Exclusivity is a thorny subject in the world of video games. On the one hand, gaming platforms and console creators benefit from having games that they offer exclusively or provide early access to before the game is released for broader consumption. This creates an appeal to the system and encourages gamers to buy systems that offer the best exclusives.

For gamers, of course, this is a net negative, aside from the small subset who prefer to “win” the console wars rather than have access to as many great games as possible. Speaking at a Bloomberg Tech event, Xbox’s new CEO, Asha Sharma, discussed exclusive games and offered both encouragement and concerns for gamers opposed to the practice.

“I think it’s a tough topic,” Sharma said when asked about exclusivity and plans for the Game Pass subscription service. “Look, we’re the number two publisher in the world. And in order to be a great publisher, you must have your games reach large audiences to play.”

While this would seemingly point to fewer games receiving exclusive distribution from the company, with developers benefiting from their games being available to as many gamers as possible, she also noted the conflicting goals that the platform side of the company carries.

“At the same time,” she followed up, “we’re increasingly becoming a platform. To be a platform, you must offer exclusive content and services. And so we’re looking at that very closely. I think that we have to be very thoughtful about each title on how we want to think about it and learn from similar cases in the industry, and that’s what we’re doing.”

With the talk coming on the back of Sharma’s first 100 days as CEO, there’s still much to be seen about what her vision is and how it will play out on video game exclusives.

You can catch the full Bloomberg Tech event, which includes a discussion of a range of topics relevant to gamers, including AI use and its impact on console costs by driving up chip prices, on Bloomberg Live YouTube.

ARC Raiders has seen a decline that has stripped hundreds of thousands of players away from the game, and it's not slowing down.

The post ARC Raiders Player Count Has Been Bleeding For Five Months and Isn’t Slowing appeared first on Insider Gaming.

In recent years, Xbox embraced the idea of non-exclusive games and services, prioritizing instead appealing to as wide an audience as possible, no matter the device. While this genuinely benefited fans, it cost the company dearly as people saw fewer reasons to own its consoles.

But that could be about to change, because according to new Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma, exclusivity is a must if a platform is to stand any chance of succeeding, especially in a market as competitive as consoles.

“To be a leading publisher, our games must reach large audiences,” Sharma said during a Bloomberg Tech panel today (via GamesIndustry.biz), emphasizing past efforts to broaden Xbox’s horizon and appeal to as many people as it can. However, she noted that Xbox is “increasingly becoming a platform” with dedicated services and consumer expectations.

“To succeed as a platform, we must offer exclusive content and services,” she continued, “and we’re looking at that very closely.”

“We have to be very thoughtful about each title on how we want to think about it and learn from similar cases in the industry, and that’s what we’re doing,” Sharma said.

Xbox has long suffered in the market due to Sony simply outclassing it when it comes to exclusive AAA titles. While Xbox has had its own set of games, none managed to succeed at a satisfactory level, compared to how Sony’s been utterly dominating the sphere with first-party blockbusters.

On top of that, Xbox also launched all of its games on PC at the same time as consoles, further diluting its devices’ viability. Things really need to change if Xbox is to remain a platform, as Sharma says, since it risks downgrading itself to merely a service provider at best.

One thing I’ll also add is that Sharma said she “absolutely” supports AI, that neural rendering is a great idea that’ll give us better graphics, and that she was surprised by how different studios she visited incorporated AI into their pipelines. At first, she had a strong stance against “AI slop,” and perhaps still does, since she did claim AI won’t replace AAA titles.

However, any kind of open support for AI immediately makes me worry. I just cannot for the life of me trust multi-trillion-dollar corporations to do the right thing with a technology as potentially destructive and reductive as AI is. So, make of this what you will.

0

The post Exclusive games and services are necessary for success, Xbox chief says appeared first on Destructoid.

PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox; Yacht Club Games
This brilliant adventure creates a whole world from one character with a unique ability

You could mistake Mina the Hollower for something found on the liquid-crystal display of a Game Boy Color around the turn of the millennium. Like the pocketable Zelda and Pokémon games of the time, it presents a kind of snow-globe reality that you peer into from above, relying on imagination to decipher each two-colour clump of pixels into a tree, or a skeleton, or a cloaked mouse wielding a hammer twice her size.

This is Mina, our hero: she jumps, she moves at a clip, and she can delve downward into the soil or floorboards, tunnelling underfoot for a moment or two before popping back up, like an inflatable forcibly submerged in a swimming pool. This is her signature move, perfectly elastic in sensation – the way the released button springs back against your thumb! – and in application. The burrow-jump is an excavation tool, unearthing any treasure you happen to dig through, and a navigational one, used to hop over gaps, reach high-up spots and nose into tiny hidden spaces, where more treasure almost invariably awaits.

The post Destiny 2 is giving dedicated Guardians one last exclusive reward before the end appeared first on GamesHub.

The post Microsoft Stock Rises Over 2% Despite Opposition to Xbox Game Pass Price Hike appeared first on GamesHub.

Mortal Kombat 1 is officially set to launch a special online stress test ahead of its true beta in August 2023. Here's how to join in.

The post Mortal Kombat 1 online stress test beta set for June 2023 appeared first on GamesHub.

The post Before you pre-order Modern Warfare 4, here’s what each edition includes appeared first on GamesHub.

The post Modern Warfare 4 won’t have Zombies, and it’s probably for the best appeared first on GamesHub.

The post Infinity Ward reveal DMZ is returning for MW4 appeared first on GamesHub.

The post Kiln review – Worth glazing or did it need more firing time? appeared first on GamesHub.

The post New The Witcher 3 DLC revealed after launcher leaks appeared first on GamesHub.

To celebrate the launch of GamesHub, we're giving away 5 copies of Far Cry 6 on Xbox, thanks to our friends at Ubisoft ANZ.

The post Giveaway: Win a copy of Far Cry 6 appeared first on GamesHub.

The post Destiny 3 not in active development despite Destiny 2 ending its live service appeared first on GamesHub.

The post Infinity Ward confirms its working on the next CoD game and its a Modern Warfare title appeared first on GamesHub.

The post Take-Two earnings confirm GTA 6 is still releasing November 19 as marketing is coming this summer appeared first on GamesHub.

The post Turns out the Best Buy GTA 6 pre-order emails may have just been a mistake appeared first on GamesHub.

The post GTA 6 editions and console bundles reportedly leaked by insider appeared first on GamesHub.