FreasurePlanten

@FraserG and @Shinato2024 Thank you! I forgot that they have been doing this for the premium versions.

I haven't been following the news on this game much, but I thought the July date was the full launch and not Early Access. Do they have a roadmap of additions to come? Thanks!

@Fiendish-Beaver Ah, I'm sorry for misinterpreting you. I believe I agree with most things if not all things you said now. My own personal view is that in general a return of a focus on exclusives, especially now that component prices are going through the roof, is not a good thing for consumers. Really weird to see celebration on the part of some folks on Push Square, for instance, while also being distraught that Microsoft won't put games on their platform.
It makes sense to me in some way why Xbox fans want exclusives back: neither Nintendo nor Sony joined in bringing their games to other platforms, and that may devalue their Xbox (I personally don't have one, as I use Game Pass and Xcloud/GeForce Now to stream). But I think a future with much less focus on exclusives would have been a lot better for consumers.

@Fiendish-Beaver I think it's a very weird mentality to ask people to buy games they can already play using their subscription. I certainly don't judge you or others for doing so, but it comes off as weird that this is framed as "doing their part". It's on Microsoft to make sure their model is sustainable, not on consumers.
A factor also worth having into consideration is that typically only the base game is made available with Game Pass. And many of Xbox's games get expansions down the line. I'm very tempted to get the premium upgrade for Forza Horizon 6, for instance.
Also, we don't really have much data on how the numbers compare of people who have stacked their subscription and those who go month by month. Also, if people really did stack, it's not like that money disappears, it's just that they get more money on date X and not a regular but lower payment.
Finally, looking at the output of Xbox Game Studios, and how they perform on platforms like Steam and PS5, I don't think there's much to worry about: Xbox games continue to be among the best launched every year, so it doesn't seem they're cutting down all that much on features etc.

I thought it was the best presentation yet this not-E3 season. Persona 4 Revival looks amazing, and so does Spyro, Vivarium, Senua and many others. Presentation very tailored to my tastes. Even Halo: Campaign Evolved looked a lot more colourful and appealing this time around.

@NeoRatt I completely agree with this. In an ideal world we wouldn't have all first-party games exclusive as someone said. I think instead in an ideal world (for consumers anyway) you wouldn't need to buy different boxes to play different games, and the consoles would be battling it out over features, competitive pricing, etc

@MrFrosty I'm optimistic. Assassin's Creed Shadows played great and Star Wars Outlaws was great after the update (imo). I think the combat was the weakest part of AC, and they seem to be revamping it.

@Nakatomi_Uk The Ezio Trilogy is made up of AC 2, Brotherhood and Revelations. Did you mean to say the Americas Collection or so?

Does anyone know how long games have been taking until they're added to Ubisoft+ Classics over on Game Pass Ultimate? I really liked what I saw, but I have a lot on my plate and I'm probably waiting to play it on Game Pass

Venba is a very short game and very much worthy of that short time. Give it a shot before it leaves if you haven't already. Same for A Short Hike, even though it's not quite as short as Venba.

I definitely disagree with them on the first-person vs. third-person thing. I don't feel more immersed or more like I'm in someone's shoe's just because I'm playing a game in first-person. I always found that odd, especially because of the relatively clunky position of the hands and tools (usually weapons) that the characters use in FP games. VR for me is the big exception to this.
Anyway, the game still looks good, it's not a dealbreaker, but I agree that it's a bit of a wasted potential. This could have been Xbox's Uncharted, completing the circle since Uncharted was heavily inspired by Indy.

This is good news. Together with the ZeniMax thing, this makes it a nice day for Xbox.

After seeing what the new Xbox is shaping up to be, with a focus on big franchises to the detriment, disrespect and closure of smaller teams they themselves bought, I'm not interested in supporting Game Pass or Xbox anymore financially. So even if they do come to PS5 or Switch, I won't be bothered, I'm afraid Satya.

The fact that they would close these studios soon after the major acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and the acclaim of Hi-Fi Rush in the case of Tango to focus on "high impact games" is seriously just disgusting.

Sadly we understand very well what "high impact" means...

This is why workers everywhere need more protection, 'cause clearly companies like Microsoft couldn't care less about their own employees.

I have SteamWorld Build installed and Far Cry 6 sounds great

I haven't been able to play any of them much yet, but Persona 5 Tactica is the one I've started and will be sticking with. Might play Remnant 2 with my partner.