In this week’s DF Direct Weekly, we spend some quality time with Helldivers 2, get to grips with the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo and say a lot of positive things about the upcoming Penny’s Big Breakaway – but discussion is dominated by the big Microsoft story. Just what’s going on with its multi-platform plans? Why didn’t the Xbox team provide immediate clarity and shut down rumours that have clearly spiralled out of control? If a ‘business update’ is coming this week, does that mean that some or all of the rumours are true?
The rumours in question are suggesting that a number of Xbox-exclusive titles are on their way to other platforms. On the face of it, that’s nothing new. A number of Xbox properties have transitioned across to rival platforms – including PlayStation. Acquired IPs such as Minecraft and Call of Duty have always been multi-platform and will continue to be. The notion of lower profile games such as Hi-Fi Rush or Pentiment moving over to other consoles also shouldn’t be that much of a big deal. Indeed, by exposing more users to these games, Microsoft may even gain some converts to its ecosystem – whether it’s on console or PC.
The bone of contention appears to be its higher profile exclusives, with the likes of Halo and Indiana Jones mentioned – and that’s caused a spectacular backlash, particularly amongst the Xbox influencers on Twitter/X who have relationships with Xbox execs. The theory, as I understand it, is this: if the crown jewels of the Xbox experience are available on PlayStation, why would anyone need an Xbox? Buying a PlayStation would offer access to the best of both worlds, negating the need to buy an Xbox in the first place. In turn, this has led to conjecture that Microsoft may even exit the hardware market.
0:00:00 Introduction0:00:52 News 01: Is Microsoft embracing multiplatform gaming?0:43:52 News 02: Hands-on with Helldivers 20:54:41 News 03: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth impressions!1:05:03 News 04: Penny’s Big Breakaway preview1:11:42 Supporter Q1: What’s the minimum advisable frame-rate when using frame gen with a controller?1:17:50 Supporter Q2: Is Nvidia purposefully limiting frame gen to the RTX 4000 series to increase sales?1:27:18 Supporter Q3: Given that the Series S is the best-selling current-gen Xbox, should we consider it the baseline experience this gen?1:34:14 Supporter Q4: Has the use of FSR been good or bad for console gaming?1:43:14 Supporter Q5: Why doesn’t AMD often pioneer new graphics techniques like Nvidia?1:51:44 Supporter Q6: Can John recommend any 3D Sonic titles?
For me, going into the business update due this week, the key questions are simple: what is the vision? What is the strategy? If Xbox is changing, what’s it changing into? This gives rise to many more questions: is there a need for Microsoft to diversify its support for other consoles, and if so, why? Could it be that Game Pass is not financially sustainable or that its growth has plateaued? Is Game Pass actually fine and is Microsoft simply looking to increase profits – or to secure as much of an advantage from its mammoth acquisition run as it possibly can?