Halo 5 = 8, Gears 4 = 7. Is it end of an era for MS?

These games used to be killer franchises. They're still ok, but not top billing in the gaming world. Does MS need to invest in more AAA franchises? Or at least try something different (like Sony reinventing God of War)? Or are you just content with another incremental iteration of the same franchise? I ask you SW.

GameSpot =/= the world at large.

Take a vacation from this bubble you live in.

They should close up shop because this is DEVASTATING. Both games have sold only in the thousands. Its the end of MS and the new age of Sony. MS is DOOMED.

This is getting ridiculous

Love how cows now reach for the Gamespot review yet ran away when the gamespot review of the psvr came online.

They are doing fine, they expended their gaming to PC and that's very good. Phil also confirmed that new IPs are in the make. Just have to play the waiting game now like the cows.

Right lol? I mean Halo 5 is one of the highest selling games this generation and I have no doubt Gears of War 4 will be right behind it, especially with Play Anywhere.

Maybe if anyone actually gave a shit what gamespot thinks. There is a reason they've had to resort to game of thrones recaps and comic book movie news

All the big name reviewers left and these forums are dead. No one actually cares about GS anymore.

The worst part is they're going the click bait route to garner years of lost attention instead of actually trying to better, revitalize and revamp their community.

Halo and Gears are both low 80s franchises now. Don't know how long a niche racing series can prop up Xbox first party. They need a NEW hit IP badly. Even Nintendo had one recently with Splatoon. Halo, Gears, Forza is a thing whether people deny or not. Yes they do release new IP s, but when is that last time a new game by Xbox did well enough to get a sequel. I guessed Ori, but I'm really talking AAA retail games here.

I think that is why Phil is so salty about Recore. He is desperate for new hit.

Its not just a MS problem, all companies are struggling to produce a worthwhile new IP this gen. We haven't seen anything close to Uncharted, Gears, Mass Effect, Bioshock. You could technically count Bloodborne but it is still a Souls game through and through. Quantum Break and Recore failed but so did The Order, Driveclub and No Man's Sky. Santa Monica had a new big budget IP in development that they had to cancel because it was a complete mess and have basically proven themselves incapable of making anything other than God of War.

The one big luxury Sony has is Naughty Dog. The rest of their first party really hasn't been that good at all in recent years.

Its not yet over but its ending. People are sick and tired of seeing the same 2-3 series for over 10 years. Its tiresome. Playing a sequel to Halo 5 will be more of a chore than excitement. Really is the end of the road for MS. And listen, i understand, seeing 6-7's is very frustrating when the PS4 is getting a 10 and masterpieces such as BB, but you gotta be strong and accept your 2nd biggest series as a 7/10. Gone are the days of quality titles on the Xbox. Long gone.

Low 80's? They're both at 84, that's mid 80's, and Gears of War 4 has two reviews in progress currently sitting at provisional scores of 90 and 92 with another review in progress which is extremely positive... Also Splatoon? You're preaching about it being a hit and dogging on Halo and Gears, yet both Halo 5 and Gears of War 4 currently sit 3 points higher on Metacritic than Splatoon with an 81...

What is logic...

They don't need shit.. Would I like more games from them? Absolutely, but this doomsday nonsense is mindnumbingly stupid, and quite frankly, it's getting old..

Pretty sure sheep have been saying that since forever too.

@dynamitecop: I know Splatoon was a low 80s score, but it sold a ton and clearly has a future as an IP. The next game will presumably be improved. When you have games that are going on their 5 or 6 installment it's really hard to improve on it. I think that is why Naughty Dog is moving on from Uncharted and why Santa Monica is basically giving God Of War a reboot. Nintendo is doing things with Zelda to completely reinvigorate and shake up the franchise.

Microsoft will never do this with Halo or Gears again because they are terrified of alienating their MP focused fan base. And ending or putting either franchise on hold won't won't happen either because because they have NOTHING to fill the hole it would leave.

About time those shit games die.

I'm glad to find that System Wars hasn't changed much

It's as dumb as ever!

They're doing okay, just need to start pumping out more new ip in with its core games. Should be obtainable with pc/xb1 play anywhere initiative. The one thing MS does right is pack its game with replay value so ur not stuck with a one n done campaign dud like QB( although campaign was enjoyable not much else after completing).

Halo 5 and Gears 4 have enough to make up for its campaign (coop helps) with other modes which will sell the game and keep it relevent despite its Gamespot Scores.

@dynamitecop: You don't find it almost unbelievable that Microsoft has not managed to release a single sustainable AAA IP since Gears 1 back in 2007?

Sales for Halo 5 seemed very strong. I doubt Gears will be any different.

MS doesn't care what something scores so long as they games they make continue to sell.

@foxhound_fox: Why was Phil complaining about clickbait reviews then?

So many flops, so little time

It's 2006, but no, because their staple titles have been their sustainability. They just need to branch out and foster new IP's, and they're doing that in a pretty big way. Huge IP's that exist today weren't created successful, you throw out a bunch of games and for one reason or another some stick while others don't.

The Coalition just released Gears 4, I have no doubts that they're already back to work on whatever Halo level title they were originally working on. It will happen man, it's just a matter of time and simple numbers, also what has Sony or Nintendo done recently with newer IP's to create sustainability? I can't think of anything.

Yeah, MS just refuses to reinvent itself in terms of gaming. But then, the Halo series, while pew-pew-pew fun, is a generic shooter from top to bottom, so a reinvention is kind of pointless. Same goes for Gears. They need to come up with new IP. But we all know they are not going to do that. New IP, just like exclusives, is a thing of the past for MS.

@dynamitecop: The Last Of Us and Bloodborne for Sony in recent years. Splatoon for Nintendo.

Also I seriously doubt The Coalition is doing anything but Gears Of War 5. It's a Gears factory now just like 343i and Turn 10 are married to one IP. And that is OK because they have huge dedicated fan bases to cater to, but I would like to see a but more diversity. Step out of their comfort zones and try something new. I don't think any studio(outside of sports devs) should be chained to one IP as I feel it stifles creativity.

@speedfog: TC isn't a cow.

Funny because halo 5 is the best exclusive shooter this gen.

even the online is miles ahead of anything else out there right now, call of duty doesn't even touch it when it comes to balance and competitiveness.

PS4 has no great exclusive shooters, and no.. Uncharted 4 is not a shooter.

NO mid 80 is 85,84 is on the lower side of 80´s not on the middle or higher.

Splatoon is a no name franchise new,unlike Halo or gears or Forza Motorsport 6 which also seat below 90 on meta.

Stop crying they need something new,is a shame the highest xbox game outside FH3 not on PS4 is Ori a indie game something you lemmings hate this gen for some reason.

lmao cows are the ones doing the crying.. non of us "lems" ever complain about these games, you guys do LOL

@FLOPPAGE_50: Because there is such a lack of shooters on the market that PS desperately needs an exclusive one. The new COD on PS4 will sell more in one day than Halo 5 has lifetime. Probably the same for the Xbox One version. On the flip side, Uncharted, The Last Of Us, Gran Turismo and God Of War are all best sellers in their genre despite being exclusives.

Okay, sustainable is synonymous with continual, and continual requires there being more than one, none of these companies have that for anything remotely recent.

The Last of Us is a single game but has the potential to be a sustainable IP if it is approached again successfully, IF. Bloodborne is just a modified Souls game, let's treat it like what it is, it's the 5th Souls game to release, hardly a new IP. Also FromSoftware has expressed interest in doing other things different from Souls, possibly shelving it regardless of success, they're likely tired of it and I'm sure some fans of the franchise are burned out as well.

Splatoon is in the same boat as The Last of Us, and while it was a success, it was so largely because Nintendo actually did something new, something they rarely do. It's a good game no doubt, but it's nothing revolutionary, so a sequel would likely be hard to pull off successfully since it would no longer have this new IP concept appeal that garnered it so much attention

For The Coalition, it's possible, they had roughly two years in development, so while unlikely there is a chance we could see something different from them, but who knows.

@FLOPPAGE_50: If you are content getting the same games over and over again more power to you. I like more variety.

No, low 80's would be 80, 81, 82 & 83, mid 80's would be 84, 85 & 86, and high 80's would be 87, 88 & 89...

"80's"; hence the apostrophe and "s" making a plural..

Also what?

@dynamitecop: I would have liked to Gears Of War 4 to go for a horror vibe. Early in the marketing they said it was going for a darker tone so I hoping for maybe a Resident Evil style game in some parts with actual scary monsters. When I saw re-skinned locusts picking up guns and fucking robots doing the same thing I knew it was going to a be a by the numbers sequel. And most people are happy with that, but I wanted more. You can continue an IP while still keeping thin he fresh. That is me going off on a tangent, but just my thoughts on Gears 4 campaign.

I'd say it's a return to form but darker, what made the original so good, some may find that bad but it's I guess you could say an action-horror game.

<insert eye roll here>

TLHBO...MS's franchises are stale hollow husks of what they used to be.

That's what rehashing the same stale franchises does instead of investing in new IPs.

I haven't seen anything to say Halo sold well after initial release. MS shit franchises that sell like shit. The flop UC4(according to dynamiteflop) sold like hotcakes.

Yeah, because Forza Horizon 3 getting a 9 never happened. Oh wait...

Please be quiet, also what are you trying to say about Uncharted 4?

P.S. The Master Chief Collection also sold over 5 million...

@dynamitecop: After initial release, it stopped charting. You still haven't proven me wrong. Thanks for playing dynamiteflop.

So now you're moving goalposts to a game having to show up on a chart? What the **** kind of logic is that... What are continual sales over months and months spanning the globe, also what are digital sales... because those clearly don't exist either...

You have the Halo franchise development director telling you it sold approximately 5 million, you have an industry analyst telling you it sold over 5 million, you have The Master Chief Collection selling over 5 million showing relevant interest in the franchise...

I didn't just prove you wrong, I buried you, have a wonderful evening on your shit posting spree.

It's the end of an era

The new games just aren't as fun.

Wheres my mass effect wheres my new bioshock game on xb1?

Wheres my Kotor my fable my halo.

Wheres the big hitting sexy games like dead or alive and beach volley ball on xb1?

THe xb1 is barren wasteland filled mediocority wheres the big fancy new stuff?

wow dynamiteflop is quiet pissed in this thread. trying to prove his points but they flop like Gears 4 flopped.

@SolidGame_basic: Getting my GOW4 tomorrow and just scratching the surface of FH3. Im sorry you aren't enjoying anything.

Oh my God. I'm going to get Gears 4 and have fun playing with my friends in Coop and Horde. But it only scored a 7. Its just too much to bear. MS is doomed. DOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMED.

Exactly.

Have fun with your endless doom and gloom threads TC. I'm going to enjoy Gears 4 tomorrow. I know how much that somehow personally effects you.

Yeah i remember all the bullshit claims about 5 million sold when the shitty game did not chart more than 2 months when Halo 3 charted for like 5 months and did not sell what you claimed they sold by december 31.

^this. Except I'll be able to play with my Xbone friends from my PC.

Can't do jack shit from my PS4 except for talk to and play games with the one other person I know who also has one. (everyone else has PC or Xbone.)

Not to mention that it's been 3 years and $ony is still too fucking cheap to get a Skype app, or any video/voice app for that matter, AND they won't bite on any real cross-platform ventures, even though that avenue is the widest it's ever been. #ThisIsForThePlayers. Amirite?

On topic:

Did we already forget about Gears of War: Judgement and Halo 4?

Those are the respective low points. So now they're technically on the up and up , but they'll obviously never peak anywhere close to Halo 3/Reach & Gears 1/3.