The difference, @Seioni, is that Yotei is a first-party Sony game, and Shadows is a third-party game. The reason this is of interest is precisely because Microsoft do not make this kind of game...
I had already read the Push article, @BacklogBrad, and was wondering whether that was what you were referring too.
Personally I think people are projecting what they want this icon to mean, rather than waiting to see what it actually means. It could be far from what people are speculating it to be...
When people cite a reason to own an Xbox, they most often say that it is because of Game Pass (whether they still would, after the recent price hikes, is maybe less certain now), but what system seller games does Xbox have these days?
If it were not for Game Pass, and you had to buy those games you want to play, what games does Microsoft produce that are only available on the Xbox that would see you buying their console?
With their push to put all their games on the PlayStation, what length of exclusivity is long enough that would see you opt for Xbox over the PlayStation? 6 months, 12 months, two years?
If you look at Microsoft's output in recent times, it has been pretty decent, but if you then look at those games they have put out, but which have not also released on the PlayStation, would those remaining games be of a quality that you would buy an Xbox over a PlayStation? So we are thinking games such as Avowed and South of Midnight here. Are they of a quality that you would buy and Xbox instead of a PlayStation?
The reason I say all of this is because I really cannot see a single game that Microsoft makes, that is not multiplatform, that I would consider to be a system seller in the vein of Ghost of Yotei, which you can easily see as a game that would make you want to buy a PlayStation.
In other words, were it not for Game Pass, then Xbox would be in far more trouble with their console than they currently are, and then they go and make the value of Game Pass questionable. What on Earth are Microsoft thinking...?
Ghost of Yotei @Titntin is pretty much perfect in my eyes. I really enjoyed it, and as much as I love many of the AAA games that Microsoft put out, Microsoft never put anything out that has the cinematic quality of these type of Sony experiences. Indeed, if we were to use Ghost of Yotei as the benchmark by which Microsoft games were compared, and gave Ghost of Yotei a 10, I don't think Microsoft ever put out a game that would score above an 8.
Don't misunderstand me, I do enjoy my Xbox games, and I play most of them, but they do not have that same quality as these Sony games do. If you were to equate them to cars, then it would be like Microsoft putting out a Porche, and then Sony putting out an Aston Martin. Nothing wrong with the Porche, but the Aston Martin is better still...
Ghost of Yotei is the second most enjoyable game I have played this year, and I thought it pretty much perfect. The only other game that I have enjoyed more this year is Cronos: The new Dawn, with Expedition 33 probably coming in a close third, although I flip back and forth between choosing Expedition 33 and Hell Is Us as my third favourite game this year.
Without a doubt the music in Expedition 33 is by far the best soundtrack this year. Indeed, I often find myself wondering whether it would have received quite so much praise had the music been more forgettable.
Regardless, it has been a fantastic few months for gaming...
Yes, @ILuvGames, they say that the first step to recovery is to acknowledge the problem. I think I can say that I have done that, but whether I can stop buying games is another matter. I am genuinely trying to buy fewer games, and am succeeding to some extent, but still I find that I have bought games this years that I am still to play.
As an example, these are the games that released this year, that I have bought this year, having pre-ordered each of them, but not yet played:
Assassin's Creed: Mirage Collector's Edition
Assassin's Creed: Shadows Collector's Edition
The First Berzerker: Khazan Deluxe Edition
The Talos Principle: Reawakened
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Borderlands 4 Ultimate Edition
Dying Light: The Beast
Silent Hill f
I bought each and every one of them with the best of intentions of playing them pretty soon after purchase (well, maybe not Borderlands 4, which I decided to wait for all the DLC for). However, because I am always playing something else that I have recently bought, I just cannot find the time.
I have also bought another 7 AAA games by way of pre-order, which I have completed, and am also part way through The Outer Worlds 2 (which I also bought).
Anyway, I like to think that I am singlehandedly keeping the games industry in business... 😂
It's just that I have so many games to be getting on with, @ElectricWizard. I buy a lot of games, and have a truly enormous amount of games that I own, but have not played. I have over 1600 games that I have bought in my digital library, and to my immense shame, I would estimate that I have not played half of them, and probably half of those I bought at full price too...
I voted for Ghost of Yotei, but only because I was not able to vote for Cronos: The New Dawn, which to my mind is a shocking, and very disappointing, omission. For me, Cronos is easily the game of the year. Twas so good...
Could you please enlighten me as to what a private server allows that the game otherwise does not, @Jenkinss & @GeeEssEff? Is it that you can create a world that other people can access when you are not around, whereas it would be one persons save that people will be accessing in this instance...?
I think you are right, @Questionable_Duck. I have a feeling that the sequel was on the 360, though I never discovered the games until I bought a PC after the disastrous Xbox One reveal.
I always hoped that they would make a Sanctum 3, and release it on console, but they have spent years working on Satisfactory instead.
I think I will buy Satisfactory, because I always like to support my favourite studios and franchises. Whether I wait for a sale or buy it day one, I'm not yet sure, as I don't know enough about the game right now...
Still should have finished the second trilogy rather than just leaving it hanging, and I think we can probably thank Hood and Nadella's decision to bring the franchise to the PlayStation for that.
It is easier to give the PlayStation gamer a game that, chronologically, is the first in the series, than either porting 4 and 5, and then making 6, or just trying to give them 6.
Truth is I don't think I'll ever get a resolution for the second trilogy, because even if Microsoft do decide to make 6, chances are that they won't look to do that for well over a decade, and my chances of being around then are somewhat bleak...
I never, ever thought of Gears of War as being a horror game, or even having horror elements. I just saw it as a third-person shooter with some sci-fi elements, and enemies that were different to the norm...
I am intrigued by this game because I really like Coffee Stain Studios as I loved their previous games Sanctum 1 & 2. Indeed, I uploaded a few video guides of me soloing some of the levels in Sanctum 2, showing how to complete them. They are designed as team co-operative games, so completing them solo is exceptionally difficult. I really do recommend them to people that enjoy Tower Defence games as they are amongst the most fun out there, and can be played co-operatively, and have first-person shooter elements too.
Anyway, I am particularly interested to see what Satisfactory is like...
I guarantee you that AI will be involved in the making of GTA 6, @themcnoisy, but I never for one moment suggested that the game could be made entirely by AI. Will that be possible at some point? Almost undoubtedly, give it a couple of decades or so, and complete games can, and will, be made by AI. However, right now, AI is not yet accurate enough to make a game all on its own.
When it comes to GTA 6 though, I would think that things like crowds of people will have their appearances done by AI. So it will be tasked to make most people in a crowd look different, so different races, different sexes, different sizes (fat, slim etc.), and different clothing. That particular task is something left to AI because they can fill a world and make it look bustling, whereas developers take so long to do it that they end up putting far fewer people into the world, and having more and more of them looking pretty much identical.
So don't be fooled by Strauss Zelnick into thinking that AI won't be being used in GTA 6. It won't be making the game, but it will undoubtedly be being used...
Finally beat him after around 5 hours of trying, @Sol4ris. I had to keep shifting my strategy, and use different weapons at different stages, and keep moving to certain parts of the room in order to take him down, but I eventually did it. Now I just have to hope that I am better prepared for the next boss fight, or hope that he was the most difficult one, which does sometimes happen, right...? 😂
Some of the fights lasted around 2 minutes, but many ended after just a few seconds. I dread to think how many times I died.
Anyway, onwards and upwards, my Very Hard run continues intact to the next planet...
Thank you! It's taken me 26 hours to hit level 10, @Sol4ris, and there is nothing more that I can do to level up any further right now, but man this boss is proving a nightmare! I'm determined to beat him without reducing the difficulty, so I maybe here a while yet... 😂
Thanks, @Sol4ris. I am absolutely, definitely, no doubt, playing on Very Hard (it says so on each of my saves), and I am struggling like a mother fumbler against the final boss of the first planet. I have so far spent 4 hours trying to beat him. So, yep! Definitely Very Hard... 😂
Yes, if only, @OldGamer999! I love Dead Space, it is one of my favourite franchises of all time. I have beaten each one of them solo (in the case of the third game) on the hardest difficulty, and rinsed each one of them for every achievement. I just wish we would see more entries
I am intrigued by Satisfactory because I love Coffee Stain Studios as they made Sanctum 1 & 2, which I used to play with a couple of friends, and I also beat a few of their maps solo on the hardest difficulty, which I then posted on YouTube as guides.
I know Satisfactory is a popular game, it's just that I'm not sure it's a game for me. Maybe I'll pick it up in a sale at some point...
I'm currently level 9 in Outer Worlds 2 on a Very Hard run, and very much enjoying the game.
I have also completed one Master Horde as a trio in Gears 5 yesterday, and failed another on Wave 40 today. Plan is to have another stab at one tomorrow. Absolutely loving the challenge of having just 3 people in a mode that is supposed to have 5. Master is difficult with 5, so with 3 it is uber-hard...
I'm glad I held off buying it on the PlayStation, as I hoped it would come to my preferred platform. It will be a pre-order purchase for me, but like @Lup, I also hope that they don't try squeezing us for a full priced release...
Whilst I partly agree with you, @HonestHick, both Sony and Microsoft do still want to sell consoles. Sony want to poach as many Xbox gamers as possible, and they can do that by both releasing an attractive console that is priced effectively against the PCBox, and so they are competing in that regard. Sony can also do that by making compelling games, games that Xbox gamers want to play thus attracting them to the PlayStation. Sony want you to buy third-party games on their platform, and not the Xbox or the PC, so again, they are competing with Microsoft in that regard.
As for other forms of entertainment, Sony and Microsoft have always been in competition with them. That will never, ever change. However, again, both companies are competing against one another to win those people over and on to their platforms. Sony do not win if someone gives us watching TikTok and buys an Xbox! Microsoft can win if the situation is reversed by virtue of their games being on the PlayStation, but even then they would far rather those people joined Xbox instead.
Upshot is that both companies do still regard each other as competition, and they are also competing with every other pastime out there...
The difficulty you choose is always a personal preference, @OldGamer999. I like a challenge, and I'm a bit of a masochist, which is why I chose Very Hard. I always feel that playing a game on a harder difficulty adds a certain dimension to it wherein you have to be a little more cautious, plan and consider your actions.
That said, when I do my first run in a game like Gears of War, I always go in on the second hardest difficulty first, rather than straight in on Insane, because I know I am going to go through it at least twice. It's much the same with Outer Worlds 2 where there are so many choices and consequences that you need to go through the game more than once in order to see all there is to see.
Has to be said, I am thoroughly enjoying the game right now...
That's cool, @RiverGenie. 50 hours is pretty good going seems as the game has not been out that long. I take it that, like me, you bought the Premium Edition?
I currently 22 hours in, but had to take it back an hour when I realised I was supposed to help a bunch of people, and not kill them! Wouldn't so bad but I had died over and over again trying to kill them all, and I was down to only a couple left when I realised my mistake, and had to take it back again... 😂
Wow, @RiverGenie! How on Earth have you already completed one playthrough? I am 20 hours in, exploring slowly as I go, and having to pick the enemies off really carefully. I don't know how many planets there are as I am still on the first one!
I'm playing on Very Hard, and frequently getting my butt kicked and having to restart a battle, which may go some way to explaining my slow progress.
What difficulty did you play on?
I am keen to go through it more than once, but once I'm done with Very Hard, I will be taking it down a notch for my future playthroughs...
Outer Worlds 2 for me for two reasons, firstly, it is an absolutely superb game, and secondly, it's the only game from that list that I have played this month*, though even then I bought it for the Xbox, rather than played it on Game Pass. That does still count, doesn't it... 😂
*Also, I have played both Hogwarts Legacy and Evil West before when they first released. Both excellent games, it's just been ages since I played them...
I cannot imagine that some of the basics and repetitive tasks are not carried out by AI. Why would you pay someone for something that can be easily, accurately and more quickly be done by AI? The last part of that is even more important; why pay someone to undertake a task that they may occasionally get wrong, when it can be done precisely by AI in an incredibly shorter time?
These companies are out to make as much money from their product as they can, and if that means replacing someone with AI that can undertake the task in a fraction of the time, then you can absolutely bet they will be doing so. AI can work 24 hours a day, no burnout, no crunch, no complaints, no union rights! You can absolutely see why AI is an attractive proposition to developers. That's not to say that I necessarily like it, but I can absolutely see why they would...
I entirely agree, @Stoned_Patrol. I was actually surprised that it was not showing as a Game Pass title because I too thought that it was originally planned as such. Assuming that it doesn't come immediately to Game Pass, I think it will at some point. Then it's just a question of whether I opt to buy it first, or wait.
Personally I always prefer to buy my games anyway, but with this one I think I will at least wait for the reviews for taking the plunge. It does look incredibly good, but because it so different from other games, I feel like reviews will be important in this case...
No worries, @Gabrie, and I meant no offence. I would also add that I speak no other languages, so I never cease to be impressed when someone is able to write a coherent comment in a language that is not their own...
I'm not interested in the Deluxe version here. Not just for a few cosmetics.
What really surprises me though is the price. It seems that the cost of the standard version is cheaper than the previous game. Does that indicate that this is a smaller title?
Is there no Collector's Edition, @Kezelpaso? Thanks...
That's not quite right, @Gabrie, if I am reading your comment correctly.
In simple mathematics, if in 2023 Microsoft sold 100 consoles, and in 2024 they sold 30% fewer consoles, then they only sold 70 consoles in 2024. If, in 2025, they then sold 30% fewer again, then in 2025 they actually sold 49 consoles. So you can see that over the course of two years the drop in sales is around 50%.
Obviously they are actually talking about revenue from console sales, so it is more difficult to work out how many consoles were sold (in percentage terms) because that drop of 30% in revenue raised from console sales comes despite Microsoft having drastically increased the cost of a console. The net result though is clear; in the space of two years, the sales of the Xbox console has decreased by more than 50%. Indeed, it is probably much more than that, which is pretty dire, albeit that we are heading towards the end of the generation.
The last thing I would mention is that Xbox console sales have been declining since at least 2022, so it can be seen that the situation is actually getting far worse each year...
I too was using TikTok as an example, @fatpunkslim, I fully appreciate that they really meant any other form of entertainment. However the same issue still applies, how do you know when someone has been converted from any other form of entertainment into a MAU? Yes, MAU can go up or down, but what's to say that is because it's a new user, or someone leaving?
As an example, every day that I play on my Xbox is counted individually. I am the same person every single day, but I am counted as 30 days in a month. However, if I go on holiday for a month, then the MAU goes down by 30. When I return, it goes up by 30, that's how it works. And if someone sells their PlayStation, and buys an Xbox, and games every day, then PlayStation's MAU will go down, and Xbox's goes up.
My point is, if he had simply said, "we need to grow our MAUs, and how much they spend", then fine, but it's ridiculous to say that PlayStation is not competition for Xbox because it absolutely is! If someone is gaming solely on a PlayStation (and not playing an Xbox game) then Microsoft want them to come over to Xbox just as much as they want someone to stop watching TikTok, in fact that is probably preferable to them as someone leaving PlayStation means Sony lose an MAU, and Xbox gains one.
That is the crux of what I am saying; it is disingenuous to say that PlayStation is not competition because it absolutely is, and more importantly it is something that can be easily compared and evaluated, whereas it is impossible to say whether a person has weaned themselves off TikTok and become an Xbox user. Yes, you can say you've added one more MAU, but it is impossible to say what they were doing prior joining Xbox.
Truthfully though, even the term MAU is misleading because it is not just about the number of people you have using your systems because if Microsoft have 500 million people as MAU's and they all spend just $1 a month, then that amounts to $500 million a month. However, if Sony have 100 million MAU's and they all spend $10 a month, then they are bringing in $1000 million a month. The point being that even MAU's is a misleading metric in itself...
So wait, Xbox may as well give up and forget about gaming, @HonestHick? Yes, those watching Tik Tok, and not gaming, is someone lost to the gaming industry, but then so are those that are keen sportsman, or busy helping charities, or holding down 2 or 3 jobs etc.. There have always been competing interests for... well, everything!
However, to say that PlayStation is not their competitor is utterly ridiculous, because if, God forbid, someone decides they no longer want to watch Tik Tok, and want to game instead, then suddenly PlayStation is very much the competitor to Xbox.
Microsoft may as well have said their competitors are football supporters, or those that watch baseball, or those that watch any sport, because that also has 100s of millions of people engaged in that, often to the exclusion of gaming.
Ultimately, yes, gaming wants fewer people on Tik Tok, and more of them playing video games, but the win for Microsoft in that scenario is if they choose Xbox. Choosing PlayStation is them choosing their direct competitor.
Basically, just because these bigwigs are saying that Tik Tok and social media are a threat to gaming, does not mean that they do not want their own, individual, divisions to grow, and whilst as an entire industry, you can see whether gaming is growing or not, who is to say that the person that joins PlayStation, or Xbox, or Nintendo, has decided to stop watching Tik Tok? Or, indeed, if fewer people are gaming, are they all suddenly Tik Tok converts?
My point is that Microsoft can measure how well they are doing up against their closes competitor in PlayStation, how well their games are selling, where the majority of third-party games are played, how their MAU compare, but how on Earth does Microsoft know when someone quits watching Tik Tok in order to become a gamer? Effectively Microsoft have deliberately stopped comparing their stats with PlayStation because the stats are not favourable, and chosen to go with something that is completely immeasurable because that way they cannot fail the metric...
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, @awp69, but tell me this, how will they know when they have done that? When you compare how many consoles you have sold, you can see how you are doing up against your competitors. When you compare where a third-party game is being played, you have stats for that too. When you compare MAUs, you can see how you are doing when compared to the likes of PlayStation. How do you know when you have stopped someone watching Tik Tok, and converted them into an Xbox gamer? And that goes to my point, Microsoft have moved away from statistics that show how they are doing, and over to something that cannot be measured. You cannot fail at something, when there is no proof one way or another...
I absolutely agree with you, @Coletrain. There are always other things that compete with how you occupy your time, and honestly, I think this is Microsoft basically admitting that they have lost the competition against the PlayStation, and so are telling us that they no longer see that as competition so that they can attempt to move the conversation along.
Why have they picked Tik Tok as their target now though? My guess is because you cannot lose against something you cannot actually compete against. PlayStation versus Xbox is something measurable. Xbox versus Tik Tok is not. Someone playing a game on the PlayStation rather than the Xbox is measurable. However, someone watching a video on Tik Tok might never have even considered playing a game at all, let alone Xbox, so how do you compare the two?
It's a ridiculous and false narrative that Microsoft are spouting here. Yes, I'm sure that Microsoft would love to convert people from Tik Tok to Xbox, but they would probably have a better chance of persuading someone to depart PlayStation for Xbox...
I for one hope that the PCBox comes resplendent with a Blu-ray player, @fatpunkslim, because every now and again the Collector's Editions I buy come complete with a disc (Doom: The Dark Ages, for example), but also because whilst I buy 99% of my games digitally, I buy 95% of the films that I watch on a Blu-ray (mostly 4k). I have around a 1000 Blu-rays, and really do not want to invest in another device beneath my television just for the purposes of watching films...
"At the end of the day, console has an experience that is unparalleled. It delivers performance that is unparalleled, that pushes, I think, the system forward."
...so the next console we make will be a PC...! 😂
Well I know he said things that were never quite achieved, but I honestly don't think he set out to deceive. He was simply overenthusiastic. I've always liked him and his love of gaming, so as far as I am concerned, he doesn't really need redemption, though if he feels he does, then I honestly hope that he finds it with this project.
Personally, I loved Fable, and so I really look forward to seeing what he produces next. If it reviews well enough, I might even be tempted to try it out in Early Access on Steam...
Comments 3,754
Re: Xbox Is Questioning Fans About PS5 Game 'Ghost Of Yotei' In New Survey
The difference, @Seioni, is that Yotei is a first-party Sony game, and Shadows is a third-party game. The reason this is of interest is precisely because Microsoft do not make this kind of game...
Re: Xbox Is Questioning Fans About PS5 Game 'Ghost Of Yotei' In New Survey
I had already read the Push article, @BacklogBrad, and was wondering whether that was what you were referring too.
Personally I think people are projecting what they want this icon to mean, rather than waiting to see what it actually means. It could be far from what people are speculating it to be...
Re: Xbox Is Questioning Fans About PS5 Game 'Ghost Of Yotei' In New Survey
Where have you seen that, @BacklogBrad...?
Re: Xbox Is Questioning Fans About PS5 Game 'Ghost Of Yotei' In New Survey
When people cite a reason to own an Xbox, they most often say that it is because of Game Pass (whether they still would, after the recent price hikes, is maybe less certain now), but what system seller games does Xbox have these days?
If it were not for Game Pass, and you had to buy those games you want to play, what games does Microsoft produce that are only available on the Xbox that would see you buying their console?
With their push to put all their games on the PlayStation, what length of exclusivity is long enough that would see you opt for Xbox over the PlayStation? 6 months, 12 months, two years?
If you look at Microsoft's output in recent times, it has been pretty decent, but if you then look at those games they have put out, but which have not also released on the PlayStation, would those remaining games be of a quality that you would buy an Xbox over a PlayStation? So we are thinking games such as Avowed and South of Midnight here. Are they of a quality that you would buy and Xbox instead of a PlayStation?
The reason I say all of this is because I really cannot see a single game that Microsoft makes, that is not multiplatform, that I would consider to be a system seller in the vein of Ghost of Yotei, which you can easily see as a game that would make you want to buy a PlayStation.
In other words, were it not for Game Pass, then Xbox would be in far more trouble with their console than they currently are, and then they go and make the value of Game Pass questionable. What on Earth are Microsoft thinking...?
Re: Xbox Is Questioning Fans About PS5 Game 'Ghost Of Yotei' In New Survey
Ghost of Yotei @Titntin is pretty much perfect in my eyes. I really enjoyed it, and as much as I love many of the AAA games that Microsoft put out, Microsoft never put anything out that has the cinematic quality of these type of Sony experiences. Indeed, if we were to use Ghost of Yotei as the benchmark by which Microsoft games were compared, and gave Ghost of Yotei a 10, I don't think Microsoft ever put out a game that would score above an 8.
Don't misunderstand me, I do enjoy my Xbox games, and I play most of them, but they do not have that same quality as these Sony games do. If you were to equate them to cars, then it would be like Microsoft putting out a Porche, and then Sony putting out an Aston Martin. Nothing wrong with the Porche, but the Aston Martin is better still...
Re: Xbox Is Questioning Fans About PS5 Game 'Ghost Of Yotei' In New Survey
Ghost of Yotei is the second most enjoyable game I have played this year, and I thought it pretty much perfect. The only other game that I have enjoyed more this year is Cronos: The new Dawn, with Expedition 33 probably coming in a close third, although I flip back and forth between choosing Expedition 33 and Hell Is Us as my third favourite game this year.
Without a doubt the music in Expedition 33 is by far the best soundtrack this year. Indeed, I often find myself wondering whether it would have received quite so much praise had the music been more forgettable.
Regardless, it has been a fantastic few months for gaming...
Re: Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (November 4)
Yes, @ILuvGames, they say that the first step to recovery is to acknowledge the problem. I think I can say that I have done that, but whether I can stop buying games is another matter. I am genuinely trying to buy fewer games, and am succeeding to some extent, but still I find that I have bought games this years that I am still to play.
As an example, these are the games that released this year, that I have bought this year, having pre-ordered each of them, but not yet played:
Assassin's Creed: Mirage Collector's Edition
Assassin's Creed: Shadows Collector's Edition
The First Berzerker: Khazan Deluxe Edition
The Talos Principle: Reawakened
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Borderlands 4 Ultimate Edition
Dying Light: The Beast
Silent Hill f
I bought each and every one of them with the best of intentions of playing them pretty soon after purchase (well, maybe not Borderlands 4, which I decided to wait for all the DLC for). However, because I am always playing something else that I have recently bought, I just cannot find the time.
I have also bought another 7 AAA games by way of pre-order, which I have completed, and am also part way through The Outer Worlds 2 (which I also bought).
Anyway, I like to think that I am singlehandedly keeping the games industry in business... 😂
Re: Xbox 360 Classic 'Condemned' Has Quietly Been Delisted, And Nobody Knows Why
I still have both Condemned 1 and 2 on 360 disc. Both are still sealed too. Just another couple of games that I never got round to playing... 😒
Re: Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (November 4)
It's just that I have so many games to be getting on with, @ElectricWizard. I buy a lot of games, and have a truly enormous amount of games that I own, but have not played. I have over 1600 games that I have bought in my digital library, and to my immense shame, I would estimate that I have not played half of them, and probably half of those I bought at full price too...
Re: Xbox Gets One Nomination For 'Ultimate Game Of The Year' At Golden Joysticks 2025
I voted for Ghost of Yotei, but only because I was not able to vote for Cronos: The New Dawn, which to my mind is a shocking, and very disappointing, omission. For me, Cronos is easily the game of the year. Twas so good...
Re: World Of Warcraft Dev Still Not 'Actively Working' Towards Native Xbox Console Version
So glad the ABK acquisition went through, it's been such a win for us Xbox console gamers... 😒
Re: Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (November 4)
I probably won't play either, but the premise of 1000 certainly sounds interesting...
Re: 'Satisfactory' Brings Its Ultra-Popular Open World Co-Op Game To Xbox This Week
Good to know. Thank you, @GeeEssEff...
Re: 'Satisfactory' Brings Its Ultra-Popular Open World Co-Op Game To Xbox This Week
Could you please enlighten me as to what a private server allows that the game otherwise does not, @Jenkinss & @GeeEssEff? Is it that you can create a world that other people can access when you are not around, whereas it would be one persons save that people will be accessing in this instance...?
Re: 'Satisfactory' Brings Its Ultra-Popular Open World Co-Op Game To Xbox This Week
I think you are right, @Questionable_Duck. I have a feeling that the sequel was on the 360, though I never discovered the games until I bought a PC after the disastrous Xbox One reveal.
I always hoped that they would make a Sanctum 3, and release it on console, but they have spent years working on Satisfactory instead.
I think I will buy Satisfactory, because I always like to support my favourite studios and franchises. Whether I wait for a sale or buy it day one, I'm not yet sure, as I don't know enough about the game right now...
Re: Gears Of War's Art Director Likes How E-Day Is Returning To The Series 'Horror Game' Roots
Still should have finished the second trilogy rather than just leaving it hanging, and I think we can probably thank Hood and Nadella's decision to bring the franchise to the PlayStation for that.
It is easier to give the PlayStation gamer a game that, chronologically, is the first in the series, than either porting 4 and 5, and then making 6, or just trying to give them 6.
Truth is I don't think I'll ever get a resolution for the second trilogy, because even if Microsoft do decide to make 6, chances are that they won't look to do that for well over a decade, and my chances of being around then are somewhat bleak...
Re: Gears Of War's Art Director Likes How E-Day Is Returning To The Series 'Horror Game' Roots
I never, ever thought of Gears of War as being a horror game, or even having horror elements. I just saw it as a third-person shooter with some sci-fi elements, and enemies that were different to the norm...
Re: 'Satisfactory' Brings Its Ultra-Popular Open World Co-Op Game To Xbox This Week
I am intrigued by this game because I really like Coffee Stain Studios as I loved their previous games Sanctum 1 & 2. Indeed, I uploaded a few video guides of me soloing some of the levels in Sanctum 2, showing how to complete them. They are designed as team co-operative games, so completing them solo is exceptionally difficult. I really do recommend them to people that enjoy Tower Defence games as they are amongst the most fun out there, and can be played co-operatively, and have first-person shooter elements too.
Anyway, I am particularly interested to see what Satisfactory is like...
Re: Take-Two Boss Says GTA Couldn't Be Made With AI Because 'There's No Creativity In That Model'
I guarantee you that AI will be involved in the making of GTA 6, @themcnoisy, but I never for one moment suggested that the game could be made entirely by AI. Will that be possible at some point? Almost undoubtedly, give it a couple of decades or so, and complete games can, and will, be made by AI. However, right now, AI is not yet accurate enough to make a game all on its own.
When it comes to GTA 6 though, I would think that things like crowds of people will have their appearances done by AI. So it will be tasked to make most people in a crowd look different, so different races, different sexes, different sizes (fat, slim etc.), and different clothing. That particular task is something left to AI because they can fill a world and make it look bustling, whereas developers take so long to do it that they end up putting far fewer people into the world, and having more and more of them looking pretty much identical.
So don't be fooled by Strauss Zelnick into thinking that AI won't be being used in GTA 6. It won't be making the game, but it will undoubtedly be being used...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 1-2)
Finally beat him after around 5 hours of trying, @Sol4ris. I had to keep shifting my strategy, and use different weapons at different stages, and keep moving to certain parts of the room in order to take him down, but I eventually did it. Now I just have to hope that I am better prepared for the next boss fight, or hope that he was the most difficult one, which does sometimes happen, right...? 😂
Some of the fights lasted around 2 minutes, but many ended after just a few seconds. I dread to think how many times I died.
Anyway, onwards and upwards, my Very Hard run continues intact to the next planet...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 1-2)
Thank you! It's taken me 26 hours to hit level 10, @Sol4ris, and there is nothing more that I can do to level up any further right now, but man this boss is proving a nightmare! I'm determined to beat him without reducing the difficulty, so I maybe here a while yet... 😂
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 1-2)
Thanks, @Sol4ris. I am absolutely, definitely, no doubt, playing on Very Hard (it says so on each of my saves), and I am struggling like a mother fumbler against the final boss of the first planet. I have so far spent 4 hours trying to beat him. So, yep! Definitely Very Hard... 😂
Re: Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In November 2025
Definitely seems to be that PC is the place to have Game Pass these days. I wonder why that could be... 🤔
Re: Silent Hill 2 Remake Has Been Rated For Xbox Series X|S In The US
Yes, if only, @OldGamer999! I love Dead Space, it is one of my favourite franchises of all time. I have beaten each one of them solo (in the case of the third game) on the hardest difficulty, and rinsed each one of them for every achievement. I just wish we would see more entries
Re: These 40+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (November 3-7)
I am intrigued by Satisfactory because I love Coffee Stain Studios as they made Sanctum 1 & 2, which I used to play with a couple of friends, and I also beat a few of their maps solo on the hardest difficulty, which I then posted on YouTube as guides.
I know Satisfactory is a popular game, it's just that I'm not sure it's a game for me. Maybe I'll pick it up in a sale at some point...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 1-2)
I'm currently level 9 in Outer Worlds 2 on a Very Hard run, and very much enjoying the game.
I have also completed one Master Horde as a trio in Gears 5 yesterday, and failed another on Wave 40 today. Plan is to have another stab at one tomorrow. Absolutely loving the challenge of having just 3 people in a mode that is supposed to have 5. Master is difficult with 5, so with 3 it is uber-hard...
Re: Silent Hill 2 Remake Has Been Rated For Xbox Series X|S In The US
I'm glad I held off buying it on the PlayStation, as I hoped it would come to my preferred platform. It will be a pre-order purchase for me, but like @Lup, I also hope that they don't try squeezing us for a full priced release...
Re: Silent Hill 2 Remake Has Been Rated For Xbox Series X|S In The US
I'll add my name to the list of people that prefer @DeadSpace to Silent Hill... 😂
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
Whilst I partly agree with you, @HonestHick, both Sony and Microsoft do still want to sell consoles. Sony want to poach as many Xbox gamers as possible, and they can do that by both releasing an attractive console that is priced effectively against the PCBox, and so they are competing in that regard. Sony can also do that by making compelling games, games that Xbox gamers want to play thus attracting them to the PlayStation. Sony want you to buy third-party games on their platform, and not the Xbox or the PC, so again, they are competing with Microsoft in that regard.
As for other forms of entertainment, Sony and Microsoft have always been in competition with them. That will never, ever change. However, again, both companies are competing against one another to win those people over and on to their platforms. Sony do not win if someone gives us watching TikTok and buys an Xbox! Microsoft can win if the situation is reversed by virtue of their games being on the PlayStation, but even then they would far rather those people joined Xbox instead.
Upshot is that both companies do still regard each other as competition, and they are also competing with every other pastime out there...
Re: Poll: Which Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Title From October 2025?
The difficulty you choose is always a personal preference, @OldGamer999. I like a challenge, and I'm a bit of a masochist, which is why I chose Very Hard. I always feel that playing a game on a harder difficulty adds a certain dimension to it wherein you have to be a little more cautious, plan and consider your actions.
That said, when I do my first run in a game like Gears of War, I always go in on the second hardest difficulty first, rather than straight in on Insane, because I know I am going to go through it at least twice. It's much the same with Outer Worlds 2 where there are so many choices and consequences that you need to go through the game more than once in order to see all there is to see.
Has to be said, I am thoroughly enjoying the game right now...
Re: Poll: Which Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Title From October 2025?
That's cool, @RiverGenie. 50 hours is pretty good going seems as the game has not been out that long. I take it that, like me, you bought the Premium Edition?
I currently 22 hours in, but had to take it back an hour when I realised I was supposed to help a bunch of people, and not kill them! Wouldn't so bad but I had died over and over again trying to kill them all, and I was down to only a couple left when I realised my mistake, and had to take it back again... 😂
Re: Poll: Which Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Title From October 2025?
Wow, @RiverGenie! How on Earth have you already completed one playthrough? I am 20 hours in, exploring slowly as I go, and having to pick the enemies off really carefully. I don't know how many planets there are as I am still on the first one!
I'm playing on Very Hard, and frequently getting my butt kicked and having to restart a battle, which may go some way to explaining my slow progress.
What difficulty did you play on?
I am keen to go through it more than once, but once I'm done with Very Hard, I will be taking it down a notch for my future playthroughs...
Re: Poll: Which Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Title From October 2025?
Outer Worlds 2 for me for two reasons, firstly, it is an absolutely superb game, and secondly, it's the only game from that list that I have played this month*, though even then I bought it for the Xbox, rather than played it on Game Pass. That does still count, doesn't it... 😂
*Also, I have played both Hogwarts Legacy and Evil West before when they first released. Both excellent games, it's just been ages since I played them...
Re: Take-Two Boss Says GTA Couldn't Be Made With AI Because 'There's No Creativity In That Model'
I cannot imagine that some of the basics and repetitive tasks are not carried out by AI. Why would you pay someone for something that can be easily, accurately and more quickly be done by AI? The last part of that is even more important; why pay someone to undertake a task that they may occasionally get wrong, when it can be done precisely by AI in an incredibly shorter time?
These companies are out to make as much money from their product as they can, and if that means replacing someone with AI that can undertake the task in a fraction of the time, then you can absolutely bet they will be doing so. AI can work 24 hours a day, no burnout, no crunch, no complaints, no union rights! You can absolutely see why AI is an attractive proposition to developers. That's not to say that I necessarily like it, but I can absolutely see why they would...
Re: Roundup: All The Reveals From October 2025's Xbox Indie Showcase
I entirely agree, @Stoned_Patrol. I was actually surprised that it was not showing as a Game Pass title because I too thought that it was originally planned as such. Assuming that it doesn't come immediately to Game Pass, I think it will at some point.
Then it's just a question of whether I opt to buy it first, or wait.
Personally I always prefer to buy my games anyway, but with this one I think I will at least wait for the reviews for taking the plunge. It does look incredibly good, but because it so different from other games, I feel like reviews will be important in this case...
Re: Capcom Drops 'Road To Requiem' Deep Dive As Resident Evil 9 Pre-Orders Go Live On Xbox
Thank you, @Kezelpaso. Well that's annoying...!
Re: Xbox Content & Services Revenue Sees Slight Increase In Q1 2026, Hardware Drops Almost 30%
No worries, @Gabrie, and I meant no offence. I would also add that I speak no other languages, so I never cease to be impressed when someone is able to write a coherent comment in a language that is not their own...
Re: Capcom Drops 'Road To Requiem' Deep Dive As Resident Evil 9 Pre-Orders Go Live On Xbox
I'm not interested in the Deluxe version here. Not just for a few cosmetics.
What really surprises me though is the price. It seems that the cost of the standard version is cheaper than the previous game. Does that indicate that this is a smaller title?
Is there no Collector's Edition, @Kezelpaso? Thanks...
Re: Xbox Content & Services Revenue Sees Slight Increase In Q1 2026, Hardware Drops Almost 30%
That's not quite right, @Gabrie, if I am reading your comment correctly.
In simple mathematics, if in 2023 Microsoft sold 100 consoles, and in 2024 they sold 30% fewer consoles, then they only sold 70 consoles in 2024. If, in 2025, they then sold 30% fewer again, then in 2025 they actually sold 49 consoles. So you can see that over the course of two years the drop in sales is around 50%.
Obviously they are actually talking about revenue from console sales, so it is more difficult to work out how many consoles were sold (in percentage terms) because that drop of 30% in revenue raised from console sales comes despite Microsoft having drastically increased the cost of a console. The net result though is clear; in the space of two years, the sales of the Xbox console has decreased by more than 50%. Indeed, it is probably much more than that, which is pretty dire, albeit that we are heading towards the end of the generation.
The last thing I would mention is that Xbox console sales have been declining since at least 2022, so it can be seen that the situation is actually getting far worse each year...
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
I too was using TikTok as an example, @fatpunkslim, I fully appreciate that they really meant any other form of entertainment. However the same issue still applies, how do you know when someone has been converted from any other form of entertainment into a MAU? Yes, MAU can go up or down, but what's to say that is because it's a new user, or someone leaving?
As an example, every day that I play on my Xbox is counted individually. I am the same person every single day, but I am counted as 30 days in a month. However, if I go on holiday for a month, then the MAU goes down by 30. When I return, it goes up by 30, that's how it works. And if someone sells their PlayStation, and buys an Xbox, and games every day, then PlayStation's MAU will go down, and Xbox's goes up.
My point is, if he had simply said, "we need to grow our MAUs, and how much they spend", then fine, but it's ridiculous to say that PlayStation is not competition for Xbox because it absolutely is! If someone is gaming solely on a PlayStation (and not playing an Xbox game) then Microsoft want them to come over to Xbox just as much as they want someone to stop watching TikTok, in fact that is probably preferable to them as someone leaving PlayStation means Sony lose an MAU, and Xbox gains one.
That is the crux of what I am saying; it is disingenuous to say that PlayStation is not competition because it absolutely is, and more importantly it is something that can be easily compared and evaluated, whereas it is impossible to say whether a person has weaned themselves off TikTok and become an Xbox user. Yes, you can say you've added one more MAU, but it is impossible to say what they were doing prior joining Xbox.
Truthfully though, even the term MAU is misleading because it is not just about the number of people you have using your systems because if Microsoft have 500 million people as MAU's and they all spend just $1 a month, then that amounts to $500 million a month. However, if Sony have 100 million MAU's and they all spend $10 a month, then they are bringing in $1000 million a month. The point being that even MAU's is a misleading metric in itself...
Re: DOOM Co-Creator Was 'Midway Through' New Project Before Xbox Pulled Funding
Agreed, @OldGamer999. It obviously wasn't going to hit Hood's 30% margin target...
Re: Xbox Confirms Its First Two Game Pass Titles For December 2025, And They Both Look Brilliant
I absolutely love Tower Defence games so Dome Keeper is of real interest to me.
I will also be keeping an eye on Routine as it maybe something that I would play.
Will have to wait for the reviews for both to start rolling in...
Re: Xbox Has More Competition From TikTok Than PlayStation, Claims Microsoft Exec
So wait, Xbox may as well give up and forget about gaming, @HonestHick? Yes, those watching Tik Tok, and not gaming, is someone lost to the gaming industry, but then so are those that are keen sportsman, or busy helping charities, or holding down 2 or 3 jobs etc.. There have always been competing interests for... well, everything!
However, to say that PlayStation is not their competitor is utterly ridiculous, because if, God forbid, someone decides they no longer want to watch Tik Tok, and want to game instead, then suddenly PlayStation is very much the competitor to Xbox.
Microsoft may as well have said their competitors are football supporters, or those that watch baseball, or those that watch any sport, because that also has 100s of millions of people engaged in that, often to the exclusion of gaming.
Ultimately, yes, gaming wants fewer people on Tik Tok, and more of them playing video games, but the win for Microsoft in that scenario is if they choose Xbox. Choosing PlayStation is them choosing their direct competitor.
Basically, just because these bigwigs are saying that Tik Tok and social media are a threat to gaming, does not mean that they do not want their own, individual, divisions to grow, and whilst as an entire industry, you can see whether gaming is growing or not, who is to say that the person that joins PlayStation, or Xbox, or Nintendo, has decided to stop watching Tik Tok? Or, indeed, if fewer people are gaming, are they all suddenly Tik Tok converts?
My point is that Microsoft can measure how well they are doing up against their closes competitor in PlayStation, how well their games are selling, where the majority of third-party games are played, how their MAU compare, but how on Earth does Microsoft know when someone quits watching Tik Tok in order to become a gamer? Effectively Microsoft have deliberately stopped comparing their stats with PlayStation because the stats are not favourable, and chosen to go with something that is completely immeasurable because that way they cannot fail the metric...
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, @awp69, but tell me this, how will they know when they have done that? When you compare how many consoles you have sold, you can see how you are doing up against your competitors. When you compare where a third-party game is being played, you have stats for that too. When you compare MAUs, you can see how you are doing when compared to the likes of PlayStation. How do you know when you have stopped someone watching Tik Tok, and converted them into an Xbox gamer? And that goes to my point, Microsoft have moved away from statistics that show how they are doing, and over to something that cannot be measured. You cannot fail at something, when there is no proof one way or another...
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
I absolutely agree with you, @Coletrain. There are always other things that compete with how you occupy your time, and honestly, I think this is Microsoft basically admitting that they have lost the competition against the PlayStation, and so are telling us that they no longer see that as competition so that they can attempt to move the conversation along.
Why have they picked Tik Tok as their target now though? My guess is because you cannot lose against something you cannot actually compete against. PlayStation versus Xbox is something measurable. Xbox versus Tik Tok is not. Someone playing a game on the PlayStation rather than the Xbox is measurable. However, someone watching a video on Tik Tok might never have even considered playing a game at all, let alone Xbox, so how do you compare the two?
It's a ridiculous and false narrative that Microsoft are spouting here. Yes, I'm sure that Microsoft would love to convert people from Tik Tok to Xbox, but they would probably have a better chance of persuading someone to depart PlayStation for Xbox...
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
I for one hope that the PCBox comes resplendent with a Blu-ray player, @fatpunkslim, because every now and again the Collector's Editions I buy come complete with a disc (Doom: The Dark Ages, for example), but also because whilst I buy 99% of my games digitally, I buy 95% of the films that I watch on a Blu-ray (mostly 4k). I have around a 1000 Blu-rays, and really do not want to invest in another device beneath my television just for the purposes of watching films...
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
"At the end of the day, console has an experience that is unparalleled. It delivers performance that is unparalleled, that pushes, I think, the system forward."
...so the next console we make will be a PC...! 😂
Re: Xbox Announces 12 Titles Coming To Game Pass At October's Indie Showcase
For me, from that list, only Aphelion looked really promising...
Re: Roundup: All The Reveals From October 2025's Xbox Indie Showcase
Lots of interesting titles were shown, although Mouse PI was clearly the standout...
Re: Masters Of Albion Will Be Peter Molyneux's Final Game, And A Chance At 'Redemption' For The Creator Of Fable
Well I know he said things that were never quite achieved, but I honestly don't think he set out to deceive. He was simply overenthusiastic. I've always liked him and his love of gaming, so as far as I am concerned, he doesn't really need redemption, though if he feels he does, then I honestly hope that he finds it with this project.
Personally, I loved Fable, and so I really look forward to seeing what he produces next. If it reviews well enough, I might even be tempted to try it out in Early Access on Steam...