Video game companies are bad | Phoenix Labs sack circa 100 staff

I can’t see handheld doing much for them really, well, not without some big hook (Game Pass yeah but then if subs have stalled will that even bring in new customers?)

It’s crazy to see MS now verses the MS of the 360 era

Absolutely strawberry floated up the worst generation. TV TV TV was the start of the end.

Photek wrote:I just don’t think MS right now are questioning Xbox’s performance.

Wouldn’t be shocked if Phil leaves, Sarah Bond is head of Xbox now also.

They definitely are. They're spending big money and not getting enough of a return yet. Hence why they're exploring other options like mulitplat releases and handhelds.

ITSMILNER wrote:I can’t see handheld doing much for them really, well, not without some big hook (Game Pass yeah but then if subs have stalled will that even bring in new customers?)

It’s crazy to see MS now verses the MS of the 360 era

I think a handheld with game pass could be a pretty big success if the price and form is right.

Look at Switch. There's a very big market there although there's a lot of factors you need to balance obviously.

Tomous wrote:
Photek wrote:I just don’t think MS right now are questioning Xbox’s performance.

Wouldn’t be shocked if Phil leaves, Sarah Bond is head of Xbox now also.

They definitely are. They're spending big money and not getting enough of a return yet. Hence why they're exploring other options like mulitplat releases and handhelds.

On the flip side they are funding 2 new consoles…

strawberry float.

twitter.com/_tom_henderson_/status/1787840309453328423

Photek wrote:strawberry float.

twitter.com/_tom_henderson_/status/1787840309453328423

strawberry float indeed

Makes you fear for the studios that have games coming out in the next 2 years, are they going to release their game, give it 6 months of support and then get made redundant?

Outside of MS and looking at layoffs as a whole, a lot of these people are being laid off more than once in some cases. It’s going to reach a point where

1.) People currently in the industry will switch to a more, stable industry
2.) Young people now will reconsider doing uni courses for game dev jobs because of how volatile the industry is

Who would want to work in games with how things are? Where does that leave the future of the industry?

Robbo-92 wrote:Makes you fear for the studios that have games coming out in the next 2 years, are they going to release their game, give it 6 months of support and then get made redundant?

All eyes on Ninja Theory right now

ITSMILNER wrote:
Robbo-92 wrote:Makes you fear for the studios that have games coming out in the next 2 years, are they going to release their game, give it 6 months of support and then get made redundant?

All eyes on Ninja Theory right now

Hopefully not, but I can't help but wonder, hopefully me just being cynical, very unlike me :lol:

One game being able to sink a studio completely is such a grim situation. Obviously this is indicative of where the industry is at now rather than just a Microsoft thing. It's very depressing, and we're losing good studios because of it.

ITSMILNER wrote:
Robbo-92 wrote:Makes you fear for the studios that have games coming out in the next 2 years, are they going to release their game, give it 6 months of support and then get made redundant?

All eyes on Ninja Theory right now

Yep, 7 years since Hellblade 1 for a “short” game, no sign of Project Mara & Bleeding Edge flopped.

Will be interesting if it does get 90%+ reviews like the mock reviews suggest but then flops commercially.

strawberry float MS

Jesus strawberry floating Christ, Microsoft really decided to shoot those beautiful golden geese. I don't understand what possible benefit that has to anyone. Is it for a tax write-off? Absolutely senseless.

Photek wrote:Absolutely strawberry floated up the worst generation. TV TV TV was the start of the end.

I think Spencer's talk of losing the worst generation is just an excuse to cover strawberry floating shite management of the Xbox brand and truly senseless terrible decisions like this.

A bonanza for the shareholders. Those little scamps :wub:

Genuinely a bit depressed by this.

The studio that made Prey, literally one of the greatest creations in gaming history, strawberry floated over so we can get another shitty fallout game, elder scrolls or CoD.

strawberry float off MS

According to IGN, the next big Redfall update (which would have added offline play as well as other updates) was due to release this month. So much for MS caring about game preservation, without that update that game will be unplayable once servers are switched off as it is.

Jeff Grubb reporting that Perfect Dark is also in a ‘Very rough state’ so I wouldn’t be shocked if that gets canned and The Initiative are closed next.

I've always found Phil Spencer to be a disingenuous arsehole if I'm honest. I never bought that he had nothing to do with the whole "TV TV TV" debacle, he simply threw Mattrick under the bus for the promotion. Then wore a Battletoads T shirt to soften the blow.

He has been absolutely useless as Xbox head, actively taking the brand backwards to a point prior to the successes of the Xbox 360's early days. The brand has always struggled outside of its UK/USA utopia, but saying how much you love Japanese games, while wearing a Halo 3 t shirt, and simultaneously closing the studio that made your ONLY good game in years is mental.

Spencer is the kind that oozes corporate grease, he's just as bad as Bobby Kotick. Kotick was just more open about it. Actually he's worse than Bobby, Spencer whispers sweet nothings about a new Banjo title is coming, while wearing a Helldivers t shirt and robbing your grandmother blind while you sleep.

Meh.

Video game companies are bad | Phoenix Labs sack circa 100 staff

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