@OM1993 @S1ayeR74 If Microsoft delays to satisfy CMA's demands, surely the FTC can show that Microsoft lied about the urgent nature of the deadline and hence they could easily also be lying about the CoD deals (the 10 year deals as well as the oath about not taking CoD off Playstation)?
Having Xbox Games Showcase Extended clash with the big Forza Motorsport info drop (both events happened at the same time and Motorsport wasn't present at all in Xbox Games Showcase Extended) felt counter-intuitive. It honestly gives the impression Microsoft are expecting Motorsport to go the way of Halo Infinite.
Not surprising given what was reported on about the FTC's arguments in the trial though the result is still disappointing.
It's been so wonderful playing Square Enix games on my Switch and it's so sad that's going to be taken away all because regulators allowed Microsoft to start an acquisition war. CoD on Nintendo hardware is a terrible consolation prize.
These MCC updates continue to be fantastic but it's a shame the game has a small population issue because of Infinite. Before I let my Gold subscription lapse, I was struggling to find matches in MCC.
What happens to my prepaid months of Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass, and/or EA Play when I sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?
Xbox Live Gold and PC Game Pass conversion ratio: Any remaining time will convert to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time at a ratio of 3:2 and be rounded up to the next full day. For example, 90 days remaining of Xbox Live Gold or PC Game Pass will convert to 60 days of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time.
Xbox Game Pass for Console conversion ratio: Any remaining time will convert to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time at a ratio of 4:3 and be rounded up to the next full day. For example, 90 days remaining of Xbox Game Pass for Console will convert to 68 days of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time.
EA Play conversion ratio: Any remaining time will convert to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time at a ratio of 3:1 and be rounded up to the next full day. For example, 90 days remaining of EA Play will convert to 30 days of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time.
@Cashews The comparison I was making is that BotW was the only 1st party Nintendo game playable on the show floor at E3 2016 and it completely stole the spotlight.
@NEStalgia Microsoft did limit Series X stock to prioritize cloud gaming. It wouldn't be surprising if the strategy is they upgrade their xCloud servers to be the equivalent of a more powerful Series X even though there's no physical release of a more powerful Series X.
Console exclusivity is limited to a box, what Nadella likely wants is platform exclusivity. The concept of you can play games on any device but you must be subscribed to Game Pass to do so. They're essentially trying to make Game Pass a monopoly in the same way Windows is.
@Rmg0731 Agreed, Microsoft should be permanently blocked from acquiring any studios or publishers at this point (really should've been blocked from acquiring Bethesda too).
You'd think Microsoft would want to clarify this ASAP as the FTC could use it against the Activision acquisition (Microsoft using the power of CoD to kill off retail).
@Moonglow There was a gap after Sony acquiring Bungie though which included a load of news for Halo which strongly suggested Microsoft were going to kill off Halo and replace it with CoD as Xbox's flagship franchise.
Wasn't there a gap though between this and Sony complaining to regulators? Microsoft actions over the year (like how they put Halo Infinite on life support to make room for CoD) may have changed Sony's opinion on the situation.
@NEStalgia I feel this generation perfectly sums up why Nintendo were right out of the 3 regarding hardware. All you hear regarding PS and Xbox is about acquisitions meanwhile Nintendo's just happily continuing supporting a much weaker specs 6 year old console with a strong lineup.
The state of Xbox/PS honestly makes me think that Nintendo would be best off using the Game Boy approach for the Switch (i.e. releasing Switch 2 around 2029). Avoid releasing a next gen system for as long as possible.
A prediction rather than expectation but I think we'll see a Gamescom stream which acts like Xbox Games Showcase Extended, Forza Monthly focuses on Forza Motorsport and there ending up being some kind of Xbox event in November.
@UltimateOtaku91 I'm less confident about Gears collection happening given collections of games is the only thing from the Kinda Funny interview comment which didn't appear in the showcase:
"I can say now and everybody can already stop [with] 'I don't want to hear what Phil has to say about the future' and I fully respect that point of view, [but] we've got Starfield coming, we've got Forza coming, we've got Hellblade coming, like we've got collections of games, I'm seeing very good builds of Avowed... I can see it, but until you have a controller in your hand and you're smiling from playing our games, none of my words should matter."
So based on what's happened the past week, it feels like the hint was for Activision collections (e.g. Skylanders, Heretic/Hexen) rather than stuff like Gears.
Given an upcoming 2023 XGS game wasn't at the showcase (the console version of Age of Empires 4), I honestly think there'll be another Xbox event later this year. Gamescom is probably focused on Starfield so maybe something for November?
I'd say it was a solid showcase, ranked it a B. Nice variety of games shown more in depth and some of the surprises like the Hi-Fi Rush update and the ID@Xbox stuff were cool but I would say a fair amount of the surprises should've been in the main showcase instead of Extended.
B or 6/10, a solid showcase with a variety of games even though I was only interested in Fable, Clockwork Revolution and the Atlus stuff. Was surprised we didn't see Age of Empires 4 for console given that's currently scheduled for 2023, there was a large focus on 2024 and beyond as well as not enough gameplay.
But it's entirely possible that all my issues with the showcase gets resolved with the Extended showcase on Tuesday.
I have no expectations as I could see it go either way. I could see a very good showcase where we finally see a load of those 2019/2020 announcements return among some new stuff. On the other hand, I could instead see a really bad showcase where Forza + Starfield is doing all the heavy lifting while Microsoft pulls a "imagine what would've been on Game Pass if the CMA didn't block the Activision acquisition" because they expected to close the acquisition by now.
@Green-Bandit The point I was trying to get across is that Square Enix have already taken into account the PS5 exclusivity for their expectations. If it was multiplatform day 1, yes of course there would be more preorders but Square Enix's expectations would also be higher hence resulting in the same panicking that's currently being reported on.
Multiplatform would of course be the better outcome, all I was saying is that it wouldn't solve Square Enix's specific problem. Meanwhile if they revealed FFVII Rebirth in September 2023 instead of June 2022, that would've solved their problem.
@Green-Bandit Release pacing is FFXVI's biggest problem, namely that FFVII Rebirth's launching a mere 7 months later (early 2024 means January/February 2024).
Since their acquisition of Bethesda, all the showcases have started and finished with Bethesda. So my predictions are:
Showcase starts with Wolfenstein III
XGS updates: Forza Motorsport release window, Hellblade 2 release window, Avowed trailer but no release window, AoE 4 console release date, ARA release date, ESO trailer, next Sea of Thieves season content, next Fallout 76 update
XGS new announcements: Gears collection, Fable collection, Hi-Fi Rush DLC, some kind of Double Fine collection or remaster, 1-2 Xbox Games Studios Publishing releases
New hardware and services announcements (e.g. multiple new controllers, some already existing games being added to Game Pass, perhaps a new Game Pass tier)
Close the showcase with a Starfield trailer which then goes straight into the Starfield Direct
Don't think Halo Infinite or Redfall will be present, instead them being blogpost announcements whenever the time is suitable for more news.
Don't have specific 3rd party predictions but I feel there'll be a wide variety of 3rd party presence.
@NeutronBomb It's all down to Microsoft's acquisitions. Sony are going all in on live service games of their own because Microsoft are acquiring the big 3rd party multiplatform ones. You can't trust Microsoft to keep releasing games on Playstation beyond anything legally forced and day 1 Game Pass will skew players of those games more towards Xbox.
Watching it live unless Nintendo decides to shadow drop something like Metroid Prime 2 or the next wave of MK8 Deluxe DLC a few days prior to the showcase.
I feel it'll be a collection of the previous games. While Halo Infinite itself didn't deliver, MCC's 2nd life (the collection being fixed for console in 2018, more stuff added and the PC journey from 2019) was a very effective method in getting people excited for Infinite.
@Cherip-the-Ripper Sadly it's not the case. While there's workarounds for some 360 peripherals like adapters were created for Rock Band 4 to be able to use a large selection of 360 instruments, what I have in mind is more being able to just sync up any 360 controller or peripheral to your XB1/Series X|S and without the need for any adapters.
Doubling down on preserving the legacy of Xbox. Stuff like the return of the backwards compatiblity program, an official announcement committing to not shutting down the 360, the release of a Gears collection (including all 4 360 games), being able to easily use Xbox 360 controllers on XB1/Series X|S, bringing back 1 vs. 100, etc.
I don't know what but I feel it's instead something to do with the next Game Pass batch. The previous batch has its last game being added tomorrow (Chicory) and I really doubt there'd be no Game Pass additions between that and the showcase on June 11th.
I'd guess Stacking and The Cave Remastered. Costume Quest got added to Game Pass last year and Stacking had the same publisher. As for The Cave, you can't buy it anymore on Xbox so if it was to appear on Game Pass it would be in the form of a remaster.
@GiveMeMoney Good call, a collection of their pre-XB1 Xbox games that aren't Kinect or licensed games (Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, Costume Quest, Stacking, The Cave, Iron Brigade) would fit that hint well.
I honestly get the impression that if there's no Nintendo Direct, Nintendo will popularize the "do no big event, just do a Partner Showcase and mostly dripfeed 1st party info on social media" approach to the summer that they used in 2020 and 2022 because after all the big showcases all attention is still on TotK as if the showcases never happened.
So like for example in 2024 for events you see:
January - Xbox Developer Direct
February - Nintendo Direct, State of Play
April - ID@Xbox Showcase, Nintendo Indie World
June - Xbox Developer Direct, Nintendo Partner Showcase, State of Play
August - Nintendo Indie World
September - Nintendo Direct, State of Play, ID@Xbox Showcase
@NEStalgia I think this news gives us the real reason FFVII Remake isn't on Xbox. It's not because Sony is blocking the release (all exclusivity deals for it were over in June 2022) but rather Microsoft's basically saying "if you won't let us have it on Game Pass day 1, we have no interest in a Xbox release happening".
Wouldn't be surprised if Series X|S is the last Xbox console.
@Kaloudz Yeah, the fan favourite mode which appeared in previous Halo games (mostly at launch but 7 months after launch with Halo 5) is coming to Infinite 19 months after launch.
Gears 5 is an interesting starting pick given the franchise currently is MIA. Does make it seem that there's big Gears news in the showcase (perhaps the combination of a collection and Gears 6).
@Fiendish-Beaver Given Series S is mostly used as a Game Pass machine, leaving Series S native releases behind resulting in cloud via GPU being the only way to play upcoming games on Series S like how Starfield would be playable on XB1 could also prove the CMA's argument about the cloud market.
@Banjo- @NEStalgia 2022 was mostly a normal year for Square Enix support on Xbox, you got a bunch of games throughout the year and even a game that was day 1 on Game Pass in July (Powerwash Simulator). What would've changed is later in the year because there's no 2023 Xbox releases and Diofield Chronicle got leaked for Game Pass in early January 2023 but never came.
@themightyant Saying the showcase would focus on the next 12 months would do the trick because a focus doesn't mean everything has to be in that time window. Like how the February 2023 Nintendo Direct was announced to be focused on the 1st half of 2023 and naturally had some games that were releasing later:
Pikmin 4 - July 21st
Fashion Dreamer - 2023
Decapolice - 2023
Splatoon 3 Side Order DLC - TBA (there is a chance it releases May 31st though)
Disney Illusion Island - July 28th
Sea of Stars - August 29th
A bunch of GB/GBC/GBA games being added to NSO - TBA (though some of them did release in February and March)
Baten Kaitos 1+2 - Summer 2023 (though June is still summer so could be 1st half)
Fantasy Life i - 2023
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam - 2023/2024
Everything else comes out before the end of June 2023.
@S1ayeR74 It's probably CMA looking long term meanwhile EU looking short term. When you've got games like GTAV and MK8 being the current entries in their respective franchises nearly 10 years after launch, 10 years is a rather short amount of time.
@Moonglow I would say Spring 2015 - Spring 2017 was by far the best part of the Phil Spencer era of Xbox. While there were some missteps from Xbox back then like the story of Halo 5's campaign being terrible, for the most part that time period had a really strong Xbox lineup and also got supported with stuff like the backwards compatibility program.
@Bleachedsmiles It did get a delay already but if Microsoft had learned anything from Halo Infinite, they'd have delayed it again. If anything, Redfall showcases that Microsoft have learned absolutely nothing from the Halo Infinite mess.
Delay is better than a buggy game, a delay is the path Redfall should've taken. I really hope from all this that Microsoft learns their lesson and doesn't make another 12 month promise at next month's showcase. It's fine to focus on the next 12 months (like how Nintendo Directs are announced to be focused on the next 6 months) but all promising everything in the showcase will release within the next 12 months does is damage reputations.
@themightyant If the focus is on closing the content gap between console and PC, Fable trilogy would fit. I recall someone on this site saying that Fable 3's no longer playable on PC so much like Gears you have a situation where only the first game is playable on PC from the pre-XB1 era.
Hopefully it's real, my excitement for Xbox is really low (lowest it's been since E3 2013) but something like a Gears collection would convince me to consider re-subscribing to Gold.
Wii U did worse than the XB1 yet the Switch is currently the 3rd most successful console ever (could even overtake PS2 and DS someday if the Switch's successor is years away) so that take is very questionable.
Realistically though, the take is likely nothing more than Microsoft's continued narrative to purposely look weak to try and get regulators to pass the Activision acquisition.
Comments 1,078
Re: Microsoft Activision Blizzard Acquisition Given Greenlight In US After FTC Loses (Again)
@OM1993 @S1ayeR74 If Microsoft delays to satisfy CMA's demands, surely the FTC can show that Microsoft lied about the urgent nature of the deadline and hence they could easily also be lying about the CoD deals (the 10 year deals as well as the oath about not taking CoD off Playstation)?
Re: Talking Point: Are You Looking Forward To The New Forza Motorsport This Year?
Having Xbox Games Showcase Extended clash with the big Forza Motorsport info drop (both events happened at the same time and Motorsport wasn't present at all in Xbox Games Showcase Extended) felt counter-intuitive. It honestly gives the impression Microsoft are expecting Motorsport to go the way of Halo Infinite.
Re: Xbox Wins FTC Court Case As Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction
Not surprising given what was reported on about the FTC's arguments in the trial though the result is still disappointing.
It's been so wonderful playing Square Enix games on my Switch and it's so sad that's going to be taken away all because regulators allowed Microsoft to start an acquisition war. CoD on Nintendo hardware is a terrible consolation prize.
Re: Halo: Master Chief Collection July Update Includes Huge Changes To Firefight Mode
These MCC updates continue to be fantastic but it's a shame the game has a small population issue because of Infinite. Before I let my Gold subscription lapse, I was struggling to find matches in MCC.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Is Now Officially More Expensive In Most Countries
@gamer5634 The official Xbox support site states the changes:
https://support.xbox.com/en-GB/help/subscriptions-billing/manage-subscriptions/xbox-game-pass-ultimate-faq
What happens to my prepaid months of Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass, and/or EA Play when I sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?
Re: Aaron Greenberg Says It'll Be A 'Special Year' For Xbox At Gamescom 2023
@Cashews The comparison I was making is that BotW was the only 1st party Nintendo game playable on the show floor at E3 2016 and it completely stole the spotlight.
Re: Aaron Greenberg Says It'll Be A 'Special Year' For Xbox At Gamescom 2023
I'd guess they're trying to make a similar impact with Starfield here as Nintendo did with BotW at E3 2016.
Re: Microsoft Is Expecting Two New PS5 Models In The 'Near Future'
@NEStalgia Microsoft did limit Series X stock to prioritize cloud gaming. It wouldn't be surprising if the strategy is they upgrade their xCloud servers to be the equivalent of a more powerful Series X even though there's no physical release of a more powerful Series X.
Re: Microsoft's CEO Isn't A Fan Of Console Exclusives, Blames Sony
Console exclusivity is limited to a box, what Nadella likely wants is platform exclusivity. The concept of you can play games on any device but you must be subscribed to Game Pass to do so. They're essentially trying to make Game Pass a monopoly in the same way Windows is.
Re: SEGA & Bungie Included In Huge List Of Companies Xbox Has Considered Acquiring
@Rmg0731 Agreed, Microsoft should be permanently blocked from acquiring any studios or publishers at this point (really should've been blocked from acquiring Bethesda too).
Re: Does Starfield Include A Disc? Bethesda Causes Confusion With Contradictory Tweets
You'd think Microsoft would want to clarify this ASAP as the FTC could use it against the Activision acquisition (Microsoft using the power of CoD to kill off retail).
Re: Jim Ryan Wasn't Overly Concerned About Call Of Duty Xbox Exclusivity
@Moonglow There was a gap after Sony acquiring Bungie though which included a load of news for Halo which strongly suggested Microsoft were going to kill off Halo and replace it with CoD as Xbox's flagship franchise.
Re: Jim Ryan Wasn't Overly Concerned About Call Of Duty Xbox Exclusivity
Wasn't there a gap though between this and Sony complaining to regulators? Microsoft actions over the year (like how they put Halo Infinite on life support to make room for CoD) may have changed Sony's opinion on the situation.
Re: Sarah Bond: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's Least Popular Feature Is Cloud Gaming
@NEStalgia I feel this generation perfectly sums up why Nintendo were right out of the 3 regarding hardware. All you hear regarding PS and Xbox is about acquisitions meanwhile Nintendo's just happily continuing supporting a much weaker specs 6 year old console with a strong lineup.
The state of Xbox/PS honestly makes me think that Nintendo would be best off using the Game Boy approach for the Switch (i.e. releasing Switch 2 around 2029). Avoid releasing a next gen system for as long as possible.
Re: Talking Point: What Else Do You Expect To See From Xbox Before The End Of 2023?
A prediction rather than expectation but I think we'll see a Gamescom stream which acts like Xbox Games Showcase Extended, Forza Monthly focuses on Forza Motorsport and there ending up being some kind of Xbox event in November.
Re: Here's The Latest Xbox Game Studios & Bethesda Roadmap (June 2023 Version)
@UltimateOtaku91 I'm less confident about Gears collection happening given collections of games is the only thing from the Kinda Funny interview comment which didn't appear in the showcase:
"I can say now and everybody can already stop [with] 'I don't want to hear what Phil has to say about the future' and I fully respect that point of view, [but] we've got Starfield coming, we've got Forza coming, we've got Hellblade coming, like we've got collections of games, I'm seeing very good builds of Avowed... I can see it, but until you have a controller in your hand and you're smiling from playing our games, none of my words should matter."
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/05/xbox-boss-insists-microsoft-will-deliver-a-packed-schedule-of-releases
So based on what's happened the past week, it feels like the hint was for Activision collections (e.g. Skylanders, Heretic/Hexen) rather than stuff like Gears.
Re: The Second Half Of 2023 Is Absolutely Stacked With Major Releases On Xbox
I think it's very bizarre that the next wave of Game Pass games haven't been announced yet.
Re: Phil Spencer Teases Multiple Games That Weren't Shown In This Year's Xbox Showcase
@Fiendish-Beaver Something for Gamescom seems almost guaranteed but there were also a few years they did something in November:
Re: Phil Spencer Teases Multiple Games That Weren't Shown In This Year's Xbox Showcase
Given an upcoming 2023 XGS game wasn't at the showcase (the console version of Age of Empires 4), I honestly think there'll be another Xbox event later this year. Gamescom is probably focused on Starfield so maybe something for November?
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The 'Extended' Xbox Games Showcase 2023?
I'd say it was a solid showcase, ranked it a B. Nice variety of games shown more in depth and some of the surprises like the Hi-Fi Rush update and the ID@Xbox stuff were cool but I would say a fair amount of the surprises should've been in the main showcase instead of Extended.
Re: Starfield Will Run At 4K / 30FPS On Xbox Series X, 1440p / 30FPS On Series S
Perhaps this gives some validity to those 2024 mid gen revision rumours.
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The Xbox Games Showcase 2023?
B or 6/10, a solid showcase with a variety of games even though I was only interested in Fable, Clockwork Revolution and the Atlus stuff. Was surprised we didn't see Age of Empires 4 for console given that's currently scheduled for 2023, there was a large focus on 2024 and beyond as well as not enough gameplay.
But it's entirely possible that all my issues with the showcase gets resolved with the Extended showcase on Tuesday.
Re: Poll: How High Are Your Expectations For Sunday's Xbox Showcase?
I have no expectations as I could see it go either way. I could see a very good showcase where we finally see a load of those 2019/2020 announcements return among some new stuff. On the other hand, I could instead see a really bad showcase where Forza + Starfield is doing all the heavy lifting while Microsoft pulls a "imagine what would've been on Game Pass if the CMA didn't block the Activision acquisition" because they expected to close the acquisition by now.
Re: Atlus Reveals Two New Persona Games, Both Coming To Xbox Game Pass
@Green-Bandit The point I was trying to get across is that Square Enix have already taken into account the PS5 exclusivity for their expectations. If it was multiplatform day 1, yes of course there would be more preorders but Square Enix's expectations would also be higher hence resulting in the same panicking that's currently being reported on.
Multiplatform would of course be the better outcome, all I was saying is that it wouldn't solve Square Enix's specific problem. Meanwhile if they revealed FFVII Rebirth in September 2023 instead of June 2022, that would've solved their problem.
Re: Atlus Reveals Two New Persona Games, Both Coming To Xbox Game Pass
@Green-Bandit Release pacing is FFXVI's biggest problem, namely that FFVII Rebirth's launching a mere 7 months later (early 2024 means January/February 2024).
Re: Here's What Might Be Leaving Xbox Game Pass In July 2023
Powerwash Simulator seems like a guaranteed game that's leaving Game Pass given it's the only Square Enix game left on Game Pass.
Re: Our Predictions For The 2023 Xbox Games Showcase
Since their acquisition of Bethesda, all the showcases have started and finished with Bethesda. So my predictions are:
Don't think Halo Infinite or Redfall will be present, instead them being blogpost announcements whenever the time is suitable for more news.
Don't have specific 3rd party predictions but I feel there'll be a wide variety of 3rd party presence.
Re: Report: Redfall Playtesters 'Shocked' At How Little The Game Changed During Development
@NeutronBomb It's all down to Microsoft's acquisitions. Sony are going all in on live service games of their own because Microsoft are acquiring the big 3rd party multiplatform ones. You can't trust Microsoft to keep releasing games on Playstation beyond anything legally forced and day 1 Game Pass will skew players of those games more towards Xbox.
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your Plans For The Xbox Games Showcase 2023?
Watching it live unless Nintendo decides to shadow drop something like Metroid Prime 2 or the next wave of MK8 Deluxe DLC a few days prior to the showcase.
Re: Xbox's Latest Showcase Teaser Has Fable Fans Incredibly Excited
I feel it'll be a collection of the previous games. While Halo Infinite itself didn't deliver, MCC's 2nd life (the collection being fixed for console in 2018, more stuff added and the PC journey from 2019) was a very effective method in getting people excited for Infinite.
Re: Talking Point: What 'Dream' Reveal Would You Like To See At The Xbox Games Showcase 2023?
@Cherip-the-Ripper Sadly it's not the case. While there's workarounds for some 360 peripherals like adapters were created for Rock Band 4 to be able to use a large selection of 360 instruments, what I have in mind is more being able to just sync up any 360 controller or peripheral to your XB1/Series X|S and without the need for any adapters.
Re: Talking Point: What 'Dream' Reveal Would You Like To See At The Xbox Games Showcase 2023
Doubling down on preserving the legacy of Xbox. Stuff like the return of the backwards compatiblity program, an official announcement committing to not shutting down the 360, the release of a Gears collection (including all 4 360 games), being able to easily use Xbox 360 controllers on XB1/Series X|S, bringing back 1 vs. 100, etc.
Re: Hang On A Minute, Is Xbox ANZ Teasing Psychonauts 3?
I don't know what but I feel it's instead something to do with the next Game Pass batch. The previous batch has its last game being added tomorrow (Chicory) and I really doubt there'd be no Game Pass additions between that and the showcase on June 11th.
Re: Xbox Fans Begin Speculating As Double Fine Teases 'More To Come' On Game Pass
I'd guess Stacking and The Cave Remastered. Costume Quest got added to Game Pass last year and Stacking had the same publisher. As for The Cave, you can't buy it anymore on Xbox so if it was to appear on Game Pass it would be in the form of a remaster.
@GiveMeMoney Good call, a collection of their pre-XB1 Xbox games that aren't Kinect or licensed games (Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, Costume Quest, Stacking, The Cave, Iron Brigade) would fit that hint well.
Re: Reaction: PlayStation's Showcase Was A Win For Xbox, Whichever Way You Slice It
I honestly get the impression that if there's no Nintendo Direct, Nintendo will popularize the "do no big event, just do a Partner Showcase and mostly dripfeed 1st party info on social media" approach to the summer that they used in 2020 and 2022 because after all the big showcases all attention is still on TotK as if the showcases never happened.
So like for example in 2024 for events you see:
Re: Poll: Which Xbox Console Had The Best Controller?
360, didn't have stick drift problems back in those days.
Re: Final Fantasy 16 Team 'Looked At All Options' Before Deciding On (Timed) PS5 Exclusivity
@NEStalgia I think this news gives us the real reason FFVII Remake isn't on Xbox. It's not because Sony is blocking the release (all exclusivity deals for it were over in June 2022) but rather Microsoft's basically saying "if you won't let us have it on Game Pass day 1, we have no interest in a Xbox release happening".
Wouldn't be surprised if Series X|S is the last Xbox console.
Re: Halo Infinite Season 4 Adds Infection Mode This June
@Kaloudz Yeah, the fan favourite mode which appeared in previous Halo games (mostly at launch but 7 months after launch with Halo 5) is coming to Infinite 19 months after launch.
Re: Phil Spencer Declares 'Big Milestone' As Xbox Debuts Four Games On Nvidia GeForce Now
Gears 5 is an interesting starting pick given the franchise currently is MIA. Does make it seem that there's big Gears news in the showcase (perhaps the combination of a collection and Gears 6).
Re: We're 'Probably' Getting Mid-Gen Xbox & PlayStation Consoles, Says Take-Two CEO
@Fiendish-Beaver Given Series S is mostly used as a Game Pass machine, leaving Series S native releases behind resulting in cloud via GPU being the only way to play upcoming games on Series S like how Starfield would be playable on XB1 could also prove the CMA's argument about the cloud market.
Re: UK MPs Question Why The CMA Blocked Xbox's ActiBlizz Deal Following EU Approval
While the EU did approve the deal, they are doing an antitrust investigation into Azure (Microsoft's cloud service) which is rather interesting.
Re: Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Officially Approved In Europe
@Banjo- @NEStalgia 2022 was mostly a normal year for Square Enix support on Xbox, you got a bunch of games throughout the year and even a game that was day 1 on Game Pass in July (Powerwash Simulator). What would've changed is later in the year because there's no 2023 Xbox releases and Diofield Chronicle got leaked for Game Pass in early January 2023 but never came.
Re: Rumour: Microsoft Won't Stick To '12-Month Window' For Xbox Games Showcase 2023
@themightyant Saying the showcase would focus on the next 12 months would do the trick because a focus doesn't mean everything has to be in that time window. Like how the February 2023 Nintendo Direct was announced to be focused on the 1st half of 2023 and naturally had some games that were releasing later:
Everything else comes out before the end of June 2023.
Re: Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Officially Approved In Europe
@S1ayeR74 It's probably CMA looking long term meanwhile EU looking short term. When you've got games like GTAV and MK8 being the current entries in their respective franchises nearly 10 years after launch, 10 years is a rather short amount of time.
Re: Reaction: Zelda Reviews & Redfall Woes Put The Pressure On Xbox Exclusive Starfield
@Moonglow I would say Spring 2015 - Spring 2017 was by far the best part of the Phil Spencer era of Xbox. While there were some missteps from Xbox back then like the story of Halo 5's campaign being terrible, for the most part that time period had a really strong Xbox lineup and also got supported with stuff like the backwards compatibility program.
Re: Game Pass Title Hollow Knight: Silksong Has Been Delayed
@Bleachedsmiles It did get a delay already but if Microsoft had learned anything from Halo Infinite, they'd have delayed it again. If anything, Redfall showcases that Microsoft have learned absolutely nothing from the Halo Infinite mess.
Re: Game Pass Title Hollow Knight: Silksong Has Been Delayed
Delay is better than a buggy game, a delay is the path Redfall should've taken. I really hope from all this that Microsoft learns their lesson and doesn't make another 12 month promise at next month's showcase. It's fine to focus on the next 12 months (like how Nintendo Directs are announced to be focused on the next 6 months) but all promising everything in the showcase will release within the next 12 months does is damage reputations.
Re: Talking Point: Are You Hoping Xbox's 'Gears Collection' Is Real?
@themightyant If the focus is on closing the content gap between console and PC, Fable trilogy would fit. I recall someone on this site saying that Fable 3's no longer playable on PC so much like Gears you have a situation where only the first game is playable on PC from the pre-XB1 era.
Re: Talking Point: Are You Hoping Xbox's 'Gears Collection' Is Real?
Hopefully it's real, my excitement for Xbox is really low (lowest it's been since E3 2013) but something like a Gears collection would convince me to consider re-subscribing to Gold.
Re: Microsoft Reckons It 'Lost The Worst Generation To Lose' With Xbox One
Wii U did worse than the XB1 yet the Switch is currently the 3rd most successful console ever (could even overtake PS2 and DS someday if the Switch's successor is years away) so that take is very questionable.
Realistically though, the take is likely nothing more than Microsoft's continued narrative to purposely look weak to try and get regulators to pass the Activision acquisition.