Mister Jack Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 Also, since Apple is throwing Epic off the whole app store and terminating their licenses, that could potentially jeopardize anyone who made a game using the unreal engine. Lots and lots of small developers who did not want to be drawn into this fight, and I must reiterate that this is because Epic was not satisfied with the billions of dollars they were already making. They wanted more billions. Anyone who believes that Tim Sweeney is doing this for your benefit is completely naive. So fuck Apple, fuck Epic, and fuck Fortnite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 18, 2020 Report Share Posted August 18, 2020 I am not an anti-trust lawyer, but I do know that theoretically if Epic can show that Apple is abusing its market control to engage in anticompetitive practices then it doesn't matter if it was the contract, the contract would be invalid. That said, the courts have eviscerated US antitrust law over the last several decades, so Epic has an uphill battle. It's not open and shut though. @Mr. GOH! Probably knows more about it than me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted August 20, 2020 Report Share Posted August 20, 2020 I look forward to that day. Shit's wild and goes way beyond the likes of The Three Kingdoms Period. Also can you imagine games based off of say HK Kung Fu cinema? We already got a cop story with Sleeping Dog (some older titles also were inspired by them) but event that genre can be explored more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 20, 2020 Report Share Posted August 20, 2020 This looks really cool, and I'm excited for the day when more than just Westerners and Japanese people get to tell their own stories through video games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalCaveman Posted September 18, 2020 Report Share Posted September 18, 2020 Michael Quesada an other people like him have talked about how good the S and the discless PS5 are for our region, because of how cheap they are compared to the X/disc version, making console gaming more accessible, and on one hand I can see why a lower upfront cost would be enticing, but on the other hand, specially for this region, a digital only version doesn't make any sense in the long term IMO, digital games rarely go down in price, Sony now charges a 16% tax on every digital sale (MS "absorbed" this tax), and with games going for $70 now, it's not worth it, I don't know about other countries, but the peso-dollar conversion hurts a lot. Physical games go down in price more often, stores have sales pretty much every week, you can sell games you've beaten or don't care about anymore, you can borrow games from friends or relatives, etc. So yeah, a disc console is more expensive at first, but I feel the long term savings and the possibility to sell and share games more than make up for it. Unless you're only interested in a couple of games, then it might make sense(?) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 Sweet mother of God... What an insane twist. I honestly would've thought a company like Bethesda was simply too big for this kind of move. Gonna be hilarious if this means all those IPs are now Xbox exclusives. Sony's been pretty shit with timed exclusivity and confusing deliberately confusing messaging surrounding it so fuck them lol. I imagine something like Elder Scrolls might simply be too popular not to keep releasing multiplatform. Despite what fanboys on the internet will no doubt endlessly scream at each other over, these moves are calculated and all about the bottom line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 I just came in here to post that. This pretty much sucks. I don't mind exclusives, but I hate paid-for exclusives on things that would normally have been multiplatform. MS has said that current games will still release as planned (basically meaning Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo will still be timed PS5 exclusives, which is actually pretty hilarious), but that future games will come to PC, Xbox, and other platforms "on a case by case basis". I really hope that means at least the established franchises like TES, Fallout, Dishonored, Prey, etc don't become console exclusive, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 Honestly, I find it hard to get upset at this. Paying to remove a specific game from another platform is an absolutely shitty move. But if they're straight up buying the entire studio I mean... what are you gonna do? They're no longer paid-for exclusives that would've been multiplatform, they're first-party now. Also, Microsoft has been doing a lot of the right moves lately. Doesn't mean they won't start being shit again in the future but as things are right now, them buying Bethesda seems far preferable to me (as a PC player) than Sony buying them. Also lmao get fucked Sony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 16 minutes ago, FLD said: Honestly, I find it hard to get upset at this. Paying to remove a specific game from another platform is an absolutely shitty move. But if they're straight up buying the entire studio I mean... what are you gonna do? They're no longer paid-for exclusives that would've been multiplatform, they're first-party now. I kind of agree and kind of don't. I mean, if we're talking about brand-new IP that is created after the purchase then sure, that's first party. But when you're talking about long-running, established multiplatform franchises then it still seems like buying exclusivity, even if the way you did it was by buying the developer. Like Fallout, Doom, TES, Dishonored, those are all franchises that have historically been multiplatform, so it feels like you're taking something away. Now, maybe they'll do like the did with Minecraft and keep putting stuff out on other platforms, and the only real difference will be that on Xbox you get it as part of Gamepass. If that's the way they go then great, more power to them, I have no issue with them giving a benefit to their own customers. It's just when it feels like they're taking something away from others that I get annoyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 I can't justify buying an Xbox for only two games (Doom, TES) and I can't play them on my PC until I get a whole new one because my current one is way out of date. This sucks for me. If Microsoft did this just for Gamepass incentives or even a timed exclusive then I can live with it, but if they bought Bethesda just to keep their games off of the PS5 then it's a pretty dick move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 29 minutes ago, TheMightyEthan said: I kind of agree and kind of don't. I mean, if we're talking about brand-new IP that is created after the purchase then sure, that's first party. But when you're talking about long-running, established multiplatform franchises then it still seems like buying exclusivity, even if the way you did it was by buying the developer. Like Fallout, Doom, TES, Dishonored, those are all franchises that have historically been multiplatform, so it feels like you're taking something away. I really don't find the time of creation of the IP to be a convincing argument, to be honest. Besides, if you go down that road, Doom, Wolfenstein, Fallout and Elder Scrolls all started out as PC exclusives. I agree when it comes to a specific, concrete game. But I don't feel like it's a strong argument when it comes to a whole IP and hypothetical future games. Like, what if it had been Microsoft and not Bethesda that bought the Fallout IP all those years ago? It would've been exclusive all this time and I don't really see how it would make any meaningful difference here. An IP isn't inherently exclusive or multiplatform, it's all about who owns it. Case in point, Horizon and (if certain rumors are to be believed) soon Bloodborne and God of War. And just to be clear, I'm not defending exclusivity here. Everything should be multiplatform as far as I'm concerned. 22 minutes ago, Mister Jack said: I can't justify buying an Xbox for only two games (Doom, TES) and I can't play them on my PC until I get a whole new one because my current one is way out of date. This sucks for me. If Microsoft did this just for Gamepass incentives or even a timed exclusive then I can live with it, but if they bought Bethesda just to keep their games off of the PS5 then it's a pretty dick move. Yeah, I can definitely empathize with this point of view. If you're mainly a Playstation guy then this unequivocally sucks. And I doubt it's just about Gamepass to be honest. 7.5 billions is a LOT of money just to boost the line-up of a service that's probably not super profitable yet. They could've easily just done a deal like they have with EA. I fully expect at least some of these IPs to become Xbox exclusives and "smaller" ones like Doom, Wolfestein, Evil Within and Dishonored seem like the most likely candidates here. If the tweet I posted about Sony trying to secure Starfield exclusivity is true, then I could definitely see this being also one of the (likely many) reasons motivating this acquisition. Not having the latest Bethesda flagship title is a pretty major blow to any platform. Then again, like I said, Elder Scrolls is kinda like Minecraft where it's so huge that it might make more financial sense to keep it multiplatform. Profits from a multiplatform release probably outweigh whatever fanboy brownie points they'd get from keeping it exclusive. Unless their aim is specifically to hurt Sony, I guess lol. Which, at this point, I honestly wouldn't blame them for. Sony has been on some special bullshit this gen. They can get fucked as far as I'm concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 I actually think the money is a big reason why they might treat it like Minecraft and keep it on other platforms. If they make all Bethesda's games Xbox & PC exclusive, and it's on Gamepass, that's going to really eat into their potential sales. If they also have it on Playstation though, that's a whole other stream of revenue that can help offset the cost of the purchase. And it still allows them to go "sure, if you want to pay $70 that's fine, you can have it on Playstation, but if you come over here to Xbox it's all on Gamepass..." so they still benefit that way from a marketing standpoint. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 Oh that's a good point, hadn't thought about that. The same logic also applies to Steam. The Xbox app is still trash, so even with Gamepass on PC it's guaranteed plenty of people would rather just buy the games directly from Steam. Their recent releases certainly seem to have sold fine. And I'm pretty sure Gamepass is coming to Steam sooner rather than later, anyway. They already laid the groundwork for a subscription service with EA Play. I think it's just a matter of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 I have to agree with Ethan. Microsoft, for better or worse, is clearly looking into the future with their business strategy, anticipating a time when consoles and even physical ownership are obsolete. I honestly would not be surprised if there's eventually a day when Xbox hardware no longer exists and Microsoft just shills their subscription on other platforms, especially if the broadband infrastructure in the US ever gets unfucked and they can offer game streaming on people's phones and tablets that actually works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 Yeah, it doesn't take a genius to see that they mean for Gamepass and their cloud gaming app to eventually converge. Stadia has shown that the industry isn't quite there yet, though lol. And honestly, Microsoft basically becoming a third-party publisher wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Especially with the insane studio acquisition spree they've been on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 I don't think Stadia has really proved it can't work yet, I think it just proves that to make it work somebody has to go all in. It's going to be a money-loser for a while until it establishes itself, and I don't think Google has the dedication to the concept to throw the kind of resources at it that it would require to get the games and stuff. Microsoft might. My only real problem with them becoming a third-party publisher is then Sony wouldn't really have any console competition, which I think would be bad for players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 I feel like whether or not it can work really depends on factors that are outside of Microsoft's or Google's control. Internet is still shit in this country for a lot of people and there isn't much even Google can do about it on their own. The telecom monopolies have screwed over millions of people in this regard and unless something is done about that I don't see the cloud model being viable on a wide scale. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 Yeah and if Playstation Now is any indication, it's just not ready to become THE way to play. The experience is just too shit and it comes down to things that can't really be solved on the software side. I'd be fine using it as BC substitute to play older games but it's a garbage way to play the latest games. Now that they're coming to PC, I'm really glad I ended up not playing Horizon on PSNow and I kinda regret playing Bloodborne and God of War. God of War and Uncharted 4 both definitely suffered from the shitty image quality and compression. Like, I could tell they were both gorgeous games but I kinda had to squint and try to imagine how pretty they looked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 I for one am absolutely fine to not play Bethesda games. I think the only thing of theirs that I even like is Dishonoured, which I rate as "ok". So my feelings on this as a PS only guy is "nothing of value was lost". I wonder if Bethesda will no longer be given so much leeway for buggy, broken, dumpster fire launches now that they are "Microsoft"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 I've seen talk that Bethesda is going to keep publishing games under that name, they're not going to start publishing them as Microsoft, so who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 Yeah, but Bioware still use the Bioware name and they are very much thought of as EA these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 Bioware is the studio, they're still published by EA. Supposedly MS is going to keep letting Bethesda act as a separate publisher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 5 hours ago, Thursday Next said: I think the only thing of theirs that I even like is Dishonoured, which I rate as "ok". 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 The Dishonored series and Prey (2017) are God-tier. Everything else ranges from "I like it fine" to "meh, who cares" for me. So basically Arkane is what I care about. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 Prey is one of those games that I played months after launch and it was so my shit that I was almost angry at myself for waiting so long to play it. Anyone that doesn't like it is a bad person, as far as I'm concerned. Also, I guess I'm the only one that likes The Evil Within and whatever, it's too good for you jerks anyway!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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