Sol4ris

MS have been tightening the Xbox leash pretty hard this past year

If making an acquisition for $68 billion is tightening the Xbox leash, then we better hope its not getting tightened even further 😀...

Hopefully they'll keep making hardware for a long, long time.
I don't want only Sony as a high end console maker, that, and definitely don’t feel like paying £1000 for a PlayStation due to lack of competition.

@ValkyriaProfile
Just think of Xbox as a console that will most likely never have exclusives and you'll be ok

As someone who owned every Xbox console since the original black slab, I agree.
. We should leave the man-child bickering about true console exclusives to the PlayStation crowd😅 ...

I hope the speculated competitor is Nintendo. Hi-Fi Rush or Pentiment would be a great fit for the Switch. And I still consider Sony’s indefinite exclusivity on
FF7R, Rebirth and to a lesser extent Ff16 as too scummy, for that alone, I hope it will be Nintendo that gets the game(s).😁

The Coalition did a great job with Gears 4 and 5. The Hivebusters DLC is fantastic too. A

Maybe Microsoft could bring back Cliffy B for Gears 6, I don't know who is helming Coalition since Rob left to join ABK..
One thing almost certain is that the next Gears will be a UE5 tech spectacle.

Right, are there other people here who bought that special🗝️, or is it just me who is a chicken😅.

Very impressive, also well deserved.
I consider this to be right up there with with the Blod and Wine DLC, one of the best ever.

On different note, DF has run some benchmarks and it turns out CDPR have somehow managed to make the game run significantly worse(on the more powerful console no less ) , than it does on the PS5🤦‍♂️😂.

@Markatron84

I think it's more of a shout out for people who already subscribe to GamePass or thinking about the Yakuza series....come and play them on GP and hopefully stay for the rest of the library etc 😀.
As always not all things work for all people..

Outer Worlds 2, the best announcement for a game ever, I still rewatch it occasionally. Pitch perfect 😄.

Ishin is on Gamepass too. Love the Series and the only one I don't own yet is Like a Dragon Gaiden, which I shall buy in due course 😊.

.....Proof that Bethesda don't do or understand satire? Perhaps is their AI driven pr department. 😁

If you've played Baldur's Gate 3, you'll know that it has the potential for some risqué scenes

Will Larian make a patch to satisfy Microsoft's puritanical leanings 😅....looks like BG3 is quite a curse on Xbox.

@KillerBoy

Looks like the UK gave in to the blackmail

Actually...Looks like the UK gave in to the (big)business. We should not kid ourselves here, and the UK is not an outlier by any means either 🙃.

@CharlieChooChoo

Stay classy, Brad

Sound advice, staying classy achieved precisely what he wanted from the CMA, albeit with some caveats..

@Aeula

Outside of people married to a brand it’s considered well below average and boring, if not outright trash

Starfield is not trash by an metric. Not everyone's cup of coffee for sure, but trash? Nah...
If anything, comments like yours prove that fanboys do try their absolute best to hate on Starfield at/with every opportunity😅....no doubt driven by its association with MS/Xbox.

apparently the problem is that the game thinks the save has been successful, but it hasn't been "fully committed to disk yet"

Game of the century right there.... unless played on Xbox platforms 😅.

Phantom Liberty, RE4:R and Cocoon are all 10 for me.
Jusant, FM, Hi-Fi, Sea of Stars, Starfield would be 9's.
Happy New Year to all!

• FM, the driving an sound are just sublime, I can see myself playing it for years.
• Starfield , 200h in and nowhere near finished.
• Hi-Fi Rush, colorful, stylish and joyful. An absolute riot.

Do you think a new Forza Horizon release will come around anytime soon?

Why would it? So you guys can complain about the game being set in the wrong location and how it should be set in Japan, etc, etc 😅.
FH5 is a fantastic game within an incredible world setting(still beingsupported), yet its all about how much better the setting of FH4 is.....because you know, Blighty 😀.

we've seen similar issues crop up with other games in the past

Yes but none as bad as Baldur's Gate 3 is(insofar as we are aware)...... the best game ever, etc, etc. Except for the people playing on Xbox platforms, why not just delay it until the kinks are ironed out?

@Trmn8r

Everything Bethesda releases from here on will get review bombed for the foreseeable future

You are probably right. The thing that'll give them some respite is their insanely long time frame until TES6 releases.....perhaps by 2030😉.

Each to their own!

You would think so, but the gaming community doesn't work like that. People are hell bent on bringing Starfield's users reviews to the level of the venerable Redfall.
.....better not pay too much attention or take it to heart😅.

Looks like this year was loaded with Xbox articles, no doubt the ABK takeover had a role to play😀. Microsoft better look at other acquisitions to keep the show rolling 😉.

Edited: Whoa @ Starfield's coverage 😳, not bad for an allegedly average game...

Really want to try this but couldn't get on with the Divinity games for too long (not a big fan of turn based combat) and with BG3 looking similar, I'll have to pass.... At least for the foreseeable future😉

At this rate BG3 will gobble up more SSD space than COD, not sure what's the reason but is not a good look on Larian ir Microsoft 😅

I'll just join in with the previous posts and say about time and good riddance.
The accusations brought against ABK management would have made Kotick's position untenable long time in most businesses, but the game industry seems to operate by different standards unfortunately 😑.

@Cakefish
Lords of the Fallen still has a bugged HUD exclusive to Xbox over two months after release, and the developers are really dragging their feet on the fix

I was interested in the game but seeing how they not bothered with the Xbox version, I'll wait until it reaches bargain bin status before buying.

@themightyant

If they don't have a great launch window lineup the competition will come to market with a more powerful console, probably for less, and wipe the floor with them

The competition will wipe the floor with them regardless of console power, we can witness this right know.
Perhaps an overlapping release will work better, have the power advantage for 2-3 years and then have the less powerful console for a similar duration.
Releasing close or at the same time as Sony didn't (exactly) work in Microsoft's favour, although I do doubt we'll see a new gen in 2026.

@HonestHick

This is yet another reason they aren’t making a Pro console this generation

No doubt the sales issue is a factor, but don't you find it interesting that there is zero mention of the PS5pro in Insomniac's data hack? I just find it slightly strange...

This shows what an insurmountable task Microsoft has on its hands,
I don't envy them even if they have different approaches to console sales....

Just finished NG+ and thinking on starting NG++ at some point, and my lvl230 character is ready for the DLC too😁. This game must be the biggest surprise of the year for me...

I bought around 20 games this year, and it's still some time left for browsing through the count down sale, so it might be a few more 😅.

Most of them are indie gems from Game Pass with the occasional heavily discounted AA/AAA, all adorably digital 😀.

Fantastic feature, shame some games are just too stubborn to oblige.😀

@Sifi

Look, I agree with what you are saying but at the same time we have to see the reality here. I'm genuinely convinced that Sony can release no firstparty games for two years and the PS5 will still outsell the Xbox by 3:1. The PS brand reached a point where it can just defy gravity 🙃.

@HonestHick
i would LOVE for Apple to get more into gaming. If they came into the console space.

I don't know much about Apple, my household has a single device from them, an Ipad.
What I do know, is that they have a brand with cult like following to possibly rival that of Sony's Playstation(and that's important), hence why I think they should join console gaming, plus no shortage of money 😉.

As for Microsoft and Xbox, I don't know, its definitely grim reading compared to PS/Nintendo and how far they're willing to go only Microsoft knows. But I hope they'll keep persevering, I love my Series X, GP , the Xbox ecosystem and controller.

In short I'll be on Xbox until there's an Xbox to be on, hopefully they won't go the way of my beloved Sega...

@Titntin

My concern arises as I think good strong competition is good for players on all platforms

I agree, with emphasis on strong competition. Microsoft do offer a different option with the fantastic GamePass but strong competition? I think its a bit stretch there.

I always imagined there would be an xbox

For some reason it seems I always favour the loosing side, I absolutely loved Sega, alas we all know how that turned out 😅.

The industry would be much worse off without one

Perhaps you're right, but it's not only the industry that decides if a console lives or dies....

Edited: Wasn't there talk of Bobby K & Co fudging off sometime early next year? Or I'm just mistaken?

Still going through on my NG+ on Lies of P than Starfield, I'm hoping to squeeze in a few games on Infinite and FM. I really, really need to get back an complete Cocoon.

@Titntin

but I am concerned about xbox as I believe this will hasten the plans MS already has to leave hardware behind and just be a publisher

I mentioned here before, (on different pieces) but Microsoft going all in being a publisher come as surprise to anyone that follows console gaming or even be such a bad thing? They've had a go but clearly didn't work out for them, one can't indefinitely keep investing console R&D and always be outsold 3:1 or more.

I'm heavily invested in the Xbox ecosystem but if they find a solution for my/people's gaming library (not an easy task) perhaps via streaming etc, then I'm fine. Only Apple could realistically compete in hardware sales with the Nintendo and Sony, hopefully they'll join in if Microsoft leave console gaming .

Done, and don't mention it 😉.

The biggest takeaway for me is how well the Series S is doing (people's favourite bashing console).
Yes, it achieved it with the necessary cutbacks but still looking great and it seems that in the hands of capable developers, coupled with current gen only engines the Series S will.do just as intended 👍.

Even with a conclusion that slightly favours Gran Turismo 7, Turn 10 has done fantastic work with the tech behind Forza Motorsport

Clearly not fantastic enough( to better a cross gen game) , but it's understandable since we are on PX😉.
Very disappointed with the downgrade since it was first revealed though, none the less it drives like a dream and I love it.

@The_Pixel_King

Gaming websites mentioned all current gen consoles for the upgrade. The PS5 will be getting too.

@RunGMhx

Thanks, that's great.

Bit of a bummer this.
So will this be a free upgrade for existing owners(I have the GOTY edition) or will they go the Sony route an charge for it 🤔?

@THE_VITTLER

Jim's play time couldn't be logged because most of it was done offline, whilst flying around the world seeing market regulators.😅😉

Edited: I'm surprised at the number of hours Spencer managed 😄.

• 110 games
• 929h Total hours
• 598 Total Achievements
• 23726 Reward points
  Top Played:
• AC Odyssey 124h
• Lies of P 122h
• Starfield 106h
• Minecraft 102h
• Minecraft Dungeons 90h
  The two Minecraft games were played by/with the children

  I seriously need to cut back on gaming time( oh who am I kidding 😅).

so we're curious as to what these new travel methods end up being. Hopefully we'll find out soon enough

People have made it clear they are not enthused by realism (unless it's mindless bloody visceral violence) so the travel method will probably be flying unicorns or to really go to town, how about riding on Nazgŭl.. that should cheer everyone up 🤣🤣

The animation and art direction are great in this, fingers crossed it makes 2024.

And this keeps rumbling on, and on, and on.....meanwhile Wolverine, something, something FF(7)R and soon FF(7)Rebirth etc, etc.😅

...Soo, in.about 6 months and hopefully on sale too. Definitely not in a hurry for this just yet.