Tag: role-playing game

Yes! I want more sci-fi RPGs from Team Xbox, Bethesda and Obsidian!

Yes! I want more sci-fi RPGs from Team Xbox, Bethesda and Obsidian!

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As a geek, I often enjoyed the science fiction (sci-fi) genre of entertainment. Star Wars made its mark in movies, video games (note: I enjoyed playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on the original Xbox console), toys and comic books. I love watching V: The Original Miniseries and in recent times I successfully bought myself a Blu-ray copy of it to enjoy it all over again in high-definition. On Xbox 360, I enjoyed heavily replaying the three Mass Effect games (2007-2012) and even had one last replay of the entire trilogy using the backward compatibility feature on Xbox One a few years ago.

When it comes to recent gaming, I deeply enjoyed playing The Outer Worlds in its full design and concept (note: with the Peril on Gorgon and Murder on Eridanos DLC expansion packs included) from start to finish on my aging Xbox One console. That sci-fi RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment is the best of its kind that I have played in the 8th console generation.

For the future, there are two things that keep me really interested in the sci-fi RPG sub-genre of video gaming as well as gaming on Xbox.

First is Bethesda’s Starfield which is anticipated to be exclusive to Xbox and PC and may be released in 2022. As the Xbox-Bethesda showcase on June 13 is approaching, my anticipation for Starfield is growing even though the key details about it remain a mystery. Having played Bethesda’s Fallout 4 on Xbox One and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on Xbox 360, I can imagine Starfield having 3rd person and 1st person views with in-depth exploration, varied forms of interacting with other characters and NPCs (non-playable characters), and shooting plus some melee combat.

The brand-new sci-fi RPG from Bethesda!

As Starfield is sci-fi in concept, there will surely be lots of gameplay features that will make it different from Fallout and Elder Scroll games, and stand out among sci-fi RPGs. I am anticipating space travel, spaceship battles, visiting planets, customizing spaceships, encountering alien lifeforms, the exploration of space stations and more. Such sci-fi concepts remind me of what I enjoyed in Mass Effect games and in The Outer Worlds, but given Bethesda’s RPG design and approach to gameplay, I am confident that Starfield will have features that will make it different as far as sci-fi concepts and game design go.  

The lack of clear details about Starfield only make its anticipated unveiling at the Xbox-Bethesda special event even more attractive. I am confident that Todd Howard will make the big presentation of it.

Second is the future of The Outer Worlds as a game franchise under the control of Team Xbox and Xbox game studio Obsidian Entertainment (note: they were acquired in 2018). To make things clear, game publishing label Private Division (under Take-Two) has the publishing rights of the original game that came out to multiple platforms in 2019. As to who owns the The Outer Worlds as an intellectual property, it is Microsoft which is the result of its acquisition of Obsidian (the creator of The Outer Worlds) which happened during the development of the said game. That being said, Private Division and Take-Two stake is limited to the first game. The rest (note: future iterations) belong to Microsoft and Team Xbox and Obsidian will be managing it.

A quick look back at 2019’s The Outer Worlds.

To put things in perspective, check out this excerpt from Gamasutra’s May 19, 2021 article which was updated with clarifications from Take-Two. Some parts in boldface…

A spokesperson from Private Division, the American publisher owned by Take-Two, has explained the company won’t be involved with “future iterations” of The Outer Worlds franchise, noting that Obsidian and owner Microsoft will be steering the ship moving forward.

Microsoft has been looking to expand its stable of first-party titles for some time, having spent huge sums of cash on a variety of studios over the past few years, such as its recent $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda.

Although the company purchased Obsidian back in 2018, The Outer Worlds developer worked with Take-Two’s subsidiary Private Division to publish the game. Recent remarks from Take-Two president Karl Slatoff had indicated that relationship would continue, but an update from Private Division has confirmed that Microsoft now intends to take charge of the franchise.

“Private Division is still supporting and marketing The Outer Worlds, including the upcoming release of Murder on Eridanos DLC on Nintendo Switch,” said the company. “Moving forward, Obsidian and Microsoft will be publishing future iterations in the franchise, and we’re absolutely thrilled to see where they take it.“

Now that it is clear that Microsoft, Team Xbox and Obsidian Entertainment have The Outer Worlds under their belt and with commercial and critical success achieved with the first game, it is anticipated that the developers behind it may announce a sequel during the Xbox-Bethesda showcase on June 13. Here’s an excerpt from Windows Central Gaming’s recent article…

Building content for E3 takes a huge chunk of dev time, and many of these games are just in deep content development right now, rather than being prepped for marketing materials.

Obsidian, however, could appear in a big way. I’ve been told conflicting information about the possibility of Avowed being at the show, which is Obsidian’s first-person RPG set in the Pillars of Eternity universe, making me think there’s a 50/50 chance we could see something on it. I’ve also been told that, surprisingly, Outer Worlds 2 may be announced.

And then there is this video by Colteastwood mentioning that Obsidian is ready to announce The Outer Worlds sequel at the June 13 showcase.

I believe it is inevitable that Starfield and The Outer Worlds will be confirmed very soon as Xbox and PC-exclusive franchises (beyond the games, take note) of the sci-fi RPG sub-genre.

While I can only speculate what story concept, characters and game design for Starfield will turn out with under Bethesda, I can imagine future games of The Outer Worlds getting more varied in terms of game design, characters, settings, in-game environments, storytelling, exploration and more now that Obsidian has better resources under Team Xbox.

As it is clear Obsidian is very busy already working on the fantasy RPG Avowed, it is very likely they will make the announcement of the sequel to The Outer Worlds in the form of a CGI trailer. As to how The Outer Worlds 2 will turn out in the years to come, I hope the developers will add spaceship battles (with real-time shooting on other ships for great interaction), more boarding of other spaceships, more varieties of monsters and enemies to fight with on-foot, building a brand-new colony or settlement and the like.   

With the upcoming Starfield and future The Outer World games under the Xbox umbrella, sci-fi role-playing games will not only establish Xbox as the haven for RPG enthusiasts in the years to come but also help increase the Xbox Game Pass (XGP) base of paying subscribers, help increase the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X console userbase and help the overall Xbox LIVE membership grow a lot! Also imagine the many other fans of The Outer Worlds on the PS4 and Nintendo Switch (who don’t own Xbox consoles) buy Xbox Series consoles for the sequels.

More on the sci-fi RPG sub-genre, I can say that Team Xbox, Bethesda and Obsidian have a potential gold mine once their upcoming games turn out great, keep gamers very happy and convince them and other enthusiasts of RPGs and science fiction to come back for more.

If the current success of EA’s Mass Effect: Legendary Edition indicates anything, it only serves as a reminder that the Mass Effect franchise’s greatness happened long ago and EA and BioWare themselves still have yet to achieve brand new success with the said franchise without resorting to nostalgia.

The way things are right now, Team Xbox/Bethesda/Obsidian are in better positions than EA/BioWare when it comes to making great sci-fi RPGs. For the Xbox fans who love RPGs and science fiction, the games from Bethesda and Obsidian are sure to be exclusive on their consoles plus Windows PC.

To watch the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on June 13, posted below are the links for your reference.

In closing this article, posted below are Xbox-related videos for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Xbox-exclusive Starfield in 2022?

Xbox-exclusive Starfield in 2022?

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Like any Xbox fan, I am very excited about the future of Xbox gaming now that Bethesda’s acquisition has been completed and Xbox head Phil Spencer confirmed that exclusive games from the famous publisher (which has many talented developers) are coming.

Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi role-playing game (RPG) Starfield has been heavily discussed by gamers recently and it has been speculated that it will be released in 2022. The ugly thing is that there are certain gamers and Xbox-haters out there – who previously denounced that Xbox-Bethesda deal – who kept ranting that Starfield will also be released on PlayStation 5 (PS5). Instead of acknowledging the fact that Bethesda is now owned by Microsoft, and instead of realizing the fact that Bethesda’s contracts with Sony is for two games (temporary PS5-exclusives) have NOTHING to do with Starfield, they just rant with their distorted perception of reality.

Even though not so much information has been released, public interest in Starfield has grown as it is the next high-profile game from Bethesda Softworks.

I like to repeat what I mentioned before – what Microsoft owns, Sony and Nintendo cannot have nor take away!

Going back to Starfield, the highly anticipated game from Bethesda is exclusive to Xbox and PC according to Jeff Grubb of GamesBeat. Grubb has a record of being a reliable insider in the video games industry.

With confidence, Jeff Grubb confirmed Starfield is exclusive to Xbox and PC. Now it’s up to Team Xbox to confirm it themselves. Grubb’s reputation now hangs in the balance.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from Video Games Chronicle. Some parts in bold.

Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG Starfield will be exclusive to Xbox and PC and thus won’t release for PlayStation 5, it’s been claimed.

That’s according to GamesBeat journalist Jeff Grubb, who wrote on Friday: “Starfield is exclusive to Xbox and PC. Period. This is me confirming that.”

Speaking in a live stream video, the prominent games industry reporter went on to state that he believed the title would appear at E3 next month and likely release in 2022.

Starfield is the next big RPG from the creator of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, originally announced in June 2018 with a teaser trailer, following which director Todd Howard said it was a game he’s wanted to make “for a very, very long time.”

As you can see above, Jeff Grubb was not hesitant in confirming the Xbox-exclusivity of Starfield. His reputation is at stake right now, and time cannot move fast enough for Team Xbox to confirm at the 2021 E3 online event the exclusivity to the whole world. On the side of PlayStation, SIE CEO Jim Ryan does not know if Starfield is coming to PS5. The fact Ryan does not know adds to the anticipation of Starfield’s Xbox-exclusivity.

On May 17, 2021, Jeff Grubb wrote a piece titled Why Starfield won’t be on PlayStation 5 and to put things in perspective, posted below are two excerpts with some parts in bold…

Excerpt 1

Microsoft has no plans to release Bethesda’s upcoming space role-playing adventure Starfield on Sony’s competing PlayStation 5 console. That shouldn’t surprise too many people after Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in March that Microsoft acquired Bethesda to add exclusives to Xbox Game Pass. But I’ve separately confirmed that this situation applies to Starfield through sources familiar with the decision.

But some people keep asking about Starfield on PS5 because they don’t have insight into Microsoft’s reasoning. While Sony or Nintendo would certainly keep new acquisitions locked to their platforms, Xbox has a history of playing nice. Minecraft, for example, is still getting full support on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms. Microsoft even released the new Minecraft Dungeons game on PS5 and Switch. So why wouldn’t Microsoft do the same with Bethesda’s games?

The difference is that Minecraft is a platform unto itself with millions of active players and in-game transactions. And it’s platform like that thrives when it’s available everywhere.

I’ve asked Xbox for a statement, and I’ll update this story if the company decides to comment.

Starfield is most valuable to Microsoft as a means to grow Xbox Game Pass

Where Minecraft can exist as its own service, Starfield is about growing the Game Pass service. And even if Bethesda has ambitions to make massive, connected live-service games, it’s unlikely that anything will turn into the next Minecraft. So an effort like a blockbuster game release from the team that made The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is best if Microsoft treats it as an investment into a larger service.

Excerpt 2

Microsoft likely did investigate what its financials would look like if it made Bethesda games exclusive or not. In the end, it chose exclusivity. And yes, that means it will miss out on money from sales on PlayStation 5. But the point is that Microsoft doesn’t see that as losing money — it sees that as built in marketing for Game Pass. And then it also expects to offset many of those costs by building a deeper relationship with more players who then go on to play and buy even more games on Xbox platforms.So yes, Starfield is exclusive. And I would predict that Xbox would make this call for The Elder Scrolls VI and beyond.

As seen above, Jeff Grubb scored solidly on the points as to why Starfield is exclusive and why the logic behind Minecraft’s multiplatform availability cannot be applied to Starfield and other Bethesda franchises. It does not make sense to release Starfield on PS5, especially with Xbox Game Pass growing tremendously and offering its active subscribers the best deals in games. Bethesda games have already been added to XGP and Starfield will eventually add greater value to the service!

A leaked screenshot of what is supposed to be gameplay of Starfield.

As for the speculated 2022 release for Starfield, check out the details in the excerpt from the Windows Central Gaming article…

It seems that Starfield could be targeting a Q1 2022 release date, echoing similar rumors from across the net that the upcoming sci-fi RPG is closer than we might’ve otherwise expected.

The details come from an exchange between Grubb and Adeoye Jr, with Grubb confirming in a tweet prior speculation on Kinda Funny Games Cast that the game was targeting a Q1 2022 launch window.

There were some previous rumors earlier in the year that the game was targeting a Holiday 2021 launch window. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that the date got bumped slightly given the on-going pandemic.

Here is the related video for you to watch.

And here is Jeff Grubb’s related Tweet with others.

Can you wait for Starfield in 2022?

As much as I love to buy and start playing Starfield this coming holiday season, I just remembered that we are all still living in this COVID-19 (China Virus) pandemic and I can only speculate that the developers working on the sci-fi RPG have, most likely, not returned to working in their offices. Game development done at home is not the same as working in the main office. Knowing the reputation of Bethesda, they need a whole lot of time to not only complete their epic RPGs but also refine it to the best they could. The refinement will definitely include technical adjustments with the Creation engine. This pandemic is clearly hampering everyone from the consumers (who are struggling to buy Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles) to the people who make the video games.

As such, I would not be surprised if the Xbox-exclusive Starfield will be released in 2022. It could be released in the first quarter of 2022 but then Microsoft and Bethesda could decide to push it into the 2nd half of that same year. By 2022, there should be a lot more people owning units of Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, not to mention at least 30,000,000 active subscribers on Xbox Game Pass.

If 2022 is indeed the planned year of release for Starfield, then Phil Spencer and Team Xbox should come up with something to boosting their lineup of new exclusive releases for the lucrative 4th quarter of this year. I speculate that Forza Horizon 5 and Halo: Infinite will be released in the 4th quarter which look strong but I think Team Xbox has to add a 3rd strong game with them. We will find out soon once Team Xbox makes the big announcements at the E3.

Before I end this article, let me ask you these questions: Are you looking forward to Starfield? Did the Xbox-Bethesda deal and the addition of Bethesda’s games into Xbox Game Pass convince you to subscribe? Did you buy an Xbox Series S or an Xbox Series X console because of the Xbox-Bethesda deal? Are you excited about Todd Howard’s ambition behind Starfield?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online. In ending this piece, here are some Xbox-related videos for you to enjoy!

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Xbox-Bethesda excitement intensifies as Phil Spencer emphasizes exclusive games plus key Bethesda games got added to Xbox Game Pass (XGP)

Xbox-Bethesda excitement intensifies as Phil Spencer emphasizes exclusive games plus key Bethesda games got added to Xbox Game Pass (XGP)

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There is no denying that the completion of the most significant video gaming business deal of this modern age of and the integration of Bethesda into Team Xbox are leading to a brighter future in electronic entertainment not only for Xbox fans and PC gamers but also for all other people who can afford gaming.

Yesterday, the fusion between Bethesda and Team Xbox was emphasized even further as top executives from both sides took part in a roundtable meeting titled Bethesda joins Xbox which was shown worldwide online. The YouTube video has been posted below for your convenience and viewing pleasure.

Here are a few notable parts of the roundtable event. Firstly, and most notably, Xbox chief Phil Spencer cautiously spoke about the plans regarding exclusive games that Xbox fans have been eagerly wanting to find out (note: key portions in bold).

“We have games that exist on other platforms, and we’re going to support those games on the platforms they’re on. There are communities of players. We love those communities and will continue to invest in them. And even in the future, there might be things that have either contractual things, or legacy on different platforms, that we’ll go do. But if you’re an Xbox customer, the thing I want you to know is this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists, and that’s our goal, that’s why we are doing this,” Spencer said.

Even as Microsoft-controlled Bethesda has games and fan communities on other platforms that will be supported, Xbox customers are still priorities for them and Xbox Game Pass is a key factor as it has many millions of subscribers around the world who use Xbox One consoles, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and Windows 10 PC.

While no titles were mentioned by Spencer, I am confident that Bethesda’s upcoming games like Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI will be released for Xbox Series consoles and Windows 10 PCs and be made available via Xbox Game Pass in the near future.

In my view, and in response to the whining of the PlayStation fanboys (who are agonizing over the Xbox-Bethesda deal) and of the people who hate Xbox spotted on social media, it does not make business sense for new Bethesda games (especially those made with big budgets for at least 3 years) to be released on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms since they are not connected with Xbox Game Pass.  If you look at Team Xbox closely, they are working hard to sell not only gaming hardware, software and DLCs, but also subscription services. In this case, Xbox Game Pass is essential and with 18 million subscribers already counted, the said subscription service is generating billions of Dollars of revenue for Team Xbox per year. Will Sony and Nintendo be willing to have Xbox Game Pass offered to their respective customers for the sake of availing new Bethesda hot new games? Unless something drastic happens, such a scenario won’t happen.

Going back to Spencer’s confirmation of exclusive games for Xbox customers, the integration of Bethesda into Team Xbox easily ensures that Xbox fans will not only have a lot of exclusive titles coming from the well-established publisher (and its many studios), they will also have a wide variety of the types of games from ALL the 23 Xbox Game Studios. The first-person shooter (FPS) genre exclusives to look forward to are Halo Infinite, the next Doom, the next Wolfenstein, the next Rage, the next Prey and so on. RPGs? Try Starfield, Elder Scrolls VI, Avowed, Fable, the next Fallout and the next The Outer Worlds.

Rest assured, Xbox fans have a whole lot of exclusive games to look forward to from Bethesda’s studios and the other Xbox Game Studios in the near future. These assured exclusive games should convince gamers to buy Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X, and then sign up immediately for Xbox Game Pass.

Going back to the media event, Todd Howard took note of the marvel of backward compatibility (itself a great, pro-gamer feature on Xbox) and described how awesome it is that old creations such as the RPG Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is not only playable (on current Xbox technology) but also nicely presented in 4K resolution showing how much life it still has all these years. In relation to that, Aaron Greenberg announced that Team Xbox is already working on providing FPS Boost (enhanced frame rates) on backward compatible games of Bethesda.

And then there is the other big announcement made during the roundtable event…Bethesda adding twenty games into Xbox Game Pass for subscribers to enjoy!

Specifically the games added into the said subscription service are: Dishonored Definitive Edition, Dishonored 2, Doom (1993), Doom II, Doom 3, Doom 64, Doom Eternal, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Elder Scrolls Online, The Evil Within, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Fallout: New Vegas, Prey, Rage 2, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood.

Those mentioned games are available on Xbox Game Pass now.

In ending this, posted below for your viewing pleasure are varied gaming-related videos…including one video about the March 17, 2021 release of the next DLC expansion for The Outer Worlds (developed by Obsidian Entertainment which itself worked on Fallout: New Vegas for Bethesda long ago).

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z41PFI6KVKk

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

What could happen with regards to rumored event related to Xbox-Bethesda deal

What could happen with regards to rumored event related to Xbox-Bethesda deal

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Things have been quiet for the past months following the megaton announcement that Microsoft is acquiring Bethesda (through parent company ZeniMax Media) for a staggering $7.5 billion. Since then, Team Xbox has gotten stronger as the deal means pushing their number of 1st party game studios to almost 25.

In recent times, Microsoft created a brand new subsidiary called Vault (a nod to the Fallout franchise) which will serve as a new and temporary home for ZeniMax. The acquisition of ZeniMax and all of Bethesda is up for review by the regulators of the European Union (EU).

In relation to this, Jeff Grub of GamesBeat said in a podcast that an event will be held in which Microsoft will share details about their plans for the future regarding Bethesda. It was stated that such an event might happen in the middle of March 2021. By that time, the EU’s decision on the Xbox-Bethesda deal should be known.

Here’s an excerpt from GamingBolt’s report…

Grubb says it might not be a dedicated Direct-style event, but fans should expect to hear about plenty of new information either way.

“Once the deal closes, they will talk about it in a big way,” Grubb said. “I don’t know if it will be a full Direct-style event, but they will make note of it, and they will talk about it extensively, and they will explain what it means to everybody… kind of talk about the immediate future for both companies becoming one in the future.”

Personally, I can imagine an Xbox-Bethesda event that will done in video format and shown online to many fans and gamers around the world. However, I imagine it to be totally different from the Xbox Games Showcase of July 2020. I don’t expect it to be a lengthy video but still it will be long enough and serve as a makeshift celebration of Microsoft acquiring a major game publisher in Bethesda which itself is a rare event in the business world of video games and computer gaming.

The way I see it, the Xbox-Bethesda event could happen with the following possibilities:

  1. Xbox head Phil Spencer will welcome viewers and confirm that the acquisition of Bethesda has finally been done and the planned projects will push through and ensure lots of fun stuff for Xbox fans, fans of Bethesda’s many game franchises and people who love to play games via Xbox consoles, Windows 10 PCs and laptops, and mobile devices.
  2. Microsoft and Bethesda’s extensive business relationship will be mentioned, if not highlighted.
  3. Starfield will be announced yet again but will be presented by Todd Howard and a video showing the first-ever gameplay footage. Howard or the video itself could announce Starfield as an Xbox-exclusive game with late 2021 release window.
  4. Bethesda games released on previous generations consoles (Xbox 360 and Xbox One most likely) will be confirmed enhanced with FPS Boost when played on Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X.
  5. More Bethesda games of the past and the future will be made available via Xbox Game Pass (XGP).
  6. Ghostwire: Tokyo Deathloop, the temporary exclusives on Sony’s PlayStation 5 (PS5) console, will come to Xbox Series consoles and Windows 10 PC with exclusive enhancements and features some time in late 2022 or early 2023. Xbox Game Pass listing will be confirmed.
  7. Other Xbox game studios such as Obsidian Entertainment, Playground Games, Ninja Theory, The Coalition and others could make an appearance and some of their upcoming games for Xbox Series consoles and PC may be previewed. If this happens, it will symbolize the unity of the teams under Xbox Game Studios.
  8. Most, if not all, new games of Bethesda will be announced as exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem which includes Xbox Series consoles (note: Xbox One could still be supported), Windows 10 PC, mobile devices and Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Meanwhile, old Bethesda games that were released on multiple platforms will still be made available.

I believe that it is inevitable that the new Bethesda games, including those that were in development before Microsoft even started negotiating with ZeniMax, will be made Xbox-exclusive for it is very clear that Team Xbox wants to make Xbox Game Pass attract many more millions of subscribers from around the world much like how the streaming services Netflix and Disney+ attracted so many millions of subscribers globally. XGP alone added a lot to Microsoft’s revenue as its base of subscribers reached 18 million. Making Bethesda’s new games exclusive will add tremendous value to XGP and Xbox LIVE as a whole. That being said, think about the exclusive content that helped Netflix and Disney+ attract so many millions of subscribers.

Making Bethesda Xbox-exclusive also means making the Xbox brand (and its game studios) even stronger than those on PlayStation and Nintendo. Microsoft knows that millions of gamers love playing single-player role-playing games (RPGs) and having Bethesda’s blockbuster RPG franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls ensures big game sales through Xbox consoles and Windows 10 computers. Don’t forget that Team Xbox also has Obsidian Entertainment (which made the popular Fallout New Vegas for Bethesda) to provide such RPGs. Speaking of exclusives, whatever Japanese RPGs Sony could snatch as PS5 exclusives from Square Enix (Final Fantasy XVI for one), Team Xbox can literally fight back with exclusive Bethesda RPGs which are more than enough to make Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S more attractive consoles for anyone who loves role-playing the console way. I should state that Bethesda RPGs have a huge collective following among PC gamers.

As I noticed on social media over the past few months, a lot of PlayStation fanboys, haters of Xbox and some Nintendo fanboys are still feeling uneasy over the possibility of Bethesda games becoming Xbox-exclusive. They are afraid of getting locked out…meaning that none of the new Bethesda games will be released on their PS4, PS5 and Switch consoles.

More on exclusivity, Xbox chief Phil Spencer made things clear in an interview with Kotaku and below is an excerpt for you all…

“Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?” I asked.

“Yes,” Spencer quickly replied.

Then he paused.

“I don’t want to be flip about that,” he added. “This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: ‘How do we keep other players from playing these games?’ We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games. But I’ll also say in the model—I’m just answering directly the question that you had—when I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us. Whatever that means.”

No matter how the haters and opposing fanboys see it – including the Nintendo and PlayStation fanboys working as journalists – what Microsoft owns, Nintendo and Sony cannot touch nor steal. If they really want the new Bethesda games, they will need an Xbox Series console or a capable Windows 10 computer to buy those games and/or sign up for Xbox Game Pass (if they want to save money on new games).

As for those who insist that all new Bethesda games should be released on multiple platforms, they should slow down and look at PS5’s camp. Why is Final Fantasy XVI a PS5-exclusive? Is Square Enix better off releasing their new games only on Sony’s platform while you oppose Bethesda releasing games as Xbox-exclusive? Also, why would a Microsoft-owned Bethesda be obligated or be forced to release games on competing game consoles from Sony and Nintendo after all the $7.5 billion spent on the acquisition?

As for Minecraft remaining a multi-platform franchise, the case of Microsoft’s acquisition of its developer (Mojang) simply cannot be applied to the Xbox-Bethesda deal. Bethesda is a major publisher with almost ten game studios and a wide bunch of games from established game franchises.

The existing market of Xbox console owners combined with Windows 10 users is large enough to sell Bethesda games to. To say that Xbox-exclusivity of new games such as Starfield and sequels or spin-offs to Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Doom, Dishonored and other franchises won’t benefit paying consumers is nonsense.  

From this point on, we can only wait and see what happens next. Will the EU approve the acquisition of ZeniMax/Bethesda? Will the rumored Xbox-Bethesda event actually push through weeks from now? Tell me what you think.

In closing these, here are some relevant videos for your enjoyment and learning…

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

For more Xbox-related stuff, check out the Xbox Series Philippines Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/XboxOnePH

Get ready for more excitement and discovery in The Outer Worlds DLC “Peril on Gorgon”, set for release on September 9, 2020

Get ready for more excitement and discovery in The Outer Worlds DLC “Peril on Gorgon”, set for release on September 9, 2020

carlocarrasco

Hey fellow gamers and geeks! Let me start by saying that even though I really enjoyed finishing the acclaimed sci-fi role-playing game The Outer Worlds three times on my Xbox One since the initial release, I still have yet to publish my official review of it here.

Apart from being busy with private sector duty, I spent time exploring what the initial release of the Obsidian-developed game had to offer in terms of its content, characters and the outcome of its storytelling which was decided by making decisions. As much as I kept on playing and exploring the game in each playthrough, I could not find ways to visit the other planets in the system and this made me decide to wait first for the DLC. The other reason why I have not published my review is this…I decided to wait first for the announced DLC to be released.

After several months of waiting, Microsoft-owned developer Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout New Vegas) and publisher Private Division finally confirmed on July 23, 2020 (same day as the Xbox Games Showcase) that the first downloadable content (DLC) expansion for The Outer Worlds is titled Peril on Gorgon which will be released for gamers who own the game on Xbox One (note: the main game and the DLC will also work on Xbox Series X), PS4, Switch and PC on September 9, 2020.

Some things await visitors on Gorgon.

To be more specific, Peril on Gorgon is actually the first of two narrative expansion DLCs from Obsidian/Private Division that can be purchased individually or bundled at a discount in The Outer Worlds Expansion Pass. Quite obviously, the copy of The Outer Worlds is required for the DLC to work. If I were you, pay close attention to details on The Outer Worlds listing on your online gaming network for updates about the DLC and expansion pass.

Back to the first DLC coming, you must be wondering what Peril on Gorgon is about. Watch the trailer below first.

Here’s an excerpt straight from Obsidian’s website:

A severed arm and a mysterious message lead the crew of the Unreliable to the Gorgon Asteroid, formerly the site of one of Halcyon’s most ambitious and disastrous scientific undertakings, now a lawless den of monsters and marauders. Wealthy recluse Minnie Ambrose tasks the crew with finding answers about Dr. Olivia Ambrose, her mother and the doomed project’s disgraced director, but they are soon ensnared in an intrigue that will change the colony forever.

As far as the announcement trailer and above description go, the DLC has an asteroid as the setting and the concept of it as the location of a facility is indeed intriguing. How exactly will it connect to the main story remains to be seen. I personally intend to play The Outer Worlds with a new (4th playthrough) once I download Peril on Gorgon.

Dead bodies on the floor of a nice looking place…did the robot ahead had anything to do with them?

What new features will Peril on Gorgon bring to those who already played The Outer Worlds? Below is an excerpt from Obsidian:

Intrigue and danger: Search an abandoned Spacer’s Choice facility and encounter a cast of new characters as you uncover the mystery behind the sudden cancellation of the Gorgon Project.

New locations: Explore the treacherous canyons of the Gorgon Asteroid and encounter enemies that have been warped by science.

More science weapons: Discover three outlandish new science weapons, including the P.E.T. (Pest Extermination Tool), an exciting new melee weapon that draws in enemies for close-range attacks.

Expanded character customization and lore: An increased level cap, additional perks and flaws, wholly new armor sets, and several variants for existing gear. Plus, dig into the story of the Gorgon Asteroid with new Portable Phonograph audio logs that reveal the salacious secrets of a scientific experiment gone wrong.

As seen above, Obsidian not only made efforts to add more variety (if not depth) to the game’s narrative plus new places to explore, they also came up with new science weapons that may improve the battle system. Additional perks and flaws might just improve the way players can customize their characters. As for the new variants for gear and new armor sets, here is hoping their usefulness in the game will really be felt.

You should look forward to more shooting in this DLC, especially since there will be new science weapons.
Are you interested in spending more time drinking at the bar?

What concerns me is the apparent lack of new monsters to fight. Not only were there no new monsters mentioned in Obsidian’s confirmed DLC details, there were monsters from the original game that appeared in the Peril on Gorgon trailer albeit with different colors.

But then again, the trailer is only a taste of things to come. Perhaps Obsidian is keeping more of the new stuff secret and will just let us gamers buy the DLC, play it and found out what it really has. I hope they will add at least two new species of monsters plus a larger, stronger superior monster per species.

How long will the DLC be in return for the price of downloading? According to a GameRant.com article (citing Polygon.com), players can expect an estimated length of 6 to 8 hours on the new adventure citing the claims of The Outer Worlds director Carrie Patel that it should take about as long as the main game’s Monarch hub. Potentially, the DLC could last more than eight hours if players would really push themselves hard to explore just about every spot in each location and exploring the different outcomes via the decision-making sequences. There is also the possibility that a high number of enemies and monsters may have been set up by the developers to challenge gamers.

Peril on Gorgon DLC is coming out on September 9, 2020.

While there is a build-up for Peril on Gorgon, I wish that Microsoft, Obsidian and Private Division would work together somehow to showcase The Outer Worlds being optimized for the next-generation Xbox Series X. In fact, when it comes to optimizing previous Xbox console generation games running on Xbox Series X, I don’t think Microsoft has done enough to emphasize that and there are roughly three months left before the launch of their new console!

Speaking of Xbox Series X, I urge you to watch this brand new video about the console by Dealer Gaming! Follow him on Twitter now!

For more video game news, features and updates, come back here soon.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Final Fantasy Bonanza for Xbox Fans!

Final Fantasy Bonanza for Xbox Fans!

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When rumors floated online in 2005 that Square Enix was being attracted by Microsoft to release games on what was back then their upcoming game console the Xbox 360, there were some gamers who just dismissed those rumors claiming that the Japanese company would NEVER release its role-playing games (RPGs) – specifically Final Fantasy games – on a console of an American company.

It was a different time back then for console gaming. Square Enix released Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XII plus some Dragon Quest and Front Mission games on Sony’s highly successful PlayStation 2 (PS2) console. The company even developed a Final Fantasy spin-off for the GameCube with Nintendo as publisher.

For the original Xbox console, Square Enix made no games for it at all.

Things turned during the time of the Xbox 360. Square Enix published several games for it and to the delight of Xbox fans who love Final Fantasy, the company released Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy XI and other games.

This year Square Enix released several of their classic Final Fantasy games released for Xbox One gamers via Xbox LIVE – Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X and X-2 and a few others.

The other announced game, Final Fantasy XII (The Zodiac Age), will be released on April 30.

Among these games, I’m currently playing Final Fantasy IX on my Xbox One and even though it has been almost twenty years since I last played it, I can say that I am enjoying it again. The game is technically a port of the PC version (which comes with cleaned-up graphics most evident on the character and creature models) and not a remastered version. More importantly, the gameplay is still fun (even though it has those random battles) and the story has a lot of heart.

With the classic Final Fantasy games available via Xbox LIVE, now is the time for Xbox fans (who love Final Fantasy or those who are very interested in Japanese role-playing games) to acquire them while they can. We should be very thankful to Square Enix (and surely to Microsoft’s Xbox team led by Phil Spencer) for those games.

Final Fantasy X and X-2 were remastered for Xbox One while the upcoming Final Fantasy XII has already been confirmed to run at a super smooth 60-frames-per-second on the premium Xbox One X console.

What is missing from the FF classics is Final Fantasy VIII which continues to puzzle gamers to this day.

If more Xbox gamers buy these classic FF games, then perhaps Square Enix will be convinced to release more of their past hits of their other franchises like Front Mission and Dragon Quest. Perhaps they will consider releasing the older, 2D FF games like Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI.

Apart from enjoying the varied stories, characters and gameplay styles, gamers will also enjoy the music of Nobuo Uematsu.

For your enjoyment, I embedded below Xbox channel videos of Final Fantasy.

 

Observation of the first twelve hours Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition

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Very recently I got to play the first twelve hours of Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition on my Xbox One console. As the subtitle showed, this is an enhanced re-release of the game which first came out on Xbox 360 in the year 2008.

This early I can confirm that Bandai Namco delivered its promise on Tales of Veperia: DE as the game’s visuals have been upscaled which means that the anime cut scenes and the in-game cut scenes (cel-shaded polygons and colorful 3D surroundings) look really crisp. More importantly this new version has two additional playable characters with Patty (the little pirate) and Flynn (rival of Yuri).

With Patty and Flynn added, so were the cut scenes and this also meant additional voice-overs, more in-game art and more sound effects altogether. Oh yes, their respective abilities and gameplay features added even more variety to the game’s big mix of features.

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Patty the pirate!

When it comes to the gameplay experience, I should say that this one has proven to be a lot of fun so far. For the first twelve hours the story moved at a moderate to quick pace while still allowing me to get to know Yuri and the main characters, the situations of the fantasy world and how the game plays.

When it comes to battles, they are pretty much low in stress. Unlike most JRPGs, there are no random battles to annoy me as I am given the freedom to decide if I want to fight a group of enemies (portrayed as individuals on the world map) or not. When I need to level up my characters, I engaged in many battles and the good news is that grinding (engaging in back-to-back battles to gain experience points to level up) in this game is not very stressful. Certainly not annoying.

This is because the battles are performed in real-time. Physical combat is done by button mashing which is quick and easy. Using magic uses the menu (which means pausing the game) to select a spell and which character to use. Switching between characters (up to four) is also quick and easy.

I already had my team engage in lots of battles to level-up, help them gain new skills or special abilities and of course raise money (called Gald). The good thing is that I never felt stressed out.

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Battles in the game are fast and relatively convenient to manage. (image from Bandai Namco)

When it comes to storytelling, the game has a wholesome tone comparable with past Tales Of games.

While I still have a long way to go in the game, I can confirm to you gamers and JRPG fans that Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is so far a fun game to play on your modern console. Once I finish the game, I will post a review. When? I don’t really know yet.

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