Sakai

@Stormageddon the cma win 67% of appeals

Please just no, this gen has barely started

Me and the wife love pokemon so Cassette Beasts is a highlight for us. It got some good reviews

I told everyone it ain't over until its over. All the fanboys going crazy a few weeks ago. You never celebrate at half time. Plenty of legs left in this

@Magabro Phil didnt congratulate anyone. It was Larry Hyrb, Xbox and Sea of Thieves.

Can't wait until the kids are in bed and I can finally play some Zelda!

@UltimateOtaku91 just got delivered, cant wait to play it after work, Il be playing it alongside Ragnarok

Really can't wait for Zelda tomorrow, hopefully Amazon deliver it in good time!

Managed to preorder a z1 extreme version early today at Currys for £699, as a friend works there. But preorders are not live at Currys until later next week.
Can't wait for this thing! May just end up being my main gaming platform, despite owning all the consoles and an oled TV. With a wife and 2 kids, this thing should free up some extra gaming time

The EU are fans of behavioural remedies, the CMA are not, so I can see the EU passing it, but who knows at this point. If it does pass:

Then MS will need to argue that the CMA took the "easiest/lazy" option, and not the "best/proper" option, CAT will approve the appeal and pass it back to the CMA to do the work again.

Blocking the deal solely for Cloud Concerns with all the concessions already offered, always seemed a needlessly costly option when there are less costly and less dramatic options available.
This is what the CMA will fail the appeal on, if I had to guess, as its in the CMAs guidelines that any remedies should be proportionate.
Blocking the whole deal at a cost of several billion pounds, for a nascent market, is like the total opposite of that. Very shaky ground for the CMA to be on.

I read an article last week that the CMA have been inundated with complaints about them blocking the deal. Apparently they have recieved a huge amount.
That's my guess for what it's worth, but I could be totally wrong, it wouldn't be the first time. I still think it's 50/50 at this point if it will be approved

Ninja Gaiden Collection is awesome, just a shame its the Sigma versions (They are still good games). I would recommend playing Nina Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 on backwards compat, 2 of the best games ever made, and much better than Sigma

@NEStalgia I game on a 65" LG C2 OLED and 30fps isn't that bad. Before that I gamed on a 55" Lg B7 OLED, and again it wasn't that bad.
I am a gameplay over graphics guy, always will be. So i am there with you. But i am also a realist and realise that if i want 60fps fullstop, its PC or nothing really.
These consoles cost the same as a low to midrange graphics card after all. If people want next gen games, something has to give at that price point. Console are for the budget gamer afterall. Sure I prefer 60fps, who wouldn't. But it's not a deal breaker if I play a game or not

@NEStalgia
A target of 1440p/60 does not mean it's a requirement or a stipulation, or all games will hit that, its just an imaginary target lol.
Honestly it sounds made up to me, but I'm happy for someone to provide a link or some evidence. Otherwise I think you are just mistaken or have taken a quote wrongly, like mistaking target for requirement.

I have never heard of any manufacturer stipulate a minimum framerate to release on their console, it sounds completely absurd just saying it.
Especially when the majority of non crossgen games have been 30fps for a decade or so.
Even Digital foundry expect 30fps to make a return after crossgen is over. These consoles are low/mid range pc parts afterall, people are expecting way too much for £450

@NEStalgia Have you got a link for that? I have never heard that and I am really curious.
All I have seen on the xbox site is that games optimised for the series x can run upto 4k and 120fps.
"Next-gen framerates
Games that have been Optimised for Xbox Series X|S use the full power of the new consoles to deliver higher, steadier framerates at up to 120FPS while playing."
https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/optimized

@UltimateOtaku91 well put, I agree 100%

@NEStalgia "Plus 60fps is Xbox's STATED minimum target even for Series S. If 60fps isn't the standard, then MS is lying (again) about their platform."

Microsoft do not dictate what fps 3rd party games release at on their console, that's up to the developer and publisher. Some will aim for 120, some 60 and some 30.
Just because something is capable of 4k/120 does not mean everything will run at that. Its a capability not a requirement. How could Microsoft (who don't even make the vast majority of games on their platform) promise all games would be 60fps minimum?

Some PC games (like Jedi Survivor, a recent example, or Flight Sim) barely hit a consistant 60fps on a 4090 without DLSS3 frame generation, how do people expect a £450 console to do that? It sounds very unreasonable

@Ralizah I have to agree on the 30fps, we are going to see it more and more once crossgen is over. If you are expecting 60fps on all games on a £450 console, you are setting yourself up for major dissapointment.

Some games have different priorities, like simulation or size and scope. These games will be cpu limited so lowering resolution or effects will not help a game hit 60fps. Consoles are cheap, if you want 60fps on everything, buy a £3000 pc

I'm ordering one as soon as preorders go live on 11th. Looks an awesome piece of hardware. Could even end up being my main gaming platform

@somnambulance Microsoft are more inconsistent than always terrible in my opinion. I personally think theres a huge amount of hyperbole around xbox at the minute. They were publisher of the year in 2021 with the highest metacritic average ever. Hardly a bad thing, but it didn't move the needle, nobody really cared. People still say "xbox has no games for a decade" That's why I actually agreed with alot of Phils words the other day. Alot of people didn't like his words, and I can respect their opinion, I just don't share it. They have released a number of good games this generation, they have also had some bad games. Redfall never looked good, but I hate looter shooter coop games. I just hope they learn from their mistakes moving forward, and correctly labelling game trailers to realisticly set expectations would be a good start

I would guess most people just want them to be upfront and honest. Games should be shown on Xbox hardware, not pc, in my opinion.
And it should be clearly labelled if its gameplay or not. Then people can judge better. Honesty is always the best policy.
The developer direct at the start of the year was good, it was a really good format
Sony are still the best for labelling their trailers, being honest about what is gameplay and what is not, and what it is played on

Microsofts infamous hands off approach seems to work with some developers, and not with others.

What they need to do is learn from their mistakes and not repeat them. If a certain studio needs a stick, you best start beating them with it.
I imagine it is difficult balance to get, but that's not really the consumers problem. Maybe Microsoft was worried about stepping on toes, with developers who were half way through a game, when they were purchased. Pretty poor excuse in my opinion. I suspect Arkane will get alot more assistance after Redfall dropped so badly.

Think il give the whole interview a listen while I finish my work for the day. Hope he's honest

@themightyant if its anything like their previous games, Starfield will be a far heavier sim than Horizon. And will be far bigger in size and scope, but I guess we will find out next month at the show. Zelda, Starfield and FF16 are my most anticipated games on each console. Let's hope they all land awesome, should be a great year.

@themightyant Starfield has a whole galaxy to explore with thousands of planets, and is a heavy sim based game. Very different to Horizon Forbidden West. They are totally different types of games. Maybe I'm wrong and it will include 60fps, but I very much doubt it. Starfield will more likely be cpu limited and not gpu limited, so dropping resolution or visual fidelity more than likely wouldn't help a great deal.

If it doesn't hit 60fps, that doesn't mean it's not beneficial to release on less platforms. There is more to a game than framerate and it can be a benefit in other areas. Not sure why you think it's just wind if it's not 60fps. I see more and more 30fps games coming out once crossgen period is over.

@Dezzy70 at this point I would prefer a switch 2 over a pro. If they announced the switch 2 il be there day 1

@NEStalgia thinking about it, with some tweaks, maybe a Njnja Gaiden VR Edition with a first person perspective would be really cool. I'm imagining Ninja Gaiden 2 on 360 in VR now and it would be so difficult. Its hard enough in 3rd person!

@Dezzy70 I was waiting on the "Switch pro" we have been hearing about from insiders for years, but never happened. Now I have changed my mind and on May 11th I will be ordering an Asus Ally with the Z1 Pro chip. Looks like a great bit of hardware in my opinion. You thinking of picking one up?

@Dezzy70 ToTK looks great, it's one of only 2 games I have preordered this year. Just hope the wife doesn't hog my Switch when it comes out, like she usually does!

@Snake_V5 we all do from time to time. It's like the word inconsistent was invented specifically to describe Microsofts gaming division. It's either feast (2021) or famine (2022) there is no inbetween.

@NEStalgia I think VR is great for some genres (like Gran Turismo) but I'm still not convinced what it would add to my favourite types of games like Ninja Gaiden, Nioh etc. Even the dualsences adaptive triggers get in the way on those types of games, never mind motion controls. Hated the adaptive triggers when playing Nioh Remaster Collection on ps5, much more difficult and inconsistant than playing on a Dualshock on ps4. I'm not really chasing immersion, I need consistency and ultra responsive controls for the types of games I love.

@NEStalgia nobody can keep up with Dezzy he sells his xbox that many times lol. But we still love him anyway. I still love me some AAA from time to time, im playing Ragnarok at the minute for example, but I think the older you get, the less enamoured you are with AAA. Alot of de ja vu and been there done that kind of feelings.
My favourite developers is Team Ninja, and they sure are not AAA really! Gameplay over graphics for me.
I'm sure @Snake_V5 does, but alot of his comments recently have come across as trolling. Maybe he doesn't mean it, so sorry for asking @Snake_V5. My bad I apoligize

@TakeItEasy "we didnt have great quality games for years"
This is pretty hyperbole to be honest. Microsoft were publisher of the year in 2021 with the highest metacritic average score ever.
2022 was a total disaster, everyone would agree. But let's not get to carried away with the hyperbole. We are all hoping Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all have a great year this year

@Snake_V5 what's the point coming here just to troll. Genuine question, what do you gain from it?

@nomither6 games like starfield (huge scope, heavy systems based) tend to be cpu heavy so it's not a simple case of lowering resolution or effects. Some games just won't hit 60fps on a £450 console

@TakeItEasy if people expect the impossible because of some poor PR, then more fool them. I prefer to live in the real world where decisions are based on facts and not feelings. I very much doubt a game the size and scope of Starfield will run at 60fps on a £450 xbox. I thought that would be obvious to most people. Has a Bethesda rpg ever launched at 60fps on any console?

@TakeItEasy @Krzzystuff @Chaudy does anyone really expect a game with the size, scope and systems in a Bthesda rpg to run at 60fps on an xbox? Because I sure dont. This is not a linear game. Has a Bethesda rpg ever launched on console at 60fps?

Look forward to it. Hardly anyone makes proper rpgs anymore, especially with the size and scope of Bethesda.

Me and the wife look forward to the summer showcases from all 3 every year. Always a time to be excited as a gamer

Microsoft were publisher of the year in 2021, with the highest average score ever. the way some of you talk, it's like they haven't released a good game in 20years lol. Complete hyperbole

@hbkay Wo Long has been my favourite game released this year on any console, and that was on gamepass day 1. So it really is the best deal in gaming

@UltimateOtaku91 I knew this would score roughly the same as Forspoken. Both games just never looked that good, even in trailers. I'm sure some people will enjoy it, just like Forspoken, but it's not for me

I tried telling people that this wasn't over, it was perplexing how many thought it was over the other day and celebrated.
With more deals being announced and cloud providers like nvidia and boosteroid already publicly criticising the decision, there is plenty of legs left in this story.

I have also seen alot of people online say the CMA have never lost an appeal, which is completely wrong, they have several times, they even lost one a few months ago at the end of last year.

I'm not sure if it will go thru or not, but this is not the end. (I wish it was)

This kind of thing is so awesome to see, and not just in Forza. Allowing more people to enjoy video games is a great thing. When everybody plays, we all win.

Successive UK government's have a long standing tradition in stifling invest and jobs in the UK. They are beyond useless. History keeps repeating and the UK never seem to learn from their past mistakes. This is a problem far bigger than the ABK deal and is just another to add to the list

Honestly from a purely selfish standpoint, I wish they wouldn't appeal. I want this topic over, another year of this sounds like the worst outcome all round. Its just so boring. I hoped today would be the beginning of the end, not the dawn of a fresh start. Sadface

ABK deal Blocked by the CMA due to Cloud Concerns. Seems like it's all over

@themightyant alot of people don't buy bundles and wait for the console to become available on it own. The same with ps5 last year, if you wanted to buy a bundle with tshirts, controllers and games you could get one. But alot of people waited until this year when normal stock was available and you could buy the console by itself without a mark up.

In other news:

ABK deal Blocked by the CMA due to Cloud Concerns. Seems like it's all over

@themightyant the standard Xbox Series X is currently out of stock at Smyths, Amazon and Argos when I just checked. Some do have stock of the Forza Bundle, so they obviously are having some supply issues and have been for a few months. Our resident sales fanatic Dezzy has mentioned it a few times recently, of low or no stock on Series X. All the sites have plenty series s and ps5. This time last year it wasn't even possible to buy a ps5 at all, so having huge increases this year is to be expected

When I purchased God of War Ragnarok last weekend, I noticed Smyths Toys had stock of ps5 and series s, but the Series X was out of stock. And on Amazon they only have the Forza bundle in stock, no standard series x. Thats here in the UK. I was kind of surprised tbh as I thought stock problems had ended

@mousieone kids know xbox, and its for one simple reason, Roblox. That game is huge for kids, I don't see the appeal myself.

I would love to know why it's not on PlayStation and Nintendo. Maybe Microsoft could do some marketing centred around that?

@mousieone I was just pointing out the UK is far from PS v Switch, and in the UK the xbox is far from a Non-factor. Even during the ps4 dominating generation, it was very close. It always is.
I am from Newcastle (same as Jim Ryan) and its awesome our games market is so close. Competition is great for consumers like me and you.
I have 2 kids, a boy and girl, and they are more interested in mobile and pc, and hardly ever play on my PS5, Switch or Xbox. Roblox and Minecraft are the go to games. I'm not sure consoles are that interesting to their generation

@mousieone
The UK games industry is the most competitive console market in the world. Over the last 10 years, Xbox, PS and Nintendo have all led the market at one point.

Last year, Xbox Series, PS5 and Switch all had over 30% market share each (GfK data)

In terms of PS4 vs Xbox One, 57% of sales were for PS4 and 43% for Xbox One. On PS5 vs Xbox Series it's pretty much the same (56% vs 44%). It's close"

Source: https://mobile.twitter.com/Chris_Dring/status/1636394786235064321

@mousieone "Most countries including the UK it’s PS vs Switch; Xbox is a non-factor period"

What do you mean by this buddy?

@Dezzy70 Didn't you say you sold your Xbox? Or did you buy another one? I cant keep up anymore lol

@NEStalgia I have to say that's a brilliant post, articulated 100 times better than I ever could