Comments 106

Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The Xbox Games Showcase 2023?

GiveMeMoney

It’s the best showcase we’ve seen this year, including from competitors. It started out stronger than it finished though, and bummed we still aren’t getting to the cadence of a first party AAA every quarter, and games playing in 60fps. Phil Spencer had talked about both of those things for years and we’re still not there when we’re halfway through this generation.

Re: Reaction: Xbox Is Set Up For A Winning Showcase After Summer Game Fest 2023

GiveMeMoney

It will be hard for Xbox to screw this up, based on everything we know right now. Between the confirmed details and leaks, as well as the competing shows being mediocre thus far... things are positioned really well.

If they can do a combination of the following, I think they get a solid "win" on the annual summer showcase floor.
1) Starfield shows well, and (hopefully) reveals 60 fps performance mode at launch. It's maybe asking a lot but ohhh man would it be well received among the gaming community.
2) Forza Motorsport gets a firm release date this year, in time for the holidays.
3) Hellblade full trailer w/ gameplay and release date (or release window)
4) Avowed trailer with release year (I'm thinking holiday 2024)
5) Contraband Trailer
6) Indiana Jones Trailer
7) InXile and/or Compulsion Games reveals their next game
8) Fable Trailer
9) id Software game reveal
10) Evil Within 3 announcement
11) Coalition project reveal
12) 3rd party games coming to Game Pass day one

The list can go on, but these all seemed like fairly easy and plausible scenarios that came to mind. If Xbox even does half of these, it will be a fantastic showing. Plus other service and hardware reveals, this could really be awesome. I've read about the leaks for Starfield hardware and love it if it's true. I just wish they would also have a Starfield console bundle that is skinned entirely in the theme! Can you imagine a Series X with that skin???

Xbox, we have faith in you. We need you to deliver! Amen

Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The Summer Game Fest 2023 Showcase?

GiveMeMoney

I'd give it a 3/5. There were some interesting/decent game trailers, but didn't walk away feeling hyped. Kinda just meh feeling. Some other things that stood out to me:
1) It felt like Sony was really trying hard to makeup for their poorly received showcase. I guess I understand the strategy to spread out among two events, but the end result left both just feeling okay, but nothing great.
2) The quality of the show felt sort of low budget. The screen, script, videos, ads, etc showed lots of poorly planned transitions that at times through off the audience.
3) Geoff is not a fun person to watch or listen to, IMO. He should just introduce the show but find someone else to emcee.
4) It felt empty a lot of times, with a small half-awake audience. Just didn't mesh well...

There WERE some good games shown though, and I liked the mixture of having a celebrity on stage and also some devs. I like the general direction of games announcements this time of year, but there still isn't a cool general showcase that nails it. They need to capture the excitement that came from E3 events back in the day. Live demos galore that can be discussed and shown off, etc. and also would love to see more online audience give-aways to keep us engaged. I liked that they did the limited addition Xbox and wish they would do that more often!

Re: Xbox Exec Refuses To Temper Expectations For 2023 Showcase, Asks Fans To Be 'Open Minded'

GiveMeMoney

@Gamer83 - "the Series X is a great piece of hardware, I just don't think MS has taken advantage of it like it deserves"

I totally agree with you on this. Whenever my Sony buddies talk crap about console sales figures, I just wonder what it would actually look like if we had a regular release of decent AAA games. I'd love to be able to stand toe-to-toe with Sony and Nintendo friends (I enjoy these platforms too, for the record) and fire off a list of Xbox exclusives that are must-play experiences. We used to have that in the X360 generation.

I think if Starfield, Forza Motorsport, Avowed, Hellblade, and Fable all SUCCESSFULLY launch within the next 18-24 months, and we get the library of ABK merger games on Game Pass, we will be able to hold our heads REALLY high. That feels like a very possible scenario right now, and definitely would give us some bragging rights. That's all we really want right now, to love our Xbox and enjoy bragging to friends about it

Re: Our Predictions For The 2023 Xbox Games Showcase

GiveMeMoney

I just want to see Xbox knock this out of the park and to see console sales and GP subscriptions take a big jump this holiday season. It would be great, as Xbox fans, to see the narrative change and be positive. We’re all tired of delays and excuses. Time to deliver!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 27-28)

GiveMeMoney

Cyberpunk 2077 on my series x. I’ve held out playing it until fully patched and then it sat on my back catalogue for awhile, until this past month when Redfall turned out to be a bust. I’m loving it!

There are a few recent Game Pass additions I’ve downloaded to try this week/weekend (Massive Chalice, Planet of Lana, etc.) I love how Game Pass gets me out of my gaming comfort zone to try games I probably wouldn’t otherwise check out!

Re: Xbox Fans Begin Speculating As Double Fine Teases 'More To Come' On Game Pass

GiveMeMoney

Their games generally don’t excite me, simply not my type/style. That said, I like that there’s something for everyone on Game Pass and glad to see more offerings. Massive Chalice had my attention though, so I’ll give it a try #loveGamePass

I’m wondering if Phil Spencer’s comments during his post redfall interview, “collections of games” coming was referring to this back catalog of Double Fine games. I think most of us just assumed it was likely a Gears remastered collection he was referring to, but maybe not?

Re: Reaction: PlayStation's Showcase Was A Win For Xbox, Whichever Way You Slice It

GiveMeMoney

While it didn't meet expectations for gaming news outlets, I doubt it did any harm to their player base or the trajectory they are on to sell a LOT of consoles. Sony will be fine. A missed opportunity, but I can't say I saw anything that did any harm to Sony either. Just a meh showcase, but they will be just fine.

For Xbox, it truly is a HUGE opportunity to drop a ton of updates and info on AAA first party exclusives that are in the works. They also need to be sure to deliver Starfield and Forza Motorsport on time and this year. Those games go hand in hand with the upcoming showcase. As we all know, these showcases have a long tail and get rehashed for months after they occur. Xbox needs to focus on building a narrative they have a LOT of AAA games coming soon (including this year) and that they are QUALITY. No more major flops like Redfall, at least for the next year or so....

Re: Rumour: Forza Motorsport To Release This October, It's Claimed

GiveMeMoney

It really all depends on whether they have any other exclusives launching in the Q3/Q4 window this year. Starfield is locked for September, so it would make sense for at LEAST one more game for the holidays, and a mid/late October gives it a nice distance from Starfield's launch. If they drop any other exclusives I would think this game launches early October and then the other(s) come as "holiday" releases in November.

Based on Phil's comments, maybe that means Hellblade 2 is the holiday title, and then the "collections" he referenced end up in Q1/Q2 next year. Gears Collection or maybe a banjo remaster collection? Trying to think of other older IP's they could offer as a "collection"...?

Re: Xbox To Provide Update On Starfield's Frame Rate Ahead Of September Launch

GiveMeMoney

@GeeEssEff The interview was a big deal and covered a lot of territory. As a listener I paused the interview and went back to listen to his response again and make sure I heard the question correctly. They’re holding his/Xbox’s feet to the fire that there will be official word on the games performance, which has been a hot topic among gamers. Journalism is doing just fine (unless you’re Fox News).

Re: Review: Redfall - Arkane's Undead Experiment Brings Mixed Results To Xbox Game Pass

GiveMeMoney

@DKGXX85 this is total nonsense. You clearly didn’t play the game. We just gave Sony fanboys a huge gift by releasing this garbage. Go walk up to a car and shoot it’s windows. Everything from the poor graphics to the explosion of the car mechanics FROM SHOOTING WINDOWS is a joke and half baked game.

Quit defending this trash. It makes our whole xbox community look ridiculous. The game should be pulled and put back into development for another year at least, or just cancel and refund everyone.

Re: Redfall Launch Event Announced Alongside Even More Custom Xbox Hardware

GiveMeMoney

It feels great to finally see some hype and marketing around an Xbox exclusive. I wish they’d sell more custom hardware around the launch of first party games. It would be badass to have at least a limited edition custom controller themed with each Xbox first party exclusive release. Bigger titles might get more than just a controller, but instead a console wrap or something.

Re: Talking Point: Where Does Xbox Go Next If ActiBlizz Deal Falls Through?

GiveMeMoney

@HarmanSmith
I don't buy the story they are selling either, that Xbox will be doomed if this ABK deal doesn't work out. I think it will definitely alter their path forward, but not that they are going to throw their hands up and sell everything off. It's still profitable to them, and clearly, they have had backup plans for the scenario in which ABK didn't work out. If it were life or death for their brand and plans, Microsoft/Xbox would be shouting from the rooftops. They have other studios they are going to buy instead if this doesn't work out.

Re: Talking Point: Where Does Xbox Go Next If ActiBlizz Deal Falls Through?

GiveMeMoney

If ABK is out of the question, then they absolutely should go and gobble up other mid-sized companies that make strategic sense. EA, Ubisoft, Take Two, CD PR, and FromSoftware should all get a serious look. None are perfect, but all have valuable IP and talented dev teams.

They also should be looking at more PC-first devs, to beef up PC Game Pass. One that is smaller, but VERY talented is 11 Bit Studios (Frostpunk, Children of Morta, This War of Mine). They've proven they can make great games and optimize them for PC and Xbox consoles. I also think they should pick up Avalance Studios! So many opportunities, and can't wait to see which they pick up. I love Game Pass.

Re: Talking Point: Would You Like To See More 'Spin-Offs' From Xbox Game Studios?

GiveMeMoney

Absolutely, they should do more spinoffs! It is a great way to explore new characters and storylines within a given universe, while also allowing for all new types of ways to play in those universes. Gear Tactics was so damn fun to play, I just wish they did more DLC with it. I'm hoping they keep with the "tactics" style and do a sequel Gears Tactics 2 as well as a new spinoff Halo Tactics, Doom Tactics, and how about a Evil Within Tactics where you kill nightmares???? I'm just saying, if I were in charge of Xbox game studios creative department, I'd have plenty of great ideas for spin-off games. I hope they try some out!

The nice thing about the tactics games is that they can be ported to mobile gaming too, which Xbox has a huge interest in. I know I'm just focusing on this set of potential spin-offs, but in no way saying that is all they are limited to. It's just an example that comes to mind of a very long tail on a successful IP to broaden its scope. There are countless other ways and games/stories they can do the same thing with, so yes please do more spin-offs.

We really just want a hell of a lot more games from Xbox studios. Time to open the floodgates and drop a LOT of GREAT content for all of us to play on Game Pass. LFG

Re: Rumour: Ubisoft+ Set For April Xbox Launch, Featuring A Massive Lineup

GiveMeMoney

If they want to roll it into GP the same way they’ve done with EA, that’s great (as long as they don’t hike the price because of it). I’m wondering if they’ll phase out EA and replace it Ubisoft. Preferably they just have both and keep GP/GPU at the current price. It might result in less 3rd party AA/AAA titles being added but it’s simply a trade off.