Microsoft To Close Xbox Sports Game Studio

AbyssLeaper writes "Microsoft is closing its Xbox sports game studio in Redmond and laying off 76 employees. In a Seattle Times article, Robbie Bach, Microsoft's Xbox chief, cites the difficulty of competing in the game development space and the expansion of 3rd party support - this move wasn't surprising based on their focus on making the Xbox profitable. MSNBC/Seattle Post-Intelligencer speculates that it might also be due to an increased partnership with EA Sports." We previously reported on many XSN Sports titles skipping 2004.

Comments

No One Cares...

[johnkoer]

Based on the lack of reaction to this article, no one really seems to care that XSN titles are not coming out. EA sports dominates the console sports market right now, but NFL2K5 gives madden a run for its money. The Xbox sports titles always felt like second rate games to me.

Microsoft's intentions

[Metroid72]

I think that "true" gamers should be worried about this move.
A real game company will try to have its own studios pumping out great games for their consumers.
Microsoft is in to get into your bedroom as a multi-function entertainment machine (to push their media and software empire), they're not in to make great games.

It makes business sense to leverage partnerships to improve your weak spots because ultimately any company is in for the money, but I think that if Microsoft gets the 3rd party support to be an "Entertainment" powerhouse, it won't be long until you will have to accept an EULA by pushing the action button.

It's Just Payment to EA

[blueZhift]

I can't say that the demise of Microsoft's inhouse sports division is a great surprise. The benching of the titles after EA agreed to support Xbox Live was the first sign that the price of EA support was going to be high. This just closes the deal. Don't be too surprised if Sony cans 989 too. EA is so far ahead in the game now, that competing head to head with them just doesn't make sense. Sega's now ESPN branded titles have been pretty good and the low price is great too. But unless Sega sees really good sales, I wouldn't expect those titles to last much longer either. Usually low game prices mean either the game has already sold millions or the game has hardly moved and it's time to clear stock. So a $20 NFL 2K5 is either good news, or not... Unlike the XSN titles, the 2K series have been of quality that many believe is on par with EA's titles, but have made hardly a dent in EA Sports' market share.

Sports is a critical sector to fill for any console. Some attribute the success of the Genesis to the EA sports titles that were superior to their SNES counterparts. Also many attribute the failure of the Dreamcast to EA's boycott of the console. I'm sure these lessons weren't lost on Microsoft as they did the Xbox Live deal with EA. Oh well, at least Amped will be coming back.