NowGamer: "With two major policy changes for the Xbox One, can we trust Microsoft and it's next-gen console?
You might’ve heard? Microsoft has, once again, u-turned on its much-criticised policies in a bid to make the Xbox One seemed like a more promising platform.
But can we trust a company that can so easily flip-flop on its previous strictly enforced? A company that can just as easily undo a concept the Xbox One was supposed hardwired to do as it can switch the lights on and off again?"
For Xbox’s hugely expanded gaming division, anything that isn’t Call of Duty is now a failure, and that’s a problem
Honestly, If I worked presently for Microsoft's gaming division, I would update my CV and look for work elsewhere...
"Now"?
How about "ever"?
They closed so many of their dev teams during the second half of the Xbox 360 era. Have we forgotten history so quickly?
Dummy fake journalists acting so surprised over these recent closures, when this is something that's been going on for well over a decade now with MS.
"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."
"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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
losing the next gen market share is inevitable, nothing they say will stop that unless they do a radical price drop to $350, or they can stay the course and try to slowly regain the market with a steady stream of exclusive games like the PS3 did.
I will say this and i know some won't like it
a Company that come out in E3 and shove a huge amount of Stupid lame polices and stupid price
and their excuse is "That's our vision and you will love it "
and then Backtrack their so called "Vision" and flip flop on it like that and then tell you somethig like "this was our vision"
That Tell you to never trust a Company like that
something like DRM that you will have to download an update on your xbox1 to remove it
they can easliy put it back again after they get enough sales
and on top of that they give you weaker console than the rival and with higer price than the rival
i don't trust any company BTW
but if i start to trust one of those
MS would be the least i would trust
we?