MS CFO Tim Stuart defends throwing MTX into $70 games.

[Runa216]

sales2099 said:

Like PS fans never said “just wait” before. Then let me state for the record I’m simply excited and can’t wait for what the future holds. If that bothers you then I say you got problems of your own. In the meantime I’m enjoying their BC program, unique genres like Gears Tactics, and saving money via GP (I would assume you can at least empathize with that one). 

You being excited for the future never bothered me one bit. I'm excited for the potential in the future, too. the issue is that you're taking this optimism to debates about what WILL happen or whether or not Microsoft or Sony has more momentum going into the next generation. Like I said, you're bringing opinions to a fact fight and using your hope and faith that Microsoft will finally pick up the pace and actually do something interesting as a basis for your arguments. The issue has always been that your optimism and personal preferences seem to override your logic centers. Your hopes for Microsoft speak louder than their history and track record. 

The difference between us is entirely based on logic and reason. I don't like Gran Turismo or Uncharted or The Last of Us...but they're still games that sell well and have a HUGE impact on the brand image. I also hate Halo and think it made the entire FPS genre kinda suck with its shields and sterile generic space commando nonsense, but my opinion on all of these franchises is moot. My subjective opinion on these matters is irrelevant, becuse they're all bestselling games with critical acclaim. I am the minority so I don't let my feelings get in the way of facts. What we CAN say, however, is that there is tangible, objective truths about the public perception of these franchises. The Last of Us is staying pretty steady (2 was slightly lower), Uncharted 4 did slightly better than 3 in critical reception and sold a tonne more, and Gran Turismo is selling less and getting lower scores now than it was at its peak. Likewise, Halo and Gears have lower scores and sales than previous entries and are on a downward trajectory. These are the facts. 

Subjectively, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a huge point of interest for me and a prime example of a game I want on Ps5...but you know what? I hardly ever use it as justification for my expectations or predictions because it's an unknown quantity. it could be the next big thing, or it could flop. My desire to see it succeed is not enough to go off. Just like Returnal or The Medium or Avowed or so many other unknown quantities. So much potential, but there's no way to know at this point whether they're going to be system-sellers or not. The difference between you and I is that you've already decided they are and are acting as though they're absolute, surefire hits whereas I'm saying it's too early to know. 

And as for the topic at hand, a huge part of the reason Sony games have been getting great reviews whereas Microsoft have not is because Halo, Gears, and Forza all have microtransactions whereas God of War, Spider-Man, and Horizon: Zero dawn do not. Given the history of it all, it's fair to say God of War Ragnarok, Spider-Man Miles Morales, and Horizon: The Forbidden West will not and thus the anticipation is far better. Plus all of those games are coming off absolute banger titles, all 10+ million sellers with one of them being a completely new IP and another being a vast departure from the prior games in the series. when Halo was shown, all people could talk about was how disappointing it looked. Power and speed mean nothing if the games don't live up to the hype. Momentum is a very important factor, and Microtransactions slow momentum, while new games improve said momentum. 

The two companies have VASTLY different approaches, which is why Sony is exciting while Microsoft is not. Microtransactions are a huge reason for that, just like it was in 2013 when Microsoft was pushing Microtransactions and DRM and all manner of garbage into their console that the market handily rejected. Sure, they're not doing DRM or Kinect anymore, but they still are going out of their way to justify Microtransactions nd push the narrative of power over innovation and as a result they're going to flounder again unless pretty much every one of those studios puts out an absolute banger of a game and quick. 

Here, Jim Sterling does a pretty good breakdown explaining how Microsoft has been at the forefront of making the games industry worse and why I'm so critical of Microsoft/Xbox.