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00:00 You will never see the sun again.
00:06 Welcome to Mojo Plays and today we're taking a look at the biggest, most contentious controversies
00:13 to come out of the Xbox brand.
00:16 Follow it or don't follow it, I don't care.
00:18 Before we begin we publish new videos all week long, so be sure to subscribe to Mojo
00:22 Plays and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
00:27 Redfall and Studio Mismanagement
00:36 The early 2020s were rough for Xbox in terms of releases.
00:40 The Xbox Series XS went so long without any new games, and Halo Infinite was a disappointing
00:45 drop in the bucket, whereas Forza Horizon 5 was a wonderful kickstart for that player
00:50 base.
00:51 But 2023 saw a massive bump in the road for Xbox when Redfall dropped.
01:05 The AI was just too unbelievably stupid to properly detect players, and it wasn't uncommon
01:10 for environments to not load in properly.
01:13 Turns out Xbox had been handling Arkane Austin and other studios with a completely off-hands
01:19 direction.
01:22 What's worse is that even some staff at Arkane Austin had hoped Xbox would cancel
01:32 the game after Microsoft bought Bethesda during the game's development.
01:36 It was such a critical and commercial disappointment that Redfall's PlayStation 5 version was
01:40 effectively cancelled, and in 2024, Microsoft shut down Arkane Austin as a means to "realign
01:47 games and resources" so that Xbox can "identify the opportunities that are best positioned
01:54 for success" as President of Xbox Sarah Bond put it.
02:01 But that wasn't the only studio that was forced to shut its doors.
02:05 Closing Tango Gameworks
02:07 Yes, Tango Gameworks was another victim in Microsoft's change of plans, and it is the
02:21 most bewildering choice to put on the chopping block.
02:24 While their products never made blockbuster sales, Tango Gameworks had the chance to be
02:28 the media molecule to Xbox's PlayStation, having won awards for The Evil Within 2 and
02:34 more recently, Hi-Fi Rush.
02:37 Hi-Fi Rush, in particular, showed promise in the future of Xbox as folks gravitated
02:42 towards the unique approach to rhythm-based mechanics.
02:52 Even Ghostwire Tokyo saw a modest fanbase and could have had a promising future with
02:57 an improved sequel.
03:04 But what angered Xbox fans more about Tango's closure was how other Xbox studios that have
03:09 been botching games for years, such as 343 Industries and its handling of Halo, get off
03:14 scot-free.
03:16 But sure, let's shudder the studio that won some pretty prominent awards for their
03:20 work.
03:21 It all feels eerily familiar to another closure we saw during the Xbox One days.
03:32 Fabling Lionhead Studios
03:43 We'll be the first to admit that Lionhead and the studio's Fable games weren't for
03:47 everybody, but once upon a time, these fantasy RPGs were a central part of Xbox's identity.
03:53 In a market where many RPGs made you the chosen one and sent you on an epic quest, Fable gave
03:59 you the same story but focused more on humor and trying to make your good and evil choices
04:04 actually matter.
04:06 Unfortunately, Xbox was trying to aggressively push for the Kinect to be the next big thing
04:10 during the late 2000s and early 2010s, and part of their plan was to have Lionhead focus
04:16 on nothing but Kinect games.
04:26 Years were wasted as Fable The Journey failed to capture an audience, Project Milo was demoed
04:32 only to never be seen again, and other projects kept getting scrapped.
04:36 Just when it seemed like Lionhead could bounce back with the online multiplayer spinoff Fable
04:40 Legends, Xbox pulled the plug on the game and the studio in 2016.
04:45 The worst part of it all was that not everybody at Lionhead was even aware of the closure
04:50 being a possibility until the day it was announced.
04:57 Trying to double the price of Xbox Gold.
05:11 Perhaps this was an early sign showing that not all is well for the Xbox Series XS generation.
05:17 In January 2021, Xbox announced that it was going to double the price of Xbox Gold.
05:23 Three months would cost $30, six months would cost $60, and a full year would run $120.
05:37 This was met with an overwhelming amount of backlash as customers pointed out just how
05:41 worthless Xbox Gold was becoming.
05:44 Xbox would not only backpedal on this, but the company would try to make amends by eliminating
05:48 the need for Xbox Gold across all free to play games.
05:51 Xbox Gold was eventually shut down altogether in September 2023 and replaced with a new
05:57 tier for Game Pass known as Xbox Game Pass Core, launching the new tier at the same price
06:03 as Xbox Gold.
06:05 So not much really changed.
06:13 The constant PR hypocrisy.
06:23 Over the years, Xbox heads such as Phil Spencer have made some statements to media outlets
06:28 and pundits that would later contradict the company's actions.
06:32 One prime example is how Spencer stated how much he despises exclusivity, yet Xbox continued
06:38 to operate in this mindset with releases like Starfield while trying to buy up big studios
06:43 to shove under the Xbox brand.
06:49 Then there are the times where Spencer and Xbox executives have expressed their desire
06:53 for smaller games and potentially award winning games, yet choose to shut down a studio like
06:59 Tango Gameworks, a studio that did specialize in smaller games, and won awards.
07:05 And then you have some Xbox "ambassadors" spreading false information that Xbox's
07:13 troubles are the same troubles many other massive game companies are going through.
07:17 Well, one look at the sales data for PlayStation 5 and Switch would tell you different, but
07:22 okay.
07:28 The acquisition campaigns.
07:39 Ever since Microsoft acquired Bethesda in January 2021, there were some weird conversations
07:45 unfolding about which companies Microsoft should supposedly go and buy to bolster the
07:49 Xbox brand.
07:51 One of the very few to speak out against this notion was Last Stand Media founder and Sacred
07:55 Symbols host Colin Moriarty.
07:58 Moriarty was the most prominent voice as he pointed out the dangers of consolidating the
08:03 video game market and how managing so many studios would only increase development costs,
08:08 thus leading to studio closures.
08:16 Here we are in 2024 and we've lost Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games,
08:23 and Roundhouse Studios in one fell swoop as a result of low sales across Xbox hardware
08:29 and games.
08:30 Toys for Bob, once owned by Activision Blizzard before they were acquired in 2023, was possibly
08:35 on the chopping block as well before they made the move to go independent.
08:39 It's almost like we could have seen this coming.
08:51 The move to third party.
09:01 In January 2024, the Xbox fanbase was set ablaze.
09:05 Multiple inside sources came forward about Xbox's plans to take their exclusives and
09:10 launch them on other platforms.
09:12 Whereas many were eager to play Xbox games on their PS5 or Switch, others were enraged.
09:18 Social media was quickly flooded with images and videos of players trading in their consoles
09:22 and buying PS5s or Switches instead.
09:33 Sure enough, this move proved true as Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and head of Xbox Game
09:39 Studios Matt Booty held an interview about the move, announcing that Pentament, Grounded,
09:44 Sci-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves would be the first four games to go multi-platform.
09:49 Sea of Thieves wound up being among the top three best-selling games on PlayStation for
09:53 April 2023.
09:54 The game launched April 30th.
09:56 You know they're gonna keep at it, guys.
10:06 The Red Ring of Death
10:18 This was perhaps the first time Microsoft and Xbox found themselves in hot water with
10:23 players.
10:24 Even though the Xbox 360 was impressive in visual fidelity and UI when it first launched,
10:29 it wasn't until folks began experiencing the Red Ring of Death.
10:37 This was a result of the console overheating and/or not having the proper ventilation,
10:41 and this would cause Xbox 360s to suddenly stop working altogether.
10:46 Microsoft soon had to compensate users by either issuing refunds or providing brand
10:51 new Xbox 360s as replacements.
10:54 To this day, many have not forgotten this troublesome era.
11:04 Everything to do with Xbox Game Pass
11:12 For the everyday person, Game Pass is a huge steal of a deal.
11:17 A monthly fee to play some of the newest games from both Xbox and its AAA and indie partners?
11:23 You're getting a lot of value for a modest price.
11:26 Alas, this has come at a massive, massive cost for the games industry.
11:32 Some pundits, such as the aforementioned Colin Moriarty, have long pointed out how Game Pass
11:37 rarely translates to sales, and you can see that in Xbox's messaging sometimes.
11:49 One shining example of this was Hi-Fi Rush, which never had its sales revealed by Microsoft.
11:55 However, Xbox was vocal about how many players checked out the game, calling it a "smash
12:01 hit," but never clarified how many of those players were Game Pass users and how many
12:05 players were people who actually bought the game.
12:18 Other executives, such as Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick and former Activision
12:23 Blizzard King CEO Bobby Kodik, have also expressed their views on how putting their games on
12:28 services like Game Pass could ultimately damage their revenue if they put GTA or Call of Duty
12:34 on the platform.
12:35 This combined with the growing lack of support from developers in making games for Xbox has
12:40 caused many to begin second-guessing the true value behind Game Pass.
12:48 And lastly, the Xbox One reveal.
13:04 After dominating with the Xbox 360 during the seventh generation of consoles, no one
13:09 had expected such a massive embarrassment, one so colossal and devastating, as the Xbox
13:17 One reveal.
13:18 If you have any clue about this event, you've probably already seen the exemplary cut of
13:22 the showcase made by YouTube user Darkbeat.
13:26 For roughly an hour, viewers saw then-Microsoft Senior Vice President Don Mattrick and his
13:31 cohorts present the Xbox One as not a gaming console, but an entertainment center.
13:50 Connect integration, voice commands, the ability to watch TV and sports while gaming, oh the
13:56 sports.
13:57 It was everything that we didn't want and didn't care to know about the console.
14:03 The big question was, what are the games?
14:08 What made it worse was how Microsoft planned to focus on cloud streaming gaming and sought
14:12 to allow game discs to only be usable once, thus eliminating the ability to share physical
14:18 copies of games with others.
14:20 This opened the door for Sony to put out a video on how to properly share games for PlayStation
14:26 4.
14:27 What everyone knew at the time was that this would be the start of two long and painful
14:32 generations for Xbox, and they have not recovered since.
14:49 Which Xbox controversy rubbed you the wrong way?
14:52 Let us know down in the comments in a civil manner, please.
14:55 Let's not get all console war in the comments.
14:58 And be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more great videos every day.
15:10 Cheers.
15:16 [Music]