@UltimateOtaku91 I think in order to get an explanation for why Microsoft hasn't done anything major with Banjo-Kazooie, we'll have to go back to when the IP was acquired along with Rare. Why did Microsoft acquire Rare to begin with? Well, Sony had Spyro and Crash on PS1, as well as upcoming Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter on PS2. Nintendo had all their great franchises like Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Yoshi Donkey, all these family-friendly series. Microsoft didn't have any of these and because 3D platformers and other family-friendly games were the most popular games back then, they felt the need to acquire a studio that had a wealth of IPs like those. And that's why they acquired Rare. Then when they released the original Xbox, attention started to shift towards more mature titles like first-person shooters and thus 3D platformers lost their appeal. That's why I think Microsoft never truly utilised Rare's library of IPs because family-friendly titles started to lose their appeal due to changing trends in the gaming market. I think ultimately they regret acquiring Rare, that's why they put them to work on Kinect Sports during the 360 era just to salvage what they could.
The fact of the matter is that Rare was truly at its peak during the N64 era. Banjo-Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Donkey Kong 64, Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark and so on. People love these games, Banjo-Kazooie in particular rivaled Super Mario 64 in terms of early 3D platforming and I think that's why people found it so special back then. It's still quite enjoyable today but I would be lying if I said that there's a massive audience for these games. There isn't. But it would definitely draw in a crowd that doesn't normally play on Xbox. So as a smaller title on Game Pass, I think people would absolutely love another Banjo-Kazooie and it would drive up the value of GP.
This is exactly what I said in the first article and now we find out that people overreacted for nothing. Let's all just calm down and wait and see how this will turn out. Right now I'm fairly optimistic about this because I do want Ubisoft to go back to the traditional AC formula, at least for a while. Those games are just superb.
@UltimateOtaku91 Of course the LEGO games aren't anything to write home about, but the point is that Xbox needs more family-friendly games and this is a great chance for Microsoft to finally secure a series that fits that role. Of course TT Games doesn't own LEGO but why wouldn't The LEGO Group continue to license the series to TT Games after an acquisition? Sure if Microsoft decides to make the series exclusive to Xbox then that might poise a problem. Or Microsoft could make a case to The LEGO Group that this would be a great opportunity to reach an even wider audience thanks to Game Pass being available on Xbox, PC, smartphones, tablets, you name it. Kids would be able to play these games on their phones or their computers without having to buy a console. I can guarantee that Microsoft will be able to provide a compelling argument based on this.
Even if Microsoft acquires TT Games and they don't continue to make LEGO titles, remember that TT Games has been making collectathons all these years. And what Xbox franchise is a well-known collectathon? Banjo-Kazooie of course! TT Games could easily handle some of Rare's IPs due to their expertise in the genre. Not to mention that all the other Xbox Game Studios are busy with their own projects, so it's not likely any of them will be able to make new entries for e.g. Banjo-Kazooie. Buying studios without any IPs to go along isn't a bad idea then in this case. It's all about being strategic, not taking things at face value.
@xMightyMatt14x That's actually a really good idea! If TT Games were first-party, we could get all kinds of LEGO crossovers. Imagine LEGO Halo, LEGO Banjo-Kazooie like you said (maybe we'll finally be able to get a traditional Banjo-Kazooie game this way, lol), LEGO Fable and so on.
I'm actually playing through the Mario & Luigi series now and both it and Paper Mario are very similar to each other in that they're turn-based RPGs that require active participation during the battles, not just selecting a command from a menu and watching things unfold. You have to actually perform the actions yourself after choosing them, which is why I love these games so much. Granted I haven't played the older Paper Mario games, but I did finish Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga on 3DS a while ago and now I'm playing Partners in Time on Wii U. And I can't stress enough how much fun these games are because it's so satisfying to perform attacks yourself. I played a bit of Bug Fables and it's the same thing there. So if you want a different spin on turn-based RPGs, definitely check out Bug Fables.
This is going to sound incredibly stupid, but I literally just dreamed this past night that Microsoft had acquired studios from Warner Bros, lol.
Anyway, like others have mentioned, Spencer did say he wants more family-friendly games on Game Pass and the LEGO series would be the perfect fit for that. I personally enjoy these games, such as LEGO Batman or LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. So I would definitely be up for having all these games available on Game Pass if TT Games gets acquired.
@Magabro I wouldn't come to the conclusion that acquisitions will be made in Latin America, but yeah Spencer has indeed voiced recently that he wants to increase Xbox presence in Latin America due to high demand. The focus for Microsoft right now is to find good community managers that will contribute towards forming close Xbox communities in each region and one of those regions is Latin America. They obviously want to focus on other places as well, but these things take time. I believe Spencer said these changes will be implemented within the coming year and we're already seeing the fruition of those claims, which is great!
In terms of the timed exclusivity thing for Deathloop, I have to wonder if ZeniMax were being cheeky and deliberately accepting these timed exclusivity deals with Sony in order to get some extra capital while still knowing that they were going to be acquired by Microsoft. I was watching Podcast Unlocked episode 500 with Phil Spencer and I believe he mentioned that Microsoft and ZeniMax were in talks about a potential acquisition as early as five years ago, i.e. most likely before these timed exclusivity deals were even signed. So you have to wonder if ZeniMax just wanted extra money from Sony before agreeing upon an acquisition by Microsoft, lol.
@sqxrz @Doctorwhoooourgh I don't want to get into a deep discussion about this because people never see eye to eye about these things. But consider this analogy:
Imagine that you have a favourite car that you've been using during your early 20s. One day you decide to leave it with your dad because you don't need it anymore. After some time, you find out that your dad sold your car to a random guy because he was willing to pay good money for it. Let's say now that random guy is Microsoft and your dad is ZeniMax. Who should you be angry at?
I would personally be angry at my dad for choosing money over me. Simply put, people should be angry at ZeniMax if anything and not Microsoft. People seem to be under the assumption that Microsoft is "stealing" companies, but it is the companies themselves that are willing to sell out. And before anyone says "they didn't have a choice with that much money", you always have a choice. Consider how many companies Microsoft has approached for a buyout that have most likely turned them down. We will never know about them, but the point is that ZeniMax could've turned Microsoft down and continued developing for PlayStation but they didn't.
@Richnj Yeah I mean, there's so much potential for this project. People have been saying for so many years now that the modern AC games have lost their identity and don't feel like AC anymore. And now that Ubisoft has announced that they're going to focus on more locales (which implicitly means going back to the old formula), people are still upset, lol. It's too early to have any concrete expectations for this title but on paper it sounds absolutely amazing.
@uptownsoul I don't really understand why you're comparing Game Pass/xCloud to F2P games. It doesn't make sense. What makes sense is comparing Game Pass/xCloud to consoles and PC. When someone is considering buying a next-gen system, it's going to cost at least €500 and €80 per game. Not to mention that you have to even find a system to begin with. On the other hand, they can just subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate for €15 per month and use previous controllers such as a DualShock 4 that they probably already own since PS4 was the best-selling system last generation and play on their web browser without having to keep searching for current-gen systems. Even people who aren't into console gaming is going to find Game Pass/xCloud appealing due to its low price point compared to consoles. Microsoft is tapping into both the hardcore and casual audiences and this strategy is going to work because Game Pass is literally the cheapest and most accessible option for anyone who just wants to play video games.
@Enigk To be fair, Ray Narvaez Jr is a pretty swell guy. If you didn't know, he used to be part of Achievement Hunter over at Rooster Teeth before he left six years ago to become a full-time Twitch streamer. And honestly, I think he's one of the funniest streamers that I know of. Would in fact highly recommend him to anyone who's interested in a variety streamer with a focus on Xbox.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but nowhere in this article does it mention that Assassin's Creed Infinity will be a multiplayer experience. It says that it will be a hub with multiple Assassin's Creed locales and the live service aspect is frequent content updates, i.e. adding more locales. The way I see it, this is a return to form considering they want to have both big and small titles, i.e. games from the old AC formula.
Besides the fact that we won't see more games like Odyssey or Valhalla in the near future, exactly what is negative about this? Personally, this sounds like the best thing ever for AC fans who want to revisit past settings such as Italy and Syria. Not to mention that we know that microtransactions in AC games have always been optional and not "pay to win". So I just don't see how this can be perceived as bad news, especially this early on when we don't know know many details about it.
So as an Xbox One owner, this means that I'll finally be able to play The Medium through the cloud without having to buy a Series X. Awesome! Hopefully achievements still count even though I don't have a Series X.
@themightyant I think it's a bit of a Stockholm syndrome case with Red Dead 2. People adored that game but it had so many glaring issues that genuinely take you out of the experience, which people seem to just accept. It's a very slow-paced game with more unnecessary steps to do something just for the sake of realism. At the end of the day, we're playing video games, not simulators, and I don't want to come home from work in order to do more "work" in my video games.
But yes, as long as GTA Online keeps bringing in a lot of revenue, there's little point for them to make new games and I think this is the worst possible outcome for a game company. I'm certain people who work at Rockstar used to be excited to participate in new projects, e.g. the next Red Dead or the next GTA. However, now that the focus is on updating existing games, I can just imagine how underwhelming it must feel to work at a highly-regarded company as Rockstar today. Wouldn't surprise me if people start leaving the company just because nothing new or exciting is being worked on, or that it simply takes too long for something to come to fruition.
Yeah if there's one company that's become a shell of its former self during the past decade, it's definitely Rockstar. It actually reminds me of a picture that was circulating around a while ago:
Definitely sad times since GTA, Red Dead, L.A. Noire etc. are such phenomenal franchises/games.
@Residentsteve01 Honestly, I don't really mind that Rare isn't making these games anymore as long as Microsoft lets other studios make games with their IPs. We got a new Killer Instinct last generation, a new Battletoads came out last year (which was amazing) and a new Perfect Dark is being made now with one of Microsoft's most promising studios.
Granted I do think that Microsoft is focusing on the least demanded franchise revivals. I'd rather see a new Banjo-Kazooie and Conker, especially when Spencer keeps stating that he wants to see more family-friendly games on Game Pass. Although Conker isn't family-friendly, but at least Banjo is. Either way, now that we've gotten Battletoads and Perfect Dark, the next one should be either Banjo-Kazooie or Conker, and I'm willing to bet that Banjo is getting a revival next.
Will try to finish up Shadow of the Tomb Raider and the rest of its DLCs. What's nice about this game is that you can actually do the DLC missions alongside the main game so you don't have to wait until the end of the game before doing them. I personally prefer single-player DLC to be integrated in the base game, so this was nice to see.
Will also be checking out Psychonauts as part of Game Club. Very fun game so far! I'm also trying out Walking Dead season 3 through Cloud Gaming and this might be the first game that I've experienced that works really well through the cloud since it doesn't require quick input most of the time.
@Dezzy70 Absolutely worth giving it a shot, it opens up so many possibilities for where you can play. Not to mention that it syncs with your save files on Xbox. You can start playing on Series X and continue on your computer from your last save without having to transfer save files or anything like that. You also don't need to download 100 GB games, you just boot them up after 10-15 seconds and you're ready to go.
Cloud Gaming honestly feels like magic to me, lol. It's amazing.
I decided to give Xbox Cloud Gaming a go yesterday on my Safari browser and the experience I had was similar to experiencing a new console for the first time. I was absolutely amazed that I was laying down in my bed playing games like Banjo-Kazooie, Peggle 2 and DOOM 64 literally on my web browser! You can log in from anywhere, connect a controller through Bluetooth and you're all set to go. This is literally the future of gaming and even though there's still lag from time to time as well as input delay, the potential for something great is definitely there.
@UltimateOtaku91 You thought Man of Medan was good? I thought it was one of the worst horror games I've ever played. Half of the game you're just spending time on that boat and talking with the most uninteresting characters I've ever seen in a horror game. Like that game was a huge far cry from Until Dawn, it was so boring.
Honestly, I think we can expect at least ten more years from Spencer. I can't imagine him wanting to retire before making sure that Game Pass has reached its potential, i.e. a high subscriber count with a constant stream of first-party titles every year. Once we've reached a stable position with Game Pass I think he will feel content with passing the torch to the next leader.
"Silent Hill could easily be revived if the series were given to Bloober Team".
Anyway, in terms of this piece of news, I think I feel a bit mixed. I've praised Bloober Team in the past but recently I've been playing Observer and as a horror game, it's not that good. It has some decent jump scares here and there, but the concept of walking around in an apartment complex and talking to residents is not really my idea of a horror game. Although the game has great ideas, the horror aspect is not executed well.
But the thing is that I really enjoyed Layers of Fear and thought Blair Witch was decent enough. So I think with Bloober, it's a bit hit and miss with their titles. But if they make the next Silent Hill game and it's as creative as Layers of Fear, then I'm not worried at all. After all, Bloober really showed off their skills with psychological horror in Layers of Fear and Silent Hill is also all about psychological horror, so I think they go well hand in hand.
Ultimately, I don't think they want to mess up this opportunity. I think they're going to take their time and invest as much resources as they can into making the next Silent Hill as good as possible. So right now I'm at least hopeful.
@Tharsman I agree with you. I just find the wording from Hulst to be ridiculous. Of course these are reactions from Sony as a response to Microsoft's actions, why else would they feel the need to be acquiring studios right now. Insomniac should've been bought a long time ago, but Sony waited until just a couple of years ago to acquire them. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what their reasoning is, they're still doing what the competition is doing because of them.
Insomniac will be all right on its own, but Housemarque? They'll probably get the same treatment Sony Bend received. Fail and you'll have to help your more successful older brothers.
@UltimateOtaku91 Oh I don't know, maybe it's because the last acquisition Sony made before Microsoft started going on their acquisition spree in 2018 was back in 2011 when they acquired Sucker Punch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIE_Worldwide_Studios
Microsoft acquired six studios in 2018, one in 2019, and all of a sudden Sony breaks out of their hiatus and starts acquiring studios starting in 2019 as well as making exclusivity deals with new studios. No coincidence at all.
Absolutely ridiculous. So these acquisitions and exclusivity deals with new studios are just a coincidence and not a response at all to Microsoft's recent power moves?
Here's the thing: how exactly does Sony benefit from acquiring studios that are already making games exclusively for them? They don't, they just see this as an opportunity to satisfy stockholders by showing that they're responding to the competition by expanding as well with safe investments. As one of the three huge actors in the gaming market, you can't just stay silent when the other competitor literally acquires an entire publisher.
@PapaGlitch Yeah but you can say that about anything. What we know right now is that Game Pass is seeing a positive trend. It's been grower faster and faster in terms of subscriber count so there's no reason to think that it won't be a success. Especially not after all the power moves Microsoft is making and will continue to make. They will be making more acquisitions in the future in order to bolster the library of Game Pass. So right now, there's no reason to think that the service will fail.
@VenomousAlbino That's another reason why I'm not liking that Sony is acquiring studios just because Microsoft is acquiring studios. Microsoft has a purpose, it wants to expand the amount of first-party titles being released on Game Pass. That's why it doesn't matter if the games sell well or not as long as the subscriber count for Game Pass increases. So the closure of studios is not something we should be worried about in Microsoft's case, they want to have as many first-party titles on Game Pass as possible in order to make the service attractive.
But PlayStation doesn't have Game Pass or a strong focus on a subscription service like Microsoft. It doesn't have a purpose for these acquisitions. That's why I'm more worried in the case of PlayStation because if the games from these acquired studios don't sell well then there's a high risk these studios will be closed down. So unless Sony starts focusing on a subscription service, these acquisitions do not bode well for the studios' futures given Sony's history. I mean for crying out loud, Sony just downsized one of their studios a couple of months ago. So much incredible talent lost just because the games weren't selling well.
@themightyant Of course it's one-sided, I want to buy the best possible products with my hard-earned money. So why should I care about other consumers' products? I want to reap as many benefits as I can, which is natural consumer behaviour. That's why I'm all for acquisitions because I want more reasons to buy the products that I want.
@themightyant Back in 2014, Insomniac Games released a game exclusively for Xbox after having been primarily making games only for PlayStation. Just because a studio hasn't made games for a certain system before doesn't mean that they won't in the future. However, now that Insomniac and Housemarque have been acquired, this rules out any chance of the Xbox and Nintendo platforms receiving future titles. Also, PlayStation and Nintendo users aren't losing out on any of ZeniMax titles that have already come out. You can e.g. still play DOOM Eternal, The Outer Worlds and so on on those platforms. The only thing that is affected is all future titles, which is the same for Insomniac and Housemarque.
In other words, if you're of the opinion that acquisitions are bad, then it's just as bad that Sony acquires a studio close to it as Microsoft acquires a publisher. All future titles will be affected regardless.
Whenever an acquisition occurs, I'll view it from the perspective of how it benefits me as a consumer. And as a consumer, this acquisition doesn't really give me any immediate benefits or any future benefits at all besides future titles being potentially more ambitious and creative. Compare it to the ZeniMax acquisition where we've seen dozens of ZeniMax titles being added to Game Pass and we know that all future ZeniMax titles will be added day one on Game Pass. There are no such consumer benefits whenever PlayStation acquires a studio.
In Sony's case however, they're just acquiring studios to respond to the moves Microsoft has been making, but they don't have a purpose with these acquisitions. Games like Returnal are already exclusive, so it's not like PlayStation is receiving more exclusive titles than without these acquisitions. They're just buying them for the sake of it, which is why I as a consumer can't really be that excited for what the future holds when these studios have already been making games for primarily PlayStation.
@thenewguy I think this is the major issue people are overlooking ever since it was released. It was advertised as having so many different features that were ultimately removed in the final product and it turned out to be a pretty standard open world game. Too many people focus only on the fact that it had technical issues, but the game itself is nothing to write home about.
@blinx01 Your comment is interesting because I pretty much said the exact same thing yesterday on the forums, lol. It's definitely a case of jealousy. If a corresponding service to Game Pass were on PS5 or Switch, people would be over the moon for it. Instead, they are trying to come up with all these different reasons for why Game Pass is bad in order to make themselves feel better that they are missing out on such a great service.
@Hypnotoad107 Well I mean it's the same case as people constantly talking about how great exclusives PlayStation has or how great the Nintendo Switch is in terms of playing on the TV or on the go. People bring these aspects up all the time so I don't see why it's any different for Xbox.
But like you say, Xbox has always been known for "not having games" so now that Game Pass is gaining momentum and is challenging that notion, people are starting to get upset. They don't want Xbox to have games, they want to keep things the way they are, lol.
It actually started because random people on Twitter were saying that Game Pass is bad due to various reasons, that they were tired of people constantly talking about Game Pass and that Microsoft was paying people to promote the service. Then influencers started to tweet in a jokingly manner what great value the service is and as a result Game Pass started to trend.
The people who wanted others to stop talking about Game Pass drew so much more attention to the topic. Don't they know how things like this work.
I partly agree with this article. The thing is that I've played Forza Horizon since 2014 and I've 100% the first two games (some of you may remember that in FH2, you had to do the same race ten times with different vehicle types in order to "complete" that race event, which was really annoying). So once I got to FH3, I was kinda burned out on the series, even though these are phenomenal games. For me personally then, I would need FH5 to do a lot of different and interesting things to pull me back in.
However, in terms of the majority, Forza Horizon 5 is looking to attract lots of newcomers since a lot of people didn't have an Xbox One and Game Pass wasn't as popular back in 2018 when FH4 came out. That's why I don't think it matters if the developer changes the formula much or not since it will still feel like a fresh and fun game for most people. In other words, because of how much attention FH5 garnered from E3 and because it will come out on new systems (Series X/S) as well as on Game Pass (which is now more popular), it's definitely going to satisfy a lot of people regardless of what it does differently.
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed is simply one of the best kart racers I've ever played, so my vote will have to go to that game even though Generations was amazing.
Will be playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on PS4, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time on Wii U and Ghost Recon Future Soldier on PS3. Been a long time since I played a Tomb Raider or Ghost Recon game. These games along with Mario & Luigi are just so much fun! It's gonna be a great weekend.
@Enigk Yeah I can imagine why your kids didn't like it since it's not really that interesting for children due to how much the game wants you to participate in discussions about who the killers are. The kids I've seen playing the game just want to become the imposters and kill others, and if they don't get chosen to be the imposters then they will literally leave at the beginning of the match, lol. It happens a lot quite frankly.
@Enigk The thing is that due to the manipulation aspect of this game, it has enough depth that you can keep playing it over and over without it ever growing stale. As long as you play it with friends that is. But even playing alone can be fun as long as you're matched with a good group.
Will be playing Trails of Cold Steel IV, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Observer on PS4, Bayonetta 2 on Wii U, GTA IV: Ballad of Gay Tony on 360 and Ghost Recon Future Soldier on PS3.
I'm also considering buying a month of Game Pass and playing through A Plague Tale now that a sequel has been announced, as well as season 3 of The Walking Dead.
This didn't even occur to me. In order to bring MLB over to Xbox, Microsoft had to literally give the Series X/S to their primary competitor before both of the companies' systems launched. Granted, I doubt that Sony would've done significant changes to PS5 during this brief period that they had access to Microsoft's systems. But still, that's actually quite insane.
Microsoft is also still advertising Game Pass through Hololive over in Japan. I was watching a live stream the other week where the Vtubers were talking about the pricing and there were so many Japanese viewers that were surprised when they heard that you can buy 3 months of Game Pass Ultimate for only 100 yen (basically one dollar). Really cool how Microsoft is using that strategy over in Japan as well, that's definitely going to attract a lot of customers initially and help spread the word, which is very important in the case of the Xbox brand over there.
@Magabro Here's my opinion of Mass Effect 2: it's the most overrated game in the trilogy simply because there aren't any epic story missions. The whole point is to simply gather squad mates by doing missions for them in order to prepare yourself for the big suicide mission at the end. Simply put, it doesn't feel like you're doing a lot of meaningful things in the game.
However, in Mass Effect 3 you're doing one epic mission after the other because it's the finale of the trilogy. I don't want to spoil anything, but the difference in missions between ME2 and ME3 are like night and day.
Whether or not that translates into better gameplay I cannot say. ME3 is certainly more exciting if you ask me. Also, which class have you been playing as? Soldier is definitely the most boring one, so if you want some variety in your gameplay, then choose one that has supernatural powers. I played as Soldier throughout both ME1 and 2 but then I got tired of the repetitiveness of shooting so I believe I switched to Vanguard in ME3, not sure though.
Well I think all of us here are all aware of how important it is for a company to have the right type of leader who understands the industry. Great leadership has certainly led to Xbox recovering its reputation this past generation, so if Xbox can do it then I'll believe BioWare is able to do so as well given they have chosen the right person for the job. Only time will tell though!
Comments 962
Re: Rumour: Warner Bros Interested In Selling TT Games, NetherRealm
@UltimateOtaku91 I think in order to get an explanation for why Microsoft hasn't done anything major with Banjo-Kazooie, we'll have to go back to when the IP was acquired along with Rare. Why did Microsoft acquire Rare to begin with? Well, Sony had Spyro and Crash on PS1, as well as upcoming Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter on PS2. Nintendo had all their great franchises like Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Yoshi Donkey, all these family-friendly series. Microsoft didn't have any of these and because 3D platformers and other family-friendly games were the most popular games back then, they felt the need to acquire a studio that had a wealth of IPs like those. And that's why they acquired Rare. Then when they released the original Xbox, attention started to shift towards more mature titles like first-person shooters and thus 3D platformers lost their appeal. That's why I think Microsoft never truly utilised Rare's library of IPs because family-friendly titles started to lose their appeal due to changing trends in the gaming market. I think ultimately they regret acquiring Rare, that's why they put them to work on Kinect Sports during the 360 era just to salvage what they could.
The fact of the matter is that Rare was truly at its peak during the N64 era. Banjo-Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Donkey Kong 64, Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark and so on. People love these games, Banjo-Kazooie in particular rivaled Super Mario 64 in terms of early 3D platforming and I think that's why people found it so special back then. It's still quite enjoyable today but I would be lying if I said that there's a massive audience for these games. There isn't. But it would definitely draw in a crowd that doesn't normally play on Xbox. So as a smaller title on Game Pass, I think people would absolutely love another Banjo-Kazooie and it would drive up the value of GP.
Re: Assassin's Creed Infinity Still Likely To Include 'Solo Narrative Stuff', Will Be 'One Evolving Platform'
This is exactly what I said in the first article and now we find out that people overreacted for nothing. Let's all just calm down and wait and see how this will turn out. Right now I'm fairly optimistic about this because I do want Ubisoft to go back to the traditional AC formula, at least for a while. Those games are just superb.
Re: Rumour: Warner Bros Interested In Selling TT Games, NetherRealm
@UltimateOtaku91 Of course the LEGO games aren't anything to write home about, but the point is that Xbox needs more family-friendly games and this is a great chance for Microsoft to finally secure a series that fits that role. Of course TT Games doesn't own LEGO but why wouldn't The LEGO Group continue to license the series to TT Games after an acquisition? Sure if Microsoft decides to make the series exclusive to Xbox then that might poise a problem. Or Microsoft could make a case to The LEGO Group that this would be a great opportunity to reach an even wider audience thanks to Game Pass being available on Xbox, PC, smartphones, tablets, you name it. Kids would be able to play these games on their phones or their computers without having to buy a console. I can guarantee that Microsoft will be able to provide a compelling argument based on this.
Even if Microsoft acquires TT Games and they don't continue to make LEGO titles, remember that TT Games has been making collectathons all these years. And what Xbox franchise is a well-known collectathon? Banjo-Kazooie of course! TT Games could easily handle some of Rare's IPs due to their expertise in the genre. Not to mention that all the other Xbox Game Studios are busy with their own projects, so it's not likely any of them will be able to make new entries for e.g. Banjo-Kazooie. Buying studios without any IPs to go along isn't a bad idea then in this case. It's all about being strategic, not taking things at face value.
Re: Rumour: Warner Bros Interested In Selling TT Games, NetherRealm
@xMightyMatt14x That's actually a really good idea! If TT Games were first-party, we could get all kinds of LEGO crossovers. Imagine LEGO Halo, LEGO Banjo-Kazooie like you said (maybe we'll finally be able to get a traditional Banjo-Kazooie game this way, lol), LEGO Fable and so on.
Re: Game Pass Gems: Bug Fables Is One Of The Best RPGs On Xbox Right Now
I'm actually playing through the Mario & Luigi series now and both it and Paper Mario are very similar to each other in that they're turn-based RPGs that require active participation during the battles, not just selecting a command from a menu and watching things unfold. You have to actually perform the actions yourself after choosing them, which is why I love these games so much. Granted I haven't played the older Paper Mario games, but I did finish Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga on 3DS a while ago and now I'm playing Partners in Time on Wii U. And I can't stress enough how much fun these games are because it's so satisfying to perform attacks yourself. I played a bit of Bug Fables and it's the same thing there. So if you want a different spin on turn-based RPGs, definitely check out Bug Fables.
Re: Rumour: Warner Bros Interested In Selling TT Games, NetherRealm
This is going to sound incredibly stupid, but I literally just dreamed this past night that Microsoft had acquired studios from Warner Bros, lol.
Anyway, like others have mentioned, Spencer did say he wants more family-friendly games on Game Pass and the LEGO series would be the perfect fit for that. I personally enjoy these games, such as LEGO Batman or LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. So I would definitely be up for having all these games available on Game Pass if TT Games gets acquired.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 10th)
Kinda rotating between a lot of titles right now:
Xbox One: Walking Dead A New Frontier, Sea of Solitude, DOOM 64
Wii U: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
PS Vita: Steins;Gate
Really enjoying these games so far! Might also start up a new game on PS4, not sure which one yet though.
Re: Xbox Store Now Highlights Diverse Games Made In Latin America
@Magabro I wouldn't come to the conclusion that acquisitions will be made in Latin America, but yeah Spencer has indeed voiced recently that he wants to increase Xbox presence in Latin America due to high demand. The focus for Microsoft right now is to find good community managers that will contribute towards forming close Xbox communities in each region and one of those regions is Latin America. They obviously want to focus on other places as well, but these things take time. I believe Spencer said these changes will be implemented within the coming year and we're already seeing the fruition of those claims, which is great!
Re: Bethesda's Deathloop Will Be A Timed Exclusive On PS5 Until September 2022
In terms of the timed exclusivity thing for Deathloop, I have to wonder if ZeniMax were being cheeky and deliberately accepting these timed exclusivity deals with Sony in order to get some extra capital while still knowing that they were going to be acquired by Microsoft. I was watching Podcast Unlocked episode 500 with Phil Spencer and I believe he mentioned that Microsoft and ZeniMax were in talks about a potential acquisition as early as five years ago, i.e. most likely before these timed exclusivity deals were even signed. So you have to wonder if ZeniMax just wanted extra money from Sony before agreeing upon an acquisition by Microsoft, lol.
Re: Bethesda's Deathloop Will Be A Timed Exclusive On PS5 Until September 2022
@sqxrz @Doctorwhoooourgh I don't want to get into a deep discussion about this because people never see eye to eye about these things. But consider this analogy:
Imagine that you have a favourite car that you've been using during your early 20s. One day you decide to leave it with your dad because you don't need it anymore. After some time, you find out that your dad sold your car to a random guy because he was willing to pay good money for it. Let's say now that random guy is Microsoft and your dad is ZeniMax. Who should you be angry at?
I would personally be angry at my dad for choosing money over me. Simply put, people should be angry at ZeniMax if anything and not Microsoft. People seem to be under the assumption that Microsoft is "stealing" companies, but it is the companies themselves that are willing to sell out. And before anyone says "they didn't have a choice with that much money", you always have a choice. Consider how many companies Microsoft has approached for a buyout that have most likely turned them down. We will never know about them, but the point is that ZeniMax could've turned Microsoft down and continued developing for PlayStation but they didn't.
Re: Assassin's Creed Infinity Will Reportedly Be A Live Service Platform Inspired By Fortnite
@Richnj Yeah I mean, there's so much potential for this project. People have been saying for so many years now that the modern AC games have lost their identity and don't feel like AC anymore. And now that Ubisoft has announced that they're going to focus on more locales (which implicitly means going back to the old formula), people are still upset, lol. It's too early to have any concrete expectations for this title but on paper it sounds absolutely amazing.
Re: Random: Xbox Playfully Uses PlayStation And Nickelback To Advertise Game Pass
@uptownsoul I don't really understand why you're comparing Game Pass/xCloud to F2P games. It doesn't make sense. What makes sense is comparing Game Pass/xCloud to consoles and PC. When someone is considering buying a next-gen system, it's going to cost at least €500 and €80 per game. Not to mention that you have to even find a system to begin with. On the other hand, they can just subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate for €15 per month and use previous controllers such as a DualShock 4 that they probably already own since PS4 was the best-selling system last generation and play on their web browser without having to keep searching for current-gen systems. Even people who aren't into console gaming is going to find Game Pass/xCloud appealing due to its low price point compared to consoles. Microsoft is tapping into both the hardcore and casual audiences and this strategy is going to work because Game Pass is literally the cheapest and most accessible option for anyone who just wants to play video games.
Re: Random: Xbox Sends Space Jam: A New Legacy Gift Package To Influencers
@Enigk To be fair, Ray Narvaez Jr is a pretty swell guy. If you didn't know, he used to be part of Achievement Hunter over at Rooster Teeth before he left six years ago to become a full-time Twitch streamer. And honestly, I think he's one of the funniest streamers that I know of. Would in fact highly recommend him to anyone who's interested in a variety streamer with a focus on Xbox.
Re: Assassin's Creed Infinity Will Reportedly Be A Live Service Platform Inspired By Fortnite
Correct me if I'm wrong, but nowhere in this article does it mention that Assassin's Creed Infinity will be a multiplayer experience. It says that it will be a hub with multiple Assassin's Creed locales and the live service aspect is frequent content updates, i.e. adding more locales. The way I see it, this is a return to form considering they want to have both big and small titles, i.e. games from the old AC formula.
Besides the fact that we won't see more games like Odyssey or Valhalla in the near future, exactly what is negative about this? Personally, this sounds like the best thing ever for AC fans who want to revisit past settings such as Italy and Syria. Not to mention that we know that microtransactions in AC games have always been optional and not "pay to win". So I just don't see how this can be perceived as bad news, especially this early on when we don't know know many details about it.
Re: Random: Xbox Just Dropped An Insane 90s Music Video To Promote Xbox All Access
This is just pure genius.
Re: These Six Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (July 8-15)
So as an Xbox One owner, this means that I'll finally be able to play The Medium through the cloud without having to buy a Series X. Awesome! Hopefully achievements still count even though I don't have a Series X.
Re: GTA 6 Rumours 'Match Up With What I've Heard', Says Prominent Reporter
@themightyant I think it's a bit of a Stockholm syndrome case with Red Dead 2. People adored that game but it had so many glaring issues that genuinely take you out of the experience, which people seem to just accept. It's a very slow-paced game with more unnecessary steps to do something just for the sake of realism. At the end of the day, we're playing video games, not simulators, and I don't want to come home from work in order to do more "work" in my video games.
But yes, as long as GTA Online keeps bringing in a lot of revenue, there's little point for them to make new games and I think this is the worst possible outcome for a game company. I'm certain people who work at Rockstar used to be excited to participate in new projects, e.g. the next Red Dead or the next GTA. However, now that the focus is on updating existing games, I can just imagine how underwhelming it must feel to work at a highly-regarded company as Rockstar today. Wouldn't surprise me if people start leaving the company just because nothing new or exciting is being worked on, or that it simply takes too long for something to come to fruition.
Re: GTA 6 Rumours 'Match Up With What I've Heard', Says Prominent Reporter
Yeah if there's one company that's become a shell of its former self during the past decade, it's definitely Rockstar. It actually reminds me of a picture that was circulating around a while ago:
Definitely sad times since GTA, Red Dead, L.A. Noire etc. are such phenomenal franchises/games.
Re: Don't Skip Games With Gold's Conker: Live & Reloaded, Especially On Xbox Series X
@Residentsteve01 Honestly, I don't really mind that Rare isn't making these games anymore as long as Microsoft lets other studios make games with their IPs. We got a new Killer Instinct last generation, a new Battletoads came out last year (which was amazing) and a new Perfect Dark is being made now with one of Microsoft's most promising studios.
Granted I do think that Microsoft is focusing on the least demanded franchise revivals. I'd rather see a new Banjo-Kazooie and Conker, especially when Spencer keeps stating that he wants to see more family-friendly games on Game Pass. Although Conker isn't family-friendly, but at least Banjo is. Either way, now that we've gotten Battletoads and Perfect Dark, the next one should be either Banjo-Kazooie or Conker, and I'm willing to bet that Banjo is getting a revival next.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 3rd)
Will try to finish up Shadow of the Tomb Raider and the rest of its DLCs. What's nice about this game is that you can actually do the DLC missions alongside the main game so you don't have to wait until the end of the game before doing them. I personally prefer single-player DLC to be integrated in the base game, so this was nice to see.
Will also be checking out Psychonauts as part of Game Club. Very fun game so far! I'm also trying out Walking Dead season 3 through Cloud Gaming and this might be the first game that I've experienced that works really well through the cloud since it doesn't require quick input most of the time.
Re: Phil Spencer: Cloud Gaming Is A 'Great Bridge Opportunity' To Keep Supporting Xbox One
@Dezzy70 Absolutely worth giving it a shot, it opens up so many possibilities for where you can play. Not to mention that it syncs with your save files on Xbox. You can start playing on Series X and continue on your computer from your last save without having to transfer save files or anything like that. You also don't need to download 100 GB games, you just boot them up after 10-15 seconds and you're ready to go.
Cloud Gaming honestly feels like magic to me, lol. It's amazing.
Re: Phil Spencer: Cloud Gaming Is A 'Great Bridge Opportunity' To Keep Supporting Xbox One
I decided to give Xbox Cloud Gaming a go yesterday on my Safari browser and the experience I had was similar to experiencing a new console for the first time. I was absolutely amazed that I was laying down in my bed playing games like Banjo-Kazooie, Peggle 2 and DOOM 64 literally on my web browser! You can log in from anywhere, connect a controller through Bluetooth and you're all set to go. This is literally the future of gaming and even though there's still lag from time to time as well as input delay, the potential for something great is definitely there.
Re: Konami And Bloober Team Announce Partnership, Reportedly Working On Silent Hill Project
@UltimateOtaku91 You thought Man of Medan was good? I thought it was one of the worst horror games I've ever played. Half of the game you're just spending time on that boat and talking with the most uninteresting characters I've ever seen in a horror game. Like that game was a huge far cry from Until Dawn, it was so boring.
Re: Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Has No Plans To Retire Anytime Soon
Honestly, I think we can expect at least ten more years from Spencer. I can't imagine him wanting to retire before making sure that Game Pass has reached its potential, i.e. a high subscriber count with a constant stream of first-party titles every year. Once we've reached a stable position with Game Pass I think he will feel content with passing the torch to the next leader.
Re: Konami And Bloober Team Announce Partnership, Reportedly Working On Silent Hill Project
I can't believe that I actually predicted this back in September last year, lol: https://www.purexbox.com/forums/xbox-series-x/which_studios_should_microsoft_acquire_next#reply-01
"Silent Hill could easily be revived if the series were given to Bloober Team".
Anyway, in terms of this piece of news, I think I feel a bit mixed. I've praised Bloober Team in the past but recently I've been playing Observer and as a horror game, it's not that good. It has some decent jump scares here and there, but the concept of walking around in an apartment complex and talking to residents is not really my idea of a horror game. Although the game has great ideas, the horror aspect is not executed well.
But the thing is that I really enjoyed Layers of Fear and thought Blair Witch was decent enough. So I think with Bloober, it's a bit hit and miss with their titles. But if they make the next Silent Hill game and it's as creative as Layers of Fear, then I'm not worried at all. After all, Bloober really showed off their skills with psychological horror in Layers of Fear and Silent Hill is also all about psychological horror, so I think they go well hand in hand.
Ultimately, I don't think they want to mess up this opportunity. I think they're going to take their time and invest as much resources as they can into making the next Silent Hill as good as possible. So right now I'm at least hopeful.
Re: PlayStation Boss Claims Sony Is Not In An 'Arms Race' Against Xbox To Acquire Studios
@Tharsman I agree with you. I just find the wording from Hulst to be ridiculous. Of course these are reactions from Sony as a response to Microsoft's actions, why else would they feel the need to be acquiring studios right now. Insomniac should've been bought a long time ago, but Sony waited until just a couple of years ago to acquire them. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what their reasoning is, they're still doing what the competition is doing because of them.
Re: PlayStation Boss Claims Sony Is Not In An 'Arms Race' Against Xbox To Acquire Studios
@NEStalgia That I can buy considering there was an article a while ago about how Sony Bend was worried about being absorbed by Naughty Dog: https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/04/days_gone_2_not_given_the_greenlight_sony_bend_working_on_something_new
Insomniac will be all right on its own, but Housemarque? They'll probably get the same treatment Sony Bend received. Fail and you'll have to help your more successful older brothers.
Re: PlayStation Boss Claims Sony Is Not In An 'Arms Race' Against Xbox To Acquire Studios
@UltimateOtaku91 Oh I don't know, maybe it's because the last acquisition Sony made before Microsoft started going on their acquisition spree in 2018 was back in 2011 when they acquired Sucker Punch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIE_Worldwide_Studios
Then they didn't acquire any studios until 2019 with Insomniac, the year after Microsoft started acquiring a lot of studios: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Game_Studios#Subsidiaries_and_divisions
Microsoft acquired six studios in 2018, one in 2019, and all of a sudden Sony breaks out of their hiatus and starts acquiring studios starting in 2019 as well as making exclusivity deals with new studios. No coincidence at all.
Re: PlayStation Boss Claims Sony Is Not In An 'Arms Race' Against Xbox To Acquire Studios
Absolutely ridiculous. So these acquisitions and exclusivity deals with new studios are just a coincidence and not a response at all to Microsoft's recent power moves?
Here's the thing: how exactly does Sony benefit from acquiring studios that are already making games exclusively for them? They don't, they just see this as an opportunity to satisfy stockholders by showing that they're responding to the competition by expanding as well with safe investments. As one of the three huge actors in the gaming market, you can't just stay silent when the other competitor literally acquires an entire publisher.
Re: Former Xbox Developer Housemarque Officially Joins PlayStation Studios
@PapaGlitch Yeah but you can say that about anything. What we know right now is that Game Pass is seeing a positive trend. It's been grower faster and faster in terms of subscriber count so there's no reason to think that it won't be a success. Especially not after all the power moves Microsoft is making and will continue to make. They will be making more acquisitions in the future in order to bolster the library of Game Pass. So right now, there's no reason to think that the service will fail.
Re: Former Xbox Developer Housemarque Officially Joins PlayStation Studios
@VenomousAlbino That's another reason why I'm not liking that Sony is acquiring studios just because Microsoft is acquiring studios. Microsoft has a purpose, it wants to expand the amount of first-party titles being released on Game Pass. That's why it doesn't matter if the games sell well or not as long as the subscriber count for Game Pass increases. So the closure of studios is not something we should be worried about in Microsoft's case, they want to have as many first-party titles on Game Pass as possible in order to make the service attractive.
But PlayStation doesn't have Game Pass or a strong focus on a subscription service like Microsoft. It doesn't have a purpose for these acquisitions. That's why I'm more worried in the case of PlayStation because if the games from these acquired studios don't sell well then there's a high risk these studios will be closed down. So unless Sony starts focusing on a subscription service, these acquisitions do not bode well for the studios' futures given Sony's history. I mean for crying out loud, Sony just downsized one of their studios a couple of months ago. So much incredible talent lost just because the games weren't selling well.
Re: Former Xbox Developer Housemarque Officially Joins PlayStation Studios
@themightyant Of course it's one-sided, I want to buy the best possible products with my hard-earned money. So why should I care about other consumers' products? I want to reap as many benefits as I can, which is natural consumer behaviour. That's why I'm all for acquisitions because I want more reasons to buy the products that I want.
Re: Former Xbox Developer Housemarque Officially Joins PlayStation Studios
@themightyant Back in 2014, Insomniac Games released a game exclusively for Xbox after having been primarily making games only for PlayStation. Just because a studio hasn't made games for a certain system before doesn't mean that they won't in the future. However, now that Insomniac and Housemarque have been acquired, this rules out any chance of the Xbox and Nintendo platforms receiving future titles. Also, PlayStation and Nintendo users aren't losing out on any of ZeniMax titles that have already come out. You can e.g. still play DOOM Eternal, The Outer Worlds and so on on those platforms. The only thing that is affected is all future titles, which is the same for Insomniac and Housemarque.
In other words, if you're of the opinion that acquisitions are bad, then it's just as bad that Sony acquires a studio close to it as Microsoft acquires a publisher. All future titles will be affected regardless.
Re: Former Xbox Developer Housemarque Officially Joins PlayStation Studios
Whenever an acquisition occurs, I'll view it from the perspective of how it benefits me as a consumer. And as a consumer, this acquisition doesn't really give me any immediate benefits or any future benefits at all besides future titles being potentially more ambitious and creative. Compare it to the ZeniMax acquisition where we've seen dozens of ZeniMax titles being added to Game Pass and we know that all future ZeniMax titles will be added day one on Game Pass. There are no such consumer benefits whenever PlayStation acquires a studio.
Not to mention that Microsoft is pursuing studio acquisitions because they have a purpose in mind, which is to release a steady flow of first-party titles every year: https://www.purexbox.com/news/2021/06/xbox_wants_to_release_a...
In Sony's case however, they're just acquiring studios to respond to the moves Microsoft has been making, but they don't have a purpose with these acquisitions. Games like Returnal are already exclusive, so it's not like PlayStation is receiving more exclusive titles than without these acquisitions. They're just buying them for the sake of it, which is why I as a consumer can't really be that excited for what the future holds when these studios have already been making games for primarily PlayStation.
Re: CD Projekt Believes Cyberpunk 2077's Stability Is Now At A 'Satisfactory Level'
@thenewguy I think this is the major issue people are overlooking ever since it was released. It was advertised as having so many different features that were ultimately removed in the final product and it turned out to be a pretty standard open world game. Too many people focus only on the fact that it had technical issues, but the game itself is nothing to write home about.
Re: Phil Spencer Thanks The Fans As Xbox Game Pass Trends On Twitter
@blinx01 Your comment is interesting because I pretty much said the exact same thing yesterday on the forums, lol. It's definitely a case of jealousy. If a corresponding service to Game Pass were on PS5 or Switch, people would be over the moon for it. Instead, they are trying to come up with all these different reasons for why Game Pass is bad in order to make themselves feel better that they are missing out on such a great service.
Re: Phil Spencer Thanks The Fans As Xbox Game Pass Trends On Twitter
@Hypnotoad107 Well I mean it's the same case as people constantly talking about how great exclusives PlayStation has or how great the Nintendo Switch is in terms of playing on the TV or on the go. People bring these aspects up all the time so I don't see why it's any different for Xbox.
But like you say, Xbox has always been known for "not having games" so now that Game Pass is gaining momentum and is challenging that notion, people are starting to get upset. They don't want Xbox to have games, they want to keep things the way they are, lol.
Re: Phil Spencer Thanks The Fans As Xbox Game Pass Trends On Twitter
It actually started because random people on Twitter were saying that Game Pass is bad due to various reasons, that they were tired of people constantly talking about Game Pass and that Microsoft was paying people to promote the service. Then influencers started to tweet in a jokingly manner what great value the service is and as a result Game Pass started to trend.
The people who wanted others to stop talking about Game Pass drew so much more attention to the topic. Don't they know how things like this work.
Re: Soapbox: Forza Horizon 5 Is Going To Need To Lean Into The Series' Absurdity To Impress Me
I partly agree with this article. The thing is that I've played Forza Horizon since 2014 and I've 100% the first two games (some of you may remember that in FH2, you had to do the same race ten times with different vehicle types in order to "complete" that race event, which was really annoying). So once I got to FH3, I was kinda burned out on the series, even though these are phenomenal games. For me personally then, I would need FH5 to do a lot of different and interesting things to pull me back in.
However, in terms of the majority, Forza Horizon 5 is looking to attract lots of newcomers since a lot of people didn't have an Xbox One and Game Pass wasn't as popular back in 2018 when FH4 came out. That's why I don't think it matters if the developer changes the formula much or not since it will still feel like a fresh and fun game for most people. In other words, because of how much attention FH5 garnered from E3 and because it will come out on new systems (Series X/S) as well as on Game Pass (which is now more popular), it's definitely going to satisfy a lot of people regardless of what it does differently.
Re: Pick One: Which Is Your Favourite Sonic Game On Xbox?
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed is simply one of the best kart racers I've ever played, so my vote will have to go to that game even though Generations was amazing.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 26th)
Will be playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on PS4, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time on Wii U and Ghost Recon Future Soldier on PS3. Been a long time since I played a Tomb Raider or Ghost Recon game. These games along with Mario & Luigi are just so much fun! It's gonna be a great weekend.
Re: Among Us Dev Talks About The Pressure Of Bringing The Game To Xbox & PlayStation
@Enigk Yeah I can imagine why your kids didn't like it since it's not really that interesting for children due to how much the game wants you to participate in discussions about who the killers are. The kids I've seen playing the game just want to become the imposters and kill others, and if they don't get chosen to be the imposters then they will literally leave at the beginning of the match, lol. It happens a lot quite frankly.
Re: Among Us Dev Talks About The Pressure Of Bringing The Game To Xbox & PlayStation
@Enigk The thing is that due to the manipulation aspect of this game, it has enough depth that you can keep playing it over and over without it ever growing stale. As long as you play it with friends that is. But even playing alone can be fun as long as you're matched with a good group.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 19th)
Will be playing Trails of Cold Steel IV, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Observer on PS4, Bayonetta 2 on Wii U, GTA IV: Ballad of Gay Tony on 360 and Ghost Recon Future Soldier on PS3.
I'm also considering buying a month of Game Pass and playing through A Plague Tale now that a sequel has been announced, as well as season 3 of The Walking Dead.
Re: Microsoft Gave Sony Pre-Release Xbox Series X|S Hardware For MLB The Show 21
This didn't even occur to me. In order to bring MLB over to Xbox, Microsoft had to literally give the Series X/S to their primary competitor before both of the companies' systems launched. Granted, I doubt that Sony would've done significant changes to PS5 during this brief period that they had access to Microsoft's systems. But still, that's actually quite insane.
Re: Japan Is Now Xbox's Fastest Growing Market Worldwide, Confirms Exec
Microsoft is also still advertising Game Pass through Hololive over in Japan. I was watching a live stream the other week where the Vtubers were talking about the pricing and there were so many Japanese viewers that were surprised when they heard that you can buy 3 months of Game Pass Ultimate for only 100 yen (basically one dollar). Really cool how Microsoft is using that strategy over in Japan as well, that's definitely going to attract a lot of customers initially and help spread the word, which is very important in the case of the Xbox brand over there.
Re: BioWare's New Boss Is Aiming To 'Rebuild The Studio's Reputation'
@Magabro Here's my opinion of Mass Effect 2: it's the most overrated game in the trilogy simply because there aren't any epic story missions. The whole point is to simply gather squad mates by doing missions for them in order to prepare yourself for the big suicide mission at the end. Simply put, it doesn't feel like you're doing a lot of meaningful things in the game.
However, in Mass Effect 3 you're doing one epic mission after the other because it's the finale of the trilogy. I don't want to spoil anything, but the difference in missions between ME2 and ME3 are like night and day.
Whether or not that translates into better gameplay I cannot say. ME3 is certainly more exciting if you ask me. Also, which class have you been playing as? Soldier is definitely the most boring one, so if you want some variety in your gameplay, then choose one that has supernatural powers. I played as Soldier throughout both ME1 and 2 but then I got tired of the repetitiveness of shooting so I believe I switched to Vanguard in ME3, not sure though.
Re: Todd Howard Suggests Bethesda Leaving PlayStation Behind Will Make For A 'Better Product'
@Richnj I wholeheartedly agree!
Re: BioWare's New Boss Is Aiming To 'Rebuild The Studio's Reputation'
Well I think all of us here are all aware of how important it is for a company to have the right type of leader who understands the industry. Great leadership has certainly led to Xbox recovering its reputation this past generation, so if Xbox can do it then I'll believe BioWare is able to do so as well given they have chosen the right person for the job. Only time will tell though!
Re: Xbox Scoops 'Best Presentation' At E3 2021, Forza Horizon 5 Wins 'Most Anticipated Game'
@Magabro Ah interesting. Well no matter which one's more popular, it's great to see that there is a lot of interest for these Xbox franchises!