Maybe, @Elbow, but last year was the year of Expedition 33 so even if nominated, it would not have won, but it would have been good to see it at least in the mix.
I loved Cronos so much, that I went straight through it again on the hardest difficulty, earned every achievement, and then bought the PS5 version. I have not yet started it again, but I will do within the next few months.
Yes, I know what you mean, @Skinny-Pete. As a straight guy, it felt a little weird to me that Kaiden has the hots for my character at the moment in ME2. I had to turn him down because my heart is set on Liara... 😂
Absolutely, @Sol4ris. Veilguard was another game that was treated harshly. I pre-ordered the game and loved it, and found the transgender issues thought provoking. Too many closed minds, unfortunately, and too many sheep...
We are very much alike when it comes to Mass Effect then, @Sol4ris. Liara is my go to, and I have played through Andromeda 3 or 4 times at least, and I think it to be a very good game that got treated very harshly, primarily, I think, because it lacked Shepherd (much like Gears of War 4 and Gears 5 were unpopular mostly because they lacked the original quartet)...
Yes, @Skinny-Pete, I have played through the games probably close to a dozen times now (if you include the originals), and other than once having a fling with Miranda (I mean, why wouldn't you!?!), Liara has always been my go to romance option. I always play as a female character, but I don't want to get hot and sweaty with a bloke... 🤣
Cronos: The New Dawn was my absolute favourite game of last year, @Elbow, and by a country mile too. I was gutted that it didn't get any Game of the Year nominations because I truly thought it deserved to be in the running...
So, last week alone, I bought both 007 First Light and the new Lego Batman game, and yet I find myself indulging in yet another run through of Mass Effect Legendary Edition in which I am currently on Mass Effect 2.
I'm also hoping to hit a bit of Master Horde in Gears 5 tomorrow, but it's looking doubtful, unfortunately.
Is it any wonder that my backlog continues to grow each month, when all I am playing is older games... 😂
Truthfully, @Weebleman & @ILuvGames, I watch these shows, and I write down on my phone, as the show progresses, all those games that interest me. So, whilst I gave the show a C, that does not mean that there were not a fair few games I liked the look of, rather it means that there were a good number of other games that I wasn't interested in, or indeed, I thought looked pretty poor.
These are the games I wrote on my phone:
Resident Evil: Veronica Crossfire Alien Isolation 2 Gen Atlas Blood Message End of Abyss Mortal Shell 2 Lords of the Fallen 2 Star Wars: Zero Company The Blood of Dawnwalker Swords of Legends Stellar Blade: Bloodrain Final Fantasy 3
That is a lot of games, and I would expect to buy probably 90% or more of them. You'd think that reading that list a C is a harsh mark, but I always base it on how I feel at the end of the show. If I feel excited, then the show will get a better mark, if I feel meh, than that is reflected in my score. I'm not sure how many games were on the show, but I would guess that I was only interested in about a third of them, which for me, as someone that buys more games that I can play, is not what I think to be a great show.
Plus, it is not just about the games for me, but also the way it is presented. I'm not a fan of all these different people walking on to the stage. Just show game clip after game clip, and I'm happy. That is why the Xbox Showcases (and the last PlayStation one) are so much better. The presentation is snappy, no time wasted with people blabbering on, which is even worse when you have no interest in the game that they are blabbering on about. Honestly, I don't think it helped that the show finished at midnight here in the UK, and I was beginning to fall asleep towards the end (which could also be considered a negative for the show!).
I expect the Xbox Showcase to absolutely knock it out of the park on Sunday. Great games presented well...
Sony are returning to exclusives because they have enough people on their platform who can buy the games, @superjas. If we are being extremely generous, Xbox has half as many people on their platform, but that half is not buying the first-party content (on the whole), most are playing it via Game Pass, which makes far less money for Microsoft on each game.
That is the reason that Microsoft began putting their games on PlayStation in the first place, they simply were not making enough money on the games they made on their own platform (and PC).
As for it not working because they did not sell enough consoles, that is precisely the point. Microsoft need to at least double the number of people gaming on an Xbox, and they would effectively need to do so overnight because each game that releases whilst there are not enough people gaming on an Xbox would effectively be losing money. It could take a decade or more to double the number of people gaming on an Xbox, and Microsoft would not tolerate losing money for that long.
Returning to exclusives, for Xbox, will mean less revenue for each game, which will result in either games of smaller scope, job losses, or studio closures.
Imagine if E-Day were exclusive to Xbox, and then did not make back its development costs, would we be happy if they laid off the staff, closed the studio, or never made another Gears of War game. Would we be happy with that? It could literally happen with any game, and any studio.
The same is not true of PlayStation because they do not put their games on their subscription service, and therefore they have to be bought by the PlayStation gamers, of which there are many more to do so...
The highlights for me were Resident Evil: Veronica, Crossfire and Stellar Blade: Bloodrain.
I am curious as to whether Stellar Blade: Bloodrain will come to Xbox bearing in mind they are now self-publishing the game. Without Sony's involvement, it could come to Xbox.
Also very excited to get my hands on Mortal Shell 2, as I loved the first game...
I hope so, @Grumblevolcano. I'm trying to get the achievement for hitting Re-Up 60 in Gears 5 (something that has only been achieved by 0.11%! of players). I'm currently Re-Up 58 and level 96, meaning I need to go up another 104 levels right now, and man it is taking so long to level up. I did 40 waves of Horde on Master today, and went up just 6 levels, which, by my calculations, means it will take me around another 600 waves to go up those 104 levels. Basically, I am running out of time to get there because once E-Day comes out, Gears 5 will be a thing of the past for me... 😂
When the rumours of Steam being on what we now know to be called Helix first began circulating, @Millionski, I was quick to say it would not happen, saying that people would just buy their games on Steam because they are nearly always cheaper at launch, and Steam sales always cut deeper than the Xbox Store too.
By way of example, I looked at something like ten games third-party that were available to pre-order at that time. Of those ten games, 6 or 7 were cheaper by at least £10, and one was cheaper by £30. Admittedly that was by buying CDKeys (now Loaded) codes for Steam, but those same codes were not always available for the Xbox Store, and the end result is still the same, the code is for Steam, and that is where you would be buying it for and playing it on.
I have no idea how Microsoft are going to stop people wholesale buying their games on Steam. I get it, Play Anywhere is an added benefit, but that probably only affects around 2% of Xbox gamers (if there are 50 million Xbox gamers, and 1 million of them have the Xbox ROG Ally). Indeed, it would also be possible, I believe, to buy the games more cheaply on Steam, and invest in a Steam Deck, and you still have basically the same benefits as the Xbox handheld offers.
I don't know the answer to this one, and am amazed that Microsoft are even considering allowing Steam to be available on Helix. It might shift a few more units because of it, but many will just see Helix as a decent entry point into PC gaming, and basically forget about Xbox in the process.
Whilst I agree with the idea, @Feffster, I think most people that game via Game Pass (and there are a lot of people that game solely using Game Pass) would not change their buying habits just because they can get the game a bit cheaper. I think that would be especially true of single player, play once and be done games.
As much as it is an unpopular thing to say, there are a great many people that only play via Game Pass (which as they have paid for the service is absolutely their right), and it is the reason why sales of first-party games is a problem on Xbox. It is also the reason why Microsoft ended up putting their games on PlayStation.
I think your idea would garner a few more sales, but I also think the lost revenue from those people who buy the games anyway, and who would also benefit from 20% off, would cause as many problems as people not buying them in the first place.
Honestly, I think one possibly solution is to not put first-party games on Game Pass for at least 12 months after release, but also offer them at 10% less than people would buy them on PlayStation. So it would cost £70 on PlayStation, but £63 on Xbox. That does incentivise people to buy on Xbox over PlayStation.
There are no easy answers, that's for sure, but I truly believe that Game Pass is a huge obstacle to sorting the issue out. If Microsoft are going to continue to put their games day one on Game Pass, then I think we have to accept that we won't have exclusives, with the benefit of gaming on an Xbox being that you can play those games via Game Pass rather than buying them...
There's some decent looking games there. It will be interesting to see how they turn out, and whether any of them end up on Game Pass (other than Deep Dish).
Again, thanks for keeping us informed, @FraserG...
Exclusives come down to one thing; do they bring in enough revenue to warrant being kept as exclusive. That is not just about the individual game, but also attracting people into the ecosystem and spending on other games, Game Pass and/or microtransactions.
Truthfully, that must be very difficult to accurately ascertain. How many copies of a game are sold is simple enough, and also how many people are playing it via Game Pass, although whether they can tell when someone subscribes to Game Pass in order to play a game I do not know. After that, the maths involved must get pretty tricky, unless they literally follow what each individual person does.
One problem unique to Xbox is Game Pass, so even if someone does subscribe to Game Pass to play E-Day (were it an exclusive), if they only stay subscribed for one month, then instead of earning Microsoft £70, it is just affording them £13, which means it takes 5 people doing this to make that £70 for the one game, whilst effectively losing Microsoft 4 sales (£350).
The issue when it comes to Xbox having exclusives is that there are simply not enough people that own an Xbox to make the maths work. If a game costs £210 million to make, and it costs us £70, then they need to 3 million units just to break even (though that does not include taxes on unit sold). On PlayStation, 3 million units equates to less than 4% of their users buying the game. On Xbox, you need nearly 9% of the userbase to buy the game, and that's before you factor in Game Pass, which we know eats heavily into game sales on Xbox.
Timed-exclusives will only work if the period of exclusivity is 3 years or more because anything less will just see gamers on PlayStation wait for the game to arrive safe in the knowledge that they will get the best version of the game, replete with all the DLC, and pretty much bug free. That's if they bother with it at all because the market has moved on by that point, and there are bigger and better games available.
Microsoft began putting their games on PlayStation because they were unable to sell enough copies on Xbox and PC. Nothing about that will have changed. There is a genuine risk that trying to keep games exclusive to Xbox will result in studio closures due to low sales, and I don't think that is a risk that Microsoft should take...
Horde in 5 is brilliant, @Skinny-Pete. I play it every Friday, Saturday and Sunday with my youngest son (23 yesterday) and a mate. We are attempting to beat every map on Master as just a trio, and have managed 18 of the 37 thus far. I have apparently been playing Horde in gears 5 for just under 52 days now, which is frankly ridiculous!
Horde is what I am most looking forward to when it comes to E-Day, because it is something that I will be playing for years to come (assuming it is good, that is!)...
Where I think we agree is that each of the campaigns has faults, but also elements that excel, @Elbow.
I cannot speak to the multiplayer in any of the game because I never touched it. I only ever play the campaigns and also Horde. A heck of a lot of Horde! I am currently closing in on Re-Up 58 in Gears 5, and am hoping to get the achievement for Re-Up 60 before E-Day arrives. Currently I am in the top 1% for runs completed in Gears 5, and I am currently 93rd in the world as an Engineer. I absolutely love the game.
I have played a couple of the other modes a few times such as Beast Mode and Escape, but I didn't really enjoy them all that much, and will be more than happy if they stick with campaign, PvP and Horde in E-Day. Anything else is a waste of resources.
Totally agree with the drip, drip, drip of maps (in Horde), and the ridiculous cost of some of the cosmetics and characters (none of which I paid for). I bought Gears 5, but never paid for anything else other than the Hivebusters DLC, which was well worth the money.
I personally think the story did improve as the games went on, although I thought the way 4 was handled was not the best. Robots at the start of 4 were very jarring, and felt totally out of place. However, once we got further into the story, the reason for their presence became clear, albeit I still think it was unnecessary. Also the giant mechs, and the way the end boss in 4 was dealt with just felt silly...
I love all of the Gears games, @GuyinPA75, including Judgement and Tactics, and I play through them all every year. The story definitely gets bigger and better in 4 and 5, and I think the story in 5 is the best so far. It will be interesting to see not only what they do with E-Day, but also how it is received, because I am not sure the Gears community really knows what it wants, and so there is a strong chance that they will not be happy with E-Day (beyond the fact that both Marcus and Dom are back).
In theory, so much cannot be in E-Day because it was first encountered in Gears 1-5. No Berserkers, no torque bows, no Theron Guards, obviously no Scions etc from Gears 4 and 5. No Baird, no Cole, and so the list goes on.
That's the theory, but then there must be a temptation in The Coalition to have fan favourite enemies because we love them even if it goes against canon. Not having them will annoy many, but going against canon will annoy many too.
Regardless, I don't think we will have to wait long to see what the campaign has in store for us, and I for one cannot wait...
Thank you for the detailed response, @Ryu_Niiyama. It really is appreciated. I do very much like the look of the new game, and will take your advice and seek out the first one...
Halo ODST is my favourite Halo game, @Skinny-Pete. Reach second and then Infinite.
Horde in Gears 3 was fantastic fun, but I would suggest that 5's is just slightly better. They are quite different though, so it's difficult to decide.
I have completed every campaign solo on the hardest difficulty many times now, and it is there that the games shine, in my opinion. Getting the Insane achievement in Gears Tactics was one my proudest moments, because on Insane that game was brutal. Honestly, I think too many people play the games on far too easy settings, and so don't fully appreciate how good the games are because they rattle through them so quickly that they don't get to absorb the stories, nor master the combat. On easier settings, they are simply able to sweep aside the enemies and rush the campaign, and there is no fun in that.
I do understand what you mean about 5 having an open world, but personally I really enjoyed that aspect, and the fact that you could fully upgrade Jack by completing the side-quests, I found fun. And, if you were so minded, you could completely ignore anything that was not the main campaign too. It just meant that Jack was underpowered but it wasn't really necessary to do him up anyway, and if you didn't then the story is much more linear as well.
The same is true of Infinite. When I went through the game solo on Legendary, I only did one of the side quests, and that was to pick up one of the legendary weapons (brain's not working, and I cannot think which one it was now), but other than that, I just did the main campaign. I know there are lots of map markers, but there is no requirement to do anything beyond the main campaign, and you don't really gain much through doing them...
Not sure what you are implying, @Millionski. The facts are plain and simple for everyone to see; Sony DO reveal their sales numbers. Microsoft DO NOT. Therefore, anyone suggesting how many Xbox consoles were sold is not based on any data, but on estimates. Now, the estimates may well be right, but they could also be wrong, but either way, they are still estimates.
Estimates are that Sony sold just 400 consoles more than Microsoft. That could well be right, but it could be that Microsoft sold 400 more consoles than Sony. Who knows? And that is the point I was making. Sales numbers when it comes to Sony are accurate because Sony tell us sales numbers (and there is no reason to not believe what they tell us, particularly not when the numbers now are so dire). Microsoft deliberately tell us nothing, so people guess what the sales numbers are.
I'm not sure why these facts upset you so. As I said, the uptick is good news, but we do not know just how big that uptick actually was...
As someone that plays through every Gears of War game on an annual basis, and have done for well over a decade now, @Skinny-Pete, I think that Gears of War 4 and Gears 5 are massively underrated games. If people take the time to understand the story, and the lore of the franchise that they explore, they are revealed to be very strong games.
Are they dark like the original games? Not graphically, no, but they do have a real dark undertone to them. I personally do not prescribe to the theory that the first game was a horror game, it was just dark and gritty, but even though people laud the original trilogy, if they were to go back to them now they would see how each game became lighter in tone as they progressed, and the same is true of 4 and 5.
They really are not the bad games that so many people seem to suggest (I'm not saying you are saying that, by the way!). 5 in particular explores not only how the Locust came to be, but how Queen Myrrah came to lead them, and then the reason that the Locust took Kate's Mother, and why they seek Kate herself. If people took the time to understand the story, I think they would get much more enjoyment out of it.
I know people are looking forward to E-Day, but I think other than the characters at the heart of the story, much of the criticisms levelled at 4 and 5 will still be present, though I personally won't be sad to see the back of the robots, but even they have a place in the story once the reason for their presence is understood.
With all that said, I also play through each of the first-person Halo's on an annual basis too, and I'm going to be completely rogue here and say I think too many people (as with Gears) are looking back with rose-tinted glasses having most likely not played them in recent times, because played today and then compared to Infinite, Infinite would be seen as the better campaign, and where they were taking the story held some real interest for future games...
I saw this earlier, and whilst I am sure there will have been an uptick in Xbox sales, I am very dubious as to how they know because whilst Sony does disclose console sales, Microsoft do not, which leads me to regard this as basically little more than guess work. Now, it may be an educated guess, but unless they are speaking directly to stores, or have an insider in Microsoft, it would still be a guess nonetheless.
Good news, but perhaps not particuarly reliable data...
Absolutely nothing of interest to me here, but there were 11 games in the Sony showcase that I will almost certainly get, most if not all of them day one too.
I like the big cinematic games, but very much dislike games with what some very kindly refer to as having retro graphics.
I was only wondering this morning whether there would be a round-up of news from these smaller showcases. Nothing for me here, but am grateful for you doing this article, @FraserG...
I don't understand what you are getting at, @Romans12.
@FraserG is informing us Xbox gamers that we are expected to pay the same price as those buying the game on PlayStation, but will not be getting the same early access. How is that not relevant to an Xbox centric website...?
I know, @Balaam_, but there really is not point in calling it a PC, giving access to any store fronts with the exception of Steam.
Personally, I would rather that it was a console, and not a PC at all, as I much prefer the simplicity of consoles, but I think I am in the minority on that.
I do think that Steam has the potential to effectively kill off the Xbox Store, and think it's inclusion would be a monumental mistake.
I guess we'll find out soon enough, I suppose, unless, of course, Sharma has sent them back to the drawing board with a return to it just being a console, but I think that unlikely...
You are right, @Toot1st. What I meant is those games that will only be available on PlayStation. I have amended my comment accordingly. Thanks for the heads up...
Whilst I agree with you that you will then be able to play these games on Helix, @Sol4ris, it does mean two things;
Firstly (and I am happy about this) Sony will stop money-hatting games. There will literally be no point in them paying for a game to be kept off the Helix, though whether it will still be worth them paying to keep them off the current Series generation is another matter. The downside to this for the developers is that they will no longer be getting the money and exposure that Sony currently affords them. I don't think this will necessarily lead to the developers making an Xbox version, but it will at least be available via Helix.
The second issue though does concern me, and that is that people will begin to buy their games via Steam instead of the Xbox Store, which could be extremely bad for Xbox in the long-run. I know you are talking about select titles that are being bought up by Sony as timed-exclusives, but with games generally costing less on Steam, I can see people switching to buying their games there wholesale. The impact that has on Xbox will really be determined by the uptake on Helix, if it is fairly low (which is what I suspect), and Microsoft continue to support the Series consoles, then the impact will be fairly minimal. If Microsoft do not continue to give strong support to the Series consoles, then people buying their games on Steam could prove to be dire for Xbox (in terms of consoles) in the long-run.
I think the interesting thing will be whether Sony still think it worthwhile to pay for timed-exclusives just to keep them off the Series consoles, even though they will be available via Helix. If you think about it, Sony might think that a good strategy still because they will be pushing people to buying games on Steam, and also still depriving Xbox Series gamers of the games...
I thought the showcase was pretty decent (if you game on PlayStation as well as Xbox):
Of the games shown, I will definitely be buying:
The Lost Wild Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Control Resonant God of War Laufey Marvel's Wolverine Silent Hill Townfall No Rest for the Wicked ILL Phantom Blade Zero
I may buy:
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
And I will play Dune: Awakening via Game Pass, and then may buy that too if I like what I see.
Tis a great time to be a gamer but a terrible time for my bank balance...
I was about the same thing, @DJKingaling. As has happened for the past few years, games that fail to make their intended year get pushed into February. Between this game and Fable, it is already shaping up to be a killer start to 2027...
I am interested in this game, but am unsure whether I need to have played any of the previous games first, which I have not. Does the story follow on from earlier entries, or are they all standalone games...?
So, as someone that usually buys every game I want to play, rather than play it on Game Pass, I find myself quite chuffed that this particular game in going on the Service because I am no quite sold on it as I would only be interested in playing it solo.
I'm not sure the actual single-player part will be more than bare-bones, but even so, the fact it is on Game Pass does afford me the opportunity to try out the game before committing to buying it.
This is one of the best elements of Game Pass, the opportunity to try out games you are not too sure of...
But what has actually changed, @Kaloudz? How is your experience with Xbox better now than 6 months ago?
Do we feel more positive about Xbox now? Absolutely!
But nothing has actually changed beyond capitalisation, colours, and new logo and some office stickers. Oh, and changing from days to hours, although I was happy with days in the first place, so I'm hoping that change is optional.
Sharma has whispered sweet-nothings at us, whilst give us nothing at present. That is not the same as saying she will not deliver in the future, but right now, as of this moment, nowt has meaningful has changed.
Yes, she has said she is looking into exclusives, which if implemented would indeed be a 180°, but saying you are going to look at it, which pleasing to hear, is not the same as doing it.
If Sharma walks on to the Xbox showcase stage and says that any game not announced for PlayStation will be a permanent Xbox exclusive, then that would be truly epic (other than the part where it will lead to studio closures, but we'll skirt past that bit because that it not what Xbox fans want to think about), and she will most definitely have done a 180°. If she says games will have a 6 month period of exclusivity, then it'll just cost Xbox money in the long run because those PlayStation gamers that own an Xbox too will just play the game via Game Pass rather than buy it outright were it to have landed on the PlayStation day one, meaning fewer sales on PlayStation in the long run.
Anything less than 3 years timed-exclusivity is pretty pointless, in my opinion, because we know that gamers can be very patient when needed, and indeed, PlayStation gamers will smugly tell us that we are bug testing the game for them (which is true), and that they will receive the best version of the game (which is true), and that they will get all the DLC included in the base price whereas we on the Xbox will have to buy the DLC on top of the original base price (which is true). Or, of course, they will simply ignore the game completely when it does finally arrive because the game is no longer relevant...
Has anyone played Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Master Crafted Edition? I'm just wondering how it compares to the original version (which I still own)? Not sure whether it is worth double-dipping on...
Raji: Kaliyuga is the only game from that list that looks like it could be of interest to me. I wasn't sure at the start of the trailer, but by the end of it I found myself pretty interested...
In all honesty, @Millionski, we don't don't what the sales targets for the games you list were, nor whether they were achieved, nor whether they would be considered a flop by Microsoft because Microsoft don't reveal details.
All but Indy were old or older games, and Indy did pretty well at the start.
If you look at the number of reviews for Reloaded on PlayStation, there are more than 40,000. That's a heck of a lot of reviews when you consider that so few people leave reviews in the first place. If it is 10%, then that's 400,000 sales, which on a what is essentially a 20 year old game, is still pretty impressive.
However, the truth is most games only get 5% or fewer of purchasers leave reviews, so that immediately propels the sales of that game to closer to 1 million.
Honestly, we do not know, and it really does come down to what Microsoft consider a success, not what we, as fans, might think of their chart positions in the weekly charts...
Oh, absolutely losing your progress is no laughing matter, @FarmDog08. In todays world with high energy costs, you would think people would not leave their consoles on though. I can imagine they have lost a lot of time and progress, but I think 255 hours is a stretch by anyone's standards.
Still, even a couple of lost hours should not happen, and is a pain when it happens...
Comments 5,498
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 6-7)
No chance of a shadow drop for such a big game, @Skinny-Pete. It'll be either late August or maybe mid-September for E-Day...
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From Day Of The Devs 2026
I'm grateful for all you do for us, @FraserG. I hope you get paid overtime...! 😂
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 6-7)
Maybe, @Elbow, but last year was the year of Expedition 33 so even if nominated, it would not have won, but it would have been good to see it at least in the mix.
I loved Cronos so much, that I went straight through it again on the hardest difficulty, earned every achievement, and then bought the PS5 version. I have not yet started it again, but I will do within the next few months.
Glad you are enjoying it...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 6-7)
Yes, I know what you mean, @Skinny-Pete. As a straight guy, it felt a little weird to me that Kaiden has the hots for my character at the moment in ME2. I had to turn him down because my heart is set on Liara... 😂
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 6-7)
Absolutely, @Sol4ris. Veilguard was another game that was treated harshly. I pre-ordered the game and loved it, and found the transgender issues thought provoking. Too many closed minds, unfortunately, and too many sheep...
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From Day Of The Devs 2026
Did you stay up to watch it, @FraserG?
I was falling asleep towards the end of Geoff's showcase, and despite wanting to stay up for Day of the Devs decided to go to bed instead.
That said, the only game in that list that holds any interest for me is Trine 6, but I still haven't played 4 and 5 yet despite owning them...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 6-7)
We are very much alike when it comes to Mass Effect then, @Sol4ris. Liara is my go to, and I have played through Andromeda 3 or 4 times at least, and I think it to be a very good game that got treated very harshly, primarily, I think, because it lacked Shepherd (much like Gears of War 4 and Gears 5 were unpopular mostly because they lacked the original quartet)...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 6-7)
Yes, @Skinny-Pete, I have played through the games probably close to a dozen times now (if you include the originals), and other than once having a fling with Miranda (I mean, why wouldn't you!?!), Liara has always been my go to romance option. I always play as a female character, but I don't want to get hot and sweaty with a bloke... 🤣
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 6-7)
Cronos: The New Dawn was my absolute favourite game of last year, @Elbow, and by a country mile too. I was gutted that it didn't get any Game of the Year nominations because I truly thought it deserved to be in the running...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 6-7)
So, last week alone, I bought both 007 First Light and the new Lego Batman game, and yet I find myself indulging in yet another run through of Mass Effect Legendary Edition in which I am currently on Mass Effect 2.
I'm also hoping to hit a bit of Master Horde in Gears 5 tomorrow, but it's looking doubtful, unfortunately.
Is it any wonder that my backlog continues to grow each month, when all I am playing is older games... 😂
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The Summer Game Fest 2026 Showcase?
Truthfully, @Weebleman & @ILuvGames, I watch these shows, and I write down on my phone, as the show progresses, all those games that interest me. So, whilst I gave the show a C, that does not mean that there were not a fair few games I liked the look of, rather it means that there were a good number of other games that I wasn't interested in, or indeed, I thought looked pretty poor.
These are the games I wrote on my phone:
Resident Evil: Veronica
Crossfire
Alien Isolation 2
Gen Atlas
Blood Message
End of Abyss
Mortal Shell 2
Lords of the Fallen 2
Star Wars: Zero Company
The Blood of Dawnwalker
Swords of Legends
Stellar Blade: Bloodrain
Final Fantasy 3
That is a lot of games, and I would expect to buy probably 90% or more of them. You'd think that reading that list a C is a harsh mark, but I always base it on how I feel at the end of the show. If I feel excited, then the show will get a better mark, if I feel meh, than that is reflected in my score. I'm not sure how many games were on the show, but I would guess that I was only interested in about a third of them, which for me, as someone that buys more games that I can play, is not what I think to be a great show.
Plus, it is not just about the games for me, but also the way it is presented. I'm not a fan of all these different people walking on to the stage. Just show game clip after game clip, and I'm happy. That is why the Xbox Showcases (and the last PlayStation one) are so much better. The presentation is snappy, no time wasted with people blabbering on, which is even worse when you have no interest in the game that they are blabbering on about. Honestly, I don't think it helped that the show finished at midnight here in the UK, and I was beginning to fall asleep towards the end (which could also be considered a negative for the show!).
I expect the Xbox Showcase to absolutely knock it out of the park on Sunday. Great games presented well...
Re: 'It's A Tough Topic' - Xbox CEO Shares Her Latest Thoughts On Exclusives
Sony are returning to exclusives because they have enough people on their platform who can buy the games, @superjas. If we are being extremely generous, Xbox has half as many people on their platform, but that half is not buying the first-party content (on the whole), most are playing it via Game Pass, which makes far less money for Microsoft on each game.
That is the reason that Microsoft began putting their games on PlayStation in the first place, they simply were not making enough money on the games they made on their own platform (and PC).
As for it not working because they did not sell enough consoles, that is precisely the point. Microsoft need to at least double the number of people gaming on an Xbox, and they would effectively need to do so overnight because each game that releases whilst there are not enough people gaming on an Xbox would effectively be losing money. It could take a decade or more to double the number of people gaming on an Xbox, and Microsoft would not tolerate losing money for that long.
Returning to exclusives, for Xbox, will mean less revenue for each game, which will result in either games of smaller scope, job losses, or studio closures.
Imagine if E-Day were exclusive to Xbox, and then did not make back its development costs, would we be happy if they laid off the staff, closed the studio, or never made another Gears of War game. Would we be happy with that? It could literally happen with any game, and any studio.
The same is not true of PlayStation because they do not put their games on their subscription service, and therefore they have to be bought by the PlayStation gamers, of which there are many more to do so...
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The Summer Game Fest 2026 Showcase?
It was okay, but not great. I gave it a C.
The highlights for me were Resident Evil: Veronica, Crossfire and Stellar Blade: Bloodrain.
I am curious as to whether Stellar Blade: Bloodrain will come to Xbox bearing in mind they are now self-publishing the game. Without Sony's involvement, it could come to Xbox.
Also very excited to get my hands on Mortal Shell 2, as I loved the first game...
Re: Xbox's CCO Might Have Just Revealed The First-Party Order For Late 2026
I hope so, @Grumblevolcano. I'm trying to get the achievement for hitting Re-Up 60 in Gears 5 (something that has only been achieved by 0.11%! of players). I'm currently Re-Up 58 and level 96, meaning I need to go up another 104 levels right now, and man it is taking so long to level up. I did 40 waves of Horde on Master today, and went up just 6 levels, which, by my calculations, means it will take me around another 600 waves to go up those 104 levels. Basically, I am running out of time to get there because once E-Day comes out, Gears 5 will be a thing of the past for me... 😂
Re: 'It's A Tough Topic' - Xbox CEO Shares Her Latest Thoughts On Exclusives
When the rumours of Steam being on what we now know to be called Helix first began circulating, @Millionski, I was quick to say it would not happen, saying that people would just buy their games on Steam because they are nearly always cheaper at launch, and Steam sales always cut deeper than the Xbox Store too.
By way of example, I looked at something like ten games third-party that were available to pre-order at that time. Of those ten games, 6 or 7 were cheaper by at least £10, and one was cheaper by £30. Admittedly that was by buying CDKeys (now Loaded) codes for Steam, but those same codes were not always available for the Xbox Store, and the end result is still the same, the code is for Steam, and that is where you would be buying it for and playing it on.
I have no idea how Microsoft are going to stop people wholesale buying their games on Steam. I get it, Play Anywhere is an added benefit, but that probably only affects around 2% of Xbox gamers (if there are 50 million Xbox gamers, and 1 million of them have the Xbox ROG Ally). Indeed, it would also be possible, I believe, to buy the games more cheaply on Steam, and invest in a Steam Deck, and you still have basically the same benefits as the Xbox handheld offers.
I don't know the answer to this one, and am amazed that Microsoft are even considering allowing Steam to be available on Helix. It might shift a few more units because of it, but many will just see Helix as a decent entry point into PC gaming, and basically forget about Xbox in the process.
It will be fascinating to see what happens...
Re: 'It's A Tough Topic' - Xbox CEO Shares Her Latest Thoughts On Exclusives
Whilst I agree with the idea, @Feffster, I think most people that game via Game Pass (and there are a lot of people that game solely using Game Pass) would not change their buying habits just because they can get the game a bit cheaper. I think that would be especially true of single player, play once and be done games.
As much as it is an unpopular thing to say, there are a great many people that only play via Game Pass (which as they have paid for the service is absolutely their right), and it is the reason why sales of first-party games is a problem on Xbox. It is also the reason why Microsoft ended up putting their games on PlayStation.
I think your idea would garner a few more sales, but I also think the lost revenue from those people who buy the games anyway, and who would also benefit from 20% off, would cause as many problems as people not buying them in the first place.
Honestly, I think one possibly solution is to not put first-party games on Game Pass for at least 12 months after release, but also offer them at 10% less than people would buy them on PlayStation. So it would cost £70 on PlayStation, but £63 on Xbox. That does incentivise people to buy on Xbox over PlayStation.
There are no easy answers, that's for sure, but I truly believe that Game Pass is a huge obstacle to sorting the issue out. If Microsoft are going to continue to put their games day one on Game Pass, then I think we have to accept that we won't have exclusives, with the benefit of gaming on an Xbox being that you can play those games via Game Pass rather than buying them...
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Games From The Latin American Showcase 2026
There's some decent looking games there. It will be interesting to see how they turn out, and whether any of them end up on Game Pass (other than Deep Dish).
Again, thanks for keeping us informed, @FraserG...
Re: 'It's A Tough Topic' - Xbox CEO Shares Her Latest Thoughts On Exclusives
Exclusives come down to one thing; do they bring in enough revenue to warrant being kept as exclusive. That is not just about the individual game, but also attracting people into the ecosystem and spending on other games, Game Pass and/or microtransactions.
Truthfully, that must be very difficult to accurately ascertain. How many copies of a game are sold is simple enough, and also how many people are playing it via Game Pass, although whether they can tell when someone subscribes to Game Pass in order to play a game I do not know. After that, the maths involved must get pretty tricky, unless they literally follow what each individual person does.
One problem unique to Xbox is Game Pass, so even if someone does subscribe to Game Pass to play E-Day (were it an exclusive), if they only stay subscribed for one month, then instead of earning Microsoft £70, it is just affording them £13, which means it takes 5 people doing this to make that £70 for the one game, whilst effectively losing Microsoft 4 sales (£350).
The issue when it comes to Xbox having exclusives is that there are simply not enough people that own an Xbox to make the maths work. If a game costs £210 million to make, and it costs us £70, then they need to 3 million units just to break even (though that does not include taxes on unit sold). On PlayStation, 3 million units equates to less than 4% of their users buying the game. On Xbox, you need nearly 9% of the userbase to buy the game, and that's before you factor in Game Pass, which we know eats heavily into game sales on Xbox.
Timed-exclusives will only work if the period of exclusivity is 3 years or more because anything less will just see gamers on PlayStation wait for the game to arrive safe in the knowledge that they will get the best version of the game, replete with all the DLC, and pretty much bug free. That's if they bother with it at all because the market has moved on by that point, and there are bigger and better games available.
Microsoft began putting their games on PlayStation because they were unable to sell enough copies on Xbox and PC. Nothing about that will have changed. There is a genuine risk that trying to keep games exclusive to Xbox will result in studio closures due to low sales, and I don't think that is a risk that Microsoft should take...
Re: Five New 'Xbox Player Voice' Requests That Have Been Trending Over The Past Week
Horde in 5 is brilliant, @Skinny-Pete. I play it every Friday, Saturday and Sunday with my youngest son (23 yesterday) and a mate. We are attempting to beat every map on Master as just a trio, and have managed 18 of the 37 thus far. I have apparently been playing Horde in gears 5 for just under 52 days now, which is frankly ridiculous!
Horde is what I am most looking forward to when it comes to E-Day, because it is something that I will be playing for years to come (assuming it is good, that is!)...
Re: Five New 'Xbox Player Voice' Requests That Have Been Trending Over The Past Week
Where I think we agree is that each of the campaigns has faults, but also elements that excel, @Elbow.
I cannot speak to the multiplayer in any of the game because I never touched it. I only ever play the campaigns and also Horde. A heck of a lot of Horde! I am currently closing in on Re-Up 58 in Gears 5, and am hoping to get the achievement for Re-Up 60 before E-Day arrives. Currently I am in the top 1% for runs completed in Gears 5, and I am currently 93rd in the world as an Engineer. I absolutely love the game.
I have played a couple of the other modes a few times such as Beast Mode and Escape, but I didn't really enjoy them all that much, and will be more than happy if they stick with campaign, PvP and Horde in E-Day. Anything else is a waste of resources.
Totally agree with the drip, drip, drip of maps (in Horde), and the ridiculous cost of some of the cosmetics and characters (none of which I paid for). I bought Gears 5, but never paid for anything else other than the Hivebusters DLC, which was well worth the money.
I personally think the story did improve as the games went on, although I thought the way 4 was handled was not the best. Robots at the start of 4 were very jarring, and felt totally out of place. However, once we got further into the story, the reason for their presence became clear, albeit I still think it was unnecessary. Also the giant mechs, and the way the end boss in 4 was dealt with just felt silly...
Re: Five New 'Xbox Player Voice' Requests That Have Been Trending Over The Past Week
I love all of the Gears games, @GuyinPA75, including Judgement and Tactics, and I play through them all every year. The story definitely gets bigger and better in 4 and 5, and I think the story in 5 is the best so far. It will be interesting to see not only what they do with E-Day, but also how it is received, because I am not sure the Gears community really knows what it wants, and so there is a strong chance that they will not be happy with E-Day (beyond the fact that both Marcus and Dom are back).
In theory, so much cannot be in E-Day because it was first encountered in Gears 1-5. No Berserkers, no torque bows, no Theron Guards, obviously no Scions etc from Gears 4 and 5. No Baird, no Cole, and so the list goes on.
That's the theory, but then there must be a temptation in The Coalition to have fan favourite enemies because we love them even if it goes against canon. Not having them will annoy many, but going against canon will annoy many too.
Regardless, I don't think we will have to wait long to see what the campaign has in store for us, and I for one cannot wait...
Re: Onimusha: Way Of The Sword Gets Free Xbox Demo Ahead Of September Release
Thank you for the detailed response, @Ryu_Niiyama. It really is appreciated. I do very much like the look of the new game, and will take your advice and seek out the first one...
Re: Five New 'Xbox Player Voice' Requests That Have Been Trending Over The Past Week
Halo ODST is my favourite Halo game, @Skinny-Pete. Reach second and then Infinite.
Horde in Gears 3 was fantastic fun, but I would suggest that 5's is just slightly better. They are quite different though, so it's difficult to decide.
I have completed every campaign solo on the hardest difficulty many times now, and it is there that the games shine, in my opinion. Getting the Insane achievement in Gears Tactics was one my proudest moments, because on Insane that game was brutal. Honestly, I think too many people play the games on far too easy settings, and so don't fully appreciate how good the games are because they rattle through them so quickly that they don't get to absorb the stories, nor master the combat. On easier settings, they are simply able to sweep aside the enemies and rush the campaign, and there is no fun in that.
I do understand what you mean about 5 having an open world, but personally I really enjoyed that aspect, and the fact that you could fully upgrade Jack by completing the side-quests, I found fun. And, if you were so minded, you could completely ignore anything that was not the main campaign too. It just meant that Jack was underpowered but it wasn't really necessary to do him up anyway, and if you didn't then the story is much more linear as well.
The same is true of Infinite. When I went through the game solo on Legendary, I only did one of the side quests, and that was to pick up one of the legendary weapons (brain's not working, and I cannot think which one it was now), but other than that, I just did the main campaign. I know there are lots of map markers, but there is no requirement to do anything beyond the main campaign, and you don't really gain much through doing them...
Re: Xbox Series X|S Sales Have Risen In The UK, Partly Thanks To Forza Horizon 6
Not sure what you are implying, @Millionski. The facts are plain and simple for everyone to see; Sony DO reveal their sales numbers. Microsoft DO NOT. Therefore, anyone suggesting how many Xbox consoles were sold is not based on any data, but on estimates. Now, the estimates may well be right, but they could also be wrong, but either way, they are still estimates.
Estimates are that Sony sold just 400 consoles more than Microsoft. That could well be right, but it could be that Microsoft sold 400 more consoles than Sony. Who knows? And that is the point I was making. Sales numbers when it comes to Sony are accurate because Sony tell us sales numbers (and there is no reason to not believe what they tell us, particularly not when the numbers now are so dire). Microsoft deliberately tell us nothing, so people guess what the sales numbers are.
I'm not sure why these facts upset you so. As I said, the uptick is good news, but we do not know just how big that uptick actually was...
Re: Five New 'Xbox Player Voice' Requests That Have Been Trending Over The Past Week
As someone that plays through every Gears of War game on an annual basis, and have done for well over a decade now, @Skinny-Pete, I think that Gears of War 4 and Gears 5 are massively underrated games. If people take the time to understand the story, and the lore of the franchise that they explore, they are revealed to be very strong games.
Are they dark like the original games? Not graphically, no, but they do have a real dark undertone to them. I personally do not prescribe to the theory that the first game was a horror game, it was just dark and gritty, but even though people laud the original trilogy, if they were to go back to them now they would see how each game became lighter in tone as they progressed, and the same is true of 4 and 5.
They really are not the bad games that so many people seem to suggest (I'm not saying you are saying that, by the way!). 5 in particular explores not only how the Locust came to be, but how Queen Myrrah came to lead them, and then the reason that the Locust took Kate's Mother, and why they seek Kate herself. If people took the time to understand the story, I think they would get much more enjoyment out of it.
I know people are looking forward to E-Day, but I think other than the characters at the heart of the story, much of the criticisms levelled at 4 and 5 will still be present, though I personally won't be sad to see the back of the robots, but even they have a place in the story once the reason for their presence is understood.
With all that said, I also play through each of the first-person Halo's on an annual basis too, and I'm going to be completely rogue here and say I think too many people (as with Gears) are looking back with rose-tinted glasses having most likely not played them in recent times, because played today and then compared to Infinite, Infinite would be seen as the better campaign, and where they were taking the story held some real interest for future games...
Re: Xbox Series X|S Sales Have Risen In The UK, Partly Thanks To Forza Horizon 6
I saw this earlier, and whilst I am sure there will have been an uptick in Xbox sales, I am very dubious as to how they know because whilst Sony does disclose console sales, Microsoft do not, which leads me to regard this as basically little more than guess work. Now, it may be an educated guess, but unless they are speaking directly to stores, or have an insider in Microsoft, it would still be a guess nonetheless.
Good news, but perhaps not particuarly reliable data...
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Games From The Shacknews E4 Indie Showcase 2026
Absolutely, @FraserG! I wouldn't expect anything else. Busy time for you, great time for me...!
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Games From The Shacknews E4 Indie Showcase 2026
Horses for courses, @Lup.
Absolutely nothing of interest to me here, but there were 11 games in the Sony showcase that I will almost certainly get, most if not all of them day one too.
I like the big cinematic games, but very much dislike games with what some very kindly refer to as having retro graphics.
Hopefully you enjoy these though, matey... 👍
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Games From The Shacknews E4 Indie Showcase 2026
I was only wondering this morning whether there would be a round-up of news from these smaller showcases. Nothing for me here, but am grateful for you doing this article, @FraserG...
Re: Control Resonant Early Access Is Exclusive To PS5, Even Though It Costs The Same On Xbox
I don't understand what you are getting at, @Romans12.
@FraserG is informing us Xbox gamers that we are expected to pay the same price as those buying the game on PlayStation, but will not be getting the same early access. How is that not relevant to an Xbox centric website...?
Re: Roundup: All The Biggest Xbox Reveals From June's State Of Play
Tell me about it, @ZeD! I buy pretty much all my games. I still have not played a single game via Game Pass this year, despite having Ultimate... 😂
Re: The Lost Wild Not Coming To Xbox At Launch, Along With A Few Other State Of Play Titles
I know, @Balaam_, but there really is not point in calling it a PC, giving access to any store fronts with the exception of Steam.
Personally, I would rather that it was a console, and not a PC at all, as I much prefer the simplicity of consoles, but I think I am in the minority on that.
I do think that Steam has the potential to effectively kill off the Xbox Store, and think it's inclusion would be a monumental mistake.
I guess we'll find out soon enough, I suppose, unless, of course, Sharma has sent them back to the drawing board with a return to it just being a console, but I think that unlikely...
Re: The Lost Wild Not Coming To Xbox At Launch, Along With A Few Other State Of Play Titles
Is Until Dawn one of those interactive movie type games, @FraserG? I liked the look of it but I'm not a fan of the genre...
Re: The Lost Wild Not Coming To Xbox At Launch, Along With A Few Other State Of Play Titles
You are right, @Toot1st. What I meant is those games that will only be available on PlayStation. I have amended my comment accordingly. Thanks for the heads up...
Re: The Lost Wild Not Coming To Xbox At Launch, Along With A Few Other State Of Play Titles
Whilst I agree with you that you will then be able to play these games on Helix, @Sol4ris, it does mean two things;
Firstly (and I am happy about this) Sony will stop money-hatting games. There will literally be no point in them paying for a game to be kept off the Helix, though whether it will still be worth them paying to keep them off the current Series generation is another matter. The downside to this for the developers is that they will no longer be getting the money and exposure that Sony currently affords them. I don't think this will necessarily lead to the developers making an Xbox version, but it will at least be available via Helix.
The second issue though does concern me, and that is that people will begin to buy their games via Steam instead of the Xbox Store, which could be extremely bad for Xbox in the long-run. I know you are talking about select titles that are being bought up by Sony as timed-exclusives, but with games generally costing less on Steam, I can see people switching to buying their games there wholesale. The impact that has on Xbox will really be determined by the uptake on Helix, if it is fairly low (which is what I suspect), and Microsoft continue to support the Series consoles, then the impact will be fairly minimal. If Microsoft do not continue to give strong support to the Series consoles, then people buying their games on Steam could prove to be dire for Xbox (in terms of consoles) in the long-run.
I think the interesting thing will be whether Sony still think it worthwhile to pay for timed-exclusives just to keep them off the Series consoles, even though they will be available via Helix. If you think about it, Sony might think that a good strategy still because they will be pushing people to buying games on Steam, and also still depriving Xbox Series gamers of the games...
Re: The Lost Wild Not Coming To Xbox At Launch, Along With A Few Other State Of Play Titles
I'll be buying a fair few of the games that will only be available (initially) on PlayStation:
The Lost Wild
God of War Laufey
Marvel's Wolverine
Silent Hill Townfall
No Rest for the Wicked
ILL
Phantom Blade Zero
I thought KEMURI looked absolutely awful, as was the presentation of it.
Overall I thought it was a pretty strong showcase...
Re: Roundup: All The Biggest Xbox Reveals From June's State Of Play
I thought the showcase was pretty decent (if you game on PlayStation as well as Xbox):
Of the games shown, I will definitely be buying:
The Lost Wild
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis
Control Resonant
God of War Laufey
Marvel's Wolverine
Silent Hill Townfall
No Rest for the Wicked
ILL
Phantom Blade Zero
I may buy:
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
And I will play Dune: Awakening via Game Pass, and then may buy that too if I like what I see.
Tis a great time to be a gamer but a terrible time for my bank balance...
Re: Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Has Been Delayed From June To August 2026
Does the game have a solo campaign, or is it purely PvP...?
Re: Tomb Raider: Legacy Of Atlantis Delayed To February 2027, New Trailer Revealed
I was about the same thing, @DJKingaling. As has happened for the past few years, games that fail to make their intended year get pushed into February. Between this game and Fable, it is already shaping up to be a killer start to 2027...
Re: Onimusha: Way Of The Sword Gets Free Xbox Demo Ahead Of September Release
I am interested in this game, but am unsure whether I need to have played any of the previous games first, which I have not. Does the story follow on from earlier entries, or are they all standalone games...?
Re: Dune: Awakening Finally Has An Xbox Release Date, And It's On Game Pass As Well
So, as someone that usually buys every game I want to play, rather than play it on Game Pass, I find myself quite chuffed that this particular game in going on the Service because I am no quite sold on it as I would only be interested in playing it solo.
I'm not sure the actual single-player part will be more than bare-bones, but even so, the fact it is on Game Pass does afford me the opportunity to try out the game before committing to buying it.
This is one of the best elements of Game Pass, the opportunity to try out games you are not too sure of...
Re: Xbox's CCO Might Have Just Revealed The First-Party Order For Late 2026
So it would seem that this is exactly the same order that I have been saying since last year. It'll be good to get some confirmation this weekend...
Re: Xbox Teases Sunday's Showcase, Calls It 'A True Celebration' With 'A Swathe' Of Reveals
But what has actually changed, @Kaloudz? How is your experience with Xbox better now than 6 months ago?
Do we feel more positive about Xbox now? Absolutely!
But nothing has actually changed beyond capitalisation, colours, and new logo and some office stickers. Oh, and changing from days to hours, although I was happy with days in the first place, so I'm hoping that change is optional.
Sharma has whispered sweet-nothings at us, whilst give us nothing at present. That is not the same as saying she will not deliver in the future, but right now, as of this moment, nowt has meaningful has changed.
Yes, she has said she is looking into exclusives, which if implemented would indeed be a 180°, but saying you are going to look at it, which pleasing to hear, is not the same as doing it.
If Sharma walks on to the Xbox showcase stage and says that any game not announced for PlayStation will be a permanent Xbox exclusive, then that would be truly epic (other than the part where it will lead to studio closures, but we'll skirt past that bit because that it not what Xbox fans want to think about), and she will most definitely have done a 180°. If she says games will have a 6 month period of exclusivity, then it'll just cost Xbox money in the long run because those PlayStation gamers that own an Xbox too will just play the game via Game Pass rather than buy it outright were it to have landed on the PlayStation day one, meaning fewer sales on PlayStation in the long run.
Anything less than 3 years timed-exclusivity is pretty pointless, in my opinion, because we know that gamers can be very patient when needed, and indeed, PlayStation gamers will smugly tell us that we are bug testing the game for them (which is true), and that they will receive the best version of the game (which is true), and that they will get all the DLC included in the base price whereas we on the Xbox will have to buy the DLC on top of the original base price (which is true). Or, of course, they will simply ignore the game completely when it does finally arrive because the game is no longer relevant...
Re: Five Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early June 2026
Thank you, @Fishysensei. That's appreciated...
Re: Five Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early June 2026
Has anyone played Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Master Crafted Edition? I'm just wondering how it compares to the original version (which I still own)? Not sure whether it is worth double-dipping on...
Re: Roundup: All The Biggest Xbox Reveals From The MIX Summer Showcase 2026
Raji: Kaliyuga is the only game from that list that looks like it could be of interest to me. I wasn't sure at the start of the trailer, but by the end of it I found myself pretty interested...
Re: Xbox Teases Sunday's Showcase, Calls It 'A True Celebration' With 'A Swathe' Of Reveals
The one game that would make my E3(!) would be an announcement of Gears of War: Tactics 2. I would so love that to exist...
Re: Xbox Teases Sunday's Showcase, Calls It 'A True Celebration' With 'A Swathe' Of Reveals
What has Sharma done a 180 on, @Kaloudz? I genuinely cannot think of anything, unless you mean changing Xbox to XBOX...? 😉
Re: 'It Was A Miss, And I Own It' - Xbox CEO Hints At Removing PS5 & Switch Logos From Showcases
In all honesty, @Millionski, we don't don't what the sales targets for the games you list were, nor whether they were achieved, nor whether they would be considered a flop by Microsoft because Microsoft don't reveal details.
All but Indy were old or older games, and Indy did pretty well at the start.
If you look at the number of reviews for Reloaded on PlayStation, there are more than 40,000. That's a heck of a lot of reviews when you consider that so few people leave reviews in the first place. If it is 10%, then that's 400,000 sales, which on a what is essentially a 20 year old game, is still pretty impressive.
However, the truth is most games only get 5% or fewer of purchasers leave reviews, so that immediately propels the sales of that game to closer to 1 million.
Honestly, we do not know, and it really does come down to what Microsoft consider a success, not what we, as fans, might think of their chart positions in the weekly charts...
Re: 'Lost 255 Hours Of Progress' - Forza Horizon 6 Players Warn Of Xbox & PC Saving Issue
Oh, absolutely losing your progress is no laughing matter, @FarmDog08. In todays world with high energy costs, you would think people would not leave their consoles on though. I can imagine they have lost a lot of time and progress, but I think 255 hours is a stretch by anyone's standards.
Still, even a couple of lost hours should not happen, and is a pain when it happens...