Would be cool to see MS get involved in some manner.
I'm a huge fan of VR (& 3D), and it's a bit of a shame seeing VR start to flatline like 3D before it (even if Meta seems like they're trying to keep it trucking along). I miss the days where Sony was pushing it enough that it seemed like we got a few good VR modes or spinoffs of notable franchises in a year (and actively developed software themselves too), but those days seem to have stopped with PSVR2.
Still, I hope to get a Quest 3 soon, as it seems like about the only viable platform left.
@JayJ, Nintendo didn't "laugh off" Sony's proposal, they reneged on the deal by going behind Sony's back & trying to strike a deal with Phillips. Not saying it wasn't smart of them to pull out (given that Sony would have gotten most of the profits from disc based games, which is where most of the money would be coming from in the future), but they could have went about it in a better way. It's hard to pinpoint a "bad guy" in that situation.
Sony's domination over Nintendo/Sega during the 5th & 6th gens I'd say is more down to the mistakes of the latter two moreso than dirty tricks on the part of Sony as well I'd say. Nintendo screwed themselves over by using carts on the N64 (this was the reason FFVII moved to PS, not an exclusively deal on Sony's part) & proprietary smaller capacity discs on GCN. SEGA was famously mismanaged & made many mistakes of their own accord (they PO'd retailers by suddenly changing Saturn release plans after the PS reveal, then PO'd their playerbase by unceremoniously dropping support for it years before the Dreamcast released. I believe the 32X & Mega CD attachments for the Genesis/MD were big money sinks for them as well beforehand). A large part of the PS2's success was it's use as a DVD player as well, rather than dirty tricks in the gaming space.
If Sony had outright bought Capcom, Square, Namco (etc.) when they entered the market you'd have a point (and would be similar to this deal's potential), but that's not at all what happened in the 90's.
I personally don't care whether or not this deal goes through or not (I mostly play Japanese games, & have a PC if there's any MS exclusive games I really want to play) & I'm not saying Sony is some sort of benevolent force in the industry who does no wrong, but there's no excuse for revisionist history.
@Gr81, I certainly wouldn't mind them adding Star Wars or Marvel stuff, but there is still tons of Disney stuff they haven't touched yet as well.
III was the first game to have any Pixar stuff at all (with the Toy Story & Monsters Inc worlds), so from them alone there's still tons they haven't touched like the Incredibles, Wall-E, Cars (though admittedly I'm not sure how that one would work), plus newer stuff like Onward or Turning Red which I'm sure would be available to them during development.
Even with core Disney there's older stuff like Treasure Planet, Atlantis, the Black Cauldron, & Lilo & Stitch which don't have worlds yet, and of course newer stuff like Moana, Raya, & Wreck it Ralph (though that one probably wouldn't be very good without all the other game references).
That said, Star Wars and/or Marvel would probably bring in more eyeballs, so I could understand them getting some priority.
Played this on my laptop, and while I'm not sure if it was the best game I played last year, it's at least darn close (and the best Tales has been in a good while).
@NEStalgia (replying to comment #9), Age of Calamity isn't a Bamco game, it's Koei Tecmo.
I've been playing it on Steam and it's been great.
Just arrived in the 3rd area (the grasslands), and had an optional dragon boss suddenly ambush me while I was fighting some other, basic enemies (...it kicked my butt, lol). Combat is smooth & feels great when everything chains together perfectly, and it certainly doesn't hurt that the game is drop dead gorgeous. Oh, and Hootle is absolutely the best.
Subscribed to Game Pass just so I could try out the exclusives since I don't own an Xbox, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with xCloud!
I've mostly been playing Forza Horizon 4 (on my tablet with my PS4 controller) and it seems to run great. Once or twice every hour I'll receive a brief instance of lag (always the same thing, with the image quickly skipping 3-4 times, so I'm guessing some irregularity in our Wi-Fi), but otherwise it runs buttery smooth, controls seem responsive, and image looks clean.
@xMightyMatt14x, @RedShirtRod, big Avatar nuts definitely exist, as my brother is a massive fan (up until COVID upended things last year, he went on annual trips meeting up with other fans).
Also remember Disney opened up a Avatar themed section to it's park a few years ago (I think I remember hearing the launch pulled in more people than Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge's launch did?), and it had a successful Cirque du Soleil show that ran for a few years, so it definitely hasn't disappeared from the public conscience, especially with the sequel coming out next year.
11 out of 20, & there was a lot of guessing. Historically never played a lot of Star Wars games, and a lot of the screenshots would be very hard to guess if you didn't have intimate knowledge of them.
I've been playing a lot more Star Wars games in the past couple years though. Currently playing Jedi: Fallen Order, and have beaten Battlefront II (2017), Republic Commando, & Vader Immortal.
@Bobobiwan, @playstation_king, @JoakimZ, @Justifier, I think the concept that VR was a fad is probably related to the fact that mobile VR solutions, which were probably the sets with the most mainstream visibility (like Gear VR & Google Daydream) flopped pretty hard (limited in gameplay interactivity, limited in playtime due to phones overheating, plus different size phones & phones sliding around in the headsets messing with image quality), and stopped being produced/updated around that 2017 timeframe.
However, if memory serves me right I remember seeing an article early this year that said the high end VR space, while still pretty niche in the grand scheme of things, saw it's best spending in 2019 (while consistently seeing year on year gains before that as well). While I don't know how COVID is going to affect things, publishers keep bringing out a few high profile VR games a year (off the top of my head this year saw Half-Life Alyx & Iron Man VR, while Medal of Honor, Sniper Elite, & this Star Wars game are coming as well, plus Hitman III will be fully playable in VR too), so they must see SOMETHING in the space.
In context 5-6 Million is fantastic sales numbers for PSVR as well, considering it's an add-on accessory that's almost as expensive as the console itself, in a brand new market. It's already been confirmed that the current PSVR set will work on PS5 (I think some company has already even announced a VR game that's releasing on PS5, but not PS4), and it's a not so secret that Sony are working on an updated headset as well. I don't think they would have hesitated to drop support if they didn't see it as a success internally.
I know it may seem as if I'm some sort of PS fanboy, but I'm actually pretty platform agnostic, and find Series S to be awfully tempting, it's just that the lack of VR support is holding me back. If it were to get VR support I'd be really pressured to grab one.
@abe_hikura, yeah, I'm pretty platform agnostic (my only Xbox was a 360, but I enjoyed my time with it), so when it came time for me to get a current gen console the VR support was a big reason I opted for PS4. Tetris Effect & Astro Bot are currently my two favorite VR titles.
Even though it was more of a proof of concept novelty, I even got that LABO VR kit for Switch.
It was really cool that we got two pretty high profile VR games in Star Wars Squadrons & Medal of Honor: Above & Beyond. I love that the VR sphere still seems to be chugging along.
@NEStalgia, it's not first party, MS just published the previous version, while the "New" variant is self published by the devs.
It originated as Lucky's Tale, a VR title exclusive to Oculus, before being remade as Super Lucky's Tale for XBO, and finally remade again as New Super Lucky's Tale, which is multiplat (after a brief stint of Switch exclusivity).
As for the game itself, I played it on Switch and it was a fun time (I hope they one day port the VR version to PSVR).
This is sad. I don't visit PureXbox as much as I do NintendoLife or PushSquare, but I've been gaming a lot on my 360 the past 6-7 months, and liked to try and chat about any new game purchases in the forums here (recently even started my first Halo, the remake of the original). Hope for the best in the staff's future.
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Re: Xbox Teams Up With Meta Quest To Create Limited Edition VR Headset
Would be cool to see MS get involved in some manner.
I'm a huge fan of VR (& 3D), and it's a bit of a shame seeing VR start to flatline like 3D before it (even if Meta seems like they're trying to keep it trucking along). I miss the days where Sony was pushing it enough that it seemed like we got a few good VR modes or spinoffs of notable franchises in a year (and actively developed software themselves too), but those days seem to have stopped with PSVR2.
Still, I hope to get a Quest 3 soon, as it seems like about the only viable platform left.
Re: Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Could Be 'Harmful' To The Industry, Claims UK Regulator
@JayJ, Nintendo didn't "laugh off" Sony's proposal, they reneged on the deal by going behind Sony's back & trying to strike a deal with Phillips. Not saying it wasn't smart of them to pull out (given that Sony would have gotten most of the profits from disc based games, which is where most of the money would be coming from in the future), but they could have went about it in a better way. It's hard to pinpoint a "bad guy" in that situation.
Sony's domination over Nintendo/Sega during the 5th & 6th gens I'd say is more down to the mistakes of the latter two moreso than dirty tricks on the part of Sony as well I'd say. Nintendo screwed themselves over by using carts on the N64 (this was the reason FFVII moved to PS, not an exclusively deal on Sony's part) & proprietary smaller capacity discs on GCN. SEGA was famously mismanaged & made many mistakes of their own accord (they PO'd retailers by suddenly changing Saturn release plans after the PS reveal, then PO'd their playerbase by unceremoniously dropping support for it years before the Dreamcast released. I believe the 32X & Mega CD attachments for the Genesis/MD were big money sinks for them as well beforehand). A large part of the PS2's success was it's use as a DVD player as well, rather than dirty tricks in the gaming space.
If Sony had outright bought Capcom, Square, Namco (etc.) when they entered the market you'd have a point (and would be similar to this deal's potential), but that's not at all what happened in the 90's.
I personally don't care whether or not this deal goes through or not (I mostly play Japanese games, & have a PC if there's any MS exclusive games I really want to play) & I'm not saying Sony is some sort of benevolent force in the industry who does no wrong, but there's no excuse for revisionist history.
Re: Is This A Star Wars Reference In The Kingdom Hearts 4 Trailer?
@Gr81, I certainly wouldn't mind them adding Star Wars or Marvel stuff, but there is still tons of Disney stuff they haven't touched yet as well.
III was the first game to have any Pixar stuff at all (with the Toy Story & Monsters Inc worlds), so from them alone there's still tons they haven't touched like the Incredibles, Wall-E, Cars (though admittedly I'm not sure how that one would work), plus newer stuff like Onward or Turning Red which I'm sure would be available to them during development.
Even with core Disney there's older stuff like Treasure Planet, Atlantis, the Black Cauldron, & Lilo & Stitch which don't have worlds yet, and of course newer stuff like Moana, Raya, & Wreck it Ralph (though that one probably wouldn't be very good without all the other game references).
That said, Star Wars and/or Marvel would probably bring in more eyeballs, so I could understand them getting some priority.
Re: Tales Of Arise Dev Explains Why It Won't Be Getting A Direct Sequel
Played this on my laptop, and while I'm not sure if it was the best game I played last year, it's at least darn close (and the best Tales has been in a good while).
@NEStalgia (replying to comment #9), Age of Calamity isn't a Bamco game, it's Koei Tecmo.
Re: Tales Of Arise Shifts Over One Million Units, Making It The Fastest-Selling Entry In The Series
I've been playing it on Steam and it's been great.
Just arrived in the 3rd area (the grasslands), and had an optional dragon boss suddenly ambush me while I was fighting some other, basic enemies (...it kicked my butt, lol). Combat is smooth & feels great when everything chains together perfectly, and it certainly doesn't hurt that the game is drop dead gorgeous. Oh, and Hootle is absolutely the best.
Certainly the best Tales game in quite some time.
Re: Hurricane Ida Is Looking Suitably Scary In Microsoft Flight Simulator
Lol, this was me yesterday.
Still, I hope the people actually experiencing it for real are staying safe.
Re: Xbox Cloud Gaming's Next-Gen Upgrade Appears To Have Begun
Subscribed to Game Pass just so I could try out the exclusives since I don't own an Xbox, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with xCloud!
I've mostly been playing Forza Horizon 4 (on my tablet with my PS4 controller) and it seems to run great. Once or twice every hour I'll receive a brief instance of lag (always the same thing, with the image quickly skipping 3-4 times, so I'm guessing some irregularity in our Wi-Fi), but otherwise it runs buttery smooth, controls seem responsive, and image looks clean.
Re: These Nine Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (June 23 - July 1)
Will probably try Bug Fables. Since I believe it's turn based it'd be great if it had touch controls so I could play it during lunch break at work.
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade Today's Ubisoft Forward E3 2021 Event?
@xMightyMatt14x, @RedShirtRod, big Avatar nuts definitely exist, as my brother is a massive fan (up until COVID upended things last year, he went on annual trips meeting up with other fans).
Also remember Disney opened up a Avatar themed section to it's park a few years ago (I think I remember hearing the launch pulled in more people than Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge's launch did?), and it had a successful Cirque du Soleil show that ran for a few years, so it definitely hasn't disappeared from the public conscience, especially with the sequel coming out next year.
Re: Can You Guess All Of These Xbox Star Wars Games?
11 out of 20, & there was a lot of guessing. Historically never played a lot of Star Wars games, and a lot of the screenshots would be very hard to guess if you didn't have intimate knowledge of them.
I've been playing a lot more Star Wars games in the past couple years though. Currently playing Jedi: Fallen Order, and have beaten Battlefront II (2017), Republic Commando, & Vader Immortal.
Re: Xbox Series VR References Spotted In Microsoft Flight Simulator Files
This would be awesome if it amounts to anything.
Re: Star Wars: Squadrons Will Support Joysticks And Throttles On Xbox One
@Bobobiwan, @playstation_king, @JoakimZ, @Justifier, I think the concept that VR was a fad is probably related to the fact that mobile VR solutions, which were probably the sets with the most mainstream visibility (like Gear VR & Google Daydream) flopped pretty hard (limited in gameplay interactivity, limited in playtime due to phones overheating, plus different size phones & phones sliding around in the headsets messing with image quality), and stopped being produced/updated around that 2017 timeframe.
However, if memory serves me right I remember seeing an article early this year that said the high end VR space, while still pretty niche in the grand scheme of things, saw it's best spending in 2019 (while consistently seeing year on year gains before that as well). While I don't know how COVID is going to affect things, publishers keep bringing out a few high profile VR games a year (off the top of my head this year saw Half-Life Alyx & Iron Man VR, while Medal of Honor, Sniper Elite, & this Star Wars game are coming as well, plus Hitman III will be fully playable in VR too), so they must see SOMETHING in the space.
In context 5-6 Million is fantastic sales numbers for PSVR as well, considering it's an add-on accessory that's almost as expensive as the console itself, in a brand new market. It's already been confirmed that the current PSVR set will work on PS5 (I think some company has already even announced a VR game that's releasing on PS5, but not PS4), and it's a not so secret that Sony are working on an updated headset as well. I don't think they would have hesitated to drop support if they didn't see it as a success internally.
I know it may seem as if I'm some sort of PS fanboy, but I'm actually pretty platform agnostic, and find Series S to be awfully tempting, it's just that the lack of VR support is holding me back. If it were to get VR support I'd be really pressured to grab one.
Re: How Would You Grade Gamescom Opening Night Live 2020?
@abe_hikura, yeah, I'm pretty platform agnostic (my only Xbox was a 360, but I enjoyed my time with it), so when it came time for me to get a current gen console the VR support was a big reason I opted for PS4. Tetris Effect & Astro Bot are currently my two favorite VR titles.
Even though it was more of a proof of concept novelty, I even got that LABO VR kit for Switch.
Re: How Would You Grade Gamescom Opening Night Live 2020?
It was really cool that we got two pretty high profile VR games in Star Wars Squadrons & Medal of Honor: Above & Beyond. I love that the VR sphere still seems to be chugging along.
Otherwise Scarlet Nexus, LEGO Star Wars, & Ratchet & Clank looked good.
Only 5 games I was really interested in over a nearly 2 1/2 hour timeframe is pretty poor overall though.
Re: New Super Lucky's Tale Arrives On Xbox One This August
@NEStalgia, it's not first party, MS just published the previous version, while the "New" variant is self published by the devs.
It originated as Lucky's Tale, a VR title exclusive to Oculus, before being remade as Super Lucky's Tale for XBO, and finally remade again as New Super Lucky's Tale, which is multiplat (after a brief stint of Switch exclusivity).
As for the game itself, I played it on Switch and it was a fun time (I hope they one day port the VR version to PSVR).
Re: So Long, And Thanks for All the Clicks
This is sad. I don't visit PureXbox as much as I do NintendoLife or PushSquare, but I've been gaming a lot on my 360 the past 6-7 months, and liked to try and chat about any new game purchases in the forums here (recently even started my first Halo, the remake of the original). Hope for the best in the staff's future.