@InheritNegative living up to your user name? š
Iāve played all three fable games and am pretty excited for the upcoming title. The trailer seems to have everything people would expect from fable in terms of tone and humour. Iām not sure what a fan of the series would find to dislike tbh. We donāt have much to go on in terms of gameplay, story, mechanics and world, but the little we do have is quite encouraging.
Proof, if any were needed, that some gamers are petulant children. Plenty of games receive physical editions post launch after sales have reached a certain milestone and some games never receive a physical edition.
With regards to the āorderingā of platform editions in that marketing photo, who cares? Does it mean you canāt play pentiment on game pass any more, does it stop your purchased edition from loading or delete your save files? No? Then who cares?
Ironically, the best chance of this game appearing on Xbox would have been had it flopped. At which point, nobody would be asking for it.
As it is, I donāt see it coming to Xbox any time soon. Currently the game is performing so well that itās suffering from connection issues and server capacity is getting completely hammered. The developers are struggling to keep up with demand for just pc and PlayStation so there really isnāt any need to expand it to other platforms right now.
It could come to Xbox in the future once the pc and PlayStation player base starts to drop, but at that point Sony might just decide theyāre happy with its lifetime performance to date and would rather not invest in porting to other platforms. Especially in light of the fact that timed exclusives rarely perform as well when they eventually release on other platforms.
Iām also aware of the data supporting the fact that software attachment rates are lower on Xbox than PlayStation (the number of games sold per console), probably due in part to the value proposition of gamepass. I donāt know how this impacts mtx purchases, but it will also factor into the chances of Sony porting the game to Xbox.
@theduckofdeath I think itās most likely that theyāre referencing AI and cloud capabilities rather than raw compute power.
Sony stated recently that theyāre struggling to get the same returns on the ps5 compared to previous generations as the cost savings just arenāt there, despite being years into the consoleās lifecycle. Unless Microsoft are planning on a $1k machine I donāt see how they can make it affordable from a compute power perspective.
Technologies such as ai upscaling, frame generation and cloud compute would enable it to achieve an equivalent performance of a raw computational system significantly more powerful than that currently available at a relative price point.
It will be interesting to see what sort of machine Xbox release as a successor to the series x/s. Microsoft were rumoured to have been in discussions with both Nvidia and intel in addition to AMD regarding SoC manufacturing.
The switch 2 is said to have a custom Nvidia chipset that uses dlss and may also have frame gen features. Iād quite like to see what Nvidia could bring to Xbox regarding their AI technologies - theyāre a full generation ahead of AMD with their ray tracing capabilities, and leading in upscaling and frame gen tech thanks to their tensor cores.
Yes, they shall continue to produce consoles as long as it is cost effective for them to do so. Hopefully we shall get some clarification regarding software exclusivity next week. One thingās for sure, hardware sales will not increase with fewer exclusive titles. Hopefully the loss in sales will be marginal and Xbox wonāt lose further ground to PlayStation.
Gamepass is great but itās already resulted in fewer games being purchased on Xbox, which has caused several indie developers to reevaluate whether or not they release a title on Microsoftās consoles. Install base is also having an impact on indie titles, with those that donāt come to gamepass opting to release on switch and PlayStation rather than the smaller Xbox market.
I donāt fear for first party support on Xbox - I fear for third party titles, particularly indie and Japanese software if Microsoft continue to lose ground to PlayStation.
Will be interesting to see if this rumour pans out. Star Wars outlaws is another Ubisoft title due out in 2024, and one which has already had a proper gameplay reveal. We still donāt have a release date or even window which, at this stage, suggests that the game will launch at the back end of the year most likely during the holiday period.
Skull and bones launches next month too so three Ubisoft multi platform titles (and the smaller metroidvania prince of Persia) in one year sounds unlikely, especially given it would leave them nothing big for 2025 and their shareholders. Valhalla was an absolute juggernaut in terms of sales for Ubisoft, I would imagine theyāre expecting similar performance from red.
I canāt see Ubisoft releasing 2 triple AAA titles within a month of each other, especially with them both being such huge IP. It seems much more likely that outlaws launches this Holiday and then red releases March or Holiday 2025 to carry Ubisoftās financials.
As someone fortunate enough to have both a ps5 and a pc (formerly a series x) I much prefer the current xbox controller. The haptics and other features of the dual sense controller were an interesting novelty in Astrobot but that novelty wore off pretty quickly. The battery life on the dualsense with all the extra features enabled is abysmal, and pretty poor even with them disabled. When Iām using the ps5 I have to play with the controller hardwired half the time due to the battery issues.
I play using a series x controller on the pc and itās a much more enjoyable experience. I never need to hardwire as I can just switch out the batteries for more rechargeable AAs. The rumble features are fine for some extra immersion, the ergonomics are fantastic and the battery life great.
Iād end up turning off any extra haptics or tigger tension stuff on a new controller to preserve the battery and resent paying extra for a feature set Iām not interested in. If a new controller does launch I hope they still have the legacy version as a purchasing option.
@MrMagic machine games expertise lies in first person shooters and the Wolfenstein franchise. Iām pleased that theyāre playing to their strengths, and happy that weāre not getting a third person uncharted clone. They clearly impressed Disney with their pitch and Iām excited to play the game when it releases later this year.
@Rmg0731 the flex is actually, do you currently have gamepass and are interested in playing or trying the yakuza series of games? If so, theyāre all available on gamepass right now as part of your subscription.
In my experience playing a whole series of games back to back, particularly rpgās, results in massive burnout. Iād much rather play something else between each entry to avoid fatigue.
Iām currently playing through the base version of cyberpunk, Iām probably 80% of the way through the main campaign and have been really enjoying it. However, Iām also at the point where Iām looking forward to finishing it and playing something else. I think Iāve spent about 35hrs in game so far.
Having gamepass gives people the ability to try out all the yakuza games and also play something else in between if theyāre feeling series fatigue.
Watched a part of this yesterday on my mobile without any context. Actually thought it was someone using a GoPro to shoot real video and make it look like a first person video game š
I'm fairly certain starfield will only be a 30fps game on series X, although I'd love to be proven wrong. There was an ign unfiltered podcast interview last year with Todd Howard (director and executive producer Bethesda studios) where he was asked about 60fps or 4k visual fidelity, especially in respect to starfield. Todd replies that he'd rather have better visuals and resolution at 30fps in Bethesda's games.
Here's a link to the podcast and timestamp of 25 minutes for the information:
@Sam_TSM if you can't tell the difference, more power to you. It's not marketing bs, there is a tangible difference between 30 and 60 frames and yes, a lot of games ran at 30fps in the year 2000, but some were also running at 60fps.
No, it didn't kill me to play games at 30fps back then, but I definitely preferred playing at 60. It also didn't kill anyone playing at 540p either, or 720p, but most people wouldn't be happy with those resolutions on their series X today.
I'd much rather play a game at 720p60 than 4k30 if given the choice. The fact we don't have that choice at launch with redfall, a big Microsoft exclusive, is definitely a problem. I'm sure some people that can't differentiate between 30fps and 60 would be equally disappointed if the game launched at 720p60 on their series X.
The lack of a performance mode or 60fps at launch is also particularly glaring at a time when the majority of AAA and AA games launch with these options. Arcane also haven't commited to a time frame for the 60fps mode which is worrying and means it might not arrive for months.
Well if star wars Jedi: survivor launches with a performance mode on the 28th I probably won't be touching redfall before the 60fps patch. Was going to hold fire on Jedi survivor because of redfall. Probably won't be the case now. Also get a 10% discount for preorder of survivor with ea access on Xbox (thanks to gamepass ultimate).
Still pretty disappointed by this news though, quite a big ball drop by arcane and Microsoft imo.
@PcTV in fairness they put their games into the hands of a lot more gamers day one than PlayStation. The pc platform via steam or windows store, anyone with a semi decent internet connection and compatible TV/mobile phone and the entire Xbox ecosystem. Vs Sony - only ps5 owners and PS4 owners if you're lucky and the game is multi-generation. Microsoft are definitely allowing a lot more people to play their games day one than Sony.
I hope the courts allow these Sony documents to see the light of day. I also hope that, in doing so, the FTC and other competition commissions across the globe start to scrutinise the business practices of all the major players in the video games industry.
Marketing deals, timed exclusivity, extra in-game content and other bonuses are all anti-consumer. Marketing deals serve to muddy the waters and have been found to create the illusion amongst some consumers that the game is exclusive to one particular platform. Timed exclusivity also serves to deprive a competitor of access to a title at launch, particularly damaging in a medium where marketing budgets are massively geared towards the initial launch of a product (irrespective of exclusivity). Finally, extra in-game content and bonuses are the very definition of anti-consumer by virtue of charging a universal price for an inferior product with missing features.
None of these should exist in a world where competition authorities exist to protect markets and consumers from.
If I were Microsoft (spoiler: I'm not), I'd back out of the deal and just pay Activision for 12 months of timed CoD exclusivity each year. I'd also get Phil to make a *****-post on twitter along the lines of:
"We offered 10 years of CoD parity to Sony who sadly declined the offer and instead sought to block the ActiBliz deal. We've re-evaluated the proposed acquisition and instead have opted to take a leaf from the Sony playbook - I'm happy to announce that moving forward all call of duty titles will enjoy 12 month console exclusivity on Xbox platforms and gamepass."
@Kaloudz isn't 24% of players moving to Xbox the perfect outcome for the CMA? PlayStation are currently outselling Xbox 2:1 - a loss of 24% of PlayStation users would bring the market share to 51/49 in favour of Sony.
I don't think the CMA have a clue about what is in the consumers best interests. Apparently it's better to pay Ā£70 for CoD than be provided with the option of access for the cost of a gamepass subscription. Consumer choice is a bad thing, let the CMA make the choice for you.
Also, with regards to gamepass becoming a monopoly, have they heard of Netflix? The once dominant monopoly within the video streaming market who were replaced by Disney plus within a few years and are being challenged by both HBO and Amazon? Ironically, the CMA approved Disney acquisition of fox has led to a more competitive landscape within video streaming and has also led to cheaper pricing for consumers in the form of ad-subsidized netflix subscriptions.
Microsoft owning CoD isn't going to kill off PlayStation or lead to a monopoly within subscription based gaming services - Microsoft's IP, even with ActiBlizz, doesn't come close to monopolizing the total sales count of the video game market (even ignoring mobile and Nintendo).
There's other companies with Microsoft level money capable of challenging gamepass in the future should the business model prove profitable (which it currently isn't). Netflix was posting significant losses for the opening years of it's existence, it wasn't until it started profiting that other players entered the market.
Finally, should the ActiBlizz deal go through, it will effectively end Microsoft's acquisition spree - the growth in exclusive owned IP will be restricted to home grown generated titles. The huge number of remaining titles, studios and publishers will remain independent from Microsoft studios.
@stvevan Xbox have managed to outsell PlayStation a few times in America, but Sony reclaiming the throne is hardly news worthy. The gap is smaller than in Europe, but Sony have maintained a sales lead over xbox since both systems launched in North America according to VGChartz. The newsworthy story (on an Xbox centric games site) would be if Microsoft were to overtake total sales of PlayStation 5 in North America, not that Sony are continuing to outsell them and have once again returned to their position of monthly sales lead.
No one here is surprised by Sony's dominance, they've been doing this since PS4. Sony have sold about 24 million ps5's to xbox's 17 million units worldwide to date. Sony have sold about 40% more ps5's than Microsoft's series X/S.
@stvevan why is it important to highlight? This isn't eurogamer, or pushsquare it's an Xbox centric website. Should Macworld write articles about how windows is outselling Mac os? This website primarily caters to gaming enthusiasts, specifically Xbox enthusiasts. Microsoft doesn't have to be the market leader to have a viable business. Gamepass continues to outsell PlayStation plus extra/premium, do you need a story for that too?
Really hope this is true. I own the game on switch, but the resolution and 30fps really aren't great in docked mode, particularly having been comparatively spoiled by the frame rates and resolutions available on the series X. I've logged 100s of hours in mh world but struggled to break 100 with rise on my switch as the technical shortcomings really hampered my enjoyment.
Anyone else fancy playing drinking game involving @Dezzy70 and "AAA"? Pretty much every comment of his involves the term "AAA" and Xbox's perceived lack of titles.
I'm fortunate enough to own both a series X and ps5. The only "AAA" Sony title I've bought at launch for my ps5 is Ragnarok. Horizon might well have "AAA" production values, but it doesn't stop it from being yet another generic sony open world title imo. I enjoyed the original on PS4, but it does seem like the majority of Sony's "AAA" titles are bloated open world copy and paste games. They're fast becoming the Ubisoft of the gaming world.
Say what you want about Xbox, but at least gamepass and Xbox studios provide a hugely diverse catalogue of game genres. "AAA" means nothing to me if all your games are the same. If you've spent 100+ hours in any of Sony's open worlds you're probably bored of chasing map markers and completing the same five objectives on loop.
Looking forward to next year for Xbox - another diverse lineup of titles to play day one on gamepass.
I had the free week trial for PlayStation plus extra and used it to play returnal for 3 weeks. I removed my credit card details so couldn't be charged at the end of the free period. Returnal has a suspend state that allowed me to continue playing beyond the initial week despite not having an active subscription. There's exclusive games on PlayStation plus extra that I've yet to play, but gamepass has kept me busy and I'm signed up until the end of next year thanks to stacking Xbox gold and using the Ā£1 upgrade trick.
PlayStation plus extra is a response to gamepass and competition. Microsoft only started to become "pro-consumer" when Sony began to dominate the last generation. Sony could pretty much do and charge whatever they wanted due to their market share. A more competitive Microsoft makes for a more consumer friendly Sony.
As things stand Sony still has significantly greater market share than Microsoft and I really don't think cod will reverse that trend overnight. I also remember back when the "medal of honour" series was the premier military shooter experience - obviously that is no longer the case today. If Sony are willing to invest the same time and resources as their third person open world RPGs into reinventing either the killzone or resistance franchises who's to say that they don't become the next cod killer on PlayStation and pc?
If this acquisition goes through it could well end up being beneficial to PlayStation. Sony will be forced to invest in a more diversified lineup of exclusive content rather than the staple single player open world trope that every game they make is becoming. They have also recently acquired bungie, who retain publishing independence, but who, I'm sure, could also be persuaded to produce something for the PlayStation and pc market.
Potentially beneficial times for everyone ahead, due to significantly more competition for the dominant Sony. I really don't see this acquisition making Microsoft anything like a monopoly - and if it goes through it also spells the end to any future publisher takeovers which would almost certainly be blocked.
Both Sony and Microsoft are as bad as each other with regard to tying up content that shouldn't be exclusive to one platform. However I do feel like Sony have ended up waking a sleeping giant with regard to their aggressive timed exclusive policies. They tied up both deathloop and ghostwire Tokyo for a year and were apparently seeking a similar deal with Bethesda for starfield. Microsoft responded by simply buying the publisher, thus preventing any further timed exclusivity deals and ensuring most of Bethesda's upcoming titles never release on a PlayStation.
It seems like a similar situation with call of duty - Sony secured marketing rights and timed exclusivity for certain features, Microsoft responds by seeking to aquire Activision blizzard and end the chance of any further exclusivity deals.
Although in both cases the primary reasons for the acquisition are to bolster Microsoft studio's games catalogue and IP, I can't help but feel Sony greased the wheels to put Microsoft on full offensive, with their aggressive pursuit of timed exclusivity.
As a consumer that owns both a ps5 and an Xbox series X I want this deal to go through as the value proposition to me is huge. I haven't played a call of duty campaign for years because I can't justify the Ā£60-70 yearly asking price. Sony charge Ā£70 for every new release, including exclusive titles. Gamepass is a considerably better value proposition for me. If I can play every call of duty campaign for the price of a gamepass subscription, not to mention upcoming bethesda games including starfield and elder Scrolls - I'm clearly winning. I will continue to win until Sony either offer a direct competitor that rivals the value of gamepass, Sony substantially reduce the cost of their games or monthly subscription costs to gamepass exceed Ā£70 per month.
I'm guessing someone heading the UK CMA bought their child who loves call of duty a ps5 for Christmas...
Seriously though, if we're going to be petty about competition why don't the CMA look into Sony's timed exclusivity deals? They're definitely not in the consumers best interest if they own an Xbox? Let's ban both Sony and Microsoft from making those deals if we're going to prevent this acquisition on grounds of consumer fairness.
@Senua as someone that came to halo relatively late (purchased an Xbox 360 during the psn hack having exclusively played PlayStation) I really didnāt care for halo 1-3 and ODST which looked and felt incredibly dated to me. Halo 4 was my first launch day halo which was considered by many to be one of the best looking games on the 360 at the time, I loved the story, visual design and the gameplay. I followed this with halo 5 guardians on Xbox one, which again looked pretty impressive and for me had the most enjoyable halo gameplay with the Spartan abilities despite having an awful story. Itās also the first halo multiplayer that Iāve sunk a sizeable amount of time into and enjoyed.
The old caveat of halo games (original bungie trilogy and ODST) having gameplay over graphical prowess and players accepting and being fine with that is absolutely fine if youāre only looking to appeal to the nostalgia of those that played and enjoyed the original games on their respective launch platforms. Unfortunately if youāre looking to drive subscriptions to gamepass or sell consoles graphics sell, particularly to the mainstream audience. Itās very easy to market the look for something using visuals rather than the feel - itās a large reason why the majority of games on previous generations have targeted 30fps and resolution/visuals over frames.
The people that played halo back in the day are in their mid to late 20s and 30s, most work full time jobs, some with families and most with commitments outside of video games. Theyāre unlikely to be the driving force behind infiniteās āsalesā.
The vast majority of backlash from infiniteās reveal last year stemmed from the graphics. Whether we like it or not visuals are important and as mentioned before infinite is going to be compared to horizon and ratchet and clank, and the vast majority of sales (the casual market) will be made based on the new showing in June. Infinite needs to compete graphically with the exclusive games available on Sonyās platforms. They were able to do this with halo 4 so I donāt see why they canāt or shouldnāt with infinite.
As a new player with my halo experience limited to experiencing 4 and 5 at launch, I was incredibly disappointed with infiniteās showing last year. It single handedly killed all my hype for my most anticipated, at the time, Xbox exclusive.
@playstation_king "your wasting your time with butt hurt xbox fanboys tbh that's what 3 generations of losing a console war does and this trend will Continue" - clearly written by a child, especially given that it's "you're"
I have all current consoles and use my launch PS4 and switch for exclusives. Coming off the back of the last of us 2 and more recently ghost of Tsushima I have to say that visually, halo infinite is incredibly disappointing.
I'm not sure how anybody can objectively say that what we saw was "good". Given that master chief is the poster boy of Xbox and that this is arguably the flagship IP utilising a brand new engine (which looked beautiful in its reveal) this is nothing short of a disaster. Art style and graphical fidelity are not the same thing. The art style is absolutely on point, the implementation of this art style is embarrassing.
This game has been in development for 5 years - coronavirus has been an issue outside of China for 4-5 months. Gameplay looked great, but that shouldn't have to be at the expense of the visuals. A title with this length of development time, a rumoured budget of hundreds of millions of dollars and utilising arguably the biggest IP Microsoft has to offer should be able to achieve both. Particularly as it supposed to be taking advantage of a 12tf GPU, hugely upgraded CPU and a cutting edge SSD.
As someone that didn't grow up with the original halo trilogy I found it pretty underwhelming. I've played through the MCC so have sampled the older games but played both 4 and 5 at launch.
It looked a lot like a remaster of those games to my eyes. Halo 5 on the Xbox one x seemed to be a lot more visually impressive, particularly in terms of character models. I wasn't expecting the brutes to look like orcs from lord of the rings, was hoping for some decent fur rendering like those depicted in the halo 2 remastered cutscenes.
Interested to hear the views of halo veterans and other new players. Is my disappointment more linked to my lack of nostalgia for the original games?
@Dezzy70 "Microsoft again chasing not what gamers really want"
"I would rather a more detailed graphical world running at 60fps"
Do you speak for all gamers?
Some people would rather the higher frame rates over resolution and HDR - there are plenty of affordable monitors on the market that cater to 120 frames. Also, some people opt to use a monitor over a TV for the improved input lag.
A lot more TVs are now launching with HDMI 2.1 which will support resolutions up to 10k and 120fps.
Personally, I'm happy with 4k60 as that's all my TV supports. The game mentioned is being developed by one guy so I'm pretty sure it's a lot less work to double the frame rates than build more detailed assets, features and textures for the entire game.
@Dyrual Not really, it just means that if you own the PS4 copy, you'll automatically be upgraded to the PS5 version when it's released.
Smart Delivery means developers are at liberty to decide whether or not they wish to charge their customers for a Series X version of a game if they already own it on Xbox One. It also means all Series X versions of its first party titles will be included with gamepass or made free to those that owned the Xbox One version.
To the best of my knowledge, Sony has remained very quiet over whether or not their customers will be required to purchase the PS5 version of their first party titles again if they already own the PS4 version. The Last of Us and God of War 3 are a few examples of games that charged customers twice for the PS4 and PS5 versions.
I'm holding off buying The Last of Us 2 until Sony can offer some clarity on their position regarding first party remasters on ps5.
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Re: Fable Reboot Gets New Co-Developer To Work Alongside Playground Games
@InheritNegative living up to your user name? š
Iāve played all three fable games and am pretty excited for the upcoming title. The trailer seems to have everything people would expect from fable in terms of tone and humour. Iām not sure what a fan of the series would find to dislike tbh. We donāt have much to go on in terms of gameplay, story, mechanics and world, but the little we do have is quite encouraging.
Re: Obsidian Blasted By Xbox Fans For 'Prioritising' PS5 & Switch Versions Of Pentiment
Proof, if any were needed, that some gamers are petulant children. Plenty of games receive physical editions post launch after sales have reached a certain milestone and some games never receive a physical edition.
With regards to the āorderingā of platform editions in that marketing photo, who cares? Does it mean you canāt play pentiment on game pass any more, does it stop your purchased edition from loading or delete your save files? No? Then who cares?
Re: Xbox Petition For Helldivers 2 Goes Viral Overnight, Aims To 'Redefine The Console Wars'
Ironically, the best chance of this game appearing on Xbox would have been had it flopped. At which point, nobody would be asking for it.
As it is, I donāt see it coming to Xbox any time soon. Currently the game is performing so well that itās suffering from connection issues and server capacity is getting completely hammered. The developers are struggling to keep up with demand for just pc and PlayStation so there really isnāt any need to expand it to other platforms right now.
It could come to Xbox in the future once the pc and PlayStation player base starts to drop, but at that point Sony might just decide theyāre happy with its lifetime performance to date and would rather not invest in porting to other platforms. Especially in light of the fact that timed exclusives rarely perform as well when they eventually release on other platforms.
Iām also aware of the data supporting the fact that software attachment rates are lower on Xbox than PlayStation (the number of games sold per console), probably due in part to the value proposition of gamepass. I donāt know how this impacts mtx purchases, but it will also factor into the chances of Sony porting the game to Xbox.
Re: Xbox's Next Console Will Feature The 'Largest Technical Leap Ever' In A Generation
@theduckofdeath I think itās most likely that theyāre referencing AI and cloud capabilities rather than raw compute power.
Sony stated recently that theyāre struggling to get the same returns on the ps5 compared to previous generations as the cost savings just arenāt there, despite being years into the consoleās lifecycle. Unless Microsoft are planning on a $1k machine I donāt see how they can make it affordable from a compute power perspective.
Technologies such as ai upscaling, frame generation and cloud compute would enable it to achieve an equivalent performance of a raw computational system significantly more powerful than that currently available at a relative price point.
It will be interesting to see what sort of machine Xbox release as a successor to the series x/s. Microsoft were rumoured to have been in discussions with both Nvidia and intel in addition to AMD regarding SoC manufacturing.
The switch 2 is said to have a custom Nvidia chipset that uses dlss and may also have frame gen features. Iād quite like to see what Nvidia could bring to Xbox regarding their AI technologies - theyāre a full generation ahead of AMD with their ray tracing capabilities, and leading in upscaling and frame gen tech thanks to their tensor cores.
Re: Xbox Reportedly Has 'No Plans' To Stop Making Consoles
Yes, they shall continue to produce consoles as long as it is cost effective for them to do so. Hopefully we shall get some clarification regarding software exclusivity next week. One thingās for sure, hardware sales will not increase with fewer exclusive titles. Hopefully the loss in sales will be marginal and Xbox wonāt lose further ground to PlayStation.
Gamepass is great but itās already resulted in fewer games being purchased on Xbox, which has caused several indie developers to reevaluate whether or not they release a title on Microsoftās consoles. Install base is also having an impact on indie titles, with those that donāt come to gamepass opting to release on switch and PlayStation rather than the smaller Xbox market.
I donāt fear for first party support on Xbox - I fear for third party titles, particularly indie and Japanese software if Microsoft continue to lose ground to PlayStation.
Re: Rumour: 'Assassin's Creed Red' Due Out In November 2024, Reveal Set For This May
Will be interesting to see if this rumour pans out. Star Wars outlaws is another Ubisoft title due out in 2024, and one which has already had a proper gameplay reveal. We still donāt have a release date or even window which, at this stage, suggests that the game will launch at the back end of the year most likely during the holiday period.
Skull and bones launches next month too so three Ubisoft multi platform titles (and the smaller metroidvania prince of Persia) in one year sounds unlikely, especially given it would leave them nothing big for 2025 and their shareholders. Valhalla was an absolute juggernaut in terms of sales for Ubisoft, I would imagine theyāre expecting similar performance from red.
I canāt see Ubisoft releasing 2 triple AAA titles within a month of each other, especially with them both being such huge IP. It seems much more likely that outlaws launches this Holiday and then red releases March or Holiday 2025 to carry Ubisoftās financials.
Re: Talking Point: Would You Buy A 'Revised' Xbox Series X|S Controller In 2024?
As someone fortunate enough to have both a ps5 and a pc (formerly a series x) I much prefer the current xbox controller. The haptics and other features of the dual sense controller were an interesting novelty in Astrobot but that novelty wore off pretty quickly. The battery life on the dualsense with all the extra features enabled is abysmal, and pretty poor even with them disabled. When Iām using the ps5 I have to play with the controller hardwired half the time due to the battery issues.
I play using a series x controller on the pc and itās a much more enjoyable experience. I never need to hardwire as I can just switch out the batteries for more rechargeable AAs. The rumble features are fine for some extra immersion, the ergonomics are fantastic and the battery life great.
Iād end up turning off any extra haptics or tigger tension stuff on a new controller to preserve the battery and resent paying extra for a feature set Iām not interested in. If a new controller does launch I hope they still have the legacy version as a purchasing option.
Re: Gallery: Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Looks Super-Slick In New HD Screenshots
@MrMagic machine games expertise lies in first person shooters and the Wolfenstein franchise. Iām pleased that theyāre playing to their strengths, and happy that weāre not getting a third person uncharted clone. They clearly impressed Disney with their pitch and Iām excited to play the game when it releases later this year.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Dunks On PlayStation Over Dirt-Cheap Yakuza Deals
@Rmg0731 the flex is actually, do you currently have gamepass and are interested in playing or trying the yakuza series of games? If so, theyāre all available on gamepass right now as part of your subscription.
In my experience playing a whole series of games back to back, particularly rpgās, results in massive burnout. Iād much rather play something else between each entry to avoid fatigue.
Iām currently playing through the base version of cyberpunk, Iām probably 80% of the way through the main campaign and have been really enjoying it. However, Iām also at the point where Iām looking forward to finishing it and playing something else. I think Iāve spent about 35hrs in game so far.
Having gamepass gives people the ability to try out all the yakuza games and also play something else in between if theyāre feeling series fatigue.
Re: New FPS 'Unrecord' Looks Hyper Realistic, And It Could Be Coming To Xbox
Watched a part of this yesterday on my mobile without any context. Actually thought it was someone using a GoPro to shoot real video and make it look like a first person video game š
Re: Poll: Do You Think Starfield Will Contain A 'Performance Mode' On Xbox Series X|S?
I'm fairly certain starfield will only be a 30fps game on series X, although I'd love to be proven wrong. There was an ign unfiltered podcast interview last year with Todd Howard (director and executive producer Bethesda studios) where he was asked about 60fps or 4k visual fidelity, especially in respect to starfield. Todd replies that he'd rather have better visuals and resolution at 30fps in Bethesda's games.
Here's a link to the podcast and timestamp of 25 minutes for the information:
https://youtu.be/LUOZsjTwbLU
Re: Redfall Will Only Run At 30FPS When It Launches On Xbox Series X And S
@Sam_TSM if you can't tell the difference, more power to you. It's not marketing bs, there is a tangible difference between 30 and 60 frames and yes, a lot of games ran at 30fps in the year 2000, but some were also running at 60fps.
No, it didn't kill me to play games at 30fps back then, but I definitely preferred playing at 60. It also didn't kill anyone playing at 540p either, or 720p, but most people wouldn't be happy with those resolutions on their series X today.
I'd much rather play a game at 720p60 than 4k30 if given the choice. The fact we don't have that choice at launch with redfall, a big Microsoft exclusive, is definitely a problem. I'm sure some people that can't differentiate between 30fps and 60 would be equally disappointed if the game launched at 720p60 on their series X.
The lack of a performance mode or 60fps at launch is also particularly glaring at a time when the majority of AAA and AA games launch with these options. Arcane also haven't commited to a time frame for the 60fps mode which is worrying and means it might not arrive for months.
Re: Redfall Will Only Run At 30FPS When It Launches On Xbox Series X And S
Well if star wars Jedi: survivor launches with a performance mode on the 28th I probably won't be touching redfall before the 60fps patch. Was going to hold fire on Jedi survivor because of redfall. Probably won't be the case now. Also get a 10% discount for preorder of survivor with ea access on Xbox (thanks to gamepass ultimate).
Still pretty disappointed by this news though, quite a big ball drop by arcane and Microsoft imo.
Re: Report: Redfall Was 'Immediately Cancelled' For PS5 Following Xbox Takeover
@PcTV in fairness they put their games into the hands of a lot more gamers day one than PlayStation. The pc platform via steam or windows store, anyone with a semi decent internet connection and compatible TV/mobile phone and the entire Xbox ecosystem. Vs Sony - only ps5 owners and PS4 owners if you're lucky and the game is multi-generation. Microsoft are definitely allowing a lot more people to play their games day one than Sony.
Re: Sony Feels Microsoft Is Committing 'Obvious Harassment' In Relation To ActiBlizz Deal
I hope the courts allow these Sony documents to see the light of day. I also hope that, in doing so, the FTC and other competition commissions across the globe start to scrutinise the business practices of all the major players in the video games industry.
Marketing deals, timed exclusivity, extra in-game content and other bonuses are all anti-consumer. Marketing deals serve to muddy the waters and have been found to create the illusion amongst some consumers that the game is exclusive to one particular platform. Timed exclusivity also serves to deprive a competitor of access to a title at launch, particularly damaging in a medium where marketing budgets are massively geared towards the initial launch of a product (irrespective of exclusivity). Finally, extra in-game content and bonuses are the very definition of anti-consumer by virtue of charging a universal price for an inferior product with missing features.
None of these should exist in a world where competition authorities exist to protect markets and consumers from.
Re: UK Authority Proposes Excluding Call Of Duty From Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal
If I were Microsoft (spoiler: I'm not), I'd back out of the deal and just pay Activision for 12 months of timed CoD exclusivity each year. I'd also get Phil to make a *****-post on twitter along the lines of:
"We offered 10 years of CoD parity to Sony who sadly declined the offer and instead sought to block the ActiBliz deal. We've re-evaluated the proposed acquisition and instead have opted to take a leaf from the Sony playbook - I'm happy to announce that moving forward all call of duty titles will enjoy 12 month console exclusivity on Xbox platforms and gamepass."
Re: UK Authority Proposes Excluding Call Of Duty From Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal
@Kaloudz isn't 24% of players moving to Xbox the perfect outcome for the CMA? PlayStation are currently outselling Xbox 2:1 - a loss of 24% of PlayStation users would bring the market share to 51/49 in favour of Sony.
Re: Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Could Be 'Harmful' To The Industry, Claims UK Regulator
I don't think the CMA have a clue about what is in the consumers best interests. Apparently it's better to pay Ā£70 for CoD than be provided with the option of access for the cost of a gamepass subscription. Consumer choice is a bad thing, let the CMA make the choice for you.
Also, with regards to gamepass becoming a monopoly, have they heard of Netflix? The once dominant monopoly within the video streaming market who were replaced by Disney plus within a few years and are being challenged by both HBO and Amazon? Ironically, the CMA approved Disney acquisition of fox has led to a more competitive landscape within video streaming and has also led to cheaper pricing for consumers in the form of ad-subsidized netflix subscriptions.
Microsoft owning CoD isn't going to kill off PlayStation or lead to a monopoly within subscription based gaming services - Microsoft's IP, even with ActiBlizz, doesn't come close to monopolizing the total sales count of the video game market (even ignoring mobile and Nintendo).
There's other companies with Microsoft level money capable of challenging gamepass in the future should the business model prove profitable (which it currently isn't). Netflix was posting significant losses for the opening years of it's existence, it wasn't until it started profiting that other players entered the market.
Finally, should the ActiBlizz deal go through, it will effectively end Microsoft's acquisition spree - the growth in exclusive owned IP will be restricted to home grown generated titles. The huge number of remaining titles, studios and publishers will remain independent from Microsoft studios.
Re: 'Hellboy Web Of Wyrd' Is A New Roguelike Action Adventure, Confirmed For Xbox Series X|S
@stvevan Xbox have managed to outsell PlayStation a few times in America, but Sony reclaiming the throne is hardly news worthy. The gap is smaller than in Europe, but Sony have maintained a sales lead over xbox since both systems launched in North America according to VGChartz. The newsworthy story (on an Xbox centric games site) would be if Microsoft were to overtake total sales of PlayStation 5 in North America, not that Sony are continuing to outsell them and have once again returned to their position of monthly sales lead.
No one here is surprised by Sony's dominance, they've been doing this since PS4. Sony have sold about 24 million ps5's to xbox's 17 million units worldwide to date. Sony have sold about 40% more ps5's than Microsoft's series X/S.
Re: 'Hellboy Web Of Wyrd' Is A New Roguelike Action Adventure, Confirmed For Xbox Series X|S
@stvevan why is it important to highlight? This isn't eurogamer, or pushsquare it's an Xbox centric website. Should Macworld write articles about how windows is outselling Mac os? This website primarily caters to gaming enthusiasts, specifically Xbox enthusiasts. Microsoft doesn't have to be the market leader to have a viable business. Gamepass continues to outsell PlayStation plus extra/premium, do you need a story for that too?
Re: Monster Hunter Rise Reportedly Set For Xbox Game Pass In January 2023
Really hope this is true. I own the game on switch, but the resolution and 30fps really aren't great in docked mode, particularly having been comparatively spoiled by the frame rates and resolutions available on the series X. I've logged 100s of hours in mh world but struggled to break 100 with rise on my switch as the technical shortcomings really hampered my enjoyment.
Re: 2023 Could End Up Being The Biggest Year In Xbox Game Pass History
Anyone else fancy playing drinking game involving @Dezzy70 and "AAA"? Pretty much every comment of his involves the term "AAA" and Xbox's perceived lack of titles.
I'm fortunate enough to own both a series X and ps5. The only "AAA" Sony title I've bought at launch for my ps5 is Ragnarok. Horizon might well have "AAA" production values, but it doesn't stop it from being yet another generic sony open world title imo. I enjoyed the original on PS4, but it does seem like the majority of Sony's "AAA" titles are bloated open world copy and paste games. They're fast becoming the Ubisoft of the gaming world.
Say what you want about Xbox, but at least gamepass and Xbox studios provide a hugely diverse catalogue of game genres. "AAA" means nothing to me if all your games are the same. If you've spent 100+ hours in any of Sony's open worlds you're probably bored of chasing map markers and completing the same five objectives on loop.
Looking forward to next year for Xbox - another diverse lineup of titles to play day one on gamepass.
Re: Sony Could 'Respond' To ActiBlizz Deal By Improving PS Plus, Suggests Microsoft
I had the free week trial for PlayStation plus extra and used it to play returnal for 3 weeks. I removed my credit card details so couldn't be charged at the end of the free period. Returnal has a suspend state that allowed me to continue playing beyond the initial week despite not having an active subscription. There's exclusive games on PlayStation plus extra that I've yet to play, but gamepass has kept me busy and I'm signed up until the end of next year thanks to stacking Xbox gold and using the Ā£1 upgrade trick.
PlayStation plus extra is a response to gamepass and competition. Microsoft only started to become "pro-consumer" when Sony began to dominate the last generation. Sony could pretty much do and charge whatever they wanted due to their market share. A more competitive Microsoft makes for a more consumer friendly Sony.
As things stand Sony still has significantly greater market share than Microsoft and I really don't think cod will reverse that trend overnight. I also remember back when the "medal of honour" series was the premier military shooter experience - obviously that is no longer the case today. If Sony are willing to invest the same time and resources as their third person open world RPGs into reinventing either the killzone or resistance franchises who's to say that they don't become the next cod killer on PlayStation and pc?
If this acquisition goes through it could well end up being beneficial to PlayStation. Sony will be forced to invest in a more diversified lineup of exclusive content rather than the staple single player open world trope that every game they make is becoming. They have also recently acquired bungie, who retain publishing independence, but who, I'm sure, could also be persuaded to produce something for the PlayStation and pc market.
Potentially beneficial times for everyone ahead, due to significantly more competition for the dominant Sony. I really don't see this acquisition making Microsoft anything like a monopoly - and if it goes through it also spells the end to any future publisher takeovers which would almost certainly be blocked.
Re: Poll: What's Your Favourite Call Of Duty Campaign On Xbox?
The one with the sniper mission...
Re: Call Of Duty Will Be 'Restricted' On Xbox Game Pass, Confirms Microsoft
Both Sony and Microsoft are as bad as each other with regard to tying up content that shouldn't be exclusive to one platform. However I do feel like Sony have ended up waking a sleeping giant with regard to their aggressive timed exclusive policies. They tied up both deathloop and ghostwire Tokyo for a year and were apparently seeking a similar deal with Bethesda for starfield. Microsoft responded by simply buying the publisher, thus preventing any further timed exclusivity deals and ensuring most of Bethesda's upcoming titles never release on a PlayStation.
It seems like a similar situation with call of duty - Sony secured marketing rights and timed exclusivity for certain features, Microsoft responds by seeking to aquire Activision blizzard and end the chance of any further exclusivity deals.
Although in both cases the primary reasons for the acquisition are to bolster Microsoft studio's games catalogue and IP, I can't help but feel Sony greased the wheels to put Microsoft on full offensive, with their aggressive pursuit of timed exclusivity.
Re: Microsoft Bites Back As Sony Reveals New 'Call Of Duty' Concerns
As a consumer that owns both a ps5 and an Xbox series X I want this deal to go through as the value proposition to me is huge. I haven't played a call of duty campaign for years because I can't justify the Ā£60-70 yearly asking price. Sony charge Ā£70 for every new release, including exclusive titles. Gamepass is a considerably better value proposition for me. If I can play every call of duty campaign for the price of a gamepass subscription, not to mention upcoming bethesda games including starfield and elder Scrolls - I'm clearly winning. I will continue to win until Sony either offer a direct competitor that rivals the value of gamepass, Sony substantially reduce the cost of their games or monthly subscription costs to gamepass exceed Ā£70 per month.
Re: Xbox Argues With UK Regulator Over Activision Blizzard Deal
I'm guessing someone heading the UK CMA bought their child who loves call of duty a ps5 for Christmas...
Seriously though, if we're going to be petty about competition why don't the CMA look into Sony's timed exclusivity deals? They're definitely not in the consumers best interest if they own an Xbox? Let's ban both Sony and Microsoft from making those deals if we're going to prevent this acquisition on grounds of consumer fairness.
Re: Don't Expect A Halo 'Inside Infinite' Blog Update This Month
@Senua as someone that came to halo relatively late (purchased an Xbox 360 during the psn hack having exclusively played PlayStation) I really didnāt care for halo 1-3 and ODST which looked and felt incredibly dated to me. Halo 4 was my first launch day halo which was considered by many to be one of the best looking games on the 360 at the time, I loved the story, visual design and the gameplay. I followed this with halo 5 guardians on Xbox one, which again looked pretty impressive and for me had the most enjoyable halo gameplay with the Spartan abilities despite having an awful story. Itās also the first halo multiplayer that Iāve sunk a sizeable amount of time into and enjoyed.
The old caveat of halo games (original bungie trilogy and ODST) having gameplay over graphical prowess and players accepting and being fine with that is absolutely fine if youāre only looking to appeal to the nostalgia of those that played and enjoyed the original games on their respective launch platforms. Unfortunately if youāre looking to drive subscriptions to gamepass or sell consoles graphics sell, particularly to the mainstream audience. Itās very easy to market the look for something using visuals rather than the feel - itās a large reason why the majority of games on previous generations have targeted 30fps and resolution/visuals over frames.
The people that played halo back in the day are in their mid to late 20s and 30s, most work full time jobs, some with families and most with commitments outside of video games. Theyāre unlikely to be the driving force behind infiniteās āsalesā.
The vast majority of backlash from infiniteās reveal last year stemmed from the graphics. Whether we like it or not visuals are important and as mentioned before infinite is going to be compared to horizon and ratchet and clank, and the vast majority of sales (the casual market) will be made based on the new showing in June. Infinite needs to compete graphically with the exclusive games available on Sonyās platforms. They were able to do this with halo 4 so I donāt see why they canāt or shouldnāt with infinite.
As a new player with my halo experience limited to experiencing 4 and 5 at launch, I was incredibly disappointed with infiniteās showing last year. It single handedly killed all my hype for my most anticipated, at the time, Xbox exclusive.
Re: Xbox Boss: Our Approach Isn't About Selling More Consoles Than PS5
@playstation_king even with the correct grammar the whole paragraph reads like something my 8 year old cousin would write.
Re: Xbox Boss: Our Approach Isn't About Selling More Consoles Than PS5
@playstation_king "your wasting your time with butt hurt xbox fanboys tbh that's what 3 generations of losing a console war does and this trend will Continue" - clearly written by a child, especially given that it's "you're"
Re: Xbox Boss: Our Approach Isn't About Selling More Consoles Than PS5
@playstation_king "I've been a playstation fan since the age of 9" - judging from your posts you must be nearly 10 now?
Re: Xbox Boss: Our Approach Isn't About Selling More Consoles Than PS5
@Nickolaidas you're on the wrong site mate - you want pushsquare.com, that's where your fellow Sony fanboys hang out š
Re: Microsoft Responds To Negative Feedback For Halo Infinite's Visuals
I have all current consoles and use my launch PS4 and switch for exclusives. Coming off the back of the last of us 2 and more recently ghost of Tsushima I have to say that visually, halo infinite is incredibly disappointing.
I'm not sure how anybody can objectively say that what we saw was "good". Given that master chief is the poster boy of Xbox and that this is arguably the flagship IP utilising a brand new engine (which looked beautiful in its reveal) this is nothing short of a disaster. Art style and graphical fidelity are not the same thing. The art style is absolutely on point, the implementation of this art style is embarrassing.
This game has been in development for 5 years - coronavirus has been an issue outside of China for 4-5 months. Gameplay looked great, but that shouldn't have to be at the expense of the visuals. A title with this length of development time, a rumoured budget of hundreds of millions of dollars and utilising arguably the biggest IP Microsoft has to offer should be able to achieve both. Particularly as it supposed to be taking advantage of a 12tf GPU, hugely upgraded CPU and a cutting edge SSD.
Re: Here It Is, The World Premiere Gameplay Of Halo Infinite
As someone that didn't grow up with the original halo trilogy I found it pretty underwhelming. I've played through the MCC so have sampled the older games but played both 4 and 5 at launch.
It looked a lot like a remaster of those games to my eyes. Halo 5 on the Xbox one x seemed to be a lot more visually impressive, particularly in terms of character models. I wasn't expecting the brutes to look like orcs from lord of the rings, was hoping for some decent fur rendering like those depicted in the halo 2 remastered cutscenes.
Interested to hear the views of halo veterans and other new players. Is my disappointment more linked to my lack of nostalgia for the original games?
Re: Dev Suggests Xbox 'Cares A Lot More About 120FPS Than Sony Does'
@Dezzy70 "Microsoft again chasing not what gamers really want"
"I would rather a more detailed graphical world running at 60fps"
Do you speak for all gamers?
Some people would rather the higher frame rates over resolution and HDR - there are plenty of affordable monitors on the market that cater to 120 frames. Also, some people opt to use a monitor over a TV for the improved input lag.
A lot more TVs are now launching with HDMI 2.1 which will support resolutions up to 10k and 120fps.
Personally, I'm happy with 4k60 as that's all my TV supports. The game mentioned is being developed by one guy so I'm pretty sure it's a lot less work to double the frame rates than build more detailed assets, features and textures for the entire game.
Re: Cyberpunk 2077 Will 'Look Better' On Xbox Series X From Day One
@Dyrual Not really, it just means that if you own the PS4 copy, you'll automatically be upgraded to the PS5 version when it's released.
Smart Delivery means developers are at liberty to decide whether or not they wish to charge their customers for a Series X version of a game if they already own it on Xbox One. It also means all Series X versions of its first party titles will be included with gamepass or made free to those that owned the Xbox One version.
To the best of my knowledge, Sony has remained very quiet over whether or not their customers will be required to purchase the PS5 version of their first party titles again if they already own the PS4 version. The Last of Us and God of War 3 are a few examples of games that charged customers twice for the PS4 and PS5 versions.
I'm holding off buying The Last of Us 2 until Sony can offer some clarity on their position regarding first party remasters on ps5.