Widey85

@Zoidpilot4 Lol was a B for me as I've kept expectations super low this "E3" as I was a bit let down last year.

So for me, Xbox was an A, this was a B, others have been Bs or Cs for the most part - some of the indie ones have been pretty cool

B - decent gameplay showings, but too much filler and a little awkward, plus some really weird bits.

But given it's just one publisher, pretty good!

@Rmg0731 Don't think you understand what in-engine means.

It's not a CGI trailer like some of the GaaS stuff we've seen recently, it was a cutscene or staged scene from within the game's engine running on a Series X

Yep really liked the look of this, having just watched The Rig on Prime Video it's a similarly spooky vibe.

Loved Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, so I'm very glad we'll be getting this on Xbox

@KezelPaso Lighting engineer from Playground confirms this was captured on a Series X:

https://twitter.com/LukasKoelz/status/1668006331075133441

@Banjo- Yep it really helps the sense of community and the excitement as we try and figure out which game it is and when it's coming etc.

I've done it the last few showcases now, really enjoy it and will probably do so again for tomorrow night's extended play

I did the Game Pass upgrade to Premium for FH5, think I may be tempted to do it for this although depends what the expansion is like.

FH5 it gave access to the two big DLCs, so was worth it.

Guess maybe save my Reward points till then...

What surprised me in addition to the variety was how many I thought "yeah I'd give that a go" and possibly even really like it.

I guess it's the beauty of Game Pass - for every Avowed, Fable or City Skylines 2 I know I'll love, there's a Jusant that I think "no money lost in giving it a try, looks interesting"

@UndyingInsurgent95 Yep agreed, really looking forward to Greedfall 2 - wonder if they can undo the ending so I feel better about it lol

Keeping expectations very low given the quiet year we had in 2022, not believing the Fable tease etc (or expecting that'll be a year or more away still) and just looking forward to Starfield and Forza.

However, I really think Xbox have to knock it out of the park given it's always "next year will be better" - so I'm really hoping I'll be giving it a good grade

Hate Souls-like games and I despise the trend going in that direction, but I may give it a go if there's accessibility options.

SteelRising I'm playing because I like Spiders, but it's not a patch on Greedfall (their last game, which I loved), and I'm only able to get through it due to accessibility options...

@themightyant Yeah I actually enjoyed last year's show, and they've not done badly this year - it's more that not much at all came in the last 6 months of 2022 so it felt a bit light.

I think they really have to knock it out of the ballpark this time, as there's been WAY too many years we've gone "OK next year will be the year", but I'm keeping my own expectations low and will be happy to see anything more than Forza and Starfield as they're on my wishlist for this year (with Avowed and Fable on my longer wait list)

@FraserG Thanks, so roughly half didn't make the 12 months - can see why they're not sticking to that again!

I'll be happy with Forza and Starfield, anything else is a bonus - low expectations I think are the key to happiness as an Xbox gamer for now lol

For reference, how many were shown? Was it the full 50 in the other article (in which case 14 isn't bad) or much less?

Stalker definitely has a reason, the others probably shouldn't have been included if the "next 12 months" wasn't guaranteed - but at least they're dropping that promise for this show.

I'm ignoring all hype and suggestions, going in with low expectations in the hope I'll be pleasantly surprised

@themightyant Cheers lol

I'm on 250mbps internet, and Xbox downloads once they get going nearly always top out near that, so I'm generally happy

@themightyant It has DLC?! How did I not know this!

Looking at the season pass now - thinking I might wait and see if it's leaving this month, as I might have to buy the base game too...

Already bought Road 96 but if it happens to leave I'll need to buy Powerwash Simulator as I play it too much.

Escape Academy is an awesome little game too, and doesn't take too long - and is one of the few mystery games ever to come close to the fun of an escape room with friends (as it's co-op as well as single player, and the clues are actually decent)

Loved this game, it's very chilled out gameplay but has quite a hard-hitting story that you have a decent amount of control over

I'll be watching it live, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers and hype.

FH5 was ruined for me by the reports of it ahead of the showcase, while HiFi Rush while I'd seen a rumour it seemed miles out so the shadow drop was a big surprise.

I can't avoid all spoilers I suspect as I do keep an eye on games media, but I'm taking everything with a pinch of salt (for example that stuff about Fable) and I'll be happily surprised if we get anything more than what we know is coming (Forza Motorsport and Starfield).

While Hellblade 2 might appear I'm not a huge fan, but I'll consider it amazing if I see either a new interesting game or Avowed / Fable / Indiana Jones game - keeping expectations low so I can just enjoy it

Positive news and positive comments, then hark! Here comes the Sony trolls...

I'm weirdly interested in Railway Empire 2 as I always love management / simulator games - but will likely give both of the others a go too...

Not sure anyone really wanted a Gollum game? Or was it just me?

And I think after the success of Hogwarts Legacy, where a licenced game really did provide the "feel" of living in its world, others will need to step up - usually it's only been the superhero ones actually delivering...

@trev666 For once it comes across less as true congratulations and more as shade given their petulant behaviour over ABK...

"Evil" Phil is definitely something I can get behind!

I liked 15 but what I've seen so far of 16 I'm not that fussed - this obsession with God of War or Souls like combat does my head in, and it appears exploration will be on the smaller scale like FF7R which I found dull.

Might try the demo on PC if it's actually optimised for once, but otherwise it'd have to be on my XSX for me to even try it

I was mad on Inspector Gadget as a kid, always wished I had his gadgets (and his niece's wristwatch, which was awesome) - was more into it than the Ninja Turtles.

So given that and to support their decision, as long as it's reasonably priced I'll get it

Might give Supraland a go

If it leaves Game Pass I'll be buying it if I haven't already (getting old, often go to buy something and find I already have!) as it's one of my favourite games.

Something about getting stuff all shiny and clean, with that satisfying ding when clean something fully...

Think end of 2025 at the earliest would be the time I'd even consider one - at this point, I think a late refresh this gen to extend the time before next generation maybe...

The Switch and ToTK and Hogwarts Legacy running on Xbox One shows we're nowhere near the best being got out of the current hardware.

I'm guessing they're not coming for a few years anyway - as surely Take Two would have the dev kits and Zelnick would be under NDA so not able to say such thing, so it sounds like they don't have any yet or any on their way to them...

@Kaloudz Yep lol, there's definitely hints in everything they all say

@Kaloudz Yeah I suspect one MP wasn't impressed with their answers or their investigation and conclusion, so did push them quite hard.

And yes they literally stuck to the script - with Satya not ruling out carving out the UK today in a US interview (Tom Warren again has highlighted it on Twitter), I really hope the CMA are overruled as otherwise it's likely us in the UK that lose out...

@Banjo- Yep or just continuing the appeal if it's not completed by then (or if CAT is against, continuing the appeal on to the Court of Appeals) is enough to extend the agreement, as the shareholders will be thinking of the sweet payday more than a small payout like $3bn between them all

I'll probably play a few games to remind me of my World Cup 98 heyday on PS1 (Chumbawumba menu music for the win - young me was shocked swearing was allowed!) when I used to play it almost non-stop till I got Championship Manager on PC (then AoE2) and GTA3 on PS2.

Only MGS was capable of tearing me away from it.

But now after a few games I start to get bored, miss playing Pro Evo against uni housemates (before we got into Halo 3) and uninstall...

Anyway nostalgia trip over lol

@Banjo- If the agreement is extended pending approval or restructure then the payment wouldn't be due, but yes if it continued to be blocked without a workaround it would cost Microsoft enough that they're willing to fight it all the way.

I agree I'd hope for some resolution before August though as this can't drag on for ages as it sucks up all the energy from Xbox that should be on producing games and competing.

As for cloud, same here - I use my XSX and PC, only use XCloud for Reward stuff lol

@Blessed_Koz Yes I've read the details that are available.

The agreement is for free licencing for any BYOG provider (such as GeForce Now currently), while the terms for any sells-you-the-game provider (like Stadia was) or subscription provider (such as Luna or XCloud itself) aren't clear but are suggested to be fair market pricing but the process of licencing itself will be free (so no additional processing charge for example).

It's not in Microsoft's interests to make the fee sky high, as not only would they lose sales it would very much break the spirit of the agreement with the EU - and unlike other jurisdictions they've got few qualms in enforcing their rules, so could levy huge fines or even force the unwinding of the ABK takeover.

@Banjo- Extending the deal isn't a big issue - the shareholders gain a lot more from the takeover than $3bn.

So if it needs to go past July, it's very likely an amended agreement will be made - it'll still contain the $3bn penalty anyway so the shareholders can't really lose either way.

@Kaloudz I wouldn't bother watching it to be honest - it's only on the Gov.tv website, not even the BBC etc. and they've covered Activision and now mostly on to the supermarkets stuff:

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/625b836d-971f-47ee-b4b5-e537eca5d70f

They claimed confidentiality when asked about her contact with the FTC chair and if there was collusion, which seems a bit weird, and otherwise have just kept talking about independent panels and competition - also saying their approach to nascent markets is to block (which is the opposite approach of what legislation says as far as I know, which is about theory of harm which would be unknown at that point).

FOSS Patents is watching live and commenting on it (which is pretty caustic to be honest - I think most hearings like this are pretty uneventful anyway):

https://twitter.com/FOSSpatents/status/1658411152487993345

Also interesting one from Tom Warren, pointing out in an FT article the EU say the CMA is incorrect in its calculation of the cloud market (which fits with what FOSS Patents has been saying and with the CMA screwing up the CoD harm maths earlier that they had to correct):

https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1658408320057630721

@Kaloudz Hopefully - as mentioned in my post just before yours, it appears to be more US-based merger specialists who think workarounds are achievable, while the UK specialist is more pessimistic.

But then the UK one thinks the chance on appeal is high, so swings and roundabouts I guess!

@S1ayeR74 I can't find it now but both FOSS Patents (Florian Mueller) and a Bloomberg journalist on TV had previously said it based on their readings of the merger document, particularly points 6.2 and 7.1:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/718877/000110465922005154/tm223212d3_ex2-1.htm

Given they mentioned the July deadline and $3bn payment by Microsoft to ABK shareholders if the deal doesn't proceed which have been reported elsewhere, I imagine their read is correct - but they did make clear it's almost trivial to extend the deadline and amend such requirements for example to allow a carve out.

However carve outs are where they differ - FOSS Patents seems to think few are possible that would work (and instead thinks the decision easily clears the irrationality bar to appeal the CMA) while Bloomberg have reported on a few commentators who think workarounds are possible...

@Kaloudz Structural approaches to avoid the CMA - such as creating a UK subsidiary with no cloud gaming - or more retail based ones such as not putting ABK games on cloud in the UK.

Basically a carve out is a merger version of a workaround

@Kaloudz Yep I deal with lawyers often and he's easier to understand than many lol

@Kaloudz Some merger commentators who've mentioned carve outs (which I think would be a last resort) say definitely it could be amended to just say FTC and EU.

And many of them are experts so I trust them on that part - not quite so sure which carve outs in corporate structure / withholding some content would get round the CMA though

@NEStalgia Can't tell if you mean us sending all our convicts to Australia (who now ironically enough are much of the "old money" families lol) or the fact too many gamers move to NZ for new games lol.

I think I'd pick a region with the lowest prices and the most Game Pass games...

Might have to start researching!

@S1ayeR74 Written into the terms of the merger is that all 3 major regulators (FTC, EU and CMA) had to approve.

But given that merger agreement will need to be reworked slightly as it's got an expiry of July (and would leave shareholders unhappy despite a $3bn payment by MS if it doesn't go ahead), I wouldn't be surprised to see that amended given the CMA's intransigence.

I do hope if the UK gets left out of cloud or ABK deals due to the deal being restructured to avoid the CMA's concerns that MS allow us to all change our Xbox region and give us a VPN if needed

Overall though I suspect we'll have an idea of how this is going with both the CMA appeal and the FTC court case before the deal is set to expire

@Kaloudz Lol OK, although if it's all supermarket related I'll have to take the fall for underestimating the CMA - releasing information on the price gouging investigation the night before the committee hearing is clever.

FOSS, Florian Mueller, has been around a while as a patent lawyer from what I can tell, who's often advised on big cases and seems to know a few judges and MPs.

Obviously it's impossible to tell completely online, but while he's not a specialist in mergers by his own admission - and has gone a little insane over the ABK merger I think - he's definitely used to tribunals, regulators and legal documents so his insight is valuable.

In addition he apparently knows one of the judges who will be on the three-person CAT panel, who he holds in high regard with good technical ability so it may be a positive for Microsoft...

@Kaloudz Lol it's from 10.30am in front of the Business and Trade Committee - much of it may be dull procedural stuff on how the CMA works, what it understands its role and limits to be etc.

Unfortunately whether the supermarkets may be price fixing has just been announced as an investigation by the CMA so given it's linked to the cost of living and so is popular, it may take up all the breathing room.

It may be very clever of the CMA to announce that this evening...

Either way I'd expect at least a question or two on ABK but I doubt much new information or any admittance of error will be made, so could always record it and look at any highlights FOSS Patents highlights lol

@Wheatly Agreed, a civilised discussion and now to a relaxing evening of gaming

Have a good one

@Kaloudz Thankfully it'll be a committee as far as I'm aware, which are normally meeting rooms and much more quiet, where a question must be heard or the audience will be thrown out or participants found in contempt.

They're similar to hearings in the US Senate and House but a bit more grown up usually

@Wheatly I agree, me calling them lazy is more my own conjecture and not really fair.

But if their point turns out to be they can't be expected to enforce such a remedy as the EU's one because of their size or funding, then it'll seriously annoy the government who will likely reform them or force co-operation with the EU regulator as it highlights the UK alone is weaker.

With regards to the CAT, I'm more on about the fact that judges still have wide scope so can choose to not ignore a remedy that is so obviously relevant to the case - particularly if MS reveal such a remedy was offered to the CMA.

If it wasn't, and the judges choose not to accept it, then I suspect it'll instead come up at the next stage (Court of Appeal) which has no such limited room for review.

Anyway yes I agree let's see how this plays out - FOSS Patents is a specialist in this area and he reckons the irrationality boundary is easily met (although I admit he has lost his mind a little over this deal!) so it'll be an interesting one to watch regardless

My only hope is it's months at a maximum as Xbox can't afford years wasted on this...

@Kaloudz No problem lol, enjoy - I've no meetings tomorrow so can keep it on in the background.

My only fear is if any of the MPs have actually spoken to Microsoft or any non-Sony-supporting experts - as if they're just getting their soundbites from their children many of those will be Sony or Nintendo fans who probably dislike Xbox anyway...