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Which of the Big 4 from Xbox is the most important?
- Thread starter rrc1594
- Start date
Fable 3 was still decent and capture the atmosphere of the series. It just devolved in the late game.
And yet Halo 5 is still believed to have sold north of 10 million copies pre-Game Pass. Make no mistake, Halo is still Microsoft's biggest property, and did not have nearly the fall-off Gears of War had.
Of the four strange choices we've been given here, I'll say Fable. Instand brand recognition, serving a genre that is extremely popular (open-world third-person action RPG), coming from a studio with an established pedigree for quality - and the makers of a game franchise that really is in Microsoft's "big four" right now.
Avowed could be huge for Microsoft too if it managed to be "the next Skyrim" or whatever, but that's far from a given and we'd need to see some of the actual game first.
State of Decay 3...? lol. I mean, the game could be great, and I hope it's everything it possibly can be, but putting it in a categry called "The Big Four" is really weird and premature.
Oh I don't know, I think Microsoft giving Lionhead an 18 month dev window for Fable 3 could've had something to do with it too, lol.
Big 4? The only one genuinely important out of these is Fable. The IP is well known, and if the game is great, it will show that Playground are truly a top developer that can make more than just great racing games.
I'm hopeful about Avowed, but it's a new(ish) IP. If it's really just an Elder Scrolls clone, it isn't as important for Xbox after Microsoft got the original Elder Scrolls IP. That's why I hope Avowed will be sufficiently different from TES.
I'd say the Initiative's game is far more important to the Xbox brand than any of these 4 games bar Fable.
I'm hopeful about Avowed, but it's a new(ish) IP. If it's really just an Elder Scrolls clone, it isn't as important for Xbox after Microsoft got the original Elder Scrolls IP. That's why I hope Avowed will be sufficiently different from TES.
I'd say the Initiative's game is far more important to the Xbox brand than any of these 4 games bar Fable.
I was gonna say Fable, but I think Avowed has a pretty massive amount to prove. It'll be the first bjg game fully developed by Obsidian under Microsoft, and there's a really direct comparison with Outer Worlds having come out shortly after the acquisition. It'll be really easy to point to things like multi-player or MMO features, micro transactions, weird gimmicks, whatever, and say "Xbox forced Obsidian to do that, it's not their style at all". It'll also certainly be seen by some as a canary for Elder Scrolls.
Fable being from a studio that hasn't done an RPG before there's no baseline to say Microsoft ruined them or forced them to do something they don't usually do.
Unless this happened.
Fable being from a studio that hasn't done an RPG before there's no baseline to say Microsoft ruined them or forced them to do something they don't usually do.
Unless this happened.
OP
OP
I would argue not, MS will get way more credit for those titles success then any BGS game.
Prior to the Bethesda purchase, I could see the argument for Avowed. Oblivion and Skyrim both had a huge impact on consoles and sales - and both won tons of awards. Microsoft needed a top quality game and Obsidian was finally making a AAA fantasy RPG again. But with the Bethesda purchase, the pressure is off them now (which is a good thing).
So that leaves Fable and Hellblade. Hellblade does have a lot to live up to, and could be Microsoft's best chance at getting a GOTY contender. But I chose Fable because Playground is growing like crazy and it seems like Fable will have a huge budget. Plus it's a reboot of a beloved Microsoft franchise.
So that leaves Fable and Hellblade. Hellblade does have a lot to live up to, and could be Microsoft's best chance at getting a GOTY contender. But I chose Fable because Playground is growing like crazy and it seems like Fable will have a huge budget. Plus it's a reboot of a beloved Microsoft franchise.
I mean I don't think any of them are particularly 'big' but out of the 4 it's Fable for me, if they can somehow rekindle the magic of the OG Xbox game but I'm doubtful personally.
Fable easily although the other games on this list are not unimportant.
The choices here are strange though.
Halo
Gears
Forza Horizon
Are what I consider Big anything when it comes to MS in the past. The future looks wildly different though...We need a poll with 10 more games on it.
The choices here are strange though.
Halo
Gears
Forza Horizon
Are what I consider Big anything when it comes to MS in the past. The future looks wildly different though...We need a poll with 10 more games on it.
+1, except it's the only thing I recognize as a property at all.
Fable is the known entity with something to prove, Avowed is the one I'm most looking forward to.
We can't know, you're right, but we'll agree to disagree then. It has been a very long time since 2008 and I have serious doubts that some wide swath of the gaming audience remembers the Fable series all that fondly.
This video pretty much lays out how Fable 3 was in a hurried yet sustainable state before Molyneux started interfering more actively and introduced a bunch of stupid shit like The Road to Rule and the "menu".
Oh i'm not absolving Molyneux in the slightest, and I think hes ultimately at least 50% to blame for Lionhead being dissolved, but 18 months is not nearly enough time to make a Fable game.
OP
OP
I think my point isn't coming across maybe I shouldn't have put big 4? It's not about which title is most known, but which title will have bigger impact on how Xbox is viewed as far as putting out quality exclusive and building a healthy first-party culture. All of these titles came from studios they purchased. If they all flop it will set a bad narrative going forward for Xbox. That MS still can't grow a strong firstly party line-up.
Damn, I did see someone else post about Grounded, but yeah I still totally forgot about it lol.
I think Grounded could end up being
It's probably Hellblade 2. The big negative for the Xbox lineup is the lack of prestige over-the-shoulder 3D cinematic adventure games. If Hellblade 2 expands its scope and improves its action gameplay, then they'll be positioning it as their God of War competitor.
Games like Avowed and Fable just shore up the existing WRPG library, which will not be lacking on Xbox.
Games like Avowed and Fable just shore up the existing WRPG library, which will not be lacking on Xbox.
"Most important" I'd roll a d4 and say Hellblade, since it's the most interesting one of those to me, personally. But the list feels like it skips most of the games that I'd put on an "important Xbox games" list so it's hard for me to say.
"Most important for showing that MS is on the right track", though, I'd say Fable, since it's a more well-known Microsoft IP and its downfall was kind-of emblematic of Microsoft being on the wrong track. This would stand in contrast to that.
"Most important for showing that MS is on the right track", though, I'd say Fable, since it's a more well-known Microsoft IP and its downfall was kind-of emblematic of Microsoft being on the wrong track. This would stand in contrast to that.
We all know Fable 3 is better than the others, but that's not reason to say things like this, my guy.
Double comment for some reason.
Avowed. Big new IP. assuming its exclusive. They have a chance to get a must play game that u need xbox game pass for
Those certainly weren't the poll options I was expecting... Out of those though... Uh, I don't know ha. Fable is probably the most recognisable, but also comes with a fair amount of baggage.
Hellblade was impressive, and seems to have a decent following, and from what I can see, a good amount of interest.
I've never heard of Avowed until just now, and quite disappointed in myself, considering it is Obsidian's next game.
State of Decay has always just felt like a fairly middling, if interesting series. I don't see it mentioned much outside of Xbox though.
Honestly, like I said, I wasn't expecting these as the options.
Hellblade was impressive, and seems to have a decent following, and from what I can see, a good amount of interest.
I've never heard of Avowed until just now, and quite disappointed in myself, considering it is Obsidian's next game.
State of Decay has always just felt like a fairly middling, if interesting series. I don't see it mentioned much outside of Xbox though.
Honestly, like I said, I wasn't expecting these as the options.
What comes to my mind is... "important in what sense"?
Fable is the most immediately recognizable (that is, from the average passer-by. Each of the others has strong potential for a niche of the overall community, and undoubtedly have dedicated groups salivating at their prospect.
For the platform, the most important will be the most successful, and frankly we can't predict that right now, not in an informed manner. I will stick to fable, because it's a recognizable brand with a massive potential appeal to the widest audience of the four presented, but it will need an impeccable execution lest it fade to oblivion.
Fable is the most immediately recognizable (that is, from the average passer-by. Each of the others has strong potential for a niche of the overall community, and undoubtedly have dedicated groups salivating at their prospect.
For the platform, the most important will be the most successful, and frankly we can't predict that right now, not in an informed manner. I will stick to fable, because it's a recognizable brand with a massive potential appeal to the widest audience of the four presented, but it will need an impeccable execution lest it fade to oblivion.
I'll go with Avowed, because of the developer pedigree that's behind it.
WRPG fans know Obsidian and this game will be huge if they deliver a masterpiece.
WRPG fans know Obsidian and this game will be huge if they deliver a masterpiece.
Ninja Theory is the right answer here.
In terms of looking at an investment in a studio, Fable is actually at the bottom of the list, because, if Fable isn't great, Playground can go right back to Forza Horizon.
State of Decay is a known quantity at this point, so, Xbox knows what to expect.
Obsidian are making like, 900 games currently, so, they're fine.
Ninja Theory's first game under Xbox, Bleeding Edge, bombed insanely hard. Yes, they were making it already when they were purchased, but, it shows they're capable of bombing. Whatever Xbox invested in that game is already not being returned. Now they're pumping money into Hellblade 2, and, time will tell if the game is a success, but, I wouldn't say they're a shoe-in anymore.
In terms of looking at an investment in a studio, Fable is actually at the bottom of the list, because, if Fable isn't great, Playground can go right back to Forza Horizon.
State of Decay is a known quantity at this point, so, Xbox knows what to expect.
Obsidian are making like, 900 games currently, so, they're fine.
Ninja Theory's first game under Xbox, Bleeding Edge, bombed insanely hard. Yes, they were making it already when they were purchased, but, it shows they're capable of bombing. Whatever Xbox invested in that game is already not being returned. Now they're pumping money into Hellblade 2, and, time will tell if the game is a success, but, I wouldn't say they're a shoe-in anymore.
It's not even close, Fable all the way. Nuts it took an entire generation to get a proper 4th installment years after one was being proposed and before that stupid "single player games are dead" publisher mantra at the beginning of last generation.
Stoked for a new one and I hope it's the best one yet, the series never reached its peak.
I still do have to play Hellblade on the PS4 however.
Stoked for a new one and I hope it's the best one yet, the series never reached its peak.
I still do have to play Hellblade on the PS4 however.
State of Decay 3 can be really cool if they improve the game a lot from 2. I really enjoyed 2 while doing some achievement hunting and such for the Xbox HoF event. If they can make it without all the jank and such it be a real cool zombie game. For what it's worth i actually rate State of Decay 2 higher than Days Gone comparing zombie games.
You can rape people in Fable 3. Fable has always been mature.