Yeah, that is the thing that frustrates me most with Phil's Switch ports so far, they never negotiate to receive anything at all in return, nothing Nintendo 1st party on Xbox, nothing Nintendo 2nd party on Xbox, not even a Nintendo 3rd party hat like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 (over 4 years Switch exclusive now), SMT V (over 2 years Switch exclusive now), or Rune Factory 5 (2 years Switch exclusive now). Meanwhile Phil has now given Switch owners late ports of Ori 1, Ori 2, Super Lucky's Tale, and I believe at least one other game which escapes my memory. Not to mention the day one Switch ports that have come from Xbox studios like the Minecraft spinoffs and The Bard's Tale Remastered. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, giving away exclusives and potential exclusives and getting nothing in return for it. 

idk pimp, their physical version of games have been shaky. As Dusk Falls, and Ghostwire Tokyo come to mind. Different circumstances as well with publisher and timing, but still. 

Hell Xbox ended up getting fucked over for Goldeneye lmao. Doesn't benefit Xbox gamers at all. Can't even get the bare minimum of things like Nintendo ips be used in like SoT like for cosmetics. 

I checked it and Ori did get a physical release for Xbox.

Ghostwire Tokyo should get a physical edition on Xbox, I agree with that.

I think Hi-Fi Rush will get a physical copy if it gets one for Switch, John will probably make sure it happens even, he has spoken already about possibly doing it and knowing there's demand for it (in the context of Xbox, Lol).

Don't think there's any demand for an As Dusk Falls physical edition...That game is about as niche as you can get, even the PS announcement has barely been spoken about by anyone except Xbox fans upset about it coming to PS, Lol. I mean it's a good game but it's niche as hell, Hi-Fi Rush is niche and then there's As Dusk Falls which is niche of niche.

I am going to guess that the reports from early 2023 that Hi-Fi did mediocre financially were at least partially true, but that Xbox saw the critical reception and realized they had struck gold with Tango Gameworks, and this is their means of subsidizing the studios expansion without harming the brand’s long term goals. This will also allow Tango to reach a Japanese audience for hi-fi.

Anyway, I'm likely going to dip for a few days while people let off steam if you want to, simply because this stuff doesn't really bother me but I know I'll be dragged into debates about it or sit watching the reactions from the side instead of actually playing games (I've already wasted 3 hours instead of playing Like a Dragon Gaiden, Lol). It's a bad habit of mine, I get too easily drawn into debates and business talk instead of enjoying what matters to me which is the games. I want to do less of that in 2024. It was freeing when I stopped caring as much about the business because that is Xbox's shit to worry about and just enjoyed the games I was getting. I was a lot happier as a gamer in my teenage years when I wasn't following gaming news this closely and conversations about the industry and whatnot and just enjoying the games, Lol.

I'll say my final piece and dip, a late port of Hi-Fi Rush doesn't take anything away from me, it will earn Tango more financial security and increase potential for a sequel, Hi-Fi Rush did okay but it wasn't a major success in sales or engagement, it has likely exhausted its value as an exclusive in terms of pushing consoles. It'd be a different conversation for me if it was a major AAA title but Hi-Fi Rush is a niche title that most consumers likely don't even know about. If it's a Switch 2 launch title then it could be a huge boon for the IP and if that's a thing which gets me a sequel then I'll gladly accept it because I care more about the IP than Xbox having an exclusive but the IP dying on the Xbox platform.

There's also the whole aspect of Tango being a Japanese studio which may be at play here, I feel like Japanese developers are more patriotic than any other developers around the world and actually want their titles to be enjoyed by a Japanese audience which they won't get with Xbox. I do truly believe that a Switch port is less of an issue than a PS port even if you cared about that stuff, I don't believe Xbox thinks Switch is a direct competitor to Xbox and more like another handheld device of the dozens which they already support (Windows/Steam) and a device which sits alongside high-end computing devices like Xbox/PS rather than instead of, as it does for me. I do believe the majority of console gamers would still opt to play demanding AAA titles on Xbox/PS/PC over Switch, as would I. But I've even said in the past before that I don't mind Xbox supporting Switch a little more, Lol.

I also think with them already doing day/date with PC that it's a bit of an "eh, the line has already been crossed" anyway, PC is becoming more accessible and will become a bigger thing in the future, then they'll also go into Mobile day/date which is where a lot of todays youth plays, anecdotal but my nieces/nephews and their friends hardly bother with consoles anymore and are all about mobile gaming. Where Xbox is in the console market is irrelevant to me, as long as they keep making consoles, I just want the games and they have a ton of games incoming. If this ultimately hurts Xbox business then  that's their issue to deal with and be concerned about but in the meantime I'll have fun with dozens of games they throw my way. And they still have dozens of major upcoming exclusives so 2-3 niche titles in the grand scheme of things won't mean much (As Dusk Falls, Ori and Hi-Fi Rush in the span of 5 years). Valve gives Xbox nothing either but they still release on Steam, the line has already been crossed, sometimes it's not about what obvious thing we get in return but about Xbox maintaining relationships with developers and/or the survival of a particular IP.

The vast majority of games are exclusive, will stay exclusive and have stayed exclusive. The ones that have gone to other platforms have been smaller A-AA titles which are both niche, not selling great and not moving consoles (As Dusk Falls, Hi-Fi Rush). There was Ori but IIRC that was Moon Studios asking for it to happen, Microsoft doesn't own Lucky's Tale or Cuphead. So the only non-Minecraft internally developed game which has gone to other platforms is Hi-Fi Rush. It's still not a trend, it's still a case by case and I wouldn't get so worked up about it personally. If I have the choice of Hi-Fi Rush exclusive to Xbox but no sequel and Hi-Fi Rush on Xbox/Switch and a sequel then I'm taking the 2nd option without a moment thought.

No it doesn't mean Xbox is going 3rd party, we know for a fact another Xbox console is coming so that's another generation of support and the leaker himself tried to downplay this and says it's another "case by case" scenario. I do believe however as time goes on, consoles will become less relevant for both Xbox and PS and there will be larger pushes to focus on PC/Mobile as they are bigger than Console and where the growth is, with budgets ballooning as well and the console market remaining relatively stagnant in its ceiling overall, but the console market is still a large market, it may not be a core focus but it's part of the ecosystem and to remove it will damage that ecosystem, and a large chunk of their revenue/profits so I do believe it will remain an option for at least another 2-3 generations but beyond that, I don't know. When that day ever comes, I'll simply swap to PC, Lol.

It could blow up in their face but that's their risk to take and their business to deal with. We ultimately have no idea as well why it is being done, I think the larger issue at play here is Xbox's lack of messaging and context on the matter, if they give no info on what makes HFR different than others then it would be understandable if they receive some PR backlash and mocking at mixed messaging but as it stands right now, all we have is a leaker who hasn't revealed all their information which drives rampant speculation on the who/what/why and it's hard to blame Microsoft for that right now because it's generally not a good idea to comment on rumours and nothing is even announced yet.

I think it's worth considering the Japanese employee argument.

I do believe that Japan is pretty patriotic and who can blame em when Japan is the birthplace of the console industry, Sony and Nintendo both being Japanese companies, I do start to believe that Japanese developers want to release on PlayStation and/or Nintendo because they want to support their local industry and because they make up like 99% of the market and Xbox makes up that remaining 1%, Lmao.

It could be why we haven't seen Microsoft try to acquire anyone in Japan yet, despite saying multiple times that they want to and rumours they are doing so, it could be a cultural clash and there's a very real risk that any Japanese company they acquire might have an exodus of employees who don't want to only work with Xbox. This could be Microsoft saying to Tango that they will support their home market.

And if this is the case then really Microsoft doesn't have much choice.

Thinking back on the leaked Microsoft document where Microsoft would have promised to keep every Sega IP multiplatform in an acquisition, why would they do that? I don't mind but thinking about it, it is odd, this document is around the same time that Phil said "every future Zenimax title exclusive!" in emails and Matt said "PS ports? Nah! Screw that!"

Zenimax I think has more bigger IPs than Sega, likely cost more, why would Elder Scrolls be exclusive but a mid-sized franchise with popularity in the West like Yakuza wouldn't be? And then Sega doesn't have anything close to the size of a regular Call of Duty release which is promised to be multiplatform due to its impact on the industry, you could maybe make an argument for Sonic but that IP is battered in 2024.

Idas thinks they were close to acquiring Sega but ultimately stopped at some point. What makes Sega different to Zenimax? Nothing as far as I'm concerned aside from location, I don't believe Yakuza would need PlayStation to be financially successful, nor would Sonic and some other IP, I don't believe regulators would give a shit about Segas IP as they didn't care about anything from ABK aside from COD.

Is the promise of multiplatform a way to prevent an exodus of employees?

Who knows, we don't know anything official yet, Lmao. It is more likely what I said above though, Hi-Fi Rush didn't sell well, they want to expand its userbase via Switch 2 for a possible sequel later on, they want to keep Tango happy, a combination of factors, ultimately still a niche title which won't hurt them too much, as long as the major AAA exclusives still remain exclusive.

So much exhausting negativity over a rumour of Xbox putting a game on a different platform. HFR on switch doesn’t devalue your plastic box anymore than putting every single game on pc day 1.

That is just not accurate. PC is not a competitor platform to Xbox, Microsoft has a vested interest in growing their PC gaming ecosystem and getting people onto PC Gamepass and Windows Store. Nintendo and Playstation are competitor platforms, so an Xbox game releasing on Switch or Playstation absolutely devalues Xbox hardware more than an Xbox game releasing on PC does. 

Look at it this way, what do Xbox fans gain from HiFi Rush going to Switch and/or Playstation? Nothing, the only people who stand to benefit are Switch and PS5 owners and Microsoft themselves, the mega corporation who cares nothing about you as an Xbox owner and only wants your money. They didn't use HiFi Rush as a bargaining chip to get a Switch or PS exclusive to come to Xbox; Xbox fans are still waiting for Sony and Nintendo hats like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Shin Megami Tensei V, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and FF7 Remake. Xbox fans know that the less Xbox hardware sales, the easier it will be for Nintendo and Sony to hat more games away from Xbox owners in the future, and we know that Xbox losing exclusives like HiFi will only further hurt recent abysmal Xbox hardware sales numbers (Xbox Series sales in 2023 appear to be down over 2022 sales, and Xbox One has now pulled into the lead over Xbox Series in the launch aligned charts, not good for a platform to be in decline only 3 years into a generation). There is simply no benefit to this move for us, the loyal Xbox hardware owners.

Microsoft is a publicly traded 2.7 trillion dollar company.  Microsoft exists to make money, if bringing the occasional game to a Nintendo console that has 133 million users has the possibility of someone saying hey this game is great I want more of these and they then buy and Xbox that is a good thing for Microsoft. If it was Starfield coming to Playstation that would be more of an eye raise for me, I think Hi-Fi Rush makes sense on Nintendo to try and build a base.  Very few people in Japan have an Xbox, again if the Japanese gamer players it on the Switch and enjoys it maybe they buy Xbox to play the sequel.