Yeah, I’m not sure how to honestly feel about this. Word on the cyber street is that Microsoft is bringing some of its exclusives such as Ori and the Blind Forest and Cuphead for Switch. Which begs the question, what is Microsoft’s end goal here?See, my first guess to this business move is that Microsoft has finally thrown in the towel and has dropped out of the console wars, following a similar route that Sega took years ago. Then again, another rumor that’s circling around is that Microsoft is preparing to reveal two brand new home consoles for the gaming market. So at least, it’s a sign that they’re still in the race for now.
I’ve clowned Microsoft and Xbox for years now, heck I even wrote a blog saying “Should Microsoft Drop Out Of The Console Market?“. However, like in that blog, I didn’t want that to happen as we need a company that pushes Sony to their best and vice versa. We all know Nintendo doesn’t care about the console wars and are more focusing on their own thing. So it’s important that Sony has a worthy competitor. So what exactly are they planning with this partnership?
According to JeuxVideo, translated by Gematsu, along with the release of both Ori and the Blind Forest and Cuphead for Switch, Xbox Game Pass and the Project xCloud game streaming platform will reportedly also be accessible to Switch players. Heck, there’s even talk of possibly seeing Forza, Gears of War, or Halo on the Switch, although I doubt Microsoft is going that far to hand over their only few good IP that they got left to convince people to purchase an Xbox. And if they ARE bringing it to the Switch, then bring them over to the PC too. I’m just saying.
Anyways, I’ll have to wait and see what this partnership will bring to the table. I wouldn’t mind playing games like Ori and Cuphead for the Switch but I’d also like Microsoft to teach Nintendo a thing or two about how to create a great online experience, with maybe some basic online functionality that have become essential to the gaming world.