They should have started development of this years before the final shape launched. Trying to keep d2 alive with frivolous extra content after the ending of the light and dark saga was a mistake. The majority of people have dropped the game and the barrier to entry for new players is insanely high. The extra content that launched over the past year and half has been at best filler and at worst terrible.
Destiny needs a reset and d3. Final shape should have launched and then destiny should have taken a couple of years off before d3 (which should have been in development for 5-6 years).
@fatpunkslim valve already answered this point. The steam box was informed by the steam hardware survey - an annual reflection of the hardware configurations of the steam user base. Contrary to the belief of a lot of uninformed commentators the vast majority of pc users aren’t using xx90 or xx80 gpu’s, the majority are actually using hardware weaker than that offered by series x and ps5.
The steam box was designed to be an affordable upgrade for a large proportion of steam users. It is not designed to be an outright competitor to the current generation of consoles according to Valve. The question, why not just get a console? A majority of users on pc outright prefer mnk to console and play games that aren’t well translated to controller. They may also prefer to play some titles at 1080p to maximise their frame rate beyond 120fps or enjoy being able to mod titles at will. Their preference is pc even if the consoles have slightly more performant hardware.
As mentioned by digital foundry, this new steam box has a few major limitations just when compared to current generation consoles.
Firstly, it only has 8gb of available vram which could have a big impact on its ability to run the latest triple A titles at decent visual settings - especially relevant when displaying on a large screen tv. Modern games have quite demanding texture pack requirements - Indiana jones, tlou part 1 ans final fantasy 16 are just a few titles off the top of my head that would really struggle with that 8gb vram limit. These games perform better on series x and ps5 than they do on any of the current and past 8gb gpu’s.
Secondly, most modern anti-cheat systems are designed for Windows and rely on deep, kernel-level access to monitor the system, which is not compatible with Linux's open-source nature. This means that the steam box when using the default steam OS will be unable to access a lot of multiplayer titles including the recent battlefield, fortnite, apex legends, call of duty and EA sports FC.
@Runex2121 there have been rumours that valve are interested in producing another steam box to compete with Sony and Nintendo. Here’s Gemini’s summary as couldn’t be bothered to write it up myself:
“Rumours suggest Valve is developing a new Steam console, codenamed Fremont, to compete in the living room market against consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. This new "Steam box" would be a set-top box for the TV, unlike the portable Steam Deck. Leaked specifications point to a custom AMD processor and RX 7600 series GPU, with the device designed to integrate seamlessly with the Steam ecosystem, similar to the original Steam Machines but with improvements.”
The rumoured power of the system points towards it being affordable rather than a high end enthusiast level hardware option.
@themightyant yep, one of my friend’s kids is about 13 - he and his mates have absolutely terrible attention spans as a result of TikTok and other short form social media. They don’t go to the cinema because the idea of sitting and watching something for multiple hours would be “boring”.
Glad I’m too old for all this short form social media crap - I’d hate not to be capable of sitting through a film, reading a book or playing a something that isn’t Fortnite or Roblox.
@Medic_alert “throwing their partner under the bus” - did you read the article properly?
She says that pricing was determined by Asus (which it is) but also that she “feels really good about the value that we’re giving gamers for the price, based off the reception to the hardware".
Maybe you need to re familiarise yourself with the term “thrown under the bus” because this really isn’t it.
@Sveakungen ah ok, that’s actually still a pretty decent deal. Read eurogamer and chat gpt to try and understand the pricing structure which was not clear at all. Both suggested pc gamepass was being discontinued and rolled into the new ultimate tier.
As someone that used gamepass pc (£9.99pm) quite regularly for day one titles, the roughly 130% jump to £22.99pm means I won’t be using the service anywhere near as often as I have been.
Happier to pick up a lot of these titles on sale for when they get close to the sub price and have had their inevitable quality of life and performance/bug patches.
Will be interesting to see what this does to subscriber numbers. They’re definitely going to dip, but I wonder if profits will be offset by the significant price increases.
As good as this looks, it’s worth remembering that it’s yet another unreal engine title…
The likelihood being that it will run terribly on both pc and console. Hopefully this won’t be the case - but I’m not holding my breath given other unreal title launches (borderlands being the most recent sh*t show).
@Fiendish-Beaver I’d be waiting for some performance reviews before committing to a purchase. No console copies were available for review and several outlets didn’t get copies for review - eurogamer being one. Digital foundry will have the definitive verdict on performance and I’d encourage people that are sensitive to these things to wait for their video coverage
@SodaPop6548 if you can get it for less than silksong I would say yes. It’s a great game, easier than silksong and thus a better entry point whilst also helping inform you as to whether the series is something you’d enjoy.
Are the same people stating that machine games Indiana Jones title should have been third person also of the opinion that their wolfenstein games should have been third person?
Uncharted should have been a first person title, seems just as invalid a criticism.
You wanted Indiana Jones to be a third person uncharted clone is probably closer to the truth.
@Kaloudz Ignoring the obvious tone-deaf use of the technology, it doesn’t take very long to realise the glaringly obvious mistake with the image. It was pretty much instant for me. It also doesn’t take very long to refine your AI prompt to correct the error.
@Questionable_Duck I’m not so sure about death stranding- it was ported to iOS and can run on some iPads and iPhones. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 30fps switch 2 port.
Edit: didn’t read your comment properly, you were talking DS2 not the first. Although the sequel is using the same engine so it might be possible with certain cut-backs.
@BaldB3lper78 I think gamepass only dies when Microsoft gaming does. What I can see changing is the day 1 launch of first party titles on the platform. Gamepass is more likely to go the route of PlayStation plus extra with first party titles arriving on the service once their sales have plateaued. Gamepass ultimate disappears and the service survives at $9.99 a month as a collection of legacy titles. Active subs get a 10% discount on digital first party titles at launch.
@UndyingInsurgent95 you’d have a point if Xbox were the most profitable division at Microsoft - it’s not, and it never has been to the best of my knowledge. A successful business doesn’t prop up other divisions with the profits of its core business if those divisions are unlikely to generate sufficient returns in the medium/long term future. There’s an opportunity cost to investment at any company and if that money can generate better returns in other parts of the company it will be used there instead.
Also, Microsoft aren’t the only company making layoffs and studio closures, this is an industry-wide issue. Hell, even PlayStation, despite recently announcing record profits, have made layoffs and closed studios - the most recent being Firewalk and Neon Koi.
@NishimuraX hate to break it to you, but Microsoft already handed over the keys to the generation when they announced their multiplatform strategy. Gamepass has done all it can for hardware sales and there’s nothing else to differentiate Xbox from PlayStation. Sony have been uncontested in the high end console market for a long time now.
It’s a shame that Nvidia are so damn expensive. AMD are the clear choice for a mass market console, but it’s still slightly disappointing to know that any gpu upscaling, frame generation or raytracing is likely to be inferior to anything available on Nvidia hardware.
I guess it’ll still be a significant improvement over RDNA 2. I do hope they don’t try to push raytracing at the expense of performance and rely too much on frame generation. Next generation should be 60fps as standard with frame generation only implemented to push beyond that standard, not to achieve it.
From everything I’ve seen and heard on revenge of the savage planet 2 I doubt it would have performed any better had it not been available on gamepass. Expedition 33 enjoyed exceptional sales despite launching on the service.
I had gamepass when revenge of the savage planet was available. A quick look at some previews and gameplay told me it wasn’t even worth the download time as it was incredibly unlikely to provide me with any entertainment.
I wouldn’t be buying any more of these small AA titles or indies if Gamepass didn’t exist and would be even more discerning with my gaming spend. Most people are feeling the pinch from the increased cost of living and entertainment is the first expense to be cut in such times. If you launch a mediocre title, expect it to perform as such.
I feel that with gamepass it’s a case of “the horse has left the barn.” Anyone that’s consistently used the service has already had their spending habits changed - I know I have.
Unless you’re absolutely swimming in money, and let’s be real very few people are these days, gamepass is a phenomenal value proposition. How many people spend considerably more money to effectively accomplish the same outcome? I could have spent £70 buying doom: the dark ages and about 20 hours doing absolutely everything, or signed up to gamepass on pc for £10 and achieved exactly the same result. I did the later.
I rarely buy games at launch for full price. If I do, they’re often on ps5 and purchased on disc with the intent to sell immediately after completion. A practice which is also damaging to publishers as they see none of the revenue (and potential lost sale) from a used physical copy.
Publishers want you “buying” a digital copy of a game. They don’t really want you buying a physical copy, and unless they have the money of Microsoft, they’d also probably rather you didn’t “rent” your copy.
Not my jam. Never partook in any of the multiplayer from past FromSoftware games and this entry has been balanced around three players.
Also, feedback from the network tests said success was largely dependent on communication and coordination - which was close to impossible to achieve with randoms. The game therefore required a party of three with mics in order to have the best chance of completing a run.
@awp69 let’s not be petty and celebrate the possibility of other people being denied the ability to play a third party title at launch. Someone else not having access to the same title as you on another platform surely doesn’t impact your enjoyment of a game?
Nothing announced, happy to wait for an inevitable sale for anything not coming to gamepass. I’ll get ghost of yotei on disc at launch for £70 with the aim to sell on completion to recoup (hopefully) a lot of the initial outlay.
Really enjoyed this game when I played it, glad that it’s been sufficiently successful to warrant discussions of sequels and spin-offs from the publisher.
There’s been an awful lot of gamepass stories on push square, I wonder if this one will appear with its positive headline? Probably not, as it doesn’t align with the confirmation bias of many of its readers 😉
@themightyant yes. Until there’s an official announcement from said company, or publisher rumours are just unsubstantiated speculation. Company plans change and rumours can fast become a game of Chinese whispers. I’ll wait until I hear it direct from the company in question before I start losing my mind 😉
@Browntrouser if true, and working as on pc, it makes zero sense. They’d lose all revenue from Xbox gamepass core (formerly gold) and 30% revenue share on every third party title and any associated mtx spend on titles including f2p bought through steam. The only winners in this arrangement would be valve and consumers.
The only way this works is a collaboration with valve on a hardware device which sees Microsoft gain a share of revenue for any titles purchased through the device on steam. Maybe valve take 5% and Microsoft have the remaining 25% share.
Or, microsoft leave the hardware industry entirely, as with pc, and allow the next generation pc/hybrid consoles to be built by third parties. Similar to valves attempt at the “steam box” many years ago. They’d just become a publisher and peripheral maker with their own marketplace on pc.
I’d love to hear some official explanation for these price increases and their non-uniformity across regions. Without, it just appears that Rockstar are rolling dice and throwing blindfolded at a dartboard of regions. A compete rng based pricing strategy. Baffling.
This is a pretty big issue for any business still selling physical games. Not so much for Microsoft, unfortunately, given that digital game sales absolutely dominate physical sales now.
In fact it might be argued that the less physical copies sold, the better for a publisher and developer. They don’t see any of the revenue from used physical sales and such sales potentially eliminate sales of “new” copies that they would gain revenue from. Also, the margins for digital games are probably higher owing to the extra cost of production and distribution for physical media.
Had to stop playing the game as soon as I got out of the sewers. The frame drops are some of the worst I’ve seen on pc, spinning the camera is a janky stuttery mess and enough to make you nauseous. I have a 4070ti super and 7800x3d and can’t get a smooth experience at 1440p with dlss and using frame gen. Absolutely horrible.
@themightyant true, and if making that argument, the recent announcement of an increase in software prices for Microsoft studio games doesn’t look great.
With microsoft now fully adopting a multi-platform strategy, I fail to see why the FTC think they have more chance today of overturning the court’s decision than they did before.
Personally, I think pc is where it’s at for gamepass right now. In addition with pc, you get access to most of Sony’s exclusives, have the option to take advantage of both Ubisoft and EA’s day one titles on their equivalent gamepass services and benefit from multiple storefronts and competitive pricing for purchasing titles. Gamepass for PC is also 33% cheaper than ultimate on Xbox and gives the same day one title benefits.
@LogicStrikesAgain £700 was expensive for a console without a disc tray at the time, and I’m fairly confident that it will be more than £700 for a console without a disc tray before the end of the year.
Never understood why anyone would pay the premium for the white series x when it launched either. Get the original and the external hdd upgrade if you want more space. Having a disc tray gives it infinitely more value if you want to resell and also gives you options when it comes to watching films on physical media or playing games on disc, which can often be found cheaper at and/or after launch.
@Cakefish gamepass becoming evermore attractive, as if it weren’t already. I still think Nintendo are taking the piss when development costs for a lot of their titles are significantly lower than that of ps5, series consoles and triple A pc titles.
@Elbow gamepass has merely trained me to be more discerning with the games I actually purchase. I’m not pissing money down the drain on titles that are average, I’m buying the quality titles that aren’t on gamepass and using the service for everything else.
You make an awesome, quality game that isn’t on gamepass and I’ll buy it at launch. You make something average and don’t put it on gamepass, I won’t try or buy. It’s that simple.
@dskatter I mean we’re talking semantics right now. Your concept of ownership has changed because you’re now having to handpick the games that provide all their content on disc. You could buy any gameboy or snes cartridge back in the day without cherry picking and know that you have the entire game on physical media.
Curiously, did you skip GTA V when it released on ps4 and Xbox one as the disc only contained the licensing key on those platforms?
@dskatter depressing for some, I guess. But the concept of ownership today is not what it once was - especially with the rise of digital sales. If you ‘own’ a digital copy of any title you only have the license required to access that title rather than outright ownership of it. Buying a physical copy of a game also often requires downloading the majority of the game files digitally rather than from the disc itself in order to play.
The mainstream markets for music, film and television have all migrated to digital future with ‘rental’ through streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Netflix etc being the preferred way to consumer content. Gaming is slowly drifting towards a similar model with cloud gaming being the end-game.
It will be interesting to see if the next Xbox console launches with a disc-drive. The rumoured Xbox handheld certainly won’t, and I think it pretty unlikely that it will offer a bespoke physical cartridge solution for individual titles like the switch.
@dskatter Xbox owners have options, PlayStation owners don’t. The only reason PlayStation owners buy games is because they have no other means of accessing them. Gamepass is phenomenal value, it’s hardly surprising that “renting” has becoming more popular than spending £70 on a single AAA title.
I have no issue with PlayStation users being charged a premium to access Microsoft studios titles if it helps to ensure these games continue being developed and are still made available through gamepass.
I would imagine these get sent to accounts that aren’t particularly active and don't have any existing subscriptions. I guess that we enthusiasts aren’t really the target audience as our spending habits are pretty ingrained. If they can get an inactive Xbox owner to start a gamepass subscription or invest more in their ecosystem with a game purchase they have more chance of spending on the platform in the future.
April feels like a fairly stacked month for gamepass with blue prince, gtaV and Claire obscure followed by doom in early May. There’s little we know of for the rest of May or June. It feels like an oblivion remake would be far more likely to shadow drop during the Microsoft June digital event, not so much mid-April. Happy to be wrong though.
@themightyant yeah, not great. Although we still don’t have a release date and this is probably an old build which has yet to be put through optimisation. Even so, you think they’d be showcasing this on a bleeding-edge PC so it’s a little worrying that it can’t be brute forced. I’m assuming that the final product will run similarly to avowed and if so, my PC should be fine.
Didn’t think it looked great from the trailers - but I’m really not it’s demographic. I’m sure the younger minecraft playerbase will get a lot of enjoyment from seeing their favourite game realised on the big screen.
@Millionski I don’t blame Sony, but I’m fully aware that they’re a company seeking to maximise their profits and will do so at the expense of consumer welfare if given the opportunity. Their current dominance has resulted in reduced first party output, higher pricing and arguably an over-reliance on sequels and third party studio’s. Their behaviour isn’t dissimilar from that of Microsoft during peak 360 era Xbox.
As someone that sold my series x nearly 2 years ago and switched to pc, Microsoft aren’t failing me at all. Their first party output seems to finally be hitting its stride and is providing an ever-expanding diverse portfolio of titles. Gamepass for pc is 33% cheaper than ultimate on Xbox (£9.99pm vs £14.99pm) and gives you the same access to day one games from Xbox studios. You can also choose where to buy their titles, either direct from the Microsoft store or through steam.
Consoles are fast becoming a false economy - games are more expensive, you have to pay for online multiplayer, and if ps5 pro is anything to go by, the hardware isn’t going to be any where near as affordable in the future as it once was. Consoles are also shifting away from physical media so you will only able to obtain software from a single storefront - Sony actually restrict the sale of digital games from third party sellers.
I’m glad to have transitioned away from consoles and certainly don’t want to be in those ecosystems when ps6 launches.
Makes sense. Every little thing that can help hasten the demise of Xbox hardware moves Sony a step closer to full monopoly of the high end console space. No competition means PlayStation are free to dictate pricing and restrict innovation spending. As long as they are content to undercut Nvidia and AMD’s equivalent pc hardware and Microsoft continue to provide software support they can do whatever they want. Limiting consumer choice is always a bad thing for anyone other than shareholders.
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Re: Destiny 3 Is Apparently In 'Extremely Early Development', Should Still Launch On Xbox
They should have started development of this years before the final shape launched. Trying to keep d2 alive with frivolous extra content after the ending of the light and dark saga was a mistake. The majority of people have dropped the game and the barrier to entry for new players is insanely high. The extra content that launched over the past year and half has been at best filler and at worst terrible.
Destiny needs a reset and d3. Final shape should have launched and then destiny should have taken a couple of years off before d3 (which should have been in development for 5-6 years).
Re: Rumour: Steam Machine To Be 'Priced Like A PC' Rather Than Traditional Xbox Or PS Console
@fatpunkslim valve already answered this point. The steam box was informed by the steam hardware survey - an annual reflection of the hardware configurations of the steam user base. Contrary to the belief of a lot of uninformed commentators the vast majority of pc users aren’t using xx90 or xx80 gpu’s, the majority are actually using hardware weaker than that offered by series x and ps5.
The steam box was designed to be an affordable upgrade for a large proportion of steam users. It is not designed to be an outright competitor to the current generation of consoles according to Valve. The question, why not just get a console? A majority of users on pc outright prefer mnk to console and play games that aren’t well translated to controller. They may also prefer to play some titles at 1080p to maximise their frame rate beyond 120fps or enjoy being able to mod titles at will. Their preference is pc even if the consoles have slightly more performant hardware.
Re: Talking Point: What Does The 'Steam Machine' Mean For Xbox's Next-Gen Console Plans?
As mentioned by digital foundry, this new steam box has a few major limitations just when compared to current generation consoles.
Firstly, it only has 8gb of available vram which could have a big impact on its ability to run the latest triple A titles at decent visual settings - especially relevant when displaying on a large screen tv. Modern games have quite demanding texture pack requirements - Indiana jones, tlou part 1 ans final fantasy 16 are just a few titles off the top of my head that would really struggle with that 8gb vram limit. These games perform better on series x and ps5 than they do on any of the current and past 8gb gpu’s.
Secondly, most modern anti-cheat systems are designed for Windows and rely on deep, kernel-level access to monitor the system, which is not compatible with Linux's open-source nature. This means that the steam box when using the default steam OS will be unable to access a lot of multiplayer titles including the recent battlefield, fortnite, apex legends, call of duty and EA sports FC.
Re: Huge Xbox Report Details 'Ambitious' Next-Gen Console With Free Online Play
@Runex2121 there have been rumours that valve are interested in producing another steam box to compete with Sony and Nintendo. Here’s Gemini’s summary as couldn’t be bothered to write it up myself:
“Rumours suggest Valve is developing a new Steam console, codenamed Fremont, to compete in the living room market against consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. This new "Steam box" would be a set-top box for the TV, unlike the portable Steam Deck. Leaked specifications point to a custom AMD processor and RX 7600 series GPU, with the device designed to integrate seamlessly with the Steam ecosystem, similar to the original Steam Machines but with improvements.”
The rumoured power of the system points towards it being affordable rather than a high end enthusiast level hardware option.
Re: Xbox Has More Competition From TikTok Than PlayStation, Claims Microsoft Exec
@themightyant yep, one of my friend’s kids is about 13 - he and his mates have absolutely terrible attention spans as a result of TikTok and other short form social media. They don’t go to the cinema because the idea of sitting and watching something for multiple hours would be “boring”.
Glad I’m too old for all this short form social media crap - I’d hate not to be capable of sitting through a film, reading a book or playing a something that isn’t Fortnite or Roblox.
Re: Microsoft Passes The Buck To Asus For ROG Xbox Ally's Price Tag
@Medic_alert “throwing their partner under the bus” - did you read the article properly?
She says that pricing was determined by Asus (which it is) but also that she “feels really good about the value that we’re giving gamers for the price, based off the reception to the hardware".
Maybe you need to re familiarise yourself with the term “thrown under the bus” because this really isn’t it.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Is Getting A Major Overhaul With New Names, Games & Price Changes
@Sveakungen ah ok, that’s actually still a pretty decent deal. Read eurogamer and chat gpt to try and understand the pricing structure which was not clear at all. Both suggested pc gamepass was being discontinued and rolled into the new ultimate tier.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Is Getting A Major Overhaul With New Names, Games & Price Changes
As someone that used gamepass pc (£9.99pm) quite regularly for day one titles, the roughly 130% jump to £22.99pm means I won’t be using the service anywhere near as often as I have been.
Happier to pick up a lot of these titles on sale for when they get close to the sub price and have had their inevitable quality of life and performance/bug patches.
Will be interesting to see what this does to subscriber numbers. They’re definitely going to dip, but I wonder if profits will be offset by the significant price increases.
Re: Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra Early Footage Leaks Ahead Of 2026 Release
As good as this looks, it’s worth remembering that it’s yet another unreal engine title…
The likelihood being that it will run terribly on both pc and console. Hopefully this won’t be the case - but I’m not holding my breath given other unreal title launches (borderlands being the most recent sh*t show).
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Borderlands 4
@Fiendish-Beaver I’d be waiting for some performance reviews before committing to a purchase. No console copies were available for review and several outlets didn’t get copies for review - eurogamer being one. Digital foundry will have the definitive verdict on performance and I’d encourage people that are sensitive to these things to wait for their video coverage
Re: Hollow Knight: Silksong's First Patch Will Tweak Balance, Fix Bugs On Xbox Game Pass
@SodaPop6548 if you can get it for less than silksong I would say yes. It’s a great game, easier than silksong and thus a better entry point whilst also helping inform you as to whether the series is something you’d enjoy.
Re: Indiana Jones Dev: Xbox Game Pass Was A 'Hard Balance' Because Players Quickly Drop Out
Are the same people stating that machine games Indiana Jones title should have been third person also of the opinion that their wolfenstein games should have been third person?
Uncharted should have been a first person title, seems just as invalid a criticism.
You wanted Indiana Jones to be a third person uncharted clone is probably closer to the truth.
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
@Banjo- just to add to this, any third party key purchased for steam is also ineligible for steam’s refund policy once redeemed.
Re: Talking Point: What Should Xbox Do To Celebrate Its 25th Anniversary Next Year?
A 25th anniversary Xbox twitter post designed by AI if Microsoft allow the budget for it 😒
Re: Gamescom 2025 Opening Night Live Showcase: Date, Start Times & What To Expect
Surely this is when we get a release date announcement for silksong?
Re: 'Xbox PC' Gets Renamed Again As Microsoft Tries To Figure Out The Perfect Branding
Surprised they didn’t go with something completely out of touch like “Direct-X Box on Personal Computer” given the recent form of management
Re: Microsoft CEO Comments On Recent Xbox Layoffs, Doubles Down On AI
I wonder if the world will remember those who forged ahead with AI development fondly in 15-20 years time?
Mass unemployment, autonomous weapons systems, more sophisticated hacking and fraud methodologies and even greater wealth disparities. I know I won’t.
Re: Xbox Is Using The Most Ridiculous AI Image To Advertise New Jobs
@Kaloudz Ignoring the obvious tone-deaf use of the technology, it doesn’t take very long to realise the glaringly obvious mistake with the image. It was pretty much instant for me. It also doesn’t take very long to refine your AI prompt to correct the error.
Re: Xbox Series S Is More Powerful Than Switch 2, But 60FPS Games Should 'Easily' Port Across
@Questionable_Duck I’m not so sure about death stranding- it was ported to iOS and can run on some iPads and iPhones. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 30fps switch 2 port.
Edit: didn’t read your comment properly, you were talking DS2 not the first. Although the sequel is using the same engine so it might be possible with certain cut-backs.
Re: Microsoft Said To Have 'Unrealistic' Expectations For Xbox, But Not Everyone Agrees
@BaldB3lper78 I think gamepass only dies when Microsoft gaming does. What I can see changing is the day 1 launch of first party titles on the platform. Gamepass is more likely to go the route of PlayStation plus extra with first party titles arriving on the service once their sales have plateaued. Gamepass ultimate disappears and the service survives at $9.99 a month as a collection of legacy titles. Active subs get a 10% discount on digital first party titles at launch.
Re: Imminent Xbox Layoffs Could Include Entire Studios, Warns Industry Veteran
@UndyingInsurgent95 you’d have a point if Xbox were the most profitable division at Microsoft - it’s not, and it never has been to the best of my knowledge. A successful business doesn’t prop up other divisions with the profits of its core business if those divisions are unlikely to generate sufficient returns in the medium/long term future. There’s an opportunity cost to investment at any company and if that money can generate better returns in other parts of the company it will be used there instead.
Also, Microsoft aren’t the only company making layoffs and studio closures, this is an industry-wide issue. Hell, even PlayStation, despite recently announcing record profits, have made layoffs and closed studios - the most recent being Firewalk and Neon Koi.
This issue is not Microsoft exclusive.
Re: Talking Point: Have This Month's Announcements Made You Excited About Xbox Again?
@NishimuraX hate to break it to you, but Microsoft already handed over the keys to the generation when they announced their multiplatform strategy. Gamepass has done all it can for hardware sales and there’s nothing else to differentiate Xbox from PlayStation. Sony have been uncontested in the high end console market for a long time now.
Re: Xbox Announces Next-Gen Console Strategy, Promises 'Deeper Visuals' & Backwards Compatibility
It’s a shame that Nvidia are so damn expensive. AMD are the clear choice for a mass market console, but it’s still slightly disappointing to know that any gpu upscaling, frame generation or raytracing is likely to be inferior to anything available on Nvidia hardware.
I guess it’ll still be a significant improvement over RDNA 2. I do hope they don’t try to push raytracing at the expense of performance and rely too much on frame generation. Next generation should be 60fps as standard with frame generation only implemented to push beyond that standard, not to achieve it.
Re: Developer Reveals Surprisingly Critical Feedback After Launching On Xbox Game Pass
From everything I’ve seen and heard on revenge of the savage planet 2 I doubt it would have performed any better had it not been available on gamepass. Expedition 33 enjoyed exceptional sales despite launching on the service.
I had gamepass when revenge of the savage planet was available. A quick look at some previews and gameplay told me it wasn’t even worth the download time as it was incredibly unlikely to provide me with any entertainment.
I wouldn’t be buying any more of these small AA titles or indies if Gamepass didn’t exist and would be even more discerning with my gaming spend. Most people are feeling the pinch from the increased cost of living and entertainment is the first expense to be cut in such times. If you launch a mediocre title, expect it to perform as such.
Re: Sony Has Approached Subscriptions 'Healthier' Than Xbox, Says Former PlayStation Boss
I feel that with gamepass it’s a case of “the horse has left the barn.” Anyone that’s consistently used the service has already had their spending habits changed - I know I have.
Unless you’re absolutely swimming in money, and let’s be real very few people are these days, gamepass is a phenomenal value proposition. How many people spend considerably more money to effectively accomplish the same outcome? I could have spent £70 buying doom: the dark ages and about 20 hours doing absolutely everything, or signed up to gamepass on pc for £10 and achieved exactly the same result. I did the later.
I rarely buy games at launch for full price. If I do, they’re often on ps5 and purchased on disc with the intent to sell immediately after completion. A practice which is also damaging to publishers as they see none of the revenue (and potential lost sale) from a used physical copy.
Publishers want you “buying” a digital copy of a game. They don’t really want you buying a physical copy, and unless they have the money of Microsoft, they’d also probably rather you didn’t “rent” your copy.
Re: Talking Point: Are You Interested In This Week's New FromSoftware Release?
Not my jam. Never partook in any of the multiplayer from past FromSoftware games and this entry has been balanced around three players.
Also, feedback from the network tests said success was largely dependent on communication and coordination - which was close to impossible to achieve with randoms. The game therefore required a party of three with mics in order to have the best chance of completing a run.
Re: 'Space Marine Master Crafted Edition' Brings Remastered Classic To Xbox Game Pass
@awp69 let’s not be petty and celebrate the possibility of other people being denied the ability to play a third party title at launch. Someone else not having access to the same title as you on another platform surely doesn’t impact your enjoyment of a game?
Re: Talking Point: What Game Franchises Would You Pay $80 For On Xbox?
Nothing announced, happy to wait for an inevitable sale for anything not coming to gamepass. I’ll get ghost of yotei on disc at launch for £70 with the aim to sell on completion to recoup (hopefully) a lot of the initial outlay.
Re: Atomfall Was 'Immediately Profitable' Despite Launching On Xbox Game Pass
Really enjoyed this game when I played it, glad that it’s been sufficiently successful to warrant discussions of sequels and spin-offs from the publisher.
There’s been an awful lot of gamepass stories on push square, I wonder if this one will appear with its positive headline? Probably not, as it doesn’t align with the confirmation bias of many of its readers 😉
Re: Microsoft To Make Registration 'Free' For Individual App Developers As Of June 2025
@themightyant yes. Until there’s an official announcement from said company, or publisher rumours are just unsubstantiated speculation. Company plans change and rumours can fast become a game of Chinese whispers. I’ll wait until I hear it direct from the company in question before I start losing my mind 😉
Re: Microsoft To Make Registration 'Free' For Individual App Developers As Of June 2025
@Browntrouser if true, and working as on pc, it makes zero sense. They’d lose all revenue from Xbox gamepass core (formerly gold) and 30% revenue share on every third party title and any associated mtx spend on titles including f2p bought through steam. The only winners in this arrangement would be valve and consumers.
The only way this works is a collaboration with valve on a hardware device which sees Microsoft gain a share of revenue for any titles purchased through the device on steam. Maybe valve take 5% and Microsoft have the remaining 25% share.
Or, microsoft leave the hardware industry entirely, as with pc, and allow the next generation pc/hybrid consoles to be built by third parties. Similar to valves attempt at the “steam box” many years ago. They’d just become a publisher and peripheral maker with their own marketplace on pc.
Re: Red Dead Redemption 1 & 2 On Xbox Now More Expensive In Some Countries, Including The UK
I’d love to hear some official explanation for these price increases and their non-uniformity across regions. Without, it just appears that Rockstar are rolling dice and throwing blindfolded at a dartboard of regions. A compete rng based pricing strategy. Baffling.
Edited to reflect rockstar not Microsoft 😅
Re: Microsoft To Make Registration 'Free' For Individual App Developers As Of June 2025
@Browntrouser that’s just rumoured, right? Or does your dad work at Microsoft and he told you it’s definitely happening? 😉
Re: 'Huge' Number Of People Cancelling DOOM Pre-Orders Over 'Botched Physical Release'
This is a pretty big issue for any business still selling physical games. Not so much for Microsoft, unfortunately, given that digital game sales absolutely dominate physical sales now.
In fact it might be argued that the less physical copies sold, the better for a publisher and developer. They don’t see any of the revenue from used physical sales and such sales potentially eliminate sales of “new” copies that they would gain revenue from. Also, the margins for digital games are probably higher owing to the extra cost of production and distribution for physical media.
Re: Oblivion Remastered's Performance 'Degrades' Over Time, Digital Foundry Discovers
Had to stop playing the game as soon as I got out of the sewers. The frame drops are some of the worst I’ve seen on pc, spinning the camera is a janky stuttery mess and enough to make you nauseous. I have a 4070ti super and 7800x3d and can’t get a smooth experience at 1440p with dlss and using frame gen. Absolutely horrible.
Re: FTC Suffers Another Major Blow In Fight Against Xbox Activsion Deal
@themightyant true, and if making that argument, the recent announcement of an increase in software prices for Microsoft studio games doesn’t look great.
Re: FTC Suffers Another Major Blow In Fight Against Xbox Activsion Deal
With microsoft now fully adopting a multi-platform strategy, I fail to see why the FTC think they have more chance today of overturning the court’s decision than they did before.
Re: Opinion: If Xbox Is 'Just' A Game Pass Machine, That's Still Enough For Me
Personally, I think pc is where it’s at for gamepass right now. In addition with pc, you get access to most of Sony’s exclusives, have the option to take advantage of both Ubisoft and EA’s day one titles on their equivalent gamepass services and benefit from multiple storefronts and competitive pricing for purchasing titles. Gamepass for PC is also 33% cheaper than ultimate on Xbox and gives the same day one title benefits.
Re: Xbox Price Hike 'Just The Beginning' For The Industry, Says Analyst
@LogicStrikesAgain £700 was expensive for a console without a disc tray at the time, and I’m fairly confident that it will be more than £700 for a console without a disc tray before the end of the year.
Never understood why anyone would pay the premium for the white series x when it launched either. Get the original and the external hdd upgrade if you want more space. Having a disc tray gives it infinitely more value if you want to resell and also gives you options when it comes to watching films on physical media or playing games on disc, which can often be found cheaper at and/or after launch.
Re: Xbox Is Raising The Price Of Consoles, Games And Accessories
@Cakefish gamepass becoming evermore attractive, as if it weren’t already. I still think Nintendo are taking the piss when development costs for a lot of their titles are significantly lower than that of ps5, series consoles and triple A pc titles.
Re: Indie Dev Defends Xbox Game Pass As Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sells Most On PS5
@Elbow gamepass has merely trained me to be more discerning with the games I actually purchase. I’m not pissing money down the drain on titles that are average, I’m buying the quality titles that aren’t on gamepass and using the service for everything else.
You make an awesome, quality game that isn’t on gamepass and I’ll buy it at launch. You make something average and don’t put it on gamepass, I won’t try or buy. It’s that simple.
Re: Indiana Jones 'Selling Faster' On PS5 Than Xbox & Steam, Says Analysis
@dskatter I mean we’re talking semantics right now. Your concept of ownership has changed because you’re now having to handpick the games that provide all their content on disc. You could buy any gameboy or snes cartridge back in the day without cherry picking and know that you have the entire game on physical media.
Curiously, did you skip GTA V when it released on ps4 and Xbox one as the disc only contained the licensing key on those platforms?
Re: Indiana Jones 'Selling Faster' On PS5 Than Xbox & Steam, Says Analysis
@dskatter depressing for some, I guess. But the concept of ownership today is not what it once was - especially with the rise of digital sales. If you ‘own’ a digital copy of any title you only have the license required to access that title rather than outright ownership of it. Buying a physical copy of a game also often requires downloading the majority of the game files digitally rather than from the disc itself in order to play.
The mainstream markets for music, film and television have all migrated to digital future with ‘rental’ through streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Netflix etc being the preferred way to consumer content. Gaming is slowly drifting towards a similar model with cloud gaming being the end-game.
It will be interesting to see if the next Xbox console launches with a disc-drive. The rumoured Xbox handheld certainly won’t, and I think it pretty unlikely that it will offer a bespoke physical cartridge solution for individual titles like the switch.
True ownership of a video game no longer exists.
Re: Indiana Jones 'Selling Faster' On PS5 Than Xbox & Steam, Says Analysis
@dskatter Xbox owners have options, PlayStation owners don’t. The only reason PlayStation owners buy games is because they have no other means of accessing them. Gamepass is phenomenal value, it’s hardly surprising that “renting” has becoming more popular than spending £70 on a single AAA title.
I have no issue with PlayStation users being charged a premium to access Microsoft studios titles if it helps to ensure these games continue being developed and are still made available through gamepass.
Re: Microsoft Is Handing Out Free Xbox Gift Cards For The Spring Sale 2025
I would imagine these get sent to accounts that aren’t particularly active and don't have any existing subscriptions. I guess that we enthusiasts aren’t really the target audience as our spending habits are pretty ingrained. If they can get an inactive Xbox owner to start a gamepass subscription or invest more in their ecosystem with a game purchase they have more chance of spending on the platform in the future.
Re: Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake Will Reportedly Shadow Drop Next Week
April feels like a fairly stacked month for gamepass with blue prince, gtaV and Claire obscure followed by doom in early May. There’s little we know of for the rest of May or June. It feels like an oblivion remake would be far more likely to shadow drop during the Microsoft June digital event, not so much mid-April. Happy to be wrong though.
Re: Xbox Provides First Look At 11 Minutes Of The Outer Worlds 2 Gameplay
@themightyant yeah, not great. Although we still don’t have a release date and this is probably an old build which has yet to be put through optimisation. Even so, you think they’d be showcasing this on a bleeding-edge PC so it’s a little worrying that it can’t be brute forced. I’m assuming that the final product will run similarly to avowed and if so, my PC should be fine.
Re: Roundup: Here's What The First Reviews Are Saying About 'A Minecraft Movie'
Didn’t think it looked great from the trailers - but I’m really not it’s demographic. I’m sure the younger minecraft playerbase will get a lot of enjoyment from seeing their favourite game realised on the big screen.
Re: Sony-Owned 'Patapon' Is Coming To PS5, Switch And PC, But No Sign Of Xbox
@Millionski I don’t blame Sony, but I’m fully aware that they’re a company seeking to maximise their profits and will do so at the expense of consumer welfare if given the opportunity. Their current dominance has resulted in reduced first party output, higher pricing and arguably an over-reliance on sequels and third party studio’s. Their behaviour isn’t dissimilar from that of Microsoft during peak 360 era Xbox.
As someone that sold my series x nearly 2 years ago and switched to pc, Microsoft aren’t failing me at all. Their first party output seems to finally be hitting its stride and is providing an ever-expanding diverse portfolio of titles. Gamepass for pc is 33% cheaper than ultimate on Xbox (£9.99pm vs £14.99pm) and gives you the same access to day one games from Xbox studios. You can also choose where to buy their titles, either direct from the Microsoft store or through steam.
Consoles are fast becoming a false economy - games are more expensive, you have to pay for online multiplayer, and if ps5 pro is anything to go by, the hardware isn’t going to be any where near as affordable in the future as it once was. Consoles are also shifting away from physical media so you will only able to obtain software from a single storefront - Sony actually restrict the sale of digital games from third party sellers.
I’m glad to have transitioned away from consoles and certainly don’t want to be in those ecosystems when ps6 launches.
Re: Sony-Owned 'Patapon' Is Coming To PS5, Switch And PC, But No Sign Of Xbox
Makes sense. Every little thing that can help hasten the demise of Xbox hardware moves Sony a step closer to full monopoly of the high end console space. No competition means PlayStation are free to dictate pricing and restrict innovation spending. As long as they are content to undercut Nvidia and AMD’s equivalent pc hardware and Microsoft continue to provide software support they can do whatever they want. Limiting consumer choice is always a bad thing for anyone other than shareholders.