The Xbox Podcast deep dive on E-Day was published on Monday and briefly featured a version of the latest trailer that incorrectly stated that the game was coming to Sony’s console.

The PS5 logo slip-up in the Xbox podcast seems to support claims that the decision to make Gears an Xbox-only game was made at the last minute by its leadership team.

  • ampersandrew@lemmy.worldEnglish
    51·
    3 days ago

    Some additional developments not captured by this article: Jeff Grubb says a source tells him there is a finished PS5 version of this game sitting on a drive somewhere that will now go unused. And second, an Xbox…sorry, XBOX exec said that (paraphrasing), “No, this decision wasn’t made last minute. We decided this over a month ago but just wanted to keep it secret so it would be a fun surprise for gamers.” So they definitely made this decision last minute.

    • rustydrd@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      53·
      3 days ago

      “Over a month ago” for a product that took 6+ years to develop basically means “we had 72 opportunities to clarify this and decided to forego 71 of those”.

      Also, not a marketing expert, but learning that my console or other players won’t be able to play this game doesn’t seem like a “fun surprise for gamers” to me. But then again, I don’t get paid six figures for a marketing job, so what do I know.

      • Th4tGuyII@fedia.io
        13·
        3 days ago

        Exactly. When the process takes 6 years, throwing it all out a month before release is essentially last minute - and that’s assuming you take them at their word, which I really don’t.

        Its just a shame to know the devs will have poured so much time into the PS5 version just to have the finished product sit on a drive somewhere unreleased (assuming it hasn’t been destroyed instead to prevent it ever being leaked).

        • suxen_tsihcrana@anarchist.nexusEnglish
          5·
          3 days ago

          Is the whole idea really just XBOX people being able to say to PS5 people “I have something you’ll never be able to get”?

          I think the execs overestimate how valuable that is. And yeah, that is extremely cringe-worthy.

          • warm@kbin.earth
            1·
            2 days ago

            Exclusives make no sense in the current climate. Who is buying a console now to play 1 game? They are hoping they will sell more to brand loyal customers who feel less “betrayed” this way. I mean they will release it on PS5 eventually anyway, but dont tell the Xbox diehards that.

    • Pika@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      4·
      3 days ago

      “Fun surprise for gamers” is would be a wild statement to make for something that removes choice from gamers.

      edit: changed phrasing to respect paraphrase in original comment

      • ampersandrew@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        3 days ago

        It was my paraphrase, which I made somewhat facetiously. I don’t think a lot of replies here know what paraphrasing is.

        • Pika@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          3 days ago

          I know what it is but, NGL my eyes glazed over the word when I read it originally, although I defo could see a major corporation actually saying that so I would believe it regardless.

          • ampersandrew@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            3 days ago

            The full quote is:

            Hey Tom [of The Verge], I can confirm this [last minute decision thing] is not true. We just limited the knowledge of this news to a very small internal group. Intention was to share this news first with our players and everyone watching showcase.

            A lot has changed since Asha came into role 107 days ago. We are moving fast and it’s frankly pretty energizing inside the hallways here. I was made aware of these exclusives roughly a month in advance. Hope that helps!

    • MurrayL@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      A devkit with that version is absolutely gonna show up on eBay at some point in the next 20 years.