Xbox: ‘Redfall’ frustrates expectations of fans and Microsoft – 05/10/2023 – Tech

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The blocking of the purchase of Activision Blizzard by the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority, the British Cade) was not the only setback for Microsoft in the last two weeks.

The launch of “Redfall”, the long-awaited game from Arkane Studios for Xbox and PC, last Tuesday (2) frustrated expectations not only of the players, but of the company itself. Who said this was the head of the Xbox division, Phil Spencer, in an interview with the Kinda Funny Xcast podcast.

Spencer admitted that the response from critics and the Xbox community to the game was not what was expected, and took responsibility for the technical performance of the game on consoles.

“Redfall” works at 30 FPS (frames per second), below the standard expected by the industry for the new generation of consoles, 60 FPS. This rate allows for a more fluid gameplay, important for action games. Early trailers for the game promised the higher fee, but the studio delayed the option weeks before launch.

“We need to see what went wrong. There are quality and execution things we can work out. But we’re not going to turn against our creative team,” said Spencer.

“I want to give teams the creative platform to elevate their skills, their inspirations, and we also want to have a selection of great games. We failed at that, and for that I want to apologize.”

Developed by Arkane Studios, known for “Dishonored”, “Prey” and “Deathloop”, “Redfall” got low scores on specialized sites. On Metacritic, a platform that aggregates reviews from experts and players, the game has 58 points out of 100.

Technical performance is not the only negative point mentioned. The Xbox community was critical of aspects of the storyline, the quality of missions, the gameplay itself, and the multiplayer experience.

The game is an open-world FPS (first-person shooter) in which you can play as one of a series of characters, each with their own skills and weapons, to face legions of vampires.

“We have to be transparent with what we are showing, because it represents what our console customer, the most financially committed to our brand, will see, will play. And our transparency needs to be better”, said the head of Xbox.

Phil Spencer further explained in the interview that the development of “Redfall” began before Microsoft acquired Arkane in 2021, which may have affected the final results. “We need to better embrace games that are in the midst of production when they become part of Xbox,” said Spencer.

“We didn’t do a good job of engaging with Arkane to help them understand what it meant to be part of Xbox and first-party production, and using some of our internal resources to help them.”

Spencer also spoke about Microsoft’s relationship with its main competitors in the video game market, Sony and Nintendo. He said that, to overcome them, it is not enough to launch great games on Xbox, because some of those users have already settled in an ecosystem, and the costs of leaving it are high.

“We are not in business to outdo Sony or Nintendo,” he said. “There is no victory for Xbox in lagging behind others.”

Rather than focusing on outpacing the competition through consoles, the company is more interested in building a solid player base. “We have to leave [dessa lógica] and do our own thing with the [Xbox] Game Pass, the things we do with XCloud and the way we build our games.”

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play

game tip, new or old, for you to test

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster

(PC, PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android)

It’s a good gateway for anyone wanting to experience or revisit classic RPGs a few decades later. The package includes the first six games in the series – the sixth was released in 1994, almost 30 years ago -, which have been remastered with high-resolution 2D graphics and received other improvements. Among them, improved gameplay, modernized interface and some extras, such as bestiary, gallery of illustrations and music player.

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update

news, launches, business and what matters most

• Nvidia announced the arrival of notebooks with GeForce RTX Series 40 graphics cards in Brazil. The line is recognized for having several resources based on artificial intelligence that increase the performance of games and the energy efficiency of computers. The Asus and Acer brands have already started selling their products in the country.

• Sony released the first trailer for “Gran Tourism”, based on the racing simulation game for PlayStation. The film is directed by Neill Blomkamp and stars David Harbor and Orlando Bloom. Opens in theaters in August.

• Just like “Redfall”, the performance of “Star Wars: Jedi Survivor” was disappointing, but the game released on April 28 was well received by the public and critics, reaching an 88 on Metacritic. Respawn, a subsidiary developer of EA Games, recognized the technical issues and began rolling out updates to fix them.

• “Hogwarts Legacy” arrived on last generation consoles, PS4 and Xbox One, on Friday (5), almost three months after launch. Warner Bros. Games reported that the game has sold 15 million copies and reached $1 billion in revenue. The title will still be released for Nintendo Switch on July 25th.

• Apple included about 20 games at once in the Apple Arcade paid service. The pack has original titles for the platform and other App Store classics. Among the exclusives are “What the car?”, “TMNT Splintered Fate” and “Disney SpellStruck”. Also added were “Limbo” and “Getting Over It”.

• “Final Fantasy XVI” has been banned in Saudi Arabia. The country’s regulatory body disclosed that the game’s developer, Square Enix, refused to make necessary modifications. “FFXVI” will be released on June 22 for PS5. In the US, the game received an 17+ rating.

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download

games that will be released in the next few days and promotions that are worthwhile

8.may

• “Darkest Dungeon II”: R$ 56.99 (PC)

12.may

• “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom”: R$ 357.99 (Nintendo Switch)

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