eduscxbox

@NEStalgia They kinda did with surface duo.

And by all means, Android is open source, so Microsoft can modify it at will. And if they expand the store more to have apps too they can get rid of google entirely and have a 100% Microsoft-custom Android device.

Since it would be android it wouldn't be difficult for Microsoft to get developers onboard.

@NEStalgia Don't know if Microsoft will do that, but there is a fairly easy way to make people go there: Exclusive titles.

A new mobile Call of Duty game - only on Microsoft Store.
Problem solved.

But what I think is that this is only the first step. The next step will be Microsoft own Android Phone (not Surface Duo, a regular consumer-oriented Phone) and the phone will have that store and will be integrated with Xbox.

Wow, I'm shocked! Satya Nadella is destroying another Microsoft consumer-oriented business.

That's his favorite hobby since he became CEO.

First Windows Phone and Now Xbox.

Microsoft should immediately kick Nadella off of Microsoft Gaming, he's disastrous.

Nadella runs business.
Phil runs gaming.

Are they stupid?

They just did that, got criticism from the community and ended up closing the studio anyway. So why bother releasing games on PlayStation?

Just end Xbox division and become like Sega if they're so eager to become a multiplatform publisher.

Is hard to keep being positive towards Xbox when they're keep bringing negative news.

I usually don't believe in rumors, but recently rumors have been more trustworthy than Phil Spencer's words.

@Markatron84 That's what happen when you just read the title:

Let's see what he says after that:
"Fortunately in this one, we've got it running great. It's often running way above that. Sometimes it's 60. But on the consoles, we do lock it because we prefer the consistency, where you're not even thinking about it"

That clearly says Xbox Series X managed to run at 60fps from the get go, but it wasn't stable, so they prefer the consistency. But sure, keep reading the title and not the article.

By the way, the Xbox community seems to be really unique. The only community on the planet who complains and criticize a company for releasing a 60fps patch.

Way to go!

@shoeses Funny because they never said that, that's all on you. Todd Howard said november last year that Starfield could run at 60fps on Series X, but wasn't stable, so they decided to stick to 30fps instead.

Now, of course, they managed to optimize it further and of course, FSR3 is available on consoles with has a feature that double framerate.

But sure, let's keep going like game development is easy and Bethesda just lied for the sake of it.

One update I would love for achievements is to separate DLC achievements from the main game.

I have 100%ed Cyberpunk 2077 and Indivisible and both show less than 100% because update included more achievments.

I like the way PS does with trophies where they show main game and dlc achievments separated.

It depends on the game. Fast-paced games performance.

Games with more graphics/environmental focus or slow-paced games I play on quality.

But anyway if a game don't offer 60fps performance it doesn't bother me too much. I prefer play in 60 or better but it won't stop me from playing.

Finished both Cyberpunk 2077 (Series S) and Redfall (Series X) on 30fps modes at launch time.

Xbox community is the worst community between major 3.

it is amazing how when good news come out people just look and go away. But at the first thing midly negative the whole community shows up.

Despite the fact Microsoft have already confirmed there will be another Xbox after Series X people still talking about they killing the console.

I'm growing more tired each day of this community.

And Microsoft is partnering with IGN again. They don't learn.

That's great news!

@BBB I don't think gameplay was old years ago and this remains true today. Hellblade just don't go the spam any button action gameplay route and instead the movements are more precise and intentional.

It is not graphics only, gameplay is pretty solid.

11/10
can't wait for season 3!

I hope they don't do a mid-gen and invest in a handheld Xbox (not cloud based) instead.

We don't need a new console, current games don't even use all the power the current ones have, just look at lots of third-party still releasing on Xbox One and PS4.

There is no need for a 'Pro' console in any side. Not Sony, and definitely not Xbox.

Also, the industry is laying off a bunch of people because game development costs went up, and what they do? Create a more powerful console that will require even more resources to develop to? It is stupid.

Invest in handheld. It is working. Worked for Nintendo, is working for Steam, is working with Rog Ally, just do a Xbox handheld as powerful as the Series S and watch sales soar.

More story content and more sidequests from the factions.
Gameplay and systems are great. 150 hours so far.
Maybe add some vehicles and intelligent alien species.

@NintendoByNature Playing games on Game Pass and then buying on other platform is the strategy Microsoft is going with that, so I guess that's fine.

@supercalifragilistic it could, but the way they're doing? No way it will.

They're hiding Xbox name and logo as much as they can.

How can they raise awareness if they don't show themselves?

@supercalifragilistic "how can a game on rival platforms increase interest in the xbox console"

In Japan, for example, Xbox brand is not as known as it is in western countries.

But Microsoft could use PlayStation and Switch player base to bring awareness to the Xbox brand, it works.

But for that to work you have to make sure to show the damn name and logo for people to see.

Yes, It needs a huge Xbox Game Studios text everywhere.

Game description:

"The Xbox Game Studios adventure experience is now on PlayStation..."

Published by: "Xbox Game Studios"

Game start... "Xbox Game Studios Presents"

That is how you raise awareness of your brand inside other platforms.

@supercalifragilistic "It is just advertising"

It is not. On the recent Business Update podcast, Phil Spencer said that the idea of putting these four games on other platforms was to make people more interested on Xbox.

Now tell me, how they're planning to achieve that by using 'Microsoft Corporation' instead of 'Xbox Game Studios' on PS Store, and hidding the Xbox phisical game cover in the marketing material?

I would call it a nitpick if it was an isolated event, but it is not.

Microsoft giving away exclusive games to Sony, while PlayStation is locking away games like Stellar Blade and Final Fantasy from US.

Not releasing a physical copy at all (despite lots of Xbox consumers asking for), but releasing as soon as team blue gets the game.

In some places, Microsoft marketing is void. In any clothing store I go where I live there is official PlayStation branded shirts everywhere, but no a single Xbox product.

PS shirts, notebooks, mugs, you name it. Xbox? Nothing, unless you want to import it from Xbox Gear Store.

We have the media, making fun of Xbox all those years, and other companies prioritizing PS on marketing, and now, a first-party Xbox owned studio also decided to prioritize PlayStation on its marketing?

This is not a nitpick, this is the last straw.

Xbox has always been treated as the 2nd class citizens by lots of third-party, specially japanese ones until recently, and now Xbox fans are going to be treated this way by first-party too?

That's not good at all.

The problem is not brand loyalty, it is not respecting your primary consumer, the one that invested money on your platform, just like they did with Windows Phone when released new, apps on iOS and not on WP.

It is sony we are talking about.
It won't be on Xbox.

I think we'll see something on the lines of activision blizzard titles (Call of duty, Crash) and smaller bethesda titles (Hi-Fi Rush) becoming multiplatform, but core Xbox franchises (Halo, Gears, Forza, Avowed) and bigger bethesda games (Starfield, Redfall) will remain exclusive.

I think some multiplayer games might go multiplatform as well, such as sea of thieves or even Halo Infinite (Multiplayer only, campaing remains exclusive).

I also think (or rather hope) Microsoft might have a deal with sony or nintendo and maybe they're not the only one going third party.

Besides what has been confirmed for the Xbox Direct, I want to see more of Contraband, Perfect Dark and Towerborne this year.

Also, would be nice having next Gears of War and maybe a Halo Infinite campaign expansion or the next Halo.

1) Starfield
2) Hi-Fi Rush
3) Redfall

I'll play it regardless. Love this series.

@somnambulance Have played at launch too, it had some issues (specially the server disconnections), but apart from that I had a good experience.

I liked the story and visual style of the game, ambience was a plus.

I've finished the campaing with aroubd 40h, I have the intention to get back to it for another play with a different character.

Forspoken so far I have only played the demo and I liked it. It's on my wishlist.

@somnambulance Redfall is not even close to be as bad as people said it was.

Most of Redfall critics are, not surprisingly, people who haven't played Redfall.

Redfall was easily a 7.5 game. Good gameplay loop, fun missions and great ambience.

A for me.

Hi-Fi Rush, Starfield, Redfall and Forza Motorsport.
All games I loved to play this year.

I'm with 103 hours so far and have no intention to stop yet. Finished the game and I'm doing now all side quests and activities because I want all achievements.

After that I'll start the new game plus.

@Ocat I don't think I would buy a PS5 Pro for that reason. A mid-gen upgrade feels unnecessary to me, and I would rather they invest into making a next-generation hardware.

A console that can runs GTA VI at 4K60 vs 4K30 of the regular is a huge leap, and in the same gen this can be a problem.

Xbox One X had the same processor than Xbox One, but with a better GPU.

Series S has the same CPU power than Series X, but with less ram and a more simple GPU, so its manageable, and Series X doesn't suffer because of the S.

But if a new Xbox pro, let's say, upgraded to a Zen3 Architecture processor and a GPU way more powerful, the distance between the Pro and the Regular consoles would be difficult for devs to handle.

That means it would be either too expensive (and/or time consuming) for devs to upgrade games to the Pro version, or new games that use all power of the Pro machines would run poorly on regular models or have a massive downgrade to run properly.

If it is going to be a massive upgrade it is better to just release a new gen.

My picks:

• Starfield
• Hi-Fi Rush
• Like a Dragon Gaiden
• Like a Dragon Ishin
• Ghostwire: Tokyo

The truth is most of the people criticizing Redfall didn't even played the game. They are just repeating what they hear others saying.

It's not fantastic now. It had it's issues, but story and main gameplay loop were fantastic since launch.

Going for my second play through as soon as I finish all achievements on Starfield.

@Spider-Kev Nintendo is not directly comparable. Just look at games like FF XVI. Switch just can't handle it.

Was my most played game this year. Playing both on Series X and PC, and it is amazing. So many things to-do.

Best questline so far was Crimson Fleet, simply amazing.

Had some bugs but nothing a save reload didn't fix.

Game is awesome. Hope Bethesda keep updating it for years to come.

Like a Dragon Gaiden

@OldGamer999 Well, guess that prediction didn't age well.

The one closing studios, canceling games, firing CEO and laying off devs left and right is Sony.

Starfield is a Player and Comercial success with more than 10 million players in just a couple days.

Xbox Game Pass has increased numbers with Starfield being responsible for the most subscriptions in a launch period ever for the service.

Cloud is not going to take ages, it is already here and works just fine. Xbox Cloud Gaming is a great example of how cloud gaming should work, it is not it'll take ages, it is just sony is ages behind in that field.

Xbox brand is doing just fine, actually it is better than ever, and with Activision on board it will go even further.

@HonestHick Hi, sorry for my late response. Yes, 60fps feels smoother and AI is definitely better.

I didn't had huge issues with AI at launch, but sometimes they definitely acted dumb and this seems to have improved.

Also, gunplay improved, the feeling of the weapons got better and some graphics bugs were fixed.

Overall is a better experience.

11/10 Love all Yakuza/Like a Dragon Games, can't wait to play Infinite Wealth.

It is more than clear already that media overall has a bias against Xbox, but people insists that Xbox players are just salty.

It is just a huge coincidence that as soon as Xbox splash its brand on a game it automatically gets trashed by the media.

I have no doubt if Starfield was a PS exclusive it would have been nominated.

No way in hell Resident Evil 4 Remake is a better choice, a Remake of an old game instead of a huge brand new IP.

By the way, the same media who constantly complain about lack of innovation and the game industry always playing safe are the ones nominating Mario, Zelda and all sorts of sequels of estabilished franchises, the exceptions being Alan Wake 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 that despite being sequels presented innovations of some sort.

Mario & Zelda are both great IPs, but coming from the same people who complain about Halo or Gears being 'more of the same' this doesn't makes sense unless you add the bias in the mix.

Hogwarts Legacy was not present at all. Starfield not in Game of The Year is a joke, a big company title (nexon) nominated for best indie game (Let's add COD there too since now we can freely interpretate what indie means).

TGA is a mess. It is not about merit or quality, it is a PlayStation showcase.

They also messed up a with other categories, an esports coach that wasn't coaching the entire year being nominated to Best esports coach.

The list goes on.

It is unfortunate that an event that should be celebrating games for its merits became a showcase of biased journalists who hates on xbox every chance they have.

@InterceptorAlpha Spiderman 2 wasn't a nominee.

PS GOTY nominees were:

• Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Humanity
• Resident Evil 4
• Armored Core VI
• Street Fighter 6

Finished Like a Dragon Ishin on november 7, already started Like a Dragon Gaiden.

I love that series, played all main titles available on Xbox so far. After Gaiden I'll start the Judgment series.

@TakeItEasy Have a game that win GOTY awards should not be on the list, with how much hate media has for the brand I don't think it is possible even if they made a perfect 10/10 game.

Also, micromanaging is not necessary. The problem with Redfall and other was lack of support from the Xbox team.

Studios were acquired because of what they did prior to the acquisition, then it doesn't make sense to disrupt the studio way of thinking and working, or it will not be the same studio they acquired.

What those studios need is more technical support from Microsoft and better integration with other Xbox teams to make helping one another easier.

As far as I'm understanding they're not generating voices using AI, but using actual recording for VAs and employees on a text-to-speech tool do make it says whatever they want.

30+ hours in Redfall from my playtime in May, and with 60fps is even better. Playing it all again, now with Layla (played with Devinder the first time)

Have 30+ hours on Redfall. Finished the game back when it released. Started a new campaign today on performance mode. I love Redfall, 30fps wasn't an issue for me, but 60fps feels great.

It is a great game for me.

A 7.5/10. And most of the lost points was because the frequent disconnections from Bethesda's server.

Otherwise the game loop was great. Had fun playing it.

10/10!! It is amazing. It is so much fun!
like a game should be.

@ZuneTattooGuy I don't think it is a typo. The Series S can indeed render graphics at 4K, it just can't output it in that resolution. Ori did that as well at the beginning of the generation. Ori runs at 4K 120fps on Series S and 6K 120fps on Series X.

What surprised me is that the devs choosed that instead of the 1080p 60fps.

Finished on PC, I'll plan to play it again.
Amazing game.