Multi Microsoft Acquires ZeniMax, Bethesda, id, and the rest

More like 0 - 1 these days as Sony has developed a knack (pun not intended) for including the same games that Epic has given away or are deep discounted in every Steam sale.

Anyway, I consider the Sony and Nintendo subs to be just flat out multiplayer paywalls with the "free" games playing no consideration (like the now defunct Xbox Gold).

 

On the flip side:
Nintendo: Super expensive controllers you can't use with future devices
Sony: Super expensive controllers which are litterally software disabled on new consoles
MS: One purchase is for both PC and Xbox, all past controllers supported on future devices.

 

Google pointed me to a 12 month GamePass ultimate for £99.99, which now looking isn't in stock and probably hasn't been for some time. £11/month is still stellar value.

I'm the other way around though - I wouldn't get £11/month's value for it over the year - in any given year I might play 5-8 games "properly" so I'm particularly choosy about which they are - i.e. I won't sink my time into something just because it's "free" on the service, only if it was on my list anyway.

Conversely I'm content paying for Nintendo Online and PS+, I don't even play online games. At £14/year being able to have a go on my favourite SNES games and the cloud saves makes it worth it, and at £30/year, background updates, cloud saves and getting 1-2 games/year I want to play in the "freebies" makes it worth it.

If I could pay less for cloud saves only, I would tbh. The thought of getting 50 hours into BOTW or Horizon and then something in the console sh_tting itself and losing the save is too much to bear. And I know myself well enough to realise I'm not going to regularly manually back up.

A faulty memory card entirely ruined my Windwaker experience on Gamecube and I'm still bitter about it.

 

Shouldn't make too much difference to me.

I get Playstations for gaming, BR playpack, Netflix and the like.

RPGs such as Skyrim and the like always on PC for dem modz.

I don't need an xbox - I wouldn't turn down a free one mind

 

Yeah, would be nice if they did something useful with all those acquired IPs rather than letting them rot in the basement like EA and Activision did on their buying sprees.

 

A version of Fallout NV without more bugs than features would be a fantastic first outing of their newly acquired IP IMO.

As for the monthly costs.. Eh.

After stopping drinking my monthly beer costs cover the sub costs (Nintendo Online & Game Pass Ultimate), and even if I only bum about for a couple of hours (IE: Subnautica) in a game to decide it was either a bugfest or not for me, there are a few games that suck the hours down. I wasn't super thrilled by FF XV, but I still somehow spent 80 hours knobbing about in it. Part of me still wants to go back and fight the Adamantoise or whatever it is that's the size of half the map.

 

I tend to invest a lot of time in a very few number of games at a time, buying them is more useful than a pass for me.

That said this certainly make a pass a lot more attractive to any takers.

 

I'm in camp awesome. How could you possibly stuff it up when Fallout 76 is your benchmark?

This part is wishful thinking, but they need to bring back Obsidian as an ally. And crack on making the same games at the same time, instead of one every 7 years.

And the first thing I would like to see is a proper remaster of Fallout 3.

 

£10/month might be an easier sell than £50-£70 outright, even if you're only playing one game at a time [and especially if you're having to pay some or all of that £10/mo anyway for online play].

...also might encourage you to take a punt on a game you otherwise might not.

I wonder how many people took a punt on MSFS 2020 via game pass [be it the £1 cheap month or whatever] vs how many bought it outright [or how many took a punt using game pass *then* bought it outright].

 

I installed it. Eventually. Laughed at how bad at flight sims I am, and uninstalled it. Definitely wouldn't have without game pass giving it to me for nowt.

 

Achievement unlocked, failing at logic 101.

 

Something tells me once the dust has settled that game and many others will slip into game pass again though.

I'd guess the time agreement for this game was agreed and planned by people not in the know about the impending sale, assuming the sale talks operated in secrecy for months.

 

Rumours are they may be going after Sega as well.

Edit: By 'rumours' I mean someone, somewhere on the interwebs.

 

Now would that be Sega, and only Sega... or the entire Sega-Sammy parent company...

...bc the idea of MS making pachinko machines is hilarious.

 

No idea, mind you before Zenimax weren't they linked with a Warner buyout?

It may just be the mill churning out rumour butter.

 

This just feels so anti-consumer to me. Exclusives are always a part of consoles gaming and that's fine when you're talking of IPs historically linked to a company, but if MS want they can simply buy all of the major studios and kill Sony's gaming side over night, and the real victims there are the customers. MS can charge what they want and be as lazy as they want because they'll have no competition, look at Steam in the PC space when there was no competition after it had established itself, and you don't have to pay for the privilege of using that.

I hope that this improved the quality of games on PC though, since it seems like MS is taking that more seriously, but if this is going more down the route of a streaming service which will be the same for PC and console with no competition I can't help but think there will be no reason for them to take care in the PC versions.

 

I imagine there will be a timed exclusive to some games, I mean why would you turn down an extra income stream?