Runex2121

Id be more excited if i had the time to play it. I still havent gotten to avowed yet...

I picked it up on ps5 last year, its a good game for the portal.

That said, i suck at it and have never been able to clear a deck to date. Got up to like round 6 or 7 with the red deck.

As someone who hates a challenge, its more of a "ok game" to me

Not all that concerned here. Currently I do essentially nothing and get 3 months free for every 1 month I pay. Now that will be a 3:2 ratio assuming its 50k points now.

I was fine paying every month before because I use the service and see value in it. That hasnt changed.

So happy it has a super easy mode for us busy folk. Gonna have to give this a spin when it comes out.

I was extremely disappointed in the cancellation of halo. Enough to cancel paramount plus.

While having star trek is nice, halo was new and the action solid.

Netflix shows not named stranger things kinda stink though, so im not sure its a place id want the series to be.

Tell ya what im not playing, my ps5 pro lol. (Its currently a brick until psn is back up)

That said, ill be diving back into visions of mana this weekend on the series x. Perhaps a bit of forza.

I think im long past my wow days. I still buy the expansions, but only reactivate for the 30 days and rarely touch it during that time. I spent way too much tine on the first few years.

Ive loved the show, but the game has had very little innovation since the late 10's.

I played a lot the past few years on xbox(and bought it every year on ps prior), but 24 burned me out.

Unless they make some major updates(visual and gameplay), im probably going to skip a few iterations.

Wasnt there already a gears remaster collection on xbone? I though i recall having that. Not sure why wed need one every gen.

Phantasy Star 5!!

Ok, its a pipedream, but I can dream, right?

Picked this up, cleared the prologue, not really all that impressed so far. Its a slog, animation is poor, plot is kinda meh

@Rog-X Id also argue exclusives are an old way of thinking when buying a console. I much prefer the OS, quality of online service platform, controllers, and other console specific features when looking at consoles. Its why the Series X is still preferred to me over my PS5 Pro. The OS features are just better on the xbox.

So much reference to the steam deck in the comments here. As a gamer, A multiplatform owner(Nintendo, Sony, MSFT, PC, Steamdeck, etc..) the steamdeck has probably gotten the least amount of use. Its akward and bulky. Battery life is poor and the screen subpar compared to alternatives. My PS portal gets far more use, as does my switch oled.

I was an early adopter to the steamdeck and love what its done for the segment, but if thats the gold standard for people in handhelds, we have a lot of improvement to go before its really ready for mainstream.

Far too many for what I actually have time to play. Over 10 titles, but I also have Game Pass Ultimate, so factor in those games too and Its too much. I also picked up 26 full length PS5 games, and a dozen switch games. (and PC games for my deck as well) All Digital.

New Year Resolution for 2025 is to buy only games I have time for, so under 10 across all platforms.....

@shoeses I think licensing had far more to do with what they could do as opposed to the tech. Remember this program required them to essentially patch a game, meaning they did need the consent to do each title.

And for me, while Backwards compat was definately huge for last gen, this gen is the autoresume feature(I forget the buzz word MS used). I like to play 4-6 games simultaneously, so being able to seamlessly hop in and out of them is such a time saving endeavor. My PS5 Pro only allows 1 game to be resumed, and its painfully noticeable to me.

@abe_hikura Id prefer it just stream, be light, have a great screen, and atleast 3 hours of battery life. The portal is an amazing device. MS should follow suit but with an oled.

Couple quick thoughts here.

1. Really hoping for an xbox handheld.
2. Steam OS is overrated. Its not terrible, but i much prefer the os on both xbox and ps. Even the switches os is better.

Caveat to 1 is that I want a streaming only device, or atleast a lightweight handheld. Ive got a steamdeck, portal, and a couple switches and i never touch my steamdeck. Its setup as an xbox streaming device, but the hardware and software are just too bulky. If they can make it lighter and thinner, im all game. I think the streaming games you own is really a precurser to this. If our entire libraries can be streamed via xcloud, then there really isnt a need for a bulky device.

I dont like the classic lighting at all. Makes things all orangish. Thankfully thats able to be turned off. Everything else was a win.

The daily play is already the same here in the us. It used to be ambiguous as to how long, but a few weeks back it updated to "15min"

Streaks are here at the core level as well, just without multipliers.

The 4 and 8 packs i have not noticed, but am ok as i tend to try out new games weekly on a natural basis.

@GuyinPA75 Id disagree. I have a backbone and a dedicated phone that i wound up boxing up in the attic because i just dont like gaming on a phone. Could just be me, but as a 40 something with a good amount of disposable income but not a lot of time, handhelds have become my only real outlet. I have all the consoles, but playtime is probably 5 to 1 or higher in favor of non phone portable options.

My ps portal completely changed my ps5 use, currently i use remote play on my steamdeck for xbox.

Its really not a good solution, but its bettee than none. Really hoping msft does one of two things.

1. Makes a stream only device that displays in 1080p or higher.
2. Makes a portable series s level device compatible with all current games. (And a 1080p screen) Hopefully keeping it lighter than the very heavy steamdeck.

I love the idea of a prequel and am very excited for it. So the new direction is great.

I also love the idea of humanity losing sera and being forced out to explore and/or regroup to retake sera. So many possibilities with the narrative side.

In halo earth was attacked and won, and in other games, you often take control in a post apocalyptic world(destiny,etc...) I cant recall a time where we controlled from pre to post within the direct gameplay.

Campaign is great, its back to the old CoD, which is exactly what I have been asking for. I dont play multiplayer, so no interest in that. Zombies I will try in a few weeks when I have time, excited to see where that goes as well.

Own all the major players, for aaa games usually buy xbox unless ps5 has some tangible advantage. I buy on switch if its an indie game that isnt impacted by power differences as I prefer my gaming portable. Steamdeck is a remote play for xbox device. Rarely buy games from steam.

@WildConcept6 Welcome to adulthood lol

My first backlog came up in the 00's after college. Then it grew massively with kids and promotions.

Now I have 1000+ games across generations of consoles and Ive beaten like 1% of them.

Currently have about 20 I bought and dont have time for, and several i want to get and play but refuse to until I can reduce that number to 5 or so.

Im actually looking forward to retirement in 20 years or so for more gaming time

I thought it was ok. Lake house and chronos looked great, the rest was ok. I do like the format though. Less talking more games.

I dont really use it all that much, but my daughter does all the time. I have all consoles and pc, but she only has a switch. (She can use all) As im not much into buying multiple copies, it makes things much cheaper and easier for her to play and me to not worry about where i buy things.

I dont play mp games much anymore, but shes 9 and plays nothing but mp games(friends only) so its great knowing she can play with friends regardless of platform and I can monitor what she plats still. No hassle at all.

In the US, 5gb wired fiber connection for the house with wifi6e throughout. My cap is on the xbox side which seems to cap at around 1gb/s

My ps5 doesnt even get 400mb/s on the same when downloading games, its frustrating. I saw the ps5 pro had wifi6e but what food is it if the backend is capped at a snails pace? (and dont get me started on the switch)

@GamingSince84 I prefer xbox over ps for a number of reasons(controller, os, etc...) despite buying all consoles.

I can second the need for them to keep making consoles. Giving the premium market to a single player is a horrible idea.

Id prefer we get the next gen in 28-30 and the handheld next year, so hoping this rumor is false

All I want for Christmas is an Xbox hand held...an Xbox hand held..an Xbox hand held....

Games are always a welcome addition ofcourse too.

This program didnt really cost anything to run though. Ive been an ambassador since 2021, but never really did anything. (Still a level 1) It always felt like a meh rewards program, so not really concerned its going away.

This round appears to be further redundancy layoffs, which are not a surprise as efficiencies are gained as actibliz further integrates.

Sucks for those involved, but not unexpected at all. The economy is slowing too, so big companies are being more cautious.

Ive had no issues with the game, play it daily still. So not sure about these issues mentioned. Its a great game, just a little grindy with the currency when coming over from horizon.

I dont play online, and sometimes I have to play an open tour to get money to play a series.(ie buy the car)

This is with the premium version with vip bonuses so I can only imagine how bad it is for base game owners. Its a minor gripe though.

As for this preview program, sounds fun.

@Ricketty_Roll Absolutely agree its not something to grind. Just switch to bing for search and play as you would normally and every few months get some free stuff. No effort. If your grinding for points then you really should look at what you could do instead to make money because its not a good way to make income through effort)

Honestly it had some decent vids, but i was really hoping for an xbox handheld so im kinda meh.

Also, the only real announcement for xbox was indy on ps5? Im all for games on other platforms, but it shouldnt be your one and only centerpiece announcement.

@Stamnoso I wouldn't be surprised if MS had a clause to keep it on game pass in the agreement.

Hi Fi rush was well loved and deserves a path forward, which is why its nice that it will live on. I didn't really like it, but I dont like that genre.

Im more excited about the dev staff moving on in a collective unit. I did enjoy a lot of their other works. (everything MS retained for example)

@shoeses Every person has to make that assessment for themselves. For me, I still get great value out of GPU as I play a lot of new games, I would never try otherwise in addition to the big releases I would buy without it. As someone who never touches a game after I beat it, but also never sells games, the value in not having to store and sell titles (which is a hassle to me) is an added bonus. Throw in the fact I only pay 3 months a year due to rewards points(which I do not farm or work for, just a part of my regular daily usage) and GPU is a killer deal for me.

That said, again, if your not realizing value out of unknown games and are constrained in resources for new titles, then it might make sense to reduce down to core and focus on purchasing only the explicit titles you want.

@Zenszulu I think that's kind of the point. They need to stop handing out subs for free and start collecting revenue. If the value is there, people will stay. (I personally find the full price worth it, but each person will be different based on perceived value)

I am in the US, but I can guarantee you this is coming here. MS has been lowering the amount of points on a regular basis over the past year.

That said, again, its free money basically, so can we really complain? I currently average about 10k a month(with the 275 from the weekly bonus) doing essentially nothing outside of what I would normally do. This allows me to get 3 months of GPU free for every 1 that I pay for, which is fine by me. It certainly beats out any of the competitors' rewards programs. (Note: Sony and Nintendo no longer have any comparable program, with Sony shutting down Sony Rewards and Stars being very different, and Nintendo's being on purchase of things only)

I understand the delay, need to spread out the gamepass titles to retain service value. Sucks, but honestly im happy because it gives me more time to enjoy an already large backlog of games.

@Ooccoo_Jr

As an investor and a gamer, I don't see any disasters in this report. Acti's inclusion in the data showing a net increase year over year of even 3% is a positive. It shows growth, albeit slow growth. The market is having a tough time in general, so this is a good thing.

Additionally, its hard to fault the content pipeline. The presentation this year was by far the best in the industry, and gamers on all platforms should be happy. (I own all platforms, have no care of what is published where. If it makes sense on xbox I get it there, if it makes sense on switch, PC, or PS I get it there. Gamepass is improving too)

So not sure how we can see anything negative about this news. Not a spin, just a reality.

Not that much of a loss to be honest. Regardless of the reason, the original release was not very good. (It was on xbox then, and I made the poor decision of buying it)

Love fighting games, but some should remain buried in the sands of time.

I love that its on game pass, but its a crap game for my use. I only like the campaigns and this one is terrible. Its so bad they even buried it in the menu system to avoid people finding it.

Really hoping gor a solid return in blops6

@somnambulance

As a top tier family nso subscriber and a gpu subscriber(and ps+ premium), id still say gpu is the best value. Nintendos online itself is garbage. There is no way to justify paying anything over what we do for it. My daughter has to use facetime while playing minecraft with her friends to talk. (Ie. An ipad) The classic roms are nice, but they came st the expense of killing the old virtual store. And the packs you get for splatoon and animal crossing are essentially one offs that are not expensive.

Sony and ms have equal online these days, but the day 1 inclusions and pc games create more value. Also being able to login and go from pretty much any device at any time with the same save data rocks.

No code yet here and i bought pretty much all the dlc, ill wait a week or so and then just buy the $11 version.

I fully expect an ad tier, and wouldnt have an issue with it as an offering to be honest. If it was cheap enough, id sub to it for my 8 year old daughter in lieu of a family sub. (Which I wish was a thing) Keeping an ad free membership for myself of course.

Ive said this many times, but as long as it remains a value, I dont see an issue with a price increase. Currently, assuming you play online at all, the price per year with the updated pricing is $170. ($20 per month x 12 months - ($70)xb live basic cost which is sunk)

@$70 per new release AAA title, thats ~2.5 titles per year. Or with budget titles at say $30, ~6 titles. Assume a mix of products and you get your value out of 1 full AAA game at $70 and 4 indie games over the course of a year. I easily get that value out of gamepass. Especially when you consider that game rentals dont really exist anymore, so you have to rely on limited demo releases(super rare) or other people's or critics feedback(which is less reliable than ever before)

Everyone will have their own threshold for what is valuable, but as someone born in the late 70s who has seen the industry really grow, and bought lots of games in the early 90s at a much higher rate of cost than todays games, I see great value still in the gamepass option. (PS Premium has its value too, but not as much to me)

Understand the change, and it does impact me since i do 3 months rewards one month pay in that cycle, but I understand the change.

Will review the new options when they come out. I stand by gpu being a great value at $20 a month. However, ill assess it with each change.

In this instance ill probably just convert the points to movie rentals and non gp game purchases since i get about 10-12k a month just doing normal activities. (Ie no grinding)

Having skipped the first one completely, i went into it recently with little expectation outside of a pretty game. So for me, no hype, but excellent game.

It made me want to go play part 1, which is unusual for me since i usually look forwars, not backward.