Microsoft acquires Bethesda/Zenimax

[fantadomat]

It fits probably because. It can complement where MS is severely lacking (Japanese games, JRPGs, Japanese and Asian market [where Xbox has been utterly failed at]) and bolster where one of the areas MS is striving for (PC games with long playtime like Football Manager and Total War).

SEGA is interesting. It was once a console manufacturer that old console gamers from both Asia and West fondly remember. And unlike other big Japanese publishers that are mostly specialized in certain genres, it's established (although not as specialized) in a wide range of genres. Also it has Sonic, one of the most iconic characters in video games.

Again, I have doubts about acquisition, but a big partnership like second party treatment (timed or permeant exclusives and simultaneous GamePass release for many titles) and SEGA branded Xbox in Japan wouldn't be surprising.

Ahh in my opinion it will be mistake to buy sega,it is overextending and pouring money in a market that they have little experience in. It would be a lot better to buy like 5 indi western studios that make jrpg like games. To pierce in to another market is needed quite the sharpness and creativity,that corporations mostly lack. There is a shit ton of corporation/firms that died because they overstretched and poured too much money in to shit they have no idea about. Not saying that MC will keel over and die,but it could cripple their game department and such. Most of the IPs that sega own are pretty much outdated and irrelevant. Sonic was a thing two decades ago,now it is popular among furry retards lol. No point in buying a franchise which's glory days are far over. Same as Tomb Rider and Deus ex. And from the looks of things the guy ahead of this expansion is thinking like me,he bought manly studious that produce new IPs. If you buy 10 studios that produce new things,there is a chance that one of them could shit up the new fortnight or dota or what eva.

 

[fantadomat]

Yeah,i am sure that the world is trembling with expectation for the remake of some 32bit shitty console game. Grow up,only serial killer authists are play such games lol. People don't care about obsolete consoles from 30 years ago lol.

lot of fucking cope over not getting a NES for Christmas there

Oh yeah,i am crying meself every night for wasting me time kneading tits and drinking with chads,instead of playing shitty platformers. Oh woe is me!

 

[J1M]

It fits probably because. It can complement where MS is severely lacking (Japanese games, JRPGs, Japanese and Asian market [where Xbox has been utterly failed at]) and bolster where one of the areas MS is striving for (PC games with long playtime like Football Manager and Total War).

SEGA is interesting. It was once a console manufacturer that old console gamers from both Asia and West fondly remember. And unlike other big Japanese publishers that are mostly specialized in certain genres, it's established (although not as specialized) in a wide range of genres. Also it has Sonic, one of the most iconic characters in video games.

Again, I have doubts about acquisition, but a big partnership like second party treatment (timed or permeant exclusives and simultaneous GamePass release for many titles) and SEGA branded Xbox in Japan wouldn't be surprising.

Ahh in my opinion it will be mistake to buy sega,it is overextending and pouring money in a market that they have little experience in. It would be a lot better to buy like 5 indi western studios that make jrpg like games. To pierce in to another market is needed quite the sharpness and creativity,that corporations mostly lack. There is a shit ton of corporation/firms that died because they overstretched and poured too much money in to shit they have no idea about. Not saying that MC will keel over and die,but it could cripple their game department and such. Most of the IPs that sega own are pretty much outdated and irrelevant. Sonic was a thing two decades ago,now it is popular among furry retards lol. No point in buying a franchise which's glory days are far over. Same as Tomb Rider and Deus ex. And from the looks of things the guy ahead of this expansion is thinking like me,he bought manly studious that produce new IPs. If you buy 10 studios that produce new things,there is a chance that one of them could shit up the new fortnight or dota or what eva.

These acquisitions are about getting people to choose an Xbox over a Playstation. New IP can't do that like well-known franchises can.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Buying SEGA wouldn't just give Microsoft weeb games. They'd get some western studios, too. Amplitude of Endless fame and more importantly Creative Assembly for Total War.

Plus some of the games that SEGA makes are critical to Sony's success (Persona). Sometimes it's not just about what you get but what you deprive from your competition.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

in before microsoft buys thq nordic and they own every ip

 

[HarveyBirdman]

Kill me.

 

[Quillon]

microsoft should buy sony and everybody shut up lmao, playXstation baby

 

[RobotSquirrel]

They'd get some western studios, too. Amplitude of Endless fame and more importantly Creative Assembly for Total War.

Also don't forget CA worked on Halo Wars which gives them strategic reasons for buying Sega. Generally its a rule with microsoft that they buy any collaborators. Sega has been a long collaborator with Microsoft excluding of course the blatantly stupid move of turning down the original Xbox.
Sega is Japans distributor for Xbox. It makes a lot of sense to buy them.

 

[Drakortha]

It's all about the money and everything is shit as a result. News at 11.

 

[Shitty Kitty]

It's all about the money and everything is shit as a result. News at 11.

Minimum viable product, maximum profit. Shit out a mediocre sequel to whatever, idiot fanboys will still buy it. Even better, the idiot fanboys will screech at anyone who badmouths it.

But couldn't they just make good games, you ask? Fuck you. You know how much it costs to create a QUALITY PRODUCT? (Ignore those well-done fanprojects, we're going to sue them and steal their ideas to implement poorly in paid DLC anyway.)

 

[J_C]

You know how much it costs to create a QUALITY PRODUCT? (Ignore those well-done fanprojects, we're going to sue them and steal their ideas to implement poorly in paid DLC anyway.)

In AAA world, the cost of a quality product and a shitty product would be almost the same. The difference is the effort and the people working on it. If they hire designers/artists who are SJW infested diversity quotas, they will make shitty product. While for the same money they could hire some talented bloke, who just happens to be s straight while male (or even female). Most of the AAA budget goes to marketing anyway, regardless of the quality of the product.

 

[Morgoth]

^Quite an exaggeration.

Quality is bound to go down when creative endeavours become too big, whether you have an army of geniuses or and army of SJW hacks working on it.

 

[RobotSquirrel]

Quality is bound to go down when creative endeavours become too big, whether you have an army of geniuses or and army of SJW hacks working on it.

The problem is to do with the fact that they are employing said armies. Its completely unnecessary. Most of the franchises they're working on only had teams of 10-20 people originally.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

I don't think Sega fits the MS style and brand. As their CEO said above, they're buying stuff that fits what is seen as the Xbox type of game... Western action RPGs, FPS games, etc. I mean I'm not a console guy so maybe I'm making that up, but when I think of Xbox exclusives from all generations that kind of stuff is what comes to mind.

That has always kind of been the image of the Xbox, and I'm sure that has to do with them bringing in so much stuff that would have previously been PC games from western developers with the original Xbox. But, the original Xbox also had a lot of Sega exclusives too. Stuff like Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Crazy Taxi 3, the North American release of Shenmue 2, FromSoftware's Otogi games, Metal Wolf Chaos, House of the Dead 3, Gunvalkyrie, and OutRun 2 were all exclusive. Because Sony of America had a weird rule about 2D games, SNK games like Metal Slug 3 ended up as exclusive to the Xbox in the west; that version is still the best version of it too, later releases are missing some stuff it's got. If it wasn't a bundle, at least in America, SNK games ended up being Xbox exclusives. Not Japanese, but they also had the Kingdom Under Fire games.

360 also ended up being the system to own of you're into shoot 'em ups. It's also when stuff that previously would have been exclusive to PlayStation started showing up on Microsoft's system, and while not exclusive, because of how the PS3 was built the 360 ended up being the preferred platform for those games.

Lately Microsoft has been working with Sega closely again. Microsoft is the one that finally brought Phantasy Star Online 2 to the west, they showed off the newest Yakuza game during one of their Xbox Series X shows, Sega owned Relic Entertainment is making Age of Empires 4. And like I said, getting Sega would give them tons of content. That could possibly allow them to say they're adding hundreds of new games to Game Pass that will always be there. It would also give them the Total War series exclusively for Game Pass on PC. Now that stuff about them working more closely with Sega doesn't mean the rumor isn't bullshit, could just be something to build a fake rumor off of, but the rumor isn't exactly something that doesn't ring true either.

 

[fantadomat]

You know how much it costs to create a QUALITY PRODUCT? (Ignore those well-done fanprojects, we're going to sue them and steal their ideas to implement poorly in paid DLC anyway.)

In AAA world, the cost of a quality product and a shitty product would be almost the same. The difference is the effort and the people working on it. If they hire designers/artists who are SJW infested diversity quotas, they will make shitty product. While for the same money they could hire some talented bloke, who just happens to be s straight while male (or even female). Most of the AAA budget goes to marketing anyway, regardless of the quality of the product.

So is in any other industry,it is not like people sit down and say "ok lads, lets make a shitty products.". Even sjw think that they are creating a masterpiece lol.

 

[Gerrard]

Elder Scrolls 6 - 1 year exclusive to the Windows Store

 

[fantadomat]

Elder Scrolls 6 - 1 year exclusive to the Windows Store

And certain sea sites.

 

[DeepOcean]

Elder Scrolls 6 - 1 year exclusive to the Windows Store

And certain sea sites.

Not when it is released exclusive into xCloud after Microsoft Borg Cube is finished with the gaming industry assimilation.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

It's actually really good news, because if Microsoft imprisons bethesda in the Xbox ghetto (or even better, makes ES6 Gamepass exclusive!) Elder Scrolls will finally die and someone else can step in to fill the demand.

 

[DalekFlay]

It's actually really good news, because if Microsoft imprisons bethesda in the Xbox ghetto (or even better, makes ES6 Gamepass exclusive!) Elder Scrolls will finally die and someone else can step in to fill the demand.

Making TES6 gamepass only would only result in a massive gamepass subscription boost, which is what MS wants. If there's one thing 40 years of home gaming history shows it's that people will do what they have to in order to play the games they really want to play.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Making TES6 gamepass only would only result in a massive gamepass subscription boost, which is what MS wants. If there's one thing 40 years of home gaming history shows it's that people will do what they have to in order to play the games they really want to play.

Generally that's true. Steam was launched with the hype for a single game. Not sure how well it's working out for Epic though.

The thing here though is people like to own their games. They like a back library of titles they can thumb through and play whenever they want. Gamefly is still around, costs a reasonable price, and lets you play any game you want. Why hasn't it completely killed the rest of the market?

Right now Gamepass seems like a good deal. When cable TV first came out it was a pretty good deal. Lots of content, no commercials, low price. Now look at it. Pay through the nose, commercials everywhere, content is all crap, everything good costs extra. If a new hot movie was released on cable only, would you sign up just for that?

Look at Disney+. All the great disney content. Beautiful. Then Mulan comes out. $30, plus subscription. GTFO of here. A bluray costs less than that. Do you think Mulan added subs or cancelled them? I wonder.

Look at Kindle Unlimited. Great value, if you go by number of books. But everything there is crap. All of it. No good books come on on KU, because any good author can charge a premium. The content is commoditized, the profits all go to Amazon.

If TES 6 comes out on Gamepass, will MS give it away to existing subs? Lol. They already have that money, something has to pay for that 7.5 billion dollars. Expect some kind of 'gamepass premium' where people have to pay extra to get the game, just like Mulan. So the benefit of gamepass is nothing; you're just paying an extra fee to access your own library of games. That's why all subscription services are doomed to either become dumping grounds for trash like KU (and soon to be Netflix) or a nightmare of gouging and tiered content like Cable.

 

[Readher]

Xbox's Major Nelson and Phil Spencer talk with Bethesda's Pete Hines and Todd Howard.

 

[DalekFlay]

Generally that's true. Steam was launched with the hype for a single game. Not sure how well it's working out for Epic though.

The thing here though is people like to own their games. They like a back library of titles they can thumb through and play whenever they want. Gamefly is still around, costs a reasonable price, and lets you play any game you want. Why hasn't it completely killed the rest of the market?

I mean I agree with you personally, but Netflix started the streaming boom and I think it's a pretty niche thing already to "own" media. Streaming channels have tons of exclusives you can't buy anywhere to own, period. Yes obviously discs still come out, and I buy them, but it's quickly becoming a small collector's market outside the mainstream with limited releases. How long will that take to happen with games? I have no idea, but and anyone thinking it won't happen is kidding themselves so they don't have to feel bad about paying for Gamepass.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

The funny thing about Netflix is they've always intended to raise their rates but everyone threatens to jump ship as soon as they do. Whenever something becomes a big enough draw to pull in subs (Marvel films) the IP owner takes it away because they can make more money off of it themselves. Outside of a few rare hits, Netflix Originals are a total joke.

Netflix needs exclusive content but sucks at making it. Anyone with a killer IP will drain away the profit through license fees. There are a bunch of free crap channels on Smart TVs now like Crackle and Pluto TV. I expect Netflix to be there soon. If people just want inane background noise from a TV screen they can always throw on Youtube.

I do see physical media dying but personal libraries and owning content will persist. Steam proves this. So does the iTunes store. Jobs had to fight like hell with the record companies to get it to where it is now but look at it. Type in a song, buy it, play it forever. Any song. Boom. It's glorious. People love adding and collecting an endlessly growing song library, every single one their favorite.

The problem with all subscription services is you can't pick and choose. You get some good and mostly bad.

Ala carte content is king but companies hate it. Zenimax went bananas when they realized people were still playing Skyrim year after year without paying them any more money. Pretty much guaranteed TES6 will have some kind of sub model, if not from MS then from Bethesda. Gamepass is an attempt to monetize the back library. But the MMO boom and crash reveals there's only so much money out there for subscriptions. If Gamepass has every game released, forever, it's awesome. More likely every company will have a Gamepass in the next few years. Forced to pick and choose where to sub, the market shrinks. The best content wins out, everyone else dies or goes 'free to play.' Games become full of ads, microtransactions galore, and quality drops through the floor.

Well, that's all happening anyway, so whatever. Microsoft has a history of launching stores and streaming services, bombing out, and cancelling while screwing all their customers over (Games for Windows Live, lol). Maybe they won't fuck this one up completely. I guess we'll see.

 

[conan_edw]