Richnj

Halo MCC is far beyond what the original 360 titles were.

1) It consolidates the MP Modes. Allowing for fans who aren't in to the newer titles to find a renewed and combined community. COD and Gears are even better for this since the gameplay itself doesn't change as much each title as Halo did.

2) They can release these titles to other platforms other than Xbox.

3) It allows for the chance to inlcude many quality of life features. Like cross play and cross progression with these other platforms.

And comparatively, the resources it takes to remaster titles is pennies compared to a brand new title or a full blown remake like RE4. The lack of a remaster would not mean the existence of a brand new AAA title.

"curated demos", "for creators to build excitement for their games early"

So it's not about giving gamers a chance to trial the game they will be spending money on. It's about creating hype to drive launch day purchases.

Which is still stupid.

Adding a trial period on all games would, firstly, avoid having to create a "curated demo" and could be universally implimented like XBLA using existing framework, secondly, give players actual hands on time with the actual product they will be buying, and not a marketing app, and thirdly, be available to everyone.

So these Game Pass demos are still anti-consumer. Thanks, I hate it.

That's a lot of polish time.

Actually makes me a bit hopeful.

They are thinking Live Service games when they say this. Please all read between the lines.

Minecraft and COD are great examples of franchises that are worth doing multiplat, while nearly everything else holds worth as an exclusive.

Well that Preston fella has been retweeting a lot of Elon Musk, so I can tell you that his flag is just a giant red flag, made up of smaller red flags.

Game Pass demos is pointless.

All games should have a trial period.

Remasters of the Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Quake, Fable and Gears games will see me set.

Rage can come too.

@Bleachedsmiles

"Straight after it they show halo reach remaster."

Halo Reach has already been remastered in the MCC.

I have hope, because it's MS doing the remaster and not Nintendo. MS has been surprisingly great with legacy content.

A part of me wants XBox to get a remastered version, and for Nintendo to just dump the ROM on NSO, purely for the chaos that will follow. But I'd much prefer to see a remaster get released across all platforms.

Realistically, this won't be the 360 remastered version, but a new version ported for Xbox One/Series/PC. Which would explain why the achievements are different.

I'd assume this is actually a remaster in line with Quake. Using all the assets available to make the best possible looking and playing version of this game that they can.

There's absolutely no logical reason to assume they'd just lazily port the N64 version as it was.

@Would_you_kindly Oh yeah, definitely. I even enjoyed Dead Rising: Chop til you Drop, for what it was. The lack of motion controls on the Switch and PS4 versions of RE4 and 5 was a real miss.

@PapaGlitch Anyone saying RE4 is wrong.

The game is great, but on xbox, it's broken. The aiming has a huge deadzone and is by far the worst than on any version of the game. Capcom just f'd it up and never bothered to fix it. It makes aiming a massive headache.

"modernised"

I always read this word as "generic".

I want to see actual gameplay first. I'm curious how much has changed.

Yeah but a couple years ago he also said "Why would anybody want to play this?" when talking about PS1 and PS2 titles, and now locks them behind the most expensive subscription tier.

"We are in a virtuous cycle where success has allowed investment, which has generated more success, which is allowing us to invest more and will hopefully generate yet more success"

Oh look, expectations of endless growth, explains why they want to move in to Live Service games.

Just give him a couple more years.

They are looking at this all wrong. Xbox has it's pro. That's the X. For xbox, the refresh will be the Series 2, and five years after that, it will be the Series 3

It won't be about generational leaps, or appealling to a certain high end market. It will be about refining and upgarding the current line.

Nor will the goal to be selling 100 million series Xs, but to grow the active Xbox Platform user base, across PC, Series 1, etc to more than that.

@Floki recommended isn't the same as minimum. Recommended means that a HDD is still a viable way to run the game.

Cyberpunk is SSD recommended but not in the minimum section. Elden Ring doesn't state. Wonderlands doesn't state. Halo Infinite doesn't state. The closest I found was Ghostwire that says "SSD recommended" in the minimum requirement section. Is Ghostwire a truly next gen game design, or is just graphically heavy?

What latest games actually have SSD as minimum?, and are their designs next gen?

And it doesn't matter if "someone is still using a HDD. Then they probably not some one who buys the latest games". There isn't a set hardware standard on PC, and any dev that will release on PC (which now includes pretty much every 1st party XBox and PS studio), will have to consider these variables.

@themightyant What about all the HDDs in PCs?

I don't think the SSD is ever going to change game design, for anything other than a handful of titles.

Well I'll either already own it, or have no interest in playing it.

With Sony fumbling out their subscription services just now, now would be a really good time to just drop XBL Gold from existence.

The biggest MP games are F2P and already free to play online (which makes Gold a tax on paying customers). PC is free to play online. Game Pass is more appealing when it's the only subscription to pay for. Just strike and take all the thunder.

With new consoles hard to come by, and there still being over 100 million PS4s in the wild, and the Xbox One and PS4 being very similar, why would you cut off those gamers just yet?.

Clearly for 1st party exclusives, that threshold, where the XBox One just doesnt have the audience, will come very quickly. But for 3rd party, there will be a big audience on PS4 still.

Keep making Xbox One and PS4 games (and Switch games) for as long as the gamers on those platforms continue to buy the games. 9th gen console users aren't more important than 8th gen users.

@UltimateOtaku91 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1h--43R8Oo

They are pretty open about what happened, and have clearly learnt from it.

14:30 "I think MS leanred the hard way, that if you don't put gamers and games at the centre of your ambition, it's going to come back and bite you".

It would be nice if Sony were capable of learning the same lessons, but they are insulated from it by the fans.

It's been nearly 9 years since Sony released the "Official PlayStation Used Game Instructional Video", and I don't have the heart to tell the youtube commentors what Team Xbox has been doing to Sony over on Twitter.

@NEStalgia I think that would be why I find 2023 too soon, and find a 5 year console iteration cycle to be the norm vs the basically yearly release cycle of mobiles and PCs.

Also why I say I expect it from XBox, and not really PS. Clearly, with things like Smart Delivery, MS have built in to their model ways to better make this work. Sony are going to be playing catch up and screw up, with this model.

2023 is far too early, but 2024/25 could definitely be a target.

Oh, and yeah, I 100% expect new xbox consoles to come, but I don't believe they will be "mid-gen updates, slims, or pros". They will be the replacement for the series 1.

Everyone here still thinks in terms of console generations, but console generations are bad for business. Throwing away your install base every ten years is idiotic. Hardware updates will allow you to keep a significant portion of your audience while allowing the next cycle to grow, and give slow adopters even more time to upgrade.

This is the model that has worked for PC and mobile devices for decades. Video game generations are an archaic model.

Edit: I don't think people have given "series" a lot of thought. MS are outright telling you they will be making a series of consoles.

For £3.39, I bought it for prosterity's sake.

The type of gamer that thinks that a cinematic 90+ metacritic score AAA title is the only legitimate type of game, and the only goal of devs.

I believe inXile are on the verge of releasing some of their biggest projects to date, and will really put them on the map. It's no wonder they are pleased with their lot.

Savagely calling out BS. I am a fan.

@Godot25 iD didn't make the MP mode of Doom 2016. Certain Affinity did, and they've also been the company behind Halo 4 MP, and Halo 2A MP. Guess who's working on more Halo content?

@NEStalgia I've been working off the assumption that they were working on Halo 6, but after the backlash for Halo 5, and an internal review of the game by 2018, there was a decision to reboot the development. Resulting in the change in story, direction, artstyle, and the 2018 teaser. Also explains the rough state of the 2021 build.

I'll worry about being a customer, and let MS worry about making money.

Yeah, I'm glad Insomniac got it, but 2014 was when the MCU was in full swing during Phase 2. It laid the ground work for introducing individual characters and then teaming them up in a super movie. And it was really popular with adults and families. The MCU template was set and proven, and it was just begging to be translated in to a game universe. And they said "no"?.

That a massive lack of vision (no pun).

EA isn't going to get what they are asking for. They have some great franchises, and even some good devs, but the management has been piss poor. They just don't have the leverage.

The best outcome for them would be to be bought up by someone who is actually passionate and commited to video games, but that will be very slim pickings with the recent purchases going on. Out of the available options, Disney is the best one, and that aint all that great.

@Savage_Joe @Rural-Bandit Yeah, even with the uptick in players on Steam, HI still only has 6k players, which is about 2k more than MCC, and HI is down to tenth most played on xbox most played US. For a F2P Halo game, that's really bad overall. Clearly the community are still unwilling to stay.

And this has been a common story for all 343i Halos (and slightly true of Halo Reach too). The shift in MP gameplay alienates the older base, and fails to create a new one, and this is compounded after 10 years and 3 games.

While this is all ok for those fans who enjoy the recent games, this is bad for the community because they get broken up and move on to other games, it's bad for MS because of loss of revenue and a desperation to maximise the revenue, and it's bad for the dev because they get the pressure of having to please both the angry executives and the angry gamers.

@InterceptorAlpha Influencers don't always get "paid", they usually get "perks". Kinda like how Reviewers were never paid, but they most certainly could get blacklisted.

@Deljo But we aren't part of the wars (exceptions for the fanboys). The PS5 and Xbox Series have lots of games to play outside of exclusives, especially considering the backwards compatibility.

I've long said MS should buy Sega, but that's only to round out their studios, for their portfolio. For the xbox gamer, MS buying Sega does very little to make an xbox more appealing. The Sonic games are still coming to xbox either way. PSO 2 is on xbox. Yakuza is still on xbox. For xbox gamers, the appeal stays exactly the same.

In terms of actual value and content for Xbox owners, there's plenty there. With or without a brand new AAA exclusive.

@Kooky_Daisuke Serious question. Why are people so obsessed with exclusives?

Large MP modes are always chaos. Remember MAG?.

The more players, the less an individual's actions have a tangible affect on the outcome on the game. Which just isn't fun.

"But we're here for the shareholders"

Wonder if he's regretting that one.

A full remake of RDR1 is unnecessary. It would be like remaking TLOU1... A remaster would be good enough.

The issue is that full remakes take the same resources as a brand new game. Remasters take a fraction of that, and produces a product that is both faithful and doesn't have the same potential for missing the mark (like RE3).

@BulkSlash So that the brand sells the product.

Would people even be paying attention to this show if it didn't have "Halo" on the front?

Last time I got excited for a Techland Fantasy RPG, it got delayed, then turned in to an add on for Dying Light.

The more I read of this, the more it sounds like they just screwed themselves with the launch strategy and now xbox players are paying the price for that.

Starting a remake at 2 is the most ***** move they could make. Yeah, I get it, SH 2, like RE 2, has a strong connection with the community, but SH 1 doesn't have a proper remake, and the one it did have hasn't been seen since the Wii/PS2 days.

Though it is very on brand for Konami to copy Capcom, rather than do what's best for their franchises or fans.

So yeah, OTS SH 2 remake and 1st person new entry incoming.

@Grumblevolcano A general 360 server shutdown better not be on the cards, because of the wealth of BC 360 titles that would be completely gimped, making the BC programme pretty pointless.

But a Gears 360 server shutdown could be coming

And it makes more sense to pool multiple multiplayer titles in to one title, with an active community, a la MCC. Rather than have several dead MP games. A collection would also allow many QoL features, smart delivery, cross progression, cross play, and the like, all of which are just better and suits Game Pass more too, and that fits with MS' strategy with Xbox.

@Dezzy70 Remasters tend to fall on companies who are better suited to, or who specialise in, ports and remasters.

Night Dive would be an obvious choice for the Elder Scrolls and Fallout ports. They've only ever ported legacy games to modern systems.

And Ruffian Games would be an obvious choice for porting Gears, as they've done better in porting 360 titles to newer systems too.

I remember this rumour, and that it was between Fable and Gears, and I said that Gears made the most sense.

But honestly, if they gave us remastered collections of Fable, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout, then I'd be happy.

I'd like to add that now that MS are buying Acti, I'd like to see a Classic COD Collection that remasters the original 360 titles. MCC is great for keeping the old MP modes, and the classic community alive (just a shame at how they handled it). I think a Classic COD Collection could do the same there.

Fixing the "fixes"

@themightyant It's very old and wasn't super easy to find. And, yeah, it's even funnier now.

My OC sexed up Chief.

Edit: I am reminded of this meme.

https://imgur.com/NNjAVS1

@Bleachedsmiles The gamer mantra of "It's ok as long as I get my games" doesn't really fly with me though.

@ShadowofTwilight22 Thanks for that.

I'm glad he mentioned it, but yeah, he spent 30 mins talking about Phil and Xbox, and 5 on Jim Ryan and his email, and while he clearly didn't agree with Ryan he refused to go in on him because of "politics".

I'm all for holding poor management accountable, but priorities and outraged seems to be really misplaced here.

What has therapy got to do with management?

and this is very incendiary to scold a manager who has just been given two extra publishers and another half dozen studios for what could turn out to be teething problems.

Curious, has Jaffe addressed Nintendo of America and Jim Ryan for their behaviour lately?. Because honestly, between delayed games and treading on staff's rights and lives, the latter is a little more scandal worthy.

Most of MS' main line studios have not long released a title.

Halo (2021) Gears (2019, 2020) Forza (2018, 2020) SoT (2018) SoD 2 (2018)

It's only been just over a year since MS bought Bethesda, whose studios have released a lot of games during 2018 til now. Their most recent two being two PS timed exclusives. Even Bethesda Game Studios, the guys making Starfield, released Fallout 76 in 2018.

The other studio purchases were done in 2018, and all had just launched their titles too.

InXile - Bard's Tale (2018) and Wasteland 3 (2020)
Compulsion - We Happy Few (2018)
Obsidian - PoE (2018) TOW (2020) Grounded (2020)
Double Fine - Psychonauts 2 (2021)
Ninja Theory - Bleeding Edge (2020)

And we've had a pandemic and lockdowns.

Why is everybody so surprised that MS has no games this year?

Yes, they have bought up a lot of studios, but those studios are all fresh off a release. If it happens after the next 3 years, once Xbox has had chance to align the studios' releases properly, and we hopefully don't have another worldwide diaster, then you can complain.

I have a backlog to last me ten years, so I can wait.

Plus I'm hoping for those rumoured remasters, including Fallout and Elder Scrolls.

@ShadowofTwilight22 "So it's more studio incompetence"

Yes.

MS built studios are cursed (for a lack of a better explaination).