Comments 1,989

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@Banjo- that is all facts. They are so far ahead. Again as i have mentioned here. The insomniac leak showed Sony saying they are behind. That the ABK deal leapfrogs MS over them in areas they do not have. These aren’t my words. This is the horses mouth. They know MS is going to make insane money with this strategy and slowly take players away from PS. Even if it’s to PC. Xbox and PC combined are going to stress Sony out financially. I haven’t even gotten to the rumor that the next Xbox is considering getting rid of the paywall for online. How can they eat all that money some ask? Easy you buying their games on any screen you wish too. That leaves Sony charging $80 a year for online play while Xbox and PC are free. MS is slowly stripping all the anti consumer polices off its brand while Sony is adding more. While that won’t change the player base today or tomorrow, it will in the long haul.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@Banjo- as always, very well said and i agree 100%. I really think moving forward less and less 3rd party titles are going to take the money hatting deals. They are going to see everyone else making way more money. MS is changing the way games are delivered and people don’t want to see it or they don’t like that it’s happening. Either way this new MS strategy is winning me over as i am seeing just how big in the long term it’s going to really be.

Re: Xbox Hardware Revenues Down Again Despite Content & Services Growth

HonestHick

@Ken_Kaniff with 2 more years left on Series and a next gen console, that isn’t happening in 5 years. The only ones saying MS is leaving hardware is the ones not fully understanding the new strategy they have. Not trying to be rude in saying that. But Xbox is showing no signs of leaving hardware but they are showing the power of software on more devices and i think outside of 3-4 titles we will continue to see that. Cha Ching $

Re: Red Dead Redemption PC Footage Lands As Xbox Version Remains At 30FPS

HonestHick

As my profile pic shows this is my favorite game ever. But rockstar has done it such shame with awful online. No good updates to the performance. Just now on PC. The list goes on and on for me as to why can’t they have a better support team for this game. Just cause it don’t sell as much as GTA? Nothing outside of COD sells like GTA. RDR is a top selling franchise against just about everything else. Treat it like a first class citizen for once. The fan’s deserve it.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@Banjo- Bingo Banjo!!! Haha sorry i had to!!! .

You are spot on, I’ll give you an example to chew on. I want your thoughts back on it. Sony locks down a money hat deal on Stellar Blade aka Project eve that was coming to PS5, Xbox and PC. They make sure that game can’t come to Xbox and PC players to make more money but yet tell that dev studio that is good for them but for Sony they bring God of War to PC. So Sony wins in the sense they took a game off Xbox and PC, market their console as the place to play it and then port their single player games to PC to make more money. How did that help the dev team that signed with them?

MS is showing dev’s to be on all screens and how much money there is doing so. The gig is up for Sony, even a long time loyal partner in Square Enix said enough is enough with locking our games to one box.

Thoughts?

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@Banjo- i agree, MS is stronger now than the YouTubers and gaming sites would spin it. They own so many games and have so many ways to get those games on different screens. They are about to launch games on a mobile store and really rake in cash. Sony will come around to getting there games less and less locked to a single box, they have hinted at wanting to do that but are just dipping their toes in. They closed 2 studios today. Lost millions on Concord, it’s just as i have said on here and Push. They do not have the talent, IP, or ability to create online games. They have single player studio talent. Which is fine other than those games bring back pennies on the dollar, while MS and PC games bring back millions in mere days. They won’t give up on live service and i think if it don’t go right soon they will bleed the bank dry and start to over charge their player base in ways they have no idea how bad it will be.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@OldGamer999 I understand that. I do think the Pro will be nice for some games. But if Xbox comes out in 2026 as rumor points to then it’s a bridge for a few years and back to Xbox having the power and start on next gen. For me i tell players to play where it fits you best. For me the Xbox controller, free cloud saves, games i buy get me a Xbox and PC copy if i choose to build a PC, with all my saved content switching from one platform to the next and my friends list, well thats what works for me. PS5 Pro will of course be my Sony exclusive machine and possibly more depending on what games come to it and how they run. But i understand your points and for sure advise anyone to play where it brings you the most joy. Cause this is entertainment after all. It’s meant to be fun and exciting.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@OldGamer999 i for sure hope to only see one Xbox SKU for home console and one for Handheld next gen. But i do thing many games are built to scale. Not many PC gamers are playing on 4090’s. They are playing on mid range cards or often times lower. So i slightly disagree, but i do think it would be easier not having to weak of a SKU like the S. As long as the base line power is there you can go up and it’s easier and rewarding work, going down and having to cut is not ideal that i do agree with you on. 😊

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@OldGamer999 i think Gears E Day will blow anything Sony has away. A few people that saw it said it’s the best looking game they have ever seen. So i would recommend waiting for sure that Series consoles can’t throw out some high quality stuff. Also Nintendo games are very fun. I play them for the fun factor. But a lot of them run at 24fps. To me thats not quality. Sure it’s fun, but the hardware even tho 1 sku to your point is so underpowered that the quality of the game suffers greatly. Looking forward to seeing if Switch 2 can get Nintendo games back to not only fun but well performing. With Sony releasing more and more games on PC, they are no longer a single SKU developer either per se. So as the industry leans more and more into PC and handhelds, i think your point will be more across the board. Just my opinion of course friend.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@Banjo- for sure and remember these are the same people that thought 2 weeks after MS bought ABK we would have 12 games and GP would be at 80 million users and the console war was over and Xbox was a monopoly. No other company get’s story’s written about them in that fashion. This is a long term play with ABK and other studios. It’s all going to build GP over time into a monster value service that should continue to grow in great content and users.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@OldGamer999 i agree with that my friend. I do think the Series X is the better console and the roadmap of games is starting to look very strong. We still don’t know much about what Sony has or if it get’s out in the next 1-2 years. That is starting to concern me a little. I hope in 2025 they give a decent size roadmap so i know what to expect. As for MS they just need to deliver those games in great shape and i think i will be more than happy with Team Green.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@Weebleman yeah i mean great point. They will dominate in a cloud only world with the IPS they have. But that is not ready for mainstream yet. GP helps build a library of games up to play quickly and affordable. But that is not what we are seeing with the console players. Truthfully 8 if not 9 out of 10 consoles sold, play COD, Fortnite and sports games. Thats what the competition in the console space is. Only 1-2 gamers out of 10 are like us and care about AAA big experiences. The momentum the causals can just download an app on their TV and play FIFA like it’s on a console is going to shift that part of the market a lot. In the meantime i think Xbox just needs to stay the course they have now and continue to do pro consumer moves. Great points buddy 😊

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@OldGamer999 i agree 100%. Their messaging is still awful. The marketing for COD has been great. So let’s hope that carries over for some of their bigger future releases. But the messaging is a mess. We do need info on all you just said. I expect them to come with a next gen console somewhat soon. I really want to hear about it in 2025. They said they had exciting hardware news to announce at the end of the year. Well it’s close to the end of the year.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@WildConcept6 i would love to sit and drink and beer with you and talk gaming. You truly get it and understand this industry very well. That was all very well said and i 100% agree. The console space is a very tricky market to grow and balance the profits and losses. Now Sony say’s well we just won’t lose no more and throw extra cost at their player base. It’s early stages of it but if they continue to do it into the next gen it could have some backlash. More and more gamers could start to not see the value in it and go PC. I think MS’s strategy is going to out gain Sony’s in the long run cause reaching more screens is simply the smart thing to do when gamers now have more choice then ever where to play their games at. Very well written and thought out reply and i surely enjoyed it. Please continue to include me in your thoughts. I enjoy a well balanced conversation about the industry. 😊

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@WildConcept6 Steam is for sure a great platform. They ran into a little legal trouble here recently. But overall they have been the place to be on PC and i am not sure anyone will dethrone them anytime soon. For Xbox it takes time to come back from a failed gen in the console space. They tanked with the Xbox One. They know it, the players know it. So no matter what they do, they are still going to feel that this gen. But they are doing well with their new strategy. It will take some time and a lot of big titles, but they have those coming now. So in time i believe they can make some headway here in the states and maybe the UK. But they aren’t going to move the needle much in other parts of the world that are locked into Sony’s ecosystem. That is why in those regions it is so important to make money off the PC.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Congratulates Black Ops 6 Team On 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'

HonestHick

@OldGamer999 it’s only been a few days. The holiday period will tell if they moved some hardware. As for GPU. I did see an internet provider tracker said Xbox network and GPU was up 144%. So time will tell how accurate all that is. But MS isn’t leaving hardware anytime soon. They are making money on Xbox consoles. They are truly just getting started with owning all this content. There is no telling the power of GP in 4, 5, 10 years time. They will want to see what that looks like.

Re: Bungie Provides Dev Update On Marathon, Encourages Xbox Fans To 'Wish List'

HonestHick

I am not sure what to think of this game. Haven’t seen enough to say if it’s for me or not. But i am leaning more on the prove it to me why i should be interested more than i am interested. Bungie needs this to be a hit tho. They can’t have a flop here or they are in big trouble as in an angry Sony is going to make you work on porting remasters of PS4 games to PS5.

Re: Poll: What Do You Think Of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 So Far?

HonestHick

I said it on other post on here. This is the best COD since the 360 days for me. I am loving it. The multiplayer is great. Sure it needs a few tweaks in a patch or two. But overall it’s really good. The extra year shows. I wish all the games had an extra year to polish and make sure it’s this good. Between this and Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred expansion, my Xbox has been on all month and is looking like it will stay that way.

Re: Microsoft Boasts About Owning '20 Franchises That Have Generated Over $1 Billion'

HonestHick

@sixrings i want to start by saying COD is amazing this year. The best it has been since the 360 days. As for Perfect Dark they have one in development and we don’t know yet how good it will be. As for Banjo they never made one and it seems no one is stepping up to make a new game, largely cause those games don’t rake in the cash like they used to. Astro Bot did decent numbers we think, cause Sony hasn’t released official numbers. Only saying it did well in its first month. Taking Bobby out of the picture will allow some of these teams to cook again and not push the vision set in place for them. I think people forget games take years and years to make and MS has only owned most of these IP’s for a year. In the ABK case. Bethesda a little longer but we know they cook their games really slow. Give it time. I have high hopes. Now back to Black ops 6. It’s so good!

Re: Four Years Later, Xbox Series X Is Now Outselling Xbox Series S In The US

HonestHick

Been a Series X user from day 1. It is made really great. No noise. No issues. I like the design. It’s good to see it picking up some sales. It is the better option. In a year i would like to see the digital series X come down to $399 that might move some units for them, especially cause in a year GP will have some really big hit’s on it. With more coming out. Can’t wait to see what the next gen Xbox hardware is going to be and look like.

Re: Poll: How Often Do You Take Advantage Of Crossplay On Xbox?

HonestHick

I use it all the time as i don’t see a reason why it shouldn’t be a thing. Don’t matter to me if you are on PS5 and i am on Series X. However for shooting games, the PC can be a bit of an issue. I deal with it. But i do wish it was just console to console. PC is a different thing to allow it for some games. However most of my Diablo 4 friends i play with are on PC and that don’t make a Differnce. I like it overall and use it a lot. Glad Sony quit blocking it.

Re: Xbox Fan Shows Off White Digital Series X Ahead Of Upcoming Launch

HonestHick

The white looks really nice. Does the top not have the Green tho? I can’t tell. I have a launch Series X, if it ever bites the dust i would replace it with this one. I haven’t used a disc drive on any product in 10 years. The White Core Elite looks good next to it with the black handles. This is a well done pic.

Re: Reaction: Red Dead Redemption Definitely Deserves A 60FPS Update On Xbox

HonestHick

My favorite game and i really don’t want to play it on PS5 cause the controller isn’t my favorite. I try and keep PS for Exclusives only. I would love to see this get 60fps and 4K. Even if that means they need to bump the price up. Now RDR2 not being 60fps is a crime. I can only assume rockstar ain’t doing it until next gen. Which if that is true. Then it should run near PC level.

Re: Halo Enters 'New Dawn' With New Studio Name, Engine And Games

HonestHick

@andrewsqual i totally agree the Halo infinite reveal was mishandled. No way around that. I am also happy to see loads of those people at 343 no longer working or directing Halo. They are gone, and Halo Studios is looking for new talent for their 3 projects for the franchise all running on UE5. Of course they have to prove it. But i for sure think the plan is to have a Halo game in November 2026 for the anniversary and launch of the next gen Xbox. This has been talked about already by insiders. Have to wait and see what they got. But this is a new era for Halo, Bungie era gone and now thankfully 343 era gone and yes i am for real the talent at MS running UE5 is among the best talent in the industry. So that knowledge and helping hand is very valuable to have within a phone call away. Some might even take jobs for the Halo team. So this change was very wise and should allow them to find extra hands much easier. I am liking what i see with this change. Now it’s time to go prove it.

As for Zero install base, the game would launch on PC as well. Seems like more than a zero install base. Also MS needs to give players a reason to buy the new Xbox and a shiny well made Halo game is just the ticket. It will only grow in player size on GP and more and more come into that platform. Come on you know how this works better than that.

Re: Halo Enters 'New Dawn' With New Studio Name, Engine And Games

HonestHick

This is great news for a change for this franchise and Xbox in general. With having collation and I.D in house, there is loads of talent on using UE5 a phone call or video chat away. Need help finishing some projects they can assist. Not likely with slip space. This is exciting for the franchise. Getting this back to a flagship game is the right mindset here. Wow that next Xbox launch is about to be good i believe. You just know they want a Halo game there.

Re: Xbox Wants More Feedback From Devs, Including Why Some Are Avoiding The Platform

HonestHick

@GamingFan4Lyf People just stuck to their PlayStations - just like people stick with their iPhones with every generation because it's too much hassle to change over to Android.

Hassle maybe, or in many cases they don’t like Android or Xbox. They like playing on PS and have no need. They enjoy exclusive features to the iPhone like FaceTime etc etc. More People switch every year from Android to iPhone vs the other way around. Same with PS and Xbox more people are leaving to the other platform and thats what MS need’s to worry about. Their answer to that is simple, PS talks less and normally put’s out high rated games. Xbox is always talking and confusing everyone, bringing their games to PS won’t help. But at the very least MS talk when it’s someting that needs to be said. This Gen has been a lack of high rated games and a message to the player base that is more confusing than solving world peace.

Re: Phil Spencer Congratulates Tokyo Game Show Host On Doing 'An Amazing Job' For Xbox

HonestHick

@Titntin Yeah makes sense to me, i too own all 3 consoles. So sometimes when a game hit another platform it’s not so exciting for me as it would be for others with 1 or 2 consoles. So I get what you are saying for sure. Yeah i thought you would appreciate the efforts MS has done in Japan on those titles. I surely did and hope others understand the work and cost behind that. It’s more than the average person would think. I know you know this very well. Better than myself even. Well i understand what you mean pulling for Xbox and not MS corp. as a 20 year plus Mac and Apple user i have no love for MS. I mean i want Xbox to be good and around. But if windows went away tomorrow i wouldn’t bat an eye. Hahaha

Re: Talking Point: What Is Your Download Speed On Xbox These Days?

HonestHick

@CallMeDuraSouka yeah back when i was on Wi-Fi it was spotty as well. They need to work on that a lot going forward. The PS5 Pro included Wi-Fi 7. Which is nice but of course the user would need a router that has Wi-Fi 7 to fully take advantage of it. I am much happier in this new setup with both my Series X and PS5 being hardwired. The upload speed on PS5 is weaker than Xbox. By a lot actually, but the download is around the same hardwired. I would like to see MS push for faster download speeds all the way around as i have been digital only for 10-12 years now.

Re: Phil Spencer Congratulates Tokyo Game Show Host On Doing 'An Amazing Job' For Xbox

HonestHick

@Titntin i did think it was nice to see Xbox spend the money for Japanese voice acting in upcoming games. Such as Indiana Jones. That is something that cost a lot of money and of course time. You would know that better than me of course working with game development. That shows they care about the region and want the best experience for their players there. It’s a region most say MS should just give up on and instead year after year they just make little strides to continue to improve there. The handheld will help more than the console. Overall it was an average show, i agree with you there wasn’t much there for me. But i never been a huge Japan game fan outside of Nintendo.

Re: Talking Point: What Is Your Download Speed On Xbox These Days?

HonestHick

I have 1000mbps download and 1000 upload. As long as everything is working ok from AT&T and the Microsoft server side it’s really fast. I can download a 70gb game in 10-12 mins. BUT… MS has work to do on its store and the Server side. Plus they need better Wi-Fi in the console. Now i am lucky and hardwire but for many people Wi-Fi is needed. PS5 and PS5 Pro have excellent Wi-Fi and Series X is way behind, something i would like to see change on the next Xbox.

Re: Random: Xbox Extends Phil Spencer's PS5 Controller Joke

HonestHick

@funkhouser i know what you mean the quieter buttons was also one of my favorite upgrades coming to it as well. I still love the controller, just want some upgrades to it and the list seem to have a lot of really good things. I am disappointed it’s not out either. But if the November 2026 rumor is true then that’s not all that far away and we will likely see MS launch the new console with this controller and a new Ui. Someting the Series consoles didn’t do and took some heat for in the press. I don’t see many changes coming to series as the work and new updates will all be centered around launching an exciting new console and handheld.

Re: Black Myth: Wukong Sells 20 Million Copies Before It Even Comes To Xbox

HonestHick

@i mean don’t get me wrong, it’s not a good look that Xbox don’t have the game. But again it is selling 80% or more of its volume in China on PC’s. That said i think MS needs to make sure it’s not missing major releases as it just makes the PS stronger and gives YouTubers more ammo to make videos of why Xbox is doing poorly. So i get your point and at some point this will come to Xbox but i am not sure what the audience looks like there for this game.

Re: Konami Unveils Huge Metal Gear Solid Collection Update With Improved Resolutions

HonestHick

@themightyant i hear ya, for the games i like to play, it’s been a little dry. Also some of the types of games i like just aren’t being made as much cause everything needs to be a soul’s game now. Which i pass on no matter what. However i am someone that log’s in 1000 hours into Diablo 4 and counting. I log big hours into Gears of War. So when those big titles for me do come out i get my money and entertainment out of them 10 fold. So i am still happy with what i have to play, but i do think it’s time for cross gen to slow down and I think it’s time for this generation to get a few of it’s key game that the generation will be know for out to the public soon. Namely one of them will be GTA 6, hopefully still on track for 2025.

Re: StarCraft Remastered & StarCraft 2 Coming To PC Game Pass This November

HonestHick

So the rumor i read was true. They are going to leverage StarCraft. I heard they want it on the handheld in Japan and MS thinks they can grow player base in Japan with that combo and i agree. If MS is smart with all the IP they have they can be a force. This is great news and i will listen to that guy a little more cause he thought SC would be the way MS would excite Japan.