GamingFan4Lyf

@Coletrain @Banjo- I really should give it a go.

I think I got the original for free at some point through Prime or Epic or something, but never really played it. I’ll add Replaylee to my wishlist.

Microsoft should just partner with Playtonic to make the game since that’s where all the original developers ended up anyways.

Or people can just buy Yooka-Laylee since it’s the spiritual successor!

I can’t wait to start Metroid Prime 4 today!

According to Digital Foundry, the technical aspects make this an insane performer - naturally due more to solid art direction rather than advanced rendering - and the 120Hz mode basically locks to 120fps with the only sacrifice being resolution and not asset quality.

Not too shabby for mobile hardware, if you ask me!

Look, I get it, games on Xbox/PS5 push a lot more and I am sure this game could probably easily run at 240 on Series X/PS5 if it were supported.

My point is to more praise Retro Studios for optimizing the game to the hardware and delivering a near locked experience no matter the mode (only hiccup is a 1 - 3 fps dip in a particular section of the open world probably for asset streaming) - not using 120Hz and VRR to provide “up-to” 120fps when looking at the sky and in the 90’s during actual play.

Retro Studios really deserves to be ranked among one of the top developers in the industry.

Heck Metroid Prime Remastered is like PS4-level visuals and performance on an original Switch! They are wizards!

This is exactly how these “console PC” should work:

All of the long-term financial benefits of PC (better/competitive game pricing as well as no subscription services for cloud/online play) and none of the “Settings Tweaking” that less PC-centric people despise.

I will say that the Nvidia app does a great job optimizing your games as well (when there is a detectable profile to be found) if all you want to do is play the game without thinking about settings - I…mostly…use it, but there are times where I choose high-end visuals vs. Nvidia’s optimized settings for my particular hardware (like Cyberpunk 2077 or Indiana Jones).

If this keeps up, there won’t be anymore “console makers,” there will be just games and people can stop bickering about who is better!

My Game Pass Ultimate doesn’t expire until June 2026.

I won’t be renewing for any tier.

@abe_hikura The one leg-up MS has over Steam is that it would have 100% compatibility whereas Steam has to rely on a (very capable) translation layer for compatibility.

I wonder when Microsoft will do a Windows for Games on full-fat PCs.

Would be great to have a lightweight Windows that I can just dual boot into that focuses solely on gaming.

Glad it’s fixed, but still not a good look when there are bugs on the first-party platform not present on a third-party platform.

Not the team to cut when lack of QA has been a major concern with a lot of releases from Team Green.

I can’t believe 9000 people are being let go.

I had no animosity towards Microsoft when it let me go, but seeing yet another round of significant layoffs so quickly after a previous major workforce cut has me side-eying the company.

I now wish Microsoft never bothered with ABK as it seems to be finding some pretty [expletive] ways to recoup the cost.

I have no words.

I was canned from Microsoft back in February (I was a consultant, not a game developer).

Microsoft has been doing big and small layoff rounds somewhat regularly.

NOTE: I had a new job offer within a week, so I am okay.

Is QuakeCon only focused on Quake or is it basically BethesdaCon at this point?

I’d like to see a Quake 4 Remastered. Not a fan of Quake 3 Arena - but I don’t like multiplayer games anymore.

Then again, what about Heretic, Hexen, etc.? They have kind of been “lost” to time as well.

Oh! What about the 2006 Prey since Bethesda does own the rights to it now.

Sounds amazing…my Thalassophobia is saying “Nope”!

Still Wakes the Deep is an amazing experience.

Well it’s about time!

I hope Xbox-only folks enjoy!

I liked Final Fantasy 16 - even if it plays more like a Platinum Games title than a Final Fantasy title.

Story is pretty good - dark, though still pretty typical Final Fantasy fare.

I felt like the language in the game was a little unnecessary and was added just to give it an M-rating (I don’t care about foul language - I have the mouth of a sailor…because I was one lol - it just felt…out of place).

Final Fantasy VII Remake is awesome. Has a more Kingdom Hearts feel to it and the combat has more depth than you may realize. Highly recommend that one (when it comes out) if you haven’t had the ability to play it elsewhere.

@Cakefish @xxk7xx Maybe the developers decided to upgrade to a later version of UE5 with actual multi-threading and open the possibility of 60fps on console.

@ChrisDeku Don’t let the people over at PushSquare catch you here…they may think you switched sides! 🤣🤣

On topic: Good luck to her in her future endeavors!

Rip & tear, folks.

Rip & [expletive] tear….

@RiverGenie Oh, I am not against this option at all!

Truth be told, I am not even a Minecraft fan. I did download it after I got my gaming PC back in August just so I could experience Minecraft RTX for myself for a few minutes as I think it’s the best way to show off what Path tracing actually does in games - or just a cool tool for demonstrating light behavior.

@RiverGenie @themightyant Minecraft RTX is insane. If you have never seen Digital Foundry’s coverage of it, you should.

The light behaves in such a realistic manner that they were able to create a Camera Obscura.

As a former Microsoft employee, I can tell you there is a lot more duties to any of their jobs than what’s in the job description.

Think you can just focus on your main job description? Think again! It’s not for everyone.

Still Wakes the Deep is an absolute gem for anyone who likes Cosmic Horror.

Sure it’s probably more interactive story than game, but it’s a darn good one!

It was only a matter of time this was going to happen.

If Microsoft had this kind of strength at launch, we could have had potentially a much different gaming landscape.

Microsoft is having its PS3 moment…just…without the exclusivity aspect.

Well that is certainly not something you see every day where Xbox is leading the pack.

I do wonder if that will change now that word of mouth has spread that the game is actually great and people start buying it.

Played a few minutes last night on PC.

1440p/Ultra/DLSS Quality/Hardware Lumen

I haven’t gotten out of the sewers yet, but the framerate was running around 115fps and sometimes dipped into the 85fps territory in bigger sections.

Waiting to see how the open world sections fare - I look for the fps to tank to the 40s, but we’ll see.

Even still, nothing a DLSS setting change and frame generation can’t fix - well…hopefully anyways.

Really impressed with the Remaster so far. It’s also nice to see a Bethesda game ripped from its Gamebryo-based shackles!

Yes, I played the original version when it came out.

Really digging South of Midnight.

I think what really surprised me was how it has an almost Disney-esque way of telling such tragic stories. I am early in the game, but it’s kind of a dark story, yet told in a very fairy tale way. Even the performances are very “Disney” in their delivery.

And the music is awesome! It’s whimsical and feels a part of the story itself, plus also just technically great.

It’s like finding that that one street performer while walking the streets of New Orleans who is just different from the other and shreds some crazy blues riffs on an acoustic guitar and draws a crowd because he/she is so cool.

Combat is decent enough, but exploration and finding all the little nooks and crannies is definitely more compelling - especially in such a beautifully detailed world.

This is actually a really good Souls-like! If you are a fan of the genre, I recommend giving it a go.

Once my Game Pass Ultimate subscription runs out next year, I won’t resubscribe.

Ever since I started working in an office again, my gaming time went from an hour per day during the week and a couple hour per day on weekends down to zero time on weekdays and a couple hours per day on weekends.

I have so much in the backlog now that I am not even buying games anymore since it will take me forever to finish what I have!

No sense in paying for a subscription I won’t use.

I agree with The Darkness just so it finally gets a PC version (only The Darkness 2 is out on PC).

Knowing it’s a mulitplayer-focused title has dampened my interest significantly.

Switch 2 really leaned into social games for the reveal.

I hate people.

I still want one, but Metroid Prime 4 and Donkey Kong Bananza seem to be the only thing scratching the single-player itch.

Doesn’t this confirm that Sony has an exclusion clause specific to Xbox with Square Enix for these games?

I heard the announcement and thought “Xbox users are going to be very mad at this”

Awesome! I bought it on GOG and will welcome a UE5 version. Will probably wait to get back into it (as I am very early in the game) for this updated version.

It will depend on how “PC”these Xbox handhelds systems will be.

If it’s like a full-fat Windows running on the backend with a custom UI (think Big Picture Mode in Steam), then allowing Sony to block a game just because the plastic housing of this handheld PC says Xbox on it looks incredibly unlikely - and very petty on Sony’s part, really.

If it’s still very console-like in backend architecture that just happens to run Steam games via some kind of VM layer that can play approved PC games from Steam, then I can see Sony getting away with it.

@LogicStrikesAgain Think like how developers get Steam Deck verified only for a full-fat PC hardware.

So it would be “Xbox PC Verified”

@LogicStrikesAgain Well there is no extra version to develop. Developers can test the PC version against the Xbox hardware and even have Xbox presets for the games (but still allow those who want to tweak to do so).

It essentially eliminates the whole “not worth porting to Xbox” problem since testing a PC build against a fixed hardware set is a lot easier than dealing with a whole separate version that may or may not get sales.

@Dalamar73 I think you are kind of grouping all PC players into a fairly small bucket.

If Microsoft can make a console that plays PC games - even at just "console settings" - and can be affordable, it would be a huge draw for:

• People looking to dip into the PC market but don't have the cash to buy a brand-new gaming PC because hardware is getting ridiculous in price
• Those who may have old PCs and can't afford a new one because of ballooning PC hardware prices
• Current Xbox console owners

Sure, the hardcore, emulation using, hardware updating, DRM-fighting PC gamers are probably not going to be swayed into a lower-spec machine that is more designed around couch play - they will continue to pay the premium price for the premium experience.

But the more budget-conscious PC gamers may see merit in what this accomplishes - especially if it has a great price to performance ratio.

The truth of the matter is, Microsoft can't "out console" PlayStation. They've tried for 2 generations now (well I guess 3 if you count OG Xbox, too) and the gap between Xbox and PlayStation continues to grow more and more in Sony's favor.

Microsoft HAS to take a different lane.

Microsoft can "out PC" Sony, though! And this potential future actually expands the market rather than continues courting the same people - who are very much jumping to PlayStation at the moment.

That X Edition isn’t $16.

It’s $16 off if you have Game Pass Ultimate. It’s $79.99 base price.

@HonestHick I agree.

I have no real issue with Windows - a lot of people seem to really have a problem with it, but maybe because the only thing I do on my home PC is game and browse the web, I just don’t really “use” Windows to hate it - if that makes sense.

Updates appear few and far between and I rarely see where I have to update upon shutdown or am told I need to reboot for whatever reason. The only driver updates I get are Nvidia drivers - and those are mainly just due to new game releases.

I also don’t necessarily praise Windows either. It’s just…there. Plus, if I want 100% compatibility for games across generations…there isn’t really any other choice.

I wouldn’t recommend Surface products solely because the price is too high for what you get. They aren’t bad, per se, just…expensive.

But, yeah, overall, it doesn’t feel like Microsoft really cares about putting out “great” products anymore as its main business feels more like being in the business rather than generating exciting products.

Don’t get me wrong, the games its put out are fun, but, the gaming part, up until recently, always felt separate from Microsoft proper.

@HonestHick Put enough hands in enough high-value cookie jars and you can be a trillionaire, too.

That’s ultimately how Microsoft gained its wealth.

Think about every company out there that uses Windows and Office products. Think about all the service contracts it has for technical support. Azure money is pretty lucrative. Consulting services. Research grants. Government contracts. Joint business ventures. Partnerships with NFL, NBA, NASCAR, etc. The list goes on.

Xbox is a tax write-off at this point.

I ditched my Xbox Series X when I got my PC.

As far as Microsoft is concerned…I still have an Xbox. I have GPU until Aug 2026.

My system will probably be “on par” with next generation, too.

The original Prey is also available for free on myabandonware for PC people. Easy instructions on how to install it on modern platforms.

Classic game that sadly has been lost to the sands of time and can’t be bought anywhere (I bet the licensed music plus lack of interest probably prevents it from making a comeback).

It did some things with the Id Tech 4 engine that people didn’t even think possible. I want to say it used portals before Portal was a thing. Really a cool game! I bet any modern computer could run it at this point - even with just an iGPU.

Maybe Bethesda should look into the Daggerfall Unity project as a means of getting that game on consoles. I’m not a fan, but I am sure console players would love to try their hand at pre-Morrowind Elder Scrolls.

Why do I feel like this “Remake” will be nothing more than the original game with a bunch of community mods injected into it to enable higher resolutions, better textures, models, etc.?

I am really digging the vibe for this one.

I hope it manages to catch the same essence as the Team Silent era of games (the best years for the franchise).

RE Engine-powered Mega Man X titles would help.

Other than some hiccups with open-world titles, Capcom has certainly “returned to form” as they say.

Plus, Capcom has been supporting GOG.com by releasing the original RE1 - RE3 as well as Dino Crisis.

Looks like the unofficial Mod that an official Remedy engineer created to add HDR (rather than rely on AutoHDR) and improve image quality finally became official with this update.

@Millionski Microsoft having a “baseline” set of hardware for a PC might prevent some of the issues you are talking about with PC ports.

Shader compilation wouldn’t be a problem because the package downloaded to a machine identified as an Xbox PC could come with all the shaders pre-compiled for the system.

Developers can thoroughly test the game against that set hardware to ensure performance is solid for that system as well.

Basically, it’s like a game getting Steam Deck Verified, but for a home console instead of a handheld.

As far as backward compatibility, Xbox essentially uses local Virtual Machine instances for everything anyways. So Microsoft could just make those work for PC.

The real question is this:

What would you do with 1M (of your local currency)?

I’d probably just put into a retirement fund or something - I know, boring, right?

I might splurge a small amount - get an OLED monitor and a new MOBO that supports PCIe 5.0 and an Nvidia 5090, but the rest would all get put aside for a later time.

@BAMozzy I think couch co-op is way different than online play. There is a sense of healthy competition and light jesting at each other.

I loved playing Super Street Fighter II tournaments with friends on SNES. Amazing memories.

I remember playing Smash and Goldeneye on N64 in college and having a blast.

Heck, I played Mortal Kombat in arcades with random strangers and it was awesome!

I just think the anonymity and lack of physical presence has really made people less capable of having healthy competitive behaviors.

@themightyant True. There is definitely less experimentation with ideas these days than there used to be.

@BacklogBrad I think more people are annoyed when publishers "chase trends" with Live Service games rather than try to come up with an original Live Service game.

Ever notice that the popular Live Service games actually had something unique about them when they first started?

Making another clone of something with a huge following isn't the answer.

@BAMozzy "Social games" - yeah...way to put a nice positive spin on what is essentially an enabler for toxic behavior. I have heard the social aspect of these games...it's pretty sad.

It's also sad that people don't take the time to invest in a single player game. I guess it's an age thing, but video games in the 90s were my books - especially since there was no voice acting. Games actually made me feel something. Discussing games was like being part of a book club. There was actual substance.

I feel like people are losing their ability to disconnect and enjoy a good story. All the kids want to do now is cause grief for other people and laugh about it on Discord.

PS: Get off my lawn!

@Kaloudz Would be weird to go right to Silent Hill 3 without redoing the original game first.

I mean, I guess they could "tell the story" of Silent Hill in a Silent Hill 3 remake (as some kind of a prologue video or something) but that would be kind of a cheap way to go about it.