavy hitters.... 2 cents

Angyobangyo20h ago(Edited 19h ago)

PS and PC owners probably bought more copies that Xbox owners.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 20h ago
CrashMania1d 15h ago

I can only imagine the little amount of revenue both games generated, sent straight to gamepass and excluded from the largest current gen console userbase. Not to say both games would have done well if they were on PS5 too, but you heavily damage to a games revenue when you put it on a stagnating sub service for a poorly selling console, can't really see people going out in droves to sub to GP to play this.

shinoff21831d 14h ago

Gamepass subs(most of Xbox players) don't buy games all like that so it's not sustainable. It's reality.

RaidenBlack1d 15h ago

Yea Austin made one of the most creative game of last gen with Prey and were forced to take risk with Redfall and now the whole studio is being closed.

Aphrodia1d 14h ago

Yes, that Tango gameworks/ Hi-Fi closure was an eye opener for me as well. Neither played it nor was interested in it myself but all I heard was everyone acting like it was the second coming of guitar hero or something.

I don't know what else to say other than modern gaming is an overwhelming sea of mediocrity and there's not enough voices of reason speaking up and saying that most games made these days are just not very good.

shinoff21831d 14h ago

Your playing the wrong games then. There's always been shovelware type games. Going back to wii, snes, nes, ps1 Xbox og. That's a bs blanket statement. As an older gamer since atari days I'd personally say this is a great time. If you can't find anything to play. That's on you

With all that said in no way or form am I speaking of multi-player games, gacha, or whatever. I'm strictly speaking on single player games.

Aphrodia1d 11h ago

you are hilarious. trying to validate your comment by excluding over half of the games out there today. Pathetic man.

Neonridr1d 13h ago

I'm more devastated at the loss of The Evil Within.

Chevalier1d 3h ago

Wait I was told Xbox had great engagement numbers?! Some Xbox fans said they bought games when I told them Xbox customers don't buy games?

So Xbox bought studios to keep games off other platforms and forgot they conditioned Xbox customers to not buy games. Whoops.

So anyone else think Outer World's 2 dies 🤔? I'm thinking a small game losing out on Nintendo and Playstation gamers buying will kill this IP. But it's okay Xbox fans can get more COD! Halo, Gears and Forza! Woot that's a 'win'. Yay Gamepass FTW

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 20h ago
CrashMania1d 15h ago

Can't wait to see the usual try spin and play this down. So much for the heroic MS and Phil saving these studios eh.

Eonjay1d 15h ago

By the end of the day IGN will be talking about how this is right for the industry. Don't worry, Microsoft's PR is making the call now.

RpgSama1d 14h ago

Tango did NOT deserve to be closed down, they have not released a single bad game, and I'm sure Arkhane failed just because they were both rushed and pressured into making a GaaS game they had no experience in doing and no support to get it completed out of the gate.

PrinceOfAnger1d 15h ago

Not a big deal only hi fi rush was good

Sony has closed
Manchester studio
Japan studio
Pixel opus
London studio
Ready At Dawn ...

RupeeHoarder1d 15h ago

The difference being Sony has a large group of other studios that have done something positive. Microsoft just closed the studio to the only good game they released in the past year (Hi-Fi Rush).

CrashMania1d 14h ago

They all suck as well of course. But MS spent 10s of billions on these publishers for mass consolidation, every made a song and dance about how MS would save them, using their endless Windows, 365 and Azure money to keep them open forever and how Phil was some hero.

Nothing is safe unless it makes money, even for MS.

romulus231d 14h ago

It is a big deal.

Microsoft has closed
Fasa Studios
Digital Anvil
Ensemble
Lionhead Studios
Press Play
Arkane Austin
Tango Gameworks

Einhander19721d 14h ago (Edited 1d 14h ago )

Wow how far back do you want to go back.

Lionhead Studios
Aces Game Studio
BigPark
Carbonated Game
Digital Anvil
Ensemble Studios
FASA Studio
Good Science Studio
Hired Gun
Microsoft Studios Japan
Microsoft Studios Victoria
Team Dakota
Xbox Entertainment Studios
Xbox Live Productions
Lift London
Access Software
Salt Lake Games Studio
Twisted Pixel Games
WingNut Interactive

And more before this, this was just their cuts during xbone era that Phil cut while he was at the head.

And some of those PlayStation studios were merged not closed, most of the UK studios were folded into each other.

Japan Studio was renamed to Asobi not closed, aAsobi was an internal team of Japan Studio the "closure" the press misinformed people about was more or less a name change, the studio is in the same building and when the change happened less than 5 people mostly leadership positions chose to leave the studio to form Bokeh Studio, which still works closely with Sony.

And even if your deflection stood on it's own, Microsoft spent 3 Billion 3 years ago almost to the date to buy Zenimax and has already closed 2 of it's biggest studios and decimated Zenimax's support studio structure.

It's no wonder Todd Howard was talking about "more frequent releases" and letting other studios make their IP's games. The days of big budget huge Bethesda games is over...

In fact sadly Microsoft has ushered in the end of big budget gaming as we know it with their obviously unsustainable subscription industry change.

And I feel fully confident that this isn't the end of studio closures from these recently purchased studios.

Abnor_Mal1d 14h ago

Ready At Dawn was never a Sony owned studio, and only made a few smaller God of War games and a Jax and Daxter spin off, and of course The Order1866.

They are currently owned by OcUlus Studios.

MrDead1d 14h ago

How many times has MS fired Bethesda staff since they purchased it? I think it's been three rounds so far

BehindTheRows1d 14h ago

Deflection is the finest form of delusion.

shinoff21831d 14h ago

London studio what have they made recently. Really the worst one was Japan studio. That sucked.

In reality though your deflecting. The fact of the matter is Ms just closed the studio that made their highest rated game in years. That's insane.

Hofstaderman1d 14h ago

Also many of those staff were absorbed into other studios.

VariantAEC1d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

Ready At Dawn was never a PS first party studio.
Manchester was closed and it was proposed that London should be closed, but their website is still up with no news about it being closed on their official site anywhere. So it's possible that the proposed closure just did not happen to get fufilled. Meaning London Studio *MIGHT* still be open running lean.

Edit: Japan Studio was closed with some staff making up the new Asobi Team Studio who's first title was the PS5 pack-in game "Astro's Playroom." Pixel Opus was closed and not replaced or spun-off their only games were Entwined and Concrete Genie they also helped publish Journey according to Wikipedia.

Chevalier1d 2h ago

Man you got crap info

Sony never owned Ready at Dawn. It's now owned by Oculus.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/...

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 1d 2h ago
Tacoboto1d 15h ago

Phil needs to step down. What kind of usual spin do you want?

More and more people lose jobs but the people at the top stay the same. Hardware sales tank despite billions and billions spent. The math is plain and simple.

Sonic18811d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

I'm still trying to figure out what was the real reason to acquire Bethesda for millions or Billions of dollars if you're closing down studios 🤔 What were their true intentions 🤔 I mean do Microsoft really want to be a third-party publisher? It sounds like they're confused.with their future in gaming

VariantAEC1d 12h ago

@Sonic1881
To rape each studio for their sweet succulent ultra-valuable IP. This is Microsoft's favorite past-time.

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