@blinx01 Oh yeah, there's a reason these companies make their digital-only consoles so much cheaper. They control the prices, for one thing, but also, the more invested you are in an ecosystem, the less likely you are to stray elsewhere.
Same reason it's smart for Microsoft to not be stingy with how it handles GP (unlike Sony with the new PS+ upgrade). Any money they lose from people making use of 'loopholes' to buy in for cheaps also means those same people are more likely to invest money into that ecosystem as time goes on, since they're invested in it.
Yeah, I've been seeing this little guy go well south of MSRP in online deals lately. Quite bizarre, considering how hard it still is to find certain consoles and GPUs at MSRP.
Curious to see if sales increase appreciably once Starfield drops.
Danganronpa 2 was the best game on the PS Vita, and one of my all-time favorite adventure games. Even if the original didn't set your world on fire, it's still worth playing.
@ShadowofTwilight22 Allows them to pad out the GP update lists.
Also, it actually would be beneficial, since it means you'll have more time to play each game.
What happened to Halo being a triumph? The Breath of the Wild of Halo games with solid single-player content and "incredible multiplayer action!" I think it even won the Player's Voice award at TGA last year.
Now I'm hearing the game is unplayable, unfinished, and barebones.
I mean... even if the content updates are a little disappointing, isn't the base experience supposedly satisfying?
I'll be satisfied as long as we get a good amount of information on Starfield. For a game supposedly releasing this year, we know next to nothing about it.
@NEStalgia I'm sure there will be the customary Nintendo Direct. I do hope E3 shuttering doesn't mean the end of Treehouse streams, though.
@JDCII I have a PC that's probably a tiny bit more capable than the Series S, based on real world game performance in a number of titles, and I can get GP on that, so the little thing just seems needless to me if it can't play exclusives or discs from older Xbox consoles.
Also, I have a gigantic backlog, which also dissuades me from GP.
With that said, if GPUs continue to be impossible to find, I might eventually crack and grab a Series X to play demanding next-gen games that wouldn't run well on my current system. We'll see. Even not needing a 4K console specifically, a lot of games have been good about offering higher framerate and/or RT-enabled modes in exchange for running the game at a lower resolution.
Although, if Microsoft offers a slightly more expensive Series S revision with a disc drive (not holding my breath), I'll be very likely to grab that regardless. Love my 360 games, but I hate the controller.
@NEStalgia Windows might be Microsoft's home turf, but it's such an open platform and hosts so many different storefronts and services that everyone treats it like a neutral middle ground. I suppose the idea is that the PC player base is totally distinct from the player bases for the consoles. I'm sure that's true for some people, but it has never been true for me. Nevertheless, that perception exists, and within that framework, it makes perfect sense for Sony to put their games on PC but not Xbox, and to restrict games on PC game streaming services from running on Xbox consoles.
Nintendo is pretty much the one company left in this industry that isn't interested in dipping its toes into multiplatform waters (not counting the freemium apps they have on mobile storefronts, of course).
@Chaudy Demand for powerful next-gen hardware on its own far outstrips supply. As long as that's true, Sony and Microsoft could probably skate by for a good long while without any significant first-party releases.
@JDCII I'd have been all over the Series S had it come with a disc drive, if only to re-experience my sizeable library of physical 360 games on. I don't need or want the 4K grunt of the $500 consoles.
@UltimateOtaku91 The funny thing is that, since Psychonauts 2 is on PS4 and The Show is on Xbox Series and GP, you CAN technically play Playstation games on your Xbox and Xbox games on your Playstation. And games from all three on the Nintendo Switch.
But I get where you're coming from and mostly agree.
After all, if Microsoft wasn't interested in locking down exclusives to strongarm people into their ecosystem, they'd be making damn sure their big releases were all going to Playstation consoles as well.
"They want their exclusives on their consoles....but release them on PC."
Major Bethesda releases like Starfield are going to PC/Xbox going forward, but not PS5. Console exclusivity is a thing.
"They claim streaming services are unsustainable, but then put their games on a streaming service that competes against their own streaming service that already runs on PC....."
AFAIK they claimed something like GP where exclusives hit the service on day one were unsustainable. There's no contradiction with them putting older games that have already sold the majority of copies they're going to sell on a premium-tier subscription. But you won't see, say, GoW Ragnarok on any version of PS+ at release.
"Why not just retain their own games for their own subscription streaming service that already runs on the target platform rather than going through bizarre gyrations to put it on third party services and then restrict the content from running on platforms that third party runs on that their own streaming service already doesn't?"
They want the games on PC, and probably received a payout to put it on GeForce Now, but don't want people on rival consoles to be able to take advantage of a loophole in order to stream them.
It's self-explanatory, regardless of whether you agree with the move or not.
Honestly, if you have a strong preference for playing games on a certain piece of hardware, it's usually best to hold off until third-party "exclusives" are ported to your system of choice, since nothing that isn't actually owned by the platform holder seems to stay exclusive for very long.
It's why I just wait for Switch ports of non-AAA games I want now. They always come eventually.
@Axlroselm I'd say there's a good chance of Triangle Strategy hitting Xbox, considering Octopath Traveler did previously. If nothing else, it's 100% coming to PC in a year or so.
However you play it, though, definitely get it. Best tactical RPG I've played in a long time, and it very much blows Tomoya Asano's other major projects out of the water. Probably my GOTY unless something else super impressive releases.
@IronMan30 In general, permanent exclusivity for third-party releases seems to be a thing of the past. Expect "Switch exclusive" Triangle Strategy to hit Xbox Game Pass in a year or so as well, if Octopath is anything to go by.
Many developers don't like having to spend extra time optimizing for weak hardware. It's why most demanding multiplats skip the Switch, and why the Series S will continue to receive underwhelming console ports compared to the Series X and both PS5s.
Well, I split the cost of Pokemon Legends: Arceus with my nephew, bought Triangle Strategy for $10 off MSRP at launch, snagged XCOM 2 for $3 on Steam, and played Elden Ring for free via Steam family sharing.
@mousieone Well, Disgaea 4 was on GP for PC, it seems.
Microsoft definitely still needs to get NIS on-board, then. Xbox consoles are pretty much the only modern platform NOT getting Disgaea games at this point. Ditto with Trails games.
Games like this might not have massive pull in and of themselves, but little exclusions like these add up over time. Thankfully, Xbox is doing so much better with Japanese games these days. Not up their 360-era highs, but the Japanese advantage Sony had early last gen has almost evaporated at this point. Even Vanillaware is breaking free from Playstation's iron grip again.
@Xiovanni It's not getting the same amount of attention, but there's definitely a limit to what Microsoft is willing to host. For example, Inti-Creates had to cancel the planned recent Xbox release of Gal*Gun Returns once it was clear they'd have to censor it to some degree on that platform, which they weren't willing to do. Which is interesting, considering it's a remake of a game that originally released on the 360.
I agree, btw. One of the big reasons the PS1 exploded in popularity and support like it did was because Sony didn't have the same puritanical content standards that Nintendo was enforcing at the time.
Ironically, Nintendo is by far the least restrictive of the platform holders when it comes to what they're willing to host on their system now, and they've been poaching so many smaller Jp developers that previously worked primarily with Sony.
If I was an Xbox gamer, I know I'd want Microsoft to enter negotiations with NIS to port their games to Xbox consoles. It'd be very cool to see series like Disgaea, The Legend of Heroes, etc. go to Game Pass as well.
Edit: Nvm, apparently even some Disgaea games are showing up on Xbox, lol. The Legend of Heroes games are still a big hole in their JRPG support, though. No reason the Trails games shouldn't be on Xbox.
There'd be a massive backlash if Microsoft acquired a notable Japanese studio. It's just not a good idea.
If Microsoft wants more Japanese games, they can partner with companies to ensure support continues. I mean, they must have already been doing that to some extent, considering stuff like Dragon Quest, Yakuza, Octopath, etc. has been hitting Xbox in recent years. Even better is if they work with these companies to commission platform exclusives. Remember when they collab'd with Sakaguchi and games like Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, etc. were hitting the 360?
Stuff like that would be a massive incentive to pick up an Xbox Series console in the coming years.
Personally? I play almost nothing released by them, so this deal doesn't affect me either way. If I can get a Spyro sequel out of it, it'll have been worth it.
Not a huge fan of Microsoft snatching up giant third-party publishers in general, but it's probably better than Amazon or Google or Tencent getting them, so whatever.
I mainly hate the chatter this has inspired. Xbox fans cheering on further acquisitions of third-party publishers by the company. Playstation fans begging Sony to buy Square-Enix. It's gross, and, frankly, I'd really hate to see the major players in this industry all divied up in this way.
On one hand, it's pretty stupid to get mad over a silly profile pic, yes.
On the other, you all know as well as I do that if Sony snapped up some company whose mascot was synonymous with the Xbox brand and then an executive did something like this there'd be a bunch of butthurt Xbox fanboys yelling at him on Twitter.
@NEStalgia Honestly, the games really aren't ultra-challenging, per say, depending on your ability to recognize patterns. As you say, they just like to waste your time with their archaic progression systems, which gives the illusion of difficulty.
But I could live with that. What really offends me is how empty these games are. 30+ hours of plotless wandering around empty worlds killing random enemies and bosses with little in the way of music, side-quests/side activities, etc. to break up that tedium.
Dunno how Elden Ring will turn out, but it feels like they can crank these out so often because the games are only halfway through development when they're launched. Get the enemies models and level geometry into place and you're good.
That's fine. Not every game needs to be a million hours long, and there seems to be a ton of extra content for people who want to spend more time with it.
This guy is gone the moment the deal clears. Probably the one unambiguously good thing about this acquisition, even if he'll be leaving with tens of millions of dollars at minimum instead of in handcuffs like he deserves.
@ParsnipHero It'll probably be like what happened with Bethesda. Existing deals with other companies will be honored, but, going forward, all those franchises are going to be exclusive to platforms that host Microsoft Game Pass. You don't spend 70bil on an acquisition and allow your competition full access to them.
@UltimateOtaku91 Nintendo doesn't really need to jump on this bandwagon. Their success or failure is independent of what's happening with the competition. It's easy to see people being swayed between Series X and PS5, but who on Earth is going to opt for a Switch as an alternative to the power consoles?
@LtSarge A Sony GP competitor isn't going to feature day one first-party exclusives, so I don't think they'll be in any better a position than Microsoft currently is with these delays. And the higher-end devices are still vanishing the instant they hit the market, so Sony isn't really going to be dramatically pulling away in terms of hardware sales, either.
Sony and Nintendo will absolutely be stealing attention this year with their big first-party exclusives, but it won't really matter in terms of the larger picture.
You can't really ferret out larger trends from small friend groups. The bias of your social circle doesn't necessarily reflect what's happening more broadly in society.
That's unfortunate, but also not surprising. Emulation enthusiasts are probably better off maintaining a PC for this sort of thing. Especially if you go the extra step to make your setup look nice with a frontend like Launchbox.
I just hope this feels like a substantial step up from their previous games. Fallout 4 was such a disappointment. I actually built my last (and still current; thanks, covid!) PC to run it well, and... it did, but the game itself could barely hold my interest. Which is a shame, because I had a lot of fun with Fallout 3, which was super impressive when it first came out.
I really want a properly meaty sci-fi rpg to look forward to. Especially after Cyberpunk turned out to be an unfinished cashgrab.
So, color me interested. Depending on GPU prices after this releases, it could very well sell me on an Xbox if it's good enough.
I have an issue with the way platinum trophies have become fetishized on Playstation. Games offer "easy platinums." Lots of so-called trophy hunters ignore games without platinum trophies entirely. It feels like they've somewhat devalued other trophies, which are just seen as tools meant to obtain the coveted platinum.
I'd prefer Xbox not introduce that sort of element into its achievement ecosystem.
@Xenomorph_79 Games like VII Remake and XVI will come to Xbox eventually, but there'll probably keep being this gap of a year or more for games in this series as long as Sony is bribing them for timed exclusivity.
Thankfully for me, VII Remake 2 is probably half a generation off and, based on what we've seen, I couldn't care less about XVI, so I'm not in any rush to grab a PS5.
Hopefully all the consoles will get those pixel remasters of the older games next year. Still seems nuts they're exclusive to mobile and PC.
@BlueOcean It's a remake of Rondo for the SNES that removes a significant amount of atmosphere, branching paths, the extra protagonist, has almost no cutscenes, etc.
It's not a bad game, for sure, but Rondo is a masterpiece.
@Tharsman Well, Sony apparently invested in the development of that port, so it's most likely staying Playstation-exclusive forever. They pretty much came out and said to never expect the collection on other platforms. Probably also worth mentioning they're based on the Dracula X Chronicles versions of those games, which means SOTN has the revised script from the PSP version.
The lack of Rondo sucks, since it's probably the best game in the series, but at least Xbox owners should still have access to SOTN. Switch owners are sol in that regard, unfortunately.
Y'all need to cut out all of the backpatting out about how nice you are when I'm already seeing more vicious posts in this comments section than anything on NL or PS, lol.
@LtSarge Makes sense. I'm sorta on the same boat insofar as I think, if we're getting a P3 remaster at all, we'll be getting it soon. If one of these announcements isn't P3 HD, I'll just play FES on my PS2.
As for the surveys, I'm of the opinion it's PURELY about information gathering rather than hinting about upcoming releases (as it seems to be with Nintendo, as a Ninty survey asked questions about whether people would pay $50 for a new Warioware game a few months before the new Switch Warioware game was unveiled at E3).
@MattDaSmitdog I think it's less about the non-existent market for Xbox games in Japan (as PC ports of Japanese games are primarily for the benefit of Western gamers) and more about wanting to preserve their comfy working relationship with Sony. After all, if Japanese sales were the main consideration, they would have expanded out to Switch with that series by now.
Keeping mainline MegaTen series exclusive to Sony and Nintendo consoles, respectively, allows them to remain valuable third-party partners to them. Sony seems to help with pushing Persona to some degree in Japan and elsewhere, and Nintendo absolutely bends over backwards to push SMT. They're not going to want to risk annoying the higher ups at these companies for moderately improved sales.
PC ports make a lot of sense, though. SEGA wants Atlus to expand to more platforms, Sony is putting some of its own games on PC, and, just recently, PC has seen simultaneous launches of stuff like Nocturne HD and Persona 5 Strikers, in addition to having an exclusive HD port of P4G.
IMO, if Atlus ever does plan on branching out to Xbox, they'll do like they did with the 360 and test the waters with GamePass versions of Catherine and whatever the current Persona spinoff game is (P5 hasn't had an Arena game yet, so that would make sense as one of the announcements).
@Krzzystuff JRPGs. They mix dungeon-crawling and turn-based combat with life simulation elements, as your character will work jobs, build relationships with people, attend school, etc. throughout the year that these games typically span. The social elements feed back into the dungeon crawling, as the more you strengthen your bonds with the characters around you, the more perks you'll unlock for battles and exploration.
Setting-wise, the games are set in modern day Japan, but with a thick urban fantasy element introduced. In Persona 5, you're able to enter the Metaverse, a "cognitive world" where the dungeons you explore are reflective of the delusions and obsessions of the villains your characters fight against.
Mix all of that with detailed, super-long narratives and catchy Japanese pop/rock/acid jazz music and you get one of the most popular JRPG series not called Pokemon or Final Fantasy.
@LtSarge If you have a Vita, keep in mind you can still download and play Persona 3 Portable.
Even having a wonderful relationship with Nintendo, Atlus seems to have no interest in putting their mainline Persona games on other ecosystems, so I wouldn't count on an Xbox or even Switch release of any of these games. Atlus is hardcore about exclusivity. With that said, I could very well see the series possibly coming to PC down the road, as Sony doesn't seem to see it as competition, and P4G sold pretty well.
@ThanosReXXX Ditto. Despite thinking GP is a terrific deal, it'd be years before I'd really be willing to subscribe for any length of time, since I'm a person who semi-regularly buys new games on other platforms and has a not insubstantial backlog.
If I pay for something like PS+ or these Xbox Gold Games, then, even if I don't play very many of them, they're still available in the future when I am interested in trying them out. With GP, though, if I sub and don't play a bunch of the games, then it's just wasted money. It forces my hand on what games I choose to play, and I'm not really down with that.
With that said, GP will be MUCH more attractive in the future, since first-party games are supposed to be permanently available. Imagine subbing in a few years and having access to Starfield, multiple DOOM games, Wolfenstein games, Ori games, etc.
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Re: Deals: Xbox Series S Falls To Its Lowest Price Yet In The UK, But You'll Have To Act Fast
@blinx01 Oh yeah, there's a reason these companies make their digital-only consoles so much cheaper. They control the prices, for one thing, but also, the more invested you are in an ecosystem, the less likely you are to stray elsewhere.
Same reason it's smart for Microsoft to not be stingy with how it handles GP (unlike Sony with the new PS+ upgrade). Any money they lose from people making use of 'loopholes' to buy in for cheaps also means those same people are more likely to invest money into that ecosystem as time goes on, since they're invested in it.
Re: Deals: Xbox Series S Falls To Its Lowest Price Yet In The UK, But You'll Have To Act Fast
Yeah, I've been seeing this little guy go well south of MSRP in online deals lately. Quite bizarre, considering how hard it still is to find certain consoles and GPUs at MSRP.
Curious to see if sales increase appreciably once Starfield drops.
Re: These Seven Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (May 3-12)
Danganronpa 2 was the best game on the PS Vita, and one of my all-time favorite adventure games. Even if the original didn't set your world on fire, it's still worth playing.
@ShadowofTwilight22 Allows them to pad out the GP update lists.
Also, it actually would be beneficial, since it means you'll have more time to play each game.
Re: Halo Infinite Dev: 'None Of Us Inside Of 343 Look At This Roadmap And Are Happy With It'
As a Microsoft outsider these days, the recent negativity around this title is interesting to me.
https://www.purexbox.com/reviews/xbox-series-x/halo-infinite
What happened to Halo being a triumph? The Breath of the Wild of Halo games with solid single-player content and "incredible multiplayer action!" I think it even won the Player's Voice award at TGA last year.
Now I'm hearing the game is unplayable, unfinished, and barebones.
I mean... even if the content updates are a little disappointing, isn't the base experience supposedly satisfying?
Re: Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase Confirmed For This June
I'll be satisfied as long as we get a good amount of information on Starfield. For a game supposedly releasing this year, we know next to nothing about it.
@NEStalgia I'm sure there will be the customary Nintendo Direct. I do hope E3 shuttering doesn't mean the end of Treehouse streams, though.
Re: Xbox Just Had An Extremely Impressive Month For Sales In The US
@JDCII I have a PC that's probably a tiny bit more capable than the Series S, based on real world game performance in a number of titles, and I can get GP on that, so the little thing just seems needless to me if it can't play exclusives or discs from older Xbox consoles.
Also, I have a gigantic backlog, which also dissuades me from GP.
With that said, if GPUs continue to be impossible to find, I might eventually crack and grab a Series X to play demanding next-gen games that wouldn't run well on my current system. We'll see. Even not needing a 4K console specifically, a lot of games have been good about offering higher framerate and/or RT-enabled modes in exchange for running the game at a lower resolution.
Although, if Microsoft offers a slightly more expensive Series S revision with a disc drive (not holding my breath), I'll be very likely to grab that regardless. Love my 360 games, but I hate the controller.
Re: Sony Still Blocking Games From Xbox Users On NVIDIA GeForce Now
@NEStalgia Windows might be Microsoft's home turf, but it's such an open platform and hosts so many different storefronts and services that everyone treats it like a neutral middle ground. I suppose the idea is that the PC player base is totally distinct from the player bases for the consoles. I'm sure that's true for some people, but it has never been true for me. Nevertheless, that perception exists, and within that framework, it makes perfect sense for Sony to put their games on PC but not Xbox, and to restrict games on PC game streaming services from running on Xbox consoles.
Nintendo is pretty much the one company left in this industry that isn't interested in dipping its toes into multiplatform waters (not counting the freemium apps they have on mobile storefronts, of course).
Re: Xbox Just Had An Extremely Impressive Month For Sales In The US
@Chaudy Demand for powerful next-gen hardware on its own far outstrips supply. As long as that's true, Sony and Microsoft could probably skate by for a good long while without any significant first-party releases.
@JDCII I'd have been all over the Series S had it come with a disc drive, if only to re-experience my sizeable library of physical 360 games on. I don't need or want the 4K grunt of the $500 consoles.
Re: Sony Still Blocking Games From Xbox Users On NVIDIA GeForce Now
@UltimateOtaku91 The funny thing is that, since Psychonauts 2 is on PS4 and The Show is on Xbox Series and GP, you CAN technically play Playstation games on your Xbox and Xbox games on your Playstation. And games from all three on the Nintendo Switch.
But I get where you're coming from and mostly agree.
After all, if Microsoft wasn't interested in locking down exclusives to strongarm people into their ecosystem, they'd be making damn sure their big releases were all going to Playstation consoles as well.
Re: Sony Still Blocking Games From Xbox Users On NVIDIA GeForce Now
@NEStalgia
"They want their exclusives on their consoles....but release them on PC."
Major Bethesda releases like Starfield are going to PC/Xbox going forward, but not PS5. Console exclusivity is a thing.
"They claim streaming services are unsustainable, but then put their games on a streaming service that competes against their own streaming service that already runs on PC....."
AFAIK they claimed something like GP where exclusives hit the service on day one were unsustainable. There's no contradiction with them putting older games that have already sold the majority of copies they're going to sell on a premium-tier subscription. But you won't see, say, GoW Ragnarok on any version of PS+ at release.
"Why not just retain their own games for their own subscription streaming service that already runs on the target platform rather than going through bizarre gyrations to put it on third party services and then restrict the content from running on platforms that third party runs on that their own streaming service already doesn't?"
They want the games on PC, and probably received a payout to put it on GeForce Now, but don't want people on rival consoles to be able to take advantage of a loophole in order to stream them.
It's self-explanatory, regardless of whether you agree with the move or not.
Re: The House Of The Dead: Remake Is Heading To Xbox Next Week
Honestly, if you have a strong preference for playing games on a certain piece of hardware, it's usually best to hold off until third-party "exclusives" are ported to your system of choice, since nothing that isn't actually owned by the platform holder seems to stay exclusive for very long.
It's why I just wait for Switch ports of non-AAA games I want now. They always come eventually.
@Axlroselm I'd say there's a good chance of Triangle Strategy hitting Xbox, considering Octopath Traveler did previously. If nothing else, it's 100% coming to PC in a year or so.
However you play it, though, definitely get it. Best tactical RPG I've played in a long time, and it very much blows Tomoya Asano's other major projects out of the water. Probably my GOTY unless something else super impressive releases.
Re: Xbox Game Pass In May 2022 Is Looking Pretty Tasty Already
If I wasn't already fully booked through 2022, I'd probably have subbed for a month in order to play Trek to Yomi. It looks fantastic.
Actually, if it's short enough, I might anyway.
Re: Bugsnax Jumps From PlayStation To Xbox Game Pass Later This April
@IronMan30 In general, permanent exclusivity for third-party releases seems to be a thing of the past. Expect "Switch exclusive" Triangle Strategy to hit Xbox Game Pass in a year or so as well, if Octopath is anything to go by.
Re: Digital Foundry Says GTA 5 On Xbox Series S Is 'Disappointing'
Many developers don't like having to spend extra time optimizing for weak hardware. It's why most demanding multiplats skip the Switch, and why the Series S will continue to receive underwhelming console ports compared to the Series X and both PS5s.
Re: When Is Ghostwire: Tokyo Coming To Xbox Game Pass?
@isturbo1984 Why is it weird that someone would want to experience this game with the superior haptics in the DualSense controller?
Re: Talking Point: How Many Games Have You Bought In 2022 So Far?
Well, I split the cost of Pokemon Legends: Arceus with my nephew, bought Triangle Strategy for $10 off MSRP at launch, snagged XCOM 2 for $3 on Steam, and played Elden Ring for free via Steam family sharing.
Re: Babylon's Fall Isn't On Xbox Yet, But We Have A Potential Release Date
Waste of money on Sony's part. Xbox owners don't seem to really be missing out on much with this.
Re: Atlus Announces Soul Hackers 2, Launching On Xbox This August
I think it's probably a pretty good sign that Nintendo needs to update their hardware when games like this start skipping the Switch, lol.
Truly shocking news.
Re: Xbox 'Unlikely' To Buy Major Japanese Studios, Says Former Edge Mag Editor
@mousieone Well, Disgaea 4 was on GP for PC, it seems.
Microsoft definitely still needs to get NIS on-board, then. Xbox consoles are pretty much the only modern platform NOT getting Disgaea games at this point. Ditto with Trails games.
Games like this might not have massive pull in and of themselves, but little exclusions like these add up over time. Thankfully, Xbox is doing so much better with Japanese games these days. Not up their 360-era highs, but the Japanese advantage Sony had early last gen has almost evaporated at this point. Even Vanillaware is breaking free from Playstation's iron grip again.
Re: Xbox 'Unlikely' To Buy Major Japanese Studios, Says Former Edge Mag Editor
@mousieone A source for what?
Re: Xbox 'Unlikely' To Buy Major Japanese Studios, Says Former Edge Mag Editor
@Xiovanni It's not getting the same amount of attention, but there's definitely a limit to what Microsoft is willing to host. For example, Inti-Creates had to cancel the planned recent Xbox release of Gal*Gun Returns once it was clear they'd have to censor it to some degree on that platform, which they weren't willing to do. Which is interesting, considering it's a remake of a game that originally released on the 360.
I agree, btw. One of the big reasons the PS1 exploded in popularity and support like it did was because Sony didn't have the same puritanical content standards that Nintendo was enforcing at the time.
Ironically, Nintendo is by far the least restrictive of the platform holders when it comes to what they're willing to host on their system now, and they've been poaching so many smaller Jp developers that previously worked primarily with Sony.
If I was an Xbox gamer, I know I'd want Microsoft to enter negotiations with NIS to port their games to Xbox consoles. It'd be very cool to see series like Disgaea, The Legend of Heroes, etc. go to Game Pass as well.Edit: Nvm, apparently even some Disgaea games are showing up on Xbox, lol. The Legend of Heroes games are still a big hole in their JRPG support, though. No reason the Trails games shouldn't be on Xbox.
Re: Xbox 'Unlikely' To Buy Major Japanese Studios, Says Former Edge Mag Editor
There'd be a massive backlash if Microsoft acquired a notable Japanese studio. It's just not a good idea.
If Microsoft wants more Japanese games, they can partner with companies to ensure support continues. I mean, they must have already been doing that to some extent, considering stuff like Dragon Quest, Yakuza, Octopath, etc. has been hitting Xbox in recent years. Even better is if they work with these companies to commission platform exclusives. Remember when they collab'd with Sakaguchi and games like Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, etc. were hitting the 360?
Stuff like that would be a massive incentive to pick up an Xbox Series console in the coming years.
Re: Talking Point: 10 Days Later, How Are You Feeling About The Activision Blizzard Acquisition?
Personally? I play almost nothing released by them, so this deal doesn't affect me either way. If I can get a Spyro sequel out of it, it'll have been worth it.
Not a huge fan of Microsoft snatching up giant third-party publishers in general, but it's probably better than Amazon or Google or Tencent getting them, so whatever.
I mainly hate the chatter this has inspired. Xbox fans cheering on further acquisitions of third-party publishers by the company. Playstation fans begging Sony to buy Square-Enix. It's gross, and, frankly, I'd really hate to see the major players in this industry all divied up in this way.
Re: Xbox Exec Responds To Being Criticised For 'Trolling' PlayStation Fans On Twitter
On one hand, it's pretty stupid to get mad over a silly profile pic, yes.
On the other, you all know as well as I do that if Sony snapped up some company whose mascot was synonymous with the Xbox brand and then an executive did something like this there'd be a bunch of butthurt Xbox fanboys yelling at him on Twitter.
Re: Elden Ring Is 'Massive' And Will Take 30+ Hours, Says FromSoftware
@NEStalgia Honestly, the games really aren't ultra-challenging, per say, depending on your ability to recognize patterns. As you say, they just like to waste your time with their archaic progression systems, which gives the illusion of difficulty.
But I could live with that. What really offends me is how empty these games are. 30+ hours of plotless wandering around empty worlds killing random enemies and bosses with little in the way of music, side-quests/side activities, etc. to break up that tedium.
Dunno how Elden Ring will turn out, but it feels like they can crank these out so often because the games are only halfway through development when they're launched. Get the enemies models and level geometry into place and you're good.
Re: Elden Ring Is 'Massive' And Will Take 30+ Hours, Says FromSoftware
@NEStalgia Git gud, scrub. A REAL gamer can play Souls games on DK bongos with their hands tied behind their backs.
Re: Elden Ring Is 'Massive' And Will Take 30+ Hours, Says FromSoftware
That's fine. Not every game needs to be a million hours long, and there seems to be a ton of extra content for people who want to spend more time with it.
Re: Feature: Alright, It's Time For Xbox To Make A Smash Bros. Game
There are about a million things I'd rather see Microsoft throw money at than a Smash Bros. clone doomed to mediocrity.
Re: Pick One: Which Of These Is Your Favourite Activision Blizzard Franchise?
Only one of these properties I care about is Spyro. A new Spyro game ala Crash Bandicoot 4 would be fantastic.
I liked Diablo 2 as a kid, but D3 hasn't really done anything to draw me back in.
Re: Activision Blizzard Employees Dissatisfied With Kotick At Internal Meeting
@themightyant I was afraid it might be way more than I was picturing. The world is an absurd place sometimes.
Re: Activision Blizzard Employees Dissatisfied With Kotick At Internal Meeting
This guy is gone the moment the deal clears. Probably the one unambiguously good thing about this acquisition, even if he'll be leaving with tens of millions of dollars at minimum instead of in handcuffs like he deserves.
Re: Activision Blizzard Games Will Come To Xbox Game Pass As Part Of Acquisition
@ParsnipHero It'll probably be like what happened with Bethesda. Existing deals with other companies will be honored, but, going forward, all those franchises are going to be exclusive to platforms that host Microsoft Game Pass. You don't spend 70bil on an acquisition and allow your competition full access to them.
Re: Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Reveals His Thoughts On A PlayStation Game Pass
@UltimateOtaku91 Nintendo doesn't really need to jump on this bandwagon. Their success or failure is independent of what's happening with the competition. It's easy to see people being swayed between Series X and PS5, but who on Earth is going to opt for a Switch as an alternative to the power consoles?
Re: Rumour: Xbox Exclusive Redfall Could Be Next In Line For A Delay
@LtSarge A Sony GP competitor isn't going to feature day one first-party exclusives, so I don't think they'll be in any better a position than Microsoft currently is with these delays. And the higher-end devices are still vanishing the instant they hit the market, so Sony isn't really going to be dramatically pulling away in terms of hardware sales, either.
Sony and Nintendo will absolutely be stealing attention this year with their big first-party exclusives, but it won't really matter in terms of the larger picture.
Re: Forza Horizon 5 Surpasses 15 Million Players Worldwide
@Dezzy70 You're missing my point.
You can't really ferret out larger trends from small friend groups. The bias of your social circle doesn't necessarily reflect what's happening more broadly in society.
Re: Forza Horizon 5 Surpasses 15 Million Players Worldwide
@Dezzy70 The people in my rl gamer friend group only play on Switch and PC and are uninterested in Sony's upcoming exclusive releases.
I guess, based on my real life anecdotes and discussions, Sony's upcoming releases are in trouble!
Re: Xbox Begins Disabling Dev Mode Accounts, Removing Access To Emulators
That's unfortunate, but also not surprising. Emulation enthusiasts are probably better off maintaining a PC for this sort of thing. Especially if you go the extra step to make your setup look nice with a frontend like Launchbox.
Re: Bethesda Can't Wait To Show Starfield To Fans In 2022
I just hope this feels like a substantial step up from their previous games. Fallout 4 was such a disappointment. I actually built my last (and still current; thanks, covid!) PC to run it well, and... it did, but the game itself could barely hold my interest. Which is a shame, because I had a lot of fun with Fallout 3, which was super impressive when it first came out.
I really want a properly meaty sci-fi rpg to look forward to. Especially after Cyberpunk turned out to be an unfinished cashgrab.
So, color me interested. Depending on GPU prices after this releases, it could very well sell me on an Xbox if it's good enough.
Re: Xbox Responds To Calls To Add 'Platinum Trophy' System For Achievements
I have an issue with the way platinum trophies have become fetishized on Playstation. Games offer "easy platinums." Lots of so-called trophy hunters ignore games without platinum trophies entirely. It feels like they've somewhat devalued other trophies, which are just seen as tools meant to obtain the coveted platinum.
I'd prefer Xbox not introduce that sort of element into its achievement ecosystem.
Re: Square Enix Is Still In 'Positive' Discussions To Bring Final Fantasy 14 To Xbox
@Xenomorph_79 Games like VII Remake and XVI will come to Xbox eventually, but there'll probably keep being this gap of a year or more for games in this series as long as Sony is bribing them for timed exclusivity.
Thankfully for me, VII Remake 2 is probably half a generation off and, based on what we've seen, I couldn't care less about XVI, so I'm not in any rush to grab a PS5.
Hopefully all the consoles will get those pixel remasters of the older games next year. Still seems nuts they're exclusive to mobile and PC.
Re: Xbox 20th Anniversary Special Edition Controller Arrives This November
I actually really dig how much this looks like my Pro Controller.
Re: Roundup: Here's Everything That Was Revealed During Xbox's Tokyo Game Show 2021 Stream
AI: The Somnium Files is a great get.
Re: Surprise! Castlevania Advance Collection Is Now Available On Xbox
@BlueOcean It's a remake of Rondo for the SNES that removes a significant amount of atmosphere, branching paths, the extra protagonist, has almost no cutscenes, etc.
It's not a bad game, for sure, but Rondo is a masterpiece.
Re: Surprise! Castlevania Advance Collection Is Now Available On Xbox
@Tharsman Well, Sony apparently invested in the development of that port, so it's most likely staying Playstation-exclusive forever. They pretty much came out and said to never expect the collection on other platforms. Probably also worth mentioning they're based on the Dracula X Chronicles versions of those games, which means SOTN has the revised script from the PSP version.
The lack of Rondo sucks, since it's probably the best game in the series, but at least Xbox owners should still have access to SOTN. Switch owners are sol in that regard, unfortunately.
Re: Random: Xbox Responds To 'PS5 Is Better' Comments On Social Media
Y'all need to cut out all of the backpatting out about how nice you are when I'm already seeing more vicious posts in this comments section than anything on NL or PS, lol.
Re: Talking Point: Should Xbox Create A Dedicated Handheld Device?
Pretty needless without exclusives. Everything Microsoft develops will already be able to run on Steam Deck.
Re: Atlus Is Revealing Seven Projects To Mark Persona's 25th Anniversary
@LtSarge Makes sense. I'm sorta on the same boat insofar as I think, if we're getting a P3 remaster at all, we'll be getting it soon. If one of these announcements isn't P3 HD, I'll just play FES on my PS2.
As for the surveys, I'm of the opinion it's PURELY about information gathering rather than hinting about upcoming releases (as it seems to be with Nintendo, as a Ninty survey asked questions about whether people would pay $50 for a new Warioware game a few months before the new Switch Warioware game was unveiled at E3).
@MattDaSmitdog I think it's less about the non-existent market for Xbox games in Japan (as PC ports of Japanese games are primarily for the benefit of Western gamers) and more about wanting to preserve their comfy working relationship with Sony. After all, if Japanese sales were the main consideration, they would have expanded out to Switch with that series by now.
Keeping mainline MegaTen series exclusive to Sony and Nintendo consoles, respectively, allows them to remain valuable third-party partners to them. Sony seems to help with pushing Persona to some degree in Japan and elsewhere, and Nintendo absolutely bends over backwards to push SMT. They're not going to want to risk annoying the higher ups at these companies for moderately improved sales.
PC ports make a lot of sense, though. SEGA wants Atlus to expand to more platforms, Sony is putting some of its own games on PC, and, just recently, PC has seen simultaneous launches of stuff like Nocturne HD and Persona 5 Strikers, in addition to having an exclusive HD port of P4G.
IMO, if Atlus ever does plan on branching out to Xbox, they'll do like they did with the 360 and test the waters with GamePass versions of Catherine and whatever the current Persona spinoff game is (P5 hasn't had an Arena game yet, so that would make sense as one of the announcements).
Re: Atlus Is Revealing Seven Projects To Mark Persona's 25th Anniversary
@Krzzystuff JRPGs. They mix dungeon-crawling and turn-based combat with life simulation elements, as your character will work jobs, build relationships with people, attend school, etc. throughout the year that these games typically span. The social elements feed back into the dungeon crawling, as the more you strengthen your bonds with the characters around you, the more perks you'll unlock for battles and exploration.
Setting-wise, the games are set in modern day Japan, but with a thick urban fantasy element introduced. In Persona 5, you're able to enter the Metaverse, a "cognitive world" where the dungeons you explore are reflective of the delusions and obsessions of the villains your characters fight against.
Mix all of that with detailed, super-long narratives and catchy Japanese pop/rock/acid jazz music and you get one of the most popular JRPG series not called Pokemon or Final Fantasy.
@LtSarge If you have a Vita, keep in mind you can still download and play Persona 3 Portable.
Even having a wonderful relationship with Nintendo, Atlus seems to have no interest in putting their mainline Persona games on other ecosystems, so I wouldn't count on an Xbox or even Switch release of any of these games. Atlus is hardcore about exclusivity. With that said, I could very well see the series possibly coming to PC down the road, as Sony doesn't seem to see it as competition, and P4G sold pretty well.
Re: Bethesda's Ghostwire: Tokyo Delayed To 2022, Pushing Xbox Release Back Even Further
It's fine. With GamePass, this just means you'll have a new AAA title to look forward to in early 2023 at no extra charge.
Re: Rumour: Microsoft Still Planning To Get Rid Of Xbox Live Gold In The Future
@ThanosReXXX Ditto. Despite thinking GP is a terrific deal, it'd be years before I'd really be willing to subscribe for any length of time, since I'm a person who semi-regularly buys new games on other platforms and has a not insubstantial backlog.
If I pay for something like PS+ or these Xbox Gold Games, then, even if I don't play very many of them, they're still available in the future when I am interested in trying them out. With GP, though, if I sub and don't play a bunch of the games, then it's just wasted money. It forces my hand on what games I choose to play, and I'm not really down with that.
With that said, GP will be MUCH more attractive in the future, since first-party games are supposed to be permanently available. Imagine subbing in a few years and having access to Starfield, multiple DOOM games, Wolfenstein games, Ori games, etc.