Of cause it is, the question is will he ban the game not just from Sony gamers but also Steam and Epic too? The Elder Scrolls is a massive IP and has a huge player base, I have a feeling it won't be long before the ban hammer is extended to other platforms, especially if banning Starfield from releasing on PS has worked. MS has shown it can't be bothered to make games, so why not just take and limit access to what's already been built?
Starfield not releasing on PS didn’t work at all. Xbox players are not buying or even playing it. PS was a stronger market for Bethesda. How many people do you really think bought a Xbox for starfield? I want Starfield to be a success so PS can get off their high horse.
Starfield sales are completely reliant on Steam as it's a new IP, MS would be nuts to ban it from there. Fallout, Elder Scrolls, are already established IP's that has a huge player base, I can see MS start pulling those games from competing storefronts to force people onto on Live if they want to keep playing, they banned Starfield, Redfall, Hifi Rush being released on Bethesda's largest console market so let's see what they ban next... Also don't forget the Activision deal and all their studios and IP's are soon to be banned from PS leaving gamers with less choice where to play multiplatform games and forcing people onto Live if they want to keep playing.
Bethesda, Activision are purchased for the IP's, some of the biggest in gaming. MS want to force gamers onto Live by removing choice of where we play, they do this by industry consolidation. Lets see what other publishers they buy and ban from gamers when the Activision deal goes through, as we already know there are very little protections for the consumer and what there is can be easily bypassed with cash.
@ken I have gampass and I paid for the upgrade that included early access. A lot of other people paid because remember when early access started they had over a million players. The only way to have early access was to pay.
How is this false? It's happened to every industry that has seen consolidation, once you control a certain percentage of what's available you call the shots. Your Sony comparison doesn't work, PS exclusives are not reliant on other platforms for sales and are only multiplatform when Sony choses. MS has taken the biggest multiplatform ip's that already have a huge active user base and is slowly banning them from competing platforms, Steam is competition and useful only for as long as MS needs the sales once they buy enough of the industry the strength of the IP's will direct consumers to Live.
"Sony on the other hand would lock it down forever on console if given the opportunity."
Name one time where Sony bought a multiplat studio (that being a studio NOT heavily associated with Playstation exclusives) and then released an exclusive title that would have come to xbox.
So that's why all their biggest hits are releasing on PC now... lol. Schrodinger's Xbot... Sony wants to lock every game behind console exclusivity, but there's no reason to buy a PS5 because you can get all its best games on PC.
Sony bought Bungie, they still allowed Destiny 2 to be on other consoles and platforms. So the opportunity was there and they didnt do it. So your statement is false.
Starfield will show MS is they see an increase in the subscriptions. TBH all MS owned studios will make Xbox exclusives
They will continue to release on PC there is absolutely no way that they will stop supporting PC. Only MS games to come on PS will be Minecraft and COD
All those gamers that were saying MS buying studios isn’t about monopoly or keeping away from other platforms are completely wrong. I have a question ask yourself this question:
If Sony buys capcom and make their games like resident evil, monster hunter, street fighter etc only on PS how would you feel. So when you are laughing at PlayStation fans now for being salty don’t be surprised if this becomes a reality
MS just started this bad practice and we as gamers will be left with less options. In 5 years time there will be no more capcom, sega, square or Konami. You can bookmark this comment. In less than 5 years we will be left with greedy publishers
"They will continue to release on PC there is absolutely no way that they will stop supporting PC" Who said they'll stop releasing games on PC?.. you do know Live is on PC too don't you?
So you're asking me will Sony be forced into buying publishers to try and protect it's self from MS buying the industry and will I hate Sony (and anyone else that wants to keep 3rd party games) for being pushed into this position? Yes it will suck, and it'll be thanks to MS
Sony doesn't need to buy multiplatform publishers as their platform is the lead platform for sales in the console market thanks to their investment in quality exclusives, only MS is pushing this future and it's success with banning established IP's and publishers from competition will dictate the future of buyouts and bans.
No I wasn’t asking you. That’s my observation, from where the industry is going, especially with the recent acquisition. There is no way Sony will not acquire publishers.
And I disagree with you Sony being the market leader, this generation has no bearing on what happens next generation, when many gamers realize that games like fallout in elder scrolls, can only be had on Xbox.
Yes, Sony has made very smart investments in the past as a longtime PlayStation fan. I can’t disagree with that, but they are severely lacking when it comes to any sort of RPG‘s.
Also, keep in mind I am not being negative towards Microsoft, acquiring studios simply because development cost has gone way too high for a lot of small size publishers. Even the parent company for Bethesda zenimax were struggling financially. During the FTC case we saw firsthand that both Sony and Microsoft said that the development cost for most AAA blockbusters is 200+ million dollars. Keep in mind epic games which is worth more than $20 billion. Did not want to pay the development cost for gears of war that’s why they sold IP.
For many of the small to medium size publishers moving forward industry is going to price them out
So what's the point you're trying to make to me? I have issues with MS buying up and banning competition from the biggest IP's and publishers in gaming and consolidating the industry which practices have been proven to be negative for the consumer, workers and any competition.
@Neutral I also have a PC and XSX. Sony can't afford to buy dev and make them PS only exclusives. Look at the Bungie deal and the fact they bought a company just to port games to PC. With Gamepass and my PC for Sony "exclusives " I will be fine. 😁
That’s where the industry is heading towards whether we like it or not. Gaming industry will either be AAA or indies. There isn’t much space for AA size publishers. A proper AAA game costs 100 plus million to develop not counting PR campaign
Itsme
Keep thinking that. Sony not only has the funds but intentions of making exclusives. PC space is different because both MS and Sony are releasing games on PC. They don’t consider PC their competition. I recently got a gaming PC and prefer to play games on PC even though I own XSX and PS5. PC just provides more options and freedom
Square enix Capcom
Within next 18-24 months both will be acquired by Sony IMO and their respective games will not come to Xbox. Also sony is different when it comes to PC. They make games for PS5 first and after a year or so they will release them on PC. This way they can charge full price on PS5 and again full price on PC
Square enix acquisition was confirmed by all industry veterans. Sony wants capcom way more RN and have 20 billion in acquisition fund. 20 billion can buy them capcom and square enix with hefty amount still left over
I think the heart of it is that MS is too big. Biggest company in the world. So the benefits of competition/capitalism just break down when a single company has that many resources and can pull the rug out from competitors just by spending money. If Sony had that much money, they would undoubtedly be the bad guy. It just needs to be more balanced for competition to work.
I can see it as a Xbox/PC exclusive. Sony fanboys have claimed several times that Bethesda games are crap. For them Fallout 4 and 76 is crap, Skyrim is crap, Starfield is crap. Why bother launching Bethesda games on Playstation?
Reckon sales/player engagement will drop if its not on ps. Don't forget Sony/nintendo is the console market and the console market is sony/nintendo . The rest are just smaller players fighting for the remaining player base.
"No, PC is actually is a much larger market than Playstation."
False.
PS sells more multiplat units of software vs PC and it's not even close. Which is why almost all 3rd party developers consider PS as the first choice for software.
Elden ring sold 20 million units and 10 million were sold on pc, thats 50% of game sales on pc. Your kind of delusional idiots keep on riding sony and thats why they can get away with increasing ps subscription prices by 30%.
@Lolly you know the numbers. The 6 millions who have played at least 1 minutes of the game. You know them numbers. Where we don't know if that's 6 million sold. Or 6 million rented for a month via gamepass or a mix of both.
Guaranteed gamepass has had a lot more subs for this month due to starfield. I subbed as I found a cheap as chips 14 day trial. Making it my goal I complete it on that £2 trial lol.
Early access was all people who paid. They say over 1 million on steam and over 2 million total. Now add the gamepass people. Those are the numbers. Any other questions on the numbers?😉 Here's a link https://fandomwire.com/star...
Really? It’s selling relatively poor vs other exclusive games on almost any platform. Considering this was a 25 years in the making behemoth previously intended to be multi platforms and the best it can muster is a million or so out of the gate, the piddly performance Nintendo Switch exclusive Zelda and Pikmin both eclipsed it in sales.
When have they done this. Most studios are going with timed exclusive or choosing to launch on PS first because XBOX is so far in distant 3rd and Switch hardware is so inferior many games can’t launch there.
With Starfield release Microsoft can see how many more consoles they sold and if that is enough for ES6 too be an exclusive. Also if the game is still years away from being finished, it might even be a launch title for their new console. That might be what they're going for.
It's 100% a nxt gen launch title imo, also I'd be amazed if playstation isn't working on a copy and paste ES game to combat the MS exclusivity. I also wouldn't be surprised if PS are making a starfield rip off also.
Real question is can they afford to? Can they sustain the acquisitions through GP subs. They might move to a "play it here first" model. Relying on sales on other platforms to bolster their profits
The current switch is basically a handheld at this point. Hoping Switch 2 at least has specs to make games look decent on my 77" TV. If I connect my Switch, it feels like I'm back to the PS3 days apart from a few games which hide it with their art style.
If they are using the same engine as Starfield to develop ES6, exclusivity wouldn't matter. Starfield is at a 6.1 meta right now and most of the complaints are that it is old in 2023.
If MS hadn’t locked the game to a plastic box, and everyone could play it there would be some honesty in those meta numbers. As it stands now it’s a good (not incredible) game, not even Bethesda’s best IMO at 27 hours in, and people who can’t play it are hating on it. The dumb part is if MS hadn’t box locked it, the game would have likely sold at least twice as many copies by now thanks to how huge the PS5 user base is in comparison to XBox.
I got excited because of your screen name, but it ended up being just like the game we are talking about — a great idea bogged down by horrible decisions.
Who gives a fuck. We all know that all of the purchased ips will be “exclusive” (and on PC). The good news is that others will take the place of these formerly multiplatform franchises to fill the void.
It’s true. MS can’t keep a studio alive and retain talent if their company depended on it (which it doesn’t). Now the sterile MS branded Bethesda games they churn out will allow companies like Larian to rise up.
@lilmikey2011 Well there was a time when your question didnt have an answer. Now it does. Because that company is acting to prevent people from playing games. Also because that company is acting to diminish console gaming in favor of other mediums. I’m against both of those things. So I personally want their business plan to backfire in their face.
I'm loving this game. Definitely one of the best ever. Huge win for Microsoft. Congrats to Phil for making this happen for xbox gamers. Game of the year for sure.
Sales of Starfield will give you a good idea of whether Elder Scrolls 6 will be exclusive. 6M players in launch window seems kind of low between PC and Xbox. Microsoft doesn’t just need to get their $7.5B back, they need to pay all those developers and pay for marketing. At some point, if this isn’t moving Xbox units, exclusivity is a money loser. Remember folks, Microsoft is a software company, and games are software,
💯 it’s a net loss for MS for a while still. These buyouts have to be paid back somewhere, and we’re going to pay that bill somehow, and I’m sure their plan is to squeeze it out in subscriptions over time.
It is only a matter of time before all of these studios are cut down in size or shut down completely. All of these companies that Microsoft bought up are too big to sustain if they are only selling games on one platform/console. The answer to all of this is to stop buying the games if they are exclusive to Microsoft which would force their hand to release on all platforms. They can’t seem to develop and nurture a studio in-house to become great which is telling. Instead, they just buy up already established ones that were already successful. Here’s hoping they don’t destroy them.
Sorry, this is another nothing-burger of a response. Of course he is NOT going to reveal its coming to a competitors console when he still aims to convince gamers to stick with xbox. This is clearly a HINT, and a fully expected response considering the implications. If it will NEVER come to Playstation, he would have to mention that 'unambiguously'. Other than that, all we can do is wait.
It will all come down to money. If Starfield and whatever other Bethesda Microsoft exclusives cause a really measurable increase in consoles sold and GamePass membership, then Elder Scrolls will be exclusive. If the attachment rate is meh, then there’s a 5% chance they will allow it to come to PlayStation like a year after it releases on Xbox. I don’t know what percentage of each game sold would end up in Microsoft’s pocket after Sony and Bethesdas cut is taken, with something as massive as Elder Scrolls maybe would be worth it? I’d say odds are 100 to 1 it’s exclusive though.
An Xbox Exclusive. That's how it goes. Look, Xbox can play dirty pool by stealing PlayStation's own developed MLB The Show Series but that's their integrity on the line and their problem, but they own Bathesda, that's their right just like PlayStation shouldn't have to allow Destiny or anything made by Bungie on Xbox, but Bungie wanted to develop for whatever they want prior to the sale of Bungie so, that's how it goes. The name of the game people, get over it. You're never gonna see another Insomniac Game on Xbox, no Sunset Overdrive 2 so, no Elder Scrolls 6 on PlayStation. Believe me, Xbox wants PlayStation's talent more than PlayStation wants Xbox's. Starfield and Redfall prove that. Starfield isnt doing nearly as well as Xbox wouldve hoped. People thought the hype was making the game explode, and it did until people started playing it and were honest about it (which good on them like IGN for being honest and having integrity under the pressure, I don't like IGN, but have total respect for the guy that did the review when everyone else fell to the pressure and the hype and gave the game high scores. I'm willing to bet sometime soon down the road when everyone looks back, they're gonna say they fell for the hype and can clearly in hindsight see the flaws and the game was much worse than they originally thought.)
IM GONNA SAY IT AGAIN, XBOX WANTS PLAYSTATION'S TALENT, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. PLAYSTATION IS FINE WITHOUT STARFIELD AND REDFALL THAT BOTH FLOPPED. PlayStation's only fuss is Call of Duty, that's the only game series they want
Who cares? He can have it with his Bethesda crap. xbox being dead for hardcore gamers a long time ago. 360 era was GREAT but afterwards downhill spiral.
Of cause it is, the question is will he ban the game not just from Sony gamers but also Steam and Epic too? The Elder Scrolls is a massive IP and has a huge player base, I have a feeling it won't be long before the ban hammer is extended to other platforms, especially if banning Starfield from releasing on PS has worked. MS has shown it can't be bothered to make games, so why not just take and limit access to what's already been built?
Spencer may not even be in that position by the time ES6 comes around
Reckon sales/player engagement will drop if its not on ps. Don't forget Sony/nintendo is the console market and the console market is sony/nintendo . The rest are just smaller players fighting for the remaining player base.
Game is what 4 years away still?
Money talk bs walk rip Bob barker but if price is right it will be on Playstation