Xbox Rumors and Speculation

Only Obsidian game I've ever played is South Park the Stick of Truth and I liked it a lot but that's mostly because it's south park and the characters/humor were already done for them. The second game was really good too but it doesn't look like they developed that one.
 
wshowers said:
If they can pull in that kind of money being the arguably 3rd best console this generation, imagaine what they could do when/if they get their act together with their 1st and 2nd party studios.
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Actually, if they are making that kind of money then why were they supposedly ''extremely limited'' with funding this gen? Funny how everything seemingly contradicts everything.

But this kind of money just highlights how stupid the console war is. You really think MS gives a crap if they are 1st or 3rd when they are raking in billions every year? Nope. Obviously they would want those PS4 sales, though...cause more money.
 
Hedon said:
Never heard of them.
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They made one of the best Fallout games imo, Fallout:New Vegas....but, they are not a particularly great studio. Certainly wouldn't be top of my list of studios to buy. But Pillars of Eternity is well praised on PC.

I just hope MS has positive affects on these studios they are buying, cause they aren't really top tier devs. Everybody going gaga over Ninja Theory cause Hellblade is decent...but the majority of their games are pretty mediocre.

One of those things where we just have to wait and see, I guess....one thing is for sure, these studious need to come out strong or MS is in for a world of negativity again. Not just quality either, but creatively too. If Ninja Theory is the only one doing a new IP then MS are gunna be in for it.
 
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Edge BC said:
I know that Obsidian is a capable development studio but I have no idea what they would bring to Xbox to make me hype about it.
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RPGs. Good storytelling and world building. Good game design.

Theoretically with more support, their games would improve technically. Obsidians greatest weakness is that they aren’t great technically.

To me this is one of those buyouts that makes sense for both sides. Makes Microsoft’s 1st party and Game Pass stronger (filling a glaring hole since Bioware was purchased by EA) while it could help Obsidian take that next step in giving their worlds and stories better production values.
 
menace-uk- said:
Actually, if they are making that kind of money then why were they supposedly ''extremely limited'' with funding this gen? Funny how everything seemingly contradicts everything.

But this kind of money just highlights how stupid the console war is. You really think MS gives a crap if they are 1st or 3rd when they are raking in billions every year? Nope. Obviously they would want those PS4 sales, though...cause more money.
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1. They did have extremely limited funding this gen according to Jez Cordon of Windows Central. Before Phil got promoted to where he is now, he answered to Terry Myerson who frequently either blocked Phil or limited the budget.

2. I do think MS cares about where they stand in the "console war". Not so much as how many consoles they've sold per se but market share of the console space. In that aspect they should be concerned as Sony has trounced them and Nintendo is poised to catch them this year if the Switch keeps selling like it is. Developers and publishers are likely to skip the console with lower market share especially those that only target one console. We've already seen this this gen with the amount of non-funded exclusives Sony got this gen.
 
menace-uk- said:
They made one of the best Fallout games imo, Fallout:New Vegas....but, they are not a particularly great studio. Certainly wouldn't be top of my list of studios to buy. But Pillars of Eternity is well praised on PC.

I just hope MS has positive affects on these studios they are buying, cause they aren't really top tier devs. Everybody going gaga over Ninja Theory cause Hellblade is decent...but the majority of their games are pretty mediocre.

One of those things where we just have to wait and see, I guess....one thing is for sure, these studious need to come out strong or MS is in for a world of negativity again. Not just quality either, but creatively too. If Ninja Theory is the only one doing a new IP then MS are gunna be in for it.
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I would have taken Obsidian over Ninja Theory. If Obsidian could just get their QA department under control alot of their releases would have been critical and financial successes. I think a MS purchase would give them the financial freedom to make the best games possible. I'm just not big on Ninja Theory because I've never really LOVED any of their games. Liked many of them but most were ultimately forgettable IMO.

OneBadMutha said:
RPGs. Good storytelling and world building. Good game design.

Theoretically with more support, their games would improve technically. Obsidians greatest weakness is that they aren’t great technically.

To me this is one of those buyouts that makes sense for both sides. Makes Microsoft’s 1st party and Game Pass stronger (filling a glaring hole since Bioware was purchased by EA) while it could help Obsidian take that next step in giving their worlds and stories better production values.
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Obsidian's been burned by MS before so I don't think they'd be super keen to join them unless they absolutely had to.
 
Chris Avellone has left Obsidian, unfortunately. He was one of their founders and major force behind crafting a lot of their best RPGs. He was particularly strong in terms of storytelling and the emphasis on choice & consequence. His involvement in Dying Light 2 is the main reason I'm interested in that game.

He talked about his departure from Obsidian here. He doesn't sound too happy with the way things played out.
https://techraptor.net/content/chris-avellone-talks-departure-obsidian-entertainment

Obsidian would be a nice "get," but it's a weaker studio without him. The narrative designer behind Pillars of Eternity has also left.
 
wshowers said:
I would have taken Obsidian over Ninja Theory. If Obsidian could just get their QA department under control alot of their releases would have been critical and financial successes. I think a MS purchase would give them the financial freedom to make the best games possible. I'm just not big on Ninja Theory because I've never really LOVED any of their games. Liked many of them but most were ultimately forgettable IMO.



Obsidian's been burned by MS before so I don't think they'd be super keen to join them unless they absolutely had to.
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Well that is just it isn't it, and goes with my point about hoping 'MS has a positive effect' on these studios. Management restructuring, increased funds, etc. So, it is a waiting game to see just how this plays out.
 
wshowers said:
1. They did have extremely limited funding this gen according to Jez Cordon of Windows Central. Before Phil got promoted to where he is now, he answered to Terry Myerson who frequently either blocked Phil or limited the budget.

2. I do think MS cares about where they stand in the "console war". Not so much as how many consoles they've sold per se but market share of the console space. In that aspect they should be concerned as Sony has trounced them and Nintendo is poised to catch them this year if the Switch keeps selling like it is. Developers and publishers are likely to skip the console with lower market share especially those that only target one console. We've already seen this this gen with the amount of non-funded exclusives Sony got this gen.
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1. Just shows how stupid that person is then.

2. Of course they care...they are a business and all businesses want majority marketshare...my point really was that to MS being 3rd is not the end of the world. Raking in that money yearly is what it is all about. It is why Nintendo have never really given a crap about where they are relative to the others, because they just bank profit generation after generation and continue on doing their own thing.
 
wshowers said:
Obsidian's been burned by MS before so I don't think they'd be super keen to join them unless they absolutely had to.
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Usually business leaders and owners are smarter than that. What happened with their partnership and deals made with different leadership when Microsoft had different strategies and a different proposed relationship will likely have little to do with whether this buyout goes through. If Obsidian’s ownership/leadership sees that this is beneficial to them under current state, they’ll make a deal. If they don’t like the deal, they won’t take it. Simple as that.

Holding grudges towards logos or stock symbols due to getting screwed by a guy who no longer works for the company (Myerson) is not something rational business people do. I bet Myerson’s departure re-opened the door with Microsoft and many developers who had felt put off in the past.
 
Not sure how i feel about Obsidian. Fallout: New Vegas was good but what else have they done that's even noteworthy? Same for Ninja Theory. Hellblade was fine and if they can deliver a narrative driven game like that for Xbox then cool. Gotta start somewhere. But i just don't get it. You have all that money and refuse to get in tune with what fans really want. A game that can challenge Uncharted, God of War, Horizon. Those studios aren't capable of that today. Now maybe they get the talent and funding they need but if Microsoft's past mishandling of studios is any indication i wouldn't bet on it.
 
TDbank24 said:
Not sure how i feel about Obsidian. Fallout: New Vegas was good but what else have they done that's even noteworthy? Same for Ninja Theory. Hellblade was fine and if they can deliver a narrative driven game like that for Xbox then cool. Gotta start somewhere. But i just don't get it. You have all that money and refuse to get in tune with what fans really want. A game that can challenge Uncharted, God of War, Horizon. Those studios aren't capable of that today. Now maybe they get the talent and funding they need but if Microsoft's past mishandling of studios is any indication i wouldn't bet on it.
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Acquiring Obsidian would be a pretty big deal. I play both Pillars games on my PC and they are quality. Obsidian has always been a good developer.
 
Obsidian still has talent. Most studios run regular turnover. Key things about Obsidian rumors, if true, point to Microsoft still focusing on single player games, RPGs and developers in prime locations for talent poaching.

All Microsoft studios have been expanding and Obsidian would be another one in a location to poach experienced talent.

Even if this one were to fall though, it’s a good sign that Microsoft is looking at a studio known for RPGs. I’d be curious to see what could happen to the PoE universe if it made a Mass Effect like transition.
 
I agree with that. It would expand their portfolio in the right direction (vs. acquiring some MMO-lite type dev).
 
I've heard that Obsidian has been looking to be bought out for several years. That would add credibility to the rumor, if true.
 
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Westergaard was at PlayStation and worked on the new God of War as well. Lohr was at Respawn, Cantamessa was a CEO at Sleep Deprivation Lab and did work on Shadow of Mordor, Forza Horizon, Red Dead Redemption, Neuburger worked on 6 different Tomb Raiders, McQueeny also from Crystal Dynamics.
 
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Found more at Era:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/mi...t-is-yet-to-come.48137/page-160#post-11313559

  • Brian Westergaard worked on GoW (201:cool: as the lead producer.
  • Annie Lohr is the recruiter and worked at Respawn.
  • Christian Cantamessa - the writer from RDR is at the company.
  • Blake Fischer - Senior Director of Portfolio Planning for MS, but now working with The Initiative.
  • Daniel Neuburger & Lindsey McQueeney are from Crystal Dynamics.
 
I was just about to post that! Lots of talent, I just hope it doesn’t take years to bear fruit.

Edit: I hope people keep b*tching about MS. It just keeps making them improve faster.
 
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If you can’t buy the studio, poach their best talent.

This competition over talent is going to help developers within the industry. When my company starting losing talent to the competition regularly, they increased the wages within the departments being impacted.
 
Mcmasters said:
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Its nothing but bait and delusional s*** posting and side switching from him. Worst poster on the forum who needs real psychiatric help. He brings absolutely NOTHING to the table in any of his posts.
 
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eVo7 said:
Its nothing but bait and delusional s*** posting and side switching from him. Worst poster on the forum who needs real psychiatric help. He brings absolutely NOTHING to the table in any of his posts.
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Did he say anything that wasn't correct though?

We Happy Few currently sits at a 67 on Metacritic. MS has a looooong way to go with their studios. I wish them the best but the skepticism is warranted.
 
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