Jaxx420

@MrStark Switch is not a direct competitor? Nintendo has been a direct competitor to Sony and to some extent MS ever since the whole battle between PS2 Xbox and GameCube.

I dont disagree with your original point but let's not pretend Nintendo are not in the conversation they absolutely are. It's no secret Microsoft wanted to buy Nintendo at one time.

How I miss cartridges. Issue? Not working? Blow and it's fixed 😂

@BacklogBrad wasting your time with that one mate

Hate the pay for early access nonsense so not for me. If anything it just annoys the rest of us for spoilers being out there lol

@Banjo- one day mate it's gonna come back. The appetite for decent platform games is still there it's a home run if they do it.

Wouldn't call it a resurrection but either way I'll be all over it if it happens!

Maaan the way these threads spiral honestly 😂 no one talks about just enjoying the games these days. It's like being back in the 90s.

She's got a point with this. Those big graphics jumps don't and don't need to, exist anymore.

I remember the jumps from 8-bit/16/32/64/128 and the jumps from 2d to 3d. They were sizeable at the time. These days things are more scalable and software itself can do the job. So I wouldn't be surprised to see several versions of future hardware to cater for all price points.

@Banjo- no tag so I'm maybe incorrectly assuming you are replying to me but even if not still applies. The NT one is unrelated to the original DMC franchise. You do need to like hack and slash regardless so if you don't maybe not but if on the fence it's worth checking out.

@Kaloudz the fact they haven't called it Hellblade 3 would suggest it's either the last one or a reboot of it. Time will tell. But either way I do think it's just a safe bet this time and their next one will be something different. Hopefully.

In other news. Blood is red?

Bound to lose some it happens. I don't think it's a massive deal long term.

@Banjo- if you have means and the console to do it and haven't done do check out their DMC game. You will like it.

@Kaloudz the white wig scene made me laugh at the time

No I don't think they would outsource Capcom are flying atm. But NT have proved their ability with hack and slash. Maybe they will in future but I think it's about money atm and they have stayed safe. Don't blame them.

@cragis0001 I think you might as well be better off talking to a brick wall than that one mate 😂

Who let Greenberg out of his cage? Forgot he was still working there. Last guy you want out in front of this lol.

@MrStark I'm going to agree with you twice and disagree twice lol.

Agree definitive proof. They had to make a snap decision on what they picked which right now doesn't make sense but long term I expect the direction will be a little more logical.

Disagree on Halo. Not only because two major execs and the dev all confirmed future Halo games will be multiplat (to walk back on that one in particular imo would be a massive PR blunder) but I think it falls under ultimately multiplayer games being on all platforms. I wouldn't be surprised to see Halo on Switch 2 at some point.

Disagree on Phil Spencer about to kill Xbox. Look at where he took it after the colossal mess Don Mattrick left it in. If anything it would have died sooner without Big Spence lol. But ultimately like Asha he's a figurehead they'll do whatever Satya decides to do. Right now she looks good but whatever she's doing Satya will have signed it off. If he wants to pivot yet again she will pivot too.

But agree again if this is the direction they are going in and they get it right long term. Xbox will be back in a much better place.

@Kaloudz glad to come across another who liked their DMC. I rated it too. It got a bit of a bashing from some when it first came out but I think that was more from angry fans wanting OG Dante more than anything else.

In the current economic climate I think they needed a safe bet this time round as a studio.

The series is an acquired taste but has a big cult following so those who enjoyed the first two will snap this up and it'll do relatively well.

About time after Crash we got a new Spyro. Buzzing.

My only worry is them getting the full flight gameplay right. Part of Spyros charm and challenge in the gameplay for me was limited flight. So if they are taking the shackles off hopefully the challenge is still there.

What happens long term with her will be the key here. Up to now she's had the remit and opportunity to look good handed to her on a plate almost this being case and point.

Xbox took a direction long time fans didn't like and she's come in and reversing some of it and it looks really good initially but what happens in the long term is what will matter

@nomither6 you hit the nail on the head a bit there. Phil came in after Don Mattrick quite frankly rubbished the bed with it anything Phil did after that was almost a PR home run. What mattered more was what he did long term which imo he did a great job with.

This is a bit of a lesser thing but the premise is the same so what she does longer term is what will matter the most. Let's see.

I thought it was interesting she said exclusive content and services without explicitly mentioning games.

Could be a non thing and games is thrown under content but it caught my eye a bit.

@cragis0001 that's true. I think they will release one as an add on though potentially.

@cragis0001 or they could go down the route of running Helix with a scaled back version of Windows call it "Xbox OS" or some other variant. Take away certain bells and whistles of Windows and avoid the rule that way.

Tbf the folks over at PS seem a bit miffed by it as well.

It reminds me a lot of when Xbox locked down timed on the next gen patch for Like a Dragon. Both very cloak and dagger and rather odd choices.

Can understand timed exclusivity on a game or on DLC (even though I don't like it) but this doesn't even make much business sense to me for how long the window is.

@Banjo- I think Toys for Bob did a good job with it. Imo can't beat the originals but for a new gen take on it I enjoyed it. I think the new power ups didn't feel too gimmicky either which was a worry before it came out.

@Banjo- I would say Sony will never say anything official because live service (Helldivers 2 for example) has done well on Xbox and PC. But I would expect single player ports won't happen anymore as the sales data doesn't support it.

I could see Xbox taking the same approach in the long term when it comes to porting to PS as well if the sales don't hold up. I think service games like Forza prove there is money porting it over they won't want to give up.

I'm not a fan of moneyhatting exclusives but I'd exclude Phantom Blade Zero from the article to avoid anything negative towards the Devs on this. Sony provided funding and dev support on it rather than just paying them off to keep it off Xbox so it being exclusive is kind of a given really.

First party? Read that and thought MS had acquired Don't Nod for a sec. Forgot second party term when they publish it isn't really used anymore 😂

Aside - finished it. It's a little out there but I'd still recommend it. It's a little grittier than life is strange but that's not really a bad thing.

Edit - don't understand the negative vibes on the thread if it's due to concerns around pushing an agenda ignore it. Push past any narrative messaging and just enjoy the gameplay as that is what games are for. Gameplay still matters above everything else.

@ToxicRageDude Helldivers 2 currently maintains an active, dedicated community on PC, consistently drawing between 15,000 to 35,000 concurrent players. The game sees peaks of over 80,000 PC users during peak hours and weekends.

I'd say most of them didn't tell them to shove it and got over it.

@Sol4ris I wouldn't phrase it as tribalism but I would say some still recognise there is a console war mentality amongst some users and use it to get clicks.

No different to newspaper articles leaning towards one political party, they know it sells.

Only thing I would say is if you read the article and can reference it you gave them a click they were after 😂

Exclusive content is good for business if it's to incentivise people toward a service. You wouldn't see a Netflix original appear on Prime Video and vice versa. They made the investment they want to see it drive money to their own service not elsewhere.

Bringing it into context here. I don't think Helix is entirely the issue Sony's single player games were not doing well on PC. I've no doubt it was a factor for it but the sales data will have been a driver too.

Sony are in a different position on this to MS so there is no right or wrong answer. MS have a vested interested in and financially benefit from PC through Windows so there is no issue for them not releasing day and date on PC and Xbox.

Sony need to drive people to their own system so they have reevaluated their position. I don't see it as a console warish type move.

Stressing it's only my opinion though! As an aside whatever happened to just enjoying your games regardless of platform, honestly....

Maybe it's just me being well....me. But I can't help think all these changes coming in were not the sole idea of the new leadership.

Looks awesome in public but I can't think knowing how much of a gamer Phil Spencer is/was he would have been against this direction to begin with.

Part of me still thinks he has been thrown under the bus a bit. Either way it's a positive direction let's run with it. Nice to see Xbox walking back a bit and being less about margins and more about gamers again 😃

@MinervaX76 I was careful to say I dont think we will see another crash like the 80s not that nothing will happen at all.

But I think what you are referring to won't just apply to consoles and PC, but tech in general.

@J_Mo_Money agreed although I think cloud gamings general uptake will still be slow for a while at least before it can be seen as good value.

Still a lot of rural areas that can't take full advantage of that.

@Kiltedhaggis I saw they used the word gloat but I wouldnt take it that way they had a fair point. I have seen a lot worse.

Gaming is becoming rather expensive. But to give another take. The smartphone and tablet market, laptop market and indeed PC (if you want a gaming one anyway) are subject to and have been affected by, economic shocks.

I don't think ( as I read on the other site) gaming is headed for another crash like we saw in the 80's. But rather tech in general is just going to continue to get really expensive and become a luxury Vs a hobby which is really sad.

@Kiltedhaggis Firstly I completely agree with you. Turning any price increases as an opportunity to bash the other side and revive a console war is indeed sad.

However, I wouldn't get too het up at this thread. I haven't seen any gloating or laughing. Not yet anyway.

@cragis0001 that PSN requirement was removed early last year though.

@DennisReynolds but Jason Scheirer is a journalist playing armchair analyst.

I don't disagree with your point but you are almost defeating it with that comment.

@fatpunkslim https://alineaanalytics.com/blog/steamps/

The data is showing all the single player follow ups like Horizon etc are selling a lot slower than the originals are which reflects it's declining.

I would assume it's the slowdown of the sequels that made Sony look at the metrics and go we can afford to keep single player games on our platform only.

Then there is the logic aspect. If and I say if as who knows, the next Xbox has steam built-in they may be looking at that as well and factoring that into any decision.

I would add that Resident Evil Requiem is an isolated example as it's multiplat anyway. Sony will only be looking at sales of their own titles vs numbers on their own machine. I think it goes without saying multiplats tend to sell best on PC.

I'm not surprised by this. The sales data seems to suggest single player games haven't been selling well on PC so it's a no brainer really. Keep them as a selling point for PS6.

Contributes to a closed ecosystem maybe but wouldn't catch Nintendo doing it.

Always been different for Xbox a closed wall actually makes less sense for them as they have a vested interested in PC doing well.

I'm probably being cynical. But the more I read the more I think Spencer and Bond have been thrown under the bus to allow them to pivot and change direction again without looking bad.

Hopefully I am am wrong.

@Deformedpye I'm torn on that one. It's easy to say unless the problems about platforms, politics etc is effecting the one thing we are all here to play IE the games.

I'd argue right now it is so true gamers have a right to be at least a little concerned about the nuances of it all.

Generative AI for example is one platform problem that certainly does affect it.

@Fiendish-Beaver there is another user here you have had some interesting convos with here who's take I would be curious to see here.

You know who I'm on about!

Aside that I agree on Phil's spirit being broken over the last year. For him and Bond both to go at the same time though something is off.

Them going the Sega route and being totally software seemed mental two years ago. But part of me thinks they have canned future hardware off especially as the software side alone is making so much revenue and that's what made them both go as they were both for it.

Could be wrong though.

@Weebleman I second this. Phil was very vocal about this year and what it would mean for Xbox the timing is off.

I would add though and coming from a line of work myself where this is common. Often execs in big corps who have another personal plan (let's say in this case h
is plans to retire) often trigger said firms PR departments to coordinate their Comms in the public domain. So his being vocal about it while no doubt being his take on it, could very well have been rehearsed and sent out publically.

@Banjo- I don't think you are being naive. But maybe optimistic.

Realistically time will tell and it's all just speculation at this point in my view. If Phil went alone and he had decided last year - fine. But for Bond to go at the same time? I do wonder if there is a massive change going on neither wanted part of.

Time will tell. I think the new incumbent has a challenge not having a gaming background and being mainly from the AI arm of the business but I'm sure we will see some changes over the coming months. Fingers crossed the right ones.

First Bluepoint shuts now this. Been a wild week in the gaming world.

@Daffy-Duck gaming is just moving the same way TV/Movies are in terms of cost (hardware aside) but it's still slower.

Take the hoo har around games going from £60 to £70. I isolate this to physical media but a decent film on blu ray brand new? Still around £20 for around 90 mins. A decent game could be around 20-30 hours for that £70 price. What's the better value?

Understand your point around costs increasing when essential costs are going up to but it's only going the same way as other media went ages ago. If I was to add up the costs for streaming/TV to ensure I want to to watch all I want to (legally) makes gaming look like a cheap hobby still right now.

Just seen this one and it's got a bit wild already. My only take on this one would have been and in other news water is wet.

Maybe when Sony's movie and/or gaming rights (not sure on the gaming one) have ended maybe it will happen? Otherwise it's not really news. Seems to have got some backs up though! Thought Console wars were dead now!

@Exerion76 second that. This thread seems to have got overrun with childish bickering rather quickly.

It's one of those games where you should realise by the trailer what you are in for before you go into it.

If you know what you are in for it's a pretty decent game.