Phil Spencer: Xbox In Best Launch Lineup Position Ever With Series X

Lot of subscriptions exist, but gamepass is a true game changer.
1. All exclusives and recent big AAAs like RDR2 with lot of other smaller titles.
2. Xcloud.
3. No extra cost financing of XSX.
4. Gives financial and artistic confidence for both risk taking 1st party and 3rd party studios.

Wake me when there are games I can't play one my One X

@NorrinRadd The Medium with exceptional masterpiece soundtrack and visuals, Scorn, Hellblade 2 (probably).

@Z3u5000

I hear you - but I’d like actual release dates on those.

To me Scorn looks absolutely intriguing.

Looking forward to Thursday. Happen to have a vet appointment at the same time the stream is going on, but that just means once done I get to watch the whole show in 2x speed 🙃

@Tharsman 1080p60fps live, 4k60fps replay. I will watch it from preshow.

I hope his claims turn out to be true, so I have plenty of epic games to play when I get one.

@NorrinRadd I feel like that having only recently brought an One X, but I'm already very tempted to get a Series X at launch...
I won't get one at launch but will give it say 6 month's to see the response, people's views, sales etc then likely get one... I'm already all in with 3 years of Gamepass Ultimate...

Revisiting old franchises, about time! Can't believe even Bubsy got a new game this generation. The only platformer hero that didn't is Banjo.

@Z3u5000 I’ll likely watch from my phone anyways so 4k will be lost on me 😅

Nintendo had mario.
Sony has Ratchet and clank...
Microsoft: please announce a new Banjo game! (Or new Conker.)

Hmmm...
King Conker... a Mario-like game that dubs as a Witcher 3-like parody... kinda RPG-lite... and plenty of potty mouth....

@Tharsman “And one thing I really noticed on the [July] 23rd show, as I’ve been sitting back and watching the narrative unfold, is it’s got to be the most diverse collection of first-party games that we’ve ever had, when I look at art style and size — I mean from some big, big, big teams and big, bombastic overtures to smaller, more bite-sized things — and I think that’s our strength.” - Phil Spencer

Well we shall see, let’s hope Phil doesn’t just mean Halo and existing game pass game’s.
Because they always worry me Microsoft
And I’ve really been looking forward to this Thursday.
Already slightly concerned as we know they are going to present Gears 5 series x upgrade. Sorry played it on one x enjoyed it, end of, new game please.

Can't wait for july 23rd, Hurry up and be here already..

I read it really quick and almost sounded like he was implying Halo would be the only major first-party title at launch and rest third-party.

I hope I'm just reading it wrong!

I just hope it's standard for 1080p 60fps ultra mode to be an option.

I don't care for 4k 60fps performance mode because of graphical downgrade.

Nor 4k 30fps due to the fps downgrade.

1080p is plenty enough resolution for a great picture and better graphics / fps.

A great launch line-up is a key factor, but I think the promise of what's coming after is even more important. Does anyone buy a console purely on what's available at launch?

Microsoft are entering the next-gen on the back foot, and I think it's critical - more so than Sony - that they are totally transparent as to what the first year on Series X holds in store. They need to say what's coming and when it's due in order to get as many people onboard as early as possible.

@TimG13 Completely agree but a strong launch line-up also sets momentum.

Sony's launch line-ups historically outside of PS2 have been quite weak. if MS really want to both gain momentum and come out swinging, a strong launch line-up will do that.

@Jaxx420 True, but whether Microsoft can maintain that momentum remains to be seen.

I really think they need to set out a roadmap for the next year to us on Thursday (and perhaps tease a few things beyond) not only to sate those who already know they'll be buying a Series X but also to disprove the notion Xbox has no games. For instance, announce Halo, Forza and Hellblade will be available at launch, followed by Fable in the Spring, a big new IP in the Summer, and Perfect Dark will be rounding the year off as their big Christmas game.

Meanwhile, they should also reveal some of their post-launch support plans for games such as Halo, which I'd imagine will follow Halo 5's lead and provide free multiplayer content. But how about the series' first ever single player DLC next year, not only to celebrate 20 years of Halo, but also 20 years of Xbox.

It's the Xbox's 20th anniversary next year, so it's the perfect time for Microsoft to really show what they've got and not hold back. Strongest launch slate or not, the real test comes after.

I feel like MS keeps promoting Halo as this massive thing, and even as a former Halo fan I can't help but think Halo is kind of past its prime. The original trilogy was great but it kind of became a B franchise in my mind since Bungie's time. MCC is fantastic to revisit some great games and memories, but it just feels like a relic of the early console shooter world in a time where console games have moved largely beyond just the FPS trend.

Hoping they have a lot of other surprises for us beyond what many will see as doubling down on the "xbox gamer stereotype."

@TimG13 @Jaxx420 It's ironic that the "No games" meme will turn to Playstation come November as it's impossible for Series X to have less than a semi-sequel for launch as PS5 currently does. It's not sensible, however, to give specific dates for next year's games, games get delayed all the time, but "2021" will be enough for the second bunch of games.

@NorrinRadd

Wake me when you crawl over here from Push Square & stop complaining about this.

If you don’t like it....go pay $60 for Spider-Man DLC.

@NEStalgia

Halo is not a “B” franchise and it’s not past it’s prime. And FPS games are not some “trend” that the industry has moved passed. 😂

But, that’s only my opinion. And the opinion of millions of others. Oh and Doom Eternal & COD would like to have a chat with you. 🙄

And good for Phil to say this. He has done a great job with Xbox & is, clearly, excited about their plan.

In Phil I trust.

@KelticDevil

How about...no.

So no opinion other than yours, or one that coincides with yours is acceptable here? This isn’t your house. Piss off.

@NorrinRadd

Or it’s just every article I see you in, you are here to complain & moan about Xbox. Don’t you have anything better to do in your life? I guess not.

And “Piss off” is a mature, Push Square like response. Did you get tired of the 56 articles talking about how an SSD will change all of humanity’s lives for the better? Or how power doesn’t matter anymore? Or how backwards compatibility is no big deal? Or how Phil Spencer sucks?

And you bring up release dates? How many games at the PlayStation show had release dates? Or even gameplay shown? Exactly.

Ignored. Troll. 👋

“best launch lineup position that we’ve ever been on Xbox“

But this lineup can be played on an older system? What’s the point in upgrading if there is nothing exclusive to play on the new platform?

Potentially £500 to play games that can be played on an already purchased system? Doesn’t quite make sense for me. It’s like previous statements suggest Phil doesn’t even want people to upgrade to next gen

@Jacko11 He wants, at least initially, to mirror the PC for scalability and access to software. For the first two years anyway.

Time will tell how that impacts sales of the new console. I think early adopters would upgrade to the latest hardware regardless.

I am really excited! If they do this one right it will be xbox in my living room next to my switch.

@Jacko11
I get what you saying, it’s a strange place to be in and how not to sell a next generation console. I think they realised this and that made them discontinue the Xbox one x.
So if you want a 4K power console from Microsoft you have to buy the series x in the near future. They are basically saying one thing and slightly and cleverly doing another thing. And they hide it all behind their PR king Phil.

@FraserG

👍🏻

@Dezzy70 @Jacko11

I am not sure how many times this has to be said.....

Just like on PC, as games have been doing for years, games can be scaled up & down to take advantage of hardware. If you want to play the new games in 4K, etc., you play them on Series X. If a gamer doesn’t mind playing then with less visual quality, they have that option too. It gives gamers choice.

And Microsoft could care less where you play their games. They just want you in the ecosystem. If you buy an Xbox, fine. If you would rather play on PC? Great. Or maybe use XCloud to play on your phone? That’s great too. Companies make much more $ on software & services.

This has been the way PC gaming has been doing it for many, many years. Microsoft wants to give you choice. Sony wants you to pay $560-$570 to play a Spider-Man expansion pack. It’s just different philosophies.

@KelticDevil
I get what you‘re saying in regards to choice, but more development costs will be suffered through having scalable versions of the same game.
If “companies make much more $ on software & services” then it makes no sense to me why they wouldn’t put their software and service on PlayStation consoles, or at least approach them. If they had approached i’m certain we would have known about it.
For me, this doesn’t entice myself as a predominantly PlayStation gamer to buy a Series X. Instead i’d opt for a PC and get Game Pass that way.
With this ideology I just don’t see sense in intense spending on hardware if the company and its leads seemingly don’t want you to actually purchase it.
You called Spider-man and expansion pack which will cost $560-$570. Thats just an ignorant comment when the actuality is that its likely to be a solid 10-15 hour experience similar to Uncharted Lost Legacy which i’d argue is the best Uncharted. The price of the console will secure gamers this “expansion pack”, Horizon 2, Naughty Dog games, Ratchet, God of War etc in the highest possible quality at the fastest run rates.
Why would I want to buy these games on a lesser console running at a lower quality when it is designed specifically for next gen.
I don’t believe Xbox’s way forward is smart or beneficial to gamers imo. With a new console, I want new games and experiences that I haven’t had before. Not stuff I can just play on my older console in older quality.
I don’t think we’ll agree on this but I do genuinely want Xbox to succeed. Vibrant player based and ecosystems drive the industry and force developers to make better products. I just don’t want Xbox putting barricades and limitations in front of their talent

@Jacko11
Totally agree, I to want Microsoft to be successful as competition is good for business. It’s just Microsoft did not really give me much this generation game wise with new fantastic experiences as Sony did with their games this generation.
And I hope Microsoft do give me great gamer experiences with the new generation with their game studios but because of this generations experience with them I am cautious and still don’t believe they will that much. As for Sony I know for sure already with Spider-Man, ratchet and clank and Horizon Zero Dawn 2 I’m going to get great experiences again and with HZD 2 especially probably a great next generation experience.
This is why the PS5 and games will out sell the series x the same as the PS4 did the Xbox one this generation. Microsoft might get some extra gamers on board if they deliver on the games next generation and keep up game release through the generation. I am so confident in this, in 6 years I will repost this and say told you so.

@Jacko11

I respect your opinion. It just differs from mine. I love what Xbox is doing, just as many others do. Some aren’t going to like it & that’s fine. Just like buying any other product. We have choices out there & that’s a good thing.

If you like what Sony is doing, then more power to you. You can buy a PS5. I like what Xbox is doing, so I’ll buy a Series X. If you want to play Microsoft’s games on your PC, you have that option too. Microsoft doesn’t care where you use Game Pass, nor do they care where I play Game Pass.

I just disagree that this decision will hold games back or hurt games in some way. This same sort of practice has been going on PC forever, & there is no reason it can’t work for Xbox. I look forward to what Xbox has in store for myself & many other gamers. If you disagree.....well, you can always get a PS5? Or just play their games on PC. Or don’t play them at all. It’s all about choice, just like Phil Spencer has said. 👍🏻

@Dezzy70

Just like I said to the other guy in the post above......then buy a PS5. It’s all about choice.

@KelticDevil I don't think the concern with Microsoft's cross-gen strategy is with how games will scale graphically, but how some games, particularly systems-driven ones, which rely on CPU power might struggle to reach their full potential, especially when you consider the Xbox One's aging Jaguar cores. Could Halo Infinite, for example, have even larger scale battles with more AI and more vehicles on-screen if it was next-gen only? Granted, at this time we haven't seen the game in action, but it is still worth wondering what could be. Digital Foundry discussed the pros and cons of cross-gen earlier in the year. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2020-can-microsoft-deliver-next-gen-experiences-while-still-supporting-xbox-one

For the record, I think it's really good on Microsoft's part to continue supporting Xbox One for those who, for whatever reason, won't be upgrading straight away. But at the same time it is a slight slap in the face to those who are putting down the cash for a new console and want games to be built from the ground up with the extra power in mind. Plus, from a business standpoint, next-gen only games will help drive console sales. How many more Series X consoles would Microsoft sell if Halo Infinite was next-gen only? Then again, how many more copies of Halo will sell by being cross-gen? We'll never know.

My take? The best option would be to find a middle ground between Microsoft's and Sony's strategy by having some games release cross-gen and some next-gen only.

@TimG13

I respect your opinion. But rather than repeat myself, I’ll just say to read my post above. We speak with our wallets & you have a choice. If you disagree with how Xbox does things, then maybe the PS5 is for you. 👍🏻

@BlueOcean I don't necessarily mean Microsoft should give specific release dates, especially considering the current climate, but it would be beneficial to give gamers a rough outline of what to expect and when. More clarity compared to Sony might show them in a better light.

@KelticDevil Well, that's great if it's still that relevant and I've just missed it, but It just doesn't seem to be so relevant. When the first came out it was genre redefining, and was a breath of fresh air. Then were the years of copycat systems in shooters....but that was a long time ago. The original trilogy and MCC are a set of dated classics that are still fun but a bit aged. But Reach and the like never quite lived up to the old days, and 5 felt like a shadow of its former self.

Maybe Infinite can rekindle it....we'll see more soon, I suppose.

And I didn't mean that FPS was a fad, but the fad period where console gamers "discovered" FPS and every game out there was just an FPS was a 7th gen fad that thankfully went away in 8th gen. I lived through that on PC, and then again on 7th gen console. It's nice to get more variety out there the past few years than "every game is first person shooter with 75 degree FOV."

All that said, the one thing XBox could have and should have done with XSeX is add gyros to the controller. If it's going to be the FPS console it needs gyros. Sony has gyros and nobody actually enables the gyros in games. Keyboard and mouse is still tops for shooters (Xbox at least supports that now, so that's a win!), gyro controllers supported on PC and Switch are second.....shooters with nothing but sticks feels a decade out of date. I ended up buying a lot of available older shooters on Switch instead of X1X purely because of the gyro support. It's an advantage that Sony could have but chooses not to use for some unknown reason....and it's an advantage XBox should have but still didn't implement in the controllers. That's kind of disappointing. I was PC before console (and console before PC) but shooters without free aim never felt right to me and I largely avoid the genre unless I can have gyro aiming now. At least we can have our keyb/mouse support though.

@KelticDevil
Will get a PS5 on release and maybe the Xbox series x. Will wait and see this Thursday. I think i am just a bit harsh on gaming companies sometimes. Have switch as well and at the moment Nintendo in house AAA studios might as well not exist and their communication is terrible at the minute. See there I go again.