@Millionski she's doing an incredible job, just not when she's indulging some of the real morons on twitter (and this isn't me hating twitter, I don't)

@Weebleman re: comment #22 I genuinely think this is part of how she's gaining traction. Although it's asinine to us that twitter trolls are influencing her decisions, it's also on social media that she will claw back the most in goodwill and positive sentiment.

A disgracefully fickle world that we live in now my friend, makes me extremely sad for the future of my children

@GamingSince84 absolutely. I have Xbox, switch and handheld PC at the moment, and they all get their time in the sun. It's blissful

@PennywiZe666 I'm at the stage where my XSX is great, the games are great and it really doesn't matter to me what happens. It's just fun to debate and speculate

@PennywiZe666 I actually quite like it, when I watch PS versions I have to rely on Fraser or Ben trawling the internet for us all first 🤣

Also, if we see some big games that DONT say ps5 or steam etc. then we might get a glimpse into the future of exclusivity

@Fiendish-Beaver I've decided that you're secretly Ryan McCaffrey as these were more or less his exact predictions on Unlocked this week 🤣 great work though!

@Fiendish-Beaver I do wonder if that console figure is closer to 40m by now. Some of the game sales estimates seem to have Xbox having around half as many sales as ps5 for big 3rd party titles.

But with regards to exclusivity, if they don't return to it in some form soon then we may as well just accept that Xbox is better off as a publisher and have done with it. Hopefully Asha has some tricks up her sleeve to get series sales up a bit over the next 2 years!

@KPS well, my simple response to that is to make the platform exclusive (i.e., games go to Xbox on PC instead of Steam, who have a huge monopoly right now) rather than the hardware gatekeeping the exclusivity. I don't think Asha expects to sell tens of millions of Helix units, but she will expect the Xbox PC experience to be class leading eventually. (EDIT: I still don't count Nintendo as a rival, Xbox can't compete with what they offer which is iconic franchises with decades of history. I'll buy a switch 2 when they make the screen and battery good!)

With the ps5 ports, I think it was just the big games (CoD, Minecraft, FH5) that made up that revenue, and I would agree that those games should continue to be a revenue driver for Xbox via PS (including, begrudgingly, FH6 when it drops)

I think for all the correct points you're making, the pain of dropping extensive PS support has to start eventually and sooner will be better than later for Xbox as a brand and a platform

@Fiendish-Beaver perhaps, but if they're console exclusives they have to be really, REALLY good to draw new users in. Let's pray that the likes of e-day, clockwork revolution and whatever halo studios do next are absolute bangers!

@Fiendish-Beaver as above, it's just not the same core audience for me. I wouldn't for a second buy a switch 2 to play something like Indiana Jones, South of Midnight, FF7 remake/rebirth etc etc.

So I don't think it detracts from your core hardware sales to release a port of them down the line on a switch 2.

I should have been clearer though: day and date is pointless as the porting time would delay Xbox and PC releases

EDIT: to add credence to your comment #31, FH5 was one of the key reasons I first switched to Xbox (along with Xbox all access)

@KPS to explain the Nintendo thing, the games you can get on there aren't comparable to Xbox and ps5, there's usually a huge downgrade in image or frame rate. Also, I think Xbox/ps5 users have switches as supplementary consoles so it doesn't capture the same market really.

And I think they do have a choice. When they put the games onto ps5 they're saying "don't buy an Xbox, buy a ps5, it'll play everything" whilst simultaneously not really selling that many extra copies on the vast majority of ports. Which is exactly Sony's stance with PC ports; the juice isn't worth the squeeze, so why damage your brand?

@KPS yes, because that's their closest competition and they very much don't repay the favour. Not a console war thing dude, I had ps1-4, I'm talking what I believe the strat should be here

@Millionski it's never too late mate, these decisions were made pre-Asha so if she thinks the brand needs protecting she should. I'm not too bothered with fable being multiplat, I know it was Xbox but more cult classic than iconic. Agree on all other points 100%!

@TheGameThrifter with Nintendo I just don't see them as a direct competitor to Xbox I guess. It's a great 1st party and indie machine, but like hell I'd buy one for a resi or something like Indy, you know? I would agree on keeping single player things off of PC if it weren't for the near certainty that Helix will play PC versions of those games, and Game Pass is a multiplatform service already

I'd do same as Sony. Single player games keep away from PS5 (stick with PC and switch 2 though) and multiplayer games go everywhere.

One exception though, they should really walk back on halo coming to ps5. I have no nostalgia here, it's just a poor move

Just bought a bigger battery from jsaux for my original ally z1e, bringing my total outlay to £400.

The steam deck prices by comparison are quite frankly a joke. Not blaming valve fully (although what the hell are they thinking), but at this price I wouldn't have even put them back on the shelves.

@Markatron84 looks amazing. My backlog is huge but I'm buying this anyway, it deserves the purchase

I was in the camp of knowing that 1 day on Xbox meant 24 hours so this was never a problem 🤣

@Banjo- i really, really want them to react because the brand momentum is golden right now.

Yeah, I'm starting to wonder if that X poll was just people trolling; no self-respecting millennial can be arsed to capitalise Xbox every time they type it out on a phone 😅

@Millionski yeah I've commented in this vein before, price drop it, bundle it with something fun and do it just before GTA drops.

Only problem I can see is Jez C said recently that Xbox (sorry, XBOX) were pretty much selling all available stock so it's probably a manufacturing deficit rather than want of trying now

I've got 200 spare, I'm ready for it

It does sound very sony-like. But it's only a part of the puzzle. The ports have just been crap for the most part, and not selling too well due to time elapsed. I personally think that they're just not confident with the PC approach to gaming optimisation and that's more damaging to them than the simple fact of a port being on steam.

If it was just brass tacks, then obviously sticking with PC ports is good because it's money after the fact. So it's not the money.

@Balaam_ forget the blank discs and download codes; even digital games are consistently launching in their worst state requiring patches to be at their best.

I dunno if I just get really lucky, but I've genuinely never noticed an ad for anything other than an upcoming game or a game on sale.

Beyond good and evil 2 coming to Ubi classics as it was announced before most of the games on there were released

I don't think an FPS has ever stuck with me the way that Bioshock did (even Bioshock Infinite, although clever in its own way, didn't hook me) so if the man Levine needs time to make it special, then he has my patience and attention

@Fiendish-Beaver I could only see this working of you send the boxes and discs somewhere, otherwise surely they just become useless paperweights that can't be recycled once a digital licence is generated?

Weird one this.

@Katiecooh i know, I didn't mean (edit: GTAVI) bundles but stock availability and visibility at the same time is critical. There also aren't rules around saying stuff on social media and advertising that it can be played on Xbox, so there's an opportunity there

@Fiendish-Beaver the numbers are so shaky, could be as low as 30m or as high as 40m right now, we've just no data.

But (and this is just my opinion) I don't think it's hyperbole to think that GTAVI could present an uptick of 10m Xbox consoles IF (BIG IF) the stock is made readily available. A bundle with 3 months GPU would help in this regard

At this point it's really just brand awareness (and positivity) which I think is rolling along quite nicely, and stock availability. That's where I think Xbox comes unstuck.

We've had multiple articles in the past around low stock, intentional stock shortages and the like, but a smart Xbox needs to be visible and available for GTAVI. If that can net them a final customer base of 45-50m sold by the end of 2027 I'd call it a win (especially considering they're basically none existent in mainland Europe and Asia)

Day one purchases for me have to be special. A new final fantasy, GTAVI, a new 3d mario, otherwise why not play something from my backlog and wait? Same product for a fraction of the cost a year or two later

Woman means business. This is all about brand image, turn that around and there's a very exciting future for Xbox as a platform and hardware provider

@fatpunkslim yeah, I was wondering specifically if these features would come to the OG Rog ally and Ally X to be honest

Are these just for the Xbox ally devices? I've been hoping they'd come to other windows handhelds but I can't find any info on it

I picked up dark souls remastered for £3.49 on loaded today, for Xbox. Can't do that on a ps5. See, there's all kinds of reasons people stick with these things!

@SledgeMaximus oh 100% it was stuttery and blurry as hell. Weirdly, didn't seem to matter when I was that age but now I'm a stability snob 😅

The DF coverage has just made it crystal clear that I'm not buying this. I had my time with it back in the day on PS3, it can stay there as a relic of my past

@Qozmyk have you had a play around? The UI is definitely better than it was 2 years ago, but it's still not quite right and I can't put my finger on what it is

@Banjo- you have to hope so mate. It's a fair source of embarrassment for them. I like the idea of advanced shader delivery, presume that will become standard on every Xbox studios game before helix arrives

@GeeEssEff oh yeah if you want to move from desktop back to Xbox mode it recommends a restart, presume that's to minimise background processes.

The only game I've found it makes a difference on was ff7 remake intergrade, which I can now play with auto vram enabled and have a decent 30fps experience with RSR on from 900p to 1080p. Honestly, I mostly play lighter games on the ally where you wouldn't notice any difference!

@GeeEssEff it's not too bad, I have it on Xbox mode by default then it's just "ctrl + alt + f11" to get into desktop quickly. I think I'd rather an option on boot up though where I could use mouse or dpad to select Xbox or desktop mode

I've been using this on a Rog ally for a while, couldn't measurably tell you if it's making a difference in terms of background processes. Hopefully get a nice test from DF soon

It looks like a relatively comfortable, thoughtful controller that unfortunately would not fit into my gaming setup in any way. Massive shame that it's having to come out as a standalone product as the steam machine looks quite interesting

I'll grab the eternal life of Goldman demo, FF7 rebirth can wait for the full game as my pre order is in!

@AI-Generation I loved the demo. Then when I heard it wasn't an 80 hour epic my interest piqued. Make games short again!

93, it's xbox' best franchise at the moment

@AI-Generation I'm gonna buy when it's on sale as I'm getting through a monstrous backlog at the moment. Game looks incredible though and I'm a single player kind of gamer

As long as it doesn't release the same year as the inevitable switch 2 OLED my wallet will be happy 🤣 but plenty to keep me going on the series X until 2028 or 29

@Banjo- well you e certainly put black flag through the ringer mate! Hope it loves up to the expectations 😎

Original got me a little bit, but it was ACII for me. Pretty much perfection

@MinervaX76 oh I totally agree mate, everything you've just said might as well have been on greek to me 🤣

Yup, I love remakes (ff7 is excellent IMO). AC I played 1 to 3 then stopped until origins so I'm really looking forward to playing AC4 for the first time