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-Boyfriend]

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...

[Herbalistic]

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-Boyfriend]

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

[darthv72]

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

[DARKKENT]

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

[TFJWM]

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.

[denawayne]

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.

[kneon]

@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.

[xer0]

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.

[kevnb]

4k bluray is a huge flop.

[trooper_]

Well said.

[trooper_]

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

[isarai]

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.

[Phunkydiabetic1]

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.

[PizzaSteve]

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

[kneon]

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.

[isarai]

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

[Phunkydiabetic1]

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.

[Gamist2dot0]

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-310]

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

[maybelovehate]

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

[Godchild1020]

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

I do agree with Sunset Overdrive and Forza Horizon.

[maybelovehate]

No, I didn't.

[Razzer]

@maybelovehate

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

[Rude-ro]

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

[maybelovehate]

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.

[Razzer]

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.

[Razzer]

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_D]

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 why]

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

[maybelovehate]

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.

[Razzer]

^^^backpedaling^^^

[Elda]

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

[maybelovehate]

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

[FallenAngel1984]

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

[Sunny_D]

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

[FallenAngel1984]

@ Sunny

Especially when you include a timed exclusive said advertisement.

[_-EDMIX-_]

at some point you guys need to realize it's not Microsoft inability to create a new intellectual property it's simply that they don't want to, at some point you guys need to understand it has nothing to do with their trying to in failing it has everything to do with them not doing it at all in the first place.

Microsoft has more money than Sony, if they wanted to produce a large number of intellectual properties by teams they own, they should literally have zero problem doing that internally this company does not want to compete on the same level they don't want to spend their money on such Investments and it's showing by their actions.

[kneon]

I think they are just too risk-averse, that's why we see the same things over and over. If I recall correctly they turned down Heavy Rain, Guitar Hero and Rime, and probably others that didn't fit their preconceived ideas.

[_-EDMIX-_]

they also turned away LittleBigPlanet and Destiny.

[YEP414]

Microsoft good!!! No worries from us...xbox nation

[Max-Zorin]

-_-

[Father Murder X]

Microsoft needs to turn 343 studios and the Coalition on other projects other than Halo and Gears. They got the talent to do something really special outside of those respected franchises.

[_-EDMIX-_]

agreed and I'm pretty positive those Studios probably have tons of ideas for new properties for all you know one of these teams could produce the next story-driven narrative similar to The Last of Us.

Games like the last of us do not exist simply because naughty dog wanted to created it exists because Sony allowed the team to experiment and create new ideas.

It needs to be a symbiotic relationship from Creator to owner.

If Sony was Ironclad on simply just producing Jak and Daxter to death for all you know those members who had the ideas for Uncharted simply go to another publisher to create that game.

[fromchildren]

To keep the xbox fanbase happy, they kinda need to pump out Forza and halos Yearly.

[mahmoods26]

The problem is when it comes to making games you can't keep to a schedule, you have to give it time to develop and change and everytime you ask for a feature that you think is popular in the market, you put more time on top. I'm pretty sure Scalebound started as single player, then was changed to multiplayer, then they probably asked if it could be online and then it got cancelled when it was taking too long. You can argue sales of the Last Guardian vs Dead Rising all you like but Last Guardian is not the only game that Sony will be releasing in the next few months and they know that. Microsoft can't seem is accept that some games just won't sell that well even if you pour money into them but sometimes that's a good thing. If you want to create new IPs you need to take risks.

[Urzusix]

There used to be such a buzz around Xbox Ip's. I remember the Halo 2 Midnight Launch, was an amazing night. Went to the same store for Halo 5 and there was like four of us. Sure apart of it is digital downloads but still Microsoft need to rest Halo and show us their next big thing/Things

[IxWoodstockxI]

Who cares it's all about Overwatch and Rainbow Six.

[Elda]

No diversity or variety.

[SynestheticRoar]

Would you date a girl who wears the same three dresses for five years straight everyday.

[Godchild1020]

I think it depends. Is this girl wearing those same three dress everyday or just on the same specific days we go out?

One stress for New Years, the second dress for going out to dinner on Friday night and the other for when we go out for holidays with her family.

I dated a girl that wore the same dress to church every Sunday.

[Max-Zorin]

The Original Xbox days were amazing. It had all kinds of exclusives. Blinx, Mech Assault, Dead or Alive 3, Fuzion Frenzy, Bloodwake, Tao Feng, NFL Fever, etc. Now, it's just gone downhill. Bad enough Don Mattrick dragged the brand into the ground, Phil didn't clean up the mess. He added onto it. So many studios were shut down, and several games were canceled. I remember when they formed a studio called Black Tusk, and they teased a new IP. Then they were forced to cancel it, and work on Gears 4. Maybe if Phil was fired alongside Don, the Xbox brand would be in better condition. Hell, I am still pissed to this day, about Minecraft. They spent four billion dollars on that game, instead of using that money to build more studios, establishing more talented developers, and several new IPs. Stupid fucking Halo, Gears, and Forza suddenly became a top priority, instead of making new games, and bringing back old favorites. A new Banjo, Battletoads, Conker, Fuzion Frenzy, etc is long overdue. Those fucking idiots are sitting on gems, AND WON'T EVEN PUT THEM TO GOOD USE. Oh well, I'll just look forward to the new Spider-Man, and a list of other games I don't feel like listing on PS4.

[Razzer]

Xbox just isn't the gaming beast it used to be. Time to come to grips.

[VsAssassin]

There's a video article by The Know on youtube that juxtapositions the PS4 and Xbox One in terms of games released in 2016. While they're not all exclusives, Sony released more than 400 titles in the last year, towering over Xbox One's underwhelming 200-ish games. The Xbox brand really needs successors to Halo and Gears and add more to their AAA exclusives library if they are still competing, because last time I checked, it's only Nintendo that's on a league of its own.