I genuinely wonder how they'd convert the rapid painting/drawing mechanic to work fluidly on a controller. Maybe they already have, I haven't played it, just watched friends play. It just seems like that aspect would be a huge pain with a controller.
This is the first proper new Turok game since 2008, right? Crazy to think how long it's been, but I hope this one is good. I have a friend who LOVES anything dinosaur related, he'll probably lose himself in this game for ages.
@Tasuki Absolutely not. Phil Spencer is the grim reaper who set up all these dominoes, overspending and under delivering while chasing audiences that were indifferent to his pet projects. Everything* happening right now is because of Phil, this is his downfall.
Make no mistake, I'm not fanboying Asha. She could very well be prepping to slam that final nail into Xbox's coffin with her full might, but the console prices going up aren't her fault.
Edit: 10-hours-later edit. Obviously the component crisis is not Phil's fault, so previous price increases on the consoles aren't his fault either. I hope most people understood when I said "Everything", that wasn't included, but I'm just ultra-clarifying to be safe.
@Fiendish-Beaver It does surprise me that people are expecting them to be back when this is a prequel. I'd bet they cameo in the campaign to some extent even if its just a name drop, but expecting them to be a major focus is silly. And you are right, it's like any long running series with a new entry, it's not going to please everyone.
@Fiendish-Beaver Honestly it wasn't just that people disliked Kait and Del. Gears 4 was quippy, almost unbearably so. The three leads constantly cracking jokes that didn't really fit the tone. 5 kind of moved in a different direction where they made Kait insufferable like they were comically over-correcting from 4. The actors involved are great, I LOVE JD's actor and I was unbelievably excited since I love the Starz Spartacus series, and I think he did a fantastic job filling the lead role after Andy Whitfield passed away, may he rest in peace. Del's VA can give a good performance, and Laura Bailey is one of my favorite VA's in general. I still crack up thinking about her lines in the Crayon Shin-Chan english dub.
It was honestly just that the writing didn't fit. Too quippy, too unfitting, it wasn't Gears.
@Fiendish-Beaver I am glad you enjoy the newer games. I really loved 4's multi-player, as it ran on an ultra refined version of Gears 3. Smooth as butter.
But with that said, I again will say I'm glad you enjoy the new entries. I don't want to dislike them, they just do so many things that felt more like desperate trend chasing rather than innovating on what Gears of War could or should be.
@AI-Generation I noticed that too. Honestly kind of concerning, I don't know why there's hype for another remake of Halo 1 from a team notorious and seemingly only capable of grasping defeat from the jaws of victory.
Maybe Gears will pick up closer to release. I hope so, but maybe there are many like me who were so burned by Gears 4 & 5 that they don't trust it yet.
I like wrestling games but I stopped supporting them when they, or I guess Take Two, accelerated the server shutdowns for the older games. I like going back to older games and revisiting what I made, trying matches with friends, and just reminiscing about The Good Ol' Days™ — you get maybe two years of life now with these new releases. Not worth it anymore.
@Pigrotto I heard good things about New World, and actually was looking to pick it up around the time they announced the shutdown. Huge shame as it seemed really decent, Amazon just couldn't get out of its own way.
So it might be sacrilege but I generally never customize a fleshed out character in single player unless it's a blank slate like the Saints Row boss. I like playing them the way the character designers intended them to look.
So unless the Ultimate edition is doing more than just character cosmetics and some vehicle wraps, I'm not biting. I'll have to see some footage of the exclusive stuff to see.
So I'll probably get the regular edition. A Take Two shareholder might weep into their diamond encrusted pillow at that, but that's fine. They'll be okay.
Late reply, but I love it. I double dip on certain games that have Play Anywhere. It isn't a total replacement for Steam IMO, as for example if I think I'll want to mod the game I'll get it on Steam and maybe double dip at massive discount later.
@Sol4ris Well, South of Midnight took six+ years to develop, so it definitely wasn't a quick turnaround, with a $100 million development cost. It was nearly in the ballpark of Red Dead Redemption 2's dev costs and time, which is really not a good comparison to have for a shorter, linear single player game.
I'm not saying it's good they're closing, but that glacial dev pace and cost makes it not surprising they're being cleaved. Game Pass cannibalizing sales definitely didn't help either, though that one is not Compulsion's fault.
@Skinny-Pete In his defense, Starfield and Fallout 76 have released since. As well as like two different re-releases of Fallout 4, for some reason. 76 slowly salvaged a sinking ship made of toilet paper and cardboard. They're still apparently working full force on Starfield DLC/updates, so it has to be doing well enough.
But Microsoft's word means nothing anymore when it comes to game statements/updates, so Blade might already be canceled and the devs aren't even aware yet.
I'm genuinely terrified at the thought of how big this game will be. What if it cant fit on a blu-ray disc? I fear it's going to make the COD launcher/War zone look miniscule in comparison.
@Markatron84 See you'd think that but the last time it was mentioned, a Capcom producer who worked on the Star Force Collection, Shingo Izumi, said there weren't even plans for it to be done. So they genuinely seem to have planned to do everything BUT Legends, which.... awesome....
He said it was still a possible candidate for future collections but it's the last one that can really be done, I think. So if it wasn't in the plans... I dunno. Not too optimistic.
I'm hoping we see more Mega Man. The next mainline game is coming out next year, I know, but just... something. 0.0000000001% chance but maybe a Mega Man Legends Collection announcement? Let me OD on copium, please.
Goldman visually looks wonderful, so I'm very eager to see more... I thought it was a Devolver Digital title for a bit too. Titan Quest 2 also has my eye, I love the original.
By the way Craig, is PX staff on vacation? I've only seen you post news lately. Curious on how that all works. Your efforts are appreciated, a one man show running this has to be hectic.
That opening sentence made me do a double take.. and then I saw it was a new(er) writer with this article. xD It made me laugh btw, not upset.
He's not entirely wrong. I think it's a mix of reasons why it's floundering. Xbox has some odd enforced rules that stifle creative expression. I'm not saying "xbox must release games that appeal to depraved gacha players" but they've gone so far towards the other end that they're almost a parody.
Hands-off was also the wrong way to go about it, especially for unproven studios. There's no world where anyone can justify Compulsion taking 6 years and being given such special treatment for South of Midnight. Honestly, my even bigger issue is that South of Midnight is scarily close to being in the ballpark of Red Dead Redemption 2's development costs.
It's not a 1:1 but RDR2 is estimated to have cost between $170 million and $240 million for development alone. Compulsion was nearly given the same amount of dev time (6~ years for SoM, 7-8~ years for RDR2) and resources almost in the ballpark of Rockstar... for... a game that plays like any other generic 3rd person combat-focused title.
It's just sloppy management and investment. Adding in as well that they happily let Rare flounder for 5 years on Everwild, and everything else we've seen. It's been a huge disaster. Phil Spencer's devastation is going to be felt for a long time.
They can fix some issues but I don't know if the bleeding can be fully stopped. I hope it can, I want them to continue and thrive. It's just... not a great situation. And it's only going to get worse before it starts getting better, if it does. Or can.
@HelloCraigo I will always champion Blinx, and not just because he happens to be an adorable tabby cat! I absolutely think he could get a Bubsy 4D-tier revival.
I don't get a lot of time to play games over the weekends lately, been helping my brother a lot. If I do, I'll probably do a little bit of Fortnite to relax, maybe some TCG Card Shop Simulator on Game Pass, and more Cronos: The New Dawn. I've just finished the Church segment in Cronos and the story is going to some wild places.
May also try to find time to sneak in a replay of TMNT Tactical Takedown, I finally double-dipped for an Xbox copy since it's on sale... but the remix challenges are going to be terrifying as Mikey. I just can't wrap my head around his playstyle to save my life. I get everyone else, but his is just like... I can't come up with any good analogies. It's just way over my head.
I'm of the mindset that they should strip day 1 access of games from GP. Now please hear me out before just replying and disagreeing. Is it a good deal for us? Without a doubt. It's great, but clearly not sustainable.
If it was, Xbox wouldn't be in their current predicament. It really does eat into their own software sales and has trained their own users to "wait for it on gamepass."
Now the flipside to this is that we're in a terrible place economically, so trying to squeeze more from users is just a bad idea. It's really a lose/lose situation. Maybe some XGS games can still release day 1, but I think most should or will be added to GP 6 months to a year after they come out from now on.
It's that or GP/Xbox ends up slowly dying overall, if that fate isn't already sealed.
I haven't heard of a lot of these, but I'm glad for that. I only learned of titles like Sly Spy yesterday, and then coming across these... even ignoring modern releases within the last ten years, it feels like there really is a limitless amount of retro games to find and play over time!
Also, the PS1 version of Glover is unexpected but I will take it!
Plucky Squire and Death's Door seem interesting, as does Toxic Commandos... but I feel like in another month or two the sale price will dip just a little more on TC.
John Carpenter is awesome, but my wallet can only handle so much.
@Tasuki Don't blame you. It's got invite only and private lobbies now, so it's at least way better about letting people play how they like. Still grindy, however.
I wonder why they're just giving it away to owners of the last-gen versions, now? I used to get 'For You' deals where the S|X versions of GTA V were $10 since I owned the Xbone edition. Not complaining, but definitely surprised.
@Tasuki GTA Online is massive. Tons of stuff to do, and it being a mindless deathmatch sandbox means it hooks a lot of people too. It has PvP, PvE/ a lot of narrative co-op stuff, and even things for solo players to do.
@McKeownPlayz I think it's staying, but it likely is getting a notable revamp. First party games are likely to follow what CoD is doing-- they'll still release on GPU, but six months to a year later. I think PS+ already does this, I'm not 100% certain since I don't follow Sony, but that is a much healthier way to handle this even if we end up getting the worse end of the deal.
@Kaloudz Definitely not an Xbox-only thing but Xbox is again first up to bat for this years massive set of layoffs, meaning all eyes are on them. It doesn't help they are likely to have the highest amount of layoffs.
@themightyant I see your point, but I do think Phil has a huge share of blame fairly deserved. As others, like @Banjo- , have said, he was way too hands off. The last few years were not solely his fault, I agree with that, but he lead so much of the way to where things ended up. Hands off to development teams that really weren't proven (Compulsion), picking some niche within a niche things to go for like Hellblade 2 and Keeper, Kiln, etc. Also shrugging off fan requests for things like Banjo-Kazooie to return by saying "Rare doesn't want to make that" and happily letting them flounder for half a decade on Everwild. They don't even know what they want to make!
He's not blameless but he certainly is 75% of the problem. Compounded by Sarah Bond's awful shift in business didn't help either, but he's done far more harm than good.
He ultimately signed off on Redfall being Xbox's first $70 game. He was fine with the Avowed devs getting in spats with players. I guess it's better to say this is more a "death by a thousand cuts" situation, but the only thing Phil really did well was PR and speaking candidly on issues.
(Edit: day late edit, I fixed @Banjo- 's name, I don't know how I got that wrong sorry ;_; )
Remember, above anything else. THIS is how the Phil Spencer era ends. Crumbling under its own weight, incompetently stumbling around and beating itself up at every corner.
I don't think he deserves the "savior" title. You can say he helped give Xbox a second wind during the Xbone generation, sure, but then he promptly guided that into an industrial meat grinder.
Xbox likely needs to start stripping day one releases of their big games. Whether they wait a year or 6 months, this is the time they start sorting our the cannibalizing of their own sales.
Also, this was a colossally stupid thing to do. Xbox now has a recurring history of canceling something after showing it at a big showcase. How can we believe anything they'll show or announce actually come to pass at this rate? It sounds hyperbolic but, really. It was such a stupid thing to do.
Hellblade 2 didn't even sell well, so what interest could be drummed up by a third game for any potential publishers?
@Vg_JRock_X That's what really bothers me... small projects aren't even possible. I'm talking SMALL. A budget of $50k, maybe $100k if really pushing it. The kind of money Xbox wouldn't even notice missing, allocated for indie teams. Find indie devs, whether teams or solo devs, that have promising track records and take their pitches. If it sounds good, fund them with a turnaround time of ~1-2 years. You could really, easily do that for eight+ devs (varying on solo or groups of course) and still come in under a million dollars for that initiative. The risk/reward is negligible for something like that.
Of course, easier said than done, but something like this would go miles beyond the glacial output of their current teams. And they'd be simple, short, cheap games not overbloated or bogged down.
Like I've said, and others too- smaller games. Actually smaller, tiny budgets, either doing new work or using old IP. Xbox should be doing more like that, actually small, a year or two turnaround for indie games they fund and publish.
Small scope, small budget. Bring back Summer of Arcade as a showcase for the games. I still fondly remember Splosion Man.. though the Battletoads reboot was a truly rancid flash game hurriedly cobbled around the pilot for an animated series that never took off and may be a good counter argument as to why modern Xbox can't replicate SoA.
Also drop whatever restrictive rules Xbox has for making games. It clearly hinders and bogs down development time.
@Kaloudz Sorry I wasn't implying State of Decay 3 was on the chopping block, more that it was also announced... seven-ish years ago? And only now has some kind of tangible gameplay to show, not even for release. Giving developers the time/ability to do what they want can be good, but there has to be moderation and a limit after some period of time.
At best, Phil is too nice. At worst, he's incompetent and gullible to be taken for 6+ year long rides on Microsoft's dime by the developers he picked up. It's crazy.
@Kaloudz Phil has a lot to answer for in stuff like this. He greenlit devs like Compulsion taking 7 years to make South of Midnight, Crackdown 3 taking ages. Whatever's been happening with State of Decay 3. A lot of this leads back to him for sure. Not all of it, I imagine, but a lot.
Christ alive. I thought maybe two at tops, not 3+. I really hope Xbox just lets them go.
I'm not pinning the entire of blame of this on Asha, she basically was given a dumpster fire strapped to jet boosters blindly bouncing around a city and told to deal with it. Not that it makes things any better, but all these acquisitions really seemed to do nothing for Xbox in the end.
I said it a few days ago, no more studio acquisitions. Xbox has proven at every step of the way that they're incapable of dealing with them, the only two that have really shown anything of note are Coalition and Obsidian. (And I suppose Rare, but that's from a different era.)
Go back to the strategy used with Gears of War; partner with developers, handle marketing and publishing for an ambitious team. No more buyouts. The entire slate has to be cleaned, corporate/leadership included.
Never again should acquisitions be considered. And on that note, this house cleaning needs to end with a new marketing lead, too. I don't know what Aaron Greenberg does for most of the year outside of their E3/summer showcase event.
@somnambulance This is true. I've never understood why Satya of all people is so gung-ho on AI when his role is the easiest to replace with AI — and think of the money saved!
@NeoRatt True, but I'm not even referring to GTA 6. Red Dead Redemption 2 took just a year longer than South of Midnight, and that's on top of building and working on their engine. So what excuse does Compulsion have?
Now, granted, different teams. Rockstar has a staggeringly massive development team across multiple studios, so it's not a 1:1 like you said.
But seven years for South of Midnight? Again, I'm not happy if Compulsion gets closed and I do not think they should be, but there was some obvious mismanagement going on if it took them that long. Mismanagement that should be paid for by the higher-ups in charge of Xbox, not Compulsion itself.
@Banjo- I agree. It is a shame they're being shut down, but seven years, right? That's Rockstar Games levels of time to develop a game, with nowhere near the scope or quality of those games. I don't know why Phil let them go for so long without stepping in to hurry up development.
Again, if they are being shut down, that is unfortunate... but it's not a surprising choice.
@ScalenePowers It didn't stop them from shuttering Initiative just after showing off Perfect Dark. The only thing we know for sure is that there's probably only a select few studios that are safe, like Coalition (they also do support work for other Xbox games justifying their slower output) and probably Halo Studios... for some reason.
If it was Compulsion, that would make sense. They took ages to release South of Midnight, and visuals aside, it looks like a bog-standard game that any other dev team would be able to release in two or so years.
Not saying it's justifiable, but if you look at the amount of time they've had to develop vs what they've released.. that one at least makes sense. So does Ninja Theory, at least in the last few years. Again, not saying it's justifiable or even good.
I hope they don't touch Arkane or Double Fine, but who knows. The honeymoon phase of 'XBOX' is about to come to a sobering close.
@BoredOfEverything I pre-ordered Alpha Protocol and played it. Very clunky, very rough controls, but the story was very interesting. It's not unplayable but I remember it being very rough back in 2010, so I dread to think how it fares now.
Honestly I want to know what lead to this. Was it ALL just Sarah Bond? Was Phil lying about the health and actually waddling around with his shirt over his head and pants around his ankles making repeated blunders?
I know they don't take the full blame or deserve ALL of it, higher up execs are guilty too, Satya "Slop Savant" Nadella included. I just want to know how it repeatedly went wrong at every opportunity, every potential thought, for years.
Edit: gonna add I'm still hopeful (even if it's just cautiously so) about Xbox, but wow what a mess.
"What they told me was encouraging, and it echoed Satya Nadella's previous internal Town Hall comments about being "long on gaming." One exec told me they wouldn't have been so eager to come on board — were it not for direct talks to Nadella himself about Microsoft's long-term commitment to gaming. They left talks with Satya convinced, and immediately took the job."
From a recent Windows Central article. I think all this recent talk and leaks is if Asha can't pull off a turnaround.
Next 100 days aren't gonna be great I'm guessing, but I'm gonna try to remain cautiously optimistic.
The gachas are starting to steadily trickle in for Xbox, nice to see. I really wanted to like the original Speedrunners but it just didn't click with me, maybe this sequel will be different.
Palworld 1.0 and Mistfall might be all for me so far for July.
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Re: Meccha Chameleon Dev Remains Tight-Lipped On Xbox Version Following PC Success
I genuinely wonder how they'd convert the rapid painting/drawing mechanic to work fluidly on a controller. Maybe they already have, I haven't played it, just watched friends play. It just seems like that aspect would be a huge pain with a controller.
Re: Here's A Look At New Gameplay For Turok: Origins, Releasing On Xbox This Fall
This is the first proper new Turok game since 2008, right? Crazy to think how long it's been, but I hope this one is good. I have a friend who LOVES anything dinosaur related, he'll probably lose himself in this game for ages.
Re: Xbox's State Of Decay 3 Studio Could Be In Trouble Right Now
@Tasuki Absolutely not. Phil Spencer is the grim reaper who set up all these dominoes, overspending and under delivering while chasing audiences that were indifferent to his pet projects. Everything* happening right now is because of Phil, this is his downfall.
Make no mistake, I'm not fanboying Asha. She could very well be prepping to slam that final nail into Xbox's coffin with her full might, but the console prices going up aren't her fault.
Edit: 10-hours-later edit. Obviously the component crisis is not Phil's fault, so previous price increases on the consoles aren't his fault either. I hope most people understood when I said "Everything", that wasn't included, but I'm just ultra-clarifying to be safe.
Re: The 10 'Most Wishlisted' Upcoming Xbox Games According To Microsoft
@Fiendish-Beaver It does surprise me that people are expecting them to be back when this is a prequel. I'd bet they cameo in the campaign to some extent even if its just a name drop, but expecting them to be a major focus is silly. And you are right, it's like any long running series with a new entry, it's not going to please everyone.
Re: The 10 'Most Wishlisted' Upcoming Xbox Games According To Microsoft
@Fiendish-Beaver Honestly it wasn't just that people disliked Kait and Del. Gears 4 was quippy, almost unbearably so. The three leads constantly cracking jokes that didn't really fit the tone. 5 kind of moved in a different direction where they made Kait insufferable like they were comically over-correcting from 4. The actors involved are great, I LOVE JD's actor and I was unbelievably excited since I love the Starz Spartacus series, and I think he did a fantastic job filling the lead role after Andy Whitfield passed away, may he rest in peace. Del's VA can give a good performance, and Laura Bailey is one of my favorite VA's in general. I still crack up thinking about her lines in the Crayon Shin-Chan english dub.
It was honestly just that the writing didn't fit. Too quippy, too unfitting, it wasn't Gears.
Re: Xbox Expects The 'Component Crisis' To Get Worse For Consoles In 2027
And this is why this generation is going to be extended. If not, then they really are trying to kill the brand.
Re: Xbox Announces 'Record' Pre-Orders For GTA 6 In Response To New Report
Xbox only reacts to these bad news claims when they end up being true, so now I believe it.
Re: The 10 'Most Wishlisted' Upcoming Xbox Games According To Microsoft
@Fiendish-Beaver I am glad you enjoy the newer games. I really loved 4's multi-player, as it ran on an ultra refined version of Gears 3. Smooth as butter.
But with that said, I again will say I'm glad you enjoy the new entries. I don't want to dislike them, they just do so many things that felt more like desperate trend chasing rather than innovating on what Gears of War could or should be.
Re: The 10 'Most Wishlisted' Upcoming Xbox Games According To Microsoft
@AI-Generation I noticed that too. Honestly kind of concerning, I don't know why there's hype for another remake of Halo 1 from a team notorious and seemingly only capable of grasping defeat from the jaws of victory.
Maybe Gears will pick up closer to release. I hope so, but maybe there are many like me who were so burned by Gears 4 & 5 that they don't trust it yet.
Re: Four Xbox Games Are Shutting Down Their Servers In July & August 2026
I like wrestling games but I stopped supporting them when they, or I guess Take Two, accelerated the server shutdowns for the older games. I like going back to older games and revisiting what I made, trying matches with friends, and just reminiscing about The Good Ol' Days™ — you get maybe two years of life now with these new releases. Not worth it anymore.
@Pigrotto I heard good things about New World, and actually was looking to pick it up around the time they announced the shutdown. Huge shame as it seemed really decent, Amazon just couldn't get out of its own way.
Re: Poll: If You're Buying GTA 6, Are You Getting The Standard Or Ultimate Edition?
So it might be sacrilege but I generally never customize a fleshed out character in single player unless it's a blank slate like the Saints Row boss. I like playing them the way the character designers intended them to look.
So unless the Ultimate edition is doing more than just character cosmetics and some vehicle wraps, I'm not biting. I'll have to see some footage of the exclusive stuff to see.
So I'll probably get the regular edition. A Take Two shareholder might weep into their diamond encrusted pillow at that, but that's fine. They'll be okay.
Re: Xbox Play Anywhere Deserves Serious Praise After Passing 2,000 Supported Games
Late reply, but I love it. I double dip on certain games that have Play Anywhere. It isn't a total replacement for Steam IMO, as for example if I think I'll want to mod the game I'll get it on Steam and maybe double dip at massive discount later.
Re: Xbox Layoffs Seemingly Begin As Devs Reveal They're 'Open To Work'
@Sol4ris Well, South of Midnight took six+ years to develop, so it definitely wasn't a quick turnaround, with a $100 million development cost. It was nearly in the ballpark of Red Dead Redemption 2's dev costs and time, which is really not a good comparison to have for a shorter, linear single player game.
I'm not saying it's good they're closing, but that glacial dev pace and cost makes it not surprising they're being cleaved. Game Pass cannibalizing sales definitely didn't help either, though that one is not Compulsion's fault.
Re: Xbox Announces Worldwide Price Increases For Series X|S Consoles
'hey friend listen, I know the world is scary right now but
it's gonna get way worse'
That's the scary part. This isn't even the worst of it yet. This might be the last relevant generation of consoles.
Re: Arkane Is "Doing A Really, Really Great Job" - Todd Howard's Hopeful Update On Blade
@Skinny-Pete In his defense, Starfield and Fallout 76 have released since. As well as like two different re-releases of Fallout 4, for some reason. 76 slowly salvaged a sinking ship made of toilet paper and cardboard. They're still apparently working full force on Starfield DLC/updates, so it has to be doing well enough.
But Microsoft's word means nothing anymore when it comes to game statements/updates, so Blade might already be canceled and the devs aren't even aware yet.
Re: Eek, GTA 6's 'Physical Edition' Is A Download Code In A Box
I'm genuinely terrified at the thought of how big this game will be. What if it cant fit on a blu-ray disc? I fear it's going to make the COD launcher/War zone look miniscule in comparison.
Re: There's A Capcom Showcase Happening This Week
@Markatron84 See you'd think that but the last time it was mentioned, a Capcom producer who worked on the Star Force Collection, Shingo Izumi, said there weren't even plans for it to be done. So they genuinely seem to have planned to do everything BUT Legends, which.... awesome....
He said it was still a possible candidate for future collections but it's the last one that can really be done, I think. So if it wasn't in the plans... I dunno. Not too optimistic.
Re: There's A Capcom Showcase Happening This Week
I'm hoping we see more Mega Man. The next mainline game is coming out next year, I know, but just... something. 0.0000000001% chance but maybe a Mega Man Legends Collection announcement? Let me OD on copium, please.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Title To Be Spotlighted At THQ Nordic Showcase This August
Goldman visually looks wonderful, so I'm very eager to see more... I thought it was a Devolver Digital title for a bit too. Titan Quest 2 also has my eye, I love the original.
By the way Craig, is PX staff on vacation? I've only seen you post news lately. Curious on how that all works. Your efforts are appreciated, a one man show running this has to be hectic.
Re: "The Catalogue Was Just Nowhere Near Good Enough" - Ori Creator Likens Xbox Game Pass To A "Slop Factory"
That opening sentence made me do a double take.. and then I saw it was a new(er) writer with this article. xD It made me laugh btw, not upset.
He's not entirely wrong. I think it's a mix of reasons why it's floundering. Xbox has some odd enforced rules that stifle creative expression. I'm not saying "xbox must release games that appeal to depraved gacha players" but they've gone so far towards the other end that they're almost a parody.
Hands-off was also the wrong way to go about it, especially for unproven studios. There's no world where anyone can justify Compulsion taking 6 years and being given such special treatment for South of Midnight. Honestly, my even bigger issue is that South of Midnight is scarily close to being in the ballpark of Red Dead Redemption 2's development costs.
It's not a 1:1 but RDR2 is estimated to have cost between $170 million and $240 million for development alone. Compulsion was nearly given the same amount of dev time (6~ years for SoM, 7-8~ years for RDR2) and resources almost in the ballpark of Rockstar... for... a game that plays like any other generic 3rd person combat-focused title.
It's just sloppy management and investment. Adding in as well that they happily let Rare flounder for 5 years on Everwild, and everything else we've seen. It's been a huge disaster. Phil Spencer's devastation is going to be felt for a long time.
They can fix some issues but I don't know if the bleeding can be fully stopped. I hope it can, I want them to continue and thrive. It's just... not a great situation. And it's only going to get worse before it starts getting better, if it does. Or can.
Re: "It's Time To Begin A New Adventure" - After 31 Years, Microsoft Veteran Retires
@HelloCraigo I will always champion Blinx, and not just because he happens to be an adorable tabby cat! I absolutely think he could get a Bubsy 4D-tier revival.
Re: "It's Time To Begin A New Adventure" - After 31 Years, Microsoft Veteran Retires
Bring Blinx back, bring Blinx back!
I've done my part. It's also hard to not see this and feel like Xbox is about to be just a brand name, chopping off their own legs to keep it going.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 20-21)
I don't get a lot of time to play games over the weekends lately, been helping my brother a lot. If I do, I'll probably do a little bit of Fortnite to relax, maybe some TCG Card Shop Simulator on Game Pass, and more Cronos: The New Dawn. I've just finished the Church segment in Cronos and the story is going to some wild places.
May also try to find time to sneak in a replay of TMNT Tactical Takedown, I finally double-dipped for an Xbox copy since it's on sale... but the remix challenges are going to be terrifying as Mikey. I just can't wrap my head around his playstyle to save my life. I get everyone else, but his is just like... I can't come up with any good analogies. It's just way over my head.
Re: Poll: What Do You Think Of Call Of Duty's Delay To Xbox Game Pass?
I'm of the mindset that they should strip day 1 access of games from GP. Now please hear me out before just replying and disagreeing. Is it a good deal for us? Without a doubt. It's great, but clearly not sustainable.
If it was, Xbox wouldn't be in their current predicament. It really does eat into their own software sales and has trained their own users to "wait for it on gamepass."
Now the flipside to this is that we're in a terrible place economically, so trying to squeeze more from users is just a bad idea. It's really a lose/lose situation. Maybe some XGS games can still release day 1, but I think most should or will be added to GP 6 months to a year after they come out from now on.
It's that or GP/Xbox ends up slowly dying overall, if that fate isn't already sealed.
Re: 20+ Of The Best Games From Xbox's Five New Mid-June 2026 Sales
@ILuvGames Left 4 Dead still has a special place in my heart. I might grab it at this price, especially since it has crossplay.
Re: 10+ Retro Games Announced For Xbox At QuByte ReConnect 2026
I haven't heard of a lot of these, but I'm glad for that. I only learned of titles like Sly Spy yesterday, and then coming across these... even ignoring modern releases within the last ten years, it feels like there really is a limitless amount of retro games to find and play over time!
Also, the PS1 version of Glover is unexpected but I will take it!
Re: 20+ Of The Best Games From Xbox's Five New Mid-June 2026 Sales
Plucky Squire and Death's Door seem interesting, as does Toxic Commandos... but I feel like in another month or two the sale price will dip just a little more on TC.
John Carpenter is awesome, but my wallet can only handle so much.
Re: GTA 5's Last-Gen Xbox Version Is Getting A Free Upgrade To Series X|S
@Tasuki Don't blame you. It's got invite only and private lobbies now, so it's at least way better about letting people play how they like. Still grindy, however.
Re: GTA 6 Cover Art Revealed, Pre-Orders Begin Next Week For Xbox Series X|S
I am gonna get this, just not gonna pre-order. Take Two isn't going to shed any tears at this proclamation though lol
Re: GTA 5's Last-Gen Xbox Version Is Getting A Free Upgrade To Series X|S
I wonder why they're just giving it away to owners of the last-gen versions, now? I used to get 'For You' deals where the S|X versions of GTA V were $10 since I owned the Xbone edition. Not complaining, but definitely surprised.
@Tasuki GTA Online is massive. Tons of stuff to do, and it being a mindless deathmatch sandbox means it hooks a lot of people too. It has PvP, PvE/ a lot of narrative co-op stuff, and even things for solo players to do.
Re: 'It's Going To Be Pretty Brutal' - Jason Schreier Reveals More On Upcoming Xbox Layoffs
@McKeownPlayz I think it's staying, but it likely is getting a notable revamp. First party games are likely to follow what CoD is doing-- they'll still release on GPU, but six months to a year later. I think PS+ already does this, I'm not 100% certain since I don't follow Sony, but that is a much healthier way to handle this even if we end up getting the worse end of the deal.
@Kaloudz Definitely not an Xbox-only thing but Xbox is again first up to bat for this years massive set of layoffs, meaning all eyes are on them. It doesn't help they are likely to have the highest amount of layoffs.
Re: 'It's Going To Be Pretty Brutal' - Jason Schreier Reveals More On Upcoming Xbox Layoffs
@CrazyCatOverwatchGir I will say Game Pass is part of the ruin, since it ate into game sales, but I also see your point and don't completely disagree.
Re: 'It's Going To Be Pretty Brutal' - Jason Schreier Reveals More On Upcoming Xbox Layoffs
@themightyant I see your point, but I do think Phil has a huge share of blame fairly deserved. As others, like @Banjo- , have said, he was way too hands off. The last few years were not solely his fault, I agree with that, but he lead so much of the way to where things ended up. Hands off to development teams that really weren't proven (Compulsion), picking some niche within a niche things to go for like Hellblade 2 and Keeper, Kiln, etc. Also shrugging off fan requests for things like Banjo-Kazooie to return by saying "Rare doesn't want to make that" and happily letting them flounder for half a decade on Everwild. They don't even know what they want to make!
He's not blameless but he certainly is 75% of the problem. Compounded by Sarah Bond's awful shift in business didn't help either, but he's done far more harm than good.
He ultimately signed off on Redfall being Xbox's first $70 game. He was fine with the Avowed devs getting in spats with players. I guess it's better to say this is more a "death by a thousand cuts" situation, but the only thing Phil really did well was PR and speaking candidly on issues.
(Edit: day late edit, I fixed @Banjo- 's name, I don't know how I got that wrong sorry ;_; )
Re: 'It's Going To Be Pretty Brutal' - Jason Schreier Reveals More On Upcoming Xbox Layoffs
Remember, above anything else. THIS is how the Phil Spencer era ends. Crumbling under its own weight, incompetently stumbling around and beating itself up at every corner.
I don't think he deserves the "savior" title. You can say he helped give Xbox a second wind during the Xbone generation, sure, but then he promptly guided that into an industrial meat grinder.
Bravo.
Re: Report: Xbox Already Planned To 'Sunset Or Split With' Ninja Theory Before Senua Reveal
Xbox likely needs to start stripping day one releases of their big games. Whether they wait a year or 6 months, this is the time they start sorting our the cannibalizing of their own sales.
Also, this was a colossally stupid thing to do. Xbox now has a recurring history of canceling something after showing it at a big showcase. How can we believe anything they'll show or announce actually come to pass at this rate? It sounds hyperbolic but, really. It was such a stupid thing to do.
Hellblade 2 didn't even sell well, so what interest could be drummed up by a third game for any potential publishers?
Re: Ori Creator Shares His Take On The Future Of Xbox's First-Party Strategy
@Vg_JRock_X That's what really bothers me... small projects aren't even possible. I'm talking SMALL. A budget of $50k, maybe $100k if really pushing it. The kind of money Xbox wouldn't even notice missing, allocated for indie teams. Find indie devs, whether teams or solo devs, that have promising track records and take their pitches. If it sounds good, fund them with a turnaround time of ~1-2 years. You could really, easily do that for eight+ devs (varying on solo or groups of course) and still come in under a million dollars for that initiative. The risk/reward is negligible for something like that.
Of course, easier said than done, but something like this would go miles beyond the glacial output of their current teams. And they'd be simple, short, cheap games not overbloated or bogged down.
Re: Ori Creator Shares His Take On The Future Of Xbox's First-Party Strategy
Like I've said, and others too- smaller games. Actually smaller, tiny budgets, either doing new work or using old IP. Xbox should be doing more like that, actually small, a year or two turnaround for indie games they fund and publish.
Small scope, small budget. Bring back Summer of Arcade as a showcase for the games. I still fondly remember Splosion Man.. though the Battletoads reboot was a truly rancid flash game hurriedly cobbled around the pilot for an animated series that never took off and may be a good counter argument as to why modern Xbox can't replicate SoA.
Also drop whatever restrictive rules Xbox has for making games. It clearly hinders and bogs down development time.
Re: Report: Multiple Xbox Studios In 'Active Negotiations' With Microsoft To Avoid Closure
@Kaloudz Sorry I wasn't implying State of Decay 3 was on the chopping block, more that it was also announced... seven-ish years ago? And only now has some kind of tangible gameplay to show, not even for release. Giving developers the time/ability to do what they want can be good, but there has to be moderation and a limit after some period of time.
At best, Phil is too nice. At worst, he's incompetent and gullible to be taken for 6+ year long rides on Microsoft's dime by the developers he picked up. It's crazy.
Re: Report: Multiple Xbox Studios In 'Active Negotiations' With Microsoft To Avoid Closure
@Weebleman Yeah, it's why I said 3+. Unbelievable.
Re: Report: Multiple Xbox Studios In 'Active Negotiations' With Microsoft To Avoid Closure
@Kaloudz Phil has a lot to answer for in stuff like this. He greenlit devs like Compulsion taking 7 years to make South of Midnight, Crackdown 3 taking ages. Whatever's been happening with State of Decay 3. A lot of this leads back to him for sure. Not all of it, I imagine, but a lot.
Re: Report: Multiple Xbox Studios In 'Active Negotiations' With Microsoft To Avoid Closure
Christ alive. I thought maybe two at tops, not 3+. I really hope Xbox just lets them go.
I'm not pinning the entire of blame of this on Asha, she basically was given a dumpster fire strapped to jet boosters blindly bouncing around a city and told to deal with it. Not that it makes things any better, but all these acquisitions really seemed to do nothing for Xbox in the end.
I said it a few days ago, no more studio acquisitions. Xbox has proven at every step of the way that they're incapable of dealing with them, the only two that have really shown anything of note are Coalition and Obsidian. (And I suppose Rare, but that's from a different era.)
Go back to the strategy used with Gears of War; partner with developers, handle marketing and publishing for an ambitious team. No more buyouts. The entire slate has to be cleaned, corporate/leadership included.
Never again should acquisitions be considered. And on that note, this house cleaning needs to end with a new marketing lead, too. I don't know what Aaron Greenberg does for most of the year outside of their E3/summer showcase event.
Re: Compulsion Games Might Be Getting Shut Down By Xbox, Says Report
@somnambulance This is true. I've never understood why Satya of all people is so gung-ho on AI when his role is the easiest to replace with AI — and think of the money saved!
Re: Compulsion Games Might Be Getting Shut Down By Xbox, Says Report
@NeoRatt True, but I'm not even referring to GTA 6. Red Dead Redemption 2 took just a year longer than South of Midnight, and that's on top of building and working on their engine. So what excuse does Compulsion have?
Now, granted, different teams. Rockstar has a staggeringly massive development team across multiple studios, so it's not a 1:1 like you said.
But seven years for South of Midnight? Again, I'm not happy if Compulsion gets closed and I do not think they should be, but there was some obvious mismanagement going on if it took them that long. Mismanagement that should be paid for by the higher-ups in charge of Xbox, not Compulsion itself.
Re: Compulsion Games Is Being Shut Down By Xbox, Says Report
@Banjo- I agree. It is a shame they're being shut down, but seven years, right? That's Rockstar Games levels of time to develop a game, with nowhere near the scope or quality of those games. I don't know why Phil let them go for so long without stepping in to hurry up development.
Again, if they are being shut down, that is unfortunate... but it's not a surprising choice.
Re: Rumour: Journalist Suggests Two Xbox Studios Are 'At Risk Of Being Closed' In 2026
@ScalenePowers It didn't stop them from shuttering Initiative just after showing off Perfect Dark. The only thing we know for sure is that there's probably only a select few studios that are safe, like Coalition (they also do support work for other Xbox games justifying their slower output) and probably Halo Studios... for some reason.
Re: Rumour: Journalist Suggests Two Xbox Studios Are 'At Risk Of Being Closed' In 2026
If it was Compulsion, that would make sense. They took ages to release South of Midnight, and visuals aside, it looks like a bog-standard game that any other dev team would be able to release in two or so years.
Not saying it's justifiable, but if you look at the amount of time they've had to develop vs what they've released.. that one at least makes sense. So does Ninja Theory, at least in the last few years. Again, not saying it's justifiable or even good.
I hope they don't touch Arkane or Double Fine, but who knows. The honeymoon phase of 'XBOX' is about to come to a sobering close.
Re: These Are The Top 10 Xbox Backwards Compatibility Requests After 750,000 Votes
@BoredOfEverything I pre-ordered Alpha Protocol and played it. Very clunky, very rough controls, but the story was very interesting. It's not unplayable but I remember it being very rough back in 2010, so I dread to think how it fares now.
...oh my god that was 16 years ago...
Re: 'We Have To Turn This Into A Sustainable Business' - Microsoft CEO Discusses Future Of Xbox
Honestly I want to know what lead to this. Was it ALL just Sarah Bond? Was Phil lying about the health and actually waddling around with his shirt over his head and pants around his ankles making repeated blunders?
I know they don't take the full blame or deserve ALL of it, higher up execs are guilty too, Satya "Slop Savant" Nadella included. I just want to know how it repeatedly went wrong at every opportunity, every potential thought, for years.
Edit: gonna add I'm still hopeful (even if it's just cautiously so) about Xbox, but wow what a mess.
Re: Microsoft Has Considered 'Spinning Out Or Restructuring' Xbox, Claims Report
"What they told me was encouraging, and it echoed Satya Nadella's previous internal Town Hall comments about being "long on gaming." One exec told me they wouldn't have been so eager to come on board — were it not for direct talks to Nadella himself about Microsoft's long-term commitment to gaming. They left talks with Satya convinced, and immediately took the job."
From a recent Windows Central article. I think all this recent talk and leaks is if Asha can't pull off a turnaround.
Next 100 days aren't gonna be great I'm guessing, but I'm gonna try to remain cautiously optimistic.
Re: Six Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In July 2026 So Far
The gachas are starting to steadily trickle in for Xbox, nice to see. I really wanted to like the original Speedrunners but it just didn't click with me, maybe this sequel will be different.
Palworld 1.0 and Mistfall might be all for me so far for July.