HonestHick

@Banjo- yeah Xbox Hardware just needs a slight boost, they aren’t going to outsell Sony worldwide. That would be like Reebok all of a sudden outselling Nike. Not going to happen. But i would like to see the Xbox hardware do a tad better. Still won’t matter much as they are still going to bring games to PS and other platforms. But as long as Xbox is in the hardware game i will be on it. I love the controller. Enjoy my friends list Etc etc. also there has been a rumor for a while now that Xbox will get rid of the paywall for online gaming next gen. That would be so so nice. I really want to see the next machine knock the Ui out of the park as i am tired of looking at this one since Xbox one. We know the new controller is coming, so thats exciting. Plenty to look forward to with the new console. Sony will continue to sell well. But they aren’t doing great as a company money wise. To many more failed software titles and they will really be penny pinching us gamers.

@themightyant it;s true that most games are GPU bound but the bottle to the GPU is still the CPU. Get a 4090 graphics care and slap in a mid CPU and watch the performance crumble. The next Xbox should be nice upgrades all the way around is my point and i welcome them all. The handheld should be cool, of course it will be scaled down software but on a smaller screen it should be nice looking. I’d welcome that. I’m not sure about the name Prime, i sort of like it. Not sure why haha. Maybe cause new console hardware always excites me. At any rate i think things are bright for them, Hardware will be the struggle, but from a software side they will have loads of games coming out. 2025 and 2026 is stacked and there is some to still be announced would be my guess, at least for 2026. The only game i care about is Gears of War E-Day. I will play that game for years on end! I had over 2000 hours in Gears 5 multiplayer.

@themightyant sure but take Indy for an example. It runs decent on the series S, but look at the PC version. So while it was meant to run on lower spec consoles that doesn’t hurt the higher spec machine at all. Speaking of Series S the faster MS can get that behind them the better for devs. 10 GB of Ram isn’t great. Also i like the name Prime cause it tells me one console. Not a Prime S and Prime X. That too will make games coming to it a tad easier. Excited to see whats to come, but i never lean on the side of newer better hardware isn’t a pro vs a con.

@Banjo- i do like the name. Sad to read they were outsold 15 million to 4 million by PS5 in 2024. But we knew it was bad. As long as they have a console. I am here to support them. They have the most games i am interested in playing in 2025. Just hope the Prime gathers more mainstream appeal and helps them on the console side enough. PS5 Pro’s biggest mistake tho they sort of had to do it was sticking with that CPU. It bottle necks a lot of what the improvement to the GPU can do. Now once PSSR get’s a little better maybe they can achieve a little more out of it. Some games really do run better on it. Others need way more optimization time then devs are willing to give it. At $700 it’s a pass for me unless all games start to really shine above what is available on Series X and Base PS5. Which i own.

@IOI spot on . As a 20 year Mac user, i remember Steve Ballmer running around stage with this tongue out sweating his shirt off laughing at the $600 price iPhone. Saying no one wants that. Only for Apple to be worth 4 trillion now, the first ever company to hit that mark. Steve Jobs always said MS don’t have a creative workforce and it showed early in the years of Xbox. They had no 1st party output. Other than a few they bought and sure they were awesome games and i loved them. But now it seems like what you said is once again being the elephant in the room and MS is once again clinging to a market that the market is slowly rejecting their products. Sucks cause i love Xbox and will support them in anyway they are around. But what you said is very very true.

@FraserG @themightyant the reason you (Fraser) aren’t seeing a huge performance gap in PS5 Pro from Series X is they both have roughly the same CPU. The Xbox Prime would not only gain a huge update over Series X in CPU but it would help that CPU by have AI up scaler software. Of course the graphic would be better but not sure we will see night and day difference. However physics and lighting along with other things current console struggle with, think Alan Wake 2 will now be smooth and more normal for more devs to take advantage of. I am all for new hardware about every 5-6 years as the tech inside the consoles at launch is already a few years old to begin with. Let’s hope this console has more mainstream appeal as we have read today on here that they got outsold by the PS5 15 million to 4 million in 2024 alone and as we knew is trending behind the Xbox One.

@MrMagic he said games like Starfield wasn’t coming and to my knowledge it hasn’t. I think he was trying to slow down the whole lot is coming to PS cause i think he knew even MS wasn’t sure what was or wasn’t and when. For all this every Xbox game is on PS. I still only see the 4. Now i do think they will make their way over. Likely even Halo, Gears and Forza but when is the question? Jez’s latest leak was MS needs more dev’s to port the games to PS is the only reason we haven’t seen more. I believe him when he wrote that.

@OldGamer999 they may have rode some of that into the next gen and got off to a great start. Especially if they would launch the next Xbox with Gears E-Day. Thats a lot of momentum on their side. Sure they would lose a good amount in software sales rebuilding that customer base. But in time gamers will follow the games. They always have. PS2 sold a ton and 360 did just fine. But MS after spending billions isn’t looking to lose money on software for another 3-4 years to build its hardware back up. Sad really cause i agree with you and others that that is the competition the console space needs. At the moment it looks like Sony can just sit back and collect 30% off MS without spending a dime outside of pushing PS5 and PS6 hardware.

@cburg Thank you so very much! That means a lot to me. Happy new years to you and yours as well. Wishing you all the best in health and happiness.

Yeah i try and be reasonable. I mean i like console gaming and have since i was a kid. Of course i want to see PS and Xbox do well. MS is just in a weird place right now saying this and that is an Xbox. A PC isn’t a Xbox cause a lot of the games don’t play on PC like it does a Xbox. PS5 isn’t a Xbox cause it has like 4 games from MS. So the only thing at the moment that is an Xbox is a Xbox. They would have a lot of compatibility and licensing work to do to truly move everyone’s Xbox- Series X libraries over to all these devices. Even if they pull that off that still beg’s the question as to how that helps their hardware. Software isn’t the problem after buying 2 large publishers and all the others. Time will tell, but Sony can sit back and collect 30% off MS games doing no work other than selling hardware. I’d like to think that’s a good spot to be in currently. Thanks again for the nice reply, it was really nice to read. I felt that one friend 😊

@MrMagic so Jez is a liar when he say’s Indy sold well. But Jez is right when he say’s a game or all games are coming to PS5. Is that right? Cause there are 100’s of PS5 fans on Push thinking Jez’s story on Forza and other titles coming to PS5 soon is really happening. Like him or not Jez rumors are fairly on point. Most rumors are fairly on point these day’s from the ones i follow anyhow.

@OldGamer999 i agree that i wish they were choosing to fight for the console and PC more. But they would lose a lot of money on Doom and Indy and other titles not being on PS before it would start to bring people over to the Xbox platform if those players ever came. But they choose the money and play anywhere and from a money standpoint i can’t blame them but as a console fan, especially a Xbox console fan i would have liked to seen it play out differently.

@OldGamer999 hey you said you wanted to see a game be as polished as a Sony or Nintendo title on Xbox since they have 2 SKU’s and all the PC’s to cover. I think this is your first look at it. More to come 😊

The one thing here is it fixes a strength. Software sales aren’t the problem for Xbox. It’s hardware sales.i know Jez Corden said next gen may see others make Xbox’s. Sure an Asian company maybe like Samsung making an Xbox may give more appeal in that region. But with that many spread out brands, how well will the games be optimized for them compared to just one PS SKU and then 2 SKU’s when they launch the PS6 Pro. Thats the part i am a little iffy on. If MS could fix the Hardware sales to a decent number then they are by far and away the leader in gaming. Cause the software they own prints money. Putting it on all devices print even more money.

@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.