Topic: General Xbox Series X|S Thread

RARE said everwild might release in 2023, look forward to it, but I not sure exactly how the game plays, I really hope it is good I'm a big RARE fan

@BrilliantBill What he is saying is that there is NO world where people will give up a whole generation+ of their Digital Libraries on Playstation built up over the last gen to play new 'Xbox' games like Starfield, Fable etc. Even if most of the games are multi-platform releases, if you bought for PS4 (as most gamers did because Xbox One didn't sell well so had far fewer users), they are still 'locked' to the Playstation generation. So its not just Playstation 'exclusives' they would lose and we know Sony had by far the 'best' (at least from a critical perspective - many winning or nominated for Game of the Year) and most numerous exclusives, but every game they owned from last gen.

It wasn't a 'complete' reset with this Gen. People have a LOT more to lose by switching these days. At the start of the PS4/XB1 era, with no Back Compat (at launch or ever on PS4), it was a 'fresh start' and everybody 'lost' their games to start 'fresh' on PS4/XB1. We know how bad MS 'screwed' up - although was really ahead of the curve but gamers weren't ready for the 'digital' era in 2013. Now you can buy a PS5, Series X and your entire 'digital' library (as well as 'discs') from last gen come with you. That could be £/$1000's worth of games that people don't want to 'Lose' by switching platforms.

The 'only' real hope is that they can 'encourage' others to 'play' in some capacity. Its probably why the Series S exists too - a 'cheap' console that maybe Playstation gamers would pick up to play the exclusives, but still 'lose' out on 3rd Party sales as they buy those on PS5. The other aspect is those 'new' gamers coming into 'console' gaming for the first time, those with no digital history. But even then, those gamers have at least a 'decade' of games to choose between because these consoles also have last gen games and we know Xbox wasn't as 'strong' so even if 'Starfield' was an 11/10, its not going to pull gamers away from Playstation with Spider-Man, Last of Us, God of War, Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima etc as well as Spider-Man 2 coming 'soon'.

Xbox would need a LOT of AAA 'bangers' on Consoles to compete with all the AAA bangers from the PS4 gen onwards that PS5 offers. Its not 'Starfield' vs a 'single' PS5 title, but ALL the exclusive titles you could play so even if Starfield is the best game 'ever', PS5 owners aren't going to sell PS5's and 'switch' to Xbox so Xbox can close the console 'gap'- that's not going to happen.

@BrilliantBill I don't disagree at all and its clear that MS understand that they can't really compete in Console Sales wars and therefore aren't going to have some 'miraculous' game (or selection of games) that will suddenly see 'Xbox' catching up and/or overtaking Sony/Nintendo in terms of units sold.

At best, they can hope to encourage people to jump into their 'ecosystem' in some capacity - even if its just via Cloud. If they get the ABK deal through, even if they made 'every' game Exclusive, its not going to make Playstation gamers 'jump' to Xbox and give up their Library on Playstation, abandon all those 'exclusives' - inc those coming like Spider-Man 2, Wolverine, Final Fantasy 16 etc - hence NO jurisdiction has 'blocked' MS based on 'Hardware' gaming and the CMA's argument that it would give MS an 'unassailable' advantage in Cloud is 'ridiculous'. If Sony wanted, they could start their own 'cloud streaming' service with Many more games in their Library from PS1 onwards, more 'exclusives' as well. EA, Ubisoft, SE, WB, TenCent and 'all' the other Publishers and their owned IP's aren't ALL on Game Pass so could start their own 'cloud streaming' to compete.

Its a bit like saying Netflix had a monopoly because they started Streaming and therefore no-one else had a chance to compete against ALL the content Netflix had - yet Amazon, Disney+ etc have all competed successfully. MS/Xbox only has their 'own' IP's and Studio's they can guarantee on Cloud - which leaves 1000's of other games owned by various other companies that 'could' start a 'competing' cloud service. If Sony started one, I doubt it would be 'windows' based and would have its own 'unique' library of games - but Sony (and the other Publishers who are 'Sales' focussed) don't think Cloud is right for them - as it would 'hurt' sales of Hardware & Software, therefore affect their Sales focussed business model.

The reality is that its not Starfield vs 'Spider-Man 2' for example, its the 'entire' Library of games you can play on 'Xbox' vs the entire Library of games on Playstation - you aren't spending $500+ just to play a single game and if Starfield is the 'only' must play on Xbox, its not going to pull people away from the many more games on Playstation.

I have been saying for years, before the current gen started that MS is not competing for Console sales, not trying to be the best selling hardware - hence you get day 1 releases on PC/Cloud too - both affect Console and Software sales. They have a 'different' business model - more service based. But Sales are also not the ONLY metric...

Worth checking out this Interview of Phil Spencer and Matt Booty with Giant Bomb, will get the time Stamps ready It's great to see them talking so openly and freely about Xbox and games and just experiences, it's a wonderful insight, makes me feel good about Xbox, that is a good thing.

Link: https://youtu.be/ykXaj1d1jXY

Phil Spencer and Matt Booty about 1hour 15mins in, Time staps are in the video on youtube etc

Thanks

Hi everyone.

Any chance someone could answer a query for me?

I've had the same Xbox profile for about 10 years. I have game pass tied into my phone contract also (all under the same email address)

I'm looking to start my Xbox profile from scratch. Is there any way I can do this using the same email address and will my gamepass subscription carry over?

I missed the big VR discussion three days ago and honestly that's for the better because I would have probably wasted a lot of time telling people how VR isn't really that niche.

This forum isn't super active, but I dont know where else to put this so off we go.

It's weird how Microsoft hasn't embraced VR on the Xbox side since it's already big on Windows. They could capitalize on that by having cross-VR-titles on PC and Xbox, since the Series S can absolutely run them. They could have a leg up in the VR race but instead they're playing it safe, which is fine, but it seems like a lost opportunity to me. They can buy multi-billion dollar companies, but won't take a small risk and start supporting their franchises with VR? Hell, I'm certain that Starfield is gonna get VR support on PC, officially or not, so why not just go all in?

@HotGoomba In a nutshell MS said that VR right now is still a niche thing.

@HotGoomba Its still 'niche' and not that 'popular' as a 'percentage' of the user base. Take PSVR which sold 5m unts with 120m+ PS4 users - that's less than 5% of the market. With Xbox, if they only sold to 'less than 5%', that would be significantly 'lower' sales of VR headsets - with a LOT of R&D costs, prototyping, Press/Review/Publicity units, Dev Kits etc etc to recuperate too.

Of course they 'could' tap into the Windows VR - but on Console - you expect games 'Optimised' specifically for the Hardware to deliver a simple 'plug & play' solution. Without bespoke software, its not going to appeal to the 'VR Curious' either - not worth the 'risk'. It may not be worth the Costs and on-going costs of developing software (costs they can invest into making non-VR software) etc to try and make VR successful.

Maybe in 5yrs, they will feel differently, but as much of a 'success' you feel VR may well be, its still 'niche' in terms of the overall gaming market and how the Majority choose to play games.

If anyone has had a chance to delve into Punch Club 2 would you be able to tell me if stat degradation is back in the game?

@BAMozzy yeah I'm thinking of grabbing the next version of the ROG phone for streaming. Currently 7 ultimate is the best one, I'm happy to wait for the 8 and finally pick one up. Makes sense, I hate my current Samsung.

@themcnoisy Each to their own of course - I tend to use my RoG Ally for 'on the go' Streaming and my mobile is used as a 'traditional' mobile and my Samsung S10+ is more than adequate for my needs.

I'd rather not rely on 'touch screen' controls myself so the Ally suits my needs 'better' and at £700, is 'cheaper' than most new Phones. I don't bother to try and stream over Mobile Networks as these are more 'limited' on Bandwidth and therefore capped to 720/60 where wifi/hardwired Internet connections are limited to 1080/60.

I must admit, I do like some of the RoG phones but have a 'better' solution for my needs/preferences and I'd only be buying a Phone to replace a phone that does 'everything' I want a Phone to do but as I said, each to their own - at least we have 'options' as a consumer these days.

So with game pass core, do I get to keep the games with it or is just for lend every 3 months?

@Ninfan It's Gamepass you don't keep the games you play them as long as you have tbe service and they are available, just like Netflix.

@Ninfan You'll have 'access' to around 25+ games 'every' month as long as you remain Subscribed to Game Pass Core. Those 25+ games are 'only' playable whilst you are Subscribed AND they remain in that curated list of Games available.

If a Game remains in that curated list for 3months or more, as long as you 'keep' your Subscription active, you can 'keep' playing - but if its due to be rotated out, then you'll lose access unless you purchase. You won't get Starfield or Forza on the day they release with Game Pass Core - its a curated list of selected games from Game Pass you can play at 'no' additional cost whilst you remain Subscribed to 'Core' (which you must have anyway if you wish to play Online with Friends) AND those games remain 'available' in that curated list. As soon as they leave GPC or you cancel your Subscription, you'll lose access unless you choose to purchase.

I don't think they have stipulated how often Games will be 'changed' in that list but I don't expect them to completely change all 25+ games in one month - some games could be there for 'months and months', others rotated out after a month or two...

@BAMozzy
what about game pass ultimate, if I subscribe to it, will I get to keep the games with it.

@Ninfan no, all Gamepass tiers works like Netflix. You have access to the games on the list while they are still there and you are still subscribed.

@Ninfan Game Pass is an additional Library of Games you can borrow and play at no extra cost for as long as you remain a Subscriber AND the game remains in Game Pass. If you want to 'Keep' any game, you'll need to BUY it. Game Pass does offer an extra 20% discount on games in/leaving the service to subscribers if you wish to 'keep' playing.

Game Pass is like being a member of a Library where you can borrow Books you wanted to read instead of buying the book and you can borrow whatever 'selection' of titles they have but at some point have to return that book to the Library and can't read it anymore - unless you buy your OWN copy.

Think about it more as an additional Library of Games you can play - over 500 with Game Pass Ultimate. That list 'changes' as games come and go from the service, but you have an 'additional' 500+ games you can 'play' every month you are Subscribed. You have 'your' library of games you OWN as well as a Library of over 500 games, including Day 1 releases like Starfield, Forza, Payday 3 etc etc you can play with GPU - as well as EA Access games too and Game Pass for PC/Cloud.

You don't get to 'keep' ANY game from Game Pass - but you don't have to pay $70 to play Starfield Day 1 and if you want to 'keep' it, make sure you never 'lose' access, you can buy months later when its cheaper and take advantage of the extra discount you get as a Game Pass Ultimate member.

Hello, I need some help to understand this please.
I have Xbox Live Gold, and now, in the US, I can get a "14 Day Trial Recurs Monthly" Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at $1.
In this case, I have questions: as for me having about 11 months of Live Gold, I did read about some conversion ratio from Gold to Ultimate, how many months of Gold would I have left having purchased this?
And also, Can I just cancel the subscription after the 14 days, or is the "recurs monthly" thing mean that I have to continue a subscription?
Thank you.

Isn't starfield supposed to be download-able today?

@BAMozzy Kinda have to disagree there a little. You make the assumption that moving to XboX means people losing the digital library they have built up.
Why? I've always been PS until this Gen. But I still have my PS4 pro and all my PS digital library still available.
People who have built up their PS library did so on the PS4 platform, and will always have access to that library.
Side note. Absolutely loving my series X, had much more fun this last few years than since the launch of the OG PSX.