I so wish dox or gtfo was enforced here =D

Anyways spreading rumors that Lionhead is closing is silly considering every game they've made has been a box office success. Fable 2 will break half million worldwide first week.

edit: the reason MS didn't buy Bizarre or Bioware... well there are many reasons but the main one is that buying studios is incredibly risky. The IP's hold value up to a certain extent but it's the talent that's worth the money. How much did EA pay for the slew of studios they bought in the 90's? All those IP's aren't worth a dime anymore and the talent is gone.

They are doing the smart thing: building their own studios (we know that they have at least one full fledged studio building right now) and funding for publishing rights the best they can find around (gears, mass effect, alan wake...).

To be honest, how much are these rare games exciting you? Neither of the games they are making for this fall have caught my eye much. As for Lionhead, as said elsewhere, they do take ages to make games, Sony of course have that problem in some regards, but I do like them (well give me a week to be sure).

How big is bungie? Those three games are going to take them some time, so I would probably expect 2 more on Xbox, 1 on the nextbox.

Are turn 10 big again? As MM said, they are probably making Forza and PGR, which is going to take them a lot of time

Also, I don't really like Halo, and they have to diversify more than just having loads of Halo games. They might do quite well, but I doubt that is really going to expand their market.

The issue is that they seem to be focusing on just getting 3rd party exclusives, and so obviously they could turn their policy round and start working with small devs and starting new studios, but Sony has already started doing that, and has invested in its 1st party, and with Insomniac releasing very good games every year, ND probably every 2, and several other major games coming from their first parties, with established and new franchises, Sony's 1st party is much stronger

What is with all the mention of 3rd Party games, isn't this all about 1st/2nd Paryt stuff?

The fact some Xbox Defenders are bringing up these 3rd Party games only proves Music Man's point.

As far as the notion that Microsoft seems more fixated on getting buying 3rd Party Exclusivity/Timed/Multplatform then making their own games...I'm somewhat inclined to agree.

Microsoft 1st/2nd Party games are good, but they fall short in terms of amount and overall quality to that of Sony or Nintendo. (of course the latter statement of mine is opinion, but I feel I'm entitled to make it since I own all 3 consoles)

the state= sad.

Only first party devs are rare and.... ensem- no.... what then? Lionhead? They totally rely on 2nd party titles I think.

Microsoft is living exclusively off of third-party titles as of late. They have a few first-party franchises, but the majority of exclusivity for MS games is now third-party.

Unlike Sony and Nintendo which are well prepared for the eventual future that third-party exclusives will go the way of the dodo, Microsoft isn't. Hell, Nintendo practically carried itself first-party wise during the Gamecube era, and it looks like Sony is trying to do that this era, given exclusives for the triple are dropping like flies, Sony has made an effort to buy new Studios (evolution), and publish more games (LBP).

The state of the 1st, 2nd party of MS is pretty sad. And the glory days of rare are long gone. PDZ sucked, Viva Pinata and it's sequel, are okay at best, and Banjo: Nuts + Bolts is looking pretty "meh" at the moment. Ensemble is gone, Turn 10 is juggling two games, and Bungie is only cranking out Halo after Halo. how long until that franchise is like Madden?

It's pretty sad, I hope MS learns how to internally develop games.

All this first party/third party talk is just a fanboyish argument without any backing besides the interest on hitting a perceived weak spot on MS's strategy.

What's the difference between owning studios that might produce lackluster games that eventually get cancelled losing money in the process (getaway? eight days?) or listening to pitches by developers and cherrypicking the best titles to fund, publish and control the IP. The comparison is indeed slanted (don't bother to point that out) but it highlights that both approaches have strengths and weakness.

Of course, Sony goes for the first party route so the SDF boombox is here echoing the meme until it sticks.

LOL.  I think M$ would love for the Halo franchise to be like Madden.  Better than turning into a franchise that doesn't sell boatloads.

As far as M$ games, I am about to play some more Fable 2.  That game is addictive.  Just got through with the Spire and have been playing for about 20 hours.  Not sure how close to the end of the game that is.  But I own pretty much all of Bowerstone, so that took up a good portion of my time.

The game's certainly of the life-sucking variety.

I've just noticed blue veins have started popping on my face... maybe I should restrain myself from my magic addiction.

LOL.  I love that.  I started going shirtless because it looks so badass having blue veins all over me.  I noticed I was a little fat so I had to eat some celery. LOL.