Comments 613

Re: 'Animal Well' Is Exploding In Popularity, But Where's The Xbox Version?

Altaria_97

@GeeEssEff It could be a time-exclusivity deal but it could also just be the dev/publisher not seeing any financial incentive to bring it to XBOX.

Bringing it to another platform would probably mean more time optimizing it for said platform, testing it extensively, and paying fees to have it up on the storefront. If they don’t anticipate a lot of sales on XBOX, it might just not be worth their time and money to do so.

Re: Former Microsoft Exec Gives 'Two Reasons' Why Xbox Closed Bethesda Teams

Altaria_97

Got downvoted for this before but as good of a deal Game Pass is, it’s not good for the future development of single player titles. Games on the service don’t make money on a per sale basis, so they only care about install rates and hours played per game.

This means shorter single player games like Hi-Fi Rush and Ghostwire, or short co-op title like Redfall, will show much lower numbers.

Another big metric is the amount of new subscribers around the release of said games, but they barely marketed Hi-Fi Rush and its contemporaries. Most people outside of the XBOX sphere didn’t even know some of these games existed.

This is why they mainly care about games that have insane support prior to launch, like Starfield, or games where they can milk micro transactions or playtime down player’s throats. I’d bet that’s why Forza Horizon 5, Forza MotorSport, Halo Infinite, Sea of Thieves, and many more of their recent games have so many “live service” elements baked in.

There’s single player content coming that they’ve been developing for a while, like Avowed, Indiana Jones, and Gears… but I have a feeling they’ll slowly be shifting to only making live-service games over time, or single-player titles with a lot of live-service elements baked in that feel incomplete for many months.

Hopefully I’m wrong but things sure seem like they’re heading this way.

Re: Xbox Fans React Angrily To Closure Of Bethesda's Tango Gameworks

Altaria_97

Ghostwire Tokyo and especially Hi-Fi Rush are two of the best games XBOX has had over the past few years… and they just delete the studio. Legit doesn’t make any sense to me.

Even financially, they’re getting all of their money from GamePass. And if you’re comparing games by hours played… well, yeah, of course “complete” and shorter single player experiences like these will have way less hours played then sandbox titles like Starfield and online centered games like Forza and Halo.

Just a thought, but maybe with GamePass, Microsoft doesn’t care for games without online components where they can’t sink hundreds of hours into and monetize.

Forza MotorSport and Horizon 5 are heavily monetized now and more “online-focused” then ever. Same with Halo. And Bethesda keeps shoving Fallout 76 and Elder Scrolls Online down our throats. I have a feeling that Gears 6 is going to push online super hard and be heavily monetized. Maybe this is why Perfect Dark was in development hell for its first couple years… the devs had to switch things up to incorporate live-service elements and monetization?

I’m just theorizing and rambling now lol. This news just shocks me.

Re: Hellblade 2 Will Display With 'Black Bars' Outside Of Ultrawide Mode

Altaria_97

Didn’t care much for the first game but was thinking of giving this a shot… but man, they’re doing everything they can to deter me from even trying it. Not only have the gameplay and cutscenes not interested me, but the lack of a 60fps option and forcing a widescreen aspect ratio is just so weird. If you want the game to feel like a movie… then just make a movie lol.

Re: These Four Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (May 2-14)

Altaria_97

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I didn’t think Tomb Raider Definitive Edition ever released on PC. I thought PC players were stuck with the original 2013 release with the older Lara model and slightly downscaled visuals.

If the Definitive Edition enhancements are finally coming to PC, that would be great. Or maybe this is just the base version for PC. Or maybe they’ve always been on PC and I’ve been out of the loop haha.

EDIT: According to IGN, it’s the Definitive Edition coming to PC exclusively on the XBOX app! Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/tomb-raider-definitive-edition-finally-arrives-on-pc-after-a-decade-but-only-on-microsoft-store

Can’t wait to replay it with the enhanced visuals on PC!

Re: Xbox Announces Major Changes To Microsoft Rewards Going Forward

Altaria_97

It’s been nerfed heavily over the past 6+ months or so. This news doesn’t surprise me. It was probably the most generous of all rewards systems and I got many free games, DLC, and even a controller out of it for free or super cheap.

Curious if the new point structure will end up being worth the time investment… let’s hope so. Regardless, I’m happy I got to make use of Microsoft Rewards being overpowered while it was.

Re: Forza Motorsport 'Update 6' Arrives Today, Here Are The Full Patch Notes

Altaria_97

@scarecrowknife Yup, the game was updated about a month ago so we can skip practices in the pre-race menu. No more loading up the practice just to pause and hit skip.

I’m really excited to start playing again with that and the new car progression. They both seemed like unnecessary changes for the sake of changing things.

Now if only they could make the starting positions like the previous games.

Re: Warner Bros. Wants To Move Away From 'One And Done' Console Games

Altaria_97

Also… why wouldn’t they just reuse the engine and assets from Hogwarts Legacy to make a quick turnaround sequel/successor? Same with Batman Arkham Knight… legit boggles my mind.

Instead, let’s spend 8 years developing a live service game that no one asked for and sells like crap. But it’s not our fault if it flops, it’s the consumer’s fault!

Re: Warner Bros. Wants To Move Away From 'One And Done' Console Games

Altaria_97

How did these people manage to climb so high they when are this out of touch with the industry. Warner Bros, you guys missed the gold rush of live service games. Games like League, Fortnite, Apex, among a few others already took it all. That’s why so many live service games fail now.

You guys got all your success, money, and critical acclaim from your amazing single player experiences. Why throw away what works and take such a high risk? You’re basically betting your employees on green while playing roulette.

Re: These Six Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (March 7-19)

Altaria_97

I got SpongeBob a while back on Steam but never beat it cause I don’t really like being glued to my PC for single-player games. Very happy I can beat it on my TV now without double dipping.

I got Control for free on Epic and GoG but same case, I’d much rather play it on my living room sofa with my big TV. Good month for me.

Re: Toys For Bob Is Becoming An Indie Studio, Leaving Xbox And Activision

Altaria_97

I think this is good news. My guess is they wanted to be able to still work for Microsoft and Activision but not be forced to make stuff they don’t want, like Call of Duty and live service stuff.

This way, they can make their own games and choose from Microsoft’s offers as well. Given they’re financially stable enough, I think this might be good.

Re: 10 Years Ago, One Of The Best Shooters In Xbox History Made Its Debut

Altaria_97

I gave up on shooters for a good while after buying an XBOX One for Destiny and the Master Chief Collection. I thought Destiny was a repetitive snooze fest and the servers for The Master Chief Collection just didn’t work for the first month or two so I returned the game.

In retrospect I should have just picked up Titanfall. Way better game and a console exclusive nonetheless. But that was 10 years ago when I was in high school lol.

Re: Talking Point: What Did You Think Of The Xbox Kinect?

Altaria_97

I remember a few of my buddies had it when I was a kid and I always wanted to play it and they never did. Then when we finally played it I realized how much lag there was with it, plus a lot of the controls were finicky. It was really cool but more of a novelty, I can see why they never wanted to play it.

Re: Here's What Might Be Leaving Xbox Game Pass In February 2024

Altaria_97

I don’t want to speak too soon but I imagine Hot Wheels Unleashed is safe for another 6 months or a year. It’s already February 5th, so unless it’s a weird one that stays for a year plus one extra week or something then I think we would’ve already heard about it leaving.

Glad too, as I’m currently playing it and it’s a blast. Don’t wanna feel like I have to rush through it.

Re: Palworld Dev Explains Why Xbox Updates Are So Much Slower Than PC

Altaria_97

I know it’s still in beta but the game is very buggy, especially on console. My brother and I missed our first shiny because the game crashed right when we were about to throw out Pal ball at it. Then it was gone when we reconnected.

That said, the game is very fun despite feeling half-finished. The gameplay loop is fun so far and leveling up to take on bigger Pals is exciting. I’ll be playing more, just been playing it on my PC for better performance and audio.