Xbox Shutting Down Multiple Studios

Nintendo games has a significantly smaller development cost to that of the games MS and Sony develops or back. Folks may shit on the Switch for being weak but it has the advantage of lower graphical expectations and lower cost.

And the end result is still higher regarded critical games.

Because, they are games.

But I was told gamers want more movie games with fancy cinematics and less gameplay. Was it all a lie?😏

@Pedro: @uninspiredcup: Yeah agree with both of you.

I just think this endless pursuit of graphical fidelity is hurting the industry. I'm no games developer, but it just seems so labour intensive to make these kinds of games and the profits are minimal. I don't know...

That's a shame as PREY was actually pretty good. Redfall was just a disaster that never should have been greenlit. As for Tango... The Evil Within games are good, but Ghostwire Tokyo turned into some weird magic hand waving shooter game after a cool initial reveal trailer. Never played it, but I am still somewhat interested in it. I played Hifi Rush and appreciated the vibe and art direction, but ultimately did not like how the combat was tied to the music and stopped playing it. So yeah, it's a shame these studios are closing as they have some decent talent and made some good games in the past.

It is freaking labor intensive. The amount for freaking time is spent on visuals is freaking stupid. Gamers and outlets like DF are the sole reason for the focus on graphics in games.

Just to add a bit of context

2 months ago Sony lost 8% of its workforce

Today Microsoft lost 9%

Both for the same reasons.

None of it is good.

Would be interesting to see how hifi rush sold on ps5.

@robert_sparkes: i read it didn't do well. Which would explain the closure.

shhhh.. 🤫

this is the fault of Game Pass and the ABK acquisition..

PlayStation also having comparable gaming layoffs just a couple months ago is completely different and clearly isn't a reason for "concern"..

that said, Xbox is doomed.. 🐄

Not sure why Tango got the Axe... They just made a great game that likely sold better than expected. Arkane is a different story. They made a turd at a lesser studio, not unlike Forespoken or mass effect Andromeda... The studio failed and that's that....

The industry is in shambles... Period.

@Pedro: nah this obsession has been going on since the 90s or even 80s. Current gamers and DF can't be to blame.

Plus humanity is a visual beast so it makes sense to be so focussed on this.

We should just ignore people that instantly go "well this games visuals look trash" or "this game looks like a ps3 game" because they are being dishonest and they are putting the point of attention purely on visuals.

Expect more layoffs. The layoffs would end when the excess from all of the acquisitions has been trimmed.

Sheesh, what a shitshow.

It took only one trash game called Redfall to close down a studio...

Tango Gameworks haven't even put out a bad game, even if Ghostwire was a bit on the boring side.

Who do you think make up current gamers? Who do you think write most of the articles on gaming? Gamers from the 80s and 90s.

We, ignoring the folks you described doesn't resolve the issue because we are not the ones making the decisions for studios and publishers.

The industry is not a shambles. Triple AAA games are in "shambles".

You are drawing way too many conclusions that do not make sense. Loads of people have quit gaming and are focussing on their families or other hobbies that started in the 80s and 90s

Want proof of that? just look at these forums we are on, we are but a fraction of how huge gamespot forums used to be.

You say modern gamers and DF are to blame...What makes current day obsession of graphics so different than how people got wowed by gamecube or PS3 tech demos? I still remember those Zelda and Killzone trailer lively. It's in our subconscious to obsess over looks.

Go back to pre medieval times and yes, you'll find there how people obsessed over looks there too.

I'm going with what Jim Sterling has put forward in the past: these businesses are in the business of making games, if making games has gotten too expensive, that's not really our concern, that's not something that we specifically asked for: that games should have bigger budgets and prettier graphics.

CEOs and decision makers up top get payed BIG bucks to solve these issues, they shouldn't look to gamers or even their devs to shift the blame.

It's not just AAA games. Indie devs are struggling pretty hard as well.

Read

True... Will we get an all indie future? I mean, Vampire Survivors, a game requiring one button that also looks 30 years old is more entertaining and engaging than almost every AAA game I've played in the past several years.... When's this approach to making games gonna break?

Yup, some indies launch their game on steam and get zero attention. Then the next day rolls around the game has already gone forgotten and 20 more games release on Steam.

I like highlighting positive games but, I dunno to me it feels the only hits are coop online affairs these days.

Palworld, Helldivers, Valheim, ... What do all these games have in comon? They are all online games, they are all games you can play with your friends.

@Pedro: "Arkane Austin dropped the ball hard but Tango Gameworks closure is confusing. Were they solely working on Hi Fi Rush the whole time? That would be weird."

I don't imagine MS would have cut Tango Gameworks since a Japanese studio would have been a needed diversification of their catalog. I'm more of the idea it was rather difficult to keep a Japanese developer interested in making games for a console ecosystem out of with their domestic gamer support for Nintendo and PlayStation systems.

Wouldn't surprise me after the acquisition that Mikami had funds to open a new studio and perhaps that's what he's doing, plans to retain previous staff. Perhaps they'll never say but it will become apparent in a couple years when he unveils his next project.

I am not drawing many conclusions, I drew one conclusion. My comment

"Gamers and outlets like DF are the sole reason for the focus on graphics in games."

I did not mention anything specifically targeting modern gamers in that comment. It is disingenuous to claim gamers have not been asking for prettier graphics. Prettier graphics comes at a cost.

@lamprey263: Apparently Mikami left because he was treated as a "rank and file employee" and his title as producer was more of a decoration, if we are to believe his words?

Either way I look forward to seeing a new game from him.

What cost? More expensive games? Different versions like deluxe, gold, ultimate editions? Microtransactions? Battle pass? Less content?

Oh boy these modern AAA games really want to have their cake and eat it too.

When this gen started I said: I'm fine with PS4 graphics at 60fps because that is how it started out for me. And yet still lighting kept improving, texture sizes, bigger worlds, resolutions, etc.

A portion of gamers always wants this endless growth. A large amount do not. I think Nintendo games are proof of that. They sell extremely well and are not always pushing the bar.

And yeah you drew multiple conclusions. "Who do you think write most of the articles on gaming? Gamers from the 80s and 90s."

Case in point.

But yeah I will agree with you that it can't get more absurd than DF arguing over a few pixels. I get that they wanna be "objective" but can't help but feel mutiple times that they are fueling the wrong war.

What is the solution to the current stalemate? I guess nobody knows. But if they keep firing and mistreating the people that create our games than that sets a very bad future to veer towards.

MS are a bunch of fucking idiots. I knew something was suss when they let Toys for Bob go out on their own.

I've told you people for years that Phil needs to go because he's destroying Xbox, where we at now? and where are the "thanks uncle Phil" chants?

The context of my initial comment was about graphics and I explicitly stated "Prettier graphics comes at a cost."

I wasn't drawing multiple conclusions with "Who do you think write most of the articles on gaming? Gamers from the 80s and 90s.", I was pointing out that 80s and 90s gamers are still relevant. You incorrectly assume that I was referring to modern gamers and I clarified that wasn't the case with the comment you highlighted.

The solution to the current issue is the market would correct itself and the correction is going to be driven by gamers because gamers drive the market. Whether it be favorable or unfavorable.

No! We would not get an all indie future. The big name publishers have strong indie roots. When an indie studio gets big they can become the next publisher.

Despite the hatred on forums like these for mobile games, mobile gamers are the next generation of gamers.

Maybe, maybe not.🤷🏽‍♂️

Lems in here blaming Digital Foundry instead of Phil Spencer. Y’all are lost 🤣😂

MS shutting shit down like its Mixer.

I warned you on so many occasions. You're on the wrong side for so long. Remember, its not too late, you can still join the Blue side and we welcome you with open arms.

@Pedro: Exactly.

Nintendo gets a lot of criticism for having weaker hardware, but I think they have it right. I mean they're not laying off thousands of people constantly like everyone else. Idk, just seems not sustainable anymore.

And now Sony are going to release yet another more powerful system when the current ones are fine... It's a race to the bottom imo.

@hardwenzen: correction

MS shutting shit down like Sony.

ideally i would agree.. i think we also have to admit that "Nintendo is Nintendo"..

Nintendo could reskin the last Mario Kart, add 3 tracks, and it's going to sell over 10 million copies..

if Sony or Microsoft made a Mario Kart clone with triple the production values, with double the features, and it would be lucky to chart in the top 20 for that month's NPD..

Nintendo just has a following and timeless IP that others simply can't replicate.. so just saying "do what Nintendo is doing" doesn't quite paint the entire picture..

i do think the age of AAA-AAAA games that take 6+ years to make and are limited to one particular plastic box is coming to an end.. it's simply not sustainable..

Is this what you tell yourself to help you sleep at night?

Dude, I keep seeing you go against your kind... is it time you join Team Sony??

@SolidGame_basic: Sony aren't much better.

This is fucking disgusting.

But people keep saying "they just have to release good games yada yada". But Bethesda is a good example how that's not that easy, just look at their portfolio as publishers.

For a moment they just kept releasing banger after banger. The Wolfenstein games, Prey, Dishonored 1 & 2, Doom 2016 and Eternal, Evil Within 1 & 2.... But those games for the most part underperformed somehow. The thing is that we the gamers vote with our wallets, and great SP games are not something we, as a whole, care that much about.

Really sucks as I really love Prey.

Starfield must've done so poorly that that they're closing down some studios. 12M players played the game btw.

The the next Forza game comes to PS5, Last_Lap will no doubt join Sony clan because Forza is now on PlayStation. You wish you never supported Xbox now😅

@SolidGame_basic: I'm a maverick lem, I call it the way I see it no matter who it is.

Unlike you I go against everyone here, be it lems, cows, hermits or sheep, MS, Nintendo, Sony and Steam (for the lack of PC identity I'm using them)

You would do better if you did the same. As for joining team Sony, well it's games and it's fanbase stop me from doing that. Played 1 Sony game, well you've played them all especially the last 2 gens going on a third.

I own plenty of Sony consoles, but play them rarely. So rarely that I forgot my PSN deets from not playing for a long time that I had to create a new one.

The only "team" I see myself joining in the future is team retro. Maybe we will need to create a name for those type of gamers on here.

@hardwenzen: Please, you've only bought 1 Sony owned ip in nearly 2yrs and you bought that on PC, then you bought Dragons Dogmeh 2 on PC also. You haven't purchased a game on PS5 for the longest time.

That's proof that you're trying to convince yourself to go with Sony than you are me.

TotK sold over 20 million copies in a year… Exclusive to a plastic box… 6 year production window…

Nintendo is literally sustaining it before your eyes. They just had their most PROFITABLE year in their existence.

@davillain: It went to PC, did I become a filthy hermit?

Well there's your answer.

@ghostofgolden said:

@Antwan3K said:

i think we also have to admit that "Nintendo is Nintendo"..

Nintendo just has a following and timeless IP that others simply can't replicate..

i do think the age of AAA-AAAA games that take 6+ years to make and are limited to one particular plastic box is coming to an end.. it's simply not sustainable..

TotK sold over 20 million copies in a year… Exclusive to a plastic box… 6 year production window…

Nintendo is literally sustaining it before your eyes. They just had their most PROFITABLE year in their existence.

Do you honestly believe Tears of the Kingdom costs the same amount of time and money to make as a AAA PS5 title from PlayStation?..

I mean didn't it pretty much have the same map as Breath of the Wild?..

as a follow-up, do you think if Sony or Microsoft made a Tears of the Kingdom clone (the same level graphics, the same level performance, and essentially the same gameplay) without the "Legend of Zelda" IP brand power, they could sell 20 million copies on a single console in a year?..

you're just proving my point..

again, "just do what Nintendo is doing" isn't possible without Nintendo IP and Nintendo brand loyalty..

Lol

@last_lap: Don't flatter yourself. You always hated gaming PC anyway, so it's no point mentioning it to you.

This needs to be the games industry right now.

If there's one thing we can always count on from MS, it's their gross inability to read the room