Cvantez

@Fiendish-Beaver You should give it a go because plenty of people have very positive opinions of it. It’s got at least a few big main questlines that are very worthwhile and fun solo, and the lore is canon. It’s really quite nice for at least 20-30 hours. After that you can decide if the fallout vibes, building, and events are enough to keep you around.

@BernieGores And there it is.

I hadn’t heard of this game, but my first thought was that “Tides of Annihilation” is a damn generic name. Then I watched the trailer and had to smirk at the cheesy delivery of the line “that destruction is…YOUR SALVATION”. I guess it looks nice enough but based on this it’s got its work cut out for it to stand out. But we shall see if the mirror-London/Arthurian angle turns out to be a decent hook. Heck, Stellar Blade stuck the landing out of nowhere.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe Curious how you see Veilguard and AC Shadows as being “similar games” to a $40, 8-10 hour niche new IP like SoM. It’s similar to Pentiment in that regard - an artistic statement with a very specific angle versus a mass market play. Seems more like you are picking out games that got a certain kind of press.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe So, vibes?

This just seriously muted any tech lust I had for the Rog Xbox Ally X.

@IOI Just keep your old XSX around for your Xbox game library, and pivot to the platform that looks best going forward. You might need to do that anyway even if you are looking to the next Xbox.

I like my Xbox hardware but I’m very ready to split from Microsoft the enterprise for many reasons. This is a way to pivot to PC gaming without Windows. Very interesting.

@mac_da_man I suspect you left 10-15 hours on the table. That’s seems like a very short play time. I’ve not played OW2 yet but am in the midst of an OW replay and while the main quest is supposedly 13-15 hours, I’m doing side/faction/companion quests also and am sitting at 40+ hours and am just heading to Byzantium now. And I’m moving somewhat quickly since it’s a replay. As in Fallout games, I think the main quest is about 30% of the content.

Glad you enjoyed OW2! I’m eager to play it.

@SodaPop6548 Good example, Diablo - a classic franchise - but I’d argue that while players of prior versions of Diablo maybe have purchased and played Diablo 4, the fanbase of that type of game peaked long ago, but costs way more to make today. The economics are starting to really not pencil out as long as the industry bleeds customers, or never gains them in the first place. I don’t think it’s a given that Gen Z will carry the gaming torch like Gen X and Millennials have.

His comments sound bad in the context of the rest of Microsoft’s series of moves and statements, but I do think there’s truth there. Battling Sony is one thing, but the overall industry is in a bigger war.

@Medic_alert There’s nothing controversial about this take. It’s not wrong for any game exec to say that there’s a battle for engagement going on. It’s truth. It’s also a fact that many competing forms of engagement are a) frictionless, b) basically free, and c) addictive to various extents. They suck up idle time like nothing else. Peak TV is on the downside for the same reason - there are only so many eyeball hours to go around, and IMO this landscape doesn’t lend itself to creating long term gamer hobbyists like it did in the past. Far more gamers play for social connection (Fortnight, COD, FIFA, etc) than for the experience of grinding a 50 hour single player game. This industry, its economics and its constituency, is changing quickly.

Microsoft has a take. Sony and Nintendo face the same problem, and will have their own strategies. Time will tell what works. I buy every console and have for a couple of decades. My 20- something kids and their friends? They’ve got PS5’s but mostly have moved on except for stuff they meet to play online, like Valorant or Rocket League.
So will they buy a $800 PS6 even if that’s the only console? I’m not so sure.

@OldGamer999 Mostly TV gaming for me, also an older gamer. I’m using a PS Portal for my one handheld use case - couch gaming when wife has the TV or gaming in bed. It’s pretty simple and works well enough for this, not my favored way to play but hey, it was only $200. Would I drop $1000 for basically the same use case but with more complexity? As you say, when it’s a slick, no-friction device, maybe - I’m prone to tech lust like anyone - but the overarching feeling right now is that this is just another PC/Windows handheld that we will look back on as a oddity in the Xbox timeline.

@dskatter Huh, thanks for that tidbit. Didn’t know.

@dskatter - QB is one of their big four IPs, along with Alan Wake, Control, and Max Payne. I recall some Reddit rabbit hole some time back that appeared to identify threads between all four, however tenuous. Of course we now know that AW and Control do in fact share a universe, so who knows!

@Banjo- Also loved Quantum Break. I remain hopeful for some return to it, as there was plenty in that game that would fit in the broader weirdness of the Remedyverse. Also, Lance Reddick.

@FraserG Thanks, Fraser. I haven’t dabbled much in the Xbox cloud gaming experience, as many console users probably haven’t who might be considering this, and it’s the supposed solution for non-PA console games and back compat, so I suppose I’m curious how that integrates into everything else on offer here, from a UI and general ease perspective. I fully get that it’s not the main thing being scrutinized, but it’s part of the advertised package as a portable console, so hopefully it’s tight.

Two things. First, “you'll ideally want to know your way around Windows and how gaming PCs work in general before picking one of these things up” is not a strong recommendation for your typical console traditionalist. This should really be a con or a very strongly noted caveat.

Second, what’s the cloud streaming experience for non-Play Anywhere titles, assuming decent connectivity? This is Microsoft’s promoted way of making it “full featured” in terms of playing console-only games. You can’t not speak to this.

@Fiendish-Beaver Personally, I don’t think those that are jumping into something this expensive are particularly price sensitive.

Depends on how possible it is to play a different way with a different build and have an interesting second experience. Doing that now with Cyberpunk. Sometimes the nostalgia goggles have me wanting to replay a game that I have fond memories of, but once I start it’s just too familiar.

@SodaPop6548 It’s not meant to be callous. The price hike sucks. But Netflix, Disney+/Hulu, Amazon Prime…all the services announce price hikes with regularity and there’s a short period of complaint but then the new price normalizes and those companies’ revenue rises. I’m just talking about human behavior. Some new thing appears in peoples’ lives and paying $10 more per month seems relatively unimportant, especially when it’s hidden in a monthly auto-pay.

@ozkrmz We will see about that. Lots of outrage - let’s see if a meaningful number of people actually leave or downgrade. My suspicion is not. People just tend to absorb this stuff and adjust.

Nah, this plan is just the fantasy of an internet rando. I get the “but why didn’t you do it this way?” inclination, but cmon. This is just wishmaking based on reaction to change.

It remains to be seen just how dramatic the cancellations or downgrades to Premium really will be. The modern consumer is notorious for just letting these things slide due to their invisibility on autopay, and by the time prepaid months/years expire the outrage will have likely subsided. This will have been a part of Microsoft’s calculus.

Personally I don’t think the hue and cry in gamer forums will necessarily translate to a broader exodus, and Microsoft may weather this with current Xbox owners just fine, but what it may very well do is cause potential buyers of the Rog Ally Xbox devices to pause and reconsider just going the Steam Deck route. I think from that perspective the timing is poor.

@MTR54 The impacts of politics on the economy and by extension the gaming industry are inseparable.

I think we can probably count on the Rog Ally X launching at $949 or $979.

@AverageGamer Fully agree that Nintendo, Sony, or any corporation are not making a “sacrifice”, ever. They cannot if it can be considered a breach of fiduciary duty to shareholders to maximize profit and/or growth. Any perceived sacrifice is still in the interest of the company, never the consumer. I do think that there’s a chance that Nintendo and Sony are selling at such scale that that can weather the economic roller coaster (Nintendo did recently raise prices on the OG and OLED models, however.) And, I just don’t think MSFT are in the hardware game for the long haul so they care less about consumer blowback.

To the person who doesn’t think prices are influenced by tariffs, and to “keep politics out of here”, tell me you’re a Trump guy without saying it. People are not spending money because of the wild uncertainty he’s introduced into the economy with his arbitrary (and increasingly, per the courts) illegal tariffs, mass firings, police-state inclinations, union busting, too much to list, really. The jobs reports are worsening, as companies have to play wait-and-see because he’s so random and unstrategic in his approach to most things. You may dig the guy and his autocratic ways, but you can’t hide from the fact that his economy in the US is floundering and that’s impacting your hobby. The only people benefitting are those in the stock market, and frankly I think that’s this administration’s goal. People who want cheaper consoles, goods, and services? Meh.

@Sindayl Trump is a disaster for many reasons, but this isn’t the approach MSFT had to take. I think Satya is steering this brand into a Windows-based experience only and wants out of hardware.

@Coletrain No. Because this is absolutely not the way to create even a shred of goodwill. Microsoft is absolutely raking in the profits as a whole, and this makes no sense if you intend to stay the course in the console market. IMO this is milking what they can out of a struggling business line before a pivot to the PC/Windows oriented approach. Tariffs etc are real but no, it doesn’t justify this.

I get the general assertion but it’s flawed to base the argument, even partially, on pawn shop/aftermarket pricing. There will be a small subset of folks that buy consoles this way, but the vast majority do not, and by that logic I’d wager XSX’s could be found second hand as well. And hey, if you are talking about consoles that are behind the curve but still fun in 2025, you may as well consider used OLED Switches as well, with the piles of used copies of that game library. There are a number of ways to game cheaply. Like I said, I get the point is legit for the author, but there’s a bit of confirmation bias going on here.

@Medic_alert When Alex at the end says “I don’t want to say Microsoft is leaving QA to the users…” he is saying the quiet part out loud. That feels pretty much like what’s happening here, and that’s right on brand Microsoft with the way they handle their other products, especially enterprise stuff. Even the notion that hardcores will be the early adopters and will monetize heavily through the interface speaks to their playbook. Maybe that will lead eventually to a great product, but not sure I want to be one of those whales.

The other factor is Microsoft’s strategic ADHD. This could sell horribly and they abandon the initiative. Satya doesn’t have patience for things that smell like failure.

I expect pricing to be 649/949, up from the rumored 599/899 given their delay to evaluate “macroeconomic conditions”. That’s a big chunk of change to play things on the go, no matter now fully featured and capable. 100% waiting for post release evaluations.

My takeaway? You made $27 billion in a three month span. F*** you and your layoffs.

TLDR: Xbox is a pretty cool platform but I’m most definitely with those who simply can’t enjoy it much anymore based on the assholery of a company and CEO that are doing precisely that assholery they are supposed to be doing in service of their shareholders. Mainly because they are a tech enterprise and not a gaming company.

More than one thing can be true. Xbox is a compelling platform for many, offering great value, with the (still) best controller in the industry. I like it and have been an owner/player since 360.

Also, Microsoft is a grotesque company led by a CEO who is doing precisely what he’s hired to do in prioritizing eking out every ounce of profit and striving to cash in on the AI gold rush, even at tangible human cost. And, by extension based on the heavy hit to game studios, at great cost to Microsoft’s gaming ambitions and credibility with a swath of the community. I agree that they are attempting a smart thing in pivoting to getting their games everywhere and blending “Xbox” with PC and gaming on Windows (even though it’s kind of their only play at this point). But they are a prime case of nauseating late stage capitalism where the need for growth and constant expansion conquers all, at great human (and planetary) cost. And since we are humans, we should probably care about the priorities that our society has, as represented by Microsoft (and they ARE representative based on our collective lust for tech, phones, smart homes, voice assistants, smart cars, streaming, TVs, etc.)

MS is uniquely grotesque in the gaming space because they historically conquer markets via throwing money at them through acquisitions, sales tactics, marketing, and monopolistic bundling (think IIS in Windows) rather than via innovation and being, you know, better than the competition. That can and does work in corporate. It doesn’t really work in creative spaces. Which is why I think Satya will have Xbox/gaming on a very short leash going forward. It’s absolutely not a passion project for him, and it needs to be if Xbox hopes to have the runway to dig out of their current mire.

@Scummbuddy - This. Microsoft (the broader corporation) are not in this for the sake of art, even if the gaming section has some true believers and good people. They are a publicly traded company and despite being massive they have fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders. They have made these moves across other parts of their organization in the past. It’s a strong reminder that being scooped up into the first party portfolio is a serious double-edged sword for studios. I hate it, but it’s a goddamn corporate reality.