 So, Microsoft's plans are coming in focus now when it comes to, well, Bethesda, Zenimax, id Software, because obviously we know about that 7.5 billion dollar purchase, although it's not finalized. There's a bunch of paperwork and legal moment to go through, but when it is finalized in 2021 and Microsoft and Phil Spencer and everyone's actually able to talk about the plans for the company, it's going to be interesting to see what they're saying now versus what actually happens. Now, Phil Spencer has already noted publicly that they would not have to bring their games to PlayStation 5, PC, or anywhere else to make it viable for them to spend 7.5 billion. However, they have said that they don't really plan to make too many changes and that currently scheduled games for PlayStation 5 or 4 or whatever will continue to be made, but obviously we have no idea what this means for the future. Like Microsoft spent 7.5 billion, did they do that to make these companies all console exclusive? And in my opinion, that's exactly what they were doing, but we have to see what happens once the deals finalize and what happens, you know, years down the road, because it's going to be years before we really see the full breadth of stuff with this. Well, it turns out that Microsoft is talking a little bit more now about plans and it sounds like they are going to actually continue to bring games to PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 and even Nintendo Switch, but there's a caveat there. And the caveat is maybe something we're kind of used to in this industry. And that is, well, it's going to come to X platform first. Let's take a look at what Xbox chief financial author Tim Stewart actually had to say to video game Chronicle. What we'll do in the long run is we don't have intentions of just putting all of Bethesda's content out of Sony and Nintendo or otherwise, but what we want is we want that content in the long run to either be first or better or best or pick your differential experience on our platforms. We will want Bethesda content to show up on the best as on our platforms. That's not a point about being exclusive. That's not a point about being we're just adjusting timing or content or roadmap. But if you think about something like Game Pass, it shows up best in Game Pass. And that's what we want to see. We want to drive our Game Pass subscriber base through that Bethesda pipeline. So again, I'm not going to announce pulling content from other platforms one way or the other, but I suspect you'll continue to see a shift towards a first or better or best approach on our platforms. So the plan seems to be pretty obvious to me. And that is that they are going to take their games and one that we're going to release first on Xbox and Game Pass and the Xbox family of systems and all SSO, XCloud, all that. It'll first be on there. I don't know if there'll be a year exclusivity. We've seen these deals with third party companies in the past. Now they own this company. So it's not really third party at this point, but we can see that that would a timed exclusivity period would make sense. But I think what's interesting is they're saying best. This would suggest, I'm not saying this is going to happen, but this would suggest that they want to ensure whatever game releases runs, looks and works best on Xbox. So even if, say, Starfield, they bring that over to the PlayStation 5 and it runs and looks nice, but it still runs better and looks nicer on Xbox Series X. They are essentially going to say every game Bethesda is making from this point moving forward that doesn't have a contract already with PlayStation is going to be made for the Xbox Series X to take advantage of everything the Xbox Series X and XCloud and all that can provide and then down ported to PlayStation 5. At least that seems to be the suggestion here. So that is something that they might be looking into or are strongly considering versus making things totally 100% exclusive. Which kind of goes along with Microsoft's words they've thrown out there where they're saying, hey look, we're not trying to take games away from gamers, we're just trying to give ourselves basically more games. So we'll have to see how this plays out. I think this is to try to satiate people that are worried that Elder Scrolls in particular, the next one, won't be on a PlayStation 5. I think it might eventually be on a PlayStation 5, but it will be on Xbox first for a year and it'll have a better resolution and probably better frame rates on the Xbox. How much that's going to matter to you is going to be up to the individual, but I think they're eventually going to make it available. They're eventually going to let them to do what they did with Skyrim and just put the damn game on everything. And I think that is something Bethesda and other companies probably talked to Microsoft while these negotiations were going on with Xenomax because they wanted to ensure that hey, fine, we get it. You own us. Tell us that you want our games to be first on your platform and you want our games to be tailored made for your platforms. Great. But we still want to make sure we're not leaving our Sony bros behind and so, well, it sounds like they're still going to be able to release them on Sony at least at first. I have a feeling over time, whether it's, you know, 10 years or so, there's going to be a point I think where Microsoft starts to pull back on that Sony support and they start to be like, hey, now you're just making games for the Xbox and that's it. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. In fact, I kind of expected them to do it right away with Elder Scrolls and Starfield and maybe they still will. But it sounds like according to Tim Stewart anyways, the plan is to just do timed exclusivity and then obviously make sure the game is best played on Xbox versus just, you know, whatever. And we have to say, Bethesda games, id Software games, them being on Game Pass does make Game Pass that much better. You can get the next Elder Scrolls. You can get the next, you know, Starfield, the next Fallout, whatever. You can get those games. But now you get them right there on Xbox without having to spend any more money than you already spend on Game Pass. I mean, there was something like at launch of Xbox Series X and S, a 70% attach rate between buyers and Game Pass. It's very clear Game Pass is a massive seller for the new Xbox. That's a completely different than Xbox One where the attach rate was something like 10%. So they've clearly gained subscribers. They've gained me as a subscriber. That's for sure. And Game Pass is great because if you get Game Pass ultimate, it works. Not only in here, you also get access to X Cloud on Android and hopefully iOS soon. They have a workaround for that in place. And obviously you get it on PC. So and I believe you correct me if I'm wrong on this, folks. All the saves are transferable. So if I'm playing, you know, say Halo Infinite over it next year, I'll be able to keep that game safe and use it on PC and then also transfer it and use it on iCloud on my phone. So in theory, I could play the same game on a whole bunch of different devices, obviously with it potentially looking best on either a PC where, you know, maybe you have the best gaming hardware in the house or on your Xbox Series X and your TV. It's kind of cool what Microsoft is doing and they're interconnecting everything and allowing you to game in so many different ways. And I think it's nice. I think this is going to work out for almost everyone. Yes, obviously, if you are a PlayStation 5 owner, a Sony fan, you already have known for a while and maybe even expected to not get these games, but even having some reassurances that you might get them eventually. Time to exclusivity always kind of sucks a little bit. I think we all know that time to exclusivity isn't inherently negative, but it's not always the best. Like it's fine for a game that wouldn't exist without it, but these games are going to exist whether Microsoft bought them or not. But hey, it's Microsoft's property at some point next year once it's finalized. And honestly, they can do whatever they want to do with it. If they want to make it exclusive, more power to them personally. If I was Microsoft, I wouldn't make it exclusive. If you're looking to really beef up Game Pass, having Bethesda and id software games on it that aren't anywhere else, kind of the big deal. But I also understand they have this good reputation going right now of gamers where they've been doing a lot of positive things for us. A lot of very consumer friendly practices, which they needed to do in wake of how they handle the Xbox One. And this is just another, hey, we're still going to be consumer friendly. We're still going to let these games be on Switch. As an example, the next, you know, whenever we get do eternal, which God knows when the hell we're going to get that on Switch. We're supposed to get news on it soon. Well, I think the period for soon has passed for do eternal news on Switch. It's coming in 2021, I assume at some point. But I think they're trying to say, hey, you're going to get the next doom on Switch. It's just going to be later. It'll be interesting to see how they stagger that later, too. Because what if like the next doom game, right? Comes to Xbox Series X first, then launches a month later on Switch or the Switch Pro or whatever, and then launches a year later on PlayStation. Wouldn't it be funny if they're like, yeah, Switch doesn't really have a lot of crossover for us. So let's throw it out there. But PlayStation, that's a big crossover. We don't want to give them too much of a give them game too early. I find that to be 100% fascinating. If you're a PC gamer, none of this really matters. Anyways, other than you can get game pass and get these games that have to spend extra money on them, because PC already got these games anyway. So if you're a PC gamer, you still get it. If you're a Mac user, I don't know. I think you still will get it anyways. So yeah, I'm pretty stoked about this. It's good news for the whole of gaming. But we'll see. Again, we got to see what happens once it's finalized and if Microsoft decides to change course. I feel like internally, they're having a lot of these conversations about what they plan to do, but they can't really finalize them yet. Like, even when you look at the way Tim Stewart words things, he's very careful on how he words it because they don't actually own the company yet. So they got to be careful and like, are we going to a lot these or are we just PR-ing our way till the purchase is done in them? Or, yeah, you know, we're going to make them exclusive. That's completely up to Microsoft. That's what I think they should do. But you know what? I'll be glad if they don't. Either way, I'm going to own all the platforms. So I'll play the games wherever they play best. And I guess the plan is even if they let them go multi-platform, it'll be first and play best on Xbox. And I'm okay with that. It's still going to play really good on PlayStation 5, by the way. It's not like they're going to release a new Doom game and it's going to just, you know, run at 10 FPS. That's that's not good. Like it's still going to run pretty well on PlayStation 5. And I think for most gamers, it'll be indiscernible. But hey, it'll be one of those things. Maybe, you know, 120 FPS modes, exclusive to Xbox or something. Like, you know, running 1440p 120, I don't know. I'm just throwing ideas out there. I have no idea what's going to happen. None of us do. And I'm not even sure Microsoft knows. I think they're just this is so new and fresh for them that, you know, they're just kind of going with the flow at this point. Anyways, I end with any rubber jets from Nintendo Prime. I want to thank you so much for tuning in to this crazy news. And I'll catch all of you guys in the next video.