TDHorizon

@badboidre Google Xbox customer service and click the live chat which takes you through to the AI bot which I believe you have done then follow these steps;

1. I want to speak to a human agent (then wait for response)
2. Click 'I can't play a digital game' (then wait for response) - (don't click issues with home xbox as that leads to nowhere)
3. Click 'Xbox console' (then wait for response)
4. Then click either 'request a call' or 'chat with us'

Hope this helps

@Grumblevolcano For anyone thats thinking about getting one, Argos still has Series X 1TB with disc drive for £499.99.

@BacklogBrad @Weebleman @MrStark How is the tax calculated on goods in the US, i know it differs by States. But a brand new Series X from Argos over here in the UK (1.2TB model) originally launched at £449.99 and since then is selling at an increased price of only £499.99 (including tax), that would equate to roughly $665 dollars. Why is the US getting stung with these prices?

I can see Mr Starks UK price at least not being too unreasonable, although I would raise it to £699.99.

@Zenszulu I completely agree.

With the reported monumental task of 30% margins they were aiming for originally, the reported target of 1 billion users a day, and not saving up enough RAM to keep console prices down, they really are putting the pressure on the Xbox division.

Anybody would think they're actively trying their best to kill off the division. I don't think they are but still. It's a lot of pressure for a division currently only achieving 3% margins.

@CaptainCluck As someone who has only played Halo 5 (and i did play it to death particularly the Warzone mode), when i booted up those prequel missions in particular I did think it was indeed very purple! Combine that with the energy swords swinging around, the plasma grenades going off, the needler explosions and grunt backpacks going off I was very close to grabbing my sunglasses!

@Fiendish-Beaver I'm the same, although I wanted to get some more trophies on RDR2 and put it down again for a bit to play Halo. Problem is I'm hooked to the RDR2 gameplay loop and I'm close to getting the platinum trophy as a result!

@Mr-Cage Sorry I meant putting money into Microsofts wallets!

Hopefully they make enough to greenlight the remakes of 2 & 3 for us over on PS as well as obviously a new mainline entry for those exclusively on Xbox.

@Mr-Cage I treated myself to the early access edition which i will be playing tonight and I've even booked off tomorrow to play. Gonna be playing on the Pro, so sending some financial love to my brothers on Team Green.

@Sol4ris I understand your logic but doesnt PC also have closed ecosystems. For example some games will only be available for purchase (legally/offocially through Steam). And some developers will be paid/choose to only offer their game through one storefront on PC?

Again I know nothing about PC but Im sure ages ago I remember some people being annoyed about a game or two only being available through a specific storefront or launcher etc

@Mr-Cage I have that same problem!

@Sindayl I don't buy day one a lot of the time. I like my open world games and my RPGs and in this day and age I know they're going to need half a year to a year of patches.

And if i do get FOMO and want to buy day one, theres a website called Shopto which sells PSN wallet top ups at a discount which makes day one prices a lot cheaper.

I've always been PS since the PS1 days when my parents bought me my first console.

I think it was my love for Destiny 1 when it came out that I really got the urge to try Halo. So i picked up a One purely for Halo 5.

At first I didnt like the weightless feeling of the guns compared to Destiny but then it really started to click. I poured hours into Warzone in particular, that was such a good mode!

And i cooped the campaign on Legendary with my friend. The 3 Warden fight was a bit of a challenge but a thrill once we finally beat it.

@General-Foley For the last few days over on PS we had new servers and everything was relatively smooth sailing, but now I've seen an article on Push Square that hackers have now figured a way to start disrupting the new ports as well.

@BethesdaBoyz Xbox players harp on about backwards compatibility but PS doesn't offer that so what's wrong with picking up the titles now they're available?

@MinervaX76 The formula for me with all the question marks isn't the issue, although I do prefer games like Elden Ring which lets you explore yourself, and games like Yotei which have a more organic way of uncovering the secrets on the map.

It's the fact that when you get to the question marks there is nothing of interest. No interesting loot. It's just another city, or another encampment, or another animal cave etc which could have been shown on the map from the start with no need for a question mark.

Now I haven't played every Ubi title so this may no longer be the case, the last one I remember playing was AC Odyssey. I dabbled a bit in FC6 and Avatar but after 10 hours of each i still wasn't in the mood for another of these titles.

However, I'm not an Ubi hater, I've got the platinum in all 3 Watch Dogs games which I thoroughly enjoyed. The first one is still my favourite by a country mile.

@Gabrie Just going by Google AI and not doing a full in depth research Outwer Worlds 2 has undersold compared to the first game and is sitting at currently under 1 million sales across all platforms and reportedly needs 2 million just to break even. 160,000 units supposedly sold on PS.

Avowed supposedly massively undersold (I have bought this on PS and have installed but havent played yet, finishing Starfield and GTA V first).

So whilst they may pump out top quality games, if theyre not bringing in the revenue which is what Microsoft are after, as a studio they could be in trouble.

@fatpunkslim I came here looking to see what your comment would be and it didn't disappoint 🤣

@fatpunkslim if you did your research you'd realise we won't lose our games after 30 days

If you did your research you'd realise the movies were revoked by Studio Canal licences

The Crew Motorfest or whatever it was called, revoked by Ubisoft not Sony

@ZYDIO It's not just Microsoft. There are tons of people from small startups to major corporations jumping in and placing ridiculous orders of RAM which has caused a massive backlog.

Manufacturing companies can't keep up with these rapid demands. To meet them they would also have to expand their own space, machine capacities, workforce etc and that's not happening at the speed of the AI startups. The manufacturers are probably also looking at it thinking this boom won't last forever and don't want to over commit too early in case the market crashes.

Confirmed pricing for UK is £70 for standard and £90 for deluxe edition

@The_Rankmeister Its £70

@AccessibleDaydream They were available on PS3. PS5 does not have backwards compatibility. These PS3 titles are now getting a specific port for the PS5. Same way Red Dead 1 was ported to PS4 and PS5 but Xbox Series could play Red Dead 1 anyway though backwards compatibility.

@NishimaruX Yes tools to reduce development time will definitely help with cost reduction but at the end of the day if you make a niche game that resonates with only a small audience then I doubt it will make much difference.

@PhileasFragg Exactly this. They also cant complain of people not buying their consoles at inflated prices due to RAM shortages, again because of their own push into AI.

@Spider-Kev Fable was at the Xbox showcase it didnt need to be at Future Games Showcase as well

@TheSimulator There was an article or a vod that the developers put out not too long ago saying that when they released that trailer it was just a concept trailer and it was announced way too early. It was announced only to generate hype for the current gen of consoles. At the time the game was nothing more than a bit of concept art and a word document and a trailer which would look nothing like the game.

@Banjo- "The plan is the plan until it's not the plan" - Asha Sharma

At the moment we can only take them at face value. The execs will constantly be monitoring decisions and flip flopping to meet their targets. The bottom line is all they care about.

@jumpin_jeeps We will have to wait and see!

@jumpin_jeeps I am a PS only guy and even I have no doubt that Xbox are going to have a banger of a showcase, especially Gears going back to its roots.

I'm hoping for a shadow drop of Halo Campaign Evolved but realistically I reckon that's still coming out end of July as the leaks suggest.

@themightyant There wont be many single player announced for Sony for many years unfortunately. Its still only been a year or two since they binned about 12-14 live service games that were deep into development

@oopsiezz Did you sell your PS5 Pro?

@somnambulance I still think its more likely to be the rumoured end of July but I too am hoping for a shadow drop! Im currently knee deep in Starfield on the PS5 which I am thoroughly enjoying and only Halo will cause me to put it on pause.

@oopsiezz Hopefully it's because they know they have a good show on their hands but I also hope they don't end on a PS6 teaser. I'm betting on a 2027 release but id personally prefer 2028.

@CaptainCluck It depends on the user. I for one cant go back and play older generations from PS3 backwards. If i lost access to those I wouldn't care.

Generally my backlog is also full of games so I tend not to revisit games either, including my favourites, i just like to move on to the next experience.

@swedetrap As a PS main Im quite psyched for it. But yes I agree with your statement in general, lets just focus on new IPs and good ones at that!

Unfortunately in this day and age where everything costs an arm and a leg, devs and investors choose to stick with what they think will get them a more reliable return rather than risk it on new ideas.

@Balaam_ I hope that doesn't happen but now you mention it I can completely see it going that way.

Won't make me personally buy an Xbox but i can see it luring some other players across to their ecosystem.

@Millionski It probably has to do with the astronomical amount they put down on the acquisition in the first place. I know they have some of the biggest money makers in that acquisition but it's probably going to take a while of game sales and microtransactions to get it all back. Maybe once they have made their money back they will put the titles on GP and rake in the profits through microtransactions alone. Who knows.

@GuyinPA75 Whilst I understand what you're getting at I would argue that a budget console like the S is a great idea.

However, Microsoft should remove the parity clause and if something cannot be optimised well enough for the budget version of the console then it shouldn't be released on it.

It's a slippery slope because you want people to be able to afford your console in some form, but then you dont want them to buy a console which only is capable of playing half of the new games available. I'm not smart enough to figure out the best option but at the beginning towards the middle of this gen I think the Series S has held its own.

@somnambulance Elden Ring is my favourite game of all time. I would also like to agree with you that its definitely a contender for game of the generation.

I'm sure others would give it to Baldur's Gate 3. I need to play more of it but I've never found enjoyment with turn based systems or similar. With BG3 specifically, I also got overwhelmed with the amount of options and sub-classes and specialisations and additional skills just within the initial character creator menu. It's a very deep game.

@TrollOfWar I think the opposite. i think they're going back to high budget single player games. The 15 games they canned a year or two ago they had in development were predominantly live service multiplayer titles. And these got canned after Concords failure.

They need to get their studios in line with however Sucker Punch manage to do things. Both Tsushima and Yotei had a similar budget of around 70-80 mil and absolutely killed it in sales and profit. I don't understand why other studios need to have this ridiculous £200mil plus budget. Excluding the superhero games which will have licensing costs, I just cant fathom how the other AAA games are costing the same.

@brn70121 I'm picking up Avowed on PS later this month. I'm not really into Bethesda style games but the gameplay looks massively improved over Elder Scrolls type games which is why I'm picking it up. I played Veilguard and loved it so much so that Inquisition is now in my backlog.

I think the sales numbers are first and foremost hurt by being an Xbox exclusive at least at launch. Secondly, Microsoft have unrealistic targets imposed on their Xbox brand. And thirdly Bethesda have received a lot of criticism in recent years for their gameplay style just feeling outdated, and the general consensus from skimming through online is I think people view Obsidians work as like a lesser version of Bethesda (rightly or wrongly of course I dont know).

@Realist Don't bother, he's always moaning about trophies over on Push Square too. Decides to miss out on great experiences because he's worried about his digital completion list that noone but him will look at.

@darylb24 Which was the hypothetical point I was trying to make. I want you to be able to continue to play on your favourite ecosystem (I'm presuming thats primarily an Xbox console as opposed to Xbox, PC, ROG Ally etc).

Microsoft are going from strength to strength in the software side of things absolutely as you rightly said. The only concern I had was that Microsoft tend to not let the more profitable sides of their business prop up others. So again hypothetically, I was saying maybe exclusives would be good to try and shift for more console units. Reason being is i didnt think they would consider using profits gained from the software side of things to offset any decline in revenue from the hardware side that was all.

Again its all hypothetical and as youve said the OG strategy clearly isnt working. However, they have such a library of IPs now that had they made them exclusive (COD, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Fable, Horizon, Halo, Gears among many others), in my mind there was a chance to also bring the hardware side of things back on par to where they used to be.

@fatpunkslim All valid points for sure. Apart from PS does have good 'console' exclusives in my opinion (As a PS player lol!) It's not just a FIFA machine i promise.

@fatpunkslim There were rumours circulating that PS may have their own PC storefront. Whilst this may be nothing, it may also be their way of not porting future games to Steam and therefore preventing them from being on Xbox. Not confirmed but food for thought.

All of your points are very valid but just because you like all of those features, there are a plenty that don't care about backwards compatibility. Games from the PS3/360 era have outdated gameplay and graphics and particularly the younger generation have no care for.

Mods, apps, and tools. If people cared that much they'd by a PC. Most console players want to press play on a game and be done with it.

Exclusives are still a massive factor looking particularly at Nintendo.

Again, performance increases won't be too noticeable. For the base consoles hasn't Xbox had the most powerful console for the past 2 generations and that didn't move the needle for them as much as they'd hoped. When you watch gameplay comparisons, without squinting your eyes and really taking the time to look, can you honestly point out any graphical differences between the Series X and PS5.

I'm not arguing with you I'm just trying to reiterate that a lot of people aren't overly fussed by the specifics you've mentioned which is why the console sales have gone the way they have.

@darylb24 I understand what you're saying but let's say your favourite place to play is an Xbox because of console features or the controller etc (I'm a PS lifer since PS1 days).

If sales on other platforms were so strong and Xbox consoles were't shifting, Microsoft may decide to pull the plug on consoles entirely. And suddenly if your favourite way to play was pulled out from under you for future generations, you'd be feeling pretty miffed.

Even as a PS player I've always been a strong advocate for Xbox to hang onto their exclusives. Now theyre sitting on one of the biggest and best library of IP's ever, this would be the time to bring back the glory days of the 360 and have real competition with PS.

@Exerion76 I'm definitely with you on movies. I became disinterested in films at the time that the Marvel movies started way back when. I don't think I've watched any TV other than The Witcher since then either. Nothing on tele or cinema interests me anymore. Actually I tell a lie, I watched all of the John Wick films which i thoroughly enjoyed but thats about all i can remember.

In terms of games I have such a massive backlog which I'm clearing and they're a lot of different genres that I have not been bored at all. I've been playing the Mass Effect trilogy for the first time ever and I've been having such a blast I have been playing the sequels one after the other which is unheard of for me.

@Gabrie Yes my main console of choice is PS and it does suck not being able to pick any games up for cheap on CD Keys directly. I have to buy the PSN wallet top ups which are typically discounted to then buy through the digital store. Whereas if i remember correctly a lot of Xbox and PC titles are always offered for heavily discounted prices directly through CDKeys or whatever it is now known as.

@SalaciousCrumb Ghost of Tsushima was made on a budget of 60 million and had a revenue of 780 million. Ghost of Yotei had a similar budget.

Theyre one of the only studios showing how to produce quality and keep costs down.

Yes Insomniac and other studios budgets are out of control but it goes to show that there must be a way of mitigating these 'rising' costs and its for all studios to figure out how they are going to do that.

Horizon series budget between both games was reportedly around 260 million, with a revenue of 920 million. So I think the exclusives are still selling well!