280°

Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer sizes up company's Activision deal

Xbox chief says it's personally 'daunting,' but downplays industry impact.

812d ago Replies(3)
MrDead812d ago

Every platform I can think of has added to the gaming world, MS's Xbox is the only platform I can think of that has taken away more from gamers and the gaming community then it's added.

I would have liked to see what the Xbox could have been away from MS, making games that bring people to it's platform instead of banning other platforms from multiplatform publishers. Unfortunately we will never know, instead we are left with the another tax dodging tech giant buying up another industry and forcing gamers to their platform.

Ristul812d ago

That is Microsoft in a nutshell, buy up the competition instead of building and fostering talented studios.

They actually tried to buy Nintendo at some point in history. Now they buy publishers of games and locking games behind their walled garden. The very thing Phil Spencer said they dont want to do.

Lightning77812d ago

"That is Microsoft in a nutshell, buy up the competition instead of building and fostering talented studios.*

Don't even start with that. sony bought up all those studios last year and none of then were fostered except for Housemarque. Who cares how it's done as long as MS has studios to make games. It's just not picky at this point.

"Now they buy publishers of games and locking games behind their walled garden."

So what are games free now on other platforms or something? You're not making sense.

Army_of_Darkness812d ago (Edited 812d ago )

@lightening77

Dude, Sony bought Housemarque and blue point studios, both of which has a long history of making exclusive playstation games to begin with so I don't see how that would compare to taking away call of duty that has been multiplatform since the beginning of time. That's a massive difference! So no, it's not the same at all.

wiz7191811d ago

@armyofdarkness it’s ironic COD started out as a PC exclusive .. so actually COD wasn’t always multi platform ,

wiz7191811d ago (Edited 811d ago )

Lol all those disagrees I guess people don’t know how to use google … Call of Duty first few games were on PC , COD just didn’t get big until COD 4 ..

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 811d ago
Youngindy21812d ago

WTF are you even babbling about? Microsoft allows you to play their games on the most platforms(Xbox, PC/Mac, Mobile, Cloud). Whereas Sony would only allow you to play it on PS5 and maybe if your lucky PC.

Army_of_Darkness812d ago

You don't see that Microsoft's new platform is actually gamepass? In order to play their games, you must pay Microsoft. Period.

Lightning77811d ago (Edited 811d ago )

@Army its extremely clear you don't know how GP works, that or you're being ignorant on purpose. Halo Infinite, Forza all of First party AAA, and major 3rd party can be purchased like any other game out there. Download or store bought can be purchased physically. Again like everything else out there.

You don't have to pay for gamepass to play MS first party games. Now stop making things up.

Army_of_Darkness811d ago

@lightening77 "You don't have to pay for gamepass to play MS first party games. Now stop making things up."

Wait... So you are telling me gamepass is free?! Shit bro! I want in!

-Hermit-811d ago

What did they take away from you? The only thing I can think of is free online gaming, but then the likes of Sony and Nintendo followed, so they are equal on that one. So what exactly have they taken from you?

Gamer4Life1579811d ago

@MrDead
Please elaborate on what Microsoft have taken away from gaming. I'm genuinely curious to know what your thoughts are.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 811d ago
LWOGaming812d ago

It seems that when Microsoft does this it’s all bad and disgraceful but Sony have been doing this for years. It’s nothing new it’s just that the number of noughts on the deals get bigger.
Xbox will have more and more gamers playing on lots of different platforms which is what they want.
PlayStation will keep selling the consoles and will be just fine and they will buy some more studios yet.
Nintendo will keep doing their own thing and will be more than fine.

It’s as simple as that and some people are making a huge mountain out of a mole hill. Enjoy what gaming brings which is quality games and fun and these deals will not change it as much as some want is to believe.

Kornholic811d ago (Edited 811d ago )

Sony has done this for years? Name five multiplatform series that Sony has bought and restricted from other consoles? If you can't name five, I'll settle for two.

LWOGaming811d ago

When have MS said they will restrict the games from other consoles? Call of Duty will still be on PlayStation. Will all Bethesda games go Xbox exclusive? I’m talking about Sony also buying companies. It’s part of the modern gaming world. The idea that MS buying Activision/Blizzard will somehow harm PlayStation gamers is just scaremongering.
Some games from both sides will be timed exclusives but Halo, COD will remain multi platform. To keep a series on one console - Nintendo being an exception - will only reduce sales. If Sony have Halo for example why would they make it PS only when they can make many more millions by having it on other platforms? Answer - they won’t.

wiz7191811d ago

You just haven’t been gaming for to long , lol people think Sony is some kind of saint in this gaming space ..

LWOGaming811d ago

Lol. You will be waiting a long time. You asked me to answer a question about when Sony stopped games going to other platforms but I am not sure why you are asking that from what I said. I don’t think you even tried to understand my point or comment.
You are making assumptions that MS will stop games coming to Sony. That is YOUR assumption.
When I said Sony have been doing this for ages I was referring to making acquisitions.
Therefore there is no need for me to answer your question.
Bungie games will still be on Xbox , Bethesda games will still be on PlayStation and MS games will still be on Nintendo.
There will be exclusives, timed exclusives but the games everyone is worrying about will still be multi platform.
That’s all any of us need to know right now.

Chevalier811d ago

" Bethesda games will still be on PlayStation and MS games will still be on Nintendo.
There will be exclusives, timed exclusives but the games everyone is worrying about will still be multi platform."

Really? Explain Redfall and Starfield then?!

LWOGaming811d ago

That’s 2 games. You were worrying about those games? I’m talking about COD, Halo etc. Of course there will be exclusives. That’s not new. And if Sony and MS decide to make exclusives that push people away from huge franchises that already exist - already exist being the key here - then they will have to face the deserved backlash they will receive.

dcbronco811d ago (Edited 811d ago )

Remember when people used to say Microsoft was selling Xbox and leaving the games industry. I bet there are still some holdouts. 🤣

LWOGaming811d ago

Remember it well. Sony, MS, Nintendo are not going anywhere. They will all continue to thrive for decades to come. Now get on with enjoying games you love on the system you love and if you have more than one system your dreams are already amazing.

LWOGaming811d ago

@Wiz7191 Not been playing games for too long? Lol. When I started playing games Sony and Microsoft didn’t even exist in terms of consoles!

wiz7191810d ago

Lol I can’t tell by your comments

LWOGaming810d ago

Thanks for you words. Pointless as they are.

LWOGaming808d ago

You know how you said I know little about games? Have you seen the official confirmation from Microsoft about Activision/Blizzard games? The announcement that confirms everything I said. Just thought I would let you know that this person who knows nothing clearly knows rather more than you do. Cheers and all the best. 🤘🎮🤘

200°

Steam’s Refund Policy Change Won’t Affect You Unless You’re A Lowlife

Steam is changing its refund policy, but you probably won’t be affected

Read Full Story >>
thegamer.com
thorstein8h ago

Should have happened a long time ago. People wanting refunds after 50 hours in game.

fsfsxii4h ago

Pc gamers will take this as an excuse to pirate things

KyRo3h ago

I'm not sure why you're getting disgrees. Whilst not all PC gamers are petty, an awful lot of them are lol

Crows903h ago

Entirely untrue. Not any more petty than console gamers. The only large difference is console gamers don't have much of a choice.

qalpha4h ago

Daily reminder that 'TheGamer' is a corporate-generated, anti-gamer, anti-consumer, clickbait web site. They are mostly A.I. generated articles that villainize gamers. They provide nothing positive and actively try to provoke and divide the community through extreme view points and politics. Do not give them any clicks.

Inverno3h ago

Only scumbags? As if people don't play their games on console put in the most amount of hours and return it to GameStop and trade it in for another game. But also how many people are actually do this? And what games have been allowed to be refunded?

DustMan3h ago

You can refund any game you've purchased as long as it hasn't been longer than two weeks, and you've played less than 2 hours. I wish they would change it to 3 hours because some RPG's have so much exposition that you may only get an hour total of complete gameplay. That's my only knock on it. I've refunded plenty of stuff I was just curious to try. I typically stay away from Early Access titles which are the only ones affected by this policy change.

Inverno2h ago

Apparently early access doesn't count, only complete games with a play early preorder bonus.

Gaming4Life19813h ago

I definitely know if I want a refund in 2 hours.

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110°

Outriders Dev's Next Game Has Been Canceled After Publishing Agreement With Take-Two Fell Through

Outriders developer People Can Fly's next game has been canceled after its publishing agreement with Take-Two Interactive fell through.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
Tacoboto2d ago

"the capital group of PCF Group S.A."

If you're getting funding from a group that needs two different ways of Acronyming itself, things will not go the way you want them to.

banger881d 21h ago

If it was more online-only crap then good riddance.

jjb19811d 7h ago

Outriders was crap. They slapped that game together and threw in a loot system to get players' attention. This game was absolutely jank and the always online nonsense made it stutter like crazy. People Can't Optimize.

thorstein1d 6h ago

I liked Outriders but I could see where the artistic vision was compromised. The way the industry is now, it wouldn't surprise me that upper management would scrap something that didn't pull in money via gaas, mts, or other means.

290°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

Read Full Story >>
theverge.com
darthv722d ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle1d 11h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic18811d 8h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio1d 8h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Lightning771d 3h ago

What he said was facts. How he plays games is no concern of you. Don't get too mad about it.

Cacabunga1d 10h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

darthv7220h ago

to you it may seem like the minority... but your bubble is shrinking because more and more are following suit. convenience is a hell of a drug and its also why physical sales only amount to 30% of overall game sales. times are changing, you either get with them or you get left behind.

neutralgamer199215h ago

Darth

30% physical sales: yet Phil and xbox division are in a rush go give up on that 30%. they don't have any right to give up any piece of the pie since the control such a little of the pie to begin with

also, the market is clearly speaking that the model Xbox is pushing isn't working right now the keyword being right now. you are right about freedom to play anywhere so i hope they put their games on steam

shinoff21831d 9h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga1d 8h ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

itsmebryan1d 4h ago

@shin
Well keep it simple Sony 's operating income is down 26% and Microsoft's is up 32%. No MS spin there, just facts. 😉
Cheers

S2Killinit21h ago

MS is after diminishing consoles as a medium. They want to destroy this market because they couldnt win. MS’s vision is to dissolve console gaming.

romulus231d 3h ago

Odd that a company that touts you dont need the hardware to play is already touting another console in the works.

darthv721d 3h ago

They are not reliant on the HW but still want to maintain a presence (no matter how small) is a good thing. It shows commitment to the craft. It reminds me of SNK and how they made games for their own hardware (Neo Geo) while also making them for others because they knew there was a market to do so. They knew they would sell more to others but also sell to their own niche fan base.

TheEroica21h ago(Edited 21h ago)

Perfectly reasonable post down voted by insecure corporation friendly folk.... But not gamers. Real gamer want accessibility and ease of acquisition for all.... Company shills are the only ones still telling us that hardware locking people from games is good for us.

Chevalier16h ago

@Darth

You should stop parroting metrics like an idiot without context.

"Xbox content and services revenue grew 62% in Q3 from a year earlier, “driven by 61 points of net impact” from the purchase of the third-party video game giant, Microsoft said."

61 of the 62% was from their merger so net increase is ONLY 1%

https://www.mesaonline.org/...

itsmebryan7h ago

@chevalier

It looks like made a great purchase. Much better then Sony buying Bungie. 😉
Cheers

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 7h ago
purple1011d 13h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos1d 13h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

DOMination-1d 2h ago

In the last two years they've started exiting the consumer market altogether. All of the newest Surface products are business models only. They can't seem to work out what they want to do with it.

XBManiac1d 12h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad1d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple1011d 11h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos1d 11h ago (Edited 1d 11h ago )

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic1d 9h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

MrDead1d 3h ago

The only growth MS will get out of the console industry is if it supports it's rivals platforms. Xbox is a pointless machine now. I can see them on a big push for live next, and they won't give up on trying to buy Steam.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 3h ago
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