J_Mo_Money

@Tharsman Good thing about a lot of those games you mentioned is there aren't very long, around 10-12 hours or so (except for starfield and AC Mirage might be closer to 15). But they aren't overly bloated games, which is good!

Ya love to hear it!

Might have to get it for a few months and then canceled. Decent lineup there.

@themightyant Sea of Stars was my indie game of the year this year. Good length, perfect difficulty, and I even beat it twice to get the true ending and I almost never do that.

@Tharsman Indeed. Watchu playing this holiday season my good man?

@themightyant Chained echoes, such a good game! I beat that in January i wanna say or last December. Great game. That's one of the only games i can remember that i switched to easy in the last area because the sky armor fights were getting far too hard for me. I wish you could have leveled up to make it easier instead of not really being able to grind in the game. Only gripe for me.
Dead Space Remake was also awesome. Debating about RoboCop after a price cut, ive heard good things about it.

@themightyant watchu playing this holiday season? I just finished up Mario RPG remake (great game but definitely made easier by the triple attack and AoE for perfect hits).

@themightyant got Alan Wake 2 on discount so gonna see what all the fuss was about. Excited to jump in.

Excited to see what this game turns into, probably 3 years out though.

@themightyant I don't think my concern for them has to do with console sales, sales of some of their biggest games ect I think it's more the evolution of the industry as a whole and my own personal idea of what i would like to see maybe.
It's been a very "interesting" year for them to say the least and probably some recency bias since there's been some troubling things coming out from them basically since the ABK acquisition went through with some of the higher ups leaving and their uncertainty of what they want to do with live service games and just no clear plan for the future.
PS1 is my second favorite console of all time behind only the SNES and I love what they were back then but I don't know if it's an identity problem or knowing vs not knowing what to do because their business model might not work in 2023 like it did 20 years ago. But that's not for me to say, the market will dictate that in the future. Me, personally, I'm just spoiled by the game pass, play my games any and everywhere on console/pc/cloud and day and date for a cheaper price type thing that xbox has going.
Sony will never be that but I like that formula, it's easy on my wallet and I love the diversity and options that comes with that.
Cheers, brother!

@themightyant you're specifically talking about Spider-man, which of course is going to sell well, and I'm sure God of War and the Last of Us are great too, but for every one of those there are games like Returnal, Ratchet and Clank, Destruction All-Stars, Death Stranding, Days Gone ect that don't. I also wasn't specifically talking about Insomniac, but Sony as a whole.

And even though Ratchet and Clank was early in the gen the console sales are way higher now and they are still only at 2.2 mil. The fact is they need to have games with long tails and recurring revenue. They also need to start putting games on PC WAY sooner and take that market seriously.

There is a reason Jim is gone, Connie Booth is gone, Bungie is a crap show, Last of Us Factions canceled ect. They need to look in the mirror and have a plan because as it stands right now they don't have a concrete roadmap for the future. Something is going on over there.

@Tharsman I guess i should update my "recent" comment. But wasn't the wolverine reveal trailer in 2021, not 2018? That seems too long ago.

@Tharsman I'm surprised many expected Wolverine in 2024, i expected 2025 at the earliest seeing we only ever got a cgi trailer recently and nothing else.
And yes, Sony is going to rely on third party games like it seems they have been recently, with remakes/remasters built in. Guarantee there will be more soon.

Interested to see where the game industry is in 5 years.

@Sakai maybe Jimbo wasn't lying when he said the ABK acquistion wouldn't allow them to recover.

The fact is MS is ALL in on gaming after having like 5 studios and no funding for decades. It was easy for them to be a punching bag. Now they are ready to invest BIG money and with Phil at the helm and Sarah Bond heading the Xbox division the future couldn't be brighter.

And yes, with Sony losing ABK marketing and such and canceling live service they cant survive on big budget games that you play once and are done with.

It won't work anymore. Guarantee game prices for them goes up again soon.

Ratchet and Clank only sold 2.2 million copies, that's super low. Also didn't break even on the budget used.

The fact of the matter is for all the talk of console sales a lot of their games fail to meet sales expectations and with these bloated budgets they are gonna have to change at some point. it just isn't sustainable.

Also talks of increasing prices of games to $80. And you wonder why i love game pass so much. Not paying $80 a pop for these shorter games that are few and far between when I get dabble in the game pass buffet for much cheaper playing all those incredible games.

Xbox is simply built up better for the future and the roadmap looks great. Sony does not seem prepared for the future.

PS layout? Never. Offset sticks for life!

Sony needs to patch that leaky ship. They are starting to get hacked more regularly lately.

Get on that cyber security, man.

Game Pass, the gift that keeps on giving. Top 3 game for me this year ...

The only time i remember this being an issue was for Starfield when i was switching between my Series X upstairs and Series S downstairs, only come to find out it was because i had over 100 saves since each time i saved it was a new file and it slowed the syncing WAY down. But I did have the option to load the one already on the console or from the cloud, so there is a local save for sure.

Starfield was my most played game and definitely my game of year for xbox. Hi-Fi Rush was a pleasant surprise and is number 2, Sea of Stars number 3, Resident Evil 4 and surprising Wild Card Football would be number 5. I'm absolutely addicted to that game.

2024 is gonna be even better for xbox and i can't wait. Hellblade 2, Avowed, ooooo weeee!

Glad to see Xbox is still the console with great value and making it easier for people to play games. Wish the other consoles would have some nice sales and then I might think of jumping in, but sadly, xbox + game pass is the winning combination for me moving forward!

@themightyant got both a Series X and Series S and launch in 2020 and never looked back. Both are great!

Glad i waited on Alan Wake 2. Purchased. Will have to jump in and see what all the fuss is about.

Just did my year in review and see Starfield came out on top. Can't wait until they add the update for "new ways to explore." I'm hoping land vehicles. That'll be a game changer. Getting over 12 million players while also being top 10 in sales for the year, despite coming out in September and also being in game pass, is awesome. What a hit for Bethesda and I can't wait to see the future DLC.

@Sol76 You ain't wrong, brother.

Sad fact is some players need to hear that. People, specifically gamers, are so entitled and act so tough on social media because the internet anonymity allows them to do so. They wouldn't say 90% of the stuff they say online to people's faces, nor do they have respect for people who put in the work.
Social media was a mistake.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner no, you were correct. They were 3rd for the year, but 2nd for the month, so technically right or wrong depending how you look at it. I think they will come out on top over switch for december as well, due again to the next switch being right around the corner. This price cut might give them a boost too because I doubt switch will do a cut.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner xbox was actually 2nd for the month of november, just 3rd in the year. I have a feeling xbox might take december as well as people wait for the next switch.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner they have? Ps5 launched at $499. I havent seen it lower than that, unless its been cheaper now on amazon or something. Musta missed it.

Glad to see that one company is actually reducing a price. Instead, you have "other" companies raising the price and people defending that. Weird, weird flex to praise RAISING a price and condemn LOWERING a price if you ask me.

Just another reason the future is so bright for team green, tons of games coming out, game pass, and saving me money. I love it!

@Banjo- let's be honest, we all know if it wasn't a Nintendo game (specifically Legend of Zelda) and it was another IP it would get a lower score/praise. Nintendo 100% gets the benefit of the doubt and couple more points when it comes to Zelda and Mario alike, but I still like them both.

I just think not every game needs to be totally open world ect ect and I liked the way the Zelda games were before, but if they give me more games akin to the Link's Awakening remake and Link Between Worlds (which i STILL want to come to the Switch so I can play it again) I'll be happy.

This looks great! Can't wait. The heads disintegrating on these cute mice when i blow em away is, interesting. I'll have to get used to that lol I could see this game coming to game pass 100%

@Banjo- Link to the past will always be my favorite i think, absolutely LOVE that game. That game, Ocarina of time, and actually Breath of the Wild are in my top 3. Tears of the Kingdom was good but yes I wish it didn't go the way of open world/open concept and went more for the traditional route. And please get rid of the building mechanic, I HATED that stuff. Completely unnecessary.

The Link's Awakening remake was a breath of fresh air.

It's almost as if all the big 3 are doing well.

Carry on.

So many xbox games in 2024. My gaming belly will be full!

There's a court case still going on, and this game is years out. They'll drop the exclusivity bomb when the time is ready. Here's a spoiler ... it'll be exclusive.

Mind ... blown! Can't wait!

@Sol4ris game looks absolutely incredible. i loved the first one and this looks even better. This, blade, visions of mana on xbox, kojima on xbox, jordan peele, well deserve awards for xbox?

Man, I am so excited for the future of xbox.

@Bigmanfan I agree with him. BOTW was a way better game imo but TOTK with the whole "building" mechanic just felt unnecessary. I, also, prefer the classic Zelda style but sadly i don't think we'll get that again.

If anyone has been paying attention, it's a single player game made by bethesda/arkane with no pre-existing contract like deathloop/ghostwire. It'll be exclusive. I think twitter "fans" need to stop overanalyzing every little thing and getting all bent out of shape about it ... personally.

@Kaloudz It's a lot, I know what.

@Kaloudz clears throat "We Know Activision Extremely Well, When You Look At $69 Billion Dollars For Activision Compared To $3.6 Billion Dollars For Bungie, We Believe That Bungie Can give Us Way More Than A $69 Billion Acquisition Of Activision."

He won't be making decisions anymore lol not surprisingly.

@FatalBubbles Sony finds a way to make great games, but MP/Live service really isn't their bag. So we'll see where this rabbit hole goes. Also, with the recent FireSprite, Media Molecule news, and Connie Booth/Jim Ryan no longer there I'm very curious to see where they go moving forward. Just doesn't seem to be a clear/cohesive road map.

I think people are butting heads around there from the top down and I'm curious where everything will be in 5 years.

Very interesting.

@FatalBubbles mismanaged is correct, but where is the mismanaging coming from? Bungie was acquired in 2022 and it doesn't appear that Sony was able to put them in a situation to succeed when clearly that was the plan.
Based on Sony having little to no experience with live service and not having much of any multiplayer games I'm not sure what a Sony ran Bungie would look like.
If they are just going to put out the same games all the other studios make I think that's a bad thing, and a grave future for Sony's MP/Live Service future. I simply think they should have never purchased them and it was super reactionary by Jim due to MS doing their thing.

@Kaloudz Jim Ryan said that 4 billion purchase was a better buy than ABK for MS. Wonder why he's "retiring" lol

So the studio that was supposed to spearhead Sony's Live Service model needs saving? Lol. If Sony takes them over they'll turn them into a studio who makes single player, over the shoulder, 3rd person, story driven games i take it? Followed by a remaster 2 years later and a remake of that remaster.

This is becoming comical, but I'm curious what the industry would say if this was MS and not Sony. Something tells me the words "mismanaged" and "big-tech bad" would be used much more frequently.

Just a hunch.

FTC likes being the proverbial punching bag. The world has moved on, why can't they?

@HonestHick The only Diablo I can remember playing is 2, and I only dabbled in it. I also wasn't too much of a PC gamer back then but when I was StarCraft occupied almost ALL of my gaming time, as I was obsessed with it.

What class did you roll with for your Diablo IV one? Curious what I should go with.

@Kaloudz Diablo 4 brother. Still haven't played it and this would change that. Unequivocally.

I'm hoping for a "stealthy" Diablo IV drop into game pass. Even though they said 2024 for ABK games, just give me that Diablo IV goodness.