Matthewnh

It does seem very strange to see Tupac Shakur. I do not know the reason for them including both 2Pac and Snoop Dogg in “Stranger than Heaven”.

I know that 2026 is the 30th anniversary of 2Pac’s death, so I thought that might have had something to do with it.

But now I see the game is actually releasing early next year.

It is my birthday on the 22nd, and this shall be my present to myself.

Really looking forward to this game.

At least the PS5 has the disc drive, even as optional add on.

I do not see why this is not feasible for the Helix.

I bought the Series X specifically because I wanted a console with a disc drive, because I want to use physical media. (A.k.a empty Blu-ray Discs with install keys on them).

If Helix has no disc drive, that is - if it is not even an option, then this will be final Xbox console.

And it looks unlikely that the PS6 will include the disc drive, either.

I tend to buy games, maybe once they have dropped in price slightly. The last new game I bought was Pragmata (PS5) for £42.

The next game I intend to purchase will be 007 First Light. It is currently £60 to preorder. This is going to be my birthday gift to myself.

I admit that I very rarely buy new games, partly because they are expensive, partly because I am more than happy to replay older titles in my collection.

I also resent buying new games, only to find that what I have in fact bought is only a download key, with nothing on the disc. But that is a different problem, I suppose.

That is really cool.
i think that a lot of this is XBox trying to carve out a distinct new “identity” as it were. Like the start of a new era.

Asha’s way of having a new start, and yet building on everything that came before. But I am very happy that the focus is now only on Xbox consoles, and not everything else as well.

Interested for 007.
Looks like it will be excellent.
That might be my birthday present to myself, then,

Shall persevere with Pragmata, in the meantime.

I am one of those few who loved Starfield. I bought the “Premium Edition” when it first released.

Played through it several times, and thoroughly enjoy it. And yet I do not enjoy the Elder Scrolls games. And have never even tried Fallout.

I like the fact that Bethesda created something else, that is totally new and original. And more of it is certainly welcome.

This gives me a good reason to play through it once again.

I have also started a new playthrough of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, yesterday.

Shall be utterly engrossed in that for the foreseeable future.

Like many others, I had Kinect for the Xbox One. Mostly it got used for voice control, which was a cool new feature for me.

The only thing I have now is the Limited Edition Starfield Controller.

Don’t forget that the PS5 Pro does not even have a disc drive!
If you want one extra, that will cost roughly another £150.

Bumping the total cost up to almost £1000.

@MinervaX76

Many years ago, my family had a Commodore Amiga. (Showing my age here).

The Base model was the A500. This was followed by A600, and the A1200, if I remember correctly. The model that we had was oddly called the 500Plus.

I entirely agree, that XBox naming conventions are just weird. And follow no logical sequence.

I have gone from my first Xbox console, the Xbox 360 Arcade, then an XBox One, and Xbox One X, and now an XBox Series X.

At least Sony consoles are easy to understand.

But I think XBox Helix is actually a cool name.

Let’s see if they stick with that. I thought that “XBox Alpha” might be good, as well.

I can understand why people are cynical or sceptical about this.

Just over 10,000 does not seem terribly high. Especially for a single account for the entire family.

For comparison, I have had an Xbox since the 360 generation. i am not a great trophy-hunter, and even I have managed to rack up just under 30,000 Gamerscore. (29,377, to be exact).

I have the feeling that someone else suggested this might be a good idea, and it has somewhat backfired.

I don’t really care whether she is a gamer, or not. I do care that she is honest.

All I truly care about is whether or not she will be good for the future of Xbox. We shall have to wait and see.

I do not care if she is a gamer, or not. I just hope she will be a good leader.

I care more about her ability to improve the company. To deliver a range of good games, and powerful new hardware.

I am far more interested in what she will do to Xbox in the future, and not what she has done, previously.

Bought this on PS5 at launch.

Completed it twice. A rare platinum trophy for me, simply because I love the vivid world of this game, and wanted to explore every corner of it.

The game is certainly true to the spirit of the movies.

I actually think that Starfield is really good. I enjoyed it. I am clearly in the minority here.

I had never really got into a Bethesda RPG before. Never played Fallout, and dislike Elder Scrolls.

The RPG games that I had really enjoyed were the BioWare ones. Mass Effect, and Dragon Age.

Really looking forward to Exodus, once it finally shows up. That should be something special.

I am in no hurry for the new ‘next-gen’ consoles.

I say, let Microsoft work, and the longer it takes, then the better the new hardware shall be. In theory.

That also goes for the PlayStation 6. They will just be ready whenever they are ready.

Sure, I will pick up GTA 6, at some point. I don’t play Five very much right now, but I can do that if I need my GTA ‘fix’ in the meanwhile.

Honestly, I am more interested in Fable, than in GTA 6. Fable is a ‘day one’ for me.

I think that Fable is the only one I am truly interested in, so far.

I got an email, this morning, saying that I ought to have a refund, of 24.99, very shortly.

I am relieved that this is happening, but really, it ought not to have taken Xbox six weeks to organise it.

The game is still brilliant, and having it in its best possible condition is just wonderful. But this launch was a mess. Things should have been much simpler.

But I am glad that it is all organised now, for people like myself, who paid for the upgrade.

If this means more things on Netflix streaming, and consequently less choice on big screen cinema, then this is awful news.

I have already missed on Guillermo Del Toro’’s Frankenstein purely because it went straight to Netflix.

Watching a new film at home, even on a decent television or a projector, with home surround sound, is far different from the experience of seeing it in a theatre, way the in which it was intended.

@IronMan30

Whenever I notice your comments, I always think that it is good to see that other people appreciate Bill Hicks.

A fantastic comic. He only ever told the truth, and people would laugh. An utter legend.

I have my copy, but it was not free.

I did not keep my 360 disc version. I have RDR2 on disc, but not the first game.

So I bought a copy from the Xbox Live store. But that digital copy was the 360 version, not the Series X version.

So I now have the Series X version, and got the older one refunded.

Any idea how long it might take to process that refund?

Either that was much more complicated than it should have been, or I screwed up somewhere.

@JaffeGaffe

Not a problem. Just go to

Xbox.com/refund

I did, and it was sorted out within an hour.

Got it. All sorted out. I have just checked, My Games and Apps.
Red Dead Redemption now comes under the “optimised” tab.

@Titntin I agree, that was so much more difficult than it needed to be.

@Kezelpaso

After having mistakenly gotten rid of it, moving house, I bought myself a download copy of RDR Xbox One, from the Xbox live store, yesterday.

Will this version automatically become the new upgraded one? I cannot yet see anything that indicates this is now the Series X version of RDR.

Edit: an hour later.

I have found the Series X version on the store. I have got a refund of the 360 version, and the updated one is presently being installed.

@Cakefish

I was going by the prices I found online.

Console £700
Disc Drive £90
Dualsense Edge Joypad £190

Total £980

Sure, maybe I exaggerated slightly, but not by much.

@Gabrielmpf

Just wanted to tell you that I like your avatar/profile pic.

I have lots of good memories of Mirrors Edge. What a fantastic and unique game that was. Enjoyed Catalyst, too, but did not think it was quite as good as the original.

For a quick comparison, the high-end current-generation PS5 Pro already costs £1000. Assuming you want one with a disc drive.

I can only imagine what price the PS6 or the Xbox equivalent is going to be.

I have a few favourites that I replay regularly.

Games like Uncharted, or Hogwarts Legacy.

I have replayed all of the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, many times, to see different parts of the story. Make different choices. Only completed Veilguard once so far, simply because I did not enjoy it as much as Inquisition. I must have completed Dragon Age Inquisition dozens of times!

I have replayed Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, completed that twice.

I have also seen the end of Starfield at least three times. But have no desire to replay it again for a long while.

Sure, this console will cost at least £1000.

But the PS5 Pro is already that much, by the time you add on the disc drive.

For me it is far too early to consider a Next Box. Or a PS6.

Yes, the next generation on consoles are going to be expensive, but I am also sure that they are going to be awesome. And most likely worthy of that high price.

I already had “franchise fatigue”, a long time ago.

Played Modern Warfare, and MWII. Am not really interested in any others.

The best FPS I ever played was the remake of Medal of Honor, and the sequel Medal of Honor Warfighter.

Those two games were just awesome.

And that was back in 2012.

I quite like the black-and-white one, the “Ice Breaker”. That looks good.

Currently using the limited edition Starfield one.

I remember having the Amstrad CPC, as a kid. Not sure how old I would have been at the time. Ours did have an actual disc drive built in, rather than the cassette player.

Cannot say that I remember any of these games at all.

Replaced that several years later, with the Commodore Amiga. Playing Starfield now surely brings back lots of good memories of months sunk into Frontier (Elite II) on the Amiga.

Eventually I replaced the Amiga with the very first Sony PlayStation. And the rest is just history.

If XBox are superseding the Series X with a new, and more powerful machine, then I must admit that I am out.

The Series X is great, and so is my PS5, but I have no intention of replacing either of them. I might upgrade to the PS5 Pro, but I have no intention of joining a new console generation.

The two consoles I have are both excellent, and still seem to have a great deal of untapped potential.

And with XBox history of peculiar naming conventions, what do you suppose they are going to call this one?

Xbox Two? Xbox Alpha? Xbox Omega? Xbox Y?

Cynically, my attitude to this right now is Xbox Y Bother?

What? I am the only one who enjoyed “Hardline”?

I feel they deserved much more credit for trying something new and different.

Dragon Age Inquisition is one of the best games I have ever played.

That’s a game that I have played over and over again. It is a shame that all of what happens throughout has very little bearing on The Veilguard.

The Veilguard is so very different, that to me it did not even FEEL like a Dragon Age game.

I have 15 Xbox games.

Some on the Series X hard drive. Some on a 1TB expansion card

I have 34 games and apps on the PS5, all of which are stored on the expansion 2TB SSD, with 500GB of free space remaining. PS5 internal HDD is empty.

I would love to slowly rebuild my game collection. I had to be ruthless, and got rid of so much stuff when I moved house.

@Pac_Bot

Yes, this is the government we are talking about.

People who are supposed to operate in our best interests.

Unfortunately, these same people can put 2 and 2 together, and they are convinced the answer is 22.

On the issue itself, I am a libertarian, and resent government overreach and interference and censorship. Protecting your children should be the responsibility of the parents, not the state.

To quote Benjamin Franklin : “Those of you willing to sacrifice your permanent liberty in order to ensure a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety”.

I expect that those people who DESPERATELY want to play both Xbox and PS5 games will already own both machines.

I think this might have happened because Sony have now reached some kind of upper limit/saturation point with their PS5 exclusives, and are looking for another outlet, to sell more games. (Meaning most people who want a PS5 will have one by now).

It seems a little odd that the same people who argue about “Console Exclusives” don’t apply the same standard to Nintendo.

Would anyone like to see Mario Kart et al, ported to Series X?

Personally, I have no preferences, as I already have a PS5 and a Series X, but I agree that more choice is always a good thing.

Sony should really spend their time and effort manufacturing more PS5 Pro hardware, but then I suppose that would cause the price to drop.

@TrollOfWar

That’s actually a good point. I had not considered that, until you put it “black and white”.

As I said, I was probably only being cynical, but you have actually given me something to think about.

Thanks.

To me this all part of Microsoft’s marketing push that “everything is an XBox”.

Yes, terrific, it sells games.
But why did I buy a Series X? Surely, to play XBox games.

I assume that there must be much more profit in software sales, than in hardware.

So, what is to stop me from selling my Series X and my PS5, and simply tracking down a Pro?

Surely MS will lose money, Sony must get some cut of the profits for all Xbox games released on PS, or else why bother?

Sorry, I did not intend to sound quite so cynical.

I really enjoyed this game, and was perfectly happy with the first-person POV.

People argued “why have a character creator when you never see your own character on screen”?

But the same criticism can be brought up about Starfield.

With a third-person point of view, I think that Avatar would have simply felt like every other Ubisoft game.

Actually I found the first-person point of view made the whole game far more immersive.

My first play-through required several restarts, just to get used to it.

I can really appreciate all of the quality-of-life improvements that have come along since then. I think that I have now played through the campaign about four times.

Accidentally stumbled into Shattered Space, the first time. But completed it, once, the next time around. When I was more prepared.

My favourite part of the game so far has been the Andreja romance-plotline. Fantastic.

Just loaded the game, just now, and walked into the Lodge. Vasco says “Hello Captain, I have not seen you in a Looong time”.

Does the game remember that have not played it?

I have no real desire to replay Starfield again, not for a long while. As I probably overdid it at first.

I used to have a 5TB external hard drive. But it died. I also found it to be extremely slow.

But I bought the 1TB expansion card as soon as they became available. Larger versions were not yet available. But I love the fact that the expansion card is instantly accessible. And so easy to use.

I may yet get a larger expansion card, at some point, but right now I feel that they are too expensive for me.

I also have a PS5. Not the Pro, not yet. The PS5 has a 2tb SSD card inside. I was hesitant at first, but opening the lid was easier than I expected.

When I see this, I cannot help but think of Watch Dogs.

That game had lots of potential, that was not fully realised. A kind of “Style over Substance” issue.

But, we shall wait and see.

I very rarely buy games that are new. Not any longer.

I find that if I wait for a few months, then the price drops a little anyway. And most games will be in better condition by then as well, with bug fixes and such.

One round of golf, on PGA Tour 2k25 (PS5 version).

Beyond that, carrying on with Starfield (XSX). Second playthrough with the same character. And I’m trying to make different decisions this time around.

If either Microsoft, or Sony for that matter, stop producing disc-based consoles then I shall simply stop buying them.

In the past I have owned five generations of PlayStation, and three generations of Xbox. And every one of those consoles has had a disc drive.

In fact, almost all of my Xbox software is games on disc, from the Xbox One generation.

To be honest, I also believe that GamePass is also partly responsible for this shift toward digital-only game releases and discless hardware. I am also aware of the irony, in that if you buy a game on disc, what you are buying is simply the licence to play that game. Almost all of the game will now come in the form of an internet download.

I am never certain if Jeff Grubb is a reliable source, or not.

I will continue to remain sceptical of his announcements.

However I did enjoy his early work, the novel “Azure Bonds” in particular.