EXCLUSIVE | Microsoft plans Starfield launch for PlayStation 5 (rumor)

[Cyan]

so, when Satya Nadella said this, it wasn't just an opinion as part of the Activision deal trial, but a true statement of intent.

Microsoft CEO says he wants to end Xbox exclusives but blames Sony

Nadella blames Sony for defining the market with exclusives.

www.theverge.com

If it was up to me I would love to get rid of the entire exclusives on consoles, but that’s not for me to define especially as a low share player in the console market. The dominant player there has defined market competition using exclusives, so that’s the world we live in. I have no love for that world.

 

[iroboto]

so, when Satya Nadella said this, it wasn't just an opinion as part of the Activision deal trial, but a true statement of intent.

Microsoft CEO says he wants to end Xbox exclusives but blames Sony

Nadella blames Sony for defining the market with exclusives.

www.theverge.com

If it was up to me I would love to get rid of the entire exclusives on consoles, but that’s not for me to define especially as a low share player in the console market. The dominant player there has defined market competition using exclusives, so that’s the world we live in. I have no love for that world.

Understandably, MS has no desire to compete in the hardware space. It’s costly, has massive risk, and logistical costs are extremely high. It’s a serious commitment to bring hardware out.

Digital storefronts and subscriptions are where they want to compete in. It has significantly higher margins with more control and less risk.

 

[Frenetic Pony]

once the cat is out of the bag there isn't a way to put it back in. So if Ms starts announcing all their big games going multiplatform then the xbox is dead and a next gen system in 2026 would be doa. Why invest into a console that only gets MS games when you can invest in a playstation that gets sony games day one and xbox games down the road ? Why invest in an xbox when you can invest in a nintendo console that not only gets nintendo games day one buy also ms games down the line?

Why buy an xbox when you can buy a pc and get xbox games day one and playstation games dwon the line and be able to upgrade to always have the best visual quality ?

So hopefully spencer is clear and concise in whatever comes out next week. MS has been vague for to long as just as they were starting to turn the issue of content around that vagueness has come back to bite them in the ass.

IF Ms does exit the console industry I feel it will be a horrible event for console gamers. I would expect without other high end competition the price of sony consoles will swell in price while nintendo can double down on weak systems that are heavily reliant on thier ip and young kids.

Oh I'm not saying it's a good idea, just that every damned leaker on the planet is reporting wild shit but they all agree on some sort of multi platform thing and most agree on more Xbox hardware anyway.

I can 100% percent see some high level Microsoft exec that doesn't understand that most people buy consoles to play games, not for the "hardware" necessarily, thinking this is a good strategy. Of course other rumors are like "Gamepass on other platforms!"

Microsoft still being on their "Magic math!" kick despite gamepass subscriptions going flat would be funny. "It'll work and make money somehow, we just need to give away games for cheap to even more people!" Or, as the billion dollar (roughly) selling game designer of BG3 put it "People only play one game at a time."

About 21 million people subscribe to gamepass, that's a spend of $2.5 billion a year, or rather $120 per person. Now if this were just for games that would be ok, average spend on games per capita/year is around $100 (for console players). However! this is also required for Xbox multiplayer, so that's an absolutely massive skew. If you need to have this for multiplayer suddenly your average spend probably goes down, as you just got those games anyway! Absolutely brilliant Microsoft, just lower the price of your games to rock bottom because you can't do math.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Understandably, MS has no desire to compete in the hardware space. It’s costly, has massive risk, and logistical costs are extremely high. It’s a serious commitment to bring hardware out.

Digital storefronts and subscriptions are where they want to compete in. It has significantly higher margins with more control and less risk.

It is interesting that all the speculation I've done for the past couple years that Satya Nadella and Phil Spencer both really wanted to bring Xbox gaming to as many platforms and as many people as possible (IE - beyond their hardware console base) is coming to fruition. I remember so many people saying that Nadella and Spencer were being disingenuous when they stated their desire to have as many people as possible be able to use Microsoft products (software) and experience Microsoft games ... but here we are.

Admittedly it's happening sooner than I was speculating. IIRC - I was speculating it might happen either in the next generation or the one after that. I think a few factors are accelerating the process.

• Increasing hardware costs
  • Inability to cost reduce the hardware mid-generation to spur sales and extend the hardware life cycle as in previous generations.
  • Increasingly difficult to make significant hardware progress for new generations of consoles while keeping cost to something general consumers/gamers feel comfortable spending for a gaming focused device.
• Likelihood that at the very least the EU will at some point mandate that all closed platforms allow 3rd party storefronts.
  • Apple being forced to allow 3rd party storefronts in iOS is likely a precedent for that at some point being extended to consoles.
  • With 3rd party storefront competition, the first point becomes even more of an impediment. Now you also have to be able to sell your console with a significant profit margin. For example: greater than 30% profit margin which no console manufacturer other than Nintendo has ever done in modern (1990+) console gaming.
• Investor shareholder pressure for greater ROI from acquisitions and ballooning expenditures (hardware costs and game development costs).
  • While Starfield sold well, it likely sold significantly less than it would have if it had also released on rival platforms.
  • While Gamepass continues to grow, it's not growing fast enough to offset the opportunity cost of keeping big budget titles exclusive to one console in the eyes of investors.
  • This isn't limited to MS. Sony also has investor pressure to increase revenue and profit generation from large expenditures, but they are doing better so investors are more patient with Sony's slower transition to moving their titles to be multiplatform (IE - they are currently at a point WRT expansion to other platforms [PC for example] where MS was about 10 or so years ago).

Unless something changes, there may not be more than possibly one more console hardware generation before limiting your game production to a single hardware platform becomes unprofitable unless you follow a Nintendo strategy of cheap hardware sold at high profit margins at a consumer friendly price point.

I speculate that for MS, their version of "cheap" and profitable "console" hardware are cloud based gaming devices. However, until cloud based gaming actually gets to a point where most consumers would find it acceptable (if it ever happens, I'm still doubtful), then expanding your reach to other competing consoles is the smart strategy, especially if you believe the EU and potentially other territories will mandate that you must allow multiple storefronts on your console.

In case that potentially happens, perhaps MS is already thinking about opening up an MS storefront on PlayStation.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shortbread]

Xbox and PC are different platforms, so I don't think this necessarily means anything.

That language is pretty specific. I can't remember in prior years where Xbox brand has used the words "all platforms" just to represent XB and PC. Typically, it's looking for skilled and qualified individuals for such-and-such role developing XB games.

As I see it today, Microsoft will be providing [more] first-party titles for other platforms outside of XB and PC. Business wise it's makes sense. Soon Sony will follow suit if they can't get game development costs under control (which more than likely will be impossible).

 

[Seanspeed]

Understandably, MS has no desire to compete in the hardware space. It’s costly, has massive risk, and logistical costs are extremely high. It’s a serious commitment to bring hardware out.

Digital storefronts and subscriptions are where they want to compete in. It has significantly higher margins with more control and less risk.

I dont consider this 'understandable' at all.

In the tech world, risk is mandatory. If you dont want to play with risk, you're in the wrong business.

Microsoft can become a 3rd party publisher if they want, but their whole brand and status in the industry will diminish drastically. They will become 'another player' rather than a leader and will be conceding the entire AAA console marketplace to Sony.

This is the worst direction they could have chosen. This is a loser attitude from a company who cant accept they aren't automatically the kings because they have the most money.

And as a pure publisher, they will have even less motivation to drive against Playstation with the best quality games possible. God help the many, many studios they've brought under their wings lately that will likely get butchered in the next 10 years as they continue to flail with this poor decision and no longer need 'platform sellers'.

 

[iroboto]

I dont consider this 'understandable' at all.

In the tech world, risk is mandatory. If you dont want to play with risk, you're in the wrong business.

Microsoft can become a 3rd party publisher if they want, but their whole brand and status in the industry will diminish drastically. They will become 'another player' rather than a leader and will be conceding the entire AAA console marketplace to Sony.

This is the worst direction they could have chosen. This is a loser attitude from a company who cant accept they aren't automatically the kings because they have the most money.

And as a pure publisher, they will have even less motivation to drive against Playstation with the best quality games possible. God help the many, many studios they've brought under their wings lately that will likely get butchered in the next 10 years as they continue to flail with this poor decision and no longer need 'platform sellers'.

Sigh. Really not sure why you’re so heated here. I’ve not said anything offensive. It’s hard to imagine that MS and Xbox, the third longest surviving console has no idea what they are doing.

I’m not sure inunderstand what you mean that Xbox doesn’t take risks, they released 2 consoles instead of 1, they pushed for multiplayer cross platform play, they started game pass, they put all their games day 1 on PC; they made the largest merger ever in the history of mergers. Them moving to cloud is a risk. They’ve done a ton of things they benefitted consumers and they have not been rewarded for it. Excuse them if they decide that maybe all this risk isn’t worth it. I think it’s quite understandable for a CEO to say that when in all other markets; MS sells to all their competing platforms except on Xbox. They go wherever their customers are and not force them to come to them.

The reality is, the profit driver for both Sony and MS is in the selling of software, of which significantly more margin exists on the digital storefronts than that of physical. The hardware is nothing more than just a medium to drive people to purchasing from their own store. From a certain perspective it’s a detriment, since it requires a large capital cost to buy in to play said games. If you’re not selling any hardware you’re not driving anyone to buying from your store and therefore there is no revenue available to improve the ecosystem.

I’m not sure I follow any of your arguments here, firstly these are just rumours, and secondly Xbox is doing what it takes to survive and then thrive in a changing landscape where they were never first in any generation. This was always going to be the case here. Xbox was always heading in this direction the moment they declared that cloud was their future.

Perhaps the timetables have moved up, but there’s no denying that if you want more power and new technologies and experiences, it’s not going to happen designing a box with near equivalent performance as your competitor on a console where price, power and cooling are restricted.

 

[Cyan]

I remember so many people saying that Nadella and Spencer were being disingenuous when they stated their desire to have as many people as possible be able to use Microsoft products (software) and experience Microsoft games ... but here we are.

yeah it´s not like they didn't talk about it, and Nadella made into the news as of recently talking about becoming a 3rd-party publisher while not saying that exactly, but some people interpreted it right.

Whatever they do, I hope they don't rename Xbox to Microsoft Gaming. I mean, I am okay with Xbox being renamed 'cos it relates to a very specific console classic locked hardware, and you can't name Xbox to a new gaming philisophy.

But Microsoft Gaming sounds dull, like Amazon Prime Gaming and so on. I hope they chose something more creative.

 

[vjPiedPiper]

I think that most of the console fanboys would be happy with "It's play best on Xbox"
If you know a game is coming to gamepass day 1, you can play it on a Xbox console or PC on that day 1.
and then 1yr later to Playstation, but you always know it will "plays best on Xbox"

Xbox console warring fanboys probably wont care too much then as they will get to feel superior, about having the best ( console ) version of the game.
It's sounds like a smart move to keep selling consoles, promotes there ongoing "most powerful box" marketing, and gets them into the playstation market.

 

[Nisaaru]

I think you’re just seeing the beginning here to the transition point where Xbox is becoming a purely cloud service from this point forward.

The releasing of games on another platform is just a hold over until consoles head into that direction anyway.

If you don’t need to buy a hardware to play games, and all you need is a screen and controllers, no need to patch, etc. it’s probably where we will be eventually in the future anyway.

MS didn’t just buy ABK to fall out of market. This isn’t some rash decision made after winning ABK. This was always intended. We are probably on the last generation of Xbox hardware while they pivot to pushing games on cloud.

I would be very surprised if the announcements next week don’t at least talk about heading into this direction. Game ownership on cloud would be an interesting discussion and I’d be curious to see if they follow GeForce now model.

Not really sure what is about to happen of course. But cloud seems like the only realistic Segway for them given the discourse. When you give up hardware, you go somewhere else.

If there is a pro model of series X, it’s going to be on the cloud.

Unless people have fibre at home in their target markets I don't see that at all.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Microsoft can become a 3rd party publisher if they want, but their whole brand and status in the industry will diminish drastically.

I think the plan is more to be the Netflix of gaming - the world leader in a new streaming world.

 

[Nisaaru]

I had a console during 9 years, and was an Xboxer, but like someone wrrote recently, if sonyers, xboxers, and nintendoers disappeared and only gamers were left, just plain and simple gamers, things might be better.

I actually disagree because it added passion and excitement to consoles than just being another meaningless accessory device you buy for your home. Gaming was always about this "excitement" hoping for another special experience you've made before. I'm also absolutely convinced the lack of emotional passion is one of the big reasons Xbox doesn't really get into certain areas in Europe(Spain/France and probably Italy).

Nintendo actually lives from that impulse when "desperate" adults still buy their kid games trying to recreate the fun of their normative years when they were young kids

 

[fehu]

People keep forgetting that ms is already a multiplatform developer. It has stuff on the switch, ps5 and android. It's been first to support vision pro too! If they would make a social something at this moment it would be just a page with links to facebook instagram thread and x!
And you barely noticed it. What would change if they sent some other title out?
BTW think about the possibilities: they can publish redfall on ps5 as a trojan horse to destroy it from the inside!

 

[Inuhanyou]

One thing I wonder about is the incentive for staggering releases. They have to give PlayStation users an incentive to want to purchase these games. That's the whole reason they are even considering putting them in other consoles. By spacing them out you get some sales but not as much as you do it day and date as Xbox.

On PC sony can space out their games because their console population is still strong. But Microsoft is doing this entire thing supposedly to shore up the return for all these IP they now have and all these studios they have to support which their current platforms are not able to. Especially with game pass where the return they get from that is nowhere near where they wanted it to be compared to simply people buying games the traditional way

 

[Globalisateur]

I think the days of big games like Starfield day one on gamepass will be soon over, starting with COD. With gamepass users number stagnating they know it's an unsustainable model. And big recent and successful releases like Hogwarts, Baldur's gate 3, Palworld showed a multiplatform game can be highly successful on its own without being 'free' (or strictly GAAS for that matter).

This is also the model of COD since decades. The gamepass day one model is not an inevitable model even for long term IMO. And in many cases people are playing one or 2 games, the games often not on any of those services whether Gamepass or Sony sub.

 

[Cyan]

I actually disagree because it added passion and excitement to consoles than just being another meaningless accessory device you buy for your home. Gaming was always about this "excitement" hoping for another special experience you've made before. I'm also absolutely convinced the lack of emotional passion is one of the big reasons Xbox doesn't really get into certain areas in Europe(Spain/France and probably Italy).

Nintendo actually lives from that impulse when "desperate" adults still buy their kid games trying to recreate the fun of their normative years when they were young kids

That's actually a fair point. Maybe that's part of human nature, where you can feel attached to what you like the most. The hype and excitement you feel as a kid for certain thing is what makes you sleepless the night before the Three Kings Day. Actually respectful fanboys also give forums and stuff some extra life.

The most extreme case being that humans fight for a symbol a piece of cloth -the symbol of their country's flag-.

My personal experience is that I am a MS fanboy 'cos my first PC in the mid to late 90s had Windows 95 and MS-DOS 6.2, and my first game was Microsoft Golf.

However, as a PC gamer everything was peaceful. Consoles had many fun exclusive games and the PC had like exclusive genres like RTSs, and adventure games, and maybe fpss, along with some multi games like RE1. PC gamers had a lot in common and didn't fight over the PC. It was just connect and play with others. It was less involved -PC forums are actually a bit too quiet sometimes 'cos of that-.

Then in 2005 I went to a Game store asking for which was the most powerful console, and the girl at the store told me that the Xbox, she replied quite fast.

I purchased it and then what was a peaceful, tranquil world, became a world involved in many discussions, like GT vs Forza, Halo vs whatever etc, a continuous vs. Deep down something felt bad. I was temporarily banned several times and grew bored of it. It was overwhelming, though very lively.

It was worse during the Xbox golden era, the X360, where I spent my little money on laptop PCs which could run little more than Pacman. In the end, I missed my actual self.

Other than that, it's normal that console rivalries exist, it has always been that way. Megadrive vs SNES, where SNES had SF2 Turbo using 16Mb of disk space, and it used 24Mb on the Megadrive, and so on and so forth.

Nowadays, when there isn't a clear line splitting consoles and PC, there has also been some rivalry between consoles and the PC, but that doesn't bother me much, 'cos deep down they are totally different experiences.

For whatever reason, as much as unaffected you become, I don't believe in pure neutrality.

This is the article where the story comes from, titled "A world without xboxers doesn't sound that bad".

https://as-com.translate.goog/meris..._sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=es&_x_tr_pto=wapp

 

[Cyan]

I think that most of the console fanboys would be happy with "It's play best on Xbox"
If you know a game is coming to gamepass day 1, you can play it on a Xbox console or PC on that day 1.
and then 1yr later to Playstation, but you always know it will "plays best on Xbox"

Xbox console warring fanboys probably wont care too much then as they will get to feel superior, about having the best ( console ) version of the game.
It's sounds like a smart move to keep selling consoles, promotes there ongoing "most powerful box" marketing, and gets them into the playstation market.

for those people quite hyped about a Halo Collection or a new Halo game coming to the Playstation, it might work, but for most people making the Xbox version better is going to hurt the potential sales on other platforms. If I were a PS gamer I could say, "meh, I am not going to buy an inferior version when the specs say that both consoles are closer than that".

If you create a multiplatform game, you gotta try your best, like Sony are doing. They could favour the PC even more, but their games use solid technology on the PC, and you can get the game to run better than on a PS4/PS5 with the correct hardware. I have a few Playstation games on the PC and as a PC user I feel like they treat you well, so I am going to buy more PS games in the future.

 

[iroboto]

Unless people have fibre at home in their target markets I don't see that at all.

Both stadia and GeForce now are very responsive. Fibre to home isn’t needed for game streaming. GeForce Now proves that well today. If they want game streaming to be the focus, they can get there fairly quickly with proper investment.

 

[Cyan]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1755540870026199280

It seems that the next week event is going to give extra details but the leak is quite authentic and they are going to say the same, just with a lot more PR words.

Like a colleague says, who wants an E3 when you can have a 'business event'.

 

[fehu]

Microsoft at this point stopped even caring about leaks