The 360-era, but not upon release. I wanna say it was 2010-2011. Me and my family were usually Nintendo and PlayStation gamers, but my dad purchased a 360 for my mom to play, but she didn’t really use it and let me try it. I can’t remember all of the games I played on there, I think most of it was game demos, but I’m sure I played full games on it, but it was traded in for a Wii since we all stopped using the 360 and lost interest. Then for the rest of the decade I went back to playing Nintendo and PlayStation consoles, namely the Switch and PS4.
Fast forward to 2022, I really wanted an Xbox to play more Rare games after trying a few of their games on Switch via NSO, and I got gifted an Xbox Series S with a Game Pass Ultimate sub for Christmas and loved it. The Xbox is what I mainly use for gaming nowadays (also because our older consoles were given back to my sister) and I really think the Series S is one of the best consoles I’ve ever played. Really happy to have it, and I’ll still be using it for a long time!
Conker: Live and Reloaded (January) Perfect Dark (June) Perfect Dark Zero (also in June) Conker’s Bad Fur Day (via Rare Replay; August) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (September)
Pretty small list since I didn’t have all the time in the world to play games. Only five games, so that’s bad…A lot of the games are from the OG Xbox and 360, so my time with Xbox this year was full of a lot of oldies and retro games. I need to buy more games next year since my list is so small.
I’d say the one I had the most fun with was Shredder’s Revenge, especially since I played online with @Banjo- and a few others as I progressed through the game. I did have some fun with Bad Fur Day too since I played it as part of the PX Game Club and wrote about it, but despite how much I like it, that game has the least enjoyable gameplay and level design out of all the games I completed this year. Some of the other retro games had some flaws with their gameplay, but they were still enjoyable.
Haven’t Double Fine said before they never wanted to make Banjo games?
Even though I love both those IPs a LOT, I actually don’t have high hopes they will ever come back, especially Conker. I really feel like if they brought that one back, I think it’s offensive, unapologetic and raunchy humor could cause trouble to the developers, plus the Conker games are known for selling poorly, so I’m sure that game series is not going to see a modern entry.
Banjo probably does have a better shot at being brought back, but I really have low hopes, plus the two rumors saying that “there is a Banjo game in the works” and “there is no Banjo game in the works” seemingly conflicting with each other also add doubt. I also think there would probably need to be an audience for it. While Banjo does have a fan base, I don’t think it’s an extremely big one, so I don’t know how a modern entry could do. If a modern entry did flop, I don’t think Microsoft would ever bring it back.
@Vaako007 Even though I don’t really mind some games going multiplatform, I do definitely agree that they should be keeping a few of the games exclusive, as I think that’s super important and likely plays a role into the success of the Xbox. Console exclusives are super important in generating sales and giving people a reason for buying it. Keeping some games on the console and then releasing some exclusives on other consoles that could potentially grow even larger audiences (like what happened with Sea of Thieves) and possibly attract more to the Xbox ecosystem could work. Still, I don’t really mind the exclusives going multiplatform, but I can see all the other points everyone else has.
Is it weird or bad for me to not really care about some of their games possibly going multiplatform? Anyway, I’ll believe this rumor when I see confirmation from Microsoft for it. I find a lot of leaks and rumors super unreliable and they seem to always go back and forth between info.
WOW. That is such a welcome surprise! Makes me so happy to see game studios get revived and saved alongside their IPs. Looks like Hi-Fi Rush may become a bigger IP now!
@Beetlebum91 Although I am a huge fan of the game, I can absolutely agree that the aiming is so bad, but the gameplay with the guns and projectiles get worse later on near the end. Now that I’m replaying it, I am now realizing how poor some of the gameplay is, and I think the crass humor alongside the writing and large cast of colorful and bizarre characters is what the game is more well-known for rather than its gameplay. I hear more people talk about that rather than the gameplay. It sort of does seem like the gameplay was a bit more of an afterthought in some aspects.
I never pre-order games on Xbox or on any console, even for titles that I am excited about. Nowadays, games can be rushed to the market and be broken upon release and not be fixed until later, and there is a chance that you could be given a mediocre or bad and possibly poorly made game if you pre-order. It's pretty much the approach I'll be taking for the Perfect Dark reboot when it gets close to launch. I am excited about it, but I feel there could be a 50/50 chance that the game is either good or mediocre. I was considering trying it out on Game Pass when it releases eventually and then deciding whether I want to buy it or not, but given that they are downgrading the subscriptions and making them too expensive, I'll probably have to wait a bit for it.
The fact that this comes after the stellar Xbox showcase last month is just really bad. It looks like they are going in the Netflix direction; making the more inexpensive tier the one with less content and features just to push for more people to buy the more expensive tiers. Them locking specific games behind the expensive ones is the thing that stuck out the most to me. I, unfortunately, don't have all the money to buy individual games or the more expensive subscription, so I found the Console sub to be the best option. Them introducing free internet for the Standard subscription is great, but the caveat is that they are now locking games behind Ultimate and PC game pass...It stinks because I found a lot of value in it and I am apart of the PX Game Club, and it seems that a lot of people there are now going to unsub and not renew. When they get onto a specific game there (which I own) I'll likely leave the Game Club, unfortunately. The new prices are too expensive for me.
Even being a huge Xbox fan and seeing lots of value in Game Pass, seeing them now including online with the standard subscription is good, but the rest just seems like a bad move. The fact that they’re now going to lock specific games behind more expensive subscriptions is so lame and reminds me of Netflix’s subscription change, and the move Microsoft is making seems to be a push to get people to spend more money on the expensive subscription. Again, very lame.
Never have purchased Xbox merchandise, since I’m not really into buying merch for stuff I like and I don’t really have all the space and money to do it. However, I am thinking of buying licensed plushies of characters from Xbox-owned IPs soon, though likely only two since plushies tend to be very pricey depending where you get them. Fangamer has a couple, but the two I want in particular are 32$, and if I bought those I’d expect to be in debt already with shipping on top of the combined prices lol, plus it would probably not be worth the money if I bought them for a high price there, so I probably have to find them on Amazon or somewhere cheaper. I really respect and commend people who build up merch collections, since it must take a lot of time and money.
That stinks. I saw the issue was reported on the app. I was probably going to play today, but I guess not until the issue gets solved in hopefully a few hours. Why does almost everything require a connection to be played nowadays? It’s just so unnecessary and causes a ton of disappointment and frustration like what this outage is doing.
I am pretty optimistic yes! After the Xbox showcase, they seem to have a somewhat more consistent release schedule that is more packed than previous years, and hopefully they can continue that for years to come, since that is an issue Microsoft has had for a while in spite of having a ton of studios under its helm.
On top of that, they are also continuing the backwards compatibility program, so more titles have the chance to become playable, and I’m a sucker for playing older games, so I’m glad that’s coming too as well!
@InterceptorAlpha I didn’t even come across any ads or posts for it on any websites like YouTube. I was aware of the game releasing, but they didn’t even try to make more people aware of it.
Didn’t they also not really market the game at all nearing its release? I have a feeling that could have also played a role into how it performed commercially and some might not even know it got a sequel.
Those two showcases were such a treat. So many games on the horizon now!
The game I am looking forward to the most from Xbox is that Perfect Dark reboot that hopefully turns out good in the end. That one was super interesting.
For Nintendo, I don’t have a specific title, but I am pretty excited about the Mature 17+ app they are adding to N64 NSO today since that opens up the door to a ton of popular titles that can’t be put in the standard app. I really want to buy the Expansion Pack again maybe later this year when I am able to play the Switch again and when they add more titles that entice me! Hoping they drop more Rare titles on there soon. I’d love for an official and better way to play Diddy Kong Racing and the possibilities of having Switch users being able to play Conker would make me so happy
I’ve been playing Perfect Dark for the first time and I’ve been enjoying it. It’s different (at least for me) because I’ve played other first-person shooters like Overwatch that are more fast paced and to the point, though PD involves other things in its gameplay, like the use of gadgets and opening up doors to get to enter areas, not to mention it’s focused on being single-player than multiplayer. The fourth level is a little annoying so far, but I think I’m not used to it yet and I’m still going to progress through it.
I was also replaying parts of Conker’s Bad Fur Day on Rare Replay, but I didn’t play it for long because of the bad control scheme it has thanks to being an old game. It’s really hard for me to play the game in full again without getting slightly frustrated with the difficulty spike, which is made worse when paired with the outdated controls that they surprisingly didn’t fix or improve when porting it. I tried playing through the War segment specifically and the controls make it so bad…
I hope that is true! I’d love to see some more gameplay footage of a few titles from the showcase and maybe seeing a few more updates on the other first-party titles that were no shows at the showcase. It does make sense that they would save some things to make Gamescom possibly exciting as well.
I am definitely looking forward to 2025 and beyond. They really did such a great job on Sunday with the showcase.
@FraserG The live chat here was literally one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on this site the off-topic discussions I had with others before the show were so fun! It was way better than YouTube live chats since everyone was so kind and respectful during the livestream unlike the live chats on YouTube.
It was a pretty great lineup of triple-AAA first-party titles with some interesting third-party games mixed in. Someone said the showcase seemed to have this “there’s something for everyone” feel and I definitely agree! This was a very much needed showcase for Xbox, and them providing updates for their already announced games was actually on my wishlist for the showcase! I did wish some of the games, such as Perfect Dark, got release dates, but hopefully we’ll find out soon. That game is apparently supposed to get a deep dive at some point.
The comebacks of older IPs was definitely one of the best parts of the show, and I absolutely love seeing older games get modern revivals. Now, if we could get a new Banjo game then that would be splendid!
That is good to hear, especially with all the doom and gloom and “the end of Xbox is near” comments I’ve heard all over gaming “leak” forums, not to mention all those negative rumors that spread like wildfires on the internet.
I don’t really mind if it is multiplatform. In fact, I think it is good when some games do go multiplatform so people don’t have to use more money to buy another console just for a specific game. Didn’t they state before this that DOOM was always multiplat and will stay that way?
I haven’t gotten far in the original Perfect Dark and I did miss some of this during the show, but it looks really cool! Shocked it appealed so much to me since I never really played the games.
Good to see the game is on track after hearing of all those reports that the game was in a bad state. Just gotta hope it’ll be good upon release! I’ll probably play the original games to build up some more hype after seeing that fantastic gameplay trailer. If there is one thing I love to see, it’s dormant video game IPs getting modern comebacks!
@Stamnoso I was also hoping for some platformer games to show up too. I’m a pretty big fan of Rare’s platformer IPs, and that’s actually what sparked my interest in Xbox. I think a lot of the platformer IPs Microsoft has under their helm have potential to work in the modern day, as long as they have good ideas and are developed by a game studio with experience in making platformer games.
@Friendly I can handle gore, but mostly if it’s in a game with outdated or older graphics and maybe if it is exaggerated and over the top. Some of the violence and gore shown in the showcase was pretty brutal to watch. Can agree that the Diablo cinematic was pretty violent, paired with the screaming during that one part of it. Even though I was able to handle most of the gore, it can still send shivers down my spine and make me feel a certain way.
I would also like to see smaller games from Microsoft too! Those actually appeal to me the most than the more bigger games.
@Banjo- I most certainly did enjoy the chat alongside the showcase and reading everyone’s excited reactions to the games! It was so fun getting to talk to you and everyone else.
Also, what do you mean by the intention thing? I can’t reread older messages in the chat.
@Banjo- Plus, didn’t some of those online games get cancelled after they figured out that the live service model wasn’t going to work? I remember hearing they were working on a Last of Us online game for a few years that got cancelled after Bungie assessed the game. It sucks that the project didn’t get finished, since I heard a lot of people were hyped for it.
@Dan1283 I was hoping for a Banjo-Kazooie game too lol. I hope the rumors about there being a new game in development are true! The guy who said that I believe is fairly reputable, but I’ll still take it with a grain of salt.
I rate it an A. That had got to be the BEST showcase I’ve seen. It was a great mixture of new games and a few trailers and updates for some already announced ones. I’m probably not going to play a couple of the games in there, but they looked pretty dang good! However, there was this shooter game (can’t remember the name) that had a really appealing art style, so I might play that when it comes out. I left the livestream when the CoD portion was about to start (since I don’t have an interest in it) but I will say that I like the aesthetic of the next entry! Mysterious and cool.
My only issue was that a couple of the games didn’t get release dates. The Perfect Dark reboot looks great and I’ll likely play it once I try out the original games, but it still didn’t get a release date. State of Decay 3 I believe has been known for about four years, but all it got was a cinematic trailer and still no release date. Shame Everwild didn’t show up, but I wasn’t really surprised at it not appearing, given its development got rebooted not too long ago. Still, I think it was a good showcase! Absolutely worth my time.
These studio closures and layoffs are truly depressing. I wish the higher-ups at these billion dollar corporations would care enough about the people working at these studios and helping them when something goes awry instead of simply resorting to shutting them down and laying them off, but I sadly don’t see it happening from these businessmen and businesswomen. It’s rare to see higher-ups at these company’s exhibit care towards their employees.
It’s sad that in Tango’s case, a game performing well both critically and commercially unfortunately did not guarantee that the studio would stay open, and it just doesn’t make sense to close them when their parent company gushed a ton about how well their recent release did and how they needed more of it. I feel extremely bad for everyone who gets laid off from any job and gets no help with it afterward.
I’ll be watching the thing live, though probably alone with no one… 😅 There’s just something about watching game reveals unfold live that is exciting…
@Banjo- Yes please! I’d love to see something related to one of the three franchises you mentioned. Even if I am a bit too hopeful, I can’t tell you how much I’d make my day if they had a project related to Banjo in development!
That’s a lot of information. The four ports of their former exclusives to the PS5 and Switch really opened a can of worms and let out a ton of “rumors” from “leakers” with iffy track records, didn’t it?
While I don’t think I’d be surprised if most of the info in this article is true because of how Microsoft has been acting and some statements company officials have made regarding exclusivity, I think my issue is how people don’t question the validity of “rumors” or “leaks,” mostly regarding one’s that relate to Xbox and if their games will stay exclusive or not. If it’s a “rumor” about Xbox that is negative, everyone will instantly believe it, regardless if the person who said the “rumor” has gotten things incorrect in the past! There’s a forum on another site I sometimes go onto, and every negative Xbox “rumor” always gets the most likes and comments out of every post there. Sometimes it seems that “leakers” make some info up for clout.
@Sol4ris I have gone onto Push Square and have had positive interactions with users on there. However, my main issue with the site is how it appears to push this console wars sentiment and is against Xbox or people that play it. It’s fine to not like a specific console or prefer to play another one over the other, but the opinions stated there sometimes seem to only be made just to try to rile people up and make Xbox look bad for no reason. I have seen articles there that just seem to be made solely to push a console wars narrative, or even a recent article that discussed Hellblade 2(which isn’t even on the PS5). However, a lot of users pointed out how that article was likely made just to increase fanboyism and how it didn’t make sense to write an entire article (which you could possibly call a review) on a game that hasn’t made its way to PlayStation. I wish people could enjoy whatever console they want without being trashed on by console war supporters…it’s so dumb to me.
@Banjo- I agree! Xbox’s backwards compatibility is so good, especially for those that really enjoy playing older games!
I think another positive aside from getting to keep playing games on newer hardware is that it can also save money for consumers. They don’t have to repeatedly buy remasters or ports for each new console, since they can keep their backwards compatible games with them. I’m hoping that they continue to add more backwards compatible games, since I think that’s an aspect the Xbox does well, and dare I say does the best out of all console manufacturers in this day and age.
Huh. Was it weird that I was expecting more titles to be delisted? I’m a little surprised that a lot of the games on the list consist of Kinect games, but given that they pushed that thing a ton during the 360 days and had their studios pump them out, I am also not too surprised.
@MrMagic While I do think Sea of Thieves looks interesting, I wish Rare would go back to making single player experiences with no live service in place. I actually prefer playing games that are longer and offline over games that are supposed to or intended to be played online; it’s why I always go back to playing their older games so many times even after completing them and why I haven’t purchased Sea of Thieves.
Their older games had this sort of charm to them and they always tried to innovate or add twists, which I feel is somewhat missing with modern Rare and some of their modern titles. Unfortunate they probably won’t go back to doing what they used to do, since a majority of the original employees that brought so much magic to the studio left.
I am interested in Everwild and might get it when it does release, but if it does turn out to be live service, I’ll probably be less likely to play it. The development cycle sounds to be messy, since they seemingly started with the visuals and design first and THEN the gameplay afterward, which is probably not the greatest way to develop a game.
The day they announce a new Banjo-Kazooie game is the day I’ll be able to die happy
Also, to add onto the Banjo rumor, the guy who said that a new game was greenlit gave an update on the project back in March I believe. From what I remember, he said that the game was being reworked from its original scope and that he talked about it too early, though he said the rework was moreso for the better. If the game is real, I would love to hear something about it!
Good to see that the rumors weren’t true! I wish more people would take rumors and “leaks” with a grain of salt and await actual confirmation.
Any “leak” or rumor I have seen regarding Xbox, in particular the more negative ones, always are treated as real even when the person spreading the rumor isn’t credible or has an iffy track record with these things. But, some people (not all) do make up more negative leaks and rumors to either stoke the flames, get 15 minutes of internet fame and attention, or a combination of both, so it’s great to hear confirmation from Microsoft!
@Kooky_Geezer I have not played a Daedalic game before, but I think what happened to them after this mess of a game was released was sad.
Like, imagine being employed at a small video game company behind several point-and-click games that have garnered positive reception, and then having to make a triple-AAA game, which bombs so bad that the company completely shutters its development division and goes publisher only.
Apparently they didn’t even have the sufficient budget for a triple-AAA game, which just tells that the IP owner put in little thought when it came to choosing a game studio for Gollum.
I would really want to see something related to Rare. I’d love to hear more about Everwild and it being given a release date (or at least an estimated release) since reports were saying that the developers were apparently targeting for a 2024 release despite the rebooted development, but maybe I’m being too hopeful…
I would also love to see something related to their old IPs, but there is probably no way in HECK they would do something new with Rare’s other legacy IP besides merch drops and having their characters appear in other games. There have been rumors of a new Banjo-Kazooie game being in development but I don’t think they’ll show anything related to it if it is actually real, since the rumors said the game was only greenlit recently and was in development for I think 1.5-2 years? The guy who reported on that is fairly reputable, but I’ll still take it with a grain of salt… I have so many hopes and dreams that won’t ever come into fruition lol
Blehhh. I like Game Pass, but why would you increase the price of it because of a single title or something? I don’t have any intention to play CoD and a couple here don’t as well.
As others have said, it would make more sense if this rumored price hike was introduced with separately priced tiers, and maybe there could be a tier with CoD at a higher price, and then a tier without CoD at a lower price. I would prefer them to not increase the price of Game Pass altogether, since not only do I think it would get expensive over time (for consumers), but also because it would definitely upset some Game Pass users. But, I guess this possible price increase is just from a business point of view.
The console I started out with was technically an Xbox 360, but I don’t think I was really into Xbox at the time and the console was originally intended for my mom.
I got a Series S for Christmas a few years ago and what made me really want to swap to an Xbox was the games, namely ones developed by Rare. I remember playing some of Rare’s games for the first time on the Switch in 2021-2022 and had a pleasant experience with the games I played, namely the Donkey Kong Country trilogy and the first Banjo-Kazooie game. I kept hearing about how great their other N64 games were, but I couldn’t play them since they were exclusive to Xbox consoles, which made me want one so much and was my only reason for wanting a Series S. I did get gifted a three month long Game Pass subscription, and while I do know that multiple of Rare’s games are playable on there, I still went ahead and purchased Rare Replay during a sale and a couple of their individual titles since I wanted to play them forever. It’s amazing that my taste in games and my favorite console changed so much just by simply playing four of their games on the Switch! I just love the console so much, and it’s the only one I play now.
While it would not be surprising if this does end up true, why are we following rumors again?
The guy “leaking” this appears to only be guessing and flip flopping back and forth with his statements, saying there is no red line for Xbox games going on PlayStation before seemingly backtracking and going “oh I don’t actually know if there is a red line in place or not.” I already have seen others go with the guy’s guessing and treating as if it is real. I think the best approach to this is waiting until this is actually confirmed, even if multiplatform is the most obvious route Microsoft wants to take after the successes of the four games they ported to other platforms.
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Re: Talking Point: When Did You First Get Introduced To The World Of Xbox?
The 360-era, but not upon release. I wanna say it was 2010-2011. Me and my family were usually Nintendo and PlayStation gamers, but my dad purchased a 360 for my mom to play, but she didn’t really use it and let me try it. I can’t remember all of the games I played on there, I think most of it was game demos, but I’m sure I played full games on it, but it was traded in for a Wii since we all stopped using the 360 and lost interest. Then for the rest of the decade I went back to playing Nintendo and PlayStation consoles, namely the Switch and PS4.
Fast forward to 2022, I really wanted an Xbox to play more Rare games after trying a few of their games on Switch via NSO, and I got gifted an Xbox Series S with a Game Pass Ultimate sub for Christmas and loved it. The Xbox is what I mainly use for gaming nowadays (also because our older consoles were given back to my sister) and I really think the Series S is one of the best consoles I’ve ever played. Really happy to have it, and I’ll still be using it for a long time!
Re: Talking Point: Which Xbox Games Have You Managed To Finish This Year?
If I can recall, in order:
Conker: Live and Reloaded (January)
Perfect Dark (June)
Perfect Dark Zero (also in June)
Conker’s Bad Fur Day (via Rare Replay; August)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (September)
Pretty small list since I didn’t have all the time in the world to play games. Only five games, so that’s bad…A lot of the games are from the OG Xbox and 360, so my time with Xbox this year was full of a lot of oldies and retro games. I need to buy more games next year since my list is so small.
I’d say the one I had the most fun with was Shredder’s Revenge, especially since I played online with @Banjo- and a few others as I progressed through the game. I did have some fun with Bad Fur Day too since I played it as part of the PX Game Club and wrote about it, but despite how much I like it, that game has the least enjoyable gameplay and level design out of all the games I completed this year. Some of the other retro games had some flaws with their gameplay, but they were still enjoyable.
Re: Xbox Reportedly Told To 'Go Dark' On Social Media Following Latest Round Of Layoffs
We unfortunately can’t go a week without hearing about job layoffs at any company…
Re: Xbox's 'Double Fine' Studio Dismisses Idea Of Making New Banjo Or Conker Games
Haven’t Double Fine said before they never wanted to make Banjo games?
Even though I love both those IPs a LOT, I actually don’t have high hopes they will ever come back, especially Conker. I really feel like if they brought that one back, I think it’s offensive, unapologetic and raunchy humor could cause trouble to the developers, plus the Conker games are known for selling poorly, so I’m sure that game series is not going to see a modern entry.
Banjo probably does have a better shot at being brought back, but I really have low hopes, plus the two rumors saying that “there is a Banjo game in the works” and “there is no Banjo game in the works” seemingly conflicting with each other also add doubt. I also think there would probably need to be an audience for it. While Banjo does have a fan base, I don’t think it’s an extremely big one, so I don’t know how a modern entry could do. If a modern entry did flop, I don’t think Microsoft would ever bring it back.
Re: Rumour: Xbox To Announce 'Big' Game For PS5 Next Week
@Vaako007 Even though I don’t really mind some games going multiplatform, I do definitely agree that they should be keeping a few of the games exclusive, as I think that’s super important and likely plays a role into the success of the Xbox. Console exclusives are super important in generating sales and giving people a reason for buying it. Keeping some games on the console and then releasing some exclusives on other consoles that could potentially grow even larger audiences (like what happened with Sea of Thieves) and possibly attract more to the Xbox ecosystem could work. Still, I don’t really mind the exclusives going multiplatform, but I can see all the other points everyone else has.
Re: Rumour: Xbox To Announce 'Big' Game For PS5 Next Week
Is it weird or bad for me to not really care about some of their games possibly going multiplatform? Anyway, I’ll believe this rumor when I see confirmation from Microsoft for it. I find a lot of leaks and rumors super unreliable and they seem to always go back and forth between info.
Re: Xbox's Hi-Fi Rush Studio Tango Gameworks Revived, Acquired By PUBG Publisher
WOW. That is such a welcome surprise! Makes me so happy to see game studios get revived and saved alongside their IPs. Looks like Hi-Fi Rush may become a bigger IP now!
Re: Pure Xbox Game Club August 2024: Conker's Bad Fur Day
@Beetlebum91 Although I am a huge fan of the game, I can absolutely agree that the aiming is so bad, but the gameplay with the guns and projectiles get worse later on near the end. Now that I’m replaying it, I am now realizing how poor some of the gameplay is, and I think the crass humor alongside the writing and large cast of colorful and bizarre characters is what the game is more well-known for rather than its gameplay. I hear more people talk about that rather than the gameplay. It sort of does seem like the gameplay was a bit more of an afterthought in some aspects.
Re: Talking Point: Do You Ever Pre-Order Xbox Games Anymore?
I never pre-order games on Xbox or on any console, even for titles that I am excited about. Nowadays, games can be rushed to the market and be broken upon release and not be fixed until later, and there is a chance that you could be given a mediocre or bad and possibly poorly made game if you pre-order. It's pretty much the approach I'll be taking for the Perfect Dark reboot when it gets close to launch. I am excited about it, but I feel there could be a 50/50 chance that the game is either good or mediocre. I was considering trying it out on Game Pass when it releases eventually and then deciding whether I want to buy it or not, but given that they are downgrading the subscriptions and making them too expensive, I'll probably have to wait a bit for it.
Re: Reaction: Microsoft's Constant Tweaking Of Xbox Game Pass Is Becoming Exhausting
The fact that this comes after the stellar Xbox showcase last month is just really bad. It looks like they are going in the Netflix direction; making the more inexpensive tier the one with less content and features just to push for more people to buy the more expensive tiers. Them locking specific games behind the expensive ones is the thing that stuck out the most to me. I, unfortunately, don't have all the money to buy individual games or the more expensive subscription, so I found the Console sub to be the best option. Them introducing free internet for the Standard subscription is great, but the caveat is that they are now locking games behind Ultimate and PC game pass...It stinks because I found a lot of value in it and I am apart of the PX Game Club, and it seems that a lot of people there are now going to unsub and not renew. When they get onto a specific game there (which I own) I'll likely leave the Game Club, unfortunately. The new prices are too expensive for me.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Gets Price Increases And New 'Standard' Subscription Tier
Even being a huge Xbox fan and seeing lots of value in Game Pass, seeing them now including online with the standard subscription is good, but the rest just seems like a bad move. The fact that they’re now going to lock specific games behind more expensive subscriptions is so lame and reminds me of Netflix’s subscription change, and the move Microsoft is making seems to be a push to get people to spend more money on the expensive subscription. Again, very lame.
Re: Talking Point: Have You Ever Bought Any Official Xbox Merchandise?
Never have purchased Xbox merchandise, since I’m not really into buying merch for stuff I like and I don’t really have all the space and money to do it. However, I am thinking of buying licensed plushies of characters from Xbox-owned IPs soon, though likely only two since plushies tend to be very pricey depending where you get them. Fangamer has a couple, but the two I want in particular are 32$, and if I bought those I’d expect to be in debt already with shipping on top of the combined prices lol, plus it would probably not be worth the money if I bought them for a high price there, so I probably have to find them on Amazon or somewhere cheaper. I really respect and commend people who build up merch collections, since it must take a lot of time and money.
Re: Xbox Suffers 'Major Outage' As Servers Go Down For Most Players
That stinks. I saw the issue was reported on the app. I was probably going to play today, but I guess not until the issue gets solved in hopefully a few hours. Why does almost everything require a connection to be played nowadays? It’s just so unnecessary and causes a ton of disappointment and frustration like what this outage is doing.
Re: Talking Point: Xbox Fans, How Do You Feel About The Future Of The Brand In 2024?
I am pretty optimistic yes! After the Xbox showcase, they seem to have a somewhat more consistent release schedule that is more packed than previous years, and hopefully they can continue that for years to come, since that is an issue Microsoft has had for a while in spite of having a ton of studios under its helm.
On top of that, they are also continuing the backwards compatibility program, so more titles have the chance to become playable, and I’m a sucker for playing older games, so I’m glad that’s coming too as well!
Re: Hellblade 2 Apparently Failed To Crack Top 100 Game Sales In Europe Last Month
@InterceptorAlpha I didn’t even come across any ads or posts for it on any websites like YouTube. I was aware of the game releasing, but they didn’t even try to make more people aware of it.
Re: Hellblade 2 Apparently Failed To Crack Top 100 Game Sales In Europe Last Month
Didn’t they also not really market the game at all nearing its release? I have a feeling that could have also played a role into how it performed commercially and some might not even know it got a sequel.
Re: Reaction: Xbox & Nintendo Continue To Deliver With Major Summer Showcases
Those two showcases were such a treat. So many games on the horizon now!
The game I am looking forward to the most from Xbox is that Perfect Dark reboot that hopefully turns out good in the end. That one was super interesting.
For Nintendo, I don’t have a specific title, but I am pretty excited about the Mature 17+ app they are adding to N64 NSO today since that opens up the door to a ton of popular titles that can’t be put in the standard app. I really want to buy the Expansion Pack again maybe later this year when I am able to play the Switch again and when they add more titles that entice me! Hoping they drop more Rare titles on there soon. I’d love for an official and better way to play Diddy Kong Racing and the possibilities of having Switch users being able to play Conker would make me so happy
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 15-16)
I’ve been playing Perfect Dark for the first time and I’ve been enjoying it. It’s different (at least for me) because I’ve played other first-person shooters like Overwatch that are more fast paced and to the point, though PD involves other things in its gameplay, like the use of gadgets and opening up doors to get to enter areas, not to mention it’s focused on being single-player than multiplayer. The fourth level is a little annoying so far, but I think I’m not used to it yet and I’m still going to progress through it.
I was also replaying parts of Conker’s Bad Fur Day on Rare Replay, but I didn’t play it for long because of the bad control scheme it has thanks to being an old game. It’s really hard for me to play the game in full again without getting slightly frustrated with the difficulty spike, which is made worse when paired with the outdated controls that they surprisingly didn’t fix or improve when porting it. I tried playing through the War segment specifically and the controls make it so bad…
Re: Xbox Apparently Could Have Shown Much More At This Year's Showcase
I hope that is true! I’d love to see some more gameplay footage of a few titles from the showcase and maybe seeing a few more updates on the other first-party titles that were no shows at the showcase. It does make sense that they would save some things to make Gamescom possibly exciting as well.
I am definitely looking forward to 2025 and beyond. They really did such a great job on Sunday with the showcase.
Re: Reaction: Xbox's 2024 Showcase Felt Like A Throwback To The 360 Era, In The Best Way Possible
@FraserG The live chat here was literally one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on this site the off-topic discussions I had with others before the show were so fun! It was way better than YouTube live chats since everyone was so kind and respectful during the livestream unlike the live chats on YouTube.
Re: Reaction: Xbox's 2024 Showcase Felt Like A Throwback To The 360 Era, In The Best Way Possible
It was a pretty great lineup of triple-AAA first-party titles with some interesting third-party games mixed in. Someone said the showcase seemed to have this “there’s something for everyone” feel and I definitely agree! This was a very much needed showcase for Xbox, and them providing updates for their already announced games was actually on my wishlist for the showcase! I did wish some of the games, such as Perfect Dark, got release dates, but hopefully we’ll find out soon. That game is apparently supposed to get a deep dive at some point.
The comebacks of older IPs was definitely one of the best parts of the show, and I absolutely love seeing older games get modern revivals. Now, if we could get a new Banjo game then that would be splendid!
Re: Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
@NintendoByNature I was also expecting a shadow drop of Game Pass games, but they could possibly be saving some of the more exciting stuff for later!
Re: Xbox's Console User Count At Record High, Says Microsoft Gaming CEO
That is good to hear, especially with all the doom and gloom and “the end of Xbox is near” comments I’ve heard all over gaming “leak” forums, not to mention all those negative rumors that spread like wildfires on the internet.
Re: Phil Spencer Explains Why DOOM: The Dark Ages Is Releasing On PS5
I don’t really mind if it is multiplatform. In fact, I think it is good when some games do go multiplatform so people don’t have to use more money to buy another console just for a specific game. Didn’t they state before this that DOOM was always multiplat and will stay that way?
Re: Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
@Medic_alert Hm! That is a lot of 2025 releases.
Re: Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
@NintendoByNature Nope. The show didn’t discuss Game Pass or any shadowdrops on there surprisingly. They will likely get into that at a later time.
Re: Xbox's Perfect Dark Reboot Returns With An Awesome Gameplay Trailer
I haven’t gotten far in the original Perfect Dark and I did miss some of this during the show, but it looks really cool! Shocked it appealed so much to me since I never really played the games.
Good to see the game is on track after hearing of all those reports that the game was in a bad state. Just gotta hope it’ll be good upon release! I’ll probably play the original games to build up some more hype after seeing that fantastic gameplay trailer. If there is one thing I love to see, it’s dormant video game IPs getting modern comebacks!
Re: Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
@Stamnoso I was also hoping for some platformer games to show up too. I’m a pretty big fan of Rare’s platformer IPs, and that’s actually what sparked my interest in Xbox. I think a lot of the platformer IPs Microsoft has under their helm have potential to work in the modern day, as long as they have good ideas and are developed by a game studio with experience in making platformer games.
@Friendly I can handle gore, but mostly if it’s in a game with outdated or older graphics and maybe if it is exaggerated and over the top. Some of the violence and gore shown in the showcase was pretty brutal to watch. Can agree that the Diablo cinematic was pretty violent, paired with the screaming during that one part of it. Even though I was able to handle most of the gore, it can still send shivers down my spine and make me feel a certain way.
I would also like to see smaller games from Microsoft too! Those actually appeal to me the most than the more bigger games.
Re: Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
@Banjo- Oh ok! Got it.
Re: Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
@Banjo- I most certainly did enjoy the chat alongside the showcase and reading everyone’s excited reactions to the games! It was so fun getting to talk to you and everyone else.
Also, what do you mean by the intention thing? I can’t reread older messages in the chat.
Re: Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
@Banjo- Plus, didn’t some of those online games get cancelled after they figured out that the live service model wasn’t going to work? I remember hearing they were working on a Last of Us online game for a few years that got cancelled after Bungie assessed the game. It sucks that the project didn’t get finished, since I heard a lot of people were hyped for it.
Re: Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
@Dan1283 I was hoping for a Banjo-Kazooie game too lol. I hope the rumors about there being a new game in development are true! The guy who said that I believe is fairly reputable, but I’ll still take it with a grain of salt.
Re: Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
Fantastic lineup! Can’t wait for Perfect Dark. I might try FragPunk
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The Xbox Games Showcase 2024?
I rate it an A. That had got to be the BEST showcase I’ve seen. It was a great mixture of new games and a few trailers and updates for some already announced ones. I’m probably not going to play a couple of the games in there, but they looked pretty dang good! However, there was this shooter game (can’t remember the name) that had a really appealing art style, so I might play that when it comes out. I left the livestream when the CoD portion was about to start (since I don’t have an interest in it) but I will say that I like the aesthetic of the next entry! Mysterious and cool.
My only issue was that a couple of the games didn’t get release dates. The Perfect Dark reboot looks great and I’ll likely play it once I try out the original games, but it still didn’t get a release date. State of Decay 3 I believe has been known for about four years, but all it got was a cinematic trailer and still no release date. Shame Everwild didn’t show up, but I wasn’t really surprised at it not appearing, given its development got rebooted not too long ago. Still, I think it was a good showcase! Absolutely worth my time.
Re: Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin Tribute Appears In LA Ahead Of Summer Game Fest
These studio closures and layoffs are truly depressing. I wish the higher-ups at these billion dollar corporations would care enough about the people working at these studios and helping them when something goes awry instead of simply resorting to shutting them down and laying them off, but I sadly don’t see it happening from these businessmen and businesswomen. It’s rare to see higher-ups at these company’s exhibit care towards their employees.
It’s sad that in Tango’s case, a game performing well both critically and commercially unfortunately did not guarantee that the studio would stay open, and it just doesn’t make sense to close them when their parent company gushed a ton about how well their recent release did and how they needed more of it. I feel extremely bad for everyone who gets laid off from any job and gets no help with it afterward.
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your Plans For The Xbox Games Showcase 2024?
@FraserG Sure
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your Plans For The Xbox Games Showcase 2024?
I’ll be watching the thing live, though probably alone with no one… 😅 There’s just something about watching game reveals unfold live that is exciting…
@Banjo- Yes please! I’d love to see something related to one of the three franchises you mentioned. Even if I am a bit too hopeful, I can’t tell you how much I’d make my day if they had a project related to Banjo in development!
Re: Huge New Report Sheds Light On Xbox's Plans For 2024 And Beyond
That’s a lot of information. The four ports of their former exclusives to the PS5 and Switch really opened a can of worms and let out a ton of “rumors” from “leakers” with iffy track records, didn’t it?
While I don’t think I’d be surprised if most of the info in this article is true because of how Microsoft has been acting and some statements company officials have made regarding exclusivity, I think my issue is how people don’t question the validity of “rumors” or “leaks,” mostly regarding one’s that relate to Xbox and if their games will stay exclusive or not. If it’s a “rumor” about Xbox that is negative, everyone will instantly believe it, regardless if the person who said the “rumor” has gotten things incorrect in the past! There’s a forum on another site I sometimes go onto, and every negative Xbox “rumor” always gets the most likes and comments out of every post there. Sometimes it seems that “leakers” make some info up for clout.
@Sol4ris I have gone onto Push Square and have had positive interactions with users on there. However, my main issue with the site is how it appears to push this console wars sentiment and is against Xbox or people that play it. It’s fine to not like a specific console or prefer to play another one over the other, but the opinions stated there sometimes seem to only be made just to try to rile people up and make Xbox look bad for no reason. I have seen articles there that just seem to be made solely to push a console wars narrative, or even a recent article that discussed Hellblade 2(which isn’t even on the PS5). However, a lot of users pointed out how that article was likely made just to increase fanboyism and how it didn’t make sense to write an entire article (which you could possibly call a review) on a game that hasn’t made its way to PlayStation. I wish people could enjoy whatever console they want without being trashed on by console war supporters…it’s so dumb to me.
Re: Here's The Complete List Of Xbox 360 Exclusives Disappearing This July
@Banjo- I agree! Xbox’s backwards compatibility is so good, especially for those that really enjoy playing older games!
I think another positive aside from getting to keep playing games on newer hardware is that it can also save money for consumers. They don’t have to repeatedly buy remasters or ports for each new console, since they can keep their backwards compatible games with them. I’m hoping that they continue to add more backwards compatible games, since I think that’s an aspect the Xbox does well, and dare I say does the best out of all console manufacturers in this day and age.
Re: Here's The Complete List Of Xbox 360 Exclusives Disappearing This July
@smoreon Whoops! I guess I missed the word “exclusive” in the headline haha. Thanks for correcting me! Your information is super helpful.
Re: Here's The Complete List Of Xbox 360 Exclusives Disappearing This July
Huh. Was it weird that I was expecting more titles to be delisted? I’m a little surprised that a lot of the games on the list consist of Kinect games, but given that they pushed that thing a ton during the 360 days and had their studios pump them out, I am also not too surprised.
Re: Rare's Everwild Is Still In Development, But Will It Show Up At The Xbox Showcase?
@MrMagic While I do think Sea of Thieves looks interesting, I wish Rare would go back to making single player experiences with no live service in place. I actually prefer playing games that are longer and offline over games that are supposed to or intended to be played online; it’s why I always go back to playing their older games so many times even after completing them and why I haven’t purchased Sea of Thieves.
Their older games had this sort of charm to them and they always tried to innovate or add twists, which I feel is somewhat missing with modern Rare and some of their modern titles. Unfortunate they probably won’t go back to doing what they used to do, since a majority of the original employees that brought so much magic to the studio left.
I am interested in Everwild and might get it when it does release, but if it does turn out to be live service, I’ll probably be less likely to play it. The development cycle sounds to be messy, since they seemingly started with the visuals and design first and THEN the gameplay afterward, which is probably not the greatest way to develop a game.
Re: Our Predictions For The 2024 Xbox Games Showcase
The day they announce a new Banjo-Kazooie game is the day I’ll be able to die happy
Also, to add onto the Banjo rumor, the guy who said that a new game was greenlit gave an update on the project back in March I believe. From what I remember, he said that the game was being reworked from its original scope and that he talked about it too early, though he said the rework was moreso for the better. If the game is real, I would love to hear something about it!
Re: Xbox Games Showcase 2024: Date, Start Times, Rumours, Leaks & More
Ughhh, I’m just so excited…I hope they deliver!
When you combine the month of June with gaming, you’re bound to be in for a time full of fun and happiness
Re: Microsoft Confirms That Black Ops 6 Won't Require A New Tier Of Xbox Game Pass
Good to see that the rumors weren’t true! I wish more people would take rumors and “leaks” with a grain of salt and await actual confirmation.
Any “leak” or rumor I have seen regarding Xbox, in particular the more negative ones, always are treated as real even when the person spreading the rumor isn’t credible or has an iffy track record with these things. But, some people (not all) do make up more negative leaks and rumors to either stoke the flames, get 15 minutes of internet fame and attention, or a combination of both, so it’s great to hear confirmation from Microsoft!
Re: This Weekend Marks A Sad Anniversary For The Lord Of The Rings On Xbox
@Kooky_Geezer I have not played a Daedalic game before, but I think what happened to them after this mess of a game was released was sad.
Like, imagine being employed at a small video game company behind several point-and-click games that have garnered positive reception, and then having to make a triple-AAA game, which bombs so bad that the company completely shutters its development division and goes publisher only.
Apparently they didn’t even have the sufficient budget for a triple-AAA game, which just tells that the IP owner put in little thought when it came to choosing a game studio for Gollum.
Re: Talking Point: What Dream Reveal Would You Like To See At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024?
I would really want to see something related to Rare. I’d love to hear more about Everwild and it being given a release date (or at least an estimated release) since reports were saying that the developers were apparently targeting for a 2024 release despite the rebooted development, but maybe I’m being too hopeful…
I would also love to see something related to their old IPs, but there is probably no way in HECK they would do something new with Rare’s other legacy IP besides merch drops and having their characters appear in other games. There have been rumors of a new Banjo-Kazooie game being in development but I don’t think they’ll show anything related to it if it is actually real, since the rumors said the game was only greenlit recently and was in development for I think 1.5-2 years? The guy who reported on that is fairly reputable, but I’ll still take it with a grain of salt… I have so many hopes and dreams that won’t ever come into fruition lol
Re: Xbox Game Pass Will See 'Changes' When Call Of Duty Arrives, Rumours Suggest
Blehhh. I like Game Pass, but why would you increase the price of it because of a single title or something? I don’t have any intention to play CoD and a couple here don’t as well.
As others have said, it would make more sense if this rumored price hike was introduced with separately priced tiers, and maybe there could be a tier with CoD at a higher price, and then a tier without CoD at a lower price. I would prefer them to not increase the price of Game Pass altogether, since not only do I think it would get expensive over time (for consumers), but also because it would definitely upset some Game Pass users. But, I guess this possible price increase is just from a business point of view.
Re: Talking Point: What Convinced You To Pick Xbox In The First Place?
The console I started out with was technically an Xbox 360, but I don’t think I was really into Xbox at the time and the console was originally intended for my mom.
I got a Series S for Christmas a few years ago and what made me really want to swap to an Xbox was the games, namely ones developed by Rare. I remember playing some of Rare’s games for the first time on the Switch in 2021-2022 and had a pleasant experience with the games I played, namely the Donkey Kong Country trilogy and the first Banjo-Kazooie game. I kept hearing about how great their other N64 games were, but I couldn’t play them since they were exclusive to Xbox consoles, which made me want one so much and was my only reason for wanting a Series S. I did get gifted a three month long Game Pass subscription, and while I do know that multiple of Rare’s games are playable on there, I still went ahead and purchased Rare Replay during a sale and a couple of their individual titles since I wanted to play them forever. It’s amazing that my taste in games and my favorite console changed so much just by simply playing four of their games on the Switch! I just love the console so much, and it’s the only one I play now.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Planning To Bring More Games To PS5, Despite Some 'Unease' At Microsoft
While it would not be surprising if this does end up true, why are we following rumors again?
The guy “leaking” this appears to only be guessing and flip flopping back and forth with his statements, saying there is no red line for Xbox games going on PlayStation before seemingly backtracking and going “oh I don’t actually know if there is a red line in place or not.” I already have seen others go with the guy’s guessing and treating as if it is real. I think the best approach to this is waiting until this is actually confirmed, even if multiplatform is the most obvious route Microsoft wants to take after the successes of the four games they ported to other platforms.