260°

Microsoft's First Party IP Is In Rough Shape, And Has Been For Years

This has been many years in the making, but lately, it seems like Microsoft’s inability to get a handle on its stable of exclusive games is reaching a fever pitch.

Aloy-Boyfriend2662d ago (Edited 2662d ago )

Bungie apparently having to buy themselves so they can take a rest from Halo and develop something new was just the beggining of how Microsoft handle studios... Their complacency in the 360 era was bound to bite them eventually (lack of 1st party studios, same halo/Gears/Forza trinity and so on).

People have been too blind praising Phil Spencer, 4k Bluray, BC, Scorpio, and point fingers at Sony for every chair they misplaced too see this big issue, and then comes Scalebound and fable cancellation and you realize it isn't always sunny🌞 at Microsoft

MS biggest issue is that they don't have the power to counter Sony's 1st party content. This year PS4 has a lot of exclusive games and beyond because Sony got a family of 1st party developers. For all the articles poking fun and talking shit about Sony announcing games with no release dates, at least they got more than just this year and we know what to look forward to. Unlike Sony, MS future is uncertain. But hey, you can always watch 4k movies in the meantime I guess...

Herbalistic2662d ago

Phil is just doing the same thing ex Xbox execs did which is count on timed deals and the same 3 franchises.Microsoft have been doing nothing but closing down studios instead of building them.

Aloy-Boyfriend2662d ago (Edited 2662d ago )

I was surprised when MS adquired like 8 studios at the beggining of this gen, but then closed them down along with Lionhead Studios. It think it might be too late for them to build quality studios, or to give them the time needed to bloom. This is something Sony has got right since the PS2 daysand is paying off and will continue to do so. It still saddens me they close Zipper and Incognito, but that didn't stop their appetite to adquire more

darthv722662d ago

@xi, dont forget the closure of evolution, I was so looking forward to a motorstorm collection or new game after they finished drive club.

DARKKENT2662d ago (Edited 2662d ago )

The quick fixes of third party exclusive deals from 360 to the Xbox one deals have come and bit Microsoft on the bum cheeks

For only soo long you can have those deals to paper over the cracks...

If Microsoft were in this for the long haul you would have thought the money they spent on those deals would be better placed building third party studios...

They are in a mess...

@Darth I cannot get over sony closing evolution, stupidest decision from sony.. They made amazing racing games, sony have made some dumb decisions in gaming aswell to be honest, but they still have a broad first party to fall back on unlike Microsoft, but damn evolution made my favorite racing games

TFJWM2662d ago

Not sure why people thought he was going to do anything different than what was already happening there. He was the head of MS studios so he had a large part of all their game development and gaming deals for awhile now.

denawayne2662d ago

Agree if you play on Xbox

Disagree if you play on PS

Whether the poll proves anything is really moot but it does amaze me how many Sony fanboys comment in Xbox articles. I personally don't own a PS, so I have no reason to comment in PS articles.

kneon2662d ago

@DARKKENT

Those cracks are continuing to widen, it get's much harder, and more expensive to buy exclusives when your competitor has something like 60% of the market.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 2662d ago
xer02662d ago

There's like, no real incentive to jump on the Xbox Scorpio train.
Nothing.

In London, people i know who have bought Xbox Ones have been regretting their purchase ever since.

kevnb2662d ago

4k bluray is a huge flop.

trooper_2662d ago (Edited 2662d ago )

And denawayne, if you can't handle criticism when it comes to Microsoft, then maybe you should move on to another site.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2662d ago
isarai2662d ago

I just never understood why they dont just form new studios instead of dropping insane amounts of cash for third party timed exclusive deals and spending billions on minecraft.

Phunkydiabetic12662d ago

You are watching the slowly increasing demise of the Xbox brand. It has been in motion for awhile now but it is finally reaching a point where it is so plainly obvious. Yes sure, I get it, Xbox One has sold well. Why though? I can guaruntee the majority of sales came from people blindly following their brand of choice, because if people paid attention to what happened during the reveal they would've seen the signs way back then.

PizzaSteve2662d ago

Scorpio will be the last console MS makes. XB brand has gone down hill.

kneon2662d ago

Because it takes time, and they only seem to think short term.

Sure you could slap together a team in a few months, but it takes years to put together the right people and form the right culture to produce top quality games.

isarai2662d ago

Or you do what others do and contract an exclusive few games from a promising mid tier studio and if they do well you buy the studio and build them up to AAA

Phunkydiabetic12662d ago

The Xbox brand has been around for more than 15 years, that is PLENTY of time to organise and set up development teams. Microsoft didn't do that to its full potential. Instead it's the same Gears/Halo/Forza year in and year out while Microsoft wasted time on bullshit like always online and Kinect and some stupid TV crap no one cares about.

Gamist2dot02662d ago

Because MS believed that Minecraft would help them generate $100 million a year. It probably did when they bought it (2014) but not sure about today and beyond. But with 2.5 billion, they could have built many 1st parties.

Thatguy-3102662d ago

They been in rough shape ever since 2010(introduction of kinect) . Can't believe it took this person so long to realize it. MS has no first party studios to keep xbox afloat like Sony did with ps3 last generation. I'm curious to see what they bring to E3. If they don't hold an event for Scorpio prior to e3 then they're pretty much going to focus on it come June which will further proof they have nothing big to show as far as software goes. Maybe another halo? Another forza for sure

maybelovehate2662d ago

Standout Exclusives this generation.
Xbox: Halo 5, Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizons, Forza, Ori, Gears.
Sony: Uncharted, Bloodborne.

Godchild10202662d ago (Edited 2662d ago )

You missed Gravity Rush 2, The last Guardian and Ratchet and Clank.

I do agree with Sunset Overdrive and Forza Horizon.

Razzer2662d ago

@maybelovehate

lol...dude...you missed a lot. but you know that.

Rude-ro2662d ago

Can you name the last new AAA first party game Microsoft made outside of your repetitive dwindling three-peats?

Next, which one of those games are critically awarded with game of the year awards? Ori for indie game?

I take it you do not know what "standout" means

maybelovehate2662d ago (Edited 2662d ago )

Ori isn't an indie game. It was published by Microsoft. 

Edit: for the mentally challenged:

Wiki: An independent video game (commonly referred to as an indie game) is a video game that is created without the financial support of a publisher.

Edit: for the thick headed dude below. Yes, Moon Studios is an independent developer. Ori was not an Indie game. MS funded it and published it.

Razzer2662d ago (Edited 2662d ago )

lol...you don't know what an indie game is.

edit: Moon Studios is an independent video game developer. You are actually going to suggest that Ori was a AAA game? Mentally challenged? Look in the mirror.

"Thick-headed" above: ms published an indie game that I don't even need an Xbox or Windows 10 to play.

Razzer2662d ago

You can remove Forza, Ori, and Gears. Not exclusive. The Last Guardian had a higher metacritic than Sunset Overdrive. Halo 5 didn't touch either Uncharted or Bloodborne.

Sunny_D2662d ago

The Last Guardian, Infamous SS, Driveclub(it'a actually good to those who actually play it) and soon enough Horizon.

Those 2 games you've mentioned were also rated higher than anything on Xbox. So....

Why o why2662d ago

Lol. Where's until dawn. Last guardian and all the other Sony exclusives in the indie department or even the Sony games that outscored some of those you've mentioned. I get it though. When you don't have a valid argument, revert to type and make stuff up whilst omitting the things that hurt your cause. What you should be focusing on is Microsofts issues regarding this topic instead of damage controlling. MS may just listen if they could see enough of their fans actually had issues and voiced them. I mean that must be more affective than pretending everything is awesome and getting less games as a result don't you think

maybelovehate2662d ago

Until Dawn and Last Guardian are good games. If you wanted to include them I wouldn't be mad. I just don't see them as standout games. My personal view. Bloodborne is my favorite game of this generation by a pretty large margin, I was just trying to point out how silly the article is. Neither MS or Sony are hurting when it comes to exclusives.

Elda2662d ago

That's it? Sony has a slew of first party to third party exclusives releasing in the next 4 months & beyond.

maybelovehate2662d ago

Horizons in particular looks great, can't wait. But this was about games already released. Halo Wars 2 also coming out pretty soon.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 2662d ago
FallenAngel19842662d ago

The "Greatest Games Lineup in Xbox History" tagline continues to become more cringeworthy with each passing year.

Sunny_D2662d ago

To think that was a more than a year ago. Definitely why you shouldn't put definitives for when you advertise a product.

FallenAngel19842662d ago

@ Sunny

Especially when you include a timed exclusive said advertisement.

Show all comments (54)
90°

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
Tacoboto1d 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.

banger8818h ago

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

jjb19815h 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.

thorstein4h 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.

250°

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
darthv7222h 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.

solideagle9h ago

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

Sonic18816h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio6h 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:

Lightning771h ago

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

Cacabunga8h 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.

shinoff21837h 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.

Cacabunga6h 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

itsmebryan2h 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

romulus231h ago

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

darthv721h 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.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1h ago
purple10111h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos10h ago

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

DOMination-34m 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.

XBManiac10h ago

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

SimpleDad9h ago(Edited 9h 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.

purple1019h ago

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

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos9h ago(Edited 9h 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

Kornholic7h ago

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

MrDead56m 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 56m ago
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90°

An Update on This Year’s BlizzCon and Blizzard’s 2024 Live Events

Blizzard writes: "After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024. This decision was not made lightly as BlizzCon remains a very special event for all of us, and we know many of you look forward to it. While we’re approaching this year differently and as we have explored different event formats in the past, rest assured that we are just as excited as ever to bring BlizzCon back in future years."

Read Full Story >>
blizzcon.com
PRIMORDUS19h ago

How about you not hold Blizzcon anymore period. You fucking POS company. I really hope Blizzard would just die.