HonestHick

@Fiendish-Beaver we haven’t seen anything from them officially put single player. PVP and Horde will likely get its own show of sorts. But IGN went back stage with the game and said regular horde mode was there and PVP but they are not allowed to extend info on it. As likely MS wants to show this off maybe in Germany at the showcase there. I wouldn’t worry about it sounds like plenty of online goodies are set to reveal soon.

@themightyant have to agree with you. Very tedious list. I’m likely to get around 50-60% and just tap out. I swear my idea of achievements will never happen and that is just completing the story of a game is 50% then whatever you want to do with the extra 50% is whatever, you want to break that down into tedious collecting or replaying a mission 374 times for a 10G go for it. But reward people for playing a game from start to finish with 50%. Cause I beat every game I buy and yet on some I got like 20% barely. Maybe my idea is boring but it would make my list look so much clearer and easier to understand and push more player to finish a game maybe which most devs want.

@PWR3700 so 35 studios vs 40. With the 3-5 to close that aren’t making hits. I think they will be ok.

@IronMan30 great game to you maybe which is ok, i am glad you like it. But it’s not making money and it’s on all platforms. At some point these studios in question need a hit. Doesn’t have to be a huge hit, but it does need to pay their own bills. HB isn’t doing that.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner if you make great games and put them on PC they will sell. Capcom’s latest report showed that PC made Capcom more money then all consoles combined. Key difference is good games. You can’t put walking sim’s with women talking to themselves and a few mediocre titles and think PC will help the bottom line. However look how well Forza horizon 6 sold on PC. Gears of War E day will sell big on PC. But they have to be big titles. Hell Divers 2 would have been a mid selling game on PS5 but PC did the heavy lifting. MS will be fine if they use Xbox and PC as long as the games are made well.

So you have heard of PC? Haha you know i am kidding with you. You are very knowledgeable. We all know that. 😀

@Jenkinss Sony has caught a lot of flak from its core this generation for all the live service attempts and fails. So i hear what you are saying there. I think Sony will likely try and end the PS5 life with single player games. Tho they admitted to not being done with live service development. Xbox did 1 thing right and 3 things wrong for 10 years and many went to PS4 or PC. I do agree there. Even MS biggest IP, Halo, Gears etc, has been mishandled. I am a hardcore Apple user, so i don’t have a PC to game on and thought about it a few times. But really enjoy consoles. So i own all 3 and lately the only one staying in its lane is Switch. They know what they are, how to budget. Etc etc. PS5 for me has been a little boring, just the same titles i grew bored of on PS4. I was excited for them to branch out with the live service but they all got cancelled or were awful. Xbox is my main platform cause i love the controller, but again every time they have some great news and get some excitement around them they do something to stir up the haters and doubters and we go back into Xbox is Dead talks.

@clvr it’s everyone’s fault, no one should be excused from it in my opinion. Takes a lot of hands to mess up big enough for the axe to come out.

@Weebleman they are a talented group. I to love audio. So I appreciate their efforts, but in today’s crowded market where is that game going to sell and get buzz online from is my point. I know my comments seem cold but this is the entertainment business. You are on cloud 9 with one release and back to bankrupt with another. Choices and reading the room of what consumers are asking for is just as important as your coding skills.

@Cakefish Double fine could remake Psycho 1 and release it on all platforms and it would make money, then take that money and make a 3rd title and they would be clear of any cuts. But again they need to listen to their fans and not do a game no one is asking for right now. Build up some cash and Psycho would give them that. I agree with you.

@Weebleman i am blaming all involved. Phil had dinner with a YouTuber. The YouTuber asked Phil why can’t we get Banjo? Phil laughs and say’s cause Rare don’t want to make it. Again doubling down on not forcing Devs to make a game they don’t want to but encouraging them to do what they want. So all are part of the problem. No one asked for a woman to walk around and talk to herself with no gameplay. Also no one asked for Redfall. Story on that is the dev started it before MS buyout. Then thought MS would cancel it when they heard it wasn’t going so well and they didn’t so they pushed it out. That will not cut it in today crowded market of great games.

@datamonkey you don’t pay off 100 B in a few games. It will take years to chip away at that investment. Speaking of investment without the ABK deal MS wouldn’t even be here. They had no games bringing in much money. Everyone acts like it takes a few games or 1-2 years to turn things around. Simply not true. MS has a long and expensive journey ahead and they know that. Hence the cuts to studios that aren’t making their end of the deal. Slim it down, get back to big blockbuster titles coming out in quicker fashion and they will see the money coming back in, alongside some new users into their ecoyststem. This will be a long, expensive recovery but they have the IP to do it and the pockets if they want to climb out of the hole.

@clvr maybe so, but this is the entertainment business. You don’t get to make stuff that isn’t appealing for long. In any entertainment business. Your songs don’t sell, the label cuts you. I for one am sick of defending poor decisions in this industry. They know their jobs and bottom lines are on the table. I do think everyone deserves a few pitches. But Phil was always saying he didn’t tell the Devs what to make and encouraged them to make what they wanted to make. It lead to this.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner ever heard of PC. Stands for the largest gaming platform worldwide and all MS games will be on console and PC. Any other questions sir?

@darylb24 thats a great list and i think you nailed it other than Blizzard. They are making lots of money and i don’t suspect any moves there. Well done tho. I agree with you.

@IronMan30 Ninja Theory needs to go, they make games with expensive mocap of a women walking around talking to herself. Who wants to play that?

@IllusiveMan how the HELL does HellBlade make any money being on one or 300 platforms? No one wants that. Xbox needs titles that are important. Make elder scrolls and Fallout exclusive. Then money hat the next Stellar blade. Those are move the needle titles more than a crazy women walking around listening to voices in her head.

Also why should Xbox walk away from MS it makes no sense when the next console will run windows and be a big part of their PC push and work hand and hand with MS software and hardware engineers. You seem more concerned with keeping titles off PS than making any sense. The logic answer is what this site say’s all the time, PS gets more titles than Xbox. Well…… what if that ain’t true no more? Could only help and the money don’t matter, you have to spend money to make money. If they don’t they are stuck in what they have been which Asha has told your ass she isn’t for.. changes are coming. I am only repeating what has been said, not what i wish. But most of it lines up with bold moves needed.

@IllusiveMan cause you are assuming they do nothing and something will just change for the their business. No Asha is stirring the pot and yes that stir might cost some money. Every platform that has exclusives losses money, but we all agree it’s to get people attracted to your console. Something they have to do, whether that be with their own titles or 3rd party or both. So to me that makes total sense. This is a few years to fix and Asha said the same. The video game market ain’t just going to flip on its head overnight. You have to keep the core happy which she is, then slowly have exclusive content to grow a gamer one at a time. MS could have left gaming so so long ago if that was the plan. Now they are trying to turn things around, and Asha has made some very nice moves. If your plan is MS spends no money and does very little to change. Then how do you start to shift units and get things on track with Helix and beyond. Also Xbox will never outsell PS, that isn’t the goal, the goal is just a profitable and healthy Xbox. Not outselling PS. Little to no chance that ever happens nor does it need too.

I also heard a report that Asha and team are looking to money hat 3rd party games much like Sony does. They either want the titles exclusive or bare minimum to come to GP. So that is an aggressive way to grow their exclusive content. Time will tell. But i do not see this story gaining much traction. In fact i see MS coming out and saying they have no intentions to do so and not just a lie to quiet the noise. But truthfully i think they know gaming is too big to leave. Sure they need fixes, but once they get that it’s good money and a consumer product in which they don’t have outside of Xbox. I could be wrong but i am giving this 3% chance of happening. Likely they will make partners tho and have 3rd party consoles using helix chips.

@McKeownPlayz HAHHA Dreamcast guy has been saying Xbox is Dead since the middle point of the 360, to his credit every one has been saying Xbox is dead since the OG. I was there i remember. That was a funny comment tho, thanks for the laugh LOL

@Fiendish-Beaver i can’t wait for this game. Still can’t wait to see more about PVP, and are we getting anything more than themed controllers? Which i think we all know they will at the bare minimum have controllers for the game. I’d love to get my hands on one of the 25 year green Series X, even tho i don’t need it. I have two black Series X’s now. I do want that green controller tho. Like to get a few of them truth told.

@Fiendish-Beaver i don’t remember which video i watched where they said normal horde is there alongside the 12 player option. I thought of you and forgot to link it. If i rewatch it i will link it to you. You are set with the horde mode you like and are used too.

Also in that video it said you can toggle on and off the reload. So if you like the old ways in the top right you can do it. The one in the demo in the middle is something they are doing for new players. Seems like they are packing in everything as before with options to expand. Sounds amazing!

I like the way they are displaying the title art in my games. That is a nice welcome. All these updates are just to get ahead of what they will do with Helix. I am all for it. Many of these are going to be carry over and blend with Xbox PC.

@Fiendish-Beaver Gears is so back and to think they rebuilt it all from the ground up is awesome. Slide, jump, just the scaling looks to be so much more than it ever was. I too will be buying everything and anything they do for the game. Controllers, stickers, shirt anything. I am so happy as this is the game since they announced it I been waiting for and I know you have as well. Just wait until this gets updated on Helix and they take all the ray tracing and visuals up about 3 notches. Holy heck!!

@Ramouz I have been saying it for years that I do not like Sony controllers. Never really did. PS3 controller was so awful for me. I barely played anything on PS3 but the exclusives. Same with PS4 the controller was a tad better in fairness but my hands still cramped with it. PS5 controller is simply to wide, my left thumb kills me with shooters. So while I like most PS hardware and some of its games, the controllers are why I never bought any of my 3rd party games on it.

Xbox Controllers fit me like a glove and I can game on them for hours with no issues and I just aim and respond so much better with them. I got the Switch 2 and picked up the new Pro controller and it is so so nice as well. I have to agree with you on that point as well. I love that controller, I go back and fourth from the Pro to the Xbox and my hands are happy, 30 mins into PS controllers and I feel like my left thumb got ran over by a public transportation vehicle.

@Skinny-Pete agreed. I think Asha is building some nice momentum right now and i don’t expect it to slow down. She admits to having a lot of work to do and 1-2 announcements is not going to just put them ahead of schedule, this will take time to rebuild and slowly get players over to the XBOX ecoystem. But they have major titles that can do that. Not to mention we have seen Blizzcon yet, there is sure to be some XBOX and PC goodies there for us.

@Fiendish-Beaver the full story of that was PS5 sales dropped 50% and Xbox went up 12% and PS5 barely outsold the Xbox for the month. It’s not a huge story in itself. But it say’s people did buy a Xbox in ok numbers in an area MS has a lot of work to go in. Gears of War looks amazing, i want to learn more on the new Horde mode and of course PVP. Loved the show, think we will see more 25th news and updates as the year goes on and Asha is making some big strides. She admits they have a lot of work to do in the space and building up some exclsuvies slowly will help them grow their ecosystem. She’s listening to fans and we are seeing it slowly roll out and taking away the 3-4 years of Series Consoles being mismanaged. Going into Helix with some momentum is her goal, and she appears to be on her way.

Great Shows this year, even tho i didn’t care much for the God of War design, all 3 shows had some awesome titles in it. Next up the rumored Nintendo direct.

@Banjo- i am so so happy with what i saw in Gears of War E-day. The movement alone makes it feel so fresh and new. Graphics look insane. Reason i was late on here was gaming related. I bought a Secret Lab Manus Pro XL gaming desk, and a Asus 32 in Oled monitor and i ordered a second Series X to go into my office/Gaming room. Got it all put together after the show and am so so excited for Gears, but i thought the show looked great. No more showing games more than a year or so away and while that takes some surprises down a bit, i think it set the stage for the show of just how many good games XBOX has coming these next 12 months. Today was an exciting day but also busy, really appreciate you thinking of me.

@Fiendish-Beaver something you failed to mention is Forza Horizon 6 moved a 12% increase in hardware in a territory Xbox isn’t as strong in and that game is well known to be coming to PS5. You are going to tell me Gears of War isn’t going to move some hardware? One or two games ain’t going to sell 40 million consoles. It’s about gaining back gamers a few games, services, Ui changes, updates etc etc over a long period of time. I loved the show, E-Day looks AMAZING. They still have time to announce a limited edition controller etc etc, Gears will make plenty of money. Forza sold 140 plus million dollars just on pre launch editions on Xbox and PC again that is before it launched on Xbox and PC. There are some things to continue to work on for Asha but this is a strong year for them. I am hoping GTA 6 moves some XBox One owners over as well. The doom and gloom on here is as annoying as that talking Cube in Mom of War.

@Millionski agreed, now is the time to do a 25th year bundle and drop it enough to lure in more players. Some Xbox One guys will go to PC or PS5, but you got plenty over there that will get on a Series Console for GTA 6. But I agree they should try and get to those players and in some ways they did. On Xbox One they did a Just for you deal and discounted the Series consoles a good amount. Many said they took the deal. So that was a nice start.

If they keep Gears of War E-Day exclusive or timed exclusive you will see a 15% or more in retail units selling. Then GTA 6 will bring over some Xbox One players likely. So they should move a little more hardware this second half of 2026. Good news, we need all 3 consoles doing well.

@Banjo- for sure, that will really start to flex MS’s plan for the future. We know it’s PC hybrid from here on out. With features and hardware like this i think it’s a huge win. The flexibility of your library and where you want to play it will be unmatched. Cloud saves go from any device. Soon my friend, very soon we are going to see all the work MS has been doing to create the new vision of Xbox and i think it’s going to have capabilities that the other platforms do not.

@J_Mo_Money YES!!! I have a LG 55 inch C2 and a 65 inch LG C3. I really want to upgrade the living room to a LG G6 and put a C6 in the office/gaming room. I used to be a Sony TV guy and i switched to LG Oled about 4 years ago or slightly longer and never looked back. I love the picture and of course the fact LG has gamers covered with the specs. 4 HDMI 2.1 ports vs 2 with Sony and faster refresh rates. I hope you are loving yours as well. I would like to update mine before Helix.

@Banjo- if the Elite 3 has this D-Pad it’s a huge upgrade and i will be getting one. That is as smart of a D-Pad upgrade as i have seen. I am liking this handheld and really want one now as i to am a Oled fanatic. Got 2 Oled TV’s in the house and it’s the only thing about my Switch 2 i wish was different. MS and Asus are really building some good tech together.

If they can keep the ROG X this price which i am not so sure. But if they can it stands the chance to move more units as it’s far more capable hardware than Steam Deck. The real question now is how much is the Steam Machine going to cost. Might be overpriced for how weak its specs are also.

Not to mention i think the Steam Controller looks like hot garbage!!! Not only cause i like off set sticks. But the size and placement just seem awful. Xbox Controllers are my favorite in the industry and it’s not even close. Suppose we can use one on Steam Machine but still. I am likely to pass on it.

They could do a tech demo as say this is next gen ray tracing vs current. Not sure why they would cause it’s not around the corner to launch. Not to mention specs and tweaks will likely still take place and might not be the final build. Really just want them both to focus on the last few big titles these consoles have coming. Then shortly after let’s wrap this console cycle up and get to new exciting hardware. Jason spoke about the architecture advances the Helix will have and of course more raw power. The next consoles will be able to do things Series X and PS5 simply can’t and get consoles out of 30fps modes.

@ILuvGames early Bird gets the worm as the saying goes. Haha
I am just happy to see the excited for it. It should do really well.

@Banjo- I would love it if they made Banjo merch. I know you would be all over that. They could do some really cool stuff. No doubt about it.

Please makes Gears of War E-day Merch me and Beaver will buy it all up. That includes hardware and controllers as well. Take our money MS. We dare ya!!!

Sorry i am spending your money for you Beaver HAHAHA

@cragis0001 smartest XBOX post I’ve seen in a while. This is the area they are just so bad at it’s laughable. Get out there, let the brand be seen. I have been saying that since the start of this generation. I watch a lot of sports. Sports fields and courts often have PS logos on them. You hit nail on head. I’ve always liked your posts, this comes as no surprise friend.

If they do most or all of that list. That is a killer XBOX console. Asha is working and listening and i think MS really wants gaming to be a forever staple in their lineup of products. Time is now, go make it happen.

Take all the ad’s off and this is the best looking and working Ui in the business. Never liked the ad’s , not from a $4 trillion dollar company. Even Nintendo don’t do ad’s.

@Fiendish-Beaver yeah those consoles are so awesome looking. I hope they do, it likely we just get a controller and one of those sleeves that cover the Series X. But i would still get it. I would guess September or early October for E-day but i hope it is sooner. Going to be great times with that one for sure. The 30 min showcase in June can’t some soon enough!

@Fiendish-Beaver Please MS do a Gears collectors Editon controller and maybe even Series X. I am begging you to take my money and so is Beaver HAHA

@S1ayeR74 so what does that country do when they buy a physical game and have a huge chunk of the game to download? That has always been my point against physical media, it’s not physical anymore once i have to download most the game and all it’s updates DLC etc etc, just look at crimson Desert right now, they get a new patch every 3-4 days. So you buy that game on disc and it plays nothing like it does right now. So for me i have been digital since the end of the 360, and PS3. I own zero disc games. But just cause that works better for me doesn’t mean i want physical to be dead, it’s just that the numbers show it’s dying by the quarter earnings report. Capcom’ s shown that 93% of it’s sales where digital. At what point does Capcom say why make a physical game for the remaining 4%. Video games is a TECHNOLOGY hobby. It’s not rock collecting, it’s not baseball Cards, it’s not golf. It’s a forward facing technology driven media hobby. That changes drastically every few years or console generations.thats not closed minded, it’s a fact within the hobby.

@Banjo- @Weebleman that car would have to have some kind of suspension not to skip that record HAHAHA. Hate to see what that would cost.

@Weebleman it already is optional with the look of the numbers. Only Nintendo sells enough physical media to really hold the numbers up. Capcom report 93% digital, Sony is at 85% and Xbox is likely closer to the 99% market than anyone else. Vinyl records is the only music that sells. CD’s are hard to find. But look at the money made in Streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Imagine taking a road trip and playing your vinyl records in your car? Haha

@Droopy well said, and i have said on here multiple times that i like physical games sticking around a little longer if they make sense for everyone, and not just the player. That means the way a console is designed, retailers making space for them in the store and they don’t sell or make much profit is not going to end well and we are seeing that. Here is a wild but factual set of info i looked into for a few companies recent earnings. we know Sony has said they are at 85% digital, likely Xbox is even more certainly not less, Nintendo is 52% which is really about dead even but that is a lot of growth for digital within Nintendo. But here was the one that i was like wow it over. Capcom reported 93% of its sales were digital. There is just no way we can sit here and say but they need to service me with my plastic disc that needs a download anyways or i am leaving the industry and not playing anymore. Hey anyone can quit gaming at any time for any reason. I am saying that is the issue, i am saying it comes off as entitled, and not really a gamer but more of a collector. Cause i don’t care how i had to purchase or play Gears of War E-day i am there. Anyways well said and i hope MS does have a program in works for physical to digital converting.

@Weebleman so good for Sony, they can eat the cost of making a disc drive, and the lost of profits sharing it with retailers and gamers sharing discs of single player games. Nothing wrong with that. But it’s peanuts to the overall sales for them. At some point it’s not worth it.

PC did it a decade ago or so along with Apple and it hasn’t hurt them a bit. It won’t hurt consoles cause kids growing up will NEVER buy a disc. So let the 40 year old’s complain and then go get the money on digital. Not to mention buy a piece of plastic that needs digital downloads to work, update and often times play seems so archaic and i ain’t even mentioning the fact PS Portal works with one game in your disc drive vs your whole digital library. This is old heads making smoke cause thats the internet, meanwhile they use a debt card and not physical cash. Don’t have a disc drive on their laptop, car. And have Netflix and Spotify and Apple Music. See the trend? The trillionaire companies do.

All these guys saying no disc drive no purchase, who cares, there is like less than 100,000 of you in the world left. Apple didn’t care about ya when they took it off the MacBook a decade ago. Car companies didn’t care and ditched the CD player in the car and sales and life went on. I understand liking to buy something your way, but at this point there just isn’t a market for it. PS sells 100 million consoles and every report earning they lose more and more physical sales. So right now for PS it’s 85-15 in favor of digital. In 2 years what if it’s 93-7, should Sony make a disc driver for 7% of its player base? Also for the first time in Nintendo history Digital sales have surpassed physical and now Nintendo is selling digital for $10 less to get more players to shop on the Eshop. Likely the rumors of a digital only Switch 2 launching soon to reduce the price will happen. This is far from a MS and PC thing. Physical media is DEAD, and to an extent i wish it wasn’t but it is and there is no reason to support it much longer as it’s more a cost and hardware design problem.