Banjo-

@Todd_G You are right! This Fatal Frame is a remake, but it's also some kind of reboot, with the Fatal Frame name (that I prefer) in all regions, the Japanese logo in the background and the new font. The remasters sold relatively well and I suppose that their reception motivated a bigger effort lead by Team Ninja. I also hope that it sells a lot!

@Todd_G I was referring to the digital deluxe editions of the remasters that are usually available for pre-order one month earlier, like any digital release.

@Todd_G Yes, the IP was always owned by Koei Tecmo and this was proved by trademark information that is public. Some Nintendo fans claim that Nintendo was the owner or co-owner, but that is false.

@DeadSpace Yes! The sound and the environments are carefully crafted. The game is eerily beautiful and slow-paced, yet immersive and captivating. The narrative is strong and cohesive, with a multitude of events interrelated and somehow believable. The remaster improves the frame rate and definition dramatically and I also prefer the new controls that make the battles more accessible and fun. The camera loading sounds and getting fatal frames are addictive!

This is biggest news than you think. Some people were expecting to play the complete trilogy on Xbox after another long period of timed exclusivity. Square Enix weren't joking about becoming fully multiplatform. It also seems to be Play Anywhere, judging by the "Xbox on PC" nomenclature.

@Questionable_Duck Exactly. Part of the exclusivity deals is not announcing the platforms that will get the game afterwards. It's been like that with every timed-exclusive Final Fantasy game. However, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Switch 2 version coming later like most third-party games, for technical reasons.

@EvilSilentFrame I also hope that it sells well and yes, this is a big one.

@Weebleman Pre-ordering the deluxe edition as soon as possible (1 month before release), whatever the extras are. 😂

@EvilSilentFrame In my opinion, the English voice acting is fine in Maiden of Black Water, but not so much in this trailer. I'm not sure if they just dubbed the trailer quickly or if these are the actresses they hired for the game. A third possibility, it won't be dubbed. I assume that the Japanese voices will be included in any case. We don't know much about this remake yet. These are cutscenes, but the camera will probably be over the shoulder. I guess that they will release a gameplay trailer soon, like they did before the last releases.

@EvilSilentFrame Indeed! I wonder if they are going to remake 1 and 3 on this engine. Hopefully. I'm curious about what engine it is.

@Questionable_Duck It's a fantastic change of pace. I don't think there's anything like it in the video games industry.

@Th3_Highlander Nice!

@ElkinFencer10 I got the physical edition of Maiden of Black Water for Wii U, that was not released in all regions but it was released here. As you know, it's a limited edition with some physical goodies, that I still keep inside the box. It was very difficult to pre-order and immediately sold out when it was released.

@ElkinFencer10 I edited my last comment to add that I also played the Wii version of Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. That's a very nice bundle you got then. I also was late to the party in 2012, and very happy to read other fans enjoying and supporting the series!

@Th3_Highlander Have a look at the Official Thread and you'll see that Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is the first one chronologically. Each game has a theme and links to other characters, but the games are self-contained, with each of them having a main story, a theme (water in Maiden of Black Water, moonlight in Mask of the Lunar Eclipse...) and independent stories that explain the motivations, personality and background of each character. I'd recommend newcomers to start with Maiden of Black Water or this new remake.

@HarmanSmith Thanks!

@ElkinFencer10 2 Wii Edition was the first I played and I loved it even though I was not expecting anything in particular. I used to think that the fifth was the weakest when I played it on Wii U, but when I played the remaster I really loved it, because I appreciated more the visuals (higher resolution and 60fps), the minor gameplay improvements and the story is as cohesive and the narrative as strong as in the other titles. How the themes are persistent yet subtle through every game is amazing. So, I became a fan of Maiden of Black Water on Xbox although, like you said, the second title is probably the best. The fourth is also better in its remastered form: frame rate, resolution, official translation, fixed glitches and better presentation. Actually, I beat it (again) a few days ago! The first time I played it was on Wii with the fan translation patch.

@ElkinFencer10 Koei Tecmo got all the rights back years ago. Nintendo had the publishing rights to the games you mentioned and also took part in the development of Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.

@Th3_Highlander Actually, they have skipped the third, for now. On modern platforms, they have released the remaster of Maiden of Black Water (fifth), then the remaster of Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (fourth) and now the remake of Crimson Butterfly (second).

@FraserG Please review it kindly, I need the other two as well! I love everybody today. ❤️

What? What? What? I can't believe this. This is the best news of the year for me! People really don't know what I'm feeling right now, I'll update the Official Thread.

I wonder what they'll do with III The Tormented, the title that they're skipping for now.

It's a well made port, but the video also explains that the Switch 2 version has lower resolution, lower frame rate, longer loading times, more basic geometry, lower quality textures and more noise than the Series S version. I suspect that the audio is heavily compressed, which is seldom discussed, but really annoyed me on certain Switch titles. The remarkable thing is that it's the first Switch 2 game to use hardware ray tracing and thus the lighting is generally good and not as taxing.

I'm collecting Final Fantasy games on Xbox since XV, which was very special because I played it on Xbox One X, on my first OLED TV (LG C9). Before that, I had played IV on DS, X/X-2 on PS4 and the original VII on Windows.

The Pixel Remaster bundle is awesome. I'm wondering if they will ever remaster IX (60% off at the moment). I played it a bit on Game Pass, but it looked awful, hyper-pixelated and blurry. I have also beaten others on Xbox: VIII, XIII and XIII-2 which look gorgeous on Series X. I need to play the third part, World of Final Fantasy Maxima, XII and maybe XIV if I have the time. Then, there's XVI and the VII trilogy on top of all that!

@sixrings it should be like that, but video games are regulated as if they were a new and expendable thing. I understand why some are obsessed with preserving them in one way or another.

@yeaman I think (and hope) that there will be a sequel with new story and environments.

Exactly what I expected... from Ben and, in a positive way, from the DLC of an awesome game, which, yeah, it's not a shooter.

I can guarantee that playing the other two games on Series X is a massive improvement over Nintendo Switch. More enjoyable, smoother, more beautiful and the chests are easier to find.

Good news. Not long ago, we weren't expecting anything from Konami and now they are making AAA games in the Metal Gear and Silent Hill series.

The Twin Snakes remake of 1 is awesome @Ricky-Spanish.

@Millionski Mental gymnastics when people actively dislike Xbox are common. Now that Xbox has more games than Sony, Game Pass is a resounding success and it's been proven that players do buy games on Xbox, what else can be said?

Both Microsoft and Sony are all about the business. Jim Ryan was not just a CEO, but a fanboy, but there are two new CEOs ruling Sony now, for a reason. They know earnings are higher porting to PC and Xbox and that 99.99% of the PS user base don't care about it. The "it's not profitable" is one of the weakest arguments that the haters use. No need to sell millions of copies to make a port profitable. Silent Hill 2 will, of course, come to Xbox and will sell very well, like the Final Fantasy games (the 22,000 copies sold report was false), Death Stranding, MLB The Show, Helldivers 2...

Besides, porting to Xbox is very easy when there is a Windows version and will not even be necessary when Xbox and PC use the same version of Windows and game builds. There are still some temporary exclusives this generation, but they are becoming more and more unusual. Every prominent third-party game will be multiplatform and both Microsoft and Sony have started porting games to each other. This is the reality.

@Millionski Of course, there will be more Sony games on Xbox. To talk nonsense and pedantry and throw absurd arguments like negatively extrapolate what topping the charts (twice, with two editions counted separately) means gives you an idea of the level of denial.

@NattyKing Nah, it's the beginning of the future of Xbox Anywhere, although there will more Xbox home consoles. Steam is great, but uses Windows, thus Microsoft can make Windows optimal for gaming, and more compatible with the games developed for PC. This is not just about Xbox handhelds, but it's literally the PC market, and the PC market has a brighter future than any console (as much as I love my Series X).

@Medic_alert I didn't say what you say I said, so it's incomprehensible the point you are trying to make and why would you try to prove others wrong based on your opinion or wrong perception.

I beat Yooka-Laylee 100%. It can't hold a candle to Banjo-Kazooie, but I'm willing to try the demo of the remaster, which I don't consider necessary if it only improves the graphics and adds skins. I'm not sure what else it does.

@Ricky-Spanish 😂

Estimates aside, seeing this game topping the official Xbox charts (despite some people suggesting this might mean 10 copies) and the significant increase in players reported by PC and PS users mean that we're going to see lots of Sony games on Xbox, indeed. They are following Microsoft. Nothing is off the table. 99.99% of PS owners don't care about and don't demand exclusivity.

In other words, this is just the beginning (I watched the video).

@Gabrie I wasn't sure about first person view in an action game and I was not that excited about the game before its release. I usually don't like first person camera in anything that is not a pure shooter. I don't like it in Resident Evil either, but in this game is perfectly fine. It's like everything was built with that in mind and the FOV is perfectly tuned.

They did an excellent job. It hooked me all the way through, got 100% and I'm looking forward to the expansion. It feels high-quality, immersive and rewarding.

@Ricky-Spanish I also need my coffee in the morning. 😁

@Ricky-Spanish I mean things like Xbox owners not buying games or all Gears of War games being the same.

Hogwarts Legacy + Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions Deluxe Editions Bundle is at its lowest ever, 80% off.

@Ricky-Spanish You know that there is an alternative reality dwelling on the thread, as usual. 😉

@Weebleman Is this the first time we agree on something? LOL I would love a remake of the first one and a remaster of 2 Wii Edition and The Tormented (III). A new game after that would be awesome. I know Maiden of Black Water has a mixed reputation for not being as scary as the others, but it's incredibly beautiful, polished and cohesive. I read all the files and eventually get 100% playing them multiple times. I hope that gamers keep supporting the two current generation remasters, so we can get more.

I'm getting this and I patiently wait for more Project Zero/Fatal Frame.

I recommend taking a look at this article:

https://leveluptalk.com/news/ff16-sales-reports-correction-insight/

@PsBoxSwitchOwner You are wrong about me. I did.

Alinea Analytics is not a reliable source. They work on guesswork, even using store reviews as argument. Only Microsoft and Sony know how much.

What is news really is that Helldivers 2 being #1 and #4 (#3 now) at the same time with two different editions on the Xbox store's best-selling ranking means that we're going to see a lot of Sony ports on Xbox, if there was any doubt about it.

@WildConcept6 I agree. The only problem was The Initiative and at the same time Microsoft's hands-off philosophy. I wonder why didn't Microsoft let Crystal Dynamics finish it without The Initiative and if there's something we don't know about the development, like Embracer's priorities. I'm sure that there are things we don't know about that.

I really liked the last trailer (except the face of Joanna). Perhaps, I'm being naive, but I still think that Microsoft will revive this project. Shouldn't Rare assisted by other studios work on these IPs now that Everwild won't see the light of day or are they going to work on Sea of Thieves updates exclusively for 20 more years?

I don't completely agree with letting teams do whatever projects they want, because sometimes those projects fail and because if they start to work on something they didn't choose, they might start loving it, like many things in life. The problem with The Initiative is precisely that every employee was doing what they wanted to do and there was no hierarchy.

I have played so many platformers and Rayman Legends remains as one of the best ever, so happy about he coming back.

Side note: I beat the DSiWare version of Rayman, which might be the most difficult and frustrating thing ever.

More fun than recent Mario Kart games, but there's room for polishing the camera and controls. The aquatic controls and physics don't feel as realistic and exciting as in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed or Wave Race, but the flying and ground controls are good. I hope for future updates and that blur can be turn off or toned down. I see a lot of potential and depth here as a fan of the genre, but the demo still feels rough.

@Millionski I know. I'm very happy with my Series X. If the next-gen Xbox launches in 2028 as they estimated in 2022, they should present it in 2027. Though they will support backwards compatibility, I expect Play Anywhere to be mandatory or intrinsic to the new system, with next-gen games being the same build on console and PC, making things easier on all platforms. That will also make Xbox future-proof, as walled garden consoles will disappear. Nintendo might be an exception if they keep prices high and budgets low, because Nintendo fans are suckers, myself included. Look at Sony now, porting everything to Windows and releasing games on the Xbox store.

Microsoft is willing to allow third-party stores on the next console like on the Rog Xbox Ally to reach a wider audience and because people might prefer Steam over Microsoft's store, but they still earn billions as a a publisher and with subscriptions. Plus, they own Windows, which all PC games use. They don't need to sacrifice backwards compatibility, just give 30% of the Call of Duty income to Steam or whatever store. It sounded crazy a few years ago, but their strategy made a lot of sense. Give a bit here and there, take a lot elsewhere.

Yes, because it's one of the best games of the generation and one of the games I have enjoyed the most. I got 100% and still thought it was a tad short. Contrarily, I didn't even beat the main story of Wolfenstein Young Blood.

@Millionski I know it's not your case (and that's why I bother to reply), but the only people I see saying or writing that Xbox is dead are relentless PS fans. As you know, the important thing is the revenue and Xbox (console) is a massive source of income.

Regarding the marketing, they're going to market it as an Xbox that also plays games from other stores. That will satisfy Xbox gamers and PC gamers looking for a console-like experience, and maybe attract some open-minded PS users looking for a secondary console/gaming PC.

Like I said, they wouldn't say "console-only games are playable through Cloud on Rog Xbox Ally" and "the next generation console will be compatible with your existing library of Xbox games" if they were meaning the same. They are very specific about it because it's an important difference.

Besides, after what they've achieved on Xbox One, it's not that difficult to play backwards compatible, Xbox One and Series games on the same architecture running a newer version of Windows. It just wouldn't make sense to throw that through the window and they know it.

@Millionski No reason to and no way they're ditching backwards compatibility at this point. The Series X|S is a massive source of yearly income and successful considering the PC alternatives and dual releases (PC/Xbox). As hardware is not as popular as PS, but the engagement in terms of purchases and subscriptions is impressive. Everything else will be like you say, but there will be backwards compatibility, at least on console. At the end of the day, Xbox One and Series X|S also use Windows and Microsoft's engineers achieved enhanced backwards compatibility with Xbox and Xbox 360. The next console using AMD and the new "Xbox" Windows to merge the PC and console development while keeping backwards compatibility is a small challenge in comparison.

Moreover, when they talk about the Rog Xbox Ally, e.g., Sarah Bond in the videos, she specifically says your console-only games are playable through the Cloud, while they define the next-gen console as backwards compatible.