The biggest night in gaming is upon us once again! The Game Awards 2024 are streaming today, Thursday, December 12th, 2024. The show starts streaming at 4:30pm Pacific (7:30pm Eastern) and can be viewed through various platforms including The Game Awards channels below.
And along with the annual show comes my tradition of predicting the winners. Skipping the Esports and Content Creator categories, because I do not follow any of those. After the predictions there will be a couple of hopeful announcement predictions as well.
Here are the Gamewrote predictions for The Game Awards 2024.
Most Anticipated Game
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yotei
Grand Theft Auto VI (Prediction)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Monster Hunter Wilds
Best Adaptation
Arcane
Fallout (Prediction)
Knuckles
Like a Dragon: Yakuza
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft
Best Multiplayer
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Predication)
Helldivers 2
Super Mario Party Jamboree
Tekken 8
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Best Sports/Racing
F1 2024
EA Sports FC 25 (Prediction)
NBA 2K25
Top Spin 2K25
WWE 2K24
Best Sim/Strategy
Age of Mythology: Retold
Frostpunk 2
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Manor Lords (Prediction)
Unicorn Overlord
Best Family
Astro Bot (Prediction)
Princess Peach: Showtime!
Super Mario Party Jamboree
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
The Plucky Squire
Best Fighting
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
Multiversus
Tekken 8 (Prediction)
Best RPG
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Metaphor: Refantazio (Prediction)
Best Action/Adventure
Astro Bot
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Silent Hill 2 (Prediction)
Star Wars Outlaws
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Best Action Game
Black Myth: Wukong
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Helldivers 2 (Prediction)
Stellar Blade
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Best VR/AR
Arizona Sunshine Remake
Asgard’s Wrath 2
Batman: Arkham Shadow (Prediction)
Metal: Hellsinger VR
Metro Awakening
Best Mobile Game
AFK Journey
Balatro (Prediction)
Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket
Wuthering Waves
Zenless Zone Zero
Best Debut Indie Game
Animal Well
Balatro (Prediction)
Manor Lords
Pacific Drive
The Plucky Squire
Best Independent Game
Animal Well
Balatro (Prediction)
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Neva
UFO 50
Best Community Support
Baldur’s Gate 3
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite
Helldivers 2
No Man’s Sky (Prediction)
Best Ongoing
Destiny 2
Diablo IV (Prediction)
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite
Helldivers 2
Best For Impact
Indika
Tales of Kenzera: Zau
Closer the Distance (Prediction)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Neva
Innovation in Accessibility
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Diablo IV
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Star Wars Outlaws (Prediction)
Best Performance
Briana White, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Humberly Gonzalez, Star Wars Outlaws
Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2
Melina Juergens, Senuas’s Saga: Hellblade II (Prediction)
Best Audio Design
Astro Bot (Prediction)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Silent Hill 2
Best Score and Music
Astro Bot
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (Prediction)
Metaphor: Refantazio
Silent Hill 2
Stellar Blade
Best Art Direction
Astro Bot
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (Prediction)
Metaphor: Refantazio
Neva
Best Narrative
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Metaphor: Refantazio (Prediction)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Silent Hill 2
Best Game Direction
Astro Bot
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (Prediction)
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Metaphor: Refantazio
Game of the Year
Astro Bot
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Metaphor: Refantazio (Prediction)
Now for a couple hopeful predictions on some announcements for this years show.
The most obvious one that everyone is likely hoping for would be anything Grand Theft Auto 6, this isn’t very likely, but who wouldn’t want to see more of the game. But Rockstar really doesn’t need to do anything to sell this game, it will be the biggest release of all time whenever it releases, especially as we get further into this console generation. There will be so many XBOX Series X/S and so many PS5s out there that this game will be massive.
More likely prediction would be the trailer for The Last of Us season 2, Geoff has a good relationship with Neil Druckmann it seems and this is the biggest event that they can likely tie the trailer to, there is not show running right now on HBO/Max that has a reliable audience like a Game of Thrones to tie a trailer to. The Game Awards seems like the best bang for their buck on impact releasing the long awaited trailer for season 2 of the hit show.
Along with the probable appearance of Neil Druckmann for The Last of Us season 2, there will hopefully also be the one more thing…The new IP from Naughty Dog. I would hope this comes as suggested at the end of the show, which would free up another big announcement earlier in the show. Another very, very longshot, the Uncharted whatever it is next from a non Naughty Dog Studio. I put this likelihood and virtually zero, but wishful thinking here.
From XBOX it would be great to see something Halo, but their rebranding wasn’t that long ago, so it doesn’t seem likely. However XBOX did have that incredible XBOX Games Showcase back in the summer, so perhaps a follow up on the new Gears title or Perfect Dark would land well here.
It would also be very likely we see whatever Kojima is working on with XBOX as well as a showing from Death Stranding 2, these would presumably come at different points of the show being that they are from competing brands obviously. But we know Geoff loves himself some Hideo Kojima, and there will likely be no shortage of his presence at this years show.
We know that we are getting Borderlands 4 at the show, I have been waiting for the series to feel right since the second game. Hopefully this new one will looks more fast paced, smooth, and show off the variations of the new/returning vault hunters. The original was a really unique look and feel and the sequel pushed it a bit further and had some great character classes, hope the new one is a true return to form.
And as always a few evergreen wishful thinking ideas, the return of Jet Motto or Motorstorm would be a welcome return. Or finally dusting off Syphon Filter for the modern era or more reasonable relaunching Resistance or any number of the long dormant IP from PlayStation. Or in the XBOX camp the long hoped return of Banjo-Kazooie or Conker’s Bad Fur Day, not as familiar with what IP they are sitting on, but be bold people.
But no matter what games win at this year’s show and what gets announced, we should all be happy we get this night every year. And we should all be thankful of the work Geoff Keighley does throughout the year to give the industry events like this and Summer Games Fest.
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A couple of months back on February 15th, XBOX released an Official XBOX Podcast regarding Updates on the XBOX Business. When this was announced there were rumors swirling that XBOX was going to put multiple titles out on other systems and that maybe XBOX was even going to go third party! Of course while there were some announcements of select titles going multiplatform, the rumors mill may have started swirling a bit too hard in regard to going third party.
All this recent talk and the peculiar position that Microsoft finds themselves in with the current state of XBOX got me thinking, what would I do If I Was President…Of XBOX.
The most obvious thing with XBOX, Gamepass is the star of the show. I would continue putting everything on Gamepass day one, this is the biggest, strongest selling point that we have going as a company. This certainly is a risk, but extremely bold move that we know our competitors can’t and won’t match. By doing that we are likely to greatly hurt our software sales potential, but that is where these next crucial steps have to come in. First we will strive to release every first party title day and date on PC as well, and while Gamepass has day one for all games, Gamepass for PC won’t have the same luxury. With Gamepass for PC, there will be a three to six months delay on titles landing there from first party, this will again push that the best value for any title from our vast first party studios is on a proper XBOX console. The only exception would be the Call Of Duty series, they’ll release as regular fully priced titles for all consoles day one and not be on Gamepass. Second major software update would be, yes we are going to publish on Sony and Nintendo consoles, almost every title we release as first party will come to one or both of their consoles after a full year exclusive on XBOX and Gamepass. Obviously this would only be hampered by the limitations of the Nintendo Switch, and games that wouldn’t meet the quality standards would only see their way to PlayStation consoles.
And now that we have established what our business plan is for releasing software, what can we do to ensure we have a much improved and more diverse pipeline of software releasing…
With all the various acquisitions Microsoft has made over the years we own a strong stable of studios and along with them a large assortment of highly diverse properties. Along with utilizing the diversity of such strong portfolio, we will emphasize developing a stronger and more consistent channel to actively listen to what the community wants. Ensuring we are giving the fans the content from Halo and Gears of War that they want, and bringing back titles in the Conker’s and Banjo Kazooie franchises. We will also use a strategy that has been working well for PlayStation and working towards greater integration across the various Microsoft studios to help work towards getting long awaited titles like Perfect Dark to release. Another key with our software is knowing that not every title released needs to be a massive AAA scale game, make arcade style Battle Toads releases similar to the recent TMNT games we’ve seen in recent years, and develop other smaller scale first party games with our various IP. Another goal would be to annualize Forza releasing a Motorosport and Horizon title alternately, with both games having a two year plan upon release. And while we feel great about our owned first party studios, we can’t do it all alone.
We will take chances on partnering with indie devs to get their titles either on XBOX exclusively or even better on Gamepass. And despite having a strong stable of studios we will not rest, we will continue to be aggressive in acquiring studios and partner with third parties to ensure some timed exclusivity on releases. Even going to a company like Embracer Group, or formerly known as Embracer Group now, and trying to acquire some of the IP they have long held and not utilized, going after critically acclaimed shooters Timesplitters and/or Red Faction or from a very different genre, Soul Reaver, to revive the franchises by one of our first party studios. Or going after plenty of the lesser known IP they hold, a franchise like Maneater could have some great potential with our owned studios as well, again focusing on pushing a diverse library for our players.
The last major thing I would push as President of XBOX, consistently release special edition consoles and controllers. We will push for many of our first part titles to come out with a special edition console, this has been done throughout the last few console generations and is a great way to push console sales among your most loyal fans. At least one first party title yearly will get a unique special edition console and controller, which can be bought separately, as part of its release promotion. We would also push for third party partnerships, we’ve seen Spongebob, TMNT, and Bluey consoles released, and would love to see these continue on a more consistent basis even.
While these past few years have not gone as well as hope or expected, making these changes will help lead XBOX in the years to come. Gamepass on an XBOX console needs to be the place gamers want to be, because we will have the biggest and most diverse catalogue of games. This will come from our renewed aggression in acquiring studios and dormant IP from other studios, giving a helping hand to indie devs to ensure they can get their titles released, and continuing to partner with third party studios to get exclusivity that makes sense and benefits both companies. And we will push even further to get Microsoft owned IP on other consoles, we will push it first on our consoles and Gamepass, then to PC, then to PlayStation and/or Switch when possible. An XBOX with Gamepass will be the best value in gaming, but for those who don’t want to make that choice, we want access to our great titles across as many platforms as possible. We see a bright future here at XBOX and we hope that you will come with us on this journey.
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Hi! Zach here, the founder and owner and writer and whatever else of Gamewrote. Some of you, not too many, but some may know me from my brief stint with PlayStation at San Diego Studio when I had the great fortune to work as an Online Community Specialist on their Games As A Service titles, Drawn To Death, GUNS UP!, and Kill Strain. Although rather brief, it provided some incredible incite into the industry and certainly made me realize the immense work and teamwork it takes to make videogames come to be. Now, however without further ado…
What is Gamewrote
Gamewrote can likely be best described as a passion project, a slow burn to keep myself engaged in writing about the industry I love the most. Being born in the 80s was perfect timing for someone who would grow to be a fan of videogames. With Atari and Intellivision already available, getting to grow up with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Mario Bros all the way to current day with the potential of the PlayStation 5 or the streaming convenience of an XBOX Series S. There truly is no entertainment medium that can compare to videogames, sure you can get lost in the story of a good book, see the action unfold in your favorite comic, see and feel the emotion of a great or thrilling movie. But videogames is the most in depth medium, it allows you to fully immerse yourself into it. Just look at a series like Grand Theft Auto from where it started with the original GTA to GTA:V (And soon GTA6!), the quality and scope of a game like that is unparalleled in other forms of media.
Main: Grand Theft Auto V’s trio, Insert: Grand Theft Auto PS1
No, Really…What is Gamewrote?
If you’ve made it to this point or if you’ve seen any previous content from here or elsewhere you might wonder, “Is there a meaning to GameWrote?”. And that’s a great question and…there is! The first part is rather obvious, Game comes from videogames. During my very fortunate couple years in the industry, I met tons of amazing people both in terms of my coworkers and peers in the industry. Along with meeting countless numbers of fellow fans of the industry at conventions, meetups, and other events during my time. Gaming is a truly unique, incredibly bonding form of entertainment, generating a great range of emotions, unique experiences, and captivating journeys.
And the Wrote portion comes from the written word obviously, but also from my favorite live theatre show Hamilton: An American Musical. Throughout the show there is a prevailing theme of Alexander Hamilton having a seemingly nonstop obsession with writing with “I wrote my way out” being a key line in the song “Hurricane”. Hamilton uses his writing to pull himself out of poverty, out of scandal or perhaps further into it, and as a way to help shape the founding of the United States of America. Now I’m certainly not in such a dire situation as poverty or scandal, but for myself it’s the hope that my writing can lead to leaving a regular job and making a living from game content. Full disclosure though I’m not holding my breath for this, but one can dream.
Why is Gamewrote
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, it’s a way to keep myself engaged and keep some creativity flowing. This will hopefully lead to some constructive, mostly positive dialogue among fellow gaming friends online as well. And if somehow it leads me to be able to make money or potentially earn a living back in that industry even better.
When is Gamewrote
Currently the goal is to write at least one post per month, with the hope of getting to twice a month, then weekly, and one day time and life permitting to be able to cover industry related occurrences up to speed in as close to real time as possible. Also on occasion there will be some live tweeting of events such as The Game Awards or if a particular company does a showcase or press conference or insert what they call it here. Currently while there are plenty of things lined up to write/post about there is no certain or guarantied cadence for updates, although getting to a more consistent timed schedule would be the ideal goal in time.
Where is Gamewrote
First and foremost right here at http://www.Gamewrote.com, additionally on social media @Gamewrote on both Twitter and Instagram. Periodically gameplay footage can be found on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@zat_thomas, recently played through Spider-Man: Miles Morales in preparation for Spider-Man 2 and uploaded that playthrough. And lastly if you want to send a Friend Request on PSN SD-Zach, don’t use that account as a primary, but eventually there could be some Twitch streaming and possibly some game with the community sessions. If there is something you enjoy on the page, please share with your friends, co-workers, peers, etc. any support goes a long ways.
Comment here and please follow @GameWrote on Twitter and Instagram to interact more with me.
While time has not permitted me to post nearly as much as I would like on here for quite some time, figured it would be a nice quick post to predict The Game Awards 2022. With the show airing Thursday, December 8th, now is the perfect time to throw out predictions on a majority of the categories and add a few predictions or more possible a few wishlist items for the show. First up, here are the categories, nominations, and my predicted winner for them, I skipped a handful of categories that I have no interest in, but most are covered below. Mind you these are not necessarily what I feel should win for the categories but what I think will win, Horizon and As Dusk Falls would win much more if it was what I felt should win.
And the nominees are…
Game Of The Year: Predicted Winner: Elden Ring
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Stray
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Game Direction: Predicted Winner: God Of War Ragnarok
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Immortality
Stray
Best Narrative: Predicted Winner: God Of War Ragnarok
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Immortality
Best Art Direction: Predicted Winner: Horizon Forbidden West
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Scorn
Stray
Best Score and Music: Predicted Winner: God Of War Ragnarok
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Metal: Hellsinger
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Audio Design: Predicted Winner: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Gran Turismo 7
Horizon Forbidden West
Best Performance: Predicted Winner: God Of War Ragnarok, Christopher Judge
Horizon Forbidden West, Ashly Burch
A Plague Tale: Requiem, Charlotte McBurney
God Of War Ragnarok, Christopher Judge
Immortality, Manon Gage
God Of War Ragnarok, Sunny Suljic
Games For Impact: Predicted Winner: As Dusk Falls
A Memoir Blue
As Dusk Falls
Citizen Sleeper
Endling-Extinction Is Forever
Hindsight
I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
Best Ongoing: Predicted Winner: Fortnite
Apex Legends
Destiny 2
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite
Genshin Impact
Best Indie: Predicted Winner: Stray
Cult Of The Lamb
Neon White
Sifu
Stray
Tunic
Best Mobile Game: Predicted Winner: Marvel Snap
Apex Legends Mobile
Diablo Immortal
Genshin Impact
Marvel Snap
Tower Of Fantasy
Best Action Game: Predicted Winner: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Bayonetta 3
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Neon White
Sifu
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Best Action/Adventure: Predicted Winner: Horizon Forbidden West
A Plague Tale: Requiem
God Of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Stray
Tunic
Best Role Playing: Predicted Winner: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Elden Ring
Live A Live
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Triangle Strategy
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Fighting: Predicted Winner: Sifu
DNF Duel
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
The King Of Fighters XV
Multiversus
Sifu
Best Family: Predicted Winner: Splatoon 3
Kirby And The Forgotten Land
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope
Nintendo Switch Sports
Splatoon 3
Best Sim/Strategy: Predicted Winner: Victoria 3
Dune: Spice Wars
Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope
Total War: Warhammer III
Two Point Campus
Victoria 3
Best Sports/Racing: Predicted Winner: NBA 2K23
F1 22
FIFA 23
NBA 2K23
Gran Turismo 7
Olliolli World
Best Multiplayer: Predicted Winner: Overwatch 2
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Multiversus
Overwatch 2
Splatoon 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Best Indie Debut:Predicted Winner: Tunic
Neon White
Norco
Stray
Tunic
Vampire Survivors
Most Anticipated Game: Predicted Winner: The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Final Fantasy XVI
Hogwarts Legacy
Resident Evil 4
Starfield
The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Now with that covered here are a few predictions, then a few wishlist items.
Predictions
Fairly good look at whatever the next/new Silent Hill game is
Game set in the Knives Out movie setting, maybe it’s a Tell Tale style game, or perhaps a point and click game
New Kojima game, probably XBOX exclusive
Gameplay trailer for Spiderman sequel
Trailer for Wolverine game, probably not gameplay
Grounded update maybe a bit of a roadmap
Ghosts Of Tsushima sequel teaser
The Legend Of Zelda trailer
At least one new Marvel Studio property announced
Assassins Creed update
BioShock update
Wishlist
Next Elders Scrolls title teaser with tentative release window
Sunset Overdrive for PS5 and announcement of sequel
The Last Of Us multiplayer game release date, beta info, and trailer
Infamous remake or potentially a new title from a different PS Studio
Animal Crossing Update, DLC, something for the game/series
Syphon Filter is back!!! Alright this won’t happen, but I can always dream
I genuinely feel like this year’s show will be a lot bigger on the announcements and reveals, the past few years were rough with all the reasonable Covid issues, studios overhauling workloads and schedules to adapt to work from home and remote/hybrid roles. But it feels like the industry is turning the corner over the past few months and we will finally start to see the new/next generation take off. These first few years have been underwhelming to a large degree and next year should be the shift needed to push the next gen consoles to feel like there is actual separation from the PS4/XBOXone generation.
The Game Awards will be streaming Live on Thursday, December 8th at 4:30PM PST. Links below should put you through to the Twitch or YouTube stream from The Game Awards, and there are some prizes to be earned through watching on Twitch, check out @thegameawards on Twitter for details on that. And follow @GameWrote on Twitter (https://twitter.com/GameWrote) for some likely live tweeting on announcements.
Roughly one hundred ninety two hours ago the gaming world awoke to the biggest news story to hit the industry in years. With a tweet from Phil Spencer the industry would forever be changed “As we extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone, we are incredibly excited to welcome the fantastic teams and iconic franchises of Activision Blizzard to Team Xbox”. In what is expected to be close to a seventy billion dollar deal, Microsoft has reached an agreement to acquire Activision Blizzard along with all their combined studios and IPs, including the industry’s annual best selling franchise Call Of Duty. The deal is expected to finalize in 2023, and puts many things into question both for Sony and Microsoft over the coming months.
What could Microsoft do with all these studios and IPs, what is their assumed endgame with this acquisition…There are some highly likely outcomes with this deal and while there was also a statement pertaining to their intentions. To paraphrase the statement, Microsoft wants to keep titles on PlayStation and adhere to deals currently in place for any particular IPs. However as mentioned, there are a few highly likely outcomes.
Microsoft Leverages Deal
Adding this acquisition to the Bethesda deal of recent years, Microsoft is greatly expanding on the value of GamePass. Having all first party titles available on the service is an incredible deal that is currently unmatched. And makes GamePass basically a must have for anyone owning a Microsoft console. But could this be a way to leverage PlayStation to allow some version of GamePass on Sony consoles…That is a commonly assumed plan from many covering the industry. Allow PlayStation gamers the option to purchase titles individually or join GamePass. It would certainly be a massive change in the industry and seems far off for the time being, but something to keep an eye on. More likely in the shortterm seems with Microsoft having the highly successful, digital only, Series S and the long running rumors of a TV based streaming service the additional properties only help sell those GamePass subscriptions to new non PlayStation gamers.
Microsoft Pulls Titles
Could the industry possibly see the end of Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles? Sure. But just seems like an unfathomable possibility. When their Bethesda acquisition was in progress, I personally thought the best move would be to have marquee, known titles remain multi-consoles. Meaning established titles like Elder Scrolls, then taking new IP such as Starfield and making them XBOX exclusives. Guaranteeing the most sales possibility on known commodities and push console sales with intriguing new IP being exclusive. However it seems more likely that either the majority or just all Bethesda titles will be Microsoft console exclusives moving forward. So there is clearly the chance this occurs with the newly acquired IP, once any contractual obligations are fulfilled. Pulling all owned IP from PlayStation would presumably add to an increase in XBOX console sales, but would this be the best move? Selling games and/or GamePass is likely more profitable than consoles for Microsoft.
Microsoft Combo
Combine the two above concepts, pull the release of all your newly acquired IP when possible and allow them only through GamePass on PlayStation. But with such a bold, aggressive move would PlayStation play ball. And would such a potential damaging move to your main rival be good in the long-term. Both companies seem to genuinely value each other and the competitive nature they bring out in each other.
Sony Service Counter
There is already strong rumors relating to Sony reupping either a redesigned/rebranded PS Now or just a whole new service to more closely rival GamePass. So this won’t necessarily be a direct reaction to this acquisition, if handled right and effectively can help steal that spotlight back. Imagine a service that allows the user to have access to all previous generation first party PlayStation titles, four generations of titles. Or if Sony adds current gen first party titles to a subscription service, doubt they would do day and date like Microsoft has, but what if all first party come to the service six or twelve months into release. Their first party titles are currently the industry standard for quality and single player narrative, and any inclusion into their service would be a huge plus.
Sony PC Love
Simply release all first party studios day and date on PC along with PlayStation (PS4/PS5). Not a huge deal, but there has been some good traction with the first party PC releases, with God of War most recently being their highest/fastest selling release. Ramp up releasing/porting all major first party titles over on PC and then moving forward day and date releases of all major first party games. While this doesn’t directly deal with the issue at hand, it increases sales of their titles and hopefully generates new users on another platform that is already more aligned with Microsoft titles.
Sony Acquisition Counter
Obviously this is just complete speculation, but fight fire with fire, buy up a studio or studios of your own! Personally I am pulling for them to go bold and somehow buy up THQ Nordic, almost entirely for the chance that we get a new TimeSplitters game…I think they still own that IP. But more realistically as detailed in my previous post, Sony is far more limited in terms of financials. This likely puts anything remotely on the scale of a seventy billion dollar acquisition far out of reach.
Its Been A Week…And A Day
Again, there currently is no certainty on what the future holds with this acquisition. It truly is a massive, bold move by Microsoft and while it could mean some serious negative ramifications for the industry depending on the direction they end up going after it is finalized. Recent years have shown more cooperation between these industry giants and hopefully this trend will maintain. Personally I will be cautiously optimistic and eagerly await more news in the coming months.
Today, Microsoft showed off what is to come from their various studios including the recently acquired in an official sense, Bethesda Game Studios during their XBOX & Bethesda Games Showcase. Both Microsoft and Sony are still vying for the advantage as we move forward during the first year of the new console generation. Console sales are going great for both companies with hardware selling out within minutes of becoming available online from any retailer, in any version of the hardware. XBOX Series X or Series S consoles are still an elusive buy for many eager gamers around the world. And while Sony has not had many true PlayStation 5 exclusives just yet aside from the just released Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart, they have delivered a decent amount of PlayStation exclusives cross generationally, such as Spiderman: Miles Morales. Microsoft however have really yet to release much in the way of next gen or cross generational exclusives to their consoles. With what should seem to be a distinct disadvantage however, there seems to be a shift in the gaming power struggle, one that has even started to get a PlayStation diehard since since their original console considering picking up my first XBOX console.
There are three key factors that Microsoft seem to be have going in their favor and could potentially lead to the upper hand early in this generation. Continue to play on their online and now even more so streaming advantages. Strengthening and promoting Gamepass even further. And when it comes down to it the biggest factor in most console generations, exclusives, what can your console give the gamer that no one else can. Let us dive deeper into these three factors and see just how strong of a position Microsoft is starting to find themselves in.
Streaming
Both Microsoft and Sony brought digital versions of their newest consoles to market last fall, but Microsoft did so at a far more competitive rate and seem to have intentions of pushing this even further moving forward. The XBOX Series S gets you into the new gen for only $299.99 and while it lacks some qualities of the XBOX Series X, it gets the basics of the job done at a great price. And while they did not cover this during the showcase today, working towards the realm of console free next gen streaming as a possibility from one of the two major brands is a huge win if they can pull it off effectively.
Gamepass
There have been no shortage of bold moves when it comes to Gamepass for Microsoft. Pushing out many first party titles day and date on Gamepass to getting a deal to release former PlayStation exclusive MLB The Show not only on to XBOX consoles, but including it with Gamepass. Microsoft certainly seems to know the advantage in not only maintaining the advantage their players get when they buy into Gamepass, but continually trying to expand on the value of the offering. And today twenty-seven of the thirty games shown off during the showcase today will release day one with Gamepass.
Exclusives
When push comes to shove, we all know what makes a generation and/or what generally wins a console war, exclusives. And while Nintendo has some amazing strengths with all their first party characters and titles, they are not really considered on the same battlefield as Microsoft and Sony. And to be honest over the past few generations, Sony has truly been on a level unto themselves when it comes to quality exclusive games. However in recent years Microsoft has been aggressive in adding quality studios to their lineup and ultimately with their financial advantage over Sony this is how Microsoft can most greatly impact the next gen console war. With the official announcements today bookending their showcase that Starfield and newly announced Redfall will be XBOX console exclusives, Microsoft delivers a massive blow to Sony for this generation.
Microsoft has a bevy of titles now at their disposal from their twenty-three studios for either cross platform to generate revenue like they do with Minecraft and presumably will do with established titles like DOOM, Elders Scroll, Fallout, etc or to release as a console exclusive to boost hardware/platform sales like they are with their two new IP shown off today Starfield and Redfall along with lesser known titles like Outer Worlds 2.
Recap
In his closing monologue, Head of XBOX Phil Spencer said it best, “You, the gamer, are at the center of everything we do”. Microsoft has learned a great deal from the previous generations and seem as well placed as they ever have been to compete on a high level. While PlayStation continues to revamp what they are doing and representing, XBOX is making it clear, they are games first and games focused, this generation dropped all the extra gimmicks, positioning the Series X/S perfectly. And there are always more studios to purchase or deals to make, which only stand to strengthen this positioning. Sony most assuredly have plans in place that we are not fully aware of, studios working on titles we can assume such as Insomniac with a true Spiderman sequel, along with ones we have no idea about such as whatever the new IP Bend is working on. PlayStation for the first time in years seem to be in need of some reassurance to their faithful, can they compete with for the first time a games focused Microsoft.
What are your thoughts on what you have seen during this virtual E3 this year? What you hope to see still announced and what are you looking forward to playing in the coming months. Comment here and please follow @GameWrote on Twitter and Instagram to interact more with me.
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