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Variety: How ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Call of Duty’ Are Pushing Xbox Ahead of PlayStation, Nintendo in a Next Gen Console-Less Holiday Season

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
lol no. This article isn't just about a subjective view of the author about which company has better content. He is specifically talking about sales. Maybe not console sales necessarily, but definitely software sales.

"In the fourth quarter of 2024, when consumers largely look to buy and gift AAA titles, there’s no new generation of consoles — usually the driving force behind game purchases — on the market. And Xbox is in the best position to get the Christmas cash with the Dec. 9 launch of “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,” the industry’s biggest new game of the year."

Since you agree with this post completely, do you think:
  • Indiana Jones will be the best selling game this Holiday season?
  • And, Indiana Jones is the biggest new game of the year?
Let us know. We'll be able to verify this in software sales charts later.

I was thinking about the most generous read of this article, but even looking just at software sales, put in the context of platforms by citing specifically Sony and Nintendo, you'd have to discount CoD sales on PC and PS5..

And once you do that I'm not entirely convinced that the argument has much merit in the context of the billions of dollars that Microsoft spent. With Xbox only sales, I'm not even sure if CoD and Indiana Jones will outsell Spider-Man 2, Astro Bot, Helldivers 2, Stellar Blade, and God of War Ragnarok in the next two months, particularly with CoD and Indiana Jones both being on GamePass...
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Indy is GOTY. Too bad it arrived too late and on the wrong console (for now) for the Game Awards to give it the trophy.
9cys3l.gif
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
lol no. This article isn't just about a subjective view of the author about which company has better content. He is specifically talking about sales. Maybe not console sales necessarily, but definitely software sales.3

Again, no. You're reducing and asking irrelevant bullet point questions here that aren't the point of the article.

The article puts the same, maybe more, mention of game pass than software sales.

Microsoft has pivoted away from fighting the console wars “after a multi-decade history of slugging it out,” says Griffin. As the analyst puts it: Xbox’s strategy of “moving up in the gaming value chain” as with marquee content like the new Indy game, alongside advancing Game Pass and cloud gaming, is better than trying to “out-console Nintendo or Sony.”

As with “Black Ops 6,” Microsoft is making “Great Circle” available to subscribers of Xbox Game Pass for no additional charge — an attempt to mimic Netflix’s model. The Indy game will remain an Xbox and PC exclusive until it comes to PlayStation in spring 2025. The game’s first round of downloadable content (DLC) is set to release at an unspecified date in the new year.


And? Most people don’t associate COD with MS, it has had minimal effect on Xbox services or hardware and Indiana Jones is a dead franchise.

Who cares what people on a forum associate it with, it is MS first party and they get the lion's share of the "christmas cash" for its sales, like the article says.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Again, no. You're reducing and asking irrelevant bullet point questions here that aren't the point of the article.

The article puts the same, maybe more, mention of game pass than software sales.
Bro, seriously. Don't twist it. The article literally mentioned buying and gifting AAA titles and how Xbox is in the best position to get the cash because of Indiana Jones. Here is the quote again:

"In the fourth quarter of 2024, when consumers largely look to buy and gift AAA titles, there’s no new generation of consoles — usually the driving force behind game purchases — on the market. And Xbox is in the best position to get the Christmas cash with the Dec. 9 launch of “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,” the industry’s biggest new game of the year."

It is literally talking about buying games. It even uses the word "buy" with AAA titles.

So, I'll go back to my questions again, since you completely agree with the article:

Do you think:
  • Indiana Jones will be the best selling game this Holiday season?
  • And, Indiana Jones is the biggest new game of the year?
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Do you think:
  • Indiana Jones will be the best selling game this Holiday season?
  • And, Indiana Jones is the biggest new game of the year?

  • Could be
  • Possibly

But I'm glad me pointing out led you to actually reading the article. Let's all do a better concentrated effort to read articles instead of just jumping off the headlines from now 😇
 
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Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
  • Could be
  • Possibly

Let's all do a better concentrated effort to read articles instead of just jumping off the headlines from now 😇
Take your own advice, man. You are the one who read it wrong by saying it's about Game Pass and not buying games :D

And there is no room for 'could be' or 'possibly' since you completely agree with this article, saying "no lies detected."

Let's see Indiana Jones sell more copies Helldivers 2 or get more players than Path of Exile 2 :D
 

Topher

Identifies as young
Hes Right GIF by MOODMAN



The annual game awards cutting off award inclusions two months before the year ends is such an asinine decision.

It really isn't considering the game awards is a Christmas advertising event for the game industry. But it isn't the only one handing out awards and plenty of them will come later. This idea that Indy isn't the automatic GOTY simply because of console bias and release date is nonsense. GOTY awards are often inline with review ratings. Indy reviewed great, but let's not pretend it was higher rated than anything else that came out this year. We already forgetting there are at least a couple 90+ metacritic games released this year?
 

DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
Take your own advice, man. You are the one who read it wrong by saying it's about Game Pass and not buying games :D

And there is no room for 'could be' or 'possibly' since you completely agree with this article, saying "no lies detected."

Let's see Indiana Jones sell more copies Helldivers 2 or get more players than Path of Exile 2 :D
It’s going to be a close call
VmkCpic.jpeg
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
It really isn't considering the game awards is a Christmas advertising event for the game industry. But it isn't the only one handing out awards and plenty of them will come later. This idea that Indy isn't the automatic GOTY simply because of console bias and release date is nonsense. GOTY awards are often inline with review ratings. Indy reviewed great, but let's not pretend it was higher rated than anything else that came out this year. We already forgetting there are at least a couple 90+ metacritic games released this year?

huh?


- I didn't say Indy is automatic GoTY winner, but it is at least a very good contender for nomination, and it very likely would have been if it wasn't for the arbitrary release cut off.
- Black Myths is aggregate 82~ but that is in the nominees at TGA, Persona 3 Reload is 87 but isn't. Clearly reviews don't hold as much sway as you'd think.
 
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ManaByte

Gold Member
It really isn't considering the game awards is a Christmas advertising event for the game industry. But it isn't the only one handing out awards and plenty of them will come later. This idea that Indy isn't the automatic GOTY simply because of console bias and release date is nonsense. GOTY awards are often inline with review ratings. Indy reviewed great, but let's not pretend it was higher rated than anything else that came out this year. We already forgetting there are at least a couple 90+ metacritic games released this year?
Games have to be released before November 17 to be eligible. That’s idiotic.

 
Variety isn't dead yet? I thought they were already dead.

More puff pieces; meanwhile Valve about to snipe Xbox off the edge of the console cliff next year while Phil & Sarah keep talking plans instead of actually doing them.

Yeah, but in this case most intelligent people will wish they had never read the article. I know I want my time back.

We should make a law where every shill website in Microsoft's pockets get their entire article posted in the OP so only one person has to give them a click.

Most of these websites don't deserve the traffic & ad revenue, quite frankly.

It really isn't considering the game awards is a Christmas advertising event for the game industry. But it isn't the only one handing out awards and plenty of them will come later. This idea that Indy isn't the automatic GOTY simply because of console bias and release date is nonsense. GOTY awards are often inline with review ratings. Indy reviewed great, but let's not pretend it was higher rated than anything else that came out this year. We already forgetting there are at least a couple 90+ metacritic games released this year?

Also consider, Indy could be another Starfield situation. Granted, I was surprised Pure Xbox gave it a 60, but that doesn't disprove the possibility early reviews are being padded and "real" reviews come post-launch dragging the aggregate down. Let alone, gamers at large being at odds with what early reviews were celebrating.

Not saying that is absolutely going to happen with Indy, but because of Microsoft's own actions there's a non-zero chance it could. Also, from the gameplay I've seen, it's...okay. I'd think with the power of these new consoles & current-gen PCs, we'd have better object interaction than snap animations, or the whip having a more convincing animation & physics, or not seeing NPCs walk like they've got bricks for shit in their pants, or graphical detail better than late 1P PS3 games for a modern 1P AAA first-person adventure published by a division owned by a $3 trillion mega-conglomerate.

For a game using first-person to sell immersion, a lot of the stiff animations and lack of cloth physics, or convincing physics in general, really don't do the game any favors.


Time for Variety to get the Stevivor treatment. Like if publications are going to have such blatant propaganda, at least balance it out. Where are the shill pro-PlayStation and pro-Nintendo articles?

Try and at least cover up your tracks and not appear so obviously biased.
 
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Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Xbox fanatics on GAF:
Nothing To See Here GIF by Giphy QA

It's clear Microsoft is pushing for favorable articles and the reasons why are pretty obvious.

Sony is dominating mindshare for the quarter. October pre-order sales for the 30th anniversary edition PS product line, November/Black Friday sales/December Game Awards and subsequent sales...

There is only one platform that will allow you to play every game nominated for Game of the Year this year. 2 of the 6 aren't even on PC and if you have Xbox you can't play 3 of them, switch can only play 1 of them... and it could have been worse if TGA didn't nominate a DLC and instead looked at Silent Hill or Helldivers...
 
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Topher

Identifies as young
huh?


- I didn't say Indy is automatic GoTY winner, but it is at least a very good contender for nomination, and it very likely would have been if it wasn't for the arbitrary release cut off.
- Black Myths is aggregate 82~ but that is in the nominees at TGA, Persona 3 Reload is 87 but isn't. Clearly reviews don't hold as much sway as you'd think.

Eh...then you are far too loose with your "he's right you know" gifs. Looked like a full endorsement of Mana's post to me, but if you say that isn't the case then that's fine.

I didn't suggest that nominees were strictly in order of metacritic scores, but there were two games that stood above all others in reception and if you think that has no impact then we will just have to disagree.

Games have to be released before November 17 to be eligible. That’s idiotic.


You missed the part where this is a big commercial for the holidays. And this is the same cutoff every single year. They ain't going to change the awards dates for one game.
 

ManaByte

Gold Member
You missed the part where this is a big commercial for the holidays. And this is the same cutoff every single year. They ain't going to change the awards dates for one game.

Then say it’s a commercial and not an awards show. The Oscars are held in February so every movie released in the previous calendar year are eligible.

The Game Awards GOTY awards need an asterisk. It’s only for games in the first 10 months of the year.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Eh...then you are far too loose with your "he's right you know" gifs. Looked like a full endorsement of Mana's post to me, but if you say that isn't the case then that's fine.

I didn't suggest that nominees were strictly in order of metacritic scores, but there were two games that stood above all others in reception and if you think that has no impact then we will just have to disagree.

There's actually quite a few 90~ games that got snubbed, UFO 50, Satisfactory, even Tekken 8 are all 90 or above that rightfully could have been in the main nomination list as well.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Time for Variety to get the Stevivor treatment. Like if publications are going to have such blatant propaganda, at least balance it out. Where are the shill pro-PlayStation and pro-Nintendo articles?

Try and at least cover up your tracks and not appear so obviously biased.

Like I said though, none of this really matters.

All of these stories will be blunted by actual results, which determine whether devs want to put their games exclusively on Xbox or not or whether they even want to make an Xbox version. AAA gaming is hyper-competitive and your game being held back in design by Series S isn't doing you any favors. I still don't know how GTA6 is going to run on Series S. I'm waiting for the day they say the game is delayed on Xbox. It'll be truly interesting to see how the game performs on that model.

As disappointing as it is, that's probably why we didn't see a PlayStation Showcase for the 30th anniversary, it's simply because Sony doesn't need to have one. That's the real problem with Microsoft's failure, but the answer isn't propping up Microsoft and lying on their behalf. That's media failure.
 

Buggy Loop

Member
Imagine, if those games were only on Xbox!

No pc shit, no gameass.

Ultimately they probably make more money than selling plastic boxes with low margins for the sake of epeen online wars from gamers hanging on a gaming forum with less than 10k members.

Microsoft didn't get to a $3T company by traditional "what it was like before" means. Consoles are a dying breed. ring up this post 10 years from now you'll see.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Games have to be released before November 17 to be eligible. That’s idiotic.

Not that idiotic as they also need time to get the votes in (both from critics' and the general public).

Maybe Microsoft should have timed the release window better if they wanted Indiana Jones to have a chance of being considered from GOTY. Perhaps they weren't confident enough in their own product or were ignorant to not know of the cut-off dates.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
Then say it’s a commercial and not an awards show. The Oscars are held in February so every movie released in the previous calendar year are eligible.

The Game Awards GOTY awards need an asterisk. It’s only for games in the first 10 months of the year.

None of this is new my man. GDC and BAFTA shows are next year. Indy a shoe-in to win those?

There's actually quite a few 90~ games that got snubbed, UFO 50, Satisfactory, even Tekken 8 are all 90 or above that rightfully could have been in the main nomination list as well.

I'm sure those game devs are wondering why too. Especially Tekken considering the other two are simply not well-known. So if more highly rated games are on the outside looking in then that reiterates that Indy being nominated (much less automatically winning) isn't a given.
 
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Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
It really isn't considering the game awards is a Christmas advertising event for the game industry. But it isn't the only one handing out awards and plenty of them will come later. This idea that Indy isn't the automatic GOTY simply because of console bias and release date is nonsense. GOTY awards are often inline with review ratings. Indy reviewed great, but let's not pretend it was higher rated than anything else that came out this year. We already forgetting there are at least a couple 90+ metacritic games released this year?
Yep. All the GOTY talk is delusional.

Indiana Jones is currently the 13th best game on Xbox Series X|S this year. And the 41st best game overall.

zmwILcD.jpeg


SGw7ci9.jpeg


Now they are all pretending as if it would have been GOTY if not for the cut-off date. lmao.
 

Buggy Loop

Member
The game hasn't released yet, only those who have paid for early access, also the game is on game pass.

Still not sure if I buy full price on Steam in 2 days or just go gamepass. PC gamepass app used to fuck up.

But imagine, this game is $129 canadian right now to play a couple of days early. No fucking way :messenger_tears_of_joy:

Hustling Dave Chappelle GIF


Yep. All the GOTY talk is delusional.

Indiana Jones is currently the 13th best game on Xbox Series X|S this year. And the 41st best game overall.

Now they are all pretending as if it would have been GOTY if not for the cut-off date. lmao.

Holy shit some of you have become obnoxious

I want Wukong to wipe the floor at GOTY awards to fucking head stomp all those score conceptions you guys have.
 
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Varteras

Member
The game hasn't released yet, only those who have paid for early access, also the game is on game pass.

Xbox winning back mindshare :messenger_clapping:

Just a little FYI, those 400,000+ people playing Path of Exile ALSO paid for early access. The game isn't officially released either.

And it will be free to play on its actual launch. Soooo....
 
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Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Do people have collective amnesia in January or something, that would prevent this from happening then? :p
Geoff hosts the show in December. Everyone knows that. Microsoft should have planned the game release better if they wanted to be a part of that conversation. This isn't the 1st time TGA is hosting at this time or with this cut-off date.

Besides, TGA isn't the only awards show. There will be plenty next year, covering the entire year. If Indiana Jones, the 41st best-reviewed game of 2024, is good enough to nominate/win GOTY, it will.
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Indy is GOTY. Too bad it arrived too late and on the wrong console (for now) for the Game Awards to give it the trophy.
No it isn't and I was a day late plus wrong thread.

 
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