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Games Inbox: Giving up on Xbox after Tango Gameworks closure, Nintendo Switch 2 hype, and Helldivers 2-GameCentral-Entertainment – Metro
The Wednesday letters page is upset at the news of Xbox’s studio closures, as a reader is confused as to why PSN isn’t available worldwide.
Hi-Fi Rush is never getting a sequel now (Bethesda Softworks)
The Wednesday letters page is upset at the news of Xbox’s studio closures, as a reader is confused as to why PSN isn’t available worldwide.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The final straw
So, I was just checking my phone before I finished work, when I read the news about the Tango Gameworks/Arkane Austin closure and it’s really made me feel bad.
Obviously for the talented, hard-working developers, none of whom deserve to be treated this way, but also for the deck of cards failure of Microsoft’s strategy.
I’ve loved many of the games that have come to Game Pass and it’s made trying out co-op games with family and friends so much more likely, when we can all get games for ‘free’.
But here we are, three years after purchasing Bethesda, with only a holdover game from before the purchase and a well-reviewed game that couldn’t find an audience and Microsoft are slamming their doors shut.
I always knew consolidation would lead to duplication of roles and redundancies, but to shutter two studios, and your only Japanese developer, causing anger and frustration for all your other game studios…
I’m a day one OG Xbox owner, one of the first 10,000 people on Xbox Live with a catalogue of over 200 digital purchases and I think I’m done. Sony first party games don’t gel with me (it’s me, not you Sony) and I only really like Zelda and Metroid on Nintendo, so it’s looking like PC and Steam for the future.
Well done Phil, well done.
DarKerR (gamertag)… for now
Irresistible force
One thing that springs to mind following the latest raft of companies being shuttered, in the quest for slightly increased profits for a mega corporation: isn’t this the sort of thing the industry regulators are supposed to protect against? You know, prevent unfair business practices like buying a company for its IP then shutting it down… unfortunately money talks in all walks of life (just finished Dopesick, go big pharma!) and even when the regulators know it’s a bad idea it’ll go through eventually.
There are examples of acquisitions that work well for all parties but when it’s one massive publisher buying another it just doesn’t seem right, as the only people it benefits are the already sickeningly rich. Our priorities as a species are just waaayyyy wrong. Hopefully all those affected can recover and come out of this stronger.
Magnumstache
GC: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) did try to stop Activision Blizzard, but you saw how that went.
IP acquisition
I have no words for how disgusted I am with Xbox right now. I remember GC saying ages ago that acquisitions always meant getting rid of people and shutting things down, and some people were trying to shout them down as being biased or whatever. And yet here we are, and just a few months after they got rid of 1,900 people already.
I can see how Arkane Austin were in a tricky position, but Tango Gameworks not only made the best reviewed Xbox game of last year but they’re the only Japanese developer Xbox owned. It’s very obvious now that Microsoft had no interest in any of Bethesda’s other studios, they just wanted to own the Elder Scrolls and Fallout IP.
Well, that was worthwhile, eh? I look forward to the first of those games in 2028. Although at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if Xbox is no more at that point and Bethesda are back to being independent. At the very least Phil Spencer will be gone. He’s like a reverse King Midas, everything he touches is a disaster.
Dorey
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Two stories
Well, what a day Tuesday was. We get the first proper acknowledgement of the Switch 2 from Nintendo and then… that announcement from Xbox. I know we shouldn’t be surprised at this point, but what got me was not just the madness of shutting down (rather than selling) one of their most talented (and only Japanese) studios but the absolute callousness of that email from Microsoft exec.
He obviously didn’t give a fig about anyone involved and it was almost like he was expecting the sacked people to be proud of their sacrifice at the altar of infinite growth.
I very much doubt that these will be the last victims either. Any game that underperforms, and isn’t a massive IP, is going to lead to the gutting of that studio. Someone at Xbox needs to explain to Microsoft why they’ve spent $80 billion on gaming and so far Phil Spencer and co. haven’t got any answer at all.
Focus
No inspiration
I was going to write in about how excited I was about the Nintendo Switch 2 news and then I saw the news from Xbox and just shook my head. It’s been said before but if only Microsoft and Sony, but especially Microsoft, took more inspiration from Nintendo they might be in a better situation than they are.
Nintendo’s focus is on games and on innovative hardware, Xbox has had neither since the Xbox 360 era. All they do is buy up other developers and then mismanage them to hell and back, before, apparently, just shutting them down.
Redfall might not have been good, but Microsoft knew that before they released it, so it’s their fault for putting it out in that state. And they said Hi-Fi Rush had done great, I distinctly remembering them saying that. So was that a lie or have they just decided that because it isn’t Fallout that it’s just not worth bothering with? We’ll never know for sure but even if Microsoft said now, I wouldn’t believe them.
Noodles
Portable future
I just want to comment on your post regarding consoles being not enjoyable as before; there’s no hype if you say. While it is like that, portable gaming, especially on my Nintendo Switch, is really top notch for me. I am happy that I was able to play my games on the go, especially Monster Hunter Rise, then Sunbreak. I am expecting Monster Hunter Wilds on Switch 2 next year, even if the chance is very slim at this moment.
But regardless, I think the future of console is maybe in portability, because not everybody can stay or shut themselves in the house and play all day. Portability and being able to dock your console is an incredible way of gaming. I’ve had multiple Nintendo Switch consoles; I gave my first one to my sister and I bought the Switch Lite one. For just simply linking my account to her Switch I was able to share my library of games.
I’d say portable gaming is the future. ROG Ally 2 will soon be released, 2024 they said. Between that and the Nintendo Switch 2, and other portable PCs coming this year or next year, there are plenty of options.
Renz
GC: We’d imagine the chances of Monster Hunter Wilds on Switch 2 were actually pretty good.
The way of Mario
Very interesting to read that about movie profits, with Mario Bros. coming out on top. I looked up some other estimates from previous years and found out that Avatar: The Way Of Water only made £424 million in profit, which is lower than Mario. Considering that brought in $2.32 billion, you can see why Hollywood must be knocking Nintendo’s door down to make more films.
They have their funny ways, but you can’t deny that Nintendo are good at what they do, in terms of both making games and running a business. Compare it to the absolute clown show that is Xbox at the moment (with PlayStation not much better) and Nintendo feel like the only adult in the room right now.
Bastion
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Not available in your region
The part of the Helldivers 2 controversy that really surprised, and then confused, me was the number of countries that PSN is not present in.
I can understand Sony targeting the richest and/or largest countries first, but I was expecting them to have spread beyond 70 countries by now. Sony (and Microsoft) have complained that the console market’s profitability is low and that they have struggled to expand their markets, so why not expand into new countries?
The Philippines has been highlighted as a notable place where PSN is not present but (unless I am being blind) so are Nigeria, Pakistan, and Bangladesh which surely must be sizable potential growth markets.
Now the thing that confuses me is that the PC releases would be a great way to reach these new markets, without needing the infrastructure to distribute consoles inside the countries. Yet Sony decided to actively prevent this expansion with the, now reversed, Helldivers 2 restrictions.
That initial decision does not make any sense to me. As much as it annoyed PC gamers I can see some logic in wanting people on PC to sign into PSN, as that gives Sony a means to market new titles directly to them. I cannot, however, understand arbitrarily preventing new costumers from buying your product and, worse, still removing access to a product that people have already bought.
PazJohnMitch
GC: None of it makes any sense. We’d assume the reason there’s no PSN in so many countries is that they don’t have any local operations that can offer customer support. Although how they only realised that three months after Helldivers 2 launched is a head-scratcher.
Inbox also-rans
Am I the only one that cult-like vibes off that Helldivers 2 story, with them all trying to boost the review score? You don’t owe the company anything! You already paid for their product.
Cranborne
Not sure if this is a widespread problem but I can’t seem to view the comments section of any of your pages now. I can view them on other Metro pages. I’m using Chrome on Android.
Ross
GC: It’s not something anyone else has complained about, but if you send us your device model and browser details we’ll talk to IT about it.
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