Microsoft Consoles and Updates

[one-armed dwarf]

Titanfall 2 would be the example I'd point to in favor of the argument why it's difficult to create an IP which can take on a brand juggernaut like CoD.

 

We should be playing TF8 right now, but we aren't. Some of that is on EA for cannibalizing their own sales with BF5, but still a huge sales drop in a multi-plat sequel to an xbox exclusive paints a picture no risk averse publisher will be feeling confident about bank-rolling. Also Square nearly had a Spirits Within situation happen (again!) with FFXIV*. Realm Reborn was really more about rehabilitating Final Fantasy as a series than it was about challenging World of Warcraft, which still chugs along purely on inertia at this point, its aging framework being a bigger reason for a niche for XIV to fit into (as a number two, still to this day WoW is on top even if not by a whole lot)

 

* edit looking this one up to confirm it, https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2010/12/16/square-enix-delays-deus-ex-cuts-revenue-forecast-by-90/

 

90 percent drop in net profit forecasts, damn. Imagine if sony reported that, Blakey would be distraught. 

[HandsomeDead]

The TF series failed because they gave up at the second hurdle.  Even CoD took a number of games before it truly broke out, 4 in fact.

 

Of course it takes some risk but the FFXIV just proves it possible.  There's not a single game that broke out did so on their own terms.  Outside elements are always a factor so it's not an excuse that because it's difficult it shouldn't be tried.  

 

Like, you're excusing the risk aversion of the industry which I just don't see as a good argument.  I'm not making a bootstraps arguement I just think so much of this is treating the competition as smol beans who can't compete and I don't think it's true.  It's been done.

[one-armed dwarf]

I don't want to derail the thread tbh, there's a way to argue one way or the other for TF2. I can see that. But IMO XIV is just a spectacularly bad example, maybe the worst. Their house was on fire and they took a big chance on it cause they had to. It really was that big a deal

 

Like, they made two games. They didn't just fix the bad one, they flung a metaphorical and literal meteor at it to start again

 

(The overall point of which being, if we were talking the other day in the gamepass thread about taking a bit of perspective on the cost, scale and yes risk in bankrolling AAA projects to compete in these spaces then it's not a great one to point to)

[DANGERMAN]

@HandsomeDead I'd argue FF14 is the definition of the exception that proves the rule. WOW has dominated for how long? There's been dozens of attempts to outdo it, all of them failed, even Amazon tried, and failed. FF14 stands out because it managed to find its own space, and that's after it failed, and relied on the biggest franchise name in rpgs, one of the biggest in all of gaming

 

and on the cloud issue, remember the reason the UK rejected it is because MS own the infrastructure, they have the game catalogue, and they have the distribution. Amazon have the infrastructure, they certainly have a means of distribution (that's never seemed to work for gaming tbf), but they don't have the catalogue. Sony have the catalogue, they have the distribution, they have a deal to use Microsoft's infrastructure. Add COD to that, making it all cloud based (which it pretty much is beyond storing assets) in its Warzone form, you can do an Epic and force people on to your distribution platform (as Valve did too as it goes)

 

on the risk thing, I think it was probably easier back in the day. None of us are really qualified to talk about the cost of game development, so my opinion isn't worth much on this 😅  but you get big publishers that only release a couple of games a year, rather than 6-8 like in the PS2 generation, you can't afford to have them miss

 

people are entitled to their opinion obviously, and people are entitled to not care, which will be most people. I personally just don't see the argument that it would be a good thing to happen 

[HandsomeDead]

I don't think it would be entirely a good thing either.  I'm just trying to get to the point that the arguments made in the cases just aren't very good ones.

 

I know cost involved in development are sky high, I've said multiple times myself, and I don't expect AAA games on a whim but it also pulls heavily in the other direction where there is little interest beyond quick, short term gains so a potential new game can't gestate.  But that's just AAA.  How many Minecraft's, Stardew Valley's, Fortnites or the other none traditionally AAA games does there have to be for them to realise you don't have to centre them to the point of regulation.

 

The games industry is such a turbulent thing and while I'm far away from thinking we need more deregulation I just don't know if this is really the way we should be doing it.  We don't even know how much cloud gaming will be adopted.

 

I am honestly ambivalent to the result, I just don't like it when things don't add up.  Too much time on my hands, maybe.

[shinymcshine]

Tiny mind blown !!!

 

I'd been playing Fallout 3 via the cloud (Series S) and enjoying it quite a lot again - 95% fine, but occasional graphical glitch, so thought I'd download it instead.

 

But, how on earth do they then keep my save files so I can now use it in the offline downloaded version (as I thought the whole cloud streaming configuration was a completely different set-up than the regular system).

 

But yes, all my save files are there from the cloud version so I can seamlessly continue.

 

Wow (wonder if it works back the other way too, if I was to continue only to later delete the installed game (but not saves) could I then pick up those latest saves through the Cloud play ......?)

[DisturbedSwan]

6 minutes ago, shinymcshine said:

Wow (wonder if it works back the other way too, if I was to continue only to later delete the installed game (but not saves) could I then pick up those latest saves through the Cloud play ......?)

 

Yes.

[mmmark]

He wasn’t kidding when he said tiny mind. 

[shinymcshine]

1 hour ago, mmmark said:

He wasn’t kidding when he said tiny mind. 

 

😭 

 

I just thought that the technical architecture that underpinned Cloud streaming was significantly different (and not directly cross compatible) with 'standard' systems.

[DANGERMAN]

If I understand what you're asking, your saves are saved in the cloud to your account even when playing locally (assuming you're connected to the net). When you play via the cloud, this is also dipping in to that save server tied to your account

[shinymcshine]

Sort of - I but I thought cloud saves for streamed games just kind of froze your game at that point of time on a server, rather than saving game data (in the same manner offline play does) - perhaps I'm just totally wrong about that (but my assumption meant I was therefore surprised that they were interchangeable).

[one-armed dwarf]

There's finite systems available to play on when cloud gaming. Geforce Now works this same way with your steam account, I loaded up my witcher 3 save on a remote 3080 machine the other day.

 

That's the cool side of cloud gaming I think, when it integrates with what you already have.

[Maryokutai]

11 hours ago, shinymcshine said:

Sort of - I but I thought cloud saves for streamed games just kind of froze your game at that point of time on a server, rather than saving game data (in the same manner offline play does) - perhaps I'm just totally wrong about that (but my assumption meant I was therefore surprised that they were interchangeable).

 

I think there are different ways of approaching this (IIRC there was no cross-save with anything you might have played on Google Stadia, implying they used some different tech) but as Xbox's could saves predate the entire cloud gaming architecture it makes sense that they didn't just drop it and made everything incompatible.

[DisturbedSwan]

Happy 10th Anniversary to the Xbox One Press Conference, May 21st 2013.

 

 

 

 

[mfnick]

RIP Xbox

[Nag]

😂

[mmmark]

Brilliant 😆 

[spatular]

Cant remember if it was already announced or whatever but ghostrunner 2 - cool.

[Nag]

Summer showdown

 

Double whammy this summer... I honestly don't see them overturning the CMA decision, in regards the USA all I seem to read is that they're piss weak and lose everytime they go to court so who knows.

[Nag]

Fable reveal incoming?....