Elbow

@Kezelpaso Hold on, a little known thing about GOG is that for games that are troublesome to run, they actually do maintenance work to get them to run on modern systems. The publisher has no hand in the support, it's all GOGs internal team doing the patching, making GOG-exclusive releases a novelty for that exact reason.

The Warcraft games that were on GOG were all patched by GOG, Blizzard had no involvement, to give an example.

Is there confirmation that Capcom themselves worked on this? It being GOG-only screams that it was the internal support GOG, not Capcom. But I can't find any info on it.

I'm still on an Xbone, but Eternal Strands looks really good. I'm torn between playing it on gamepass (streaming) or waiting for a sale on PC..

@Fenbops Apparently also have become kind of a support studio for other Xbox teams using Unreal Engine. Which makes sense because a lot of the staff at Coalition came from Epic with the migration.

They know how to make the engine sing.

@Isolte I would definitely also recommend at least a peek at Gears Tactics. You might not like the gameplay, but it does feel like a game right out of the "prime" era of Gears.

@Isolte Mixed bag. 4s campaign was the textbook definition of bland IMO, and I found 5 far worse. I say that as someone who adored the original trilogy and even have all of the books. (4s multiplayer was smooth as butter though. Great time.)

Of course you might like them, and if you have gamepass then you should at least give 4 a go. Despite my naysaying you might end up loving them, and if you do that's great.

I did mostly enjoy Gears Tactics too, it's a prequel turn based strategy game like XCOM that takes place during the original trilogy. Very fun. Some of the campaign cutscenes are obnoxious but the gameplay itself is really good and still manages to feel like Gears.

@JorutoHayabusa I'm probably one of only dozens of people, but I still buy a lot of games on my Xbone. The main purpose is to support Xbox, even if I have a gaming PC that would be preferable for some of the games I've purchased.

Though with this recent news I'm really concerned on if I've just been an idiot.. who knows if this library will still exist in ten years.

(I bought pretty much all of the Square Enix offerings available on Xbone, lots of indies and JRPGs, stuff that's Play Anywhere... even some double dip purchases I already have on Steam if I really like a game enough.)

Oh boy, a $15 fee to play something on a streaming service a few days early! You could buy a whole game for that and just play it until Avowed drops.

This is scummy.

Okay, trying to be as optimistic as I can about this... I still don't see how their console can possibly thrive with this. Even if they do release a handheld, what is the appeal? No exclusives, but you can buy the handheld to then... pay a monthly sub for games?

It's amusing that Redfall may end up being the final true Xbox exclusive.

@Moby We definitely need the big 3, but that is definitely in a console space... there's a real concern if Xbox does start releasing older games on other systems that people will just happily wait for these newer releases because "it will for sure release on Playstation". I've already started seeing that sentiment.

@Kaloudz The 7R stuff is weird, because apparently the exclusivity was extended by another year when Square released the PS5 port of the Part 1? After that I have no idea but I know Sony will trip over their own feet just to screw over Xbox. So I wouldn't be surprised by the extended exclusivity.

Honestly I'm just glad Square was NOT bought out by anybody. That was the huge relief.

@Millionski Is fable confirmed for this year? I thought that was still unconfirmed.

@Kaloudz They still have to abide by whatever deal they made with Sony. Could've been multiple years for all we know. It's clear though they're willing and ready to slam 16 & 7R down onto Xbox the moment they're able to, though.

@Cakefish oof, okay now I feel like a di**. Sorry about that. I hope your family is overall doing much better now

I dont know if this for sure guarantees a games pipeline working at peak performance BUT it is looking really good for Xbox right now. The first time we've been able to say that in what feels like EONS.

I hope the momentum continues. They're going to need it.

I've been eyeballing this re-release of Amalur for years now... might be time.

@Cakefish Uh, I was born in 92 and am currently 32 as well. N64 was "my" first console, though I always played my brother's NES and SNES before that. Stricter parents, perhaps?

Resident Evil 6 is an amazing video game, probably one of the best "summer blockbuster" tier action flicks morphed into a videogame.

Buuuuut it's not a good Resident Evil game. They really should've named it anything else, hell it may have even fared better with the Revelations sub-series name.

And it would be incredibly bizarre if this was the secret announcement... like what? I guess it would be confirmation that RE6 would not receive a remake but still, huh?

@Banjo- "Maybe because some fans of the competing system want Xbox to fail miserably."

There is definitely some of this, and a lot of armchair/internet user executives making comments (I'm one of them) as if they know the best way Xbox should be run.. but I will at least say in my case my negativity comes from a place of concern. I do not want to see Xbox die, drop out of the console race, or squander potential they have. I guess you can say it's on the tough love side.

Sorry for butting into this conversation. I just wanted to add some context for at least a few people around here who regularly come off grumpy (which I know I'm part of too.)

@somnambulance Nuh uh, Phil Spencer said games won't win a console war...

(I am taking his comment somewhat out of context but my God, what an outrageously stupid comment to make or believe.)

Xbox One! Aww, yeah. My ol' Xbone is still chugging along perfectly fine with releases like these.

@Millionski So turns out Wukong is not on Xbox because the devs are not good at optimization. Series S is technically the culprit, if you need an exact "why?" but the devs are new to console development and Wukong itself just is incredibly poorly optimized. I have no idea if Xbox can even help in a situation like that, because it sounds like the devs refuse the idea.

(That last sentence might not be accurate since reading translated comments can easily mistake intent of words, but this is the impression I got from reading their comments. Again, might not be accurate. Translating a statement exactly is a very tricky thing.)

I'm surprised it hasn't been added to MCC, if a direct port is off the table. Wonder why, did the reception to it really kill the momentum? Or is the story not worth it? Haven't played it myself.

We're at the end of an era... Persona 3 Reload Expansion Pass will no longer just be sitting there, menacingly, on the Gamepass Perks page by the end of this month.

They better re-release or remaster or whatever the Dreamcast Ecco the Dolphin game.

Also those games were pure nightmare fuel. I don't know if anyone remembers that since the rest of the game was pretty brutal.

Japanese IP.. hmm. Decades of history makes me think it's a top tier announcement.

Dragon Quest 12?

I want South of Midnight to be good, but I still don't have faith in the combat. It looks incredibly weak from shown footage. Hopefully that will be changed, but Compulsion games have always been sloppy even with best intentions, so we'll have to see.

It's about time. This will make almost every mainline FF game (minus 11) available on Xbox for the first time... ever?
(Also yea 11 was on the 360 but I'm referring to current playable games.)

MS can't buy them, but they could do a partnership, couldn't they? Offer to fund or publish a few games in exchange for permanent gamepass inclusion.

I dont want anyone buying Ubisoft if possible, but trying to think of best case scenarios outside of that.

I LOVED HOTD2 and I'm going to be incredibly critical of this. Played it to death as a kid on my dreamcast... sshh don't tell my mom.

@Markatron84 The ultimate irony is that Halo was the Halo killer.

But I really think this will lead to an accelerated death for Xbox consoles. Especially if they plan to release another console... what do they think is going to happen?

I sincerely doubt an Xbox version of World of Warcraft would be done. The game runs on a staggering amount of legacy code that they delicately have to work around. The one thing I can appreciate about WoW is how much is actively going on at all times, even if there are no players around, and the constant building on top of previous content endlessly. And I can't imagine they could get something like WoW running on a new system without it being a Fallout 76 tier nightmare at release.

The closest I could truly see is it getting a cloud version, with some Xbox/Bnet link.

@themightyant I think Spencer confirmed without outright saying that pressure is on them now after the Activision buyout. I don't know where exactly the line is drawn (rumors that there are no lines, everything can come to rival platforms) though it's all but been said out loud that the money they spent on Acti is expected to be returned doublefold, and quickly.

@Medic_alert If it's available, I probably do. I bought Bomb Rush Cyberfunk on my One.

It's not just an Xbox problem, there are still TONS of PS4 users as well. These consoles will not die while receiving a steady release of games and the current gen systems only get a trickle of true generation exclusives. (Not referring to first party, just Series/PS5 only.)

I genuinely don't see an end to this until the next generation.

This used to pay out insanely well ($25-$30 a month) but has increasingly stripped away ways to earn/amounts while massively increasing the time it takes. I still do it, mind you, but it's a far cry from where it was in 2023. Notably they really clamped down around the time of the Activision buyout getting closer/finalizing.

I also want to argue that it's not free, because they're taking your data/information/search usage in exchange for the pennies. It's definitely not free, even if it isn't trying to grab your wallet. Hence why they ban anyone doing "fraudulent" or blatantly useless searches just to fill out their daily search limit. They aren't getting the necessary data from those.

@Fiendish-Beaver I'm pretty much in the same boat. Curious about Unknown 9 but not $30-60 curious. Here's hoping Bamco pull through on my prediction for a summer sale!

@Fiendish-Beaver Not many people played it so reviews will be scarce. On the bright side, Bandai Namco is the publisher, and they're the Japanese Ubisoft when it comes to putting their games on sale. I can almost guarantee Unknown 9 will be 75% by the Summer sale, or have a price reduction to the point that 50% off is in the range of $10-$15

Just a reminder, Everwild was announced in 2019/2020. As an Xbox One title. It's been going for five/six years since announced. That level of development hell is worrying. Especially since around the time of this games announcement Rare said they were becoming a "new IP factory".
Im not trying to spread doom and gloom, I just wonder what in the world has been going on with this game?

@InterceptorAlpha Oh yeah, that glorified fanfic was weird...

The ONLY reason I would accept them saying no is because of Halo still being in the works at Paramount during development of this series. aka: Paramount had a lot of control and sway.

If Microsoft said no of their own volition, I won't be surprised but I'll be heavily disappointed. Do everything but what people want.

Hmm.. besides the inevitable "play my backlog" response, I think actually I might finally sit down and try to play an RTS. I've always been intimidated by the genre, and while I love the Command & Conquer: Renegade spinoff (I still play it to this day! There are dozens of us, dozens!, still on servers!!) I've always been scared off by the proper C&C games. Never been that great at them... but maybe this is the year that changes.

Or, realistically, I'll still suck at them but at least manage to beat Red Alert 2.

Well this is good, Xbox has really been hurting for a win. Ending the year on a happy note!

The genuinely crazy part is that Everwild was announced as an Xbox One game... and now it might be one of the final games released on the Series consoles, as we're in the final year's for that system. Development problems are an understatement.

I've bought a lot of digital games this year. I'm talking absurd numbers. It's also at a point where I live in such a small place that I could not hold/keep more physical games with me like I could in the 360/PS3 days.

I picked up the Mega Man X bundle, No Straight Roads, and the absurdly titled "Marsupilami: Hoobadventure". There are a few other games I have my eye on, but these were the first.

Currently playing No Straight Roads on xbox! It's a rhythm combat game, a MUCH lower budget than Hi-Fi Rush but it also came out three years before Hi-Fi. The game is a bit on the shorter side and is rough around the edges but it has so much heart that it easily makes up for it. Also, the music in this game blows Hi-Fi's non-licensed music out of the water.

This game is also currently like $6 on Xbox and Steam due to the Christmas sales. If you've wanted to try another game like Hi-Fi, give this one a look! Even just take a peek at a trailer to see if you might be interested. I love this goofy little game, it oozes charm and passion.

Also, I'm playing a bit of the absurdly-titled Marsupilami: Hoobadventure. It's a very competent Donkey Kong Country Returns clone, though a bit on the easier side. Nice for low stress sessions or to chill out.

@TTgowings I still haven't seen that, but it's been showing up in my recommended feed via clips. I think I'm gonna watch it over Christmas week.

I do find it amusing that Walton Goggins has become a common name with Fallout. I remember watching Sons of Anarchy... he had quite an interesting role that he put himself wholly into. He's an impressive actor.

I am also surprised Bethesda has managed to salvage the sinking ship that was 76. Six years strong with no signs of ending, that's truly impressive after that nearly universally despised launch. I just wish that silly Battle Royale mode was still in the game... it's a dumb enough concept in a game like this to get me to play it for ages.

Even if not at a potential January event we have to hear something about Everwild and Contraband sometime this year. They've been around for ages with nothing to show for them, which is crazy to think about.

As well as likely getting a release date for South of Midnight, these are the three things I think are basically mandatory for some kind of announcement this year, even if not release dates for the first two games I mentioned.

While the implications of "everything is an Xbox" bothers me, I'm glad there are people actually seeing the good in it. There will be no surprise to hear my admittance that I have a doomer perspective, but it comes from a place of concern for Xbox, not hate.

I want this to be good. This is the one announcement in recent years that has really caught my attention, I just don't know if they tightened up the combat since the last preview. It looked, from previous footage shown, like the worst aspect of the game.

@Ricky-Spanish Judging by your confusion, you're a good guy. Unfortunately there are some people out there who take delight in such awful things. It's a real thing that I'm not going to elaborate on, but humans suck. Real bad.