HonestHick

@nomither6 Yeah the Gnasher dominates the multiplayer a little to much. I still love it of course but you aren’t wrong in saying it would be nice to see a little more competitive gameplay elements. I think E-Day is going to be a great title for us long time hardcore gears fans. Scary and dark, horror and the characters. Really looking forward to it. My most wanted game by far.

Really looking forward to DOOM. But a Gears of War deep dive would be my dream come true. I am as hardcore a Gears of War fan as it get’s without having a tattoo. 2025 across the whole industry should be really exciting. Some big titles coming.

@Fiendish-Beaver I happy Birthday and many many more friend. Yeah it’s going to be interesting what happens in the next few years of gaming. Anything can happen at this point and i wouldn’t be to surprised. But i think MS’s end game is cloud. But again they can’t get there yet. They still need the console. PC will just continue to grow and get better. I also see Nintendo and Sony being just fine for a long time to come. One thing is for sure, gaming will always be around, it’s just a mystery to us all how it will look.

@Fiendish-Beaver @Banjo- first off, some great points beaver. Speaking to GP, we have heard COD did some decent sized GP numbers. So i am not entirely sure those numbers have lowered much. However i do see the point that GP numbers are just around good enough and not at bonkers cash and getting all the games, tho keep in mind some games no matter the cash don’t want to be on GP and we have to accept that decision for their game. On to the tipping point. Another great example of your concern. I want to first say if you or any gamer see the plans MS has as not good for you and your entertainment needs, i am all for leaving the platform. You have to play invest and be happy with where your money and time goes. But for the naysayers that Xbox is dead. We don’t know that. We know likely 2026-2027 a new console launches, we know generations are lasting 7ish years so lets go with 2026 plus 7, thats 2033 with a home console from Xbox. What tech and where the industry is in 2033 and beyond could be how knows what. Cloud? More consoles plus cloud. PC and Cloud, my point is MS is just passing the time with consoles cause it has to, not cause it will ever be their most competitive platform against Sony and Nintendo. I think they would love for Cloud to be the replacement where they are sitting on a gold mine of IP at which they likely don’t have to share and use to absorb cost of a console sold at a loss. I will say i watched a video of a leaker that don’t talk much but when he does he has a good track record and he is hearing MS’s next Xbox will only be sold on MS website and not distributed to major retailers. I didn’t like hearing that. Stores drive sales and not everyone will go out of their way to go to Microsoft.com to order a Xbox, that tells me they are trying to cut cost. Now Sony does this at times with their Sony Direct website. I bought the Edge controller on there cause it didn’t come to stores for a few months after. Xbox is ready for the hardware to only be PC and cloud based. But thats where you the consumer has to decided is this approach and wide platform reach is a good thing for you. If not PC, PS and Nintendo will happily take your money. But so will MS on all those devices. From a money standpoint they can’t lose. Betting on consoles not being around after 2033-2035, that i think is their gamble. No matter where you game, i hope you just enjoy your choice and stay friends with us here at Xbox!

@Banjo- well said my buddy. Unless you are making cheaper games like Nintendo. You need every platform you can get to buy your game. Even then some of these titles will still lose money. Just wait until GTA6 comes out. If your not COD or a sports title you are going to struggle to make money back on most titles. Some will break even im sure. But GTA 6 is going to slot right in there for player engagement with COD, FIFA, Fortnite and others. Oh well, let them think what they want. But until cloud is really really good i don’t see Xbox consoles going away. To many causals pick them up to play a few titles.

@Banjo- In fairness of that 6.8% they didn’t have much first party titles this year. Astro Bot while very good and fun only sold 2 million copies from what i read. However the bigger point i have made on here and Push that seems to fall on deaf ears is, Sony’s big first party games, say God of War and Spider-Man. They only sell for a short amount of time. Then Sony bundles those games in with the console to make the number seem really high. When in fact the customer only bought that PS bundled with GOW or Spider-Man to play FIFA, COD or Fortnite. Look at the top games played on PS, they are roughly in different order the same games on Xbox top 10 most played games. Outer Worlds 2 stands much more of a chance to make its money back on multiple platforms. It’s not going to sell 10-12 million copies on one platform. Why is it only me and you and a handful of others understand this is where modern video games are headed? Sony IS i would beat my house on it going to be branching their games out more and more as the years and generations go.

@Banjo- you know how this works. Until the next Xbox releases people will have doubts cause MS is changing the industry exclusives and giving players more options with their paid software. The funny thing is when Sony starts to bring more and more games to PC and rumored Switch 2 it will be ok cause they sell more PS consoles than Xbox. Which makes no sense. There will be exclusive games from Sony and Nintendo. But for Sony they spend 100’s of millions making those games, with some of the profit going to Marvel. That won’t last much longer when they see how much money MS is making per title. Once Sony does it the chatter of consoles going away cause software is reaching beyond one box will go away. Not to mention the only people upset are the few million hardcore players that think their money is the only cash that keeps these brands making products and hardware. When in fact it’s the other 90% of the console buyers playing multi plat games that bring in the big bucks and they won’t be offended that Indiana Jones and Outer Worlds 2 is going to other consoles cause they weren’t ever going to buy those games to begin with. This topic is exhausting cause at no point in time did MS say we are looking to get out of hardware, in fact they have said they are excited for not one but two new hardware SKU’s.

@NattyKing Nintendo controls their own ecosystem and makes less than MS. Sony is going to be passed up in dollars as well. So i would recheck those numbers. COD makes 5 billion in just skins. MS is happy to let their competitors eat and be healthy off the 30% while they are making 70% on nearly any device that can run the game. The truth of it is all 3 have a healthy sustainable strategy and likely aren’t going anywhere for a long time to come.

@GuyinPA75 as a near 20 year Mac and Apple product user i am ok with him cause he gave us Mac users all the best of the best software and services they got. No need to ever have a PC unless i want one for gaming. Personal preference aside. MS is doing what a lot of software first companies do. Look at Google, they make some hardware. They have a decent Google Pixel phone this year, and Chromebook’s etc etc. but they put all their software on all devices. Imagine only being able to use google maps on a pixel and not a iPhone? Why? To much money to be made on all devices. Apple Music and Apple TV+ on all devices, not just Mac’s and IOS. Software is best used by the masses, it’s to wide spread to be locked to one platform. We are just NOW starting to see this in gaming. Sure it’s a shock for those that thought we would never see the day of certain games on other platforms. But times change and the only thing that don’t change is mega Billion and Trillion dollar companies looking to expand and grow to get larger and richer. This is a step in that direction and he ain’t going no where cause MS is making bank on all it’s software and services. Remember it was Steve Ballmer that mocked the at the time $600 dollar iPhone only for MS to never see the computer in your pocket that controls everything never come to be for them. He was the one that needed to go. He sunk MS during the most important time in consumer electronics.

@TeiGekiLord i am not saying they didn’t make some mistakes along the way. But they also bought 3rd party studios that are used to making games for all platforms. Imagine the backlash if MS said DOOM is no longer on PS? Then turn around and say no more outer worlds. Those are moves that are anti consumer. That is simply saying we have more money and need to catch up our hardware sales while hurting other platforms. Thats not the look they need. Not to mention the money left on the table. Question for you, if MS is the only one changing thier strategy, why is Sony putting more and more games on PC and Lego game on Switch. With rumors of more Sony titles coming to Switch 2? You do realize there is no limit in how much cash the companies want. The moment God of War, Spider- Man and Last of Us went to PC Sony became a 3rd party publisher as well and that is with more consoles sold than MS.

@TeiGekiLord thats a Sony platform problem not the investors . Investors follow money. You have to spend money to make money. Not spending 200-300 million on development and then giving Marvel a piece of the profit on every copy sold. That is not a long term investment for success. Owning COD, Minecraft and Overwatch etc etc is what makes insane cash. It’s not doom and Gloom for Sony, but they have to be smarter with their investments as they don’t have the room for error in their software choices.

@Cakefish Nintendo is in a world of its own. Cause it’s exclusives really do sell high numbers and on it’s platform you don’t see the top 10 played titles being multi plats like you do on PS, Xbox , PC. Nintendo is special for sure. I too buy the switch just for the Nintendo games. But not so much for a PS or Xbox. I except to have all the games there much like a PC.

It’s a good thing that more players get to play the games we all love. It won’t make the Xbox less enjoyable for me. But gamers are in the mindset still that exclusives are what sell’s the box. While that is true for around 10-15 million players the rest of the console marketshare is from COD, FIFA and Fortnite players that don’t even play Halo or Spider-Man. MS will change the industry with these moves as Sony will see MS making more money with half the consoles sold. Try explaining to investors why MS is making more money with 1/3 the boxes sold. Not an easy sell. I don’t see this as a bad thing. It’s the games that support the industry the console or PC is just a means to an end to play those games. At some point cloud and PC will be the means to the end. Just get Gears E-Day and a Gears Collection out.

The greatest console of all time for me. But that was an annoying issue to say the least. Funny shirt but i will stick to my Miller Lite ugly Christmas sweater.

I got over 800 hours in Diablo 4 since it launched. Diablo will always be a top 3 franchise for me. Glad he is enjoying it that much as well. I am closing in on 60 hours of COD multiplayer already. It’s freaking great. Those two games alone carry 90% of my play time. I will log insane hours in GTA 6 and Gears E-Day!

@jesse_dylan $700 for a console that had reviews that the base console runs some game better is a joke. Those devs are putting out quick patches to get that tag. In time could it be a shade better? Sure but not what some have claimed. It’s not a PC with that soft CPU.

@Battlefieldmedic if they only sell 10 million or less. At 30 million plus and making money on every PC and PS unit sold they are SAFE. Hope that don’t hurt.

@MeanBeanEgg the CONSOLE market is alive and well. But who has the games that monthly, weekly and daily make money? MS!! Does horizon make the cash of a Minecraft? Skins on COD and WOW alone make more profit than god of war. Look beyond what the YouTubers and lesser paid “journalists” preach. It will open eyes to who’s doing what.

@Battlefieldmedic not to be rude or disconcerting. But casuals are on consoles. Always have been. They aren’t buying PC’s and playing on mobile. I think everyone can agree most of FIFA’s and Madden’s etc etc are on console and why not, it’s the “best” place to play. Check the charts. You don’t have to be in first to make money.

Consoles will be around for a good amount of time until cloud takes the casuals away. Once the causals leave consoles, consoles die cause there isn’t enough hardcore gamers to make them profitable. When a causal player can just play FIFA, and madden on the cloud via an app on the TV they ain’t buying a $400-$600 box to play it. Thats when the console dies. Cause that same player isn’t buying a PC to play FIFA and Madden. The hardcore will go to PC and the casual will go to steaming cloud apps but as to when that happens? No clue. But the console was a huge bridge before online became a thing. Now in the world of internet and apps on TV’s it’s a little on borrowed time from a causals point of view, which hurts me cause i am one of the few million that is hardcore to the console.

@GeorgeKal i agree that Microsoft made a BIG mistake giving up on Windows phones. I have been saying that for years now. It’s also why i remind people that say Microsoft is going to stop making Xbox Hardware, i tell them they likely won’t cause it will be windows phones all over. They will never be able to get back in and will have to play by other platform rules. I think Xbox consoles are here as long as consoles are in demand. Leaving a market after spending billions on studios just seems so backwards. Even tho Microsoft is good at making bad decisions, i don’t see them making the same mistake with Xbox like they did Windows Phones.

@Lofty1985 yeah the higher the fps the better for sure. It’s just the cpu in consoles are so weak that it just don’t have the power. But i hear what you are saying for sure. Would be nice. At least 60fps on all games.

@Lofty1985 thats called a PC with a higher end CPU. But i must say i am running COD BO6 at 120fps on Series X for multiplayer and my TV does 120 with VRR and it makes such a difference. It’s really nice. Almost makes me want to drop the cash on a high end PC.

All of them in a perfect world as 30 is just not great. But if i only got to have one it is for sure RDR2. However at this point with the next Xbox rumored to be around 26-27 i might as well wait and get RDR2 with more than just a 60fps patch. It could have all the bells and whistles.

I’ve got around 40 hours of gameplay in the multiplayer and love it. Maybe 10 hours in Zombies and thats fun too. This is the best COD in my opinion since Xbox 360 days. I am having a lot of fun with it and hope they continue to improve it and expand it over the months ahead.

@MeanBeanEgg i don’t know about that. I mean it was a great game but i don’t think that late into the generation it would have moved that many units. For sure Japan was the biggest area of difference tho. At any rate it was a good balanced generation for both consoles.

@nomither6 yeah sadly i agree. Thats the truth of it. Hopefully they can catch that fire again and sell around 75 million consoles or so to go along with this plan and they would be swimming in the money.

OG Xbox was such a great time with my friends and ushered in true online gaming. I loved it. 360 is my favorite console of all time, barely beating the SNES. Halo lan parties with friends on OG Xbox was some of the best gaming experiences with friends i ever had. Seems like yesterday!

@MeanBeanEgg at the very end PS3 did, but only cause of Japan. But Sony took a beating in Software sales to the 360 that generation. Still can’t believe they did what they did with Xbox One. But wow the OG Xbox was a killer machine.

@WildConcept6 i 100% agree with you, they have been saying for around 4 years or longer that all screens is a Xbox and they want gamers to have choice in where they play so long as they are playing MS games. Sony themselves admitted to wanting this and said they are behind on having the infrastructure to do so. All the biggest games in the industry are on every platform. You can play Fortnite on a smart fridge screen or a Tesla Car. I game on Xbox by choice and to your point then go sell your Xbox and get a PS or PC and continue to buy MS games there and give them your money. Either way they are getting your money. But you could save money and play on GP or buy the game once and own it twice to your point. Well said !!

@GamingFan4Lyf i agree. They still take the cut of money and have a more liked store front. Plus for all the whining that all games are going to PS5. This isn’t announced for PS5 yet. Nor is Starfield and many other titles. I don’t think MS is taking all the momentum out of their platforms for big launch games. At least not yet. Not that it bothers me, but everyone is acting like they can sell their Xbox or skip the next one and just play all their games and we haven’t seen that yet. When or if they say PS day and date then i will understand people leaving the platform.

@NEStalgia i mean at times it seems like they don’t. But i think it’s been clear for a few years that they aren’t turning around from every screen is a Xbox. This is the first push in telling the world that. Which will make them loads of money. They just couldn’t do this marketing push for it 3-4 years ago without all the software coming. Now it looks like they have an onslaught of games coming out and they want that message of where ever you play, you can play our games. With Sony i agree with your point. They will be fine, but only grow with the console. Their PC strategy as of today isn’t a winning one. Tho i expect it to change. But it seems like the big 3 all have their ways to make cash. If MS does this right they will be making insane cash. All while being way behind in the console market. Think that is the only play they have.

@SleeplessKnight little to no difference isn’t the catch all. It does matter to an extent but not more than brand loyalty. Why did PS4 win you ask? Umm cause they didn’t go on stage $100 dollars more and say TV TV TV. They didn’t say you couldn’t share your games. Once that happened and everyone jumped ship all their family and friends followed. Hence the first year exclusive wise Xbox had more, Dead Rising, Ryse, TitanFall, etc etc. it didn’t matter. I do think exclusives have their place. Be they timed or permanent. But most games should be on all devices to make money. Why did Square say no more to PS only? Riddle me that cat!

@SleeplessKnight why when the other console players are paying for the RD of both software and hardware! Google maps and facebook are on both iOS and Android. It has little to do why either buy’s that brand of phone. Google even makes a phone but put’s all its software on Apple. Hence why they are worth what they are, if they kept it to themselves they would be worth millions and not Trillions. You are thinking small and tribal.

@NEStalgia it is easy to see the MS plan, it boils down to 70% is greater than 30%. Also thanks for paying for us to develop more games and hardware. The more studios they buy the more the 70-30% margins grow. So ok Sony can sell 300 million consoles to 50. The 50 continues to see 100% margins sold and 70% on the 300 million. How does Sony win unless all their first party games sell gangbusters. Which most don’t. The only reason God of war and Spider-man 2 are at 15 million sales is the fact they were included in hardware bundles. Throw in the fact that Spider-man is a two front cost. Back end cost is development, front end cost is every copy sold Marvel takes a slice. I don’t see how Sony can go 5-10 more years gaining 30% and being able to take risks or buy more devs. Now they will stay afloat just fine. But they won’t grow. MS has stunted their growth strategy in the profit margins category with this plan.

@Lrapsody Without first party exclusives on Xbox, why wouldn't you get a PlayStation?

For me cause the controller on PS sucks. I don’t get free cloud saves and there is no title on PS that I have to play. Sure some are ok to me and i bought a PS5 for those. But Xbox is where i buy most of my games and those games going to other consoles don’t affect me. Plus for ALL the games going to PS. They still have a small amount. He didn’t ever say day and date. I ain’t waiting an extra year or two to play Gears of War or Halo or others.

@Titntin i mean i am sure they wished those games were ready sooner as well. They know having a dry year is tough on the platform. But they went out and acquired enough studios to make sure they have constant releases going forward. Now they do have to make sure those games are releasing in good condition of course. But if they do that then they have a solid roadmap that no one else can match the output.

I am for sure playing this. As someone from the south. This has everything i am looking for to explore. I love the art work. Can’t wait to play it. Man Xbox in 2025 is going to be loaded. South of midnight, Avowed, Doom, Fable and of course another Call of Duty wow that is a stacked year.

Not my type of game, but i seen on the store it was over a 1000 reviews already, so i think it’s selling fairly well with the Xbox crowd. Not sure anything pulls me off Black ops 6 and Diablo 4 for the rest of the year. But this is one of those games that for those that like it, i am happy it’s now on Xbox. We need less and less 3rd party games tied to one box. I think slowly it is starting to be known to devs to put their games on all devices.

Red Dead Redemption 2 next gen version. Oh wait thats not on there cause they can’t be bothered with a 60fps patch, so i can play my favorite game ever made in better performance. Jokes aside i am looking forward to GTA6, sure it will be 30 fps until the next consoles come along. But they will upgrade GTA, that i am more convenient in than RDR.

@Banjo- this falls right in line with the rumors, 2025 handheld and 2026-2027 new Home console Xbox. I am excited for it. Even tho i love my Series X. I believe we will see the Ui for the Handheld to also be the Ui for the home console. So the systems are a match and that is exciting, tho please no Ad’s. The free cloud saves will really shine here going from device to device. Buy one game and get the Xbox, Xbox handheld and PC version which no other company can match at the moment. This is starting to shape up to be really good stuff.

@sixrings minus the controller maybe.

@Banjo- i agree, the PS4 Pro i had was noisy from the start. I keep my consoles very clean. I too wondered if we will see any heat issues or noise from it. Time will tell. I just don’t love the controller so there is no way i am going to buy all my games there. It’s good enough for the exclusive games and thats it. Xbox has always been my main platform and i see no need to change. One X and Series X has been flawless for me as well. No noise, or issues.

@Banjo- well said and thank you. Yeah i try and keep the truth going cause the sites just throw stuff out there for hate clicks. Yeah the save and trophy features on PS are not up to standard. Xbox and PC crushes them. Sony does copy Xbox a lot. They have been since the 360. They use a lot of optics to make it seem like they are original or better. I literally only use my PS5 for the exclusives. I was going to get a Pro and cancelled it. No need.

@Ken_Kaniff I believe it will be. Sony is money hatting games off the PC and Xbox but then telling Stellar Blade it’s ok for God of War to be on PC and make more money. So Sony is the only one winning the deal. Devs are going to see MS making money hands over fists with all screens included. They will want that. Final fantasy’s square Enix already said they want PC and Xbox. More will follow. Plus with Xbox acting more like PC, you can buy a game on Xbox and play it on PC or a handheld PC with your cloud saves moving across all devices. The future is PC fused with console. MS is way ahead of Sony in this area.

@Banjo- I agree and with MS the cloud saves pick up where you left off on either device. That too is a huge advantage over Sony. PC fused with console is the future for sure. I agree with you spot on. I hope you continue to share this knowledge so others can see Xbox is not weak right now. In fact it is stronger than ever. This point in time is the smallest this plan will ever be. As more games come into the fold and new hardware it will all start to click. Do people even understand in a few more weeks GP will have added COD, flight Sim 24, Stalker 2 and Indiana Jones. With Avowed a few months behind. That is output no one can keep up with, with a low to entry fee to play all those. Thats massive buddy.

@Banjo- that is all facts. They are so far ahead. Again as i have mentioned here. The insomniac leak showed Sony saying they are behind. That the ABK deal leapfrogs MS over them in areas they do not have. These aren’t my words. This is the horses mouth. They know MS is going to make insane money with this strategy and slowly take players away from PS. Even if it’s to PC. Xbox and PC combined are going to stress Sony out financially. I haven’t even gotten to the rumor that the next Xbox is considering getting rid of the paywall for online. How can they eat all that money some ask? Easy you buying their games on any screen you wish too. That leaves Sony charging $80 a year for online play while Xbox and PC are free. MS is slowly stripping all the anti consumer polices off its brand while Sony is adding more. While that won’t change the player base today or tomorrow, it will in the long haul.

@Banjo- as always, very well said and i agree 100%. I really think moving forward less and less 3rd party titles are going to take the money hatting deals. They are going to see everyone else making way more money. MS is changing the way games are delivered and people don’t want to see it or they don’t like that it’s happening. Either way this new MS strategy is winning me over as i am seeing just how big in the long term it’s going to really be.

@Ken_Kaniff my short reply to that is, thats the whole plan and it has been for 3-4 years now. They been saying they want games on every screen. It’s the smart business move and we will see more publishers and companies doing that. Locking games to one box outside of Nintendo is largely over with.

@Ken_Kaniff with 2 more years left on Series and a next gen console, that isn’t happening in 5 years. The only ones saying MS is leaving hardware is the ones not fully understanding the new strategy they have. Not trying to be rude in saying that. But Xbox is showing no signs of leaving hardware but they are showing the power of software on more devices and i think outside of 3-4 titles we will continue to see that. Cha Ching $