theduckofdeath

@Savage_Joe Do we really need answers, though? That's what I mean about people feeling entitled. Phil is not going to come running every time Xbox or MS makes a business decision. We have enough bits of information to have general idea of what happened.

Shareholders were addressed by Sarah Bond and players did not find the answers adequate; they have invested in the company and closing Tango and AA didn't make a dent. The stock price went up.

There has already been an announcement that Phil is doing an interview with IGN after the show on Sunday. He may shine a little more light on the studio closures. Despite my continued interest, I don't need to know at this point. Nor do I expect a definitive answer. There is a small amount of trepidation I hold, considering this interview may be an opportunity to announce something we really won't like.

@Savage_Joe As present as the Sony and Nintendo execs have always been. People became way too entitled and familiar with Xbox leadership. There is a big show Sunday (two shows and an interview, actually) and I'm sure they are focused on that. Spencer deserves the break.

Another game I need to get back to and complete.

@JayJ Yes, the founder, Mikami left (as reported near the launch of Hi-Fi Rush last year). There is big difference between that and what happened (over the course of development, apparently) at Arkane Austin. I'm looking in the same places for details on these closures and haven't come across anything definitive about heavy attrition at Tango. If so, what is everyone so up in arms about?

Spencer mentioned going to the studio to check on Everwild progress in an interview...over a year ago.

@JayJ We have heard that ARKANE Austin devs left over the years because of Redfall development. The studio was no longer the intact Dishonored or Prey team as we like to think of them. I have not seen or heard anything saying Tango suffered a mass exodus at any point prior to closure.

@Kooky_Geezer The reality is that Redfall was not up to snuff and development was not completed, even when given an additional 9+ months by Microsoft.

People conveniently forget that MS bought Zenimax. There is still Bethesda in the chain before you ever get to Arkane Austin and Roundhouse. This is no small enterprise. Those studios would likely have been on the chopping block, acquisition or not.

We are not privy to the details, first and foremost, where (MS/XBox/Zenimax/Bethesda) and when did the closure plan originate? Redfall had been in turmoil long before MS closed the acquisition. Zeni/Beth/Arkane leadership may have been deceptive about the state of the game and what could be accomplished on schedule. We are still getting updates to make the game acceptable one year post-release.

Normal-sized hands for NPCs. Or just build new models for the NPCs altogether. Dishonored 2 had far superior NPCs.

I beat the game within a month or so of launch. The AI and difficulty for neighborhood bosses was very low. The were also generic. That should be fixed.

Hives were really repetitive, with exits close to the end, instead of having fight your way out. It was purely a looting thing. Greed was the main cause of missing your escape time, and the punishment was not severe.

@Fiendish-Beaver MS won't do that because they reserve the right to port any game they wish at any time. Phil & Co. said legacy titles would be supported, legacy series and new IPs would be handled on a case-by-case basis. That is as clear as it can be stated. People wanting an answer for each individual game's platform status into infinity are unreasonable.

The answer is case-by-case. Yes, some games & series are more likely to go to PS or Nintendo than others. Some may be a "no way in hell" answer to porting. There is no "everything from studio/publisher X but nothing from studio/publisher Y" answer to give.

Contrast that with Sony buying exclusivity ad hoc from third party studios and publishers. They purposely obscure the extents of the contracts, put a hush on the studios, and keep PC/Xbox players in the dark. Why are more people up their a@@?

I think Xbox may have been way too forthcoming and approachable for their own good.

@Lup I completed Benedict Fox...last year? Maybe the year before? I've lost track. There are a lot of puzzles to figure out, and there were some performance and control issues near launch. The game eventually got an update for performance & control issues. I was already done with the game. It was enjoyable. Be ready to think and use patience to solve the puzzles and environmental Metroid-type puzzles.

@Kooky_Geezer There are factors we are not privy to. Our reaction is "why?!?" Tango made enjoyable games that unfortunately were not profitable even with being multi-platform. We wanted MS to keep them regardless. Decisions on these deals and closings are not happening as they are reported on game sites.

The timing of the studio closures was very close to the close of Microsoft's fiscal year (June 30) so that could be a factor as well. The little details provided indicated that both Tango and AA would have to staff up and spend 3-6 years developing additional title(s) that ultimately would not sell.

Whatever the cause, it was bad news. This compounded with the wild & reckless multi-platform rumors, eventual ports to rival consoles, and 5-month wait for a 1st party release damaged morale.

@themightyant "Day 6," God willing. Pay up or wait.

@sikthvash Remember how many people complained (and I am being polite here) about Halo 5's multiplayer?

Either do a Reach/ODST-type game or think out an excellent campaign for Master Chief. Either way, it has to be bombastic campaign that Halo deserves. The Infinite campaign was good, but not what you would expect from Halo in 2022. Not after a year delay. Bring in authors from the books or incorporate their ideas.

No more "it takes us 5 months to complete a MP map" (that is a direct quote, mind you) a year after release. Find an engine that the team can build upon and not get stymied at every turn. Work on that developer retention and onboarding, too.

@OldGamer999 Did you actually watch the entire walkthrough?

@CutchuSlow I think it is there even in 16:9 ratio games, especially 1st person games. It has to do with the way the 3D view is calculated for the camera (and peripheral vision). There is curvature/distortion at the extremes. Changing the FOV may alter how noticeable it is.

@CutchuSlow All or most wide screen games have a fisheye effect. The wider, the more pronounced and noticeable.

Series X and Xbox One X, easily. My Xbox One had a hard drive failure very late (I'm pretty sure I owned the Series X for a while when it happened). Every other disc-based console failed on multiple times; PS1, PS2, PS3, OG Xbox, and Xbox 360.

Hellblade 2, giving Animal Well a shot, Nier: Automata, and Starfield (so far).

@GlasgowGuy Spencer has to be tired of everyone. Fans, regulators, Sony, and Microsoft bosses.

ilovebees

Any one old enough to remember the Blair Witch Project's "viral" marketing? It was better than the actual movie.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I like to go into a game or movie relatively cold, so I prefer no reviews before I get my hands on it. At least, no reviews or opinions I do it not choose to view. The click-fiends put opinions in their article titles and scores on the thumbnails so you can read them accidentally.

The reviews around the Starfield launch were vexing. The premium package granted 5-day early access, and these jerks decided flood the internet with review articles hours before that advanced activation went live.

@Ken_Kaniff The best part of Heavenly Sword was aiming long range arrow shots with the Six-Axis. That, and Anna Torv's voice acting.

@OldGamer999 They're creatives and Hellblade is what they wanted to do. That is what interests them the most. We don't want them strongarmed into making an action game (trilogy), right?

You should watch the making of the original Hellblade, if you have the time. The team documented it on video from the beginning.

I like tech, and back then the videogame tech leaps were greater with each system. We need as big a jump as you could get.

PS2 we crazily hyped up and I feel for it, watching B.S. "trailers" online all through '99. I skipped Dreamcast because of it. Luckily, I was able to get the PS2 on launch day. The reality was pretty disappointing, with Red Faction being one of the few bright spots of the first year. GTA3 bailed them out and things got better over time.

The OG Xbox had a different approach and smart inclusions, along with greater compute. Third party libraries were more widely differentiated at the time, between each console and PC. That was interesting and I bought a bundle ($500 for console and 4 or 5 games) a week after launch. I remember not quiet knowing what to think about Halo until I actually played it and was ultimately impressed.

@Banjo-

I never played much Sea of Thieves for similar reasons. I didn't have anyone to play with. Two years or so have gone by since I've play SoD2. Maybe I'll fire it up later.

I had some great encounters in the first game. SoD2 is fun; they've bad situations more survivable than before. Some of my companions have not been so lucky. Wish I had more time to be fit it into the rotation.

@OldGamer999 Better for MS to have some level of migration to Xbox from PS and a larger share of new-to-market buyers. They have the most sales surface area with more consoles (1:1 with potential customers). Then when the next gen launches, more people go straight to Xbox. MS has so many studios that the next gen launch should be close to or better than the 360 launch.

@MrBook Same here; CoD 2 was one of my all-time favorite games. Great launch title for 360 that really helped to usher in the next gen. Loved the look of the smoke grenades. Played through the campaign on veteran 5-6 times. Next up for me was CoD 4: MW.

@GuyinPA75 Jewel 2 has been much better about registering play lately. The goal tile now states, explicitly, "Complete one level of Jewel on the Xbox app for mobile." Yes, there were times prior when it would take 2-4 levels for my play to register.

@GeeEssEff You have to play on the console for 15 minutes. It says so on the goal "tile." I have been getting the points consistently.

@GuyinPA75 Digital Foundry would like a word with you.

@InterceptorAlpha

"While he didn't directly fill the position, he is essentially Major Nelson's replacement with a manager title attached."

I do NOT think that is accurate.

Of course, Spencer needs Satya and board approval for large purchases like ABK and even Bethesda. Otherwise, I think he is afforded a fair amount of latitude in recent years. The situation that led to these studio closures is a confluence of issues. Chances are the Xbox team were ultimately directed or put under significant pressure.

Phil Spencer has probably been chugging Pepto for a while.

Honestly, how many of the people in an uproar bought or at least played through Hi-Fi Rush or GWT on any platform? The Evil Within 1 or 2? I bought and completed TEW 1 & 2 on PC near release. I completed Hi-Fi Rush on Series X Game Pass. GWT is a game I waited the year for not just for it to hit Xbox, but for improvements to the PC version that never came. I still have not made the time to play it.

@Fishmasterflex96 Ninja Theory explained in their "making of" video for the first Hellblade why they keep the price $50 and do digital only releases.

@Weapon_Wheel I am pretty sure MS has been there the whole time, granting and revoking permissions and funding. Xbox did not gain any new studios until 2018 (a deficit stretching back to the 360 days). Scalebound, Quantum Break, ReCore, Fable 4, and Crackdown were long in development and a paltry set of titles. Most of these games either never arrived or were not in the greatest shape when they did.

While a company needs to keep spending in check, Phil and crew has been handcuffed for much of their run. He was promoted after the Kinect investment went down to the toilet.

@TakeItEasy I've played on PC since PS1 launched. All platforms have their uses. I play on PC and Xbox now (along with Steam Deck). The convenience of having PC and a machine in the living room with "Play Anywhere" is welcome.

An alarming percentage of non-MS published games that I have bought have come to Game Pass. Oh well.

@shoeses This should never have been. SE skipped Xbox and PC. That is tantamount to seeking bankruptcy in 2024. Sony was paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year to keep games off of those platforms. Games that would not have skipped PS, anyway. The more you avoid a platform, the more your undermine chances of ever building a following there.

Look at Koei Tecmo; you take a Game Pass deal for Wo Long, then think it wise to make Rise of Ronin exclusive to PS? What were they thinking? Millions of Wo Long players would picked RoR on impulse.

No third party game should ever skip PC.

@Gamer_X Win an an even number of rewards and you're good; win an odd number, and it's curtains for you.

Obsidian has other projects in the works, unlike poor Tango. No need to staff up and long hammer out project details before beginning development one day.

@BRT15 That's how I've felt about games for years. The last time I could say I was excited for a game was MGS5. I'm older, though.

Regardless, I'll watch the show and it will be interesting to see what is presented. HB2 will be here in a week or so.

@Lanmanna I'm not defending a big corp, I am defending reason. Tango's last four game releases are not what you would call financial successes. Hi-Fi Rush was critically acclaimed, deservedly. Great...but few played it and even less bought it.

If HFR had not been in GP, I sincerely doubt I would have bought it, and there is no guarantee I would have played it (and I'm not alone). GWT had relatively poor performance (sales and compute) on Series X and PC.

There are people at MS whose job is to scrutinize spending and make sure everything is on the up & up. ABK will make the money back; that doesn't mean you ignore the studios that are not profitable. We don't know what state Tango was in, we only have rumors of a desire to staff up for a new project (Hi-Fi 2?). That means it would not be delivered for 3-5 years (3 being courteous since it is a sequel). The studio did not have the staff on hand.

So, MAYBE an unprofitable studio needs time & money to staff up for a sequel to a game that did not sell. Had Bethesda not been acquired, who knows if HFR would have even released? Or that Tango would not have been closed sooner? It is easy to make demands when someone else is footing the $100 million bill. You and I (and probably Xbox leadership) would say do keep Tango, however, they all answer to someone.

The most important fact is that we don't know what the hell happened. We only have bits of information.

@GeeEssEff It is pretty easy to setup XCloud/XPlay on Steam Deck. I've done it twice manually; there are probably scripts to do it for you. There are plenty good guides. Pretty much you install Microsoft Edge as a Steam app, then configure it to launch straight to the XPlay page, at the Steam Deck resolution. It works really well and looks good.

The thing to consider is that if you set the Deck down or let it go to sleep, you might disconnect. Or XPlay may boot you for being idle. Best to just sign out explicitly then and sign back in.

@Banjo- The media keeps saying that Xbox has poor messaging on mixed messaging. On the exclusivity topic, they have said ad nauseum that it will be on a case-by-case basis. The response it ask them about each game and say the messaging is unclear. Xbox will not commit to absolute exclusivity for any title because someone will bring up a quote from 5-10 years ago.

I want Xbox games to exclusive (console & PC) more than most. However, I understand that it is a business (where goals are to profit) and has overlords. The ABK deal and the nature of ABK's success brought up the uncomfortable question, "Why NOT publish our games on more platforms?"

@GeeEssEff Works well for me, these days. Sometimes the picture quality can vary. We're on WiFi, after all. If your WiFi is poor, that is not going to help. I've played a few games start to finish. Usually, I use it when I don't want to install a game, or to play GP on Steam Deck.

@nomither6 He's a CEO; that is a large part of his role. He's the public face of the company. All CEOs are beholden to the board.

@SolarSailor What do you mean "no plan what to do with them?" The plan has always been pretty obvious and buying ABK was not Spencer's unilateral decision.

@OldGamer999 That quote is silly — all the platform holders are doing it for money. They are not artist.

@Krazee5255 Current Game Pass Ultimate becomes "Penultimate." A new Game Pass Ultimate tier is installed with CoD (3-day early access) and a higher price. Thirty-five dollar package with battle pass, coins, weapons, skins, and 5-day early access. Sell the $35 package on all platforms.

@VoidPunk It's like they are not satisfied with half a glass of water and are trying to make two full glasses out of it. No amount of pouring one into the other will do it.

Porting to PC was inevitable and I was all for that years before it happened. Porting to PS is untenable. I understand how they got there, but no. It creates the notion that any game could go over. Xbox is already missing too many 3rd party titles for that not further impact console sales, which is the reason you're porting in the first place.

@101Force I don't think there is anything "wrong" with Game Pass. There was nothing wrong with Hi-Fi Rush (in fact it was excellent and praised), and still it failed to sell on three platforms. People simply choose not to subscribe on PC. On console, there is a 30 million potential subscribers plus whomever still plays on an XB1. PC players won't be indoctrinated to the Xbox ecosystem and thus are more difficult to bring in.

As for playing on PC, I've been doing that since '95.