Runex2121

@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.

I dont preorder anything unless it is a game I know I will buy and you get early access for doing so. Even then, Ill buy it the day before the early access starts.

Since I only buy digital, and have a very fast connection, there just isnt a reason to preorder. Only games I can think of that I preorder or the forza games, which I buy the super pack add on for since I have gamepass. (I buy the full games when they are set to expire and are on sale)

Heard the campaign was trash so i skipped this version. Been waiting for it to appear on gp to try it out. Hopefully the leak is true.

@theduckofdeath They already have ports available. Update and modernize it but keep the core gameplay and general art theme.

Nice, Hopefully it turns out well and isnt a 69.99 title.

This increase is neither surprising nor troubling. It is still a great value.

I remember paying $5 for 2-3 days at blockbuster in the 90s. That was for just 1 game. We get hundreds now, including day 1 aaa games for ~$5 a week. If we factor in inflation and income, people are spoiled today. (I earned 3.75/hr at my job in 1994, took an hour and a half to rent a game)

@UltraGuy I know quite a few people who sunk a lot of time into it. Dont let my aa comment be misleading, lots of solid non aaa games out there. This is just one that disnt click with me

I buy all the consoles and have a gaming pc(and a steamdeck), but my goto is always the xbox. Its just a more streamlined platform. Gamepass ultimate is a great choice for me because i get 2 for 1 with pc and xbox.

MS will continue to make consoles until it doesnt make sense to do so. I dont need a box under my tv if streaming to a handheld or tv is an equivalent experience. The keyword is equivilant though. Not there yet, but getting close.

As for hellblade 2, its a solid if not short game. Played it via gamepass, never would have bought it outright but now im intrigued by the game and will play the first.

Side note, the ps portal is where i play 99% of my ps5 games. Its so convienent when you have a family and a demanding job, but love games.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I get 10k a month with no grinding. I just use bing for my normal searches, and play games as I would normally.

I do the two daily quizzes, but those are super short and fun since i do sometimes learn things.

I use it exclusively to fund my gamepass sub. I get about 10k a month, so its 3 months free, 1 month paid. Cant really complain.

Paired with the xbox credit card rewards, things work well.

Especially when compared to the conpetition. Sony just killed its rewards program and the ps credit card is winding down its rewards(yet to announce a replacement) Stars has been down for over a month, so they effectively have no rewards anymore.

Nintendo has gold points which are a glorified rebate program and platinum points which are useless for anything but digital nonsense.

So all said, Im pretty content even with the reduced value.

Being in my mid 40s with children and an exec level job, my available time for games greatly diminished. Its been a trend though for the past 30 years. (Hard to even fathom that the SNES/Genesis era was nearing its end 30 years ago)

I used to play like it was a full time job in my teens and early 20s, then it dipped to be more like 10-20 hours a week, then it dropped again in my 30s to under 10 a week. Now Im lucky if I get 5 hours a week, so have to make the most of it.

On the bright side, I can see a return when I hit my 60s and retire.....

@UltraGuy It sold a lot, but Im not sure Id call it great. It was a new idea at a budget price, but the controls were crap and the post launch support has been less than ideal. Its an AA game at best and one I personally feel I wasted $30 on.

It's been a pretty average year to date, but a lot on the horizon. There has been just enough to keep me busy across all 3 consoles and PC, but nothing that really stands out on any of them from 2024. (Last amazing game was AW2)

Its going to be a really back heavy year though, thats for sure.

While I loved 5s open world(ish) play, gears is at its best when its playing the linear moment to moment approach. This is a very good move for the series.(both in plot and gameplay)

That said, I would be happy if they didnt wait too long to close out the second trilogy.

Completely unrelated, but the title for some reason made me think of clockwork knight, the old saturn game. Nostalgia is deep with that one. Anyways…

I love the idea of doing perhaps a e day trilogy. Its hard to believe were already approaching 20 years of gears.(2026 will be 20)

I always wanted more backstory, so this will be great.And nostalgic with the old crew together in the game. I hope the build out the next mainline though as well, story isnt over yet.

All I can say is that for the first time ever, i was impressed by a games presentation. Ive been gaming since the early 80s, always multi console, so its not an insignificant amount of time.

They hit so many areas with games that genuinely looked great. Many I had not heard of but are now on my radar.

Going back to eday is brilliant for gears as well.

All that said, nothing is perfect. Some missing release windows, no mention of a portable xbox or halo. And no mention of when acti games will hit gamepass. Still, easily best games show i can recall and destroyed sonys earlier. (Though astro is gonna be great)

Ive been pretty lucky. Only xbox consoles to ever fail me were early model 360s(one in japan and one in the us) and both were dead on arrival, so i just swapped them out. Got multiple years out of each with no issues.

Xbox and Nintendo have always been rock solid for me. PlayStations 1-3 were utter trash for me though. 4-5 have been solid. I went through 9 ps1-3s in a period of 9 years, was very frustrating. Didn’t buy a 4 until the spidy version of the pro released as a result.

Id be more interested in a mmo bundle. Add ffxiv and wow subs in and raise it a reasonable amount