Updates on the Xbox Business

Hear from Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond and Matt Booty as they share updates on the Xbox business

[RaidenBlack]

As per Verge:
" Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell me the first two titles will be Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, followed by Sea of Thieves and Grounded. "
https://www.theverge.com/20...

[Cacabunga]

He says only 4 games will come and doesn’t mean other games are coming cause they are NOT..
Few seconds later he says xbox focus is to bring all games to other platforms and other players LOL

[MrBaskerville]

They always say that they will bring their games to as many people as possible, which means PC and Xbox in Spencer lingo.

[LG_Fox_Brazil]

"They always say that they will bring their games to as many people as possible, which means PC and Xbox"

And yet, here we are with four headed to Nintendo and Sony platforms. If those games make them some bucks, and they will, then you can bet that all the rest will arrive on PS5 and Switch (those that are possible).

[fr0sty]

They opened by saying "only 4 games", then spent the rest of the podcast justifying why bringing more games to other platforms is a good thing... which, as I called out 2 days ago, the 4 games is just them desensitizing their player base to the idea of them going full on multiplatform, and as more games get announced, they are going to start releasing them on other consoles as well. It'll probably start with a "first on Xbox", but before long they'll want to keep chasing that extra money from the better selling consoles, and they'll start releasing them day and date across all platforms.

They also made no commitment that GamePass day 1 releases will remain that way...

And as I called out 2 days ago, their talk of next gen was vague at best, leaving them an off-ramp should they decide to not make a new system.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Looks like small games. Games over a year old, no Indy no Starfield.

[Lightning77]

He said 4 games are making it over. In fact LS games going forward will most likely be Multiplat. He never said all games are coming over. You missed the part where he said Hellblade, SF and Indy are staying. Games like those are staying.

Nice make believe but you are a fanboy so naturally you would spread misinformation and spread nonesense.

[Good-Smurf]

Sounds like he slow boiling the green frog but he's the one already on the verge of panicking instead.
Weird that it was clearly pre-recorded and treated as a video not a livestream podcast like they teased earlier.

[crazyCoconuts]

yup more double talk. not a strategy change, followed by a strategy change.
Guess we'll have to wait to see in practice what happens

[fr0sty]

He said 4 games are currently announced to be coming, and then spent the next half hour explaining to you why more announcements in the future is a good thing for the Xbox ecosystem... but you didn't want to hear that, so all you heard was "4 games". As mentioned above, this is slow boiling the frog so it doesn't jump ship. They want to keep the players they have on Xbox currently, while desensitizing you all to the idea of your exclusives no longer being exclusive. Before long more existing games will be announced just so you can dismiss them as "who cares, those are old games", and then when you see new games announced, you'll get a "first on Xbox"... and within a year or two, you'll be seeing all games announced to launch multiplatform day one.

They're breaking the truth to you slowly... and you not realizing that is just what they want, so you don't jump ship.

[TheTony316]

Phil said he doesn't rule out other games going to PS5/Nintendo in the future. You really think they'll stop at just 4 games? This is just the beginning.

[shinoff2183]

I don't think people realize how much physiology goes into marketing. Yes 4 games now then slowly but surely more and more then oops we accidently made this aaa game for ps5 we might as well release it right. It's mind games to ease into it.

[Kiryu1992]

Inagine if Phil said all games are coming to PS5. Internet would have a meltdown by announcing only 4 games they are easing the blowback. He said something along the lines of these games are more than a year old so their avenues for generating more revenue have slowed while other platforms allow them to sell them as full price and make a lot of revenue

We all should read between the lines. Phil himself said moving forward there will be less and less exclusives on any platform

The cost of Spider-Man 2 was “300 million” and GTA reportedly will cost over a billion so as the cost of making games go up these corporations aren’t charity they want to make as much money as possible

[Extermin8or3_]

in his interview he literally says if these sell well they will be coming accross

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Yeah all small games. Congratulations you played yourself!

[StormSnooper]

I wonder if he will remain lord and savior Spencer to Xbox fanbase after this.

[Christopher]

It feels like they're doing similar to PlayStation, just more than PC. We'll get a trickle of new games each year, not the whole portfolio.

[VenomUK]

That podcast didn’t do Xbox any favours,

[VenomUK]

Sarah Bond: “There’s some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we’re going to share this holiday. We’re also invested in the next-generation roadmap.”

‘Share’ doesn’t mean release, it means reveal. The XSX Pro will be revealed and released Christmas 2025.
The ‘we’re also invested’ refers to something different which is next-gen Xbox.

I don’t think Microsoft should release an Xbox Pro, it did it with the Xbox One X and it boasted that it had the most powerful hardware but then the gap between its launch and the XSX release was too small and I believe hurt the console’s sales. This is what happened with Sega’s 32x which hurt the Sega Saturn.

[Christopher]

***I don’t think Microsoft should release an Xbox Pro***

I don't think midgen updates are useful at all anymore and only make more issues than they solve.

[badz149]

@Christopher

Not useful at all? The introduction of performance modes for the XboneX and PS4Pro was a huge revelation for console gaming in general and it carries over to this gen which has been awesome.

[Christopher]

***Not useful at all? The introduction of performance modes for the XboneX and PS4Pro was a huge revelation for console gaming***

Literally weren't huge revelations. Quickly went out with next generation and this generation can't even maximize on their capabilities, let alone release games that don't need plentiful number of patches to fix their issues. We're in an age of more and more game crashing in AAA games, not less. And the advancement of technology is a fraction of the past generation and the next generation will be similar. We're really only chasing framerates at 4k here now. Technology isn't evolving enough and publishers don't want their developers pushing too hard because it's just not worth the extra work.

[MontyeKristo]

@Christopher - I believe midgen updates are just a cashgrab and to allow new owners to jump in for cheaper.

Current owners sell their basic system for cheaper to newcomers and then put that money towards the 'pro.' Getting more players in and selling more consoles.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Christopher,
They've already fragmented their installation base with the Series S and Series X, let's not make it worse with a Series Pro or something, the Series S was such a bad idea.

[Notellin]

@badz149 Yes the mid generation upgrades were completely useless and never used optimally.

[RaidenBlack]

Also,
Sarah Bond teases the next generation Xbox will be the “largest technical leap ever”
Mentions new hardware options in the Series X|S line coming out this fall, potentially a handheld console.

“There’s some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we’re going to share this holiday. We’re also invested in the next-generation roadmap. What we’re really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation.”

[GamingSinceForever]

And so will PC and PlayStation. 🤷🏾‍♂️

[Scissorman]

The box is open now. This is just the beginning. I'm going to treat every Xbox Games Showcase as a third-party showcase for PlayStation and Switch going forward. =P

[Hofstaderman]

That new series hardware is likely adorably digital.

[Lightning77]

But N4G told me that aren't making another console. Even though I been saying they are for like the 1000th time. Just another day where half the ppl are always wrong here. Especially when you know they wrong you just let them hope and believe.

[fr0sty]

This isn't a commitment to make a new console, it's a commitment to a road map... key words. They left an off-ramp there, just as I predicted 2 days ago.

[Christopher]

***But N4G told me that aren't making another console.***

You're fighting windmills here.

[Lightning77]

@Frosty right I guess that means it's not happening right?

Again you're always wrong about every single thing anyway we know how this goes. See you in 2026 or 2027 with new Xbox lol.

[Profchaos]

Isn't it always about delivering the largest technical leap?
They thought the same with the Xbox one.

It's not like they are going to announce oh yeah it's a bit better which will likely be the reality as huge generational jumps like SNES to n64 or PS2 to 360 are long gone we will get incremental hardware boosts and new rendering techniques supported from here on out

[dumahim]

"The most/biggest/largest thing ever!" Xbox has been using that trope for over a decade.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Profchaos,
I have to question, has APU technology progressed enough to deliver a worthwhile leap? Anyway, throwing more hardware at people doesn't solve Microsoft's issues.

[Profchaos]

Part of me was hoping for sunset overdrive as PlayStation own insomniac who own the IP yet Microsoft own the publishing rights to the 1st game.

So the only way it will ever happen is via a collaboration like that.

I know sunset didn't sell great but it was probably my fave exclusive Xbox one game. Also the game was kind of a victim of wrong place wrong time it came to Xbox while they were still the shooty bang bang platform and wasn't marketed very good at all no one knew what it even was then it dropped on games with gold early in its lifecycle basically ending any chance of sales

[MontyeKristo]

Sunset was fantastic and a helluva fun game to play.

[MrSec84]

https://www.theverge.com/20...

Phil stated it outright, they want Xbox games everywhere, so as and when porting resources allow they will put every game on other devices, which means PlayStation, Nintendo, Apple and Android, if those platforms have hardware that can handle versions of their games.

They'll start with Grounded, Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, then we'll see the next phase coming, the next lot is anyone's guess.
I suspect at some point they'll want a version of Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive and potentially Ryse Son of Rome, in order to make it feasible to get sequels of those titles.

More platforms, means more potential for return and that could make new games for older franchises a viable option.

Phil's definitely not just talking about other games only coming back to Xbox and PC, that makes no sense @MrBaskerVille, they're opening up completely, the context of this link and the internal memo from Phil says it all.

[FPSRUSSIA]

well we know the two of the games Hi fi rush and sea of thieves are wonder what the other two are?

[darthv72]

im good with them branching out on some of their older titles they feel could benefit from expanded player base. It's like Phil said initially... case by case basis.

Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, Sea of Thieves, and Pentiment seem like a good first batch.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

“I do have a fundamental belief that over the next five or ten years exclusive games, games that are exclusive to one piece of hardware, are going to be a smaller and smaller part of the game industry,”

[fr0sty]

Sony agrees that PC is a good platform to target more aggressively, but Xbox doesn't sell enough to bother losing exclusives to... unlike Microsoft, who admittedly has to go multiplatform just to be able to keep funding new games, because Xbox's install base is too small to sell to exclusively, Sony is not in that position, they actually do have an advantage to gain by keeping their games console exclusive.

[fr0sty]

Case by case, but they spent 30 minutes making the case for bringing as many games as they can to other platforms.

[darthv72]

in a perfect world... everything is available to everyone... All it takes is someone to extend the first olive branch. Is Sony going to allow MS to be the second coming or were they trying to head off this news yesterday with their own admission that maybe going to the center (or more center) is the best path forward.

MS has always been open to the idea of branching out. They are a software company first and foremost. They always saw the hardware division as a tertiary investment. I really dont care what games they offer up because they have been doing it with several IP already. Viva pinata, Ori, Minecraft and now even more that they got through other acquitions. If they decide to keep certain ones closer to their chest... fine with me as I still buy their hardware just as i buy the others.

People need to stop being so loyal to a box/company and be loyal to their own wants and desires. If that means buying a platform they wouldnt normally buy because they want to play a certain game... so be it. At least be honest with yourself that you have an interest in the games, not so much the platform or company behind it.

Some are so blinded by loyalty that they deny themselves the opportunity to enjoy this hobby.

[Lightning77]

Where did they say everything is coming over? Show the link where he said that?

I want proof. I dont want excuses I want links. So Save the gibberish.

[The3faces]

I guess you weren't paying attention during the FTC ABK trial when Jim Ryan said PlayStation gamers don't buy enough first party games to sustain Sony, which is why he didn't want MS buying COD

[RaidenBlack]

Was expecting Ryse, Quantum Break, Dead Rising 3 & Sunset Overdrive to come to PS
:P

[darthv72]

All of those would have to be up to their respective developers to port. MS only did the publishing. SSOD seems like a no brainer though given the situation. Im all for it if it leads to finally getting the sequel they pitched long ago.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I was hoping for Halo 5 personally, or Gears, Halo 5 is the only Halo game locked to Xbox at the present time.

[RaidenBlack]

@FinalFantasyFanatic
well Halo 5 needs to come to PC first ...

[Hofstaderman]

Four games but will not name them? We believe you Phil.... Two seconds later states that exclusives are a dying thing. Read between the lines...everything is going multiplatform from them going forward. Play on every and any screen.

[aconnellan]

Phil: not everything is going multiplat

Hofstaderman: read between the lines, means everything is going multiplat

[dumahim]

That's how you spend 20+ minutes talking and actually say almost nothing.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

But Indy and Starfield aren't coming to PS5 like you said.

[-Foxtrot]

A few games to start then it’ll be more and more and more

It’s like a domino effect

Indiana Jones and Starfield will come eventually, then Elder Scrolla VI. It’s just he doesn’t want to say because too much at once will send people into a meltdown.

[fr0sty]

Exactly, these 4 are just to get people used to the idea of Xbox no longer having exclusives, they wouldn't have spent the next 30 minutes saying "we want our games on as many screens as possible" if that wasn't the case.

[darthv72]

I never understood why so many put so much weight on the exclusives aspect. Ive been in this hobby since 77... I have played countless games across the widest range of hardware. I always play the third party titles most and will play them on whichever platform plays them the best. sometimes it was Genesis, others it was SNES just like some games played better on Saturn vs PS1 or Xbox vs Gamecube vs PS2.

I have no loyalties to anyone but myself. i play all the systems, but i dont hold exclusives in some high regard like others do... that just seems unhealthy.

[Obscure_Observer]

You´ll never gonna get it!!!

Give it up!

[Redgrave]

I'll hold you to this statement. If you are wrong and Starfield comes to PS5 at some future point, even if it's a few years off; I trust you'll be ready to make amends for your vigilance.

[-Foxtrot]

LMAO

You said people wouldn’t get this so…

[Hofstaderman]

You exactly where you were since last week. Nothing of note came out of this other than a confirmation that games are coming out for Playstation. And a very heavy hint that future games may not be exclusive.
At least Diablo is coming to Gamepass, yay.

[Flawlessmic]

Yea cause it makes total sense for the plan to release just 4 games on playstation and then never look at it again lol

Whether people like to admit it or not the gates have been opened now, Ms by choice are choosing to release some of there 1st party games on ps.

It would be utter foolishness to think this is where it starts and ends but hey whatever makes u feel better.

[1Victor]

@obscured: “ You´ll never gonna get it!!!

Give it up!”
🤣
🤣That’s what sega fanboy said to the Nintendo fanboys in the school backyard and look what happens.
Fail to learn from history and it’ll repeat itself, in your case you’re suffering from dejavú so badly that you’re walking backwards to move forward 🤣
So it’s confirmed that halo the master chief collection is coming to PlayStation along with the Gears of War collection as they both meet the criteria of older than a year and low engagement 🤨

[notachance]

Yeah just like what you said a few days ago which was no xbox games would come to playstation..

[StormSnooper]

We don’t even want Xbox trash, but Xbox wants us to have them. lol

[RedDevils]

Are you screaming under your parents basement? LMFAO

[anast]

I'll be thinking about you Observer when all those games get released on the PS5.

[Lightning77]

Oh my lord the mental gymnastics with you ppl. Those games aren't coming to PS5. They've committed to those types of games to be only for Xbox gamers. Clearly since the next Xbox is in the works and they need those titles to sell consoles.

At best he basically said never say never as things and the market continues to shift and if they don't make growth in the next decade or so. Hell that translates to a Sony and Nintendo also, who's knows what will happen.

In the meantime those types of games aren't coming over. No offense but it sounds you all just coping at the moment. Just hoping and wishing right now.

@grave Phil said himself SF a isn't going to PS5... I swear it's like I'm talking to kids or something.

Y'all need to listen.

[Flawlessmic]

I'll repeat my statement.

Yea cause it makes total sense for the plan to be release just 4 games on playstation and then never look at it again ever lol

Whether people like to admit it or not the gates have been opened now, Ms by choice are choosing to release some of there 1st party games on ps.

It would be utter foolishness to think this is where it starts and ends but hey whatever makes u feel better.

Expect more titles to come, people might have wait a few yrs for the games as it will never be day and date but expect more to come.

How u walked out of that thinking it stops at those 4 games is beyond me.

Door is open now.

[YourMommySpoils]

Boy are you wrong kid

[-Foxtrot]

@ScotlandYard

Ah don't worry about it, it's what he does when he's mad and p***** off

Goes straight for the insults and gives you a condescending attitude.

I mean he says I'm trying to cope yet made a p***** sounding reply which is literally him coping...so

[Obscure_Observer]

@Flawlessmic

"I'll repeat my statement."

Your "statement" means sh!t!

You´re free to live in lala land for the eternity like all delusional bozos that were expecting Xbox to leave the console market to become a third party publisher for Playstation.

Sarah just confirmed that a new and *POWERFUL* next gen Xbox console is in development so to release big flagship games on competition´s consoles to damage and devalue the Xbox brand and its console itself, only makes sense in the mind of people such as you.

Like I say before, Phil might throw you a bone every now and then with some smaller or GaaS games and that´s all that you´ll get!

Enjoy!

[Einhander1972]

One step closer to playing Blade on my PS5 Pro.

[StormSnooper]

Nobody asked for MS to bring their games, MS is asking that they release their games on PlayStation. Partly because MS desperate to generate interest in their games. Let’s face it, Xbox is not in a good position.

[Lightning77]

@Flaw I already said in another post it won't just be those games. Going forward LS and AA will make there way over to PS and Nintendo officially. While the "system sellers" will stay on Xbox and PC.

Phil said he doesn't know how these games will do on other platforms. It's more of an experiment to see how it'll do. If it does well he'll indeed more games will move over. Again I have to re-iterate, he still believes in AAA games as only on Xbox and PC unless something changes in the future of the buissness. But LS and AA will make their way over probably even day and date eventually.

[Flawlessmic]

For reference I don't think xbox should be giving Sony shit all, and I'm glad they are staying in the console because Sony alone in the console market is bad for all of us.

But yea signs and symptoms guys, the tea leaves of where this is heading is pretty clear. They heard the rumblings and all they had to say was none of our big AAA releases will never come to playstation to clear that specific very large issue up and they didn't.

They stuck to very very present.

Either way, xsx is the last xbox I'll own pc,ps5 and nintendo is the way to go if you want to play everything. Might eventually be just pc and nintendo tbh.

Signs and symptoms guys

[Lightning77]

Scot really? It's called common sense think for a sec. Why would he release those AAA on series X or X2. He needs to sell systems for the X2 and try and make the Series X somewhat relevant this gen right? Why would he jeopardize that putting this games on PS?

For 100th time in the past hour he said nothing's off the table for those types of games. But.... Listen ok... But in the mean time those games will remain on Xbox and PC. That's literally what this whole thing is.

Maybe down the line SF could hit PS, if our buissness calls for it, nothing's off the table, that's it. That's what they're saying in short.

It's called bad faith takes and terrible comprehension. Or purposefully looking at this wrong for something that's obvious. You just gotta use a little bit of brain power. Plus ppl all over twitter are echoing what everyone is saying here. The funny thing is there all the fanboy nature yeah surprise, surprise fanboys spinning and making there own news.

[dumahim]

"Why would he release those AAA on series X or X2. He needs to sell systems for the X2 and try and make the Series X somewhat relevant this gen right? Why would he jeopardize that putting this games on PS?"

Because he talked about what makes sense for the business. Business sense says release some older stuff on the other consoles and get more sales. It's the same thing Sony is doing by releasing older stuff on PC. The priority for Sony is PlayStation, but once they've gotten most of the buyers they're going to get, put it out on PC and take in more. Since Xbox games are already on PC, the only room for the to expand to is PS and Switch. I'm not going to proclaim Starfield and Indy will ever wind up on PS, but this will just be the start to them bringing more stuff to other consoles.

[Lightning77]

Is that so Fox? Coping? Tell me how I'm coping and how I'm wrong then? Be my guest. Since you think you're so brilliant. You're absolutely right you have to be condescending on n4g. Or else ppl will walk all over you. Condescending while being right is a deadly combo as you've notice.

Go ahead and tell me how I'm wrong. Or remain quiet a because you can't tell me me how I'm wrong. This is a discussion right?

[Vengeance1138]

Holy hell the mass marketing SPIN coming out of these snake oil salesman's mouths. 20min of saying absolutely nothing but spin spin spin.

[Hofstaderman]

So dizzy. Did he really say "growing the industry"? Lol. He has to grow XBOX first. Phil would do well as a politician.

[Plague-Doctor27]

They literally bought half the industry then laid it off

[GamingSinceForever]

Ok so granted these first 4 games do extremely well you can rest assure that Starfield and everything else may soon follow. It may not be day and day, but you can expect releases to other platforms after 12 months.

[Nacho_Z]

If it's the rumoured 4 games I think sales will be very modest, personally I'm not interested and they all seem too niche to do a lot. Might be a good idea for one of the initial batch to be an older big hitter. Unless the whole point is to ease Xbox fans into the idea in which case low key is probably best.

Either way now the door's open everything else is only a matter of time. I didn't see this coming at the start of the gen with all the strutting about MS and their fans were doing. Poorly managed division.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

This website was full of rumors and speculation….

The podcast was a big nothing burger.

[Obscure_Observer]

Like WE predicted!

[fr0sty]

It was speculated that Xbox was releasing their games on other consoles. - PROVEN
It was speculated Xbox had a handful of games going multiplat that they'd announce on this podcast. - PROVEN
It was speculated that GamePass wouldn't remain day 1 for all games anymore... They failed to address it, leaving the door wide open for that.
It was suggested that they have yet to commit to making a new console, they only confirm they have a roadmap, but not concrete plans to release a new generation of consoles.

The main thing they spent the most time discussing in this podcast was that they want to bring more games to other consoles. They didn't just say it once and move on, they kept repeating it over, and over, and over, and over, and over... "This is what we need to grow the industry". "we have designed a system that lets you carry your saves across multiple platforms", "we needed to do this in order to be able to keep funding the development of new games in these franchises", etc...

[helicoptergirl]

-- Spencer confirms that Starfield and Indiana Jones are not part of the first four games, but he doesn’t rule out the possibility for these titles to arrive on PS5 in the future. “I don’t think we should as an industry ever rule out a game going to any other platform,” says Spencer in an interview with The Verge. --

I think you're just falling for more Microsoft PR and drinking their cool-aid they so desperately wanted you to drink with their carefully prepared and rehearsed "podcast". They said enough just to not hang themselves in the eyes of the Xbox diehards. Indiana Jones, Blade, Hellblade 2 and mor will come to other consoles I believe in the future.

[crazyCoconuts]

4 games coming over to PS
All future games they will be looking to see if it makes sense to make available on all platforms / all screens
That's a nothing burger?

[Plague-Doctor27]

This is Microsoft PR at work. They let the fervor around the rumors die down enough and then once people go through the stages of grief and get to acceptance, Microsoft comes out and confirms the multiplat rumors. It's still the biggest shift in the industry in over 20 years, but its old news now so not a big deal.

[Silly Mammo]

The cracks are appearing and the sooner or later that dam will burst. But we're the idiots who were wrong because Phil didn't outright say all Xbox games are going multi-platform at this podcast. The Xbox fans here are desperate to spin this as a positive. But you don't see PS or Nintendo releasing any of their exclusives on other consoles.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

@plague-doctor but Ori came to Nintendo and Cuphead went to PS4 and Nintendo. So we've already seen their strategy. Nothing is new here.

[aconnellan]

Yeah, people were adamant there was going to be an announcement of no more hardware, Gamepass on PlayStation, MS becoming a publisher, etc.

And I feel every second day there was an article like “Gears coming to PlayStation?” or “Starfield coming to PlayStation?”

I don’t think MS helped, this podcast probably could have been a press release sent out a week ago

[crazyCoconuts]

Yeah granted ALL the rumors weren't true.
I thought maybe Indy would be announced multi. I still think it'll come over eventually.

[Silly Mammo]

Why would they announce Indy this far out when MS is still trying to sell as many consoles as they can.

[PhillyDonJawn]

Exactly we tried to tell em they were trippin with these wild rumors

[__y2jb]

Well that was a whole lot of nothing, brought to you by three overly corporate, untrustworthy liars.

[Hereandthere]

i as a PlayStation gamer am happy for xbox owners. I might just upgrade my 11 year old xbox one to a series s.

[ChasterMies]

As a PS5 owner, I am also happy for Xbox owners. I look forward to playing their exclusive games on my PS5 later this year.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Lol. And then, the rest of their exclusive games.

[PhillyDonJawn]

Exactly regardless of the platform you should be happy for each gamer. I'm looking forward to PS5 games on PC we all win

[343_Guilty_Spark]

We are sure you will love Sea of Thieves, Grounded, and Hi-Fi Rush.

[StormSnooper]

This whole thing is also designed to generate hype about Xbox games on PlayStation. Then they get to do exactly what they did with Elder Scrowl, first make people think it’s coming to other platforms, then keep it on Xbox to get people to bite the bullet and buy a Xbox. Desperate measures, but when they are this irrelevant, they don’t have much to lose.

[Obscure_Observer]

I´d warned y´all.

I told you were setting yourselves up to *major* disappointment.

You though that Xbox were done.

ITS NOT!

No Starfield!
No Indiana Jones!
No Hellblade II
No Avowed

Nothing but two GaaS Games and two Smaller Games!!!

That´s all you gonna get on both Playstation and Nintendo!

XBOX WILL LIVE ON!!!

Happy Gaming!

[mudakoshaka]

Give it 2 years. They are just softening the blow for you.

[Hofstaderman]

Basically, we cant outright admit it because we have consoles on shelves and God knows we have to sell them somehow. They didn't even sell at 350 Dollars.

[crazyCoconuts]

I give it 1

[purple101]

3 years I thought (2027)
Then they gone.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Phil Spencer on if Starfield and Indiana Jones will ever come to PS5:

"I don’t think we should as an industry ever rule out a game going to any other platform. We’re focused on these four games and learning from the experience.

But I don’t want to create a false expectation on those other platforms that this is somehow the first four to get over the dam and then the dam’s going to open and that everything else is coming, that’s not the plan today. I also don’t want to mislead customers on those other platforms. We’re launching these four games, and we’re excited about it. We’re excited about the announce and everything else, but we’ll see what happens for our business."

[StormSnooper]

Now take every word and flip it on its head to learn the truth.

[fr0sty]

Nothing but 4 games they wouldn't name...

Then they spent the next half hour making the case to release more... so much for "That's all you gonna get on both PlayStation and Nintendo!" lolololol

Funny how they only glossed over gamepass for a minute or two, same with any plans on releasing a new console, but they spent almost the entire podcast talking about how releasing games on multiple consoles is a good thing and necessary to keep Xbox alive, and all you could take from it is "These 4 games is all you'll get!" lol

[ApocalypseShadow]

I'm laughing as well.

Willingly releasing games on other platforms is called multiplatform. That's exactly what we were telling them. Now they spin the truth to things like player numbers will go up or more people get to play. LMAO! They are going multiplatform. And it's going to grow over the coming years as they want to have their games on as many devices. Because Xbox itself isn't enough to sustain buying all those developers, publishers and franchises to stay afloat by putting those games on a cheap subscription.

Those fans that sold their Xbox consoles don't have to worry. They'll be playing those games on other platforms soon enough. Lol. There's literally no point in buying an Xbox.

[outsider1624]

You know what's funny? These 4 games to be released on ps will entirely depend on us ps gamers. If they sell well....other games will definitely fall suit.

[helicoptergirl]

-- Spencer confirms that Starfield and Indiana Jones are not part of the first four games, but he doesn’t rule out the possibility for these titles to arrive on PS5 in the future. “I don’t think we should as an industry ever rule out a game going to any other platform,” says Spencer in an interview with The Verge.--

Read between the lines. The future will see more games. Indiana Jones. Blade and more will come to Nintendo and Playstation in the future. I beleive that wholeheartedly after that PR podcast. Just wait

[Traecy]

Slowly but surely MS/XB will be releasing their timed exclusives on other consoles. No matter if it's 6 months to 2 years.

[PhillyDonJawn]

They want Xbox to fail so bad. They say every console they come out with is their last. 2027 talk seem to be over after a new console was seni confirmed. Then it was going 3rd party. Now that's dead. What's next

[Einhander1972]

"XBOX WILL LIVE ON!!!"

You had to say it... You must have been pretty nervous to need to put that in all caps.

[StormSnooper]

Pretty much done. Regardless of how much Spencer spins.

[Stuart5756]

@Obscure_Observer

Your comment made me smile so much, thanks.

'You though that Xbox were done. ITS NOT!'

Pmsl

Just so you know, the gamers always win. Not the fanboys.

[Jingsing]

Xbox officially announce nothing, or that all their under-performing bangers like Redfall will come to PlayStation. No you can keep it.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

I hope I see as many videos about “Starfield and Halo coming to PS5 Xbox is doomed” saying they were wrong as I saw saying it’s over for Xbox but I doubt it. Either way I still couldn’t careless but when you’re wrong just admit you’re wrong don’t try to justify your comments with more bs theories…

[purple101]

laughable, - they are now sitting ducks.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Has anyone checked in on Obscure Observer? Just wanna make sure he's ok.

[northpaws]

@KwietStorm_BLM

He seems ok, his mind created another alternative world for him to stay inside. The new narrative is the 4 games are just GaaS games and small games so it is ok.

[Tacoboto]

So basically, nothing is changing then.

Xbox hardware is continuing, including consoles, and something new this holiday.
Xbox branding is not going anywhere.
Starfield and Indiana Jones are not going to PlayStation.

This is why you don't approve random posts from Twitter and make them Front Page material, unless you desperately need that ad revenue by fanning the console war.

[helicoptergirl]

Read The Verge interview. Phil speaks more on there.

-- Spencer confirms that Starfield and Indiana Jones are not part of the first four games, but he doesn’t rule out the possibility for these titles to arrive on PS5 in the future. “I don’t think we should as an industry ever rule out a game going to any other platform,” says Spencer in an interview with The Verge.--

[Tacoboto]

So in the yes-or-no, it's still a No.

It was a No yesterday. It is a No today. It will be a No tomorrow and as far into the future as Xbox is willing to commit.

[StormSnooper]

Personally don’t care about any of their games anyway. Clearly MS are desperate. But, I think they damaging their image even more by trying to generate attention in this manner, but desperate times, call for desperate measures.

[ocelot07]

I'll happily buy Grounded and SOT on playstation.

I believe it when he says not all games are going to playstation. You can keep Redfall where is it Phill lol.

[darthv72]

out of curiosity, what was stopping you from playing them on XB/PC? Why only now would you play them if on PS?

[ocelot07]

I rented it on gamepass at first. I then bought it on disc on series x. But sold my series X a few weeks ago.

I could go and buy it on Steam right now yes. But something like sea of thieves I rather sit back and play it on my playstation.

[P_Bomb]

Why not name the four games? Get it over with, instead of dragging out a few more months of rumours.

[Father__Merrin]

I want gears of War on PlayStation would be cool if they had an xbox section on ps5. I also want forza horizon on PlayStation

[darthv72]

Why? What's wrong with playing them now as they are?

[ApocalypseShadow]

He would have to buy an Xbox for that. But there's no need if Microsoft is going multiplatform.

What's the point of buying an Xbox if you can play their games somewhere else. Lol

[ChasterMies]

Fascinating way of breaking this to Xbox owners and Microsoft investors (“How will this affect the business?). Microsoft promises that Xbox exclusives won’t go 3rd party until a year after release but at the same time they point to Minecraft and other franchises that were already 3rd party. So CoD will stay cross platform at launch and PS5 players will have to wait until September to play Starfield.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Basically, games that were already or should have come to PlayStation or Nintendo, where they would have made money, but because they purchased multiple developers, are now coming to those platforms. How ridiculous is that?

They know that all that money they spent, was not going to benefit or help their platform without going multiplatform. If they were going to spend millions, billions having these developers produce and create games, but release on a platform where the gamers expect those titles on a cheap subscription service, was not going to work.

They'll spin all day. But the reality is that they lost and are now going for the money. If other platforms denied their releases, Xbox would be dead within years.

As many of us said, they are going multiplatform. But they are softening the blow to their core Xbox fans.

[Profchaos]

I don't think this answers everything and the answers given feel guarded and forced.

My main concern is the all digital future as was stated while wants to push buying a game once and having multiple entitlement to that game on all platforms yet that vision is incompatible with physical media.

They didn't touch on that at all

[execution17]

Nothing but PR speak 🤔 but it does sound like they're going to eventually release their games on other platforms since the lack of gamepass growth

[purple101]

Can’t believe they’re even being allowed by Sony to do this

I wonder how much percentage Sony get from selling m$ games, or, how much Microsoft is paying for this to happen!!!

[Christopher]

It'll be standard 30% I assume. And why wouldn't Sony allow players to buy Microsoft games on their platform (like Minecraft)? The issue is a subscription service that bypasses a lot of games on their storefront from third-parties. Sony doesn't have an issue with subscription models for a publisher's own games, just when it includes third-party games.

[ChasterMies]

Sony gets 30% of PSN sales and something like $5-$10 of boxed game sales. Microsoft already sells games on PlayStation and has games on PS+.

[Einhander1972]

Sony and Nintendo should say no.

Why help Microsoft fund a system they are using to steal your profits. Microsoft is costing Sony and Nintendo more through competition than the "30%" they are making selling the games. Microsoft games are basically games that would have been on PlayStation and Nintendo if Microsoft hadn't bought the publishers.

Only Microsoft truly gains by having these games on PlayStation and Nintendo.

And I wouldn't put it past Microsoft to try to lower industry rates like Epic tried to do to Steam to even further shift things in their favor.

[Profchaos]

Why would Sony say no back on PS2 they allowed both Sega and 3d0 games aswell as Atari

[purple101]

@einhander

Because see of thieves is live service and you would be helping another company grow that game plus all the micro transactions to come with it

[PrinterMan]

Now all they need to do is make a good game. Personally, other than Senua there's not much there to choose from. I really like Ninja Theory games. Perhaps it will happen and then they can have a bit of my money. Until then though I already have too many games to play. PC and PS5.

[VincentVanBro]

For me, this means I could play Rare games on Nintendo again. That's exciting. Maybe a new Banjo-Kazooie could hit Nintendo consoles after all.

[MrPerfect813]

If Starfield comes to PS5 in 2025, then so what ? Will anyone really care that much. This whose exclusive thing became a moot point to me when Microsoft bought Activision and kept Call of Duty Multi-platform... at that point, are already publishing on Playstation, along with Minecraft, what is a few more double aa titles going to do. They werent day 1 titles. I feel like Microsoft will keep a core set of AAA games, and share a bunch... i mean they went out and bought enough studios to be able to do both,

[Destiny1080]

he said all the games are a year are older, two are live games, he expects over the next 5 to 10 years exclusive games to one particular piece of hardware, will be a smaller and smaller part of the game industry

to me it sounds like these four games are just the start

[DiRtY]

I know N4G is probably the most messed up place to talk about this with some kind of logic, but here we go:

Sony just said in their Q&A that they will bring their 1st party games to PC as well. It is only a matter of time before they invest in cloud as much as Microsoft did. It makes sense that MS is at the forefront here, because they basically own 25% of the global cloud market. Sony will push PSNow harder in the years to come.

Microsoft is already bringing every game to the PC (GamePasss) and Steam. Starfield made 230,000,000 USD on Steam, despite being day one on GamePass for PC and Xbox.
https://vginsights.com/asse...

Horizon Zero Dawn sold 3.3 million on Steam, God of War did 2.5 million. Forza Horizon 5 did 1 million in its first month on Steam. You must be nuts to think Sony would stop doing that when Starfield, H:ZD, GoW and Forza post these numbers.

Sea of Thieves is in its 10th season I think and made LOTS of money already. Grounded posted that they reached 15 million players on PC and Xbox 2 months ago, HiFi Rush did well as well, but I don't know about Pentiment.

Like they said, the day of the console wars are coming to an end. We are in a weird situation where you kind of need exclusives to sell your console, but you just can't limit your game to that console, especially if you have service based games like CoD, Minecraft, Fortnite, Palworld, Roblox etc. And if you like it or not, these are the most successful games of the past decade.

I don't know how I feel about it to be honest. I see that this makes sense for Sony and Microsoft.
Nintendo is the only one left who only supports their platform, but even they released some of their franchises on mobile devices - and Pokémon Go made almost 600 million USD for them. So maybe they will start to expand their business as well, who knows...

So: BACK TO TROLLING!

[PhillyDonJawn]

Well said

[anast]

MS doesn't bring games to PC, they are the PC market.

Those sales numbers are low for Starfield.

Too many words to state the obvious: "Gaming makes a lot of money with the live service model"

HiFi Rush didn't do well. You should know you are using Steam numbers.

They got defeated. They are surrendering.

Sony still supports their Platform.

There is too much wrong with this post and too many words to be wrong.

[DiRtY]

„ MS doesn't bring games to PC, they are the PC market.“

So Sony brings their games to Microsoft, because they released and will release their games on PC. Never thought about it like this, thanks.

„Those sales numbers are low for Starfield.“

It is the 3rd bestselling game on Steam, despite being on GamePass. Don’t fool yourself.

The rest of your post isn’t worth quoting.

[anast]

MS windows has the gaming market locked up. They also own Xbox.

Starfield isn't in the current top 100 or the 50 of all time best selling games. Skyrim is around 26th with 8 million sales all time. One would expect a new Bethesda open world title to at least make the top 100.

The rest is worth quoting, bc you can't come up with a good argument.

[DivineHand125]

It seems the scare was a big nothing burger. 4 games, 2 of which are live services are coming to other platforms.

I know many fanboys were hoping Xbox would drop out of the console market by going 100% 3rd party like Sega but it doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

We need competition in this market and if Xbox gets better at this, the services PlayStation provides will also improve for us the customer.

[anast]

They are going all in the service model and mobile devices. Their next step will be a streaming box, then when that fails they will be out of the market. It's coming because MS doesn't have a gaming culture, they killed that right after the 360.

[shinoff2183]

Grounded was pretty cool when I played it for a few hours. If I could own it physically I'd buybit for ps5. Same as hifi, not to interested in the other two games. If they sell well you better believe more are coming. They gotta ease into it. Watch

[RhinoGamer88]

I trust Sarah, not Phil and his cronies. Bring the Bethesda games to PS5 but reserve exclusive content for the Xbox platform.

[BanginTunes]

You can claim the 4 games are special cases but you are opening the doors and devaluing your console. If a new Banjo comes out then yeah it's going to be on Nintendo - isn't that a special case? You could claim any Bethesda or Activision game in a series previously on Playstation is a special case too.

If Xbox doesn't turn it around then I assume they would go multiplatform and they'd try a Steam machine thing where an "Xbox" is just a PC with a Windows OS tailored to games. Doesn't even have to be manufacturer by Microsoft. Still niche but less of an investment than the full on console business

[YourMommySpoils]

Put it this way, eventually all games heading out of xbox.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

For now every game "exclusive" is essentially a third party platform, this PR speak is wild.

[Ninver]

As many predicted. Xbox games will start appearing on other platforms gradually. Then once they see the money pouring in, well then it's game over for the xbox console itself.

[rlow1]

Not the big demise a lot of people were predicting. Now all I see is people trying to put their own spin on it… hilarious. Go watch it for yourselves

[keegamer80]

Xbox, Nintendo, and Playstation all want our money. We'll see more Xbox games on Playstation and Nintendo. Playstation Games on Xbox and Nintendo. One day Nintendo will do the same. Why didn't Nintendo and Sony work out? Money! Sony wasn't going to give Nintendo a dime. Nintendo canceled the deal. They should all work together on one console. It'll probably never happen. To many egos!

[DarXyde]

Two takeaways for consideration:

1. This is very much like Playstation and PC. This is exploratory. If they get good mileage, you'll see more.

2. In the spirit of being "exploratory", it's kind of a perfect cover to release more games on PlayStation. Microsoft doesn't talk about sales performance, so they could really weaponize that approach and justify releasing more games on PlayStation without really giving any significant information. Console architectures are very similar, so even if games tank on PlayStation, it's sounds like they can release the Xbox version first, sit on the PS code for a year, and release a PS version for full price later on.

[anast]

They will get milage. They need more sales and they will get more sales.

[PhillyDonJawn]

I TOLD YOU! Yall blew this way outta proportion. Yall really thought Xbox was going 3rd party 😂
If I had to guess it's SOT, Flightsim, and maybe something like high fiv/pentiment something AA like that. The 2 AA deserve to be on more platforms they were shadow hits with a niche audiences they deserve more success than they got.

Nice Gamepass adds. I'll be checking out D4 never played a diablo game but was interested in D4 but I wasn't gonna spend money on it

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Playstation fan Bingo:

Xbox is leaving console market (WRONG)

"Well maybe they'll leave in a few generations" - PROVED WRONG REPEATEDLY

Big exclusives are coming to PS5 because Xbox is dead - WRONG AGAIN

"Well maybe they'll come at some point" - NOPE

Moving the goal posts after every wrong prediction...like clockwork.

[Ristul]

Hush now child, it will be alright. There there...

[DarXyde]

You know what's funny about this?

The Xbox community has been saying "wait until E3" for literal Ages. Longer than my children have been alive... And E3 literally died before that prediction could ever be realized.

Microsoft had to buy major publishers so the Xbox community could have a "first party W". Congrats, you finally have a point.

Now that you've been shown grace regarding the time period of your predictions, perhaps you should do the same.

It isn't happening immediately, but you would be misguided if you don't see the reality.

And I despise Microsoft, for the record. It's not Xbox—it's Microsoft. I very much had a wait and see attitude about this nothing burger of an event, but I still maintain that Xbox has one more generation in them at most.

Yes, I still maintain they are going third party. Yes, I still say Blade and Hellblade II end up on PlayStation. Doubtful about Halo/Gears. Always have been.

You're writing in generalizations. I'm a PlayStation fan, and none of these predictions are accurate, really:

"Xbox is leaving console market (WRONG)"

For now...? How long do you think Xbox will be around? I'm curious.

"Well maybe they'll leave in a few generations" - PROVED WRONG REPEATEDLY

I think that talk started during Xbox One. How is this "proven wrong"? This is only one generation after those claims.

"Big exclusives are coming to PS5 because Xbox is dead - WRONG AGAIN"

Define "big exclusive". This is such a weaselly one.

"Well maybe they'll come at some point" - NOPE

When you're a victim of the Phil-nosis, you only hear what you want to hear. Objectively, I didn't hear him rule much out. Absence of confirmation is not really confirmation of absence.

You can hold me to my time-sensitive predictions. I don't really care. But this nebulous, ill-defined nonsense you've got here ain't it.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

I not reading that 🐂 💩… point is you’re getting small indie games.

Xbox didn’t die again.

[DarXyde]

I get it mate, words are difficult. Funny same games you spent so much time talking up are now just"small indie games".

Also, I'm quite principled in how I spend money. I've not given ABK a penny since 2005 because I don't support them. The last time I gave Microsoft a penny for anything was when I bought my last game for Xbox One. Don't use a window computer, don't use MS Teams, Word , Excel, etc. It's not hard for me to black out a company, even when it is convenient to use their products and services—I don't even use Amazon. This move does nothing for me but make for interesting discourse.

A word of advice young man:

Learn to listen critically. Much of what I heard from that scripted podcast was business talk aimed to coddle people like you.

If you do nothing else, give it a second watch. You might come away with a different understanding.

[Destiny1080]

the rumors where, xbox exclusive games are coming to playstation

i didn't believe it at first but with the xbox community losing there minds maybe there is some truth to it

it turns out 4 xbox exclusive games are going to be on playstation and phil hasn't ruled out starfield or Indiana jones

seeing that podcast its obvious more are on the way

they will explain to xbox gamers that its up to the developer what they want to port to playstation in a year or two, break it to the xbox community gently and over time, it will sink in eventually

[ironmonkey]

Lol so its much much worse, in MY mind when your games suck and don't sell well and are exclusives, begging to your competition to pwease take your games in. That's a lose in my books pal.

[DarXyde]

In that vein of thought, nearly all games are coming to other platforms then. It's a very fascinating situation Microsoft finds themselves in:

If games sell well on Xbox, then there's no reason to put them on other platforms, BUT that also ignores a big benefit of XGP... So I guess less people would use the service? Not really good for Microsoft because Game Pass subs is their big metric.

**On the other hand**, if things continue as they are, Game Pass removes any incentive to buy games and, due to poor sales, they end up on other platforms.

In a perfect world for Microsoft, people sub to Game Pass AND buy their games. Not really gonna happen.

I'd also like to mention...

They say that certain things are only on Xbox, but they've also said other platforms are "part of the Xbox family", so....?

[anast]

I've been saying it forever. They are going the service route. All the people that bought their consoles are paying for this.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

🤣🤣🤣

[Hedstrom]

To be honest. It would be fun if Playstation just denied them from publishing their games on Playstation 😄

[Einhander1972]

I'd like to see Sony and Nintendo tell Microsoft to shove off. Phil acting like they owe him something after he bought up a bunch of games that would have been multiplatform to begin with.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

He just wants to normalize the practice so that their is social pressure for Sony to do the same.

The only problem there is that I can think of 4 AAA ps5 games that are much more attractive for porting solely on their own than any 4 X/S AAA games combined.

It won’t be a fair trade for Sony. Just go back to making games M$, we’re all waiting for Halo to be great again.

[Trilithon]

who and this point is buying an xbox and why

[StormSnooper]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

[Retro1986]

Dont understand all the frustration and hate against Microsoft. I feel like they are taking gaming in a good direction and offer alot of great content on a good plattform. Each to its own, im gonna Keep on enjoying being a gamer these days, no point engaging in s….. rivalry stuff. Play on whatever makes you happy.

[Bathyj]

My god that was tedious.
Waffled on for 20 minutes and said nothing.

Say growing again

I hate how they talk about their strategy like it's the most forward, progressive, intelligent strategy that no other platform holder is smart enough to do, yet gamers have clearly signalled Xbox is the least desirable platform since 3DO and Jaguar.

[Tzuno]

only 4 games translates with what the guys say to women , just the tip honey, i promise... we all know how it goes :)

[quenomamen]

We all know it's 4 for now but 4 later and another 4 after that, etc.

[Jayszen]

So according to Phil, the 4 games being released on PS5 are to inform gamers about what Xbox can offer and be attracted to other Xbox games not available on Playstation by eventually buying the Xbox Console. Using Playstation's numbers to move own hardware in the future. Will it work? Only time will tell. Most gamers who desperately want particular Xbox games and who already own PS4 or PS5 will either play the Xbox games on PC or get an Xbox console as well and if this hasn't helped MS over the last two gens, the news is not going to change going forward.

Remember MS is only doing this as it has spent nearly $100 billion on new games studios over the last 2 years and investors are demanding returns to justify the expens

[ShwaaMan]

Phil is a likeable used car sales man. Maybe he means well maybe he doesn’t but if there is one thing over the past 3 years listening to him has taught me… don’t believe most of what he says. He flips on what he’s quoted as saying often, but because he words it in such a way it keeps him from getting the brunt of the backlash. He is good at PR. Way more than 4 Xbox exclusives are going multiplat, but he’s just choosing not to upset his fanbase too much. For now. And when that happens I’m sure he will have a clever spin on words to justify what he said before.
They’re trying to make themselves out to be the good guys just like in the FTC trial, “poor little old MS just wants everyone to have games, why won’t PlayStation do what we are doing?”
Microsoft is one of the largest company’s in the world, they got in trouble in the 90s for doing what they are doing now and had to be semi split up. They have always done this, and if given the chance they would buy up everyone else too. Don’t make me laugh.
Mark my words.

[MrSec84]

https://www.theverge.com/20...

This says it all.
Xbox will be everywhere, which means as porting resources allow, they will be putting every game they can port on everything, meaning PlayStation, Nintendo, Apple and Android.
Native releases, they want the money.

This is easy money, they only need to recode the games for PlayStation 5, since the hardware is pretty close to the same architecture as Xbox Series, but making an ARM design and rewriting engines to include Metal FX and general Smartphone/Device Architecture, like Premium Galaxy Devices, Iphone, etc is a no-brainer, if those devices can handle a version of those games.