IllusiveMan

The Activision deal continues to deliver… absolutely nothing.

Making projections when neither of the machines have been even announced is just ridiculous.

A lot of things change drastically even on a daily basis, like just 6 months ago I wouldn’t be even considering getting Helix with how grim Xbox as a console was looking but they’re turning things around and Sony shot both their legs off ending physical media while having an archaic digital ecosystem, making now Helix a more attractive option than a PS6 at least for me even if it ends up being more expensive.

I agree with all those points, specially that layoffs are a result of failed leadership and they should focus on obtainable goals instead of shooting for the sky and seek 1 billion players a day as they go hand in hand.

The previous administration did that, expected 100M of Game Pass users and even ignored for a while their core console audience to seek players on PC or Cloud who never came, and now the brand is dealing with the fallout of a failed strategy, however the mere admission that they should and will focus more on their core console business makes me a bit more hopeful, if anything it’s clear we need Xbox back given how Sony wants the absolute control of the console market.

What a miss from Microsoft to not port native version to Xbox One/Series owners, people would’ve happily double dipped for this cash grab, just look at the PS crowd they even forgot about the physical games debacle because of these only-digital ports.

Gutting nearly 80% of id Software (not half as initially speculated) is such a dumb shortsighted move, this is a death sentence for the studio that will unsurprisingly fail to deliver another Doom game of the same quality that the latest trilogy within a reasonable timeframe and budget, right at the same time they claim Doom to be a key Bethesda franchise to invest in, utterly nonsense.

They’ve had 8 days to score an easy W and take a jab at Sony but they didn’t and we all know why, Xbox had been also pushing for an only-digital future since 2013 and their physical game business is even more minuscule than Sony’s, however Xbox’ digital ecosystem is leagues ahead and actually ready for being the only way forward and there’s that rumored disc-to-digital program.

One key aspect that many are not aware is that the moment Sony stops discs’ production the price for Microsoft or anyone still wanting to produce them will go up, same thing with Blu-Ray drives as they’re already scarce, I see zero chance for Xbox to champion physical game discs.

Frankly I see this as an absolute W.

@Millionski Lmao must I quit gaming before calling out Xbox for gutting an excellent studio with a franchise themselves consider to be key? Because the entire industry is imploding must we cross our arms and remain silent? Sorry but that’s just ridiculous.

My solution is that if you’re so bothered by my comments you can simply ignore me and won’t see my comments again because I won’t stop calling out things I disagree with, it’s not about doom and glooming but having criteria to recognize and call out when a brand I like makes a bad move, you can accuse me of being obnoxious but at least I’ve always been consistent unlike many others here, being complacent doesn’t get us anywhere but calling out BS and hurting their revenue stream gets us things like a focus back on consoles or Gears of War E-Day being exclusive again, which might be too little too late but it’s at least better than having it released day one on PS5, it might’ve sold more yet that alone would’ve made the brand unsalvageable, yet the same people applauding it being exclusive would be defending it being on PS5 if MS didn’t reverse course, that’s how little criteria there’s for some and where my problem is at, not that if you like your Xbox because of the refund policy which yeah is by far the best digital marketplace out of the big 3 and it’s not recognized enough.

@Kaloudz It’s not about ‘hating’ or ‘following the masses’, it’s having a stance of your own which you keep confirming you don’t have any, you have the “understanding” enough to call a studio “fat” but when called out turns out you don’t know anything but just agree with whatever decision they make cause of the bigger picture (whatever that means), you can’t make this up 🤣

@Kaloudz Now you champion ‘realism’? Read Asha’s statement from yesterday, both Game Pass and multiplatform pivot didn’t bring any growth to Xbox and even ate into their core business (console), yet you all championed the idea of Game Pass even when it went to $30/month, you championed the idea of becoming multiplatform to even release Halo, Gears and Forza on PS5, you dismissed all of us who claimed it was the wrong path but the moment Gears of War E-Day was heavily rumored to be exclusive you champion exclusives again, like really, there’s no line you’ll not cross, of all the years I’ve been here reluctantly reading all your comments I’ve not seen anything Microsoft does or doesn’t do that you will not champion or try to justify, I ask again where’s your own criteria?

I’ll tell you mine and serves as an answer to @Millionski as well, I agreed with the initial news yesterday as it’s commendable that they found new owners for studios that frankly haven’t delivered on what they were bought for (a consistent lineup for Game Pass as was Spencer’s strategy), it’s very good news they’re decoupling from everything revolving around Game Pass (also championed by many here) and cutting down 14 layers of management but any of that justify cutting a studio like id Software in half, it’s yet another a shortsighted decision that might be a death sentence for the studio if they fail to deliver a game with their know quality in the timeframe this new budget-strict Microsoft wants with half the staff, and also inconsistent with their own desire of having Bethesda focus on their big franchises, if you really don’t see any red flags with this particular move where do you draw the line?

@oopsiezz Apparently State of Decay 3 will not be required to be on Game Pass and I guess that goes for Senua as well, a new owner wouldn’t want a clause preventing the games to sell more units for being on Game Pass, and overall today’s news is that Game Pass is no longer the big priority at Xbox anymore and I see that as good news.

Brutal as expected, Double Fine and Compulsion becoming indies, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs sold, Arkane looking for a buyer otherwise will close, this year’s showcase truly was an auction but it’s a much better outcome that studios remain alive in some way rather than being closed outright.

However we’re also getting the ultimate acceptance that both Game Pass and being multiplatform didn’t grow as expected and in fact ate into the core business (people leaving Xbox or stop spending on it), all the things many of us have warned for years now, if anything they’re finally being transparent about just how mismanaged Xbox is, I mean 14 layers of management makes it impossible to accomplish anything, not sure if changes will actually reflect on more and better games but a reset internally on how they operate was very needed.

I mean, this is nothing but wishful thinking (mine included), I think we all expected Xbox to be the first digital-only platform as they’re much better positioned to do so and Sony only beat them to it.

But remember Sony is one of the makers and creator of Blu-Ray discs, if they’re abandoning their own market that means the cost for Xbox to have a drive and keep producing discs next-gen just went up, and seeing how Xbox is currently all about cost-cutting physical games are truly over for both platforms.

@Questionable_Duck Can’t you read into some sarcasm? Some have literally used the exact same phrases in a not sarcastic way lol

And I never said Game Pass is the sole cause for all this mayhem, but rather yet another mismanagement that failed to deliver on MS execs expectations, they bought most of the studios they’ll close on the basis of having consistent content on Game Pass but games weren’t consistent nor appealing for the most part of the service’s audience.

They seem addicted to lie, why making a statement they’re not reducing their investment in gaming when they’re about to have the biggest cuts ever for their gaming division?

@fatpunkslim I do agree there’s a big chunk of fanboys from other brands that will make up anything to try and picture Xbox worse than it actually is, but this whole situation is not just a rumor, Asha herself said tough decisions are coming (corporate speak for layoffs) and there’s been more than one credible sources that this is one of the studios at risk of closure (and there’s plenty of reasons for that tbh) so to still claim that the people looking for a job are not being laid off but rather ‘leaving the studio’ and nothing else is happening it’s either disingenuous or extremely naive.

Not all criticism is about dramatizing, I remember being called out of being “dramatic” for saying that becoming multiplatform would irreparably damage the brand and look were we are, I remember all your comments still trying to deny what was going on to ending up justifying it and later on flip-flop again and championing exclusives, that’s were my criticism is aimed at, it’s not the first time you and others faithful to the brand do all sorts of backflips to either deny and later justify whatever Microsoft does, and perhaps, just perhaps, if we’ve had been louder in criticizing all of Phil’s questionable decisions we wouldn’t be here discussing people losing their job.

And I’ve said many, many, times in all 3 websites, one brand’s mistakes or failures doesn’t justify the others, I’ve had my fair share of issues with both users and authors on the ‘Push website’, there’s blatant fanboy behavior from the staff there and as you can expect they don’t like being called out, last week they were gloating on Xbox layoffs, now they’re justifying Bungie’s, a few months ago they were gloating on Sony abandoning PC ports but last month they’ve been crying about Xbox keeping some exclusives.

I’m tired boss. Our entire hobby is becoming unsustainable before our eyes, $800 for a Series X is completely mental, and this will only get worse as younger generations are priced out of console/PC gaming altogether, audience will keep shrinking and companies will continue to hike prices in an attempt to maintain the same revenue.

@Questionable_Duck I really don’t think that’s any indication, Phil wasn’t always an advocate for being multiplatform, if anything he repeatedly promised a lineup of exclusive games from 2013 to 2024 and I still think his hand was forced on this matter by Microsoft higher ups (ahem Satya) and only now they’re seeing how much it hurt the brand and are attempting to reverse course with a new face being Asha.

I do agree that all we can do is wait and see what their actions truly are, I wouldn’t go to make any claims regarding the brand for the next few months, I feel everything is on the table and this new vision will be very different to anything of the previous 25 years, if that’s better or worse remain to be seen.

@Questionable_Duck So the difference is that Asha promised it instead of Phil?

At this point Microsoft statements’ don’t hold any value, regardless of the spokesperson, look at Aaron Greenberg claiming it wasn’t a last minute move to cancel PS5 version even when the official trailer with the logo leaked out, that’s why I insist its ridiculous to rally behind these statements and claim “Hey I told you so, they’re exclusives!”, and worst those claims coming from the very same people who not long ago were claiming nonsense like being multiplatform was ‘the right path’ for Xbox and the brand was ‘healthier than ever’.

My personal stance has always been that Xbox needed exclusives and disagreed heavily even with the “only 4 games” so I ultimately feel this is a good move but it’s also coming way too late, wouldn’t surprise me really if they pivot yet again if Helix isn’t successful enough for their metrics or whatever Satya’s new itch is.

@RBRTMNZ Ever since the “only 4 games were announced” the brand is facing an unstoppable spiral of death, many of us warned it the day it was confirmed and we were called other brand’s fanboys, and now that reality is setting in the ones who defended and excused this multiplatform pivot now prefer turning deaf ears and blind eyes to all this situation until it’s “confirmed”.

We don’t need MS execs to confirm this will be the biggest cuts Xbox has ever seen, it’s painfully obvious this is a make or break moment for Xbox overall, and I insist, it didn’t have to be this way if only they sticked to one plan across the entire generation instead of pivoting time and time again, and no one should’ve defended Xbox giving up exclusives to the point of releasing Halo, Gears and Forza on PlayStation, that’s to me the pivotal moment Xbox lost its way and yet many here defended it avidly.

I understand the pitch and I’d rather see the studio being independent or with another owner than closed, but it’s just such a misleading thing to do, showing a game to fans fully knowing they’re about to divest/close the studio without any certainty the game will ever actually exist.

And they opened yet another Pandora’s box, now with every showcase or trailer we’ve got to question if the game we’re seeing is meant for us or it’s a pitch to sell the studio, shame how they already tainted an otherwise very good Showcase.

@ILuvGames It’s sad that many don’t see it this way, there’s a fine line between being hopeful for the brand and having toxic positivity labeling everyone who thinks differently as another brand’s fanboy.

Many turn deaf ears to this but we should’ve been louder in questioning Game Pass profitability and long-term sustainability, we should have questioned Phil Spencer’s decisions way more harshly, and no one, no one, should’ve excused or defended the multiplatform pivot to see them release Halo, Gears and Forza on PlayStation, but again, I remember all the comments here defending the pivot even claiming delusions as PS players ‘financing’ the games for being on Game Pass for Xbox players, and the same people who called me a fanboy back then when I said this would be an unstoppable spiral of death for the brand are now mad that many of us don’t trust a yet another promise…

To be clear I don’t believe this “rumor” and while being too little too late I do believe having some exclusives is the right move, but I pose a very simple question, how is this any different from 2022-2023’s promises that Starfield would be an Xbox exclusive?

@McKeownPlayz Is that really how poor your argument is?

I bought it day one at launch, back when we were promised “a consistent lineup of exclusive games”, that’s how big of an Xbox hater I am, in fact I hate Xbox so much that a year later I got the Halo special edition Series X that I still keep and treasure to this day and was my primary console until 2024. Why 2024? Because of the “only 4 games”, needless to elaborate why I distrust them so much ever since…

@McKeownPlayz I am here because I own an Xbox and that gives the right to share my opinion or voice my concerns doesn’t it? As consumers don’t we have a right to criticize the brand? Must we behave like a cult were we have to defend every move or pivot that Microsoft makes? Because that sounds way more like forcing opinions on others than criticizing the brand for continually fail to deliver their promises.

The amount of people trying to turn this into console warring is ridiculous, this has nothing to do with PlayStation or its fanboys the truth of the matter is that Microsoft just can’t be trusted, it’s meaningless if this rumor is accurate or not, no one, and I mean no one, not even Asha herself can be sure of what Microsoft will decide to do in 6 weeks, months or years.

@CaptainCluck Are you seriously calling Double Fine a bad studio? All to defend Microsoft’s moronic decisions like buying these studios in the first place?
Sorry but I’m just done reading justifications and excuses for Microsoft, all I read is “poor Microsoft that has to fire the thousands of people they spent billions to acquire and left years in mismanagement hell, poor, poor Microsoft.”

Yes the business needs a ‘reset’ but would anyone care to acknowledge how we got here in the first place? Are all XGS “bad studios” or maybe, just maybe Xbox/MS had the worst possible administration for their studios for 8 years? Oh that’s right, instead of managing them they allowed them to do whatever they want as they saw those studios as Game Pass fodder and continued on a buying spree thinking the all-hands bet on Game Pass would pay out, but now the ones who cheered ALL of that today claim “it hurts but has to be done”, facepalm…

@Camble_Refuge Many will arrive here claiming “it’s tough but has to be done” without even questioning what got us here in the first place, ignoring all their previous comments cheering for Microsoft to keep buying more and more studios or money hat third-party games, hell some are still suggesting it even with this dire state of the brand…

The bloodbath begins…

But wait, yesterday some were calling BS on a report of Microsoft looking to restructure Xbox and the same day comes Satya outright saying Xbox needs to be profitable almost as an ultimatum… aren’t things clear enough? This is the last chance.

My expectation is that the ‘reset of the business’ as they call it will be that Xbox will slowly become a wholly owned subsidiary which will manage its own pockets without much intervention from Microsoft, for good and bad, hence why we’ll see the biggest cuts ever for the division as a last effort for efficiency and profitability, but if Xbox fails to stand on their own two feet without any subsidy from Microsoft they can and will take drastic measures as reported a couple days ago.

@HonestHick You contradict yourself, how are they going to have a profitable sustainable business by paying off huge loads of money to third-parties to keep a game off PlayStation instead of let’s say making Senua exclusive?

But sure believe what you want to believe, I’m with @Balaam_ here, part of me wishes Microsoft would go ahead and force Xbox to stand on their own two feet to see how long their last and how long the apologists of the brand will endure claiming nonsense.

@HonestHick That doesn’t make the slightest sense, they’re struggling to make their own first-party games exclusive because ‘the business is not in a good place’ as Asha herself said, and only if it gets better they’ll try to do more.

What would be the point of throwing money they don’t have into third-party deals to keep a game off PS5? To sell the consoles they’re unwilling to fabricate?
Also, most third-parties would outright reject any said deal as they’d be losing a lot of sales by not launching on PS5, and because of that any potentially acceptable deal would be astronomically expensive to try to make up the lost sales on other platforms. Not even a 3% chance of happening and no industry is too big to leave for Microsoft, just look at Windows Phone or Skype, billions spent for being nonexistent nowadays.

@MrStark And how many times Phil Spencer said the same thing? Did it happen?

With the numbers revealed a couple days ago by Asha herself it isn’t hard to believe this is how bad things actually are, Phil Spencer was actually saying the truth when he claimed Microsoft would get rid of Xbox if wasn’t able to acquire ABK, and even with that gone through they still might be willing to get rid of it.

And as good as a standalone Xbox could potentially seem, no brand can survive with 3% margins and no one else will subsidize it for as much as 20 billion, unless they do the biggest cuts ever seen in the industry significantly trimming the business, which is already heavily rumored to happen in the upcoming weeks, it’s all lining up.

I already could play it included with Game Pass (paid for until July 2027) but I’m very, very curious about that PS5 Pro version, lately there’s been a noticeable upgrade in recent games with the new PSSR.

3% margins, $20 billion in platform subsidies plus an $80 billion acquisition…

And some here have had the audacity to claim over and over again that Xbox was “healthy” or “on the right path”, last year they were defending the multiplatform pivot and saying Phil was god and today it turns out exclusives are good and Asha is “the chosen one”, like come on…

Yes it’s a good thing that she is being transparent and frontal about it but maybe we should have questioned Phil Spencer decisions way more harshly to leave the business as he did, I think all this is ultimately proof that Game Pass isn’t as sustainable as they told us it was, so maybe, just maybe, start scrutinizing this execs instead of outright believing what they say or worst, defending them.

Activision ended up swallowing Xbox rather than the other way around…

@Banjo- And how can you be sure they will not backtrack (this time)?
Like really how is any of this any different to the promised Starfield exclusivity back in 2022/2023?
If game sales on Xbox don’t pick up the pace or Helix has disappointing sales in the first year who’s to say they’ll not pivot yet again?

Also not too long ago you were advocating for everything being multiplatform and now you’re advocating for exclusives, when they pivot again will you do so as well?

I really don’t know how to feel about this, on one hand it’s great to have some return to exclusivity as the platform otherwise would continue to dwindle, but I fear this might be too little too late and it poses many questions like: Are sales for both games only on Xbox and Steam going to be enough to cover the costs of them? Will any of those studios be at risk if they don’t reach sales targets?

Also, I understand the case-by-case basis, but there has to be some consistency, just today it was bizarre to see Gears E-Day announced as a console exclusive followed by Halo on PS5 just 5 minutes later, while also presenting brand new Xbox Game Studios games still releasing day one on PS5.

With no discernible pattern how is anyone supposed to believe exclusives are truly back? How is this any different from 2023’s promises of Starfield being exclusive? And perhaps the biggest question is how long will it take them to pivot again?

More actions, less talk. Feels like we’re back again at when Phil kept saying “next year is the year of Xbox” and it never happened.