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Topic: It makes no sense to turn your nose up at Xbox anymore.

Posts 21 to 31 of 31

Darylb88

Got an Xbox Series S at Launch and it has been great for 3rd party SP games. I don't like online gaming though and that is one of the reasons I got a PS5. Their range of SP games (especially Japanese ones like Persona 5) can't be found on Xbox yet and I think I won't ever fully be able to let go of the PlayStation ecosystem until that happens (if ever).

I find game pass to be good, but a lot of the games on the service I already brought day one so the value is lessened for me. I do occasionally enjoy a bit of Forza or MS Flight Sim. The last indie game I really enjoyed was the Forgotten City and before that Last Stop.

There has been strides with games like Scarlet Nexus and Tales of Arise/Yakuza/Judgement games. I think if Atlus did start launching Persona mainline on Switch or Xbox I would be done with PlayStation.

Darylb88

themcnoisy

@Darylb88 You raise a great point. P4g Golden is one of my personal top 3 jrps ever. P5 at times is like playing an anime, so so good (still preferred the characters in P4).

I think with Japanese developers moving to mobile Im preferring the western Indy scene currently. With having a blast on the Artful escape if you get the chance, I think you would appreciate it.

Forum Best Game of All Time Awards

PS3 Megathread 2019: The Last of Us
Multiplat 2018: Horizon Zero Dawn
Nintendo 2017: Super Mario Bros 3
Playstation 2016: Uncharted 2
Multiplat 2015: Final Fantasy 7

SingleStooge

As of now with the 'next-gen' consoles being very hard to get due to microchip manufacturing shortages, etc. Both 'next-gen' console hardware capabilities are on-par to each other. As the PS5 is much harder to come by, well in Australia it is, the XBS / X is a viable alternative especially for multi-platform games. To me, there is no reason why a console gamer should dismiss an XBS / X.

SingleStooge

BAMozzy

@dsar9012 Xbox stopped being 'just' the Console platform after Phil Spencer took over and Microsoft decided to fully integrate 'Xbox' into the MS ecosystem as their 'Gaming' brand. The Console is 'an' option but NOT the only option. If you have a 'decent' gaming PC, you can access 'Xbox' on PC, if you can't afford or don't want an MS branded 'console', you can access Xbox on ANY compatible device inc Mobiles, Tablets, non gaming Laptop/PC's, TV's etc. You can play MS Xbox games on an Apple device. Its called 'Consumer Choice'.

That decision to stop running Xbox as a separate small division dedicated to 'console' only with a 'budget' tied exclusively to 'console' sales/success and merge it into Microsoft, becoming the 'brand' name for MS's gaming division across ALL their company, is what gave 'Xbox' the financial support to go out and build up their Studios, build up their game output etc and improve quality. Microsoft may have started the XB1 era with Xbox as a 'console only' brand, but expanded that to be their entire Gaming brand, changing from Microsoft Game Studios to Xbox Gaming Studios, integrating Xbox into Windows OS on PC's, building Xbox into servers etc so whether you play on 'Xbox' consoles, PC's or streaming over cloud, you are still on Xbox.

Software is where the Money is - not Consoles which are often sold at a Loss. MS is a 'Software' company and basically have put Xbox in 'EVERY' household as every house has a device they can access Xbox via Game Pass. You are still in the Xbox ecosystem whether you are playing on an Apple iPhone, Samsung Tablet, HP student Laptop, Samsung TV, PC or Xbox console. If you are streaming, you are playing on Series X chips built into servers in the cloud. Its ALL part of the Xbox ecosystem. Game Pass Ultimate gives you total access across ALL platforms so I can play FH5 on my Series X, on my PC, on my Mobile etc keep my progression and achievements - can't do that with Sony despite them porting to PC now.

The vast majority of xbox games are Exclusive to the Xbox Ecosystem. Whether you want to buy a Series S/X to play Starfield or not is a Consumer Choice and if you already own a 'decent' MS powered PC, why be forced to spend money just to play a 'few' games on an MS powered Console when you are an MS customer on an MS powered PC? MS has options for EVERYONE - can't afford a Series S, well you can still play Starfield on your old XB1 or Mobile phone via streaming, maybe even on a Cheap student laptop. Point is, you still have an 'Xbox' account and play 'Xbox' games on 'virtual' Xbox chips in the cloud.

If you don't want a Series S/X, MS won't care, aren't bothered about 'Console sales' as such, they'll make them as long as there is demand, but they represent the 'entry' price point for 'hardware' able to play Xbox software 'locally'. You can't buy a PC to match the Series S or X at their respective price points so represent perhaps the best 'bang' for buck option for consumers. However, if you already have a decent enough PC, then you don't 'need' a console - its still part of the Xbox ecosystem, still part of the MS family!!!

Sony and Nintendo ONLY have their Console and therefore use Exclusives as 'blackmail' to force consumers to buy their hardware or 'miss out' on games. Only on Switch/Playstation doesn't give Consumers any choice or options, you have to buy a Nintendo/Sony branded device. Its not as Consumer friendly at all, but its a 'traditional' thing. That doesn't mean that MS should be copying that antiquated business plan, especially when they have all their MS customers on PC. Its understandable of course because their platform is their 'ecosystem' but MS's ecosystem is bigger than just the Console so that business model cannot be the same...

Bill Gates once said he wanted to get MS Office into every household in the world, however it seems that getting Xbox into every house is more achievable and likely - whether its a 'physical' Xbox console, 'virtual' Xbox hardware in the cloud accessible via mobiles, tablets, laptops, TVs etc, or your windows gaming PC - you have Access to 'Xbox' and 'Xbox' exclusives to the Xbox Ecosystem!

Gamers have the choice on how they wish to access Xbox, depending on their own budget, circumstance and/or preference. Don't have £450 for a Series X, only have a HD TV and limited space, a Series S may well be 'perfect', maybe have a cheap laptop with no dedicated GPU, you can still access Game Pass and even use a Sony/Nintendo controller if you prefer. Regardless, you are still part of the 'Xbox' ecosystem, part of the Xbox family!!

Exclusives may sell consoles because you have NO choice but to buy the box they run on just to play the 'few' games a year you can't play anywhere else. Whilst you maybe able to play MSFS, Starfield etc on PC, the ONLY console these will run 'locally' on is an Xbox Series S/X so if you can't justify the £1k+ needed to buy a PC capable of running these locally, you'll buy a Series S/X for 'local' gaming. If you can't find or afford those, you still don't have to miss out if you have a Mobile (or other compatible device) - you are free to choose how you want to access those games - but ALL require you joining the Xbox family - either by buying a MS powered device or signing up to Xbox Game Pass with your Xbox profile. Whether I get achievements from streaming or local play, whether on Laptop/mobile or Console/PC, they all count on my Xbox profile - all my progress carries over - its ALL one Ecosystem of which the Console is just a consumers choice.

The reason Series S/X sell is because people prefer that format, prefer that price point etc. For £250, you cannot buy a 'cheaper' system to play Xbox exclusives locally (as well as all those other 3rd party Exclusives, timed or otherwise, for Game Pass etc). Yes Plague Tale, B4B, MLB21/22 etc may be playable on PS5 too, but Game Pass lets you play free so an incentive to buy a Series S/X - not just those 1st party games. For £450, you can't buy anything to compete with a Series X to play Xbox exclusives. That doesn't mean you 'need' these to play - its consumer choice.

Edited on by BAMozzy

A pessimist is just an optimist with experience!

Why can't life be like gaming? Why can't I restart from an earlier checkpoint??

Feel free to add me but please send a message so I know where you know me from...

Xbox Gamertag: bamozzy

clvr

@themcnoisy "Also the way you can abridge your favourite games (Tetris Effect) to the UI is boss."

Hey there mate, what do you mean by that?
Just wondering cause I've had a Series X for a few months (my first Xbox!) and I'm wondering if I've missed any cool features lol

Clover.

KilloWertz

@BAMozzy Call me old school, but I'd buy a console to play video games because that's been how gaming has been forever (outside of gaming on a PC). Obviously it's working well enough for Xbox, and that's fine, but to praise Xbox and to criticize Sony and Nintendo for staying traditional is a bit fanboyish or whatever you want to call it. Xbox has exclusives as well that can't be played on a Sony or Nintendo platform, and they bought a bunch of developers to get them exclusive to their ecosystem, so you can't say that Xbox has been super consumer friendly either just because you don't need a console to play their games. Sure, there are more ways to play Xbox games now, but they all have their ways of how you play their games. Sony and Nintendo have one specific way, whether one is more affordable than the other, it is what it is and they don't have the luxury of being backed by a company that has disposable money that is only restricted by laws. Otherwise who knows how much they would have ended up buying up to get on their ecosystem.

You pay $400 or $500 for a PS5 or $350 for a Switch. That's a lot cheaper than a PC, which would be at least 3 times that much to play games properly on a PC. It's a one time fee in order to have a system to play the games on for however long you want to (barring unfortunate failures that happen with all electronics), and obviously one people are more than happy to pay given how well Switch sells and PlayStation systems perform under normal circumstances (no COVID to mess up stock).

Edited on by KilloWertz

PSN ID/Xbox Live Gamertag: KilloWertz
Switch Friend Code: SW-6448-2688-7386

BAMozzy

@KilloWertz I am not criticising Sony or Nintendo for their Business model being very 'traditional' because they ONLY have their Console as their own Ecosystem and want to entice you in to 'their' ecosystem. Microsoft also had all their Microsoft Windows PC gamers that they were NOT catering too because their Console was a 'separate' thing and their business model was the same to 'blackmail' people to buy their hardware to play their games.

However, they merged that 'separate' Console division into Microsoft. Xbox 'stopped' being just the Console and became the ENTIRE Microsoft gaming brand of which the console became an 'option'. Whether you 'prefer' Consoles to game on for whatever reasons, you still have that option. Its your choice! If you prefer to game on PC, you are NOT forced to buy an Xbox to play the Microsoft made games on a perfectly adequate platform and as a Microsoft customer. You are still part of the 'Xbox' family.

The point I was making is that if you want to play a Sony or Nintendo made game at launch, you have to buy a Sony or Nintendo made console. If you want to play a Microsoft made game, you can play on Microsoft made Consoles, but also Apple or Android powered devices, hardware made by AMD/Intel/nVidia etc etc. You don't 'need' a MS built console. Its a Consumer choice.

I prefer to game on Console myself so I have a PS5 and Series X, just like I had a PS4 Pro and XB1X, PS4 and XB1, PS3 and 360 etc etc. As I said, the Series S/X offer the best 'bang for buck' option to play Xbox games - whether 1st party or 3rd, Exclusive (timed or not) or multi-platform, indie or AAA etc at 'Series X' equivalent settings for the same 'cost'. That's why I chose to buy a Series X - but I could of bought a High End gaming PC to play all those games or if I already had one, wouldn't need to spend £450 on the Series X - that could of bought more games...

So what if 'consoles' are cheaper. You aren't getting all the latest multi-plat games and those you do are significantly 'downscaled' for Switch so unless you game a lot on the go, its only good for Nintendo's games and $350 is a LOT of money to spend if all your interested in is 'Zelda'. If you have to buy a Switch, PS5 and Series X to play 'every' game you want, that's more than a 'decent' gaming PC that gives you access to ALL but a 'few' games a year you may want but also gives you access to a LOT more games too.

My point still stands though that Xbox is much more pro-consumer by enabling you to access their games across a wider variety of devices, enabling you to play 'how' you want and in a lot more ways. You could start by playing a game at home on your Console, carry on playing on your mobile on the Bus to work, play during your lunch break on your PC at work, play on the bus home etc. Can't play on your TV at home because the wife wants to watch something, stream to laptop. Its accessible when and where you want - that's much more consumer friendly.

You are not blackmailing people to spend money on their Hardware just to play their game or 'miss out'. You buy a console, not for 'exclusives' only, but because that system suits your preferences, budget, situation etc but you can also join Xbox from $10 a month on a Samsung/Apple made mobile. It may not suit some gamers who want 'local' gaming or prefer a Console plugged into a large TV, but its still a consumer friendly option so you can still be part of the Xbox family.

The initial comment I was responding to stated that Xbox has 'no' exclusives and its only 'exclusives' that sell consoles so they 'should' be making their games 'exclusive' to Console only to compete with Sony/Nintendo. I was merely making the point that they are (at least the majority outside of pre-existing agreements) exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem and the Xbox consoles are NOT the entire Xbox ecosystem anymore.

Its not about Money, its about the change of Business model MS adopted soon after the XB1 launched. Sony and Nintendo cannot change their traditional business model because their ecosystem is just their hardware. So they have to use their games to make you buy into 'their' ecosystem forcing gamers to spend money on their hardware or miss out. With Microsoft, the Xbox ecosystem is 'everywhere' so you they use 'exclusives' to get you into their ecosystem too - about the only similarity - but its still your choice and you have multiple options to suit your preference, budgets etc. If you've just bought a brand new 3080ti based gaming rig, you don't want to have to spend an additional $500 to play an extra game or 3 a year because they are 'only' available on that platform. If I had a decent gaming rig, I doubt I'd play anything but exclusives on a Console because the PC will play ALL the multi-platform releases but with 'better' visuals and performance for 'less' as PC games are cheaper in general and don't require a subscription to play online. Therefore, its just those '1 or 2' PS5 1st party exclusives you want to play each year as most 3rd party exclusives release on PC.

Point is, whilst the Series S/X doesn't have 'exclusives' because they can be played on PC, Mobile etc, the Consoles are just an 'option' with their own pros/cons to give Consumers the choice to suit their budget preference. If 'Bang for Buck', Console type experience is your preference, as it appears to be, then of course the Series is going to be the 'best' option, but not everyone everywhere is the 'same' as you. They may only have an old XB1S and can't afford a Series S, but can still play Xbox games even if their hardware can't play it locally - they can play on Virtual Xbox hardware, same with students who may have to buy a cheap ACER/HP etc Laptop for its functionality over a Series S/X with no gaming GPU but can still be part of the Xbox family and play on Virtual Series X hardware in the cloud. Its ALL still Xbox.

The PC isn't 'competing' with Series S/X like PS5 is competing with Xbox consoles as its part of the Xbox family - both are Microsoft Windows with DirectX 12 API's, all customers are Microsoft customers, all Xbox gamers - just that PC's are not locked to MS like Consoles are but have their own pros/cons for gamers. However a PC isn't really a 'choice' for Sony or Nintendo games - although Sony are porting their games to PC now to generate a 'second' stream of income once they have served their purpose of selling 'consoles' and stopped selling to those already on console. Also gives them a second opportunity to 'promote' the game and get more publicity. Regardless, they are not part of the 'Sony' ecosystem so you can't carry on your progress etc.

Exclusives will exist because that's what's going to make people join that 'ecosystem'. The statement that 'Xbox has no Exclusives' because all games release day and date on Game Pass/PC too so you are NOT FORCED to buy a Microsoft branded device to play and actually have a range of options to suit your budget, situation etc is much more consumer friendly. The fact Starfield for example isn't releasing to the 'few' million on PS5 that would buy it is offset by the fact that millions more can play anywhere else from as little as $10 a month on Virtual Xbox hardware in the Cloud on a range of devices, at least 1 of which is likely to be in 'every' household. Its still 'exclusive' to Xbox because Xbox is NOT just the console platform!!

A pessimist is just an optimist with experience!

Why can't life be like gaming? Why can't I restart from an earlier checkpoint??

Feel free to add me but please send a message so I know where you know me from...

Xbox Gamertag: bamozzy

themcnoisy

@clvr hello mate, good to see you jumping over from push. Ok so you can add games into the main list in your UI. So rather than having to go into Games, library, downloaded, find game. It will right there at the top of the list on the first screen eg) Tetris, Forza 5 Games, Xbox live, gamepass. when the Xbox starts up. Im not near the console ATM so will hopefully post later on the steps to make it happen.

It's only useful for games you will come back to regularly. For me that was Tetris Effect.

Forum Best Game of All Time Awards

PS3 Megathread 2019: The Last of Us
Multiplat 2018: Horizon Zero Dawn
Nintendo 2017: Super Mario Bros 3
Playstation 2016: Uncharted 2
Multiplat 2015: Final Fantasy 7

clvr

@themcnoisy ah I see now, I'll boot up the console later and give it a try!
Thanks, have a good one mate!

Clover.

rockodoodle

Interesting discussion. It really comes down to preference and what kind of gamer you are. I own all three consoles and love them all for different reasons.

1. Switch. If I had to pick one, I would go with Nintendo. I love handheld gaming and Nintendo franchises. They go out of their way to make sure that gamers of all skill levels can enjoy.

2. Series X. Love racing games and Forza is the best, at least for me. Again, it is pretty accessible for all skill levels, awesome graphics and there’s a ton of content on these franchises alone to justify the purchase. Throw in Game Pass and that’s really all I need. Also my preferred entertainment hub.

3. Ps5 Just got two weeks ago. . I missed out on PS4. Playing this more rn if for no other reason it’s the new toy, but also enjoying the fresh content. The features on the controller are really cool. Also cool to steam from here, play DVDs etc.

rockodoodle

themcnoisy

@rockodoodle hey great comment RD, especially 2) Forza is the best.

I was reluctant to say that earlier this year. I'm a big fan of Ridge Racer, Gran Turismo, Burnout, F-Zero, wipeout, extreme G, Super Monaco GP, Outrun, Mario Kart even a couple of Needs for speeds. I love racing games! But FH5 is another level. The graphics, draw distance, plethora of cars, types of races and map make it the best for me.

It's so hard to say that, only the music and the actual racing (not the gimmick events) are subpar imo. Throw in the Ridge Racer and Wip3out soundtracks and it's the best game ever! GT7 is unarguably the best strict online racer but every other category is a win for F5.


One thing I will add is that swapping brand each gen is better than sticking with Just Sony or Just Nintendo. I was a PS4 bro, loved last gen. Props to a few standouts like Astrobot and statik on psvr, Detroit become Human, Death Stranding and Dreams. But coming to Xbox Im enjoying last gens offerings plus the new stuff. With Sony's upcoming games I'm not that hyped, GoW is obviously amazing but I'm not a fan. TLOU is truly spectacular but I was happy after the closing scene in the first game. Those feelings may change by the time PS6 rolls round.

Forum Best Game of All Time Awards

PS3 Megathread 2019: The Last of Us
Multiplat 2018: Horizon Zero Dawn
Nintendo 2017: Super Mario Bros 3
Playstation 2016: Uncharted 2
Multiplat 2015: Final Fantasy 7

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