Microsoft is straight up writing the salary pay checks for everyone employed by Zenimax as of July 2021.
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Why do people get upset over Timed Exclusivity Deals but not so much when Console Manufacturers buy Game Studios?
- Thread starter bob100
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Microsoft is straight up writing the salary pay checks for everyone employed by Zenimax as of July 2021.
Right don't get how some acting like this is some noble gesture its bizarre.
There was a point in time in the console space that where you had games come out only on some hardware because it had capable CPU/GPU technology similar to PC hardware. (Doom3, HalfLife2) Sure ports happened to downscale on some game releases but those were for the "mainstream" type of games. (Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia etc) So you had more reason to have those expectations of missing out.
As Consoles got better hardware, PC developers started to finally be able to have some parity releases on the console space. Games typically found only for PC could now be enjoyed on your comfy couch playing on PS3 and Xbox 360.
As time went on, this kept improving. Now consoles could even support mods like its PC brethren but in limited fashion.
I guess my point is that for the longest time consoles have been making so much progress that so many doors opened up for all types of releases. (Hello VR).
With MS buying Bethesda or anyone of the 3 buying a publisher will now limit this progress that we've enjoyed for such a long time where all the consoles could enjoy all types of pc games. Its like we are going back to those times where only OG Xbox could run PC releases while the PS2 couldn't due to the hardware. Except now, its more than possible to run these PC like experiences at 4K but we won't see them due to ownership of said publishers being bought out. Guess the industry had a good run.
but those people would get paid for making and selling good games anyways... this argument doesn't track.
Yeah I don't get it, timed deals are fine with me no matter who is doing it because others will get to play it eventually, buying up studios (unless they are in need of it) is annoying as fuck, and I own every platform available so I can play anything no matter where it is and it still pisses me off.
Timed exclusives are just marketing, 100%. It is solely an aggressive decision to pay for content to be unavailable to other fans who haven't got your hardware. Acquisitions are both marketing and organizational benefits. As the Xbox team has expressed, they want their new Bethesda teams to help elevate all of Xbox, while all the studios now have even greater economy of scale to make development more accessible to the studios. And nobody forced Bethesda to sell to Xbox. They chose to, like Insomniac, become part of a bigger organization to strengthen the teams they'd be working with.
So marketing deals like timed exclusives are worse. Full stop. It takes away content from others for marketing purposes at the peak popularity to push you to hardware you may not own, with no benefit to the projects or organizations at large internally. Xbox games can be accessed on PC, phones, and Xbox itself. It's far from the predatory timed deals of Sony.
I think it's pretty simple. Those people have been invested into by Microsoft as their new owner. Those future checks seem a lot more guaranteed. You can try and say the studios may close under Microsoft for w/e reason, but that will always be true no matter who owns them.
Going by the arguments made when this acquisition was announced, I'd say a lot of people don't actually think they were making that great a games aside a select few. I disagree with that but that's what I see often here.
The argument is about how when they are acquired, it is now a priority of Microsoft that the companies are successful because it's an investment. It is now them. Their success is shared.
When a company pays a studio for timed exclusivity they don't give a shit about the well being of that studio. It's about increasing the value proposition of your platform with that one game. You aren't investing in the future of that studio beyond a game.
Microsoft didn't just buy the games. They are funding everything these studios do from then on out. From the marketing to the building leases to the electricity bill.
They all do it, a lot. There is a list somewhere.
Buying a huge healthy publisher with multiple studios. Now that is rare.
plain and simple. I can't see how others see differently lol and I'm trying. That timed exclusivity shit is just awful! No one here batted an eye when they bought Insomniac, not that I recall at least. That's just good business.
People pretending a marketing deal to take content away from others during peak popularity so they are more likely to buy your console and cave in is harmless... are a mess
No, it is not worse for an organization to sell to a bigger organization where they will all gain more talent and stability for a game ecosystem that anybody with a phone, PC, or Xbox can play on. That's 100% not as terrible as paid timed exclusives that require a Playstation.
No, it is not worse for an organization to sell to a bigger organization where they will all gain more talent and stability for a game ecosystem that anybody with a phone, PC, or Xbox can play on. That's 100% not as terrible as paid timed exclusives that require a Playstation.
Microsoft makes timed exclusive deals, as does Nintendo.
How does one gauge "predatory" here.
ultimately this is the closest to my take. I would absolutely like to emphasize I find it extremely shitty for fans of Bethesda titles in Sony exclusive and primary devices since Elder Scrolls and Fallout are major RPGs.
Twice in that exchange a user sarcastically asked another if they understood a business term. I'm not upset at all, keep projecting.
Nobody cares. At the end of the day, with a timed exclusive, while it is shitty, EVERYONE gets to play at the end of the day. You might have to wait, but at least you still get the game. I had to wait a year, but eventually I got access to Rise of the Tomb Raider to see first-hand how lousy it was.
With a buyout, Playstation gamers are PERMANENTLY ripped away from being able to play those games. You'll never be able to play another Bethesda RPG or Doom game. Ever.
If you don't understand how permanently locking people away from games is worse than some folks having to wait six months to a year, I don't know what to tell you.
How many games did Insomniac make for MS? And how many for Sony? Look it up.
There are developer teams out there that do make sense to be taken in-house exclusively. Someone like Remedy would be a better fit for MS if they acquired them for example. I dont think too many sony fans would be that upset or angry. Disappointed due to them making cool games sure but its one team that has close ties to Xbox.
People have to stop using Insomniac as a "Sony Too!" argument. It's not.
I think the big distinction is Sony's doing it for big AAA games and their DLC while MS is doing it mostly for indies and Nintendo mostly for more niche JP stuff. It's about the scale of what each is moneyhatting generally.
Could never afford a gaming rig pc growing up. I always had to settle for console gaming. I managed. Most of us have to make decisions on what we can live without.
I'm only mad about Bethesda because I don't want to buy a whole new console just to play the next Elder scrolls and Fallout games, and I don't have the money for a PC.
Yup, this is how I see it too.
Sony have a habit of all these timed exclusives with DLC/games. I mean, look at the Destiny 1 where they kept content away for from the Xbox versions and then released it when Destiny 2 came out.
Also, Bethesda was apparently being sough after, so personally I would rather MS buy them out than EA or Activision.
How does a timed exclusive make sense? A buyout of a developer or publisher is mostly because they are open to offers.
A timed exclusive is actively pursued by a company to make their platform more attractive for a short amount of time. Therefore the consumer of a rival platform is forced to wait or jump ship, that is not fair I don't think.
"Nobody cares" about what? Timed exclusives? That's not true or Sony wouldn't have done so many lately lol. It's aggressive marketing. That's all it is, with no other benefit.
And sorry, but acquisitions are how many of these studios all joined Sony and Xbox. That's how they've always operated. And they didn't do it just for marketing. Acquisitions have given many devs at Sony and Xbox greater resources and stability.
But thankfully Xbox is making their games available on PC, mobile services, and Xbox so the barrier to entry is low or nonexistent to many.
You can see it as, when someone buys a timed exclusivity, it is paying to exclude the game from other platforms, while with the purchase of the company, it literally assumes the development cost, so it's basically as if the buyer is funding the game.
However, I'm not against exclusivity because in some of other way it helps to cover or compensate the development or publishing process. All I want is companies to be open about the expiration of the exclusivity.
However, I'm not against exclusivity because in some of other way it helps to cover or compensate the development or publishing process. All I want is companies to be open about the expiration of the exclusivity.
Yes what I mean is that I'd rather see a studio receiving investments, access to patents, technical help even if they'd end up doing games on fewer systems... than a mere one-shot marketing deal.
Insomiac's not a good comparison here because, well, they're not a sizable publisher. The best comparison to Bethesda historically is really Psygnosis and even that's not perfect.
Funny enough though I've seen quite a few Sony fans championing Remedy for a SIE buy.
My point is with PS4 and Xbox One, it was now a possibility to not care which system you got due to all the variety of pc games. Sure 1st party exclusive will always be a thing but on the broader side of the spectrum, you didn't have to limit yourself on what you could get.
Now things will go back to that old mind set of having more limitations on your options.
We think that the framing of this thread is just going to attract console warring. Between that, and the topic not really being a great conversational prompt to begin with, it will be locked.
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