@themightyant that’s fair but also, Microsoft is at least partially responsible for the current state of affairs. You can argue that Xbox is not exactly the same as Microsoft, but given the amount of scrutiny they went through during the ABK deal, I doubt MS was not fully aware of the expenses and risks involved with the strategy. They still went through with it, so “irresponsible” is the first word I can think of. On the other hand, sure, they wanted the IPs. But almost any IP is worth next to nothing if you get rid of its creators. Moreover, some of the studios are going independent again retaining their IPs… it’s just stupid. It feels like they were only interested in COD and maybe TESO.
@themightyant I’m not sure I understand this argument. Of course the acquisition of ABK and Zenimax increased their employee count, that’s what happens when buying out a company. And yes, they have probably “bulked up” while developing the latest titles, that’s relatively common in the business. But that’s not an excuse; it’s not like they’ve only laid off the recently arrived employees or cut ties with companies they outsourced work at. They are laying off people, thousands of people, that were there before XBOX bought their companies. Hell, some of them probably were there before XBOX even existed. Why would you buy a company and include the employees in the deal if you’re firing them and closing their offices a couple of years down the road? It’s extremely irresponsible and if you ask me, it should be illegal. They’re not even losing money; they just want greater margins.
I decided some time ago I would buy it. I hoped for the base unit to be 899€, but I suspected 999€ would be more likely. I was not far off, unfortunately.
I’ve had the Elite series 2 for a few years—it’s a beast, I love it. I also haven’t had any issues with it for now. Hopefully it stays like that and I’m able to keep using it for a few more years, but if it broke I would either buy another series 2 or the new series 3. Microsoft sure knows how to make gaming hardware.
@themightyant that’s exactly what I had been doing until I upgraded my PC: fast, smallish NVMe for the OS and bigger, slower SSD for games and other things. Sometimes I put a few games in the NVMe instead and honestly, I didn’t notice any differences. A low grade SSD is more than enough for most games.
Comments 6
Re: Report: Activision Takes Over Halo, Sea of Thieves, Age of Empires as More Huge Layoffs Hit Xbox Studios
@themightyant that’s fair but also, Microsoft is at least partially responsible for the current state of affairs. You can argue that Xbox is not exactly the same as Microsoft, but given the amount of scrutiny they went through during the ABK deal, I doubt MS was not fully aware of the expenses and risks involved with the strategy. They still went through with it, so “irresponsible” is the first word I can think of.
On the other hand, sure, they wanted the IPs. But almost any IP is worth next to nothing if you get rid of its creators. Moreover, some of the studios are going independent again retaining their IPs… it’s just stupid. It feels like they were only interested in COD and maybe TESO.
Re: Report: Activision Takes Over Halo, Sea of Thieves, Age of Empires as More Huge Layoffs Hit Xbox Studios
@themightyant I’m not sure I understand this argument. Of course the acquisition of ABK and Zenimax increased their employee count, that’s what happens when buying out a company. And yes, they have probably “bulked up” while developing the latest titles, that’s relatively common in the business. But that’s not an excuse; it’s not like they’ve only laid off the recently arrived employees or cut ties with companies they outsourced work at. They are laying off people, thousands of people, that were there before XBOX bought their companies. Hell, some of them probably were there before XBOX even existed.
Why would you buy a company and include the employees in the deal if you’re firing them and closing their offices a couple of years down the road? It’s extremely irresponsible and if you ask me, it should be illegal. They’re not even losing money; they just want greater margins.
Re: Steam Frame Costs More Than $1000: Price, Release Date, Reservation Queue Confirmed for US, UK and EU
I decided some time ago I would buy it. I hoped for the base unit to be 899€, but I suspected 999€ would be more likely. I was not far off, unfortunately.
Re: Xbox Elite Series 3 controller leaks again, this time on Reddit
I’ve had the Elite series 2 for a few years—it’s a beast, I love it. I also haven’t had any issues with it for now. Hopefully it stays like that and I’m able to keep using it for a few more years, but if it broke I would either buy another series 2 or the new series 3. Microsoft sure knows how to make gaming hardware.
Re: Lexar: Gamers Are Willing to Sacrifice RAM, but 512GB SSDs Are a Step Too Far
@themightyant that’s exactly what I had been doing until I upgraded my PC: fast, smallish NVMe for the OS and bigger, slower SSD for games and other things. Sometimes I put a few games in the NVMe instead and honestly, I didn’t notice any differences. A low grade SSD is more than enough for most games.
Re: Welcome to the New Digital Foundry Website!
Nice, yet another way to get my daily DF fix!