Yesterday's Nintendo Direct event brought us a whole bunch of games that have since been announced for Xbox, but two of the games that weren't confirmed for Microsoft's platform have been getting just as much attention as the rest.
Those two games are Capcom's Monster Hunter Stories and Bandai Namco's Gundam Evolution 4, both of which are coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and PC, but not Xbox - at least based on their initial reveals.
This has led to various discussion and debates on social media, with some suggesting it makes no sense for these titles to skip Xbox, and others pointing out that the likes of Gundam Evolution have never been on the platform anyway:
Karim Jovian on Twitter: "How many amazing games like these are going to skip the Xbox? While I don’t mind games from Xbox going to other platforms, that same effort should be put to have games like these come to the Xbox that are skipping it."
Zer0e on Twitter: "As I said in another post, no Gundam Breaker's been on Xbox. So people need to calm down about the FOURTH title not coming. A Monster Hunter skipping is a different story. But it's also not going to PS5, which is weird. Maybe a next gen release down the line? Maybe w/Switch 2?"
Sixers Octavian on Twitter: "Thanks for bringing attention to this. Happens all too frequently and gets handwaved like “I don't care about this anyway”. Awful look when it comes to everything except one specific platform. They add up."
Danno on Twitter: "I hate to say it but…. the problem isn't that a game like Monster Hunter Stories is skipping Xbox, the problem is that out of everyone complaining about it I could likely count on one hand who would actually buy it."
There are obviously a lot of strong opinions about this, but we should also reiterate that a bunch of Xbox games were announced following the Nintendo show yesterday, including Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, the Star Wars: Battlefront - Classic Collection and many others.
It's always said to see third-party games skipping Xbox for whatever reason though, and we're hoping as time goes on, it'll start to become a thing of the past. Will we ever see these two titles on the platform? Maybe one day we will...
What are your thoughts about this situation? TEll us down in the comments section below.
Comments 47
People just like to complain there's no law that says every game released should have an Xbox version.
Fear not everyone, Team Green has heard us and they are listening to our concerns and are actively planning on launching more 1st-party games to other systems to combat this situation.
@Rangers420 People sure do complain a lot. Pick a system, play the games on said system. If you have the means, then get multiple platforms. Entitlement on full display with all this crying that something isn't on my system.
Seems strange to not have MHstories as other MH are on Xbox (unless it’s coming to GPU and can’t announce yet?!)
Gundam as the 4th one makes sense.
@Rangers420 yeah I know right! We all got exclusives and that has been the game since the beginning of consoles. Sometimes I feel like people aren't even going to play the games that are excluded from the console. They're just complaining...
With the cost of development ever increasing,why develop for a platform that seems to be dying , youre gonna go with the most effective and viable way to make money , I mean ms is doing something similar by releasing their games on other more successful platforms , everyone wants to make more money.
But don’t worry Phil will make sure every Xbox game is on its competitors… I am fine with PlayStation and switch getting games with only the multiplayer part but campaign strictly for game pass or Xbox users so player count won’t dwindle on shooters
@TheSimulator that's their business plan , nice one phil
@Shushibda if it’s a dying platform why do you waste your time commenting on articles about it, do you not have better things to do with your time?
This doesnt bother me in the slightest bit.
Wait, we're getting Epic Mickey? Niiiiice.
Imagine skipping a whole ecosystem in 2024 🤡🤡
I just hope this is just an isolated case and NOT a sign of things to come.
Removed - trolling/baiting; user is banned
I'm sick and tired of it myself, and I'm sick and tired of Microsoft consistently failing to do anything about it.
@UndyingInsurgent95 It's not a sign of things to come, it's already here. Although I'm not at all fussed about Gundam Breaker 4, I was really disappointed to learn that Monster Hunter Stories will be skipping Xbox. I certainly would've bought it had it been made available on the platform.
@Shushibda I’ll take that as no then
@MrN0vmbr take it any way you'd like
All the more reason Microsoft needs to figure out how to make the next Xbox be a PC rather than a closed system.
Here is what Microsoft needs to do:
1) Create a special Windows-based frontend for the console (just so people don't need keyboard/mouse to navigate).
2) Get the backwards compatibility working on PC (even if it's only available on the PC-based frontend)
3) Give developers the specific hardware specifications of their Xbox console for developers to test their PC versions of games
4) Figure out how to transfer all console libraries over to PC - whether through official X360/OG Xbox emulation or through actual PC-versions of available games.
Since developers already make PC-versions of games, all Microsoft needs to do is have developers test their PC code against the specific hardware. Remove the need for special licensing and devkits. No more "closed" APIs required to "port" to the Xbox.
If developers don't feel it's "worth it" to make a specific Xbox port, then remove the specific Xbox port and go to the developers on the PC side!
Oh and also add Steam integration with the side-effect that it can play Sony PC games - brute-force "cross platform" (though I am sure Sony would probably bully Valve into blocking its games from this special PC-based Xbox if this was possible).
Microsoft may not be able to "out console" Sony, but it can certainly "out PC" Sony.
@GamingFan4Lyf It looks great on paper but I think it's going to be hard to execute. But I do think we will see SOME of that come true over time, especially backwards compatibility via the cloud. (It's actually a better fit for older games than it is for newer games in many ways) But you over-trivialise how hard it would be to "Figure out how to transfer all console libraries over to PC" not least licensing, where many games won't have been sold with a license that allows transferring it like this. There is a reasons why only about 20% of the Xbox 360 and OG Xbox library is backwards compatible and it took a humongous effort to make it that big.
Honestly surprised Monster Hunter Stories is still being ported. It’s been on mobile for years. If you really wanted to play it, you can play it there. (It’s available on both iOS and Android). No big deal.
@themightyant If anyone can make it happen, it's Microsoft.
I mean, I wouldn't care if Microsoft abandons it all together, but I know some people would lose their minds if they suddenly lost access to games like Blue Dragon or Lost Odyssey. I think many of the available Xbox 360/OG Xbox games have a PC-release of some kind, though. I think all X1/XS have PC versions so it would be more about pulling those games into the Microsoft Store (or partnering with Steam) to have them available and relying on official Emulation (or the Cloud) for those games that don't have PC versions.
I never said it was "trivial" just that Microsoft should figure it out. I am sure it would be a ton of work. But probably no more work than engineering a new closed console with "custom" parts from...whoever. New SDKs. Porting/creating the UI to new system. etc. etc.
Going forward however, it will make things a lot easier as Microsoft only needs to work on hardware refreshes as the "console" spec gets outdated. R&D costs drop significantly.
Plus, I am sure developers would be happy to not have yet another closed-console system to deal with. Live service games won't need a whole new version to create when a new console comes out.
Consumers will be happy because the need to "upgrade" will be more about personal tolerable performance thresholds the "old console" can handle - and if they are only playing Fornite, Warzone, Valorent, etc., then they probably won't upgrade at all as those games stay pretty static in terms of technical requirements.
The biggest key though is to make it feel like a seamless transition for users, but an entire backend shift that benefits Microsoft and developers.
Catch 22. Don’t buy games, less games get ported, less games get ported, less games get bought. UK charts shows system purchase percentage and for a number of games that are on all 3 systems, Xbox is rarely in the lead.
@FarmDog08 People love to throw out “entitlement” to try and shut down fair criticism they don’t like. Please stop that mentality.
It’s harmless to bemoan games skipping Xbox. Given their baffling strategy and poor position they’re in right now, I can’t blame anyone for doing it. Yeah you could just go and buy more systems, but be real, not everyone can do that these days.
@GamingFan4Lyf I agree there is a lot of merit to the idea, and I can see this slowly happening over a few generations, effectively Xbox becoming a fixed spec PC, perhaps eschewing 'generations'. But I also think it's a massive headache especially after they have just recommitted themselves to backwards compatibility in the podcast.
New SDKs and other changes basically mean having to thoroughly retest/QA every game that goes through it. There are over 6,000 Xbox games across generations now. Even making 10% - 20% of that library BC on new hardware is a herculean task. But I agree if ANYONE can, it's Microsoft. A good use for AI perhaps.
I know you didn't use the word 'trivial', I did, but it's just so complicated. Time will tell, but we're a long way off imo.
The issue with these types of games is that the audience for these games are not on xbox. There is a chicken before the egg scenario of devs not wanting to make games where there is no audience but the audience will never be there without the games.
Xbox has been trying to correct this with gamepass deals but it is going to take a very long time for a large enough audience for these games to be on xbox.
@themightyant But that's work that would have to happen with a closed ecosystem anyways. So why not go ahead and do the headache now for PC so you never have to worry about it ever again?
The backwards compatibility on Xbox is nothing more than a Virtual Machine that also taps into the console hardware. For those games that don't have a PC-version, then make the Virtual Machine work in Windows that is relatively hardware agnostic (or just make it work with the Xbox "console" hardware). I feel like "Cloud-only" solutions for that would be met with backlash.
My whole thing is, if hobbyists making emulators can do it, a corporation who can pay people who have official access to proprietary technical details as part of their job can certainly do it too!
Time will tell, and it probably will be a slow transition. But the best platform for backwards compatibility is the PC.
So, if you really want to commit to game preservation than move to a platform where old games are still very playable without the need for making special backwards compatibility applications (but may need a small patch to address obsolete/unsupported technology).
GamingFan4Lyf wrote:
Not really, one of the reasons they keep using AMD is to keep the same custom silicon that makes backwards compatibility work. It's why PS4 Pro, PS5 both have bespoke modes on the chip to emulate PS4 so that almost all those games work flawlessly. It's around 3100+ PS4 games, 99.9% of the library "just works". I think there were less than 10 that didn't, or had glitches, and most of those have been patched.
Same with XBO -> XSX|S. 95+% of the library (basically just excluding Kinect) works.
However Xbox's BC for X360 and XB is different, as you said it's a virtual machine, where EVERY game has worked on separately and tested. Same for PS1, PS2 & PS3 it's why there are comparatively so few of those. Around 20% for Xbox, MUCH less for PlayStation.
If they break away from their custom AMD architecture and Xbox SDKs they will have to do the virtual machine type of BC again, this time for a much larger library, we'd likely see an even smaller percentage of games actually work.
I agree once done it would be better in future but it would be a painful change. Rock and a hard place. Perhaps they could dual boot a custom Windows and Xbox for BC, best of both worlds
I don't understand why Monster Hunter Stories 2 is still console-exclusive on Switch. The game is way more worthy of being played on modern-gen devices anyway than this upscaled 3DS port.
@themightyant "If they break away from their custom AMD architecture and Xbox SDKs they will have to do the virtual machine type of BC again, this time for a much larger library, we'd likely see an even smaller percentage of games actually work."
Except...they wouldn't because they would use the PC version of the game. They don't need to use the X1 version or the Xbox Series X version and in many cases they don't need the X360 or OG version either. I understand using the PC-version essentially "kills" the console version, but it's still access to the actual game.
For X360 and OG Xbox they can use the PC versions of games where PC versions are available. There is no "Backwards Compatibilty" anymore - it's native PC code.
Look at Game Pass PC and look at the old games that are on there from the OG Xbox/X360 era: Morrowind, Oblivion, Psychonauts, Fallout 3.
Microsoft only need the Virtual Machine BC for games that don't have PC versions (Rare Replay, Blue Dragon, etc.).
The rest would be more about securing games that aren't on the Microsoft Store but may be found on things like Steam or GOG (Knights of the Old Republic, Sonic Generations, etc). OR simply working with Valve, Epic, CDPR to integrate with their services and transfer the console-license to owned games over to their repository (like when Bethesda moved all their games to Steam after the Bethesda launcher shutdown).
Save integration will be an issue, but there are a ton of games during the X1 and Series X era that support Play Anywhere/Smart Delivery, so really X360/OG eras are the areas of highest concern - especially for those who may have hundreds of hours in the X360 version of some games.
My Surface Book 2 with Nvidia 1060 can run pretty much any game from X1 and older. Series X|S class hardware could run everything the Microsoft Store has to offer (even if it's only at "console settings"). Any future Xbox "console" would have zero issues running any PC version of a Series X|S game and below.
So, again, regardless if Microsoft changes hardware manufacturers, using the PC versions means it doesn't matter what hardware Microsoft uses. The only part that requires modification is the Virtual Machine part for non-PC games.
@Ralizah I think it depends on how well the pc/ps ports go. This was probably cheaper as it’s also on mobile to port and faster. If there is interest; I’m sure they will get ports. At least for PC. But I think doing 2 before 1 causes an Octopath Traveler situation.
@mousieone I mean, as I recall, Stories 2 released simultaneously on Switch and PC with little issue. People understood why some random 3DS game wasn't getting ported, since those often don't transition well to other platforms.
@Ralizah hmm well my brain is fried today. Sorry about but I still think that’s the other all issue why 2 isn’t on PS5 yet. I assume it will be if this does well. Switch though I think the assumption is people might have played it. But the Rise exclusivity is gone so I can’t see that still being there for stories.
Gundam Breaker, not evolution xD
yeah its disappointing. idk if im gonna get breaker now since my friends have all basically moved to xbox, use switch for specific things, and got rid of their playstations.
kinda disappointing.
I have a Xbox and Switch.
Gundam Breaker 4 will probably run like ASS on Switch so yeah, I was hoping it would come to Xbox.
I have not been overly interested in the Monster Hunter Games, but I would like to see the Gundam games getting a Xbox release, the last Gundam games to get released for the Xbox were Dynasty Warriors Gundam 1-3 for the x360. I also get that the Gundam games are kind of a Niche game so I am not overly surprised that they don't want to make a Xbox port.
@GamingFan4Lyf perhaps that’s possible. But even if that was true, licensing is still an issue. Just because you buy an Xbox version of a game it doesn’t grant you the right to the PC version in most cases. Even if studios and publishers allowed this for their games the licenses WITHIN games - for music, cars, tracks, IP etc. - likely have limitations. It’s a complex problem on so many levels.
Regardless, as you said, if anyone can do it Microsoft can but I doubt it’s going to be as straightforward as you make out.
I cannot understand how can a gamer skips on Playstation. It has really great games (exclusive and cross platforms including 1st party Xbox!).
@FarmDog08 What if money is an issue and I can't afford $1K+ just for consoles every 5 years, not even including the games or Sub services? I'm pretty sure Capcom and Bandai could afford to port them over to the singular extra Platform. But no, scold the people who have to buy the products and not the trillion dollar companies that make them. And you're gonna say other people are entitled with your mentality??
@Sifi with that sub you also get online gaming , a selection of great games every month , exclusive discounts , cloud gaming , you can get credit from a online retailer and buy the sub and games, its far cheaper that way , just because you can't buy a code for a game , doesnt mean you can't get that game , just buy credit.
The calibre of Sony games are the best in the business of course theyre gonna take time , they also had the live service debacle and hacks to contend with , and besides it's not like ps doesn't have any exclusive this year , there's a plethora of titles due , including a certain 93 rated rpg next week I believe.
Japanese developers just don't care much about Xbox.
@Sifi who pays a subscription just for cloud saves though ? Why should I care whos making games exclusively for ps5 , I still get to play them right? , don't really care who's logo comes up when the game starts , and just think of all the great stuff from Sony that'll be out next year , I know xbox has a few due this year and I'll play them on game pass , but let's be honest they're not really in the same league as a Sony first party title.no shade....just facts.
@themightyant "Regardless, as you said, if anyone can do it Microsoft can but I doubt it’s going to be as straightforward as you make out."
You probably right about that. But I do think somehow transitioning to full-on PC is the future of Xbox as it's something that plays into Microsoft's strengths - especially with developers simply abandoning dedicated Xbox console versions of games.
It still seems odd to me that it happens. I mean, the whole original concept for Xbox was to make porting a PC version easy. Heck, switching to an x86 architecture should have made that even simpler!
The PC versions will already have Series X controller integration and button prompts because it's like the defacto gamepad for Windows. The games already utilize DirectX. 3D Audio work is already done because Windows supports Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS:X.
From an outsider's point of view looking in, most of the Xbox "work" is already done when a PC version is made. The only thing that needs to get "nailed down" are the graphical settings which is kind of also already done because of the PS5 version.
But, I am sure there is a bunch of other formalities and behind the scenes things that need to get done due to it being a closed system that are the hang-ups to make the Xbox "not worth" investing in right away (or at all).
GamingFan4Lyf wrote:
These are mostly in the minority thankfully. But there are games that don't go to Nintendo or Playstation or PC too. Not every system gets every game. Hence I think this issue is mostly over exaggerated. At a rough guess i'd estimate Xbox gets 90+% of the releases on PlayStation that aren't niche titles that never make it out of Japan / other locales.
At the end of the day does anyone really have a shortage of games to play on Xbox?
Regardless thanks for an interesting discussion.
Removed - trolling/baiting; user is banned
There will be certain people (some here who would) that will somehow blame Sony for this one.
I keep saying it, and nobody listens. Namco is ***** biased against Xbox. Somebody there is. We haven't gotten an EDF game since they took over D3Publisher. Literally everything Yukes has made the past 20 years was multi-plat, EXCEPT their EDF spin offs. I'll bet anything Yukes was going to port them too but someone at Namco blocked it. Gaming media needs to shine a brighter light on this ***** situation.
be aware they are not the first and will not be the last,xbox get even less at least we got gamepass right? its a reality i've seen and xbox don't say a word about it because it's bad for bussiness but they know they are currently the weakest platform when it come to japenese publisher support but hey at least we got a good support from capcom,square enix recently waked up,we got bandai namco,sega but hey it is what it is.
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