HonestHick

@TheGameThrifter i am more than aware how consoles make money and lose money. So on that part you are right, heck on all accounts everything you said is correct. But Xbox has been losing massive amounts of players on Xbox gen to gen after 360. If they don’t nail a PC/Console box correctly and it tanks, they are likely out of the hardware game. This is their moment to change for the good or drive a nail in their coffin. Let me give you my insight to it via countless videos and people I trust on the matter.

Xbox is treating this next Xbox MORE like a PC but with plug and play easy to use console features. So right out the gate, it’s not playing by older console rules. Meaning it will be sold for a profit or break even, no more taking a lose as we have even seen with PS this gen. That leads to the elephant in the room STEAM. Steam is the more attractive marketplace to move units, but i believe MS will surrender its shrinking Xbox games store and go all in on Gamepass alongside steam. Now thats not to say you won’t be able to buy games like we do today from Xbox. Here is where none of us know anything, Phil said Steam is our neighbors, they are just up the street from us in an interview. Surely they are having talks. We know Steam wants to keep it’s growth momentum it’s been seeing going, what better way than to cut a deal with MS for 80/20 take and leverage steam and GP as the marketing reasons for choosing this device? Look i ain’t saying that is or isn’t the case. But when you are down to one bullet left to shot for life or death, you go all in on that last shoot. This is Phil’s last chance to put Xbox back in the game. No cards should be left on the table. After all in less than 20 years PC and Cloud will be the last two standing!

@Coletrain absolutely i mean there is a high likelihood the games will get a lot of PC like sliders to adjust them and make them run to your liking, within a certain range of course. I have seen a few videos saying this Xbox will come in at $700-$800 dollar but will be plenty powerful. So i am excited but to be fair a little nervous too. That is why i am saving some money aside for a PC build. Even if the next Xbox blows it out of the water, i will still enjoy the PC and Xbox both and thats the thing with cross saves and buy once and you have the copy for all devices. I am all about that world. Cause as much as i tried to talk myself into a PS5 Pro and PC, i just can’t do it. I dislike the thumbstick placement so much on Sony controllers, that i would pay thousands to use a Xbox controller on PC and next Xbox. Rambling aside, you seem very smart and if you wanted to learn more coding more i am more than sure you could do it. Even if it was just a hobby or fun for you to learn. 😀

@Coletrain what you said makes sense. I forgot about the shaders. Guessing this will be a big project. It’s needed to be there tho. Otherwise people will really lose their minds over Xbox. Haha

So am i missing something here? I thought the next console would still be x86 and it would just work with all plaofrms that used it. So wouldn’t this only be for the first 2 Xbox libraries?

@GamingFan4Lyf Yeah windows for PC gaming is a must. I like windows as a Ui not a Os if that makes sense. Like when issues aren’t in the way of my work laptop i enjoy the layout and use of windows. In some cases i like the way it works better than my personal Mac. But my Mac is so much more faster and reliable and has less clicks to do the same tasks in most cases. MS and Xbox were for sure separate. Now with all the money sent they are one and the same. Which scares me but also means MS wants to be in gaming. Now we just have to see how they can tackle this hardware issue. Cause if they do that, they are well set on software. They are putting out more games now than ever. It’s going to be fun to learn more about their plans.

I also want to save some money aside and built a beast of a PC one day for gaming. Steam is the best thing in gaming and it’s starting to take over. Their numbers are just insane. Funny how 300 people running a non public traded company is ruling gaming. Well done Gabe well done! Haha

@GamingFan4Lyf i mean i get it, but still. They need to make products people want. I love Xbox but i am certainly not a big MS fan. They got a lot of work to do on Windows and other things before i could recommend their products.

Phil was asked on Destin’s podcast a few months back if Steam would come to Xbox in the future and Phil just laughed and went to the next question. He never said yes but he sure as heck didn’t say no and the laugh was a yes more on that later vibe. I posted that on here before. I have said before i will eat all 4 of my truck tires if Steam in some way isn’t apart of the Xbox plan. It’s the only way they can get into the PC/Hybrid Console space. There is no way to be part of PC without Steam. Steam is PC gaming at the point.

Simply put MS isn’t and never was a creative company. They allowed Apple to eat their lunch in consumer electronics. Sony to trounce them with PS. Couldn’t keep a mobile phone in a world that the mobile phone is arguably the most used device daily around the world. Surface while nicely made don’t sell. Steam is the leader on PC a non public traded company at that. Only 300 people work at Steam and they are all gamers to the core and they own MS store front. I mean outside of Excel and cloud storage what is MS leading and doing well in? It’s insane they worth 3 trillion because the world thinks it’s tied to windows for business when business’s that switch to higher priced Mac’s have shown to save money long term in Mac’s longer hardware life span and little to no money in software repairs and updates to the likes of windows. Sometimes i look at MS and just ask how? How do you be so bad and yet worth so much. I love the Xbox controller, it’s why i game on Xbox. But outside of that they make some bone headed decisions that is just head scratching. 360 had PS on the ropes here in America. They let them off the hook in the dumbest way possible and will not get that user base back. I will still support Xbox as i have over the last 20 years but gosh dang they make it so hard to like anything they are doing.

I have had my eye on Towerborne for a while now. Happy to give it a try on GP. I like the style and the gameplay i have seen in videos. Hoping it’s good. Man GP is COOKING.

@Bigmanfan plenty of studios have older IP they are sitting on. Some of it just don’t sell the way it used to and takes time and resources away. It isn’t just a MS problem sadly.

@themightyant yeah for sure. Would be nice on the handheld. No telling with MS. Their naming is odd to say the least.

It’s looking like they will wait for the next gen console and make sure it has all the tech inside the box to take advantage of the updated controllers, both standard and Elite. Looking forward to both. I say it all the time i am a huge Xbox guy cause of the controller. It fit’s my hands like a glove and i am to the point i refuse to play on any controller that isn’t off set sticks.

Xbox Handheld- Xbox Surface Portable
Xbox Console- Xbox Surface

Since they are leaning into PC. Now’s the time to get the surface branding included. However surface isn’t a huge seller. So maybe the name would do more harm than good. Not sure. I do not use windows outside of work. But if i had to or could choose my work laptop i would get a surface. They are well made and have nice features.

@IOI didn’t day you were a Sony Fanboy, just saying it’s not as if there is this ton of exciting news over there. Remasters of games that look the same. I’ll pass. As for MS and Xbox. Of course i agree with you there are a lot of unknowns at the moment as to what the full pic looks like. But going for what Phil has said and rumors have shown. It’s starting to come together. Xbox is a ecoystem with more than just console, we all know that now. But i do think as PC continues to grow, in fact outselling Console software at the moment. It’s smart for MS to make this pivot. 20 years of just being a console and having only real success sales and mindshare wise with the 360. Now they can ensure all their studios have a baseline spec to code for and that will be the Xbox PC/Console hybrid. Then they can scale from there. So thats a win for the devs. Also until we learn more about what the next console is we don’t know how cool or lame it is. But one thing is already for sure Phil and Sara have said your games on console go with you and we look to preserve Xbox OG titles to the current day Xbox. That includes GTA 6. Xbox has crushed Nintendo and Sony in BC. It’s the one shining link in the armor of Xbox. They aren’t going to launch a console that only plays PC games. I mean speculating that is just not following the bread crumbs of info we have. NOTHING LINKS to that. It’s a spread of fear for no reason. You are entitled to your opinions and where and how you spend your money, i ain’t trying to push you in any direction on that. But we have to wait and see what this new look Xbox looks like. They are taking a Nintendo approach if you will and that is doing something more out of the traditional sense to give themselves mindshare in a market Sony is the house hold name. Even if PS5 5 years in is getting more remasters and canceled games then they are anything worth bragging about. If they blow it most of us leave. But it won’t be cause they kill your library of bought games over 2 years. They have said that repeatedly that those are coming forward.

@IOI i mean this seems like great value being focused on to the ecosystem to me. Not seeing it as a negative. The next Xbox isn’t going to say you can’t play GTA 6 cause it don’t support play anywhere. But i mean hey if this don’t float your boat, there is always the news on the other website that will hype you on Day’s Gone remaster and even convince you that you can see a difference. Maybe that’s more your cup of tea of news?

@cburg my brother! How you been. Good to hear from you. Thanks so much.

Oh yeah GP is flexing in 2024 and 2025 and we still have loads more coming this year with surprises to oome. I am all in. Can’t wait to see the work done on Oblivion. I really hope they nailed it and it’s a must have. 😀

Gamepass is out here Flexing at this point if this is coming. I mean good luck finding a better service in gaming at this point and it’s just going to keep getting better as the months and years go on.

@i hear ya on that. I don’t game on my iPhone at all. No interest. I do play my Switch Oled in bed on rare occasions. Mostly just Mario Kart or something basic to kill 30 mins to an hour. So i am with you. But Xbox handheld should muster up enough sales to make it worthwhile for MS. But never can say. Hardware seems to be an area they are really struggling in. The rest of the Xbox platform is killer in my opinion.

@Dalamar73 that makes sense i think the last time i seen Steam deck numbers it was like 3.78 million or so. But yeah i do agree with you that the Xbox handheld likely will be fairly niche. I can’t see it exploding to insane sales. If the Switch 2 is fairly good at most games i would want to play on a handheld. I think that would be enough for me. As even when i was a little kid, i never got into handhelds all that much. They were here and there for me. I even owned the PSP and Vita and barely used them. I am excited to see what MS comes up with of course and i am sure the nerd in me will at some point snag on. But it won’t need great battery life for me as gaming on the smaller screens for the type of games i like won’t see much action.

@Dalamar73 in fairness no one in the history of handhelds has ever been close to Nintendo handheld numbers. Nintendo is simply unbeatable in that area. Has been and likely forever will be.

But Steam Deck is only sitting at a little over 3 million in sales. I think the Xbox handheld can easily out pace that. Not to mention that is the lifetime sales of Steam deck which is what 3 maybe pushing 4 years old at this point.

@Fiendish-Beaver first and foremost thank you for your service. It is often times a thankless job that so many people need and rely on. Sorry to hear about your injury. I wish you day’s without pain as much as they are possible my brother.

My sources are the huge channels that do nothing but Gears. They get it right more than wrong let’s just say. Not sure if that is reliable but it’s largely correct. They said no PVP a month to 6 weeks ago and now it’s breaking news. So there’s that in their favor. They also said a slide move is possible and if so that will be in PVP as well as campaign. Giving it a new feeling with movement. Maybe they want that too to be a part of PVP, plus have all players in one spot to buy skins and micro transactions. As for Horde they said they believe it to be there but can’t yet confirm. So i am hopeful they are right. Again this collection is more for younger Xbox fans and of course PC and PS5 to get caught up for E-Day. So even tho it upset me to hear no PVP, i can understand why.

@shoeses GTA 6 will move a huge chunk of those players on last gen consoles. Now that we are starting to finally get the bigger titles that only run on PS5 and series X. I suspect we will see loads of players coming in. However you could still be right that the Series X and PS5 will still sell well as it’s rumored the next Xbox PC hybrid will be $700-$800 and we know the PS6 will come in fairly high as well if the Pro is anything to go buy. Neither Sony or MS are willing to subsidize the hardware at a loss anymore.

@Steel76 the console is rumored to boot full windows but not run on it. It will run Xbox Os on a windows kernel, much like it does now for plug and play support. So it’s much cleaner and easy going that what you are thinking with just windows 11 as the dashboard. That i wouldn’t be a fan of and MS knows console players don’t want that. Phil don’t even want that, he said it about the current handhelds on the market.

This will be a Xbox ui over windows kernel like now. But it is rumored to be able to boot full windows 11. So you could use it just like a series X like we do now. But also boot up windows and do spreadsheets in word or Excel and load steam and Epic games store. Also it will give PC dev’s a baseline to code games to which they don’t have at the moment. It was even said older Xbox games will have the flexibility to play with the graphics settings and frame rates. So i am highly interested. If it get’s rid of the online paywall then it’s even that much more exciting. The battle between MS and Steam begins. With Steam unable to run some of the biggest live service games due to anti cheat code. Hence it don’t run COD. Point one in favor of Windows. MS has a chance here to do something really ground breaking and exciting for players. But they must execute properly. Something they are know to be 50/50 with.

@Fiendish-Beaver Yeah something don’t add up on that. No way they have that many. I mean it don’t take away from the fact your stats are awesome. But i agree something don’t seem right on that. I know me and you sure have put in a ton of time on Gears 5. I quit playing it when Diablo 4 came out and I did close to a 1000 hours on D4. Now i am scaling back on it. I got 30 hours in on avowed and went from liking it to not liking to liking it again haha.

As for the Gears collection not having PVP. I know it sucks for us players that care so much for it. But it is rumored to have Horde and of course Co-Op. the reason they aren’t doing it is they don’t want to spilt the player base and servers for collection and E-Day. Which i mean makes some sense. The collection seems to be positioned as only a way to catch up players on the story. The big game is of course E-Day. Again i can see the reasoning for it but as a super fan i am a disappointed of course. But i will be getting the collection day 1 and playing them all over again. When E-Day drops i will likely take a vacation from work. It’s my biggest game of the generation.

@Fiendish-Beaver HAHA yeah buddy! I am playing Gears 5 PVP again cause all week or so it’s been Gears of War talk. I am still after 2000 hours having fun with it.

I just want the collection in unreal engine 5 looking as good as it can. That will be great to lead new players into E-day. Which some that have seen it say’s it the best looking video game they have ever seen. Time will tell on that. But as a Gears of War fanatic, i can’t wait to see both in action.

@Cakefish A long while back i read someone saying MS is planning to ditch the online paywall for next gen. If that’s true and it likely is as it’s now all PC with an under the TV skin for plug and plug. That would be a HUGE advantage going into next gen. Myself and many millions around the world would all do a happy dance. Haha 😀

@OldGamer999 Phil has already said they are underway on console development. Sara Bond said big tech leap. They aren’t going to spill to many more beans on Specs, dates etc. that would tip to much of the plans before process’s are finished. In time we will get the reveal. Until then Series consoles continue to get games and GP continues to build up its library.

@Millionski thats my thing, my work gives me a Windows Laptop. I can of course only use it for work. But thats all i would want to do with it. Windows sucks. I use my IPhone, iPad Pro with Keyboard as my daily driver and have an older MacBook Pro. There is nothing i need or would want with Windows. Once i shut off my work laptop i am so happy to be away from that OS. I want to see and hear more of how this would work. Cause i have my doubts on some of it, but there is a lot to like about it as well. At least on paper as we don’t have the details and likely won’t until 2026 as it nears its 2027 launch.

@cragis0001 as they say time flies when your having fun.

So i did some digging on the collection and lot’s are saying they are hearing it will have co-op but no PVP. But the reason why makes sense. The rumor is the collection will not be out long by itself. E-day will hit shortly after. Not sure about that. But they continues to say the reason is MS doesn’t want to split the online PVP community up between collection and E-day. That makes sense but of course it’s deeper than that. E-day PVP will for sure have skins, weapon skins, and other things to buy live service style. So they want the player base on there buying that. Again makes sense. Plus i still hear there might be a slide feature in E-day wether that makes it into PVP or not we don’t know. So it’s looking all but confirmed PVP will not be there but Co-op will be and as for Horde mode it has been quiet on that front. It’s a day one buy for me as it’s my favorite IP in the world of games. But E-Day is the real excitement for me as i love PVP gears.

Still waiting for them to do the Elite 3. Just hope it get’s lot’s of love in the quality control department. That alone is really all it needs. But the standard Xbox controller stands as my favorite controller and i own all 3 consoles. I buy all my games on Xbox cause of the controller. This one tho does nothing for me and i don’t even need to hold it to know that.

@cragis0001 I would love to see it happen actually. I think it’s a great idea for us hardcore gears fans. Time will tell, we should know a lot more about Gears this June and of course next year is the 20th year of gears of war. So lot’s of news should be happening soon. I can’t wait to see it all unfold.

@cragis0001 i heard this rumor a few months back on my gears of war channels i follow. I didn’t put much stock in it but now that we are seeing it more this month. I suppose the guys i follow with gears channels know a good amount as well. That bring me to this SLIDE. The rumor on the channel was in E-day there will be a new slide move mechanic. The person said he is trying to find out if it will be in PVP or just campaign. Well my mind goes to what if the slide mechanic is a way to make PvP feel new and fresh to players. Maybe the plan is when E-day comes out they will slowly bring over the 1-3 maps with the slide move making the maps feel new. Plus for the Pro players this will excite E-sport players. I am liking where your thoughts and ideas are at and again i think you made one of the best idea’s i have heard yet and again i follow every outlet of Gears there is. Well played friend, i hope you are right and i hope the slide move is correct as well.

@cragis0001 i really hope thats the plan. It makes perfect sense. I would really love that as a hardcore Gears player.

@cragis0001 thats a great question actually. I never thought of that. That could work. I am a huge GOW fanatic. So whatever is best for the IP i am all for. Plus the multiplayer is a bit old and hard for new players to get into. Most would just return to COD and Fortnite. So i look forward to see if E-day brings something new to multiplayer for Gears or sticks to the basics for the hardcore fans like myself that has played Gears 5 multiplayer for over 2K hours. But i really like your idea with that. I never even thought of them doing it like cod.

@Kaloudz Agreed. I don’t see them leaving Hardware. Will it be different? Sure, will it launch before PS6, i would say yes. But it’s coming and I think it will look very much like a PC and maybe even let us open it up for smaller upgrades like seen on a gaming laptop. But i am looking forward to the new controller. I absolutely love the Xbox controller layout. It’s perfect. So any updates and improvements is really exciting to me. Can’t wait to learn more about the next Xbox and looking forward to all the great titles coming out in the next few years. As you said they are hitting that stride now with a lot of games coming.

I still don’t think Xbox will leave the hardware game. But if they did and they didn’t bring their controller to PS. Then i would buy a Razer laptop with a 5090 in it. I am starting to throw a few dollars a month back on the side to save up just in case. While i prefer to be on Xbox over PC. I can’t see myself gaming only on the PS controller. It’s not my favorite layout. It’s ok, but not something i would play Shooters and others on. So i would go PC and Xbox controller. But i think we continue to see Xbox consoles. But they need to find a way to get excitement around their hardware and they seem to be making that tough at the moment. Sadly cause i love my Series X.

@themightyant agreed !! We all know it can be done. But yeah i think Rockstar is far too focused on GTA money which i understand but RDR2 still has a large fan base. If they wait until next gen and then make RDR2 with 60fps and better draw distance and textures etc etc. i would happily buy it. If thats the plan. But to do nothing with the game seems like a big waste. I feel like all i want in the video game industry is a pipe dream these days. I want Gears of War collection in UE5 and 60 fps RDR2. 😀

Good to hear congratulations and all. Now your first job is to make RDR 2 60fps on Series X. Don’t i wish.

@Banjo- Thanks buddy, yeah i knew most of that and i am searching every inch of the map for items so i can level up my gear, it helps for a little while and then i am in area’s with loads of guys that are 2 skulls or more tougher. I am still playing it cause i want to love the game but the combat choices and leveling choices aren’t my favorite.

It’s getting a little long in the tooth. I mean there is only so much they can do new with the last gen still involved. At some point we need a new engine with new ideas and such. I will be playing Battlefield when it comes out next year just to see what it is capable of running on PS5 and Series only.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner agreed. They should try another one cause there is enough there to like or in my case not like. It’s an odd title for me. Cause i do have 30 hours in it. But the combat and lack of armor is killing it for me.

@Ricky-Spanish i couldn’t have said it better and it is my favorite game ever made. So you hit the nail on the head. I do wish it had a 60fps update. Or even a new release will all kinds of bells and whistles upgrade, I’d gladly pay for it. But it’s the best. I could only play RDR and Gears of War the rest of my life and still be an everyday gamer.

@nomither6 if i had any good sense i would tap out too. I just want the first 3 games in unreal engine 5 so bad i keep the hope up every year. I will say if it’s not at this year June show case alongside E-day then i don’t think the collection is coming.

But it makes so much sense to have a collection. Why would anyone on PS5 or PC want to play E-day when they don’t even have most of the story on PC and none of it on PS. So i mean the need of the collection is there. But pretty soon i will tap out with you brother haha

@PsBoxSwitchOwner i agree with that. Good way to say it. Thing is i really want to like it cause at times i do. But the leveling up and the overall side missions being either way to easy in combat or to high is annoying.

@RiverGenie i will give it another try tonight, cause i want to like the game, but i don’t like how all the quest seem way out of reach. 2-3 skulls on a lot of them. My axe is great, my shield is even great. But my armor is basic and i think that is one issue. Thanks for the tips,, i do cook some but i am not eating before a big fight. I need to try that.

After 30 hours i am just done with this game. The leveling sucks. Every side quest i try and do is 2-3 skulls and a beat down. Can’t get better armor, my weapons are good and leveled up but that does very little. I like the world and the graphics but the combat is absolutely trash! You can’t block with a shield cause there are enemies hitting you from all sides. I wanted to like this game but it’s beyond mid.

PLEASE PLEASE be Gears of War Marcus Fenix Collection!

Can’t wait to play this. Once i seen the horse riding, i thought is this going to be open world a little like RDR2 but in fable world. That would be a killer game. Also the graphics on this look insanely good. Playground games is a top notch dev team.