Xbox Will Continue To Consider Buying New Studios, Says Microsoft

Asobo, Moon Studios

Wonder the Megaton news of the next studio Microsoft purchase!

I believe in Sega. No, really ! Those easter eggs definitively hide something.

Maybe just a partnership, I don't know. But there is something.

This shock blue pad is just too strange of a choice, it just goes from nowhere. It has to mean something.

We'll see tomorrow, it seems !

I don't think people realise how long it takes to put together a studio, then work on new IPs and finally wait until the franchises take off in popularity. Lots of franchises didn't become popular until years later. Series like Elder Scrolls and Fallout are already well-established franchises, which means that as a company you don't have to wait or spend resources over time that can either lead to something huge or nothing at all.

What Microsoft is doing now is that they are proving to consumers that they have the games that they want to play and that you can play them through Game Pass. And now is more important than ever to invest in acquiring more franchises because they need to prove that Game Pass is worth getting since we are still in the early stages of the service. If they spend time creating new studios and IPs from the ground up then the momentum they have been building up now for Game Pass is going to be gone.

That's why it doesn't surprise me at all that they want to keep buying more studios because they want to make Game Pass as appealing as possible to as many people as possible. And right now they are in dire need of more Japanese franchises on the service. That's why I believe that Microsoft will acquire or form some sort of an agreement with either SEGA or some other Japanese company. Because their aim is for worldwide appeal since Game Pass is on both PC and smartphones now, and in order to reach audiences in Asia they need more of these games.

We can’t stop Xbox anymore, it’s too late 👊🏻

SEGA will be a partnership in my opinion vs them being bought out. They might buy a smaller Japanese studio as the rumours have been that Phil's been eyeing one up. Also there were rumours of them buying a Polish studio or two as well, much smaller transactions for MS.

Apparently, it's not currently possible for a foreign company to outright buy a Japanese one. In other words, SEGA is off the buy list (as of now).

Even for Sony, that would be very tough since anti-trust laws in Japan are apparently very strong.

Edit: In any case, MS just buying studios is one way to secure more IP. It's been speculated since the original Xbox that the company would begin doing this, I'm just surprised moves this big have taken so long.

It's just logical.
If the move makes sense and if they have the money, why not?
We all think they can't possibly buy more because of how much they already spent but their wallets are still full.
Personally I hope they buy Sega so we can finally get Persona games on Xbox, I have no clue how likely the purchase is.

Microsoft is on a Killing Spree

lmao the article on PushSquare used to be titled "Microsoft THREATENS to buy more studios"

Love the contrast

@TheFrenchiestFry that site is a cesspool, imo.

@IronMan30 Still better than NintendoLife imo

@MedaXbot Microsoft partnering with SEGA for stuff is way more likely than an outright purchase. Plus it would practically be suicide for stuff like Atlus content since their games have historically performed awfully on Xbox consoles. SEGA staying as it is is considerably more beneficial

@TheFrenchiestFry in what regard?

@IronMan30 I don't know people just seem a lot less likely to melt down on PushSquare when a game is ported to PC than on NintendoLife when a game isn't ported to Switch

@TheFrenchiestFry

Push Square is a joke of a website at this point.

I want them to purchase Asobo Studios. It would make so much sense. And Moon Studios too, obviously.

@TheFrenchiestFry I can understand that perspective. Although, I will say the staff seems to fuel that crap. They put out articles about games not coming to Switch, as if that's relevant to the site. Do you ever see that on here? I don't, and like that about this site. Minimal non-related news is here, imo. Can't speak too much on pushsquare since I only visit there occasionally for a laugh at their blatant bias, but I have not noticed many of those articles there.

@IronMan30 Oh no NintendoLife is like the only of these sites that actively loves to report on either rumors being debunked of a game coming to Switch or a game being listed for Switch and then deconfirmed

Asobo would definitely be a good purchase, but besides that one, I am pretty far behind on what studio makes what game these days. I will just trust Microsoft's judgement on studio selection.

@TheFrenchiestFry @IronMan30

That’s because the Switch gets barely any 3rd party support due to it being so underpowered.

So when people are starved for games & something gets announced for Switch (usually a lesser version of an Xbox or PS game), people probably go crazy. Same reason when they get told that a game is not coming.

It will only get worse once the XSX/S & PS5 launch. None of those games will run on Switch except maybe some indies.

Please don’t monopolize the video games industry... leave some studios/publishers for the others man.

@JesWood13 what does it matter? MS wants to put it's games everywhere through gamepass if nothing else. It's not buying all these studios for exclusives

@Armyof1

Says who?

Microsoft have not confirmed that these studios will not be making exclusive games. Phil said on “a case by case” basis.

@JesWood13

Microsoft isn’t monopolizing anything. There are still tons of companies making games for all consoles.

People are so dramatic. 🙄

@TheFrenchiestFry it would be suicide for the franchise to be locked on xbox console but it wouldn't be, it would be on PC and Android through streaming which would be huge in Asian markets. I think you're right that a partnership is far more likely. If Microsoft wants its gaming services to appeal to other markets it would make sense to have internal Japanese dev teams (besides tango) supplying content to those services.

@JesWood13 If you think what Microsoft is doing is a monopoly, then I don't think you fully understand the meaning of the word.

Moon Studios seems like the obvious choice here. I'm really glad Satya Nadella and Microsoft are fully behind the Xbox team. This upcoming generation is going to be something really special.

@MedaXbot Which is why they should strike more partnerships. There are a multitude of other solutions to appealing to the Japanese market that don't involve buying third party studios and turning multiplats into Xbox console exclusives just to appeal to a particular demographic. Especially given they now have Tango Gameworks as an in house team for first party content, and can always approach publishers like Capcom, SEGA and Square

It's funny. Considering Bethesda's very PC-centric history and the fact that half their console, and especially Playstation releases tend to be badly broken, I'd have thought they were a Microsoft studio since the 90's...they've only ever really made games for Windows, anyway. And Zenimax's MMOs are literally Windows exclusives already....

@TheFrenchiestFry Out of the 3, PushSquare is definitely the deepest dankest dive on the internet this side of IGN. I refused to even go there for years until this launch and I didn't want to miss out at least some of the hype. But it's a hard site to take. Sammy, to his credit, is deep into his community more than anyone at NL (this site's too young to comment but so far Fraser's taking the same interactive approach without the "HOW DARE YOU INSULT MIGHTY MICROSOFT" gatekeeper approach.) It's nice that it's a community that engages more directly with the staff versus NL's very "there's the articles, there's the commenters, and the two rarely cross outside punitive actions." feeling. OTOH his tone is often combative and hostile against anything negative toward Sony, his articles are spin-heavy ("Microsoft threatens..." indeed...) He sets the tone at the top, but at least he's highly active. I'm trying to give him a fair shake though, despite having observed that over years. He's at leas passionate and runs a fan site so they aren't all bad qualities if he can reign in the fanboy a little bit. But the user base. I've noticed since participating there that almost everyone that's ever rubbed me the wrong way on NL seems to mostly live on PS... and the mood there is its own bubble of weird brand adulation. PXB is about people who like the XBox ecosystem and product, services, features. NL is about people who love Nintendo games, or Nintendo's quirky hardware, and have affinity for the brand's history and creatives. PS seems to be mostly people who adulate Sony the company, and their business policies as a whole, more than even the products.... (They're the strong arm of the MPAA and RIAA and have a monopoly lock on the recording industry, worldwide...what is there to love about Sony the company?) And people who seem to actively champion the idea of paying more for everything, and actively resent the suggestion they shouldn't have to. It's a weird, weird place.

I'm going to go out on a limb and take a guess that the majority of PS denizens also own Apple products instead of MS or Android. The mentality seems to be a shared one. It's a cult type of thinking I have never been able to get into. Neither with Apple, nor Sony.

360's fans made me hate XBox (but participate unwillingly because PS3 was just so flat out bad for anything not made by Sony.) Playstation fans make me kind of hate Playstation despite liking some of their stuff. The old talking heads at Sony redeemed them. The new talking heads aren't even present....so we're relying on Sammy to be the face of Sony for us now.

The same problem will happen here too though once XB gets popular enough and this site builds traffic. Same as the chill WiiU era NL became Switch era NL.

@NEStalgia
Oh wow at the Apple products comment. This is one reason why I own an Android phone. I don't find it's as bad as it used to be, but people used to be so arrogant about Apple products and it was a huge turn off for me. There also used to be a local Apple user meet up group in my area, which I found flabbergasting. The biggest reason for me buying Android though is I've always been price sensitive and don't want to pay Apple prices.

@TheFrenchiestFry
I also don't know, but how important is the Japanese market viewed outside of mobile these days? I was under the impression they weren't buying consoles as much as they used to.

Whatever gives Xbox more relevance. Though I'd be surprised if they bought SEGA, and would question what that means for people so use to it being independent, but I don't see that happening. Least not yet anyway.

@KelticDevil Switch already gets a fraction of third-party support of PS and Xbox. That will be the case for every future Nintendo console and has been the case for almost 25 years. I don't see why people act like this is new.

@KelticDevil “Microsoft isn’t monopolizing anything.” Be ready these guys are going to spin yet another false narrative. Be f’ing glad it wasn’t Tencent, Amazon or Google who bought ZeniMax. 😇🙏

@Akimi Handheld gaming is definitely a major part of Japan's gaming culture but there are a ton of home console IPs that make bank in Japan, and gain considerably more traction there than in the West. Especially JRPG franchises like Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Megami Tensei, all franchises that coincidentally don't make many if any appearances on Xbox. The kinds of franchises Japanese gamers tend to be into and have large fanbases surrounding them have way more prominence on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.

Game Science Interactive, the Developers behind that incredible Black Myth: Wukong would be an excellent start considering how much of an impact that trailer had and a big opportunity to get into the Asian market. I know it's Chinese and not Japanese, but it looks like a big opportunity. They also need to grow and need help and support to get that game to market and with the development teams MS has, there is a wealth of experience and knowledge to help.

I think it could be difficult to buy up any Japanese studio's - at least outright - although they could buy a big share in those. It maybe better to invest in creating a 'new' studio outside of Japan with the view to create more 'Japanese' style games and therefore, look at enticing some of the biggest Japanese developers to head this new studio.

If you can't buy a 'studio', then maybe you can entice the developers to leave their current studio to work at a 'new' studio. If you can't buy a Studio owned by EA, Sega, Square Enix, Ubisoft or Sony, maybe you can create a new studio and entice the developers to join your new studio...

Dream Studio would probably be CD Project Red...

Also make good use of them.

I like what they have (rare and now bethesda and more)
Please announce a new full fledged killerinstinct, with Story mode add some fatalities like the previous titles (1&2)

@IronMan30

Exactly. Nintendo does their own thing & they are good at it. They have fallen into that “2nd console” niche very nicely. I respect Nintendo.

@BAMozzy Tango Gameworks is Japanese and established. They just need to support it now that they have it.

@TheFrenchiestFry a partnership makes way more sense. Honestly I’d like to see something like EA play but with Sega come to Gamepass. It doesn’t make a single game exclusive but adds value and Asian appeal without cutting off a fanbase.

@NEStalgia @TheFrenchiestFry @IronMan30 since this site came back, I’ve spent way more time here than NL because of the articles. The issue with PushSquare isn’t as much the sites fault as the sheer size of the fanbase. The bigger you get the more brand loyalist. Sadly.

@KelticDevil Asobo makes the most sense. It’s actually more of surprise they haven’t yet.

@mousieone

You are right. It is surprising.

@mousieone I've spent more time here than NL because the contributors are more level headed (I find NL writers to be weirdly combative for fans). NL has some commenters that are a little off (I can think of a few, but they will remain nameless) but are generally just...meh. I will be fair and say Pushsquare is like that partly because PS4 has a big userbase so, the loyalists are louder than the more reasonable people.

@Akimi Yeah, the Apple fandom has calmed down somewhat post-Steve Jobs, but it has always had this weird obsessive edge to it. Similar to what Playstation fandom exhibits. I don't hate Apple's products. I do hate their pricing strategies (like Sony), but their products rarely do what I want them to do. But the fans....it's a very big turnoff. Same for PS right now. Though X360 was very much the same thing. The best argument against a 360 was the dudebros on the internet who bought them.

@IronMan30 @mousieone Yeah....I do fear this peaceful place won't stay that way long if 360 is anything to go by. A lot of those Sony "fans" went that way in 2013 and were this way before then.

Though PSquare has those really hardcore 90's PS fans that are a whole level of zealous beyond anything 360 had. NL has some odd characters....but what gaming site doesn't? Well this one, because there''s not many of us here yet...that'll change in November. Enjoy this while it lasts.

@NEStalgia

You are spot on. I used to go on Push Square when I had a PS3. It was biased, but it wasn’t the toxic cesspool it is now. Then a lot of the trolls on 360 jumped ship to PS4 and it turned the community into a mess.

@NEStalgia

Some of the 360 trolls may come back to Xbox. Sony just confirmed that they are remastering Spider-Man for the PS5 & they are making you get the Miles Morales Ultimate Edition to get it. No free upgrades for Sony’s 1st party games, apparently.

Sony fans are losing their minds. 😂😳

@NEStalgia @IronMan30 :/ We must build the groundwork to keep our sanity. If need be I will squish the Twinkie’s out of peoples lunchboxes. We need calm and collected people. Lol Actually, lately I’ve seen an Uptick and noticed NL is starting to get “that” crowd. And I fear that larger loud group here :/ I get being upset over something, but don’t be riDICulous.

@KelticDevil some people take pleasure in others loses. I’m not sure why. It’s unfortunate.

@NEStalgia yeah, I'm enjoying this while it lasts for sure. And I do agree that hardcore PS fans in general have a tendency to sound not only like walking billboards, but insist on trolling non-Sony related sites (moreso than even the most hardcore Nintendo or MS fans). I still think this site won't get too bad, though.

So let’s talk about this acquisition. Let’s talk about Orion. I know people forgot about, but it’s a middleware software for streaming anyone consider that might have been another reason for the acquisition?

https://bethesda.net/en/game/orion

@mousieone
I really don't know, but I would suspect xCloud to integrate software that is light years beyond this. Given that Microsoft is a technology software developer and those deep pockets.

@Akimi I was thinking more of keeping it away from competitors like Stadia. I just think it’s one more reason why the Bethesda acquisitions made sense. It’s just funny that everyone is focused on the games but I think it’s whole package.