This is a good thing. Exclusives are important as they are the major differentiating factor between consoles. Home-grown exclusives made by the console manufactures own studios that is. However, 3rd party or timed exclusivity should NOT be a thing. If you're a multiplatform publisher, your game should release on EVERY platform that can run your game, and if you asked ANY multiplatform developer's opinion on this 9/10 of them would share the same sentiment.
The font is the same as Super Mario World, the name is deliberately similar as well. The game itself looks like complete ass in comparison to Mario Kart World. All the console storefronts have garbage like this in them though.
Cool for anyone who wants to try the game out first before buying it. As a GP Ultimate subscriber we get EA Play included so Xbox players can play EA Sports trials without paying extra. To get the 10-hr trial on PS5 and PS4 I used to pay $10 (CAD) for 1 month of EA Play, which then gives you a discount of around $10 on the game if I decided to buy it.
Played one game of Play Now, couldn't score a goal. Played 5 or 6 games of HUT Cup Chase. Much better idea than the old Squad Battles. The little picture-in-picture in the top right corner when goalies get pulled or players come out of the penalty box is cool. The goalies are better with the new desperation/last second saves. Skating feels a bit slower overall and it's harder to throw big hits or hip checks on defense which is a good thing. Also poking the puck off the attacking forward's stick is harder, thus the opposition tends to get more scoring chances than last year. The menus have improved (they couldn't really get much worse), especially in HUT where you can see all 4 forward lines all 3 D-pairings and both goalies on one screen. I don't play World of CHEL, Be a Pro, Franchise etc. All I normally play is Play Now, Season Mode, Playoff Mode and HUT. So as a hockey fan who's purchased this game EVERY year since the OG NHL Hockey on Genesis, it's a tradition to play the new NHL game in anticipation of the new hockey season starting in just a few weeks. I'd give it an 8/10.
So as someone who appreciates "Souls-like" games but normally gets too frustrated by them and quits playing fairly quickly I have two questions: (1) How difficult is it compared to other Souls games? (2) is there a difficulty setting?
@Millionski Yeah I fell for the "mid-gen upgrade" last generation as I bought the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. To be fair the One X was quite a leap from the base Xbox One. I got the PS4 Pro basically to have an excuse to buy a 4K TV and also it was supposed to boost performance of PSVR games.
This generation I've been happy with the base PS5 and the Series X. I bought 2 Series X's, one for me and one for my son about 4 years ago and we've played 95% of our multiplatform games on them ever since as we game share digitally, saving thousands not having to buy 2 copies of each game. We both have the Elite Series 2 controllers and love them too.
Plus, I have a buddy who works at Microsoft so we get a friends and family discount with Game Pass at half price and we can get peripherals (controllers, headsets etc.) for half price through him as well.
I personally love my Series X. I play the majority of multiplats on it as it's slightly more powerful than PS5 and I'm not about to drop $1,000 CAD on a PS5 Pro.
Also, I love the Elite Series 2 controller. I'm so used to having the back paddles as replacements for clicking in the analog sticks that it's hard to switch back to the Dualsense for some of the same games.
Call me crazy too I guess but from my experience owning both consoles, the Series X a lot of times has faster loading times than the PS5 even though Sony bragged to no end about how much faster their custom SSD was. Also the Series X is much quieter and even though it's just a box, at least it doesn't look like a giant router or something from an alien ship.
If BGIII was 50% off, I'd double dip. I actually waited for the Series X release (even though I had a PS5) because I game share with my son who doesn't have a PS5 so we buy all of our multiplats on Xbox. When it FINALLY launched on Xbox, it had a game-breaking, super frustrating game save glitch where you saves would just get wiped! So I refunded it and bought it on PS5.
"Not only did we fire over 9,000 employees to invest 80 Billion in AI, we thought we'd slap you in the face with this ghetto AI image showing you how much better AI is at your job than you were, except that it's not...
Somehow I feel like this will change between now and whenever "Next Gen" starts. I feel like Microsoft may just hand off hardware to an OEM and slap an Xbox logo on the box like the ROG Ally. And even IF the next hardware is produced/manufactured by M$, it will most certainly be the last one before they go full 3rd party.
Not really. I'm a console gamer for a reason. Also for those who think that even if it has Steam integration that would mean access to Sony's 1st party PC ports, don't hold your breath. Sony will block those games from the Xbox console, so it'll be a curated version of Steam.
@Titntin You're a prime example of what I've been talking about. You said it and I agree, Game Pass is generally a great value for most consumers. No one argues that point. Is it good enough value for the majority of subscribers to STAY subscribed for the entire year though? Obviously not for everyone, which is again why subscription numbers have been stagnant, with a trickle-down effect of poor Xbox hardware sales.
@WildConcept6 Well the reason anyone should be concerned beyond being an Xbox fanboy is the investment they've made in the Xbox ecosystem. IF Game Pass proves to be unsustainable / stagnant and the bean counters at Microsoft decide to kill the Xbox division, specifically the hardware division, I think anyone out there who has invested in and built up a massive digital library would want some way to play those games in the event there is no next Xbox. Some will say "well just play them on PC". I'm talking console-only gamers here. There isn't nearly as much intersection between die-hard console gamers and the "PC Master Race" type crowd as what some think. Just look at sales of Sony's 1st party titles on PC for evidence of this. So, as a console-only gamer what happens to my games if there's no Xbox console? Would Microsoft make a way to transfer your game licenses from Xbox to PlayStation or Nintendo?
So I guess that's what most people are concerned about. Sure some are flat out Xbox fanboys who drink the Kool-Aid and believe every word from Uncle Phil's mouth, so their vested interests are just in unapologetically, blindly propping up the brand. Conversely there are the "Sony Pony" types or Nintendo fanboys who hate Xbox and make it their life's mission to call out or put down Xbox every chance they get. But for the rest of the gamers out there, I suppose they just want to know that they haven't wasted multiple thousands of dollars on something that won't continue on.
The other big one is that I personally don't want to see the Xbox hardware division to go the way of Sega because I don't want Sony to just have complete, uncontested free reign over the high-end home console market.
@WildConcept6 Owning more studios and thus more game franchises also means that the costs of development, marketing and distribution now fall on YOU. IF you're not "selling" as many of those titles as you need to in order to break even or make a profit, largely due to the games releasing essentially "free" day one on your subscription service, then the only other way to make it work is to increase your subscriber base. That really isn't happening, at least not even close to the rate they had hoped or need it to.
@Cakefish Sounds great in a press release but "up 30% on PC" from what to what? So last I read, estimated GP subs across Xbox and PC combined was around 34 million or thereabouts. So does PC increasing by 30% bring that up to 35 million? 40 million?
That's another problem with Game Pass (and to some extent other subscription services). How many new customers only bought 1-month subs just to play Black Ops 6 during the hot, release window or Indiana Jones to beat the story, then not renew the next month? People do the same with Stranger Things on Netflix or The Mandalorian on Disney+ but they have MUCH larger subscriber bases so losing subs doesn't affect them as much.
How can Microsoft market Game Pass more / better in order to increase subscriptions?
I have a feeling that in it's current state with it's current subscriber-base, it's unsustainable. The amount of content coming to the service is incredible value for the consumer. Game Pass truly IS the "Netflix of Gaming", but they just can't seem to convince enough people out there of this. And I'm not talking JUST console sales-wise, but IF "This is an Xbox" or "This is an Xbox", then why not a spike in subscriptions?
30 Million consoles sold roughly half way (or 3/4 depending on when the next Xbox launches) through the generation isn't THAT bad. Comparing their situation to Sega is apples and oranges. For one, the Dreamcast only sold 9 million units in it's entire lifespan. Secondly Sega did not have a service like Game Pass to generate billions in revenue.
I'm not sure what the future of Xbox as a dedicated console is, however the talking heads at Xbox have stated there will be at least one more console generation from them.
@BacklogBrad Sure, I know and you know that even if the big tentpole Xbox flagship titles like Halo, Gears and Forza start to come to PS and Nintendo, there is still huge value playing them on Xbox in (a) them being "free" Day 1 on GP or (b) being first on Xbox - like Indiana Jones which I played and beat over the holidays and have zero interest in replaying on PS for $90 CAD. And yes having the biggest annualized franchise in gaming releasing "free" on Day 1 on GP going forward SHOULD attract more people to GP and Xbox, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
@BacklogBrad Dude I own a Series X and really like it. In fact I play 90% of my multiplatform games on it as my son and I game share so we've saved a couple grand over the past 3 or 4 years going that route as opposed to me buying every game twice (one on PS, one on XB). My PS5 is basically an exclusive box. Also, getting MS Studios games for essentially "free" Day 1 on GP is awesome...for me a the player. How sustainable is it for M$ though? So I'm not wishing or rooting for Xbox to stop making hardware at all. I'm just questioning the feasibility of Xbox hardware going forward in the current landscape.
@BacklogBrad Sony's combined sales of PS4 and PS5 is roughly 190 million and counting. So figuring in overlap from people who own both what is half? If 75% of PS users own both, then that would be about 47 million still clinging to their PS4's, so a big market to just ignore and cut off from new releases. And when Sony sold 118 million PS4's (compared to around 58 million Xbox One's) of course they would say the PS4 is still a major part of their strategy - to sell as many copies of their games and keep people in their ecosystem, eventually getting those people to upgrade to PS5. The point being there has to be some hook or incentive for users to want to upgrade to PS5. What incentive does anyone who currently owns a Series X or S have to be excited or want the next Xbox console?
Xbox hardware IS struggling. It has been for over a decade now. Microsoft's change in direction with Game Pass and now going multiplatform is not because they're "the good guys" who want to "make gaming more accessible to everyone" - that's just pure corporate marketing spin. It's because the Xbox business as a console IS failing! It's so clearly obvious!
As a software publisher though, you're correct Xbox is not struggling.
@BacklogBrad Selling PS5's hasn't been difficult at all. PS5 is selling at a faster rate in North America and about the same pace as PS4 wordwide at this stage of the generation, despite being more expensive. Don't lump Xbox's failures and new direction with the rest of the industry. Nintendo and Sony are both going to keep selling tons of units of their hardware as well as releasing tons of exclusive (in PS's case "console-exclusive") games.
@BacklogBrad I mean one could look at it like this; If you sell 60 million consoles at little to no profit or even a loss compared to 30 million consoles, what does it really matter to Microsoft? However if the goal is to significantly grow their subscriber base for Game Pass, the best way to do that is on actual Xbox consoles. But with roughly only 30 million units of Series X/S sold thus far, which is behind the pace of Xbox One (which was considered a failure after the success of the 360) what happens if they only sell 20 million of their next-gen hardware? People will immediately say "PC", however if that was the goldmine people say it is, then how come GP subs have been stagnant for a few years now? The way some people talk about the "promised land" of PC, you'd think GP would have 60 million subs by now but in reality they're only at around 35 million even WITH COD Black Ops 6. So what's the solution? Probably very likely putting the GP service on PS and Nintendo, thus further diminishing the importance or relevance of Xbox consoles.
@TheEstablishment It's pretty widely known that console manufacturers typically either lose money or make very little profit off of every unit sold. So if the bean counters at M$ keep seeing hardware sales declining steeply every quarter, coupled with how much $$ they're making from the sale of games on PS and Nintendo, at some point you have to think they'll ask themselves what the point is? The investment in R&D, marketing, shipping units, repairs/warranty claims etc? They've said they're committed to at least one more generation of hardware, but if current trends continue, I can't see them staying in the hardware market after that.
it's 2024, of course the lead character is a female. Let's see. Returnal, Stellar Blade, Hellblade, TLoU Part 2, Control, Horizon, the upcoming Ghost of Yotei and the just-announced new Naughty Dog game and now this game...
However there have always been female leads in games such as in Metroid, Tomb Raider, Bayonetta, Perfect Dark and more.
So I don't know, in a way it does feel like there's a bit of an agenda but is it as egregious as some are making it out to be?
I try not to get TOO excited for the Game Awards. However, unfortunately it's kind of the closest thing we have these days to an e3. So if you can endure the copious amounts of mobile game ads, DLC & microtransaction announcements and fluff award categories that most gamers could care less about, hopefully there will still be some cool stuff announced / revealed in the 3+ hour show.
What most authors of really any article regarding this topic miss or fail to mention is the difference between "home grown" flagship Xbox IPs and already-established, traditionally multiplatform IP that Microsoft now happens to own.
Call of Duty, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Minecraft and others - all now owned by Microsoft yet STILL multiplatform. Why? Because they always have been and it would be stupid for Microsoft to lock these series to a single console for 2 reasons. Financially and public perception-wise. They'd be vilified by the much larger PlayStation and Nintendo (to some extent) player bases, while also losing out on hundreds of millions in profits. It's also why OF COURSE Indiana Jones is coming to PS5 - because you can't (or shouldn't) take a massively popular, world-wide beloved license / character and lock it down to a single platform. Honestly I feel the same way about Spider-Man and Sony.
Rare games like Killer Instinct? Perfect Dark? A new Conker or Banjo? - Tough to say because a lot of people still largely associate those games with Nintendo, so IF they end up going multiplatform (perhaps after a period of timed-exclusivity), that wouldn't be shocking.
Games like Halo, Gears, Fable, Forza on the other hand? Those are FAR different, because they're titles "born on Xbox". They're franchises that have played a HUGE roll in shaping the identity and soul of the Xbox brand.
So even though ALL of the game series I mentioned are owned by Microsoft, it's much more complex than people think as far as deciding which games go where and when and which games wont.
@armondo36 it came from them monopolizing the home PC OS and productivity software markets. No one is actually a "fan" of Windows or Office. Much different than video games and video game consoles.
@armondo36 "Software" Windows and Office - pretty much a monopoly. I wouldn't say they're great at selling software, Windows comes pre-installed on every PC and you pretty much need Office. No one is excited or enthusiastic about buying their software.
@HonestHick Ok so riddle me this. If exclusive content makes little to no difference why did the PS4 destroy Xbox One & why is PS5 destroying Xbox Series X/S?
Kojima is a creator. As such he wants to make his content available to the widest audience possible. Ask any developer and they'd tell you (at least off the record) that if it were up to them, their games would be available everywhere. Great that Xbox players can now experience this very strange and great game.
I love my Series X. I play 95% of multiplatform games on it as my son and I game share digitally, saving us thousands over the past 3 or 4 years. It's just as fast loading (on average) as PS5 and it's much more quiet. Plus, even though the DualSense is neat with some neat features, most of them are gimmicky and don't make a lot of difference in most games other than 1st party Sony games, I've grown to like the Xbox controller more. I find it more comfortable to hold in my hands and I love my Elite Series 2, especially the battery charge life which absolutely stomps the DualSense (and DualSense Edge). My PS5 is basically for PS exclusives only, thus I play my Series X far more on average.
you have to have at least a few console-exclusives to attract people to your box and to differentiate your box from the other guys. My thoughts on Microsoft's new strategy have always been that traditionally multiplatform games such as Doom, Call of Duty, Diablo etc were always going to remain multiplatform. Games like Sea of Thieves makes sense as the more players the better. Grounded, Hifi Rush and Pentiment are all such minor titles, no one really associated them with Xbox in the first place. Huge licensed properties such as Indiana Jones - makes sense that it's also going over to PS5. However, tentpole or flagship Xbox franchises such as Halo, Gears, Fable, Forza will NOT be released on rival consoles. The day that happens would truly be the day the Xbox brand as a console would die.
"Xbox has added "hundreds of millions of players" to its ecosystem - a figure that should also be a nice boost for the platform as we move towards an interesting future for Xbox."
I get what "ecosystem" and "platform" mean - Game Pass...
However as an old vet of the "Console Wars" part of me still can't help but hope that also means increased Xbox console sales going forward as well.
PS5 - I only buy Sony's 1st party exclusives or 3rd party console exclusives. Usually physically as well.
Xbox Series X - I buy ALL multiplatform games on Xbox digitally so me and my son can share, getting all our games essentially 2 for the price of 1, saving us a ***** ton of $$. I also play all Microsoft Studios games on Game Pass Ultimate.
Switch - Obviously for Nintendo exclusives (because why own a Switch if you're not playing Nintendo's own games?), usually physically and I also tend to buy all pixel-art type indie titles and all retro compilations like Contra Collection, Castlevania Collection, TMNT Cowabunga Collection, FF Pixel Remaster etc on the Switch. Maybe just because they feel more "at home" on a Nintendo console? Plus I absolutely love playing any of these 8-bit / 16-bit or pixel art 2D side scrollers with the Super NES Switch Online Controller.
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Re: Square Enix Confirms That Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth & Part 3 Are Coming To Xbox
This is a good thing. Exclusives are important as they are the major differentiating factor between consoles. Home-grown exclusives made by the console manufactures own studios that is. However, 3rd party or timed exclusivity should NOT be a thing. If you're a multiplatform publisher, your game should release on EVERY platform that can run your game, and if you asked ANY multiplatform developer's opinion on this 9/10 of them would share the same sentiment.
Re: Mario Kart World Has A Ridiculous New Rip-Off On The Xbox Store
The font is the same as Super Mario World, the name is deliberately similar as well. The game itself looks like complete ass in comparison to Mario Kart World. All the console storefronts have garbage like this in them though.
Re: How To Download The Free NHL 26 Trial With EA Play & Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Cool for anyone who wants to try the game out first before buying it. As a GP Ultimate subscriber we get EA Play included so Xbox players can play EA Sports trials without paying extra. To get the 10-hr trial on PS5 and PS4 I used to pay $10 (CAD) for 1 month of EA Play, which then gives you a discount of around $10 on the game if I decided to buy it.
Re: Review: NHL 26 - The Best Hockey Game Of The Xbox Series X|S Generation, Despite Feeling Overly Familiar
Played one game of Play Now, couldn't score a goal. Played 5 or 6 games of HUT Cup Chase. Much better idea than the old Squad Battles. The little picture-in-picture in the top right corner when goalies get pulled or players come out of the penalty box is cool. The goalies are better with the new desperation/last second saves. Skating feels a bit slower overall and it's harder to throw big hits or hip checks on defense which is a good thing. Also poking the puck off the attacking forward's stick is harder, thus the opposition tends to get more scoring chances than last year. The menus have improved (they couldn't really get much worse), especially in HUT where you can see all 4 forward lines all 3 D-pairings and both goalies on one screen. I don't play World of CHEL, Be a Pro, Franchise etc. All I normally play is Play Now, Season Mode, Playoff Mode and HUT. So as a hockey fan who's purchased this game EVERY year since the OG NHL Hockey on Genesis, it's a tradition to play the new NHL game in anticipation of the new hockey season starting in just a few weeks. I'd give it an 8/10.
Re: Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Gets First Update On Xbox Game Pass, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
@Poosky Thank you for the thorough description, greatly appreciated, I may give it a shot since it's on GP.
Re: Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Gets First Update On Xbox Game Pass, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
So as someone who appreciates "Souls-like" games but normally gets too frustrated by them and quits playing fairly quickly I have two questions: (1) How difficult is it compared to other Souls games? (2) is there a difficulty setting?
Re: Microsoft Movies & TV Is Officially Ending, Which Will Have A Big Impact On Xbox
Slowly chipping away, year by year, month by month, week by week and day by day...
Re: Opinion: Xbox Series X Still Hasn't Been Fully Utilised Yet, But 2026 Could Be The Year
@Millionski Yeah I fell for the "mid-gen upgrade" last generation as I bought the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. To be fair the One X was quite a leap from the base Xbox One. I got the PS4 Pro basically to have an excuse to buy a 4K TV and also it was supposed to boost performance of PSVR games.
This generation I've been happy with the base PS5 and the Series X. I bought 2 Series X's, one for me and one for my son about 4 years ago and we've played 95% of our multiplatform games on them ever since as we game share digitally, saving thousands not having to buy 2 copies of each game. We both have the Elite Series 2 controllers and love them too.
Plus, I have a buddy who works at Microsoft so we get a friends and family discount with Game Pass at half price and we can get peripherals (controllers, headsets etc.) for half price through him as well.
Re: Opinion: Xbox Series X Still Hasn't Been Fully Utilised Yet, But 2026 Could Be The Year
I personally love my Series X. I play the majority of multiplats on it as it's slightly more powerful than PS5 and I'm not about to drop $1,000 CAD on a PS5 Pro.
Also, I love the Elite Series 2 controller. I'm so used to having the back paddles as replacements for clicking in the analog sticks that it's hard to switch back to the Dualsense for some of the same games.
Call me crazy too I guess but from my experience owning both consoles, the Series X a lot of times has faster loading times than the PS5 even though Sony bragged to no end about how much faster their custom SSD was. Also the Series X is much quieter and even though it's just a box, at least it doesn't look like a giant router or something from an alien ship.
Re: Talking Point: The Xbox Summer Sale 2025 Is Upon Us, So What Are You Hoping To See?
If BGIII was 50% off, I'd double dip. I actually waited for the Series X release (even though I had a PS5) because I game share with my son who doesn't have a PS5 so we buy all of our multiplats on Xbox. When it FINALLY launched on Xbox, it had a game-breaking, super frustrating game save glitch where you saves would just get wiped! So I refunded it and bought it on PS5.
Re: Xbox Is Using The Most Ridiculous AI Image To Advertise New Jobs
"Not only did we fire over 9,000 employees to invest 80 Billion in AI, we thought we'd slap you in the face with this ghetto AI image showing you how much better AI is at your job than you were, except that it's not...
Re: Xbox Next-Gen Console Plans 'Not Impacted' By Microsoft Layoffs
Somehow I feel like this will change between now and whenever "Next Gen" starts. I feel like Microsoft may just hand off hardware to an OEM and slap an Xbox logo on the box like the ROG Ally. And even IF the next hardware is produced/manufactured by M$, it will most certainly be the last one before they go full 3rd party.
Re: Random: Oreo Xbox Series S Owner Shows Off Their 'Monstrosity' Of A Console
Hideous, but very limited/rare and will likely be worth a lot in the future.
Re: Talking Point: If The Next-Gen Xbox Is More 'PC-Like', Will You Still Buy It?
Not really. I'm a console gamer for a reason. Also for those who think that even if it has Steam integration that would mean access to Sony's 1st party PC ports, don't hold your breath. Sony will block those games from the Xbox console, so it'll be a curated version of Steam.
Re: Roundup: All The Reveals From February 2025's Xbox Indie Showcase
@Titntin You're a prime example of what I've been talking about. You said it and I agree, Game Pass is generally a great value for most consumers. No one argues that point. Is it good enough value for the majority of subscribers to STAY subscribed for the entire year though? Obviously not for everyone, which is again why subscription numbers have been stagnant, with a trickle-down effect of poor Xbox hardware sales.
Re: Roundup: All The Reveals From February 2025's Xbox Indie Showcase
@WildConcept6 Well the reason anyone should be concerned beyond being an Xbox fanboy is the investment they've made in the Xbox ecosystem. IF Game Pass proves to be unsustainable / stagnant and the bean counters at Microsoft decide to kill the Xbox division, specifically the hardware division, I think anyone out there who has invested in and built up a massive digital library would want some way to play those games in the event there is no next Xbox. Some will say "well just play them on PC". I'm talking console-only gamers here. There isn't nearly as much intersection between die-hard console gamers and the "PC Master Race" type crowd as what some think. Just look at sales of Sony's 1st party titles on PC for evidence of this. So, as a console-only gamer what happens to my games if there's no Xbox console? Would Microsoft make a way to transfer your game licenses from Xbox to PlayStation or Nintendo?
So I guess that's what most people are concerned about. Sure some are flat out Xbox fanboys who drink the Kool-Aid and believe every word from Uncle Phil's mouth, so their vested interests are just in unapologetically, blindly propping up the brand. Conversely there are the "Sony Pony" types or Nintendo fanboys who hate Xbox and make it their life's mission to call out or put down Xbox every chance they get. But for the rest of the gamers out there, I suppose they just want to know that they haven't wasted multiple thousands of dollars on something that won't continue on.
The other big one is that I personally don't want to see the Xbox hardware division to go the way of Sega because I don't want Sony to just have complete, uncontested free reign over the high-end home console market.
Re: Roundup: All The Reveals From February 2025's Xbox Indie Showcase
@Cakefish I hope that is true.
Re: Roundup: All The Reveals From February 2025's Xbox Indie Showcase
@WildConcept6 Owning more studios and thus more game franchises also means that the costs of development, marketing and distribution now fall on YOU. IF you're not "selling" as many of those titles as you need to in order to break even or make a profit, largely due to the games releasing essentially "free" day one on your subscription service, then the only other way to make it work is to increase your subscriber base. That really isn't happening, at least not even close to the rate they had hoped or need it to.
Re: Roundup: All The Reveals From February 2025's Xbox Indie Showcase
@Cakefish Sounds great in a press release but "up 30% on PC" from what to what? So last I read, estimated GP subs across Xbox and PC combined was around 34 million or thereabouts. So does PC increasing by 30% bring that up to 35 million? 40 million?
That's another problem with Game Pass (and to some extent other subscription services). How many new customers only bought 1-month subs just to play Black Ops 6 during the hot, release window or Indiana Jones to beat the story, then not renew the next month? People do the same with Stranger Things on Netflix or The Mandalorian on Disney+ but they have MUCH larger subscriber bases so losing subs doesn't affect them as much.
Re: Roundup: All The Reveals From February 2025's Xbox Indie Showcase
How can Microsoft market Game Pass more / better in order to increase subscriptions?
I have a feeling that in it's current state with it's current subscriber-base, it's unsustainable. The amount of content coming to the service is incredible value for the consumer. Game Pass truly IS the "Netflix of Gaming", but they just can't seem to convince enough people out there of this. And I'm not talking JUST console sales-wise, but IF "This is an Xbox" or "This is an Xbox", then why not a spike in subscriptions?
Re: January Hardware Sales The Worst Since 2020 In The US As Xbox Consoles Decline By 50%
@nomither6 Everything is more expensive in Canada...
Re: New Financial Report Provides Estimated Xbox Series X|S Sales Figure As Of Late 2024
30 Million consoles sold roughly half way (or 3/4 depending on when the next Xbox launches) through the generation isn't THAT bad. Comparing their situation to Sega is apples and oranges. For one, the Dreamcast only sold 9 million units in it's entire lifespan. Secondly Sega did not have a service like Game Pass to generate billions in revenue.
I'm not sure what the future of Xbox as a dedicated console is, however the talking heads at Xbox have stated there will be at least one more console generation from them.
Re: Xbox's Multiplatform Releases Made Microsoft The Top Game Publisher In The World Last Month
@BacklogBrad Sure, I know and you know that even if the big tentpole Xbox flagship titles like Halo, Gears and Forza start to come to PS and Nintendo, there is still huge value playing them on Xbox in (a) them being "free" Day 1 on GP or (b) being first on Xbox - like Indiana Jones which I played and beat over the holidays and have zero interest in replaying on PS for $90 CAD. And yes having the biggest annualized franchise in gaming releasing "free" on Day 1 on GP going forward SHOULD attract more people to GP and Xbox, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Re: Xbox's Multiplatform Releases Made Microsoft The Top Game Publisher In The World Last Month
@BacklogBrad Dude I own a Series X and really like it. In fact I play 90% of my multiplatform games on it as my son and I game share so we've saved a couple grand over the past 3 or 4 years going that route as opposed to me buying every game twice (one on PS, one on XB). My PS5 is basically an exclusive box. Also, getting MS Studios games for essentially "free" Day 1 on GP is awesome...for me a the player. How sustainable is it for M$ though? So I'm not wishing or rooting for Xbox to stop making hardware at all. I'm just questioning the feasibility of Xbox hardware going forward in the current landscape.
Re: Xbox's Multiplatform Releases Made Microsoft The Top Game Publisher In The World Last Month
@BacklogBrad Sony's combined sales of PS4 and PS5 is roughly 190 million and counting. So figuring in overlap from people who own both what is half? If 75% of PS users own both, then that would be about 47 million still clinging to their PS4's, so a big market to just ignore and cut off from new releases. And when Sony sold 118 million PS4's (compared to around 58 million Xbox One's) of course they would say the PS4 is still a major part of their strategy - to sell as many copies of their games and keep people in their ecosystem, eventually getting those people to upgrade to PS5. The point being there has to be some hook or incentive for users to want to upgrade to PS5. What incentive does anyone who currently owns a Series X or S have to be excited or want the next Xbox console?
Xbox hardware IS struggling. It has been for over a decade now. Microsoft's change in direction with Game Pass and now going multiplatform is not because they're "the good guys" who want to "make gaming more accessible to everyone" - that's just pure corporate marketing spin. It's because the Xbox business as a console IS failing! It's so clearly obvious!
As a software publisher though, you're correct Xbox is not struggling.
Re: Xbox's Multiplatform Releases Made Microsoft The Top Game Publisher In The World Last Month
@BacklogBrad Selling PS5's hasn't been difficult at all. PS5 is selling at a faster rate in North America and about the same pace as PS4 wordwide at this stage of the generation, despite being more expensive. Don't lump Xbox's failures and new direction with the rest of the industry. Nintendo and Sony are both going to keep selling tons of units of their hardware as well as releasing tons of exclusive (in PS's case "console-exclusive") games.
Re: Xbox's Multiplatform Releases Made Microsoft The Top Game Publisher In The World Last Month
@BacklogBrad I mean one could look at it like this; If you sell 60 million consoles at little to no profit or even a loss compared to 30 million consoles, what does it really matter to Microsoft? However if the goal is to significantly grow their subscriber base for Game Pass, the best way to do that is on actual Xbox consoles. But with roughly only 30 million units of Series X/S sold thus far, which is behind the pace of Xbox One (which was considered a failure after the success of the 360) what happens if they only sell 20 million of their next-gen hardware? People will immediately say "PC", however if that was the goldmine people say it is, then how come GP subs have been stagnant for a few years now? The way some people talk about the "promised land" of PC, you'd think GP would have 60 million subs by now but in reality they're only at around 35 million even WITH COD Black Ops 6. So what's the solution? Probably very likely putting the GP service on PS and Nintendo, thus further diminishing the importance or relevance of Xbox consoles.
Re: Xbox's Multiplatform Releases Made Microsoft The Top Game Publisher In The World Last Month
@TheEstablishment It's pretty widely known that console manufacturers typically either lose money or make very little profit off of every unit sold. So if the bean counters at M$ keep seeing hardware sales declining steeply every quarter, coupled with how much $$ they're making from the sale of games on PS and Nintendo, at some point you have to think they'll ask themselves what the point is? The investment in R&D, marketing, shipping units, repairs/warranty claims etc? They've said they're committed to at least one more generation of hardware, but if current trends continue, I can't see them staying in the hardware market after that.
Re: Xbox's Multiplatform Releases Made Microsoft The Top Game Publisher In The World Last Month
@BacklogBrad Not sure about the future of Xbox as an actual box, but definitely as a publisher for sure.
Re: Surprise! Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Launches Today On Xbox Game Pass
40 years old and have been gaming for 28 years and Never heard of Ninja Gaiden? Really?! I find that baffling!
Re: Surprise! Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Launches Today On Xbox Game Pass
@Darude84 Don't know the series?! How old are you out of curiosity?
Re: CD Projekt RED Officially Unveils 'The Witcher 4' With Lengthy Cinematic
it's 2024, of course the lead character is a female. Let's see. Returnal, Stellar Blade, Hellblade, TLoU Part 2, Control, Horizon, the upcoming Ghost of Yotei and the just-announced new Naughty Dog game and now this game...
However there have always been female leads in games such as in Metroid, Tomb Raider, Bayonetta, Perfect Dark and more.
So I don't know, in a way it does feel like there's a bit of an agenda but is it as egregious as some are making it out to be?
Re: The Game Awards 2024: Date, Start Times & Everything You Need To Know
I try not to get TOO excited for the Game Awards. However, unfortunately it's kind of the closest thing we have these days to an e3. So if you can endure the copious amounts of mobile game ads, DLC & microtransaction announcements and fluff award categories that most gamers could care less about, hopefully there will still be some cool stuff announced / revealed in the 3+ hour show.
Re: Xbox's Matt Booty Talks PS5 Ports, Explains How The Scheduling Works
What most authors of really any article regarding this topic miss or fail to mention is the difference between "home grown" flagship Xbox IPs and already-established, traditionally multiplatform IP that Microsoft now happens to own.
Call of Duty, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Minecraft and others - all now owned by Microsoft yet STILL multiplatform. Why? Because they always have been and it would be stupid for Microsoft to lock these series to a single console for 2 reasons. Financially and public perception-wise. They'd be vilified by the much larger PlayStation and Nintendo (to some extent) player bases, while also losing out on hundreds of millions in profits. It's also why OF COURSE Indiana Jones is coming to PS5 - because you can't (or shouldn't) take a massively popular, world-wide beloved license / character and lock it down to a single platform. Honestly I feel the same way about Spider-Man and Sony.
Rare games like Killer Instinct? Perfect Dark? A new Conker or Banjo? - Tough to say because a lot of people still largely associate those games with Nintendo, so IF they end up going multiplatform (perhaps after a period of timed-exclusivity), that wouldn't be shocking.
Games like Halo, Gears, Fable, Forza on the other hand? Those are FAR different, because they're titles "born on Xbox". They're franchises that have played a HUGE roll in shaping the identity and soul of the Xbox brand.
So even though ALL of the game series I mentioned are owned by Microsoft, it's much more complex than people think as far as deciding which games go where and when and which games wont.
Re: Review: Indiana Jones And The Great Circle (Xbox) - A MachineGames Misfire
@posthipster Indy is WAY more polished than Stalker 2.
Re: Review: Indiana Jones And The Great Circle (Xbox) - A MachineGames Misfire
@awp69 When the average meta score for a game is in the high 80's based on over 50 reviews, chances are they're more accurate than one dude's opinion.
I've played the first few hours of the game and as a lifelong fan of the Indiana Jones franchise, I personally love the game thus far.
Re: Reaction: Like It Or Not, Xbox Has Gone Full Throttle On Multiplatform
@armondo36 it came from them monopolizing the home PC OS and productivity software markets. No one is actually a "fan" of Windows or Office. Much different than video games and video game consoles.
Re: Phil Spencer Thinks Stalker 2 Could Be An Xbox Game Of The Year Contender
The Game Awards will be announcing their nominees on Nov 18th
Once again the nominees will be dominated by:
PS Exclusives
Nintendo Exclusives
3rd party bangers
and...
ZERO Xbox games
Re: Reaction: Like It Or Not, Xbox Has Gone Full Throttle On Multiplatform
@armondo36 "Software" Windows and Office - pretty much a monopoly. I wouldn't say they're great at selling software, Windows comes pre-installed on every PC and you pretty much need Office. No one is excited or enthusiastic about buying their software.
Re: Reaction: Like It Or Not, Xbox Has Gone Full Throttle On Multiplatform
@BacklogBrad Yeah those measly 145 million Nintendo weirdos...
Re: Reaction: Like It Or Not, Xbox Has Gone Full Throttle On Multiplatform
R.I.P. Xbox
2001 - 2024
Re: Xbox Boss Says Everything Is On The Table When It Comes To PS5 Ports
@HonestHick Ok so riddle me this. If exclusive content makes little to no difference why did the PS4 destroy Xbox One & why is PS5 destroying Xbox Series X/S?
Re: Xbox Boss Says Everything Is On The Table When It Comes To PS5 Ports
IF they do end up bringing the flagship Xbox franchises to other consoles, they may as well stop making Xbox hardware altogether.
Re: Gears Of War: E-Day Will Contain Original Voice Actors For Marcus & Dom
Very nice! Some of the best parts of the OG Gears of War trilogy was the banter between Marcus, Dom and the boys!
Re: Surprise! Death Stranding Director's Cut Is Now Available On Xbox Series X|S
Kojima is a creator. As such he wants to make his content available to the widest audience possible. Ask any developer and they'd tell you (at least off the record) that if it were up to them, their games would be available everywhere. Great that Xbox players can now experience this very strange and great game.
Re: Soapbox: Four Years On, I'm Already Nostalgic For The Early Xbox Series X|S Era
I love my Series X. I play 95% of multiplatform games on it as my son and I game share digitally, saving us thousands over the past 3 or 4 years. It's just as fast loading (on average) as PS5 and it's much more quiet. Plus, even though the DualSense is neat with some neat features, most of them are gimmicky and don't make a lot of difference in most games other than 1st party Sony games, I've grown to like the Xbox controller more. I find it more comfortable to hold in my hands and I love my Elite Series 2, especially the battery charge life which absolutely stomps the DualSense (and DualSense Edge). My PS5 is basically for PS exclusives only, thus I play my Series X far more on average.
Re: Talking Point: Which Of Late 2024's Biggest Xbox Releases Are You Most Excited For?
I'm 47 years old. The OG Indiana Jones trilogy is sacred to me. This looks like the Indy game I've always dreamed of. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.
Re: Microsoft CEO Gaming Division Update: 'We Continue To Extend Our Content To New Platforms'
you have to have at least a few console-exclusives to attract people to your box and to differentiate your box from the other guys. My thoughts on Microsoft's new strategy have always been that traditionally multiplatform games such as Doom, Call of Duty, Diablo etc were always going to remain multiplatform. Games like Sea of Thieves makes sense as the more players the better. Grounded, Hifi Rush and Pentiment are all such minor titles, no one really associated them with Xbox in the first place. Huge licensed properties such as Indiana Jones - makes sense that it's also going over to PS5. However, tentpole or flagship Xbox franchises such as Halo, Gears, Fable, Forza will NOT be released on rival consoles. The day that happens would truly be the day the Xbox brand as a console would die.
Re: Microsoft Boasts About Owning '20 Franchises That Have Generated Over $1 Billion'
"Xbox has added "hundreds of millions of players" to its ecosystem - a figure that should also be a nice boost for the platform as we move towards an interesting future for Xbox."
I get what "ecosystem" and "platform" mean - Game Pass...
However as an old vet of the "Console Wars" part of me still can't help but hope that also means increased Xbox console sales going forward as well.
Re: Talking Point: Xbox & Nintendo Switch Owners, How Do You Split Your Third-Party Purchases?
PS5 - I only buy Sony's 1st party exclusives or 3rd party console exclusives. Usually physically as well.
Xbox Series X - I buy ALL multiplatform games on Xbox digitally so me and my son can share, getting all our games essentially 2 for the price of 1, saving us a ***** ton of $$. I also play all Microsoft Studios games on Game Pass Ultimate.
Switch - Obviously for Nintendo exclusives (because why own a Switch if you're not playing Nintendo's own games?), usually physically and I also tend to buy all pixel-art type indie titles and all retro compilations like Contra Collection, Castlevania Collection, TMNT Cowabunga Collection, FF Pixel Remaster etc on the Switch. Maybe just because they feel more "at home" on a Nintendo console? Plus I absolutely love playing any of these 8-bit / 16-bit or pixel art 2D side scrollers with the Super NES Switch Online Controller.