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Microsoft buys ZeniMax

kanisathakanisatha Member Posts: 1,308
edited September 2020 in Off-Topic
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/09/21/welcoming-bethesda-to-the-xbox-family/

What are people's thoughts on this huge announcement today? Specifically, seems like people are already talking about the possibility of a F:NV2 game, and even Obsidian seems to be expressing interest on their official Twitter feed.

Comments

  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    I am just hoping Microsoft can straighten them out and the company can be less of a dumpster fire that it is now.

    It's also a savvy move by Microsoft a day before their new consoles go to preorder. Microsoft is learning from their mistakes from the last round of console wars and seem to be investing heavily (7.5 billion this time) in companies and IPs people have a devout following in.

    As for where Microsoft takes these IPs is still up in the air, however, they do seem to be hands off with most of the developers they have already acquired.
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    edited September 2020
    I mean, if Microsoft can use this to even DELAY releases of Starfield, Elder Scrolls VI, Fallout V, and Avowed on Playstation 5 (because I don't imagine they would deny them outright) then the whole "exclusive gap" just disappeared into thin air. At a BARE minimum, they will reserve the right to have them on Game Pass rather than Playstation Plus. They also now have Doom and Wolfenstein.
  • gugulug5000gugulug5000 Member Posts: 248
    As a primarily PC gamer, I don’t mind Microsoft taking over, since they’ll be putting their games on PC anyway. It is kind of amusing seeing the potential exclusivity of the Zenimax games causing PlayStation players to complain about how it wouldn’t be fair, while PlayStation is basically built around not letting Xbox users play their games.

    In my opinion, full exclusivity needs to end in favor of timed exclusivity. That way everyone can eventually experience whatever game they want on whatever platform they want (while people impatient enough to wait will still buy multiple consoles to not have to wait). Microsoft seems far more likely to make this a reality than Sony so I wish them well. As long as I still get my games on PC, I’m happy.
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    edited September 2020
    As a primarily PC gamer, I don’t mind Microsoft taking over, since they’ll be putting their games on PC anyway. It is kind of amusing seeing the potential exclusivity of the Zenimax games causing PlayStation players to complain about how it wouldn’t be fair, while PlayStation is basically built around not letting Xbox users play their games.

    In my opinion, full exclusivity needs to end in favor of timed exclusivity. That way everyone can eventually experience whatever game they want on whatever platform they want (while people impatient enough to wait will still buy multiple consoles to not have to wait). Microsoft seems far more likely to make this a reality than Sony so I wish them well. As long as I still get my games on PC, I’m happy.

    You are right that Sony started this war. This is just Microsoft dropping a nuke in response. The only thing Sony could do to counter would be to buy Rockstar or Konami. Microsoft is WAY ahead of Sony in the transition to strictly digital game media with their Game Pass, and even if they do allow purchased copies of Bethesda games on PS5, all the "streaming" rights, so to speak, will remain on the Xbox.
  • gugulug5000gugulug5000 Member Posts: 248
    @jjstraka34 i would actually support either Microsoft or Sony in buying Konami’s IPs. Konami is sitting on some legit franchises and not doing anything with them.

    This move by Microsoft kind of makes Sony have to decide if they are going to continue pushing exclusives or not. Sony may have more console exclusives but Microsoft has way more money and can keep buying studios unless Sony caves a bit on the exclusive front.
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577
    I kind of feel like this is just history repeating itself with the likes of EA gobbling up gaming companies like Bioware. A lot of the people working at these companies that got bought will eventually jump ship and a whole new generation of studios will crop up. Then in another 10 or 15 years they'll go under or get bought up and the cycle repeats itself with another crop of studios.
  • SorcererV1ct0rSorcererV1ct0r Member Posts: 2,176
    edited September 2020
    M$ only managed to put the original XBOX into the market due fable and kotor. Since they can't produce good games, they are purchasing those who can to end the "exclusive gap".

    Anyway, a funny meme

    pUr7x59.png
  • PokotaPokota Member Posts: 858
    wait, does this mean Microsoft will have the IP rights to Commander Keen?
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Pokota wrote: »
    wait, does this mean Microsoft will have the IP rights to Commander Keen?

    Probably. Allegedly there was a game announced in 2019 by Zenimax Online.
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,330
    As a PC gamer, I'm fairly certain that Microsoft will continue to make ZeniMax's offerings available to the PC market, so I'm not terribly worried. (Not to mention that I haven't really played any of their titles in years now. The only thing that came close to getting me interested was Doom, but I didn't like the direction the games took post-Doom 3, so despite the nostalgia, I'm still highly unlikely to get back into the series.)

    Sony definitely fired the first salvo in the exclusivity wars, especially with stuff like the Spider-Man game for PS4. I just wonder now if both sides are going to double down on the exclusivity wars, or whether both sides agree to loosen up the agreements and allow their games to come out on the rival platform (my personal preference. I hate anybody gating good games of any kind behind specific platforms.)
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    Zaxares wrote: »
    As a PC gamer, I'm fairly certain that Microsoft will continue to make ZeniMax's offerings available to the PC market, so I'm not terribly worried. (Not to mention that I haven't really played any of their titles in years now. The only thing that came close to getting me interested was Doom, but I didn't like the direction the games took post-Doom 3, so despite the nostalgia, I'm still highly unlikely to get back into the series.)

    Sony definitely fired the first salvo in the exclusivity wars, especially with stuff like the Spider-Man game for PS4. I just wonder now if both sides are going to double down on the exclusivity wars, or whether both sides agree to loosen up the agreements and allow their games to come out on the rival platform (my personal preference. I hate anybody gating good games of any kind behind specific platforms.)

    I really don't think Spider-Man and Horizon can compete with The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein, and literally anything Obsidian makes from here on out. From a straight business standpoint, if I was Microsoft, I would LET the games EVENTUALLY be released on PS5, but I would absolutely lock them out for 3-6 months. As has been previously mentioned, Sony's entire strategy has been based on inferior hardware, but locking certain games to their system. I would not turn the other cheek if I was Microsoft.
  • SorcererV1ct0rSorcererV1ct0r Member Posts: 2,176
    edited September 2020
    jjstraka34 wrote: »
    Zaxares wrote: »
    As a PC gamer, I'm fairly certain that Microsoft will continue to make ZeniMax's offerings available to the PC market, so I'm not terribly worried. (Not to mention that I haven't really played any of their titles in years now. The only thing that came close to getting me interested was Doom, but I didn't like the direction the games took post-Doom 3, so despite the nostalgia, I'm still highly unlikely to get back into the series.)

    Sony definitely fired the first salvo in the exclusivity wars, especially with stuff like the Spider-Man game for PS4. I just wonder now if both sides are going to double down on the exclusivity wars, or whether both sides agree to loosen up the agreements and allow their games to come out on the rival platform (my personal preference. I hate anybody gating good games of any kind behind specific platforms.)

    I really don't think Spider-Man and Horizon can compete with The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein, and literally anything Obsidian makes from here on out. From a straight business standpoint, if I was Microsoft, I would LET the games EVENTUALLY be released on PS5, but I would absolutely lock them out for 3-6 months. As has been previously mentioned, Sony's entire strategy has been based on inferior hardware, but locking certain games to their system. I would not turn the other cheek if I was Microsoft.


    Or even negotiate with soyny.

    Eg - M$ will only port TES6 to P$5 if soyny ports demon souls remake to XBOX.

    Anyway, What allowd M$ to enter in console market in the first place was RPG's like KOTOR, Fable and Morrowind. They owning so much RPG devs can make things very hard to soyny.
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577
    The exclusivity wars have been going on since it was Apple vs Microsoft and Nintendo vs Sega. It's nothing new and has pretty much been around as long as there's been more than one home video game console.
  • BallpointManBallpointMan Member Posts: 1,659
    I dont have any significant or particular insight into how games are made for multiple consoles, but it seems pretty likely that any major franchise Bethesda title has been in development for both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Presumably, that's not exactly a cheap process. Based on that, I would expect them to try to recoup losses by releasing the game on those other consoles at some point.

    FWIW - I too hope the exclusivity wars end. Timed exclusives are obnoxious but tolerable - but the full exclusive bit should just end in its entirety.
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,979
    I don't really care as long as the don't strip away the modding capabilities from TES series.
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,330
    FWIW - I too hope the exclusivity wars end. Timed exclusives are obnoxious but tolerable - but the full exclusive bit should just end in its entirety.

    Same for me. Timed exclusives are unpleasant, but tolerable. I'm currently waiting till March 2021 for FFVII-R's 1 year exclusivity period for the PS to end and it gets ported to other platforms.
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    edited September 2020
    It does in fact seem like Microsoft is going to make everything that isn't a live service game exclusive to the XBox and PC. That means Playstation 5 gets no Elder Scrolls VI, no Fallout 5, no Starfield, no future Doom sequels, no future Wolfenstein sequels, no Dishonored sequels, and nothing from Obsidian, namely Avowed. Taken together, that's a hammer straight into Sony's chest.
  • WarChiefZekeWarChiefZeke Member Posts: 2,669
    If it doesn't effect pc and mod support for the upcoming Elder Scrolls that will be released next decade I don't care much.
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