[360]

So some news. Microsoft announced "Inside Xbox" coming on March 10 which is a monthly Xbox show presumably similar to Nintendo's directs. So if imminent Sega-related news is coming it might be there.

Speculation is running rampant on ResetERA about this Sega and Microsoft thing and everyone still thinks a buy-out is likely. Regarding the realism of that - it's not as absurd as you'd think. Microsoft were recently rumoured to be "considering" buying various super expensive publishing powerhouses like EA and the background to that is that they have a ridiculous cash reserve (~130 billion dollars) that they have to either spend on acquisitions this year or pay-out in dividends. So the speculation is that they're going to make some acquisitions hence why them buying Sega could be a possibility. EA is valued at something like 50 billion dollars and according to Polygon Microsoft were seriously considering it. Sega Sammy is valued at around 4 billion - or even less for just Sega's games division - which would be a comparative bargain and Microsoft have shown interest in Sega before. Granted the Sega of 2002 complete with their games output that Microsoft were interested in is not the Sega of 2018. But the point I'm trying to make is - it's possible.

So Inside Xbox is the next instance we may hear more. Announcements are scheduled for then including news about Microsoft's gamepass service. Guessing more realistically some kind of partnership with Sega? Sega Forever on gamepass? Or perhaps some exclusive games like in the original Xbox days? We'll know soon. Failing that it's E3.

This post has been edited by 360: 07 March 2018 - 01:36 AM

[JaxTH]

Inside Xbox was Microsoft's weekly show that appeared on the 360 dashboard. They got rid of a little bit after or before One came out.

Once again the buyout stuff is annoying because MS has enough money to buy Nintendo, EA, Valve, Sega, Capcom, etc.

Also I honestly can't ever recall an American company buying out a Japanese one. For example, Atlus. I don't remember any western names on that list of bids. If I remember correctly there are some rules in place preventing that or something. Could be wrong though.

This post has been edited by JaxTH: 07 March 2018 - 02:56 AM

[Flygon]

Remember, SEGA was American owned until the early 80s!

[Overlord]

It's not a buyout. I have no idea why people are dreaming that up.

It'll most likely be an Xbone exclusive of something.

[360]

You are probably right guys - an outright buy-out of Sega is incredibly unlikely. Possible but very unlikely. I just threw that post out there because MS having to spend those cash reserves imminently on acquisitions is a very real thing and an actual business issue. Yes MS have always had ridiculous cash reserves enabling them to buy almost anyone - but this is the first time they're forced to spend it. It's a little complicated but basically due to taxation laws they either have to spend it on acquisitions this year or lose some of the money to dividends to shareholders. By the end of the year. So most in the business sphere are speculating they're going to buy someone - and someone big. Hence all the names recently coming up like EA and now Sega.

In other news Capcom has been spotted promoting a visit to MS Japan in the same way Sega did. It raises the question - what the fuck is going on here? Many speculate it's something to do with MS' forthcoming announcements at E3 or possibly some kind of megaton announcement for gamepass. But it is highly unusual, that back to back, monolith Japanese publishers are visiting MS in Japan and also promoting it publicly. This is the first time I've ever seen this happen. Companies visiting each other is commonplace, but also marketing and promoting the visits? At a guess MS is making a concerted effort to court and partner with more Japanese publishers for an exclusive or two - which to be fair is realistic and probably accurate because they have been trying so for the entire generation. Particularly as of late.

Strikes me as odd however that Sega are like "we just went to see MS!" and like a week later Capcom's doing the same. Who's next? Square Enix?

This post has been edited by 360: 08 March 2018 - 02:10 PM

[360]

So Microsoft is readying it biggest E3 show ever which is exciting. They hiring out an entire building this time heavily inferring some major, major announcements for this E3. Hopefully the visits from Sega and Capcom will come to light here. Odds are they have some killer announcements to make. E3 just got way more exciting. Looking forward to it. I'm thinking maybe Vanquish 2 as an exclusive from Sega, going by recent rumours, and potentially showing the Resident Evil 2 Remake from Capcom on stage? Or perhaps Resident Evil 7 timed exclusivity or something to that effect?

Or they could have something show-stopping to announce hence the much larger plans which they've never had before so far this generation. I have a feeling this E3 is going to be fucking great. Guess we'll see.

This post has been edited by 360: 14 March 2018 - 04:18 PM

[360]

So Inside Xbox Episode 2 is happening and this was just announced in regards to new backwards compatible original Xbox games:



Notice the inclusion of Panzer Dragoon Orta. Would have thought Jet Set Radio Future is an inevitability at this point. I would say Shenmue 2X also but the heavily rumoured HD remasters are forthcoming so maybe not. So ultimately perhaps this is the start of Microsoft's new connection with Sega. More announcements are surefire coming this E3.

This post has been edited by 360: 10 April 2018 - 06:13 PM

[TheBdude]

As an added bonus, it looks like Sonic Generations is coming to Backwards Compatibility as well with a 4K mode on the Xbox One X. Shame that it's still probably capped to 30FPS.

[MykonosFan]

Panzer Dragoon Ota also includes an unlockable Panzer Dragoon, so in a way, that's BC too. Very glad to see this. Hoping for JSRF and OutRun 2 next (Though hopefully OutRun 2 gets better emulation here than it did on 360).

[Overlord]

>"new"
>Conker

I don't have a lot of knowledge in this area, but I know for a fact Conker was on the 360. How many of this list weren't on 360?

[sonicblur]

360, on 10 April 2018 - 06:11 PM, said:

Would have thought Jet Set Radio Future is an inevitability at this point. I would say Shenmue 2X also but the heavily rumoured HD remasters are forthcoming so maybe not.

On a somewhat related note, both games are playable on PC in recent nightly builds of cxbx-reloaded, as of the past month or so. Shenmue 2x has some music and minor graphical problems, but otherwise seems playable. At least, I played it up until the Come Over Guest house last week and the game didn't crash. The emulator is locked to native resolution right now, but at least it's making solid progress now.

[SANiK]

Read the whole thread, lots of speculation about a buy-out, but I want to add that if it was a buy-out,
that since these are both publicly traded companies, hinting it like this is definitely a no-no and runs afoul of timely disclosure obligations.
Soooo, it's not a buy-out.


Instead, I'd like to highlight that it's hilarious that Sonic is in the Microsoft office ... and Microsoft Office is a software product Microsoft makes.
Now, that's comedy gold right there.

This post has been edited by SANiK: 06 May 2018 - 07:55 PM