Banjo-

It's a very important milestone, considering that it doesn't have the "Mario" name on the box that means automatic sales regardless of quality. Besides, they are hard to complete. I liked them more than I expected, not having played them before. 100% completed. The fixed camera makes 30fps bearable. It's a shame that Spyro Reignited Trilogy is 30fps and feels much lower for some reason, probably the camera. Crash Team Racing should also receive the FPS Boost treatment.

Against all odds, Xbox has become the one with the greatest number and most interesting games in the pipeline.

@Utena-mobile Diddy Kong Racing is, although it was remade, or rather, demade for NDS. Nintendo and Microsoft should agree to re-release or remaster the original version. Microsoft has been open-minded and cooperative about their IPs, but what Nintendo is willing to do is anyone's guess. Although Nintendo own Diddy and the Kremlings, they didn't create them. They did not even create the modern design of Donkey Kong, so Rare was credited in Mario Kart 64! It's weird seeing every game re-released but Diddy Kong Racing, even more after Goldeneye 007.

Considering that MT Framework supports Windows, it shouldn't be that hard to do a minor update to their own engine to release the game for, at least, Xbox One or run MT Framework within RE Engine like other not demanding games that run within a second engine do, e.g., Sonic Origins. I would love to say that Capcom's latest game will come, but others haven't yet. It's a shame because it leaves collections incomplete. It would be worth contacting Capcom for official clarification instead of re-tweeting.

@Scrubchub The Xbox remaster is the way to play this: 60fps, HD and infinitely better controls than the Switch version.

@Utena-mobile Actually, Microsoft owns Perfect Dark and partially owns Diddy Kong Racing. Nintendo owns all the Donkey Kong games made by Rare, the Diddy and Krunch (as a Kremling) characters in Diddy Kong Racing (the other characters are owned by Microsoft) and Star Fox Adventures, also developed by Rare. Moreover, Microsoft owns Jetpac, included in Donkey Kong 64.

@Pusher2021 Nice to hear that, Wave Race fellow 😊.

More reasons to buy an Xbox is the much better value compared to a computer with equivalent specifications, considering that PCs are not optimised for gaming and waste resources and energy, so they need to be more powerful for achieving the same results and run hotter and noisier, plus the big backwards compatibility catalogue of Xbox and Xbox 360 titles and the low-latency Xbox Wireless compared to Bluetooth. Xbox is precisely the best of PC and console together.

@anoyonmus In this case it's a Wii port with the 3DS levels. They didn't even add fur shading to Donkey Kong. Nintendo is the greediest and their fans are the biggest suckers, hence this situation of full-priced ports and re-ports. I say this as someone who loves Nintendo's classics and grew up playing on Nintendo consoles like most Nintendo fanboys. According to Nintendo, the age average of all Switch users is 30-something. I even have the Wii U and it's still connected to the TV, like the Switch.

@anoyonmus Yes but the digital accounts of Wii U, 3DS and Switch were merged (NNID and Nintendo accounts). There was a cross-buy game, but just one if I remember well, Mario versus DK Tipping Stars. It's not that Nintendo needs an excuse to re-sell ports full price to the same users, mind you.

We have to admit that at least Xbox is not trying to re-sell the same games to their fans five times like Nintendo. Donkey Kong Country Returns -3D +HD w/o fur shading.

Nintendo's highlight is Metroid Prime 4, that I've been waiting for since 2007, but not as much as I've been waiting for Wave Race. For me, they're not the same since GameCube and partly Wii. My favourite Nintendo games are for SNES, N64 and GC. Nothing since then matches that level of originality and quality. The new producers and designers are not at the same level, at all.

@species8472 I think so.

@BHPM @Tecinthehead No problem at all as the Steam version is for Windows and Xbox runs Windows. Just port the Windows version to Xbox as it's the easiest thing ever. I think that they just prioritised the best-selling platforms for launch day: PC, PS4 and Switch.

@anoyonmus No, Square Enix specifically mentioned Xbox.

For HD titles, the Group (Square Enix) will aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs. Especially, in regards to major franchises and AAA titles including catalog titles, it will build an environment where more customers can enjoy our titles.

A shame. You need to support all platforms consistently if you want users to trust you. I hope that these are released for Xbox soon. However, reading that it's coming to Steam, PS4 and Switch, it's obvious that they are prioritising the best-selling platforms, note that PS5 is omitted although the game will be playable via backwards compatibility. Since the Steam release is a Windows version and Xbox runs Windows, I expect an Xbox version, probably an Xbox One version to sell the game on both generations.

@IOI If you just look at the fantastic games that they have developed and the timing, there is no easy explanation, but there are some things that reveal the background story that were discussed on the other fifteen threads about this closure.

Maybe it's related to the producers of Ghostwire Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush that had left the studio. Its founder had left it earlier and was not even involved in The Evil Within 2, an IP that he created. He founded Tango, yet wrote a tweet about its fate that some people believe is sarcastic. I believe that there were internal disagreements that led to everyone else have his game and, eventually, his studio.

Being in Japan, Microsoft can't do what they did with the Activision teams like move people, rebrand one team (Activision Albany) and create a new one (Activision Elsewhere). It's not that simple for a Western company to restructure a Japanese developer and find new talents in Japan. So, I think it's not just because of the games not being the biggest sellers, but all these circumstances together.

@Kooky_Geezer What @Sifi said and regarding Nintendo, they have another business strategy, skeleton personnel and outsource the majority of the development to reduce costs and risks, with rare exceptions like the acquisition of one of them, Next Level Games. Nintendo doesn't own HAL Laboratory nor Intelligent Systems, in spite of hiring them since 1983.

The biggest problem with this particular model is the massive jaw. The head is completely square because of it, like if you had been messing with a character editor. If you look at how Joanna was originally designed, e.g. the N64 PAL box, the new hair is shorter and the eyes are smaller and look even smaller because of the disproportionate and masculine jaw. That's not what I would call realistic. The Xbox 360 art has a more advanced and realistic design based on the original. You can see the thicker lips, the bigger eyes, the cheeks and, most importantly, the triangular jaw and round chin.

@NEStalgia Isn't lovely being a Nintendo fan? 🤣 Now, you forgot about Octopath Traveller II, also added recently, but the show was all about the first-party lineup and a few third-party games.

Thankfully, Xbox is finally getting all big Japanese games now, Square Enix included. Some IPs have come to Xbox this generation for the first time! I guess that some Japanese games I'm not aware of will stay in Japan and probably exclusively on Switch. Next generation, some might stay on mobile only, depending on what Switch 2 is and its level of success. Next generation will be interesting regarding mobile versus Switch 2, even more if you include the handheld PCs and the hypothetical Xbox hybrid/handheld.

It's better for Microsoft and for the players that the ABK games are released progressively. They can add 100 games in one day and one month later some people would complain about no new games being added.

It's more that recently, there is artificial and hypocritical social pressure on characters to have their sexual appeal neutralised, while any level of violence and gore is unconditionally accepted.

@krzysztof81 "All your games going to be there anyway."

Future Xbox (and Playstation) games will be on Windows PC, but "all your games"? Not a single backwards compatible game is available on PC, not to mention many (most?) Xbox One games.

@HarmanSmith Very good question. Some Atlus games are Play Anywhere. I just checked and Shin Megami Tensei V is available on the Windows store, but doesn't have the Play Anywhere tag on Xbox yet. It doesn't have any tag but "New", so perhaps additional tags will be added soon.

Comparison:

https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/persona-5-royal/9NZDHXL9SJJ8/0010

https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/shin-megami-tensei-v-vengeance/9nz6n5748bvt

Very happy to see all the big Japanese games arriving.

@Fenbops Which is even weirder because the actress's voice is feminine. Who knows what will happen to Lara in her upcoming re-reboot... A squarer head would be impossible, though.

@GamingFan4Lyf

"I have no real affinity for Perfect Dark perhaps things that people may not like about this new game don't stand out as problems for me."

Not enough has been shown to know if it will follow the original's proposition or not. Gadgets and shooting return. The original has cinematic sections, but not as part of the gameplay, but as cutscenes. The new game has cinematic sections as part of the gameplay, arguably an improvement. Everything else seems very Perfect Dark to me.

"It all just felt like terrible game design."

It's not terrible design. To play Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark you need to read the reports to know what to do. Perfect Dark Zero is a bit more linear. Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark are not linear and don't show any maps on screen, but it's more problematic in Perfect Dark because of the larger scenarios. Fortunately, they are easier to navigate than something like the original Doom because of the unique and realistic environment.

"it felt completely incoherent. In the first mission..."

The story doesn't make any sense if you don't play the whole game.

I was wary of the development because of The Initiative's internal chaos that was reported by some ex-employees, but the trailer got me all excited. It looks awesome, slightly old-school and with appropriate music. The actress is a good choice and I like her voice. I just wonder why Microsoft didn't acquire Crystal Dynamics when Square Enix got rid of them.

I read some comments criticising Microsoft for not announcing specific dates. At this point and looking at what the competition is doing and who's complaining, it seems unfair if not veiled hypocrisy, considering all that they have in the pipeline and how expensive and complicated development has become. I hope that they release the games when they are polished and not six months earlier. Disclosing specific dates before they are certain is counterproductive and triggers additional rants.

According to the leaks during the ABK acquisition, Microsoft expects the next generation consoles to launch in 2028. The smaller and cylindrical All-Digital Series X that appeared in one of their slides has apparently been ditched. The rumoured PS5 Pro would be a minimal upgrade according to the several gaming sites and PS5 is less powerful than Series X. All things considered, refreshing both Series consoles in the middle of the generation makes a lot of sense. I'm happy that there are not one but two models with an optical disc drive for games, BDs and CDs. Obviously, future consoles might not have it. The thing I'm more curious about is the also leaked Sebile controller and the unavoidable Elite Series 3 controller.

@Foxx_64740 Probably, by no exclusives @VoidPunk was thinking of PS5, not Series S|X. 🤣

If they are going to make a cinematic game with scenes copied from the original, why don't they make a game based on the first film, that is the most terrifying of them all? I see this girl and I see the original actress (Ariana Richards) in the kitchen scene and the former is almost ridiculous and a parody, while the original actors are all sublime. Just choose one actor for facial motion capture, if you can't have them all and if you want to have one character, also choose one from the film, no need to make a nerdy parody of them. In spite of this critique, I know that I will play it.

@LostInBlue0 And that matches the first trailer, "but yours (your story) has yet to be written." The plot thickens.

Is she the one that killed all the heroes that came before you?

@Aniscape Paradoxically, the only disrespectful ones on the live chat and here were defending her, but yes, this thread is one of the few that contain a deeper and interesting conversation like something we would have in real life.

I thought exactly the same as you when I watched the first trailer again today. The smaller girl seems the evil one in that rivalry, that obviously started before that encounter. The bigger guy (I use these adjectives because I'm not sure if he's a giant or she's an elf or both) doesn't seem evil but a victim. The fairy in the first trailer doesn't seem evil and her fate is fatal, black humour of course, but they are trying to tell us that nothing is like it seems. Lots of possibilities, characters and different points of view in the trailers... 😮

@NEStalgia I think I understand you, in the context of how this game is marketed, it would be a spoiler and even silly if she was the protagonist, right? So she isn't.

@NEStalgia I'm all confused. I watched the second trailer again and she beats a much bigger guy wearing glasses at the end. I also watched the first trailer again, where poor fairy is eaten and the ending says, "Not all stories have happy endings, but yours has yet to be written." That ending sounds like choose your hero. That could be the most important clue.

Assassin's Creed III is a good example as far as stories go, but I don't feel that there is a swop here.

Just one question about this theory, then why does the trailer show her in what looks like gameplay footage, running and fighting in the typical third-person view? Not just in this third trailer but in the second (the one with the guy wearing glasses), as well.

@Aniscape Yep, trolling would be very Fable. I admit that I was paying more attention to the graphics and voice acting that were both well done, but now I'm intrigued. I'm looking forward to a Fabled Fable. 😊

@FarmDog08 Interesting...

This was my most anticipated game when it was revealed for the first time, seriously, second only to anything Rare, but I'm not sold on the protagonist (?) now.

@OldGamer999 Yes, there are! 😁

@BANJO Cool, we really are soul mates. 😁

Brilliant idea, really.

I'm excited about many games, more than I thought I would before the show. I don't mind if they are far away because there's a lot to play in the meantime. Actually, I'd prefer that they are polished at launch and not six months later.

If I had to choose three highlights now, they would be Perfect Dark, Gears of War E-Day and Doom The Dark Ages.

Regarding hardware, it's nice to see the refreshed models, but I need to know if a new controller or Elite controller is coming soon.

@Matthewnh I haven't played it, did you like the Avatar game?

@Vipor007 I like the Series X Special Edition because it has a combination of black and green, but a green Series S, wow, that would be weird. Maybe I'm not Xbox enough after all. 🤣

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/03/07/stun-the-competition-with-the-new-xbox-wireless-controller-velocity-green/

@Ricky-Spanish They want the digital models to be white and the optical disc drive models to be black.

Cool. People that haven't played them don't know what they miss! Some people think that Gears of War and Halo are the same. They aren't. Halo is more about strategic enemy confrontation and Gears of War is more focused on the gameplay, the friendship, the atmosphere and the bosses. Both are great, but I like Gears of War more, especially 1, 2, 3 and 4. Halo Infinite is an excellent reboot and I'm excited about this Gears of War prequel. My most anticipated game along Perfect Dark after watching the latter's trailer.

@xboxjapanfan Yep, the Assassin's Creed games are vaguely based on historic events and characters. What is the video game that reflects the Japanese architecture, history and/or culture the best? I think that the first game based on Japan that I played was Tenchu: Shadow Assassin's on Wii. I thought it was really cool. I wanted to play Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, but it's like Souls so nope.

@OldGamer999 Definitely! Never too late.

I didn't watch it, but Assassin's Creed and Star Wars look great. They say that they are remaking Black Flag... I wonder if it's true. What about a new Rayman?

Ubisoft is probably the most underrated developer, even though most of their games get good reviews. Weird. I need to beat the Assassin's Creed titles that I haven't played yet.

@NEStalgia I realised that while I was typing, but at least we can turn the tables and say that Xbox has games. 🤣 Well, it's a good strategy in the long term, to have the best value on the limited but huge console market and being 100% on the bigger PC market. It will work, you'll see that I'm right again. 😁

I'm used to Windows. I get the Mac joke, but PC for working and Xbox for gaming. That's why they need a Windows gaming version/user interface for PC, handheld/hybrid and console. They need to keep it simple and be the same experience.

@Bobobiwan I agree, I'd keep some games on Xbox/PC: Forza, Gears of War, Halo, Perfect Dark...