Microsoft / Xbox Developer_Direct [2023-01-25]

[eastmen]

I wouldn't trust a single thing they say because it is verifiable false info they claim about Azure losing money. Check the financial reports.

Microsoft Cloud strength drives second quarter results - Stories

REDMOND, Wash. — January 24, 2023 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year: Revenue was $52.7 billion and increased 2% Operating income was $20.4 billion GAAP and $21.6 billion...

news.microsoft.com

Don't believe this 'leaked' Starfield launch date

CDKeys has a placeholder date for Starfield, but it's simply that, a placeholder.

www.windowscentral.com

We have it on good authority that Starfield's launch date isn't yet set in stone. Speaking to us on condition of anonymity, trusted sources have told us that Starfield is now playable in full from start to finish. The game is truly vast, spanning multiple star systems. As such, the polishing effort is similarly gargantuan in nature. Bethesda's "Creation Engine" games feature spiderwebs of branching narratives, intersecting consequences, and overlapping systems.

The modularity of the engine allows Bethesda to quite rapidly iterate upon massive, dynamic worlds with complex systems and simulations, but the downside is the potential for bugs. Bethesda games like Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim were notorious somewhat for glitches. It stands to reason that Microsoft and Bethesda would prefer Starfield to be as polished as humanly possible, given that it now also carries the weight of Xbox as a platform on its shoulders.

Bethesda and MS thought the game would be ready for a Nov 2022 launch date. they pushed it to first half of 2023. I doubt the game is in such a bad state that it would be the next cyberpunk. If it was in that state Ms would have just delayed it and not given a time frame.

I do think the game could slip into summer or early fall since the first half of the year is filled up with a lot of titles but even then I don't think that would happen.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Given that it's a Bethesda title, I could certainly see MS being reluctant to release it in a typical "Bethesda release state". If MS require them to delay until it's in better than typical "Bethesda release state" that would be good for everyone.

Granted I don't know if that's possible.

Regards,
SB

 

[eastmen]

Given that it's a Bethesda title, I could certainly see MS being reluctant to release it in a typical "Bethesda release state". If MS require them to delay until it's in better than typical "Bethesda release state" that would be good for everyone.

Granted I don't know if that's possible.

Regards,
SB

Typical Bethesda release state is what selling tens of millions of copies and getting super high review scores and millions of people playing the game for decades ?

I want the game to be as good as it possibly cna be but lets be serious about the state of the game. If it was in such horrible state Ms wouldn't have given a time frame for it coming out after the delay

 

[techuse]

Ah, i see. Not sure what you expected from this event, since Hifi aside we've seen these games before.

Idtech, NT and The Coalition will deliver something 'first party worthy' eventually.

Tbh, I'd be happier with more HiFi Rush stuff than AAAA+. It's bags of fun and well worth anyone's time.

Microsoft doesn't have much if any AAAA stuff though. I could see that argument for the Sony side.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

That depends on your tastes. After all, FH5 is one of the highest rated games this gen and Psychonauts 2 was the best platformer IMO.

 

[techuse]

That depends on your tastes. After all, FH5 is one of the highest rated games this gen and Psychonauts 2 was the best platformer IMO.

FH5 doesn't seem to have the same budget as something like TLOU or Forbidden West. Microsoft hasn’t had much in the way of high budget exclusives since the 360 days. It’s been their biggest weakness IMO.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Well they do, they just haven't released yet.

 

[eastmen]

FH5 doesn't seem to have the same budget as something like TLOU or Forbidden West. Microsoft hasn’t had much in the way of high budget exclusives since the 360 days. It’s been their biggest weakness IMO.

But what does budget have to do with anything? Forza horizon and motorsport are big titles they might not require the budgets of TLOU or Horizon but they are big crowd pleasers all the same. Halo was a pretty high budget game , Starfield will be a high budget game. Redfall might be a high budget game also.

But at the end of the day does it matter how big the budget. If the game is good and appealing that should really be what matters.

We really have to see what E3 brings us at this point in time. The titles from the direct + starfield already make for a solid year. If MS can fill out the fall with some announcements at e3 they should have a very strong year.

 

[Jay]

FH5 doesn't seem to have the same budget as something like TLOU or Forbidden West.

What was the difference in budget?
Pretty sure flying out to Mexico, custom light rigs etc doesn't come cheap.
I'm not saying the budget is the same, just that I'm sure it wasn't cheap and falls into the AAA budget bucket for a sequel.

Would the new forza motorsport fall into the bucket your talking about?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

What was the difference in budget?
Pretty sure flying out to Mexico, custom light rigs etc doesn't come cheap.
I'm not saying the budget is the same, just that I'm sure it wasn't cheap and falls into the AAA budget bucket for a sequel.

Would the new forza motorsport fall into the bucket your talking about?

Forza Horizon should have the larger budget as it's an open world game. Forza Motorsport likely has a smaller team and thus a smaller budget. So, that would make sense.

Regards,
SB

 

[eastmen]

Not sure where to put this but

https://www.patreon.com/XB2

Jez Cordon is saying that starfield will be june and hellblade is sometime in 2023. If so this will be a strong year for first party games on the xbox.

 

[Jay]

Forza Horizon should have the larger budget as it's an open world game. Forza Motorsport likely has a smaller team and thus a smaller budget. So, that would make sense.

Regards,
SB

I don't know size of studios, but with how long motorsport has been in development would make big difference to normal release.

But I was just wondering if budget is enough to call something big AAA and when something falls into that bucket.
Don't think many people would say the forza games aren't big AAA's.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Yes.

Hi-Fi Rush
Minecraft Legends
Redfall
Forza Motorsport
Starfield
Hellblade 2

That's a really good line-up this year. Not to mention the 3rd party stuff MS will get onto GP.

 

[Nesh]

Yes.

Hi-Fi Rush
Minecraft Legends
Redfall
Forza Motorsport
Starfield
Hellblade 2

That's a really good line-up this year. Not to mention the 3rd party stuff MS will get onto GP.

I wasnt match impressed with Redfall to be honest. Minecraft is multiplatform.
The stars are Forza, Starfield and Hellblade2.
But they didnt really announce anything new apart from Hifi Rush.

Forza Motorsport is simply Godly. Starfield has a lot of potential once it gets polished. I love the visuals and art direction. HellBlade 2 is super promising and they didnt show almost anything yet.

 

[Dr. Nick]

Just in case someone missed it here is what Turn10 says about Forza 8
I don't feel like creating a gaming thread for it myself
Q: How does Forza Motorsport perform on Xbox Series X|S?

A: Forza Motorsport runs at 4K 60 FPS on Xbox Series X; and on 1080p 60 FPS on Xbox Series S.

https://support.forzamotorsport.net/hc/en-us/articles/13371069635859

 

[eastmen]

Just in case someone missed it here is what Turn10 says about Forza 8
I don't feel like creating a gaming thread for it myself
Q: How does Forza Motorsport perform on Xbox Series X|S?

A: Forza Motorsport runs at 4K 60 FPS on Xbox Series X; and on 1080p 60 FPS on Xbox Series S.

https://support.forzamotorsport.net/hc/en-us/articles/13371069635859

Looks like great performance on both consoles. I wonder if its using a dynamic resolution or any upscaling.

 

[eastmen]

I got an invite for Ara today. It is the second technical alpha starting on the 7th. I am guessing this is a 2024 title if they are still doing alpha in Feb

 

[Johnny Awesome]

IMO MS needs to overwhelm the situation in order to get the traction they want with GP. They need to make it IRRESISTIBLE.

2023 is looking fantastic right now. They don't need anything else really.

They should try to get to these targets going forward (trying to be realistic here):

2024:

Avowed
Contraband
Halo: Battle Royale
Forza Horizon 6
State of Decay 3

2025:

New Hardware
Fallout 5
Gears 6
Indiana Jones
The Outer Worlds 2
Wasteland 4

2026:

Doom
Everwild
Fable
Perfect Dark
Project Mara

That's in addition to keeping the live service games like Halo: Infinite, Minecraft, and Sea of Thieves going. That's without even considering the ABK acquisition where they end up with Diablo IV, WoW, and CoD at a minimum.