Last October, Microsoft debuted its Xbox Partner Preview show format to deliver news strictly focused on third-party releases - followed up by a second Partner Preview event this week. So, after a couple of appearances, what do you make of the new format from Team Green?
We reckon this March rendition really solidified it as a great way to go for smaller, third-party releases. Sure, it's more indie-focused than the sorts of games we see turn up during the summer showcases, but as a compliment to Xbox Developer Direct and the Xbox Games Showcase, we think it works really well. Having said that, some pretty big games cropped up during this recent show!
The event is also a super-slick production that focuses solely on trailers and gameplay - even more so than Dev Direct that incorporates more developer chatter. Truth be told we quite like all of the Xbox show formats these days, save for the suspiciously AI-sounding voiceover in the March Partner Preview.
Dev Direct might be our top choice just because we actually like hearing the creators break down what's going on with some of Xbox's biggest games, but yeah, this is a lovely addition to the livestream roster we think!
But, what do you think to Xbox's Partner Preview format? Let us know what you make of it down below.
Comments 19
It was really great to watch and I hope that these type of showcases will happen more frequently as they are great to show off the upcoming games… also great to chat as it happens with the other gamers here to hear their perspectives….
Pretty good. They smartly set expectations. Worst thing you can do is overpromise it underdeliver. I like them.
I like the format a lot, but I’m sort of hoping I like the games more next time.
Part of issue with previous shows is took much talking. This one didn’t have enough. I watched the show with a bunch of Nintendo only gamers and most of them were confused on what the games were. Like Sleight if Hand.
Obviously let’s not go back to the talking heads but maybe a small bit of back and forth narration ?
I like that they still do the lengthy developer talk segments but they are separate videos. The qr code makes it simple to hear more about any of the games that you want to hear more about without dragging the whole show down.
I wish they would make the gamepass announcements a little more prominent than it was yesterday. I liked when it was given the "world premiere" treatment at the beginning of the trailer instead of buried in the platforms frame at the very end. They did kind of make it prominent in the brief recap of what has been announced so far segments but there is something about starting the trailer with GP day 1. It really grabbed my attention and I was more interested in the trailer when gamepass was revealed at the beginning.
My only complaint is that they just end.
Like, the final reveal should have a little more umpth so it feels like it's done. At the moment it feels anti-climatic as the final trailer ends and then you realise "oh that's it" . It doesn't have to be fancy, a simple "and finally..." would be enough.
I want a separate GP game show, would anyone watch?
Format was good, narrator was on qualudes, games were awful.
Good. Less talky more trailery.
Formats good for me.
But so far this year on all platforms haven’t seen a single big killer app, blow me away game yet.
Indy is the only game this year so far that has got me really interested on all platforms.
Hope this year picks up a bit more.
@OldGamer999 it’s the state of the industry at the moment - a AAA game is taking longer than ever to get produced. Five plus years and $X millions. Then usually it comes out buggy and even higher costs involved to fix… Then factor in that that game may not even interest you or me then we start all over again… So we only see 4-10 games a year potentially for Xbox that are AAA.
So we have to play remasters and AA until the industry figures out how to get these AAA or quadruple A ‘s out faster….
@AlwaysPlaying
It never used to be like that with the big AAA across all platforms.
It’s working from home that’s causing most of this
Game development is a massive collaborative process and companies and high ups have totally lost control and are being controlled by a work force insisting on working from home.
It’s was fine before covid when the WFH started.
I definitely enjoyed the format, and it makes a nice change of pace to the developer direct videos (which are also good, but more suited to first party deep-dives). This was good, but like @abe_hikura said, it would have been nice to have a final special highlight to finish on!
Great format, and I like the serene masculine voice-over. It creates an interesting atmosphere, besides the current hype culture, where everything has to be over the top and super explosive.
I do like the format, though the voice over sounded like AI.
I didnt think the show was that good, but the format is surely a winner!
@OldGamer999
Opinions will vary of course, but seeing as how you mention 'all formats', both Hell Divers 2 and FF Rebirth have blown me away and are some of the best games I've ever played in their respective genres.
As far as I'm concerned you are very wrong and simply pushing a tired narrative you started ages ago.
@Titntin
It’s just my opinion but I see it in my business which isn’t game development in fairness.
But some things are slower and harder to achieve overall when certain people are not working on site. So it’s from real live work experiences which continues as of today.
Love the format, specially the fact they keep extras like discussion with devs or more gameplay to other videos and because of it the pace is spot on.
@AlwaysPlaying Hopefully AI won't be the answer
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...