@trev666
Cloud gaming continues to improve a lot. MS is investing in it and I wouldn't doubt that in the next 10 years consoles are dead and replaced fully by cloud gaming available on almost any device you can buy.
I would expect that cloud gaming will evolve to continually to improve performance/lag over the next 10 years to the point where you cannot tell the difference between something that you are running from the cloud vs. running locally. In fact, with AI, I would expect that cloud gaming will be even better then the local experience.
I like that MS has so much content now. I don't think we will see anywhere near 10 major games this year though. It would be nice if I am proven wrong, but honestly, I would be happy to see 4-6 really amazing games then 10+ major games where half were rushed out before they were truly ready.
I don't know why people felt this year was turbulent. There was a lot of noise but MS released some highly anticipated content in CoD (Best CoD in years to me), Hellblade II, Indy, Flight Simulator 2024, and Diablo IV content. We also started to see the trickle release of Activision Blizzard games on GamePass.
There was also a lot of good news to come with Avowed, Perfect Dark, Fable, South of Midnight, State of Decay 3, and Gears of War E-Day. Yes, they don't have release dates, but the games look like they are coming along nicely.
Then there was also some good news from 343 on the studio switching to UE. And at the end of the year screen shot of Everwild from Rare.
If you ignore all the negative press (that honestly does not truely affect XB gamers unless you want it to) around XB games shipping on other platforms, this was a solid year for XB. In fact, I would say they did much better than both Sony and Nintendo by a significant amount. And there is much more to look forward to on XB this next year then both Sony and Nintendo.
I have dived into both CoD and Indy this holiday season. I have played a few hours in each. Both seem to be good quality games so far. I shunned CoD a lot since Ghosts because of quality but this one seems much better. As for Indy I had trepidations about it being a FP game but all is forgotten now that I am playing it.
Hopefully this put all the MS studios on track for future releases. There are a lot of MS studios now, consistently putting out games that rate 80+ will be a key to future success. If they can put out an 80+ game 3-4 times a year that will build the XB brand a lot. Then bring out great hardware next generation and hopefully XB will gain some additional momentum.
I find I am buying less and less games and spending less and less in total. First, there is not a lot of innovation out there right now with tried and true formulae used in many games. Second, the price of new AAA games is ridiculous so I have to wait for sales. Third, I am tired of games shipping as buggy messes for the first year and waiting for them to go through enough fixes for the games to be decent enough to play. Finally, GamePass allows me to try before I decide to buy helping me make more informed decisions on what to buy.
@Balaam_ I think a game's art style has to match its game play and story. Until we get a picture of what the actual game is like I won't be judging the art style. I wouldn't call see of thieves all that great of an art style but it fits the game really well. Unfortunately, my expectations are very high on this game since it has been in development for so long. Just hope it lives up to the development time.
@neoxmahi That was an unfactual rant about what you think is happening. The facts are:
1) The XB business financially is doing very well. 2) Microsoft has already committed to making next generation consoles. 3) I don't know where Phil has lied. He has actually been pretty clear that there are no red lines to shipping games on other platforms. No console vendor exec has ever been fully truthful. They all make promises that the next console is the greatest and that every next game is something never seen before. They also say their games are exclusive, now console exclusive, and next it will all become timed exclusives. 4) You base your arguments on the perception that there are still console wars. There is no such thing anymore. Yes, Sony, Nintendo, and MS compete against each other, but there is no reason to believe that any of the three are going anywhere other than into a next generation. Just like all three have for the previous four generations. The console vendors have been stable for about 20 years now. The longest period of console vendor stability ever.
I don't think anyone knows what lies ahead with any certainty. But one thing is clear, MS is in gaming and with its purchases of publishers over the past 10 years since Mojang, they are going to be making games for a long time to come.
The only question is going to be what platforms sell the best. And even console sales are becoming irrelevant because a lot of gamers game on PC, console, and portable platforms not just consoles. Don't get me wrong, I prefer gaming on console because of its simplicity, but the reality is the I like my PC rig too, and I like my Asus ROG Ally. I don't always get the big TV to game on so at times I end up on the other platforms. As long as MS offers GamePass and still makes a console I will continue to buy their games, console platform, and services. GamePass just makes sense financially even just for MS games. The XB console has been my primary platform for two decades now and has most of my gaming history, and I like a lot of games MS makes. I can buy the games on other platforms but I choose to buy them on XB because I prefer the platform.
Every reviewer is entitled to their opinions. I don't like herd reviewers that just give a game a good score because it was made by a specific developer, in a specific series, or because everyone else says it is good. Everyone has different tastes and some people don't like certain games. Nothing wrong with that. I tend to use reviews as general guidance. Meaning I don't bother looking at a game where everyone is scoring it below 6 out of 10. Anything equal or higher means I will consider the game based on what I see in the community once it has released. There are some games that score well but just don't seem to connect with gamers and then there are others that score OK, but really build a following.
Given Machine Games history and the review scores I am apt to give Indy play time on GamePass to see if I enjoy it, If I really like it I will pick it up on sale at some point when the price is equal to the value I am getting from the game.
There is no way I buy a game at full price anymore. Prices have gone to a state where I cannot justify purchasing games on day one that are usually bug ridden, messes. I don't expect that from this game, but after the Cyber Punk fiasco I no longer take the chance.
@MeanBeanEgg There are over 2 Billion gamers planet wide. That means with 110 mln gamers PS has 5.5% of the total market of people who play games on devices. With AAA games getting more and more expensive to create it becomes imperative that they target the broader market of gamers. Otherwise, their profit margins per game will be less than Microsoft and shareholders will start to ask why can't they get to Microsoft margins. Nothing is about the right or advantageous thing to do. Everything evolves around shareholders and money the shareholders make.
I don't know how Series S plays into this if we start the new generation with consoles and a handheld console.
At the end of the day most game developers ship on PC as well. There are many lower end PCs that are less than console specs running games. Developers will typically target the broadest audience possible to sell their games. If hardware sells, game developers will make sure their games work on it.
This is a standard article I have seen every 3-6 months since November 15, 2001. I never see articles validating or questioning whether Sony or Nintendo will continue to make hardware.
Next we will get news articles that the sun rose today.
As for physical discs, oil for the plastics, trees get cut for the paper in the covers, ink is required for the print on them, and discs are made with polycarbonate which requires a bunch of chemicals and gases that need to be acquired. And in the end you still need the servers for the constant game updates developers deliver.
@MeanBeanEgg I still believe in options. XB I think provides the most options for gamers. Especially on how and where I can play my games.
PS: I do really like the controllers having the option for batteries. Makes it easy when my rechargeables die, don't have to plug it in to the console. Just switch rechargeable batteries or put in regular batteries.
One other thing about digital distribution is that it is better for the environment. No manufacturing of discs, no physical resources required for distribution, no trucking those discs to stores, and no people buying those discs with physical money anymore. Everything is digitally accessed and downloaded. You are doing the environment a favour by buying your games online only.
Personally, I thing the special editions should just end. To me, there is little value in special editions without the disc. If they want to do collectibles, then they should move digital as well.
Newspaper/books first started digital distribution, music was next, movies went after that, and now gaming is completing the move of media to digital distribution.
People can whatever we want but physical distribution is dying off. There are people growing up not even knowing what physical distribution is. I used to do my rounds to EBGames (GameStop) and Best Buy once a month to see the latest releases. I can't remember the last time I did that for games. Have not walked in to GameStop for literally years. Best Buy the only time I go there is to see a physical sample of an electronic I am looking to buy. Then, I order online.
The other issue with physical distribution is game size. As games eclipse 150 GB more and more (for 4K games, 8k games will probable eclipse 1 TB) it requires too many disks for the games to be unfeasible to distribute physically.
I have a collection much bigger then that pictured in the article. My X360 collection eclipses 2,000+ physical games, but I saw the writing on the wall when MS started XBLA and start to move digital. My XB One collection is almost completely digital, and my XB Series collection is entirely digital. I would've preferred physical stick around but it is dying.
There are a lot of advantages to digital. I travel a lot so it is easy just to download some games to my ROG Ally and play them or now play (some of) my games on xCloud. I also have fixed XBoxes where I just download games too. Since storage is not large enough for my entire collection, digital makes it easier to put the games I want to play on my XBox. Don't have to find or have the physical disc. Just go to My Library and decide what I want to download. No matter where I am the whole thing just depends on a decent Internet connection. Which is almost always available if willing/able to pay for it now.
All I need is my Phone, ROG Ally, and iPad and a decent Internet connection and I can access all my digital media anywhere in the world!
This generation of hardware has been out for 4 years. It is not like these developers do not know what they are capable of doing.
If you know hardware isn't as good, why wouldn't you make that hardware the lead platform for development. This is like driving a Ferrari and then driving a Toyota Camry and wondering why it doesn't go as fast. Duh!
I can understand people thinking the hardware isn't as performant as other hardware. But let's be honest, even the Series S runs circles around Switch. We are not talking 40-400% differences here between X and PS5. The actual difference between an X and PS5 is probably in the 5-10% range.
This just sounds like the developer made mistakes by not scoping their game to the hardware they would ship the game on. Being someone who runs tech projects myself, that is pretty stupid if you ask me.
Microsoft's ongoing support for games on all their released consoles and the ability to still run the 360 and onward games/consoles is one of the reasons I continue to stay with XB as my primary console. I know that if I invest in it, MS will support it for a very long time.
@Pusher2021 I tend to play games on the go that are not overly dependent on latency. Strategy games, story adventures, puzzle games, and simple platformers. I do take my switch when I travel too.
Hotel networks are hit and miss. Some are 9 out of 10, Others, are not so good. It is getting better, and highly dependent on the quality of the hotel you are in.
I prefer my home TVs with my consoles too. Have 7 TVs all at or over 55" between my two places (Amassed TVs over a 10 year period). One TV is 1080p and has my XSS. I have three others with XSX, and the rest I run firestick. The firestick is about the same as XB Cloud on my 6G iPhone.
One of my places is about to get 3 Gbps with my ISP. I will switch to that and I am hoping it improves the cloud gaming experience.
@Pusher2021
I've been buying XBoxes, PS'es, and Nintendo consoles since the start. I travel a lot and live in two places. XB is the only platform that makes it easy for me to game. Whether I am waiting in an airport or at whatever location I am at. To me this is all about flexibility to play anywhere, at anytime, on almost every device I own. Without these capabilities my ability to game would be maybe a few hours a week. With these capabilities I add a few more hours of gaming time each week.
I have an XSX, XSS, Razer Kishi V2 for my iPhone, Asus Rog Ally, iPad, a Surface Go, a smokin' i9 PC, and Fire Sticks on every TV I own. I can game on any of these devices! And I do based on where I am. I even carry a firestick and controller with me wherever I travel, because that Is all it takes for me to plug into a hotel TV and get the big screen experience.
I think this was a good decision, simply for the fact that they can pour their R&D efforts into the next console to make it a bigger leap forward. Also keeps less different hardware out there easing development for developers who have enough different hardware specs to code to. Finally, it saves me money by not wanting to buy the latest and greatest device. That money will be spent in games rather than new hardware.
@dskatter All this storage needs to be more affordable as well. I do not like the fact that both SSD and NVMe are so expensive as compared to SATA traditional drives.
Here we are 4 years after this generation of consoles are released and game sizes keep ballooning while storage on the consoles is just going up in comparatively small increments. It is super disappointing to me that we don't have affordable expansion cards that are equal to the largest SSD drives. aka I would like to see at least 8TB NVMe expansion drives instead of a measly 2 TB.
I hate managing storage. It takes away from my gaming time and is just a super annoying task. One of the reasons I game on console is to get away from managing the device. With these super small and high priced expansion cards it is making console gaming look more and more like PC gaming.
@SodaPop6548
I do agree with what you are saying but in Perfect Dark and Indiana Jones you are comparing single player only experiences (at least that is only what is announced so far) with single + co-op + multi-player experiences.
It is one thing to build a collection of single player experiences but it is yet another to take a bunch of co-op + multi-player experiences over a decade in the making and trying to mash them into one collection. I still think MS should've did better, but it was not an easy task and if you think about it that is still one of the only collections out there that combined many different single, co-op, multi-player experiences into a single game experience.
I am going to add to the percentages later this week. I used love CoD. Around Ghosts that love disappeared. Time to give it another chance since it is part of GamePass.
I don't think it was as terrible as people say. My understanding is a lot of the studio core left during Redfall development because they were not aligned with the kind of game Redfall was.
So, if a lot of the core left and we all know how well Redfall did, what was left to build tradition Arkane Austin games?
@shoeses Integrating Activision into XB is no simple task. Activision had their own gaming network for their games. I would think that XB is integrating the XB/Activision network together. Also, Activision had its own inflight projects. XB would not just cancel them all and start XB based projects. They have to integrate the Activision core technologies with XB technologies. Finally, Activision made zero effort to get on GamePass. Therefore XB has to make changes necessary for game pass to work with Activision games. And finally, Activision had their own standards as to what to put in games. XB supports a lot more things like adaptive controllers, etc.
You add all these things up and probably more and just publishing Activision games onto Gamepass is not what they are doing. Instead they are integrating games into XB as XB standard games and releasing them as they are ready.
I really like that Microsoft has been dedicated to this game for so long. I like it when a publisher stands behind its games like they have with this one.
After the latest Halo team video I am excited about what they are doing and where they are heading. Don't care what names are behind it, I just want more good things to happen.
@Wisegamer I do agree with your comment as things sit today. But I also believe at some point there is an end to consoles as we know them today. Frankly, consoles are getting too expensive and their advantage in the market is disappearing.
If I could buy a PC and run it in "XB UI" mode I would not bother buying a console anymore.
Finally, I think streaming will eventually become a primary way to distribute games because of their growing size and fast storage hardware not keeping up with that size. Also, streaming will continue to improve, probably to the point you will not be able to distinguish it from a locally running game.
But this is all a ways off. Lucky to get here in the next 7-10 years.
Typical XB reporting. You get a whole video about Halo switching to UE5 and the studio rename, and instead of the graphics, and other aspects of the video all people talk about is whether the game is going to PS5.
I see these fix and feature lists and they keep validating why I don't even consider buying games on day one anymore.
I get excited for new games, but I don't want to play alpha and beta games, I want to play complete and stable games with only the inevitable minor issues.
And by the way where is Disney in all this ensuring quality on their IP? Shouldn't the license hold ensure the game meets a minimum brand quality level?
@somnambulance I like that they keep updating the game, but I would have loved to see campaign DLCs launch about every one to two years until the campaign was through the full Halo ring. They left the campaign off perfectly to keep adding to it and growing the story on this ring. Totally missed the opportunity.
@Vaako007 I am not sure what DEI modernist culture has to do with anything. I think we are looking at more a state of the industry as a whole.
Personally, I think the problems in most gaming companies has been it has become acceptable to release beta/alpha games on day one and flog them as ready for release. I used to buy games day one, now, I am lucky if I buy a game in year one. I prefer instead to wait til the game patching stabilizes and operates more as a final product.
Also, game pricing is interesting now-a-days. Take Deadrising remaster as an example. It is selling on day one today more than it did on day one when I bought it in 2006! How can a game that was touched up sell for more today than on its original release when they spent years to build the engine and all the assets for the game from scratch?
You can try and blame DEI and stuff like that, but really this comes down to an industry where it was growing, growing, growing and companies were making ridiculous management choices. You go into a regular office and it is cubes, offices, and coffee rooms. No snack bars, no games, no lounges, no fitness rooms, etc. And regular companies watch every cent they spend. In the gaming industry the people were demanding posher and posher work environments. To me, gaming has been living high on the hog for far too long and now reality is coming down on the industry finally. DEI modernist culture may play a part but I think this is a natural adjustment to an industry that lived like kings for too long and now they are paying the price.
I love Capcom's new games and their remakes. But Capcom remasters are just blatant money grabs. If you have not played Deadrising I would suggest getting the XB One Remaster instead. It is way cheaper and I doubt there is really much real difference.
I love my Rog Ally. Wish the batteries would last longer but that really is the only issue. Played many games through by installing them on it. Still not big on xCloud although it is improving.
I think the number of different device I can play on is a real differentiator for XBox.
To me this is proof that we need more than one high powered console it the marketplace to keep the major vendors in check with each other. If Sony were to rule or Microsoft then we would see pricing skyrocket. The fact that both are in competition keep prices from rising dramatically.
It wasn't too long ago that the target price for consoles at this stage of the generation was about $199 and $299. A $699 console is ridiculous.
@Vordus I would prefer if DoubleFine continues to be creative and decides on their own what they want to do. I like that they are not afraid to take chances and risks on new games. Would love to see another new IP.
@MrMagic I don't think the acquisition of Activision is causing this round. This is a general industry trend that studios and publishers are cutting jobs.
We see these large games where you have to commit a significant part of your life too. I miss the days where the focus was on story and game innovation instead of putting gamers like gerbils in a spinning wheel endlessly taking their money in one microtransaction filled game.
And wouldn't it be great if a game shipped on day one as a complete package that had very few bugs and didn't feel like you were buying an alpha or beta game?
And when you finished a game you were actually finished until a new sequel came out?
At one time, I bought games very often. At least four per month. Now, I have more or less stopped buying games unless the game is focused around a story/campaign, it has a definitive start and end, does not require microtransactions to progress at a decent pace, and is a decent price.
@Frmknst Simply every corporation will do whatever it can get away with to take consumer dollars. Anyone believing that any corporation is here solely for consumer benefits and not to load shareholders pockets with money is seriously not in touch with reality.
None are really worse or better than others. Their sole existence and goals are to make as much money as possible. The more they addict someone to their offerings the more they make and the more they make the more pressure shareholders put on them to make even more money.
Comments 874
Re: Xbox Cloud Gaming: How It Works, Accessing Your Games, And All Supported Devices
@trev666
Cloud gaming continues to improve a lot. MS is investing in it and I wouldn't doubt that in the next 10 years consoles are dead and replaced fully by cloud gaming available on almost any device you can buy.
I would expect that cloud gaming will evolve to continually to improve performance/lag over the next 10 years to the point where you cannot tell the difference between something that you are running from the cloud vs. running locally. In fact, with AI, I would expect that cloud gaming will be even better then the local experience.
Re: Talking Point: Will 1 Vs. 100 Ever Make A Comeback On Xbox?
@McL92
If you look at gaming revenue by company for 2024 it would seem like Microsoft is perfectly fine with that...
https://data40.com/articles/largest-gaming-companies-ranked-by-revenue-2024/
Re: Xbox's Big Surprise For Developer Direct Is Reportedly A Legendary Japanese IP
Sony announces its next AAA game from Naughty Dog and it is coming to XB on Day One!
LOL. Wishful thinking.
Re: 10+ Major Games That Xbox Could Be Preparing To Release This Year
I like that MS has so much content now. I don't think we will see anywhere near 10 major games this year though. It would be nice if I am proven wrong, but honestly, I would be happy to see 4-6 really amazing games then 10+ major games where half were rushed out before they were truly ready.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Has Even 'More' Games Planned For PS5, It's Claimed
I wonder why this is news anymore. The assumption should be that if MS publishes a game it is going to ship on XB, PC, and PS at the very least.
Re: 30 Xbox Series X|S Games To Look Forward To In 2025
Looks to be another solid year of new content for XB! Hopefully this is now the new normal for XB!
Re: Talking Point: Looking Back At A Turbulent But Productive Year For Xbox
I don't know why people felt this year was turbulent. There was a lot of noise but MS released some highly anticipated content in CoD (Best CoD in years to me), Hellblade II, Indy, Flight Simulator 2024, and Diablo IV content. We also started to see the trickle release of Activision Blizzard games on GamePass.
There was also a lot of good news to come with Avowed, Perfect Dark, Fable, South of Midnight, State of Decay 3, and Gears of War E-Day. Yes, they don't have release dates, but the games look like they are coming along nicely.
Then there was also some good news from 343 on the studio switching to UE. And at the end of the year screen shot of Everwild from Rare.
If you ignore all the negative press (that honestly does not truely affect XB gamers unless you want it to) around XB games shipping on other platforms, this was a solid year for XB. In fact, I would say they did much better than both Sony and Nintendo by a significant amount. And there is much more to look forward to on XB this next year then both Sony and Nintendo.
Re: Xbox Dominated The US Gaming Charts In Indiana Jones' Launch Week
I have dived into both CoD and Indy this holiday season. I have played a few hours in each. Both seem to be good quality games so far. I shunned CoD a lot since Ghosts because of quality but this one seems much better. As for Indy I had trepidations about it being a FP game but all is forgotten now that I am playing it.
Hopefully this put all the MS studios on track for future releases. There are a lot of MS studios now, consistently putting out games that rate 80+ will be a key to future success. If they can put out an 80+ game 3-4 times a year that will build the XB brand a lot. Then bring out great hardware next generation and hopefully XB will gain some additional momentum.
Re: Poll: How Many Xbox Games Have You Actually Bought In 2024?
I find I am buying less and less games and spending less and less in total. First, there is not a lot of innovation out there right now with tried and true formulae used in many games. Second, the price of new AAA games is ridiculous so I have to wait for sales. Third, I am tired of games shipping as buggy messes for the first year and waiting for them to go through enough fixes for the games to be decent enough to play. Finally, GamePass allows me to try before I decide to buy helping me make more informed decisions on what to buy.
Re: Xbox Fans Treated To Surprise 'Everwild' Appearance Ahead Of The New Year
@Balaam_
I think a game's art style has to match its game play and story. Until we get a picture of what the actual game is like I won't be judging the art style. I wouldn't call see of thieves all that great of an art style but it fits the game really well. Unfortunately, my expectations are very high on this game since it has been in development for so long. Just hope it lives up to the development time.
Re: Pure Xbox's Game Of The Year 2024
@neoxmahi
That was an unfactual rant about what you think is happening. The facts are:
1) The XB business financially is doing very well.
2) Microsoft has already committed to making next generation consoles.
3) I don't know where Phil has lied. He has actually been pretty clear that there are no red lines to shipping games on other platforms. No console vendor exec has ever been fully truthful. They all make promises that the next console is the greatest and that every next game is something never seen before. They also say their games are exclusive, now console exclusive, and next it will all become timed exclusives.
4) You base your arguments on the perception that there are still console wars. There is no such thing anymore. Yes, Sony, Nintendo, and MS compete against each other, but there is no reason to believe that any of the three are going anywhere other than into a next generation. Just like all three have for the previous four generations. The console vendors have been stable for about 20 years now. The longest period of console vendor stability ever.
I don't think anyone knows what lies ahead with any certainty. But one thing is clear, MS is in gaming and with its purchases of publishers over the past 10 years since Mojang, they are going to be making games for a long time to come.
The only question is going to be what platforms sell the best. And even console sales are becoming irrelevant because a lot of gamers game on PC, console, and portable platforms not just consoles. Don't get me wrong, I prefer gaming on console because of its simplicity, but the reality is the I like my PC rig too, and I like my Asus ROG Ally. I don't always get the big TV to game on so at times I end up on the other platforms. As long as MS offers GamePass and still makes a console I will continue to buy their games, console platform, and services. GamePass just makes sense financially even just for MS games. The XB console has been my primary platform for two decades now and has most of my gaming history, and I like a lot of games MS makes. I can buy the games on other platforms but I choose to buy them on XB because I prefer the platform.
Re: Sony's New $320M 'Alliance' Has Left Xbox Fans Breathing A Sigh Of Relief
@PSDeckSwitchOwner
This is an XB site. You know that right?
Weird, how I have never seen bad articles about Sony buying a publisher on PlayStation sites.
Re: Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Review Roundup: Here's What The Critics Think So Far
Every reviewer is entitled to their opinions. I don't like herd reviewers that just give a game a good score because it was made by a specific developer, in a specific series, or because everyone else says it is good. Everyone has different tastes and some people don't like certain games. Nothing wrong with that. I tend to use reviews as general guidance. Meaning I don't bother looking at a game where everyone is scoring it below 6 out of 10. Anything equal or higher means I will consider the game based on what I see in the community once it has released. There are some games that score well but just don't seem to connect with gamers and then there are others that score OK, but really build a following.
Given Machine Games history and the review scores I am apt to give Indy play time on GamePass to see if I enjoy it, If I really like it I will pick it up on sale at some point when the price is equal to the value I am getting from the game.
There is no way I buy a game at full price anymore. Prices have gone to a state where I cannot justify purchasing games on day one that are usually bug ridden, messes. I don't expect that from this game, but after the Cyber Punk fiasco I no longer take the chance.
Re: As Xbox Expands Its Reach, Former PlayStation Boss Talks About The Viability Of Consoles
@MeanBeanEgg
There are over 2 Billion gamers planet wide. That means with 110 mln gamers PS has 5.5% of the total market of people who play games on devices. With AAA games getting more and more expensive to create it becomes imperative that they target the broader market of gamers. Otherwise, their profit margins per game will be less than Microsoft and shareholders will start to ask why can't they get to Microsoft margins. Nothing is about the right or advantageous thing to do. Everything evolves around shareholders and money the shareholders make.
Re: Xbox Handheld Has A Big Potential Advantage Thanks To The Series S
I don't know how Series S plays into this if we start the new generation with consoles and a handheld console.
At the end of the day most game developers ship on PC as well. There are many lower end PCs that are less than console specs running games. Developers will typically target the broadest audience possible to sell their games. If hardware sells, game developers will make sure their games work on it.
Re: Xbox Analyst 'Doesn't See' Microsoft Ditching Hardware Despite New Marketing Campaign
This is a standard article I have seen every 3-6 months since November 15, 2001. I never see articles validating or questioning whether Sony or Nintendo will continue to make hardware.
Next we will get news articles that the sun rose today.
Re: Xbox Fans Plead With Microsoft: 'Don't Forget About Us Physical Gamers'
@GuyinPA75
Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are all striving to make their data centers carbon neutral. You can see Microsoft's efforts here:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/explore/global-infrastructure/sustainability/
As for physical discs, oil for the plastics, trees get cut for the paper in the covers, ink is required for the print on them, and discs are made with polycarbonate which requires a bunch of chemicals and gases that need to be acquired. And in the end you still need the servers for the constant game updates developers deliver.
Re: Xbox Fans Plead With Microsoft: 'Don't Forget About Us Physical Gamers'
@MeanBeanEgg
I still believe in options. XB I think provides the most options for gamers. Especially on how and where I can play my games.
PS: I do really like the controllers having the option for batteries. Makes it easy when my rechargeables die, don't have to plug it in to the console. Just switch rechargeable batteries or put in regular batteries.
Re: Xbox Fans Plead With Microsoft: 'Don't Forget About Us Physical Gamers'
One other thing about digital distribution is that it is better for the environment. No manufacturing of discs, no physical resources required for distribution, no trucking those discs to stores, and no people buying those discs with physical money anymore. Everything is digitally accessed and downloaded. You are doing the environment a favour by buying your games online only.
Personally, I thing the special editions should just end. To me, there is little value in special editions without the disc. If they want to do collectibles, then they should move digital as well.
Re: Xbox Fans Plead With Microsoft: 'Don't Forget About Us Physical Gamers'
Newspaper/books first started digital distribution, music was next, movies went after that, and now gaming is completing the move of media to digital distribution.
People can whatever we want but physical distribution is dying off. There are people growing up not even knowing what physical distribution is. I used to do my rounds to EBGames (GameStop) and Best Buy once a month to see the latest releases. I can't remember the last time I did that for games. Have not walked in to GameStop for literally years. Best Buy the only time I go there is to see a physical sample of an electronic I am looking to buy. Then, I order online.
The other issue with physical distribution is game size. As games eclipse 150 GB more and more (for 4K games, 8k games will probable eclipse 1 TB) it requires too many disks for the games to be unfeasible to distribute physically.
I have a collection much bigger then that pictured in the article. My X360 collection eclipses 2,000+ physical games, but I saw the writing on the wall when MS started XBLA and start to move digital. My XB One collection is almost completely digital, and my XB Series collection is entirely digital. I would've preferred physical stick around but it is dying.
There are a lot of advantages to digital. I travel a lot so it is easy just to download some games to my ROG Ally and play them or now play (some of) my games on xCloud. I also have fixed XBoxes where I just download games too. Since storage is not large enough for my entire collection, digital makes it easier to put the games I want to play on my XBox. Don't have to find or have the physical disc. Just go to My Library and decide what I want to download. No matter where I am the whole thing just depends on a decent Internet connection. Which is almost always available if willing/able to pay for it now.
All I need is my Phone, ROG Ally, and iPad and a decent Internet connection and I can access all my digital media anywhere in the world!
Re: Cities: Skylines 2 Dev Struggling To Get Xbox Version Running For Game Pass Release
I really hate these types of articles.
This generation of hardware has been out for 4 years. It is not like these developers do not know what they are capable of doing.
If you know hardware isn't as good, why wouldn't you make that hardware the lead platform for development. This is like driving a Ferrari and then driving a Toyota Camry and wondering why it doesn't go as fast. Duh!
I can understand people thinking the hardware isn't as performant as other hardware. But let's be honest, even the Series S runs circles around Switch. We are not talking 40-400% differences here between X and PS5. The actual difference between an X and PS5 is probably in the 5-10% range.
This just sounds like the developer made mistakes by not scoping their game to the hardware they would ship the game on. Being someone who runs tech projects myself, that is pretty stupid if you ask me.
Re: It Might Be Old, But The Xbox 360 Is Still An Amazing Console In 2024
Microsoft's ongoing support for games on all their released consoles and the ability to still run the 360 and onward games/consoles is one of the reasons I continue to stay with XB as my primary console. I know that if I invest in it, MS will support it for a very long time.
Re: Microsoft Is Now Advertising Pretty Much Every Gaming Device As An Xbox
@Pusher2021
I tend to play games on the go that are not overly dependent on latency. Strategy games, story adventures, puzzle games, and simple platformers. I do take my switch when I travel too.
Hotel networks are hit and miss. Some are 9 out of 10, Others, are not so good. It is getting better, and highly dependent on the quality of the hotel you are in.
I prefer my home TVs with my consoles too. Have 7 TVs all at or over 55" between my two places (Amassed TVs over a 10 year period). One TV is 1080p and has my XSS. I have three others with XSX, and the rest I run firestick.
The firestick is about the same as XB Cloud on my 6G iPhone.
One of my places is about to get 3 Gbps with my ISP. I will switch to that and I am hoping it improves the cloud gaming experience.
Re: Microsoft Is Now Advertising Pretty Much Every Gaming Device As An Xbox
@Pusher2021
I've been buying XBoxes, PS'es, and Nintendo consoles since the start. I travel a lot and live in two places. XB is the only platform that makes it easy for me to game. Whether I am waiting in an airport or at whatever location I am at. To me this is all about flexibility to play anywhere, at anytime, on almost every device I own. Without these capabilities my ability to game would be maybe a few hours a week. With these capabilities I add a few more hours of gaming time each week.
I have an XSX, XSS, Razer Kishi V2 for my iPhone, Asus Rog Ally, iPad, a Surface Go, a smokin' i9 PC, and Fire Sticks on every TV I own. I can game on any of these devices! And I do based on where I am. I even carry a firestick and controller with me wherever I travel, because that Is all it takes for me to plug into a hotel TV and get the big screen experience.
Re: Xbox Boss Provides Multiple Reasons Why A 'PS5 Pro' Competitor Isn't Necessary
I think this was a good decision, simply for the fact that they can pour their R&D efforts into the next console to make it a bigger leap forward. Also keeps less different hardware out there easing development for developers who have enough different hardware specs to code to. Finally, it saves me money by not wanting to buy the latest and greatest device. That money will be spent in games rather than new hardware.
Re: WD Black's New 2TB Expansion Card Is Good News For Series X|S Owners
@dskatter
All this storage needs to be more affordable as well. I do not like the fact that both SSD and NVMe are so expensive as compared to SATA traditional drives.
Re: WD Black's New 2TB Expansion Card Is Good News For Series X|S Owners
Here we are 4 years after this generation of consoles are released and game sizes keep ballooning while storage on the consoles is just going up in comparatively small increments. It is super disappointing to me that we don't have affordable expansion cards that are equal to the largest SSD drives. aka I would like to see at least 8TB NVMe expansion drives instead of a measly 2 TB.
I hate managing storage. It takes away from my gaming time and is just a super annoying task. One of the reasons I game on console is to get away from managing the device. With these super small and high priced expansion cards it is making console gaming look more and more like PC gaming.
Re: Talking Point: 10 Years On, It's Been A Mighty Turnaround For Halo: Master Chief Collection
@SodaPop6548
I do agree with what you are saying but in Perfect Dark and Indiana Jones you are comparing single player only experiences (at least that is only what is announced so far) with single + co-op + multi-player experiences.
It is one thing to build a collection of single player experiences but it is yet another to take a bunch of co-op + multi-player experiences over a decade in the making and trying to mash them into one collection. I still think MS should've did better, but it was not an easy task and if you think about it that is still one of the only collections out there that combined many different single, co-op, multi-player experiences into a single game experience.
Re: Xbox's Rod Fergusson Explains The Team's Original Plan For Gears 6
I just want great games and Gears E-Day looks great so far!
Re: Apparently, More Than 50% Of Xbox Series X|S Users In The US Played Black Ops 6 Near Launch
I am going to add to the percentages later this week. I used love CoD. Around Ghosts that love disappeared. Time to give it another chance since it is part of GamePass.
Re: EA & BioWare Aren't Making Any DLC For Xbox RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard
@InterceptorAlpha
I will rate the game on whether I enjoy it or not. Not whether it has DLC or not.
I am sure they will release bug fixes and patches. To me, that is supporting a game.
DLC is not support, it is additional content.
Re: Arkane Founder Says Xbox Shutting Austin Studio Was 'Stupid' And 'Not A Good Decision'
I don't think it was as terrible as people say. My understanding is a lot of the studio core left during Redfall development because they were not aligned with the kind of game Redfall was.
So, if a lot of the core left and we all know how well Redfall did, what was left to build tradition Arkane Austin games?
Re: Microsoft's Xbox Gets Another Revenue Boost From Activision
@shoeses
Integrating Activision into XB is no simple task. Activision had their own gaming network for their games. I would think that XB is integrating the XB/Activision network together. Also, Activision had its own inflight projects. XB would not just cancel them all and start XB based projects. They have to integrate the Activision core technologies with XB technologies. Finally, Activision made zero effort to get on GamePass. Therefore XB has to make changes necessary for game pass to work with Activision games. And finally, Activision had their own standards as to what to put in games. XB supports a lot more things like adaptive controllers, etc.
You add all these things up and probably more and just publishing Activision games onto Gamepass is not what they are doing. Instead they are integrating games into XB as XB standard games and releasing them as they are ready.
Re: State Of Decay 2 'Legacy Awaits' Is The Game's Final Major Update On Xbox
I really like that Microsoft has been dedicated to this game for so long. I like it when a publisher stands behind its games like they have with this one.
Re: Halo Veteran's Return To The Series Is Just Speculation For Now
Honestly, who cares whether he comes back or not?
After the latest Halo team video I am excited about what they are doing and where they are heading. Don't care what names are behind it, I just want more good things to happen.
Re: Xbox Cloud Gaming Will Reportedly Let You Stream Your Own Games Very Soon
@Wisegamer
I do agree with your comment as things sit today. But I also believe at some point there is an end to consoles as we know them today. Frankly, consoles are getting too expensive and their advantage in the market is disappearing.
If I could buy a PC and run it in "XB UI" mode I would not bother buying a console anymore.
Finally, I think streaming will eventually become a primary way to distribute games because of their growing size and fast storage hardware not keeping up with that size. Also, streaming will continue to improve, probably to the point you will not be able to distinguish it from a locally running game.
But this is all a ways off. Lucky to get here in the next 7-10 years.
Re: Xbox To Start Selling Games 'Directly' On Android App Next Month (US)
Glad to see progress in getting rid of mobile store monopolies.
It is ridiculous that apple and google put a 30% tax on people simply to declare purchasing of an app is safe.
Re: Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered Is Real, Comes To Xbox In February 2025
Be nicer rather than just a lame remaster to actually remake these games and modernize them.
Re: Talking Point: Does Xbox's 'New Dawn' For Halo Mean The Series Will Come To PS5?
Typical XB reporting. You get a whole video about Halo switching to UE5 and the studio rename, and instead of the graphics, and other aspects of the video all people talk about is whether the game is going to PS5.
Re: Star Wars Outlaws Patch 'Tweaks' Stealth Again, Improves Performance On Xbox
I see these fix and feature lists and they keep validating why I don't even consider buying games on day one anymore.
I get excited for new games, but I don't want to play alpha and beta games, I want to play complete and stable games with only the inevitable minor issues.
And by the way where is Disney in all this ensuring quality on their IP? Shouldn't the license hold ensure the game meets a minimum brand quality level?
Re: Halo Infinite Is Getting Third-Person Mode Later This Year
@somnambulance
I like that they keep updating the game, but I would have loved to see campaign DLCs launch about every one to two years until the campaign was through the full Halo ring. They left the campaign off perfectly to keep adding to it and growing the story on this ring. Totally missed the opportunity.
Re: Report: Ubisoft Is Considering A Buyout From Tencent & Partners
@Vaako007
I am not sure what DEI modernist culture has to do with anything. I think we are looking at more a state of the industry as a whole.
Personally, I think the problems in most gaming companies has been it has become acceptable to release beta/alpha games on day one and flog them as ready for release. I used to buy games day one, now, I am lucky if I buy a game in year one. I prefer instead to wait til the game patching stabilizes and operates more as a final product.
Also, game pricing is interesting now-a-days. Take Deadrising remaster as an example. It is selling on day one today more than it did on day one when I bought it in 2006! How can a game that was touched up sell for more today than on its original release when they spent years to build the engine and all the assets for the game from scratch?
You can try and blame DEI and stuff like that, but really this comes down to an industry where it was growing, growing, growing and companies were making ridiculous management choices. You go into a regular office and it is cubes, offices, and coffee rooms. No snack bars, no games, no lounges, no fitness rooms, etc. And regular companies watch every cent they spend. In the gaming industry the people were demanding posher and posher work environments. To me, gaming has been living high on the hog for far too long and now reality is coming down on the industry finally. DEI modernist culture may play a part but I think this is a natural adjustment to an industry that lived like kings for too long and now they are paying the price.
Re: Poll: Did You End Up Buying The Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster For Xbox?
I love Capcom's new games and their remakes. But Capcom remasters are just blatant money grabs. If you have not played Deadrising I would suggest getting the XB One Remaster instead. It is way cheaper and I doubt there is really much real difference.
Re: Talking Point: Xbox's Forza Horizon 2 Changed The Open-World Racing Game 10 Years Ago
Every release of Forza Horizon has been great. Have spent literally hundreds if not over a thousand hours playing these games.
Re: Xbox Has Begun Including Handhelds In Promotional Images
I love my Rog Ally. Wish the batteries would last longer but that really is the only issue. Played many games through by installing them on it. Still not big on xCloud although it is improving.
I think the number of different device I can play on is a real differentiator for XBox.
Re: PS5 Pro's $699 Price Was 'Easier Decision' Due To Lack Of Xbox Competitor, Says Analysis
To me this is proof that we need more than one high powered console it the marketplace to keep the major vendors in check with each other. If Sony were to rule or Microsoft then we would see pricing skyrocket. The fact that both are in competition keep prices from rising dramatically.
It wasn't too long ago that the target price for consoles at this stage of the generation was about $199 and $299. A $699 console is ridiculous.
Re: Xbox's 'Double Fine' Studio Dismisses Idea Of Making New Banjo Or Conker Games
@Vordus
I would prefer if DoubleFine continues to be creative and decides on their own what they want to do. I like that they are not afraid to take chances and risks on new games. Would love to see another new IP.
Re: Xbox Is Cutting 650 More Jobs, Confirms Phil Spencer In Letter To Employees
@MrMagic
I don't think the acquisition of Activision is causing this round. This is a general industry trend that studios and publishers are cutting jobs.
Re: Xbox Legend Major Nelson Asks For 'More Varied Experiences' At Lower Price Points
We see these large games where you have to commit a significant part of your life too. I miss the days where the focus was on story and game innovation instead of putting gamers like gerbils in a spinning wheel endlessly taking their money in one microtransaction filled game.
And wouldn't it be great if a game shipped on day one as a complete package that had very few bugs and didn't feel like you were buying an alpha or beta game?
And when you finished a game you were actually finished until a new sequel came out?
At one time, I bought games very often. At least four per month. Now, I have more or less stopped buying games unless the game is focused around a story/campaign, it has a definitive start and end, does not require microtransactions to progress at a decent pace, and is a decent price.
Re: Microsoft Says Native Xbox Cloud Gaming App Remains 'Impossible' On Apple Devices
@Frmknst
Simply every corporation will do whatever it can get away with to take consumer dollars. Anyone believing that any corporation is here solely for consumer benefits and not to load shareholders pockets with money is seriously not in touch with reality.
None are really worse or better than others. Their sole existence and goals are to make as much money as possible. The more they addict someone to their offerings the more they make and the more they make the more pressure shareholders put on them to make even more money.