I know some diehard Xbox fans don't like games going multiplat but, by doing so they're making everyone pay attention because suddenly everything they announce is potentially relevant to ALL gamers.
I want their games on Switch 2. And there's no shame in publishing on multiple platforms. It'll make them more relevant than ever. They can stand tall and proud as one of the finest game publishers in the industry, whereas before very few paid them any respect.
Having said all of that, if you're an Xbox gamer, this doesn't take games away from you.
It does, however, change the opportunity cost of the equation. Whereas before, buying a PS meant missing Xbox exclusives, if this is true it could see buying a PS means missing only select, core Xbox exclusives. Which could affect ppl's decisions. Even so, it doesn't take any games away from you, the Xbox gamer.
And Xbox does have better BC catalog, it's a cheap entry point to access Gamepass, and at least for me personally, it's compatible with XIM Nexus so I can get gyro aiming on games that Steam doesn't allow simultaneous mouse and controller input. PS5 isn't compatible with XIM Nexus. So XSX is the only place I can play Call of Duty campaigns with gyro aiming. Just for example. There's others.
For that reason alone, I'll never sell my XSX, even if I rarely use it.
So, rumor has it top brass were upset Xbox Series flunked hard over the holidays even despite hard discounts, and that's what's driving their decision here.
Now.
Assuming that's true, first of all, this doesn't mean they're going 3rd party. Halo is never going to PS or Switch. Gears is never going to PS or Switch. Mainline Forza and Horizon series is never going to PS or Switch. This just means more of their "CoD on all platforms, Minecraft on all platforms, Cuphead on all platforms, Ori games on Switch, etc".
Ok, having cleared that up, here's my thoughts:
Xbox has floundered for 10 years now due to a decade long drought spanning 2 generations. Given games sell hardware, of course the Xbox Series is not going to sell over the holidays. One game can't fix a 10 year software doubt (Starfield). It takes years of consistent quality releases to earn consumer trust to the point people feel confident that investing hundreds of dollars on your console will deliver the goods.
Look no further than Wii U. Abysmal failure. 13 million lifetime sales. And yet, Nintendo made to to consistently release top-shelf exclusives the entire generation, even despite it being a failure. Companies like Sony don't do that. When Vita failed, they jumped ship 2 years in. When PSVR failed, they abandoned it soon after. That's why PSVR2 is struggling even more than it should. Sony has squandered consumer confidence. Only with regard to their home consoles do they have that trust.
For Xbox, it's going to take YEARS of not just 1 game, but multiple games, every year- good, high quality bangers, before ppl will say ok, buying an Xbox is sure to give me tons of top rate exclusives I can't play elsewhere.
Here's what their move SHOULD be. Take the L on the Series consoles, but spend the remainder of the generation cranking out as many bangers as possible. If they don't sell well, so be it. They can be Remastered next gen like Nintendo did for Wii U titles. But spend the remainder of this gen earning consumer confidence so that when Xbox 5 releases, people will buy it. They'll say ok, Xbox finally got it together. Last 3 years have delivered multiple top-shelf exclusives, one after another. I can't afford to miss what they have in store this coming generation.
That's the move.
Looking at holiday sales and saying "it flunked, its time to start changing strategy and just bank on software sales from multiplat" is short sighted, imo.
After all these years, only now does Xbox FINALLY have a stable of studios that can deliver consistent high grade experiences year after year. And now is when they wanna throw in the towel for that strategy? 10 years you weren't releasing multiplat for the most part, but now that you can finally compete pound for pound with PS, and are in position to deliver a new Xbox 360 era next gen with sales split more evenly along 90m Xbox / 90m PS, now you decide screw it, just start releasing more games on Switch and PS?
Don't get me wrong, as a primary Switch gamer this will benefit me. Switch 2 releases this year. Tons of Xbox support on the hybrid handheld Switch 2 will be incredible. But I don't want that! I'd rather not get the games on Switch 2 and see Xbox compete, because losing that direct competition will do far more damage than the benefit of Xbox games on Switch 2 is worth. We can't afford to lose Xbox competing.
@Widey85
Microsoft is apparently concerned Xboxes weren't selling over the holidays, but it's like ya, no kidding. For 10 yrs now Xbox has failed to deliver a consistently compelling lineup. That's what happens. Nobody's gonna buy your console if you don't have the games. No matter how deep you discount it.
They just don't seem to understand that. Now, they FINALLY have the capacity to genuinely compete, and that's when they decide to throw in the towel? Makes no sense to me. The move was locking everything down, and making Xbox a must own console. Stop with day 1 Steam releases (as much as I'd hate that since I'm a Switch + Steamdeck only gamer now, haven't played my PS5 or XSX or gaming PC in years), stop exporting exclusives. One game isn't gonna turn around a 10 year drought. Gamers need to see consistency. Multiple years back to back to back.
It's why Nintendo during the Wii U era, despite its abysmal failure, continued to deliver insanely high quality exclusives for years. Consumer confidence is everything. They needed to show everyone that no matter what, if you buy a Nintendo console, they won't abandon it. You're getting A+ games all generation, even if no one else shows up.
That's what Xbox needed to do. Now they have the studios. Had they just pumped out quality exclusive after quality exclusive, to build consumer confidence, when Xbox 5 released, ppl would buy it. Cause they'd know Xbox has the games now. Management seems to think oh, 10 year drought, Starfield should have skyrocketed sales and righted the ship... no. One game cannot pull such weight.
It's a shame because Sony will have free reign, and I remember their $10 online passes for Vita games, their $100 32gb proprietary memory cards with 50% failure rate, their $600 PS3, abandoning Vita, PSVR and now PSVR2 within 2 yrs when they don't take off with success.
This would benefit me, as it will mean Nintendo becomes more important than ever as a platform to earn revenue on. PS and PC alone aren't enough. Switch 2 should be able to run any game, and with Switch success, it's already looking like most 3rd party games will come to Switch 2 once devs know the games can run. All the more when losing one of the big platforms for revenue.
But I don't want that. I want Xbox to compete. Neither Sony nor MS can be given free reign. It's not gonna end well for us gamers.
I immediately started buying PS exclusives on Steam as soon as Sony started porting to PC, as I do for Xbox exclusives. Having both on Steamdeck OLED with gyro aiming is my preferred way of playing, as opposed to tv only with dual sticks to aim without mouse precision offered by gyro.
But many still buy PS despite their games on Steam. As many still buy Xbox despite their games on Steam. Cause not everyone values portable play with gyro like me. I imagine the same will be true with Xbox to some degree. It's still the cheapest ticket to Gamepass Sub, and the BC catalog smokes that of PS which relies on streaming for PS3 games. Whereas Xbox has Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy, Lost Odyssey, Portal, etc etc. And while this won't matter to most, XIM Nexus controller provides gyro aiming for any game on Xbox Series but isn't compatible with PS5 (only PS4) due to them locking out 3rd party controllers. So Xbox is only place I can play certain games. Call of Duty doesn't allow simultaneous mouse and controller on Steam so no gyro. But on Xbox? I can play all the campaigns with gyro. That alone is why I'll never sell my XSX, even if I only use it on rare occasion.
@NotoriousWhiz So. As for games without a config. Here's the deal.
Each game has its own internal analog settings behind the scenes. Acceleration curves, speed, sensitivity, etc. The XIM Nexus devs have to spend 24 hrs training the algorithm for each game, which then maps it to the translator to output perfect 1:1 like a mouse, which can then be used for gyro.
But because so many games already have configs that unscramble the curves to transform them into 1:1, most types of analog curves used by devs on the backend are covered. The trick is, finding the config from another game that feels right.
Thus far, I've been able to get most games that don't have a config playable, even if it's not quite perfect. There is also the occasional game that DOES have a config, but didn't work properly for me (Gears 5), in which case I had to use a config from a different game and tweak it a bit. You can copy any config and rename it, and you can copy the settings for each config and paste it into another. So what I'll do is, find another config that's close, then copy paste it as a new config and rename it, then tweak it as close to perfection as possible.
The controller only holds 20 configs in memory but the app has everything. You can swap out as needed any time. If you've tweaked a config though, save it's settings to a digital notepad on your phone before deleting, so you don't have to redo it if you ever redownload it to the controller again.
Also there's some tricks you'll need to learn. Like calibration. Change the 100% limit of the triggers to be lower, otherwise you gotta press a bit too hard to get it to activate for things that require full press. Also in each controller config, change the gyro to activate at 5% trigger press, and the 0% start of the analog trigger press to begin at 10%. That way gyro activates slightly before the trigger starts registering as a press, from 0-100%.
Watch all tutorial vids on YouTube, and play around with the settings until you get comfortable and know what everything does.
Thankfully, the XIM Nexus just had a soft launch a couple weeks ago, and is the first controller to make gyro aiming possible for Xbox games across the board. I ordered one and thought for sure it was too good to be true. But no. It's a miracle
Been playing Monster Hunter World, Call of Duty Vanguard, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Doom, Doom Eternal, The Outer Worlds, Gears 5, Halo Infinite, and more. And it does exactly what it claims. The gyro feels just as good if not better than true mouse gyro.
So until Microsoft decides to revise their controllers with gyro, XIM Nexus is your only ticket out of the analog ghetto.
@Widey85 I didn't know you could do that, actually.
But that would be even better. A lot of games have online functions that kick you out if the system is off. Would rather not use QR for those. Or for games I rarely play.
Lack of gyro aiming on Xbox (and PS for that matter) is a crucial blow to my enjoyment and basically rules out any FPS that's not on Steam or Switch.
But I've had enough. I just ordered the Razer Turret for Series X. I can play all games on Steam with gyro, but since I have Gamepass anyways, and Xbox is easier to jump into than PC, I'm gonna learn KB/M so I can enjoy CoD, Gears, Halo, Zombie Army 4 and Metro Exodus without having to fire up the PC every time.
I'd much rather use gyro because I love controllers. But I just can't do right analog for aiming. I won't do it. It's too archaic and should have phased out a decade ago. The fact we're still using such a horrible control scheme when the solution has been around for years astounds me.
But, so be it. If I have to learn KB/M to escape this 20-year dated input prison, that's what I'll do.
Until Microsoft adds gyro to their controller, I will never use it for anything beyond simple emulators that only recognize Xbox controllers.
I like their controller. It's a little fat in the hand, hard to reach shoulder bumpers, but it's fine. Rumble feels good, even if not as good as Switch/PS5. But I don't care about that. I just need gyro.
Yes, it’s less teraflops than X1X, but keep in mind, X1X was pushing 4K. If this variant is basically a 1080p 60fps digital only option for next gen, it would definitely have enough power to run any game with full parity of PS5 and Series X, just at 1080p instead of 4K (as a PC gamer I now understand the insane amount of power you need to make the jump to 4K).
Xbox Series X 9th gen games in 4K
Xbox Series S 9th gen digital only games in 1080p*
It’s a perfectly split because the massive power savings from running at 1080p means you can skate by on just 4TF. Which means lower price, combined with no discs (I presume) they could hit $299 as a day one entry point. Heck, they could even get away with $399 for XSS and $499 for XSX.
Even though I’ve decided to skip both Series X and PS5 due to no gyro aiming (migrated to PC for my power platform where I can get same performance but with free online, 10TB SSD space which is an absolute must as I filled 6TB on X1X alone, even my Switch has 1.5TB of games and the file sizes are way smaller, and gyro, which is an absolute must once you experience mouse like aiming in a controller- going back without it feels too regressive), I still very much like the systems. The value is definitely there. And I still like the games. Thankfully both MS and Sony are now releasing their exclusives, to some extent, on PC (in fact, MS just released Gears Tactics on Steam before Xbox which was crazy) and let me just say how amazing it is to play Gears 5 with gyro aiming. That’s the stuff.
Don’t get me wrong it’s much better than it used to be. I hated panning over through the mixer section, it would always stutter and go slow...
But I can live with it. As long as it snappy and gives you immediate access to your game library without major advertisements or Mixer (which I would prefer to see buried in the options unless you want it out), it’ll work for me.
It’s coming to Steam before Xbox? That’s a bit odd, but fine with me since that’s where I’ll be buying it anyways.
So. I’m a big Fire Emblem fan and a Mario + Rabbids fan (that game surprisingly has some of the best tactical gameplay of any strategy game I’ve played), Valkyria Chronicles fan, and I was waiting on XCOM 2 to drop on Switch May 29 because I’ve been told it’s one of the best strategy games out there. I own it on Steam but I’ve actually never played it.
This game looks pretty freaking awesome though. But I’ve never played a tactics game from Microsoft. It seems to have a very distinct flavor. I know they made a Halo tactics game before, right? Like... Halo Wars or something. Is this the first Gears tactics game ever made? And if so, does it appear to be similar to the Halo tactics game, and if so, how good was the Halo strategy game?
I mean, I’m probably going to preorder either way just based on principle. Microsoft support Steam = I support Microsoft. And the game legitimately looks very high quality. And no MTX, while not something that should technically need to be advertised, is still a huge plus, especially given how they did Halo 5. Granted that didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the game but it’s always a roll of the dice. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.
I was a Sega Genesis diehard when I was a kid. Biggest sonic fan you’ve ever met. Would draw pictures of Sonic all the time. Beat all the games and unlocked all the secret levels and the bonus ring stages by inserting Sonic 1 and Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine into Sonic and Knuckles cartridge and inputting a code... I remember wanting a Sega CD so badly, and talk of the mysterious “Sega Neptune” in gaming magazines.
Don’t think I really even played many Nintendo games as a kid aside from Mega Man 3 (first game), Mario and F Zero. I rediscovered Nintendo much later when I was in my twenties, with the GameCube/Wii.
@Tasuki
I do think you’re right in some respects, but aside from sports, I have seen this kind of behavior in a lot of other, different areas.
For example, investing. Take crypto currency. You have Bitcoin, and Bitcoin Cash which forked off from Bitcoin due to differing visions. And both sides have incredible fanatics, diehards who spend all their time attacking anything that’s not “their coin”. Bitcoin Cash fanboys saying anything else is a ****coin and going to zero, meanwhile the BTC fanboys are saying the exact same thing in return.
And they wage war in comment sections against anyone who believes in investing in gold as a hedge. And then precious metals investors have their diehard loonies who attack crypto believers and stock investors, and then you have the diehard stock investors who ridicule anyone who invests in gold...
Lol, it’s almost comical sometimes. Once I observed all that and I thought to myself wow... this is exactly like how people act with video games!
I know this site was small but, I loved the fact that it was always bout the games. You guys are awesome, and I hope you'll assimilate into PushSquare and NintendoLife so the community sticks around.
@SuperKMx I know we never spoke much, but I appreciate all your hard work for this site. You guys helped convince me to buy my X1, which probably wouldn't have happened if not for PureXbox.
@DRL I hope we'll see you on NintendoLife and perhaps even PushSquare (can't remember if you game on PS). Really enjoy your reviews. You'd be a great asset over at N-Life, assuming that's somehing you still want of course.
The the rest of the staff, thanks guys.
And to anyone here, you can find me gaming on Xbox, Nintendo and Playstation. Just check my gamer ID for each system in my profile. See you guys on PushSquare and N-Life
I can tell just by looking at the footage that it controls like every other F-Zero knockoff. The back end tailspins when turning or even moving left and right. How hard is it to make it NOT do that! I want a game where I can zoom left and right, make 189 degree turns, etc, without the backend sliding!
Man, they just don't get it. This is why they all control like Wipeout.
Good. Get that notion of "entertainment center" out of here. I like the app diversity but leave it at that.
Less and less people are subscribing to cable. I think it's going to become a niche product much like the landline telephone (which only remains relevant due to business lines).
Internet streaming is the future and has been for some time now.
@Tasuki Is there a single player campaign in Overwatch?
@Royalblues Might I recommend Valkyria Chronicles and Uncharted 4 if you do want a little more PS time. Especially Valkyria Chronicles, what a game that one is...
@Gamer83
They absolutely should be held accountable and called out for garbage like this. Of course I think it's only fair that Activision (it is Activision, right?) take their part of the blame as for all we know they gave them a shoestring budget to work with and 6 months to do it in.
I never think excuses should be made where the developers shouldn't be held accountable for garbage. But at the same time I think it's important to acknowledge their achievements.
Bayonetta 1 and Bayonetta 2 were both brilliant games. Vanquish and Wonderful 101 were also both brilliant games. Metal Gear Rising Revengeance was a top-shelf game. And although it wasn't to my taste, many would agree Madworld was a solid game as well. Star Fox Guard and Zero were developed at the direction of Nintendo (Star Fox Guard is brilliant though, really). EDIT And even going back as far as Clover Studios you had gems like Okami and Viewtiful Joe, and the divisive God Hand (some hated it, others loved it- divisive seems to be their m.o. which we saw- albeit to a lesser degree- with Infinite Space and W101).
It seems there is a less experienced team at Platinum that is handling licensed work- Korra, Transformers, and TMNT. It is because of these games people are questioning the credibility of Platinum. And they should. But I do think it's important to make the distinction between which team at Platinum is making a given game. Based on the evidence, the team handling licensed games is mediocre at best and downright embarrassing at worst. But the teams with Kamiya or Hashimoto at the helm... those teams crank out some incredible games and have a really impressive portfolio to show for it. I think most would agree that Scalebound and Nier Automata look very promising, and with Platinum's A-team track record I don't think too many are concerned they will be anything less than amazing.
Lost Odyssey Portal 2 Tales of Vesperia Mass Effect Trilogy Dragon Age 1 and 2 Final Fantasy XIII trilogy
@VanillaLake Nintendo is the worst right now, but, considering the NNID came right at the tail end of the generation I don't think anyone really expected that policy to change on the spot seeing as the systems weren't built with the infrastructure in place for such a cross buy system. I do fully expect some form of cross buy next generation or for games to actually play on both console and handheld.
@Gamer83 I mean, I can't say it's not a great value. Even at $59.99 that's like getting each game for $29.99 remastered on current gen, when most remasters go for $39.99-$59.99 for a single game (though there have been some great compilations- Halo and Uncharted come to mind).
I don't think it was any less a game than Arkham City, it just had less beloved characters and didn't raise the bar whatsoever. And being the 3rd game in the series things started to get stale, which multiplied the issues of doing nothing new and having less intriguing villains.
But, of course I'm buying this. I never played Asylum and have wanted to for years. I'll finally get that chance
@BAMozzy "Origins wasn't canon and was just a cash-in"
They sure didn't advertise it as such. When they wanted to sell copies it was "the next great game in the Arkham series!" but when it comes to including value in a collection it's "not really worthy"
@DRL Ya know, you would really love Monster Hunter. It's got this same type of deep, complex combat, 14 different weapon types- each completely unique and requiring a different play style... combat is heavily dependent on i-frames and evasion when dodge rolling, recognizing enemy tells and reacting, all that stuff.
In fact, Monster Hunter Generations releases this July on 3DS. If you ever want to hunt I'll be playing that game every day for at least a good month or so.
Dark Souls and Monster Hunter are the two deepest games I've ever played, and both very similar in a lot of respects, despite being very different.
@DRL Ok, I'm at 20 Vigor, 18 Strength, 18 Vitality, 18 Endurance, 14 Dexterity and idk about the others cause I don't use them.
Doing good though- just beat the giant tree boss, and the blue knight. I have 7 Estus Flasks (upgraded to heal more per use), a +2 Claymore sword (2 more titanite shards to +3 cause I upgraded my Dark Axe a few times earlier on). I have this ring that doubles stamina regen, and I'm at 69.8% weight limit (had to swap knight helm for this Vietnamese looking hat helm I got from somewhere, just to keep weight under 70%).
But ya, findinf lots of secrets. I got 5 free levels from Yoel (think that's his name), traded ashes to buy a key and rescued some chick from a cell. Idk, this game is so incredibly complex. Maybe even moreso than Monster Hunter, and I've sunk at least a hundred hours just into wikis for that franchise.
May lock in the season pass. I'm really digging the game- it's tough, but it's rewarding. Felt so good to beat that blue knight after 6 tries, or that giant tree after 5 tries.
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Re: Rumour: These Five Games Could Show Up At The Xbox Games Showcase 2025
I know some diehard Xbox fans don't like games going multiplat but, by doing so they're making everyone pay attention because suddenly everything they announce is potentially relevant to ALL gamers.
I want their games on Switch 2. And there's no shame in publishing on multiple platforms. It'll make them more relevant than ever. They can stand tall and proud as one of the finest game publishers in the industry, whereas before very few paid them any respect.
Re: Xbox Fans Urged To Remain Calm As Emotions Run Wild On Social Media
@RazputinAquato
That's true. It benefits me as a Switch gamer. I'd love having more Xbox exclusives on Switch 2.
But I'd rather not have the games if it means Xbox isn't giving Sony proper competition.
Re: Xbox Fans Urged To Remain Calm As Emotions Run Wild On Social Media
Having said all of that, if you're an Xbox gamer, this doesn't take games away from you.
It does, however, change the opportunity cost of the equation. Whereas before, buying a PS meant missing Xbox exclusives, if this is true it could see buying a PS means missing only select, core Xbox exclusives. Which could affect ppl's decisions. Even so, it doesn't take any games away from you, the Xbox gamer.
And Xbox does have better BC catalog, it's a cheap entry point to access Gamepass, and at least for me personally, it's compatible with XIM Nexus so I can get gyro aiming on games that Steam doesn't allow simultaneous mouse and controller input. PS5 isn't compatible with XIM Nexus. So XSX is the only place I can play Call of Duty campaigns with gyro aiming. Just for example. There's others.
For that reason alone, I'll never sell my XSX, even if I rarely use it.
Re: Xbox Fans Urged To Remain Calm As Emotions Run Wild On Social Media
So, rumor has it top brass were upset Xbox Series flunked hard over the holidays even despite hard discounts, and that's what's driving their decision here.
Now.
Assuming that's true, first of all, this doesn't mean they're going 3rd party. Halo is never going to PS or Switch. Gears is never going to PS or Switch. Mainline Forza and Horizon series is never going to PS or Switch. This just means more of their "CoD on all platforms, Minecraft on all platforms, Cuphead on all platforms, Ori games on Switch, etc".
Ok, having cleared that up, here's my thoughts:
Xbox has floundered for 10 years now due to a decade long drought spanning 2 generations. Given games sell hardware, of course the Xbox Series is not going to sell over the holidays. One game can't fix a 10 year software doubt (Starfield). It takes years of consistent quality releases to earn consumer trust to the point people feel confident that investing hundreds of dollars on your console will deliver the goods.
Look no further than Wii U. Abysmal failure. 13 million lifetime sales. And yet, Nintendo made to to consistently release top-shelf exclusives the entire generation, even despite it being a failure. Companies like Sony don't do that. When Vita failed, they jumped ship 2 years in. When PSVR failed, they abandoned it soon after. That's why PSVR2 is struggling even more than it should. Sony has squandered consumer confidence. Only with regard to their home consoles do they have that trust.
For Xbox, it's going to take YEARS of not just 1 game, but multiple games, every year- good, high quality bangers, before ppl will say ok, buying an Xbox is sure to give me tons of top rate exclusives I can't play elsewhere.
Here's what their move SHOULD be. Take the L on the Series consoles, but spend the remainder of the generation cranking out as many bangers as possible. If they don't sell well, so be it. They can be Remastered next gen like Nintendo did for Wii U titles. But spend the remainder of this gen earning consumer confidence so that when Xbox 5 releases, people will buy it. They'll say ok, Xbox finally got it together. Last 3 years have delivered multiple top-shelf exclusives, one after another. I can't afford to miss what they have in store this coming generation.
That's the move.
Looking at holiday sales and saying "it flunked, its time to start changing strategy and just bank on software sales from multiplat" is short sighted, imo.
After all these years, only now does Xbox FINALLY have a stable of studios that can deliver consistent high grade experiences year after year. And now is when they wanna throw in the towel for that strategy? 10 years you weren't releasing multiplat for the most part, but now that you can finally compete pound for pound with PS, and are in position to deliver a new Xbox 360 era next gen with sales split more evenly along 90m Xbox / 90m PS, now you decide screw it, just start releasing more games on Switch and PS?
Don't get me wrong, as a primary Switch gamer this will benefit me. Switch 2 releases this year. Tons of Xbox support on the hybrid handheld Switch 2 will be incredible. But I don't want that! I'd rather not get the games on Switch 2 and see Xbox compete, because losing that direct competition will do far more damage than the benefit of Xbox games on Switch 2 is worth. We can't afford to lose Xbox competing.
Re: Rumours Resurface About Xbox Shadow Drop 'Hi-Fi RUSH' Releasing On More Platforms
@Widey85
Microsoft is apparently concerned Xboxes weren't selling over the holidays, but it's like ya, no kidding. For 10 yrs now Xbox has failed to deliver a consistently compelling lineup. That's what happens. Nobody's gonna buy your console if you don't have the games. No matter how deep you discount it.
They just don't seem to understand that. Now, they FINALLY have the capacity to genuinely compete, and that's when they decide to throw in the towel? Makes no sense to me. The move was locking everything down, and making Xbox a must own console. Stop with day 1 Steam releases (as much as I'd hate that since I'm a Switch + Steamdeck only gamer now, haven't played my PS5 or XSX or gaming PC in years), stop exporting exclusives. One game isn't gonna turn around a 10 year drought. Gamers need to see consistency. Multiple years back to back to back.
It's why Nintendo during the Wii U era, despite its abysmal failure, continued to deliver insanely high quality exclusives for years. Consumer confidence is everything. They needed to show everyone that no matter what, if you buy a Nintendo console, they won't abandon it. You're getting A+ games all generation, even if no one else shows up.
That's what Xbox needed to do. Now they have the studios. Had they just pumped out quality exclusive after quality exclusive, to build consumer confidence, when Xbox 5 released, ppl would buy it. Cause they'd know Xbox has the games now. Management seems to think oh, 10 year drought, Starfield should have skyrocketed sales and righted the ship... no. One game cannot pull such weight.
It's a shame because Sony will have free reign, and I remember their $10 online passes for Vita games, their $100 32gb proprietary memory cards with 50% failure rate, their $600 PS3, abandoning Vita, PSVR and now PSVR2 within 2 yrs when they don't take off with success.
This would benefit me, as it will mean Nintendo becomes more important than ever as a platform to earn revenue on. PS and PC alone aren't enough. Switch 2 should be able to run any game, and with Switch success, it's already looking like most 3rd party games will come to Switch 2 once devs know the games can run. All the more when losing one of the big platforms for revenue.
But I don't want that. I want Xbox to compete. Neither Sony nor MS can be given free reign. It's not gonna end well for us gamers.
I immediately started buying PS exclusives on Steam as soon as Sony started porting to PC, as I do for Xbox exclusives. Having both on Steamdeck OLED with gyro aiming is my preferred way of playing, as opposed to tv only with dual sticks to aim without mouse precision offered by gyro.
But many still buy PS despite their games on Steam. As many still buy Xbox despite their games on Steam. Cause not everyone values portable play with gyro like me. I imagine the same will be true with Xbox to some degree. It's still the cheapest ticket to Gamepass Sub, and the BC catalog smokes that of PS which relies on streaming for PS3 games. Whereas Xbox has Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy, Lost Odyssey, Portal, etc etc. And while this won't matter to most, XIM Nexus controller provides gyro aiming for any game on Xbox Series but isn't compatible with PS5 (only PS4) due to them locking out 3rd party controllers. So Xbox is only place I can play certain games. Call of Duty doesn't allow simultaneous mouse and controller on Steam so no gyro. But on Xbox? I can play all the campaigns with gyro. That alone is why I'll never sell my XSX, even if I only use it on rare occasion.
Re: Fortnite Fans Complain About Lack Of Gyro Aiming Support On Xbox
@NotoriousWhiz
So. As for games without a config. Here's the deal.
Each game has its own internal analog settings behind the scenes. Acceleration curves, speed, sensitivity, etc. The XIM Nexus devs have to spend 24 hrs training the algorithm for each game, which then maps it to the translator to output perfect 1:1 like a mouse, which can then be used for gyro.
But because so many games already have configs that unscramble the curves to transform them into 1:1, most types of analog curves used by devs on the backend are covered. The trick is, finding the config from another game that feels right.
Thus far, I've been able to get most games that don't have a config playable, even if it's not quite perfect. There is also the occasional game that DOES have a config, but didn't work properly for me (Gears 5), in which case I had to use a config from a different game and tweak it a bit. You can copy any config and rename it, and you can copy the settings for each config and paste it into another. So what I'll do is, find another config that's close, then copy paste it as a new config and rename it, then tweak it as close to perfection as possible.
The controller only holds 20 configs in memory but the app has everything. You can swap out as needed any time. If you've tweaked a config though, save it's settings to a digital notepad on your phone before deleting, so you don't have to redo it if you ever redownload it to the controller again.
Also there's some tricks you'll need to learn. Like calibration. Change the 100% limit of the triggers to be lower, otherwise you gotta press a bit too hard to get it to activate for things that require full press. Also in each controller config, change the gyro to activate at 5% trigger press, and the 0% start of the analog trigger press to begin at 10%. That way gyro activates slightly before the trigger starts registering as a press, from 0-100%.
Watch all tutorial vids on YouTube, and play around with the settings until you get comfortable and know what everything does.
Re: Fortnite Fans Complain About Lack Of Gyro Aiming Support On Xbox
It's a tragedy, since gyro is objectively superior to the right analog for aiming.
Thumbstick vs Gyro vs Mouse
https://youtu.be/HZUiWHnTqS8
New Gyro Aim Lab World Record 100,000+
https://youtu.be/k0gYfAmVMEM
Thankfully, the XIM Nexus just had a soft launch a couple weeks ago, and is the first controller to make gyro aiming possible for Xbox games across the board. I ordered one and thought for sure it was too good to be true. But no. It's a miracle
Been playing Monster Hunter World, Call of Duty Vanguard, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Doom, Doom Eternal, The Outer Worlds, Gears 5, Halo Infinite, and more. And it does exactly what it claims. The gyro feels just as good if not better than true mouse gyro.
So until Microsoft decides to revise their controllers with gyro, XIM Nexus is your only ticket out of the analog ghetto.
Re: Deals: All 40+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (February 15-22)
Wish Portal and Portal 2 were on sale.
Now that I have a XIM Nexus I could play them with gyro aiming on Series X.
Guess I’ll wait for Switch release. Already beat on Steam, but I love those games.
Re: Xbox Exec Confirms More Quick Resume Upgrades Are In The Works
@Widey85
I didn't know you could do that, actually.
But that would be even better. A lot of games have online functions that kick you out if the system is off. Would rather not use QR for those. Or for games I rarely play.
Re: Xbox Exec Confirms More Quick Resume Upgrades Are In The Works
Even just removing a game from the QR queue would allow us to curate our Quick Resume list to our liking.
Re: Games With Mouse & Keyboard Support On Xbox One, Series X, Series S
Lack of gyro aiming on Xbox (and PS for that matter) is a crucial blow to my enjoyment and basically rules out any FPS that's not on Steam or Switch.
But I've had enough. I just ordered the Razer Turret for Series X. I can play all games on Steam with gyro, but since I have Gamepass anyways, and Xbox is easier to jump into than PC, I'm gonna learn KB/M so I can enjoy CoD, Gears, Halo, Zombie Army 4 and Metro Exodus without having to fire up the PC every time.
I'd much rather use gyro because I love controllers. But I just can't do right analog for aiming. I won't do it. It's too archaic and should have phased out a decade ago. The fact we're still using such a horrible control scheme when the solution has been around for years astounds me.
But, so be it. If I have to learn KB/M to escape this 20-year dated input prison, that's what I'll do.
Re: Phil Spencer Praises PS5 DualSense, Says There's More Work To Do With The Xbox Controller
Until Microsoft adds gyro to their controller, I will never use it for anything beyond simple emulators that only recognize Xbox controllers.
I like their controller. It's a little fat in the hand, hard to reach shoulder bumpers, but it's fine. Rumble feels good, even if not as good as Switch/PS5. But I don't care about that. I just need gyro.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Lockhart To Feature 4TF GPU, Could Be Revealed "Any Day Now"
This could work.
Yes, it’s less teraflops than X1X, but keep in mind, X1X was pushing 4K. If this variant is basically a 1080p 60fps digital only option for next gen, it would definitely have enough power to run any game with full parity of PS5 and Series X, just at 1080p instead of 4K (as a PC gamer I now understand the insane amount of power you need to make the jump to 4K).
Xbox Series X
9th gen games in 4K
Xbox Series S
9th gen digital only games in 1080p*
It’s a perfectly split because the massive power savings from running at 1080p means you can skate by on just 4TF. Which means lower price, combined with no discs (I presume) they could hit $299 as a day one entry point. Heck, they could even get away with $399 for XSS and $499 for XSX.
Even though I’ve decided to skip both Series X and PS5 due to no gyro aiming (migrated to PC for my power platform where I can get same performance but with free online, 10TB SSD space which is an absolute must as I filled 6TB on X1X alone, even my Switch has 1.5TB of games and the file sizes are way smaller, and gyro, which is an absolute must once you experience mouse like aiming in a controller- going back without it feels too regressive), I still very much like the systems. The value is definitely there. And I still like the games. Thankfully both MS and Sony are now releasing their exclusives, to some extent, on PC (in fact, MS just released Gears Tactics on Steam before Xbox which was crazy) and let me just say how amazing it is to play Gears 5 with gyro aiming. That’s the stuff.
Re: Don't Expect The Xbox Series X Dashboard To Get A Major Overhaul
Gotta be honest. Not the biggest fan of their UI.
Don’t get me wrong it’s much better than it used to be. I hated panning over through the mixer section, it would always stutter and go slow...
But I can live with it. As long as it snappy and gives you immediate access to your game library without major advertisements or Mixer (which I would prefer to see buried in the options unless you want it out), it’ll work for me.
Re: Video: Check Out The Launch Trailer For Gears Tactics
It’s coming to Steam before Xbox? That’s a bit odd, but fine with me since that’s where I’ll be buying it anyways.
So. I’m a big Fire Emblem fan and a Mario + Rabbids fan (that game surprisingly has some of the best tactical gameplay of any strategy game I’ve played), Valkyria Chronicles fan, and I was waiting on XCOM 2 to drop on Switch May 29 because I’ve been told it’s one of the best strategy games out there. I own it on Steam but I’ve actually never played it.
This game looks pretty freaking awesome though. But I’ve never played a tactics game from Microsoft. It seems to have a very distinct flavor. I know they made a Halo tactics game before, right? Like... Halo Wars or something. Is this the first Gears tactics game ever made? And if so, does it appear to be similar to the Halo tactics game, and if so, how good was the Halo strategy game?
I mean, I’m probably going to preorder either way just based on principle. Microsoft support Steam = I support Microsoft. And the game legitimately looks very high quality. And no MTX, while not something that should technically need to be advertised, is still a huge plus, especially given how they did Halo 5. Granted that didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the game but it’s always a roll of the dice. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.
Re: Sony's Shuhei Yoshida Praises Xbox In Tweet To Phil Spencer
I was a Sega Genesis diehard when I was a kid. Biggest sonic fan you’ve ever met. Would draw pictures of Sonic all the time. Beat all the games and unlocked all the secret levels and the bonus ring stages by inserting Sonic 1 and Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine into Sonic and Knuckles cartridge and inputting a code... I remember wanting a Sega CD so badly, and talk of the mysterious “Sega Neptune” in gaming magazines.
Don’t think I really even played many Nintendo games as a kid aside from Mega Man 3 (first game), Mario and F Zero. I rediscovered Nintendo much later when I was in my twenties, with the GameCube/Wii.
@Tasuki
I do think you’re right in some respects, but aside from sports, I have seen this kind of behavior in a lot of other, different areas.
For example, investing. Take crypto currency. You have Bitcoin, and Bitcoin Cash which forked off from Bitcoin due to differing visions. And both sides have incredible fanatics, diehards who spend all their time attacking anything that’s not “their coin”. Bitcoin Cash fanboys saying anything else is a ****coin and going to zero, meanwhile the BTC fanboys are saying the exact same thing in return.
And they wage war in comment sections against anyone who believes in investing in gold as a hedge. And then precious metals investors have their diehard loonies who attack crypto believers and stock investors, and then you have the diehard stock investors who ridicule anyone who invests in gold...
Lol, it’s almost comical sometimes. Once I observed all that and I thought to myself wow... this is exactly like how people act with video games!
Re: So Long, And Thanks for All the Clicks
Oh man, I wasn't expecting this.
I know this site was small but, I loved the fact that it was always bout the games. You guys are awesome, and I hope you'll assimilate into PushSquare and NintendoLife so the community sticks around.
@SuperKMx
I know we never spoke much, but I appreciate all your hard work for this site. You guys helped convince me to buy my X1, which probably wouldn't have happened if not for PureXbox.
@DRL
I hope we'll see you on NintendoLife and perhaps even PushSquare (can't remember if you game on PS). Really enjoy your reviews. You'd be a great asset over at N-Life, assuming that's somehing you still want of course.
The the rest of the staff, thanks guys.
And to anyone here, you can find me gaming on Xbox, Nintendo and Playstation. Just check my gamer ID for each system in my profile. See you guys on PushSquare and N-Life
Re: New Backward Compatibility Releases Teased for This Week
Portal 2!!!
Re: E3 2016: Futuristic Racer Redout Gets A Trailer, New Screenshots
Another wasted effort.
I can tell just by looking at the footage that it controls like every other F-Zero knockoff. The back end tailspins when turning or even moving left and right. How hard is it to make it NOT do that! I want a game where I can zoom left and right, make 189 degree turns, etc, without the backend sliding!
Man, they just don't get it. This is why they all control like Wipeout.
Re: E3 2016: Ghost Recon: Wildlands Release Date Revealed
Ah those magic words...
Single. Player.
Re: E3 2016: Microsoft Announces Phantom Dust for Xbox One
Heard great things about this game
Re: E3 2016: Rare Beauty Sea of Thieves to be Play Anywhere, New Gameplay Demo Unveiled
Looks great but, mmo online stuff is not my thing
Re: E3 2016: You Can Now Create Your Own Personalized Xbox One Controller
And what about charging? Or do they all take batteries?
Re: E3 2016: ReCore Given Release Date and New Trailer
This game looks so amazing
Re: E3 2016: Xbox One S Has No Kinect Port, But Don't Worry
I may sell my Kinect.
But, it was a Christmas gift from my bro. Eh...
Re: E3 2016: Xbox One S Release Window and Pricing Confirmed, Stand Sold Separately
"No controller included"
Nintendo, is that you?
Re: Out This Week: Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Neon Chrome, Soul Axiom
Mirror's Edge is a lot of fun
Re: Microsoft Ditches Xbox One DVR Plans to Focus on Gaming
Good. Get that notion of "entertainment center" out of here. I like the app diversity but leave it at that.
Less and less people are subscribing to cable. I think it's going to become a niche product much like the landline telephone (which only remains relevant due to business lines).
Internet streaming is the future and has been for some time now.
Re: Talking Point: What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 105
@Tasuki
Is there a single player campaign in Overwatch?
@Royalblues
Might I recommend Valkyria Chronicles and Uncharted 4 if you do want a little more PS time. Especially Valkyria Chronicles, what a game that one is...
Re: Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan (Xbox One)
@Gamer83
They absolutely should be held accountable and called out for garbage like this. Of course I think it's only fair that Activision (it is Activision, right?) take their part of the blame as for all we know they gave them a shoestring budget to work with and 6 months to do it in.
I never think excuses should be made where the developers shouldn't be held accountable for garbage. But at the same time I think it's important to acknowledge their achievements.
Bayonetta 1 and Bayonetta 2 were both brilliant games. Vanquish and Wonderful 101 were also both brilliant games. Metal Gear Rising Revengeance was a top-shelf game. And although it wasn't to my taste, many would agree Madworld was a solid game as well. Star Fox Guard and Zero were developed at the direction of Nintendo (Star Fox Guard is brilliant though, really). EDIT And even going back as far as Clover Studios you had gems like Okami and Viewtiful Joe, and the divisive God Hand (some hated it, others loved it- divisive seems to be their m.o. which we saw- albeit to a lesser degree- with Infinite Space and W101).
It seems there is a less experienced team at Platinum that is handling licensed work- Korra, Transformers, and TMNT. It is because of these games people are questioning the credibility of Platinum. And they should. But I do think it's important to make the distinction between which team at Platinum is making a given game. Based on the evidence, the team handling licensed games is mediocre at best and downright embarrassing at worst. But the teams with Kamiya or Hashimoto at the helm... those teams crank out some incredible games and have a really impressive portfolio to show for it. I think most would agree that Scalebound and Nier Automata look very promising, and with Platinum's A-team track record I don't think too many are concerned they will be anything less than amazing.
Re: Rumour: At Least One Developer Already Working on Xbox One VR Title
I tell you what, I want me some Portal VR. Whoever gives me that gets my VR dollars.
Let the fighting commence.
Re: The BC List: Issue 5 - The Snowboarding Scrooge McDuck Edition
X-COM
SSX
Without question.
Re: Rumour: New Wave of Backward Compatible Titles Coming During E3
I need these games stat:
Lost Odyssey
Portal 2
Tales of Vesperia
Mass Effect Trilogy
Dragon Age 1 and 2
Final Fantasy XIII trilogy
@VanillaLake
Nintendo is the worst right now, but, considering the NNID came right at the tail end of the generation I don't think anyone really expected that policy to change on the spot seeing as the systems weren't built with the infrastructure in place for such a cross buy system. I do fully expect some form of cross buy next generation or for games to actually play on both console and handheld.
Re: Review: Battleborn (Xbox One)
This game should have had offline single player.
Re: Backward Compatibility Spikes Black Ops Physical Sales in UK
I'm CoD'd out.
Don't want IW. Do want MW Remastered but not digitally, and not bundled. Don't even want this for $10.
Idk.
Re: Soul Axiom Gets Launch Date, Exclusive Xbox One Content
Looks good, though I never did buy on Wii U.
Re: Out This Week: DOOM, Raiden V, GunWorld 2
Need more BC titles...
Re: Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Trailer Hits 1 Million Dislikes
Call of Duty is always going to be a decent game. A good game even.
But good grief, even great games get old after the umpteenth annual iteration.
I don't blame those dislikes one bit. I'd dislike it too if I actually cared. But I'm beyond even caring about CoD at this point.
Re: WB Games Own Magazine Leaks Batman: Return to Arkham for Xbox One
@Gamer83
I mean, I can't say it's not a great value. Even at $59.99 that's like getting each game for $29.99 remastered on current gen, when most remasters go for $39.99-$59.99 for a single game (though there have been some great compilations- Halo and Uncharted come to mind).
I don't think it was any less a game than Arkham City, it just had less beloved characters and didn't raise the bar whatsoever. And being the 3rd game in the series things started to get stale, which multiplied the issues of doing nothing new and having less intriguing villains.
But, of course I'm buying this. I never played Asylum and have wanted to for years. I'll finally get that chance
Re: WB Games Own Magazine Leaks Batman: Return to Arkham for Xbox One
@BAMozzy
"Origins wasn't canon and was just a cash-in"
They sure didn't advertise it as such. When they wanted to sell copies it was "the next great game in the Arkham series!" but when it comes to including value in a collection it's "not really worthy"
Re: The BC List - Issue 3 - Joining The Jet Set
Wow.
How does Sonic & Knuckles only have a 69/100 on MetaCritic? That game is timeless.
Re: SSX and Halo 3: ODST Campaign Edition Coming to Backward Compatibility in June?
Ah thank goodness!
No snowboarding titles this gen sucks. BC is such a life saver. Enter now SSX- late nights of half pipes and snow surfing for all!
Re: Cyberpunk 2077 'More Ambitious Than The Witcher On Every Single Front'
Yeah.
These guys are golden.
Re: The BC List: Issue 2 - Double the Dragons, Twice the Fun
Meh.
Takes of Vesperia. Lost Odyssey. Portal 2...
Where are the classics already?..
Re: Bioware Tease Potential New Dragon Age Game
@Gamer83
Lol...
I get the criticism, I do, but Idk... I love their games so much even now.
Re: Trials of the Blood Dragon Rated in Taiwan. Wait. What?
What on earth...?
Re: HBO Now Arrives on Xbox One Just in Time for Game of Thrones
Any way to watch game of thrones elsewhere for free? Like, past seasons maybe?
Re: Review: TRON RUN/r (Xbox One)
Another game that "could have been"
Re: Talking Point: What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue Ninety Nine
@DRL
Ya know, you would really love Monster Hunter. It's got this same type of deep, complex combat, 14 different weapon types- each completely unique and requiring a different play style... combat is heavily dependent on i-frames and evasion when dodge rolling, recognizing enemy tells and reacting, all that stuff.
In fact, Monster Hunter Generations releases this July on 3DS. If you ever want to hunt I'll be playing that game every day for at least a good month or so.
Dark Souls and Monster Hunter are the two deepest games I've ever played, and both very similar in a lot of respects, despite being very different.
Re: Talking Point: What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue Ninety Nine
@DRL
Ok, I'm at 20 Vigor, 18 Strength, 18 Vitality, 18 Endurance, 14 Dexterity and idk about the others cause I don't use them.
Doing good though- just beat the giant tree boss, and the blue knight. I have 7 Estus Flasks (upgraded to heal more per use), a +2 Claymore sword (2 more titanite shards to +3 cause I upgraded my Dark Axe a few times earlier on). I have this ring that doubles stamina regen, and I'm at 69.8% weight limit (had to swap knight helm for this Vietnamese looking hat helm I got from somewhere, just to keep weight under 70%).
But ya, findinf lots of secrets. I got 5 free levels from Yoel (think that's his name), traded ashes to buy a key and rescued some chick from a cell. Idk, this game is so incredibly complex. Maybe even moreso than Monster Hunter, and I've sunk at least a hundred hours just into wikis for that franchise.
May lock in the season pass. I'm really digging the game- it's tough, but it's rewarding. Felt so good to beat that blue knight after 6 tries, or that giant tree after 5 tries.