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G2ThaUNiT on 23 May 2023
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rapsuperstar31 said:
DroidKnight said:

On the moneyhatting issue. I'm just trying to figure this stuff out.

Lets take last generation console hardware numbers for the example. (117 million PS4s vs 51 million Xbox Ones)

To moneyhat a game isn't as simple as outbidding the competitor?

For Sony to moneyhat a big AAA game, let's say 80 million dollars to keep it off of 51 million Xboxs.
Xbox could offer 120 million dollars to keep it off of 117 million PS4s and even though they outbid the competition by a lot it would still be turned down because of the smaller Xbox player count base vs the larger Playstation base?

They could offer even larger amounts of money, but with the smaller player base this would just end up becoming a loss on Xbox's part and a bad investment.

The way I see it, there is no way for Xbox to successfully moneyhat games, it isn't an equal playing field. Outright purchasing developers and publishers does seem the proper route for Xbox.



I could be wrong, but if Microsoft is going to try and moneyhat a big game for 120 million, they are going to want that game on gamepass day 1.  If the options are the same in your example, it is going to significantly raise the cost to get that game exclusive to Xbox and on gamepass day 1 which lowers it's potential sales but greatly increases the amount of player that may play it.  That being said, we haven't even begun to see the results of the other major purchases.  Starfield is going to be the first absolutely monster game that comes out of their purchases.  Let's see what happens when Starfied, Avowed, Outer Worlds 2, Hell Blade 2, future games in the Fallout and Elder Scrolls games etc get released.

That's exactly what they would want. If Xbox is investing in a exclusive third-party game, it has to be on Game Pass day one, which would also bump up the price for a AAA game. You're also right about Xbox yet to see the results of the major purchases. Redfall seems to have been made out of the flops of Dishonored 2 and Prey, and it turned into a Fallout 76 moment. Taking a studio that only made single player immersive experiences, and forcing them to make something they don't make, or perhaps not even interested in making.

I've said before that the foundation for the remainder of Xbox Series generation will start with Starfield. Once Starfield releases, the games you listed as well as the likes of Perfect Dark, State of Decay 3 and any surprises we'll find out about in a few weeks will start to pour in, hopefully, every quarter as is Xbox's goal. The teams have been getting all the time they've needed, and Starfield should be that gigantic splash that will get the gen going for Xbox.