Grumblevolcano

@AlwaysPlaying Announcing a major acquisition focused on exclusivity while fighting a major acquisition by a competitor likely wouldn't go down well with regulators and Jim Ryan did say nothing is more important than CoD. So if Sony were to announce a Square Enix acquisition, it would be after the Activision acquisition had either gone through or been blocked to the point that Microsoft walks away.

Hopefully they stay independent, their Switch support has been amazing so far and there's so much potential for Switch 2 to fill in gaps like FFVII Remake trilogy, FFXVI, native versions of KH, etc.

The impression I'm getting from this is a similar situation to Halo Infinite which is a shame.

I wonder how much of the info in these leaks the EU had when they made their choice to approve the Activision acquisition. Really all of this makes the EU look like nothing more than Microsoft puppets.

At least the CMA and FTC cares about consumers.

@InheritNegative In general Square Enix games that came to Game Pass ended up on PS+ Extra/Premium after the Game Pass deal expired so it's probably the same with Outriders.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Could also be iPhone 15 Pro judging by the Apple event earlier this week.

@RIghteousNixon I don't think it's safe to assume anything to be honest. Everyone expected CMA to approve the acquisition back in April but they blocked it instead, everyone also expected Microsoft to close the acquisition by bypassing the CMA in June/July but it didn't happen either.

The whole thing about Microsoft and Activision walking away from the acquisition if it wasn't approved by the July deadline turned out to be a lie.

@themightyant @Jimboss It reminds me of when Microsoft did all those ads in the UK (newspapers, London underground, etc.) about the Activision acquisition bringing CoD to more players soon before the CMA announced the acquisition being blocked in the UK.

So I wouldn't be surprised if the CMA either don't accept the new deal that Microsoft proposed (the one about Ubisoft having the cloud rights for 15 years) or announces a phase 2 of the investigation very close to the extension deadline in October.

This would've been the perfect place to announce a Series X|S version of Minecraft as Japan really likes Minecraft.

@Cakefish Microsoft haven't announced the full lineup for Core either.

After everything that's gone on these past few months, I think it's a safe guess that when Gold is replaced by Game Pass Core, the 3:2 upgrade conversation to Ultimate will be gone.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Microsoft expected to already own Activision by now so the plan was probably that all these anti-consumer decisions would be forgotten about in the midst of Activision games coming to Game Pass.

But then the acquisition was delayed long enough that Xbox players can see all the anti-consumer moves Microsoft are making. The CMA are doing Xbox players a huge favour by dragging out the Activision acquisition.

While dropping split screen for Series S specifically was the better option, it was a lose-lose situation whatever approach was taken.

• Dropping split screen for Series S -> there's now precedent that looking forward if you want the full experience of games you should not buy a Series S (it's no longer just a graphics and performance thing)
• Keeping the parity clause in place -> Series X owners miss out on loads of games over time because the Series S is holding it back

The only win to this situation would've been if in 2020 Microsoft announced a digital Series X instead of the Series S.

@SacredPYRO Microsoft doesn't really show up to Geoff events anymore, the most we'll likely see is a Samsung TV Game Pass ad.

Pathetic especially after them talking up about the importance of preservation for a long time. The vast majority of games and DLC on the 360 marketplace aren't available on the XB1/Series X|S store.

@InterceptorAlpha They have had problems but it's been becoming increasingly frequent at different stages of the Activision acquisition. In the early days of the acquisition (it was revealed to have started in November 2021), there was the infamous Halo Infinite mess where the game was forced to be released when it wasn't ready. Then there was stuff like the situations regarding Redfall and Starfield. At the end, a load of Xbox things made worse over the past 2 months while on the acquisition side of things there was stuff like the FTC trial, FTC failing to get an injunction and the CMA reopening negotiations.

It's like Microsoft sped ahead with making Xbox worse when it became very clear the acquisition was going through. Fortunately with the CMA taking their time, Xbox players are noticing these terrible changes to Xbox and voicing their problems with it rather than going "that's ok because CoD is on Game Pass".

@NEStalgia This isn't the first time an Xbox social account showed FFVII Remake by mistake. For example:

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2019/07/xbox_germany_mucks_up_by_announcing_final_fantasy_vii_remake_for_xbox_one

If FFVII Remake comes to Xbox then it means Phil Spencer lied to the CMA and in court about Xbox exclusion deals so I wouldn't take the image as definitive confirmation that it's coming in the future.

The Activision acquisition is no doubt to blame for all the recent bad changes to Xbox.

I think Nintendo handles it best to be honest. With Switch there is no such thing as party chat and game chat is such an obnoxious process to set up that people don't really use it. On the messages side, there's premade ingame messages (e.g. MK8 Deluxe has stuff like "I'm using tilt controls" in the lobby) but you can't make your own messages or send messages to specific users.

Social features as a whole are extremely basic and that's for the better.

@Cherip-the-Ripper Can't find an answer for Forza Motorsport (2005) as Google results keep showing the 2023 game instead but Forza Motorsport 2-7 all have splitscreen.

@abe_hikura It's not coming to XB1, just Series X|S and PC so much like Baldur's Gate 3 it looks like Series S is the problem again.

@rustyduck It does feel like Microsoft's getting ready to exit the console business. They keep reporting decreases in console sales in their earnings reports and console is seeming more like an afterthought.

@InterceptorAlpha I'd guess it's possible to beat Starfield in a month and/or something to do with the Activision acquisition.

If Starfield can be beaten in a month then all you need to is sign up for a month of GPU for £1/$1 and then let the subscription lapse because you're finished with the game.

Meanwhile regarding the Activision acquisition, Microsoft probably feel they can get away with making lots of things worse value because they'll own CoD.

It's a huge shame Microsoft gave up on it in 2021, finding out what games would be added to BC next was most of the time more exciting than the new game announcements at Xbox events.

That's rather concerning, you can't even play the big 1st party games on the showfloor.

@Banjo- You misunderstood my point. What I was on about is Square Enix will likely be cautious not to burn bridges. PS5 is the best place to play FF at current because it's missing the least number of games, if that changes to all 3 being equal then that's not going to cause problems.

But if it changes to Series X|S being the best place to play FF because of what Microsoft were able to do with the backwards compatibility program in the XB1 era (current systems having the same games except Series X|S also having the FFXIII trilogy), that would probably burn bridges with Sony.

@Banjo- There seems to be a resurgence of 7th gen games being remastered of which the originals were added to the Xbox backwards compatibility program. The main purpose likely being about Switch and PS4/PS5 (sometimes also PC like with RDR) getting games that aren't currently on the system so I could see something similar happen with FFXIII trilogy.

@Banjo- @cragis0001 @Kaloudz I think Pixel Remasters will come to Xbox around the time the FFXIII trilogy is no longer Xbox exclusive with regards to modern platforms as a way to treat all 3 platforms equally.

@Banjo- Switch's successor will probably answer those questions. A big reason FFVII Remake isn't on the Switch is because the Switch isn't powerful enough but the successor would reveal whether that was the only reason because power wouldn't be an issue anymore.

After receiving the new dashboard and checking it out, this is definitely the worst the dashboard has ever been. You can tell that the sole purpose of the redesign is to try and force people to sign up for Game Pass.

Xbox Live Gold was getting worse over the past year or so but I'd say Game Pass Core is even worse value. I'll do without Xbox online multiplayer like I have for the past 4 months.

Pong could be a hint for the Atari 50 collection coming to Game Pass.

The Coalition announced moving to UE5 for next gen development in May 2021 so I figure if Gears 6 exists it would launch around 2026/2027 (5-6 years seems a reasonable guess).

A Gears collection containing the 360 games in a MCC style package to catch PC players up with the story as well as reviving the playerbase would seem like an easy win for Xbox but that rumour is seeming less likely now. The collections tease prior to the showcase feels like it was for Activision collections like Skylanders or Hexen + Heretic.

@shoeses @Dragonsbane Given the change from Xbox Live Gold to Xbox Game Pass Core and that Game Pass doesn't exist on Xbox 360 consoles, I get the feeling Microsoft are going to kill off 360 soon like they did the original Xbox in 2010. Online servers and the marketplace.

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/02/xbox-360-may-2023-closure-message-was-an-error-says-microsoft

Pretty much that the "error" earlier in the year was only an error in terms of when the closure was happening.

@Moonglow It's a negotiation phase now of which it'll go through if both parties come to an agreement. We don't know what concessions Microsoft will need to make in order for the CMA to accept. And if they don't come to an agreement then Microsoft's CAT appeal goes ahead in October.

Meanwhile Microsoft and Activision making an extension to satisfy the CMA may set off more FTC resistance given Microsoft and Activision will have lied under oath to the judge. What comes of it, who knows.

@Ralizah I disagree. While not likely, Starfield on PS5 is more likely than that. Reasoning being that Microsoft's treatment of Bethesda has been a big factor in there being so much resistance to the Activision acquisition. If Microsoft are so desperate to own Activision, under certain circumstances they may cave in and put Bethesda games on other consoles to push the Activision acquisition through.

It all comes down to how much power the CMA wields (there's reports saying they managed to delay the acquisition past the deadline so that's something).

It's real:

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/07/17/xbox-game-pass-core/

Another thing that came to mind is that Game Pass doesn't exist on Xbox 360 so is this change a sign that Microsoft is going to fully shut down Xbox 360 like they did in 2010 for the OG Xbox?

Seems worse value compared to Gold but also makes Ultimate worse value at the same time. Can't say I'm surprised though as it is very well documented over the past 15 years that whoever owns CoD ends up being very arrogant and anti-consumer.

@OM1993 Which basically confirms it's closing on Monday.

@OM1993 @S1ayeR74 If Microsoft delays to satisfy CMA's demands, surely the FTC can show that Microsoft lied about the urgent nature of the deadline and hence they could easily also be lying about the CoD deals (the 10 year deals as well as the oath about not taking CoD off Playstation)?

Having Xbox Games Showcase Extended clash with the big Forza Motorsport info drop (both events happened at the same time and Motorsport wasn't present at all in Xbox Games Showcase Extended) felt counter-intuitive. It honestly gives the impression Microsoft are expecting Motorsport to go the way of Halo Infinite.

Not surprising given what was reported on about the FTC's arguments in the trial though the result is still disappointing.

It's been so wonderful playing Square Enix games on my Switch and it's so sad that's going to be taken away all because regulators allowed Microsoft to start an acquisition war. CoD on Nintendo hardware is a terrible consolation prize.

These MCC updates continue to be fantastic but it's a shame the game has a small population issue because of Infinite. Before I let my Gold subscription lapse, I was struggling to find matches in MCC.

@gamer5634 The official Xbox support site states the changes:

https://support.xbox.com/en-GB/help/subscriptions-billing/manage-subscriptions/xbox-game-pass-ultimate-faq

What happens to my prepaid months of Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass, and/or EA Play when I sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?

• Xbox Live Gold and PC Game Pass conversion ratio: Any remaining time will convert to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time at a ratio of 3:2 and be rounded up to the next full day. For example, 90 days remaining of Xbox Live Gold or PC Game Pass will convert to 60 days of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time.
• Xbox Game Pass for Console conversion ratio: Any remaining time will convert to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time at a ratio of 4:3 and be rounded up to the next full day. For example, 90 days remaining of Xbox Game Pass for Console will convert to 68 days of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time.
• EA Play conversion ratio: Any remaining time will convert to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time at a ratio of 3:1 and be rounded up to the next full day. For example, 90 days remaining of EA Play will convert to 30 days of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time.

@Cashews The comparison I was making is that BotW was the only 1st party Nintendo game playable on the show floor at E3 2016 and it completely stole the spotlight.

I'd guess they're trying to make a similar impact with Starfield here as Nintendo did with BotW at E3 2016.

@NEStalgia Microsoft did limit Series X stock to prioritize cloud gaming. It wouldn't be surprising if the strategy is they upgrade their xCloud servers to be the equivalent of a more powerful Series X even though there's no physical release of a more powerful Series X.

Console exclusivity is limited to a box, what Nadella likely wants is platform exclusivity. The concept of you can play games on any device but you must be subscribed to Game Pass to do so. They're essentially trying to make Game Pass a monopoly in the same way Windows is.

@Rmg0731 Agreed, Microsoft should be permanently blocked from acquiring any studios or publishers at this point (really should've been blocked from acquiring Bethesda too).

You'd think Microsoft would want to clarify this ASAP as the FTC could use it against the Activision acquisition (Microsoft using the power of CoD to kill off retail).