Matt Firor's statement [PS5 related]

Prof_Bawbag · September 2020

" ZeniMax Online Studios director Matt Firor said in a statement released on Twitter. "I want to take this moment to reassure the entire Elder Scrolls Online community that ESO will continue to be supported exactly as it was, and we fully expect it to keep growing and thriving on each of the platforms that are currently supported."

Apologies for yet another MS/Zeni thread, but I think this needs highlighted due to the wording.

I have no doubt this game will be playable on the PS5, that's not my worry, it's the bolded part that has me questioning where this is headed on the PS5. Why? Because the PS5, like the new Xbox aren't "currently supported". It's a no-brainer both PC and the new Xbox will be fully supported, but the above does not read in a very reassuring manner that all upcoming system will be supported equally. It's either worded badly or maybe some honesty is needed if there are any doubts?

Aye, call me paranoid, but so close to the next gen consoles being released, why not mention them too?

PizzaCat82 · September 2020

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/58601

I believe this post is a commitment to support ESO on PS5. Remember, Zenimax isn't being sold until 2021 at the earliest.

Nestor · September 2020

Also, the PS5 should have more guts and performance, something this game could always use more of. ZOS/MS would be shooting themselves in the foot to not port it to that platform.

TequilaFire · September 2020

It wouldn't be a good business decision to eliminate a whole console platform.
If they do Mac users should also worry, but MS likes everybody's money.

HanzeeBokeem · September 2020

This deal is all about Xbox Game Pass, will be interesting to see if they implement ESO Plus within their subscription model.

Prof_Bawbag · September 2020

PizzaCat82 wrote: »

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/58601

I believe this post is a commitment to support ESO on PS5. Remember, Zenimax isn't being sold until 2021 at the earliest.

Cheers, mate.

I fully appreciate what you and others have written. My worries kinda stretch beyond this year and into next. I've probably read too much into Matt's message, but hey, it wouldn't be the first time us gamers have been given the shaft.

Prof_Bawbag · September 2020

Genuine question because I've never played it, but does Minecraft on the PS4 still get the same updates and content as the Xbox version?

Linaleah · September 2020

https://kotaku.com/future-bethesda-games-will-come-to-other-consoles-on-a-1845129483 case by case basis.....

dcam86b14_ESO · September 2020

This has already been said by the head of MS on CNBC this morning.

dcam86b14_ESO · September 2020

dcam86b14_ESO wrote: »

This has already been said by the head of MS on CNBC this morning.

sorry meant to say XBOX head...here's the video

https://youtu.be/4887tnMhkfE

DMuehlhausen · September 2020

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

" ZeniMax Online Studios director Matt Firor said in a statement released on Twitter. "I want to take this moment to reassure the entire Elder Scrolls Online community that ESO will continue to be supported exactly as it was, and we fully expect it to keep growing and thriving on each of the platforms that are currently supported."

Apologies for yet another MS/Zeni thread, but I think this needs highlighted due to the wording.

I have no doubt this game will be playable on the PS5, that's not my worry, it's the bolded part that has me questioning where this is headed on the PS5. Why? Because the PS5, like the new Xbox aren't "currently supported". It's a no-brainer both PC and the new Xbox will be fully supported, but the above does not read in a very reassuring manner that all upcoming system will be supported equally. It's either worded badly or maybe some honesty is needed if there are any doubts?

Aye, call me paranoid, but so close to the next gen consoles being released, why not mention them too?

In short. Xbox and PC will probably get some exclusive zones, or cosmetic items as well as DLC and chapters first. they aren't going to just not put the next chapter on PS5 or anything.

BaiterOfZergs · September 2020

At best it means Xbox will possibly get fixes quicker, updates the same time as pc and even a possible pts.

Prof_Bawbag · September 2020

DMuehlhausen wrote: »

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

" ZeniMax Online Studios director Matt Firor said in a statement released on Twitter. "I want to take this moment to reassure the entire Elder Scrolls Online community that ESO will continue to be supported exactly as it was, and we fully expect it to keep growing and thriving on each of the platforms that are currently supported."

Apologies for yet another MS/Zeni thread, but I think this needs highlighted due to the wording.

I have no doubt this game will be playable on the PS5, that's not my worry, it's the bolded part that has me questioning where this is headed on the PS5. Why? Because the PS5, like the new Xbox aren't "currently supported". It's a no-brainer both PC and the new Xbox will be fully supported, but the above does not read in a very reassuring manner that all upcoming system will be supported equally. It's either worded badly or maybe some honesty is needed if there are any doubts?

Aye, call me paranoid, but so close to the next gen consoles being released, why not mention them too?

In short. Xbox and PC will probably get some exclusive zones, or cosmetic items as well as DLC and chapters first. they aren't going to just not put the next chapter on PS5 or anything.

It's not short term I'm concerned about. More 2022 and beyond.

Kiralyn2000 · September 2020

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

Aye, call me paranoid, but so close to the next gen consoles being released, why not mention them too?

Guess it depends on how you read "platform". If you see the three platforms as PC, Xbox, and Playstation., then they did mention them.

(MS bought Minecraft for zillions of $... and spread it to even more systems. They're spending huge $ to get Zeni. ESO is already widespread, and rakes in plenty of $. It's in their interests to keep it widespread and raking in $. "Ooh, a native Next-gen version of ESO, instead of just continuing to run the old one in backward-compatible mode!" is NOT a system-seller. Brand new 'exclusives' are. They have no reason at all to limit ESO to XB & PC.

SeaGtGruff · September 2020

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

Apologies for yet another MS/Zeni thread,

MS-ZOS. It's MS-ZOS.

I hope no one else coined that before me, because I want dibs on it!

zaria · September 2020

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

Aye, call me paranoid, but so close to the next gen consoles being released, why not mention them too?

Guess it depends on how you read "platform". If you see the three platforms as PC, Xbox, and Playstation., then they did mention them.

(MS bought Minecraft for zillions of $... and spread it to even more systems. They're spending huge $ to get Zeni. ESO is already widespread, and rakes in plenty of $. It's in their interests to keep it widespread and raking in $. "Ooh, a native Next-gen version of ESO, instead of just continuing to run the old one in backward-compatible mode!" is NOT a system-seller. Brand new 'exclusives' are. They have no reason at all to limit ESO to XB & PC.

This, cutting PlayStation out will loose them more money than they earn on ESO and generate lots of bad publicity.
PS4-5 players has nothing too fear.

Its some chance Xbox get some perks like easier to patch and perhaps an PTS.
System performance is more relevant to test on consoles than PC as hardware and software is just a few variations.

One benefit of MS is that they looks more interested in selling services than consoles. Consoles are just nice for gaming services, if you have an gaming pc use that, if you have an laptop, buy an XboX SX, gamepass work on both and you can play on both, on the go and strategy games on the laptop and other on the box.

JinMori · September 2020

zaria wrote: »

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

Aye, call me paranoid, but so close to the next gen consoles being released, why not mention them too?

Guess it depends on how you read "platform". If you see the three platforms as PC, Xbox, and Playstation., then they did mention them.

(MS bought Minecraft for zillions of $... and spread it to even more systems. They're spending huge $ to get Zeni. ESO is already widespread, and rakes in plenty of $. It's in their interests to keep it widespread and raking in $. "Ooh, a native Next-gen version of ESO, instead of just continuing to run the old one in backward-compatible mode!" is NOT a system-seller. Brand new 'exclusives' are. They have no reason at all to limit ESO to XB & PC.

This, cutting PlayStation out will loose them more money than they earn on ESO and generate lots of bad publicity.
PS4-5 players has nothing too fear.

Its some chance Xbox get some perks like easier to patch and perhaps an PTS.
System performance is more relevant to test on consoles than PC as hardware and software is just a few variations.

One benefit of MS is that they looks more interested in selling services than consoles. Consoles are just nice for gaming services, if you have an gaming pc use that, if you have an laptop, buy an XboX SX, gamepass work on both and you can play on both, on the go and strategy games on the laptop and other on the box.

That's one of the points i also made, microsoft does not care about selling consoles, they actually lose some money for each that they sell, they only care about services, and selling games, regardless of the platform.

Prof_Bawbag · September 2020

Yeah, I'm under no illusions that if they [MS] could they would happily sell Gamepass on Playstation too. Kinda pleased I missed out on the initial PS5 pre orders. TES is what got me into gaming and with the likelihood that both TES and FO will get some form of exclusivity on Xbox, it kinda makes me lean towards xbox. But like many folk on here, I've pumped a lot of money into this game on a single system and that is my only concern. It's a lot of time, money and effort to just discard. My first ever MMO, so spending all this money on one game has also been a new thing for me this gen.

idk · September 2020

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

Apologies for yet another MS/Zeni thread, but I think this needs highlighted due to the wording.

No need to apologize as this is important information for the community. More important than what is in any of the other threads. I am surprised that @ZOS_GinaBruno or @ZOS_MattFiror have not made a statement and pinned it here.

josiahva · September 2020

Pretty sure the PS5 is backward compatible with the PS4...so its a moot point, doesn't matter.

Prof_Bawbag · September 2020

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

Aye, call me paranoid, but so close to the next gen consoles being released, why not mention them too?

Guess it depends on how you read "platform". If you see the three platforms as PC, Xbox, and Playstation., then they did mention them.

(MS bought Minecraft for zillions of $... and spread it to even more systems. They're spending huge $ to get Zeni. ESO is already widespread, and rakes in plenty of $. It's in their interests to keep it widespread and raking in $. "Ooh, a native Next-gen version of ESO, instead of just continuing to run the old one in backward-compatible mode!" is NOT a system-seller. Brand new 'exclusives' are. They have no reason at all to limit ESO to XB & PC.

I completely get where you're coming from, but the key word and the only word that matters in your post is "Guess". We shouldn't need to be guessing. You are probably right, so it's not a slight on you at all. I simply don't think we should be guessing at this point.

Saying that, they've probably not been briefed on the nuances either.

Nomadic_Atmoran · September 2020

Up front I don't expect any impact on ESO and its content coming to PS4/5. I dont know what kind of contractual agreements Zenimax has with Sony but I imagine at least for the time being we have nothing to worry about. MS just spent 7 billion dollars on this acquisition. I doubt they want to spend more in legal fees just to give themselves bad PR.

Prof_Bawbag · September 2020

josiahva wrote: »

Pretty sure the PS5 is backward compatible with the PS4...so its a moot point, doesn't matter.

It's not the compatibility I'm bothered about. I know we're getting that. Assuming the game is still a thing by then, which no reason to doubt that it won't be, It's future content and support beyond 2021 I'm concerned about.

MrGhosty · September 2020

I would be surprised if they stop developing content for Ps5. I think it is possible they would maybe have some sort of a time exclusive deal which seems to be the new par with exclusivity deals this generation. I think they'll just be happy to have people's money and have them in the xbox ecosystem one way or another. As far as I've been able to tell, they haven't shut out any of the platforms from Minecraft after acquiring Mojang and you can look to the other studios they've recently acquired to see how they've been handling platform access as well. It is a good point the OP makes though, hopefully we can get a bit more information how this will all play out so people can plan accordingly.

josiahva · September 2020

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

josiahva wrote: »

Pretty sure the PS5 is backward compatible with the PS4...so its a moot point, doesn't matter.

It's not the compatibility I'm bothered about. I know we're getting that. Assuming the game is still a thing by then, which no reason to doubt that it won't be, It's future content and support beyond 2021 I'm concerned about.

As long as they are making money from that segment, they will not under any circumstances stop support....businesses don't succeed by shooting themselves in the foot, and say what you will about Microsoft, they are a successful business.....obviously ZOS doesn't have much problem adapting content for the PS4, so the time spent on top of what is needed for PC must be minimal....Microsoft will continue on as normal. The only time that might changes is if they ever made a ESO-2

UntilValhalla13 · September 2020

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

Genuine question because I've never played it, but does Minecraft on the PS4 still get the same updates and content as the Xbox version?

I play Minecraft on PS4, and it gets updates fairly regularly.

Prof_Bawbag · September 2020

Thank you everyone for responding. It's been greatly appreciated.

Whilst I appreciate it's all conjecture mixed in with a little bit of an educated guess, it's kinda reassuring that most folk still think PS5 owners have nothing to worry about. I suppose it's the amount of money i have put into the game that makes me more wary than i would otherwise have been.

Also refreshing to see the community come together and show some understanding without the need to belittle those who do have some genuine concerns over the matter. It usually descends into the OP being called an idiot, which i can be at times.

Again, thank you to all who replied.

DewiMorgan · September 2020

The page https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/58601 still states:

> if you currently own or plan to purchase an Xbox One or PS4 copy of The Elder Scrolls Online between now and the launch of ESO’s next-gen version for the Xbox Series X and PlayStation®5, you can upgrade free to that version of the game.

That's arguably not a specific promise to deliver a PS5 version... but, it kinda is. It's the kind of forward-looking statement that is intended to drive people's purchase and recommendation of ESO on the PS4 plarform, in the knowledge that a PS5 upgrade path will be available at no cost.

Also, they were still saying they'd do a next-gen version on the 19th, the day before the MS announcement: https://www.dualshockers.com/elder-scrolls-online-interview-rich-lambert-talks-markarth-performance-improvements-and-more/

GM: Is ESO gonna come to next-gen consoles as well?
RL: Yep, it is. What we’ve kind of announced up to this point is we are going to do a next-gen client. We’re not quite ready to talk about it yet, but at the launch of the consoles, you’ll be able to play Elder Scrolls Online in compat mode.

For people with PS4's it may be worth opening support tickets asking if that promise is still due to be honored.

Given MS're respecting Zeni's commitments on exclusivity for two other titles, I'd assume they'd honor this commitment too... but until there's explicit confirmation, I wouldn't put money behind that assumption.

juliandracos · September 2020

The reason MSFT bought Bethesda is for exclusive games. They are not EA or Ubisoft where the goal is to sell as many copies of games as possible. Rather, it is to make their hardware as attractive as possible to buy. Further, they want to build up their game pass options. Finally, they are working on cloud based gaming.

What does that mean for PS5? Well, if you think that MSFT will support PS5 because of money, you are wrong. You cannot get Halo on PS5 and there is a reason for that. Thus, you can expect many AAA titles (or perhaps all) to be Xbox/PC exclusive.

As for ESO, it is more complicated. Much depends on how much work will be done on the PS5 version before the deal is complete. It also depends on if PS5 is backwards compatible. ESO is already on multiple platforms. It is making money on multiple platforms. MSFT also tends to allow game studios to operate more independent. If a lot of work is done and there isn't much to be gained by denying PS5, then it will likely be on PS5.

Now If there was an ESO2, then I doubt that would be on PS5. It still would not surprise me if ESO does is not ported to PS5 or patches/support are behind Xbox/PC. There is little incentive to support PS5 other than guild will of current players who are looking at upgrading their PlayStation.

FrancisCrawford · September 2020

TequilaFire wrote: »

It wouldn't be a good business decision to eliminate a whole console platform.
If they do Mac users should also worry, but MS likes everybody's money.

Way back in the 1980s, Microsoft used to brag that it got more revenue per Mac than per PC. I think that was because Office had higher market share/penetration on the Mac than on the PC in its early days.

gepe87 · September 2020

The main series (tes vi and eso) may be released/supported on ps5... But elder scrolls has a huge amount of lore to do other (exclusive) spin-offs...