PS5 vs. Switch vs. XBOXSX - THUNDERDOME Version 2.0

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

On a related note, I saw that the Kingdom Hearts games are coming to the Switch through some kind of cloud gaming service. I'm extremely skeptical it will be good on the Switch but who knows?

Well the nice thing is you can take the processing power of the local hardware largely out of the equation, it really comes down to network latency for responsiveness and bandwidth for graphic fidelity.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

There isn't less variety though. The games aren't going anywhere. At the very least they will be released on Xbox and PC. Sony fans for years have been trumpeting PlayStation exclusives as their big advantage and the moment Microsoft makes some moves to secure some top studios they start crying that exclusivity is bad. I personally believe exclusivity isn't a great thing but to me it seems like Microsoft has shifted their focus from hardware to software as they feel Game Pass is the future and they want to succeed off content and not hardware. I feel that one way or another, some games from these studios will be available to play on other platforms.

well I didn't say it as a Sony fan...I am a fan of everything

There is a massive difference between funding your own studios/projects from the ground level vs. buying up the biggest and most established companies so you can keep them from a competitor. The deal might not even be approved...seems to be about 60-40 on approval.

Their focus is obviously memberships...I worry the quality of games will slip when everything is basically "free" it will be more about quantity than quality

see music and movies

That's not all on microsoft the entire industry is going this way...

I see constant mediocre releases and paid addons in our future

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

On a related note, I saw that the Kingdom Hearts games are coming to the Switch through some kind of cloud gaming service. I'm extremely skeptical it will be good on the Switch but who knows?

They have done it with Control on switch already

it was okay, IDK...cloud gaming for me is good to try out a game quick before downloading but the quality drop is pretty massive even in the best case scenario. And if we are talking switch cloud gaming takes away portability so why play on the switch anyway?

[SuperMatt18]

Really it's more for the Japanese gaming market IMO.

The Switch is by far the dominant device in that market.

And it allows Square Enix to bring some of their franchises that are more technically demanding to the platform (Guardians of the Galaxy, Kingdom Hearts)

For anybody that has a PS4/Xbox One, Series X/PS5, in addition to the Switch then for sure it doesn't make sense. Gives anybody who only has the switch the opportunity to play some different games though.

The bigger surprise is that they didn't just natively port KH 1.5 / 2.5 to the switch, and sell KH 3 as a cloud based version.

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I'm pretty impressed with Cloud Gaming. I was wasting some time after work yesterday and saw that DIRT 5 was on Game Pass. It was a pretty huge install and I didn't have a ton of time to wait around for it (Gigabit internet connection or not), but I noticed it had a cloud gaming option, so what the hell.

For something like a racing game where you know that split-second reactions are the difference between making a corner and drifting into a wall, I was blown away how well the game played. Caveats: I have a really fast home connection, and high-end home wireless network, and I didn't have quite as good an experience using my laptop to play Forza Horizon 5 on Cloud Gaming over a crappier wireless network elsewhere. But if you've got the support of a good network behind you, damn, some pretty great results can be had.

I have a bad 50mbps copper connection and even with that xCloud is passable to just to try a GamePass game to see if it’s something I want to download but probably not good enough for extended gaming sessions or anything long term.

But yeah if you have a fibre connection and strong network set up then I think xCloud is a legitimate option now, especially for a more casual gamer.

Even Stadia is a lot better now than when it first launched according to those people that are using it.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by dino7c

well I didn't say it as a Sony fan...I am a fan of everything

There is a massive difference between funding your own studios/projects from the ground level vs. buying up the biggest and most established companies so you can keep them from a competitor. The deal might not even be approved...seems to be about 60-40 on approval.

Their focus is obviously memberships...I worry the quality of games will slip when everything is basically "free" it will be more about quantity than quality

see music and movies

That's not all on microsoft the entire industry is going this way...

I see constant mediocre releases and paid addons in our future

i agree with this.

The thing about exclusivity is that no Sony fans were complaining about not playing Halo or Gears of War. Microsoft developed those IPs, just like Sony created their own IPs.

When you takeover companies that used to be multi platform and turn IPs into exclusives, there is bound to be some saltiness... Personally, the Bethesda acquisition has a bigger impact on my gaming since I really like Fallout and Skyrim. Activison/Blizzard, while a massive move, doesn't move the needle for me, gaming wise at least.

Microsoft can and will continue their acquisition MO - they've been doing that as a company forever...Spencer's rationale was that MS was buying Activision to prevent it from falling into the hands of non-gaming companies like Apple, Google or Disney...which might be the case if COD is treated like Minecraft and is still available to Playstation players.

Frankly there's only a few IP that would make me buy gamepass... Metal Gear/Silent Hill (Konami), Dead Souls/Bloodborne (From Software), GTA/Red Dead (Rockstar).... maybe RE (Capcom) and Dead Space (EA)

Unfortunately, it seems like consolidation is going to happen, whether people like it or not.

[ComixZone]

Sony purchases Bungie.

BUNGIE JOINS SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT (“SIE”)​
We believe games have limitless potential, and that to do anything worthwhile in entertainment, we must bet big on our vision, on our studio, and on our incredible team of trusted creators who build unforgettable worlds that truly matter to people.​

In SIE, we have found a partner who unconditionally supports us in all we are and who wants to accelerate our vision to create generation-spanning entertainment, all while preserving the creative independence that beats in Bungie’s heart. Like us, SIE believes that game worlds are only the beginning of what our IPs can become. Together, we share a dream of creating and fostering iconic franchises that unite friends around the world, families across generations, and fans across multiple platforms and entertainment mediums.​

Today, Bungie begins our journey to become a global multi-media entertainment company. ​

Bungie games will remain available on all platforms today/going forward.

Q. I play Destiny on Steam, Xbox, or Stadia – will my platform still be supported? ​
Yes.

Q. Bungie has future games in development, will they now become PlayStation exclusives? ​
No. We want the worlds we are creating to extend to anywhere people play games. We will continue to be self-published, creatively independent, and we will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community. ​

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Sony purchases Bungie.



Bungie games will remain available on all platforms today/going forward.

This is terrible! Why not just put the money in to their own studios!!!

Nice pick up for Sony. Give's them a strong FPS developer in the group and allows for more of the already in use, Sony exclusive content for Destiny moving forward. IE (Guns, Raids, Dungeons, Strikes, etc)

I also assume with this purchase they will announce that Destiny 2 and all expansions will be free on Project Spartacus.

[Erick Estrada]

Clearly this is a reactionary move to the Microsoft acquisitions. I hope that Sony has them working on a new IP as I'm done with Destiny. Hopefully a single player focused FPS along the lines of Halo.

[chemgear]

Billion dollar transactions do not take . . . checks notes . . . 2 weeks to initiate, negotiate and finalize.

[Meelapo]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Billion dollar transactions do not take . . . checks notes . . . 2 weeks to initiate, negotiate and finalize.

Reading through the gaming forums you keep on seeing the opinion of Sony "reacting" to Microsoft + Activision as a reason for this. I'm sure it's to keep Sony competitive but I'm guessing the timing is coincidental. Perhaps one company accelerated their announcement plans but I doubt this was a two-weeks-in-the-making type of deal.

[SuperMatt18]

Could be Sony reacting to Bethesda...no way it's Sony reacting to Activision.

[chemgear]

Having been privy to multi-million/billion dollar acquisitions in various industries, the armchair basement dwelling industry analyst twitter opinions are amusing.

Hell, an entire army of people (and lawyers) can spend 2 weeks just on polishing the public facing announcement pieces across social media and formal press all by itself.

[Hemi-Cuda]

So Bungie went from independent > Microsoft > independent > Activision > independent > Sony. They should go to Nintendo next just for the quadfecta

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Having been privy to multi-million/billion dollar acquisitions in various industries, the armchair basement dwelling industry analyst twitter opinions are amusing.

Hell, an entire army of people (and lawyers) can spend 2 weeks just on polishing the public facing announcement pieces across social media and formal press all by itself.

You tell em sherlock! The reality is that a lot of these acquisitions can take years and are on and off. However urgency to get things done can change based on the market and what the competition is doing. I don't think anyone thinks that Sony picked up the phone to Bungie only a month ago after the Activision Blizzard purchase but if you don't think this is a reaction to the Bethesda acquisition last year then we can agree to disagree.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

So Bungie went from independent > Microsoft > independent > Activision > independent > Sony. They should go to Nintendo next just for the quadfecta

I don't think Activision ever actually owned Bungie, they just had a publishing agreement.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

I don't think Activision ever actually owned Bungie, they just had a publishing agreement.

It was always strange having Destiny on the Battlenet launcher and then it being taken off.

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Having been privy to multi-million/billion dollar acquisitions in various industries, the armchair basement dwelling industry analyst twitter opinions are amusing.

Hell, an entire army of people (and lawyers) can spend 2 weeks just on polishing the public facing announcement pieces across social media and formal press all by itself.

I'm amused by these:

Microsoft picked up "list of random assets" and PS picked up "list of random assets". However did one pay $7B and the other pay $3B?

Yup - I'm sure they really missed the boat on these billion dollar valuations.

[FlameOn]

GameIndusry reporter says Sony's not done with it's acquisitions. More on the way.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1488219307188363264

https://www.vgchartz.com/article/452...g-bungie-deal/

[chemgear]

Sony buying Nintendo confirmed.

Here comes the PS Vita 2.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Sony buying Nintendo confirmed.

Here comes the PS Vita 2.

I would love a Vita 2!