BaldB3lper78

@OldGamer999 Interesting point and something I hadn’t considered.
I can’t see Xbox exiting the console business and if they do I think the games industry is in trouble as you would be left with PlayStation out on their own and Nintendo doing their own thing.

Do you actually think this means Xbox are genuinely heading toward just being a 3rd party publisher then and dropping consoles altogether? I just can’t see how that would be good for gaming as an industry. It would just leave PlayStation on its own
@fraserG

The so called ‘war’ between PS and Xbox is frankly pathetic.
Personally I prefer Xbox but can see why some prefer PS.
What we don’t want to see is Xbox leaving the console market because I don’t see who that would benefit in the long term apart from Sony.

I keep saying that Xbox won’t go 3rd party only but maybe I’m trying to convince myself too much?
If we are left with just Sony PlayStation - Nintendo will plough their own furrow - then gaming is dead. There will be zero competition in making games.

Maybe it’s time that Spencer came out any put these rumours to bed because it’s actually destroying the faith in the Xbox brand.

I noticed today that another media outlet is again saying that 2024 is the year XBox goes 3rd party only and stops making anymore consoles! Nate the Hate talking nonsense. Again.
Plenty of consoles to come from Xbox. Plenty.

I have played this on iOS and it’s great fun. It’s not the best but think old Doom and Minecraft and it’s a whole heap of fun. Well worth it for free!

It’s a great game that will keep getting better and better. The Xbox tax is very real.

It has been an incredible year for gaming on all formats but Xbox has been superb.
Nothing else to say really.

@RBRTMNZ each to their own. Personally think it’s one of the best games in recent years with a crazy amount of hours to be played.

@RBRTMNZ empty planets in space. Who knew?

@StylesT if it had been multiplatform then I think it would have got better reviews.
There is an u doubted bias in media to push PlayStation as the only console.

@RBRTMNZ I just wonder what flaws. Personally it’s one of the best games ive played in the last few years.

It’s all about opinions. But I don’t really understand the level of dislike for Starfield.
It’s expansive , loads of exploration and the battles are some of the best I’ve played in over 33 years of gaming.
It looks amazing and the soundtrack is Star Wars esque. Very John Williams.

It’s not for everyone of course but I can’t quite get my head around how much it has been blitzed.

Starfield is an incredible game.

Wishing you all a very happy Xmas! Thanks for all the great content and best wishes for a brilliant Xbox 2024! @fraser all the best to you and yours!

When I read that Xbox has no games I just find it baffling. I did have a Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X but sold the PS5. It sat collecting dust.
It’s been an awesome year for gaming on Xbox and made even better since I got the Logitech GCloud which has led to me gaming more than I ever have before!!

Disney Speedstorm and plenty of Starfield which I continue to love! So much exploring to be done and I love diving into battles.

Another game I’m on is Pool Blitz. A free game that is really simple but bloody addictive!

It will grow and grow but could do with more right now. I’ve noticed a real sea change in Xbox recently though. Much more marketing of Xbox and games and I think 2024 will be an amazing year - let’s face it, despite what some may say @fraser 2023 has been an incredible year for gaming on Xbox!
Think play anywhere, Game Pass and more will grow and grow.
Anyone who thinks Xbox is about to die is very wide of the mark!

Damn it! I may have to get this now!!!

@fraser I went for Tekken 7 ahead of Tekken 8 release. Am loving playing it again and I always felt more at home with Tekken than SF.
Tried to not buy too many tbh!

Will just buy the games in a sale

I think that these kind of articles are designed to raise fear amongst Xbox gamers. Xbox itself is in great health and 2024 looks like being amazing across the board for Xbox gamers,
Sometimes we have to look beyond the console sales.
And when I say ‘articles like this,’ I am referring to the source rather than you @fraser

Am still cracking on with it in small bursts. Fabulous game. So much to it. I don’t get the hate at all.

I use it all of the time. It’s superb and makes gaming so easy when returning! No fuss, easy to use.

Exactly what accessible gaming should be @fraser

@themightyant I think Switch 2 will be announced March 2024 for November 2024.
As long as it is backward compatible it will sell as well as the OG Switch.
Xbox will be just fine. Nothing to be worried about at all.

That’s brilliant pricing. As Xbox make a loss on consoles anyway, why not leave these are the permanent prices and get more consoles in more homes?
Being a loss leader would make sense right now!
If I didn’t already have one, at these prices I would buy one again!

Love this service! It’s brilliant!

@FraserG 😂😂

Been wanting to play this for a while so cheers for the heads up! Now downloading and the Mrs can have a smaller present this year.

After all, they say it is the thought that counts and I thought about it! @fraser cheers!

The FTC are embarrassing themselves. Wasting more money needlessly.

It is truly pathetic .

Plenty to be happy about. Xbox is doing just fine. Yes it’s behind PS but we don’t need to worry about that.

Nice. GamePass ramping up now.

@Sol4ris Xbox will go cloud only. In the next 15 years I doubt we will be able to buy Xbox consoles.

Although it would kill all physical Xbox media so it would be a huge change to make and would probably lose them money. They need to decide what the strategy is because right now it feels like they have too many chefs at the pot and they all seem to want different things.

Xbox comes across as being a total mess tbh.

The long term goal is clearly to exit the console market and become a 3rd party dev on all consoles.
I think we will see one more generation of Xbox consoles but that will be the end of it for consoles.

Getting more players playing Xbox games is the goal and the fact they don’t even see Nintendo or PlayStation as competitors anymore is telling.

That said, I doubt PlayStaion and Nintendo see Xbox as competitors really any more when it comes to console sales.

I would not be at all surprised to see Game Pass on the next Switch. Would not be surprised at all.

I would be hugely disappointed if Xbox as a console does cease but I cannot see it ending any other way and they are now being very clear their goals are about games on all systems.

It will kill competition though and that will be bad for gaming in the long term.

I’m hoping it means we can play 360 games via remote play and cloud. You can already do that with the job official remote play all but it’s really frustrating that you can’t with the official one. It’s not hard to sort!

@InterceptorAlpha I have a Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X. That's my choice but it doesn't mean I'm not serious about gaming.
I love the access to so many games with Xbox and GamePass and personally I find PlayStation less consumer friendly.

But the idea it makes me any less serious a gamer just isn't the case at all.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner If GamePass did end up on another console, I would see it being on the next Switch more than PlayStation.

Sure, the console sales are not good but Xbox wont be stopping making consoles anytime soon. As for GamePass on PlayStation, I cannot see happening. Think about it, would Sony want cross platform games being part of GamePass on the PS? People would play and potentially not buy -that would hit fit with the PS business model.

Sony want to be an exclusive club and they have worked relentlessly to achieve that goal. Their brand is now so strong that fans would buy a paper bag for 50 quid if it had the PlayStation logo on it. It is so powerful. The loyalty has blinded many to the fact that they are now anything but consumer friendly.

For me, Xbox is the better console, GamePass is brilliant and I love the experience.

Whilst the focus is no doubt about cloud and gaining more players overall, Xbox won’t bow out of consoles anytime soon and as for anyone thinking that Xbox will leave the gaming market altogether, that just is not going to happen.

Xbox leaving would be bad for gaming. Interestingly, we hear lots about Xbox wanting to dominate gaming yet it is PlayStation who have been the most aggressive to achieve that aim.

We still need competition because it is that that makes gaming better for all of us.

@FraserG well said.

Look at the sales. You can’t call it anything other than really poor.
Some great games but sales and Game Pass subs have got nowhere near where they need to be.
Worryingly they don’t look like picking up either.
Personally I love Xbox and Game Pass and I worry about how they are going to keep up because sales in Europe as well as other territories are flagging.
The lack of marketing in the UK is also bizarre. Watching TV you would think that Xbox didn’t exist here.

@x3King84 The marketing in the UK is almost non existent compared to Switch and PlayStation. It’s bizarre to have a great product and not market it at all.

Sadly the future doesn’t look so great. The sales figures, Game Pass subs and game sales are falling too often.
Thankfully, MS have pretty bottomless pockets so they can sustain the losses but even with Acti/Blizzard I just can’t see Game Pass subs growing enough.
Even a nearly 7 years old system has over 89 million Switch online subscribers.
PlayStation brand is so powerful that it could release a pile of crap and it would still sell - see PS Portal.

People can say what they want about Phil Spencer but this is not the 1st time complaints have been raised and he had stepped in. It’s what leaders do.

@liam @fraser They will now keep the free perk

Decision has now been reversed. Confirmed via the Verge and Phil Spencer.

@Rockboy247 They didn’t but it seems it was going to just be DLC and then when the deal was closer it became a ‘full game.’
It will be the same people making the game next time.
Should have just been DLC rather than pushed as a new game IMHO.

@HonestHick
This is a really disappointing start to the new Xbox company!

A 3 to 4 hour DLC takes up this much space? This is a nightmare start for Acti/Blizzard and Xbox. Really bad.
Why not just release it as DLC and charge 30 quid? Zero way this is a 70 quid game.
Really disappointing start. Let’s hope this isn’t a sign of things to come from Phil and Xbox.

Well no surprise to see him there at all.

He’s got some serious hard work to do in the coming months. MW3 really looks like being nothing more than DLC and that’s nit acceptable. Sounds like a rush job and a 4/10 from IGN suggests this is really hard start for Xbox and Acti Blizzard. Will we really see new games or will we just see a mass of games pushed onto Game Pass? I’d love to play some of the older classics but the start to this relationship doesn’t bode well.

I love my Xbox but really worry that this is all about money and nothing else.

A perk is a perk. It’s not part of your salary and should never be expected. It’s like bonuses - they are never guaranteed.
Let’s not confuse perks with actual wages.