VGChartz's Chinh Tran: "No other type of game can immerse you into a new world quite as effectively as a good RPG. 2024 gave gamers many options if they wanted to escape their real world life in favour of different lands. Whether you wanted to explore ancient China through a game inspired by Journey to the West, break free from the confines of Midgar, engross yourself in a fantasy medieval world, or revisit a paper Mushroom Kingdom, the shortlisted candidates for Best RPG of 2024 had you covered.
Game Science showed off the talent of Chinese developers through Black Myth: Wukong. Square Enix allowed gamers to once again rejoin Cloud and company as they continued their epic struggle against Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Atlus introduced gamers to a whole new fantasy world through Metaphor: ReFantazio. And Nintendo remade Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, allowing a whole new generation of gamers to enjoy the classic."
One of the biggest coincidences of all time happens as Black Myth is finally coming to Xbox on August 20, 2025.
Now my curiosity is ... can the final Witcher 4 build look better than Wukong, both running on a high end PC.
Obvious answer for now would be a solid 'yes' but by how much?
Wukong looks pretty jaw dropping on PC already but it too faced a slight visual downgrade compared to the initial reveal (remember the devs had to make a follow up video showing that its an actual early build of a game played real time and not a fake rendered gameplay video coz it looked that good).
If we're measuring up Witcher 4 to Wukong, that console release is going to look like garbage as far as lighting goes. It's literally night and day between PS5 and PC for me. And I game on a 3-year-old laptop with a RTX 3080.
Holy moly we are doing the same song and dance again!
Why are people confirming things without FACTS? Why?
Do people not know how logic works? Just because it released exactly 1 year later DOES NOT mean that a deal was in place.
You can make the argument that it is more than just a coincidence, but you can not come here and say "See! I was right! I wonder what all the fanboys are going to say now!"
A lot of people on here are once again setting themselves up to look silly later.
I'll reiterate this again take everything that has been said by Microsoft, Game Science Sony (or lack thereof rather), the release dates, the history of how timed deals are handled, any other relevant FACTUAL information, etc and come to the most sensible conclusion without your personal bias.
Sony has to pay for these timed exclusives this gen because they quite literally have nothing new from their stable of 1st party devs. Even a game like Astrobot was initially not meant to be the big hit, it became that way because the fans were hungry for anything new. It's also why MS games on PS5 are doing so well... hungry fans want anything that isn't a rehash of something from just one gen ago.
Sony has really sucked hard this gen. And I'm saying "Sony"... not PS5. They had to resort to their old scummy ways because their leadership has done even worse than the XB Matrick era.
The biggest problem in gaming is acting like Sony have commited some great evil by having some timed exclusives when all platforms have had them this gen. When the Warhammer remake was announced for Xbox I got crickets from you. If you don't have a problem with anyone else doing it, no one is going to take you serious if you get yourself worked up when Sony does it. You are being fake. You either don't like the practice or you don't care. If you only dislike it when Sony does it, you aren't being real.
If we are being general, damn straight i have an issue with timed exclusivity. if it isnt a 1st or 2nd party developer, there is absolutely no reason for a 3rd party game to be exclusive. Or better yet... be exclusive because the greedy platform holder wants it to be. i get that there can be 3rd party exclusives that the developer intentionally makes exclusive because they may not have the $$ for a full on wide distribution. That used to be the thing when platforms were so very different to program for. SNES, Genesis, PC Engine, Saturn PS1, PS2.... we are not in those old days anymore. The PC is the largest open platform and where 90%+/- of game development is made. It is at certain points in their cycle that they become tailored for the various platforms they will eventually wind up on, but dont think there is this huge difference between XB and PS and even Nintendo hardware because they all are using similar PC-esq parts now.
And to your point about warhammer... you got cricket from me because they game does not interest me. Why the hell would I comment on something I have no vested interest in? I get people do it to be argumentative... I AM genuine when you see me comment on something. Its because the topic interests me. I have a PS5 version of this game... I can still call out Sony for the bullshit practice, because they are still doing it.
Astro Bot became a big hit becasue it's a great game from a great developer, had nothing to do with anyone being hungry. MS games, or the games that would have been multi-plat anyway had they not been taken through acquisition? As for actual MS games coming to PS5 they are rehashed games, coming to a different console doesn't change the fact they're old games.
@E no it's only a great evil when a game is announced as multiplat then taken off due to a last minute deal. No one complained about those other timed deals because they were announced only on PS then other platforms later.
Don't be short sided.
Darth
Official Statements and Development Challenges
The developer, Game Science, has stated that the delay in releasing the Xbox version was due to optimization challenges, particularly with the Xbox Series S. They emphasized that the delay was not due to any exclusivity agreements
However, other industry insiders, such as Jeff Grubb, have stated that there was no exclusivity deal in place. Grubb mentioned that Sony did not have a marketing agreement for the game, which is typically indicative of exclusivity deals.
It's the same thing when BG3 came out and MS had to help just to make the game run on XSS. You have absolutely zero factual evidence that Sony paid for exclusivity. How about we look at the fact parity clause is the reason we still have games being reeled on PS4. If a developer is going to make XSS version than PS4 isn't much behind. Xbox has held back gnis generation and that's why many developers have skipped release all together. I hope next Xbox is just 1 sku
Bit disingenuous to imply those games only did good cuz ppl were hungry. They were good games, first and foremost.
I already have a free copy of FH5 on XB. I’m not hungry. I bought it on PS cuz it was worth a purchase/replay.
This is what you called Xbox fanboys eating their own medicine, remember the PS3 days yeah I don't think so.
M$ dropped the ball launching their own exclusives, Flight Sim and Halo, so it’s not just third party devs who can’t get the game right on Xbox-ahem, Redfall, cough, but these devs said it was because of Series S and having to shoe horn the games onto that potato console.
This is the reason games aren’t on Xbox, not bc Sony paid—but bc M$ handcuffed themselves all devs/games need extra time for Xbox Series parity.
If only the PS5 and PC launch was the first or only other time that August 20th was used as a significant date for BMW.
The PS5 and PC launch date was the continuation of an existing pattern of using that date for BMW events.
What's curious is why Windows Central is resorting to guessing and speculating instead of reporting what they were able to clarify with their source.
"Sure. Says the person who has flip-flopped multiple times between asserting that there was or wasn't a deal."
Oh really? How so.
There was no deal the developers themselves said that along with industry insiders like Jeff grubbs said there was no deal. Why is it so hard to accept the fact XSS and Xbox parity clause are the reason many game studios skip releasing their games on Xbox. XSS has held back this whole generation and I hope next Xbox console is just 1 sku
@Lightning
You replied to the wrong comment. Anyway...
"Oh really? How so."
Article: Hotly anticipated 'Black Myth: Wukong' is delayed on Xbox Series X|S
Lightning77 350d ago
Xbox not learning from Baldurs Gate fiasco. I bet they regret making this thing called the S.
I'd also find it funny that Ryan Mccaffrey immediately said "Sony money hatted it! No dummy the S is a trash console, why he never admits it just tells me he's a fanboy. Why he never does these sit downs and says hey Phil, or whoever, the S is holding back Series X gamers what are you gonna do about it? Why haven't you at refreshed the S console at least?
That's MS for ya though. Too cheap and Lazy to do anything about it.
https://n4g.com/comments/re...
Lightning77 349d ago (Edited 349d ago )
@Fox From reddit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Ga...
Its also in this article but Jez says this.
"I became aware of whispers and rumors while out in LA for the Xbox Showcase 2024 that, despite the optimization assertions, Game Science had actually taken some form of exclusivity deal with PlayStation for Black Myth: Wukong."
On top MS saying there's some exclusive deal going on. Where's there's smoke there's fire. If Sony paid GS to delay it on Xbox is a very, very, VERY new low from Sony. You also gotta remember they cancelled Stellar Blade on Xbox so Sony does seem really sus here big time. Gotta call it down the line here.
Its rare that I might of overreacted on this but the S has been sucking more and more lately though.
https://n4g.com/comments/re...
Lightning77 349d ago
That's a way to dodge a question. You're funny guy did I not just blast MS on the top of the page almost unfairly? I don't have issues like you do. My personality, identity isn't tied to a billion trillion dollar corporations. I don't suffer like you do. I don't make a goofy choice like you. You think Sony is your best friend, that's weird.
So what no excuses. No extreme defense? Or you couldn't think of any?You are on a right site where Sony can get away with murder and everyone will look the other way, make excuses or tell everyone how said murder was good.
So what's your spin on this and how is Sony righteous in this whole thing? I know you got something, the master of spin.
Just know I don't have the same problems like you, not even freakin close.
*Continued next post.
*Continued from last post.
Lightning77 348d ago (Edited 348d ago )
You can't even answer a simple question.
I'll ask again.
"Cool now so show me a game that was announced as multiplatform only to skip one platform and release only on one platform, temporarily? While the other has to wait due to some anti consumer money hat? Let's stay on topic I'll wait."
What hypocrisy? Anyway There's no gas lighting that you're whining about just answer the question, it's easy.
"Er, bro...he just showed the points to the reason why the S is actually holding the X back."
Yeah that's not what we're taking about here. It's about Sony paying to temporarily take a game off another platform.
Article: Black Myth: Wukong Xbox Delay Forced By PlayStation Deal, Reports Insider
Lightning77280d ago (Edited 280d ago )
It was only a matter of time until this rear it's ugly head it was a sit and wait. It was only a matter of if and when.
Per Paul Tassi this news is making the rounds across Twitter also.
"A source with knowledge of the situation has told me that Black Myth: Wukong is not currently on Xbox because of an exclusivity deal, and is not delayed because of any sort of technical issue"
More than half the the ppl on this were dead wrong as I knew they would be. Again it was just a matter of playing the waiting game on this matter.
https://n4g.com/comments/re...
As I said definitely not a good look on Sony's end at all. As it stands Sony currently Sony has been doing more Anti consumer moves than the competition these are just facts.
https://n4g.com/comments/re...
Article: Black Myth Wukong Director Confirms Lack Of Xbox Version Due To Series S Memory
Lightning77154d ago
I hear what you're sayin. Sony is innocent here on this on this one. The S has had a string of issues last year from reports. It does add up here.
Like I said before I can admit when I'm wrong and I was wrong on this one.
https://n4g.com/comments/re...
Article: Leadership Spotlight: A Conversation with Phil Rosenberg
*Continued next post.
*Continued from last post.
Lightning7768d ago (Edited 68d ago )
@Main I quoted Rosenberg at the bottom he said it himself on the interview that him and guys go out and find hidden gems. This interview wouldn't mean much but Black Myth was supposed to release simultaneously along with the Xbox version unfortunately, it didn't. Got taken off and GS said it was the S. MS said there was a deal in place. If he's going out and finding niche or "hidden gems" BMW should of released only on PS5 since its considered a hidden gem that could only be played on PS console just like the rest of the other games he mentioned. The game was announced awhile ago as a multiplat. The S of late has been holding its own with third party and 1st party games. It's also clear that the S did have issues for awhile also and maybe GS really can't optimize for the console. I'm just exploring every possibility.
Hmm, I dunno at the end of the day. The S has been performing well optimization wise lately. I dunno it's hard to tell anymore what's, what.
https://n4g.com/comments/re...
Outside_ofthe_Box67d ago
You never learn, huh?
https://n4g.com/comments/re...
Didn't the developer say it was because of the series s? I mean all it'd take was Xbox disputing that to not tarnish them. They haven't said a word so nothing says exclusivity deal to me. And wouldn't sony have bragged about exclusivity like they normally do.
XB did say it was not the SS problem... nobody believed them though. They even offered all kinds of help when that was first reported. Lot's of people had speculated it was a timed deal because none of what the dev said made any sense. Especially since something with less TF specs like the steam deck was able to run it. The only advantage the SD has over the SS is memory capacity. And yet the game is said to only need 8gb minimum.
Im not specifically saying this is why, but didnt they come out and say it was because the Series S didnt have enough RAM? Like people always say TFs aren't everything. The Steam Deck has 16GB of RAM compared to 10 in the S. So its not the only advantage, that's a pretty decent difference. Might be why.
It makes no sense se because the games director was out there 5 months ago blaming the insufficient ram on series s
https://www.reddit.com/r/Xb...
Just boggles the mind why throw xbox under the bus if there was a exclusivity deal that comment more likely hurt xbox going into the holidays than any exclusive game.
"The coincidence was an exclusivity deal this whole time"
Of course it was. They´re blaming the Xbox Series S with their pockets full of Sony´s money.
Coincendence indeed August 20th exactly 1 year after release. Not a random staggered month but 1 year exactly. That's still suspicious.
I know this narrative is trying to be forced on us but I still don't buy it because I don't understand why Sony wouldn't announce the exclusivity. Neither Sony or Microsoft are shy about annoncing timed exclusive deals. Why would this be different?
Sony wants to break into the China scene and sell the most console and gain fanfare. They believed BM was a big enough game to do that.
Let it go bro, you cant win. They know more about the deal happening with Sony than Sony itself. XD
8/20/20 - Announcement trailer
8/20/21 - Trailer #2
8/20/22 - Trailer #3
8/20/23 - First hands on Previews
8/20/24 - PS5/PC releases
8/20/25- Xbox release
8/20 is the birthday of the Monkey King God, celebrated in China
China didn’t need wukong to be a console exclusive to break into China.
Xbox was never really a factor in China, although PS wasn’t selling gangbusters, they’re still leaps and bounds ahead of Xbox. In fact it’s like that in most of Asia.
While the dates look mighty suspiciously like there is some sort of exclusive deal, but the announcements doesn’t feel so.
1) it was announced for the xbox all along. If there was a deal that should not be announced from the go.
2) the fact that sony never mentions any deal, also game science kept insisting that they needed to optimise the game on Xbox. What would be the reason for game science to lie about that? Game science could easily just kept quiet and said nothing instead.
I would read the link I posted. phil Rosenberg about buissness practice he makes. BM was part of it.
Even if the developer says there is no deal, they won't believe it. Even if Sony says there is no exclusivity deal, no one will believe it. They would rather pretend that there is a deal going on, because they are crying that they didn't get to play the game right away.
This proves Black Myth Wukong had an exclusivity deal. The developers lied... Sony lied... and Sony fanboys gobbled it all up without question.
Now, let's see if the fanboys that made up excuses a year ago, are men enough to apologise for being d**k's...
They're gonna run in hide and pretend like nothing ever happened. I apologized for no reason. GS played me. Never again will no be played or manipulated by game devs again...
""I apologized for no reason. GS played me. Never again will no be played or manipulated by game devs again..."
Sure. Says the person who has flip-flopped multiple times between asserting that there was or wasn't a deal.
I told you early on to let things play out. Your problem isn't devs manipulating you. Your problem is your insistence on rushing online to post like you know what you're talking about while being belligerent to people who disagree.
You still don't know. This is the latest thing to have you guessing. Your current position is that releasing exactly a year later is evidence that the devs lied. It's possible that the devs would go so far as to lie to hide the deal only to invite suspicion by releasing on Xbox exactly a year later. It's also possible they fixed the issues with Series S and chose that date because it's the anniversary of the original release. You're still guessing.
Edit: In support of my last point, go to the BMW Wiki page, do a search for "August 20," and see how many times they have used that date for BMW moments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...
@Lightning
You don't get to complain when you're responded to in a comment section but inbox me to carry on an argument. I'm not reading it. I don't care if you ran out of bubbles. I've ran out of bubbles after you said some ridiculous stuff to me. Did I inbox you? No. You had a chance to reply and chose to waste your comments elsewhere. Asking me how you flip-flopped when you know you've flip-flopped all over this topic multiple times was also a waste. Too bad. I and others have called you out before for taking an argument from the comment section to messages. You already know it's creepy but keep finding excuses.
PS fanboys never had a spine anyway, it's nothing new. They hit the down arrow then run to the next Xbox article
@taco: “PS fanboys never had a spine anyway, it's nothing new. They hit the down arrow then run to the next Xbox article”
Why waste time responding to someone with their hand covering their ears and their head in the corporation sewer pipe drainage?
Now watch all the disagree without comments pop up on this comment.
Edit
Oops forgot the article
Whatever the case might be be it’s been released on Xbox and if it was a time exclusive what benefits would the developer gain from denying it and putting the other console down.
Yet the biggest weirdos on this site are xbox fanboys, only have to look as far as obscure and the clown who creates several alts a day to upvote himself and downvote every pro PS person.
Taking games multiplat games away for a timed game is toxic business practice. If MS or Nintendo did the same you would be crying super hard. It's only "so what" when it's your favorite little platform. Can't be that predictable.
What do you mean if?
MS practically invented paying for games to stay off other platforms. They even bought Bungie to do it. GtaIV DLC? Tombraider? Nothing ringing a bell?
Just because they need other platforms to sell their games now there's no excuse for having a short-term memory.
Black Myth isn't so unique that it merits to be treated differently than all the other games.
Does it? Why haven't Xbox said anything then when the devs tarnished their name by blaming the series s? And Sony didnt brag about having it exclusive either. Sounds like just excuses to me
Before you fanboys start because I know y'all will.
https://n4g.com/news/266012...
"Content Ventures team led by Christian Svensson. There’s nobody better in the world than Christian and Shawne Benson at finding hidden gems and nurturing up-and-coming companies that are probably off the radar for most of us. They get tons of support from the third-party account management team and the partner development team, who are often the very first points of contact.
[This team worked with] Annapurna Games very early on games like Stray. The same approach also led our support of Genshin Impact, Black Myth: Wukong and Stellar Blade for example."
So do these deals include taking games off previously announced multiplat titles like WK? SB was multiplat until Sony took over publishing. Noticed how the other "gems" were timed also. Not a coincidence in the least bit.
I know y'all gonna try and fight and defend hard but I Dare anyone. Y'all better bring your your best logic.
Matter of fact let me get start it off because I already know.
"where is the deal!"
It's clearly a cover up using the S as a crutch but GS couldn't say there was a deal. The guy openly said he seeks out "gems" for PS. These gems were all timed or taken off Xbox. Again, Which clearly includes previously announced games that were announced on Xbox. It's not hard to see.
i wonder if they took the exclusivity deal to work on the xbox s version
i remember vaguely that t they had some issues with it.
but u know. bo one has to disclose anything to anyone.
we all knew it was a exclusivity deal.
the devs flat out said the game wouldn't work on the S with it's 10GB of RAM and that's why the game hadn't released yet. But guess what, it's coming out on the S.
Likely: the S is underpowered and the game company wanted a better deal to compensate for the headache.
Least likely: It's a grand conspiracy
8/20/20 - Announcement trailer
8/20/21 - Trailer #2
8/20/22 - Trailer #3
8/20/23 - First hands on Previews
8/20/24 - PS5/PC releases
8/20/25- Xbox release
8/20 is the birthday of the Monkey King God, celebrated in China
Copied from Plague-Doctor
Why do you guys want this to be true so bad. It’s insane.
The devs said no deal, Sony said no deal.
Tell me what does it take for you to believe there wasn’t no deal??
Do you need your MS to say there wasn’t.
Also Stellar Blade isnt on Xbox and still no plans, so your logic is gone with that.
What does the dates have to do with anything? Where's the proof in that? Elaborate? So you're gonna ignore the Sony guy outright paying for exclusive deals that were timed and one of them was Black myth?
I have hard proof where's your proof to counter act it?
Wrong Stellar blade was announced as a multiplat then taken off because Sony published it. No plans now because sony took over.
You literally have no proof bro.
Like all speculation.
You want it to be true so much that you believe your “proof” is all speculation.
So you’re telling me Sony is okay with people knowing the other games were timed but not wukong? What so special about wukong?
Do you think Xbox had a chance in china?
Xbox can’t even beat PS5 in America lmao
Also stellar blade was suppose to be for last gen but changed it to next gen and chose to do it on PS5.
https://www.levelup.com/en/...
From the devs mouth.
Yet again no deal was made.
You want to paint this picture so bad that your making accusations with out proof.
lol, I can't wait to hear the defense force spin this. Totally could be a coincidence that the game will release exactly 1 year after it launched on the PS5, right?
We were told that getting this game to work on the Series S with only 10 GB of RAM was impossible.. so what changed suddenly?
The jokes just right themselves here.
What so special about a year?
More money to deal with the headache is what probably changed.
Why is it Black Myth is so special that they couldn't announce a timed exclusivity?
timed exclusivity is almost always 6 months or 1 year. The fact that it releases exactly 1 year later just seems a little fishy, that's all.
Could just be some wild coincidence of course. And yes, normally you would think they would announce it if it was some sort of deal. But maybe there's more going on in the background that they couldn't discuss.
Regardless, it's finally coming for Xbox owners.
Almost...
There's no real reason to keep the exclusivity deal quiet, unless there is law we don't know about or some kind of bookkeeping reasons. This is highly unlikely.
It's more likely they wanted more money for stuffing this game in the S.
Not announcing if it's exclusive entirely or timed is purely marketing. If you tell people it is timed, they'll wait to buy it later. If you don't, they might think it's only on one console and will buy it there. This is written into the contracts. And this is something everyone does. It's typically easier nowadays to see the difference since there will be more talk that it is exclusive when it is than when it isn't. It just hangs in the ether for the latter.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Metaphor: ReFantazio encourage player agency, allowing an impressive level of nuance and creativity to team builds.
I hadn't played Metaphor until it was on GamePass and I can tell you I vastly prefer Clair Obscur. That said, I have never been a big fan of the Persona games.
Same tbh. I love persona but Metaphor felt dated to me personally. Expedition 33 definitely felt fresh.
I could not get into Metaphor, whatsoever and I’m a huge Persona fan. I feel like Metaphor is incredibly overrated, but… and I know this is blasphemy, but I think Clair Obscur is slightly overrated as well.
I think that was on me though because everyone said it was the best thing since sliced bread and when I fired it up, I thought it was ok. I’d take Yakuza Like a Dragon, FF7 Remake/Rebirth, and Persona over it… heck I actually think Lost Odyssey is better. But to each their own.
Lost Odyssey is pretty underrated. Clair Obscur felt like a combo of Lost Odyssey, Legend of Dragoon, and some Shadow Hearts: Covenant, all amazing games that I love.
Yeah. Expedition 33 is a bit overrated. It’s cool to have a turn base RPG with a good story, I’m grateful. But it seems that the people that are more impressed don’t really play RPGs and see it as fresh air.
Yeah, I think they are overrated as well, based on how highly people lift them up. People hoist clair obscur up as if it is a 15/10 game.
I love all of the persona games, but I cannot get into Metaphor for some reason, I am trying to play it
Clair Obscur is good, but I do not like the battle system, both Metaphor and Clair have great stories
I just finished Clair yesterday
Both Metaphor and Clair are very slightly overrated
I personaly really disliked ReFantazio, couldn’t get into it and i loved P5 back in the day. Clair Obscur is much, much better IMO. It cuts all the nonsense and bloat, focuses on fun, it’s much more intuitive, waaaay more focused and much better paced and it doesn’t have incoherent anime nonsense. And i found Refantazio take on the racism and classism to be very shallow. So no i don’t agree that they are two sides of the same coin.. i mean why? Just because they’re both turn based games? Get out of here with that.
For me it was like demon souls to blood Bourne.
I know not the same game but it’s the best example for me.
Just like bloodborne, expedition 33 was faster and more fluid.
And metaphor, just like demon/dark souls, it’s much slower.
For me I like the faster pace combat.
The success of numerous original titles and the failure of several live service games demonstrate a strong demand for story-driven experiences.
Dragon Quest III HD 2D remake for me
Rebirth still is my favorite game of this gen so far. When the trilogy is complete it’ll probably be my GoaT.
Rebirth and dragon quest
Rebirth on ps5 pro oh hell yea