I'd love to see Microsoft make the right moves, @Globo. I've been with Xbox since day one, and have loved gaming on each console (including my Series X). The problem is, they can say the right things until they can fart the tune in their sleep, but unless they do the right things to back that up, then the negativity and the lack of trust will continue.
Honestly, I'm at a loss at what they can reasonably do. I cannot see them returning to exclusives, because that horse has bolted, run the Grand National, fallen at the last fence, broken its leg and been shot! We won't be returning to exclusives, and so I think the best that Microsoft can hope for is that we kind of forget that we ever had exclusives, and just accept that everything will release day and date on PlayStation. I think part of that is already happening, inasmuch as there is a resigned understanding that will be happening with every game now.
So if they don't do exclusives, what else can they do to cheer us up? Price cuts to Game Pass? Unlikely to happen, but we can hope.
Maybe offering first -party games at a discount on release on the Xbox is something they could deliver, though that would not go down well on PlayStation, and could backfire because people over there might refuse to buy the game at what they would see as an inflated price, rather than us being given a discount for actually gaming on the Xbox. So, that won't happen either.
I know some people are all in on Play Anywhere, but for the majority of us, it is utterly pointless because we only game on an Xbox console. So unless you own a PC too, or a handheld as well, then it matters not a jot that a game is Play Anywhere. Same goes for Cloud gaming. So as much as Microsoft can offer us that, it is pretty irrelevant to most of us.
The only other thing I can think of is a commitment to not raising the price of Game Pass, but I just cannot see them doing that either, so I really am at a loss at how they can improve the perception, at the very least, of Xbox...
I absolutely agree that consoles have, for Microsoft, taken a backseat in recent years, @FraserG, but what Sharma will do about it, I honestly don't know. Nadella will want her to keep chasing the money, and that money is being made on PlayStation (when compared to Xbox sales), so I am struggling to work out what will change.
I'd like to think a period of timed-exclusivity would be considered; perhaps at least 12 months on Xbox, but again, I think the bean-counters will have something to say about that, and they will probably not be in favour of it, and at the end of the day, I think when Nadella weighs up timed-exclusivity compared with day and date on the PlayStation, that timed-exclusivity just won't happen. That quick burst of cash is much more preferable.
Ultimately, I think the genie is out of the bottle, and there's no putting it back in again. I know what I would like Microsoft to do about this situation, but what I would like and reality don't mix well from a financial perspective, and even if it could, it would take probably a decade to see results, and we all know that Microsoft won't want to wait a decade for results no matter how often they say they are playing the long game.
Let's face it, we would most likely be getting another console next generation, if we were doing as well as Sony right now. The PCBox is a reaction to the position that Xbox finds itself in. It is a last throw of the dice, and not the position that Microsoft would want to be in given the choice...
I can see that you have highlighted one part of her statement, @FraserG, but it is actually the next part that I believe to be the more relevant part:
We will meet players where they are.
If we take that particular part of her statement, then the data will show that there are 3 or 4 times the number of gamers that play on a PlayStation, as compared to the Xbox, and many, many more times that play on a PC. And you can add to that the percentage of gamers that buy Xbox games on the PlayStation, will be many more times than buy on the same game on the Xbox because of Game Pass, which will skew the numbers even more heavily in favour of selling Xbox made games on the PlayStation.
I think that once Sharma has perused the data, she will basically just follow the current trajectory, and there will be no return to exclusives. What returning to Xbox starting with console means at that point, I have no idea...
I already own the game, so it being added is of no benefit whatsoever for me. I'm really not a fan of Microsoft adding these old or older titles to Game Pass because once a game has been out in the wild for a while, many people will have already bought it and so it being added to Game Pass is utterly worthless for them.
I have to add that surely Microsoft asking for problems? Right now Microsoft get 30% from the sales of third-party games, but if people get it into their heads that there is no point in buying said game because it could be added to Game Pass at any point within the next 6 years (in the case of Cyberpunk 2077) then surely that will affect sales and thus the revenue that Microsoft get from said sales? Indeed, at the very least it might put people off buying games within the first year or two, which even if the game does not come to Game Pass within that timeframe, still means that Microsoft will end up with less money because if people wait to see whether it lands on Game Pass, and then pick it up 6-12 months following release, then the game will likely have been bought in a sale meaning that Microsoft get a 30% cut on a reduced price too.
Ultimately, I think this is just another of Microsoft's poorly judged decisions...
I strongly disagree, @Globo. We ALL have to pay for Game Pass, so we ALL should benefit from the additions. I have never, ever been a fan of old or older titles being added to the service because no matter what the game, there will be a percentage of gamers that have played them.
When it comes to Cyberpunk 2077 in particular, I would put money on it that for the amount that Microsoft paid CD Project Red to add the game to Game Pass, they could have added at least 2 or 3 brand new smaller titles to the service instead.
It's not about having a moan, or being negative about it for the sake of being negative, it is that we ALL pay for Game Pass, and so we should all have the opportunity to benefit.
If you go by your response to me, and Microsoft add Cyberpunk 2077 and 9 other games this month, then you will benefit to the tune of 10 and myself just 9. How can that possibly be fair when we have both paid for each and every game that has been added? It matters not if a game interests you or not, it is the opportunity to benefit that counts, and when it comes to adding older games, you immediately remove the opportunity from some...
I think everyone knows that Shamus was talking about Xbox in terms of consoles, @BAMozzy, and I think he is right that Microsoft will look to withdraw from that, probably in the next 5 years. 3 years after the release of the PCBox, Microsoft will stop supplying them...
I think any negativity expressed, @Globo, is down to the game being over 5 years old. I think most of us are unhappy that Microsoft put up the cost of Game Pass by 50%, and we would rather see new games, even smaller new games, than be given such an old game that most of those interested in the game will already own.
If you look at it like this, most interested in Cyberpunk 2077 will already have played it, which means that it will only cater to a much smaller audience on Game Pass than a new game will.
After all, every one of us will have paid for Game Pass, and we are to be given a game that many of us will have already have played, and to whom this addition will be of no interest whatsoever. It would be much better to give us a smaller, new game, which, by virtue of it being new will mean that none of us at all will have played. That way we all can benefit from the new addition, rather than a small minority of players.
We have all paid for Game Pass, and so we should all have the opportunity to benefit...
Cyberpunk 2077 including the Phantom Liberty expansion, has been as low as £25 on the Xbox Store, @fatpunkslim, and can be bought for around £14 on code offering stores. It released in December 2020, so over 5 years ago now.
Star Wars: Outlaws released in August 2024, so was only just over a year old when it went on Game Pass.
It stands to reason that a game that is little more than a year old will see a much larger spike in new players than a game that is approaching 6 years old.
There will undoubtedly be some players that will not have played Cyberpunk 2077 for whatever reason, but I highly doubt it will see such a large influx of new players as Outlaws got.
One of the reasons that Outlaws will have received more new players will be down to the fact that with only a year having passed since its release, the bugs that people were complaining of will only just have been fixed, whereas with Cyberpunk 2077 not only were the bugs fixed several years back, but it has had a game changing expansion in the form of Phantom Liberty, which is not something that Outlaws has received. This means that people even remotely interested in Cyberpunk 2077 will have had reason to pick the game up in the intervening period between release and now...
It looks as though you're going to be getting a big bonus here thanks to the Xbox Play Anywhere program.
Sorry to disagree with you, @Kezelpaso, but you need to add a huge caveat to whether or not this is indeed a big bonus, and that is whether you actually utilise Play Anywhere. In other words, this may well be a big bonus for the minority to whom this will apply, but for the majority, it being Play Anywhere is basically meaningless. I think its general importance is being blown out of all proportion.
Also, for those of us that already own the game, it being added to Game Pass is worthless. Great for everyone else though...
I will definitely be picking up Greedfall 2: The Dying World as I loved the first game, and with the troubles the publisher is going through, I want to show them my support by buying early (I would likely have done so anyway, but they need our money immediately at the moment, so I'm going to be giving them mine!).
I also want to see how Crimson Desert reviews, and hopefully the reviews will drop prior to its release so that I can make an informed decision...
Absolutely, @FraserG. I've been with Xbox since day one when I walked into Game, here in Plymouth, and picked up my OG Xbox that I had pre-ordered with a £10 deposit! I so want them to succeed, but truthfully, I am one of those that has no confidence right now, and if I am lacking in confidence, then I am surely not alone.
The 25th anniversary should be a time of celebration, but right now, for me, it is a time of uncertainty. That is what Microsoft need to fix first; give us some certainty. What is the next console? Roughly when can we expect it? Narrow down timeframes in which games are going to be released, and tell us straight that we won't see any further increases in Game Pass pricing because right now, they seem to be doing more harm than good to the brand...
I don't believe that Sharma has been bought in to sunset Xbox, @FraserG, but the fact that so many people are searching whether Xbox is coming to an end does, at the very least, demonstrate the complete lack of confidence that people have in Xbox right now, and I would put money on it that at least some of those people that searched for this decided that Xbox was too much of a risk and bought a PlayStation instead.
The lack of consumer confidence is a genuine problem for Xbox, and whilst, as I said, I don't believe Sharma has been bought in to sunset Xbox, that is not the same as saying that she won't eventually have too.
I've said it many, many times now, but I think the PCBox will be too expensive, and prove to be too niche, and will sell only a couple of million within the first 3 years of release. That is then the point at which Sharma will sunset the Xbox console. Thus, if it does release next year, then around 2030 and Xbox, in terms of consoles at the very least, will come to an end...
Funny how we both referenced the genie analogy, @Weebleman. We are both singing from the same hymn sheet once again, and are clearly not naïve enough to believe that there is any going back now. The destination has been set, and for better or worse (probably worse!) we now have to sit back and either enjoy, or endure, the journey...
Having just one game as a console exclusive, even if it is Halo, will not benefit Xbox in the slightest. It either has to be all, or nothing, and we know that Microsoft won't go for all.
Exclusives do sell consoles, but more importantly, they then draw people into an ecosystem. People will buy a console in order to play a particular exclusive (or several of them) and then buy third-party games too, which is where Microsoft will make the majority of their revenue.
Unless you have enough exclusives to make people want to buy into your ecosystem, then you may as well sell them on other consoles because we know that Game Pass eats into sales of first-party games on both Xbox and PC.
Honestly, it is too late now for Xbox, in terms of exclusives, and in terms of console sales. There is no putting the genie back into the bottle. The bean-counters will have seen how much revenue a title brings in on PlayStation as opposed to Xbox, and they will want more of it. Much more!
So, unless Microsoft want to reduce the revenue they get from selling their games on PlayStation (which we all know they won't), then Microsoft may as well continue down the destructive path they have set themselves on.
I've not played SH2 yet, @ilyn, though I do own it. I have it for the Xbox, and have told myself that I must not double dip for the PlayStation because whilst there will be differences between the Pro and the Series X, they won't, on the whole, be sufficient to buy games again.
That said, I have already broken the rule once when I saw the remake of Dead Space at a ridiculous price on the PlayStation, and decided to get it again.
I'm absolutely loving Requiem. Personally, I am probably enjoying it more than any of the past entries (each of which I have enjoyed to varying degrees, having played pretty much all of them now). It really is exceptionally good...
I really enjoyed Returnal, @themightyant. It remains one of my favourite games of this generation, and indeed it was the very first game I played on my PS5 when it first launched in April of 2021, even though I had owned my PS5 since day one in November 2020.
I'll be there day one with Saros. Absolutely cannot wait for the game to drop...
I started playing Resident Evil: Requiem last night, and it is the first game I have played on my Pro, which I have had for about two weeks now. I am using the Sony equivalent of the Elite controller, and I'm very impressed with the way you can feel things through the controller such as footsteps etc. The game looks beautiful and plays extremely well too...
Both the Horizon multiplayer, and Marathon are Live Service games, @fatpunkslim. I've said it many times before, but Live Service games are different; they need to reach the most people possible. That is why they are expanding beyond the PlayStation console. Also, in the case of Marathon, it was a contractual obligation on the purchase of Bungie, that their games would be multiplatform, so it's even less surprising to see Marathon on the Xbox.
The proof of the pudding will be whether Sony port any first-party solo experiences in the future. It is possible they are already preparing one or two titles to go to PC, so those may still come. Thus the real test will be whether they port the likes of Wolverine to PC next year. I suspect they won't be.
Also, I don't think it will be a 'huge loss of revenue' for Sony because last year PC revenue accounted for just 2% of all earnings. I would imagine that the cost of putting those games on PC would not be insignificant, and will have eaten into that 2% too, meaning they are not making a great deal from putting their games on PC, but are indeed possibly damaging their brand by doing so.
As I have said many times before though, none of these single-player games will come natively to the Xbox...
My three biggest wishes are still not catered for:
1. I would most dearly like to be able to mark games that are of no interest to me so that they do not appear in any future sales. The amount of times I have to skip past exactly the same games each week that I simply do not want, and never will, is frankly ridiculous.
2. It matters not how good Harry Potter is, I only need to be buying it once! Please, for the love of God, don't show me games I already own. I will not be buying them more than once, so why bother showing them to me each flaming week?
3. Implement a system by which a game flashes up if it is on sale and is at a discounted point you are interested in, thus if you want to buy Harry Potter, but only when it is at a 50% discount, the store then only notifies you when it is at that discount point, or below.
As someone that owns over 1700 digital games on my Xbox, I would estimate that I probably own a good 10-20% of the games that go one sale each week. Add into that a further 50% that will never be of interest to me, no matter how often you show me them, and it means that when you have a 1000 games on sale, I'm probably going to skip past a good 70% of them, if not more, and scrolling through so many games, when you are not interested in the majority of them, just takes so long that you might just decide not to bother to look at all...
There were 4 games that have my attention from that list, though I am very unlikely to pre-order any of them because I need to see more of them before I commit to buying them. Still, having my attention is better than being ignored like the rest of them! 😂
The games I liked the look of were:
Mistfall Hunter, however I will need to have a better understanding of whether the solo experience is well done as I don't want to be social and play with others!
Necrophosis: Full Consciousness, The Shore, and Bellwright all look just a little bit janky, but I can overlook that if the gameplay is solid. I will probably need to see what others make of the games before I decide...
In fairness, @Cakefish, rumours that Sony were going to scale back their releases on PC began circulating late last year.
The one thing I would say is that when Helldivers 2 released on the Xbox, many people 0on here were saying that that was the beginning of Sony releasing ALL their games on to Xbox. I argued against this saying that it would only be Live Service games that would do so, and got shot down repeatedly. It now looks as if I was right all along.
People need to be a little more pessimistic, like me. That way they are less likely to be disappointed... 😂
Not optimistic in the slightest regarding Xbox 'consoles', nor Game Pass, but I am very confident that Microsoft will find great success as a publisher.
I am probably 80% certain that there will be another Xbox mostly because I think they are already in the process of making it, and that it will release next year.
I think we will see a PC like console, but that it will be more like a PC than a console. Some will like that, others not so much.
Allowing Steam on this new Xbox will basically lead to the downfall of Xbox in the console landscape. People will buy their games where they are cheapest, and cheapest is on Steam. Microsoft Store will bleed money as a consequence.
I think the PCBox will release in 2027, and about 3 years later it will become a collector's item because Microsoft will stop making, and selling them. I believe the PCBox will be too expensive for most, and also not quality enough for those that already game on a PC to want to acquire one. Enthusiasts, like myself, will buy one in the hope it can turn the tide, but I think we will be sorely disappointed when Microsoft make the device obsolete.
Around the same time Game Pass will do one of two things; it will either cease to exist, or it will metamorphosise into a first-party only service that will then be permitted to go on the PlayStation. Game Pass going first-party only could well happen far more quickly than anything else, and may well be one of the things that Sharma makes happen when she reviews everything.
I think it fair to say that I have been pretty consistent in my concerns for Xbox over these past few years, and the removal of Phil Spencer is, to my mind, a sign that the last bastion of hope for Xbox has been excised by Nadella, and things will now rapidly change for the worse.
I truly hope I am wrong because I bought the OG Xbox day one, and have bled green ever since. I have a digital library on my Series X that exceeds 1700 games. I have every reason to want to see Xbox succeed, but I honestly cannot see how it can with its current direction towards the ocean floor...
Really looking forward to number 3. I have played them all, but the reboot has been the best thus far, followed closely by it's sequel.
Just have to hope that they are not doing a casting call for a Youngblood sequel, and that Beavis and Butthead (aka BJ's daughters) do not make return - like... ever!
Entirely agree, @Mr_RC. I'm not going to dismiss her out of hand, as some people have, but I absolutely will judge her on results, not contrived soundbites.
I hope she can turn this ship around. I have my doubts that she can, but I truly hope she can...
I agree that people are judging Sharma on the wrong metric, @IOI. The fact that she has a couple of years in AI and/or lack of gaming credentials seems to be the focus of people's ire, but in doing so they are missing the fact that she has risen to the top of many companies and so clearly is a very capable person.
I do think it would have helped had she had some understanding of games, and the process of making games, but I do not think that it is the be all and end all. That said, if she goes by the Amy Hood mantra of ridiculous targets, then the games that Xbox does make are doomed to failure.
We just have to hope that she gets her priorities right when it comes to Xbox, and that she is willing to stand up to Nadella and Hood if required to do so. Unfortunately, I remain to be convinced of that bit because I highly doubt that Nadella will have put someone in the role that either does not share his vision, or who he will regularly but heads with.
Only time will tell, I guess, and I can only hope that I am wrong...
I think the real question is, how man new Xbox subscribers did this bring to Game Pass? Microsoft will have had to pay for these additions, and whilst it won't be as much as for a brand new game, it will still have cost them money, something that people with existing subscriptions are less likely to have contributed towards because they had already paid for their subscriptions.
Personally, I would far rather see Microsoft add one brand new third-party game to the service once a quarter, than 3 old or older games over the same time period, though that is probably because for me personally, these games added nothing because I already owned all 3 of them...
Sadly, I couldn't agree more, @Grumblevolcano. I think HMS Xbox has sailed, hit an iceberg and is rapidly taking in water. I don't think there is any bailing it out now, and it will probably sink without trace within the next 5 years.
I don't think the PCBox will save it, though I will probably get one because I'd like Xbox to succeed, and I want to have the best available Xbox. I think Microsoft will have much better fortune at playing publisher though, so long as they don't let AI get in the way...
It's all too late now, @Grumblevolcano, there is no saving Xbox in terms of console now. That ship has long sailed, and indeed sunk.
I think the next casualty, once the PCBox releases, and then Microsoft stop making them probably about 3 years later, will be Game Pass. I'll be shocked if Game Pass survives in its current guise for another 5 years. Indeed, I think a huge shake-up is on the cards within the next year or so, which is kind of mad when you consider that they have only just re-jigged them as is.
Game Pass has huge running costs, hence Microsoft being so aggressive with the pricing, but that aggressiveness has probably led to people either lowering the tier to which they are subscribed, or quitting altogether, which then has the opposite affect to what Microsoft wanted when they raised the price; it will be bringing in still less money than it did before, which puts the service in great jeopardy...
I bought the Deluxe version as the very first game to play on my Pro, @OldGamer999. The sad thing is I could have bought the same version for £5 cheaper on the Xbox. I very nearly didn't get it on the PlayStation for that reason, but then I just thought about all the enhancements it has apparently got on the Pro, and I wanted to try it for myself...
I've seen reports lately that suggested that the 'This is an Xbox' campaign had basically the opposite affect to what Microsoft wanted, @moodmatcha. It did not resonate with people not already invested in Xbox, so they did not sign up, and indeed, it rankled existing Xbox gamers many of whom have actually left the ecosystem as they saw it as meaning there was no longer need to remain with Xbox. These reports put the blame for the campaign with Bond, and it was apparently a source of tension between Bond and Spencer. How true any of that is I am not entirely certain, but we certainly seem to be seeing less of the campaign at the moment...
Excellent review, @Kezelpaso. I am very much looking forward to the game, but I am not a huge fan of creeping around trying to avoid enemies, or indeed, those sections you sometimes get where you have no option but to run. I think I probably find them a bit stressful, which I think is probably the aim, but I don't find that particularly enjoyable. I am much happier when I am killing stuff. Maybe that speaks to a hidden character flaw... 😂
I don't disagree with what you say at all, @moodmatcha. I think the issue is that if you have that mindset, and you are choosing to buy your first console, you are undoubtedly going to buy a PlayStation and not an Xbox.
I'm not saying you are wrong in what you say, just that if one console has exclusives and gets every game available on console, and another does not, then it makes sense to buy the former, and not the latter...
I absolutely understand where you are coming from, @Globo, as I too am heavily invested in Xbox to the tune of having over 1700 digital games!
Unlike yourself, I have a Switch, a PS5 Pro and a gaming PC, so unless it is only a Switch 2 game, I have all bases covered.
I think the truth is it is already too late for Xbox (in terms of consoles, and probably Game Pass too), but that is really the point of my reply to you; I don't think the Xbox console can survive without having exclusives.
Time will tell, and I really hope that I am wrong...
Microsoft should cancel all Ultimate Game Pass subscriptions, and give anyone that has one 3 times the remaining length as Premium instead. Thus, if you have a years worth of Ultimate, you get 3 years worth of Premium. Keep Premium at its current price, which effectively means that everyone that has Ultimate will see their subscription fees reduced.
Cancel the commitment to putting first-party titles day one on Game Pass, and instead allow them to be sold on the Xbox for the first 12 months. This is why Ultimate would be cancelled, and why people would be moved to Premium instead.
After a year of being available on sale on the Xbox, that is when the first-party games go on Premium, and not before.
The only games that go on Premium day one are those third-party games that Microsoft buy for that purpose.
All first-party games release first on the Xbox console. Not PC, not Nintendo, and definitely not PlayStation. Only after 5 years of exclusivity on the Xbox, will games be ported to PC, Nintendo and PlayStation, with ports being handled by a single studio whose only role is to make said ports thus enabling the studio that actually made the game in the first place to concentrate on making new games, not worrying about making ports. 5 years was good enough for Forza 5, and it will be good enough for other first-party games.
When Phil Spencer said that exclusives were important, he was absolutely right. Xbox only began porting games to the PC after the disastrous launch of the Xbox One, and only began to port games to PlayStation because of the dismal sales of the Series consoles, and because Game Pass cannibalises games sales no matter what anyone might try to tell you to the contrary.
If you pay for a months worth of Game Pass, that costs you £20, and then you play a new release that would have had to otherwise buy for £70, then Game Pass has immediately cost Microsoft £50. It's basic maths, and it always shocks me when people try to suggest that Game Pass does lose Microsoft money when it comes to first-party sales.
I know a lot of people would be unhappy at the idea of Microsoft removing day one games, as for a lot of people it is one of the big attractions to Game Pass. However, Microsoft are in the position where they can only do one of three things; keep putting their games everywhere day one, or raise the price of Game Pass, or fundamentally change Game Pass. Microsoft are already doing the first of those two, and I personally do not think it is bringing enough revenue to enable them to continue to doing it this way, plus of course, as they keep raising the price of Game Pass, people are either dropping to the more affordable tier or they are quitting the service altogether, which then means that Game Pass becomes even less sustainable. Something significant has to happen if Xbox (in terms of consoles and Game Pass) is to survive...
I have no issue with people playing the games, @Globo, and that is not the point. The point is that exclusives are one of the main draws that bring people into a particular ecosystem.
Right now, if you want to play on a console, and you want to play Sony's exclusives, you have no option but to buy a PlayStation. If you want to play games made by Microsoft, you can play on an Xbox, a PlayStation or maybe even the Switch.
What that means is that if you only wish to buy one console, then your best bet is to buy a PlayStation because you get everything (Nintendo exclusive aside).
That is why exclusives are important, and if a PlayStation gamer really wants to play a game that is exclusive to Xbox then they have the option of buying an Xbox. So it is not like people that game on other consoles cannot play them.
Personally, I would make every game made by Microsoft (where they are legally allowed to do so) exclusive to the Xbox for a specified period of 5 years. So if you really do not want to buy an Xbox, and are a patient person, you can just wait for that period of exclusivity to end...
The simple answer is there are no simple answers because I honestly believe that so much damage has been done to the brand, that there is now no chance of saving it. Effectively, the Xbox Titanic, has already hit the iceberg and is taking in water. It's going down, and nothing is going to stop it.
With that said the things I think might help are as follows (and I know they will not all be popular (but they will not happen anyway, so don't get too upset!)):
Give gamers a reason to want to be within the Xbox ecosystem by doing the following:
Cancel all Ultimate Game Pass subscriptions, and give anyone that has one 3 times the remaining length as Premium instead. Thus, if you have a years worth of Ultimate, you get 3 years worth of Premium. Keep Premium at its current price, and only increase the cost once a year, and when you do so, make it a modest and understandable increase, not something ridiculous such as we have seen recently.
The only games that go on Premium day one are those third-party games that you buy for that purpose.
All first-party games release only on the Xbox console. Not PC, not Nintendo, and definitely not PlayStation.
After a year of being available on sale on the Xbox, that is when the first-party games go on Premium, and not before.
After 5 years of exclusivity on the Xbox, then, and only then, do you port the games to PC, Nintendo and PlayStation, having set up a single studio whose only role is to make said ports thus enabling the studio that actually made the game to continue making new games, not worrying about making ports. 5 years was good enough for Forza 5, and it will be good enough for other first-party games.
Forget any notion of making the PCBox. Access to multiple store fronts will kill off the Xbox console quicker than the Botulinum toxin (the most deadly natural toxin) can kill a man. Why buy on the Xbox Store when you can buy far more cheaply on Steam? It takes you straight back to my first point; give people a reason to want to be part of the Xbox ecosystem. If you give them access to Steam, they won't be in the Xbox ecosystem because Steam is where they will conduct their business.
Make one premium Xbox console that will undoubtedly be better than the PS6, that has a disc drive, or has one that can be attached, and then make a second model that is a little better than the Series X as a cheaper alternative. However, it needs to be clear that games will play better on the premium Xbox, and that there is no parity policy with the second model. In no way should the second model hold back the premium model, and it needs to be made clear that is the case.
Advertise Xbox absolutely everywhere. Xbox needs to be seen and heard as the place to play your games. Hire more people to shout from the rooftops just how good Xbox is. If you are invisible, as is currently the case, then no one will see you.
Keep on top of your studios. Don't allow them to drift, but give them enough time to put a polished product out the door. Every game should be expected to receive a Metacritic rating of 80+, with bonuses for those that get above 90.
Hold regular showcases. One every 3 months, and show only games that will be releasing within the next 6 months.
Make an Xbox equivalent of the Platinum Trophy. Come on, that must be the easiest thing they could do that would please us Xbox gamers.
Stop stepping on rakes! Stop saying one thing and then doing the opposite.
I absolutely concur with both your article, @Kezelpaso and your comments, @FraserG. I think Spencer will be fondly remembered by most Xbox fans, and I believe he should also be credited with literally having stopped Nadella from leaving the console space following the awful Xbox One launch. Without Spencer's intervention, Xbox would not exist right now.
I believe that it was the ABK acquisition that was his undoing, and just who thought it was a good idea, I'm not absolutely certain, but it definitely coincided with things changing for the worse at Xbox. Where we would be right now, without that acquisition, it's impossible to say, but it was the point in time that Nadella chose to engage more closely with Xbox, and where things began to go very wrong.
Personally, I don't think anyone can write the ship that Xbox once was. The genie is out of the bottle, and pretty much intent on finishing off the brand (in terms of consoles, at least)...
Returning to our roots is such a great soundbite, and is exactly what us gamers want to hear.
However, we all know that it will not happen! We know that Microsoft will not return to exclusivity as a way to sell consoles. We know they will not reduce the pricing of console nor Game Pass.
So what that does that leave? It leaves us basically exactly as things are right now. Expensive consoles, the most expensive subscription service, no exclusives, and no real reason to own an Xbox unless you play a lot of Game Pass titles.
The more I think about it the more I do believe that Microsoft will release the PCBox, but it will be a device that does not offer us the ability to access our already owned games unless we stream them, except, of course, for those few Play Anywhere titles that we might own.
What I expect in the latter half of this year and beyond is further price increases for consoles and Game Pass, job losses, studio closures, and eventually the sunsetting of Xbox consoles two or three years after the release of the PCBox.
Likely as not we will also see Microsoft walking back from its commitment to day one first-party games on Game Pass too, with Ultimate potentially being scrapped altogether, and Premium getting those day one games 6 months later.
Personally, I really like the things that Sharma (or her PR department!) are saying, but as much as I like what she is saying, I need to see actions to back up that which she is saying. I truly believe that she should be given the benefit of the doubt, and the chance to prove herself. Nothing in her résumé says that she is not a capable person, and I think people focussing on her AI past are missing the point; her having an AI past is not the issue in itself, it's that she and Nadella may have a shared vision, and whether that will benefit us Xbox gamers in the long run. My problem is that I do not trust Nadella, as I believe he is responsible for many of the woes Xbox is currently facing right now, and if he and Sharma are on the same page, particularly as far as AI goes, then I am not convinced things will go well.
I want Sharma, and Xbox, to succeed, and am very much rooting for her. Time will tell whether she can deliver on her words, I just have to hope that she will...
I think Nadella just wore Spencer down over the past two years, @FatGuyInLilCoat, to the point where, on those increasingly rare occasions we saw him, Spencer just looked defeated. Gone was the infectious enthusiasm, and the smile, replaced with a thinning and pretty grim looking ghost of his former self.
I think in the past 6 months or so, Spencer was just going through the motions, and waving through the directives from above, so in that sense, he was no longer standing between Xbox and Nadella/Hood. So yes, he probably was not doing a great job during that time because Nadella had won, and Spencer knew there was no point in trying to defend Xbox any longer.
Rumours are that he was being undermined by Bond too, with her going above his head whenever Spencer said no to her. Whether that is true or not, we will probably never know, as I bet both Bond and Spencer are tied up in so many NDA's they won't be able to utter a word on the subject.
As for Sharma standing up for Xbox more than Spencer did in recent months, I find that highly doubtful because Nadella will have promoted her for a reason, and that is because they will both be singing the same tune. He will not want to have inserted an obstacle into his plans.
What will unfold over the next few months will seal people's opinion of Sharma, but my betting is that we will probably be unimpressed not because she is not capable, but because we won't like the direction of travel; price increases for consoles and Game Pass, job losses, studio closures, and eventually sunsetting of Xbox consoles. Likely as not we will also see Microsoft walking back from its commitment to day one first-party games on Game Pass too, with Ultimate potentially being scrapped altogether, and Premium getting those day one games 6 months later. All this will not all happen immediately, but after 6 months to 2 years things will look very different at Xbox, and I don't think we gamers will view it particularly positively...
I have seen rumours that in fact Bond and Spencer were butting heads in recent months/ years, @FatGuyInLilCoat, and that Spencer would say no to something, and then Bond would go above his head to Nadella.
I personally, believe that Spencer has been undermined by Nadella in particular, but the rumours now circulating suggest that he was being undermined by Bond too.
I find it is difficult to believe that Spencer, with the position he held, to be saying one thing one month, and then a month or two doing the complete opposite. If Spencer had complete control, he would say one thing one month, and the next month it would happen.
You also have to remember that Spencer went completely radio silent for a few months when decisions he had told us about were reneged upon, and I don't think he was just hiding, I think he was no on board with what was happening because he was not the one making the decisions.
Just look at Spencer's appearance and body language over the past few months and you could see a man that had lost a lot of weight, and it was clear he was broken, which is why I was saying last year that he would be gone this year.
Did Spencer make some poor decisions? Yes! He was way too hands off when it comes to the studios under his watch, and he should have cracked the whip more. However, when it comes to many of the decisions he made, he was given no alternative by Nadella. If you take the closure of Tango Gameworks, for example, it was almost certainly Spencer that made that decision, but it will have been the likes of Hood and Nadella that told him that savings had to be made, and if a studio was not hitting the required profit margins then they had to be gone. Spencer was the one to wield the hammer and who chose where it struck, but it was Nadella and Hood that handed him the hammer and told him it had to be used...
I do think that Sharma may have been bought in to sunset Xbox consoles and Game Pass, @InterceptorAlpha, and also trim those studios that do not bring in huge revenue (such as Double Fine), and also oversee layoffs in the name of getting Xbox ready for the future. I am 60/40 on whether the PCBox will see the light of day, and am erring on the side that it will, but I also think that it will be the last Xbox ever made, and after that it will just be the Xbox OEM through which Xbox lives on.
I think that Sharma will oversee a further price hike in Game Pass, probably a month or two after the June showcase. Plus I believe that she will completely revamp, or flat-out cancel, Ultimate, and probably remove all the first-party day one releases from the service. I think this is what Xbox has been preparing for with their renewed focus on Premium, which many people believe to be the best tier now for the money.
In other words, get rid of Ultimate, and push people on to Premium instead, and if they want to play the next Fable or E-Day, then they can either buy it day one, or they can play it on Premium 6 months later. What Microsoft will probably do is say something like if you have a years worth of Ultimate, they will convert that to two years of Premium (maybe more so that they can be seen as being a little more generous). If Microsoft do attempt this though, I can see a lot of people feeling pretty peeved because for many people, they subscribed to Ultimate precisely for those day one first-party game releases, and having the game 6 months later won't cut it. How Microsoft approach this will be interesting to see...
I agree there will be an element of the community that will believe it is her race or sex that has earned her the position, @Scrubchub. I am not naïve enough to believe otherwise, but I do think (or at least hope) the number of people that think that way is relatively small.
I have seen reports that Nadella likes to promote people of colour, and females because he believes that it looks good for Microsoft, but unless he says as much himself (which he won't!), then I think we have to accept that there is no evidence of this, and that he is in fact promoting people based on their abilities.
I 100% believe that Nadella has promoted Sharma because he believes her to be very capable, but also because they have a shared belief in AI, and that she will do as he asks, which Spencer only did under protest.
I think we need to wait and see what Sharma achieves, before we can say whether or not she will be successful as right now we have no idea how she will get on. She needs to be given the opportunity to prove herself, and her race or sex should play no part in that...
Comments 4,610
Re: Xbox Head Doubles Down On The Importance Of Console, Says It's A 'Reference Experience'
I'd love to see Microsoft make the right moves, @Globo. I've been with Xbox since day one, and have loved gaming on each console (including my Series X). The problem is, they can say the right things until they can fart the tune in their sleep, but unless they do the right things to back that up, then the negativity and the lack of trust will continue.
Honestly, I'm at a loss at what they can reasonably do. I cannot see them returning to exclusives, because that horse has bolted, run the Grand National, fallen at the last fence, broken its leg and been shot! We won't be returning to exclusives, and so I think the best that Microsoft can hope for is that we kind of forget that we ever had exclusives, and just accept that everything will release day and date on PlayStation. I think part of that is already happening, inasmuch as there is a resigned understanding that will be happening with every game now.
So if they don't do exclusives, what else can they do to cheer us up? Price cuts to Game Pass? Unlikely to happen, but we can hope.
Maybe offering first -party games at a discount on release on the Xbox is something they could deliver, though that would not go down well on PlayStation, and could backfire because people over there might refuse to buy the game at what they would see as an inflated price, rather than us being given a discount for actually gaming on the Xbox. So, that won't happen either.
I know some people are all in on Play Anywhere, but for the majority of us, it is utterly pointless because we only game on an Xbox console. So unless you own a PC too, or a handheld as well, then it matters not a jot that a game is Play Anywhere. Same goes for Cloud gaming. So as much as Microsoft can offer us that, it is pretty irrelevant to most of us.
The only other thing I can think of is a commitment to not raising the price of Game Pass, but I just cannot see them doing that either, so I really am at a loss at how they can improve the perception, at the very least, of Xbox...
Re: Xbox Head Doubles Down On The Importance Of Console, Says It's A 'Reference Experience'
I absolutely agree that consoles have, for Microsoft, taken a backseat in recent years, @FraserG, but what Sharma will do about it, I honestly don't know. Nadella will want her to keep chasing the money, and that money is being made on PlayStation (when compared to Xbox sales), so I am struggling to work out what will change.
I'd like to think a period of timed-exclusivity would be considered; perhaps at least 12 months on Xbox, but again, I think the bean-counters will have something to say about that, and they will probably not be in favour of it, and at the end of the day, I think when Nadella weighs up timed-exclusivity compared with day and date on the PlayStation, that timed-exclusivity just won't happen. That quick burst of cash is much more preferable.
Ultimately, I think the genie is out of the bottle, and there's no putting it back in again. I know what I would like Microsoft to do about this situation, but what I would like and reality don't mix well from a financial perspective, and even if it could, it would take probably a decade to see results, and we all know that Microsoft won't want to wait a decade for results no matter how often they say they are playing the long game.
Let's face it, we would most likely be getting another console next generation, if we were doing as well as Sony right now. The PCBox is a reaction to the position that Xbox finds itself in. It is a last throw of the dice, and not the position that Microsoft would want to be in given the choice...
Re: Xbox Head Doubles Down On The Importance Of Console, Says It's A 'Reference Experience'
I can see that you have highlighted one part of her statement, @FraserG, but it is actually the next part that I believe to be the more relevant part:
We will meet players where they are.
If we take that particular part of her statement, then the data will show that there are 3 or 4 times the number of gamers that play on a PlayStation, as compared to the Xbox, and many, many more times that play on a PC. And you can add to that the percentage of gamers that buy Xbox games on the PlayStation, will be many more times than buy on the same game on the Xbox because of Game Pass, which will skew the numbers even more heavily in favour of selling Xbox made games on the PlayStation.
I think that once Sharma has perused the data, she will basically just follow the current trajectory, and there will be no return to exclusives. What returning to Xbox starting with console means at that point, I have no idea...
Re: Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (March 3)
I already own the game, so it being added is of no benefit whatsoever for me. I'm really not a fan of Microsoft adding these old or older titles to Game Pass because once a game has been out in the wild for a while, many people will have already bought it and so it being added to Game Pass is utterly worthless for them.
I have to add that surely Microsoft asking for problems? Right now Microsoft get 30% from the sales of third-party games, but if people get it into their heads that there is no point in buying said game because it could be added to Game Pass at any point within the next 6 years (in the case of Cyberpunk 2077) then surely that will affect sales and thus the revenue that Microsoft get from said sales? Indeed, at the very least it might put people off buying games within the first year or two, which even if the game does not come to Game Pass within that timeframe, still means that Microsoft will end up with less money because if people wait to see whether it lands on Game Pass, and then pick it up 6-12 months following release, then the game will likely have been bought in a sale meaning that Microsoft get a 30% cut on a reduced price too.
Ultimately, I think this is just another of Microsoft's poorly judged decisions...
Re: Xbox Is Teasing Something 'Very Cool' For Game Pass This Month, Possibly Cyberpunk 2077
I strongly disagree, @Globo. We ALL have to pay for Game Pass, so we ALL should benefit from the additions. I have never, ever been a fan of old or older titles being added to the service because no matter what the game, there will be a percentage of gamers that have played them.
When it comes to Cyberpunk 2077 in particular, I would put money on it that for the amount that Microsoft paid CD Project Red to add the game to Game Pass, they could have added at least 2 or 3 brand new smaller titles to the service instead.
It's not about having a moan, or being negative about it for the sake of being negative, it is that we ALL pay for Game Pass, and so we should all have the opportunity to benefit.
If you go by your response to me, and Microsoft add Cyberpunk 2077 and 9 other games this month, then you will benefit to the tune of 10 and myself just 9. How can that possibly be fair when we have both paid for each and every game that has been added? It matters not if a game interests you or not, it is the opportunity to benefit that counts, and when it comes to adding older games, you immediately remove the opportunity from some...
Re: 'Is Xbox Ending?' - The Official Answer Is No, But A Recent Interview Clearly Caused Panic
I think everyone knows that Shamus was talking about Xbox in terms of consoles, @BAMozzy, and I think he is right that Microsoft will look to withdraw from that, probably in the next 5 years. 3 years after the release of the PCBox, Microsoft will stop supplying them...
Re: Xbox Is Teasing Something 'Very Cool' For Game Pass This Month, Possibly Cyberpunk 2077
I think any negativity expressed, @Globo, is down to the game being over 5 years old. I think most of us are unhappy that Microsoft put up the cost of Game Pass by 50%, and we would rather see new games, even smaller new games, than be given such an old game that most of those interested in the game will already own.
If you look at it like this, most interested in Cyberpunk 2077 will already have played it, which means that it will only cater to a much smaller audience on Game Pass than a new game will.
After all, every one of us will have paid for Game Pass, and we are to be given a game that many of us will have already have played, and to whom this addition will be of no interest whatsoever. It would be much better to give us a smaller, new game, which, by virtue of it being new will mean that none of us at all will have played. That way we all can benefit from the new addition, rather than a small minority of players.
We have all paid for Game Pass, and so we should all have the opportunity to benefit...
Re: Xbox Is Teasing Something 'Very Cool' For Game Pass This Month, Possibly Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 including the Phantom Liberty expansion, has been as low as £25 on the Xbox Store, @fatpunkslim, and can be bought for around £14 on code offering stores. It released in December 2020, so over 5 years ago now.
Star Wars: Outlaws released in August 2024, so was only just over a year old when it went on Game Pass.
It stands to reason that a game that is little more than a year old will see a much larger spike in new players than a game that is approaching 6 years old.
There will undoubtedly be some players that will not have played Cyberpunk 2077 for whatever reason, but I highly doubt it will see such a large influx of new players as Outlaws got.
One of the reasons that Outlaws will have received more new players will be down to the fact that with only a year having passed since its release, the bugs that people were complaining of will only just have been fixed, whereas with Cyberpunk 2077 not only were the bugs fixed several years back, but it has had a game changing expansion in the form of Phantom Liberty, which is not something that Outlaws has received. This means that people even remotely interested in Cyberpunk 2077 will have had reason to pick the game up in the intervening period between release and now...
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Gets Xbox Play Anywhere Tag Ahead Of Game Pass Launch
It looks as though you're going to be getting a big bonus here thanks to the Xbox Play Anywhere program.
Sorry to disagree with you, @Kezelpaso, but you need to add a huge caveat to whether or not this is indeed a big bonus, and that is whether you actually utilise Play Anywhere. In other words, this may well be a big bonus for the minority to whom this will apply, but for the majority, it being Play Anywhere is basically meaningless. I think its general importance is being blown out of all proportion.
Also, for those of us that already own the game, it being added to Game Pass is worthless. Great for everyone else though...
Re: DOOM: The Dark Ages Director Says Upcoming DLC Is 'Like A Sequel'
I'm looking forward to the DLC as I loved the game. I bought the Collector's Edition, so I think the DLC is included too, which is a bonus... 😉
Re: All New Games Coming To Xbox In March 2026
I will definitely be picking up Greedfall 2: The Dying World as I loved the first game, and with the troubles the publisher is going through, I want to show them my support by buying early (I would likely have done so anyway, but they need our money immediately at the moment, so I'm going to be giving them mine!).
I also want to see how Crimson Desert reviews, and hopefully the reviews will drop prior to its release so that I can make an informed decision...
Re: Opinion: Xbox Should Consider Cancelling Halo: Campaign Evolved For PS5
No worries, @themightyant. I wasn't sure whether I was reading your comment correctly... 😂
Re: 'Is Xbox Ending?' - The Official Answer Is No, But A Recent Interview Clearly Caused Panic
Absolutely, @FraserG. I've been with Xbox since day one when I walked into Game, here in Plymouth, and picked up my OG Xbox that I had pre-ordered with a £10 deposit! I so want them to succeed, but truthfully, I am one of those that has no confidence right now, and if I am lacking in confidence, then I am surely not alone.
The 25th anniversary should be a time of celebration, but right now, for me, it is a time of uncertainty. That is what Microsoft need to fix first; give us some certainty. What is the next console? Roughly when can we expect it? Narrow down timeframes in which games are going to be released, and tell us straight that we won't see any further increases in Game Pass pricing because right now, they seem to be doing more harm than good to the brand...
Re: 'Is Xbox Ending?' - The Official Answer Is No, But A Recent Interview Clearly Caused Panic
I don't believe that Sharma has been bought in to sunset Xbox, @FraserG, but the fact that so many people are searching whether Xbox is coming to an end does, at the very least, demonstrate the complete lack of confidence that people have in Xbox right now, and I would put money on it that at least some of those people that searched for this decided that Xbox was too much of a risk and bought a PlayStation instead.
The lack of consumer confidence is a genuine problem for Xbox, and whilst, as I said, I don't believe Sharma has been bought in to sunset Xbox, that is not the same as saying that she won't eventually have too.
I've said it many, many times now, but I think the PCBox will be too expensive, and prove to be too niche, and will sell only a couple of million within the first 3 years of release. That is then the point at which Sharma will sunset the Xbox console. Thus, if it does release next year, then around 2030 and Xbox, in terms of consoles at the very least, will come to an end...
Re: Opinion: Xbox Should Consider Cancelling Halo: Campaign Evolved For PS5
Is that billion or trillion, @themightyant...? 🤔
Re: Opinion: Xbox Should Consider Cancelling Halo: Campaign Evolved For PS5
Funny how we both referenced the genie analogy, @Weebleman. We are both singing from the same hymn sheet once again, and are clearly not naïve enough to believe that there is any going back now. The destination has been set, and for better or worse (probably worse!) we now have to sit back and either enjoy, or endure, the journey...
Re: Opinion: Xbox Should Consider Cancelling Halo: Campaign Evolved For PS5
Having just one game as a console exclusive, even if it is Halo, will not benefit Xbox in the slightest. It either has to be all, or nothing, and we know that Microsoft won't go for all.
Exclusives do sell consoles, but more importantly, they then draw people into an ecosystem. People will buy a console in order to play a particular exclusive (or several of them) and then buy third-party games too, which is where Microsoft will make the majority of their revenue.
Unless you have enough exclusives to make people want to buy into your ecosystem, then you may as well sell them on other consoles because we know that Game Pass eats into sales of first-party games on both Xbox and PC.
Honestly, it is too late now for Xbox, in terms of exclusives, and in terms of console sales. There is no putting the genie back into the bottle. The bean-counters will have seen how much revenue a title brings in on PlayStation as opposed to Xbox, and they will want more of it. Much more!
So, unless Microsoft want to reduce the revenue they get from selling their games on PlayStation (which we all know they won't), then Microsoft may as well continue down the destructive path they have set themselves on.
There ain't no turning back now...!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 28 - March 1)
I've not played SH2 yet, @ilyn, though I do own it. I have it for the Xbox, and have told myself that I must not double dip for the PlayStation because whilst there will be differences between the Pro and the Series X, they won't, on the whole, be sufficient to buy games again.
That said, I have already broken the rule once when I saw the remake of Dead Space at a ridiculous price on the PlayStation, and decided to get it again.
What can I say, I'm weak willed... 😂
Re: Resident Evil Requiem Matches 2025's GOTY In Top Metacritic User Ratings
I'm absolutely loving Requiem. Personally, I am probably enjoying it more than any of the past entries (each of which I have enjoyed to varying degrees, having played pretty much all of them now). It really is exceptionally good...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 28 - March 1)
I really enjoyed Returnal, @themightyant. It remains one of my favourite games of this generation, and indeed it was the very first game I played on my PS5 when it first launched in April of 2021, even though I had owned my PS5 since day one in November 2020.
I'll be there day one with Saros. Absolutely cannot wait for the game to drop...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 28 - March 1)
I started playing Resident Evil: Requiem last night, and it is the first game I have played on my Pro, which I have had for about two weeks now. I am using the Sony equivalent of the Elite controller, and I'm very impressed with the way you can feel things through the controller such as footsteps etc. The game looks beautiful and plays extremely well too...
Re: Poll: How Optimistic Are You Feeling About The Future Of Xbox?
Both the Horizon multiplayer, and Marathon are Live Service games, @fatpunkslim. I've said it many times before, but Live Service games are different; they need to reach the most people possible. That is why they are expanding beyond the PlayStation console. Also, in the case of Marathon, it was a contractual obligation on the purchase of Bungie, that their games would be multiplatform, so it's even less surprising to see Marathon on the Xbox.
The proof of the pudding will be whether Sony port any first-party solo experiences in the future. It is possible they are already preparing one or two titles to go to PC, so those may still come. Thus the real test will be whether they port the likes of Wolverine to PC next year. I suspect they won't be.
Also, I don't think it will be a 'huge loss of revenue' for Sony because last year PC revenue accounted for just 2% of all earnings. I would imagine that the cost of putting those games on PC would not be insignificant, and will have eaten into that 2% too, meaning they are not making a great deal from putting their games on PC, but are indeed possibly damaging their brand by doing so.
As I have said many times before though, none of these single-player games will come natively to the Xbox...
Re: Xbox Adds New 'Sort By' Options On The Microsoft Store, Including By Price & Discount
I noticed (and used this) on Wednesday.
My three biggest wishes are still not catered for:
1. I would most dearly like to be able to mark games that are of no interest to me so that they do not appear in any future sales. The amount of times I have to skip past exactly the same games each week that I simply do not want, and never will, is frankly ridiculous.
2. It matters not how good Harry Potter is, I only need to be buying it once! Please, for the love of God, don't show me games I already own. I will not be buying them more than once, so why bother showing them to me each flaming week?
3. Implement a system by which a game flashes up if it is on sale and is at a discounted point you are interested in, thus if you want to buy Harry Potter, but only when it is at a 50% discount, the store then only notifies you when it is at that discount point, or below.
As someone that owns over 1700 digital games on my Xbox, I would estimate that I probably own a good 10-20% of the games that go one sale each week. Add into that a further 50% that will never be of interest to me, no matter how often you show me them, and it means that when you have a 1000 games on sale, I'm probably going to skip past a good 70% of them, if not more, and scrolling through so many games, when you are not interested in the majority of them, just takes so long that you might just decide not to bother to look at all...
Re: Roundup: All The Biggest Xbox Reveals From IGN Fan Fest 2026
There were 4 games that have my attention from that list, though I am very unlikely to pre-order any of them because I need to see more of them before I commit to buying them. Still, having my attention is better than being ignored like the rest of them! 😂
The games I liked the look of were:
Mistfall Hunter, however I will need to have a better understanding of whether the solo experience is well done as I don't want to be social and play with others!
Necrophosis: Full Consciousness, The Shore, and Bellwright all look just a little bit janky, but I can overlook that if the gameplay is solid. I will probably need to see what others make of the games before I decide...
Re: Poll: How Optimistic Are You Feeling About The Future Of Xbox?
In fairness, @Cakefish, rumours that Sony were going to scale back their releases on PC began circulating late last year.
The one thing I would say is that when Helldivers 2 released on the Xbox, many people 0on here were saying that that was the beginning of Sony releasing ALL their games on to Xbox. I argued against this saying that it would only be Live Service games that would do so, and got shot down repeatedly. It now looks as if I was right all along.
People need to be a little more pessimistic, like me. That way they are less likely to be disappointed... 😂
Re: Poll: How Optimistic Are You Feeling About The Future Of Xbox?
Not optimistic in the slightest regarding Xbox 'consoles', nor Game Pass, but I am very confident that Microsoft will find great success as a publisher.
I am probably 80% certain that there will be another Xbox mostly because I think they are already in the process of making it, and that it will release next year.
I think we will see a PC like console, but that it will be more like a PC than a console. Some will like that, others not so much.
Allowing Steam on this new Xbox will basically lead to the downfall of Xbox in the console landscape. People will buy their games where they are cheapest, and cheapest is on Steam. Microsoft Store will bleed money as a consequence.
I think the PCBox will release in 2027, and about 3 years later it will become a collector's item because Microsoft will stop making, and selling them. I believe the PCBox will be too expensive for most, and also not quality enough for those that already game on a PC to want to acquire one. Enthusiasts, like myself, will buy one in the hope it can turn the tide, but I think we will be sorely disappointed when Microsoft make the device obsolete.
Around the same time Game Pass will do one of two things; it will either cease to exist, or it will metamorphosise into a first-party only service that will then be permitted to go on the PlayStation. Game Pass going first-party only could well happen far more quickly than anything else, and may well be one of the things that Sharma makes happen when she reviews everything.
I think it fair to say that I have been pretty consistent in my concerns for Xbox over these past few years, and the removal of Phil Spencer is, to my mind, a sign that the last bastion of hope for Xbox has been excised by Nadella, and things will now rapidly change for the worse.
I truly hope I am wrong because I bought the OG Xbox day one, and have bled green ever since. I have a digital library on my Series X that exceeds 1700 games. I have every reason to want to see Xbox succeed, but I honestly cannot see how it can with its current direction towards the ocean floor...
Re: The First Xbox Studios Release Of 2026 Is Here, And It's Been Vastly Reworked For Launch
It still looks pretty lacking to me, though in fairness I do not like side-scrollers anyway...
Re: Wolfenstein 3 'Casting Call' Reportedly Leaked, Performance Capture Set To Begin
Really looking forward to number 3. I have played them all, but the reboot has been the best thus far, followed closely by it's sequel.
Just have to hope that they are not doing a casting call for a Youngblood sequel, and that Beavis and Butthead (aka BJ's daughters) do not make return - like... ever!
Re: Video: Phil Spencer Introduces New Xbox Leader At Microsoft HQ
Totally agree, @Gemini53. Why would Nadella put an obstacle in his path...?
Re: Xbox Boss Explains Her Gamertag Activity, Says 'Faking Would Be A Terrible Idea'
Entirely agree, @Mr_RC. I'm not going to dismiss her out of hand, as some people have, but I absolutely will judge her on results, not contrived soundbites.
I hope she can turn this ship around. I have my doubts that she can, but I truly hope she can...
Re: Video: Phil Spencer Introduces New Xbox Leader At Microsoft HQ
I agree that people are judging Sharma on the wrong metric, @IOI. The fact that she has a couple of years in AI and/or lack of gaming credentials seems to be the focus of people's ire, but in doing so they are missing the fact that she has risen to the top of many companies and so clearly is a very capable person.
I do think it would have helped had she had some understanding of games, and the process of making games, but I do not think that it is the be all and end all. That said, if she goes by the Amy Hood mantra of ridiculous targets, then the games that Xbox does make are doomed to failure.
We just have to hope that she gets her priorities right when it comes to Xbox, and that she is willing to stand up to Nadella and Hood if required to do so. Unfortunately, I remain to be convinced of that bit because I highly doubt that Nadella will have put someone in the role that either does not share his vision, or who he will regularly but heads with.
Only time will tell, I guess, and I can only hope that I am wrong...
Re: Analyst Provides Interesting Data On How Well January's Big Game Pass Additions Performed
I think the real question is, how man new Xbox subscribers did this bring to Game Pass? Microsoft will have had to pay for these additions, and whilst it won't be as much as for a brand new game, it will still have cost them money, something that people with existing subscriptions are less likely to have contributed towards because they had already paid for their subscriptions.
Personally, I would far rather see Microsoft add one brand new third-party game to the service once a quarter, than 3 old or older games over the same time period, though that is probably because for me personally, these games added nothing because I already owned all 3 of them...
Re: Xbox Boss Questioned On Whether Exclusives Could Return In The Future
Sadly, I couldn't agree more, @Grumblevolcano. I think HMS Xbox has sailed, hit an iceberg and is rapidly taking in water. I don't think there is any bailing it out now, and it will probably sink without trace within the next 5 years.
I don't think the PCBox will save it, though I will probably get one because I'd like Xbox to succeed, and I want to have the best available Xbox. I think Microsoft will have much better fortune at playing publisher though, so long as they don't let AI get in the way...
Re: Xbox Boss Questioned On Whether Exclusives Could Return In The Future
It's all too late now, @Grumblevolcano, there is no saving Xbox in terms of console now. That ship has long sailed, and indeed sunk.
I think the next casualty, once the PCBox releases, and then Microsoft stop making them probably about 3 years later, will be Game Pass. I'll be shocked if Game Pass survives in its current guise for another 5 years. Indeed, I think a huge shake-up is on the cards within the next year or so, which is kind of mad when you consider that they have only just re-jigged them as is.
Game Pass has huge running costs, hence Microsoft being so aggressive with the pricing, but that aggressiveness has probably led to people either lowering the tier to which they are subscribed, or quitting altogether, which then has the opposite affect to what Microsoft wanted when they raised the price; it will be bringing in still less money than it did before, which puts the service in great jeopardy...
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Critics Think Of Resident Evil Requiem
I bought the Deluxe version as the very first game to play on my Pro, @OldGamer999. The sad thing is I could have bought the same version for £5 cheaper on the Xbox. I very nearly didn't get it on the PlayStation for that reason, but then I just thought about all the enhancements it has apparently got on the Pro, and I wanted to try it for myself...
Re: Xbox Boss Questioned On Whether Exclusives Could Return In The Future
I've seen reports lately that suggested that the 'This is an Xbox' campaign had basically the opposite affect to what Microsoft wanted, @moodmatcha. It did not resonate with people not already invested in Xbox, so they did not sign up, and indeed, it rankled existing Xbox gamers many of whom have actually left the ecosystem as they saw it as meaning there was no longer need to remain with Xbox. These reports put the blame for the campaign with Bond, and it was apparently a source of tension between Bond and Spencer. How true any of that is I am not entirely certain, but we certainly seem to be seeing less of the campaign at the moment...
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Critics Think Of Resident Evil Requiem
I've just bought the Deluxe Edition and am really looking forward to play the game. Just need to finish Code Vein 2 first...
Re: Review: Resident Evil Requiem (Xbox) - Capcom Delivers A Masterful Mix Of Action & Horror
Excellent review, @Kezelpaso. I am very much looking forward to the game, but I am not a huge fan of creeping around trying to avoid enemies, or indeed, those sections you sometimes get where you have no option but to run. I think I probably find them a bit stressful, which I think is probably the aim, but I don't find that particularly enjoyable. I am much happier when I am killing stuff. Maybe that speaks to a hidden character flaw... 😂
Re: Xbox Boss Questioned On Whether Exclusives Could Return In The Future
I don't disagree with what you say at all, @moodmatcha. I think the issue is that if you have that mindset, and you are choosing to buy your first console, you are undoubtedly going to buy a PlayStation and not an Xbox.
I'm not saying you are wrong in what you say, just that if one console has exclusives and gets every game available on console, and another does not, then it makes sense to buy the former, and not the latter...
Re: Xbox Boss Questioned On Whether Exclusives Could Return In The Future
I absolutely understand where you are coming from, @Globo, as I too am heavily invested in Xbox to the tune of having over 1700 digital games!
Unlike yourself, I have a Switch, a PS5 Pro and a gaming PC, so unless it is only a Switch 2 game, I have all bases covered.
I think the truth is it is already too late for Xbox (in terms of consoles, and probably Game Pass too), but that is really the point of my reply to you; I don't think the Xbox console can survive without having exclusives.
Time will tell, and I really hope that I am wrong...
Re: Xbox Boss Questioned On Whether Exclusives Could Return In The Future
My opinion is as follows:
When Phil Spencer said that exclusives were important, he was absolutely right. Xbox only began porting games to the PC after the disastrous launch of the Xbox One, and only began to port games to PlayStation because of the dismal sales of the Series consoles, and because Game Pass cannibalises games sales no matter what anyone might try to tell you to the contrary.
If you pay for a months worth of Game Pass, that costs you £20, and then you play a new release that would have had to otherwise buy for £70, then Game Pass has immediately cost Microsoft £50. It's basic maths, and it always shocks me when people try to suggest that Game Pass does lose Microsoft money when it comes to first-party sales.
I know a lot of people would be unhappy at the idea of Microsoft removing day one games, as for a lot of people it is one of the big attractions to Game Pass. However, Microsoft are in the position where they can only do one of three things; keep putting their games everywhere day one, or raise the price of Game Pass, or fundamentally change Game Pass. Microsoft are already doing the first of those two, and I personally do not think it is bringing enough revenue to enable them to continue to doing it this way, plus of course, as they keep raising the price of Game Pass, people are either dropping to the more affordable tier or they are quitting the service altogether, which then means that Game Pass becomes even less sustainable. Something significant has to happen if Xbox (in terms of consoles and Game Pass) is to survive...
Re: Xbox Boss Questioned On Whether Exclusives Could Return In The Future
I have no issue with people playing the games, @Globo, and that is not the point. The point is that exclusives are one of the main draws that bring people into a particular ecosystem.
Right now, if you want to play on a console, and you want to play Sony's exclusives, you have no option but to buy a PlayStation. If you want to play games made by Microsoft, you can play on an Xbox, a PlayStation or maybe even the Switch.
What that means is that if you only wish to buy one console, then your best bet is to buy a PlayStation because you get everything (Nintendo exclusive aside).
That is why exclusives are important, and if a PlayStation gamer really wants to play a game that is exclusive to Xbox then they have the option of buying an Xbox. So it is not like people that game on other consoles cannot play them.
Personally, I would make every game made by Microsoft (where they are legally allowed to do so) exclusive to the Xbox for a specified period of 5 years. So if you really do not want to buy an Xbox, and are a patient person, you can just wait for that period of exclusivity to end...
Re: Talking Point: You're The New Head Of Xbox, What Do You Do Now?
The simple answer is there are no simple answers because I honestly believe that so much damage has been done to the brand, that there is now no chance of saving it. Effectively, the Xbox Titanic, has already hit the iceberg and is taking in water. It's going down, and nothing is going to stop it.
With that said the things I think might help are as follows (and I know they will not all be popular (but they will not happen anyway, so don't get too upset!)):
Re: Seven Amazing Things Phil Spencer Did During His Reign As Head Of Xbox
I absolutely concur with both your article, @Kezelpaso and your comments, @FraserG. I think Spencer will be fondly remembered by most Xbox fans, and I believe he should also be credited with literally having stopped Nadella from leaving the console space following the awful Xbox One launch. Without Spencer's intervention, Xbox would not exist right now.
I believe that it was the ABK acquisition that was his undoing, and just who thought it was a good idea, I'm not absolutely certain, but it definitely coincided with things changing for the worse at Xbox. Where we would be right now, without that acquisition, it's impossible to say, but it was the point in time that Nadella chose to engage more closely with Xbox, and where things began to go very wrong.
Personally, I don't think anyone can write the ship that Xbox once was. The genie is out of the bottle, and pretty much intent on finishing off the brand (in terms of consoles, at least)...
Re: 'Return To Our Roots' - Xbox CEO Reiterates Her Goals For The Future
Returning to our roots is such a great soundbite, and is exactly what us gamers want to hear.
However, we all know that it will not happen! We know that Microsoft will not return to exclusivity as a way to sell consoles. We know they will not reduce the pricing of console nor Game Pass.
So what that does that leave? It leaves us basically exactly as things are right now. Expensive consoles, the most expensive subscription service, no exclusives, and no real reason to own an Xbox unless you play a lot of Game Pass titles.
The more I think about it the more I do believe that Microsoft will release the PCBox, but it will be a device that does not offer us the ability to access our already owned games unless we stream them, except, of course, for those few Play Anywhere titles that we might own.
What I expect in the latter half of this year and beyond is further price increases for consoles and Game Pass, job losses, studio closures, and eventually the sunsetting of Xbox consoles two or three years after the release of the PCBox.
Likely as not we will also see Microsoft walking back from its commitment to day one first-party games on Game Pass too, with Ultimate potentially being scrapped altogether, and Premium getting those day one games 6 months later.
Personally, I really like the things that Sharma (or her PR department!) are saying, but as much as I like what she is saying, I need to see actions to back up that which she is saying. I truly believe that she should be given the benefit of the doubt, and the chance to prove herself. Nothing in her résumé says that she is not a capable person, and I think people focussing on her AI past are missing the point; her having an AI past is not the issue in itself, it's that she and Nadella may have a shared vision, and whether that will benefit us Xbox gamers in the long run. My problem is that I do not trust Nadella, as I believe he is responsible for many of the woes Xbox is currently facing right now, and if he and Sharma are on the same page, particularly as far as AI goes, then I am not convinced things will go well.
I want Sharma, and Xbox, to succeed, and am very much rooting for her. Time will tell whether she can deliver on her words, I just have to hope that she will...
Re: Xbox Boss Explains Her Gamertag Activity, Says 'Faking Would Be A Terrible Idea'
I think Nadella just wore Spencer down over the past two years, @FatGuyInLilCoat, to the point where, on those increasingly rare occasions we saw him, Spencer just looked defeated. Gone was the infectious enthusiasm, and the smile, replaced with a thinning and pretty grim looking ghost of his former self.
I think in the past 6 months or so, Spencer was just going through the motions, and waving through the directives from above, so in that sense, he was no longer standing between Xbox and Nadella/Hood. So yes, he probably was not doing a great job during that time because Nadella had won, and Spencer knew there was no point in trying to defend Xbox any longer.
Rumours are that he was being undermined by Bond too, with her going above his head whenever Spencer said no to her. Whether that is true or not, we will probably never know, as I bet both Bond and Spencer are tied up in so many NDA's they won't be able to utter a word on the subject.
As for Sharma standing up for Xbox more than Spencer did in recent months, I find that highly doubtful because Nadella will have promoted her for a reason, and that is because they will both be singing the same tune. He will not want to have inserted an obstacle into his plans.
What will unfold over the next few months will seal people's opinion of Sharma, but my betting is that we will probably be unimpressed not because she is not capable, but because we won't like the direction of travel; price increases for consoles and Game Pass, job losses, studio closures, and eventually sunsetting of Xbox consoles. Likely as not we will also see Microsoft walking back from its commitment to day one first-party games on Game Pass too, with Ultimate potentially being scrapped altogether, and Premium getting those day one games 6 months later. All this will not all happen immediately, but after 6 months to 2 years things will look very different at Xbox, and I don't think we gamers will view it particularly positively...
Re: Xbox Boss Explains Her Gamertag Activity, Says 'Faking Would Be A Terrible Idea'
But was that most people, @Lanmanna. or just a loud minority? I'd like to think it was the latter...
Re: Xbox Boss Explains Her Gamertag Activity, Says 'Faking Would Be A Terrible Idea'
I have seen rumours that in fact Bond and Spencer were butting heads in recent months/ years, @FatGuyInLilCoat, and that Spencer would say no to something, and then Bond would go above his head to Nadella.
I personally, believe that Spencer has been undermined by Nadella in particular, but the rumours now circulating suggest that he was being undermined by Bond too.
I find it is difficult to believe that Spencer, with the position he held, to be saying one thing one month, and then a month or two doing the complete opposite. If Spencer had complete control, he would say one thing one month, and the next month it would happen.
You also have to remember that Spencer went completely radio silent for a few months when decisions he had told us about were reneged upon, and I don't think he was just hiding, I think he was no on board with what was happening because he was not the one making the decisions.
Just look at Spencer's appearance and body language over the past few months and you could see a man that had lost a lot of weight, and it was clear he was broken, which is why I was saying last year that he would be gone this year.
Did Spencer make some poor decisions? Yes! He was way too hands off when it comes to the studios under his watch, and he should have cracked the whip more. However, when it comes to many of the decisions he made, he was given no alternative by Nadella. If you take the closure of Tango Gameworks, for example, it was almost certainly Spencer that made that decision, but it will have been the likes of Hood and Nadella that told him that savings had to be made, and if a studio was not hitting the required profit margins then they had to be gone. Spencer was the one to wield the hammer and who chose where it struck, but it was Nadella and Hood that handed him the hammer and told him it had to be used...
Re: Xbox Boss Explains Her Gamertag Activity, Says 'Faking Would Be A Terrible Idea'
I do think that Sharma may have been bought in to sunset Xbox consoles and Game Pass, @InterceptorAlpha, and also trim those studios that do not bring in huge revenue (such as Double Fine), and also oversee layoffs in the name of getting Xbox ready for the future. I am 60/40 on whether the PCBox will see the light of day, and am erring on the side that it will, but I also think that it will be the last Xbox ever made, and after that it will just be the Xbox OEM through which Xbox lives on.
I think that Sharma will oversee a further price hike in Game Pass, probably a month or two after the June showcase. Plus I believe that she will completely revamp, or flat-out cancel, Ultimate, and probably remove all the first-party day one releases from the service. I think this is what Xbox has been preparing for with their renewed focus on Premium, which many people believe to be the best tier now for the money.
In other words, get rid of Ultimate, and push people on to Premium instead, and if they want to play the next Fable or E-Day, then they can either buy it day one, or they can play it on Premium 6 months later. What Microsoft will probably do is say something like if you have a years worth of Ultimate, they will convert that to two years of Premium (maybe more so that they can be seen as being a little more generous). If Microsoft do attempt this though, I can see a lot of people feeling pretty peeved because for many people, they subscribed to Ultimate precisely for those day one first-party game releases, and having the game 6 months later won't cut it. How Microsoft approach this will be interesting to see...
Re: Xbox Boss Explains Her Gamertag Activity, Says 'Faking Would Be A Terrible Idea'
I agree there will be an element of the community that will believe it is her race or sex that has earned her the position, @Scrubchub. I am not naïve enough to believe otherwise, but I do think (or at least hope) the number of people that think that way is relatively small.
I have seen reports that Nadella likes to promote people of colour, and females because he believes that it looks good for Microsoft, but unless he says as much himself (which he won't!), then I think we have to accept that there is no evidence of this, and that he is in fact promoting people based on their abilities.
I 100% believe that Nadella has promoted Sharma because he believes her to be very capable, but also because they have a shared belief in AI, and that she will do as he asks, which Spencer only did under protest.
I think we need to wait and see what Sharma achieves, before we can say whether or not she will be successful as right now we have no idea how she will get on. She needs to be given the opportunity to prove herself, and her race or sex should play no part in that...