Windows Central: "At launch, we've heard there won't be any "Xbox Scarlett"-exclusive games. For at least a few years (cont-)" [Update in OP]

[Kschreck]

If it's true that all or nearly all next gen games will be designed with 2013 Xbox One specs in mind then they do what they are already doing with the X and just give the games higher resolutions and framerates and maybe a few tiny graphical upgrades like better shadows, more foilage, etc. This would be a brain dead move on Microsoft's part so I'm really hoping this is not true. Otherwise PS5 games will looks vastly better then the next Xbox.

I say this as someone who owns both a PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. I want Microsoft to succeed because competition is important but I personally have not been happy with Microsoft's first party lineup support since they started killing off all their great franchises I cared about (anything Rare, Alan Wake, Fable, etc).

Andaconda will simply have upscaled Xbox One games just like the X has been getting (and barely at that) IF these rumors are true. We should all be hoping Microsoft isn't taking this approach with next gen.

 

[TemplaerDude]

I look forward to the inevitable 2+ years of moaning and groaning about cross gen titles, the same thing that happens every god damn generation, as if it's a giant surprise that publishers want to make money off of their titles.

 

[VallenValiant]

Your business goals differ from Microsoft's. If putting their shit on Steam doesn't tell you they don't give a fuck how you get into their ecosystem, don't know what will.

Click to shrink...

So you are suggesting Scarlet is being released with only partial support? That you really think MS don't care about next gen console period? That sounds farfetched, but we will see how far t h at gets MS. Console release isn't cheap.

 

[modiz]

People ITT:

Click to shrink...

who wants to believe that? people voicing their concerns about the rumor =/= wanting the rumor to be true lol

I look forward to the inevitable 2+ years of moaning and groaning about cross gen titles, the same thing that happens every god damn generation, as if it's a giant surprise that publishers want to make money off of their titles.

Click to shrink...

that is not the same case at all.
tell me of a generation that did not have an exclusive title for the first 2 years.

 

[bloodyroarx]

This seriously sounds like a game of telephone happened with one to many people in the chain

 

[TemplaerDude]

that is not the same case at all.
tell me of a generation that did not have an exclusive title for the first 2 years.

Click to shrink...

This isn't some stupendous technological leap we're making. The games are going to look amazing on one system and probably a little more amazing on another. Developers will eventually build a greater understanding the architecture and the tools to make even better games and we'll all move on from the previous generation. This happens every god damn time.

 

[VallenValiant]

This seriously sounds like a game of telephone happened with one to many people in the chain

Click to shrink...

That was what I thought when the XBOX One details were originally revealed. I like to think this is impossible, but at this juncture I am not going to count MS out for what they decided to do.

 

[Gamer17]

I look forward to the inevitable 2+ years of moaning and groaning about cross gen titles, the same thing that happens every god damn generation, as if it's a giant surprise that publishers want to make money off of their titles.

Click to shrink...

There has been zero gen where on launch there is absolutely no exclusives .every gen has had its own exclusives plus the cross gen titles

 

[modiz]

This isn't some stupendous technological leap we're making. The games are going to look amazing on one system and probably a little more amazing on another. Developers will eventually build a greater understanding the architecture and the tools to make even better games and we'll all move on from the previous generation. This happens every god damn time.

Click to shrink...

did ryse son of rome release on the xbox 360?

 

[OneBadMutha]

who wants to believe that? people voicing their concerns about the rumor =/= wanting the rumor to be true lol

that is not the same case at all.
tell me of a generation that did not have an exclusive title for the first 2 years.

Click to shrink...

Tell me a generation where:
1) Consoles were using the same architecture
2) Game engines, APIs and tools allowed similar scalability
3) There were less diminishing returns

Switch got a port of Doom and will be getting one for Witcher 3 for gods sake. That's on a different architecture.

did ryse son of rome release on the xbox 360?

Click to shrink...

It spent most of its dev time on the 360. Nothing about that game couldn't have been scaled to the 360. That was a different time.

 

[Desfrog]

Yeh doubt this is true. Would be quite stupid from MS if so, especially since Sony's will almost certainly be doing the opposite.

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

You are ignoring the competition. If both companies offer upgraded game experiences, then the one that offer next gen exclusives have an edge.
Until yesterday, it would have been insanity to suggest MS would release Scarlet without exclusives to show off its capabilities. And yet 24 hours later, here we are. People genuinely claiming MS would do fine because Sony doesn't exist somehow. That MS has no competition and that customers wouldn't shop elsewhere.

Click to shrink...

I'm not saying they wouldn't have exclusives just not at launch and there are plenty of games out already that can show its capabilities.

 

[modiz]

Tell me a generation where:
1) Consoles were using the same architecture
2) Game engines, APIs and tools allowed similar scalability
3) There were less diminishing returns

Switch got a port of Doom and will be getting one for Witcher 3 for gods sake. That's on a different architecture.

Click to shrink...

switch got a port of doom because its a linear 60fps title, and that one was heavily downgraded, below the low PC settings, at a very low resolution.
and dont count your eggs before they hatch, until the witcher 3 is announced for switch i am not going to believe that.
Anyway, if you think a game can be scaled down that much without having that compromises on the basic gameplay loop, then please, i wont stop you.

 

[TemplaerDude]

There has been zero gen where on launch there is absolutely no exclusives .every gen has had its own exclusives plus the cross gen titles

Click to shrink...

I'm utterly baffled this completely asinine point continues to be made as if it's of any relevance in this day and age. Both of these systems are going to incredibly capable and put out remarkably beautiful visuals and games. There is zero reason games cannot launch on both until the next generation system gains a larger audience. They do not need "generational" exclusive games at launch, it's pointless and a waste of money.

did ryse son of rome release on the xbox 360?

Click to shrink...

There is no reason that titles cannot be on both systems. Both systems are incredibly capable. The new one will have selling points, the old one will still look amazing.

 

[modiz]

I'm utterly baffled this completely asinine point continues to be made as if it's of any relevance in this day and age. Both of these systems are going to incredibly capable and put out remarkably beautiful visuals and games. There is zero reason games cannot launch on both until the next generation system gains a larger audience. They do not need "generational" exclusive games at launch, it's pointless and a waste of money.



There is no reason that titles cannot be on both systems. Both systems are incredibly capable. The new one will have selling points, the old one will still look amazing.

Click to shrink...

that is stopping the progression forward of video games. do you not want to give developers creative freedom?

 

[Gamer17]

I'm utterly baffled this completely asinine point continues to be made as if it's of any relevance in this day and age. Both of these systems are going to incredibly capable and put out remarkably beautiful visuals and games. There is zero reason games cannot launch on both until the next generation system gains a larger audience. They do not need "generational" exclusive games at launch, it's pointless and a waste of money.



There is no reason that titles cannot be on both systems. Both systems are incredibly capable. The new one will have selling points, the old one will still look amazing.

Click to shrink...

Xbox one OG is definitely not a "capable console"in 2020 .even most games now are sub 900p with sub 30 Fps on original x1 let alone next gen games with new assets and design

 

[Calvarok]

They whipped up a huge defense force for always online. That ones a doozy and of course pr wasn't going to make it go over but they still managed to make it a major divisive conversation when it was clearly good for nobody. Talking points were disseminated and boosted by followers eventually echoing to news outlets in that incestuous cycle.

I don't know how effective this really is or why some companies do it more than others but it happens right before our eyes.

Click to shrink...

But like... That's not a specific indication of a strategy, its just a sociological phenomenon that exists whenever anything is announced. Always online was absolutely not supposed to be unpopular. It was a huge backfire that resulted in the removal or sidelining of the major players that backed the direction.

Many people changed their mind about xbox specifically due to the walking back of that policy. In this case its a much different situation, where it makes sense that some people might be ok with the direction we initially assumed this was going, as well as also ok with it being more in line with prior expections.

There's no need to do amateur psychology about this, its just a thing that doesn't need that much thought

 

[Calvarok]

that is stopping the progression forward of video games. do you not want to give developers creative freedom?

Click to shrink...

In many cases, more advanced hardware forces big teams to work on safer and safer projects due to the immense expense of asset creation at higher and higher fidelities. In essence STIFLING creativity.

 

[OneBadMutha]

switch got a port of doom because its a linear 60fps title, and that one was heavily downgraded, below the low PC settings, at a very low resolution.
and dont count your eggs before they hatch, until the witcher 3 is announced for switch i am not going to believe that.
Anyway, if you think a game can be scaled down that much without having that compromises on the basic gameplay loop, then please, i wont stop you.

Click to shrink...

Where do you think AAA games that will release in 2020 and 2021 spent most of their dev time? Publishers aren't whipping out these gigantic dynamic worlds that will be doing things never done built to max out next gen hardware in the next few years...because it takes years to build those games and they just got the fucking dev kits.

Those other tech demos you guys are talking about, Killzone and Ryse, were developed on previous gen tech and only the graphics were next gen. Graphics are easiest to scale...and Ray Tracing will eat most of those new resources while also being the thing that makes year 1 and 2 games look next gen.

Where is the rationality, logic or common sense thinking? If Sony has better looking games than Microsoft to start next gen (a very reasonable assumption) it's because they've had giant, expensive AAA games in development much longer. That also means those games were developed on current gen hardware.

 

[Rat King]

Yikes. Seems like a terrible move by Microsoft.

 

[Gamer17]

Where do you think AAA games that will release in 2020 and 2021 spent most of their dev time? Publishers aren't whipping out these gigantic dynamic worlds that will be doing things never done built to max out next gen hardware in the next few years...because it takes years to build those games and they just got the fucking dev kits.

Those other tech demos you guys are talking about, Killzone and Ryse, were developed on previous gen tech and only the graphics were next gen. Graphics are easiest to scale...and Ray Tracing will eat most of those new resources while also being the thing that makes year 1 and 2 games look next gen.

Where is the rationality, logic or common sense thinking? If Sony has better looking games than Microsoft to start next gen (a very reasonable assumption) it's because they've had giant, expensive AAA games in development much longer. That also means those games were developed on current gen hardware.

Click to shrink...

Launch exclusives have spent most their time On next gen early dev kits distributed since 2018/17 ? (Meaning first party stuidos )

 

[Hoo-doo]

What happens to all the supposed advancements in AI, asset streaming, systems and things like machine learning if devs have to still code around jaguar CPU's and 5400rpm HDD's? Because there's a large buzz around these supposed next-gen features and how it has potential to really change the games we play.

 

[OneBadMutha]

Xbox one OG is definitely not a "capable console"in 2020 .even most games now are sub 900p with sub 30 Fps on original x1 let alone next gen games with new assets and design

Click to shrink...

...and many gamers are fine with that. Meanwhile that same game will be 4K, 60 with better textures, and soft physics on the Anaconda...or 4K/30 with Ray Tracing. Why should the person who's fine with 900P/30...or even 720P/30 with no bells and whistles not be allowed to play the game just so those that spent $500 can feel better about justifying their purchase? It doesn't benefit anyone practically.

 

[senpai]

so we will wait to buy scarlett for a few years then...

 

[bane833]

There is zero reason games cannot launch on both until the next generation system gains a larger audience.

Click to shrink...

Reason 1: The games that focus entirely on the new hardware are going to look better than those that are still harmstrung by then 7 year old machines.

Reason 2: Next Gen exclusives are going to boost the adoption of next gen systems, which makes it a smart move to have them.

 

[OneBadMutha]

What happens to all the supposed advancements in AI, asset streaming, systems and things like machine learning if devs have to still code around jaguar CPU's and 5400rpm HDD's? Because there's a large buzz around these supposed next-gen features and how it has potential to really change the games we play.

Click to shrink...

The assumption that games will be cross gen for 2 years is not based on a hard mandate. It's based on the assumption that what you described isn't going to be ready on a game for a few year. Devs aren't blowing past scalability anytime soon.

 

[Gamer17]

...and many gamers are fine with that. Meanwhile that same game will be 4K, 60 with better textures, and soft physics on the Anaconda...or 4K/30 with Ray Tracing. Why should the person who's fine with 900P/30...or even 720P/30 with no bells and whistles not be allowed to play the game just so those that spent $500 can feel better about justifying their purchase? It doesn't benefit anyone practically.

Click to shrink...

Cause of I were to drop 500 on a brand new shiny console, I want to see a brand new shiny game that takes advantage of that console . I don't know why this needs explaining ? This is a console space not PC .we have had gens to allow developers to raise the minimum spec every 6 years .

 

[Rygar 8Bit]

What happens to all the supposed advancements in AI, asset streaming, systems and things like machine learning if devs have to still code around jaguar CPU's and 5400rpm HDD's? Because there's a large buzz around these supposed next-gen features and how it has potential to really change the games we play.

Click to shrink...

It'll only effect Microsoft first party. All that other stuff will come from 3rd party and Sony.

 

[isahn]

glad to hear that my 1X has got an extra couple of years of full support

 

[Crayon]

But like... That's not a specific indication of a strategy, its just a sociological phenomenon that exists whenever anything is announced. Always online was absolutely not supposed to be unpopular. It was a huge backfire that resulted in the removal or sidelining of the major players that backed the direction.

Many people changed their mind about xbox specifically due to the walking back of that policy. In this case its a much different situation, where it makes sense that some people might be ok with the direction we initially assumed this was going, as well as also ok with it being more in line with prior expections.

There's no need to do amateur psychology about this, its just a thing that doesn't need that much thought

Click to shrink...

It doesn't need that much thought at all. All they're doing is getting it out in front that they're not going to have any games ready. Let me know if that still feels like a lot of thought for you.

 

[Lucifonz]

There is no reason that titles cannot be on both systems. Both systems are incredibly capable. The new one will have selling points, the old one will still look amazing.

Click to shrink...

There's a lot of focus on "looks" in this thread when suggesting the XB1 could run nextbox games. However the largest leap in this new generation is CPU based not GPU - something which can result in elements which would absolutely struggle to scale down unless you're restricting things to do so.

 

[OneBadMutha]

Cause of I were to drop 500 on a brand new shiny console, I want to see a brand new shiny game that takes advantage of that console . I don't know why this needs explaining ? This is a console space not PC .we have had gens to allow developers to raise the minimum spec every 6 years .

Click to shrink...

Who said there won't be brand new shiny games?

 

[Okabe]

uh LMAO highly doubting this haha

 

[MrTired]

It'll only effect Microsoft first party. All that other stuff will come from 3rd party and Sony.

Click to shrink...

Third party publishers make cross-gen games anyway. However if Microsoft don't make exclusive content for there next gen console then adoption of next gen console will in my opinion be slower than this gen. Meaning it will take longer for it to be viable for third party publishers to make next gen only games.

 

[OneBadMutha]

There's a lot of focus on "looks" in this thread when suggesting the XB1 could run nextbox games. However the largest leap in this new generation is CPU based not GPU - something which can result in elements which would absolutely struggle to scale down unless you're restricting things to do so.

Click to shrink...

This is true...but dynamic worlds or revolutionary AI that takes advantage of these new CPUs will take lots of time to develop. The argument isn't about making games cross gen forever. It's about making them cross gen while they can be scaled down.

I imagine we'll see demos of games in 2020 that will be next gen exclusive. I'd also imagine if those games are trying to pull off anything revolutionary, we'll be seeing them at a few more E3's after that.

 

[Rygar 8Bit]

Third party publishers make cross-gen games anyway. However if Microsoft don't make exclusive content for there next gen console then adoption of next gen console will in my opinion be slower than this gen. Meaning it will take longer for it to be viable for third party publishers to make next gen only games.

Click to shrink...

It'll just be more people moving over to Sony or high end PC. 3rd party will aim for graphics they know that's what sells.

 

[Crayon]

uh LMAO highly doubting this haha

Click to shrink...

Yeah its not even a thing. Its funny tho. Best thread of the day.

 

[Calvarok]

It doesn't need that much thought at all. All they're doing is getting it out in front that they're not going to have any games ready. Let me know if that still feels like a lot of thought for you.

Click to shrink...

Glad to have reduced you back to the only salient point of speculation you made. In answer: we will see.

 

[Nightengale]

They do not need "generational" exclusive games at launch, it's pointless and a waste of money.

Click to shrink...

As a 'consumer', I want these companies to release 'generational exclusive games' that maximise the power of the high-end machines they're releasing. I want them to waste money for my sake.

It is true that any launch exclusive or launch window exclusive - typically can probably run in last-gen hardware with sufficient scalability, so they most likely started dev while dev kit and dev environment were still early and not mature. But that's not the point.

The point is that as consumers, I want companies, all companies to invest money into services/software/etc that are compelling factors to buy into their ecosystem. And exclusives are a big part of that.

 

[Gamer17]

This is true...but dynamic worlds or revolutionary AI that takes advantage of these new CPUs will take lots of time to develop. The argument isn't about making games cross gen forever. It's about making them cross gen while they can be scaled down.

I imagine we'll see demos of games in 2020 that will be next gen exclusive. I'd also imagine if those games are trying to pull off anything revolutionary, we'll be seeing them at a few more E3's after that.

Click to shrink...

Why would it take time ? The first parties have had next gen dev kits since 2017

 

[Crayon]

Glad to have reduced you back to the only salient point of speculation you made. In answer: we will see.

Click to shrink...

Lol so do you disagree with anything or did you reduce it enough.

 

[peppersky]

Some of you people are seriously so entrenched in their console wars that they can't even imagine that there might be more to business decisions than just sheer sales numbers. If Microsoft only cared about selling as many consoles as possible, like some of you are suggesting, they wouldn't port their games to PC, Switch or start a game streaming service. It's really astonishing how many people still think like the gaming industry hasn't changed since the early 2000s.

 

[MrTired]

It'll just be more people moving over to Sony or high end PC. 3rd party will aim for graphics they know that's what sells.

Click to shrink...

That's what I suspect, and that's why I don't believe this is true.

 

[Butterworth]

This would be ridiculous, I struggle to believe it honestly. Sounds like a bad case of Chinese whispers.

 

[Calvarok]

Lol so do you disagree with anything or did you reduce it enough.

Click to shrink...

I disagree with your "gotchya" attitude to other posters, but i definitely think you could be proven right to some degree about this being intentional expectation-setting from some level of ms, assuming their actual rollout of games lines up with that idea.

 

[Deleted member 1589]

Why would it take time ? The first parties have had next gen dev kits since 2017

Click to shrink...

Third parties won't even need development kits while planning for next gen, just the general idea what the specs would be.

 

[Karateka]

that is stopping the progression forward of video games. do you not want to give developers creative freedom?

Click to shrink...

I'd imagine some developers would want the "creative freedom" to make more money by selling their games on the platform with way more units in the wild.

 

[MrTired]

Some of you people are seriously so entrenched in their console wars that they can't even imagine that there might be more to business decisions than just sheer sales numbers. If Microsoft only cared about selling as many consoles as possible, like some of you are suggesting, they wouldn't port their games to PC, Switch or start a game streaming service. It's really astonishing how many people still think like the gaming industry hasn't changed since the early 2000s.

Click to shrink...

As a 'consumer', I want these companies to release 'generational exclusive games' that maximise the power of the high-end machines they're releasing. I want them to waste money for my sake.

It is true that any launch exclusive or launch window exclusive - typically can probably run in last-gen hardware with sufficient scalability, so they most likely started dev while dev kit and dev environment were still early and not mature. But that's not the point.

The point is that as consumers, I want companies, all companies to invest money into services/software/etc that are compelling factors to buy into their ecosystem. And exclusives are a big part of that.

Click to shrink...

This post sum's up point of view. It ain't about console war's. I get there perspective, but that doesn't make any more excited about the prospect of this.

 

[Rat King]

Imagine spending millions and millions to have your games hindered by a 7 year old outdated machine.

 

[Detective]

MS have to just show what next Xbox is capable of with one or two games. That's it.