101Force

Anyone else notice that Pure Xbox didn't run an article in February, after the upcoming Games for Gold were announced, explicitly asking readers what they're looking forward to like they usually do? Yeah...

That reviews are allowed to be published before the game's release, even if just by a day, and that those reviews are overwhelmingly positive, bodes well for this game. I'm excited.

There was a fake leak from a while ago that suggested Starfield's aesthetic would be derived from the sci-fi art of John Berkey or John Harris, and while I'm a little disappointed that's not true I think this is still a good direction for the game's style.

As far as potential family / kid's games go, I think Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled has a lot more appeal than Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. A remake (or even a straight port) of the original Crash Team Racing would be pretty cool too.

And as far as World of Warcraft goes, I'd like to see single-player action RPGs exploring the series' myths and lore. They could probably get away with re-using some assets from World of Warcraft, and if done right it could bring more people into the online game.

Damn. The CRTs at the beginning of the video had me hoping a decent CRT filter would be available on Xbox consoles, implemented at the system level so it could be used in all games!

This looks like a good game to have on tap for get-togethers.

A game like Martha Is Dead — and the overwhelming majority of games for that matter — should not be censored. Parents should be given the tools necessary to regulate their children's access to video games, and everyone else should be given the tools necessary to determine for themselves if the game is a good fit for them. And if that's not enough for a company — Sony in this case — they should foster discussion and critique of the game, not censorship.

If Microsoft really wants their storefront on as many devices as possible a sure-fire way of doing that is by supporting operating systems that emphasize privacy, whether that be in new versions of Windows and its derivatives, or alternatives like GrapheneOS. The reality is people can be loyal to an all-encompassing storefront for the convenience, but they want to be in control of their purchases and don't want to be stalked by algorithms.

This is one of the few games I will buy regardless of whether or not it goes to Game Pass.

I'd bet most of them are mods for the Bethesda games that support mods, but maybe (if we're lucky) they're legacy games that currently aren't available for Xbox consoles, such as Brink, Wet, etc. I hope they aren't NFTs either way.

Medellín, Colombia.

Portray a story involving a Colombian cartel, Colombian police, US military personnel (who are actually stationed in colombia to help fight drug cartels), and the innocent bystanders caught up in the South American drug war. Aesthetically it's a beautiful city with a lot of different types of architecture and features that would translate well to a video game as well.

@Savage_Joe : A significant number of PC users have less powerful GPUs than the GTX 1060 according to Steam, and the GTX 1060 doesn't have ray tracing so arguably the Series S is a bit better — but isn't the belief that the Series S is "holding back the current gen" a pretty common sentiment?

I agree with you though, the vast majority of games — their textures, models, etc. — can be scaled between different resolutions and colour depths without issue. Disparity develops with relatively unique features that rely on specialized processors. And we're seeing this right now with ray tracing and DLSS 2.0, but other features / specialized instruction sets could develop around fluid dynamics, AI behavior, improved model interaction, etc. and if those features are used in gameplay elements I think we'll see a sharp divide between "next gen" and everything else, like the difference between sprite-based GPUs and 3D-capable GPUs in the mid-1990s.

And I definitely agree with you that developers — even AAA developers — can rely on raw power to make up for incredibly poor optimization. For decades the demoscene has proven that effective optomization goes a lot further than most commercial products are willing to go. .kkrieger comes to mind as a good example.

@romando : Yeah, of course it's the developers. But no developer in their right mind is going to design a game explicitly for 2021 or newer hardware when such a large amount of the PC market is running GPUs from 2016 or older. Maybe when the silicon shortage transitions to the expected surplus in 2023 or 2024, assuming the growing copper shortage isn't too much of a problem, the lowest denominator for game specs won't be 6-year-old PC hardware.

@romando / @Xiovanni : According to Steam's last hardware survey from December of 2021 93% of Steam's users have DirectX 12 GPUs and slightly more than 50% of those users have a GeForce 10 (or equivalent) series of GPU or older. And from what I've read the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are more closely comparable to GeForce 20 GPUs, so it really does seem as though PC is "holding back" game development.

I wonder how much of this is an optimization issue and how much of it is a hardware limitation issue. Unfortunately we aren't likely to get an entirely honest answer from the developer or Microsoft either way.

I'd bet none of these unannounced "major gaming deals" are acquisitions specifically that involve Microsoft because they aren't likely to enter a "major" acquisition until after the Activision-Blizzard acquisition is finalized.

It's a shame to see The Medium leaving so soon.

And to anyone thinking of buying Control — the Game Pass version is the Xbox One version — and the save file doesn't transfer over to the X|S version of Control. But the X|S version, especially the Ultimate Edition, is absolutely worth buying regardless.

@sirmrguitardude : Don't be absurd. China and Russia have absolutely nothing to do with Elon Musk's endorsement of an anti-democratic coup or with Bolivia's democracy in general.

But you know that Elon Musk has ties to both China and Russia, right? When the world condemned Russia for blowing up a satellite in November of last year Musk publicly defended Russia. And on July 1st, the 100th Anniversary of the CCP, Musk Tweated praise for China. Musk has publicly rubbed shoulders with Dmitry Rogozin, Jack Ma, etc. And half of all Teslas are produced and sold in China too.

@sirmrguitardude : Musk has his hand in lithium mines in Australia, Quebec, and an upcoming mine in Cornwall, England. It doesn't change the fact he publicly endorsed the coup in Bolivia explicitly for cheap lithium.

@sirmrguitardude : No hate, just facts. And are you suggesting we should endorse the overthrow of democractic nations if it benefits our country's business interests? How well did that work out in Iran, and the UK where a number of Iranian refugees wound up because of it?

@CaptainCluck : And than you for the amicable discussion. Had we been elsewhere — Reddit, Facebook, etc. — well, I'm sure you know what to expect with those sites!

@BomberBlur07 : From what I've read elsewhere Capcom will most likely remain independent. Apparently the founding family still holds key roles at Capcom and, referring to another company they founded and were pushed out of, Irem, have stated they have no intention of losing control of Capcom.

That was quick.

@CaptainCluck : You're kidding, right? Musk openly endorsed the fall of democracy in Bolivia because it meant he could access cheap lithium. He made false and totally unwarranted accusations about cave-rescuer Vernon Unsworth. He ruined whistleblower Martin Tripp's life for calling out unsafe working conditions. He defied state Covid orders at the Tesla plant in Fremont, California, and fired anyone that called in sick. He wasn't a Tesla founder, but sued the founders to be regarded as such on legal documents. Despite what he says about being apolitical, records show he spends millions on political lobbying every year. These are all well-documented events, and the list goes on. Elon Musk isn't a good person, and arguments to the contrary are typically reliant on tech enthusiasm.

Destiny is a hell of a drug.

@CaptainCluck : Charismatic? Sure, without a doubt. Likeable? He is to tech enthusiasts what Trump is to American Evangelicals, an awful person by several different measures.

Elon Musk is literally an oligarch who — given his comments on Bolivia — has made it incredibly clear that he thinks nothing of putting the average person under the heel of a boot if it benefits him. But apparently he likes memes and video games, and his third wife was a pop star, so the peasants think he's one of them.

Everywhere in the world wealth is being hoarded, real wages are stagnating, wealth is being transferred into foreign holdings, less and less money is circulating through local economies, inflation is increasing due to surging production costs and increasing demand, the environmental/ecological crisis is increasing healthcare costs while reducing revenue from a variety of sectors, the silicon shortage is increasing the cost of electronics, the developing iron and aluminum shortages are affecting a variety of sectors... and UbiSoft thinks the problem is that gamers "don't get" NFTs? The problem is that UbiSoft doesn't really understand (or care) how the average person's life is changing, or how grifting and skimming schemes based around NFTs is making it worse.

/rant

I'm not as disappointed with this month's selection as others have been, but I still feel Microsoft should discontinue Games for Gold to put more into Game Pass (or to prevent a price-hike on Game Pass). If some kind of product really needs to be tied to Xbox Gold then something along the lines of unique add-ons for a relatively simple game (Doom, Quake, etc.) or smaller indie games that are otherwise unavailable through the store would be far more appealing IMHO, and I bet it would be less costly on Microsoft's side.

I bought Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. There were a few others that piqued my interest, but they'll have to wait for another day.

@Carck : Interesting, I didn't know about Apple Arcade. So if there's anything to this rumour then a dedicated hardware platform is actually the logical conclusion? I have a hard time believing this is a good time to introduce a new gaming console, but I guess it depends on what Apple's long-term plans are.

I couldn't hazard a guess, but I hope if it's a game that originally only had online multiplayer that it features local multiplayer in the remake. Even remakes of original Xbox, Xbox 360, and early Xbox One games should be capable of supporting local multiplayer on the Xbox Series X|S.

Edit: I'm going to go out on a limb — a distant limb — and suggest Microsoft is going to remake Rare's classic platformer Digger T. Rock: Legend of the Lost City, featuring procedurally-generated levels, and switchable 8-bit, 16-bit, HD, and 4K graphics and music.

If there's any truth to this rumour — and I think that's a pretty big "if" — I would take it to mean Apple is bringing on people to establish a gaming service, similar to xCloud or Game Pass, that would probably be locked to iOS devices and may even just be an extension of their App Store.

@UltimateOtaku91 : Since 2006 Google has closed 247 of the products and companies they've acquired, so I don't know how you can possibly suggest Google would be a better fit for the gaming community than Microsoft. The Google of today, like Tencent, is a holding company that prioritizes passive income and minimal work revenues above all else, and acquisitions that fail to meet that modus operandi aren't sold or spun-off, they're shuttered forever.

Oh, and for what it's worth Minecraft on the Switch only requires an Xbox account if you're playing online with non-Switch players specifically. You can otherwise play Minecraft on the Switch without an Xbox account.

@NEStalgia : I always appreciate your posts. Thanks for your time!

Star Control? King's Quest? Space Quest? Police Quest? Archon? GUN? The Lost Vikings? Blackthorne? StarCraft? Vigilante8? Guitar Hero? Prototype? Singularity? Blur? Zork? Heretic? Crash Bandicoot Racing? Okay, that last one isn't old enough to be a "classic", but it's still good. There's a lot of games I think would do well with remakes, sequels, etc.

@NEStalgia : In the long-run I think Sony and Microsoft may very well team-up to take on the likes of Tencent, Amazon, Google, etc.

And I can already hear some people saying "Google? But Stadia is dead!" Yeah, well Google seriously considered working with Tencent to enact a hostile takeover of Epic Games — not for Stadia, but for the Google Play store:
https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/google-tencent-epic-games-stake

Speaking of which, before UbiSoft was acquired by Vivendi they were on the cusp of a hostile takeover by Tencent as well:
https://venturebeat.com/2018/03/20/ubisoft-evades-hostile-takeover-as-it-swaps-vivendi-for-tencent/

@UltimateOtaku91 : Tencent owns significant quantities of shares in more than 600 video game publishers and developers, and about 37% of them are located outside of China. Examples of their portfolio include 100% ownership over Riot Games, 100% ownership over Funcom, an "undisclosed majority ownership" over Fatshark, 85% ownership over Supercell, 40% ownership over Epic Games, and obviously a whole lot more. Tencent is by far the largest entity in the video game industry, and according to rumours they're in the process of acquiring both EA and Take-Two.

There are a lot of great titles here, hopefully with Microsoft's backing Activision-Blizzard looks into porting/remaking some of their older titles not on this list as well (and adding local multiplayer to various games, I'm still disappointed by the lack of it in the Diablo II Remake!)

As far as Sony's stock goes, this seems like a temporary market reaction to me, not a long-term trend.

I'm not too fussed by exclusives — there's enough games on every platform to have an enjoyable gaming experience wherever you are — but I do hope this acquisition encourages a few developments at Activision-Blizzard and its subsidiaries, no matter how unlikely:

• Local multiplayer in the Diablo II Remake, and possibly any other remakes of pre-2016 games (especially those that originally only supported online multiplayer, eg: many of the COD games). I know a lot of people will think this is unecessary, but it would further the appeal of the Xbox Series S as a "party console" or "family console" the way the Wii was circa 2013-2015.
• Action-RPGs (ala Skyrim) based on the Warcraft universe. If done correctly these games could be used to generate new interest in World of Warcraft while providing WoW players with insight into the series' lore and mythology. They could probably even get away with re-using some of WoW's assets.
• Remakes / Proper sequels of Archon, Vigilante 8, Star Control, GUN, Police Quest, King's Quest, Space Quest, StarCraft, Zork, etc.

Please, Phil, use your position to have local co-op implemented in the Diablo II remake!

@blinx01: I wouldn't rely on Switch cartridges for too long if I were you — they (like all forms of Flash/hybrid-Flash memory) have a lifespan of about 20 years, give or take.

Considering the backwards compatability program has been discontinued you'd think Microsoft would make the tools necessary to implement backwards compatability (at least those that couldn't be abused by the public developer program / mode) available to developers to aid in porting older games to the Xbox Series X|S.

The Xbox Series S has been my first foray into the Xbox ecosystem, and based on my experiences thus far I think I'll continue with Xbox in the next generation (whenever that is).

My only real gripe is that Microsoft hasn't really positioned the console very well as a "party console" or "family console" the way the Nintendo Wii was in 2012-2014, which is a market the Xbox Series S would otherwise be a great fit for. The relatively low number of local multiplayer games are the biggest culprit, and while there are things Microsoft could do to improve the situation a lot of that has to do with third-party developers though.

Overall the Xbox Series S is a great value for the money and when paired with Game Pass a great option. If the Xbox Series X isn't an option I recommend it.

"The place for all things co-op"

Except local co-op 😭

It's a real shame, both The Anacrusis and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege would probably be my jam — if they had splitscreen local co-op.

Also, does Mount & Blade: Warband support mods on Xbox consoles? That's a ridiculous part of the appeal on PC.

In my experience some of these games aren't very good for kids, eg: Forza Horizon and (even) Stardew Valley. And you're missing some great games for kids too, eg: LEGO Builders’ Journey, Terraria, Beach Buggy Racing 2: Island Adventure , The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf, Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered, The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem, Kitaria Fables, Cat Quest II, and probably a few others.

@Carck: Interesting. I'd guess the T&C you linked to is probably the one provided when you actually activate the service, but the T&C I linked to — which lacks those terms — is linked to from Microsoft's Developer Mode activation page:

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/xbox-apps/devkit-activation
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/windows/agreements/xbox-one-developer-mode-activation

Note both pages refer to those as the terms of the service, and the first page specifies it's for both Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S consoles.

It certainly would be the bee's knees if a lower tier of Ubisoft+ was bundled into Game Pass Ultimate, but I'm skeptical this can be done without a significant price-increase and suspect that would turn away a lot of people.

@mousieone: Sure, but that's not the reason being given for these deactivations. They specified it's due to a lack of product presence in the Xbox store.