WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:11.560 Hey, everybody, welcome to Game Mess Mornings with Me Jeff 2 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:15.279 grub your host from giant bomb dot com. Thank you 3 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:17.320 for tuning in. In this episode, we're gonna be talking 4 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:20.559 about Spiro and then a bunch of shitty things. It's 5 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:22.399 gonna be a good one though, because we have Janet 6 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:24.280 Choa on the show. Jan how are you doing? 7 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:26.480 Am I? The shitty thing is how what's happening here? 8 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:29.039 Jan? We're gonna be talking about Spiro and jan and 9 00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:30.440 then a bunch of terrible things. 10 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:33.960 Oh thank god, my fragile ego can't handle that right now. 11 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:37.679 Post Summer Game Fest, I'm okay. Grubbed a little ty tie, 12 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:38.759 a lot of tie tie. 13 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:40.560 Yeah, same, same. 14 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:40.840 Uh. 15 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:43.439 I'll tell you what. I was glad to be, uh, 16 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:45.200 you know, done with all that. But it was a 17 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:47.439 lot of fun getting through that. Uh those Summer game 18 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:49.399 game Fest gig at night shows with you, Jam and 19 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:51.399 you always do a great job. That was a lot 20 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:53.960 of fun stuff. It was great to see the results 21 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:55.880 of that. People can go check it out now, still 22 00:00:56.119 --> 00:00:58.600 showing up on podcast feeds, all that stuff, unless it's 23 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:02.799 not because of a cas being whatever. But we'll figure 24 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:06.519 it all out, everybody, But yeah, I'm home. I'm beginning 25 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:09.200 to recover my voice starting to come back, things like that. 26 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:13.760 How are you feeling, Gosh, greub On Tuesday. Off Monday, 27 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:17.200 I felt okay. For some reason, I had a lot 28 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:20.200 of flight delays. I left SGF campus and the gang 29 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:23.439 early to get to the airport early. My flight was 30 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:28.400 at nine pm. My flight didn't leave until twelve thirty am. 31 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:33.640 So oh, that's man, that's rough. Okay, that's cool. Thankfully 32 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:35.599 you to have like a very long You could have 33 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:37.799 got home about the same time, though, probably huh had 34 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:38.840 you just driven? Yep? 35 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:41.599 If I drove, I remember Greg Miller had a bit 36 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:43.280 a couple of years of like I'm just going to 37 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:46.359 take the Greayhound bus. Yeah, and then that was one 38 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:49.000 of those moments where I thought maybe Greg was onto 39 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:55.799 something here. Yeah, but Monday felt mostly okay. Tuesday, after 40 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:58.920 we had talked over the direct I was fading in 41 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:00.719 and out of sleep all day. It was it was 42 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:03.719 something to be beholden to. 43 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:07.400 Yeah, yeah, I definitely know how you feel. 44 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:07.480 Like. 45 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:08.800 I was kind of watching you guys. I thought you 46 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:11.520 guys did a good job, but I was falling asleep 47 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:13.520 as I was watching it. At getting on the plane 48 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:15.560 and it was kind of feeling bad for you guys, 49 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:17.879 but I guys did a great job. I don't know. Listen, 50 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.039 this is definitely the week after SGF where it's like, 51 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:22.000 let's just get through it. Let's get to the weekend 52 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:24.280 and get to next week and we could start all 53 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:27.360 over there fresh. So we'll do our best today everybody. 54 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:29.840 In fact, let's get on with it. We're giant bomb 55 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:32.360 dot com. Go to GiantBomb dot com slash join to 56 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:34.560 become a Premium member. If you do so, you're gonna 57 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:37.360 be supporting independent games media. You're gonna ensure we can 58 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:40.039 keep doing cool stuff with our friends. We're gonna keep 59 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:43.319 doing cool stuff that's exclusive for Premium members that you'll 60 00:02:43.319 --> 00:02:46.680 get exclusive access to. That includes a bunch of cool 61 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:49.120 shows that we're always working on. We got new stuff 62 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:51.800 in the works all the time. It also gets you 63 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:54.319 add free versions of our shows and it makes you 64 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:57.840 feel good about yourself and others. We really appreciate everyone 65 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:01.039 who is a Premium member, like huge difference. Every time 66 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:03.319 we see a new person join, it's like, Okay, we 67 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:06.199 can keep doing this thing for yet another day, and 68 00:03:06.199 --> 00:03:08.360 we're going to keep at it over here. Thank you 69 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:11.159 again for all that support. As far as this show 70 00:03:11.159 --> 00:03:14.680 goes most weekdays, I Jeff Grub will help piece your 71 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:18.159 gaming life back together. That includes breaking news and maybe 72 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:21.960 even some of our own original reporting. For all these topics, 73 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:24.039 I'll get the input of a bona fide expert who 74 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.560 will make me look smart. If you are watching live 75 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:28.599 on Twitch welcome. You can always listen to the show 76 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:32.159 later on podcast feeds by searching for Games Mornings, or 77 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:35.680 find the RSS feed on giant bomb dot com. You 78 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:38.120 can also catch the show later with chapters and timestamps 79 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:42.240 on YouTube. Hello YouTube. All right, we have a lot 80 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:44.919 to get into, so let's start the morning mess with 81 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:49.319 Xbox needs great games, so it may close another studio. 82 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:52.120 This is from Andy Robinson at VGC, and we'll get 83 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:55.400 into it. Jan, I'll say this start this off. You know, 84 00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:58.719 I feel like I'm surrounded by pretty level headed people 85 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:01.319 and so like I'm not too surprised by this story. 86 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:03.000 I feel like Jane, whenever I talk to you about 87 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:05.639 Xbox over these last one hundred days of Asha Sharma's 88 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:09.560 reign or whatever, and before that, the jangling keys that 89 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:11.840 we've been seeing, I know you've never been too impressed 90 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:13.879 by any of that. You've always kind of been kind 91 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:16.319 of been like, huh, yeah, well I'll believe any of 92 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:18.600 this when I see it. And even then, you've just like, 93 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:21.439 it's Xbox, it's Microsoft. We kind of know their whole deal. 94 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:24.160 So let's get into it here and kind of talk 95 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:26.160 about it. But yeah, like I said, not too surprised 96 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:29.399 that we've immediately ended up back here. Xbox could be 97 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:31.519 about to shut down one of its game studios as 98 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:35.120 part of it, as part of expected significant cuts reportedly 99 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:39.680 taking place next month, it's claimed. On Wednesday, Xbox CEO 100 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.399 Asha Sharma published a note sent to staff in which 101 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:45.360 she shared realities that we need to navigate, such as 102 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:49.240 that it's annual revenue has the client by nearly half 103 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:51.800 a billion dollars in five years, so the money it's 104 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.199 making annually is down half a billion like each year. Basically, 105 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.800 hardware costs are up for x since last year, and 106 00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:02.240 its studio system is qu overextended. Did not explain what 107 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:04.879 that meant. According to a Bloomberg report, the note to 108 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:08.879 staff was sent in advanced of planned significant layoffs across 109 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:12.519 the Xbox business and a reduction to its marketing and 110 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:15.680 other budgets, and a new report published by the Verge, 111 00:05:16.040 --> 00:05:18.319 it's claimed that those cuts could also see the closure 112 00:05:18.360 --> 00:05:22.120 of an unnamed Xbox studio. Sources suggest the cuts could 113 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.839 even involve a studio closure or change to the Xbox lineup. 114 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:27.800 It's said if the layoffs go a go ahead, it 115 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:30.319 will mark the fourth consecutive year of cuts at Xbox 116 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:33.399 as whether it's a challenging gaming market that has also 117 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:38.959 seen tens of thousands of job losses across the wider industry. Now, Jane, 118 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:43.199 I mean, like these layoffs, you know, they are nothing new. 119 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:47.879 This is part of a trend that's ongoing. Like, certainly 120 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:49.759 AI is a part of that, but I think we 121 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:52.879 should always remind people it's also just mismanagement and a 122 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:55.199 lot of times these companies are using AI to tell 123 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:57.680 investors things are good and we don't need these people 124 00:05:57.680 --> 00:05:59.959 any more because we have AI, and that has from 125 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.879 the beginning been a lie. They're laying these people off 126 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:07.120 because they have mismanaged everything so poorly that they have 127 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:09.120 ended up in this situation because they do not know 128 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:11.399 how to sort of navigate these things, and then they 129 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:12.560 get to a point where it's like they have no 130 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:16.160 other option other than to take them billions of dollars 131 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:19.360 that they make in in profits every year and pay 132 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:22.040 the people to make great games and actually get out 133 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:24.000 of this mess, which actually, jan when I say it 134 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:27.000 out loud, sounds like a pretty good option. So I 135 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:30.279 just don't. This is what we keep saying when we're like, hey, okay, 136 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:32.639 they're trying all these other things, what's going to change? 137 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:34.720 It feels like nothing's gonna change. 138 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:37.439 Yeah. I know that there is the sentiment that, like, 139 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:40.519 oh hey, when a new CEO takes over, that's normally 140 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:44.399 sign of layoffs incoming. I think these layoffs had been 141 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:48.720 incoming from Xbox from the way, way way before the 142 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:51.680 Darma Yes was even in conversation for taking over from 143 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:58.879 Phil Spencer. It's I find it very ironic that Xbox 144 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:01.000 grub talks so much about about the health of the 145 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:04.199 company and wanting to bolster the future of the company, 146 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.800 and based off of all of the news stories, the rumblings, 147 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:11.079 the reportings, the interviews that we've seen over the last 148 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:15.160 couple of months, that health of Xbox isn't actually the 149 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:20.360 health of the company in terms of the games being developed, 150 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:22.199 the games being published, the games are being put out, 151 00:07:22.439 --> 00:07:26.560 the people consuming buying playing those games. It's just the stockholders. 152 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:28.920 They are just doing this to appease the people up top. 153 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:31.120 They don't give a shit about the people that work 154 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:35.360 for them, and it's very unfortunate to see. I know 155 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.560 that there was some renewed fervor or a little bit 156 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:43.600 of excitement behind Xbox, but it always to me, like 157 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:46.240 you mentioned, felt like smoke and mirrors. This is just 158 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:48.879 the keys jangling to try and distract people from what 159 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:55.680 is actually incoming and mismanagement and continued mismanagement of this company. 160 00:07:56.199 --> 00:07:59.920 You spend a billion dollars, You have this Xbox of 161 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:03.560 over summer game Fest where you have five stories of 162 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:07.120 a building. You give free Xboxes to all these people 163 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:11.920 that get invited or buy tickets to go, and you 164 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:14.879 are all smiles and saying like, oh, we're great, We're 165 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:18.120 doing so good, and then this comes out. It's just bullshit. 166 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:22.319 I don't, I can't. I haven't trusted Xbox an extended 167 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:24.519 period of time, and I'm going to continue to not 168 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:28.399 trust them. On top of all the other stuff like 169 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:32.279 the BDS boycott. I just don't want to engage with 170 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:33.120 this company. 171 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:38.320 Yeah, they last year they Xbox closed Perfect Dark developer 172 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:42.200 the Initiative. In twenty twenty four, it closed Arcane Austin 173 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:45.360 Alpha Dog, which is working on that Mighty Doom game, 174 00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:48.679 and then it closed High Fight Rush developer Tango game Works, 175 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:51.759 although that ended up going to Crafton after someone had 176 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:55.279 to come up through and save it. So the remaining 177 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:58.320 studios include The Coalition which is going to release Scars 178 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:02.399 of Work, E Day Games, which recently did South of Midnight, 179 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.720 Double Fine, Halo Studios in Exile, which is working on 180 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:11.120 Clockwork Revolution, one of the recently announced exclusive Xbox or 181 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:14.799 at least console exclusive games. Then it has Mo Yang 182 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:18.480 which is Minecraft Ninja Theory which just announced the new 183 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:23.799 game as well, Obsidian Playground, Rare Turn ten, Undead Labs 184 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.440 which is stayed at the KA, and World's Edge which 185 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:30.399 is Age of Empires. I'm not gonna sit here in 186 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:33.879 like like Fantasy Book, which one of these studios is 187 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:36.240 going to get closed. That is far too grim for me, Jane. 188 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.639 I will say though, if I had this lineup of 189 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:42.759 studios and just couldn't figure out how to how to 190 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:44.679 get great games out of them, to make the Xbox 191 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.960 platform an exciting place, I just would have nowhere to 192 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:50.799 put the blame except on the people above all of 193 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:52.840 these studios. That is, that's a that's a you know, 194 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:54.440 there's a bunch of killers in there. 195 00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:57.320 Yeah, like it's a it's a story we have on 196 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:00.879 on the docket later talking about Q one two six revenue, 197 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:04.720 but it's real quick. It's talking about how single player 198 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:08.200 storage even games are still successful and still a contender 199 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:11.840 for game sales. Right, Xbox, you have so many of 200 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:15.240 those studios that can deliver on that exact type of game. 201 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:20.600 I've seen the sentiment around the internet and our chat here. 202 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:25.039 I really worry about a studio like Double Fine and 203 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:29.879 Asha Sharma, other Xbox leadership not recognizing the you know, 204 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:33.200 importance of a studio like Double Fine, let alone the 205 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:35.679 importance of a studio like anyone else that they own. 206 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.399 Yeah, we did mention or I did not mention r 207 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:41.799 Kane Leone, which is another studio they have. We'll talk 208 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:43.799 about them actually in a little bit. Matt Booty has 209 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:46.360 something to say about Blade and a couple other games, 210 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:48.759 and that's you know, We're like a lot of the 211 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:50.240 rest of the news is going to be sprinkled in 212 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:55.320 with Xbox stuff, good stories, bad stories, whatever, stories, and like, 213 00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:57.799 you know, going forward, I'm gonna keep talking about Xbox 214 00:10:57.960 --> 00:10:59.519 and there are a lot of people who work there 215 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:01.960 who are now responsible for the state of this of this, 216 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:03.679 and we're going to kind of keep covering stuff from 217 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:06.200 that angle as best we can and then also trying 218 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:09.519 to dissect and figure out what these executives are are 219 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:14.840 doing here. Yeah, I think that, you know, this does 220 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:18.879 come after yesterday Ashra Sharma had that internal memo being like, hey, 221 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:22.279 it's my first hundred days. Things can't continue. We're gonna 222 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:27.480 have to make some changes. I just don't see the 223 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:31.120 pathway to how these things change enough based on what 224 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:35.159 they're going for, like with hey, exclusives back, coming back 225 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:38.919 to the Xbox console, that would really change the fate 226 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:42.200 here unless the games are going to be so much 227 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:45.960 better that they cannot be ignored. And it does sound like, 228 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:49.320 you know, coming out of this, that they're like, well, yeah, 229 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:51.120 but we don't want to actually be spending too much 230 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:53.240 more money making these games. We want to come back, 231 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:57.000 We want to close some studios, maybe reorganize some studios 232 00:11:57.080 --> 00:11:59.720 so they are not as big of a drag on 233 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:03.639 our on our bottom line. You know, it takes money 234 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:06.120 to do this stuff right now unless you're going to 235 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:08.960 get very creative, and I just don't. It does not 236 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:12.320 seem like that is in the DNA of Microsoft and Xbox. 237 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:17.879 Yeah, the ending of that Xbox showcase this past Sunday, 238 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:20.799 I think is indicative of how out of touch and 239 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:24.279 out of tune the company may be overall. I know 240 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:26.559 that there is still a sizeable call of duty audience 241 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:30.279 that is excited about every new annual release. But to 242 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:33.159 end that showcase, which I think, you know, a lot 243 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:36.519 of us were like fairly positive on, you know, there 244 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:38.879 was something for everyone there. To end it with a 245 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:43.240 dud that is a call of duty DMZ mode from 246 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:47.360 like a wonky angle just shows how out of touch 247 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:49.919 they are. And you alluded to it during that talk 248 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.279 over grub, But it felt like this is something that 249 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:56.480 copilot told them to do, that copilot thought would succeed, 250 00:12:57.919 --> 00:12:58.799 right It's. 251 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:01.679 I mean, yeah, And I'm like, I don't think that's 252 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:04.320 over state and things. I think they're letting ya I 253 00:13:04.440 --> 00:13:06.480 run the company. I think they are going and saying 254 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:10.000 here are my problems, what are my options? And the 255 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:12.039 options are the thing that that like, you know, any 256 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:14.600 analysts in this injury industry could have told them, which is, hey, 257 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:17.720 you were you had things exclusive and your your numbers 258 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:20.480 weren't good enough. And and this is you know, she's 259 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:22.879 talking about the last five years. How the the you know, 260 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:26.399 the revenue has declined, you know, five hundred billion dollars 261 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:30.519 or something like that, five hundred million dollars and like 262 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:32.600 over so over the last five years, they have shifted 263 00:13:32.679 --> 00:13:35.559 from things being exclusive to things not being exclusive. That 264 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:37.639 didn't improve numbers. So it's like you go back and 265 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:40.000 say to the thing, here are my problems. What can 266 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:41.879 I change? Here's what I'm doing right now. And the 267 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:44.080 only thing you can really change is, okay, we'll make 268 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:46.120 stuff exclusive and maybe that will get people to buy 269 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:48.919 hardware again, because that's where you're seeing the biggest losses 270 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:51.039 in your in your revenue right now. You're not selling 271 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:53.720 enough consoles. It's it's insanity. 272 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:57.080 That's the other aspect, Greb. Like that I was also 273 00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:59.320 alluding to, Like you talk about the health of the 274 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:03.840 company as a whole. Yet you have a completed game 275 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:08.399 that can and would succeed only PlayStation five. You've seen 276 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:12.000 how well Forts a Horizon has done. Yet because you're 277 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:18.759 bending to the buzzword of exclusivity, you're going to withhold 278 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:22.879 that game. You actively do not want this company to succeed. 279 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:27.480 You were just trying to satisfy whatever buzzwords there are 280 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:28.399 in that moment. 281 00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:33.679 Yeah, yeah, it. You know, for a long time now, 282 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.240 I've heard that the people in charge of Xbox, you know, 283 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:39.639 the Matt Booty's, you know, the Phil Spencer's now Asha 284 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:43.559 Sharma's just they do not have vision. There's there's visionless. 285 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:47.519 They are working backward from data, which you know, a 286 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:50.039 lot of these companies do actually look at the data 287 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:52.399 and that's important, sure, but you need to like use 288 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:54.799 that to inform these ideas that you have that are 289 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:57.519 bigger than that. So you can find the green pastors, 290 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:00.480 so you can find the blue oceans or whatever. And 291 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:04.159 Xbox has just never been able to do that. And 292 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:06.320 at the end of the day, it's just this big 293 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:09.240 corporation taking oxygen out of the room from an industry 294 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:11.799 that did just start in garages. It did start in 295 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:15.960 people's basements making games as a hobby. Like you know, 296 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:19.879 you go back to the eighties and the microcomputer scene 297 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:23.159 in the UK, where it's just people like basically making 298 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:26.080 games for pennies if they were selling the games at all, 299 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:29.120 and it was just like, hey, it was a passionate thing, 300 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:33.039 and they got dollar signs in their eyes to a 301 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:35.600 certain degree. But then the corporations thought that it would 302 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:37.720 become something that it just never was going to be, 303 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:42.240 like it's about buying and playing games. And Microsoft always 304 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:44.519 reviewed it as some pathway to the living room where 305 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:46.519 we can get windows into the living room. What does 306 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:49.159 that even mean? What did it ever mean? It never 307 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:51.320 meant anything. It was never a real thing. It was 308 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:54.960 never like, no one was clamoring for that. Just Xbox, 309 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:56.480 if you can make us some games, we'll buy some 310 00:15:56.679 --> 00:15:59.399 video games. That part worked for a while, and it 311 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:02.159 worked up through the Xbox three sixty, and then they 312 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:05.080 got dollar signs in their eyes again with the Xbox one, 313 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:07.360 like all right, now we see the telemetry. Everyone's using 314 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.600 this to watch TV. That's the future. We're gonna plug 315 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:13.440 cable boxes into this thing and that will be there. 316 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:16.480 Like here's an HDMI in and an HDMI out. Let's go, 317 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:20.320 and what what are you talking about? This is how 318 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:22.759 we end up here because they never really wanted to 319 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:24.240 be in this business in the first place. It was 320 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:26.879 always a means to an end, and if everyone in 321 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:30.039 this industry is feeling used by these big corporations, yeah, 322 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:32.519 that there's a reason for that. That's exactly what they 323 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:33.039 were trying to. 324 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:34.759 Do, all right. 325 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:35.120 Yeah. 326 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:39.000 Also, Greb, like you know it as a youth growing 327 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:42.519 up and seeing like the the inception of Xbox and 328 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:45.639 then how originally how it felt like it was originally 329 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:47.799 to how it is now. It felt like they were 330 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:51.399 moving the needle right of, like, Hey, this is where 331 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:53.440 we're going to put first person shooters, make them work 332 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:58.080 on a console. You want online multiplayer that's stable and cool, 333 00:16:58.120 --> 00:16:59.879 where all your friends are. This is where it's at, 334 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:05.160 achievements and everything. The summer of Xbox Arcade was wild 335 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:08.079 to see all these indie games that I previously felt 336 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:11.119 were only beholden to the PC are now coming to 337 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:13.759 my home console. That felt great. And then to see 338 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:19.160 any type of innovation thrown out the window and then 339 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:22.839 stomped on, and then them force feeding me like whatever 340 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:25.880 vision they have is just absolutely disappointing. 341 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:32.000 Yep. Absolutely, Hopefully there's some alternatives coming along. Yeahlex from 342 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:34.839 Hey steam Os that that would be nice, if only 343 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:37.480 because it would open up Linux in a big way, 344 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:39.920 and we could just get an open source future. That 345 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:43.039 would be ideal. All right, let's stick with the theme 346 00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:45.880 you self disclosing multiple studios resulting in up to three 347 00:17:45.960 --> 00:17:48.839 hundred and eighty job losses. This is from Andy Robinson 348 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:52.680 at VGC. You'd be soft disclosing it's Winnipeg and Belgrade 349 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:57.079 studios and restructuring its Barcelona office, which could result in 350 00:17:57.160 --> 00:18:00.480 as many as three hundred and eighty job losses. VGC 351 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:07.799 understands Ubisoft Barcelona will be restructor restructured to focus solely, 352 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:11.359 excuse me, on Rainbow six projects. In addition, Ubisoft has 353 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:16.400 internally announced organizational changes within its global publishing team, which 354 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:19.640 we'll see role reductions across the company. Winnipeg was founded 355 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:24.240 in twenty eighteen and comprised around one hundred employees. It 356 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.839 focused on developing technology for Ubisoft's game engines. And they'll 357 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:30.640 and snowdrop you know a little bit of a question there. 358 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:33.319 It's like, that's not just like they were some fly 359 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.680 by Night support studio. This was not just like, oh, 360 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:37.079 we can help you a little bit here. They were 361 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:40.680 crucial to developing the technologies that enabled all those Ubisoft 362 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:43.960 studios to work together in conjunction with one another on 363 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:47.319 cutting edge game software. Because one team was responsible for 364 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:49.039 making sure that stuff was up to date and the 365 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.960 documentation was all there, it does call into question the 366 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:54.599 entire way UBI Soft is going to be making games 367 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:58.799 going forward. This closure, the closures, and restructuring come as 368 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:02.440 part of Ubisoft's global cost saving plan, which so far 369 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:05.359 has resulted in the cancelation of at least six games, 370 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:09.440 the postponement of seven others, and multiple studio closures, resulting 371 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:14.279 in hundreds of job losses this year. Another another wrinkle 372 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:18.240 of this Jan You stuff apparently reached out to press 373 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:20.880 and was like, hey, we got something we're gonna out soon. 374 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:23.319 Do you do you want to do? You want to do? 375 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:27.000 You have to agree to an embargo and everyone's like sure, yeah, 376 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:30.920 like that's the normal. And then the embargoed information was layoffs, 377 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:34.799 which is not something that's normal. I've never seen that before. 378 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:37.720 No one I can't imagine, no one I've worked with 379 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:39.759 would have agreed to an embargo for layoffs had they 380 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:42.319 known that's what it was going to be. That's that 381 00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:43.920 is just diabolical. 382 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:49.400 Jan absolutely insane. I there's a lot of CEOs to 383 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:54.279 hate grub Uh sure, nine percent of them minus hours 384 00:19:55.880 --> 00:20:02.680 he's the one percent the good. But we just we're 385 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:06.559 talking about mismanagement at Xbox, and this has been a 386 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:11.799 long recorded case of absolute mismanagement from Eves Gumont and 387 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:18.839 the whole Gumont family. With Ubisoft, this is another company 388 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:21.559 where I don't expect anything good to come from and 389 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:26.160 I don't have much hope for them with the existing 390 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:30.599 leadership that they have on top. You have fantastic franchises 391 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:36.119 within your library, yet you completely mishandle them, You mishandle 392 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:43.839 your employees, you shit on them. It is God. I 393 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:49.720 hate Eves Gambant, and I feel especially upset about the 394 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:52.559 folks that are going to be losing their jobs in 395 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:57.640 a market that is already overcrowded and overflooded with people 396 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:02.039 searching and scrapping for those same jobs. 397 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:06.960 Yeah, it's it's you know, it's gross to see, like, yeah, 398 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:10.359 it's smooth w and chappoints out. This is the family 399 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:12.279 that built WB soft and now they're tearing it down. 400 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:14.799 And that's that's not how publicly traded companies are supposed 401 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:16.519