Eight Games Announced For Xbox Game Pass At Tokyo Game Show 2022

Whoops need to finish Danganronpa 2 first. Calm down Xbox!

Very nice to see Ni No Kuni 1 & 2. I have started the first game twice (PS3 and Switch) but hopefully can push through the start on Xbox and get into it.

When they were listing the Japanese developers/publishers that they are partnering with; I did wonder if Square Enix was going to be in the list (it was, right at the end).

Death Loop let’s go!!

Still no FF7 Remake, it's never going to happen!

What an incredible line up

Great event in all honesty, compliments what was a great week for showcases following on from SoP and RGG Summit. Some nice shadow drops today (Ni No Kuni and Danganronpa V3) and finally got that Deathloop announcement. Guilty Gear and Blazblue are massive! AND they had that game I like to call "Pokemon with gats" here, love the look of that! The games shown off I'm sure are bound to entice the Japanese market that much more, especially with the prospect of accessing all these games on GP via XCloud. I think the showcase deserves an A grade in it's own right, and the week in general gets an A from me as well. Awesome week for gaming announcements!

Too many games that look incredible in the Xbox and PlayStation events this week. Not enough time.

@Snake_V5 Never ever. It's basically just a PS console exclusive.

Nothing for me but wasn't expecting anything ,Was that the entire show or just the xbox part ?

I swear I saw Sonic Frontiers in the final montage thing for Xbox at TGS... is frontiers part of XGP?

@Stoned_Patrol Highly doubt it, just showing games from Japanese devs in general at the end.

@FraserG okay I'll keep a look out for more game announcements then 👍🏻

I didn't get Deathloop on ps5 as it didn't interest me at the time but I have no reason not to try it now, the rest of them I've either already played or not my type of game.

Thought it was a great showcase and pleased to see the western market is getting some Eastern surprises and hopefully we can share games in both parts of the world. Guilty gear strive will be a massive bonus.

Ni No Kuni, and of course, Deathloop. Everything else is okay, but not something I will play. Dyson Sphere Program I might give a try on my PC.

Game pass is like a bad Christmas.
Full of stocking fillers and old presents, bit no real main new Christmas presents turn up. 😂

@Dezzy70 Wow, what does that make PS Plus then?

Ni No Kuni! Yes!

I thought we'd already gotten Assassins Creed Odyssey on GP, but then I remembered it was the other one. They all blend together in my head.

@Kaloudz Ni No Kuni is fantastic, especially for fans of JRPGs.

The gameplay is a typical turn based RPG but it has an element of real time, think a mixture of Dragon Quest XI and Final Fantasy 12. The characters auto attack basic moves and you can free move them on the battle field, but also issue commands. There are also little pets you get in addition to other party members.

It has a world map similar to FF7 where you traverse it and fight mobs but then go into towns or locations to explore.

The story and world are very charming. Obviously if you like Ghibli movies it will have added appeal. Very suitable for younger audiences even though dealing with ‘grown up’ issues but magical enough for anyone to enjoy.

Also, this is one of the few games that has a character with a Welsh accent. And he’s a great mascot for the game.

@OM1993
Exactly the same full of stocking fillers and old Christmas presents.
No defence of Sony from me.
That’s the problem on here, instead of looking at ways to improve xbox AAA exclusive releases from their studios, you good people just attack another company Sony or Nintendo.

@Royalblues
Maybe it probably needs COD to come once a year but exclusive to Xbox and game pass.
Else PS5 or PS6 owners will just happily buy the game for their console.

Awesomeness I can't wait to start playing deathloop finally
Dishonored and Prey are two of my favorite games so I'm hmsuper hyped

@Dezzy70 Ok cool, but it felt like you attacked first here, emphasis on "felt like". I thought your first comment was needless tbh. Just let Xbox have a good show, maybe? It's been a good week for gaming, let's keep the negativity to a minimum. Appreciate the response though mate.

@OM1993
I’ve been with Xbox since day one original Xbox.
I’m a sort of new big AAA gamer only as played the games I wanted when released originally on whatever console.
So just feeling the drought a bit on Xbox this year on that front and feel they should be doing better management of game development etc.

@OM1993
You can see what Microsoft are doing
They are building a metaverse.
They have PC tied up with operating systems and office software and communications etc.
Now they are buying up game studios to create the gaming side of the metaverse , as that can be the biggest pull to get people over to your metaverse to start with.
Will be a good few years away yet but that’s what Microsoft are building towards.

@Dezzy70 That's fair and I respect that. I'm in the same boat as you to a degree, there is definitely a drought on the AAA exclusive side for MS, it has been impacted by the delays to Starfield and Redfall and yeah, I feel MS could be doing way better. They've made some promises they haven't been able to fulfill ie. Starfield and Redfall this year, but where I think MS have done well and what's keeping me going is the way MS have been communicating to their player base, the constant presence at showcases and provision of a clear, expsnsive roadmap. Couple that with third party output and some significant day and date GP additions from third party and I feel MS are doing their best to fill the gap. I know it's been sn empty 2022, but 2023 should see a significant pick up in exclusive output and massive additions to GP. GP will be giving you those new presents very soon, God forbid there be any more delays.

@Dezzy70 Umm I don't think they're creating a metaverse in all honesty. I don't, or maybe can't, see that's what they're actually doing. We'll see though.

@OM1993
I have fingers crossed for the big three to release by June 2023 as they said and of top AAA quality.
If they do then my series x will be back in the game once again.

@OM1993
Time will tell, if they don’t other competitors will and Microsoft are probably in the best position to and be first.
If I was them I wouldn’t want to miss out and I would to be the first.

What we should also be getting here is some release date confirmation for the big three, as they are supposed to release by June 2023
Starfield, Redfall and FM.
Even Nintendo have given release dates for games next year the main one of course BOTW2 May 2023.
Come on Xbox fill us in and give us some dates of confidence and something to look forward to.

@Dezzy70 I've got hope those 3 will make it by June 2023, and I'm confident all of them will turn out well. The Redfall Japanese localisation confirmation today is telling me that development must be wrapping up and is almost ready to go, localisations are normally done at the end of a development cycle, right? I'm sure announcements for release dates for the big 3 will be around the corner. Next year is shaping up to be one insane year for gaming across the board. The metaverse stuff, something to keep an eye on for sure.

@UltimateOtaku91 Its a good game. Once you get it, and I don't mean downloading it, I mean understanding the whole "this is how it works, and this is what needs to be done" you will have a ball.

@Spazmonic can you turn off the real players invading your game? That was one of the things that was putting me off

Finally. A bunch of reasons to resubscribe to GPU. Perfect timing as well.

Welp, looks like I have PLENTY to play before Plague Tale and eventually High On Life come out, then Crisis Core in December. And seeing there are JRPGs in here it'll take me a while, not to mention MoonScars comes out in a few weeks (which I am greatly anticipating). Not enough time for all this goodness, and aside from Crisis Core it all won't cost me but the price of that Game Pass sub. The gift that keeps on giving from Western, Eastern, Indies and all around.

Eatin' good!

@UltimateOtaku91 Yep. First thing I turned off. It will be an AI Julia instead

@Dezzy70 I think the only thing we can do is wait. I do think Microsoft needs to something to reel in its studios a bit on the development side of things - I think Microsoft might be a little too loose on letting developers do their own thing and requirements creep just screws everything up **cough** Everwild **cough**.

But the way I see it, there is going to be a crazy influx of games flooding the console around the same time - given all the studios that Microsoft has making games right now. And Microsoft is heavily vested in UE5, so the games are going to have that AAA look and feel you enjoy.

Sony is kind of in the opposite boat for first-party PS5-only games for a while. The majority of the titles released on PS5 so far are remakes, or cross-gen titles.

No current-gen-only God of War for a while (or whatever game Santa Monica Studios does next). No current-gen-only Horizon for a while (or whatever game Guerilla does next). No current-gen-only Gran Turismo for a while. No current-gen-only game from Housemarque for a while.

Insomniac seems to the only first-party developer carrying the PS5 torch at the moment with Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine.

Naughty Dog has Factions in the queue. But I really want to see that studio branch out from The Last of Us and Uncharted. I just don't see that happening for the foreseeable future.

Bluepoint is probably doing a remake. While I am sure it will be brilliantly crafted, it will be yet another remake.

Bend Studios next game is probably a long way off (though Days Gone is 3 years old at this point).

Sucker Punch next game is probably a long way off.

The next Astro game will probably be PSVR2.

Certainly not knocking Sony, at least it is still releasing solid first-party titles, but it's also looking like Sony is following Nintendo - solid games for the first couple of years and then low output from a first-party standpoint.

Honestly, we have yet to really see the "current-gen" in action from both of these machines.

We've seen a little bit from Sony with Ratchet & Clank and to a certain extent Returnal...but that's about it.

Microsoft still has to show us anything, but I think the time is coming and it will come with a flood.

That's a lot of great stuff. Odyssey is the reason I bought a PS4.
Danganronpa is also super cool.
And I might try Fuga.

The fact that we are getting Guilty Gear on Xbox is huge, and that’s what’s exciting overall.

@Snake_V5 By now, Im starting to think Sony extended their exclusivity to Intergrade by 2 years or something.

I'm sure Xbox would had done anything in his power to bring it over, if it was an option. If Square's reason to not bring it was supposed low sales, they would had paid for the port, but even that makes no sense, since Square is actually giving us Reunion/Crisis Core. So there got to be some contractual agreement locking the game from coming to XBox.

@Dr_Luigi personally felt there was no much "waffle" in this presentation. Think we had maybe 2 or 3 Japanese devs have some chatter going on, but even those were rather short IMO. None of it was, IMO, as dragged as Shigeru Miyamoto's Pikmon Bloom trolling before the teaser reveal of Pikmin 4.

@Dezzy70 I think today's show hits different for you and me, the games shown today are either already on playstation/nintendo and have been for a while and the other games are also coming to playstation/nintendo, but for most people on here who only own an xbox and have done for the last two gens are getting a lot of new games they haven't played before, and jrpgs they didn't think they would ever get, I mean ni no kuni is years old yes but at the same time it's a damn good jrpg that these people are in for treat when they play it for the first time.

I can see why most people were disappointed in the show and will bash it it, but purely from an xbox perspective it was good for them, and Deathloop is in the same category as its a new game to them also.

I was waiting for Ni No Kuni to come to Xbox, This is a big W.. Also Deathloop & AC Odyssey on gamepass, This was a Great showing for Xbox..

@UltimateOtaku91
I get your point and I definitely wasn’t bashing the actual individual game quality.
Just game pass.

@GamingFan4Lyf
Correct me if I’m wrong but you have a point all three big Xbox games due before June 2023
Starfield, Redfall and Forza are all new generation console only and PC.

If correct I think that is a great thing, however the pressure will be in those games to show something a little special being new generation only.

WOOOOOOW like half the games on this list I wanna play. Gamepass just keeps giving and giving

Edit: I need my new TV noW!!! i havent been able to play Xbox in a month and now all these games are coming out.

Danganronpa V3 Anniversary Edition
Guilty Gear
Blazeblue
Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Remastered

wow

@Snake_V5 @Tharsman It's Square. They don't need a reason to not port games they just don't. They already confirmed FFXIV is planned for Xbox, but they don't have an timetables for it. And that's a monthly sub that would pull in money. They're just hard to figure out some time.

If it's contractual, I'm assuming either Sony somehow tied 7R to 7R2's terms which wouldn't make sense because Crisis Core is coming, or it has nothing to do with Sony and has more to do with the PC stores exclusivity, and MS doesn't want it if it's not on PC and XB at the same time.

But more likely it's just Square being Square. On a random Tuesday in February 2029 they'll just announce the entire FF7R series plus FFXIV is now on Game Pass during a presentation on FFXVII being set during WWII, and it's a MOBA, iOS exclusive. lol.

@UltimateOtaku91 I think the big highlight from an Xbox perspective goes beyond just getting new games you didn't have access to and is more about a stronger showing the Xbox is slowly but surely building up to parity as far as third party non-contractually exclusive games are concerned, especially Japanese games. Sony and Nintendo have had a "free" exclusivity on some games/publishers forever and never let XB (or Sega for that matter in the day) in on the action. So seeing title parity starting to happen and getting publishers/studios that rarely or never worked with XB building their back catalogue of famous games and more of their new games including all platforms and not just "PC/PS" and "Nintendo/PC" is more about seeing the platforms become actual equals, especially where Japanese content is concerned. Except for Octopath 2 lol.

If Falcom were to take the jump at some point, there'd finally be near universal game parity for Japanese content short of paid exclusivity. Of course Falcom's currently not supporting PS properly, and is farming out Switch and PC to fan made content, so shrug

@NEStalgia I agree, I think xbox having multiple older Japanese games on gamepass such as persona 5, ni no kuni and guilty gear would bring more attention and revenue than xbox would having 1 fully exclusive Japanese game, they are making great progress and just need a few more heavy hitters like YS and Trails and NIS games then they are 99% caught up, oh and atelier games.

@UltimateOtaku91 Atelier games into xbox would really be amazing, more so if they are playable via Game Pass Streaming (be it by being on Game Pass or that program they hinted about where we get to stream games we buy.)

As it stands, I play them on Switch because I get to go portable any time I want. If it was on XBox and able to stream, I would get to play the games in 4k AND walk away from my TV whenever I feel like it.

@Tharsman yeah that would be neat, I love atelier games and can't wait for ryza 3, they also suit handheld play as they are more relaxing games and can be played in short bursts. But, saying that I got put off buying them for my switch when I got atelier lydie and suelle, the performance wasn't great and the graphics comparison with the ps4 version was what made me get future games on playstation.

If Nintendo can make the switch 2 more powerful and make anime games run fine then I'd gladly go back to playing jrpgs on nintnedo. I mean currently it struggles to run even disgaea 6 and rune factory 5.

@NEStalgia I don't know what to think about Sony and Square's relationship. Its not that Square and Sony are that close, because if they were they would not also have so many Nintendo timed exclusivity deals too. I think Sony is indeed trying their best to force the Final Fantasy = PlayStation, even if that means renegotiating exclusivity windows.

It would not be the first strange deal they do for a single game. Even weirder was Dragon Quest XI, that was Handheld exclusive for 3DS, and console exclusive for PS4, but then they do an enhanced edition that was, for a year, exclusive to Switch, only for it to instantly jump into PS4 and XBox Game Pass after that window.

I honestly think Square does not make anything exclusive without someone slapping a few stacks of cash on their hands.

Play FUGA people, it deserves it.

Guilty Gear Strive on gamepass in 2023 is pretty hype though.

@UltimateOtaku91 personal take, but I will always pick a non-action focused JRPG on a platform I can play portably than on one that gives me better graphics. I'll take terrible frame rate dips and low resolutions if that's the counter balance.

Therefore, only way I can see myself playing such games outside a Switch is if they are on Game Pass streaming.

If the game combat is more action focused, then I'll likely pick a more powerful console. Like, I don't think I would play FFVII Remake on Switch even if it was an option (but I would still buy it because I'm that kind of idiot that loves those tiny carts on those red boxes on my shelves.)

@Tharsman tbh i think it's just down to lazy devs, I've been playing fire emblem heroes and xenoblade chronicles 3 on switch and they run great, and they are more hardware demanding than most games.

How do the atelier ryza games run on the switch?

@UltimateOtaku91 Likely the near yearly cycle they been pushing does not give them enough time to better optimize for Switch. As far as how does Ryza run, I have no complaints but my eye is extremely forgiving after a few hours with any game. Would be best to find a comparison video. Sadly, Digital Foundry does not seem to care about that type of games 😅

@Dezzy70 I don't think Redfall will "wow" people in terms of being "current-gen" but I could be wrong. It looks like a great game, but I don't see if being this "welcome to current-gen" type game. It will be a great addition to Game Pass though!

I have a bad feeling about Starfield. I think it will suffer from the same problems as previous Bethesda RPGs: loading stutter and outrageously bizarre bugs. I think if one were to purchase the game, it's one to wait a few months for a few patches to drop. Again, another great draw to Game Pass, though! I mean, the trailers we have seen look great, but I don't think those were running on Xbox hardware.

Forza will be the one to wow. If the framerate locks at 60fps and they can keep the visuals on both Series X and S; then that will be something special.

Fable, Everwild, Gears, Hellblade, Avowed, Perfect Dark - that is probably going to be the flood of AAA games I am talking about that will just start dropping like every 6 months of each other (or less) - probably starting with Hellblade and ending with Everwild.

Who knows what other smaller titles will come around in between from Microsoft's other studios from Double Fine, InXile, etc.

Plus, we don't even know what is cooking up with other studios under Bethesda (and maybe Activision Blizzard?).

X1 development is all but dead and yet the console can still be supported via Cloud Streaming.

@Tharsman Square and Sony definitely have a "special relationship" of some sort, considering their mutual stock trade transactions when each other needed it, their long-standing, and large quantity of exclusivity contracts etc. It's not a normal platform/plublisher relationship for sure. But at the same time, I think Square just always has their hat out and will always dance for the highest bidder, and Sony has built a routine around being the default highest bidder. But Sony only bids on the "big" Western-oriented AAA blockbuster franchises, and Nintendo bids on the AA stuff they feel resonates with their core Japan market. MS ALMOST bought them once, so their hat even extends to Redmond.

Sony definitely is invested in the FF brand, and may DQ brand. But even there their interest is odd. They don't have a lock on 14, but yet it doesn't come to XB still (but will). They didn't port FF and KH to Nintendo or XB for decades, but had some entries in the KH series exclusive to Nintendo, but then released everything all at once when they did. Sony's doing? Or just Square-randomness? Hard to say. They want 7 to be exclusive and pay for it, but only for timed windows, yet it still doesn't get ported.....yet Crisis Core, previously a PSP exclusive is going to be on everything.

DQXI is the weirdest of all. Remember that DQXI was the first game announced for "NX" before "NX" even had a name or public concept. Then they have the weird 3DS (Japan) + PS Exclusivity deal, but the PS version wasn't even complete in the Japan edition (Western release had voices, Japanese release did not) like they just stopped working on it and shipped it as-is. Then never spoke of the Switch version at all, avoiding it and skirting it and at one point saying "we're not allowed to talk about that because of adult reasons" (Nintendo reasons? Sony reasons? Matsuda reasons?) Then suddenly they dump the Switch exclusive version that's completely remade with worse assets in a new engine, but a completely new soundtrack, finally finished Japanese VAs, and much more quests and QoL features. Then after a year of that, they drop the same version on XB and PS, with no upgrade path, leaving the original prettier but incomplete PS exclusive version dangling and abandoned.

That might be the strangest exclusivity arc in the history of games.

There's definitely many things that are strange about the relationship between the two, and it's so random I don't think anyone can guess what really goes on behind those closed doors.

The funny thing is that a lot of people weren’t big fans of the direct. (Im not one of them). I mean I get it farming sims and AA JRPGs. I really have liked all three big shows this year. I thought they all did good. Not perfect but good :3

BTW Play Fuga that is all.

Norco was announced for Xbox (and PlayStation) at TGS today. Coming 10/20. It’s already on PC GamePass so fingers crossed it will be on console GP too!

@GamingFan4Lyf
I see your point but you walked into what I don’t like, Redfall and Starfield being ok for game pass.
Xbox need more than ok for game pass and that is my biggest concern. A sort of AA / AAA in the middle. I enjoy the most big AAA production games and to be the best they can be in all areas on the console they are developed for. Otherwise it’s a waste to me.

Xbox need to wow big style, they are up against some of Nintendos and Sonys finest. They have the most powerful console and should be showing off against Nintendos and Sonys finest.

Like, look at this never mind GOWR or BOTW2.
Yes Forza will be top draw AAA I think but it’s not a massive general public crowd puller.

I have a horrible feeling Microsoft are going in a different direction, mainly mid AA to AAA and getting this a bit wrong, but time will tell.
General public need to be wowed and fall for the game and the characters etc. They have a massive up hill battle to get close to the other two in game and character recognition with the engagement with the general public, and I don’t think they will get there.
Apart from the buy it strategy like with COD.

@Dezzy70 For a different take, I want "AAA" to die in a hole. It's a poison that has destroyed gaming by dragging out development times, raising budgets to unsustainable levels, demanding ever rising fees from the same customers to pay for overbudget product costs relative to the size of the market, all in the name of the belief that graphics/productionvalue = game quality. AA games hit the sweet spot more often than not of being a fleshed out game without overspending too much of the time and money in building everything including the kitchen sink to maximize visuals/production value at the expense of actual interesting game content. Flashy=better certainly works at the sales level, but I don't think it makes a better game.

But....you're STILL confusing in terms of what you define to be AAA. You'll give Xenoblade, Zelda and Mario "AAA" credentials, but not Starfield which is guaranteed to be significantly larger still, with even more content, and even better graphics, but you happen to want "more" from it otherwise it's not AAA Meanwhile GoW2018 is hailed as an AAA marvel and it's literally a PS2-era corridor combo slasher but with less content and variety, just because the details are pretty and the acting is good.

If MS is going "AA to AAA" that excites me. Especially with a roster of RPGs. Going "AAAA" means focusing on graphics/production value to the tune of lowest common denominator gameplay and safe, samey design choices. Basically, becoming Ubisoft. Going AA means taking risks, being creative, and mixing up swings and misses with some home run cult classics, which is what's been missing from all but the Japanese and indie game industries for years. Not overspending on production value and therefore needing less return on each investment, allowing it to take more risks to cater to more niches. Which is what Nintendo does, but you call that "AAA" To be fair, they tell your wallet it's "AAA" so it's fair that it might confuse you

@NEStalgia rumour has it @Dezzy70 returns all things that require AA batteries, only AAA batteries will suffice in his household.

@NEStalgia
That’s cool different tastes for different gamers.
I think AAA top end is the best thing ever.

As for Starfield if it is the best it can be for the console it is on the series x in my case then it’s AAA to me. But it won’t be for the console it is on.
The planets to me looked dull and lifeless so far.
They should be lush and full of live and weather effects and environmental interactions etc.
Good example of this let down is Halo Infinite.
so then to me it’s not the best it can be.

I know it’s just me I’m afraid and the way I like things, the best it can for the console it is on or dam close to it, to be fair.

It doesn’t mean to other gamers that those other games that are not AAA to me, might be AAA or something else to them and they might really enjoy them.

It’s just different tastes and different expectations for each gamer. And mine are mine and others are theirs.

As long as we buy and enjoy the games we like that is fantastic.

@UltimateOtaku91
Good point, I will have to look into this.
No where is my tv remote 😂😂😂

Norco confirmed by dev as coming to Xbox GamePass!

https://twitter.com/rawfury/status/1570421965474734080?s=46&t=iLSr4KqI7bFwR3Nb97fgNA

@NEStalgia whats the official definition for AAA though? To me it's determined by budget spent which reflects a games price, any game with an RRP over £50 surely is a AAA, apart from collectors editions etc AA are games like soul hackers, plague tale, hellblade which are between £25-£49 and then there's indies which I'd class as less than £25.

Hence why I believe no anime/jrpg game is an AAA. But still doesn't mean a thing compared to how much you enjoy a game, it's just a way to grade a games budget.

@UltimateOtaku91
True I do have maybe a wonky definition of AAA but it’s just my way of defining a game I guess.
AAA to me is a game that is dam near to the best it can be for that type of game and the console it is on at that time of the consoles life cycle.
Good examples to me for each console and released:
Forza Horizon 5
Horizon Forbidden West
Mario Odyssey

It of course doesn’t mean that is the same for everyone and that we couldn’t find fault in those games above of course we could.
But to me at the time of release and compared to similar on the market those are the dog top examples of that type of game.

Then when another of that type of game comes along I expect the same or if not better, depending on the time span between releases.

@Dezzy70 "I'm easily distracted by shiny things"
-Dezzy70, PureXbox.com

@UltimateOtaku91 LOL. But he also calls CR2032 coincells "AAA" because for the devices they go in that don't fit AAAs, they're AAA enough in relative terms.

Sploosh said it in terms of budget or team size. Going by the retail price doesn't work out. Soul Hackers 2 is $60 in the US, so it's "AAA" price. I'm sure Diofield will be as well. But both are clearly AA in terms of actual game budget and development scale. But it really refers to the game's cost/budget/manpower to make, which MOST of the time means a huge focus on production value, which also necessitates building it for the widest possible market to pay for that cost, which then means it's the Michael Bay effect of the prettiest, most paper thin content possible with the flashiest appearance to reach the largest possible market to pay for the extraordinarily, unrealistically high cost to produce. When Japan tries that......you get modern FF

But sometimes that cost and content isn't about graphics, like with even WRPGS (Bethesda included) where production value isn't the priority but an absurd amount of scale and content takes the same amount of over the top resources. That's why I poke Dezzy. He sees it as purely about the visuals when it's on XB/PS, but not on Switch where smaller, cheaper games are assigned the "AAA" status based on the hardware it's running on and not the actual game I.E. Starfield with physics and interactivity on every single object is AA but Xenoblade with static, pretty, but streamlined everything is AAA....even while the devs said it's more of an AA series, in so many words.

@Dezzy70 I mean, Cyberpunk is "AAA". By that standard, if the game boots, it's "AAAA"

Seriously though, AAA is subjective and people may define it differently, but what's funny about your definition is that you're not consistent with your own definition. You just change it based on if you happen to like the game it's "AAA" I'd call you a graphic's snob based on your Starfield concept, but then you put relatively low budget Nintendo games up there as AAA, it's just kind of funny

@NEStalgia
Yes there is a graphics snob in me but other factors have to be there to enjoy the game.
I mean FH5, HFW, BOTW for their relative console all have the gameplay and control and game control and optional interfaces as well.
They definitely would not be AAA to me if they didn’t.
Now Halo Infinite has all the above like the fps sweet controls, good game play etc but is terribly let down by limited environmental graphics and graphical effects and one biome. So to me that game could have been so much better if it had top AAA graphics, environmental effects, varied biomes, weather effects and been larger in scale.
It would have created more variety, better exploration and immersion, a joy to explore.
Therefore it has not been developed and released to its full potential for a cross generation series x game at that time of release. Therefore not AAA.
For an open world it is not even up to standard of games over 4 years older that it.

@NEStalgia
As for your Nintendo games comment.
For the hardware it is on and at time of release
BOTW and Mario Odyssey are the pinnacle for AAA for the Switch console.
Now of course 5 years have passed and BOTW 2 is also Switch only so I’m expecting some improvements all round, which there will be.

@SplooshDmg Out of interest, is there any difference between this version of Danganronpa V3 and the version that's on Steam?

@NEStalgia I've always found the idea of categorizing games, and especially assigning worth to them, based on how expensive they are to produce to be a bizarre concept.

@Dezzy70 You like what you like, no one can take that from you. I think your idea that "great for Game Pass = mediocre game" is a little silly; but I respect your opinion.

I mean, if Starfield ends up being the greatest game Bethesda ever made, wouldn't that still make it "great for Game Pass" since it adds significant value to the service to have such a strong AAA gem?

When I say "great for Game Pass" I don't mean a game that would only succeed if it released on Game Pass. "Great for Game Pass", to me, means a solid game that adds significant value to subscribing to the service - even if that game isn't some "current-gen" defining game.

@SplooshDmg 😂 after years of dissing switch and buying a GPU that costs more than a Lear jet youre now a die hard nintendrone! 😆

@Dezzy70 Halo infinite has many problems and "AAA" graphics is not one of them... . I mean I don't disagree with your take on infinite, but that game is it's own whole conversation on getting it wrong...

I have a 75mhz pentium rig with a diamond stealth 2mb video card that chugs under the intense overload of software quake 1..... That's triple ay right there for the hardware.

@GamingFan4Lyf
I think I got miss understood by the way I wrote what I wrote about game pass.
I do agree with what you have put.

What I really meant, will Xbox make games maybe not as AAA as they could be, because Xbox are putting them on game pass, which still makes it great value. Therefore Xbox feel that the game is good enough as it is going on a great value subscription service.
Not spending as much money on making the game as they are not getting £60 for each game sold, as we can play it for free, sort of on gamepass.
I mean being honest in 2 years of the series console life, only FH5 I would class as big end AAA game.

@Dezzy70 I see what you are saying, thanks for clarifying.

I honestly don't like the Game Pass narrative either. It has gotten to the point where it seems people forget that even games that launch Day 1 on Game Pass are still for sale in stores. Game Pass isn't the requirement.

For instance: getting Game Pass Ultimate to play CoD for a whole year is actually more expensive than purchasing the game and paying for 1 year of Gold (if you buy Gold in 3-month increments).

Getting Game Pass to play a single game for a long period of time is actually not as economically sound as simply paying for it up front.

Yes, there are going to be people who get a month or two of Game Pass just for a game, finish it, and stop renewing. But a game like Starfield - assuming it's good - is one where people will be playing it for years (it's a Bethesda RPG game after all). It's much cheaper to buy the game outright.

The same for the next Gears. If you play the multiplayer for a long time, it doesn't make sense to pay for Game Pass JUST for that game. Buy it outright and just use Gold.

Game Pass is the best value when it has a variety of things to try. I think one developer compared it to old-school game rental (and not in a bad way). It shouldn't be seen as the only way to play games on Xbox.

Bottom line: I don't think quality should be hindered for the games because the games are still on sale like any other game. I think the Game Pass narrative has just been beaten into people's heads at this point - which may be something Microsoft wanted all along.

I get Game Pass Ultimate for free, so I absolutely love it. But I wouldn't subscribe if I didn't. I would go back to buying games if that perk ever runs out for me.

@GamingFan4Lyf
I have gampass currently but depending on next years first party AAA release dates and game quality, to see if I keep it or not.
With My PS5 and Switch I just buy the games if I want them.
So this year so far switch one game Kirby and MK 8 dlc.
PS5 HFW and then it will be GOWR Nov 2022.
So going on the above cheaper for me not to have gamepass. Especially this year as buying Xbox games would be Zero.
I can easily leave Xbox next year and sell me series x. Will wait until the big three by June 2023 as per showcase.

I was busy yesterday and didn’t see this list… and wow, that’s a really solid lineup. I’m definitely checking out Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Deathloop, and Ni No Kuni! And with Fall Guys season 2 just starting as well… I’m gonna be really busy.