No surprise, really. The whole industry is just incredibly bloated. There is no way anyone can play anyway near all that is released today. Sad turn of events as I've been gaming since the mid 80s. I hope everyone affected finds meaningful work and the industry finds a new and better identity soon.

Finished Onimusha 1, which I haven't done since the original release. Moving back to Dragon Quest II HD-2D Remake.

Very interested in this one. Sooner is even better.

@Lup Ditto. GTA is not my jam!

I picked up the Onimusha 1 + 2 pack in the Capcom sale, so churning through the first one again. I haven't played this game since the PS2 days and it's bringing back old memories. I'm looking forward to Way of the Sword later this year, too.

@Jenkinss I got banned too, but had to figure out their search criteria. It finally lifted about 3 months later and I've been out of ban jail for almost a year now.

Oof. Better start taking care of those Series X's if you already have one.

@johnK I have not. I love the turn-based Yakuza games. My first was Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Since I've played the Man With No Name, Infinite Wealth, Yakuza Kiwami, a little of Yakuza 0, and I just started Pirate Yakuza last night. I much prefer turn based over brawler and I don't like playing without an English dub, although I think the Judgement spin-offs have an English dub.

@DeadgoodUK YES! 2 playthroughs, 160+ hours and all achievements for $5? Sign me up. It was my GOTY in 2024 as well.

@DeadgoodUK I have ZERO interest in GTA, but in 2024 I got the highest tier version of Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth for $5 out of pocket after using up my Reward Points. Best use of my points to date and I am currently sitting at 694,775 lifetime.

@Swandivetotheasphalt in the US the rewards can be cashed in for other gift cards like Amazon at a reduced rate.

I can consistently hit almost 15k points a month without the GP boosts. It really isnt that hard to do. Microsft rewards, although nothing as great as it once was, is STILL easy money to feed the gaming hobby.

@RentedPanda I feel like there aren't many of us. I also have zero interest in GTA. I'd much rather be playing Fable.

Isn't the Magnus chip going to be used for more than just the XBOX? That alone could help keep prices down.

Forza Horizon 6. Just got the Gold wristband and finished the campaign last night, so time to wrap up loose ends and stuff over the Father's Day weekend!

@VeganH I would be happy with an Xbox Studios only tier for less than Ultimate, but I do enjoy the day one nature of Ultimate, however not enough to gripe if they take it away. Your options make a lot of sense too, though.

Just saw a rumor on IGN that Compulsion Games has been shut down. I did like SOM. Shame.

@Lightbubulz FFXIII was WAY ahead of its time. Enjoy!

More Forza Horizon 6 for me.

@theduckofdeath Same! I played my first COD game since 2012 when BO6 released. I got a lot of fun out of it too. But nothing looked fun out of BO7 so I never wven downloaded it. I can wait a year to play the campaign for MW4.

I heard someone predict a Lost Odyssey 2 somewhere. I know it ain't happening, but one can dream, right?

Probably Forza Horizon 6 and/or Mass Effect 2. I played the Onimusha demo this week and that was really cool. I played the first one back in the day. I think Capcom is going to have another sleeper hit on their hands.

@Markatron84 The odds are certainly not in their favor, but if something doesn't make it I will move on quickly. There are others though that don't cope as well, for sure.

@Fiendish-Beaver somebody has just left the game running, but is using the high hours to inflate the problem. Losing your progression is a bad enough problem on it's own, though.

@Markatron84 Fair point. Silksong isnt first party though. Hopefully they can stick the landing with their own games.

@Skinny-Pete I found the article. He did say over the next 12 months!

@Skinny-Pete I think Matt Booty said "over the next 12 months".

Taking a break from ME2 for a bit, so I used a $25 gift card to get a month of Gamepass Ultimate and try Forza Horizon 6. Pretty cool so far.

@IronCrow86 I was mainly referring to all releasing in 2026. That would've been a cool 25th Anniversary moment that'll likely never present itself again. Oh, well, back to gaming.

@IronCrow86 Ugh. I knew it was probably coming, but more reasons for me to dislike GTA. I was hoping Forza, Gears, Halo, and Fable all releasing on the 25th Anniversary would hold.

I dunno, DQXII just looks weird to me. I know Toriyama did both, but DQXII looks more Blue Dragon than Dragon Quest to me. Not necessarily a bad thing...just odd.

Watch it, as usual.

@Skinny-Pete Yes, great games. The Legendary Edition is definitely the definitive edition.

Still chipping away at ME2 Legendary Edition after it had been sitting in my backlog for years. I played the originals at launch, but have forgotten quite a bit. Still great games.

I really liked this game. Combat could've used some refining, but a great start to a hopeful franchise

@Kevin0104 Yeah, I know, hahahaha.

@Nexozi Seriously! I do not get the GTA hype at all. I tried 5 and bounced after less than an hour. Never liked any of the others either.

@Sol4ris I'm starting to wonder was Phil the problem, or is Microsoft admitting their failures and launching xbox and semi-starting over. Phil was probably ready to go either way.

@Gabrie I still use it on my Series X controller because I still have an old XboxOne era headset that is nearly falling apart, but not quite! Hahaha

@Kingleo31 I really liked Blue Dragon too.

@Kingleo31 Lost Odyssey is why I'm on Xbox today.

@Lup I played and finished it one time at launch, so it's almost brand new again! Same with ME3. I've had the Legendary Edition since like 2021 so it's about time I get around to it.

Finally finished Mass Effect 1, so on to Mass Effect 2. I haven't played this gsme since launch on the 360. I am playing on the Legendary Edition this time around.

@Fiendish-Beaver I still think a price reduction back to original release prices for both consoles would be the ultimate goodwill to the customer while building daily players fast. This would incentive xbox purchases and get people into the ecosystem before the release of the Helix. Bite the bullet Microsoft!

The story and span sound very cool!

Good news after what appeared to be more AI after hiring AI buddies. Hopefully some fresh eyes on how things have deteriorated will continue to get Xbox back on the map. Ditching non-essentials is a great idea.

My birthday wasn't too long ago. Nothing so far, but I haven't bought anything since December.

Can you imagine if, in good faith, they dropped the consoles back down to their original price? I bet they'd fly off the shelves, show first-time users how great the series x is as a console, and boost those daily player counts. Some money is better than none.

@Tasuki FFIV is my all-time favorite Final Fantasy!

Only ones that I'm nostalgic for and stick to remaster more than a remake. Still not a fan of FFVII Remake. I just wish Square would've remastered VII with the Remake graphics. I bought FFVII at launch as a high schooler and have incredibly fond memories of the original.