Banjo-

@Gemini53 Yes, sometimes you could see some frustration and restraint in his face. He's so genuine, but he had people above him. I hate to say it, but when I see someone like Nadella or Sharma smiling, I find it creepy @Friendly.

@Gemini53 Phil is a gamer and did a great job combining his passion and his role in the business, improving and expanding the Xbox brand, the hardware and the software. You could see in his face when he was tired but still working hard, like during the ABK acquisition, and you could see when he was satisfied and happy. He earned a lot of money like all these executives, but he earned his money more than anyone else - and still had time to play on Xbox. Of course, he's not perfect, nobody is.

@Moby @Daffy-Duck So right!

@Savex We will have to wait and see, but enjoy your Series X in the meantime, it's a great console with tons of games to play! I really don't feel it needs to be replaced anytime soon. 😉

@RegnumSolipsi It's not confirmed, so we'll have to wait and see, but if the next Xbox has a Full Screen Experience, it will have third-party stores. What you say about Xbox games is one of the things that will likely happen. Once Xbox consoles and Windows PCs share the same game builds as I think they will, there won't be anything preventing Xbox games from being played on PCs. They will be the same. If they are developing Xbox backwards compatibility for Windows devices as I think they are, old Xbox games will also be playable on PCs.

Your other point is also interesting, but Sony has not prevented the Rog Xbox Ally X from playing Sony's games, and I don't think they have the slightest possibility of doing that on a console that will likely be a combination of console and PC. Maybe they won't release their games on the Xbox store, but if the next Xbox introduces third-party stores, they might publish those games on the Xbox store as well, because then there won't be a reason not to, especially once those games have been ported to Windows and are available on the console through another store. Besides, Sony has published games for Xbox before.

@Gemini53 @Gabe250 I grew up with Nintendo. On SNES, the left button (B) is generally to accept. On N64's controller, the first button at the bottom (A) is to accept. On Gamecube and Wii, the big button (A) is to accept. It was Wii U and, before that, DS, that went back to the SNES layout, and that's when they changed B to a cancel button and A to an accept button. When I got used to it, switching between Nintendo and Xbox was troublesome, but the Xbox layout was what I embraced, funnily because of Grabbed by the Ghoulies. I remapped the buttons on Switch (Mobapad M6 HD), but when I play on Wii U, 3DS or DS, I still need to remember that buttons are "reversed".

@RegnumSolipsi Consider this. If Xbox was a closed ecosystem, those fears would be justified, but if Xbox and Windows games become the same build as I think, absolutely everything will be on Xbox. Maybe Sony's games too, via the Xbox store or a third-party store like Steam. Xbox One X was not the most popular mid-gen console and it was widely supported with specific free patches by third parties, even more than PS4 Pro. Series X is not popular, much less in Japan, and it has received more Japanese support than ever before. Xbox has always been well supported, developers like it, and it sells a lot of software and subscriptions considering the limited market share, so imagine when it won't need specific Xbox ports.

@Millionski The thing is that I don't see why any of these moves affect you as a console player negatively. Their strategy is to expand, not to replace. It's clear with Xbox Play Anywhere, Cloud and Full Screen Experience. You might not use or like them, but they are not taking the native experience from you. Actually, those things will support the whole ecosystem in the long term. Being console-only does not guarantee a thing, and that's why Sony, despite of their significant hardware sales, needs to sell more software, needs PC to some extent. This is also why Square Enix abandoned exclusivity deals.

If anything, the approach of Xbox is the most inclusive and future-proof of the three console makers. With Nintendo, you never know what will come next (a Wii U or a Switch?) and if you'll have to buy the same games again - not available elsewhere. With Sony, you can buy their exclusives on PC if you wish, and everything else is everywhere. Their own ecosystem (store, saves in most cases) is closed, and I don't see that as a positive. With Microsoft, everything is connected, purchases, save files (for free unlike the other two) and you can play on several platforms. Even some remasters are free on Xbox if you have the original games. Moreover, excluding the underused PS5 Pro, Microsoft has released the technically better hardware and has now the strongest first-party output. From a consumer's point of view, I consider Xbox the best console. I'm not going to say the best platform, but that would be PC, not PS or Nintendo.

The traditional console strategy is not part of Microsoft and Sony's plans, because it's not viable, except for Nintendo's low budgets, because half of their games are ports or updates of the previous console (Wii U - Switch - Switch 2), that was not that ambitious to begin with. The future of Microsoft and Sony is multiplatform, in one way or another.

I haven't played this campaign yet, but I liked Black Ops 6 a lot. If I remember well, 7 was reported to not be as successful as 6, so perhaps the message still reach them.

@CallMeDuraSouka Sony fans took over this community some time ago. Most Xbox fans are just playing games. 😂

@RegnumSolipsi All that is what we see everyday, even when there is actually good news about Xbox, there's always a negative spin. Nintendo can be infinitely cruel and Sony can be infinitely incoherent and few people complain and most justify their decisions.

Regarding today's news, I haven't said anything positive, because Phil is leaving and this woman is an AI expert, but I'm reading what she has posted, wondering if it's written by her and if it's true. In "Second", I'd say that someone needs to be a bit more demanding to avoid situations like The Initiative, that cost a fortune and didn't do anything but a short demo - that looked great, probably thanks to Crystal Dynamics. The excellent Xbox studios excel, the not so good are a bit of a mess and need some help.

The second one is also the most reassuring, because it confirms once again and for the 35th time, that there will be more Xbox hardware that will be backwards compatible and respect our digital libraries. That's the most important thing, at the end of the day. It won't be a traditional Xbox and will probably run other PC stores, but it will still be an Xbox in terms of library, support and user interface. Maybe, we'll also be playing Xbox games natively outside consoles.

Finally, she made sure to clarify that AI won't dominate Xbox, because that's the last thing that any player wants. It's a letter that tries to address the main worries. Time will tell.

@The_Nintendo_Expat Unfortunately, Nintendo became a greedy, ruthless and cruel company after Iwata and Reggie. I don't even recognise my childhood's favourite company anymore. A new AI-expert boss for Xbox sounds like a joke. There were more options, I'm sure, even that Nintendo's woman that died against the first Goomba in the New Super Mario Bros. Wii presentation and that left Nintendo afterwards (trivia point)?

@TheGameThrifter Perhaps, that's exactly what Nadella wanted, someone who thinks like him and won't argue. At first, I thought she was a relative.

He has done a lot of great things for Xbox, especially considering the person that rules Microsoft. He'll be missed.

@Gemini53 That's right. We all are used to it now in the video game industry, but it's a shame when there is no good reason.

@Gemini53 No worries. That's a great story. Going back to the healthy discussion, another thought on my mind is that there are studios doing poor ports and emulation with awful input lag, and are still being hired by big publishers, while Bluepoint Games' reputation is basically flawless.

I like those because of the quality, aesthetics and compact design. A pint of beer? You always find the best deals!

@RentedPanda That's right, they got rid of one of the best doing remakes, while announcing remakes of God of War and focusing on remasters during the PS5 era. The other reference was related to their favourite IP, Horizon, combined with their favourite business plan, a Fortnite wannabe. At this point, I'd say that the best, or at least my favourite PS studios have all shut down, which is the biggest reason why I have a PS4, but not a PS5.

@Gemini53 No delivery here, unfortunately. Those rock.

Don't you dare blame Sony. They needed all resources for more The Last of Us and Horizon remasters and multiplayer spinoffs 😉.

@Gemini53 Yep, half of my family is from here. 😁

@Gemini53 They are also the size I was looking for. Currently, I'm not in UK but Spain, so I'm looking for international delivery or a store here that have them.

@Gemini53 Cool! They seem excellent quality and they also look great.

@Gemini53 Thank you, I'll check them out if I can find them.

@Gemini53 Cool! Off-topic, but what brands of HiFi speakers would you recommend for Onkyo TX-NR609 amplifier?

@Gemini53 For sure. By the way, I have a huge CD collection. 😁

@Gemini53 I'd like to make clear that, although I think that the advantages of physical films and music are way more evident, I was not trying to convince you, and that the thing that made me post was this lacking Rayman release.

@Gemini53 Yes, they can be removed from stores, but you can still download them, that was my point. I'm talking about the Xbox store with Xbox and Xbox 360 backwards compatible games still available for purchase. Nintendo and Sony have closed their previous stores (DSi, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, Vita, PS3).

Physical games are removed from shelves much sooner. I'm not trying to convince anyone, but with everything I mentioned plus patches and DLC, digital video games have more advantages than other digital media, such as streamed music and films versus CDs and BDs, with the latter being better.

I have only played and beaten this game on DSi. With a cropped screen, it's the most difficult version of a difficult game, so I feel entitled to try the enhancements (cheats) now. 😁

@Gemini53 The advantage of BD and CD is that the quality is best, until some recent "lossless" services. Digital video games have the same quality and are somewhat easier to preserve because downloads are supported after being purchased. Switch and Switch 2 games, on the other hand, sometimes have awfully compressed audio, whether it's the digital or physical edition, since they're the same. An interesting case of digital goodness is Final Fantasy XIII, the only Xbox One (S) enhanced game, because the downloadable backwards compatible version has higher-quality cutscene on all Xbox consoles, with Xbox One X and Series X having 4K support on top of that.

As I said before the release, I'm happy about this project not being cancelled, but Digital Eclipse was not a good choice. Let's hope that they or Ubisoft gives Rayman what he deserves.

@Scummbuddy Thanks, it's always nice to read your replies. I'll play it for sure. It looks like something I'd enjoy. I'm playing the pixel remasters of Final Fantasy now.

I'm very happy to see Rayman coming back, but Digital Eclipse was not the best choice. On Steam, there are people complaining about lag in the PC and console version, similar to Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection.

Console version has it too, played it there and same thing.

Anyway, I hope that they fix it and that this release is a success. Now, all main Rayman games are on Xbox except 2, which is a great one. I have it on 3DS, where it's called Rayman 3D. I bet that they are going to remaster it.

@FraserG One of the titles that they announced is a new Rayman game with Michel Ancel involved. I hope that this one is safe.

Six games have been cancelled. One is Prince of Persia The Sands of Time and four of them are unannounced titles, so the other one could be Rayman, sadly.

Happy Christmas and a year of good health, love and more great games!

I thought it was going to be a 60fps patch for the trilogy...😭

He's a great guy. He fixed the relationship with the Japanese publishers with no moneyhat, pioneered the expansion of Xbox studios, improved Xbox One with Xbox One S and Xbox One X, not to mention the best consoles (and worst sellers) of the current generation, made by Microsoft's excellent engineers, who also made our dreams come true with enhanced and free backwards compatibility. I'm looking forward to the next-gen Xbox console and completely approve their decision of merging the console and PC business. Xbox is just so underrated!

@LordDieALot I couldn't agree more. I'm looking forward to Gears of War E-Day.

If you sign in on https://www.trueachievements.com/ with your Xbox account, you'll get a yearly wrap and more.

Most of my play time (90%) is on Series X. Secondly, New Nintendo 3DS and Switch 1. I've played quite much on Wii U as well, replaying Metroid Prime Trilogy with better controls than on Switch, incredibly. Add a bit of PC (Play Anywhere titles) and PS4 (Wipeout, SFV).

Just buy an Xbox 360 or a Wii (U), the latter better than Switch for motion controls, without paying $250 plus a subscription for playing.

Yakuza Kiwami is 90% off, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is 100% off (automatically redeemed) and Yakuza Kiwami 0 is 70% off, but the latter is the Director's Cut Edition.

It's great, very easy to use, smooth and reliable, like the console store.

@GotRedOnMe73 They are "Just For You" deals, since these are not Smart Delivery but new versions, like Red Dead Redemption. The new version of Yakuza Kiwami 2 becomes "owned" automatically if you own the original version, because it's not a deal but a present. The "related article" above links to the pricing. The discount of Yakuza 0 is not massive like the others, because it's the Director's Cut, an expanded version with more cutscenes and music, English dub and online multiplayer.

@Coletrain The positive part of being a child shouldn't ever leave us!

@xboxjapanfan That recent news shocked me. I'm not sure if he left voluntarily, because he was the most important Rare member left. He is also one of my favourite guys in the industry, being the director and designer of my favourite video games; Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata... He also worked on Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, Grabbed by the Ghoulies.. I love all these games! I wonder if he'll join Playtonic, where his brother and other Rare staff work now.

@Aidax89 Fable 4 is being developed by Playground 😉.

@GamingFan4Lyf Good. 60fps, much nicer visuals (lighting, colours...), much better controls, plays smoother... It doesn't have Banjo-Kazooie's writing, level design nor charm, but it's much better than Yooka-Laylee in terms of content and technical features.

Rare & Playtonic, join forces and hire the ones that are freelancers now.

@Coletrain It's much better than the original version, indeed.

@Sindayl Thank god at least we have those two remasters, three if we consider the 4K and smoother frame rate of Nuts & Bolts. If only they were 60fps.

I'm subscribed to HBO Max but not Netflix. It makes sense for a streaming giant to buy Warner Bros., but I wonder if they will merge the two streaming services, which makes the most sense. That aside, Warner Bros. has amazing films, series and video games, so I just hope that all ends well.

Now that Jurassic Park is mentioned, has anyone tried Street Racer Collection?

@ILuvGames Not to mention that Sony and Microsoft acquired most of their studios and that Nintendo outsources most of their "first-party" games.

These rankings seem totally random, that's why each one is so different. That's fine, they are made by other human beings.

@Krzzystuff Series X is technically the best console of the generation although the more recent (and more expensive) PS5 Pro of course has a more modern GPU, but still worse CPU than Series X, like PS5. Series S is the best value of the generation. I consider Switch 2 a bit disappointing, all things considered. The Star Wars Outlaws port has significant downgrades on Switch 2, as explained in the DF analysis. Even as a hybrid, there are better options, so for me Nintendo is for exclusives only, and even those are worse than before, sadly.

It's good that it was fixed so quickly.

@Matthewnh I think that it's a temporary glitch, because they have just delisted the original version (+), and they must have broken something in the process. Rockstar website has little and poorly written information, but the Xbox store states that the new version entitles owners to also access the Xbox 360 version and its DLC content. The cross-buy connection between the Xbox 360 and Series X|S version is real, so it should be fixed soon.

(+) The original version has been delisted as a separate purchase, but now it's part of the new version and the bundle with the new version.

Another possibility is that you get the original version if you buy the new one, but not the opposite way. I know that this was reported as a free upgrade on gaming sites, but it's impossible to know for sure judging by Rockstar's poor-quality text on their website, and the Xbox store only confirms that you get the original version with the new one.

An update: Purchasing the Series X|S version entitles you to download both the digital Xbox 360 backwards compatible version and the digital Xbox Series X|S version, so it's more than an upgrade because if you buy the remake you also get the original. The new version includes all the DLC for both versions, so I suppose that the new version is the one to buy while the 50% discount lasts. Because you get the remake for free if you already own the original version, it's a great deal for current owners, because you are also getting the DLC. Who would have thought that Rockstar would do this?