So MS is cool with this content being playable on Xbox, but you better not take a screenshot of it?
I hope this gets fixed ASAP. If not, they need to make auto upload something you opt into, not automatic. I know I've accidentally hit the share button on occasion — and sometimes I didn't even know I did until I saw saved screens later.
Scary to think you could be locked out for a year just for simply using the feature Xbox put right there on the controller.
My top game HAS to be Goldeneye — a game we never thought we’d see return. I still can’t believe it happened, even if it’s not the much-better 360 version that was canned.
But not to sound like a debbie downer: this was the year I realized Gamepass isn’t for me, and that’s okay! I actually had more fun with my Xbox this year than the last few, and almost all of it was on games I owned. If it wasn’t for cloud streaming to my phone in bed, I actually used Gamepass very little overall.
Again — not to be downing Gamepass, as I know for some people it has more value. I can see it being very valuable if you have more time for games and don’t own other consoles.
But for me it was kind of liberating: you always hear people say “oh you NEED Gamepass if you have an Xbox.” If actually took away my enjoyment of the console a little because I wasn’t playing what I wanted — I was trying to force reasons to use GP. But there are a lot of fantastic reasons to still own an Xbox on its own, no expensive monthly subscription required.
Switch: I’m working on finishing up Tears of the Kingdom.
Xbox: I was replaying Max Payne for Xmas, but then got sidetracked (once again!) by Vampire Survivors
PS5: Just finished and platinumed Spidey 2, so now I’m diving in to the incredible — and free! — Valhalla DLC for God of War: Ragnarok. I’m honestly loving this more than the base game….
As an aside, these two were far from the only toxic figures at Activision. I hope more of the leadership team that enabled some of this awful behavior is sniffed out and dealt with.
I mean, on one hand I get it — Microsoft’s incentive is to gather/use/sell/monentize your search data. This isn’t a charity.
On the other hand, 3 searches every 15 minutes is too little. I use search all day long for work and can make significantly more “genuine” searches in that time.
Somebody never heard of the Streisand Effect (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect for anyone who isn't aware).
I haven't had a chance to play Starfield yet/sink time into yet another giant RPG this year, but by doing this, Bethesda has brought it to my attention that this game's planets are boring and empty. Or at least that's what others think, which means it'll be top of mind when I start too.
Why on earth are they shining a bigger light on its criticisms? And their response just comes off as hyper-defensive. Not everyone will love your game. It's okay. You can't win 'em all. Move on.
Yea, about as much of a technical error as that giant splash image for Modern Warfare that took over my Xbox when I booted it up the other day. At least MS didn’t try and pretend it was a mistake.
I mean, of course. I don’t get the surprise, honestly. Phil Spencer has been saying for a long time that hardware is not the goal. Microsoft has stopped reporting on hardware sales themselves.
And let’s be real: the Series has had a rough start until this 2023, even going over a whole year without a AAA exclusive that gets people rushing out to buy machines. They hardly even advertised until this year. These all were factors.
But MS has its eye on a consoles-free future; hardware sales are not meaningless — it’s still lost potential revenue and helps them get the market foothold they desperately need — but they’re not the endgame either.
@somnambulance I can relate - I play mostly new games but I have such a soft spot for retro titles. I also have a giant collection across the big 3 consoles. Sometimes they're just great comfort food (I've been leaning into it again lately).
No problem at all — thank you. And yea, you can't get much more great games/content for just $5.
My initial reaction was a "B" but the more I thought about it, it's really a "C" (maybe a C+?).
Compared to my Switch and PS5, I hardly played my Series X this year — and when I did, it was for retro games. Redfall was an obvious miss. It's hard to pick Forza 7 over GT7, which is finally in a great place. Starfield isn't for me. And we're starting to see some of that arrogant anti-consumer Microsoft attitude creeping back in. And of course, the Activision deal was ugly and didn't always paint MS in the best light --- not to mention it closed right before one of the worst-reviewed Call of Duties hits the market. Not good!
BUT I don't think a C is bad in this case, because the Series entire lifecycle has been pretty rough up to this point. 2023 has been a turning point and Xbox is heading in the right direction, finally. When that will start to bare fruit, who knows — I hope next year! — but when you look at how the last few years have been, a C for Xbox is a massive improvement. Hi-Fi Rush was my high point. Quake 2 remaster was fantastic.
The future's finally looking up for my Series X, unfortunately about halfway through its lifecycle. It's obvious the promised land is finally coming, but I just don't think 2023 was it yet. Rome wasn't built in a day and all that, though.
There was something really, really special about that first Xbox. Microsoft was so eager to get into games and had this incredibly consumer-and-dev friendly approach — while also having a bit of a punk-rock attitude to shed away their stiff corporate image.
The games were incredible, like having a PC hooked up to your TV. A hard drive that you could rip your CDs to and make custom game soundtracks. Xbox Live. Tear away controller cables in case someone stepped on a wire to prevent damage. So many innovations in such a short period of time. And they were shaking up the industry.
OG Xbox is probably my second favorite games console, behind Sega Dreamcast and at least tied with, if not ahead of, the N64.
Happy birthday you gigantic, powerful, amazing, ugly *****.
This feels like a bit like a tin-hat conspiracy theory intended to stoke the console fanboy flames.
Sure, Gears of War 3 is a little surprising, but like you said — it was a loaded year. I loved Sunset Overdrive but it wasn’t GoTY material. Forza Horizon 2 as a bit more of the same and racing games are (frustratingly) rarely in these GoTY conversations. Titanfall 1 was a multiplayer-only title that had lots of unrealized potential that wouldn’t happen until TF2. And Starfield was a very divisive game that came out in the middle of one of the best gaming years ever — there simply isn’t room for everyone, and I’m glad they’re not handing out participation nominations to keep every console owner happy.
Maybe, just maybe, a reason that MS hasn’t had a lot of exclusives nominated for GoTY is because they haven’t made many since the 360 days. We just got out of the first-party drought this year, and are still waiting for a flood of exclusives with the same cadence that Nintendo and Sony deliver.
Maybe if Psychonauts 2 wasn’t nominated I’d say you’d have an argument, but it’s clear that Xbox needs more fantastic exclusives if you want them to get more GoTY nominations.
In the end games are supposed to be fun; I would enjoy what you enjoy and worry less about what trophies other games get.
I really wish the BF games' removal was done in the opposite order: first Gamepass, then a few months remaining to buy them.
As it stands, if you got into the game in the last few months on GP you're SOL now that it's leaving. Seems like keeping on GP for a few months and reminding everyone it's leaving there so they should play it — and then afterward reminding them it's leaving stores could have resulted in some last-minute sales too.
@somnambulance Check out Midway Arcade Origins. Most of these titles are on there (except MK — boo!) and it’s backwards compatible! I’m sure you can find a used copy for cheap.
This is what I was saying in the original story. Xbox was already having a hard time trying to peel away fighting fans from PS and PC, but this is a nail in the coffin for fighters on Xbox. Once the FGC completely jumps ship, less fighting games will be played, purchased — and then eventually not see Xbox ports at all when publishers think the money isn’t there/it’s not worth it.
What a sucky announcement to happen right before KI gets its big next gen update.
This might be the death knell for fighting games on Xbox, which already had a hard time as most of the FGC gravitates towards Playstation or PC.
Custom fight sticks use brooks and other boards that aren't officially licensed. This will make a lot of those players abandon Xbox for fighters. And then the people who have old fight sticks use USB converters to get them working on newer consoles.
Most licensed sticks are only found on PS anyway, so people often sink money into buying one really good one and then using it across platforms. They're not going to rush out and buy another stick, from a limited pool and off a pre-approved list from MS, just to have an option only on Xbox. People don't want to buy multiple fight sticks.
Once the competitive scene completely pulls up stakes and leaves, it could have an unintended negative feedback loop that results in less fighters being bought, played — and then eventually ported.
It’s a shame; I’m interested but tomorrow sees Spider-Man 2 and Mario Wonder launch. I simply can’t see myself having time for a third option, let alone for one that’s a trial.
I’m sure this busy launch weekend is why Xbox did this though (and thank God Forza or Starfield isn’t also launching tomorrow).
I can’t say it enough: this has one of the best years in gaming in a long time.
@themightyant Your analogy to get infants addicted to sugar early so they're lifelong customers is hilariously evil and something I could see a company like Nestle trying at least once.
More choice is always a good thing for consumers. PS5 digital owners being able to upgrade to a disc drive for $79.99 is a great option, and while I personally have a Series X, I hope Series S fans can get the same choice some day.
Any fan community of any game is full of this kind of discourse these days (as a MK fan, it's going on with the MK subreddit over MK1). For some reason, even the biggest fans just want to complain.
That said, Forza isn't perfect and has its flaws — but fans aren't discussing that with nuance. In today's binary world, everything has to be a perfect "10" or a awful "1" — there's no middle ground anymore.
The article is a fascinating read, but it's pretty apparent from its context that an EA acquisition isn't very serious and was just suggested as a possibility from another exec. This also comes on the heels of months and months of rumors that Disney will sell to Apple, so it's more about Disney's uncertain future than anything else.
Still, it wouldn't shock me if they try and get more into gaming in some capacity.
It’s funny in that video how both games trade back and forth on which looks better. I ultimately think Forza might have better environments and GT7 might have better car models.
But either way, both are fantastic and do their own thing with their own style. If you’re a racing fan you can’t go with having both.
It's a pretty widely known fact amongst fans that the original game was complete spaghetti (or if you prefer, spaghetti western) code — it's practically held together by duct tape and glue, and the smallest tinkering could make the entire thing collapse. Some on the dev team were even shocked that it runs the way it does.
It's a minor miracle that it's on the backward compatibility list at all, but I don't think Rockstar is going to invest the time, money, and energy into trying to achieve 60FPS on a 10-year-old fragile game that you'd as a free update --- especially when they can sell you the $60 remaster instead. This is 2K, after all.
I'd expect the remaster to come to Xbox long before the backward-compatible title gets updated.
MK1 gameplay is fantastic, even if it feels a little unfinished. There are some hiccups still needing fixed (the premium store is bugged and won't refresh, some QoL from 11 are missing, etc.) but those are undoubtedly coming.
In the meantime though the gameplay is better than ever, there's a TON of kontent (especially for single-player), and it's just a lot of fun.
There's no point trying to compare it to SF6 — they're radically different games with different intentions. It's like trying to compare Final Fantasy 16 to Cyberpunk — they may both be RPGs, but that's about where the similarities end. SF, MK, and Tekken all serve unique purposes and fighting game fans are riding high right now with updates from all 3 in less than 12 months.
@Titntin Hahaha it's just now dawning on me that it's an X "Box" that's cylindrical. That's hilarious, and normally the kind of thing that gets under my skin too lol.
I weirdly like my consoles to be kind of discrete and easily hidden. I have the Series X tucked away. It's a little harder to hide the PS5, haha. But this would be easy to tuck away in a corner.
@RedShirtRod Agreed with all of that; the A/B deal was definitely the last major "get" they know they can pull off for a while.
I don't this makes him a monster, but I think some people get so upset and shocked when they don't get the PR-filtered version of Phil Spencer and realize he's a corporate suit like the rest of them. Sure, he likes videogames. And that's cool! But his #1 priority is not being some laid-back gamer, it's to make his company as much money as possible and hit career aspirations. At any and all costs.
So people build up these visions of "Uncle Phil" and then are shocked and upset when they see he had buying a beloved company like Nintendo as a "career moment" and "endgame" for Microsoft. CEOs don't get to where they are without being cutthroat and focused on growth.
@BrilliantBill Yea agreed (I essentially said the same in my comment). I don’t think it’ll be a heavy left for third-party publishers who are already putting games on PS5, similar to how trophies and achievements often mirror each other.
Comments 458
Re: Xbox Owner Receives Year-Long Ban After Uploading Baldur's Gate 3 Clips
So MS is cool with this content being playable on Xbox, but you better not take a screenshot of it?
I hope this gets fixed ASAP. If not, they need to make auto upload something you opt into, not automatic. I know I've accidentally hit the share button on occasion — and sometimes I didn't even know I did until I saw saved screens later.
Scary to think you could be locked out for a year just for simply using the feature Xbox put right there on the controller.
Re: Poll: What Were The Best Xbox Game Pass Additions In 2023?
My top game HAS to be Goldeneye — a game we never thought we’d see return. I still can’t believe it happened, even if it’s not the much-better 360 version that was canned.
But not to sound like a debbie downer: this was the year I realized Gamepass isn’t for me, and that’s okay! I actually had more fun with my Xbox this year than the last few, and almost all of it was on games I owned. If it wasn’t for cloud streaming to my phone in bed, I actually used Gamepass very little overall.
Again — not to be downing Gamepass, as I know for some people it has more value. I can see it being very valuable if you have more time for games and don’t own other consoles.
But for me it was kind of liberating: you always hear people say “oh you NEED Gamepass if you have an Xbox.” If actually took away my enjoyment of the console a little because I wasn’t playing what I wanted — I was trying to force reasons to use GP. But there are a lot of fantastic reasons to still own an Xbox on its own, no expensive monthly subscription required.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (December 23-24)
Wait, where’s the rest of the Pure Xbox team?
As for me:
Switch: I’m working on finishing up Tears of the Kingdom.
Xbox: I was replaying Max Payne for Xmas, but then got sidetracked (once again!) by Vampire Survivors
PS5: Just finished and platinumed Spidey 2, so now I’m diving in to the incredible — and free! — Valhalla DLC for God of War: Ragnarok. I’m honestly loving this more than the base game….
Re: Xbox Makes Leadership Changes As Bobby Kotick Leaves Activision & Microsoft
As an aside, these two were far from the only toxic figures at Activision. I hope more of the leadership team that enabled some of this awful behavior is sniffed out and dealt with.
Re: Xbox Makes Leadership Changes As Bobby Kotick Leaves Activision & Microsoft
Nana nana
Nana nana
Hey, hey, hey
Goodbyyyeeeeee
Re: Microsoft Rewards 15-Minute Cooldown Is Extending To More Users
I mean, on one hand I get it — Microsoft’s incentive is to gather/use/sell/monentize your search data. This isn’t a charity.
On the other hand, 3 searches every 15 minutes is too little. I use search all day long for work and can make significantly more “genuine” searches in that time.
Re: Postal 4 Dev Puts The Blame On Microsoft For Lack Of Xbox Version
@Sol4ris Lol, I forgot about that.
Re: Xbox Provides An Update On Its Xbox Game Pass 'Friends & Family' Plan
That’s nice and all, but why didn’t they wait to close down the family plan until AFTER they nailed down its value prop?
Re: Incredible Custom Console Unveiled To Celebrate 'Jusant' On Xbox Game Pass
It looks like a monstrosity from the end of Inside.
Re: Bethesda Has Started Responding To Negative User Reviews Of Starfield
Somebody never heard of the Streisand Effect (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect for anyone who isn't aware).
I haven't had a chance to play Starfield yet/sink time into yet another giant RPG this year, but by doing this, Bethesda has brought it to my attention that this game's planets are boring and empty. Or at least that's what others think, which means it'll be top of mind when I start too.
Why on earth are they shining a bigger light on its criticisms? And their response just comes off as hyper-defensive. Not everyone will love your game. It's okay. You can't win 'em all. Move on.
Re: The Game Awards Host Reminisces About 'Special' Moment With Phil Spencer & Rival Execs
Proof that the “console wars” is made-up nonsense in the minds of fanboy losers.
Re: 'Technical Error' Led To Mid-Game Advert In Assassin's Creed, Says Ubisoft
Yea, about as much of a technical error as that giant splash image for Modern Warfare that took over my Xbox when I booted it up the other day. At least MS didn’t try and pretend it was a mistake.
Ubisoft acting greasy, down to the excuses,
Re: Starfield's Latest Bit Of Merch Is Getting A Lot Of Attention On Social Media
Brings whole new meaning to the term “starf*cker”
Re: Xbox Might Be Losing Its Microsoft Rewards App (And Weekly Streaks)
Well this is a crappy Thanksgiving surprise.
Re: Reaction: Should We Really Be Surprised By 'Declining' Xbox Console Sales?
I mean, of course. I don’t get the surprise, honestly. Phil Spencer has been saying for a long time that hardware is not the goal. Microsoft has stopped reporting on hardware sales themselves.
And let’s be real: the Series has had a rough start until this 2023, even going over a whole year without a AAA exclusive that gets people rushing out to buy machines. They hardly even advertised until this year. These all were factors.
But MS has its eye on a consoles-free future; hardware sales are not meaningless — it’s still lost potential revenue and helps them get the market foothold they desperately need — but they’re not the endgame either.
Re: Killer Instinct: Anniversary Edition Announced For Xbox And PC
Welp, the anniversary edition not having classic KI1+2 means it’s time for me to buy the definitive edition now and get the free upgrade.
Thankful they told us ahead of time and while its on a steep discount!
Re: Xbox's Antstream Arcade Loses 27 Games As Warner Bros. Partnership Ends
@somnambulance I can relate - I play mostly new games but I have such a soft spot for retro titles. I also have a giant collection across the big 3 consoles. Sometimes they're just great comfort food (I've been leaning into it again lately).
No problem at all — thank you. And yea, you can't get much more great games/content for just $5.
Re: Xbox's Antstream Arcade Loses 27 Games As Warner Bros. Partnership Ends
@somnambulance that’s awesome! Glad to hear you’re enjoying it!
Re: Xbox's Antstream Arcade Loses 27 Games As Warner Bros. Partnership Ends
@somnambulance Yo just saw here on the Backwards Compat sale article that it’s $4.99 right now (at least stateside). Had to come back and share: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/midway-arcade-origins/BS97KVXLT9LK?ranMID=24542&ranEAID=I23MxTm2ku4&ranSiteID=I23MxTm2ku4-JWAqcsJt1Xr.VsZs_peiXQ&epi=I23MxTm2ku4-JWAqcsJt1Xr.VsZs_peiXQ&irgwc=1&OCID=AIDcmm549zy227_aff_7593_1243925&tduid=%28ir__gbd9x3jaxokf63a3piws1ksal32xbqiwiwpcbxwg00%29%287593%29%281243925%29%28I23MxTm2ku4-JWAqcsJt1Xr.VsZs_peiXQ%29%28%29&irclickid=_gbd9x3jaxokf63a3piws1ksal32xbqiwiwpcbxwg00
Re: Need More 'Bluey' In Your Life? Xbox Reveals Custom Series X Console
Absolutely love it. The perfect gift for Pass the Parcel (80s guitar riffs start)
Re: Talking Point: Overall, How Successful Has 2023 Been For Xbox?
My initial reaction was a "B" but the more I thought about it, it's really a "C" (maybe a C+?).
Compared to my Switch and PS5, I hardly played my Series X this year — and when I did, it was for retro games. Redfall was an obvious miss. It's hard to pick Forza 7 over GT7, which is finally in a great place. Starfield isn't for me. And we're starting to see some of that arrogant anti-consumer Microsoft attitude creeping back in. And of course, the Activision deal was ugly and didn't always paint MS in the best light --- not to mention it closed right before one of the worst-reviewed Call of Duties hits the market. Not good!
BUT I don't think a C is bad in this case, because the Series entire lifecycle has been pretty rough up to this point. 2023 has been a turning point and Xbox is heading in the right direction, finally. When that will start to bare fruit, who knows — I hope next year! — but when you look at how the last few years have been, a C for Xbox is a massive improvement. Hi-Fi Rush was my high point. Quake 2 remaster was fantastic.
The future's finally looking up for my Series X, unfortunately about halfway through its lifecycle. It's obvious the promised land is finally coming, but I just don't think 2023 was it yet. Rome wasn't built in a day and all that, though.
Re: Talking Point: Today Marks 22 Years Of Xbox As OG Console Celebrates A Big Birthday
There was something really, really special about that first Xbox. Microsoft was so eager to get into games and had this incredibly consumer-and-dev friendly approach — while also having a bit of a punk-rock attitude to shed away their stiff corporate image.
The games were incredible, like having a PC hooked up to your TV. A hard drive that you could rip your CDs to and make custom game soundtracks. Xbox Live. Tear away controller cables in case someone stepped on a wire to prevent damage. So many innovations in such a short period of time. And they were shaking up the industry.
OG Xbox is probably my second favorite games console, behind Sega Dreamcast and at least tied with, if not ahead of, the N64.
Happy birthday you gigantic, powerful, amazing, ugly *****.
Re: Forza Customs Is A New Car-Themed Puzzle Game Out Now On Android & iOS
I don’t mind a puzzle game, but it looks like there aren’t achievements?
I wish Xbox would have some consistency on their mobile games; some of them have Xbox achievements but many don’t.
Re: Reaction: Looking Back, Xbox Has Had Some Strange GOTY Omissions Over The Years
This feels like a bit like a tin-hat conspiracy theory intended to stoke the console fanboy flames.
Sure, Gears of War 3 is a little surprising, but like you said — it was a loaded year. I loved Sunset Overdrive but it wasn’t GoTY material. Forza Horizon 2 as a bit more of the same and racing games are (frustratingly) rarely in these GoTY conversations. Titanfall 1 was a multiplayer-only title that had lots of unrealized potential that wouldn’t happen until TF2. And Starfield was a very divisive game that came out in the middle of one of the best gaming years ever — there simply isn’t room for everyone, and I’m glad they’re not handing out participation nominations to keep every console owner happy.
Maybe, just maybe, a reason that MS hasn’t had a lot of exclusives nominated for GoTY is because they haven’t made many since the 360 days. We just got out of the first-party drought this year, and are still waiting for a flood of exclusives with the same cadence that Nintendo and Sony deliver.
Maybe if Psychonauts 2 wasn’t nominated I’d say you’d have an argument, but it’s clear that Xbox needs more fantastic exclusives if you want them to get more GoTY nominations.
In the end games are supposed to be fun; I would enjoy what you enjoy and worry less about what trophies other games get.
Re: Another Seven Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass Soon (November 30)
I really wish the BF games' removal was done in the opposite order: first Gamepass, then a few months remaining to buy them.
As it stands, if you got into the game in the last few months on GP you're SOL now that it's leaving. Seems like keeping on GP for a few months and reminding everyone it's leaving there so they should play it — and then afterward reminding them it's leaving stores could have resulted in some last-minute sales too.
Re: Xbox's Antstream Arcade Loses 27 Games As Warner Bros. Partnership Ends
@somnambulance Check out Midway Arcade Origins. Most of these titles are on there (except MK — boo!) and it’s backwards compatible! I’m sure you can find a used copy for cheap.
Re: 'Shooter-Skater' Rollerdrome Gets Xbox Game Pass Release Nov 28th
Do NOT sleep on this game, everyone. Had a blast with it last year.
Re: Xbox's Plan To Block 'Unauthorised' Accessories Has The Fighting Game Community Concerned
This is what I was saying in the original story. Xbox was already having a hard time trying to peel away fighting fans from PS and PC, but this is a nail in the coffin for fighters on Xbox. Once the FGC completely jumps ship, less fighting games will be played, purchased — and then eventually not see Xbox ports at all when publishers think the money isn’t there/it’s not worth it.
What a sucky announcement to happen right before KI gets its big next gen update.
Re: New Xbox Policy To Block Unauthorised Accessories
This might be the death knell for fighting games on Xbox, which already had a hard time as most of the FGC gravitates towards Playstation or PC.
Custom fight sticks use brooks and other boards that aren't officially licensed. This will make a lot of those players abandon Xbox for fighters. And then the people who have old fight sticks use USB converters to get them working on newer consoles.
Most licensed sticks are only found on PS anyway, so people often sink money into buying one really good one and then using it across platforms. They're not going to rush out and buy another stick, from a limited pool and off a pre-approved list from MS, just to have an option only on Xbox. People don't want to buy multiple fight sticks.
Once the competitive scene completely pulls up stakes and leaves, it could have an unintended negative feedback loop that results in less fighters being bought, played — and then eventually ported.
Re: Microsoft Reshuffle Makes Huge Changes To Team Xbox, Matt Booty & Sarah Bond Promoted
How in the hell did Matt Booty get promoted?
Re: Digital Foundry Host Discusses Missing 'Resolution Boost' Program For Xbox One Games
Aw man. I was happier this morning not knowing this was a thing-that-was-cancelled.
Ignorance is bliss and this is disappointing.
Re: Diablo 4 Is Getting A Free Trial For Everyone On Xbox This Weekend
@Xeraphis Haha you know what? I kinda wish this was true/would be okay with it. I need to clear this year’s backlog, not keep adding to it! 😂
Re: Diablo 4 Is Getting A Free Trial For Everyone On Xbox This Weekend
It’s a shame; I’m interested but tomorrow sees Spider-Man 2 and Mario Wonder launch. I simply can’t see myself having time for a third option, let alone for one that’s a trial.
I’m sure this busy launch weekend is why Xbox did this though (and thank God Forza or Starfield isn’t also launching tomorrow).
I can’t say it enough: this has one of the best years in gaming in a long time.
Re: Xbox Is Bringing Out A New 'Series S Starter Bundle' This Month
@themightyant Your analogy to get infants addicted to sugar early so they're lifelong customers is hilariously evil and something I could see a company like Nestle trying at least once.
Re: Talking Point: Would You Like A Detachable Disc Drive For Xbox Series S?
More choice is always a good thing for consumers. PS5 digital owners being able to upgrade to a disc drive for $79.99 is a great option, and while I personally have a Series X, I hope Series S fans can get the same choice some day.
Re: Forza Motorsport Fan Bemoans The 'Non Stop Criticism' From The Game's Reddit Community
Any fan community of any game is full of this kind of discourse these days (as a MK fan, it's going on with the MK subreddit over MK1). For some reason, even the biggest fans just want to complain.
That said, Forza isn't perfect and has its flaws — but fans aren't discussing that with nuance. In today's binary world, everything has to be a perfect "10" or a awful "1" — there's no middle ground anymore.
Re: Disney Reportedly Encouraging Its CEO To Look At Acquiring A Company Like EA
The article is a fascinating read, but it's pretty apparent from its context that an EA acquisition isn't very serious and was just suggested as a possibility from another exec. This also comes on the heels of months and months of rumors that Disney will sell to Apple, so it's more about Disney's uncertain future than anything else.
Still, it wouldn't shock me if they try and get more into gaming in some capacity.
Re: Activision Blizzard Reveals Plans For Bringing Games To Xbox Game Pass
“We’ve been getting some questions. Here’s a response that will leave you all with more questions.” 😂
Re: After Almost Two Years, Next Week Could Be The Finale For Xbox's ActiBlizz Takeover
My interest dropped as soon as Spencer said that games like Call of Duty won’t be on Gamepass right after the acquisition is approved.
Re: Well, The Forza Motorsport Vs. Gran Turismo 7 Comparisons Are Already Rolling In
It’s funny in that video how both games trade back and forth on which looks better. I ultimately think Forza might have better environments and GT7 might have better car models.
But either way, both are fantastic and do their own thing with their own style. If you’re a racing fan you can’t go with having both.
Re: Red Dead Redemption Gets 60FPS Patch On PS5, Xbox Version Remains 30FPS
It's a pretty widely known fact amongst fans that the original game was complete spaghetti (or if you prefer, spaghetti western) code — it's practically held together by duct tape and glue, and the smallest tinkering could make the entire thing collapse. Some on the dev team were even shocked that it runs the way it does.
It's a minor miracle that it's on the backward compatibility list at all, but I don't think Rockstar is going to invest the time, money, and energy into trying to achieve 60FPS on a 10-year-old fragile game that you'd as a free update --- especially when they can sell you the $60 remaster instead. This is 2K, after all.
I'd expect the remaster to come to Xbox long before the backward-compatible title gets updated.
Re: Talking Point: Is Forza The Best Racing Franchise Of All Time?
I love Forza, but “best of all time?”
Lol, no.
Re: Random: Xbox's Phil Spencer Autographed A PS5 Cover At Tokyo Game Show 2023
In light of Jim Ryan stepping down, this takes on a whole new meaning.
Re: Talking Point: Does Mortal Kombat 1 Live Up To The Hype?
MK1 gameplay is fantastic, even if it feels a little unfinished. There are some hiccups still needing fixed (the premium store is bugged and won't refresh, some QoL from 11 are missing, etc.) but those are undoubtedly coming.
In the meantime though the gameplay is better than ever, there's a TON of kontent (especially for single-player), and it's just a lot of fun.
There's no point trying to compare it to SF6 — they're radically different games with different intentions. It's like trying to compare Final Fantasy 16 to Cyberpunk — they may both be RPGs, but that's about where the similarities end. SF, MK, and Tekken all serve unique purposes and fighting game fans are riding high right now with updates from all 3 in less than 12 months.
Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Was Dead Serious About Wanting To Acquire Nintendo In 2020
@RedShirtRod 100% agreed. So much of it is the personal branding of executives themselves. "Business casual."
Re: Xbox Series X All-Digital Console Refresh Planned For Late 2024
@Titntin Hahaha it's just now dawning on me that it's an X "Box" that's cylindrical. That's hilarious, and normally the kind of thing that gets under my skin too lol.
I weirdly like my consoles to be kind of discrete and easily hidden. I have the Series X tucked away. It's a little harder to hide the PS5, haha. But this would be easy to tuck away in a corner.
Re: Xbox Series X All-Digital Console Refresh Planned For Late 2024
Not for me, but I love the look of this thing.
Re: These Six Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (September 19 - October 3)
Gotham Knights on Gamepass is how I feel about Saints Row on PS+ this month: games that are perfect for these subscription services.
I've been very intrigued for both, but negative word-of-mouth around launch kept me away.
Dare I say it, but the (presumably) lower time commitment means I'll probably play Gotham Knights before I play Starfield .
Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Was Dead Serious About Wanting To Acquire Nintendo In 2020
@RedShirtRod Agreed with all of that; the A/B deal was definitely the last major "get" they know they can pull off for a while.
I don't this makes him a monster, but I think some people get so upset and shocked when they don't get the PR-filtered version of Phil Spencer and realize he's a corporate suit like the rest of them. Sure, he likes videogames. And that's cool! But his #1 priority is not being some laid-back gamer, it's to make his company as much money as possible and hit career aspirations. At any and all costs.
So people build up these visions of "Uncle Phil" and then are shocked and upset when they see he had buying a beloved company like Nintendo as a "career moment" and "endgame" for Microsoft. CEOs don't get to where they are without being cutthroat and focused on growth.
Re: Here's A Look At The New 'Sebile' Xbox Controller, Set To Launch In 2024
@BrilliantBill Yea agreed (I essentially said the same in my comment). I don’t think it’ll be a heavy left for third-party publishers who are already putting games on PS5, similar to how trophies and achievements often mirror each other.