How Forza Could Come to PlayStation: Microsoft Reportedly Considering Third-Party Platforms

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Famine

Famine

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Well... these are some interesting news alright. I can't imagine Forza Motorsport doing well if at all on Playstation - partially cuz Gran Turismo, partially cuz the game itself is... how should I put it... not in a great spot.
On the other hand, Forza Horizon could do alright. The Crew Motorfest wont like its presence, but at the same time, it was Ivory Tower's decision to imitate the OG so closely, so...
 
I am not very clear on the market logic here.
We are losing our match up versus Sony’s PS5 after a weak face up against PS4 so in consequence we are scrapping all major brand exclusivity toward’s all other parties.

Ok then I think the only reason for that is that XBox as a « console » gaming hardware is over and that next gen hardware, if there is, will be as a Windows/PC plateform ecosystem.
IE gaming will be PC only for XBox and will not vary.
Leaving only two other gaming platforms for consoles Sony and Nintendo.
I can only consider this as a shift in strategy.

As a game developer it makes a lot of sense. Either your console hardware is competing well and you have a strong catalog of exclusive or sought after titles ( for other).
Or else you want to only project yourself having already a platform (PC OS environment) and have the monopoly there versus your opponent. Console Hardware come in second.
Then you will have to only develop games and profit since there is no more needs to consider the XBox part. Less developers time and cost overall.

You are not matching against another console so there is de facto no need for « exclusivity » anymore.

Well it is all clever and quite logic.
Now the choice would have been to open your existing catalog to the market you did not sell prior to. Meaning you expand your audience and revenue with less investment to produce from ground up.

The only drawback is to speak with your loyal fans which will not be out of habit for Microsoft and quite the specialty when tou fail to impose yourself as a market leader ( Windows phone, Zune)
Now it is the turn of Xbox hardware
It will be renamed Xbox for PC 100%
 
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Well it is not only losing as console market standpoint
It is to get the grasp that PC is not here to die and that Xbox branding going towards it’s PC roots is the best move economically
You get the public and get the difference factor from console
And there you can go back to exclusive content made ffrom editor or game publisher ( PC only is now your exclusivity catalog)

No one will prevent them from further having a specific hardware like steam deck / rog ally or even a Xbox brand of PC station

Well the shift is the only sensible choice

The existing catalog of games is only a consequence and a way to profit again from the player base that did not have prior access

Great move from Microsoft this time I must admit
 
If true, Microsoft is going back to its roots of being a software company. The shift back was made easier when the XBOne and PS4 adopted essentially the same hardware (loosely based on Windows PC specs), with the XSeries/PS5 even more closely aligned with PC specs.
 
Honestly think Forza Motorsport would just die out in this scenario. GT7 isn't perfect but it's, by some distance, the better of two rival 'exclusives' on opposite sides - I kinda think the fact FM is an Xbox (console) exclusive is, by now, the only reason it's still in any way a big deal.
 
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I can't imagine it being anything but a series-ending disaster for Forza proper to compete with GT directly like that after how 8 turned out; but I'm sure Microsoft would be happy to print money releasing the next Horizon on PS5. Horizon games have been both significantly better received for some time now as well as occupying a different niche on the market.
 
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CeeJay
That would be awesome, I'd love to have a racing game like Forza to give PD some sort of competition even if it's as uneven as it appears to be.
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That is not likely to happen any time soon, with GT outselling FM roughly 10 to 1 and FH being a different niche all together (meaning that its very likely somebody would own both rather than one over the other). Somebody would have to make a vastly better game than Gran Turismo for PD to even acknowledge there is competition. You can argue that Forza may have nipped at its heels back in the FM4 era, I don't think it ever surpassed GT let alone by any kind of wide margins.
 
FM8 is essentially live service, and from the way T10 talked about it, they're in for the long haul with that one title being the basis. I think with more content and - lets be fair - a lot of fixes, it could be somewhat of a compelling title later down the line. Nowhere near GT levels of outright sales, but I think it'd do well enough. Horizon would do gangbusters though; not even the next title, I think a port of 5 would be a good one to bring over ASAP.
 
Forza Horizon would easily add like 10 million more players. It’s a great arcade racing game and rules the genre, even the crew Motorfest copied.

Forza Motorsport has lost its way quite a bit and I could see MS just killing it if it’s going against Gran Turismo on the same console and they aren’t using the graphics to sell Xboxes. The new Fable is being made on the Forzatech engine though, so T10 would hopefully stay around.
 
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I don't think I would mind! Imagine the amount of players it would add to the series... just a hunch, though.
 
Honestly, I can't even say that I'm that surprised. MS owns two of the largest game studios in the industry now so they don't even need to be investing in the loss leader that is hardware anymore to keep their foothold. There isn't really a battle to "own the living room" anymore either, because smart TVs are ubiquitous now and do almost all of the media center functions that were being crammed into consoles in the last couple generations.
 
Yeah this really smells to me like Xbox is prepping to leave making consoles completely, and just switch to becoming a full-time publisher in the future with gamepass on PC, Switch, Playstation, etc.

It was painfully clear when Xbox first dropped gamepass to me that they really don’t feel like physical media is necessary anymore. They put all their major exclusives in one place for a single Netflix-like fee, along with many other third-party titles they can license to be on there. So Microsoft clearly sees the future of gaming is making the most competitive streaming service, and abandoning the hardware side of things. If that’s what they’re doing they’re going to get a massive head start and probably dominate the next completely digital and streaming-based era.
 
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As a gaming PC and PS5 owner, I think the less time developers spending on Xbox calibrations the better.

I can see why Xbox fans hate the idea though, a decent spec gaming PC is not affordable for most people.
 
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MSZ
As a gaming PC and PS5 owner, I think the less time developers spending on Xbox calibrations the better.

I can see why Xbox fans hate the idea though, a decent spec gaming PC is not affordable for most people.
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Some would love the idea, some would hate it. I wouldn't have any problem with it but then I speak before thinking most of the time.
 
I wouldn't expect Forza Motorsport to arrive on PlayStation for another year or two. Not least because T10 need time to get the title upto the standards people expect.

If I was MS I'd release Forza Horizon 4 as soon as possible, followed by Forza Horizon 5 a year later.

As a predominantly Gran Turismo player I'd only play Forza Motorsport casually. Happy to purchase it on PS5 but not invested enough to buy a Series X. Forza Horizon is a completely different genre so would compliment Gran Turismo.

In terms of competition, it would be even more intense if these series all released on PlayStation, the barrier of entry would be much lower.
 
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m355y
Honestly think Forza Motorsport would just die out in this scenario. GT7 isn't perfect but it's, by some distance, the better of two rival 'exclusives' on opposite sides - I kinda think the fact FM is an Xbox (console) exclusive is, by now, the only reason it's still in any way a big deal.
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kjeldsen
Putting Forza on Playstation would be a small disaster, it has a place on a platform without any real competition, but next to GT7 it simply doesn't stand a chance and it would make Microsoft look even weaker.

Putting the other games on the PS5 is a much stronger play, and seeing that Microsoft / XBOX logo animation on the PS5 would help Microsoft build a new audience.
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That is the neat part in this scenario it is GT and Pdi that cannot compete with Forza on PC.
This is why it is a clever move.
Leaving Xbox and getting back to focus on being « PC » forces Sony’s hands into either having their exclusive still proper or having to develop them for PC.

From a game developer standpoint it has no more interest to be a PS5 exclusive studio only because no more war against another console platform only the PC user base that you will leave out of reach.

So this marketing value is now useless for Sony to drive customers

It push Sony to keep making exclusive but at the cost of having to get a strong market to ship those games if you want to think the other way

The fact that Sony never fought with Nintendo in a clear manner in the past ( 3-way market exclusive wise) may change now I reckon…
 
The most annoying thing about these plans if MS does confirm it is going third party and potentially having Xbox exit hardware sales, is the unbearably arrogant trumpeting from Sony and Nintendo "fans" celebrating that MS has lost the console wars.
 
I would be for it for forza horizon 6 and then i would not be in hurry to upgrade my pc, for forza motorsport not sure dont find it very appealing at the moment, gt7 has me covered for track racing
 

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