RazputinAquato

I don't dislike Gears, but I think it's just okay. I never understood how anyone could think it comes close to Halo.

@Kienda hopefully Crash and Spyro won't get the Banjo treatment from Microsoft...

It turns out it was good that Black Myth Wukong was delayed on Xbox. Reviews seem to be praising the core gameplay of BMW (not the car!), but it's plagued with poor performance, glitches and localisation issues. The studio probably will be able to fix those problemas in due time. I'd rather get the game eventually on Xbox, provided that it's running well, than be beta-testing it next week.

Those games are super hard. Elden Ring is a walk in the park next to Crash Bandicoot. Could not finish those games, but there is fun to be had regardless.

Those games are harder than Elden Ring... played a little of each one, but couldn't finish. Even Crash 4 is hard as heck if you try to 100% every level.

I cannot fathom a 6 year old racing game being delisted, that is ridiculous, unacceptable. Is it too expensive to keep paying licenses for real life cars in an old game? Why not update it in order to replace all the licensed cars for fictional ones? At least the game would still be playable. People are not complaining about car brands not being realistic in GTA 5... you know, one of the best selling games of all time.

Either that or put the old maps in FH5! Heck, get rid of numbered entries in future Forza Horizon games, make a live service forever game and add new maps every couple years. Anything but delisting games. Where is all that talk about game preservation?

Well, I care more about playing a new Halo game (even if it's a remaster) than where I'll be playing it. If releasing it also on PS5 and Switch 2 is the only way a new Halo will ever see the light of day, so be it. Xbox is dead, long live multiplat Xbox games.

The closure of Tango Gameworks is the most shocking of all... Well, Shinji Mikami left the studio a while ago. Maybe John Johanes meant to leave as well and, without key staff, Xbox decided to close the studio altogether.

I just hope they don't go too far on the live-service online multiplayer direction. The first ones, specially the second, are so good because they are mostly single-player experiences.

I hope that's not bad news for those of us waiting for Dead Space 2... the news piece said that "a chunk of the studio" will be working on Soldier Bang Bang Simulator 2025, including the two directors of Dead Space remake, which is bad news, but maybe the other chunk could be working on DS2?

Looking forward for this game... and I can't imagine playing this game in any language other than Swahili. I don't speak a word of it, but it feels more authentic that way.

I've tried it a bit, but honestly, I can't stop playing Balatro. You guys should check it out, it's easily the Game of the Year so far.

Dead Space 1 & 2 hold up pretty well. Even with the remake being better in every aspect, the OG Dead Space still plays better than most contemporary games. Sadly Dead Space 3 did not hold up back when it was fresh, we should all pretend it never happened.

Great game, I can't wait for the story DLC!

What changes for you if Xbox starts releasing its games on other platforms, a quick guide:
1) If you own a PS5 or a Switch: big win. You get more games, but you'll have to pay full price for them.
2) If you own an Xbox or PC: in the short term, absolutely nothing changes, you will still get the same games you expected to get and you will not get the games you weren't expecting to get. Other people will be able to play your former exclusives, but no Game Pass though.

In the long term I could see more dire consequences for the brand, though, if 3rd party game developers stop supporting Xbox. But hey, in the long term you can buy a PS6 to play Halo. No need for all that drama now.

What about Grounded? It's a fantastic survival game. You can even tame bugs, pet them... and then kill them for food and resources

My picks:
1. Baldur's Gate 3 - 5 pts
2. Lies of P - 4 pts
3. Dead Space Remake - 3 pts
4. Hi-Fi Rush - 2 pts
5. Starfield - 1 point

Honourable mentions: Resident Evil 4, Dredge, Cocoon, Stray, Planet of Lana.
I haven't play Alan Wake 2 yet, but I suspect it could break into my top 5.

I've played 200 hours of Starfield. I love it in spite of its flaws. And it has many flaws. But by the hate it's been receiving in social media, it looks like it's worse than Kong: Skull Island...

@BacklogBrad Prey is awesome, by the way. In my opinion Redfall did not fail because Arkane Austin is not a good game developer. I think the problem with Redfall is because it started as a live-service videogame, following the footsteps of Fallout 76 and Wolfenstein: Young Blood, but they pivoted midway through development to a co-op looter shooter, which was not their element either.

Blade is first and foremost a comic book character, so the art style that Arkane Studios is known for fits very well for a superhero videogame. It's funny that most superhero videogames try to look like live-action movies instead.

SEGA announced so many games that for a moment I thought they were going to return to the console business! 🤣

@Neverwild recently Sony has made Street Fighter V exclusive, as well as many Square-Enix titles. Not content with making exclusive Spider-Man games, they made Spider-Man exclusive in Marvel's Avengers as well. And they payed for exclusive content in many other multiplatform games, like Destiny and Call of Duty.

Both companies are to blame of taking games and features away from the other platform. The only difference is that Microsoft recently changed its strategy to outright buy publishers instead of paying for 3rd party exclusives. Which is a smart move: in the past the payed for 3rd party exclusives like Alan Wake, Mass Effect, Bioshock, but they didn't own any of them and now they are multiplatform.

@eire-shabba there's a new Blade movie coming, but to be honest I'm more excited about getting a new game from Arkane (even though Redfall was a miss, I love Dishonored, Deathloop and Prey) than about Blade himself.

It's hard to get excited about OD, since we haven't seen any gameplay... or even a coherent concept from the teaser... but I'm intrigued. I'm a big fan of Jordan Peele's horror movies, and the moment he entered the stage I got immediately more interested in this game/movie/whatever...

@Burnfeeling yep. But that gives them leverage. If Marvel wants Spidey in the MCU movies, than Disney will have to give Sony something in return.

This is a great game, but it ended in a cliffhanger. I'm still waiting for the new episodes.

The trailer was truly exceptional, if the final release delivers that sort of visual quality, it will be one of the best looking games of the generation.

@FraserG you're probably right, but... it's very suspicious that they are waiting for the show to even give us a release date. And not many games release in the last couple weeks of the year, so pretty much everyone is expecting it to be shadow dropped during the show. Putting it on Game Pass would be a huge mic drop moment for Xbox.

@Daaan14 with a subscription business model, they could try to differentiate themselves in the marketing by offering actually good mobile games that are not all about sucking people dry of their money.

That said, I believe they will still make awful mobile games that are about sucking people dry, because Xbox games like Halo and Forza are full of season passes, MTX, etc.

And hey, it's no secret that one of the main resons why they bought ABK was the K...

I believe we will get a date for Stalker 2 at the Game Awards. It is expected for early 2024, and those news about the performance modes only reinforces my belief that it is coming soon.

Looks really cool!

Isn't it weird that we already have a release date for Dragon's Dogma 2, coming March '24, but no date yet for Baldur's Gate 3, which is coming in December?

State of Decay 2 is a fantastic game, but I'm fearful that SoD 3 could rely too much on multiplayer and live service elements...

That's probably good news for the "anti-monopoly" bros who wants Xbox to go 3rd party... The third place in a market with three console makers is a monopoly, whereas the first place in a market with two console makers is some sort of ecossocialist utopia /s

I'm surprised that Resident Evil 4 made the cut, I believe that's the first time a remake is nominated. But to be fair, RE4 is more than just a simple remake, they changed a lot in the game. I prefer Dead Space, though, I think it's a better game.

As for Starfield, well... I've played 190h of Starfield and I think it's a great game in spite of its many flaws. I always thought it was a long shot for Game of the Year shortlists and I believe Hi-Fi-Rush had a better shot at TGA.

I'll buy it eventually, but I don't think I'll get it on release... too many games on my backlog. I'm playing Alan Wake 1 now, then I'll play Control and its expansions, since I never finished the main campaign, and then it's time for Alan Wake 2, which I already purchased. Considering that I'm also on-again off-again playing Halo Infinite, Forza Motorsport and Cities Skylines, as well, I don't think I'll be playing a 150 hour long RPG at least until early next-year.

@Kieduss the other games in the series are from the 90's, so it's safe to say that very few people ever played the previous games.

@OldGamer999 you're right, people are barely talking about Starfield right now. But I believe it will have a ressurgence once Bethesda adds official mod support and the first expansion drops.

If Bethesda does indeed support it for five years, it may become the game we were hoping for. I mean, in two years CD Projekt Red turned a FUBAR in a decent videogame. Starfield already released as an almost decent videogame...

@OldGamer999 you may dislike Starfield, but for what is worth, it was a massive comercial success. #7 most sold game in September, even though it was "free-ish" in Xbox Game Pass. Helped Xbox increse console sales and the day it released was the single day with the most new Game Pass subscriptions ever.

It's very wise to bring the Paramount+ app to Latin America, since they have the rights for Copa Conmebol Libertadores. My Smart TV doesn't have a standalone app for Paramount+, I have to access it as an add-on to Prime Video.

@Sakai very important indeed, but I wasn't referring to small businesses. And while I appreciate that you employ people, the subject at hand is how business owners will employ less and less people due to AI.

@Sakai from a business owner's perspective... which is the only perspective that matters in our societies.

@JokerBoy422 it won't stop in the games and film industry, though. At first, automation impacted low-skilled, underpayed professions — which was bad enough, but in capitalism we tend to prioritize the bottom line of businesses over the well being of people. However, now we're seeing something even scarier: AI is coming for high-skilled, creative, knowledge-based jobs. If not even game developers are safe, who is safe? Doctors? Lawyers? Engineers?

How will society work in a post-employment world? How all that people will earn a living? What's the point of developping video games in the first place if a significant part of the society is not only unemployed, but completely unemployable because they can't compete with AI?

And who benefits from that? Tech billionaires who already have pretty much infinite money?

That's a complex issue. AI will have a major impact in jobs not only in the videogame industry, but everywhere. It might be our jobs eventually.

If AI tools are used to replace humans, that will result in major turmoil in society in general.

However, if AI tools are used to enhance the productivity of workers without cutting jobs, that's a totally different story.

So, whether that move is good or bad, it depends on how the technology will be used.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner nope! No soaring inflantion, the exchange rate has been relatively stable for a while, nothing out of ordinary in the Brazilian economy. Argentina is the one that has been struggling with those issues.

If I had to make a guess, this price hike is happening now because Brazil was spared from the hike that took place in other markets back in August: https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/21/23768400/microsoft-xbox-series-x-xbox-game-pass-price-increase

I belive they held the price in Brazil for a bit longer, but were never planning to hold it forever. Fortunately there is no mention of raising the price of the Series X at the moment.

@AccessibleDaydream both Matt Booty and Sarah Bond respond to Phil Spencer. Matt Booty will be responsible for managing the content and the studios (Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, Activision, Blizzard and King). Sarah Bond will be responsible for Xbox hardware and software, which I assume includes Game Pass, Cloud, the Xbox Stores on console, PC and mobile (upcoming).

@themightyant When a 10 billion dollar company buys a 1 billion dollar company, it becomes an 11 billion dollar company, not a 9 billion one The world works differently for the very very rich...

@K1LLEGAL @GamingFan4Lyf, guys, I love Starfield. I've spent about 200h in it. But I think it received about the Metascore it desearved. It's an 8.5/10 game for me. It has potential to evolve to something truly special if it gets supported for several years, but right now, it has flaws that cannot be ignored.

However, I do think that if Starfield received a 90+ Metascore, the discourse would be that this game was long in development before the acquisition of Bethesda and all that big bad Microsoft did was to take this gem away from Playstation gamers.

If Starfield received a 79 or lower metascore, then of course that failure would be all thanks to Microsoft, who ruins every studio it puts it's filthy paws on.

Since Starfield sat somewhere in the middle, the default discourse is that Xbox cannot make 90+ games. Either way, Xbox cannot win.

But fear not. There are dozens of games cooking at Xbox Game Studios-Bethesda-Activision-Blizzard-King, and one of them ought to break the glass ceiling.

@BacklogBrad that's probably because there isn't anything huge to be leaked. Don't expect much from this event. If it was supposed to have a huge annoucement, they would have started advertising the date of the show a month prior and would be teasing and building hype for it. Like they do for the June showcases.

At this point it's more likely that they will save any huge announcement for the unbearably long, boring and self-indulgent Geoff Keighly's little award show. I'll be happy to see whatever trailer Xbox decides to drop there in the following morning.

@IPAddresses even if the financial results of Microsoft's gaming division in the last quarter turn out to have been disappointing, don't forget that in the next quarter it will include the sales of Call of Duty and Candy Crush. That ought to be one the highest growths quarter-to-quarter a company will have reported ever...

@InterceptorAlpha they don't care about selling Xboxes, but they care about selling subscriptions. They just spent 70 billion dollars in order to make those subscriptions more compelling. But that will only work for them if people can actually download the ABK games in those subscriptions to their hard drives and play them locally either on PC, console or mobile.

Xbox is moving away from cloud. Not completely, but it won't be a huge focus for them anymore because people just don't use it very much. Check this: https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/08/talking-point-what-would-convince-you-to-use-xbox-cloud-gaming-more-often

Not to mention that Call of Duty is a competitive multiplayer shooter which requires quick reflexes and any additional lag from cloud streaming is very disruptive to the gameplay. Cloud Call of Duty will not be a thing for a very long time.

@InterceptorAlpha why would Xbox go full-cloud in order to sell Call of Duty everywhere except on their own cloud-based platform? So they spent 70 billion dollars in order to promote its rival platforms, instead of their own? And remember that Ubisoft+ will have Call of Duty, whereas that "fully cloud-based" Xbox you're imagining would not, unless they licenced it from Ubisoft.