Console Wars Thread! PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Wii U Fight!

But isn't that the Microsoft way? Buy people out, throw unusual amounts of money at it, or mismarket a good product? It seems like outside of office and server applications that's what they do best.

How long is the EA/Respawn deal anyways? Most pressers I've seen say nothing in terms of time length....

 

LOL at those who think Microsoft can't afford to keep Titanfall an exclusive. The cost will probably be no different in scope or size than Gears of War. I'd imagine that Microsoft will retain console rights for Titanfall for years to come, as funding directly from Microsoft helped get Respawn off the ground and to launch.

 

I would be really shocked if Respawn let any publisher (especially MS) purchase them after Activision. Definitely not now that they've proven they can make non-Call of Duty hits (despite the similarities being undeniable). I could see MS trying to buy the rights to Titanfall from EA though, but again I would be surprised if Respawn didn't protect their IP. (not saying they did, just seems like it would have been a massive oversight all things considered)

About to play South Park: Stick of Truth...PC master race? Wuttup?

 

I could see MS doing a relationship where they buy part of Respawn, letting Respawn own all the IP of said partnership and giving Respawn complete autocracy with MS only requiring Titanfall stay on MS media. This doesn't account for Respawns other properties like Destiny and such. Respawn is more than 1 game. Are you saying Respawn would pass on that deal if the price is right? The guys behind them left Activision because of a lack of creative autocracy, not console exclusivity.

 

Respawn owns the IP to all their games, EA just has distribution rights.

 

Don't think terms were disclosed, only that EA had the right to future games.

MS really hasn't done this TOO much in the game industry. They have paid for exclusives, though they were either short-term deals (Mass Effect), or they were smart to purchase the publishing rights (Gears). The closest thing to what you suggested is exclusive DLC, which they have done (and paid quite a bit for...as much as a AAA game).

We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue (assuming TF is a big seller) if they keep the game exclusive. Plus potentially allowing for more competition from another franchise that is NOT exclusive (e.g., Destiny).

MS owned the publishing rights to Gears. They don't have that here. On top of that, the 360/PS3 sales made it easier to convince Epic to stick to one platform. That is not the case here.

Respawn definitely doesn't seem interested in keeping the franchise exclusive, and I wouldn't blame them.

You're combining Bungie with Respawn. Right now, Respawn is just one game, though I imagine they might want to branch out eventually.

They would likely entertain the right offer, but the offer would have to be quite huge.

 

FYI - Destiny is a Bungie. Respawn has one game thus far, and it is Titanfall. Bungie had a ground-breaking game with Halo that was originally supposed to launch on Mac. Microsoft bought the rights for Xbox and the rest is history. Bungie had creative control in their partnership with Microsoft, Microsoft simply paid a ton of money to get the IP and let Bungie part ways when they were tired of working on just Halo.

No reason the same sort of scenario can't work out with Respawn. Microsoft has shown when it comes to exclusives that they will stay out of the developer's hair and let them do their thing. Epic Games and Gears of War is another example.

 

You seem to forget that Microsoft did the exact same thing with Halo more than 15 years ago. This isn't their first rodeo.

 

That's gotta be a Freudean slip right there. Kinda funny, my mistake.

 

Huh? Let them do their own thing? Except work on something not called Halo, or work on a new IP (instead of Gears)? OK...

They bought Bungie. For probably the cost they paid for GTAIV DLC (maybe less).

Are you implying that MS will acquire Respawn? Things are quite a bit different now than they were then. If they could purchase Respawn for $20M, yeah no doubt they'd do that. Doubt that is possible though.

 

Microsoft acquired bungie for no other reason than they needed a leading title for their console. Which is probably what they will end up doing to Titanfall. Same with Gears of War. Microsoft won't have to buy Respawn, after a few games they'll want to do something different any way, like Bungie.

Exclusivity for a single console title is a drop in a buck. Microsoft bought Skype for $8 billion and Nokia's devices division for $7.2 billion. The millions it would cost for Titanfall's IP is peanuts in comparison.

 

I just think it's a leap to jump from "can" to "will." What leads you to believe it's such a foregone conclusion?

 

The will is prefaced on the game living up to the hype (at least for me). If it does end up being a console seller, not just a great game it's almost certain MS will happily bring it into their family along with Skype, Nokia, and 15% of facebook.

 

Yeah
people forget Microsoft makes most of their business on large businesses not consumer products .

So is any of you gamers on this thread going to sxsw gaming convention ?

Is this like the lin movie thread ? Where everyone talks about but tinman is the only person to see it first ?

 

They don't need to buy Respawn, they can just acquire the rights to all future Titanfall (like Gears of War). Again, the cost would be a drop in the bucket for Microsoft. They'd happily take the hit to pay up front to make sure that the Xbox One maintains an extremely successful online exclusive.

Great find, thanks!

Microsoft got in to the console market and lost billions in it until about three years in to the Xbox 360's life. The entertainment and devices division is the face of the company to consumers, they have no problems losing money in it - because it strengthens the brand as a whole.

I wish I could go to SXSWi this year, love it. Make sure you score tickets to the Microsoft party - they usually give out a ton of free stuff. I imagine free Windows 8 Pro will be given out to everyone, with prizes for games, Surfaces, Phones, Xbox Ones, etc.

 

15 years ago...

Can Microsoft afford it? Of course. Will they? Probably not.

 

There's a pretty big difference in money involved here. Gears and Halo at the time were not expected to be big titles (maybe potentially, but both were big surprises). Plus both studios probably needed the money/funding to make the games (i.e., few other publishers would agree to help). Etc.

For MS to match what they did in the past, they would have struck the deal with Respawn directly, not EA. At this point, making a deal for Titanfall would be like making a deal for Battlefield, CoD, Madden, or almost even something like GTA. Or Destiny.

Also, if you're Respawn, why limit yourself to XB gamers, if you plan on selling games to PS gamers in a few years with a new IP? Wouldn't you want to win over PS gamers? And wouldn't you want to make sure you DON'T allow competing franchises to flourish on other platforms (if you assume you'll have to compete with them in the future?).

There are a lot of risks with going exclusive to one platform, hence the huge price tag (and rarity) usually associated with securing such a high profile exclusive.

If that's the case, why not buy EA? And Take Two? Activation? Or hell, throw in Sony's gaming division. Why not secure BF4? CoD? Why sell the rights to Mass Effect to EA? Etc.

Yes. MS has a lot of money. We get that. But they've been at this for a long time, and they don't exactly go around throwing hundreds of millions of dollars on exclusivity deals (or even doing other things, like taking a bigger loss on their consoles). Shock and awe...they tend to push for profitability.

Of course, part of the reason they DON'T do that is that these buyouts aren't usually as successful in the game industry. Spend $300M to secure Titanfall. Half (or more) of Respawn leave and create a new studio to create the next big IP that won't be tied to one platform.

Exactly. I don't doubt MS *could* do this, but I just find it extremely unlikely. MS hasn't really done anything like this in the past, and if anything, they seem to have shown a willingness to give up exclusives if the costs were too high.

Bungie, Gears, etc., all involved a fraction of the money that would be involved here (especially if you're going for 100% no doubt exclusivity).

 

I'm sure Sony will update their SDK soon, and the new tools for utilizing GDDR5 will soon allow for 1080p/60 FPS for every game on Twitch.

I'm joking, but this is great news. Looks like MS did a great job with Twitch support (definitely seems better than current PS4 support from what I understand), and hopefully these services will continue to improve on both platforms (if nothing else, MS seems eager to up the standards some).

 

Pretty sure Halo: Combat Evolved of the Xbone is simply...the next Halo. If M$ cared about Titanfall so much, it wouldn't be on the PC right away.

This March 11th should be a pretty telling day. The dudebros will be struggling to use auto aim in Titanfall on their Xbone. The true shooter fans will already be playing Titanfall in true 1080p on their PC.

And the people who actually enjoy video games will be picking up Dark Souls 2 instead.