Loving series 2 so far - they've concentrated much more on the Spartans and the war rather than side plots no one really cares about.
Hoping they keep the pirate / rebel stories to a minimum still and continue to follow Master Chief and his team, the focus has been much better and the action / special effects much improved too
I'm still in the prologue as work has been busy, but I'm definitely enjoying it - that classic Don't Nod quality narrative with emotional story telling
@Kaloudz To be fair to them, they're covering what was said and the variety of opinions.
Given Phil's Verge interview I agree it's not going to just be those 4 (and the podcast hinted at that too), so it's valid to wish for more certainty and less vagueness.
Saying that though, I think the general atmosphere here, at XboxEra and elsewhere is more calm now - even those worried about the future know we've got at least another generation, and beyond that who knows anyway as streaming etc might be good enough by then.
There's going to be Sony fanboys celebrating the vagueness, but I see it now as them being interested in Xbox games which can only be a good thing - and longer term, I do suspect Phil is right, and as live service games are used as the excuse to go multi-platform even for Sony, more games will suddenly meet the criteria.
I was one of those pretty concerned if there were immediate plans - but they've said they'll pull back if damaging Xbox, and while I'm possibly going to get a PS5 Pro in order to play Spider Man 2 (I think Final Fantasy will come to us soon enough anyway) I'm now thinking I can stick with Xbox next generation knowing there probably will be less exclusives given the profit crunch on AAA games...
Maybe give it a day or two for those still processing their feelings on it, but I do think this site is definitely one of the calmer places normally
Or for the 10th one, if they unveil Forza Horizon 6 at the June showcase, Series consoles only with ray-traced Tokyo or something like that, I'd be so happy - it's my favourite series
I guess this fits with the "everywhere Game Pass is" mantra we've heard a lot - but could also now be applied to multi-platform games.
Really hope they're clear tonight - if they are going to port bigger games, not just announce the small ones then say "case by case" before announcing the bigger ones later in the year when they think the furore has settled down.
We bought what they were selling, so I'd hope we'll get the honest answer without too much business-speak - even if it's not what we want to hear...
Tales of Arise has been announced for PS Plus - so it's the same issue as Hot Wheels, that they tried to sign with both Game Pass and PS Plus at the same time.
Last time we had to wait 6 months to get Hot Wheels, I'm guessing it'll be August until we get Tales of Arise now too...
I thought Game Pass had more members, how do they keep losing the battle with PS Plus for these games - or is it Sony are smart enough not to accidentally add them into the announcement till it's 100% happening?
I'm not 100% sure if we'd get an actual Xbox handheld - given how much complaining there seems to be about optimising for the Series S, another SKU might not help things.
I read this potentially as the Surface and Xbox teams working on a Steam Deck / ROG Ally rival, with the Windows / Xbox teams improving the UI experience and game optimisation, and the Surface / Xbox teams doing the hardware...
@BaldBelper78 If the digital X is a Pro-like model I'd happily buy it, as I'd love my Series X to maintain 4K and ray-tracing in more games.
All the ABK court docs though suggested it might have a slightly different internal configuration to reduce costs, but giving an insignificant / non-existent performance difference
So the big question - if Sony release the heavily-rumoured PS5 Pro this holiday season, how does this impact this decision?
Does Xbox optimise for the PS5 Pro and upset us Xbox fans if we don't have an equivalent "Series XX" so have a worse version - or do they not optimise (if they can) and potentially lose customers with Sony fans preferring Pro-optimised games?
Either way, the PS5 Pro might still end up playing the games better - as for example the PS4 Pro had a "Boost Mode" from firmware version 4.5 that automatically clocked the GPU and CPU higher in order to improve game performance...
@Kaloudz No but if Sony release a PS5 Pro (almost certain at this point), and we get a slightly buggy Indiana Jones then 3 months later PlayStation gets it once it's patched up and Pro-optimised, that will be a real kick in the teeth for us Xbox owners.
We'd be beta testers for PlayStation who'd get a version that runs better.
That might be considered far-fetched but at the moment it's a very real possibility, which is why they need to be clear on Thursday
It's clearly not ideal that exclusives go to PlayStation when we won't get anything back in return (don't think people are so worried about Nintendo given they do their own thing).
But the primary thing is they have to be clear - they need to either set the rules out, or even if they obfuscate and say "case by case" they need to give definitive answers on Starfield and Indiana Jones, given these were mentioned in the media reports.
If they say "no plans" or outright deny it, then release them later in the year it'll really kick off again and break any trust in their messaging - just rip the band aid off and tell us the truth
Tom Warren now seems to have spoken to people inside Xbox, confirms it's HiFi Rush, Pentiment and Sea of Thieves, with other games possible.
If it stays as small games / live service only then that's manageable, but if big games such as Starfield or Indiana Jones are ever ported it'll open the Pandora's box to chatter around every game Xbox reveals
Honestly no idea what to expect - best case scenario HiFi Rush and Sea of Thieves, middle case a few bigger games that haven't sold enough / have licences that need paying like Starfield and Indiana Jones, worst case all games after a set period.
The first I think wouldn't require this long a wait or format, so I'm expecting the middle case, not worst.
But it's going to be awful if they don't give very specific rules as to what gets ported - as every comments section when we're happily discussing a game from a showcase we'll have PlayStation fans trolling whether it's going to come to them or not.
Plus given we're not getting anything back from PlayStation so it's a one way street, which feels a bit of a betrayal of the "contract" when you buy an Xbox - and makes a PlayStation where you can play all their games plus some of ours a better buy...
@themightyant The AMD custom APU in the Series X is very similar to the G Ryzen chips they do for PC.
Intel also does integrated graphics a lot for PC and laptops, and between both of them and Nvidia they all generally stick to certain standards.
In addition, both in the Xbox and on PC, much of the workload in making them all run together well is handled by Direct X and other Microsoft software (including the OS) - so it would be very unlike the PowerPC / Cell structures when it came to backwards compatibility, and much more like someone upgrading their PC.
That said, yes we could potentially lose FSR optimisations made by AMD and have to hope Nvidia had DLSS available for that game - but according to PC Gamer Microsoft are unveiling their own upscaling / frame generation tech in the next Windows update
If they went Intel it would allow for an Nvidia GPU you'd imagine (rather than using Intel's GPUs which are still new and not really well-supported by drivers etc.) - which would be ideal allowing for the latest DLSS which is currently far beyond anything AMD can do.
If Nintendo have stayed with Nvidia for the Switch 2 we could see it using DLSS when it's docked to handle the larger image - and it's possible the work carried on by Nvidia for that console could help inform their approach with an Xbox handheld / next gen...
@Fiendish-Beaver Nope unfortunately I had to stick on my 360 for a bit - I'd left uni after the crash and software dev starting wages weren't great and I had to furnish a new place.
Think I managed to get one of the first without it though - and by then I was happy to as I'd not used my Kinect in ages
@Kaloudz Yep I'm just really hoping they don't wait till their usual Wednesday or Thursday slots to do their thing.
The rumours go back and forth so much it's clear that outside of a guaranteed port (HiFi Rush due to the data mine) and 3 others being considered (but potentially not seriously) as I trust the three publications that mentioned them, no one has a clue what's going on.
And beyond those initial leaks last weekend, Xbox is clearly in bunker mode either deciding, fighting or honing the message - and few leaks are likely escaping, if any at all.
So we've no real idea if those games are now in serious contention for porting, if all are, if they've new hardware they might move up, if they've some amazing new plans for example to help third-party ports or a new handheld or whatever.
It's frustrating as if you regularly consume gaming media you see every possible bit of news, but have to look at the source to see if there's any truth - while waiting for the real show to begin
I loved it as an add-on to my 360, but didn't get it again for my One.
The dance games and sports ones were particularly fun with friends, but I did notice when I got my own place I almost immediately stopped using it - and when friends brought the Wii round the Mario Kart steering wheels and the Rabbids games using the remotes seemed far beyond the Kinect's capabilities.
But of it's time, it was a great accessory and good fun
@Banjo- One forum poster who's known to dislike Xbox has changed his mind - that does not change the story.
He was not XboxEra's source and he wasn't the Verge's source, and both are respected publications who claim to have seen evidence that Starfield and Indiana Jones respectively were under consideration.
They didn't say confirmed though, agreed that's the community speculation running wild - not helped by the fact if it was just small games and GaaS you'd have hoped Xbox would have quashed it by now
@Kaloudz It's the nature of the unknown, if we're given an indicator of good news we go wild with the possibilities (new showcase being announced for example), if it's got no indicator / a negative one ("business update" doesn't help that!) then the fear sets in.
Just like if your boss says "I want to speak to you this afternoon, it's good news" you dream of promotions and bonuses of silly amounts and are left a little disappointed by reality, but if they say "I want to speak to you this afternoon" your mind goes into overdrive of being fired, in trouble etc.
@Banjo- 2022 - the only first party new game all year was Pentiment (and I say that as someone who loved that game).
What I mean is that "winners" while customers might have expectations, have a level of trust from that - while those who aren't doing so well are unfortunately held to a higher standard as the people who've invested in their ecosystem hope they've got a plan, for example to improve third-party support which is always worst for the last-place console.
@Banjo- There's a big difference - Nintendo and Sony can afford to ignore rumours as they're by far the market leaders and are known for ruthlessly promoting their systems and ensuring success.
Xbox ever since the One launch steps on rake after rake, often soon after doing something that seems to be moving the needle - Bethesda acquisition for example then having a whole year with no big games, or buying ABK then spending so long being meek due to the competition investigations that there's barely any marketing to compete with the wall-to-wall Sony ads...
(You can tell the never-ending PlayStation adverts on TV, YouTube, gaming media and even my smart TV for the last few years are starting to grate lol - by comparison I've seen so few Xbox ones)
If it's just the smaller games and SoT, I don't get why it couldn't be a simple blog post already:
"In the same way Sony's live service titles such as Bungie's new games will be coming to Xbox, we will look to release live service games such as Sea of Thieves to the widest possible audience, to give them a diverse player base and allow you to play with friends on other consoles.
We'll also release some smaller games (as we already have with Minecraft Legends) on other consoles to act as brand ambassadors and to earn additional revenue to help us bring more quality Day 1 games to Game Pass for you."
That would cover SoT, HiFi Rush and Hellblade 2 if they wanted it to. And if they did want Starfield or Indiana Jones to go wider too, they could add:
"Larger games that don't quite meet sales expectations or those where we have to pay for the use of other company's intellectual property may also be considered for a wider range of platforms after a significant exclusivity period, in order to sustain their profitability and not divert funds from our drive to bring the best games to Game Pass.
We will not consider this for our flagship properties such as Halo, Gears of War or Fable - Xbox and our platforms will remain the only place these can be played, and we remain committed to our consoles (including into the next generation), and have exciting plans on that front we can't wait to share with you when the time is right."
It doesn't need a "business update" (even though the latter section will still cause some consternation) and you could keep it vague enough to not ruin Nintendo's Direct - it'd be much better than letting rumours run riot with no shutting them down...
@awp69 XboxEra who reported Starfield have said Nate was not their source (he just seems to be claiming he was the first to say it), and their reporter saw actual evidence it was being considered.
They do make clear though that it wasn't decided for definite, and they just said being considered
@AlwaysPlaying In the FTC trial it was revealed that Microsoft after taking over Bethesda had renegotiated the contract to make Indiana Jones an exclusive.
So if it did go to PlayStation, it's not because Disney required it - it'll be for the same reason as Starfield, that MS want the money
@Grumblevolcano Completely agree with your analysis - if the plan was already locked down, it wouldn't take this long to come up with what to say.
So they're either fighting hard (in which case while I can't stand much of the social media / streamer / YouTuber "influencers", I'm happy for them to kick up a fuss this time to help the "gamers" in Xbox) or they're tied by the Nintendo Direct.
Although if it's the latter it feels a bit nuts that you've got to let your billion-dollar brand get hammered across gaming media and social media, all because of a contract with another company that's probably only worth at most a million or so - you'd think they could go to Nintendo and say "can we talk about it but not give specifics on when the games are coming?" or something like that...
@GamingFan4Lyf Us on here might be speculating but to use your analogy, we didn't start the fire (great that song is stuck in my head for the rest of the day now ).
It's more all the influencers, YouTubers, streamers, social media gaming "specialists" and the gaming media that have speculated wildly, with it going to crazy stuff like no more consoles at all or Game Pass losing Day 1 - and finding the tiniest snippets of "evidence" like some word changes on the Xbox website, and it goes viral.
Xbox of all companies after the backlash that followed the Xbox One launch should know it's better to kill these stories fast rather than let a firestorm take off - it's PR 101, otherwise you lose control of the situation and your brand gets damaged.
For me it's just a facepalm moment - Xbox had built up a lot of goodwill, had a great showing at the Developer Direct and we were all looking forward to 3E - but then it's like they're Sideshow Bob in a field of rakes sometimes (Gold price hike attempt, 2022 year with zero releases, Redfall, banning BG3 users for auto-uploads) and you just despair a little...
And the articles are not exactly complementary about Xbox and its place in the console space - given these are much more widely read than gaming media this is really hurting the brand well beyond the usual crowds
What he forgets with cloud, is why at the moment would you go with Xbox's cloud offering in a decade's time over PlayStation's, if PS has the Xbox games and more?
Unless the porting is strictly console-only and they're biding their time for cloud - but then it'd still be a risk as those who are in the PS ecosystem from the PS5/PS6 would still likely stick with PS cloud over Xbox...
If it's being delivered by the higher-ups, then Phil is already out the door.
I'm 99% certain that it'll be delivered by Phil, I've seen the rumours and they're basically just people thinking because it's a "business update" it'll be by Microsoft.
In reality, in MS big news is often delivered by the relevant VP - with maybe Satya dropping in / having a video at the end to give a reassuring presence.
@Sakai Agreed it's incredibly unlikely, it's just the basis of the FTC's complaint - that MS is proceeding as if it's done and dusted, while there's still some legal proceedings to go through that require ABK to still be able to function alone if it was unwound.
In reality, if Xbox announce Starfield and other big games going to PlayStation next week, the FTC should abandon these proceedings and save the taxpayer's money, as clearly that would remove the last argument they had against it (that it would reduce games available on PlayStation).
@somnambulance It could be ordered to be unwound, which is why they're complaining about the job losses - as it might impact ABK's ability to be a separate company if they had to split again.
I'm sure Microsoft's lawyers will have foreseen this move by the FTC though, and if there is a move to put more games on PlayStation then the FTC really won't have a leg to stand on in any appeal...
@themightyant There's definitely job losses in those two studios, the numbers are even given in the article.
They're part of the 1900 laid off, and we know the numbers as California requires a public notice 60 days in advance, and that's where the two studios are based
Sad news for those losing their jobs, some relief the developers aren't being closed down.
Really hoping Toys for Bob can make a new Spyro or Banjo game.
The fact insiders were able to get confirmation of this pretty easily though does put into question why Xbox can't do something similar with the biggest story of the week - either a short tweet or via insiders say "we're in hardware for the long term, we'll still have lots of exclusives, Game Pass will continue to be great value with Day 1 games and we're looking forward to giving you our full strategy next week".
Doesn't even need the bit about Game Pass really - but it would curb the craziest rumours going around and dampen down the rampant speculation ahead of next week.
At this rate, nothing they announce could be worse than the rumours...
IGN reporting Toys for Bob and Sledgehammer Games heavily impacted by the layoffs, and they suggested TfB likely to close (which insiders have confirmed is incorrect - the physical office may close and the numbers are correct but the studios are mostly remote anyway).
All these terrible headlines, but in this case Xbox was able to slip out via insiders some reassuring updates.
Surely in the same way, the least Xbox could do would be to say "we're committed to hardware long term, Xbox will still have a lot of exclusives, we'll give you more detail next week" rather than this radio silence?
I don't think Xbox will quit hardware anytime soon, so I'm not thinking this is as bad as feared there.
But it's also going to be worse than the optimists are thinking - if it's just a few small and live service games that's a press release, not a "business update", and if it was all great news they'd have done something to kill the media firestorm.
Even adding in Starfield and Indiana Jones, they don't need a week to pull it together - they can just do a short statement or video saying some Bethesda and ABK games will still be multiplat.
So either it is SF and IJ and they're trying to turn it into a positive with ABK GP drops and the new Series X / controller etc - or it's those games plus all new ones / a decent number.
I think it's the latter plus putting together some positive stuff - as again if it was just a few games you'd kill this story by now.
I'm hoping they'll have something to soften the blow, and if they do start to release more on other systems (undermining the console's attraction compared to PS5) that by some miracle Sony offers something back in time
Hot Wheels Unleashed had this happen - it went to PS Plus first about the same time (so seems maybe there was a clashing contract?) and then came to Game Pass about 6 months after it had been announced to
This is the problem with waiting so long to give answers - the story drips into mainstream consciousness, people Google this and see the current firestorm.
They likely won't Google again next week when the answer is finally given.
Many of us may be worried about games going multi-platform (even on a "case by case" basis) reducing the reasons to buy Xbox (so smaller footprint = less third parties waste time porting to it) - but at the moment, this disastrous PR is doing that well enough by itself
It sounds much more what we want - particularly if going from the trailers it's dealing with the fall of Reach and other big moments, then the "fog of war" approach makes sense
We're going to get commentary like this from all over the games business - they have opinions in the same way we do.
But yeah it's not great mood music - I thought maybe they had to wait until the Nintendo Direct to drop HiFi Rush (although don't know if there's actually going to be one) or they're still hammering out the detail.
Can they please just hurry up though - we've got potentially another 6 days of this, and we've gone from legitimate sources suggesting Starfield, Indiana Jones, HFR and SoT (the first two being the issue) to rumours all over the place about Game Pass, all Xbox games, Gears, Halo etc.
They're clearly making some moves, and they're not going to be popular, but compared to the rumours now almost anything is probably better so I wish they'd just get it over with before we get a mad week of obituaries for Xbox
@Banjo- I do believe they'll stay in consoles - the mid-range thing isn't a baseless rumour, we saw it as a potential design in the slides that leaked from the ABK trial, it appears MS are looking at using the Azure cloud to do some of the processing to perhaps allow the console to be less powerful than you'd expect.
Given Flight Sim does something similar, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that it does a good enough job to offer unique experiences and come close to the PS6 in terms of graphics quality - but by leveraging the cloud it could potentially cost a lot less to make.
It does make sense to me, and yes they might still do a high-end / X version but I think they've identified that this generation being more powerful than the PS5 hasn't really helped them while if they'd been able to be similarly-powered but much cheaper it might have.
With regards to them being cut-throat, I'm not sure they can be - they had to sign so many agreements during the ABK ordeal, and they can't be too evil now without regulators getting antsy that they were lied to, and it doesn't really fit with their corporate image now.
I imagine we'll still see some studio pick-ups once the time is right again (Asobo for Flight Sim has always seemed a natural choice) but I don't think they'll want to go near a publisher again until they've proven they can make ABK work (just in case your response was in part to mine to AverageGamer's thoughts on acquisitions)
@Banjo- Yeah it's been doing my head in as I did really enjoy my time with Halo Infinite, probably the best gunplay in it since my Halo 3 glory days at uni.
But given how long it had been in development for, and how clearly they had DLC planned for it that never materialised due to the reception / development issues, it was a bit of a let down when they could have had new story DLC releasing to coincide with the TV series if that had managed to have an impact like Last of Us (and I say that as someone who preferred the Halo TV series, although hope they'll drop a few storylines for the new season).
Multiplayer felt really good and has gone from strength to strength, but I'm a bit too old for it nowadays and it's not got a story to it so wouldn't have the same draw for fans of the TV series.
But yes even it felt like a "release and fix / add stuff later", just like Forza Motorsport, Redfall, even Starfield - and while Xbox exclusives always get reviewed more harshly I can't say they've been unfair on those.
Starfield I've put 80 hours into and had some enjoyable moments (the UC storyline about the terrormorphs in particular) - but there's too much frustration with constant loading screens whenever you go into a building (or new part of a building), lack of variety in random encounters after a while, and it's just too damn shallow.
It's wide as a universe, but as deep as a puddle - it's not remotely immersive enough, and too often the companions don't react to things they should (you told me this is your home planet, I'd expect some reaction when we land here!) and you're often too limited (no I don't want to blow up the ECS Constant, or pay for a grav drive myself or force them into slavery - I want to murder the guy who just suggested I wipe out thousands of people!).
For me, Hogwarts Legacy was easily my game of the year, a true open world with no loading screens (except for the odd whirl on the screen when your broom is at full upgraded speed), a rich, deep world and a full array of spells and other things to do - if they're able to do another next generation with even more depth to the characters around you (maybe even shudder by using AI) then it might actually be my perfect game...
And it's one I initially refused to get after the PlayStation exclusive junk - as I hated buying a game and getting less than a PS player. I eventually relented as everyone I knew was playing it - but it does hurt a little when it feels Xbox are basically rewarding the bad behaviour of Sony in recent years, and sometimes makes me miss the Bill Gates years of cut-throat Microsoft where they'd have gone toe-to-toe with Sony and one-upped every single dirty trick they used...
(I do agree btw that Microsoft will likely never quit consoles, but they'll probably move in 2026 to a mid-level one that leverages the cloud to compete according to the leaks, and go for the value proposition probably with Game Pass. They'll probably need to, as if console sales continue to be weak compared to the PS5 and this news doesn't help, then we'll struggle to get even the big third party games on Xbox)
Comments 1,046
Re: Poll: Are You Enjoying Season 2 Of The Halo TV Show?
Loving series 2 so far - they've concentrated much more on the Spartans and the war rather than side plots no one really cares about.
Hoping they keep the pirate / rebel stories to a minimum still and continue to follow Master Chief and his team, the focus has been much better and the action / special effects much improved too
Re: Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden Is Getting Amazing Feedback From Xbox Fans
I'm still in the prologue as work has been busy, but I'm definitely enjoying it - that classic Don't Nod quality narrative with emotional story telling
Re: Reaction: Xbox's Commitment To Console Gaming Is Pleasing, But Big Questions Linger
@Kaloudz To be fair to them, they're covering what was said and the variety of opinions.
Given Phil's Verge interview I agree it's not going to just be those 4 (and the podcast hinted at that too), so it's valid to wish for more certainty and less vagueness.
Saying that though, I think the general atmosphere here, at XboxEra and elsewhere is more calm now - even those worried about the future know we've got at least another generation, and beyond that who knows anyway as streaming etc might be good enough by then.
There's going to be Sony fanboys celebrating the vagueness, but I see it now as them being interested in Xbox games which can only be a good thing - and longer term, I do suspect Phil is right, and as live service games are used as the excuse to go multi-platform even for Sony, more games will suddenly meet the criteria.
I was one of those pretty concerned if there were immediate plans - but they've said they'll pull back if damaging Xbox, and while I'm possibly going to get a PS5 Pro in order to play Spider Man 2 (I think Final Fantasy will come to us soon enough anyway) I'm now thinking I can stick with Xbox next generation knowing there probably will be less exclusives given the profit crunch on AAA games...
Maybe give it a day or two for those still processing their feelings on it, but I do think this site is definitely one of the calmer places normally
Re: Xbox Reminds Fans 'More Than 10 Major Releases' Are On The Way
Or for the 10th one, if they unveil Forza Horizon 6 at the June showcase, Series consoles only with ray-traced Tokyo or something like that, I'd be so happy - it's my favourite series
Re: Xbox Reminds Fans 'More Than 10 Major Releases' Are On The Way
@pip_muzz Maybe a WoW, ESO, SoT or FO76 expansion for number 10?
Re: Tales Of Arise Announced As Xbox Game Pass Title For Next Week
Phew was thinking they'd lost out to PS Plus again like they did with Hot Wheels Unleashed - and we'd have to wait 6 months for it again.
Glad it's coming, will definitely give it a try - think I liked the demo before
Re: Xbox President's Reported Message To Employees: 'Every Screen Is An Xbox'
I guess this fits with the "everywhere Game Pass is" mantra we've heard a lot - but could also now be applied to multi-platform games.
Really hope they're clear tonight - if they are going to port bigger games, not just announce the small ones then say "case by case" before announcing the bigger ones later in the year when they think the furore has settled down.
We bought what they were selling, so I'd hope we'll get the honest answer without too much business-speak - even if it's not what we want to hear...
Re: Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (February 14)
Tales of Arise has been announced for PS Plus - so it's the same issue as Hot Wheels, that they tried to sign with both Game Pass and PS Plus at the same time.
Last time we had to wait 6 months to get Hot Wheels, I'm guessing it'll be August until we get Tales of Arise now too...
I thought Game Pass had more members, how do they keep losing the battle with PS Plus for these games - or is it Sony are smart enough not to accidentally add them into the announcement till it's 100% happening?
Re: Random: Phil Spencer Has Been 'Liking' Tweets About Xbox And Handhelds
I'm not 100% sure if we'd get an actual Xbox handheld - given how much complaining there seems to be about optimising for the Series S, another SKU might not help things.
I read this potentially as the Surface and Xbox teams working on a Steam Deck / ROG Ally rival, with the Windows / Xbox teams improving the UI experience and game optimisation, and the Surface / Xbox teams doing the hardware...
Either way, it could be interesting...
Re: Resident Evil 3 Kicks Off A Busy Few Days For Xbox Game Pass
I'm too much of a coward for horror games but I'm looking forward to Thursday's PlateUp and A Little to the Left
Saying that, if the RE games aren't too difficult I do intend to try a run at them at some point
Re: First Two Xbox Exclusives Coming To 'Rival Consoles' Reportedly Revealed
@BaldBelper78 If the digital X is a Pro-like model I'd happily buy it, as I'd love my Series X to maintain 4K and ray-tracing in more games.
All the ABK court docs though suggested it might have a slightly different internal configuration to reduce costs, but giving an insignificant / non-existent performance difference
Re: First Two Xbox Exclusives Coming To 'Rival Consoles' Reportedly Revealed
So the big question - if Sony release the heavily-rumoured PS5 Pro this holiday season, how does this impact this decision?
Does Xbox optimise for the PS5 Pro and upset us Xbox fans if we don't have an equivalent "Series XX" so have a worse version - or do they not optimise (if they can) and potentially lose customers with Sony fans preferring Pro-optimised games?
Either way, the PS5 Pro might still end up playing the games better - as for example the PS4 Pro had a "Boost Mode" from firmware version 4.5 that automatically clocked the GPU and CPU higher in order to improve game performance...
Re: First Two Xbox Exclusives Coming To 'Rival Consoles' Reportedly Revealed
@Kaloudz No but if Sony release a PS5 Pro (almost certain at this point), and we get a slightly buggy Indiana Jones then 3 months later PlayStation gets it once it's patched up and Pro-optimised, that will be a real kick in the teeth for us Xbox owners.
We'd be beta testers for PlayStation who'd get a version that runs better.
That might be considered far-fetched but at the moment it's a very real possibility, which is why they need to be clear on Thursday
Re: First Two Xbox Exclusives Coming To 'Rival Consoles' Reportedly Revealed
It's clearly not ideal that exclusives go to PlayStation when we won't get anything back in return (don't think people are so worried about Nintendo given they do their own thing).
But the primary thing is they have to be clear - they need to either set the rules out, or even if they obfuscate and say "case by case" they need to give definitive answers on Starfield and Indiana Jones, given these were mentioned in the media reports.
If they say "no plans" or outright deny it, then release them later in the year it'll really kick off again and break any trust in their messaging - just rip the band aid off and tell us the truth
Re: Microsoft Announces Official Date & Time For 'Updates On The Xbox Business'
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/12/24067370/microsoft-xbox-playstation-switch-games-future-hardware
Tom Warren now seems to have spoken to people inside Xbox, confirms it's HiFi Rush, Pentiment and Sea of Thieves, with other games possible.
If it stays as small games / live service only then that's manageable, but if big games such as Starfield or Indiana Jones are ever ported it'll open the Pandora's box to chatter around every game Xbox reveals
Re: Microsoft Announces Official Date & Time For 'Updates On The Xbox Business'
Honestly no idea what to expect - best case scenario HiFi Rush and Sea of Thieves, middle case a few bigger games that haven't sold enough / have licences that need paying like Starfield and Indiana Jones, worst case all games after a set period.
The first I think wouldn't require this long a wait or format, so I'm expecting the middle case, not worst.
But it's going to be awful if they don't give very specific rules as to what gets ported - as every comments section when we're happily discussing a game from a showcase we'll have PlayStation fans trolling whether it's going to come to them or not.
Plus given we're not getting anything back from PlayStation so it's a one way street, which feels a bit of a betrayal of the "contract" when you buy an Xbox - and makes a PlayStation where you can play all their games plus some of ours a better buy...
Re: Tension Builds As Xbox Prepares For Major 'Business Update Event' This Week
https://x.com/xbox/status/1757102346000286155
8pm UK time on Thursday, long wait but at least we know when and who now
Re: Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden
Wish this was Game Pass or had a demo, as I've loved many of Don'tNod games in the past but unsure if the combat bits with sully it.
I do love strong narrative games though and that appears to be still in place.
I suspect I'll probably still buy it like I have all their others...
Re: Rumour: Microsoft Surface Team May Be In Charge Of Building The Next Xbox
@themightyant The AMD custom APU in the Series X is very similar to the G Ryzen chips they do for PC.
Intel also does integrated graphics a lot for PC and laptops, and between both of them and Nvidia they all generally stick to certain standards.
In addition, both in the Xbox and on PC, much of the workload in making them all run together well is handled by Direct X and other Microsoft software (including the OS) - so it would be very unlike the PowerPC / Cell structures when it came to backwards compatibility, and much more like someone upgrading their PC.
That said, yes we could potentially lose FSR optimisations made by AMD and have to hope Nvidia had DLSS available for that game - but according to PC Gamer Microsoft are unveiling their own upscaling / frame generation tech in the next Windows update
Re: Rumour: Microsoft Surface Team May Be In Charge Of Building The Next Xbox
If they went Intel it would allow for an Nvidia GPU you'd imagine (rather than using Intel's GPUs which are still new and not really well-supported by drivers etc.) - which would be ideal allowing for the latest DLSS which is currently far beyond anything AMD can do.
If Nintendo have stayed with Nvidia for the Switch 2 we could see it using DLSS when it's docked to handle the larger image - and it's possible the work carried on by Nvidia for that console could help inform their approach with an Xbox handheld / next gen...
Re: Talking Point: What Did You Think Of The Xbox Kinect?
@Fiendish-Beaver Nope unfortunately I had to stick on my 360 for a bit - I'd left uni after the crash and software dev starting wages weren't great and I had to furnish a new place.
Think I managed to get one of the first without it though - and by then I was happy to as I'd not used my Kinect in ages
Re: Xbox Reportedly Has 'No Plans' To Stop Making Consoles
@Kaloudz Yep I'm just really hoping they don't wait till their usual Wednesday or Thursday slots to do their thing.
The rumours go back and forth so much it's clear that outside of a guaranteed port (HiFi Rush due to the data mine) and 3 others being considered (but potentially not seriously) as I trust the three publications that mentioned them, no one has a clue what's going on.
And beyond those initial leaks last weekend, Xbox is clearly in bunker mode either deciding, fighting or honing the message - and few leaks are likely escaping, if any at all.
So we've no real idea if those games are now in serious contention for porting, if all are, if they've new hardware they might move up, if they've some amazing new plans for example to help third-party ports or a new handheld or whatever.
It's frustrating as if you regularly consume gaming media you see every possible bit of news, but have to look at the source to see if there's any truth - while waiting for the real show to begin
Re: Talking Point: What Did You Think Of The Xbox Kinect?
I loved it as an add-on to my 360, but didn't get it again for my One.
The dance games and sports ones were particularly fun with friends, but I did notice when I got my own place I almost immediately stopped using it - and when friends brought the Wii round the Mario Kart steering wheels and the Rabbids games using the remotes seemed far beyond the Kinect's capabilities.
But of it's time, it was a great accessory and good fun
Re: Xbox Reportedly Has 'No Plans' To Stop Making Consoles
@Banjo- One forum poster who's known to dislike Xbox has changed his mind - that does not change the story.
He was not XboxEra's source and he wasn't the Verge's source, and both are respected publications who claim to have seen evidence that Starfield and Indiana Jones respectively were under consideration.
They didn't say confirmed though, agreed that's the community speculation running wild - not helped by the fact if it was just small games and GaaS you'd have hoped Xbox would have quashed it by now
Re: Xbox Reportedly Has 'No Plans' To Stop Making Consoles
@Kaloudz It's the nature of the unknown, if we're given an indicator of good news we go wild with the possibilities (new showcase being announced for example), if it's got no indicator / a negative one ("business update" doesn't help that!) then the fear sets in.
Just like if your boss says "I want to speak to you this afternoon, it's good news" you dream of promotions and bonuses of silly amounts and are left a little disappointed by reality, but if they say "I want to speak to you this afternoon" your mind goes into overdrive of being fired, in trouble etc.
Re: Xbox Reportedly Has 'No Plans' To Stop Making Consoles
@Banjo- 2022 - the only first party new game all year was Pentiment (and I say that as someone who loved that game).
What I mean is that "winners" while customers might have expectations, have a level of trust from that - while those who aren't doing so well are unfortunately held to a higher standard as the people who've invested in their ecosystem hope they've got a plan, for example to improve third-party support which is always worst for the last-place console.
Re: Xbox Reportedly Has 'No Plans' To Stop Making Consoles
@Banjo- There's a big difference - Nintendo and Sony can afford to ignore rumours as they're by far the market leaders and are known for ruthlessly promoting their systems and ensuring success.
Xbox ever since the One launch steps on rake after rake, often soon after doing something that seems to be moving the needle - Bethesda acquisition for example then having a whole year with no big games, or buying ABK then spending so long being meek due to the competition investigations that there's barely any marketing to compete with the wall-to-wall Sony ads...
(You can tell the never-ending PlayStation adverts on TV, YouTube, gaming media and even my smart TV for the last few years are starting to grate lol - by comparison I've seen so few Xbox ones)
Re: Xbox Supposedly 'Very Surprised' At The Extent Of The Latest Rumours
If it's just the smaller games and SoT, I don't get why it couldn't be a simple blog post already:
That would cover SoT, HiFi Rush and Hellblade 2 if they wanted it to. And if they did want Starfield or Indiana Jones to go wider too, they could add:
It doesn't need a "business update" (even though the latter section will still cause some consternation) and you could keep it vague enough to not ruin Nintendo's Direct - it'd be much better than letting rumours run riot with no shutting them down...
Re: Xbox Supposedly 'Very Surprised' At The Extent Of The Latest Rumours
@awp69 XboxEra who reported Starfield have said Nate was not their source (he just seems to be claiming he was the first to say it), and their reporter saw actual evidence it was being considered.
They do make clear though that it wasn't decided for definite, and they just said being considered
Re: Ubisoft CEO Questioned About Xbox Potentially 'Going Multi-Platform'
@AlwaysPlaying In the FTC trial it was revealed that Microsoft after taking over Bethesda had renegotiated the contract to make Indiana Jones an exclusive.
So if it did go to PlayStation, it's not because Disney required it - it'll be for the same reason as Starfield, that MS want the money
Re: Ubisoft CEO Questioned About Xbox Potentially 'Going Multi-Platform'
@Grumblevolcano Completely agree with your analysis - if the plan was already locked down, it wouldn't take this long to come up with what to say.
So they're either fighting hard (in which case while I can't stand much of the social media / streamer / YouTuber "influencers", I'm happy for them to kick up a fuss this time to help the "gamers" in Xbox) or they're tied by the Nintendo Direct.
Although if it's the latter it feels a bit nuts that you've got to let your billion-dollar brand get hammered across gaming media and social media, all because of a contract with another company that's probably only worth at most a million or so - you'd think they could go to Nintendo and say "can we talk about it but not give specifics on when the games are coming?" or something like that...
Re: Ubisoft CEO Questioned About Xbox Potentially 'Going Multi-Platform'
@GamingFan4Lyf Us on here might be speculating but to use your analogy, we didn't start the fire (great that song is stuck in my head for the rest of the day now ).
It's more all the influencers, YouTubers, streamers, social media gaming "specialists" and the gaming media that have speculated wildly, with it going to crazy stuff like no more consoles at all or Game Pass losing Day 1 - and finding the tiniest snippets of "evidence" like some word changes on the Xbox website, and it goes viral.
Xbox of all companies after the backlash that followed the Xbox One launch should know it's better to kill these stories fast rather than let a firestorm take off - it's PR 101, otherwise you lose control of the situation and your brand gets damaged.
For me it's just a facepalm moment - Xbox had built up a lot of goodwill, had a great showing at the Developer Direct and we were all looking forward to 3E - but then it's like they're Sideshow Bob in a field of rakes sometimes (Gold price hike attempt, 2022 year with zero releases, Redfall, banning BG3 users for auto-uploads) and you just despair a little...
Re: Ubisoft CEO Questioned About Xbox Potentially 'Going Multi-Platform'
I really wish they'd just tell us what the plan is, or at least what day they're going to tell us on!
It's getting into mainstream news now:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/games/2024/feb/07/pushing-buttons-xbox-future-phil-spencer
And the articles are not exactly complementary about Xbox and its place in the console space - given these are much more widely read than gaming media this is really hurting the brand well beyond the usual crowds
Re: Xbox Game Pass Locks In Another Three New Releases For This Year
Botany Manor does look like the kind of chill-out game I like (being a fan of Powerwash Simulator, House Flipper etc.) so will give that a go
Re: God Of War Creator Suggests New Exclusive Strategy Could Be 'Desirable' For Xbox
What he forgets with cloud, is why at the moment would you go with Xbox's cloud offering in a decade's time over PlayStation's, if PS has the Xbox games and more?
Unless the porting is strictly console-only and they're biding their time for cloud - but then it'd still be a risk as those who are in the PS ecosystem from the PS5/PS6 would still likely stick with PS cloud over Xbox...
Re: Xbox Legend 'Major Nelson' Shares His Curiosity About This Week's Rumours
If it's being delivered by the higher-ups, then Phil is already out the door.
I'm 99% certain that it'll be delivered by Phil, I've seen the rumours and they're basically just people thinking because it's a "business update" it'll be by Microsoft.
In reality, in MS big news is often delivered by the relevant VP - with maybe Satya dropping in / having a video at the end to give a reassuring presence.
Re: The FTC Is Concerned About Xbox's Recent Batch Of Employee Layoffs
@Sakai Agreed it's incredibly unlikely, it's just the basis of the FTC's complaint - that MS is proceeding as if it's done and dusted, while there's still some legal proceedings to go through that require ABK to still be able to function alone if it was unwound.
In reality, if Xbox announce Starfield and other big games going to PlayStation next week, the FTC should abandon these proceedings and save the taxpayer's money, as clearly that would remove the last argument they had against it (that it would reduce games available on PlayStation).
Re: The FTC Is Concerned About Xbox's Recent Batch Of Employee Layoffs
@somnambulance It could be ordered to be unwound, which is why they're complaining about the job losses - as it might impact ABK's ability to be a separate company if they had to split again.
I'm sure Microsoft's lawyers will have foreseen this move by the FTC though, and if there is a move to put more games on PlayStation then the FTC really won't have a leg to stand on in any appeal...
Re: Toys For Bob Office Closing, But There's Apparently No Need To Worry
@themightyant There's definitely job losses in those two studios, the numbers are even given in the article.
They're part of the 1900 laid off, and we know the numbers as California requires a public notice 60 days in advance, and that's where the two studios are based
Re: Toys For Bob Office Closing, But There's Apparently No Need To Worry
Sad news for those losing their jobs, some relief the developers aren't being closed down.
Really hoping Toys for Bob can make a new Spyro or Banjo game.
The fact insiders were able to get confirmation of this pretty easily though does put into question why Xbox can't do something similar with the biggest story of the week - either a short tweet or via insiders say "we're in hardware for the long term, we'll still have lots of exclusives, Game Pass will continue to be great value with Day 1 games and we're looking forward to giving you our full strategy next week".
Doesn't even need the bit about Game Pass really - but it would curb the craziest rumours going around and dampen down the rampant speculation ahead of next week.
At this rate, nothing they announce could be worse than the rumours...
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Expect To See From Microsoft's Update On The Future Of Xbox?
IGN reporting Toys for Bob and Sledgehammer Games heavily impacted by the layoffs, and they suggested TfB likely to close (which insiders have confirmed is incorrect - the physical office may close and the numbers are correct but the studios are mostly remote anyway).
All these terrible headlines, but in this case Xbox was able to slip out via insiders some reassuring updates.
Surely in the same way, the least Xbox could do would be to say "we're committed to hardware long term, Xbox will still have a lot of exclusives, we'll give you more detail next week" rather than this radio silence?
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Expect To See From Microsoft's Update On The Future Of Xbox?
I don't think Xbox will quit hardware anytime soon, so I'm not thinking this is as bad as feared there.
But it's also going to be worse than the optimists are thinking - if it's just a few small and live service games that's a press release, not a "business update", and if it was all great news they'd have done something to kill the media firestorm.
Even adding in Starfield and Indiana Jones, they don't need a week to pull it together - they can just do a short statement or video saying some Bethesda and ABK games will still be multiplat.
So either it is SF and IJ and they're trying to turn it into a positive with ABK GP drops and the new Series X / controller etc - or it's those games plus all new ones / a decent number.
I think it's the latter plus putting together some positive stuff - as again if it was just a few games you'd kill this story by now.
I'm hoping they'll have something to soften the blow, and if they do start to release more on other systems (undermining the console's attraction compared to PS5) that by some miracle Sony offers something back in time
Re: Tales Of Arise Mysteriously Disappears From February's Xbox Game Pass Lineup
Hot Wheels Unleashed had this happen - it went to PS Plus first about the same time (so seems maybe there was a clashing contract?) and then came to Game Pass about 6 months after it had been announced to
Re: 'Xbox No Longer Making Consoles' Begins Trending As Panic Continues
This is the problem with waiting so long to give answers - the story drips into mainstream consciousness, people Google this and see the current firestorm.
They likely won't Google again next week when the answer is finally given.
Many of us may be worried about games going multi-platform (even on a "case by case" basis) reducing the reasons to buy Xbox (so smaller footprint = less third parties waste time porting to it) - but at the moment, this disastrous PR is doing that well enough by itself
Re: Halo TV Showrunner Describes Season 2 As 'Grittier, More Grounded, More Visceral Ride'
It sounds much more what we want - particularly if going from the trailers it's dealing with the fall of Reach and other big moments, then the "fog of war" approach makes sense
Re: Xbox Indie Developer Shares His Concerns Following This Week's Rumours
We're going to get commentary like this from all over the games business - they have opinions in the same way we do.
But yeah it's not great mood music - I thought maybe they had to wait until the Nintendo Direct to drop HiFi Rush (although don't know if there's actually going to be one) or they're still hammering out the detail.
Can they please just hurry up though - we've got potentially another 6 days of this, and we've gone from legitimate sources suggesting Starfield, Indiana Jones, HFR and SoT (the first two being the issue) to rumours all over the place about Game Pass, all Xbox games, Gears, Halo etc.
They're clearly making some moves, and they're not going to be popular, but compared to the rumours now almost anything is probably better so I wish they'd just get it over with before we get a mad week of obituaries for Xbox
Re: These Eight Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (February 6-20)
A Little to the Left, Tales of Arise and Return to Grace will all likely get a look
Re: Rumour: These Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (February 2024)
@Kaloudz Would probably distract me for a bit from the news - "oooooo shiny CoD campaigns to go play" - so got to think it'd be a good idea lol
Re: Phil Spencer Addresses Xbox Speculation Ahead Of 'Business Update Event'
@Banjo- I do believe they'll stay in consoles - the mid-range thing isn't a baseless rumour, we saw it as a potential design in the slides that leaked from the ABK trial, it appears MS are looking at using the Azure cloud to do some of the processing to perhaps allow the console to be less powerful than you'd expect.
Given Flight Sim does something similar, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that it does a good enough job to offer unique experiences and come close to the PS6 in terms of graphics quality - but by leveraging the cloud it could potentially cost a lot less to make.
It does make sense to me, and yes they might still do a high-end / X version but I think they've identified that this generation being more powerful than the PS5 hasn't really helped them while if they'd been able to be similarly-powered but much cheaper it might have.
With regards to them being cut-throat, I'm not sure they can be - they had to sign so many agreements during the ABK ordeal, and they can't be too evil now without regulators getting antsy that they were lied to, and it doesn't really fit with their corporate image now.
I imagine we'll still see some studio pick-ups once the time is right again (Asobo for Flight Sim has always seemed a natural choice) but I don't think they'll want to go near a publisher again until they've proven they can make ABK work (just in case your response was in part to mine to AverageGamer's thoughts on acquisitions)
Re: Phil Spencer Addresses Xbox Speculation Ahead Of 'Business Update Event'
@Banjo- Yeah it's been doing my head in as I did really enjoy my time with Halo Infinite, probably the best gunplay in it since my Halo 3 glory days at uni.
But given how long it had been in development for, and how clearly they had DLC planned for it that never materialised due to the reception / development issues, it was a bit of a let down when they could have had new story DLC releasing to coincide with the TV series if that had managed to have an impact like Last of Us (and I say that as someone who preferred the Halo TV series, although hope they'll drop a few storylines for the new season).
Multiplayer felt really good and has gone from strength to strength, but I'm a bit too old for it nowadays and it's not got a story to it so wouldn't have the same draw for fans of the TV series.
But yes even it felt like a "release and fix / add stuff later", just like Forza Motorsport, Redfall, even Starfield - and while Xbox exclusives always get reviewed more harshly I can't say they've been unfair on those.
Starfield I've put 80 hours into and had some enjoyable moments (the UC storyline about the terrormorphs in particular) - but there's too much frustration with constant loading screens whenever you go into a building (or new part of a building), lack of variety in random encounters after a while, and it's just too damn shallow.
It's wide as a universe, but as deep as a puddle - it's not remotely immersive enough, and too often the companions don't react to things they should (you told me this is your home planet, I'd expect some reaction when we land here!) and you're often too limited (no I don't want to blow up the ECS Constant, or pay for a grav drive myself or force them into slavery - I want to murder the guy who just suggested I wipe out thousands of people!).
For me, Hogwarts Legacy was easily my game of the year, a true open world with no loading screens (except for the odd whirl on the screen when your broom is at full upgraded speed), a rich, deep world and a full array of spells and other things to do - if they're able to do another next generation with even more depth to the characters around you (maybe even shudder by using AI) then it might actually be my perfect game...
And it's one I initially refused to get after the PlayStation exclusive junk - as I hated buying a game and getting less than a PS player. I eventually relented as everyone I knew was playing it - but it does hurt a little when it feels Xbox are basically rewarding the bad behaviour of Sony in recent years, and sometimes makes me miss the Bill Gates years of cut-throat Microsoft where they'd have gone toe-to-toe with Sony and one-upped every single dirty trick they used...
(I do agree btw that Microsoft will likely never quit consoles, but they'll probably move in 2026 to a mid-level one that leverages the cloud to compete according to the leaks, and go for the value proposition probably with Game Pass. They'll probably need to, as if console sales continue to be weak compared to the PS5 and this news doesn't help, then we'll struggle to get even the big third party games on Xbox)