With cloud-based gaming becoming the new trend in the video game industry, many fans have been left wondering what that will mean for the video games themselves. Learning from the mistakes of Google Stadia, Microsoft and Sony will take a different approach.
Not willing to make the same mistake that Google has, Microsoft and Sony will seek to build momentum for their respective platforms over time by implementing live-service games at launch. With Xbox’s Project Scarlett and Sony’s PlayStation 5 eyeing a holiday release in 2020, both platforms will also find new ways to continuously update their games in the form of in-game events, visual upgrades, and/or in-game updates.
At launch, both consoles plan have games such as Apex Legends, Final Fantasy 14, Fortnite, Rocket League, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, and Warfare readily available for fans to immediately start playing. Although the games won’t be brand new for users, the idea of giving fans games that they are familiar with when testing out a new console could be a major selling point for some customers. It’s also worth mentioning that with much of each company’s resources going toward promoting the new console, the move could prove to be beneficial by not having to spend money on also promoting games to boost preorders and day-one sales.
The idea behind the approach taken by Sony and Microsoft could very well be due to a lot of the feedback Google has received over their approach to cloud-based gaming. While the idea behind Stadia seemed like a good idea at launch, the idea was somewhat flawed as the new service debuted with nearly two dozen premium-priced games that, for the most part, could also be found on other platforms.
The news comes a day after Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty said that the company plans to deliver exclusive games for Project Scarlett "every three to four months," though the company still has a lot of work to do to get there. The change seems to signal that Xbox has learned from mistakes made during the launch of Xbox One and plans to address many of the issues fans had with the previous console.
While many fans may scoff at the idea of not having brand-new games for users to play at launch, it could very well be part of the plan of each company. Getting users familiar with the new console and making the necessary changes and updates to improve gameplay could be what sets the two companies apart from other platforms such as Stadia.
Source: VentureBeat